"Okay! Shut up, it just came to me! This is my different way to end the Hunger Games trilogy. I love the Haymitch/Katniss pairing for some reason whether it's father/daughter, friend, or in love, so I decided to write one," I say.

Haymitch walks in. "Are you gonna say the disclaimer or am I going to have to cut you... wait, I don't have feelings for Katniss!"

"In this fanfiction you do so you'll have to deal with it."

He crosses his arms. "Fine. Nonya doesn't own anything, but the plot, she's... what're you doing again?"

I sigh and roll my eyes. "We went over this... I'm just doing this to exercise my creativity in writing."

"Oh right... Well, she wants you to read, enjoy, and review... I don't really care."

Chapter 1:

Home

The war was over, everything was now peaceful, but not all was calm with the Girl on Fire years later. Haymitch received a letter that everything was fine, but he could read between the lines and see a few dried tears on the paper and that was why he was packing his bags to head to her home. He had moved into District 7 for a little bit because things had gotten a little rough, but now everything was calm and he was heading back home to District 12. Once done with packing I picked up the letter and stared at the tear stains. He was sure, doubly sure that he had to go there and help her. What with Prim having died during the war and Peeta a few years back. He knew that her mother tried, but it didn't seem to work. That was why he was going.

"Look out District 12, I'm coming back," I muttered.

-? Hours Later-

I got off of the train and threw my jacket over my shoulder and looked about, my eyes finally resting on my home District. With a heavy sigh I walked into the District and was both delighted and disappointed at how little it had changed. Sure, the gates were still up and everything still looked the same save for new shops that sold more, there were more children out and about playing and less miners, which was always a good thing, but someone had to mine. I walked towards my old home and threw my things in his room. People would expect hmy place to be dirty, but that wasn't the case. My rooms were always neat, save for the bottles of alcohol, so other than that I was a relatively neat man with simple needs that I usually stuck to.

I walked out of my home towards the one that Katniss lived in with her two children, Ember and Caraway. Said children caught sight of my and damn near tackled me. I allowed myself to laugh and hug them back, seeing as their arms were firmly wrapped around my own waist.

"Grandpa Haymitch!" they cried out, huge smiles on their faces.

"Hello kids. Where's momma?" I asked, ignoring that they just called me old.

"She's in the house, she doesn't want us to come in," Ember answered.

"I'll go see if it's okay for the both of you to come in. Until I come out, stay out here and play," I ordered.

"Yea Uncle Haymitch," they said.

"Come on!" Caraway said excitedly as they got up, his blue eyes sparkling and meeting his sister's seam eyes. "Let's go to the tree!"

They scurried away and I rose with a grunt. "Ack! I'm getting old."

With that said he popped I back and went to Katniss's door and knocked, waiting to hear her voice. "Not now children."

"Well I guess since I'm not a child I'll let myself in sweetheart," I said as I opened the door and looked at her shocked face. Her red eyes were wide, her lips trembling, her hair in a neat but slightly messy braid, and her clothes a little ragged, especially her shirt most likely because she'd been trying to ease the pain in her heart. It broke my heart to see her like this. After a second she ran into me, her arms wrapping around my neck as she buried her face in my shoulder. I was, admittedly, frozen in shock for a second before I slowly wrapped my arms around her and rubbed her back.

"It's alright sweetheart, I'm right here," I promised, gently swaying her from side to side out of some almost long forgotten habit.

She stayed in my arms for a while and I finally picked her up and sat on the couch with her curled in my lap and I realized how small and fragile she was. I'd long ago saw her as a young women, but never as a girl that had lost her father, sister, partially mother, and childhood. She needed a father. I knew Ember and Caraway would be back soon so I found her room and placed her in the bed before walking out of the house and calling the children inside.

"Where's momma?" Caraway asked.

"She's asleep, so don't disturb her today and tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay Grandpa Haymitch. Are you gonna make dinner?" Ember asked.

"Yeah, I'll make dinner. Work on the homework I know you didn't do," I ordered, rolling up my sleeves and walking into the kitchen.

"I told you he'd notice," Ember muttered.

"Shut up," Caraway growled.

I sighed and made dinner before serving it and eating. I put them to bed and then felt I should stay just in case so I spread myself on the couch and fell asleep.