I have a prompt! Since Kat is expecting her first child and her mother won't be there she asks Effie to teach her to knit a layette for the baby. As it's clear after a while Kat is no good at knitting and Effie is fixing up all of her loose knits they end up talking about why Effie never had children (it's a Hayffie fic)

Surrogate

"Oh, no, dear…" Effie winced when she glanced at Katniss' knitting. She reached out before the girl could make it worse. "Under, up and then you pull the wool."

"I've made a mess again." Katniss lamented, she surrendered her afternoon work.

For a while Effie and Haymitch's living-room was silent as Effie unraveled Katniss' latest mistake. The young woman had taken up to knitting shortly after the announcement that she was pregnant, wishing to complete the traditional layette before the birth. Effie had tried to teach her without much success, Katniss had yet to complete her first blanket when Effie had already knitted two small hats and matching socks. She had moved on to blankets too, now, figuring the children would need one and that Katniss, for all her good will, would probably not succeed in time. For every four rows she managed to knit, Effie had to undo three.

She didn't mind, though. She liked the late afternoons spent in the girl's company, drinking tea and talking about little nothings. Katniss was very nervous about the pregnancy and motherhood in general but Effie was quite optimistic about it. Peeta was over the moon, of course, and it was good to see the children so happy.

She focused on a particularly resilient knot, relishing in the serenity inside the house. Logs were popping quietly in the fireplace keeping the chill of winter at bay, Haymitch was clanking things in the kitchen probably getting ready to feed the geese and, sitting on the couch with Katniss, Effie felt quite content with her life right at that very moment.

"Yours is so pretty…" Katniss sighed. She ran a hand on the half-complete white soft-wool blanket forgotten on Effie's lap. "Where did you learn?"

"My mother." Effie gave her back her knitting and picked up hers, clicking the needles together quickly and efficiently. "She insisted that a proper lady should know how to sew, embroider and knit. Did your mother never teach you?"

She realized things were different in the Districts but she would have thought those would have been very useful skills all the same, to mend clothes at the very least. Even Haymitch knew how to stitch – not that he would ever bother with it, of course.

"My mother didn't teach me much." Katniss confessed, putting her knitting aside to grab the steaming cup of tea on the coffee table. "I could probably use the needles to hunt, though." she added cheerfully.

"To each their own gifts." Effie smiled. "I am lost every time I venture in the woods. But even though… She should have taught you."

"Well, you're doing it now, so…" the young woman shrugged. She sipped her tea and rubbed her baby bump with her free hand. "You will probably need to teach her too."

Effie's smile brightened even more and she placed her own hand on Katniss' stomach. It was too soon to feel the baby move yet but the ultrasound had revealed it was a girl.

"It would be my pleasure." she said with much more emotions than she intended to show. She cleared her throat and went back to knitting. "Do you still have back pains?"

"Yeah." Katniss groaned. "Back pains and bloating and nausea… And I'm hungry all the time! I will look like a whale before this is over. Peeta won't even let me go hunt alone anymore and he's so loud it's no use at all to bring him. Well… To be fair, I'm pretty loud too now. I don't know who ever said pregnancy was wonderful because so far, it's unpleasant as hell."

Her rant finished, Katniss took another sip of her tea.

"I'm sure it can't be that bad." Effie laughed. "Look on the bright side… You can eat as much as you like without worrying about your figure."

She glanced at her own stomach in displeasure. There was a small bulge of fat that had appeared there recently and didn't seem to want to go away. Haymitch had assured her many times it was in her own head but Effie knew better. She had reached an age when she could only hope time would be kind because there was no putting off its ravages any longer without chirurgical help – and that would never happen. Thankfully hair dye hid her growing gray hair adequately.

"I guess not everything is bad." Katniss made a face. "But I can't wait until it's over." She finished her tea and picked up her knitting but she didn't try to touch the needles yet. "You never wanted to try it? Getting pregnant?" The question was hesitant and Katniss wasn't quite looking at her in the eyes.

Effie did a whole row before smoothing out the knitted wool. It was a fine wool. She had ordered it especially from Ten where they had the best sheep.

"I was once." Her voice sounded loud in the suddenly silent house. "Pregnant, I mean."

Katniss froze on the spot, all wide eyes and half-opened mouth. "Oh… I'm sorry I didn't mean to…"

"No, no…" she waved any concern away. "It was a long time ago." Precisely four years before Peeta's and Katniss' names were reaped. She could still remember the panic she had felt when she had found out she was pregnant, when she had realized that she would need to inform Haymitch that their not-so-casual-no-strings-attached affair would soon become something more… But after the initial shock… She had been overjoyed. "I had a miscarriage. There was something wrong with me, the chances of me ever carrying a baby to term were slims. I don't imagine my imprisonment improved that." She forced a smile on her lips. "Not that it matters now, of course."

Haymitch didn't want children, he had never wanted them. He never knew she had been pregnant and he never knew about what had happened, this was a secret she was determined to take to her grave.

Katniss' eyes were suspiciously shining but Effie pretended not to notice.

"You would have been a wonderful mother." Katniss offered a bit awkwardly.

"I like to think I would have." Effie's fake smile was starting to hurt but she kept it firmly on her lips. Just like old times, she thought. "But I have looked after you and Peeta for years now and it has been my privilege. Our little family is more than enough for me."

She didn't know if it was the hormones that made Katniss more sensitive to others' feelings but Effie accepted the spontaneous hug all the same.

"Now, dear…" she said when the young woman released her. "We need to focus or those blankets or we will never be done by the time this little girl arrives."

It wasn't strictly true, of course, Effie was quite sure she would be able to do at least three more blankets and more socks and sweaters by the time of the birth but Katniss looked at her own knitting dejectedly. "I will never get the hang of it."

"Well…" Effie glanced at the few rows of green wool. The blanket was crooked already and uneven. "There is certainly room for improvement." Katniss made a face. "Perhaps we should ask for more layette at the Baby Shower… Which reminds me…" Effie's voice trailed off, always cautious about that particular subject. "Have you gotten in touch with your mother? The future grandmother is usually the one to organize the Shower…"

If possible, Katniss became even more sullen. She started knitting again, so aggressively that the needles looked more like two swords sparring than anything else. It didn't improve the general look of the blanket. "She says Peeta and I must bring her the baby once she's born. She won't come before that."

"Oh, alright." Effie made an effort to keep her irritation in check. She had been fond of Katniss' mother originally but that had changed right after the end of the war when she had left without a second glance for her daughter. "Then… Perhaps you should suggest her to organize the Baby Shower in Four. I'm sure Annie would be delighted to help."

"Actually…" Katniss fumbled with the needles a little longer and then placed the whole thing on the coffee table. "Would you mind organizing it?"

Effie opened and closed her mouth several times before putting her own knitting aside to grab her cup of tea. It was cold but she drank it all the same. "I don't want to intrude. It's really the grandmother's place to…"

"You are her grandmother too." Katniss shrugged. "You will probably be more present for her than my mother anyway so…"

Effie's sight was blurred by sudden tears she made her best to blink away. "I would be delighted. Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Katniss was ill-at-ease now and Effie wasn't surprised when she stood up. "I should go. Peeta will be back soon. See you tomorrow?"

She was gone before Effie could reply. She heard her say goodbye to Haymitch in the kitchen then slam the door shut like the children always did when they visited despite all her admonishments on the subject. It wasn't long before Haymitch ventured in the living-room, took a look at her and rolled his eyes.

"Why are you crying now?" He nudged her knitting needles aside and sprawled on the couch, his head on her lap and his legs dangling over the armrest. He claimed it eased the pain in his back but he was always such a child she wasn't sure it was true.

"Katniss wants me to organize the Baby Shower." she told him.

"You should be happy then." he snorted. "You can make schedules and fret over the color of the invitation cards. It will be like their wedding all over again…" There was a teasing smirk on his lips she would have kissed away if that hadn't necessitated for her to bent in two. "Oh, Haymitch, should I use pink or cream… It all needs to be fa-bu-lous." His imitation of her voice was awful, as she had informed him many times but it never deterred him. "You will have the time of your life, sweetheart."

She whacked his shoulder to make him stop.

"Mrs Everdeen should be here, you know." she sighed. "I'm happy to do it but this isn't right. I do wish you hadn't stopped me from speaking my mind back at the hospital."

She had been right next to Haymitch when Katniss' mother had appeared and left a letter for her daughter with him, barely taking the time to explain that she was leaving and had no intention of coming back to Twelve. Effie had been outraged and would probably have made a scene if Haymitch hadn't told her to let it go. She could sympathize with what the woman had suffered but she couldn't comprehend how the healer could simply ignore the only remaining daughter she had left. She didn't show up to the children wedding, she never came to see them at all, the phone calls, from what Effie knew, were few and far in between…

"Stop thinking about it." Haymitch shrugged, eyes closed. "Her loss, our gain, sweetheart."

"True." Effie agreed readily.

Katniss and Peeta were their children and blood didn't matter. They had gone through everything together as a team and then a family. Those were bonds that nothing would ever destroy.

They remained silent for a while. Effie reached for the remote and switched the TV on although she made sure the volume was low enough not to disturb Haymitch who had apparently decided to take a nap. She kept an eye on the screen as she knitted, half wondering how people could come up with such silly ideas for the soap operas.

"When were you pregnant?"

She almost dropped the needles. Her heart started racing and she placed the knitting aside, combing fingers through his now grey hair. "Have you been eavesdropping?"

"I was in the kitchen, not my fault the walls are thin." He kept his eyes closed. "You never told me you got pregnant once."

"It was well before we even started to have sex." The lie came readily to her lips. He had lost too many tributes for her to add another child to that list. She would spare him this grief.

His eyelids fluttered open and his grey eyes searched hers. She forced herself not to look away.

"Sure?" he asked.

"Would I lie to you?" she scowled.

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You would do a lot of stupid things to protect me, sweetheart."

There was tenderness and even love in his gaze. It had taken years of peace to chase the grief and the despair out of his eyes, she didn't want to see them in there again.

"Not this time." she promised.

His fingers trailed down her cheek and then he clasped his hands on his stomach and closed his eyes again. "Tell me what you're going to do for this baby thing."

"Baby Shower." She clucked her tongue at his lack of attention. "And since when are you interested in this kind of things?"

"Since it lulls me to sleep." he replied.

"I should shove you off my legs at once." She shook her head.

"Yeah, but you won't. I'm keeping you warm." he pointed out.

"So sure of yourself…" she teased, still stroking his hair. If he had been a cat, he would have been purring. As it was, he was humming with contentment. "You are an abominable man."

"And you're a silly goose." he retorted with noticeable fondness.

"God knows why I love you." she sighed, giving back her attention to the TV. He reached for the hand she had placed on his shoulder without thinking about it and brought it to his lips.

It was all the answer she got but it was enough.