The boys entered and equally donned whimpish smiles as she lay there, tired and bruised but as pretty as ever. "Hey beautiful" Cinna cooed as he rushed in for the first kiss upon her cheek. "I saw a vending machine down the hall with your favorite in, chocolate honey drops, want me to grab you a bag?" Effie's face lit up, much to their amusement. "If you do that I swear my heart is yours enternally!" She beamed and Cinna kissed her nose and winked "I already own it beautiful and don't you forget it" he turned to Haymitch "want anything?" "No thanks" Haymitch answered, his eyes not leaving Effie's once. As soon as Cinna left, Haymitch shuffled closer and sat on the edging of the bed. He placed his hands either side of her frame and bent down to kiss her cheek. The very gesture made Effie's eyes widen a little but she embraced it. He couldn't not be nice to her today given the state that she was in. Haymitch leant back a little and caught her surprised smile, he kept his hands where they were. It felt kinda nice leaning over her that way, like a protective barrier. "How you doing 'tough nut Trinket?'" He teased. She laughed out loud and placed a hand above her cut "Oh gosh! I haven't heard that name for a long time, where did you- Cinna?" She asked and Haymitch gave her an amused grin "you've been talking about me hmm?" She quizzed. Haymitch rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly "well, Cinna, you know what he's like, he worries too much, he got a little sentimental and reminiscent whilst we were waiting..." "He does worry" she sighed. Then her eyes screwed shut "I'm such an idiot!" She cursed "I should have been more careful getting out, I'm so stupid! Always rushing!" She gently traced the stitching that held her cut together with her fingertips but Haymitch grabbed her hand and pulled it away "Don't, you'll scar if you mess with it" he warned and she sighed at him "Cinnas not the only one who worries" she teased. He kept his eyes on hers and took a deep breath. "What's the matter?" She asked sweetly after noticing a saddness in his eyes "I'm ok you know, concussion aside, it's just a small cut, the doctors said I knocked myself out cold..." She tried to sound humorous but Haymitchs expression remained serious "Well at least I've stopped sneezing..." She continued to joke, but still, nothing "Haymitch you're making me nervous..." "Sorry" he said eventually "I was just" he took another deep sigh "remembering" His eyes dropped to the lips which he had kissed just hours before "When we found you I- I didn't know what to- I felt- ah...it wasn't-" he dropped his head and sat back, his arms moving from her sides "When I saw you, on the floor, hurt, I-" "Oh my god!" She suddenly cried out and her hands came up to her mouth then moved to cover her eyes. "I was totally naked! Wasn't I?" Not what he had been struggling to confess but when she mentioned it he remembered yes, yes she was. "Is that what your worried about? Things being awkward?" She ran her fingers through her knotted hair and moaned in remembrance of it "Oh Haymitch! Let's just forget about it ok!" She pleaded, and tried to shake away the thoughts "I mean, it couldn't have been helped right? I don't hold it against you or anything, you saved my life, in a way..." He wanted to pull her hands away from her face and stop her jabbering but he wasn't sure he was ready to tell her the truth yet or whether she was ready to hear it He was glad when Cinna returned. As soon as Effie had the bag of chocolate in her hands everything seemed quite forgotten. He couldn't forget though. He didn't think he ever would. The feeling of dread he had gotten when he had found her hurt, the sheer panic and pain that struck him when he had seen her blood and couldn't wake her. And now she sat up in her hospital bed, in a plain white gown with her forehead half stitched and giggling with Cinna without a care in the world and Haymitch felt happy. He felt content. Something he had only ever felt and thought he would only ever feel at the sign of a freshly cracked open bottle. Suddenly, it appeared he'd found something a little more appeasing to his taste. That smile of hers.