Thank you MsMKT68, HogwartsDreamer113, Joe and QuinnDeRavensborough for reviewing! :)
I've been receiving mostly the same questions/comments through PM and through reviews, so rather than PMing back, I'll just post FAQ part at the end of this chapter :) Also, this chapter is about two weeks before the 67th Hunger Games :) I just thought since nothing interesting really goes on from last chapter to the Games, I'll just write one chapter just prior to the Games.
XXII. Stay
"Guess what?"
"What?"
"I'm pregnant!"
Doctor Audrye blurts out the most random thing of all. I can only blink and step back a little, examining her stomach. "What? When? How?"
"Well, you know, a man and a woman have sexual intercourse. The woman gets preg-"
"Yeah, got it, Doc," I interject. "But… what?!"
"What?"
"You didn't tell me you were married!" I exclaim.
She raises an eyebrow at me. "Finnick, you don't need to be married to have kids."
"Who's the father?" I almost cringe at how girly I sound. It's like I'm a part of a group of gossiping teenage girls who don't know when to stop talking.
"Dean Lasonga."
"What?!" I explode. "Are you fucking serious?! We're talking about Dean here, right? Amphitrite Lasonga's son?"
Doctor Audrye casts an amused, sidelong glance at me, her lips twitching upwards. "Yes. Is there a problem with that?"
I recline back on the seat and shake my head frantically. "No, of course not. I just… Wow, I did not see that coming... How old are you again?"
"Finnick, it's rude to ask a woman for her age," she admonishes. I chuckle in response and raise an eyebrow. "Twenty-one, and he's nineteen. If you're thinking about the age difference, don't you dare say anything because it means nothing."
Raising my arms up in defence, I reply, "Hey, I wasn't thinking that. It'd just be cool if you guys had informed me. I mean, Dean visits me every week or so, and the two of you never mentioned a thing! How did I not notice?"
"Maybe it's because boys are clueless when it comes to this," she offers.
"Or maybe you guys are just great actors," I grumble under my breath.
"Onto the bad news now," Audrye replies, offering me a sympathetic smile. "I have two things to say. One, I'll have to leave a few months into my pregnancy for maternity leave, but-"
"No!" I shout. "You can't leave me, Audrye!" I go down onto my knees and bow down, begging dramatically. "I'll do anything, just don't leave me with the devils alone! They're going to whoop my arse. Please!"
Audrye chuckles and brings me back up to my feet. "What am I going to do without you, Finnick," she sighs, shaking your head.
"You could have more love time with Dean," I offer with a suggestive wink. I'm rewarded with a soft punch to the shoulder. "That's not very doctor-like, Doc."
"I'm still going to be assigned to you, Finnic-"
"Man, you're assigned to me?" I question, feigning hurt and placing a hand up to my heart. "That hurts, Doc. I thought you liked me."
She snorts. "Of course I like you and it was because I was assigned to you that I started to know you and liked you. Anyways, let's continue on, shall we? I'll still be your doctor. You can come to me for check ups but I won't always be available. Pregnancy tends to make us women… uh, hormonal, you could say. Second thing is, you won't be going to the Capital this year for the 67th Annual Hunger Games. You'll be staying here."
I hesitate in my response, gnawing at my bottom lip. "Here as in the hospital… or here in District Four?"
"District Four," she confirms. "You'll have to stay in one place though; you have to anyway, unless you have school, since Peacekeepers are around."
"I'm going to school?" I ask, hopefully.
Her neutral expression falters and the corners of her lips turn downwards. "No. I'm sorry, Finnick, but you're not stable enough to go."
"I thought I was making improvement."
"You are. You really are making improvement and from what you've been through, it's an astounding performance. The thing is, you were in horrible shape before… You had suicidal thoughts before."
Pressing my lips together, I hang my head down in shame. "That wasn't really the best highlight of the past few years, hey?"
"Not really," she laughs softly. "But trust me when I say you're improving greatly. I mean, look at you. Your physical health has improved so much. Months ago, you were a scrawny kid who looked like he'd never picked up a razor and now you're, and I quote, a gorgeous diva. Obviously, your mental state has improved as well, but just not as much. It's safer for you to stay here, rather than go to the Capital and mentor, in case something triggers your panic attacks."
It's not that I want to go to the Capital, but I do at the same time.
Pro: I have the chance to potentially bring back a tribute, which will hopefully make me feel better.
Con: I turn seventeen only three months after the Games, officially enforcing the deal Snow and I have made.
Pro: I get to meet Cashmere and Gloss - although I really hope Althea doesn't tag along with them or I think I'll quite literally die.
Con: Like Doctor Audrye said, something may trigger my panic attacks.
"Can I stay at Oliver's place?" I ask her, as she sets a bunch of papers aside.
"Of course. I'll have to give him syringes and sedatives though beca-"
"But, Doc! You said yourself I'm fine!"
"You're not fine, Finnick. I said you're getting better, and it's just for precaution."
I slink back into my seat, crossing my arms. "Fine," I grumble.
"I've already called up President Snow and believe it or not, he's approving of your uh… delay in arrival. You'll have to make up for it though. He wouldn't want you looking bad in front of Panem."
I sigh, running a hand through my hair. "I don't doubt it for a second."
We sit in an awkward silence for a while, taking turns to sigh and sniff. She sniffs, I sniff. I sigh, she sighs. It's like a process we have especially designed for awkward situations like these. I puff my cheeks out, not knowing what to say and tap the edge of my seat, my ADHD working up again. I stare at the floorboards of Doctor Audrye's office, intrigued by the design of the natural wood. My mind focuses on the concentric patterns and it's enough to distract me from my previous thoughts of President Snow.
"You'll still have to go to the reaping, dressed in your best," she speaks up. "You're an official and potential mentor for the Games. You'll only be sitting in the mentor's stand though."
"Do you know who's mentoring this year?"
"Dylan Marsden and Naya Rivers."
Dylan Marsden, Victor of the 42nd Hunger Games and Naya Rivers, Victor of the 32nd Games were polar opposites. Dylan was a brute Career who had no limitations. He murdered twelve year olds without a care for the world, even at the age of fifteen. He was a killing machine in his Games, with his number of kills almost rivalling to Brutus and Liberty Sterlinshire's twelve kills - both of whom had come from District Two and District One, respectively. All three of them had wiped out half the arena. Despite his past, he's different now. Everyone is… except maybe Brutus. Naya, however, was a different case. She was quiet, logical and rational. She'd claimed one kill in the arena and was a serene woman who understood others, a lot like Mags.
"They would probably work well together," I comment, nodding.
Doctor shrugs. "I have no idea who they are and know absolutely nothing about them, except for the fact that they've both been crowned Victor-"
Her phone buzzes, vibrating loudly against the table and a text message pops up onto the screen. Attempting to read backwards from my position, I manage to make out the name Dean. "From Lover Boy, eh?" I question, wriggling my eyes with a grin at her.
A blush creeps up onto her cheeks, tainting them with a light shade of pink. "Oh, hush. Go mingle with others or find your own Lover Girl."
I scowl at her, like she's lost her marbles. "Are you serious?" I demand. "The girls in here are crazy. They're not even crazy; they're freaking out of their minds. All they do is pet me like some lost puppy or some doll."
A bark of laughter escapes her lips, as she stands up to leave. "You know I can't express my opinions about that. Get some sleep, Finnick. You need it."
A/N: Hopefully things will grow to more interesting starting from now. Please review your thoughts! :)
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q. Are you British?
A. No. I'm Australian, so I do use British English when I write. Mom will be spelt as mum; blond will be spelt blonde; candy will be lollies. But there are a few Australian terms which mean completely different things in American (I learnt that the embarrassing way), so I'll definitely be avoiding a few words. British and Australians both use similar slang so if I include some of that in my writing, you now know why.
Q. How often do you update?
A. I don't know, to be honest. I like to try update once a week, especially with school going on. Outside of fanfiction, I have two ongoing stories on Wattpad (you should check them out!). However, I'll be completely four units of my HSC course this year (Year 10) and for the moment, I'll be watching heaps of Commonwealth Games. I'm planning on doing NaNoWriMo this year as well, so time is a little bit of an issue for me. Like I've said before, my updates are sporadic.
Q. How long are your chapters?
A. It depends. For Trident Boy and Reaching Impossibility, I like my chapters to be 1500-2500 words long. I know I go over and under, but really, I just end the chapter where I think would be better. Unfortunately, this chapter is rather short; I'm sorry for that. For The Victors Of Panem, I like my chapters to be around 500 words. If you go on my wattpad, you'll notice that I like my chapters to be 2500+ words.
Q. Do you edit your work?
A. Uh… I try? When I finish up writing a chapter, I'm usually in a rush to go off somewhere, so I have no time. When I do edit, I somehow skim over the errors so I apologise for mistakes in my stories!
Q. Why do the characters call each other by their surnames?
A. I didn't realise it was that obvious? I don't think I included much of that. At school on sports teams, we have a few people with the same names, so sometimes, we call each other by our surnames.
Q. Will you be writing any other stories?
A. Yes, of course. Like I've mentioned before, this is a part of a five-part series. I am, however, having second thoughts about that. Gloss' story will focus a lot on Cashmere, and so will Finnick's story with Annie. I'll probably pull those two out so it's a trilogy of Gloss, Finnick and Johanna. Maybe I'll add in a few chapters of Cashmere's and Annie's POVs :) Someone asked me about Haymitch's story? Aha, I'm not very interested in Haymitch's story, so I won't write one.