Chapter 6: The Captain's Daughter
"Peeta fucked the boss's daughter"
Gale and Finnick looked at each other with mischievous eyes. Three seconds later, they exploded with laughter.
"Look at his face!" Finn said looking over his right shoulder "Hot damn!" he hooted, slapping the steering wheel. "He's got it bad. And for the boss's daughter, no less. I can't wait to see how this plays out!"
Peeta shoved a hand through his hair. "Nothing is going to play out. She's Haymitch's daughter. He's gonna kill me."
"Peet fucked the Captain's daughter! Peet fucked the Captain's daughter!" Gale sang in a childish tune and laughing "You are officially my hero man. Any last words before Haymitch behead you, and you know which head he's gonna cut off." he said between laughs.
Peeta pressed his septum together and narrowed his eyes with a sigh.
"Remind me again why we are friends. You are an asshole."
"Awww, I love you too, dickhead." Gale responded amused. "You know that without me your life would be miserable and boring."
Finnick continued the drive still laughing. "Come on Peet, don't take it the wrong way. That's what we always do, we make fun of each other. We're just trying to cheer you up. You have a face that looks like you just came from your cat's funeral. Haymitch doesn't need to see you with that long face. He doesn't need to know that. His daughter is an adult and what happened between you two was mutually consented, besides, you didn't know who she was."
"And," Gale added "she's the one who's engaged. You're a free agent and she didn't tell you. So, if someone's is to blame, it's her. Stop whining like a wounded cat. She just showed you that she's not worth it. On the other hand, you have girls who throw themselves on you all the time, choose one and move on. To hell with the spoiled little brat who thinks she deserves everything. Besides, if she's Haymitch's daughter, I don't think she's that hot."
"Don't talk about her like that!"
"Oh no, no, no, you're wrong Gale!"
Peeta and Finnick answered at the same time.
"She's really, really cute. And honestly, she didn't look like the pointy tailed mutt with horns we had always imagined."
Gale snorted
"Her looks must be due to her mother then." he murmured.
"She also seemed to be really worried about her father." Finnick continued.
"Yeah right. So worried that she was singing karaoke at the bar with her friend. And then I don't know how she fell into the hands of that motherfucker Cray." Peeta replied with disdain.
"Cray? Pervert pedofile Cray? I thought he was jail. Didn't you locked him for ten years?"
"That damn lawyer Seneca Crane got him out two weeks ago for "good behavior" Peeta cuoted mimicking the attorney's voice." He's supposed be doing I don't know how many hours of community service and serve the rest of his sentence in probation. I'd rather have him castrated. The DA was furious with judge Coin."
"God. Those blood sucker lawyers throw away all our hard work with technicisms and negociating ridiculous sentences." Gale lamented.
"The point is that he had her grabbed by the hair, and was trying to kiss and touch her. If I hadn't gotten there in time, God knows what would have happened."
"Owww, my hero!" Gale said imitating a girl's voice.
"Idiot." Peeta murmured rolling his eyes.
"Don't be stupid! Now she owes you for saving her from that pervert. You tell her to keep her mouth shut, and Haymitch will never know! Case closed."
Peeta sighed.
"You don't understand."
"Understand what? Don't give me that fagot shit that you fell in love with her. That's not you."
"Come on Gale, don't be such an ass." Finnick interrupted "Just because we date different women does not mean that we are not looking or expecting to find that special someone."
Gale snorted "Yeah, right. Special someone. That's bullshit and you know it."
He parked the car and the trio walked towards the hospital entrance. Peeta stepped forward and walked straight into the reception area.
"Excuse me Miss...Cartwright?" he read the receptionist name tag. "The Intensive care unit?" The pretty blonde receptionist smiled flirtishly at him. "Of course. Patient's name please?"
"Haymitch Abernathy." he replied trying not to give her much attention while she searched her computer. "Oh yeah, he's here, fourth floor, ICU. The elevator is down the hall. Anything else I can help you with?"
"Yes, your phone number?" Gale said bumping Peeta to the side and leaning on the counter. "My friend here is very shy, but he has been telling us how beautiful you are since we entered."
Peeta rolled his eyes.
"My apologies Miss. But my friend left home without taking his meds."
The voluptuous blonde, took a piece of paper, wrote something and leaned over, placing it inside Peeta's shirt pocket.
"I'm off at 11." she whispered to him with a wink, smiling suggestively.
Behind them someone snorted.
"Oh please!"
They looked over their shoulders and there was her. Katniss. Sending him a furious glare that could've put a hole in his forehead, she walked through them toward the elevator, Madge trailing behind her with an amused face.
She hit the elevator button a little harder than necessary and they all got in. From oposite corners, Peeta kept his gaze fixed on her, but she opted to look at the screen that indicated the floors as they went up.
Finnick nudged him and mouthed "Chill out buddy."
Finally, the elevator stopped on the fourth floor.
"Ladies." Finnick gestured to the exit, gentlemanly giving way to the girls.
Madge and Katniss approached the infirmary station, where a middle-aged, amicable-faced nurse attended to them.
"Haymitch Abernathy? I am his daughter, Katniss."
"Sure, sugar! You are just in time. You have to put on this paper gown, gloves and mask." the nurse replied, handing a package to both girls. "The hospital has a very strict policy for the ICU, so visits only last fifteen minutes and only two people can enter."
"Excuse me." Peeta interrupted. "But I think I should go in."
The nurse smiled sweetly at him.
"Oh, who's going in then? Only two people are allowed. Are you her boyfriend, husband?
"He's nobody." Katniss interrupted looking at his eyes. The nurse looked between them confused.
"Nobody? That's funny because I am the one who has been by his side for the last five years and never heard anything but complaints about you."
"You have no right to say that about me. You don't know anything about me."
"I know enough to know that you are a liar..."
"Ohhh I'm a liar? And you are a hypocrite. You dare to critizice me? But who did you really came to see? My dad...or the receptionist?" She said taking the piece of paper out of his shirt pocket.
Peeta send a death glare in Gale's direction.
"So what? Are you jealous?"
Katniss face turned a deep shade of red, and looked like she was about to jump on him.
"You are such an ass..."
"Ooookay!" Madge interrupted while Finnick and Gale took Peeta a few meters away from Katniss "I think neither of you should go inside if you're going to be like this. Haymitch doesn't need you two fighting over who is more important to him, or anything at all. He cares about both of you. So suck it up, and pretend to be civil for fifteen or twenty minutes. Can you two do that?"
They both looked from Madge to each other.
Peeta nodded and lowered his head in shame.
The nurse looked expectantly at Katniss. "What is it going to be sugar?"
She looked away from Peeta and nodded as well.
"He's coming with me."
The nurse gave Peeta the garments package and took them both to a sterile area so they could put on their clothes.
"He's in the third room to the left, and he's been sedated almost all day, but he's awake now. Please, be gentle. And for the sake of the patient, please refrain from any discussion. Any jealousy issues that you two need to resolve should be taken home with you. But for now, you are the best of friends. Are we clear on that?"
"Yes ma'am" Peeta replied, while Katniss just nodded.
The nurse looked at them one last time before leaving.
"You know? You two make such a lovely couple and it's obvious how you feel about each other. Try to solve things. I'm sure he would like to see you together, not fighting." then she left leaving the pair stunned.
They put on their paper coats, gloves, and masks in an uncomfortable silence.
"Sorry." Katniss broke the silence as they walked into the room.
Peeta looked at her and nodded. "I'm sorry too."
When they reached the room, Haymitch was wide awake. Peeta entered first, but she remained in the hall, trying to collect her thoughts.
"Peeta my boy!"
"Hey old man." he answered taking his hand. "You gave us quite the scare. Don't you dare do it again. You can't leave me."
"I called you, but I forgot you were out of the District. How was the Capitol?"
"Overrated. But, I found something great over there, a really lovely little present for you. He motioned his head in Katniss' direction.
Haymitch gasped in surprise.
She was standing at the entrance, looking at them through red rimmed eyes.
"Come here." Peeta whispered to her with a soft smile.
"Hey dad." She said with a trembling voice.
"Katniss! Sweetheart! How?" he gestured between the two of them.
"We met by accident, in the Capitol, and...what a coincidence!" she said with a little chuckle.
"God! If I knew you were coming for this, I would have had a heart attack sooner. Come on baby girl, sit here." he said patting the edge of the bed.
Peeta nodded at her from his position at the other side of the bed.
"I missed you so much Sweetheart. And I'm sorry for everything that happened the last time we saw each other. I know I don't like Dr Shields, but I'll better give you away in that damn wedding than not be able to see you. I was so afraid that I wasn't going to have time to make ammends with you."
Katniss covered her face with her hands and began to sob.
"Hey, don't cry sweetheart!"
"No dad. It's me who has to apologize. I shoud have never allowed him to belittle you. You were always he only one who always supported me. And I was an ungrateful bitch, letting mom to lead me to do things that I never really wanted to do. Cato, you were right about him. He never cared about me, he just wanted a submisive wife, to turn me into someone I wasn't. I hated that life, always pretending to be something I'm not. But that's over. I'm not marrying him. Not now, not ever."
Peeta lifted his gaze to her, surprised.
"You're not getting married to that douchebag?" Her father asked with a soft smile.
She chuckled
"No, I won't." She answered. "Actually, I have to thank him, he was the one who broke the engagement, precisely last night by the way." She added giving a flashed look at Peeta.
He started to cough.
"You okay boy?" Peeta nodded giving him a thumbs up. Haymitch returned his attention to Katniss.
"He did that! Honey, I hate to tell you this, but he finally did something smart. This is the best thing that can happen to you. Now you can choose a real man," he looked at Peeta "one who respects you, values you and treats you as you deserve." he put his hands on her cheeks. "I don't want to know that you shed a tear over that asshole." Katniss shook her head giving him a little smile. "That's my girl. You know you are getting more and more beautiful every day, don't you think so boy? "
Peeta nodded nervously.
"Emm, yeah, yes, definitly." He replied with a deep sigh, trying to compose himself. "Katniss, your father is right. You are an incredibly beautiful woman, and you deserve better than a guy who didn't appreciate you." he said sincerely.
Their eyer met in an intense gaze. Haymitch's grunt took them out of their reverie.
"Hum...it occurs to me ..." He raised his eyes to the ceiling with his index finger on his chin, looking thoughtful, "Peeta, do you still have those season passes for the Mockingjays? Katniss loves hockey. You can take her to a few games while she's in town, and take her to know the district. It's been ages since she came here. What do you think?"
They looked at each other, this time in shock.
"But Haymitch, don't you think she would prefer to spend time with you and her friend?"
Haymitch looked at her and smiled.
"Friend? Oh! That pretty girl, Madge? You saw her?"
"She offered me to stay at her place." she answered nodding.
"None of that! You stay in my house, which is yours too. Peeta is the most trustworthy person I know, and I'm sure he won't let anything bad happen to you. Or you" he pointed to Peeta, "would rather go to the game with Hawthorne? I can assure you she smells better than he does."
Peeta laughed. "Okay old man, I'll take her wherever she wants to go."
"What are you saying Sweetheart?" he asked Katniss.
She looked at Peeta and nodded slightly flushed.
"See? You two already made this old man happy. Now I am sure that you will be well protected while I'm locked in here."
At that moment, the nurse came into the room.
"Oh! I see we are happy and excited here. Sorry to be the party pooper, but time's up. The patient needs to be in total rest. If he continues to show signs of improvement and stability, he will probably be out of the ICU tomorrow afternoon, visits are at regular hours there, and you'll have more time to chat.
"Thank you Miss." Peeta said leaning toward Haymitch and tanking his hand. "Don't worry about anything old man. I'll take care of her."
Haymitch kept a strong hold on him, looking straight into his eyes. At that moment, Peeta realized Katniss had her father's eyes.
"She's my baby girl. Don't leave her out of your sight. And, behave. Keep that little friend of yours controlled. This is your chance to prove yourself that you're not just a fucked up womanizer."
"I know. I will. I promise." trying to hide his shame.
He walked to the door while Katniss said her goodbyes.
"He's a good man. Has a heart of gold. He would never let anything bad happen to you. Be nice to him." He said in a whisper.
She gave him a kiss on his forehead and smiled. "I will dad. Love you."
"Love you too Sweetheart."
She walked to the door where Peeta was waiting, but stopped short. Quickly, she ran back to her father, throwing herself at him and hugging him tightly.
"I'm so sorry, daddy." she said between sobs. "Forgive me for not being a grateful daughter, for having turned my back on you when you were belittled and for not defending you."
"Hush honey!" Haymitch said stroking her hair. "There is nothing to forgive! You are my daughter, I'm proud of you, and I will always love you, no mater what."
She continued sobbing into his shoulder. "I'm never going to leave you again daddy. If something worse had happened to you, I would never have forgiven myself."
"Hush, it's alright baby girl." her father answered, taking her face between his hands and staring at her. "We will have time to make up for everything. I promise you. In the meantime, stay calm. Peeta will take care of you. I assure you that you are in the hands of the person I trust the most in my life. Seeing the two of you together," he chuckled shaking his head in disbelief "It made my day, because I never thought it would be a scene that I would see."
From the door, Peeta lowered his head, his cheeks flushed.
"Now off you go kids, before the nurse comes again and kicks you out. I love you darling." he said smiling.
She walked to the door and looked at Peeta, a little smile on her face. "Let's go." she said to him, and walked to the hall.
Haymitch cleared his throat.
"Peeta."
He turned, but Haymitch simply winked, smiling mischievously.
"What does that mean?" he though. He was about to ask, but, at that very moment the nurse returned.
"Hey handsome! I'm sorry but time's up! I need you to go. The patient needs to rest." He lifted his arms in surrender and walked after Katniss.
Seeing the exchange between father and daughter made him think hard. Perhaps there was much more to the Captain's daughter than he knew. She was no longer engaged, and she was very sorry for her treatment of Haymitch in the past. Maybe he had been a little too harsh and unfair to her. And on top of all, Haymitch had entrusted him with her care, and he was not going to let him down.
It was time to have a long a serious talk with her.
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Thanks for all the love and support. Please keep letting me know your thoughts.
Next chapter we'll have a little Gale/Madge interaction. We will have another main couple.
See you soon
XOXO Lizzyvb