"Seger? Could you come outside with me for a moment?"

He blinked and stood up, looking back towards the closed bedroom door before following the medic outside. The air was warm and light as the sun began to set, and as he licked his lips nervously, he could taste salt.

"You have a daughter," The medic smiled at him, but it was strained. He sighed as the man gave him a look for him to go on and he wiped his hands on his white pants. "Your wife is hemorrhaging…we can't get the bleeding to stop, and she's already lost so much blood with the delivery."

Seger's face was stoic as he slowly absorbed the news, hearing his heart pound in his ears. "There isn't anything that you can do?" He asked very quietly, hearing a tiny cry from inside the house.

"I'm very sorry. She doesn't have much time left, but she's happy. You should be with her when she passes, Seger," he reached his hand out and patted his shoulder. "It's best if she doesn't know. So she can enjoy what little time she has left."

He nodded and swallowed, watching the man walk off before slowly turning to head back inside. The wooden floor creaked as he walked across it and he paused for a moment outside the closed door before going inside. "Irina?" He asked quietly, going over to the bed and swallowing when he saw how paled her skin was.

She smiled up at him, fatigue evident on her face. "Come look at her, Seger. She's beautiful…" In her arms was a runt of a baby, a mess of red curls on her head and her tiny ruby lips in a pout. "She's the most beautiful lady in all of Panem…"

Seger swallowed as he watched his wife coddle their child, her hands stroking the baby's cheeks and soft curls. "She looks like you," He whispered, a lump forming in his throat. "Good thing…I was worried she'd come out bald."

Irina's soft laughter filled the room and she reached out to hold Seger's hand. "What should we name her, darling? Should we give her your mother's name?"

"What about your name?" He asked softly, kissing her hand and pressing it to his cheek.

"I think it would be a bit confusing if we had two Irinas around the house," she laughed and looked at the child in her arms. Her breath hitched as she looked right into the baby's eyes and she stared right back, her grey-blue eyes so wide and curious. "Renata," She whispered after a moment, feeling tears sting at her eyes. "My little Renata…mama loves you. Daddy loves you too, don't you daddy?"

Tears were rolling down Seger's cheeks as he watched Irina hold their daughter, able to tell that she was becoming increasingly weak. "I do," he whispered, nodding and swallowing back a bigger onslaught of tears.

"Oh, dear," she whispered, looking at her husband with tired but tender eyes. "I feel like crying too, but everything is alright now. She's here now…" She yawned and her arms trembled as she struggled to keep ahold of Renata. "I'm so tired. I think I'll rest a while before dinner, is that alright, love?"

He nodded, afraid that if he spoke he would only sob. He stood up and helped her lie down, taking Renata from her arms.

"Wait! I want to keep her by me," she pleaded him with big blue eyes. She smiled as he nodded and carefully placed the child beside her and helped her to cradle her against her side. "There we go, that's better, isn't it?"

Seger swallowed and he smiled weakly, bending down to kiss Irina's paled lips very softly. "I love you, Irina," he whispered, stroking her red hair with his calloused fingers.

She smiled up at him, her eyes feeling so heavy that she couldn't help but let them close. "I love you too." She murmured quietly and laid her head on the pillow, her even breaths turning ragged.

"Daddy, are you going to ride the boats?" Five year old Renata bounded after her father, tugging at his hand. "Can I come? I want to go sailing, daddy!"

"No, Rini, not today," He muttered, taking his hand away and sitting down on the bench by the front door. He grabbed his boots and sighed as she tried to help him put them on his feet, her lips pursed in concentration. "Come on, child, you're going to make me late…then you'll really be sorry."

"Daddy? How come Cora has a mama and I don't?" She asked suddenly, catching him off guard.

He studied her wide eyes and bit his lip, unable to help but notice the resemblance between her and her late mother. "Your mama is dead, Rini. You knew that."

"But why is she dead?" She pouted, her small hands resting on his knees.

"She died after giving birth to you," He muttered, lacing up his boots. "You killed her."

Her lower lip quivered as he stood up, "I didn't mean to." She raised her arms up for him, but he brushed past her and unlatched the door, opening it and letting a patch of sunlight in the house.

"Don't get into trouble, you hear? Stay in your room and play, and if you're hungry, there's some bread in the cabinet." He closed the door behind him without another word and left the small girl alone.

There were quiet voices coming from behind Seger's bedroom door. Nine year old Renata sucked at her lower lip as she stood outside the door, hearing strange noises. Was someone crying? A woman?

"Daddy!" She cried, hitting the door with her palms. She sniffled when the door opened and Seger stood naked in the doorway, his face red with anger. "I'm scared. What are you doing?" She whispered, peeking further into the room and seeing a woman sitting up in bed, clutching a blanket to her chest. "Who is she?"

"Renata, go to your room and go to bed. Do you want to get punished?" Seger hissed through gritted teeth, his face so angered that it was scary. He pointed her in the direction of her room and she slowly retreated towards it, turning back to look as the door closed and the noises started up again.

Renata blinked as there was a knock at the front door. She cautiously opened the door a crack, seeing a man she didn't know standing outside. "Yes, what is it?" She asked.

"You're Seger's daughter, right?" He asked, taking off his hat and swallowing.

She nodded and opened the door more, biting her lip when he kneeled down in front of her.

"Renata?" The big man kneeled down in front of her, a strange look on his face. "My name is Cecil… I was on the boat with your father..."

She nodded slowly in understanding but stayed quiet, those blue eyes expectant.

"We were out at sea when the storm hit us," Cecil chewed on his lip, his heart breaking for the young girl. First her mother and now her father, the poor dear… "We were caught in the middle of it, and a wave overtook us. We lost the cargo," he explained, choosing his words carefully. "Your dad's leg got caught and he got pulled over with it…he drowned, Rini... I'm so sorry..."

Renata blinked as she slowly took in his words, feeling a pit grow in her stomach. Her father was gone? Tears welled in her eyes and she sniffled, burying her face in her hands.

"I'm so sorry," Cecil swallowed, setting his big hand on her shoulder. "I want you to come live with me and my family, okay? You don't have to be alone…"

"Oh, look, she's starting to wake up," One of the medics murmured, motioning to the screen that showed various readings on Renata. "One of you go find Finnick. He'll rip us a new one if she wakes up and he isn't here for it…" He watched another medic leave the observation room to call Finnick and he glanced at the screen that monitored the functions of her brain. She was certainly having some odd dreams. They seemed to be memories, and he pursed his lips as he thought of how rough this girl seemed to have had it since she was a little girl. He looked up through the window into the hospital room, seeing her hooked up to various machines and the bandage over her eye. She was strong enough to win the games, so he hoped that her life would take a turn in a more positive direction now…

He looked up as his co-worker walked in, "You find him?"

"He was already on his way in," He replied, motioning to the door that slid open into the room.

Finnick slowly walked over to the bed, chewing on his lip as he watched the sleeping young woman. They said she'd finally wake up today, that they could reduce her dose of morphine enough to bring her out of the coma they'd put her in to fix her up. His warm hand slipped with hers and he swallowed, looking up at her face. A white bandage covered her eye that Kain had cut out of her head, protecting the new eye they'd grown and surgically put back into the socket. It would be as if she'd never lost the old one, the doctors had said.

His heart skipped a beat as the young woman made a soft murmur, her eye fluttering behind its closed eyelid. Slowly, it opened and blinked a few times. "Rini?" He asked in the gentlest voice, holding onto her slender hand with both of his.

She looked around the room with her uncovered eye, as if she were searching for the owner of the voice. After a moment, she looked right into Finnick's face, and relief washed over her. "Finnick," she croaked, feeling a lump form in her throat. Her mind was in a deep fog from the morphine, but she could remember what had happened. She won the Hunger Games. Tears welled in her eye and began rolling down her cheek; she was so happy and relieved to be out and alive and in one piece, for the most part.

"It's alright," Finnick whispered, moving up to her face and pressing his lips to the skin between her eyebrows, He let his lips stay there for a long moment as she wept, clutching her hand in his and rubbing the back of it with his thumb. "You're going to be okay…I told you you'd win, didn't I?" He smiled and gently brushed one of her tears away.

She nodded and swallowed, raising her hand to the bandage over her eye. "Wh-what is—"

"They fixed everything. You're in for a surprise when they take the bandage off. Supposedly you'll look completely normal. But I'm not sure if they mean normal by our standards, or by Capitol standards." His mouth turned up in a smile, growing wider when she gave a weak little laugh.

"Do we get to go home now?" She whispered, looking around the blindingly white room.

"After the crowning, we're home free. You'll get to see Cecil and your family again…you'll live in Victor's Village with them and have everything you could ever want."

"And you'll be there too?" Renata asked, looking up at him hopefully.

Finnick smiled, nodding, "Yes, I'll be there too."

"Promise you won't leave me alone?"

"I promise."

Alright, so this chapter i wanted to give a little glimpse into what it was like for Rini growing up! And of course, the reunion :3 I hope you liked this chapter and I'll try to get to the next very soon! Please review and thank you very much for your support! :D

-Kelsey :3