Hi there, so this is my first ever shared fanfic, though I'm working on others at the moment. To be honest, a Hunger Games Fan Fiction was one of the last ones I thought I'd be doing, yet here I am. Not really sure where this came from, plot bunnies I guess. Anyway, I might be taking this back for a bit of editing eventually because I'm not totally satisfied with it. I just wanted to get some other opinons and ideas about it before I change anything too much.
I'd very much love so constructive critisim because I know I need work. And yes, I do know the characters are a little OOC here.
I'll stop rambling because everybody hates A.N.s :)
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games Trilogy.
Nobody to Save Him
I sit up in bed, shuddering at the thought of the lastest nightmare. It was terrible, though suprisingly I wasn't screaming when I woke up. I decide to get some hot chocolate from down stairs. I swing my feet out of bed and move towards the door. Being careful so not to wake anybody up, I move towards the stairs. As I walk though I hear a fire crackling in the living room. That's unusual. I reach the bottom of the stairs and make my way to the living room to investigate.
Upon entry, I see my mother relaxing in a chair by the fire, a steaming mug in her hand. There was a mining accident today and she and Prim- from early afternoon, to well into the evening- worked to help the injured miners. Some of the injuries were determined minor considering the type of accident that took place; others were life threatening. I didn't keep track of how many men were brought in today, but I know there was only one who was beyond my mother's care. I heard four of the men with the worst injuries are staying on cots in our ginormous room tonight.
My sister went to bed only after my mother promised to wake her after a few hours to help tend to the men.
Prim, always ready to help somebody in need.
My mother isn't going to wake her. She's going to stay up all night by herself, sipping her coffee, trying to stay awake to help people she doesn't even know.
I understand that she feels a duty to help them as a healer, but I never noticed just how hard she works to help them.
Because you're never here, you always take off as soon as you see somebody injured. I can't deny it's true, I always run. Today was different though. I managed not to run out to the woods. I watched for a moment before retreating to another part of the house, which in truth wasn't much better.
My mother begins to move for the kitchen. I silently follow her and stand in the doorway as she pours herself more coffee. Ever since I was a victor in the Hunger Games, we've moved into Victor's Village and now we seem to possess a surplus of fancy food. Coffee is one of them; it was always a luxury we could never afford. Not that I minded, I can't the stuff. My mother always said caffeine was horrible for you. "Your body becomes addicted, like a drug Katniss." She would say. "Then you can go through with drawls." Yet here she is, chugging the stuff as if it's her lifeline.
"Do you need something Katniss?" Her voice reaches me in a slightly concerned, and especially exhausted sounding whisper.
Her sudden addressing of my presence catches me off guard.
"Oh I um- no." I stammer out and stare at my feet.
Eventhough things are better between the two of us, I still occasionally find it awkward and difficult to talk to her. She nods and picks her cup off the counter. She casts a quick glance at the men sleeping on the floor, and I can see her shoulders slump a little. My mother straightens her head and quietly walks back into the living room.
Once again, I follow her and sit in the armchair opposite to hers. A moment of silence passes before I finally blurt, "Why do you do it?"
This seems to take her back a bit.
"Do what Katniss?" She asks quietly, so not to wake the men sleeping in the next room.
I follow suit and whisper my response.
"Why do you work so hard to take care of them? I mean, I know it's kind of your job and all but…" I trail off not sure what I was trying to articulate.
"Your father was a miner too Katniss, and I know how devastating an accident can be." She says plainly, though there is something in her voice I can't place.
"I know dad was a miner but," My throat tightens a bit; I don't talk about my father often and it's still painful when I do. "But, I still don't understand what you mean."
My mother bites her lip and stares into the fire for a second.
"Katniss, why did you help that little girl, Rue, in the games?" She finally asks turning her head to look at me.
"Well, I mean, she was so helpless and," I knew that wasn't totally true, Rue was resourceful, and might have even lasted longer if she hadn't decided to help me.
Why did I help her? I think for a moment but nothing seems to be a plausible answer until it hits me.
"She-she reminded me of Prim." My voice breaks a little. Rue reminded me of Prim, and then I felt the need to protect her and to love her, just like I felt for my sister. My mother nods slowly as if waiting for me to process this information. After a moment of me thinking this over my mother continues with a grim smile.
"These men have families at home. Families, who need them. Who are losing hope that everything will be okay again." She chuckles humorlessly. "Their situation reminds me so much of my own years ago." My mother sets her cup on the table beside her. "Only there was nobody to save my husband." She says quietly staring into the fire again.
A moment of silence follows and I have time to think.
She works hard because she doesn't want any other woman to feel the same way she did. She feels compassion on them, and so she goes out of her way to help them. It finally strikes me as what a selfless thing this is and that moves me to speak.
"You should get to bed." I say firmly. She comes out of her daze and stares at me curiously.
"Katniss, I have patients to tend to, I can't go to sleep now."
"I'll stay up with them, Mom. You get some rest, you deserve it now." I say gently.
"What if something is wrong and you need me?" She asks worry in her eyes. I sigh in irritation.
"Don't' move." I say before heading upstairs to grab some blankets and pillows. Coming down I toss them onto the floor and arrange them into what my mother would call a "palette" for sleeping.
"There, now if I need you I can simply wake you up." I say, stubbornly crossing my arms over my chest. My mother hesitates.
"If you promise to wake me in a few hours to take another shift, then I suppose…" She trails off eyeing the makeshift bed on the floor.
"It'll be fine mom." I urge her.
"Alright." She breaks her resolve moving to lie down on the floor. "Just wake me when you get tired okay?" She insists.
"Fine, I'll wake you when I get tired, now, get some rest."
"Goodnight Katniss." She smiles. "Thank you so much." She murmurs before falling asleep.
"No, thank you." I say even though I know she won't hear me. After a moment I turn back into the kitchen. I rummage through the pantry for the coffee mix.
No way was I getting tired tonight.
Okay, so there it was.
Once again I would loooooove to hear from you guys, tell me what you thought, Liked it- Hated it- Things to improve upon
Thanks for taking the time to read my humble little one-shot
~Mikhie