Sorry it took so long to update. I meant to do it before I left on vacation but ran out of time. I had a great time at Dragoncon in Atlanta. Enjoy!

It had been two days since that night. Celeste tried to keep herself busy with Oceana and housework, but every time her mind would wander she would think of Finnick. Lilia was busily putting away groceries while Oceana played contentedly in her playpen.

Celeste was taking a break by sitting on the back porch in the swing. As she was thinking, she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. When she looked over, she saw a glass bowl sitting on the railing. Inside the bowl were sand and seashells.

She stood and walked over to the bowl. She picked up one of the shells and held it in the palm of her hand. The beautiful white shell with pink edges was one of the shells Finnick had given her the day she was in district four-the day that Oceana had been born. She rubbed her fingers along the grooves in the shell before placing it back in the bowl.

Then she picked up another shell that was purple. She held it in her hand as she walked back over to sit in the swing. She pulled her legs up and just sat swaying gently back and forth. She closed her eyes and felt the shell in her hand. She had cried so many times the last two days, but she could feel the tears coming unbidden.

As the tears began to fall down her cheeks, she heard the back door slide open. Celeste quickly wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. She opened her eyes when she felt the swing sway as whomever came out the door sat down. Lilia was sitting beside her watching her with a sympathetic look. Lilia reached over, took her hand, and squeezed it gently.

"What should I do, Lilia?" Lilia held up her hand to her ear making it look like she was talking on the phone. "I know I should call him, but I don't know what to say." Lilia just shrugged her shoulders. Celeste leaned her head on Lilia's shoulder and both women sat on the swing in silence for a while.

The silence was broken when the phone started to ring. Celeste hurried inside with Lilia close behind. "Hello," she said.

"Celeste?" the man on the other end asked.

"Yes, this is she."

"This is Gavin." Gavin was a close friend and also the family doctor.

"Hello, Gavin. What can do for you?"

"I was calling to see how Matthew was doing."

"He's doing fine as far as I know."

"Good, good," Gavin's voice sounded more relaxed.

"Is there a reason why you are concerned about Matthew's health?" Celeste asked with slight apprehension.

"Well, I can't say too much but we have had some cases since the victor's ball, and I know you both usually attend."

"Actually Matthew did not go this time. He's been away on business to district 2."

"Oh…I guess I did not need to worry then anyway."

There was an odd silence before Celeste spoke again. "Gavin…can you tell me about these cases…I went to the ball with a friend and that night something happened." Celeste's voice was almost a whisper by the end of her last sentence.

"Celeste, are you okay?" She could hear the instant concern in his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Tell me what happened," he urged.

"I…I can't. I don't want him to get in trouble."

"Celeste, did he hurt you?" There was a tone of anger in his voice.

"No, no, nothing happened. He stopped before anything happened."

"Okay." There was a sigh of relief on the other end and then silence for a moment. "Celeste, I am going to tell you something, but it is very confidential. You must not repeat it to anyone. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"I can't tell you specific cases, but they all had one similarity."

"Okay."

"All of them were men that went to the ball and all of them had some kind of blue drink that was offered at the end of the night. They said it was something special from President Snow." Celeste let out a little gasp. "Celeste, did your friend have some of this drink?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Okay, this drink has an unknown drug in it. It seems to affect the brain. In the cases we have seen it seems to cause the person to live out what they are most worried about. Does this match at all with what happened to your friend?"

Celeste was quiet for a bit as she thought back to a few days earlier. She remembered that Finnick had been upset about training the victor. Suddenly her eyes grew wide as it all made sense. "Gavin?"

"Yes, Celeste. I'm still here."

"What do I do if I think that my friend was affected by this drink?"

"Well, there's really nothing you can do. By now the drug should have worked its way out of his system. My only suggestion is to tell him what I have told you. If he has any questions you can give him my name and number. I would be happy to give him as much information as I can."

"Okay. Thanks for calling, Gavin."

"You're welcome, Celeste. Tell Matthew 'Hi' when you see him."

"I will. Have a good day." Celeste hung up the phone. She leaned against the wall as she felt her knees give out. She slid down the wall and sat there with her eyes closed. Lilia who had been making herself busy in the kitchen came hurrying to Celeste's side. She knelt beside her and placed her hand on her shoulder.

When Celeste opened her eyes, Lilia looked at her with eyes wide with question. Celeste quickly filled her in on what Gavin had told her. Lilia took her hand and cocked her head as if saying, "What are you going to do, now?" "I need to go tell Finnick. I'm sure the whole situation is eating at him. Do you think he will let me talk to him?" Lilia nodded her head vigorously. "Will you stay and watch Oceana for me?" Lilia smiled softly and nodded again. "Thank you, Lilia," Celeste said softly as she hugged the other woman to her.

A few minutes later Celeste headed out the door and got into the taxi waiting for her. "To the training center, please."

"Yes, ma'am," the driver replied.

When she got to the center, she walked through the big glass doors that led into the lobby. The huge lobby was completely deserted. She crossed the lobby to the elevators and pressed number 4. She recalled Finnick saying that the floor numbers matched the district numbers.

The door opened to a large room with a couch and three chairs gathered around a coffee table that all faced a huge TV. She imagined this is where they watched the recaps and scoring. She glanced around nervously but saw no one. She walked past a kitchen area complete with an elegant wooden table that could easily seat ten people. She walked down a hall that had many rooms.

All the doors were open except for the last one on the left. She leaned against the door to hear if anyone was inside, but all she could hear was silence. Celeste knocked softly on the door. No answer. She knocked a little harder, not knowing if her first knock was heard.

"I don't need anything. Thank you," was the soft reply. Celeste knocked again. "Please, just leave me alone."

Celeste thought about walking away since obviously Finnick was not in the mood for company. She decided to knock once more then spoke softly, "Finnick? It's me Celeste." When there was still no answer she spoke again, "Finnick, I need to talk to you. Please open the door."

Slowly the door opened. Finnick stood with bent shoulders and looked at her with sorrowful eyes. She looked at him with apprehension "Can I come in?" she finally managed to ask.

The question was barely out of her mouth before Finnick had his arms wrapped around her. She could feel the heaving of his chest and hear the ragged breaths as he cried while embracing her. She slid her arms around his waist and hugged him back. "I thought…I would never…see you…again," Finnick choked out between sobs.

Celeste could feel the tears slide down her own cheeks. "I could never do that to you." She reached up higher to hug him again.

When she touched the middle of his back she felt him flinch and pull away slightly as he breathed in a sharp breath. She pulled back from him and looked up into his sea green eyes that looked like a stormy sea. "Finnick, what's wrong?"

Finnick looked down at her and shook his head as another tear rolled down his cheek. "It's nothing," he whispered, "It doesn't matter."

Celeste knit her brows together but decided to not push the issue. "I came to talk to you about the other night."

Finnick nodded. "Do you want to sit?" he motioned to the chairs over by the window that looked out into the street. Celeste nodded and followed him.

Once they were seated she stared at her hands as she told Finnick about Gavin's call. When she looked up Finnick seemed to be deep in thought. "So it was the drink that made me do it?"

Celeste nodded. "It made you live out training the victor, but since I was the one around you did it to me. But when I bit your lip it woke you up. It was like shaking someone awake from a nightmare. That's why you only remember bits and pieces."

"I'm glad you bit me," Finnick replied softly.

Celeste blushed a bit but agreed, "Me too."

There was silence as each thought then Finnick looked over at Celeste. "How is Oceana?"

"Good," she smiled. They talked about other things for a bit.

"Would you like a drink?"

"Sure. Water would be good." As Finnick stood to get them drinks Celeste heard him wince in pain just as he had done when they hugged. As he walked away Celeste noticed a few red patches forming on the back of his shirt. "Are you bleeding, Finnick?" Celeste asked as she left her seat to walk over to him.

"It's nothing," he said trying to shake it off as if it were nothing, but when his eyes met hers he knew he had failed miserably.

"Finnick," she looked at him with tender but firm eyes, "Take off your shirt."

"I can't," he grimaced slightly.

"Please…let me see your back." He looked at her but she only looked back with more determination.

"Okay," he sighed as he turned around so his back was to her. He reached down with both hands and began to slowly pull up his shirt. He only managed to get it about a third of the way up before he cried out in pain and his hands began to tremble as he tried to continue.

It was enough for Celeste to see the long stripes on his back. "You can stop," she managed to say as her eyes began to water with fresh tears. Finnick turned to look at her with eyes still full of pain. "Why?" was all Celeste could utter.

"Because…I wouldn't train her." Finnick ran a still trembling hand through his hair.

"You wouldn't?" Celeste repeated.

Finnick shook his head as he opened the fridge and with shaking hands poured water into the two cups. "They tried to make me," he said gripping the counter with both hands trying to subdue the shaking, "But every time I looked at her I only saw you. The fear in her eyes mirrored the fear I saw in your eyes the other night." Finnick closed his eyes tightly to stop the tears that threatened to come again. "When I refused to continue, they whipped me, but I didn't care."

Celeste walked over to the counter and squeezed Finnick's hand. When he looked up at her she smiled gently, "You did the right thing."

Finnick nodded his head. "I hope so."

"We should clean your back before it gets infected." Celeste took his hand and began to lead him back over to the bed before he could protest. Finnick sat on the edge of the bed and watched Celeste walk out of the room.

She soon returned with a tub of water and several hand towels that she placed by the bed.

"You…you don't have to," Finnick quietly protested as he looked down at his hands in his lap.

"I know, but I want to," she reached over and lifted his chin so his eyes met hers. "It's what friends do." She smiled tenderly.

Finnick smiled back. His smile faltered as his mind went back to the task at hand. "I don't think I can get my shirt off." He could almost feel his body tense at the thought.

"Don't worry I already thought about that." Celeste leaned down and lifted a pair of scissors from beside the tub.

"Are you sure?" Finnick questioned.

Celeste nodded. "Turn around." He stood and gingerly turned away from her. When he was still Celeste reached over and cautiously pulled his shirt away from his back so she could cut it without touching him. She gently lifted the shirt over his shoulders then let it slide down his arms and fall to the ground. Finnick let out a small sigh of relief. "Can you lie down? It might be easier that way," Celeste said as she moved away from the bed just a bit.

"I'll try," Finnick answered as he slowly climbed onto the bed and lowered himself down only wincing slightly a few times. With care he positioned his shoulders so he could rest his head on his arms.

"Ready?" Celeste asked when Finnick was still. He nodded his head and closed his eyes. He knew that even with Celeste being gentle it was really going to sting. When he heard her wring the water out of the towel he gripped the edge of the sheets tightly.

Celeste began to gently dab the wet towel on Finnick's back. She would stop to rinse out the towel and to also change to the water. Neither spoke the whole time.

After the second time of changing the water Celeste noticed for the first time that Finnick had his eyes squeezed tightly shut and his hands balled up in the sheets. "Are you okay? Do you want me to continue?" she whispered as she placed a hand on his. She felt his hand tremble. When Finnick opened his eyes he couldn't seem to speak. Celeste could see from his face that the pain must be excruciating. Celeste rung out the cool towel and pressed it to his sweaty brow.

"Just do it. It needs to be done," Finnick spoke as he closed his eyes as he turned his face into the pillow and clenched the sheets even tighter. Even though she hated causing him so much pain Celeste continued until his whole back was washed.

"I'm done," she said softly as she squeezed his clenched hand. Both hands slowly relaxed their hold of the sheets but were shaking from the intensity.

"I'm going to look for some salve that might help soothe some of the pain." Celeste went into the bathroom and found what she was looking for.

When she returned she found a much more relaxed looking Finnick. "Thank you," he managed.

"You're welcome," she smiled softly and began to rub his hands to loosen out the muscles. Then she carefully rubbed the salve on his very sore back. At first she felt him tense up but immediately relax at the cooling sensation. Celeste spoke quietly as she continued to rub the salve in, "I still don't see why they did this to you. Won't it stop you from fulfilling your…appointments?"

"I don't have anymore. I'm going home tomorrow."

"I'm sure Annie will be glad to see you." Finnick smiled at the mention of Annie but then furrowed his brows. "What?" asked Celeste.

Finnick sighed, "How do I explain my back to Annie?"

"I'm sure she'll understand if you tell her you wouldn't do what Snow said. You don't have to explain what he wanted you to do." Finnick nodded in agreement.

After a while Celeste whispered, "I should probably go. Lilia is watching Oceana for me."

Finnick raised his head. "Before you go will you do something for me?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Will you go check on Surah?"

Without asking Celeste knew that Surah was the other victor. "Okay," she replied nodding as she reached down to squeeze his hand since she did not want to hug him.

He squeezed back. "Thanks…for everything. I'll see you next time?" he added with hesitation.

"Of course," Celeste smiled and nodded. Celeste pulled the door shut and made her way down the hall and through the district 4 living area.

Celeste made her way up to the eighth floor. The elevator door opened and she stepped out into a large living room almost identical to the one she had just left. She looked around until she came to a closed door, which she assumed to be a bedroom.

Celeste knocked softly not wanting to scare the girl. When there was no answer, Celeste knocked a little harder. Still there was not answer so Celeste reached up and turned the knob then pushed the door open. "Surah," she called softly. She heard a little movement and turned toward the bed.

On the bed was a young girl curled up in a ball. As Celeste approached she noticed that the girl was naked. A tiny gasp escaped her lips as she saw the bruises around the girl's wrists and ankles. When Celeste came near the girl only looked at her with her big brown eyes.

"Surah?" she asked.

The girl nodded and then pulled herself into an even smaller ball. "I don't want to go anymore," she whispered.

"I'm not going to take you anywhere."

"Are they coming here?" Surah's voice trembled.

When Celeste realized what Surah was talking about she replied quickly, "No. No one is coming for you right now. Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl's lip quivered as she spoke, "That's what they always say, but they do anyway." A tear rolled down her cheek.

Celeste felt her own eyes become moist and a tear of her own slid down her cheek. She brushed it away with the back of her hand.

"Why…why are you crying?" the little girl asked quietly.

"Because I am sad that you have been hurt," Celeste spoke gently. "Can I sit with you on the bed?" Surah nodded and moved her legs over so there was room for Celeste.

Both were quiet for a long time when Surah spoke softly, "Why did you come?"

"Finnick wanted me to check on you."

Surah's eyebrows knit together. "Why didn't he come check on me?"

"He was afraid you would not want to see him since he was supposed to train you."

"But it's not his fault."

"I know, but it still really bothers him."

"Oh."

When Celeste noticed Surah shiver, she asked, "Would you like me to run you a hot bath then you can dress for bed." Surah smiled weakly and nodded.

After the bath was drawn, Celeste sat at the edge of the tub watching the little girl soap up. She dunked under the water several times. "Will you wash my hair? My mother always does it at home." The little girl asked timidly.

"Sure," Celeste smiled a friendly smile. Surah laid her head on the edge so Celeste could reach it. Celeste gingerly rubbed the girl's scalp then poured water over the hair to rinse it.

Surah played with the bubbles that floated nearby. "I never take baths like this at home. I always have to help with my brothers and sisters."

"How many do you have?" "Two brothers and three sisters."

"My, that is a big family."

"Yeah, I like it that way. Then you never get lonely."

After a bit Celeste went to find some pajamas for Surah. After she was dried and dressed Surah and Celeste sat on the bed. "Would you like me to brush your hair?" Surah nodded and scooted closer. Celeste brushed her hair then braided it. While she did they talked. "How did such a small girl like you win the hunger games?"

"It was because my district partner protected me. He was my brother's best friend." Celeste tucked her under the covers. "At the end when they let the mutts out he pushed me up into a tree, but they got him before he could climb up. The mutts attacked everyone else too. I was the only one safe."

As she finished Surah snuggled down into the blanket. "Sweet dreams," Celeste said as she hugged Surah then stood.

"Are you leaving me?" Surah spoke softly.

Celeste turned to see the girl almost in tears. She quickly sat by her and pulled her close in a hug, "Oh Surah, don't cry. I have to go. My little girl needs me at home."

"But…but I don't want to be alone," she whimpered.

Celeste stroked her hair for a bit trying to come up with an answer. She pulled away slightly and looked down into Surah's sad brown eyes. "Do you want to sleep with Finnick? He's just a few floors down."

"Do you think he will let me?" she asked warily.

"I think so, if you want." Surah nodded her head without hesitation. Celeste helped her find some shoes and then took her hand to lead her to the elevator.

When the door opened to four the only light they could see was a soft glow coming from Finnick's room. Celeste walked to the room with Surah in tow. Finnick was lying in bed staring up at the ceiling when Celeste cleared her throat.

He looked over. "You're still here?"

"Yes. I brought you some company." When Finnick raised his eyebrows Celeste smiled as she moved so he could see Surah peeking timidly at him from behind. "Someone does not want to be alone and I thought maybe you could use the company. Can she sleep with you?"

"Okay," said Finnick as he scooted over and pulled the cover up. Celeste led Surah over to the bed. Surah just looked at Finnick for a bit. Finnick smiled gently then said, "Come on. It's okay."

At the invitation Surah climbed in and nestled closely to Finnick's chest and closed her eyes. He wrapped his protective arms around her and held her close. A small yawn escaped her lips as she snuggled against him. Finnick leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Celeste smiled. "I think you have been forgiven."

Finnick's eyes shone a bit as he rested his chin against Surah's head. "Thank you," he mouthed.

"You're welcome," Celeste whispered. She then turned to leave. It was time to head for home where she knew her own sweet child would be waiting for her.

Just wanted to know. Is the time between chapters confusing at all where some are in the same visit and some are not?