Daniel came in from taking his shower. His pants sat low on his hips as always. Onyx stood at the mirror that leaned against the wall as she finished braiding her long dark hair. She had on black pants that were the same color as Daniel's. Daniel pulled a red shirt from his one drawer that also matched hers.
It was nearly 5:00 a.m., much earlier than they would normally be up. But today they were headed back to the big house. Most Avox knew this house well because this was the training place of any Avox that served the capitol. One day of each month they were required to return. It was the capitol's way of training new Avox; they would watch how the others worked. It was also a time to correct any bad habits that had been formed while out in the work force.
Before Daniel put on his shirt he glanced over at Onyx. He smiled tenderly as he admired the woman he loved so much. She was still at the mirror. She stood very tall. Daniel watched as she sucked in her tummy then let it out.
Her green eyes showed concern as her baby belly was beginning to show. With her normal clothes she was able to hide it, the "uniform" was tighter. When Onyx caught Daniel watching her she turned to look at him. Her eyes seemed to be asking, "What should I do?" Daniel's brows knit together in thought as Onyx turned back to the mirror and sucked in her stomach once more.
Before she saw Daniel in the mirror she felt his arms go around her as his hand reached for the hem of her shirt that sat on her hips. He took hold and began to pull it up to her waist, then up to her chest. Her eyes held questions but she understood enough that he was trying to remove it.
She shook her head but reached up and pulled the shirt off the rest of the way. Then she looked at his reflection in the mirror and cocked one brow as if to say, "Now what?" With that he held his hand over her shoulder. Hanging in front of her was Daniel's shirt. When she took hold of it he let go. She sighed as if not sure what difference it would make but pulled the shirt on anyways.
By the time she glanced in the mirror Daniel had also pulled her shirt on and was smiling at her. Onyx turned sideways in the mirror and glanced at her reflection. She noticed that this shirt hung slightly loose and her baby bump was not noticeable. She then felt Daniel's arms around her once more but this time he hugged her close and kissed her neck. The Avox woman smiled as she watched him in the mirror. When he breathed out it tickled her neck, causing her to scrunch up her shoulder and also giggle. At the sound of her giggle, she felt Daniel smile largely into her neck. He had seen her smile occasionally, but this was the first in a long while he had heard her giggle.
Daniel and his helper were just finishing hanging the clean curtains when they heard a commotion going on in the next room. They heard shouts of one of the "trainers", a loud thud on the wall, then a garbled scream.
Daniel dropped his side of the curtain rod and hurried out of the room. He pushed open the door that was mostly closed to see a blond woman pressing herself against the wall. Her golden eyes were wild with fear as she stared at the opposite wall.
Daniel glanced around the door and saw what she was staring at. A big man with the tan uniform of a "trainer" faced the corner. On the floor was a crumpled form. It only took seconds for Daniel to recognize the long black braid of Onyx.
"You stupid Avox, I'll show you what happens when you don't do as you're told."
The man reached back his foot as if to kick her again, when suddenly he was knocked to the floor himself. Onyx opened her eyes when she heard the thud. She scrambled further back when the man groaned. Daniel reached down to help Onyx to her feet. When she clutched her stomach, Daniel took hold of her shoulder. She looked into his face to see concern. She smiled weakly trying to assure him she was fine.
Both of their attention was drawn from each other when they heard a snarled voice, "You're going to pay for that, you filthy Avox." The man glared in Daniel's direction as he stood. Onyx began to pull on Daniel's hand trying in vain to get him to run away. Instead Daniel stood tall his icy blue eyes fixed on the offender making sure that he stayed between the man and Onyx. The man glared back at Daniel as he spoke into his communicator, "Send some back up. I have an Avox here that needs to be punished."
Soon there were two more men in tan uniforms. Daniel motioned to Onyx and she hurried to join the woman who was still standing in the corner with her hands up over her mouth. The man, who had attacked Onyx, cuffed Daniel's hands behind his back, then led the way out the door. One of the others gave Daniel a rough shove toward the door, and trailed him out into the hall. The last man gave Onyx a cruel glare before following too. A few seconds went by before Onyx hurried to the door.
Daniel stood in front of the basin, his hands still bound with two men flanked on either side of him. A large man in a navy blue uniform, who was obviously in charge, stalked around to the front. All the Avox in the house were gathered along the edges of the large room with trainers interspersed among them. Onyx stood with a group of women.
"You will all now see what happens when you interfere with another's training." Then he motioned to the man on Daniel's right. Without warning the man grabbed Daniel's hair and pushed his head down into the water. All heard Daniel's garbled cry and watched him struggle in the basin. Onyx gasped and tried to rush forward when she felt strong arms grab her waist and pull her back. She and the others watched as Daniel's head was raised from the basin. He began to gasp for breath but was quickly dunked back into the water. Onyx's nails clawed wildly at the arms that held her fast as she cried out wanting to help Daniel.
The dunking happened several more times. The last time the man forced Daniel's head under farther. He was held under until his body quit jerking and went still. Only then was he pulled out and simply discarded to the floor. Onyx strained against the arms that still held her. "Everyone back to work!" the man in charge commanded. With that both Avox and trainers began to file out of the room.
Onyx was finally released as the last of the trainers exited the room. She ran to Daniel's crumpled body. She rolled him to his back then cupped his face in her hands. His eyes were closed and he didn't move. She lightly patted his cheek as her vision quickly clouded with tears and quiet sobs escaped her lips. When he still didn't move, she let go of his face and began to shake his shoulders.
As the tears began to stream down her face, she caught sight of someone kneeling next to her. She jumped and caught a glimpse of a rather large man. She pushed herself back a ways as he met her eyes for only a second before he reached to feel Daniel's neck. He quickly leaned down over Daniel pinching his nose and breathing into his mouth. Onyx watched as he began pressing firmly on Daniel's chest several times then breathed into his mouth again. She sat back on her heels with her hand over her mouth as she watched the man continue the process several times.
After what seemed like an eternity, Daniel began to cough up water. The man rolled Daniel on his side for a moment so he would not choke before gently laying him on the floor. The man caught Onyx's gaze again, then stood and walked away.
Onyx didn't watch to see where he went, but quickly turned her attention back to Daniel who lay on the floor with his eyes wide open as he took in deep breaths. Onyx quickly moved next to Daniel. Her green eyes looked down into his blue ones as she combed her fingers through his wet blond hair as tears trickled down her face. Daniel reached up a shaky hand and gently brushed the tears away.
Onyx then lay her head down on Daniel's chest as her hand gripped the nape of his neck. She only lifted her head when she felt Daniel turn his head to the side. She looked to see the same large man who had just saved Daniel's life. Then she also noticed the large red scratches on his lower arms. She realized the same man who had saved Daniel had also been the one to hold her back. The man watched for a moment longer before ducking out the door. Onyx laid her head back onto Daniel's chest and closed her eyes feeling the deep rise and fall of his chest. She knew all too soon they would be required to get back to their work.
Later that night, when their long day of training was finally over and they were safe at home, Daniel crawled into bed next to Onyx. He scooted in close, mirroring her position, and reached around her waist to rest his hand against her. When he tightened his hold, intending to pull her closer, he felt her body jerk and heard her suck in her breath. He quickly released her and lay still.
When Onyx didn't move, Daniel decided maybe it had just surprised her so he tried to pull her against him again. This time her hand grabbed his to pull it away as her head turned into the pillow to stifle a whimper.
Daniel pulled his arm back and sat up in the bed. He got out of bed and turned on the light. Onyx rolled over to look at him. He could see the pain in her eyes. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her. She slowly reached down and began to lift her shirt. On her abdomen was a large bruise from where she had been kicked.
Daniel reached out, letting his fingers skim the surface of her skin. Her own hand reached to take his and she moved it down to her belly. The bruises reached even down there. He looked up at her to see a tear escape her eyes and slide down her face. Daniel knew from her look that she was worried about the baby.
Daniel knew there was nothing that could be done right now, so he turned off the light, and lay down next to her again. By now she had pulled her shirt down but was gently rubbing her belly. Daniel reached over to cup her face with his hand, causing her to look up at him. He leaned over and kissed her lovingly, then carefully pulled her in close. Onyx rolled onto her side and tucked her arms in against her and let her head rest under Daniel's chin. Daniel kissed the top of her head.
The next morning, Celeste took Onyx and Daniel to Dr. Matix' office to make sure everything was still ok with the baby. Onyx lay anxiously on the exam bed in Dr. Matix office. She tightly gripped Celeste's hand and Daniel's stump. Her eyes widened and her chest rose and fell in deep breaths as Dr. Matix wheeled in a machine.
"It's okay, Onyx," Celeste encouraged. She patted her arm trying to calm the scared Avox. "I had several sonograms with both my daughters." Onyx took her eyes off the doctor momentarily to look at Celeste, who smiled down at her. "This will make sure that the baby is okay, which I'm sure it is."
When Dr. Matix started to spread the cool gel on her belly, Onyx turned her attention back to him. "This just allows the probe to move more easily." Onyx seemed to calm some until Dr. Matix reached for the probe and pulled the machine closer.
Onyx's face froze in horror when he placed the probe on her belly and a little whimper escaped her lips. She turned to look at Daniel when she felt his hand cover hers. He could see the tears forming, so he cupped her cheek in his hand. He smiled and lovingly leaned down to kiss her.
Both were wrapped in each other's eyes until they heard Celeste ask, "Is that the baby's head?" Daniel and Onyx turned back to the monitor and saw a round blob on the screen.
"Yes, that's its head, body, and legs," Dr. Matix said pointing to different parts on the screen. Then he turned and smiled at both wide-eyed Avox. "It seems that your baby is doing quite well. There's no need to worry about it, though I would like to do an x-ray to make sure you don't have a broken rib."
The next week, Daniel sat next to Matthew at a large table, where plans for the rebellion were being formed. Haymitch, Plutarch, and Johanna had already been introduced to him. Soon a man with glasses came shuffling in, followed shortly by Finnick. "This is Beetee," Matthew gestured to the man in glasses that sat in the empty seat across the table, "And of course you already know Finnick." Finnick smiled and winked at Daniel, which caused Daniel to smile ever so slightly.
Once they were all seated Plutarch began to go over the plan. "We already know all this," huffed Johanna as she rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair to prop her feet up on the table in front of her.
"Yes, but now we have an important part of our plan. Now that we know who is going into the arena, we need to make sure you have what you will need to not only survive but carry out the plan."
"And how are you going to do that?" Johanna seemed more interested, though she stayed in her relaxed position.
All looked at Johanna for a moment. "We have some one who actually transfers the items to the cornucopia in the arena."
Soon Beetee, Matthew, and Plutarch were back to discussing what all needed to be placed in the arena while Daniel, Finnick, and Johanna listened. After a moment Johanna let her feet drop noisily to the floor and leaned forward with her hands pressed on either side of her on top of the table. The men stopped talking to look at her. "So let me get this straight. Our whole plan is dependent on a stupid Avox?"
Before any of the others could reply, Finnick nearly flew out of his seat as he pointed his finger at Johanna, "Don't you dare call him stupid, Jo! Just because he's an Avox doesn't mean he's dumb." All eyes grew wide as they waited to see what Johanna would say.
The girl threw up her arms in surrender. "Whoa, hold on for a minute. I didn't really mean he was stupid." Finnick seemed to calm some. "I just meant can't we get some one who is a little more in charge, rather than just an Avox. I mean this is pretty important that we get the right stuff in the arena. Am I right?" Johanna looked at both Beetee and Haymitch for support.
"You are correct, Johanna," Beetee stated, "But unfortunately we do not have anyone high up that works in the area on our side."
Plutarch piped in also, "Right now, Daniel is our only chance to ensure you get the things you need."
Daniel turned to Matthew catching his eye. He then tapped the paper that sat between them. Matthew nodded and looked at the others who were adamantly talking amongst themselves. He cleared his throat to get their attention.
When they looked at Matthew, he sat a little taller in his chair. "We are all risking a lot to pull off this task for the rebellion. But I'm not sure you all know how great the risk is for an Avox to undermine his authority. Even without being linked to the rebellion, if Daniel were caught, it would mean severe punishment for him, possibly death even. For all we are asking of him, he has but one request, if we succeed in rescuing the victors." All eyes were on Matthew. "Daniel asks that his wife be taken to District 13 also."
Johanna's mouth dropped open but Plutarch, Beetee, and Haymitch all looked as if they were considering Daniel's request. Haymitch and Plutarch leaned in to privately talk amongst themselves for a moment then Plutarch nodded.
"If you help us and we are successful, we will do all that we can to get your wife safely to District 13. But you must realize we can make no guarantees." Plutarch focused on Daniel only, "Knowing the great risks you will be taking and the danger you will be putting yourself in, are you still willing to do this task for the rebellion?"
Daniel seemed content with this answer and nodded to Plutarch from his seat between Matthew and Finnick.
