„Mr. Abernathy, please leave the room." Nurse pushed the man out of the ward.
"She is my bloody wife with a BLOODY BABY!" Haymitch shouted and wanted to return but Peeta stopped him.
"Effie will be fine. Trust the doctors." Peeta grabbed his old mentor by a shoulder and pushed to the corridor. The nurse silently thanked him for dealing with Haymitch.
"Kid, listen, if anything happens to them I swear I will kill yo-" Haymitch started to shout but Peeta just raised his hand.
"Shh. Effie is strong. And baby… Well, he is the baby of a man who won the Games and the woman who protected me, Johanna and Annie in the imprisonment. They. Will. Be. Fine."
After tortures that Effie experienced in the Capitol, she had minor permanent scars. Apparently, she can't birth the baby naturally and the doctors have to do Caesarean. The surgery is quite simple but Haymitch was still freaking out about everything. And not only about the health of Effie…
"What if I will not cope with this?" Haymitch whispered after a while.
"With what?" Peeta turned his head towards him.
"Being a dad."
Peeta snorted and Haymitch looked at him confused. "Haymitch, you watch Iris almost every day and you are doing it perfectly. More importantly – this baby is yours."
Haymitch put his head into his hands. "No. I watch Iris every day but for about four hours. I don't need to change her diapers all day, I don't have to wake up then she is screaming. Now everything will be different. Iris is lucky – she has the most amazing parents. And what did I did all my life? Just fucked up everything I cared about. I can't bear the thought that I will fuck up this baby who isn't even out yet." The man desperately sighted.
Peeta could see that he was on the edge of anger explosion.
"Of course that you will fuck up this child. That's what parents do. They care about them too much and then the child grows up he does the same to his kids. That's like the Circle of lif-" but Haymitch turned to Peeta and grabbed his neck. The boy could see that ex-mentor was furious.
"That's the point. I don't have that "caring" part. I look at Effie, how she is reading all the books about how she can make the baby happy, I see her singing to her freaking belly because "the child can hear mother's voice." I don't have it. I feel nothing for him."
Peeta gasped. He couldn't understand Haymitch. Then Peeta knew Katniss is pregnant, he sort of evolved into this caring-lovely-father-to-be creature.
"Sorry, Haymitch, I don't know how to respond to that." Peeta said quietly. Haymitch finally let him go and continued to burry himself into more of self-pity.
"Mr. Abernathy, the surgery went fine. Your wife and son are in the ward, if you want to see them." A nurse called him.
Haymitch looked at Peeta. He just nodded, wishing him good luck.
"Hello." Effie smiled then she saw him. She seemed a bit tired, but she was glowing like a star. "Haymitch, I don't think I ever seen anything more beautiful." Effie was holding a small, pink, squishy baby. He was awake, looking at his mommy with his big big eyes. "Here, hold him!"
"Oh, I don't know about that… Okay then…" Haymitch muttered as Effie gently gave him his son.
"Well he certainly has my frown face." Claimed Haymitch.
"Is everything all right?" After I while, Effie asked. "You look… Sad."
Haymitch felt like a total idiot. He had a wife, he had a son but he felt nothing… Until…
The baby frowned, let a little squeak and grabbed Haymitch's finger. He held him so tight, that it made Haymitch snort.
"Easy, baby tiger." And then something burst inside his chest. He couldn't get his eyes of his son. "My baby tiger." Haymitch whispered. A small tear rolled down his chin. "Damit, I love you so much." The feeling he felt in his chest was undeniable, unbelievable love for his son. All he cared now was to make this pink squishy creature happy and take care of him in every way possible. "I love you. I will be here then you will need me. I will probably be there then you won't need my anyways. I promise I will humiliate you in front of your girlfriend. I will never stop loving you, tiger." He kissed his son's forehead and returned him to Effie.
"Why do you call him tiger?" Effie asked, preparing to feed the baby.
"He just seems like it. A little baby tiger." Haymitch smiled to himself and kissed his family. His little, perfect, family.