Haymitch's plan worked. Sort of. Katniss is up to her old tricks, surprising everyone in life-threatening ways. He sees himself telling Willow he's lost her daughter, and can't stand himself.
His tribute is in the hospital again. He had to threaten her with a head shackle. It's actually a prototype for a head camera, like the Capitol uses, before an actual Capitol camera crew had appeared in 13, and they had abandoned the project. But he doesn't feel the need to tell Katniss that. He hopes she'll just keep her damn earpiece in. Forget Willow. If they rescue Peeta, and he let Katniss die on his watch…
After leaving Katniss's room, he meets up with Plutarch in the mess hall. It's too early for dinner, it's just a big quiet room. People from the Capitol tend to congregate here, as it's the most open space any of them have regular access to.
When the propo airs, he and Plutarch go to his office to watch it. He's not sure what it is about Capitol people. They're happy to watch the same bullshit again and again. It's especially baffling with Plutarch. He makes the damn things. Doesn't he get tired of it? At least it makes sense with the 13 people. They haven't had anything resembling entertainment since the Dark Days, it seems like.
But he humors Plutarch, and it's nice to be in a room without any suits.
"So, Plutarch, when does Coin think we'll be rescuing the victors? What needs to happen that hasn't yet?"
"Beetee, figuring their security."
"Beetee designed their security."
Plutarch chuckles. "He says he did his job too well."
Haymitch frowns, looks down at his hands.
"Effie might have been able to help."
Plutarch's mouth actually falls open, but he quickly snaps it shut. "Really? Effie Trinket?"
"Her dad designed a lot of the security system that Beetee improved on."
"Huh."
The propo finishes. Plutarch moves to turn off the screen, but Haymitch tells him to keep it on. President Snow will undoubtedly want to counter.
He's not wrong. They watch Peeta and Caesar. Haymitch feels utterly empty inside. He was such a fool to hope! But he had. He had hoped the Capitol would treat their captive victors (and Effie) with a modicum of humanity, since they're so favored and famous in the Capitol. He wonders how the citizens in the city are feeling about how obvious it is that Peeta is being tortured and starved.
"Isn't Katniss watching the propo in her hospital room?" Haymitch asks.
Plutarch's eyebrows raise in dismayed surprise.
"I better go make sure she's not seeing this. It could undo all our progress." He's already risen, pushed his chair in, and is now swinging on a coat. He stops with only one sleeve on. "Unless you think you should go?"
Haymitch shakes his head. It's likely she's seen Peeta. She'll have an easier time lying to Plutarch than telling himself the truth.
Plutarch disappears.
Haymitch thinks Plutarch might be holding out on him, and takes the opportunity to look around his office for alcohol or medicine. Nothing. He leaves the office, and wanders down to his compartment.
It's as small as his compartment on the tribute train. He rarely sleeps in here. The regular patrols are constantly finding him wandering the corridors after curfew. He doesn't seem to need as much asleep as he used to, and after more than 20 years of sleeping in the daytime, he can't get himself to sleep during his "designated rest hours". He's exhausted, achy, and shaky during the day, and gets no relief at night. He's desperate to go above ground, but Coin won't "sanction" it.
For now, he lays down on his cot, and stares at the ceiling.
Peeta. What have they done to him? And what are they doing to Effie, and Johanna, and Enobaria, and Annie?
He thinks of that night she had been waiting for him in his room.
Feeling suddenly foolish, he looks into her eyes.
She smiles warmly, and says, sounding slightly nervous herself, "I thought you should have at least one proper Capitol dalliance."
He smiles, then laughs, before lowering himself onto the bed, so he's hovering over her before he kisses her.
Suddenly, he can't stand lying down for another second.
He gets up and leaves his compartment.
Haymitch wonders if Plutarch is done talking to Katniss. He's certain she saw Peeta. How must she be feeling?
He can barely stand to be around her without the craving for a drink intensifying tenfold. He let her down. He let Effie down. He let Finnick down, not thinking enough of the other victors' safety. It seems obvious now, that they would attack and kidnap their loved ones first, bomb their districts to the ground as they escaped to safety. How could he, of all people, forget how they operate and not make a contingency plan?
Despite his reservations, he decides he will check on Katniss. She might scratch his face and make him feel terrible, but it will be a welcome respite from his own thoughts.
She's surprised to see him.
"I thought visiting hours were over," she says, recovering her expression back into one of indifference.
"These suits are all pushovers."
"You mean you yelled at them till they let you through."
He grins. He doesn't confirm or deny. Actually, he just talked to the nurse on duty, who was sympathetic, and a big fan of Katniss Everdeen, the Mockingjay. But let Katniss think he can intimidate the people of 13. They both know he'll never intimidate her.
He sits in the chair by her bed.
"Your head too funny to go for a walk?"
She looks at him sharply, her gray, Seam eyes searching his for the trick, waiting for the trap to snap shut.
"I guess not."
"Come on."
They walk down hospital corridors till he finds what he's looking for: a door that says "Medics Only". He pushes it and is unsurprised to find it unlocked. The people of District 13 are not trusting, but they are predictable in their belief that no one would dare break the rules.
Inside, there's a small room, dimly lit and heavily boring, just like every room he's seen here, with a table, a small kitchenette, and a coffeemaker. A sign above the coffeemaker says, "Use only with permission of your shift supervisor." He rolls his eyes.
Then he sees the next door. "Exit". A staff-only exit out of the hospital. He motions for Katniss to stay back, opens the door, and checks that no one is coming on shift. Empty. He motions for Katniss to follow, and they quickly and quietly leave the hospital.
"Hear you've got hiding places," he says. She sticks out, in her white hospital gown. They need to get somewhere quickly.
Without a word, she steers him to her closest one: a supply room. The lights are off, and it's dusty. They're so stingy with every last thing, they must wait till every pencil is impossible to hold, and every sheet of paper written all the way through.
"I just wanted to see how you're doing."
Katniss laughs. He grins. He supposes it is a silly thing to say to someone who was just bombed.
When she stops laughing, her smile quickly drops away, too.
"You saw Peeta's interview?"
He nods. He's finding it hard to look at her, but he tries, hoping she won't see his guilt and decide to triple it.
"I told Plutarch and Fulvia I didn't see it. Finnick backed me up."
"Good. Doesn't really matter. They just want you out of the hospital as soon as possible."
Katniss looks thoughtful, like she's taking this in. Her lower lip starts to tremble, and her brow furrows.
"What are they doing to him, Haymitch?"
When her eyes lift to his, he sees hers are full of tears.
Sure she'll reject comfort from him, but wanting to offer anyway, he opens his arms. He's shocked when she throws herself into them so hard she almost knocks him over. He regains his balance and wraps his arms around her.
"As long as he's alive, there's hope. I promise you, I'm working on these…these automatons to get him out of there."
Katniss nods against his chest. She's still crying.
"I'm so sorry, Katniss."
She grabs fistfuls of his shirt, and pushes her forehead hard against his chest, breathing deeply, if shakily, like she's trying to get control of herself.
"I wish it was me the Capitol was torturing."
Haymitch runs one hand down her hair, and rubs her back in small circular motions, like Willow had done for him after his hallucination of his mother. She starts to calm down.
"They would have just executed you. You think they would put you in front of a camera?"
She huffs out a laugh that's half sob.
"Snow knows he's got you by the short hairs, and he's not going to let go of that."
Katniss takes one more deep breath, and releases him.
"Finnick is going crazy," she whispers. "Over Annie."
"I know."
Katniss shakes her head and continues, "He told me he wished Annie and Peeta were dead, and that we were too."
Haymitch frowns, and steps away. She sits on a rickety stool.
"Everyone feels that way sometimes," he says. He corrects himself, "I mean, all the victors have, at one time or another. Remember your syringe?"
Katniss nods.
"What were you using that for?"
She looks at her hands, twisting around each other in her lap.
"To kill Peeta. To save him from Snow."
Haymitch nods, and leans back against a supply cupboard, crossing his arms.
"The weight of loving what can be hurt. Trust me, neither you or Finnick would feel better if Peeta and Annie were dead."
Katniss's chin wobbles a bit, but she nods, and blinks her eyes rapidly.
"Let's get you back before they send out a search party."
They walk quickly back the way they came. They encounter no one.
He says goodnight to Katniss and hovers for a second. He almost leans down to kiss her forehead, but doesn't.
He leaves through the main doors, saying a cheery goodbye to the on-duty medic, then finds the staff-only entrance again, and heads straight for Finnick's ward. If Katniss saw Peeta, then so did Finnick.
As he thought, Finnick is still awake, sitting on the edge of his bed, tying knots into a length of rope.
He doesn't react when Haymitch sits beside him, but eventually, he puts the rope down on his bedside table.
"Snow is torturing them," he says, his voice flat.
Haymitch takes his hand.
"Yeah."
"And 13 will never rescue them in time."
"We don't know that. It's wartime. Anything can happen. Anyone can turn up, anywhere."
He smiles.
"Yeah, could be." He looks at Haymitch, and his smile fades into something more serious. His eyes are so green, with that dark blue circle on the outside of the iris. "Will you stay with me? I don't want to be alone, tonight."
"Lay down. Get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."