Mockingjay: Broken Wings

by Jamie Sommers

A/U Katniss and Peeta are married, expecting a baby. Peeta's unsure of Katniss after the things he's seen while being held prisoner. Is she still trustworthy? With a traitor in the rebellion who can Katniss turn to? Haymitch, after all the secrets he's kept? Gale, who's loyalty lies with President Coin? Or will Peeta open up his heart to her again? Sequel to CF: Rekindling

6. Drinking Me Lonely

Mockingjay: Broken Wings

By: Jamie Sommers

Chapter Five: Drinking Me Lonely

There are many things happening across Panem. Katniss is getting accustomed to her new position as Mockingjay. Peeta is being put through hell on a daily basis. Effie is doing her best to play double agent, and Haymitch is finding out that life isn't easy without his nag by his side. Gale's true colors are beginning to show, and this is posing a problem for his lifelong friend.

This chapter started off with a little musical inspiration. Chris Young sings a haunting ballad titled Drinking Me Lonely which came up on my random playlist. Hence, Haymitch's section in this chapter. So thank you Chris Young!

Thank you to all of you who take the time out of your busy life to read this story. Those of you who review, thank you! I am humbled by your kind words.

S and A, I am nothing without you both. You give of your time, your brains, your humor and your friendship. Thank you both!

Let's all travel into the world of...

Mockingjay: Broken Wings

"If you don't mind, I'd like to take a shower?" Effie entered her quarters with her personal Peacekeeper searching each and every room.

"Residence is secure," Steven spoke into his wristband then addressed Effie. "Miss. Trinket, I'll be taking my break now. You'll have guards posted at each entrance, walking the grounds and one will be inside with you at all times."

Effie waved him off and headed for her private bedroom. "Good night, Mr. Tanner."

"I'll be back in three and a half hours," he informed her before allowing another guard into her quarters and talking quietly to him.

'Three and a half hours,' Effie thought to herself. 'I'll need to move quickly if I want to explore the corridors that led towards the prisoners.' She'd have to get as much information about it as possible before reporting to Haymitch and the rest of the rebels. Fifteen minutes is what she gave herself before walking into the main area of her residency to meet the replacement Peacekeeper. "Good evening."

"Ma'am," the guard had been standing in the center of her living room scanning his surroundings.

"I was planning on having a cup of tea before I bathe and turn in for the evening." Effie poured it herself. "Would you like one? We have plenty of food and drink," she offered noticing the guard's eyes constantly drifting towards the table laden with an overabundance of food. "If you don't' eat it, it shall all go to waste."

"I'm not allowed to..."

The lack of Capitol accent, his eyes continually floating towards the sweets and his constant slumping of the shoulders told Effie all she needed to know about her temporary guard. He was from District Two. "Oh, pish posh. Who will be the wiser?" Effie made him up a plate full of sweets hoping the sugar rush would come crashing down on him. "Please," she gave him a tiny smile as she offered him the plate. "Your secret is safe with me. Tea?"

The guard took the plate from her hands and began to eat as though he had never had an ounce of sugar in his life. "Tea would be nice. Thank you."

"My pleasure," Effie wished to high heaven she had some of that sleep syrup Katniss had used on Peeta in the first arena. Sleep syrup may not have been at the ready, but she did have brandy. "I shall make you my special blend."

"Thank you Miss. Trinket."

"Of course," Effie poured a small amount of blackberry brandy into a cup and filled it with steaming hot black tea. "Do you like it sweetened?"

"Yes, please."

She dawdled for a few moments, refilled the guard's plate twice and his cup of tea three times. "It's quite lovely having someone decent to care for," she took his cup and noticed the droopy lids covering his eyes. "Well, I do have a busy morning ahead of me. Please feel free to make yourself at home," she gestured to an oversized rocker stuffed with luxurious padding. "You Peacekeepers work so hard and I barely see you take a break. I promise I shall be no troubles whatsoever. A bath and sleep," she grinned as she watched the guard sit in the rocker and begin to push it back and forth. 'Sleep well,' she thought to herself as she entered her quarters and moved the portrait of President Snow to the side. There was only one button and she wasn't sure how to get out of the hallways Mr. Tanner had taken her into once she made her way inside, so she grabbed a pillow and placed it in the wall preventing it from closing with her inside. With shoeless feet, she headed straight for the area she had heard Johanna's voice coming from, but there was nothing but silence. "Where are you?" She whispered to herself as she scanned the dark tunnels. One led to a doorway, a television monitor located in the wall next to the door, showed what was on the other side. "Peeta," she whispered. Effie had found the jail cells where the prisoners had been taken. He was curled up in the fetal position and shivering. If she could, she would have broken through the door and taken him from his locked cell. 'Stay on track, Effie,' she reminded herself she was there for a reason. To get information so Haymitch could rescue them. There were ten cells squeezed into a space no bigger than her bathroom. Three held Johanna, Peeta and Annie who was rocking back and forth and silently crying. 'Oh darling,' Effie sent the girl a mental bit of hope, 'it won't be long. Stay strong. All of you, stay strong.' Four other cells were taken, but one prisoner wasn't moving. His eyes were open and had a fixed look about them. Effie gasped as she realized that the mentor from District Six was lying dead on the floor of his cell. Under his head a bloody puddle. Her fingers covered her lips as she headed down another corridor. The twists and turns of the halls finally led to two additional doors. The television monitoring system showed a room, which Effie recognized as the meeting room next to the President's main office. The other television screen showed President Snow sitting behind his large desk, rubbing at his temple, watching the war unfold before his eyes on yet another television screen. 'Seems I hit a bit of a jackpot,' a flicker of hope flashed through her eyes. When the president turned around and started to speak to someone Effie tried to make out who it was, but the person was out of view, and then... her fingers flew to her lips, "Orange blossom," she whispered. The rebel's traitor was right before her eyes, and now Effie understood why the information being passed about was minimal. She had to tell Haymitch, had to let the rebels know what was going on. Most importantly, she had to find a way to get rid of the traitor. Orange blossom knew Effie Trinket was part of the rebellion. She wished she had more time, but it was not on her side. She did her best to hurry back into her bedroom, stuck her arm through the opening of the wall in an attempt to open it back up, but that was all that would fit. The pillow hadn't been nearly firm enough to keep it open wide enough for her to slip back through. She berated herself for being so stupid, 'What were you thinking? You should have used a book...a candlestick...A pillow?' The television monitor in the wall showed her empty bedroom. Her eyes began to scan the area, looking for a way to get back in. There was no button in sight. No way of reentering her quarters. 'Oh my,' she worried. She pushed on the wall only to find that it wouldn't budge. 'Okay, think Effie. Think.' She closed her eyes and thought of her exit from the hallway with Steven. Her tiny pace helped her to focus on her task at hand. What did Mr. Tanner do to get the wall to slide open? Did he touch something? Her eyes flickered to the television monitor she hadn't noticed upon reentering her quarters earlier. Effie looked at the monitor thinking, 'Surely it can't be that simple,' but it was. A push of the power button and she was back inside of her bedroom. She threw the pillow onto a chair, rushed into the bathroom and ran the shower. 'Please be there. Please be there.' Her head was going a mile a minute as she stripped down to nothing, held the computer in her hand and stood as far away from the splashing water as possible. Plutarch had said the device could withstand almost anything, Effie could only hope the slight sprays of water wasn't one of the things the tiny computer couldn't handle. She swirled her finger counterclockwise over the area Plutarch had told her about, stuck her head out of the shower to make sure she was still alone, then began speaking into it. "Can you hear me? Oh, I certainly hope you can. Haymitch, we are more than ready for you to make your appearance," she kept her voice down and her lips as close to the computer as possible. "I have found a way to get access to the prisoners through the quarters they are keeping me in adjacent to the president's rose garden. It not only leads to the jail cells, but to a conference room, the president's private office, and the Tribute Center as well. There were too many hallways for me to go through without being caught, but I was led to believe that there is one tunnel that leads to Snow's residency. I fear we are now down to six prisoners of war being held captive and Peeta is not faring well. None of us are." She wasn't sure when the rebels could make their way into the Capitol, if she'd even be alive for much longer, but she had an idea. "We are having a meeting in two days time to discuss an attack against those of you that have taken shelter in Thirteen. All of the officials will be there, as well as President Snow. The security will be ungodly around his offices, but the private residencies are usually left with only one or two guards. If you are willing to brave this, then I will use your computerized system to disable their television coverage of the war like you asked me to Plutarch. In fact, I shall do it immediately. Please...please do not leave us here any longer. The traitor is here, and knows who I am...that I have been a part of the rebellion since the Victory Tour. All of our lives are in danger and my boy...my sweet boy...They are slowly poisoning Peeta and..."

"Miss Trinket," the knock on her shower door startled her.

"Yes," she called out.

"You'll need to come out of there."

"I shall finish up promptly." Effie blew out a breath. "Oh, Haymitch. I fear they may have caught me this time." The pounding on the door grew louder. "Please darling, hurry. And if I don't make it out the traitor is...I..."

"Miss. Trinket," Steven Tanner's voice spoke to her from inside of her washroom.

"Mr. Tanner! Please leave this instant! This is not proper etiquette!"

"You'll have to come with me ma'am," Mr. Tanner stood with his back to the shower. "I won't look, but you'll need to step out of the shower immediately ma'am."

It took careful precision to manipulate the buttons on the computer, reach for her clothing, dry herself off and secure Plutarch's device back into her corset after getting dressed without Steven Tanner seeing. "Where are we going?" Effie tugged on her wig which was slightly lopsided.

"This way Miss. Trinket," she entered her living room to see President Snow waiting for her arrival, and knew her days as a double agent were up.

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"Trinkie." There was a tremble in Haymitch's voice as he called her by the pet name she hated so much. "Plutarch, we need to go somewhere quiet," Haymitch suggested.

Plutarch, Katniss, Haymitch and Fulvia entered the hallway outside of the dining hall and listened as Effie pleaded for the lives of those being held captive. "Oh, Haymitch. I fear they may have caught me this time." The pounding on the door grew louder. "Please darling, hurry. And if I don't make it out the traitor is...I..."

"What was that?" Katniss said softly when they heard a pounding sound.

"Someone's there," Haymitch leaned closer to the computer and feared for Effie's safety.

A few words were spoken between Effie and someone that had entered the room she was in, then the computer went dead. The group shared concerned looks.

"At least we know the traitor is not here with us," Plutarch attempted to help ease the worry on Katniss' and Haymitch's faces.

"No. They're there and probably ratted Effie out." Haymitch pounded his fist into the wall. "Damn it, Effie! Why the hell do you always have to be the hero?" His head dropped as he tried to regain his composure. "Okay, we need to let Coin know about this. Time to get our people out of there and we're not waiting two days!"

"Hey, Catnip?" Gale peeked his head out of the dining hall. "Your family's been looking for you...you alright?"

Katniss took a few deep breaths. The combination of fear, the stench of whatever they were serving for dinner and her rapidly beating heart was causing her stomach to churn in a way that was all too familiar. "Yeah."

"Might as well bring him in on it sweetheart. He's gonna find out anyway," Haymitch motioned for Gale to join them as they headed for the control room. "We've got to get a rescue mission going, and now. Our people are in a world of danger."

"Didn't we know that already?" Gale asked sarcastically.

"This is serious, Gale." Katniss could feel the horrible churning start in her gut. "I...I need to meet you there." She ran ahead of them without saying another word, heading for the nearest bathroom, begging herself to hold on. 'Please don't do this banana nut. Mommy needs to work. Oh God...mommy,' she pushed open the door to a closet and grabbed a trashcan, bent over it and let out whatever was in her stomach. She wasn't sure how long she sat on the closet's cold floor holding her stomach, wishing she had a glass of iced water to sip on, wishing Peeta was there to hold her hair back and rub that spot between her shoulder blades making things bearable. "I can't do this," her lips moved as she talked to him. "How am I supposed to hide this, Peeta? Prim guessed and I couldn't keep it from her. Bing said I couldn't keep a secret from him or mom. What if they know? How am I going to keep this baby alive if I have to go into battle?"

"Katniss?" A soft rap on the closet door followed by Prim's voice called to her. "I'm coming in."

Katniss lifted her bloodshot eyes to Prim who immediately went into doctor mode. "First thing's first. We need to get that trash can out of here before the smell makes you puke again." Prim opened the door, disappeared for a couple of minutes then returned with a cup of something. "Sip this."

"What is it?"

"Water," Prim lifted it to her sister's lips. "Take little sips. You look weak. Are you okay? Can you stand?"

"Yeah, it's just been awhile since I've dealt with the morning sickness." Katniss rested her head against the wall. "How am I going to do this, Prim?"

"The same way you did it in the arena," She held her hand out to Katniss. "Come on. You'll want to eat now, right?"

"I have to go to a meeting in the control room about rescuing Peeta," Katniss took a few deep breaths.

Prim thought for a few seconds then said, "Okay. I'll have Dr. Valero put in an order for your food to be brought to you." She put her arm around Katniss' waist. "Did something bring it on? The smell of some food?"

"Yeah, I called myself mommy," Katniss gave her sister a halfhearted grin.

"That'll do it," Prim smiled back. "Drink the rest of this water. Stop by the restroom on your way to the meeting, and clean yourself up. You stink. In the meantime I'll talk to Dr. Valero and we'll send you in some food and something soothing for your stomach."

"No," Katniss shook her head. "Don't worry about the medicine. Now that I've gotten it out of my system, I'll be fine until I'm ready to eat again. We need to save the medication for when I really need it."

"Okay, but just in case, I'll talk to Dr. Valero about it." Prim walked a few feet away from Katniss, "You're hunting again, right?"

"Yeah," Katniss nodded.

"Good. Take me with you the next time so I can forage for some medicinal herbs. They don't grow anything like that here, don't think they even know what to look for in the woods, but I can brew up some tea that will help you with this. It won't get rid of it completely, but it should help." Prim walked away without getting an approval or disapproval from her sister.

"Great, Coin will love that." Katniss walked into the meeting where they were dissecting Effie's description of the corridors in the Capitol.

"If we can get to this place she's staying at," Haymitch was pacing back and forth, "we might stand a chance of getting to the prisoners."

"But how?" Gale asked. "It's not like we can land a hovercraft in the middle of the president's rose garden."

"The Tribute Center roof," Katniss interjected. "She said it led to the Tribute Center. Plutarch, you disabled the surveillance and there are no tributes for them to keep an eye on, so the feeds on the roof won't exactly be a priority for them."

"I see what you're saying sweetheart," Haymitch looked up at a map of the Capitol that was displayed on a large television monitor. "If we can get our people here, make it down to the tunnels, we can reach all of them and get them out the same way."

"They'll never even know we were around the president's offices," Gale looked intently at the map. "We might be able to take a few hostages in the process...grab a hold of some officials. See how Snow would like that."

"He wouldn't give a damn," Katniss sat down before her legs gave out. Prim was right. She was feeling just like she looked...weak. "As far as he's concerned, all of his people are dispensable." 'Sort of like Coin,' she thought to herself. "They've accepted a position with the Capitol...knew what they were risking..." she turned her head towards the president, "...I'm sure he'll remember their sacrifice."

"The girl's right," Haymitch either didn't get Katniss' sarcastic comment or disregarded it. "Snow could care less about his people. We need to go in, get ours and get the hell out."

"If we could use this opportunity to gain some type of edge over the Capitol, then we should," Gale argued.

"No!" Haymitch slapped his hand against the table. "We need to prioritize here. That's where we screwed up when we were getting them out of the arena. We tried to do too much at once. We should've listened to Effie when she told us to use the other hovercrafts as cover, grab the rebels and get out. Instead we were trying to get supplies...take out their entire communications network. We barely made it out of there."

"I agree with Haymitch on that," Plutarch added. "If we had stuck to the original plan instead of changing it at the last minute, we would have gotten all of the tributes out."

"Stop calling them tributes," Haymitch said in a low voice. "They're people, not tributes."

"We can't go back in time," Coin's face was stone, "and change the outcome of the rescue mission. Our adjusting of the plans was beneficial and provided us with a slight advantage over the Capitol. District Four gained control over communications within hours of our attack on the Capitol's systems."

"District Four would've gotten control over it anyway," Haymitch's entire face was starting to turn beet red. "It needs to be decided now. Is this a rescue mission or is this an a attack?"

"It's a rescue mission," Katniss said flatly. "That is what was promised to me." she let her eyes drift up to Coin's.

"A rescue mission," Coin gave her head a nod. "However, I want to know who the traitor is, and I'd like the person brought here if possible."

"As long as it doesn't risk the lives of the people we're trying to save, I have no problem with that," Katniss could smell the food being delivered to her before it even entered the room. Her mouth began to water as a knock came at the door and Regina entered with a tray. "How do we know which way to go once you get access to that area Effie told us about?"

"Excuse me for disturbing your meeting, but Katniss needs to keep her strength up if she's going to be fulfilling her role as our Mockingjay." Dr. Valero set the tray down in front of Katniss, signed a few things to Justus and said, "He'd like me to translate for him."

"Proceed," Coin eyed up Katniss' doctor.

Regina began translating Justus' hand signals. "I know a lot about the tunnels. They were the inspiration for the Capitol hideout I built as well as the escape routes in the districts." Everyone listened as Regina spoke for Justus as he explained the origin of them, and how they were being used by the Capitol when he still worked for them. When he was finished Regina calmly excused herself. "Have a good evening."

Everyone in the room gave Katniss and her heaping tray of food she had ignored during Justus' lesson a once over. "They still have us residents from Twelve on a higher calorie diet," she tried to play her enormous portions off. As Katniss dove into the soup that had been served for dinner that night she took a huge bite of bread thinking, 'Peeta, you need to hurry up and get here. I'm not going to be able to keep these people fooled for much longer.'

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A one by one inch device was placed on Peeta's arm, and the tubes shot into his skin. He took in a sharp breath between his teeth and waited for everything to change. He started to see images the night before that had frightened him to no end. Katniss' body burned to a crisp surrounded by a glowing light. His mother, Effie's body lying dead in a pool of her own blood, her throat slit open. 'She's not your mother,' something in the back of his mind was struggling to get a grip on reality. 'Effie Trinket is not your mother. Your mother is dead,' but was she? Snow had told him his entire family died in the bombings of District Twelve. Bombs that Katniss was supposedly responsible for, but he also called Effie his mother. 'Why would he do that?' Peeta wondered. 'Effie's from the Capitol. Am I...am I from the Capitol too?' Questions continued to arise within him. 'Did I live in District Twelve? Yes. I know I did. I remember being reaped. Reaped by...Effie. Approached by Haymitch to help...help what?' Peeta took a breath, closed his eyes, and tried to recall who these people were to him. He could hear Effie telling him to fight what Snow was doing to him. Not to admit to being part of the rebellion. 'The rebellion,' Peeta's eyes flew open. 'Haymitch wanted me to join the rebellion.'

"Good morning, Peeta," President Snow's voice sent a chill up his spine. "I have a special treat for you today." He made a motion with his hand and Peeta watched as the room he had killed three Peacekeepers in the day before appeared behind a wall of glass. "Do you recognize our prisoner?"

Peeta's head was fuzzy...dizzy, but he knew who was on the other side of the wall. "Please don't do this. I don't know what you want from me. I don't know about the rebellion. I was never a member."

President Snow's demented features took on one of anger and hostility. "This has nothing to do with the rebellion, and everything to do with yesterday's attempt on my life. You took three of my guards, but I am being kind and only taking one life in return. Correction. One very important life. This person is important to you, am I correct, Peeta?"

"No." He tried to turn his head but it was strapped down to the table. "No!" He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Then why so emotional over the death of someone so...insignificant?"

"What do you want?" Peeta looked at Snow. "You want me to forget Katniss? Hate her? Well, don't worry...your drugs are doing that. I can barely think about her without wanting to strangle her."

"No, Peeta. I want to show you what happens when you don't play by my rules." Snow walked around the back of the table Peeta was strapped to. "What should have happened to you in that first arena."

The stench of blood and the overpowering scent of roses accosted Peeta's senses, turning his stomach, reminding him of Snow's visit to District Twelve...his home. The home he and Katniss shared. "Aaaaargh!" He screamed, tried to loosen the binds that kept him secured in place. "Stop this! You don't have to do this! I told you...I'll disappear. I'll take Katniss and we'll both disappear. You'll never have to see us again. No one will!"

"And your child? Will I see your child? In the arena perhaps?"

'His child,' it was the first time Snow didn't question the parentage. "No," Peeta whispered harshly. "I won't trade my child for anyone's life."

"What if I told you, your child would never have to face the arena? All you'd have to do was allow it to be raised in the Capitol. I would take excellent care of your offspring."

"NOOOOOOO!" Peeta screamed in Snow's face. "DO WHAT YOU WANT! KILL WHO YOU WANT! I DON'T CARE!" He had been questioning whether or not the baby was his, but he never questioned his love for the child. For some reason he felt a bond with it, and he didn't even know if it was his. Peeta knew with everything that he was, he loved that baby, and would die for it. "You'll never..." Peeta growled out, "...never get your hands on any of my children."

"Then we shall start," there was a hint of excitement in Snow's voice. "Perhaps you're unable to tell from your position on the exam table that this particular prisoner has been turned into an Avox, so you may have a hard time understanding her cries. If you'll excuse me," Snow walked through the door and entered the room leaving Peeta to watch as the torture began. Yes or no questions were asked in regards to the rebellion, all of which the Avox shook her head, no, but Snow wasn't satisfied. A knife, not just any knife, but the one Peeta had used to slit the throat of the Peacekeeper, dried blood still on the blade, was slashed across the woman's arm. Snow's demonic chuckle filtered into the room via the speakers, along with grunts from the Avox, causing Peeta's stomach to churn. He closed his eyes, trying his best to block out the image in front of him, and heard Snow's voice, "I wouldn't recommend that Peeta. If you don't watch this prisoner's death, then I'll have to make you watch another." A whip was taken to naked flesh, skin was torn apart, and the blood of a woman that had done nothing but help Peeta during the Games, sprayed onto the window with each lash of the whip.

"Stop it! Stop!" Peeta screamed, tried his best to move from his confines, but they were too tight. He watched the slow and painful death take place before his eyes. A new nightmare to add to his collection of already gruesome dreams.

President Snow walked out of the torture chamber wiping his hands on a towel. "That was a bit messier than I prefer."

"You're sick," Peeta's voice was low and damning. "I swear, the moment I'm free from here, I'll rip your throat out with my bare hands."

"Yes, I'm sure you'd like to." Snow eased his way closer to Peeta. "But you won't remember that threat, Peeta. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be offering to protect me from those rebels you love so much." He turned to look through the window. "As an artist, you must appreciate the color palate I've provided for you."

Peeta closed his eyes, but that didn't erase the image of the bright red blood mixed with the color of Camellia's orange skin. He pictured the member of his prep team the first day he had met her.

Peeta's eyes just kept following the orange girl until he finally asked her, "What's your name?"

"Excuse me?" She said.

"Your name? What is it?" He wasn't sure if he should ask, but he was curious.

"I'm Camellia and this is Horton and that's Apria." She introduced the remaining members of his prep team to Peeta.

"Camellia," Peeta said to himself. He looked at her once again and said, "You look like a sunset." The trio stopped what they were doing and Peeta wasn't sure if he should've said anything. He decided to explain himself. "That's my favorite color." When Camellia blushed he said, "Now you look like a sunrise. My second favorite color."

"I'll never forget what you've done here...what you're doing to me...to all of us," Peeta warned Snow. "If I were you, I'd kill me while you still can."

"There's no need." Snow leaned close to Peeta's ear and spoke in a disturbing voice, "The rebels will do that for me once you kill their precious Mockingjay."

Peeta noticed Camellia's body being dragged out of the room and another person being brought in. "Who is that?" Panic filled his eyes when the hood was removed to show the new prisoner. "No! NO! You said you were taking one life!"

"I said one important life." Snow watched the look on Peeta's face as he began to squirm. "I'm sure I'll find someone of importance to you eventually."

"Why are you doing this?" Peeta tried his best to reason with Snow. "These people never did a thing to you. They never hurt you. If you want to punish someone, punish me. I was the one that told Katniss to hold up the berries. I was the one that broke the rules the Gamemakers set in the arena."

"And you shall pay for all of that and then some." Snow pressed a button on a remote control. "Prepare him for questioning."

"Questioning? You mean torture, don't you?!" Peeta swallowed the bile that began to rise in his throat. "What do you want? Tell me and I'll do it."

The sneer on Snow's face told Peeta all he needed to know. There was nothing he could do. He had already done too much. "Relax and enjoy the show. It's a shame Katniss isn't here to see this. I'm sure she'd appreciate my logic. She understands the concept of paying a debt." Snow pointed to the window that showed Darius on the other side of it. "That is your payment, Peeta. Everything that will be brought onto that young man is because of your debt to me." As Snow headed back into the room he turned to Peeta and said, "Don't forget to watch closely, or the next person I bring in here will be one of those girls you're so fond of in the prison cell next to yours."

"Johanna...Annie," Peeta whispered to himself. He barely blinked as two of Darius' toes were sliced off, hanging by a thread of skin. Shreds of mutilated tongue wagged as grunting sounds echoed through the room with each slash of the leather whip. As much as it hurt Peeta to watch the torment Darius was going through, he knew it was necessary to keep Johanna and Annie from going through the same.

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The dark room Haymitch slept in seemed hollow, and empty. Thoughts of the rebel's meeting to rescue the prisoners kept running through his mind. 'We're coming, Trinkie. We're filming Peeta's propos and then we're coming.' The group had decided to get the propaganda spot filmed immediately, and put on the air so they could use it as a distraction while entering the Capitol. Even though the rescue plan was in place, Haymitch's heart was still heavy, weighed down with worry for the woman he never expected to have feelings for. When he thought of Effie he didn't see her all dolled up in Capitol attire, but clean and simple. The way she looked before she went to bed at night or first thing in the morning. Over the years he had seen every side of Effie Trinket, but he never thought in a million years she would get him to feel again.

The tributes from District Three and Johanna Mason had just joined Katniss and Peeta in the arena. Now that all of the rebels were together it was time to get the escape plan underway. Haymitch and Effie were about to go to the party when a group of Peacekeepers showed up in the District Twelve suite.

"All right, I'm ready to go." Effie stopped short at the sight of the Peacekeepers standing next to Haymitch. "Do we require escorts this year?"

"No," Haymitch started. "They…"

"Miss. Trinket, your attendance is required by an official," a tall, muscular Peacekeeper said in a commanding voice.

"Haymitch, I'm afraid you'll have to work the sponsors on your own." Effie walked towards the Peacekeeper. "Don't forget your little computer and please try not to get too inebriated while I am gone." She faced the Peacekeeper that addressed her. "Shall we?"

"This way, ma'am," the Peacekeeper motioned for the roof. "We have a hovercraft waiting for you."

The second she left the room Haymitch's need for a drink was almost blinding. He gave himself a few seconds before deciding on whether or not he should go to the party without her.

"Haymitch," Portia interrupted his thoughts. "Why don't we all go to the party together?"

"Yeah...yeah...sure," he tried not to show his concern at Effie being summoned away. 'It's got to be that ass, Bettes,' Haymitch thought to himself. 'I really hate that guy.' He followed his group to where the nonstop festivities were underway and sat at the table reserved for his team. "Whiskey," he ordered from the closest servant. 'Quit thinking about her,' he tried to get his head on straight, but it was impossible. 'Effie is a grown woman. She knew what she was getting into, but...damn it, why'd she have to go and start dating some Capitol official? Doesn't she know... Know what, Haymitch?' He silently asked himself. 'Nothing.' He ordered another drink before he took a sip from his first drink, and his mind went right back to Effie. 'You just couldn't stay out of my hair, could you? Son of a bitch. You're probably cuddled up with that blowhard right now while I'm sitting here...shit! I'm sitting here like an idiot, pining away for a woman that I'm supposed to hate.' Haymitch felt a rush of relief as the alcohol slipped down his throat. With each sip he could feel Effie's presence moving further and further away. 'You don't drink to stop thinking about some stuck up Capitol broad,' Haymitch berated himself. 'You drink to get rid of the memories of the Games. The things you did. The girl you love...Effie. Don't you mean Maysilee?' "WHISKEY!" He yelled out as he slammed the empty glass down on the table startling the rest of his team. 'You do not love Effie Trinket,' his head was practically screaming. He began listing off all of her annoying traits one by one, 'She's a nag. Yeah, but she only nags at you so you'll stop killing yourself. She can't mind her own business. She's in your business because she worries about you. Well, I didn't ask her to worry about me! And she's not that good looking!' He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and thought, 'Who the hell are you kidding? The woman's got a hell of a body and when she's not wearing all that shit on her face, she's...son of a bitch! Okay! All right! She's gorgeous!' "Get me another will ya sweetheart?" Haymitch asked the attendant that dropped off his drink. He gave Annie a wink and said, "I'm just having a couple of shots to calm the nerves." He tried to watch the Games, but he couldn't focus on them. He couldn't focus on anything but Effie's absence. 'Where are ya, Trinkie? It's been almost two hours and you're still not back. Christ, what if they're hurting you? Christ! What do you care, Haymitch!? The woman's been a pest in your life for over a decade, and you're sitting here worrying about her!' His head was getting that nice, fuzzy feeling. "Maybe one more," he held the glass up to the attendant and gave Portia a sloppy grin. 'She's not here to stop you, so drink away.' Effie was always trying to control his drinking, and Haymitch didn't appreciate it. 'I can stop whenever I want to. I just don't want to,' he laughed a little to himself and ignored the strange looks he was getting from the people sitting next to him. 'Get the hell out of my head, Effie. I don't want you here. Never asked you to pester me about my drinking all these years...never wanted it! I'm glad you're with that son a bitch Bettes. He can have you! You can go straight to hell with him leading the way!' He played with the glass in his hand as his heart took over, 'Where are ya, Trinkie? Time to come back. You've been with him long enough,' he didn't realize it, but Haymitch actually let out a sigh.

"Maybe you should ease up a bit, Haymitch?" Portia asked him only to be ignored.

'What'd ya do, get a substitute nag for when you're gone?' Haymitch could feel his arms and legs getting relaxed. 'Don't like it much when you're gone Effie. Things are a lot easier when you're around. Not sure why, but they are.' His eyelids seemed to weigh a ton. He tried to scan the crowd looking for her thinking, 'Maybe you're here and you just don't want to be seen with a drunkard?' "One more!" He lifted his glass in the air and shook it. 'Well, too damn bad! I'm a drunk! If you're gonna love me ya gotta love all of me.' Haymitch's tired eyes opened wide as he realized, 'Wait a minute...shit...Trinkie loves me. Nah,' he blew the thought off. 'What if she does though? What if she feels the same way about you?' Haymitch gripped the edge of the table. 'What the hell?! Who said I feel that way? I didn't say...' he noticed the Careers making a plan to attack his group of rebels in the arena on one of the large television screens. "Damn it!" He slammed his hand against the table. Haymitch wasn't sure if his outburst was directed towards the events playing out in the arena or over the scary conclusions he was reaching about Effie. He tried to concentrate on the Games but then Portia had to go and bring her up, and once again Trinkie was dominating his thoughts.

"Where is she? She's been gone for hours."

"Do I look like her babysitter?" Haymitch spat out trying not to show his jealousy over the man Effie was keeping company with. "The woman was summoned by her boyfriend… she's probably sitting in some posh private suite enjoying the Games without all of these crazed lunatics around." Haymitch waved his arms in the air gesturing towards the crowd of guests at the party.

"Maybe we should go back to the suite," Skip, the mentor from District Four, suggested. "Eat lunch there?"

"What's wrong? Ashamed to be seen with a drunk?" Haymitch sneered.

"Yes," Annie said quietly.

"Then leave," Haymitch slurred. "Better yet…I'll leave." He tried to stand again and fell face first onto the floor.

Skip raced around the table and tried to help him up, but Haymitch just slipped out of his grip and back onto the floor again. "We're going back to the suite," said Skip.

"I ain't doing shit with you," Haymitch declared. Bright yellow pointy toed shoes with six inch heels stood directly in his line of sight. Haymitch's eyes trailed slowly from the feet, up the shapely calves to a pink and yellow striped skirt before finally settling on a gold wig. As he took in each of her features a shocking realization smacked Haymitch upside his head. He had fallen in love with a pretentious snob, the biggest nag that ever lived. "Trinkie!"

Haymitch had tried his best to forget what he went through that day. The unbelievable amount of loneliness that filled his spirit with each glass of whiskey he drank. Things were worse now that he had just about came right out and told the woman how he felt before he left the Capitol, and now she might die. "You can't die on me, Trinkie. You promised me you stay alive." He rested his arm over his eyes in an attempt to sleep, gave up, grabbed his robe and headed upstairs.

"Haymitch?" Katniss' sleepy face peeked at him through the door to her new residency. "What are you doing here?"

"Did I wake you sweetheart? Sorry 'bout that. I'll go," Haymitch didn't know what the hell he was thinking showing up on Katniss' doorstep in the middle of the night.

"No, it's okay. Come in," Katniss held the door open for him and yawned. "I just fell asleep a little while ago, so it's no big deal."

Haymitch took a seat and asked her, "I was wondering...how ya holding up? I mean...with Peeta gone..." he lifted his forlorn eyes to hers

Katniss tightened the belt on her robe and sat across from Haymitch. "Can't say that I'm doing a bang up job keeping myself together," she held out her wrist with her bracelet on it proving her point. "I walk around talking to Peeta constantly."

"Does it help?"

She nodded. "A little, but...nothing gets rid of the emptiness inside. That feeling like a part of you is missing can be overwhelming at times, but then I talk to him, and I draw strength from memories of him...the way his hand felt in mine...the sound of his heart beating beneath my ear..."

He looked at the girl sitting across from him and wondered when she grew into a woman. "Don't know how to do this. Haven't felt this way since I was a kid." Haymitch leaned his elbows on his knees, and finally confessed out loud. "I used to be apart from her all the time, and it never bugged me like this. I feel like I'm barely hanging on."

"She's never been in this kind of danger before." Katniss spoke as if she knew who Haymitch was talking about.

"Guess I don't have to tell you it's Effie I'm thinking of, huh?" Katniss answered him with a shake of her head. "Never meant for something like this to happen between me and her."

"Kind of creeps up on you when you least expect it," Katniss tucked a leg under herself. "You don't want it...never asked for it, yet there it is."

Haymitch was grateful she didn't actually use the word love. He was having too hard a time with the whole concept. He ran his hand down his face, let out a deep breath and sat back in his chair. "This is a load of shit. That woman is the biggest pain in my ass that ever lived." He stared Katniss in the eyes. "If I had a choice, I'd forget about her...pretend she never existed."

Katniss reached over and patted his hand. "If you had a choice." She sat back in her chair and said, "All I can tell you is, it's not easy when you're apart."

"Geez, I know that! You think I don't know that?!" He pointed at her, "I lost Maysilee before you were even born."

Katniss continued, "The thing I've come to realize is that, losing someone to death, and not knowing whether or not they're alive...being tortured..." She sniffed out a breath. "Sometimes, death is easier to take. You know they can't be hurt anymore...that they're safe from harm. You miss them terribly, but that nagging feeling of panic isn't always lingering inside of you." She pulled her knees up to her chest and curled her bare toes over the end of the chair. "Then I think about my life without Peeta...what it would be like, and I know I'd rather suffer for an eternity if it means he wouldn't have to go through anymore pain." Her voice took on a softer tone, "I want him to come home to me so badly, but I don't want him to suffer anymore either. I've...we've both seen what Snow's capable of doing to tributes that don't play by the rules, and I'm scared, but Peeta...he's got a strength inside of him like nothing I've ever seen before. I might be tough on the outside, but he's tougher on the inside. I think about what he would want, and I know he'd withstand any amount of torture Snow had for him if it meant that we could be together again." Katniss reached out to Haymitch. "Effie's got that kind of strength, and I know she'd do anything if it meant that you could finally have a chance at happiness. That's all she ever wanted for you."

Haymitch swallowed lump after lump that had formed in his throat, gave a cautious look to Katniss and said, "When did you become the mentor?"

"When I pulled my head out of my ass and let myself be loved...loved Peeta back."

"I never said I loved the woman," Haymitch ran a hand under his nose and sniffed.

Katniss let out a little laugh. "You didn't have to." She paused before adding, "Neither did she."

They sat in silence for a few minutes then Haymitch got up and said, "As much as I've been enjoying our late night visits, I'm hoping they come to an end as soon as we get those two out of there."

"They'll come home to us soon, Haymitch." Katniss attempted to ease his worries. "They will."

As he walked back to his quarters, he hoped Katniss was right. There was no alcohol in District Thirteen to wash away the anguish that was slowly consuming him from the inside out. He had spent over two decades trying to drink Maysilee out of his system, which didn't work. Now that he was sober he realized how special she had been to him, and tried to honor her memory by thinking of the good times they shared and not pitying himself, but could he do that if he lost his Trinkie before he even had a chance to be with her? To tell her the things he probably should've said before he stepped onto that hovercraft? In a way, Haymitch was glad Thirteen's no alcohol policy was in place. Had it not been, he'd have broken his promise to Effie and gotten drunk a thousand times over by now, and it did him no good. Yes, he was lonely without her there, but adding whiskey to the mix just made it worse. No matter what Haymitch tried, he knew that nothing could fill the void Effie Trinket left inside of him.

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Choosing to save the rest of the medication to control her morning sickness for times of necessity was not sitting well with Katniss. The instant she smelled the little bit of food Bing had brought to her from the kitchen as part of her deal with Coin, she could feel the bubbling in her stomach. 'This is not something I can deal with today,' she thought to herself as she ate about a half a cup of corn mush. The next thirty minutes was spent in the bathroom letting banana nut expel the corn mush from her system and cleaning up. A half a slice of bread to ease the queasiness then Katniss was ready for breakfast. 'Here we go again,' she thought to herself as she finished up the morning's events hoping it wasn't the reprise of what she went through during the Quell before each meal. She avoided Gale at breakfast. Their confrontation with one another after the rebel's meeting left her completely distraught.

She wanted to walk up the stairs to her quarters, but Gale's teasing left her feeling cowardly. "Are you seriously telling me you're afraid of an elevator?" He lifted up her braid and started looking at her back.

"What are you doing?" Katniss smacked his hand away.

"Looking for your spine. I know you had one when you left Twelve," he chuckled to himself.

She got on the elevator to prove a point, not only to him, but to herself. She hated them, hated anything that made her feel trapped. Using one to get her prep team out of Thirteen's jail had been difficult, and each ride after got worse. This time she kept her focus. Told herself if was a stupid little box and nothing would happen, but by the time she got to her floor, she could feel her pulse racing out of control. She kept waiting for the wristband that monitored the baby's vitals to go off, and was grateful when it didn't. Katniss tried to pass the couple of minutes in the confines of the elevator by talking to Gale about Coin's speech during Reflection. "There was no reason for her to do that. She could have easily told these people that Peeta was innocent. Instead she made him look guilty, and gave them all the impression that I was fine with that."

"Did you really expect her to bow to your every whim?" Gale asked. "The woman is running this district. How is she supposed to do that if she gives off the appearance of caving into you?"

"You mean she can't stand any dissent, even if it's fair?" It was bad enough Gale couldn't see past his hatred, now he was sticking up for Coin.

"Hey, you're the one that put her in that position. You're the one that gave her a list of demands...wanting to make sure all the prisoners got out and didn't have to face any consequences." Gale turned to face her. "We don't even know what they've been doing out there...if they've caused any damage."

Katniss' eyes flew open, "Are you telling me I should've just let her put Peeta on trial?!"

"Not Peeta..." His lingering statement made Katniss sick.

"No, of course not Peeta. He's the Jabberjay and how would that look?" Katniss crossed her hands over her chest. "You think I should've caved into her...let the rest of the tributes take their chances? No. No," Katniss realized. "You think I should have just let Effie take her chances...because she's one of them," Katniss mimicked Gale's voice. "She's from the Capitol." She stormed down the hall towards her quarters hoping to keep her large dinner down. "When it comes right down to it, Gale, we're all taking our chances with President Coin. None of us knows what we're in for."

"How can you say that?" Gale narrowed his eyes at her. "She's taken us in...done everything you asked...she hasn't done one thing to you, but helped you and the people that are important."

"Oh, yeah! She was a biiiiiig help to Peeta tonight!"

"You put her there, Katniss. You've got no one to blame for her actions but yourself."

Katniss slammed the door in Gale's face before she blurted out the truth about Coin and the order she had given. The order that Dr. Valero ignored. At this point she wasn't sure if she could trust Gale with such precious information.

Her prep team met up with her at her quarters right after breakfast to prepare her for the day's events. Making her down to beauty base zero. Looking as though she had just stepped out of bed, naturally beautiful, took a lot of work. Flavius and Octavia worked timidly on Katniss, preparing her bubble bath, setting out the items they needed to wax her, though she didn't understand why. Who was going to see her legs? Hair, makeup... Her quarters had turned into a tiny little beauty salon. As Katniss was about to remove her robe to step into the tub, she stopped. "Flavius," she said quietly, "Would you mind leaving the room please?" The thought of another man looking at her naked body bugged the hell out of her regardless of whether or not he had seen her before. She waited while Flavius left the room, and let her robe drop. The sound of Octavia's gasp, took Katniss by surprise. "Is everything okay?"

Octavia just nodded. "Stop it," Venia scolded her. "Katniss would never do anything to hurt us." Octavia nodded again.

Katniss soaked in the bubble bath and remembered Peeta drawing several of them for her. She missed those moments more than she imagined. Venia stepped out of the bathroom for a few minutes and Octavia held up the robe, "Quick Katniss, get out of the tub before Venia gets back."

"Why?" Katniss quickly got up and put her arms in her robe. "Is everything okay?"

Octavia pulled the bottom of the robe over Katniss' stomach just as Venia came back into the room, and Katniss had no idea what was causing the woman to act so strange. 'Octavia's always been a bit strange,' she told herself as the woman handed Katniss some undergarments. "We'll wait outside while you put these on," Octavia said to her.

Venia began gathering some items together. "We'll need to give your hair a trim, and work on your nails. You really must stop biting..."

"Come on, Venia." Octavia ushered her towards the door. "Katniss is a married a woman now. She doesn't want to be walking around in front of Flavius in the nude. Go ahead and put those on Katniss. We'll wait for you out here."

Sometimes Katniss had to question these people and their odd behavior. As she stepped into her underwear she looked down at the spot Octavia kept looking at, her still flat stomach and noticed the line traveling from her navel down had gotten darker. Her eyes flashed to the doorway that Octavia and Venia had just exited through, her breath caught in her throat, and her palms began to sweat. 'Octavia knows,' she realized. 'Somehow she knows. She saw the changes...something.' "No," Katniss whispered to herself, and forced the thought out of her mind. There was no way on earth the woman could take one look at her and guess. The topic never came up, and Katniss reminded herself never to strip in front of these people again. 'You have to be more careful.' With her hair and makeup done to make her look like a flawless version of herself, it took a lot of makeup to look like you weren't wearing any, Katniss and her team were ready for lunch then the first taping of the propos.

There was no avoiding Gale during lunch, he and his family had been assigned seats next to her and her family. The smell of the food brought on the nausea, and once again Katniss had to go through her pre-meal ritual, but losing her prep team...Gale, was going to be tricky. "Excuse me," she barely made it through the doorway into the dining hall before having to turn around and make her escape.

"I'll be right back," Prim's voice was bright and right behind Katniss. "There's a bathroom around that corner," her sister stopped by the kitchen to grab a napkin from Bing then met up with Katniss. "We're going to have to make sure we get this taken care of before you come down for meals," Prim handed her sister the napkin with bits of bread in it. "Here. Are you nauseous or actually puking?"

"Just sick to my stomach, but it won't take long," Katniss was so grateful she told Prim the truth. She nibbled on the bread and asked her sister, "Prim, do all pregnant women get a dark line on their stomach?"

Prim nodded, "Mmmm hmmm. Though I don't know why."

"Can someone that's not pregnant...like if I lost the baby a few weeks ago...would I still have it?"

"Nope." She faced Katniss. "Why?"

"So if someone saw it, they might figure it out...that I'm still pregnant?" She whispered.

"If they saw a lot of naked pregnant women, I guess," Prim giggled. "I don't know many people other than the doctors that see a lot of naked women. Do you?"

"Yeah," Katniss worried. "My prep team."

"Katniss they get tributes ready for the Games, and as far as I know, you're the only tribute to enter the arena pregnant."

"They work on people year round, Prim." She gave herself fifteen minutes after eating the bread, and was thrilled when the queasiness went away and was replaced with the need for sustenance. "Let's eat. I'm starving."

As Katniss stuck her arm under the computer scanner she felt a flood of warmth when she heard, "Katniss Mellark," instead of Everdeen. She was worried when the computer read off her nutritional needs as well as her age and weight. In the span of two weeks she had gained two pounds. Not that big of a deal, unless you lived amongst a group of people that were only given enough food to keep them at their current weight.

"Prim," Katniss leaned over and whispered to her as their food was served. "Tell Regina I'll need to see her and Justus tonight. It's important."

Prim gave her a nod. "I'm due to be in the medical bay all afternoon. Maybe I can get a break and take a peek at the spot you're recording? Let you know what she says?"

"Thanks, Prim." Katniss took a seat next to Octavia quickly noticing the woman's glances towards her tray of food, and her midriff. 'This is going to be a lot harder than I expected,' she worried with each bite of food placed upon her tongue.

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"How are you fairing this evening, Miss. Trinket?" President Snow asked with an emotionless expression.

"The hot shower helped quite a bit, but I will admit, it was a trying day to say the least." Effie stood close to Steven's side. "May I offer you some tea, sir? Something stronger perhaps?"

"No. Thank you for the offer." Snow gestured towards a chair. "May I?"

"Yes. Please." Effie hoped with all her might that he didn't take notice of the tremulous tone in her voice. "To what do I owe the honor of this visit, sir?" She expected him to take her into custody immediately, not beat around the bush.

"Peeta Mellark," Snow's face turned to stone. "He is not responding the way we had hoped. The young man's memory of Katniss Everdeen is still intact."

"Is it?" Effie asked innocently. "I was led to believe he was having quite a lot of difficulty remembering her as well as feelings of resentment towards the girl."

"Yes. Yes," he waved it off. "But he should have been much further along by now. It seems that he refuses to believe the girl had anything to do with the firebombs that struck their district."

Effie's mind was screaming, 'She didn't have anything to do with them!' "And this poses a problem."

"Miss. Trinket..." Snow was interrupted by the entrance of an elite member of his security staff. "Pardon me," he waved the man over. "What did you find out?"

"Sir, sources in broadcast defense believe that the rebels have found a way to disrupt the surveillance system again," The guard stared straight ahead and spoke in a clear, concise voice.

Snow pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can someone please explain to me how they are continually attacking our broadcast system when the rebeles are spread across the country?"

"The system runs through the entire nation, sir. They appear to be tapping into it through the underground networking."

"Can we stop it?" Snow asked.

"Broadcast defense is working on it, but..." The guard flashed a look at Snow, "...sir, they believe there still may be rebel forces working inside of the Capitol."

This was where the president called Effie out. She could just feel it in her bones. "Miss. Trinket, have you been able to get any names of the rebels that have infiltrated the Capitol staff?"

"No, sir. I wasn't aware there were any." And if she had, she'd never tell. This gave Effie an idea. "Would you like me to go back to the watering hole and send another message requesting local help? Perhaps my plea will reveal undercover rebel forces left behind?" There was a different reason Effie wanted out of the Capitol's grasp even if it was only temporarily. The rebel's traitor was walking around the Capitol with information, and Effie needed to find out how much the treasonous wretch knew. If her own cover had been blown.

"I have a job for you, Miss. Trinket. One that concerns Peeta and our efforts to gain control over his actions once he's back in contact with the rebellion," Snow turned his attention back to the guard. "Tell them to keep working on the problem...find out the source of the network's interruptions, and put a stop to it." He faced Effie again. "I believe the question as to why Plutarch Heavensbee and his staff were kidnapped has now been put to rest. They are either being forced to break down our system or have been a part of it all along. Tell me Miss. Trinket, which do you believe it is?"

Effie was carefully balancing herself on a wire. One misstep and she'd either fall victim to Snow or be considered a traitor to the rebels. "Sir, I have no idea what Viggo was thinking when he took Plutarch and his staff."

"Perhaps he didn't take them after all." Snow stood up and walked towards the door. "Yes, another visit with the rebels might be in order. You shall go tonight."

"Tonight?" She hadn't yet come up with a plan on how to capture the traitor. What to do? "If you insist." It was already late, but that never stopped the Capitol crowd from their constant need to eat, drink and be merry. "I shall call upon Portia to have her prepare me for my..."

"No need. I'm sure you have the ability to dress yourself, Miss. Trinket." Snow stood at her doorway. "Enjoy your outing. It may be your last for awhile."

Effie's insides were quaking at Snow's casual threat. "Why is that, sir?"

"It crossed my mind that Peeta's emotional ties to Katniss might be more difficult to get through than expected. He isn't following my plan." Effie could see the anger fill Snow's eyes. "Why would he believe me when I tell him that Katniss is the reason for the firebombs? I have put him in the arena...threatened the life of his child and that...girl," he said with disgust. "If I am to get Peeta to where I want him, he'll need to be addressed by someone he finds trustworthy." There was a look of pure evil in Snow's eyes when he said, "Such as yourself. As of tomorrow you will take over the hijacking of Peeta Mellark."

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Gale couldn't' stop looking at Katniss after her prep team was done with her. Between the costume and the makeup, she looked like a force to be reckoned with. "Beetee's looking forward to seeing you."

"Is he?" Katniss hadn't seen the man for quite awhile. "How's he doing?"

"Ask him yourself," Gale walked her to an elevator. "This is the only way of getting there. No stairs." If he was going to get back on her good side he'd have to start making some compromises, and the elevator was one of them that he had no problem with even if he thought she was being a bit overemotional about them.

"That's fine."

"What's your deal with the elevators?" Gale was curious.

Katniss stepped into the close quarters, wishing the walls were glass so she could see through. "I don't like them," it was useless trying to explain to someone that had never been on the platforms that led up to the arena. "Where are we going?"

"Special Defense," Gale answered, noticing how stiff her back had become. "You're still angry with me."

"And you're still not sorry." Katniss countered.

He just didn't get where she was coming from lately. "No, I'm not. I have no problems standing by what I said. I have a right to my opinion...unless you want me to lie to you."

"No. I'd rather you rethink and come up with the right opinion." Katniss was taken off guard by the sound of Gale's laughter. He actually thought she was being funny.

"Why don't you try coming up with the right opinion instead?" He teased her.

"About what? Thinking it's okay to put everyone from the Capitol in one general column under Snow because they were born there or maybe I should change my opinion on the woman that's threatening the life of my husband? Yeah," Katniss glared at him. "That's the one I'll change...I'll go ahead and agree with Coin's thinking the worst of Peeta...making all of these people believe the worst in him, just so she can look that much better."

"That's not what she did." Gale was happy to see some type of rise out of Katniss today. She was going to need it while filming the war propos. "If it weren't Peeta. If you took him out of the equation, you'd see where she was coming from."

"And if you took him out of the equation, you'd see where I was coming from." She stared at the doors as they opened.

"What?" Gale followed her into a computer room.

"Isn't that what this is all about? Peeta. You've been jealous of him for so long, you're letting it blind you." Katniss turned her head from side to side, wondering which way to go.

"This has nothing to do with jealousy." Gale knew that for sure. He wasn't jealous of Peeta. He liked the guy...thought he did a lot for the people of Twelve, but he did say some things on television that could hurt the rebellion's efforts regardless of his own message sent to Katniss. "This has to do with the war we're currently fighting. Peeta could've hurt us, Catnip. I'm not saying I blame the guy for what he said, I'd probably do the same myself if I were in his position, but that still doesn't excuse what he said out loud."

"Fine. This has nothing to do with jealousy and everything to do with your stupidity." She stomped a foot down. "Which way are we supposed to go?" There were rooms everywhere. "Where is Beetee?" Katniss asked the girl walking towards them.

"Meadowlark room," she pointed out the way.

The sheer size of their surroundings put their argument on the back burner for awhile. "Look at this stuff," Gale said as he walked. "I mean...I've been here a few times with Beetee, but he never showed me all of this."

"You've been working with Beetee?" Katniss questioned him. "Gale, how much have you been keeping from me?"

He let out a huff of air and said, "Didn't realize I needed to give you a detailed schedule of my day. Should I get a copy of it tattooed on your arm for you?" He faced her head on. "How much have you been keeping from me?"

Katniss turned her head, avoiding his stare...his question entirely. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you?" He leaned down. "I've seen your nutritional needs...listened to them being read out each day in the dining hall. You looked like you were going to get sick before that meeting yesterday and then the doctor comes in with that tray of food? There's something going on with you, Catnip." He had been worried about her health and needed to find out if everything was okay. "Are you still..." Katniss' eyes flashed to his in a panic. "Are you still having medical problems from everything you've gone through?"

She gave her head a little shake. "It's not really a problem. I'll be fine."

"I knew there was something wrong with you," Gale's brow furrowed. "Do they know what it is?"

"Gale...I..." What was she going to tell him? She looked into the eyes that had been there for her since she was a child and thought of the life she needed to protect growing inside of her. Nothing mattered more than that. "I have anemia." Katniss gave him a brief description of the disease she had never heard of until Prim told her about it. "So you can see why I'm trying to keep this under wraps."

"Is there any...cure?"

"The doctor is working on it, but I'm fine. Really." She tried to convince him...herself of that. "I do get pretty tired though." This was not a lie. She was completely worn out. "Then again, the nightmares don't help, but..."

Gale felt horrible for her. No wonder she wasn't fighting back as much. This blood disease left her feeling lifeless at times. "If there's anything I can do, just ask."

"There is something," Katniss gave him a grin. "Quit being such an ass. Start agreeing with me, so I won't get mad at you." This time she was the one that chuckled.

"Yeah, that'll work for us." Gale laughed with her. "What do you say we find Beetee?"

The smell of flowers hung in the air, "Mmmm...do you smell that?" Katniss felt herself being transported back in time to the meadow by her house in the Seam. "It smells like home."

Gale couldn't smell a thing. "Smells sterile. This whole place smells that way."

"No," Katniss followed the scent down a corridor and saw Beetee sitting in a glass room. "Oh, wow."

"You can smell that?" Gale saw the area Beetee was sitting in, a replication of a meadow with real trees, flowers, plants and hummingbirds zipping through the air.

"Can't you?" Katniss tapped on the glass and saw Beetee's face light up with a smile as he waved them in. She could see how sickly he still looked, sitting in a chair with wheels on it so he could get around.

"Katniss," Beetee gave her a small smile then went back to his view of the birds. "Aren't they magnificent? Thirteen has been studying their aerodynamics for years. They're amazing creatures, these hummingbirds. Moving forward...backward in flight, and speeds up to sixty miles an hour. Imagine if I could build you wings like theirs, Katniss."

"Doubt I'd be able to manage them, Beetee." Katniss laughed at the man's excitement over the birds.

"Here one second and gone the next." Beetee turned to face Katniss with a serious look on his face. "Can you bring one down with an arrow?"

"Never tried. Not much meat on a hummingbird."

"And you don't shoot for sport," there was a look of disappointment on Beetee's face when he said that. "I bet they'd be hard to shoot though."

"You could probably snare them," Gale watched the birds closely. "Make a net out of fine mesh...enclose an area, but leave a mouth of a couple square feet. Bait the inside with nectar flowers." He stepped closer to the birds and began imagining it in his head. Seeing the tiny birds feed and then... "Snap the mouth close and trap them inside. They'd fly away from the noise, but only encounter the far side of the net." He began to build the complicated snare in his mind.

Beetee got a distant look in his eyes, much like Gale's and Katniss stepped back. "Do you think that would work?" Beetee asked.

Gale shrugged his shoulder. "They might outsmart it."

There was a look Katniss could only describe as creepy that flashed across Beetee's face. "You'd be playing on their natural instincts to flee danger. Thinking like your prey...that's where you find their vulnerabilities." In that second of time Katniss saw the same expression Beetee had on his face when he was a boy. When he was playing his own Games. She had watched them with Peeta.

"We don't have to do this," Peeta knelt over a box of recordings that Effie had sent to him of all the living victors so they could prepare for the Games.

Katniss wasn't too thrilled with the idea of watching old recordings, in fact, she hated it. Those were one of the main reasons Peeta had been sleeping on the couch during their training for the Games. "You promised me you wouldn't ignore me anymore for these things."

"And I meant that, Katniss." He held her gaze from across the room. "We've been getting along so well this past couple of weeks. Do you really want to tempt that by watching old Games?"

"No," she shook her head. "I want to crawl into bed next to you, and sleep peacefully, but that's not going to happen."

"We can do something else." Peeta placed a recording on the fireplace mantel, knelt in front of Katniss and held her hands in his. "Play chess...I'll read to you if you want or we could..."

"We can get ready for the Games. Now that we're going into the arena, we need to be ready." She rested her forehead against his. "Just promise me that we can shut them off if I ask."

"Don't even have to turn them on, Katniss." Peeta's hand caressed the side of her face. "You're cold." He stripped off his blue sweatshirt leaving him in a white t-shirt, and pulled it over her head. "Here. Wear this." He cuffed the sleeves until the tips of her fingers stuck out. "Better?"

"Better." She looked down at her bare legs. "Don't suppose you want to donate your pants too?"

Peeta chuckled and said, "You wait right there. I'll be back."

Katniss sat up straight on the sofa. "Where are you going?"

"Just because we're watching the Games, doesn't mean we can't enjoy each other's company. I'm going to make us some of that mint tea you like," he ducked into a closet, came out with a blanket and covered her legs. "You're going to relax right there and after the tea is made, we'll lay down together, watch the Games and maybe you'll doze off. If you do, I promise I'll shut the television off and go up to bed with you."

He always knew what to do to make things a little more bearable. "I love you, Peeta."

He knelt in front of her and placed a soft kiss against her lips. "Will you love me more if I bring you a cheese danish?"

"I'll love you more if you brought me that and some of those lemon bars." She had been so hungry lately.

"Lemon bars and a cheese danish," Peeta kissed her forehead. "Anything else?"

She gave it a second and said, "Yeah, I want a sandwich."

"One sandwich, lemon bars and a cheese danish. Something salty too?" Peeta asked in a joking manner.

"Oooh, yeah. Good idea. Can we make popcorn? Or...do we have any of those nuts you used the other day? You know the ones in that bread." She had eaten dinner only a couple of hours earlier, yet she was famished. "Or maybe..."

"Katniss," Peeta lifted a hand up to her. "Why don't I make you a tray and you can pick and choose what you want? Sound good?"

She nodded. "Sounds great. I'll get the recording ready."

"That's okay," Peeta called to her from the kitchen. "You stay put. Let me take care of you for a little while."

Being lazy wasn't something she enjoyed unless Peeta was involved. For some reason he loved doing little things for her, and she actually liked letting him pamper her. "If you insist," she said, not knowing if he heard her.

He returned within ten minutes carrying a tray loaded with various items. A sandwich, lemon bars, two cheese danishes, cheese, crackers, fruit, nuts and some of her favorite goose liver with puff pastries. "Oh, I love this stuff." She slathered an enormous amount of it onto the pastry and ate it in two bites. "Mmmm, I'm so glad you learned how to make this. It's really good."

"That's why I learned how to make it. I'm just glad you didn't eat it all earlier." Peeta grinned at her over his cup of tea. "We'll snack first, then watch. Okay?"

She demolished the tray of food within minutes. "I have no idea why I'm so hungry lately, but I can't seem to get enough food."

"Lately? You've always been like this. It's one of the reasons I find you so alluring. You eat more than anyone I've ever known, yet you're still the size of one of those pixies in those stories Effie sent to me. It's quite cute."

"I'm not cute," she scowled at him.

"Right now, you're absolutely adorable." Peeta placed another kiss against her lips to keep her from arguing. "Face it, you're cute." He moved the tray to the side and turned on the recording. "Tell me the second you want to me to shut it off."

"Who are we watching?" Katniss lifted the blanket for Peeta to crawl under.

"A victor from District Three."

"District Three? They don't have many victors, do they?" Katniss snuggled close to his side.

"Nope, but this kid...Beetee, he was pretty smart. Kind of intimidating the way he gets rid of the tributes." Peeta pulled her closer. "Brawn is easy to battle, but brains... This guy has them in spades. I've watched his Games already."

Katniss and Peeta watched the Games as a young boy outsmarted the group of Careers hunting him down. By the end of the Games they were lying on their sides, Peeta spooning behind her, the blanket pulled up over them. "What's he doing?" She couldn't take her eyes off of the scrawny boy watching as his competition's bodies convulsed from the electrical shock he caused them.

"He's watching them die." Peeta's arm drew her back closer to his chest. "I think he wants to make sure they don't get out of his trap."

"Shut it off." Katniss felt like the snack she had eaten was about to come up.

Peeta pushed the button on the remote control and their living room turned dark and quiet. "See what I mean about the brains thing?"

The tribute's smarts didn't bother Katniss as much as the look that crossed his face while the other tribute's bodies were writhing on the ground. "Peeta," she rolled over into his arms, "he looked like he enjoyed their deaths."

Katniss could see the look of concern on Peeta's face. "They were trying to kill him, Katniss. He was trying to survive."

She tucked her head under Peeta's chin, "Yeah...I suppose so, but..." she shivered. "That was creepy."

"We should've played chess," Peeta kissed the top of her head.

"No. I need to see these recordings too." There was something terrifying about the little boy from District Three. "The thought of children dying is bad enough, but seeing another child entranced by the kids he murdered is pretty disturbing."

"He's older now," Peeta kept brushing his lips against her head. "I'm sure he feels like the rest of us do about the kids he had to kill in order to survive the arena."

"I hope so." She wrapped her arms around Peeta's torso and tucked her legs between his. "The last thing we need is some crazed victor that likes to kill people as competition."

It was a thought Katniss had put out of her head once meeting Beetee and Wiress. The man seemed to be harmless as well as kind, but the look in Beetee's eyes...the one he had during the deaths of the Careers was back and aimed at the innocent birds flitting about the man made meadow in District Thirteen. "Beetee, Plutarch said you had something for me." The desire to leave the area designated as Meadowlark was overwhelming.

"Yes, I do. Your bow," the disturbing look was replaced with one of anticipation. As Beetee led them through the corridors with the aid of his chair he explained how he was able to walk, but used the chair to keep his strength up. "I tire so quickly. How is Finnick doing, Katniss?"

"He's...uh..." She didn't want to let onto what Finnick was going through. "He's having some concentration problems."

"If you knew what Finnick has been through in the past few years, you'd know how remarkable it is that he's with us at all." Beetee took them down a hallway towards a barrage of security. "Tell him I'm working on a new trident for him. Maybe it will distract him from his current state?"

"Yeah. Sure," There was nothing Beetee could design that would distract Finnick with the exception of a time machine that would save Annie from being trapped in the Capitol.

"We'll have to go through a few precautions before entering Special Weaponry." Beetee lifted a hand towards the metal detectors. "Once through we'll need to go through finger, retinal and DNA scans. Gale, you've been here before, I'm sure you remember."

"Yeah," Gale sounded almost cowardly to Katniss, and again she wondered how much her friend was keeping from her. He hoped she didn't continue to question why he was working with Beetee.

"Did you say, DNA scan?" Katniss worried for a moment. Would they find out about the baby? "What does that entail?"

"Nothing much." Beetee stood from his chair and walked through the metal detector. "Simply walk through the archway and it will make sure you are who you say you are."

But would it? Katniss held her breath as she stepped through the archway and heard the computer start speaking in its generated voice. "Katniss Mellark." She breathed a sigh of relief until a red light began to flash and an alarm went off. "Unknown DNA detected."

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Haymitch paced around the outskirts of the building that housed the residents of District Thirteen waiting for Katniss to show up. "Where the hell is she?"

"She should be here any minute." Fulvia handed Plutarch a computerized clipboard. "Here's the script. I'm concerned about a few lines..." Plutarch and his assistant began talking quietly amongst themselves while Haymitch's patience was tested.

"She's got five minutes then we're sending out a search team. We've got a lot to do." The sooner Katniss got her portion of the propos recorded, the sooner they could put together the package with Peeta's interview and get their rescue plan in action. The sight of her walking towards the group with Gale by her side, did nothing but agitate him even more. 'Geez,' he shook his head when he saw all the goop on her face. 'What the hell did they do to you sweetheart?' He hated the look they gave her. It did nothing but made her appear to be a Capitol version of what they thought a rebel would look like.

"Katniss," Plutarch rushed to her side. "We'd like to get you in a natural setting." He guided her to the edge of the woods and showed her the script they had written out for her.

Haymitch sat back in one of the folding chairs that were brought out for the crew and listened to Katniss' attempts at sounding forlorn...worried...angry... "This isn't working," he said to himself, as he ran a hand down his face. "Plutarch, the girl isn't getting it done."

"She's had a rough afternoon," Gale stood behind Haymitch's chair. "Apparently this anemia thing has caused more medical problems than she realized."

"What anemia thing?" This was news to Haymitch. "What the hell is anemia?"

Gale shirked his shoulder, "Some type of blood disease that hasn't been around for ages. Doctor is working on it, but they think it might be screwing with her DNA."

"Is it fatal?" The thought of her dying from some strange sickness, after all she had been through to save her life, caused a surge of panic to rush through Haymitch.

"No." Gale moved closer to Haymitch. "I'm not sure she wants people to know about it, but after the scene in Special Weaponry earlier, wouldn't surprise me if it became the talk of the district."

"What the hell happened?" Haymitch pulled the earpiece out of his ear so he could concentrate on Gale.

"We went through the DNA scanners and the alarm went off. Apparently it didn't recognize all of Katniss' DNA. That doctor came down from the medical bay and told Beetee it's because she had to get so many different blood transfusions, guess the supply they have here isn't as close to the real thing as they thought when they created it in their labs. Now the doctor's got to put her through some tests. Make sure it's temporary."

"But she's all right?"

The sound of Katniss' having a fit and kicking at the ground turned both Gale and Haymitch's head. "Seems to be," Gale smiled. "Looks pretty normal to me."

"Hi," Prim spoke from behind them. "How's it going?"

"Prim? What are you doing here?" Gale looked around and saw a guard at her side. "You should be inside."

"I'm here for Katniss. Doctor Valero sent me to do a scan of her vitals since she's not wearing that bracelet anymore." Prim looked at Katniss who was having a tantrum. "I'm guessing this isn't the best time."

"No, go ahead sweetheart." Haymitch told her. "Girl could probably use a little break."

"I can't stand this crap. These eyelashes keep sticking together!" Katniss ripped them off of her eyes and threw them to the ground. "Does somebody have a tissue?! I need to get this crap off of my face," she grumbled.

Haymitch shook his head trying to hide his smile, "Plutarch, call a ten minute break." He sat back on the chair as the crew gathered together in small talk, and listened to Katniss and Prim's conversation through his earpiece.

"You okay?" Prim sat on a rock and patted the spot next to her.

"Fine!" Katniss sat down in a huff. "No," her demeanor quickly changed to one of concern. "I can't do this...be this...thing they want me to be."

"You mean the Mockingjay?"

"No. I mean this made up piece of work." Katniss gestured to her hair and makeup. "This isn't me."

"No. It's not." Prim began to walk around her with a device in her hand and scanned Katniss' body. "It is your job though."

"My job is supposed to be questioning Snow's reasoning for Peeta's interview with Caesar, but these questions they wrote are..." Katniss let out a burst of air. "Why do these people think they know what I would say? They have no clue who I am...who Peeta is."

"Plutarch," Haymitch called the man over. "Is that camera running?"

"Yes," he checked it. "It's still recording."

"Good." Haymitch continued to watch Katniss and Prim.

"So tell them, Katniss." Prim looked over the device in her hand and pushed some buttons. "If you want to get Peeta back, you're going to have to let them know who you are." Prim sat next to her sister.

Katniss' voice got quiet. "It wouldn't matter anyway. They just don't see it. Any of it."

"Like what?"

"Like..." Katniss held her arm out, pulled off a black band and showed Prim what it had been covering, "...this scar. When they look at it all they see is a disgusting mark, but it's more than that. Each scar on my body has a...story behind it, but they don't really make a difference because Peeta's not here for me to talk to...to," She sighed, "to share them with." Katniss looked into the woods. "President Snow wiped all of those away from Peeta when they captured him from the arena. Gave him a body polish, as if buffing away the scars on the outside would hide the fact that we went through hell together. Like it could just wipe away all the hurt on the inside. He doesn't know, or maybe he does know, and chooses to ignore it, but going through the Games...killing all of those kids just so you can live... Peeta was right when he said it costs you everything you are. Doing that sort of thing...it makes a mark you can't erase...you can't put makeup on it and shine it up. It's still there, and it hurts. Now Peeta's in Snow's hands and..." Katniss faced Prim. "Does he think I'm an idiot? Is Snow under the impression that showing me a prerecorded interview of Peeta all dressed up, means I'm going to believe he's fine? That the people of this country are going to fall for his smoke and mirrors? We're smarter than he gives us credit for. The people of the districts...they'll see through the words Peeta said. They'll look past the body polish...the makeup and they'll see the man that would do or say anything to save my life."

"Like when he joined the Careers," Prim patted Katniss' hand.

"Everyone thought the worst of him when he first joined up with them, but it didn't take long for Peeta's real motives to show. He was willing to die...be tortured by Careers so I could live, and he's doing it again. Doing what he has to...saying what he has to, so Snow won't kill me." Katniss wiped the lipstick she was wearing off on the hem of her mockingjay uniform. "We can't hide who we really are no matter how much crap they put on us. Snow can try and make me...all of us believe that Peeta's some traitor, but we know better."

"Yes," Prim took her sister's hand. "We do."

Katniss sniffed and said, "I keep thinking...if Snow were as brave and powerful as he wanted us all to believe, he'd quit hiding Peeta. Instead of putting an interview on from weeks ago, he'd do a live one so I could see what my husband really looks like, only he won't because it will show the people of this nation exactly the kind of man he is. He's a coward. Afraid of two kids that did nothing but fall in love and challenged the Capitol for their right to live."

Haymitch could feel the eyes of the people around him, turned and saw them glued to Katniss' every word. "And that, my friends, is how you win a war."