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Here is chapter 4! PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU HAVE A MOMENT :)

Haymitch sat with his tumbler of whiskey and stared out the window of the train, waiting silently for his new tributes to arrive with Effie. Like every year, these ones were likely to be weak and fragile, just like the others. They weren't likely to be fighters; they weren't likely to live through the Games.

It was nothing new.

The car pulled up to the train and Effie stepped out, followed by the two tributes.

The boy was a young one of about thirteen, with dark brown, almost black hair and steel gray eyes. He was dressed remarkably well for a boy of District Twelve, likely making him a merchant's son. He was somewhat scrawny; definitely not winner material.

The female tribute however appeared to be a thin, but strong looking girl of sixteen or seventeen. She had dark mahogany wavy hair and light brown skin. Her eyes were hard and her mouth was set in a firm line. This one clearly seemed different.

She puzzled Haymitch. But then it occurred to him. This girl was Seraphina Morgan. He didn't know a lot about her, but her name had been mentioned around the District before. She was the daughter of infamous mine worker and known Capitol hater, Derek Morgan. Granted, Haymitch didn't know him personally, but he'd heard rumors when he'd been out to buy alcohol.

She may be a different story.

The three boarded the train and he sat down in one of the luxurious seats, leaning back and putting his feet lazily on the table. It was almost time to meet his new charges. Time to assess them as people. Time to assess them as fighters and see if they had any chance of survival.

Effie's shoes soon started clicking down the wood floors and she arrived through the doors with the boy and the Morgan girl following behind her. The boy looked around in awe, while the girl looked around suspiciously.

"Haymitch!" Effie chirped, clapping her hands together. "Say hello to our District Twelve tributes! This young man is Christopher Rossi, and this young lady is Seraphina Morgan. Say hello, dears!"

Christopher looked at him nervously. "Hello," he said.

Seraphina merely nodded to him.

Haymitch raised his glass to them. "So these are my two tributes," he slurred, setting his glass down. He missed the table and the glass fell to the floor, cracking in the process. "Whoops."

"Nice to meet you, too," the Morgan girl said, cocking an eyebrow at her. She crossed her arms over her chest and fixed him with a probing stare.

"Well, it appears we've got some attitude with you, sweetheart," he snickered. He rose unsteadily to his feet and went to refill a new glass. "And what about you...Rossi, is your name?"

The boy nodded nervously and looked at him in fright. "Y - yes," he stuttered.

This one was definitely not fighter material. It wouldn't surprise him if the young man died in the bloodbath outside the Cornucopia. He had yet to get a reading on the girl. She hadn't done much but look around, observing her surroundings. There was a possibility of her going either way.

Time would tell.

Taking a long swig of his drink, Haymitch set the glass down and nodded. "I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when dinner's ready."

XXXXX

JJ hadn't stopped crying since she, David, and Xavier had returned home. She secluded herself to her and David's bedroom and curled up on top of the blankets. Her husband was sitting on the edge of the bed, a cup of tea in his hands. He set it on the night table and started to rub her back. "Jennifer, it - it..." He couldn't actually say it would be okay. He honestly didn't think there was much hope for their son.

But he couldn't say that to JJ. She would only break into hysterics. And he would likely go into a world of silence, unable to speak from fear.

"Get some sleep, sweetheart," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her head. "Drink the tea and maybe it'll help you get there." She just turned her head into her pillow and sobbed. He sighed and rose from the bed. He left the room and returned to the kitchen where he found his eldest son sitting at the table, his head in his hands. Xavier raised his head up and looked at David. His face was set in a hard line. David sat down at the table with him and folded his hands on the table in front of him.

Xavier's eyes were full of grief. "How is Mom?" he asked.

"Devastated," David responded. "And she should be. We all are. Because let's face it..."

Xavier nodded. "Christopher...he won't make it..."

"It would take a miracle," David said, his voice hoarse. He fixed his son with a hard look then. "I know you told Seraphina you would look after her family, but I want you to know that your mother needs you more than Penelope, Derek, and their other children."

His jaw tightened, but Xavier nodded. "Mom takes priority," he said. "You and her and Chris are the most important people in the world to me. No one means more to me than you."

Somehow David thought he almost heard his son silently add, And Seraphina.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Xavier said tensely.

"Of course I believe you," David said hesitantly. "I just know you, Xavier. And I know that because you made a promise to the girl you love, you're going to try everything in your power to keep it."

His son was silent. "Dad, I swear to you, if I had to choose who I want to live, I would choose Chris," he said firmly, though David could see the conflict in his eyes. It was clear this was the most painful choice of his life. "Just...just let me help the Morgans. Please." He'd gone to begging now. "Without Phi, they'll not get as much food as they usually do. Her father can only hunt on Sundays because of working in the mines."

David's jaw hardened. "We can't give them money for food," he said. "They're four of them. We need to feed ourselves first." He sighed. "Besides, the likelihood of Seraphina winning..." He didn't finish. Xavier knew exactly what he was going to say. Seraphina actually had a shot at winning. But David wouldn't say it; it was too difficult.

"Dad, I love her," he said. "And after everything the Morgans have done for us! Do you remember when Mom was sick and -"

Dave slammed his fist down on the table and glared at his son. "Enough!" he said. "Stay away from the Morgans!"

"Dad, we can't turn on them!"

"We can, and we will!" David said angrily, rising from his seat. "I don't want you going to see the Morgans. As far as I'm concerned, we're not their friends anymore." He then turned on his heel and strode forcefully out the door, leaving his son crestfallen behind him.

XXXXX

"H - how could th -this happen?" Penelope wept into Derek's chest. "They took our daughter from us!"

Derek held her tightly and kissed the top of her head. He wasn't letting it show, but his eyes were burning with unshed tears. His grief was unquestionable. His eldest daughter was on her way to an arena where she would fight for her life against twenty three other people. And not only were there twenty three other people, but some of them would be trained to be brutal killers. The Careers were trained for this exact moment and they weren't going to let up. Though she had training with weapons, Seraphina would have a hard time killing another human being. She had too good of a heart for that.

"Penelope, sweetheart, I know it hurts, but we've just got to believe that Phi will make it back to us," he whispered. "I know the Capitol is evil, but there's nothing we can do. We can just hope that she wins."

Penelope looked at him and her lower lip trembled. "Derek, if we lose her, I don't know what I'll do," she cried. "We depend on her so much, she takes care of our family." Fat tears fell from her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. "She just a girl," she added in a whisper. "I can't lose her. If it were up to me, I would make them take me instead."

He cupped her cheek. "This is going to be the worst period of our lives," he said, "but we have to believe that she'll come back. She promised she would fight to get back to us. And Phi keeps her promises."

She opened her mouth to say more, but a knock sounded from the door and Thaddeus and Ziva poked their heads in. Ziva's face was streaked with tears and Thaddeus was staring at them with blank eyes. They both entered the room and stood before their parents.

"Mom?" Ziva asked tearfully, sniffling slightly and wiping some of her tears with her sleeve.

Penelope took both her hands and kissed her forehead. "Yeah, Ziv?" she murmured.

"Is Phi going to come back?" she whispered. "I know she can use a bow and she can hunt, but -"

Derek put a finger to her lips. "Ziva, slow down," he said. "Right now we just need to think positive and hope she gets through this alive."

"What about Xavier?" Thaddeus asked softly. "He said he would help us, but do you think he's mad at us?"

Penelope's face hardened and Derek looked down at the floor. "We're going to forget about the Rossis for the time being," he said, his gaze still trained on the ground. "I don't care what Phi asked Xavier to do...as far as I'm concerned, they're our enemies now."

Ziva's eyes filled with tears again and Penelope motioned for her and Thaddeus to come into her arms. Closing her eyes, she held them tightly and was silent. Derek then put his arms around all of them and they sat in the silence of their cold home, none of them moving for fear it would cause a cataclysmic reaction and shake their world even worse than it already was.