brookewritesbooks requested: "Maybe you've done this before (if so, please link it) but one where olive plays with kätniss and peetas kids?"
"Are you sure you guys don't mind watching her?"
There was a deeper meaning behind that inquiry and Haymitch didn't need to be a genius to know it. Despite Fern Mellark being over a year old (by a few months) at this point, Peeta and Katniss had yet to leave their daughter's side and go out on a night just the two of them. He understood their hesitance. Sort of. But if they didn't start now, they'd never leave her alone until she was in her forties.
"Of course!" Effie exclaimed, bouncing the restless baby in her arms. "This isn't our first time caring for a child, you know. Olive's made it into her teenage years almost completely intact, isn't that right, darling?"
From the side room, Haymitch watched as his sixteen year old daughter entered. Sporting her second arm cast of the new year, she offered Peeta and Katniss a small smile. It was almost comical seeing the uncertainty flourish in both new parents eyes as they took in the broken arm and then looked at their own, uninjured daughter.
"Go," he said before Peeta could utter another word. "Before you change your minds."
"But we-"
Haymitch slammed the door shut ending the conversation that should have been finished fifteen minutes ago. Shaking his head, he looked towards his family and his young niece of sorts. Effie looked back at him, clicking her tongue in disapproval.
"That was awfully rude of you," she commented as the four made their way into the living room. "You know they are just worried. We were like that once."
"You," he corrected. "Were like that once. I was never worried about leaving Olive with Hazelle." He sat down on the couch, resting his feet on the coffee table until Effie's glare made him move them to the floor. "Anyway, the kids need a night out. Katniss was going stir crazy. She had this wild look in her eyes."
"Are you sure it just wasn't happiness?" Effie countered, resting her free hand on her hip. "I swear, Haymitch, I really need to give you a lesson on emotions."
He grunted in response as his daughter plopped down beside him. For a moment, his gaze fell down to her arm before flickering back up to her face. If he needed to be concerned about anyone, it was his daughter. One more break and he wasn't sure if Effie would ever let her leave the house again.
"How's the old limb?" He asked, nodding to her injury.
"Itchy," Olive said, glancing at her cast. "But the doctor said only three more weeks of it and I can get it off. Again."
"And for the last time," Effie interjected, finally letting Fern escape from her arms and be placed on the floor. "At this rate, Olive, your arms are going to be two separate lengths and we simply cannot have that. I grew you in me for nearly nine months. I will not let you tarnish your body!"
"So a tattoo is out of the question?" Olive inquired innocently, trying to keep the smirk from forming on her lips as Haymitch snickered beside her. "I was thinking of having a goose tattooed across my forearm."
"Enough of that talk, young lady," Effie frowned, jabbing a finger in her daughter's direction. "Or you can forget about ever leaving your room again."
Fern, seeming to feel left out by the conversation, toddled over to Olive's legs and began to yank on the fabric of her pants. Awkwardly, Olive managed her bend over and scoop the small girl up with her good arm and sat her on her lap. Fern smiled at her, showing two nearly complete rows of tiny teeth.
"Kind of crazy here, isn't it?" Olive grinned, hooking her arm around the baby's stomach so she didn't fall off. "Your parents were crazy for leaving you here. You see how I turned out."
"Very well, if I do say so myself," Effie added, not seeming to get that her daughter was merely joking. "Mostly."
Fern clapped her hands together as Olive bounced her on her knee. She was good with small children, liking them for the most part, but never sure if she ever wanted any of her own. She dared not share that with Effie though. Her mother was intent of having a brood of grandchildren one day.
"Well, you seem to have a handle on her," Effie said breaking the silence. "I guess I better go and begin to prepare dinner. Come, Haymitch, I'll have you help me."
Grumbling just inaudible enough where Olive could tell her father was mentioning her mother's cooking but unsure exactly what about it, Haymitch stood up and followed Effie into the kitchen. Once her parents had disappeared, Olive looked down at the baby.
"How's about we partake in a book?" She suggested, standing up with Fern clutched in the crook of her arm. "I think we have one of my favorites down here."
The teenager's eyes scanned the shelf until they finally landed on the old, very worn out book cover of stories she had had since early childhood. Taking a seat on the couch again, she opened the book up beside them and began to thumb through the pages until she landed on a satisfying tale.
"Your parents gave this to me," she told Fern. "When I was about your age. I've had it ever since. It's one of my most valued possessions. Just don't tell my mother that. I have it convinced it's that cashmere blouse she gave me a few Winter Solstice Festivals ago. Ugly, ugly thing."
Inhaling deeply, she began to read from the book, pausing every so often to let the baby point and babble at the colorful illustrations on each page. Little did she know that two people were watching them both from a far, quiet as not to ruin the moment.
"Oh," Effie breathed softly. "Don't they just look so sweet together?" She sighed, looking to Haymitch with a smile. "How I want another baby."
Haymitch's lips slowly upturned into a smile, a sort of excitement glittering in his eyes that had Effie' heart fluttering in anticipation. His mouth opened, the word on the tip of his tongue.
"No."
And she frowned.