Prompt: if its in any way plausible, I would love to read a fic of Effie's father going to visit her in the hospital at the end of the war? Maybe she's not conscious yet and he has to talk to Haymitch who has been sat with her or something?

Fatherly Concern

There was something peaceful to watching her sleep.

Lately, he had been living for those few stolen hours in her room, for the warm body burrowed against his side and her soft breath rolling against his neck. The blinds were halfway closed and the neon lights were off – she had been left in the dark for so long her eyes were very sensitive. It made for a relaxing atmosphere, his own eyelids were drooping.

It wasn't always peaceful though.

She panicked in complete darkness but she screwed her eyes shut and whimpered in the light.

She didn't sleep – not enough anyway.

She didn't talk.

She was barely lucid.

She was disturbed, the doctors said, confused.

Those were words they had used to talk about Annie Cresta once upon a time. Nobody could tell him if Effie's condition was temporary, if she would recover or if she was shattered beyond repairs.

When he came to visit her, she always grabbed him for dear life and refused to let go. She would fall asleep eventually and, since it was the only way she would get some rest, he had taken to hold her until she surrendered to slumber, trying not to take too much space on the narrow hospital bed, letting her snuggle against his side.

He was careful with her shoulder, always careful despite the sling. It had been left out of its socket for so long she was looking at months of physiotherapy. There were bruises too. Festered wounds that had been cleaned but still hurt her. Angry looking scars. All things he hated himself for and could not help staring at.

She let out a whimper in her sleep and he sighed, running his fingers through her tangled hair.

"You're safe, sweetheart." he whispered. "I've got you now."

She calmed down after a moment and he closed his eyes, thinking now might not be a bad time to take a nap himself. He needed to go back to Katniss' side and then visit Peeta. His whole life was spent in hospital rooms nowadays.

Talk about a victory…

The door swung open and he instinctively tightened his hold on Effie with one arm, his other hand flying to the knife he had been keeping at his belt since he had left Thirteen – since they had allowed him back his own fucking weapon.

The Capitol man who stood in the doorway had navy blue dyed hair and matching sideburns. He was lean and looked severe in his three pieces suit.

Not someone to be trifled with, Haymitch figured. Someone who was used to being in charge. One of those wealthy people who thought money could buy everything, including people.

"What the fuck are you playing at?" he hissed in the direction of the guard who was hovering behind the stranger, obviously not quite sure what he should do. "This is a restricted area."

"But, sir…" the soldier winced. "You said friends and family…"

"I am her father and I won't be denied." the Capitol declared, sounding every bit the pompous ass Haymitch suspected him to be.

"Father." he repeated, the word a bit foreign in his mouth. He had heard plenty about her mother and her sister – at least, he had heard some and he had pieced together the rest – but her father? The man had seemed to be absolutely absent of her life.

The Capitol's eyes were riveted on Effie and at the way she curled up against him, Haymitch knew without having to look that she was awake.

"I do not think I granted you the familiarity of that address yet." the man snorted, looking pointedly at the way Haymitch was holding her.

He didn't dare ask if that was a joke.

He dismissed the soldier with a nod and tried not to feel uncomfortable when the door closed, trapping him in the room. He even took his hand off his knife. As a gesture of good faith.

"How did you know she was here?" he frowned.

"I still have connections." the man vaguely answered before taking a few steps closer to the bed, his expression softening into one of worry. "Euphemia…"

Effie immediately hid her face in Haymitch's shoulder with a whimper, fisting his shirt in her good hand and trying to curl up even more. The Capitol stopped dead in his tracks but he looked hurt.

"She's not quite all here yet." Haymitch said, after clearing his throat.

"What happened to her?" her father asked, outstretching a hand as if to touch her but dropping it before he could make contact.

"The Capitol." he scoffed with open hatred.

"The Capitol… Or you?" the man retorted with a sneer.

Haymitch sneered right back but, fair was fair, and he averted his eyes, turning his head away. "Both."

He absentmindedly ran his hand up and down her back. She relaxed a little but not completely. He suspected she was ready to bolt.

"My name is Tadius Trinket." the man finally introduced himself. "You may call me Tadius, I suppose. My daughter is fond of you, I believe."

"Haymitch." he answered, even though it was hardly necessary. "And I guess, yeah. I'm fond of her too, before you ask."

Tadius took a careful step forward and waited. Effie was tense. She was trembling a little and he was reminded of a frightened animal.

"How is she?" the man asked.

"Long or short version?" he replied, a bit sarcastic.

"Long version if you please." Tadius replied firmly, almost accusatory.

He took a deep breath and coiled his hand around her nape in a familiar gesture of affection. "She was dehydrated but they got that under control pretty fast. They starved her so she's really underweight and she can't really stomach solid food yet. She's got a few nasty bruises and scrapes but that was all mostly healed when we found her. There's a few festered wounds on her back but they gave her some meds and she's good now. The shoulder was the most serious. It remained dislocated for a while… It should be okay in time. She's sensitive to light but that should go away in a couple of days."

Tadius took that in stride but he grew grim, his hands curled into fists. Haymitch could understand the impulse. He wished he could beat to death the assholes who had done that to her too.

"What did they do to her?" her father growled. "The wounds. Where do they come from?"

He clenched his jaw and wrapped his arms back around Effie as if to better protect her from that conversation. "Fists, knives, whips… Does it matter? They hurt her."

And they would pay…

Someone had to pay.

Tadius took another step forward and Effie tensed again, her blue eyes tracking his every move, terror written on every inch of her face. Haymitch didn't like the way he was looming over the bed either. He doubted the Capitol was a real threat but, at the moment, he felt like one.

"Is she… Why isn't she…" the man hesitated. "She does not seem... Is she crazy?"

"You shut your mouth." Haymitch hissed. "She's fine. She'll be fine. You go through something like that and come back to tell the tale and then we talk. You don't call her names."

Tadius pursed his lips in clear annoyance. "She does not look…"

"Say it again and I'll punch you." he warned. "I don't care who you are. You ain't hurting her again. Nobody's hurting her again."

Maybe Effie was crazy.

Maybe he was too.

The past few months had been a bit too much. He had lost Finnick and Prim, he wouldn't lose anyone else. Not on his watch. It was over. Done with. No one would hurt his kids anymore. And no one would hurt her. He would tear to shreds anyone foolish enough to try.

"She is my daughter." the man snarled. "I am not trying to hurt her. She does not seem to recognize me."

"She just needs some time. She'll come back." he vowed. "She's strong. Right, sweetheart?"

She didn't always answer to her name but sweetheart always got a reaction out of her. At least, he chose to interpret the way she briefly nuzzled his neck as a positive reaction.

She had never done that before: crawling to him for protection. Effie had always been big about being independent, doing her own rescuing and what not. He wasn't used to that display of vulnerability. And yet he cherished the implicit trust she showed him. She was unaware probably – because he was sure when she would finally snap out of it, she would rage at him – but he cherished it. She felt safe in his arms and that was a precious thought to him, something he would aim to deserve.

"Euphemia." Tadius awkwardly called, reaching to place a hand on her shoulder, over the sling. He kept it light, it was barely a touch at all, and so Haymitch didn't protest. Effie tensed again but didn't try to shrug it off like she did with the nurses and the doctors. Her father seemed relieved. "Effie dear… What did you do to yourself?"

She turned her head in his direction and, for a moment, Haymitch thought she was going to cry. He wasn't completely surprised when she suddenly bolted from the bed to huddle in a corner but he clucked his tongue and took the opportunity to stand up, feeling a lot better now that he was the tallest in the room.

"You can try again." he hesitated, not sure if it was the thing to do but thinking it might be a good idea to confront her to reality. Besides, he didn't think her father wanted her any harm. He didn't get that vibe from the man. The Capitol seemed worried, yeah, but not angry – not at her anyway.

"I think she wants you, not me." Tadius scoffed.

And there was no denying that. She was rocking on herself, watching them, her eyes sometimes darting to her father but mainly focused on him.

"She thinks I'll protect her." he felt compelled to explain.

"Will you?" Tadius asked.

The answer to that was easy.

He would die trying.