It was Haymitchs turn to find them something to drink "-And there's no bar in the hospital!" Effie called out teasingly as Haymitch left with a sarcastic smile "He's being awfully nice to me" Effie mused "and I don't think I've seen him sneak a drink from his hip flask once!" "He hasn't brought it" Cinna said "I think you shook him up so much that he's beyond a stiff drink" he laughed a little but Effie's brow furrowed. "I scared him?" She asked "Course you did you scared the both of us! He walked in there first and saw you, flat out cold and in a pool of your own blood, you scared the life out of us Ef, you could have killed yourself" Cinna said, a little shaky now. Effie placed her hand on his "I know, it was careless of me, I'm sorry. Always in a hurry. I'll be more careful in the future" she promised and gave him a reassuring smile "You better, I don't think I could handle it, let alone handle Haymitch again if something else were to happen to you" he said innocently "What do you mean?" Effie questioned "He's been a wreck since we found you. I had to run to the elevator to buzz the ambulance guys in but when I got back and you were in his arms he was shaking with fear, the paramedics literally had to pry you from his arms" Cinna laughed as to make light of it but Effie didn't. "I was in his arms?" She lost herself in thought then a concerned look crossed her face "Cinna...was I still...like, naked?" She almost cringed and Cinna laughed "No Ef! Don't worry, he covered you up with a blanket before carrying you to the bed. He was just sat there, shaking, trying to wake you. It was awful Effie..." His humorous tone suddenly shifted and he became serious. He squeezed her hand "for a moment we thought we might lose you...we didn't know what had happened, there was a lot of blood for such a small cut it was frightening. I don't know what I'd do with out you Ef. You're my rock you know, my 'Tough nut'..." He smiled and she returned it "don't be fooled by Haymitchs grumpy ways though, I know he feels exactly the same. I think it actually took a situation like this to make him realise how much you mean to us. How valued you are in our little team." "I thought he was being funny with me because he'd seen me naked, Not that he feared he could have lost me..." Effie fell back into thought Cinna felt brave suddenly. He thought maybe he shouldn't but today had been such a shock for everyone he knew that life was just to short "if I'm not mistaken...the way Haymitch reacted...the way he's been feeling, I wouldn't be surprised if he revealed that he's cared about you deeply for some time now..." He said dryly "What are you implying?" Effie accused "I'm not implying I'm telling you. I think he likes you. Like, likes you likes you" Cinna said seriously She was about to argue when Haymitch walked back in clutching 3 steaming mugs of coffee "Thanks Haymitch, oh! I'll go grab some more milk, I like mine milky" Cinna said and excused himself quickly, much to Effie's annoyance. Haymitch ignored Cinnas meddlesome smile and passed another mug to Effie then sat down. There was a perfectly satisfactory visitors chair to her right yet he still chose to sit by her hip on the edging of the bed. She couldn't figure out if it was his proximity that gave her butterflies or Cinnas last words. Possibly it was a mixture of both. She felt her cheeks redden and she sipped her hot coffee. "Ah, thank you, I needed that" Effie placed the mug down on the table to her bedside and let her head fall back onto her pillow. She closed her eyes for a moment and could feel Haymitchs on her. "Cinna...said something." Said Effie. Her eyes still closed and his still wandering over her. "Oh yeah? Like what?" But he knew exactly what. He'd seen the guilty but naughty look in Cinnas eyes as he'd run off for 'more milk'. Effie opened her eyes and watched him watching her. Was there any need to air the words? He cared about her. More than she ever imagined he would, of course he did. He wouldn't be sober and here if he didn't. She also knew what a grump he could be and wondered that if she called him out on his affection towards her that he would deny it out of proudness and sulk and then they'd be back at square one. Haymitch could tell she was arguing with herself wether or not to bring it up. But he knew Effie and he knew himself and he knew that she wouldn't, just to save an argument. But was there a need for words? He was here with her now and they claimed within there own minds to know each other so well, so, what words were needed? A knowing smile fell upon both of them like they were indeed reading each other's minds. Instinctively, Haymitch bent forward and placed a lingering kiss upon her lips. "Don't ever scare me like that again princess" he whispered as their noses touched gently "Ok" she whispered back and their lips met again. From behind the door Cinnas mind exploded with possibilities of what the silence could mean from within the room. He smiled to himself and sipped his coffee and was about to disturb their peace when he heard "AHHCHOOOO!" "AGH! HAYMITCH ABERNATHY! That went all over me!" Cinna decided to finish his coffee in the hall, germ free and out of sight of the arguing that continued to blossom between the two unrequited lovers. The End x