"Jesus Christ, Rini," Haymitch gasped and jumped to his feet when she appeared in their box. "What happened to you?" He furrowed his brow as he studied her face, blinking when she shrugged and brushed past him to sit down.

"I needed time to rest," She answered, holding out a small purse of money towards him.

"For two days?" He watched her expression change for a moment before she straightened up and shrugged again. "I spoke to your husband yesterday."

"Oh?"

"Mmm. To further implement our…suggestion. I trust your part went okay?" He opened the weighty bag and sighed, slowly going over and sitting in his chair beside her. "How'd you manage this much?"

"I'm persuasive, it turns out," Renata gave him a sidelong look and the corner of her mouth tugged up in half a smile. "I woke up in a closet again, so either I put the idea in his mind or he was bored." She looked up at the screen and pursed her lips when she saw Katniss moaning as she curled into herself. "Where's Rue gone?"

"She's dead," He replied, picking at his teeth. "So is Marvel."

The girl felt her throat close up a little and she swallowed back the lump in her throat with difficulty. "I-I see." Well, it was bound to happen, right? Immediately she wanted to slap herself for having such thoughts. It was no use. She sighed and smoothed her hands on her pants, turning her head to look at Haymitch. "How many are left now?"

He counted them off on his fingers, "Six. Peeta's hurt badly. Cato did a number on his leg, and it doesn't look very good."

She nodded; even if they were a bit worse for the wear, both tributes from twelve were still alive. "Will that money be enough for medicine for him?" Movement through the projection caught her eye but she quickly diverted her attention to the elder mentor.

"It should be more than enough, but…" He grunted quietly and ran a hand through his hair. He let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head. "It's not like he could use it if we sent it to him." He nodded at the part of the projection that showed Peeta, his face painted to hide amongst the river rocks. "We'd give away his position instead of helping him."

"And what about Katniss?" Rini asked.

Haymitch opened his mouth, but was cut off as a voice rang out in the arena.

"Attention tributes, attention. The regulation requiring a single victor has been…suspended. From now on, two victors may be crowned if both originate from the same district."

Renata's mouth fell open and she and Haymitch both leapt to their feet. "Oh my god!"

"It worked!" Haymitch gasped, looking at the redhead before breaking into a wide grin. He embraced her tightly, the two of them laughing in relief. They watched the screen as Katniss picked herself up and began to search for Peeta, the announcement of the new rule giving her the strength to go on.

Finnick furrowed his brow, letting the news of the rule change sink in for a moment. Two victors from the same district? It was unheard of. Already in his box were his guests chattering amongst themselves, sounding like a bunch of shrieking birds. There was no way that Snow would actually allow this rule and yet… He rubbed his smooth shaved jaw and shook his head, smiling despite himself. There were only two districts that had both their tributes still alive- two and twelve.

He could see through the projection into the other boxes, where Renata was at her usual post with Haymitch. He pursed his lips and watched as they chatted to one another, quite animated. It was obvious that they were celebrating the news of the announcement and then it dawned on him that the rule change could have been enacted by them.

His eyebrows knit together and he sat up straighter, staring intently at the two. Haymitch had never before taken such interest in being a mentor, not like he had been this year. But then again, he had never had such a tribute under his wing. His eyes flitted up to Katniss for a moment, watching her pick up Peeta's tracks and beginning to pursue them.

The girl on fire was certainly a game changer.

If the rules were changing, he could only imagine what else would. His heart skipped a couple beats as he realized the opportunity that was in front of them, just begging to be taken.

"Finnick, where are you going?" One of the ladies called after him. She furrowed her brow when he didn't answer, but instead slipped out of the box without a word.

His blood was racing as he followed the corridor around to the other side. Everyone was running around with excitement, hurrying to place more bets and whatnot. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he approached Rini's balcony and he took a breath before opening the door.

"Haymitch. Could I have a word?" Finnick didn't dare look at the redhead that sat beside him. He gave him a small twitch of a smile before turning on his heel and walking out of the room, able to feel Renata's gaze on him. He smoothed back his hair and sighed, finding a small space behind a column to speak to the man privately.

"You aren't trying to seduce me, are you?" Haymitch raised an eyebrow as he squeezed into the space beside Finnick.

He smirked, his swoon-worthy dimples cutting into his cheeks. "Not at the moment." He stared at him silently for a moment before he opened his mouth. "I think a congratulations are in order. What with you changing the rules like that."

"Hm? Oh, that wasn't my doing. Mrs. Crane has nimble little fingers for pulling strings," Haymitch grunted, pausing when a group of people stopped by their column. There was enough going on that this meeting was going on unnoticed. "It was her that risked suggesting the idea to Seneca, I just further coerced him. My methods were less involved than hers, I'm sure."

"Should I be speaking with her, then?" He asked, pursing his lips. "No, I shouldn't think that Rini is knowledgeable in what I want to talk to you about."

"And what exactly would that be, pretty boy?"

Finnick closed his eyes and sighed, holding in a snarky comeback. "I think that with the present situation standing, we have the chance to start the rebellion."

Haymitch's face turned serious and he gave Finnick a hard look when he opened his eyes. "The present situation," he repeated slowly.

"I think Katniss is the fuel for the fire that we've been waiting for. I've never seen anyone like her," He nodded, glancing around the column before continuing. "And with this, this chance for the both of them to go home…this is our chance. This is what we need. We're just waiting now, aren't we? Things are changing. You know it. You felt it at the Reaping, didn't you? When she volunteered."

He grunted in agreement and nodded, folding his arms over his chest. "So what are you proposing? We use Katniss? She's just a kid."

"So was I," Finnick retorted. "And so were you."

Haymitch sighed and he put a hand to his forehead. "And what if I say no? That we can't do this to her?"

He pursed his lips into a hard line and began to slip out of the alcove. "It's already begun."

"Seneca?" Rini called when she entered her apartment. She heard the television airing the games that she had just left back at the complex, and Seneca was sat at his desk with his hand to his forehead. She frowned and walked over to him, setting a slender hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

He blinked out of his stupor and looked up at her, sighing heavily. "Yeah. I'm alright, love." He rubbed his eye and sat up straight, turning in his chair to face her. "I guess you heard what happened?" Even with his fatigue, he couldn't help but chuckle at the sweet grin that grew on Rini's face. "Pretty great, hm?"

"It's the most brilliant idea I've ever heard of," Rini whispered, sitting down in his lap and smiling when he hugged her against his broad chest.

"Yeah, well President Snow doesn't seem to think so," Seneca murmured, resting his cheek on top of her curly head and staring at the top of his desk. "If this doesn't end well, then I'm in serious trouble. And if I'm in trouble, then that means you're in trouble too, Renata." He lifted his head and watched as Katniss helped Peeta hobble along the terrain of the arena, the blonde boy unable to put almost any pressure on his mangled leg. "You know that, don't you?"

Renata nodded, watching the screen as well. "Snow wouldn't fire you, would he?"

Seneca laughed out loud, making her jump and she stared at him as he proceeded to laugh until tears streamed down his cheeks. "Oh my. That is…I'm sorry, my dear. I'm not laughing at you, I just forget sometimes how young you are." He cleared his throat and chuckled again, wiping his eye. "If things go bad, I would be eternally grateful to get off with only having being fired." He sighed and smoothed her hair back. "Why don't you go draw us a bath, mm? That sounds nice." He patted her bum and watched her rise and go to start the water.

He began to undress when he stood in the bathroom behind her, watching her bend over to feel the temperature of the water. When she offered her hand to him he took it and climbed into the tub, sighing as the warm water soothed his sore muscles.

"Do you want me to sit in here with you?" Renata asked him, folding her arms over her chest.

Seneca opened one eye and he watched her a moment before he closed it again. "Get in with me. I want to talk to you."

Rini furrowed her brow and she hesitated a moment before undressing and getting into the water with him. Once she situated herself at the other end, she looked up at him and smiled shyly when she saw his eyes open and on her. "I love baths," she said in a quiet voice, feeling like a child.

The corner of his mouth twitched a little before he turned serious again. "I know, you practically lived in the tub at home. Do you miss it?" He asked, cocking his head to the side. It seemed like an eternity since they had been out of the Capitol and at their regal homestead.

She nodded and pulled her hair over one shoulder, the ends that touched the water turning straight. "I'll be happy to go back once this is all done with." If they weren't punished, of course.

"Would you like it if I took you home? To Four?"

Her heart thudded to a stop and her eyes widened. "T-to…" She swallowed, unable to speak. She hadn't spoken to Cecil or Leona or the kids in ages. A pressure took over her heart, like someone was squeezing it and she finally managed a nod. "Yes. P-please…"

He ran his hand over his jaw and exhaled through his nose. "I would have preferred to see them next with the news of a pregnancy, but as such…"

She felt her cheeks burn and her eyes darted to the surface of the water. She then realized that Seneca was sitting with his legs sprawled and she looked elsewhere, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear.

"Rini," He said, his voice serious. "I know what you've been doing."

Her blood ran cold and she didn't dare look at him. "With the games? Seneca, I-"

"No, with the birth control."

Rini was frozen with fear. She slowly raised her eyes to look at him and found that his expression was anything but stern. Serious, but not hard. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"I found the kit you were hiding, love, there's no need to play dumb. I only wonder why you didn't just talk to me."

She was so surprised that she didn't realize she had laughed until it had already left her lips. "Talk to you? As if I had a choice in the matter?" Her cheeks were competing with her hair color on who was the reddest and she swallowed nervously. "I-I'm only eighteen, I didn't…I don't want to be a mother. Not yet."

Seneca was quiet and she kept her eyes on him, terrified that he would reach over and drown her if she looked away. "And if I take you home? What then?"

She swallowed again, her heart racing. "What do you mean?"

"What do I have to do to convince you to want my child, Renata?" He held her gaze with his piercing eyes, making it difficult for her to draw a breath.

"I-I-" What could he do to convince her indeed? To allow him to fill her, impregnate her with his child…the thought made her want to curl into a ball.

"You realize that life does go on after the games, don't you? This isn't our life, although it may seem like it now. When this is over, you're still my wife. I still own you," He raised a brow.

She licked her lips and gave a weak nod. She of course had known that. At the back of her mind, it was always there. Life would go on, and she would have to as well. "Can we wait at least a couple of years?"

Seneca blinked and he thought a moment. "One year,'' he said, nodding solemnly.

Hello hello lovelies! Miss me? Here we are at last, and aren't things progressing? Looks like we're coming in close to the end of the games, and the end of something else perhaps! perhaps?! Mm, yes. And as this story draws near to the end, catching fire draws closer! The movie and my story version! (Sinking Ships, anyone? ooooooo)

I really wish that I were skilled with doing anything making graphics wise, are any of you well versed in that? Maddie Rose had made a lovely commercial for these two stories and it just warmed my heart that she wanted to do that, so sorry that this is late but thank you sweetie! If anyone else were remotely interested in doing something for these stories, you could PM me and let me know, or even just PM to talk, i love that so much :D

As always, reviews are so so so very appreciated and they give me the strength to go on, so I shall be seeing you again soon through a screen that looks like this!

-Kelseeyyyyy