Soli Deo gloria
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the Hunger Games.
"Soldier Odair." Someone calls Finnick's name. He looks up from pumping a dummy full of lead bullets in preparation for heading out to the Capitol. His eyes fall on Plutarch Heavensbee, the plump ex-Head Gamemaker, standing in the corner and waving him over.
Shouldering his gun, Finnick joins his side, asks in a respectful voice, "Yes, Mr. Heavensbee?"
"We got a call from the hospital wing. They want you over there."
Finnick's green eyes widen; a sort of pit forms in the middle of his stomach. "Why?"
"I don't know," Plutarch says.
Finnick looks at his gun, anxiety written on his face. Katniss, watching him from her own post, comes over, grabs his gun from him and asks, "What happened?"
"Annie." Still wearing his grey soldier uniform, he pounds through the winding halls of the intricate, below ground District 13. His heart thumping, his feet slamming against the ground, his worries about his wife come back to him, like when she was back in the Capitol. She told him last night she was going to the hospital wing the next day. Her stomach plagued her and she needed an examination to see that she was all in check because of her being locked away in the Capitol, anyway. Finnick merely kissed her and nodded, almost not paying attention to her words. It was routine, wasn't it?
Now he wishes he paid more attention to what she said. Was there something important he missed? Did she sound worried about something? What symptoms did she have? He hasn't been with her during the day too much now that he's in the star squad. He sees her during meals and in the morning and night, of course, and there wasn't anything unusual about her.
Is there?
He passes several nurses and patients and ends up finding Mrs. Everdeen and asking her Annie is. She smiles, making him nervous, and calmly points him to a private room off the normal beds and curtains. He quickly hurries in to find Annie on top of a white counter. She wears a hospital dress that's loose around her skinny arms. Her quiet eyes look up and she gently smiles and says, "Finnick!"
"Annie," he says, hurrying to her. Her smile broadens, piquing his nervous curiosity. He gently holds her hands, saying, "Annie, what's wrong? Why'd I get called here?"
"The doctor will be here any minute, Finnick," she says, excited. "He has the first pictures of our baby."
It takes a moment to hit him. His eyes widen; Annie looks even more delighted and the most beautiful he's ever seen her. They're having a baby. She's going to be a mother. He's going to be a father.
"What—we're—" he says, and Annie just lights up, and his hands release her hands and one goes in her hair and the other holds her gently as he leans in to kiss her. He feels her smile under his lips, and he isn't able to tell her just how excited he is. He's overwhelmed, overjoyed. He never thought that he would ever be like this. He never thought he'd be able to wed his lovely, beautiful Annie, love her without being threatened, and have a baby with her. It makes him want to cry.
When he pulls back, he sees tears in her eyes—happy tears. He wipes them away gently with the tip of his thumb. "Don't cry, Annie," he whispers, even as his own voice chokes with tears.
"I can't help it, Finnick," she whispers back, her voice trembling, a tremor of laughter in it. "I'm just so happy!"
"So am I," he says; he feels the happiest he's ever been. "More than you know."
That night, Finnick is given a traveling bag. He secures it from one of the supply stations and takes it over to the small area he and Annie share. It's a small room, with a single, almost-double sized bed, and two standard dressers. It's big enough for the two of them, but for three?
He flings the bag onto the bed and sits down next to it. He holds his head, bearing it in his hands, in no mood to go and find the piece of rope he uses to make knots. Annie gets ready for the night in the bathroom. He has just a couple of minutes before he has to break the news to her, the news: he's going out with Katniss and the rest of the Star Squad to the Capitol the next morning, and he has no idea how she'll react.
Quietly, without much thought, he changes into grey pants and a white tank. Standard sleeping clothes for men in District 13. Exhaling, he takes out what little clothes he has and throws them into the bag. He doesn't fit them in, though; they just sit on top of the sides, looking like it should all go into the laundry.
"Finnick?" he hears. The bathroom door cracks open and Annie sticks her face in the crack, her fingers pressing tightly against the door. "What are you doing?"
"Annie," he says, walking up to her and gently grasping her arms. She looks alarmed as he leads her into the room. He takes a seat on the bed, right next to his bag, and gently lowers her into his lap.
"What are you doing, Finnick? Where are you going?" she wants to know.
"Annie," he whispers quietly, "you know how I've been training for the past couple of weeks? To go into the Capitol?"
"Yes," she says quietly.
"I'm being sent out, tomorrow, with Katniss, Gale, and Boggs, and I don't know when we'll be back." He doesn't want to say it, he doesn't want to worry her, but he adds, "I don't know if we'll ever get back."
"Tomorrow? But—but Finnick," Annie says, her eyes widening. Finnick knows what she's about to do; it's almost routine, the way she shuts out other people when she hears something that sounds bad to her. She instantly covers her ears and rocks back and forth in his lap, barely feeling his arms wrapping around her.
"Annie, Annie, baby," he whispers, trying to bring her back to him. He knows she zones out into her own world, to take herself away from the confusion and pain of his world—the real world. He kisses her on the cheek, her neck, her ear, her hair, whispering for her to please come back, and holds back tears of his own. How can he leave her? He needs her; even though she'll be all right here without him, he'll worry about her. He'll fall back. He doesn't want to. He wants to stay with her, be with her forever, never be separated from her.
After a moment, he pulls back to see her face as she comes back to him. He gently moves her soft hair out of her face; she looks at him and whispers, "I don't want you to go."
"I know, Annie. But I have to. It's all scheduled, and I've been training for so long. They're counting on me."
"I am counting on you," Annie says, her voice shaky. She clasps one of his hands in both of hers. "Please, stay with me." She leans against his chest, whispering, "I don't want to be alone."
He kisses her hair again, and holding her closer, wishes that she wasn't alone. "There are Prim and Mrs. Everdeen. You like them, don't you?"
"They're doctors," Annie whispers.
"They're nice, and they want to help you, Annie. Annie, Annie, please," he says.
Annie shakes her head and meeting his eyes, says, "What—what about the baby, Finnick? What about him?"
"Him—him?" Finnick says quickly. "Wait—it's a boy?"
"I don't know. I want it to be. Like his father, and we'll think of a lovely name for him when you get back, right, Finnick?" Annie says.
He nods eagerly. "Oh, yes, Annie, after this is all over, we'll together think of a name for him. It'll be perfect, and then we'll all go live in District Four again. By the beach."
"The beach?"
"Yes. The beach—you love the beach," he whispers.
"You promise?" she whispers.
Probably the worst time to make a promise is in the middle of a war, where everything is so unpredictable. She needs reassurance, though. So he whispers, "I promise." This makes Annie look a little lightened; he kisses her again and whispers, looking into her eyes, "I promise, Annie."
AND THEN DEATTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHH AND FEEEEEEEEEELS and the end, that's all. Thank you for reading!
