Haymitch's POV

"Did you hear that?" Effie asked for the second time. "I swear I heard glass shattering." She shot me a concerned look and together we raced down the hallway.

"Katniss? Peeta? Prim? Annie? Finnick?" I shouted.

"There," breathed Effie, pointing at Katniss's bedroom door. It was slightly ajar, and a warm lamp was on inside, casting the whole room in an orange glow.

"Katniss?" I asked quietly, waiting for a response with bated breath. There was no response, but I heard muffled shuffling. There was someone in there, no doubt about that.

"Hello?" a small voice asked. Whoever spoke sounded like they were a thousand years old. Their voice was strained, cracked, and tired. Yet it was familiar, too...

"Katniss?" Effie asked incredulously. "Is that you?"

I glanced at Effie, and she nodded. Together, we gently pushed open the door and stood in silence.

"Haymitch? Effie?" Katniss asked. She looked slightly surprised, but her voice was emotionless.

The room looked normal, except the lights were all off. A ray of gray light streamed through a window that overlooked the alleyway. Katniss was hunched on the bed, eyes closed. Next to her was a broken glass of water. The shards sparkled in the dull light from outside.

And next to the shards lay a tiny, indigo pill.

Nightlock.

And we knew instantly that if we had ignored Roody for three seconds longer, or if we had not come at all, Katniss would be dead.

"Katniss..." Effie whispered. I could feel it, too.

Katniss was broken.

Effie nodded at me, and slowly walked across the room to where Katniss sat on her bed, staring into the floor. Effie sat down next to her. She didn't hug her, or even put an arm around her. She just sat next to Katniss. And it was then that I realized that this situation went much further, much deeper, than I had imagined.

"Hey," Effie said quietly.

"Hey," was Katniss's hoarse reply.

Effie sighed, then said, "Roody came to get us, you know. He's a good dog. Sweet, too. He was barking up a storm, and then nearly bit off Haymitch's shoe. We quickly realized something had happened, so we came on over."

Katniss said nothing, and just nodded.

Then, Effie said, "Katniss, I need you to come with us. You're too unsafe right now. This is for your own good."

"Where?" was all Katniss asked.

"The hospital," I said. Katniss twitched when she heard my voice instead of Effie's, but remained silent.

"Come on, darling," Effie whispered. She took Katniss's hand and led her out of her room. I shut and locked the front door (it was still wide open) and we headed out the back.

Without even asking her permission, Effie grabbed Katniss's car keys from her pocket and opened the garage door. We piled into her car: Effie driving, Katniss at shotgun, and me in the back.

We drove out of the alley and into the streets. Seeing as it was about five am on the day after Christmas, the streets were empty of cars. Effie drove quickly, and sped through a red light at the intersection between Main Street and Davis Road. When we finally reached the hospital and the car rolled to a stop in the snowy parking lot, Katniss spoke her first sentence since we saw her today.

"I don't want to go in."

"I know, sweetheart. I truly do. But you're in too dangerous of a state to be let alone. These people will care for you and make sure you're A-OK. And we'll be in the waiting room the whole time, all right?"

"Okay," Katniss whispered. Then, "Thank you."

Effie smiled. "Come on now. Let's go on in."

And so we did.

*****

One Day Later

"How is she doing?" Effie asked, as soon as the nurse came out of Katniss's room. For some odd reason, we were prohibited from entering Katniss's room without supervision. Although this was totally unfair, Effie and I both agreed that the calmer we stayed, the better.

"It is hard to tell," the nurse replied. "Many of her vital signs have long since returned to normal, but the heartbeat is still irregular. We want to make sure that her heartbeat is back to normal before we let her go."

"Do you know why her heartbeat is off?" I asked.

"When someone tries to take their own life, several things can go wrong. It's almost as though the body starts to mistrust the brain after what it tried to do. And one of those cases is the heartbeat. Sometimes it can resist normal 'instructions' from the brain. But all we can give her is time now," the nurse explained.

"Oh," Effie said, looking down. I knew how she felt. If we had come earlier, or checked on her like we should have, none of this would have to happen.

"It's not your fault," the nurse said kindly, like she had read our minds. "Poor Ms. Everdeen has gone through a lot. Your support means a lot to her."

I glanced at Effie again, feeling only slightly comforted by the nurse's words.

"I suggest that you two take a break from the waiting room," the nurse recommended. "Go outside and get some fresh air. Eat some lunch. It's important for you to remain stable and healthy while someone you love is going through a hard time. We'll call you when she is ready again, all right?"

"A-are you sure?"

"I'm positive. You'll be just fine."

It didn't really feel like we would be just fine. Not with the knowledge that Katniss would have died, had we not followed the dog. As we walked out of the hospital, I reached for a cigarette. When I saw Effie's dirty look, I stopped and shrugged. "You want one?"

"Not in a million years," she said.

I decided then that later would probably be better. "All right, then. Lunch?" I asked even though I had no appetite.

Effie shook her head. "I can't believe all of this. It feels like the past few months have been one disaster after another."

"Yeah, you're not wrong." I shrugged. "Though I'll say that Katniss has good taste in men." A small smirk crept across my lips. "Well, aside from Cato."

"Don't joke about that, Haymitch." Effie sounded disgusted. "That monstrous boy. His parents must be such horrible people." It was her turn to smirk. "Hopefully we won't be so horrible."

My heart skipped a beat. "What?"

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Effie asked incredulously, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Figured out what?!" I spluttered.

"You're going to be a father, Haymitch," Effie said, beaming now.

I gasped and let out a very un-Haymitch squeal. Effie laughed and wiped tears from her eyes.

"No way," I whispered. "Effie!"

We laughed and cried simultaneously, gripping each other's backs and drowning in the overwhelming love. The memory of the moment flooded into my brain as I held her close to me. I knew that this was the beginning of something that would be wonderful.

Effie's P.O.V.

Flashback; A few months ago- November 26th Thanksgiving Morning

The curtains were closed, yet the sun shone through them brightly. I rolled away from the window, pulled a blanket over my eyes, and tried falling back to sleep to no avail. I sighed in resignation.

Beneath the sheet, Haymitch caressed along the curve of my hip.

I dropped the blanket from my eyes and opened them. As he stared into me, there was nothing playful about his expression, just unmistakable intensity. The feeling of a luminous bubble expanded in my chest and stretched along my midline to the juncture of my thighs.

I reached out and held his face in my palm. His jaw was still smooth with just a hint of stubble. I brushed my fingertips in the direction I knew the hair would grow. The familiar act flooded me with sensations of the night before, and I wanted his mouth on me.

I inched closer and nestled against him. My lips plucked his once, and then again, sliding the tip of my tongue along the seam of his lips. He opened as I expected, and he sucked me in all at once. His teeth caught my lip, and the sting brought my nails digging into his back.

He groaned along my tongue as our bodies brushed, seeking a fit to burst the bubble, which he was feeling now too. Intensity built quickly. He had something to ask, but there wasn't space now between us for thinking, just feeling.

I drew my leg up along his side, and I opened. He clutched my hips and slipped in slowly, but slow wasn't enough — like when horses turn home, anticipating oats and cubes of sugar.

I pressed my calf to his ass, urging. A thrill rushed through me as he sank into the sweetest spot. "I'm gonna come fast, honey." I let go of his mouth in order to say so.

"I can feel it."

"Fuck, Effie. We just started."

"I know." I met him with upward thrusts, letting go of restraint and taking control in turn, drawing out my own pleasure. "Look at me."

He met my gaze again and held it. My fervor was catching. He gritted his teeth and matched my pace, holding back when I slowed. Then pushing home like the horses.

"It's so much," I spoke of the feeling between them. My nails played up his spine to the nape of his neck, then along his scalp. His shiver was a harbinger of what was coming. "It's so much, Haymitch."

His confession was quiet, tucked somewhere in between guttural sounds and a calloused thumb stroking my breast. "It's everything."

The admission, the gentle roughness, the flood of emotion lit me up. "Ohh, I can't stop it."

"Jesus. Why would you wanna stop it?" He said it to himself as much as to me.

Luminosity exploded. My body quaked, milking the length of him. The force of creation swelled. For a moment I was the whole world — his girl. The whole goddamn world. He climaxed inside me without asking the question, without saying another word beyond our cries of pleasure and release. We broke open, glistening.

When my shaking stopped, there were tears on my cheeks. My leg flopped back onto the bed. "Damn..." I whispered, "I will definately be thankful every Thanksgiving for the rest of my life if I wake up to this every morning"

I never thought that Thanksgiving wasn't the greatest, it made up for so much that evening. The tears were done and everyone was calmed down. Everyone was set to their separate areas and it was just Haymitch and I. He made sure Katniss and Peeta were alright. Then he made sure I was alright. My tears began as soon as they parted. Our sweet girl had so much to worry about. So much on her plate. And a family who wanted to ruin her. I didn't know what to do.

He kissed me silent. He knew what was troubling me like that but he didn't care. He wanted me and I wanted him, he didn't need more than that.

He cupped one of my breasts, pinching my nipple through the fabric and this time I didn't stop him. Instead I moaned and that moan drove him crazy. It was made to do this when there are children in this very house, in the living room, but we didn't give a shit.

My hands had done a quick job of the buttons of his shirt and I was pushing it down his shoulder. It wasn't easy with our mouths glued together and our tongues fighting but I managed to push it off him. He took over and got rid of my dress, no time for zippers, he caught the front with both hands and tore it. I gasped and looked at the mess for a second before jumping hungrily on his mouth again. Our hands explored, touching, scratching and groping in turn.

He finally detached his mouth from mine to travel to my breasts. They were small and firm so I didn't even need to wear a bra. I was naked in front of him with only a see through pair of lace panties. He licked and sucked at my nipples, the ministrations made me moan and sigh and he could feel the vibrations through my bones.

"Oh my God, yes Haymitch." I sighed as my trembling hands were fighting with the buckle of his belt. He took pity on me and took his remaining clothes off.

"Fuck..." he growled against my skin when my warm hand wrapped around his shaft and began stroking him.

He ripped my panties off me and threw them to the other side of the room. He put his hand on my core to touch me but I was already soaking wet. He groaned at the feel of my warm wetness slipping through his fingers. His head was turning a little.

He laid me on the length of the sofa and positioned himself at my entrance, rubbing his hardness on my labia a few times, sucking and biting my earlobe, teasing me.

"Please Haymitch..." I panted, my hands gripping his shoulder blades trying to drag him closer.

He entered me in one push, I was so warm and wet... He stayed with his full length inside me, watching my eyes rolling to the back of my skull with a cry of bliss. He captured my gaping mouth in a dirty kiss and began moving. It was frantic and fast, everything but tender. I was screaming and moaning and he tried to muffle my screams with his mouth but to no avail. I came apart under him, my muscles squeezing him inside me. He came with me, grunting in my shoulder, crushing me under him.

We remained like that, panting, for a minute, then Haymitch reminded me of the children. Sweeping up our clothes we went to our room. We climbed into bed and didn't speak anymore. Only slept.

At first, I brushed off the symptoms as stress for those kids. It wasn't until I took a pregnancy test one morning and it came out positive that I knew. Haymitch was so fast asleep that he never heard my little scream from the bathroom. That man always slept like a dead thing.

*****

Back to the present

"Effie, we got a call," Haymitch hollered from the living room. "From the hospital!"

"Well, what did they say?" I demanded.

"Katniss is ready to be picked up!" he said happily.

"From the hospital?" I asked, astonished. "Already?"

"Yup," he said, grinning. "Looks like she made a faster recovery than we expected. Only a week!"

"Yes," I said doubtfully. "I suppose."

"What's wrong?" Haymitch asked, frowning. "Her release from the hospital is something good, Effie."

"I know..." I said. "But... don't you think it's a little fast? She tried to take her own life, Haymitch. And from what we've heard, that wasn't the first time, either."

"But she's all better now, isn't she?"

"That's what I'm afraid of! What if she isn't all better?"

"Effie," Haymitch said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "The doctors know when people are ready and when they aren't. I'm sure they know she is. And when she is still recovering, she has us. I was thinking we could go stay with her until everyone gets back."

"If everyone gets back," I said quietly. "The girls might be gone for good."

"Oh, don't say that! We'll get 'em back to Katniss when Peeta is out of the hospital."

"I suppose you're right."

"Well, come on then! We should get going. She can stay in the guest bedroom upstairs, so we'll have to clean that out a little later."

"All right. Let's go." With that, Haymitch followed me out of the house and into the car. The ride there was mostly Haymitch babbling about Katniss, Peeta, the baby, and irrelevant politics, so I was glad when we arrived at the hospital. Although I was quite glad Katniss was coming home, I was still unsure about her health and safety. We had almost watched her die. I had never seen that before. And it brought on a fear so terrible that it was hard to see anything else.

"Oh, you're here for Ms. Everdeen, right?" a voice chirped. I blinked, and remembered that we were in the hospital.

"Yes indeed," Haymitch said. "Where is she?"

"She's in her room. I'll bring her out, so hang tight for one moment." The nurse trotted off down the hallway, leaving me and Haymitch alone.

He looked at me, smiling, but it faltered when he saw my anxious expression. "Are you OK?" he asked, taking my hand in an uncharacteristically sweet gesture.

"Yes..." I said, looking down. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Spill it. I'm here for you."

I sighed, then said, "Haymitch, I don't know what to think of Katniss anymore. I had always known her as the sweet, bold, kind girl who was determined to protect her family and friends. But after this... I don't know. Watching someone attempt suicide just... changed how you see them. And everything else, you know? I want the real Katniss back. I don't want the sad, dark, quiet one. I want the one who rides horses and runs in the woods. I want the one who laughs and does kickboxing with you. I just wish life was easier on her."

Haymitch sighed. "I know. I know. I really wish it was easier for her, too. But we're helping, aren't we? Right now, she needs love, care, and support. We're here for her to do just that. In the span of about one day, she lost almost everyone that she loves. We're the only family she has left."

"I guess you're right."

"And family always stays together. We'll get through this, and we'll do it as a family."

"Mr. Abernethy? Katniss is here." The nurse smiled and exited, leaving the three of us in the waiting room.

"Hey," Katniss said softly.

"Hey," I replied quietly. "It's good to see you."

*****

Five hours later

It was eight o'clock. The three of us were gathered around the table, eating Chinese takeout that Haymitch ordered. The conversation was light but forced. You could tell that we were all trying to avoid talking about that night when Roody led us into the house. Katniss laughed at Haymitch's joke about Gale Hawthorne, and for the first time in a while, I felt a sense of hope for that poor girl. Perhaps now was her time for healing.

"Can I tell her?" Haymitch asked all of a sudden, grinning.

"Tell me what?" Katniss asked, confused.

"Tell her what?" I echoed. Haymitch wiggled his eyebrows and mouthed, "Baby!" My eyes widened and I smiled. "Go ahead."

"Katniss! Guess what?" Haymitch said, grin growing.

"What?"

"Effie and I are pregnant! Well, she's the one with the baby inside of her. But we're going to have a baby!" Haymitch announced happily.

Katniss beamed. "Oh, that's wonderful! I'm so happy for the two of you, and I- think... I think..." she broke off, smile vanishing almost instantly. "I..."

"Katniss?" Haymitch asked, confused. "Are you OK?"

"My baby," she whispered, clutching her stomach. "I'm all alone."

Haymitch shot me a bewildered look, and I shrugged back. "Katniss?" I asked, gently placing a hand on her arm. "Are you alright? Do you feel sick?"

"No..." she whispered. A tear rolled down her cheek. And before I could even open my mouth to respond, she dashed out of the room, slamming the door to the guest bedroom behind her.

"Was it... something I said?" Haymitch asked uncertainty. "I thought I did okay."

"It wasn't you," I said quietly. "She's still not 100% yet. We probably brought up a topic that hurts her."

"If she's that, you know, sensitive, don't you think she should go back to the hospital?" he asked doubtfully. "She still seems really fragile."

"I know," I said, sighing. "But the hospital can't help with that. THey provided life support, and reliant health care for a week. They healed her outside. That was the easy part. Now we have to help heal her inside."

"Let me go and talk to her," Haymitch suggested. And before waiting for my confirmation, he got up and followed her into the bedroom. I heard a faint "come in," and the door clicking behind him. I sighed, picking at my fried rice. I thought that things were going so well! We steered clear of any mention about Peeta or her sisters, and were only comforting and calm. What had she said, again? Something about a baby. It can't have been true... or was it? I knew that her and Peeta were getting serious, but I had never considered that they'd have a baby together. He was leaving in a few weeks, for God's sake! But now that I looked at it, every sign was pointing that way. Katniss had been clutching her stomach nearly all day, and had to use the bathroom several times. Her release from the hospital was also delayed due to "complications." And now that I looked at it, I could see the faintest bump growing in her stomach.

That would probably explain her reaction. The baby reminded her of Peeta, and then she realized that he was still in the hospital, leaving her all alone.

My heart ached for Katniss. I knew life was so hard, and I could only wish for it to get better. At last, the pair came out of Katniss's room. She wiped a single tear from her cheek and whispered, "Effie, you probably already realized. But I'm pregnant. With Peeta's baby. And it's so hard to know that this baby might not have a father."

"Katniss, don't you say that," I said, standing up and placing a hand on her shoulder. Peeta is going to be okay. Both of you will make wonderful parents. It is hard now, but remember there is always another side to this. You'll get through it, okay?"

Katniss sniffed and said softly, "Thank you, Effie. And congratulations on the baby. You will be such a good mother."

"Right back atcha!" I said happily, giving her a squeeze. Our kids will be best friends."

Katniss let out a small chuckle. "Thank you. Both of you," she added. "I feel better now."

"Our pleasure," Effie said, smiling. "I want you to know that we're here for you, okay?"

"And whaddya say we head out to the cabin? We can stay there for a night or so. Ronan needs some new food," he added.

"That sounds great," KAtniss said, a smile growing on her face. "Let's do it."

*****

Katniss's POV

"So, got any name ideas for the baby?" Haymitch asked me, poking the fire with a long metal rod. The windows were shut, blocking out the snow and icy winter blast, but trapping the warmth within the small cabin. I unwrapped a package of sausages and held them out to Haymitch, who shoved them onto the metal poker. The meat sizzled and cooked, filling the room with a mouthwatering scent.

"Well," I began. "We had an idea. A-ariya. Ariya Rose. It was Peeta's grandmother's name."

"Now, that's a good name," Haymitch commented, impressed. "I like it!"

"Thank," I said, smiling. "I just wish he was here right now."

"And he will be," Haymitch said. "In time. He will recover and so will you. This too shall pass."

"I know," I said sadly. "It's just hard in the moment."

"C'mere," Haymitch said, pulling me into a tight hug. "You'll get through this. I know you will. You're strong and smart and brave. Heck, you've been through more than I think I ever will, and you're half my age. You made it this far. Don't give up now. It's not the end."

It's not the end.

Haymitch's words echoed in my head, well past our conversation and far into the night. It was one in the morning and yet, I couldn't stop thinking. And I realized something. I realized that I love Peeta, Prim, Annie, Haymitch, and Effie to death, but they didn't define me. I was my own person. Sure, life without them was excruciating, but I could do it. For so long, I had struggled with my sense of self. I was shy around strangers, unsure, and frankly, sometimes a little clingy. Instead of facing my fears, I pushed them away and blocked people out. But now, I had just gone through the hardest times in my life, my family was missing, and I was pregnant, alone, and yet, I felt like I knew myself more than I ever did.

So then I swore to myself that I was done blocking people out. I was done bottling up all my rage and pain. If I needed help, I would get it. I was finally ready to help myself.

And... I was finally ready to visit Peeta.

With that dangerous and terrifying, yet comforting thought in my head, I drifted off to sleep.

Because this was not the end.