A/N: Hi! Welcome to my new collection of Hayffie one-shots. :) Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, its plot, characters or world because I am not Suzanne Collins. :(

Puppy

Haymitch is pacing the floor in his house, waiting for Effie to get back home. Just why she had to agree to work with Peeta in the bakery is beyond him. They have money and she knows it. Only today, she's late. Really late. Peeta was home hours ago. She's still out and horrific scenarios are going through his head. He's just picturing her lying dead in a ditch somewhere, pulling his jacket on to go look for her when the door closes and Effie's cheery voice calls "Haymitch, I'm home!"

He runs to the hall to find her carrying her coat in a bundle, a smile dancing on her lips. He smiles slightly to see her alive and rushes over, hugging her tightly. "Where've you been hiding? I was just about to come looking for you," he tells her, burying his face in her soft hair.

"Ah, I've been... Somewhere. Haymitch, I have a surprise for you," she tells him, smiling.

He freezes and pulls back, looking at her in alarm, his arms still around her. "What is it? Oh, God, Effie, tell me it's not a baby," he groans.

"Well, I can't say it's not a baby, but-" she starts, but cuts herself off at his despairing groan. "What?"

"No. This cannot be happening," he groans.

"Haymitch, before you go mad, I just want to finish my sentence. It's a baby but I'm not pregnant. We both know I can't have children. Do you want to see what took me so long?" she asks, looking at him in fond exasperation.

He looks at her curiously and approaches her cautiously. "How have you got a baby? I would have known if you'd been in the process of adoption," he says, sounding nervous.

"This was very spur-of-the-moment," she tells him, then unravels her coat carefully. Inside it is a very small, fuzzy brown thing, lying on its stomach, fast asleep.

"What is that?" Haymitch asks, nerves and relief flooding through him.

"He's a puppy. I thought, given that we'll never be parents to a human baby, why not go for a fur baby instead? This breed don't get all that big. They're the size of six week old wolfhound puppies when they're fully grown and they don't shed. He's perfect for us, right?" she tells him, smiling.

"We're not keeping it, are we?" he asks, amazed.

"Well, yes. He's ideal. You can name him," she offers.

He looks at the small, fluffy puppy, lying on Effie's coat, then sighs. "Eff, you could have said you were getting a dog," he tells her, really not prepared for a pet.

"He was a surprise for you! He was a surprise for me! He was the littlest of the litter, nobody wanted him. I couldn't resist him, Haymitch," she tells him, making her eyes widen pleadingly. "Please can we keep him?"

As if it was listening, the puppy looks up at him with big, pleading eyes. Haymitch groans "Not fair at all. Come on, this is manipulation!"

"Pretty please?" Effie begs, looking at him hopefully.

He groans, frustrated. "Fine! Fine, you can keep your dog. But you're looking after it," he tells her, caving in.

She bounces a little. "Thank you!" she squeals. "Wait! Have you got a name for him?"

Haymitch raises an eyebrow. "That wasn't you trying to convince me to let you keep it?" he asks, unconvinced.

"No. I really want you to name him," she beams.

He studies it, then smirks at her. "Brandy."

She smothers a smile at that. "Brandy?"

"Like the drink," he grins. "You said I could choose. So I did."

She giggles and hugs him. "Brandy it is," she agrees.

As though the puppy understands, it lifts its head and yaps quietly. Haymitch gently strokes its head and says "You keep her busy for me."

The puppy licks his finger in understanding. Effie giggles and smiles at Haymitch. "There we go. Are you glad he's here?"

"I'm grateful he'll keep you happy, Effie. But he doesn't come in the bedroom," he warns. "At all."

"Okay. No puppy in the bedroom," she agrees.

That doesn't stop Brandy going in there the next morning and licking their faces until they wake up.

Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to send me your thoughts. Prompts are accepted here and on my Tumblr at emo-girl-in-the-tardis. xoxo