'Is she still sleeping?' Cinna asked, a little worried

'Should I go check?' Asked Haymitch as he rose from his chair

'Yeah, go in there. See if she finished her soup'

Haymitch went right away. It was amusing for Cinna to see Haymitch so concerned about someone it was nice too.
Haymitch didn't like people.
He didn't care much about anything or anyone. Cinna and he weren't great friends either but at least they held a respect for each other in each other's company.

Haymitch had been surprising today. Checking up on Effie's schedule, making sure everything was going to plan, checking up on Effie, making soup, making tea.
Cinna mused for a moment and thought about how Haymitch would make a great father.
Then he stopped and questioned It.

Haymitch was slightly older than Effie, was he just being a doting friend? An older, wiser support for her young and frivolous self or was there some genuine feeling there?

He had to find out for deffinate before he continued his plans for meddling.

As Haymitch entered Effie's room he noticed her soup, cold and barely touched.

'Ef?' Her bed was empty also, but there was steam pooling under her ensuite bathroom door.

He knocked gently

'Ef?'

'Hey, come in'

Come in? To the bathroom? Whilst she was-?

'Erm, you sure?'

He heard her giggle

'Yes, don't worry, I'm covered'

He nodded at the door and pushed it open. When she said covered he expected a towel or a gown or for her to be fully clothed, not lying serene in the bathtub, clearly naked and covered only by the hefty amount of bubbles that she had used.
He cleared his throat and tried his best not to look.

Effie pried one eye open

'Sit, are you ok?'

He closed the loo seat and sat down beside the tub looking at his feet

'Shouldnt I be asking you that?'

'Oh, I'm fine, the steam is helping my head' she let out a soft sigh and pushed her shoulders back under the water. The bubbles shifted but she remained decent. Not that he was looking.

'You haven't eaten'

'I know, sorry...' And without a care in the world she reached a soapy wet hand out and placed it on top of his as it rested on his thigh

'-your soup was lovely, I just couldn't keep it down. My stomachs in knots' she squinted a little and rubbed her belly under the bubbles. Haymitchs thumb came up and stroked her little finger slightly.
He looked at her from where he sat. Her eyes were closed and her face was glowing from the heat. She had the most delicate features when she wasn't harshing them out with ridiculous amounts of make up.
She squinted again and he laced her fingers in his. Her eyes opened softly and she looked at their entwined hands.

'Thank you' she whispered 'for taking care of me'

Haymitch shrugged

'Had to return the favour at some point princess'

She smiled but didn't meet his eyes. He wished she had though.

Silence came upon them. He watched her for a moment longer as she lay there, enjoying the warmth, enjoying his hold on her, there fingers slowly weaving in and out of each other's like she was using the touch to stay awake and not fall asleep in the tub.

What Haymitch found weird was that it didn't feel weird. It felt so normal, sat here, being there for her, caring.

It unnerved him.

He bought her hand up to his lips and gave it a quick rough kiss, pulling Effie from her serenity

'Dont fall asleep in there. C'mon, get dressed, you need tea' he let go of her hand and marched out, the air from the swinging door caused her to get a chill.

She brought her hand up to her own lips and took a deep breath.

Obviously her illness was weighing on him. She knew he felt a duty to take care of her because she'd been doing the same for him all these years. But there was something else between them. She knew that too. Whether he wanted to admit it...well...clearly not...it was there.

There was something between them and she wasn't afraid to admit it, she was just afraid of the fact that Haymitch never ever would.

She sighed and pulled herself up out if the tub in frustration. She leant over for her towel and tried to reach the tiled wall for support but the mixture of the heat, her cloudy head and the speed in which she stood up caused a heavy blackness to suddenly wash over her and...well that's the last thing she remembered.

Cinnas ears pricked up

'Did you hear that?' He asked

'Hear what?' Haymitch shrugged, he was still lost in thought

'That thud, it came from Effie's room I'm sure of it'

Just the mention of her name and his frightened tone sprung Haymitch into action. He bolted towards her room followed by Cinna.

'Ef?!' Her bedroom was still empty, he knocked on the bathroom door 'Ef!?'

No answer. Not good. He burst in.

He saw the blood first and the terrified feeling that washed over him threw all previous doubt of his feelings out of his mind.

'Ef! Cinna, call the ambulance, now!' Cinna fled to find the phone as Haymitch placed a shaking hand on Effie's bare back.

She was still warm. Thank god. He let out a relieved breath but his concern didn't falter. She was on her front, unconscious. From what he could work out she must have slipped out of the tub and hit her head on the way down. There was blood everywhere. The water had mixed with it and made it look worse than it was but the memory of its colour brought back terrible visions for him.
He didn't have time to relive his past right now. He pulled a towel around Effie's sodden body and gently lifted her into his arms. She was weightless but limp, her head fell back and he saw her cut, not to deep but still bleeding and bruising already, the blood trickled from the cut just above her right brow, down the bridge of her nose and dripped onto her soft lips.

He kissed them gently

'Dont worry Ef, your gonna be ok. Please be ok' he held her tighter and carried her to the foot if her bed where he sat and cradled her. He could feel her shallow heart beating. She was alive and that's what mattered. He realised suddenly that that's all that mattered. His heart had stopped the moment he saw her, the blood, how limp and unresponsive she was, it knocked the breath out if him and he knew.

All the stupid stuff that had been playing on his mind, the worry of Effie's feelings for him, the worry that he didn't know how to give those feelings back, it all just vanished in that split second, the second he thought there was a chance that he might lose her.

His worry about returning her feelings were irrelevant now. He was doing it. Wasn't he? He had been doing it all day long, caring for her, worrying about her, it had been so easy and yet so wonderfully fulfilling. Now she lay in his arms and he held her so tight and he never wanted to let her go again.

'The medics are coming, I had to go and send the lift down' Cinna came toward them and stroked Effie's hair 'come on Efs, come back to us?'

She didn't respond. Haymitch could feel the tears burning in his eyes and Cinna could see them. Yes. There was deffinately feelings there.
But, what an incident it took to bring them to light.