AN: What do Effie and Haymitch do while Katniss gets her legs waxed for three hours? You'll see :)

The 74th Hunger Games: The Capitol

When they arrived at the Capitol, Effie deposited Katniss and Peeta with the prep team. Then she returned to the train to make sure all their things were removed, and to collect Haymitch. She found him passed out on his bed. He was still wearing the dirty jacket from that morning, and he smelled strongly of vomit, though she was pleased to find it wasn't anywhere on his person, or the floor. He was sleeping with his knife in his hand, as he always did when he wasn't sleeping with her, so she woke him up by loudly saying his name a few times from across the room.

He awoke with a start, wildly waving his knife around before he saw her and lowered his arm, looking slightly guilty. She walked back to the bed and ran her hand across his sweaty forehead, not bothering to hide her look of disgust.

"You threw up again," she said more than asked.

"Yeah," he said weakly. As much as he drank, he barely ever threw up, and Effie knew it. It was the pills.

Effie sighed and went to the bathroom to get him a glass of water. He drank it thirstily as she debated what to say next.

"It was those pills. I told you not to -" she started. She was never good at holding back a good scolding.

"Shut up. Please," Haymitch said tiredly and held up his hand to silence her. "I know."

Effie sighed again and picked up the medicine bottle that now lay on the floor. She found what she was looking for and read it out loud. "'Effects should wear off in 24 hours.' Well good. You have until what, about 3 o'clock then? You should rest until then."

"Okay," Haymitch said, turned on his side, and closed his eyes.

"Not here, we have to go," Effie said, a little frantically. "Can you walk?"

Haymitch shrugged, "Probably."

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes. We don't want to get behind schedule," she said, and went to check the kids' rooms to make sure the attendants didn't forget to take anything. She did a final check of her own room before returning to Haymitch. He was still lying in bed when she got there, but he wasn't asleep. She managed to get him to stand up, hovered over him as he brushed his teeth, and helped him change his jacket before they left. There was no time for him to shower; that would have to wait.

Thankfully most of the crowds had died down at the station, so they didn't have to talk to many people, and very few reporters. And even then, most of them knew Effie always did most of the talking anyway. Haymitch managed to look decently coherent as he stood beside her and gave a few lines about how this was going to be a good year.

When they got to the Training Centre, Effie managed to convince him to take the rest of the day to sleep, assuring him that she would talk to everyone herself. If they asked, she could always say he was still recovering after his fall, which was true after all. He resisted this suggestion at first because he wanted to use the time to come up with a strategy, but she reasoned that he would be no good at all over the next few days if he didn't take the time to get better, so eventually she left him in his room, clean and showered and tucked into bed.

"Where's my bedtime story?" Haymitch joked as she was about to leave.

"Once upon a time there was a boy named Peeta and a girl named Katniss, and their fairy god father got some rest so he could help them win the Hunger Games. The end," she said with her hand on her hip.

"Fairy god father? I don't like that at all," he replied with a frown.

"Fine then, how about…" she looked him up and down teasingly, "magical troll?"

Haymitch chuckled, "That's more fitting."

"Get some rest," Effie said seriously and kissed him on the forehead. She heard him chuckle again as she left the room and closed the door behind her.

After a long day of parading around the Capitol and talking to sponsors, Effie was relieved to see Katniss and Peeta again. She had watched the opening ceremonies with Cinna and Portia from the special box area for Hunger Games personnel, and was more than impressed with this years' costumes. She had seen them before of course, since she had to approve them before the ceremony, but they were far more impressive on the tributes than they had been on hangers. Effie generally made a point not to trust the designers, but she had a good feeling about Cinna.

She ran up to Katniss and Peeta after the opening ceremony and immediately started gushing about not only their costumes, which she'd already complimented the stylists on profusely, but also how they'd conducted themselves. They looked so brave, so confident, so…united. And she didn't know whose idea it was to hold hands, but she was impressed.

"I've been very mysterious, though. Because, of course, Haymitch hasn't bothered to tell me your strategies," she added, a little annoyed that he hadn't thought of one yet. Plus, it never hurt to play up their bickering routine. "But I've done my best with what I had to work with. How Katniss sacrificed herself for her sister. How you've both successfully struggled to overcome the barbarism of your district," Katniss glared at that, but of course it's something the Capitol elite would want to hear. As far as most of them were concerned, District 12 might as well be a savage wasteland. "Everyone has their reservations, naturally. You being from the coal district. But I said, and this was very clever of me, I said, 'Well if you put enough pressure on coal it turns to pearls!'" Effie beamed at the kids brilliantly as she finished. Katniss's glare deepened and Peeta's lip twitched violently as if he were suppressing a laugh.

Effie's smile faltered for a second before Peeta exclaimed enthusiastically, "Oh, yes, that was really clever, Effie!"

"Yes, that's…I'm sure everybody loved that!" Katniss added with what Effie guessed was her version of enthusiasm. Effie got a panicked feeling that she'd said something stupid. Her smile faded into a grim expression.

"Unfortunately, I can't seal the sponsor deals for you. Only Haymitch can do that. But don't worry, I'll get him to the table at gunpoint if necessary," she added with determination. Katniss gave her a small genuine smile, and Effie returned it.

When they entered the elevator, the kids looked awestruck, as they did every year, by its extravagant crystal walls and the speed at which it traveled. Effie hardly even registered their amazement as she explained how every district had its own floor, and how they would each have their own bedroom. As she was going through the words she'd said to dozens of tributes in the past, it suddenly struck her. Coal didn't turn to pearls, it turned to diamonds! She panicked for a second but then reassured herself that none of the sponsors would know any better anyway.

The kids gasped in delight when the elevator doors opened to their floor. Effie gave them a quick tour before showing them to their rooms. She told them to be ready for dinner in an hour, before running off to check on Haymitch.

She didn't bother to knock, but let herself into his room quietly. She was relieved to find him awake, and looking rested and sober. He was sitting up in bed, writing frantically on a pad of paper.

He glanced up at her as she entered then looked back down at his notes. He was about to say something but Effie spoke up first.

"Did you watch the opening ceremonies?" she asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, I caught the end. Impressive," he said.

"Yeah, they looked great! I have a good feeling about Cinna. He's the new stylist," Effie explained. She had met him several times already, but of course Haymitch hadn't yet.

Haymitch frowned slightly. "I thought we didn't trust stylists anymore. Since…" he trialed off, but Effie knew who he meant.

"Well, as a general rule, no. But Cinna's different. I think he…" she was about to say she thought he's not like the average Capitol citizen, but she suddenly remembered she hadn't told Haymitch what her father said yet. She panicked for a second, then hastily grabbed Haymitch's notepad and pen, ripped a page from the back, and scribbled frantically. Haymitch looked confused and annoyed.

They're listening this year, after what you said at the Reaping. My father told me, I called him on the train to make sure they weren't going to punish you. They're not, but we can't say anything against the Capitol. Or the Games. Nothing rebellious. Just talk about the tributes.

She handed him the paper and he read it quickly before looking up. "You think Cinna what?" he said calmly.

Effie thought for a second before answering enthusiastically, "I think Cinna's the best stylists we've had so far!"

Haymitch nodded. "We should talk to them after dinner."

Effie's mouth dropped open in surprise, "But you never want to talk to the stylists!"

"Yeah well, I've never liked their style before," he said with a shrug and turned back to his note pad. "Now can you go away so I can think?" Effie made a small huffing sound, and Haymitch looked up and added apologetically, "I'm sorry, you know what I mean."

Effie sighed, "Fine, but I'm going to pick you out something to wear first." Haymitch didn't give any indication that he'd heard her, so she went to his closet, picked out an outfit, and laid it across his bed.

"And please try to look presentable," she said before she could stop herself. Haymitch waved her away, but as she was about to leave the room, he stopped her again.

"Eff?" he said. She turned and saw he was holding up the piece of paper she'd torn out of his notepad. He made a motion underneath it with his other hand, to indicate a lighter. She nodded quickly and took the paper from him, folded it neatly, and put it in her pocket.

After about 10 minutes of searching, she found some matches in one of the drawers in her room. She managed to burn the paper above the trash can without scorching her fingers. She was thankful the bedrooms didn't have cameras in them, at least as far as she knew.

AN: Reviews are a girl's best friend ;)