A/N: It's taking me a long time to write this, I know. Sorry. I guess I'm just not as into it as I thought I was. But here goes nothing.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Hunger Games.

THREE

I sit in a room in the Justice Building, juggling my knee nervously. This is not happening. This is not happening. This cannot be happening. The doors open and two people step inside. "Three minutes," the Peacekeeper says before shutting the door.

I stand up as my mother comes towards me. She wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me down close. Normally, I would push away, not accepting the gesture. But I let her and even hug her back at one point. "Haymitch," she whispers. I wait, expecting her to say more but that is it. Over and over. "Haymitch. Haymitch."

"I'm sorry, Mom," I say quietly. "If I could change things, I would. I most definitely would."

She shakes her head against my shoulder. "No, sweetie," she says, pulling back to look at me. Her eyes are red and filled with tears. "No, it's not your fault. There's nothing you could do."

I nod, not arguing with her because she's right. There really is nothing I could do. She steps back, patting Jacks on the back as he moves forward, stopping right in front of me. I can tell he is trying to hold back tears, to be strong for me. I put a hand on his shoulder and look him dead in the eye. "You're going to have to take care of Mom from now on, okay?" I say to him, making him listen. "Use the techniques I've shown you when I took you hunting. Annalee can show you anything else you need to know. And Sage Mellark - tell him you're my brother. He might give you a bit extra bread when you go to trade. Just make sure his parents aren't there. And you are never to apply to tesserae. Only when you desperately need it. Alright?"

He nods, not saying anything. He puts his head down, not looking at me anymore, and I know that tears have probably escaped his eyes. "Jacks, it's going to be okay," I tell him. "Everything happens for a reason, right?"

Here, he shakes his head angrily. "No, Haymitch," he says, an edge to his voice. "Just because 'everything happens for a reason' doesn't mean it's alright. You think I'm going to like losing my brother? That I'm okay with being one of those people who loses a loved on every year? No, Haymitch. It's not okay. Never." His breathing is quick and he has stopped trying to make the tears stay in his eyes.

I stay quiet. I realize if the roles were reversed I would feel the same way. I take a deep breath and run a hand through my hair. "I can understand that," I tell him. "I don't expect you to be okay with that. I'm just asking you to push through it. Okay? Not for yourself or for Mom but for me. As a last wish, stay strong for me."

The doors burst open and a Peacekeeper walks in. "Time's up," he says, grabbing Jacks roughly by the shoulders. "Let's go."

Jacks eyes widen. "No. No, Haymitch! Don't go! No!" he shouts are drowned out by the Peacekeepers shutting the doors, blocking my last image of them.

The next time the door opens, Annalee timidly steps in. She does not pull me into an embrace like Mom did but keeps her eyes downcast and sits in the chair opposite of me. She just sits there, not looking at, not saying anything. After a while, I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "Are you going to speak to me?" I ask her, trying not to sound as exasperated as I feel.

She finally looks up at me, her grey eyes piercing. "You said nothing would happen to you, Haymitch," she says icily. "You promised me you would be okay."

I stand up and walk towards her. She turns the other direction, clearly angry with me. "Annalee, how was I supposed to know that this was what was going to happen?" I ask, struggling to keep the anger from my voice. "It's not like I was the one who pulled my own name out of the bowl. What are you getting angry with me for?"

She shook her head and stood up, facing me. "I'm not angry. I'm just..." She pauses searching for the right word.

"Angry?" I finish, knowing how she really feels. I can see at least that written on her face. But then again she's probably wearing that mask to hide all the other emotions that are inside her.

"Annoyed," she corrects. "And worried. I know you're strong and clever, Haymitch, but is it enough against those big, trained Careers? I don't think so. Some of those kids are the dimmest in the country and they win most of the time."

I wrap my arms around her, burying my face in her hair. "So why don't I give them a good show? That's all they want after all. That's all their looking for. Show them that strength isn't everything. I bet you I'll win. For you."

She looks up at me, tears starting to roll down her face. "You promise me? Promise that you'll be back by the end?"

I nod. "I promise."

"Time's up," the Peacekeeper says, coming into the room, interrupting the fragile moment created.

Annalee quickly wipes her tears away. She stands on tiptoe and kisses me on the cheek. "Goodbye, Haymitch," she whispers quietly. "I will always love you." The Peacekeeper all but drags her out.

No one else comes before I am escorted to the train along with the other three tributes. I climb into the car, watching out the window as we speed by the District 12 citizens being held back by baricades. I spot my mother and Jacks. They wave sadly as we pass. I do not see Annalee but think I spot the back of her dark head. Of course she wouldn't be watching. I face forward to see Maysilee watching me with curious blue eyes. She turns something over and over in her hands nervously. I tear my eyes from her gaze to see if I can make it out. She finally stops long enough for me to see that it is a golden mockingjay connected to a golden hoop by only its wingtips.

"My gift from the district," she says, noticing me staring at it. She lets out a small smile and pins it to her dress carefully.

I nod and look away again. I look at the two younger children. The girl, Sierra, has clearly been crying very hard. Her face is splotchy and her eyes bloodshot. She sniffles repeatedly as our escort keeps trying to tell us how much we'll like the Capitol and what a wonderful time we will have. The younger boy, Icarius, stares straight ahead. Occasionly, his Seam eyes will flicker towards me before quickly going back to their original position. His jaw seems to be clenched tight. I wonder if this will be his strategy in the Games. To seem strong and make all the other tributes fear him in some way or another.

He will be one of the ones I will look out for.

A/N: Yes. Chapter 3. I'm having bad feelings about this story. Like it's not going to be good. It's lacking, definately not as good as my other story.
And speaking of The Next Generation, I'm going to try to get that one updated by at least tomorrow also.

-AGEless