It's a Tuesday when Nick gets sick and starts crying. He cries continuously, only stopping to eat a bit before starting up again, and Annie leaves the two of them with several instructions before setting off to get medicine from Maya and Mahi. Katniss and Johanna try their best, but Johanna seems to have little to no experience with handling babies apart from Nick, and Prim was generally a very healthy baby. Even when she got sick, their mother had always been present to give her the necessary medicine and their dad had been there to soothe her.
Nick's wailing is getting louder than it seems possible when Annie finally rushes in. "Mahi doesn't have any medicine. It seems something's been going around the babies, so we'll have to take Nick to the hospital," she says as she cradles her son, calming him marginally.
Johanna nods and quickly strides off, and Katniss looks at Annie, who looks okay but is shaking at the same time. "Annie." It takes a few times, but her friend finally looks her in the eye. "Nick will be okay. A lot of babies are like this when they're young; I've seen enough of them. Let's just go to the hospital, okay? Do you need me to prepare Nick's clothes?" At Annie's silent nod, she tries to smile. "Anything else?"
"A change of clothes for me in case we need to stay," Annie says without hesitating, more composed than she was earlier. Katniss simply inclines her head in affirmation before moving to Annie and Nick's room.
In 5 minutes, the four of them are out of the house, and in just 15 minutes or so, they're at the hospital. It's white and shiny everywhere, reminding Katniss of how the health center looked in the Capitol. By Annie's tight smile and Johanna's ashen face, it's clear that they're both reminded of the same thing as well. Thankfully, there's also a good amount of blue and green, enough to keep the building from looking too clinical and making it distinctly different from the hospital in the Capitol in that manner, as that was designed with gaudier colors.
The lobby is quiet with a low hum of conversation, and a nurse smiles as she beckons them toward her. "Hello, how may we help you?"
Annie bounces Nick in her arms. "My son, Nick, is sick. We weren't able to get any medicine for him, so we came here instead."
The nurse nods and quickly shoots off several questions to Annie, who answers them. Johanna is gripping the sides of her shirt tightly while looking out one of the large windows, and Katniss tries not to stare at the doctors in white coats or the hospital beds around them. The nurse talking to Annie briefly looks at both Johanna and Katniss when she finally deduces who Annie and her companions really are, but she doesn't say anything about it or make a big deal. She just proceeds with her task. Once she's done getting Nick's information, she leads them into a more silent room and points out a bed, telling Annie to let Nick lie down there while she calls a doctor to see them.
It's only a few minutes before a balding doctor sweeps in. His skin is tinged blue while his face shows hints of Capitol tattoos and piercings. His eyes, however, are kind, and he gives all of them a smile before introducing himself in a soft-spoken voice. "Good afternoon. I'm Dr. Marcus. Let me check on your son and run some tests so I can tell you what's happening and give him the proper treatment."
Annie nods, Nick's small hands tightly clasped in hers. She looks lucid enough that Katniss isn't worried, but a look at Jo reveals that their brash friend isn't doing as well. She makes eye contact with Annie, who only nods with a knowing look of resignation, and Katniss gently taps Johanna on the shoulder. "I need some air. Go with me? Let's leave the doctor to do his job."
Johanna doesn't even bother fighting Katniss on it, despite all of them knowing the truth, and only nods before walking out the room then out the building. Katniss follows a few steps behind her but doesn't try to go closer.
The hospital is near the ocean, and only a few people are walking around the area. They all respectfully avert their eyes when they see Johanna or Katniss - at this point, everybody in District Four knows that two Victors from other Districts are also in the vicinity. Katniss hasn't been contacted by either Haymitch or Peeta, though, so she supposes everyone who knows is choosing to stay quiet about the news, or they're giving her space. That, or they haven't really thought about her because they're content with their lives. It hurts to think about, but she knows that she has to think of it as a likely possibility considering the situation in Twelve just before she left.
She's sitting on a bench and slowly inhaling and exhaling the salty air, eyes closed, when she hears a set of footsteps. The person comes up just in front of her and stops, and when Katniss opens her eyes to see if she's finally being approached by someone who wants to know about the Games or about her life after the revolution, she chokes back whatever she had been planning to say. Because the person standing in front of her, looking tired but as beautiful as ever, is her mother, Lily Everdeen.
Johanna had snapped out of the haze she was in when she heard Lily Everdeen say Katniss' name, then rushed to Katniss' side immediately. By the dark look on her friend's face, Katniss had known immediately that Johanna knew who the woman in front of the two of them was, looking like the only reason she hadn't started throwing punches was out of respect for Katniss' wishes.
Now, the two of them are sitting across each other with mugs of tea in front of them, while Johanna sits a few feet away like a threatening guard. Katniss' mother clears her throat. "Katniss. I heard from Peeta that you were gone a few weeks ago. I didn't know you were here. If I knew, I would have called him and let him know. That boy is very worried about you. He's as nice as his father, really."
Katniss bites back the cutting retort that first comes to mind and sips at her tea, forcing herself to swallow the hot liquid. She waits for a few seconds before speaking. "Yes, I left Twelve two weeks ago. I've been here since then, but Peeta and Haymitch don't really know where I am. I'd like it if you didn't tell them." She waits for her mother to nod, albeit only after pursing her lips disapprovingly, before continuing. "Are you really telling me that you haven't heard about me being here? I know it's being kept quiet but I'm sure it's been discussed within the District the past few days."
Lily looks sufficiently reprimanded at Katniss' words, and she briefly closes her eyes. "Yes, Katniss, I heard that you were here. I'm sorry for trying to say otherwise. I wasn't sure if I'd even see you, or how long you were staying, or if you even wanted to see me, though, you have to understand that. So I didn't seek you out." At her daughter's stony silence, she speaks again. "I've been working as a doctor here for the past year. I trained to be one at first - the new government under President Paylor is really trying to give everyone equal opportunities. Maybe you should take a pamphlet. They distribute some in City Hall, and it has a list of the different training or apprenticeship programs being offered all over Panem. I know Prim would have loved it."
Katniss stiffens at the sound of her baby sister's name. "Don't say her name," she whispers the warning, a bit hoarsely.
Her mother looks confused. "Katniss? It's the truth, you know that. Prim would love what the government is doing with these programs. Knowing her, she would have tried to learn everything she could until she finally picked one program to complete. She's a true academic in her own right, just like your dad." Lily sounds wistful as she talks about the Everdeen father and younger daughter. The two Everdeens who had passed and gone, leaving only half of a broken family.
Katniss tries to prevent tears from welling in her eyes. "I know Prim would have loved this, like Dad, but please, stop talking about her like that. I can't stand it."
Her mother is starting to look furious, making it clear where Katniss got her temper. "Katniss Everdeen, talking about Primrose is a way of honoring her memory. I will not pretend that she is still alive, or that she didn't exist, by not talking about her. She deserves to be spoken about, and I don't care if you don't want to do that, but I want to talk about her life and her dreams and you will not stop me."
Katniss can't stop herself from scoffing. "Are you sure that that's why? Or is it just because you feel guilty about the fact that you could barely take care of Prim after Dad died? Or maybe that all you really knew about her was that she loved to read all kinds of books with Dad, but that was really only because she loved spending time with him. After he died and we were doing better, she only read books about medicine, and you would have known that if you spent even a little time with her. How can you say that she would have tried to learn everything, like you know her, when you didn't really know her or even try to learn more about her until the end? Because if you really did know her, you would have known that she would have chosen to go into a medical training program right away. She wouldn't have tried learning about everything because Prim knew what she wanted out of life. Don't act like she was a lost little girl just because you didn't really know who she was, and don't you dare talk about her, either. She deserves to be spoken about, but not by someone who only knew her as a child and barely knew her as a young woman. You don't have the right," Katniss hisses, looking her mother in the eye before pushing away from the table and leaving.
She barely gets to the side of the building where she's hidden from view before she breaks down.