A.N. Hello all! Well I hope you liked the last chapter. I only got a couple of reviews so I'm just going to assume y'all liked it because it's easier for me to believe. I wouldn't call this a filler chapter but I did do some experimenting. Acanthus has been an interesting person for me to write and I know he had a story in him so I really wanted to find out more about him, although I fear I may not like what I find. Anyways, I would greatly appreciate you leaving me a review. And as always, enjoy.

To Alice: Thanks for your review! I understand that sometimes computers can suck but thank you for reviewing. I'm glad you liked the chapter and I hope you like this one!

Acanthus Pilfer hated the colour red. Which was only slightly ironic because of the fact that his entire office was painted in the colour making going to work everyday more of a struggle than it already was.

Staring up at the (white) ceiling Acanthus wondered how much time had passed since he'd gone to bed. He hadn't been sleeping of course, but even just lying on the bed gave his muslces and limbs a break. It had been a long time since he'd had a good night's sleep, most of his nights were spent like he was now, staring at the ceiling and wishing for a kick to the head REM style.

The knock at the door only slightly surprised him. Although he couldn't say that he hadn't been expecting her, he couldn't say that he had been either.

"It's not locked, " he murmured.

The door opened with only the slightest hint of a creak and then soft footsteps could be heard as she crossed the floor and crawled onto the bed, lying down beside him and resting her head on his chest. Her nails bit into his scalp as she rain her fingers through his short hair, the feeling weirdly soothing as he allowed his eyes to close and his body to relax.

"Acanthus?" she queried.

'Mmm?"

"How long have we been doing this?"

Acanthus made a noncomital noise as he pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes and rubbed, as if it would help him in any way.

His body stiffened as he felt a feminine hand trace a scar than ran from hie left pectoral down to the top of his navel. The hands smoothing his hair back never stopped moving over his scalp.

As her hand began to trace another, nastier, scar Acanthus felt his chest tighten and his his lungs begain to burn from the lack of oxygen.

"Shh." She sad softly, "Breathe Acanthus. You need to breathe."

Right.

Just breathe.

It was such a simple thing, something he instrcucted each of his own patients to do whenever they were on the edge of hysteria and yet when his ass was hanging off the cliff?

Nope.

Nothing.

But as she pulled away he shook his head, even as his body continued to tremble. Damn it he'd been doing so well.

"I think you need to start talking Acanthus."

Sighing, he surged forward into a sitting position and pushed his palms into his eyes, wishing the action could wipe his slate clean. God he just wanted to be normal was that too much to ask for? He just wanted to be Acanthus Pilfer, not the psychiatrist or the patient and especially not the scared little boy who'd been beaten into submission for eighteen years of his life.

"I'm just tired" he mumbled unconvincingly.

She rolled her eyes and even though he knew he wouldn't be able to fool her he just really didn't want to talk about it. It had been almost ten years since he'd first stumbled into her office and looked into her kind eyes. Her office had become a safe haven for him, some where he could go and just talk without the fear of being judged or told he was stupid.

She'd been there when he's finally gotten his degree and when he set up his practice. Just like she was there for him now.

"You know, " she said rising up onto her elbow, "I remember the first day you stepped into my office. You were eighteen, thin as a bone, pale, and scared. When I look at you know it's hard to think that you were that boy who'd come into my office, but just because you look different doesn't mean you are. Just because you seem okay doesn't mean that you don't still have nightmares like I know you do."

Acanthus ran a hand through his hair, "I know I should just get over it-"

Before he could finish he found himself on his back staring up into the serious face of a woman who'd never taken any shit from him.

"Now you listen and listen good. You know that isn't true. People just don't get over trauma with a snap of the fingers. I don't know what's got you thinking like this but it needs to stop. Now."

Suddenly he was six years old again and being scolded by his mother because he knocked over the vase on the end table while chasing a ball. He felt the same shame and had the urge to turn his head away so he didn't have to look into her too kind eyes, a kindness he didn't deserve.

Long after she'd left Acanthus continued to stare at the ceiling. When he couldn't stand it anymore he got up and walked over to his full length mirror, stripping down naked in front of the thing. Looking at his body he didn't see anything that he particularly liked, sure, he had a broad chest, muscles roping through his arms and legs and a strong chin but all he could see were the scars. He remembered how he'd gotten every one of them too, it was like there was a whole section of his mind dedicated to never forgetting how he'd gotten to where he was then.

Dropping his head and staring at his toes her linked his fingers behind his neck and used his thumbs to massage his shoulders.

It was going to be a long night.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Stepping into his practice the following morning Acanthus was relieved that his receptionist wasn't there yet. God knew her heart was in the right place but if he had to listen to one more story about her on-again-off-again boyfriend (or was it fiance?) Jakks he was going to go insane.

He entered the red office after limited cringing and sat down at the computer, pulling up his schedule for the day. Compared to some it was a 'light' day but he was still booked pretty solidly. Scrolling through the list of names he wrote them on a paper so he could grab all the files he needed and have them on hand so he didn't have to waste time later.

Haymitch Abernathy – 12:30

He couldn't help but grin. If he was being honest he hadn't been sure about whether or not the Victor would come back but he was glad that he had. Although all of his patient had issues to work through there weren't too many who had 24 years of mentoring under their belts. Not to mention having fougt and survived the Games.

And almost killing an escort.

Details, details.

"Dr. Pilfer?" his secretary's head popped in through the door. "Your 10 o'clock is here."

He nodded, settling in to his chair making a motion with his hand, "Thanks. Send them in please."

And so it began.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Two hours later Acanthus was on his way to his lunch break. His first two appointments hadn't been too intense but then again, he wasn't too sure there was really anything wrong with them. Sure, they had some issues but Acanthus was positive it was more of a personality disorder, which wasn't something he specialized in.

Sure, he'd studied personality disorders in school but narcisism was common in The Capitol.

Leaning back in his chair in the café, Acanthus took a sip of his drink. A quick glance at his watch told him that he had to be back at his office within fifteen minutes. Using the time he had left he turned his attention to the screen in the café, which of course was showing the Games. Although it went against what he really wanted he had been keeping up with the Games this year, watching them as often as he could stomach it. Currently the television was replaying the events of the early morning in which Katniss had been woken up by a wall of fire. The nasty burn she was sporting a testament to her near-death experience.

Shaking his head Acanthus finished what was in his cup and paid the barista on the way out, determined to get back to his office before Haymitch got there. He'd only met the guy once but he had been watching Haymitch for most of his life, in fact, Haymitch had helped him to understand what went on in the mind of a Victor. There was a lot to be discerned from watching someone on a televeision screen. From what he'd seen Haymitch did seem to care somewhat about the tributes he was to mentor, it was just that he'd given up faith in himself and in the people around him.

Which is why Acanthus believed that 12:30-1:30 pm was going to be a long hour.

Stepping into his office with moments to spare Acanthus quickly grabbed Haymitch's file and got it ready before making a quick pass in front of his mirror to ensure that he looked presentable and that there wasn't anything stuck in his teeth.

Acanthus knew the moment that Hayitch arrived. Not only did the man cause a rukkus in the reception area but Acanthus could hear his footsteps from inside his office. And although Haymitch Abernathy was not a stick it's not like he weighed 300 pounds either.

The man all but broke the door down on his way in and then preceded to pace around the office, leaving Acanthus to close the door.

"Hello Haymitch," Acanthus greeted.

"She's gonna die. Dammit! First she runs towards the damn cornucopia. And now this! And the boy, oh, don't even get me started on that idiot." Haymitch seemed to blow right over his greeting and Acanthus wondered if Haymitch even knew he was there.

"Take a seat if you like Haymitch," he offered.

Acanthus had to force himself not to grin as Haymitch glared at him before giving up and sitting down, obviously not happy with being stationary. When a moment passed and Haymitch hadn't said anything Acanthus figured he might as well see if he could get the guy to talk.

"Seems like that tribute of yours had got herself into some trouble," he offered.

Haymitch snorted, "You make it sound like it was some naturally occuring thing. The Gamemakers are to blame for this."

Acanthus nodded, "So what are you going to do?"

"Whaddya mean?"

Acanthus shrugged, "You're her mentor right? Surely she must have some sponsors to help her out."

Acanthus watched as Haymitch seemed to consider that option. It didn't surprise Acanthus that the Victor had never thought of it before. After all, from what he'd gathered most of the tributes hadn't had much oppurtunity for a gift from the sponsors.

"I've never been good at making friends." Haymitch mumbled.

Acanthus leaned back in his chair and made a gesture for Haymitch to continue, it was easier if he thought that he was revealing what he wanted on his own agenda.

"Don't give me that look Doc. You know damned well that no one's going to give me anything given my track record."

Acanthus shrugged, "I don't know Haymitch. I mean you were the Victor for one of the Quarter Quells and people will remember that. They may be more generous than you think them to be."

Haymitch laughed, "Generous?! You Capitol bimbos don't know the meaning of the word!"

"Well if you approach them like that you'll get nowhere quickly."

Haymitch rolled his eyes and Acanthus could tell that he wasn't going to get anywhere by appealing to the Capitol citizens. Which made sense because someone who'd had their entire life uprooted was not going to trust the one who'd been doing the uprooting.

"They seem to like Katniss though. After all she did score very high during training and they both seemed to do fabulously with the crowd at the parade. What have you got to lose by not trying?"

Haymitch frowned and Acanthus watched him carefully, well aware of the fact that during their last session Haymitch had mentioned that he had promised the tributes that he would try this year. It seemed a safe bet that calling on that promise would evoke something within the man sitting across from him.

Acanthus felt a twinge of sympathy for the guy when he leaned forward and ran his hands threw his hair. It was obvious Haymitch was under a lot of stress and the frustration of not knowing what to do seemed to be getting to him.

Pulling a notepad off his desk the psychiatrist wrote down some numbers before tearing it off and extending it to his patient.

"Here," he started. "Take this. These are some numbers for a couple of people I know who have been willing and generous sponsors in the past. I'd try them first."

Haymitch seemed to hesistate before taking the slip of paper and staring down at the thing before looking back up at Acanthus.

"Thanks," he murmured.

Acanthus shook his head, "I just gave you the resources. You have to decide how to use them, but I do wish you the best of luck."

Haymitch grinned at him, "You're a shrink down to your very core huh?"

Acanthus inclined his head, "It is my profession."

When Haymitch seemed to relax back into the couch Acanthus considered his options. There were a variety of place he could go from there, a lot of things to talk about. Although there was a lot they had to discuss Acanthus wasn't sure whether Haymitch was ready to talk about some of the things he wanted to talk about.

Patients were like that sometimes.

"You look constipated when you think, ya know that doc?" Haymitch's question startled him out of his reverie but he managed to catch himself before he jumped.

"What's your excuse?" He shot back.

Haymitch's eyebrows shot up to his hairline before he laughed in a hard burst, slapping his knee as he said, "You're alright Pilfer."

Grinning, Acanthus nodded. "Thanks."

When a silence fell between the two of them Acanthus shot a quick glance at the clock on the wall, the hands reading just after one pm.

"How's Effie?" he asked.

"Today she was pink again. Out of all the colours she's worn I think I find that one the least offensive, which is ironic given it's pink."

Acanthus arched an eyebrow, "That's not what I meant."

Haymitch's shoulder seemed to drop a bit, "We had a…quarrel."

"A quarrel?"

"I would call it a fight but she was drunk."

"Oh?"

Haymitch nodded, "Yeah…I don't know. I think she blames me."

Acanthus leaned forward, "For the incident on the train?"

Another nod but he remained silent.

"Are you sure? I know you don't hold the citizens of The Capitol in high-esteem, are you sure it wasn't just a misunderstanding?"

Acanthus half expected Haymitch to react in a violent manner. It was usually for his patients to react defensively, especially when they were second guessing themselves. Instead, he just seemd to become even further distraught.

"She said she has nightmares."

"Well that's normal for someone's whose experienced a trauma. You of all people should know that."

"She's having nightmares because of me. It's not the same."

Ahhh. "Her mind is trying to make sense of what happened Haymitch. Add in the fact that she's probably still in a state of shock and fright and you're going to get nightmares."

It was then that Haymitch got up and started to pace again. Feeling a sense of unease come over him Acanthus took another glance at the clock. They only had about five minutes left.

Shoot.

He hated leaving people in a state where they were unstable, but he had another appointment after Haymitch and he couldn't put it off. It wouldn't be fair to the other person if he did.

"Haymitch why don't you bring Effie with you next time?" Acanthus was aware that he was reaching but it was worth a shot, and if he could get the two of them to do some opening up it could help everyone involved. Including those kids in the arena.

Haymitch shot him a look that made Acanthus want to check and make sure that he still only had one head. Acanthus shrugged and he watched as the idea was mulled over and Haymitch considered the proposition.

"Might have to drag her here," he muttered.

Acanthus chuckled, "I'm going to have to advise against that. It goes much better if people are here of their own free will."

"I guess time's up eh?"

"Looks like it."

Haymitch nodded and went for the door, having seemingly recovered from the intensity of the session they'd just had.

"And Haymitch? You should get her some help as soon as you can. If she gets an infection…" he let his sentence hang between them.

Haymitch nodded and then he was gone, the door shutting quietly behind him. Reaching for his phone he pressed a button and put the phone up to his ear.

"Hey Kira? Can you get me all the medical files for Effie Trinket? Yes the escort. No I - I just - Kira please be professional. Thank you, and send in my 1:30 please."

As Acanthus swapped Haymitch's file for his next patient's he began to plan for what he was going to do when the Victor and escort came to see him next week. He wasn't even sure if either was going to be cooperative, which could be extremely difficult come next week.

As his next patient came through the door, feet shuffling and sniffling heard every couple of seconds Acanthus refocused himself. Haymitch and Effie would have to wait, there were more pressing matters at hand.