I love how selfless Finnick O'Dair is, cutting short his honeymoon to fight for the cause. And I hate that he dies in his quest to help Panem and the Mockingjay so I feel compelled to write a fanfic where he gets to live. Besides, anyone who looks like Finnick, and here I am talking about the movie, should be immune to death. He is just that pretty. Although that does change ever so slightly in the story. Hope you enjoy it. Please read and review! Chapter 2 to follow.
Chapter 1
He sits quietly on his hospital bed clutching his file. He badly wants to open it but instead of looking at the contents, he just stares at the cover.
"Need some help?" a voice asks from the doorway.
"No, thank you, Dr Everdeen," he says as he looks up. His voice is hoarse and raspy – one of the many gifts bestowed on him by the bomb.
"How is your sight?" Dr Everdeen eyes him suspiciously. "You can still see and read clearly?"
"The doctors here have done wonders with my sight. I can't thank you enough." The last round of surgeries were performed a couple of weeks back. The best doctors worked on him. The doctors who were previously employed to fix the victors as they return home from the games.
However, this is something he wants to do alone. He clutches the file defensively.
"You sure you want to read it alone? I can stay."
"It is what we won't read that keeps me from opening the file. What if … what if it doesn't help me find out who I am?" He sighs. The explosion took so much away from him, it could have at least spared his memory.
Dr Everdeen walks to his bed and sits down. She puts her hand on his arm. "Fear isn't something we have ever associated with you, even remotely, Career."
She used his nickname to remind him why they gave it to him in the first place. By all physical means, he should have died, but he fought so hard to live that someone in the hospital joked that he must be a Career; a tribute from the Capitol or District Two who had trained their whole life to fight and eventually participate in the barbaric Hunger Games.
He was brought to the hospital a mess of flesh and tangled limbs. His neck had a gaping wound but a strange green synthetic material had settled over it, saving his life. He lost both legs below the knee and his entire left arm. His one ear was missing. The lids on his eyes were gone too and his eyes were useless. But he was alive, and despite the odds, he stayed that way.
"The odds were ever in your favour." An almost whisper from Dr Everdeen, her face full of emotion.
"What did you say?" Career sits up, alert. A sense of familiarity struck him.
"It is a saying they used in the Hunger Games. Surely with your nickname someone must have told you about the Hunger Games? The yearly spectacle of slaughter and sacrifice enforced by the former president of Panem, Snow." The wounded expression on her face changed to one of anger, hatred even.
"Personal experience?" Career asks carefully.
"Katniss Everdeen is my daughter," Dr Everdeen says as she looks out the window, the whisper voice back.
"President Snow's assassin?" The words tumble from his mouth before he could stop himself.
"You mean Panem's liberator?" She is defensive, a mama bear ready to defend her cub.
"Yes, yes. You must be so proud. Do you see her often? I believe she lives in Twelve." Anything to help him get out of the hole he dug for himself.
"No, Katniss is still, so to speak, under house arrest. And I can't travel to Twelve yet. It is still too painful." Dr Everdeen smiles sadly, "At least she has Peeta."
"Is that her father?"
"I sometimes forget that you don't remember what happened in the two years before the war. No, Peeta is Katniss's um, friend, I guess? He is the co-victor from the 74th games. He won with Katniss. It was that act of defiance that started the uprising. Anyway, he is a good man. He loves Katniss and takes good care of her."
"Sounds like a good … friend." This comment stops the open conversation the two had shared.
"But we are not here to talk about me." She flashes a professional smile. "Please don't hesitate to ask for me if you need help with the file. I will be able to explain the medical side of things. See you later." And with that Dr Everdeen practically runs out of the room.
Career tosses the file on to his bedside table. It slides to the edge and then falls off. Perfect! I'll just jump off to pick it up, he thinks bitterly. On the other hand, it could be a sign. Maybe the time is not right for him to read the file yet. He still had a week before he was being discharged. Hopefully it is enough to help him figure out where to go from here.