16.
"You don't have to come." she offered as she hastily slipped on a woolen sweater over her tank top.
"Don't be stupid." he scoffed while he did the very same.
A testament to the seriousness of the situation, she didn't even try to change out of her pajamas pants, she simply put boots on. Haymitch hurried to Katniss' room and picked her up, still sleeping. The girl was only half awake when he bundled her in her coat and she fell back asleep in the car.
Effie was already behind the wheel. He made a face but didn't comment. He was still forced to remind her three times that speed limitations were there for a reason and that they had his kid in the car.
She slowed down every time but kept speeding up five minutes later. Her body was there with them but her mind wasn't.
She didn't park the car she simply stopped it and rushed inside the hospital before he could say anything. He moved it to the proper parking lot and carefully got Katniss out. The girl stretched and grabbed his coat, starting to wake up but still sleepy enough that he didn't bother with explanations just yet.
Effie hadn't gone far.
She was at the main desk, arguing with the nurse on duty.
It was odd to be the peacemaker, odd to be the one to tell her to calm down and breathe and to explain the situation calmly and clearly so the woman could direct them in the right direction, odd to be the responsible adult for once.
"Uncle Haymitch?" Katniss whispered, tightening her hold on his neck as Effie hurriedly walked a few steps ahead to the ward the nurse had sent them to.
"It's okay, sweetheart." he hushed her. "Go back to sleep."
"Why are we in the bad place?" the girl insisted, wriggling in his arms.
"Bad place?" he repeated, confused and very much focused on Effie's back in front of him. She looked a bit ridiculous in her pajamas pants – his pajamas pants really – her pink coat and her boots. He figured he didn't look better in his own sweatpants and jacket.
"Are you going to leave me?" Katniss asked, her lips wobbling a little. "Like Mommy, Daddy and my Prim? They left last time I was here."
And it hit him right then that bringing his niece to the hospital hadn't been his smartest move. She had been brought there after the accident. It was probably there that she had been told her family was dead. It was where her entire world had collapsed.
"No, Katniss." he said firmly. "I'm not leaving. Nobody's leaving. We're here 'cause Peeta's sick."
"Peeta?" she frowned.
Shouts echoed before he could start explaining.
Effie was in such a state he should really have seen it coming.
He recognized the boy from that very afternoon first – Peeta's brother – and it was a good thing the kid had reflexes because he swiftly placed himself between Effie and who Haymitch assumed to be his parents before Effie could commit a murder.
"I swear on everything I have that if anything happens to this child I will sue you for everything you own." she screeched, pointing an accusative finger at the woman sitting on a blue plastic chair. "I will make your life a living hell, do you hear me?"
Haymitch had spent so much time listening to awful stories about Liddy Mellark that he had started to picture her like one of the evil witches in Katniss' cartoons. The woman sitting on that chair looked old, tired and defeated. Not quite a witch. Not quite what a mother should be either.
The father stood up. Dylan Mellark looked just as old as his wife and even more tired.
"He was just a little feverish this morning, Effie." the man said defensively. "We thought it was a cold…"
"Peeta is fragile!" Effie hissed, still pointing her finger at Liddy. "Which is why he needs to go to his medical appointments every week. He needs special care. He needs attention. Nothing she can be bothered to give him."
"Effie." Haymitch cut in, quiet but firm.
They were making a scene worthy of a soap opera. It was late enough that the waiting room wasn't full to the brim but the few people scattered in there were certainly enjoying the show.
Not that Effie cared.
"If anything happens to Peeta, Liddy… Anything at all… I swear…" she growled.
"Is Peeta going to die?" Katniss asked, her frightened voice succeeding where he had failed.
Effie immediately shut up and turned to them, her eyes darting from him to the girl.
"No, no, no…" she whispered, outstretching her arms for Katniss. Haymitch handed his niece over willingly enough, thinking it might be best because Effie would never willingly hurt or frighten a kid. "No, sweetie, no. Peeta is going to be just fine, you will see."
"Do they know what's wrong with him yet?" he asked since nobody had volunteered the information.
Dylan Mellark shook his head. "They're doing tests. He was burning up, we couldn't bring the fever down…"
"Does he have Toothless? Did you remember to take it with you?" Effie asked weakly. "He will be scared without his dragon…"
"It's back at the house." Liddy said in a snappish worried tone. "He's six. He shouldn't need stuffed toys anymore."
Haymitch thought Effie was going to bite her head off, so he – wisely, in his opinion – guided her to a plastic chair apart from the Mellark family. He forced her to sit her down, making sure Katniss settled on her lap so he was certain they would both stay put.
The poor girl looked scared and lost. Haymitch hated seeing her distressed.
"I'm going to call Uncle Chaff, sweetheart." he told her, brushing her hair away from her face. "He'll pick you up and get you back home. Shouldn't have brought you along."
Katniss leaned against Effie's chest, her best stubborn scowl on her face. "I don't want Uncle Chaff."
"Katniss." he sighed, irritated by her usual obstinacy.
"Leave her be." Effie objected quietly, wrapping her arms around the child's waist. "We should all stay together."
"Like a team." Katniss mumbled.
"Like a team, exactly." she repeated in a tired whisper.
Haymitch didn't hide his annoyance but granted the request with a shrug.
"You two teaming up against me, more like." he grumbled.
The wait was a long one and it wasn't made any easier by the heavy looks everyone was exchanging. Katniss fell back asleep quickly. Effie petted the girl's hair absentmindedly, a vacant look in her eyes, barely mustering a smile when Haymitch offered to get her some coffee. It wasn't some nice gesture on his part, he just couldn't bear the silence any longer.
He got coffee for her and he got some for Rye too because the kid looked rattled and, as far as Haymitch was concerned, he had done nothing to deserve their contempt.
When the doctor finally showed up, Effie was the first to bolt to her feet – after having carefully laid Katniss down on the chairs next to her.
"Is Peeta alright?" she asked.
For a moment, the doctor looked taken aback, unsure who to address. Given that the Mellarks – saved for Rye – hung back, the man turned to Effie and summed up what was happening, what had been done and what would need to happen.
Peeta had an infection. They had started treating it but he would need to remain in the hospital for a few days. They wanted to be particularly careful because of his leg and his medical history.
"He's allowed visitors but he's very tired and I would like him to get some proper rest." the doctor concluded. "For tonight… Maybe just his parents? I guess you will want to spend the night with him, that's absolutely possible…"
Haymitch could almost feel Effie's distress from where he was still sitting. He glanced at Katniss to make sure she was still asleep before walking to her, placing a hand at the small of her back in support.
"I would like to see him, yes." Liddy declared, sounding almost harsh but Haymitch thought he could detect relief underneath. Or maybe it was sheer whishing on his part. "But we're not staying, his godmother is. If decisions need to be made, she's the one you want to talk to." The woman stood up and didn't look at any of them, she simply paused next to Effie on her way. "He was asking for you. He's always asking for you."
"He would love you if you just let him." Effie breathed out. "He is just a boy, he…"
"He's my son." Liddy snorted. "But I'm not his mother."
The doctor looked absolutely puzzled but he lost no time in handing over the whole crazy family to a nurse.
It took a while for the Mellarks to leave Peeta's room. Effie rushed to his bedside as soon as they were gone, running her fingers through his hair, talking in soft murmurs and smiling through her tears. The boy remained asleep.
Haymitch stayed outside the room and watched them through the plastic window that gave on the corridor, Katniss dead to the world in his arms. He could feel her soft regular breaths rolling against his neck and, for a second, he closed his eyes and let himself be washed by relief. If they had lost the boy…
"You can go in with your wife, sir." the nurse said, not unkindly.
He didn't bother correcting her assumption."Is it safe for my kid?"
He didn't want Katniss to come down with whatever Peeta had caught. Granted, it was his fragile state of health that had made it so bad but… He didn't want to risk it.
"I don't see why not." the nurse offered before smiling at the sleeping girl. "I'll get you a blanket for her."
There was an armchair and a plastic chair in the room, he laid Katniss down on the former and took the latter. Effie was sitting on the edge of the bed, as close to Peeta as she could be. She didn't even glance at him, she was entirely focused on the boy.
The pure look of love on her face was like a punch in the guts.
"I won't let that witch push me aside again." she said quietly after a long moment. "I'll fight her."
"I don't think you'll have to." he commented.
It seemed to him the war had been won that night.
Peeta was still feverish the following day and he didn't look very aware of what was going on around him, to Katniss' great dismay. Rye was the first Mellark to show up, with a bag full of clothes for his brother and the Toothless stuffed toy.
Haymitch suggested they took advantage of his presence to drive home and back – if only to get dressed and get something to eat that wasn't a tasteless sandwich from the cafeteria – but he was ignored both by his niece and Effie. Katniss remained sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed, watching Peeta like a hawk, often replacing Toothless in his arms when the boy knocked it off in his fever induced delirium. Effie paced, sometimes sending out a distracted text when her phone beeped. Haymitch slumped in the armchair and dozed off for a while.
Portia and Cinna arrived mid-morning with clothes for the three of them. Since Liddy and Dylan finally showed up around the same time, they took the opportunity to go change and take a breath of fresh air outside. Effie was anxious all the time it lasted, uncharacteristically snappish and waving away Portia's several offers to help her with her make-up. It was the first time Haymitch had seen her willingly appear in public with her hair tousled and her face bare. She was still beautiful, of course, but she was usually so self-conscious about it that it told him all he needed to know about her state of mind.
When they went back to the room, Liddy left without a word. Dylan lingered a little longer but Effie wasn't in the mood for his apologies and explanations. As for Haymitch, he had no interest in any of that. He barely listened when the baker told him he had signed hospital papers that legally gave Effie power over Peeta's medical decisions.
Peeta remained incoherent the whole day when he wasn't sleeping. The doctor insisted it only was to be expected because of the heavy medications. According to him, he should wake up properly soon.
Haymitch tried to convince Effie to get some sleep but without success. He suggested she took Katniss back home for the night, promising to stay and call if there was any change but she wouldn't relent on that either.
She looked terrible and he didn't want to leave her… He tried not to feel guilty or like he was the worst guardian when he called Chaff for help but he also didn't want the girl to spend another night at the hospital. His best friend accepted at once, naturally, but he also had to drag Katniss away kicking and screaming.
"You should go with them." Effie winced. "You could get some real sleep and…"
"She'll be fine with Chaff." he cut her off coldly, annoyed with the whole situation. He didn't like listening to Katniss crying on a good day and it wasn't a good day.
Spending the night in the hospital hadn't been fun the previous day, it wasn't any funnier that time. Effie dropped asleep in the armchair despite her best attempts at fighting it. He spent most of the night playing candy crush on her phone until his sight blurred to distract himself from the uncomfortable plastic chair that was making his butt numb.
He was still trying to align colorful candies when Toothless' head nudged the phone, almost tentatively, and he looked up into clear blue eyes that didn't seem to know if what they were seeing was real.
His first instinct was to put his hand on the boy's forehead to check his temperature. For the first time in days, Peeta's skin was cool to the touch. He smiled to the kid, brushing his sandy blond hair back.
"Welcome back, buddy." he smirked.
The boy's lips stretched impossibly wide and he lifted his arms for a hug Haymitch was only too happy to give.
"Auntie Effie?" the boy requested, almost pleading. Haymitch gently let go of him to nod at the armchair in the corner. Tears of relief and happiness shined in the kid's eyes and he took pity on him.
He crouched next to the armchair and gently poked Effie's shoulder. "Wake up, sweetheart." She whined her disapproval and tried to curl up on herself. He shook her a little more firmly. "Effie." She opened her eyes and rubbed her face, glaring at him. "Someone wants to talk to you."
She briefly frowned and then she grinned. She was out of that armchair and on the bed before he even had time to stand up, Peeta safely embraced in her arms. The boy was half crying and half giggling while she peppered his hair and cheeks with kisses, promising again and again to never let anyone keep him from her ever again.
There was no separating them after that and Haymitch didn't even try. He flopped down on the armchair when she settled down on the bed with Peeta, watching the two of them exchanging secret whispers until they both fell back asleep.
He didn't realize he had dozed off until a cannon ball plummeted against his legs and hugged them for dear life. He barely had time to open his eyes and recognize Katniss that she was gone with a scream of joy when Peeta called her name.
Effie tried to tell the kids to be calm and to keep it down but, soon, their joyful chatter filled the room and she was grinning too hard for them to take her seriously. The two of them were hugging, oblivious to the rest of the world.
Haymitch hauled himself out of the armchair and joined Chaff who was leaning against the doorframe.
"You look good." he mocked.
"You look even better." Chaff chuckled. "And your girl… She's a sight."
Effie brought her hand to her face self-consciously, probably realizing she hadn't bothered with make-up for two days straight and wasn't at her best, before shrugging it off – proof if any was needed that she was exhausted.
"Did Katniss behave?" she asked, leaving the kids to their heartfelt reunion to join them.
"Sure. We had a great time." Chaff offered. "She was a bit upset at first but… I won her over."
"How many times did she make you watch Brave?" Haymitch snorted.
"Three times." his best friend admitted with a wince. "Then I begged for Pocahontas. Man, when did we get so knowledgeable on fucking Disney princesses?"
"Fuck if I know." he mumbled, tossing a look at the kids. They seemed happy enough. "Can you drive Effie home?"
"What? No." Effie protested. "I am staying."
"You are going home to get some real rest." Haymitch replied firmly. "Get a shower, some proper food and a nap. I don't want to see you back here until at least four pm. When you come back, I'll go home with Katniss and come back in the morning. We can trade shifts."
She didn't look entirely happy with that. She looked at Peeta, biting down on her bottom lip. "Chaff doesn't need to drive me." she wavered after a few minutes. "My car is still here and I will need it to come back…"
"Take mine for the ride back." he shrugged.
He would rather drive his truck than her sport car anyway. She hesitated some more, chewing on her bottom lip, and then surrendered with a nod.
The goodbyes with Peeta were tearful. Even after explaining she would come back in a couple of hours, the boy was still distressed and barely appeased by the fact Haymitch and Katniss were staying with him. He started crying well before Effie left the room and if Chaff hadn't firmly ushered her out, Haymitch was certain she would never have left. Her blue eyes were suspiciously bright as it was.
"Don't be sad!" Katniss demanded more than she requested. "Look! I'm wearing the ring. I'll marry you so you're happy again. Look."
The plastic ring was back on his niece's finger.
It worked like magic.
Peeta stopped crying and they soon were back to chatting and laughing. When the boy eventually surrendered to sleep, Katniss placed Toothless on the other side of the bed, curled up against Peeta as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and she napped too.
Haymitch could barely deal with all the nurses gushing over how cute they were.
Still, he fumbled with his phone for a while until he managed to snap a picture. He sent it to Effie so she would find it when she woke up from her own nap.
Dealing with kids stuck in a room was exhausting. Dealing with kids when one of them was trapped in bed was hell. They grew bored of the board games the nurse brought them in a matter of minutes, they requested stories and, since that was Effie's department more than his, grew bored of that too…
He was almost relieved when the Mellarks showed up. Almost.
He didn't get out of the room to give them privacy this time, not with Peeta awake and glancing at him every so often. He remained where he was sitting on the armchair and watch with unabashed amusement as Katniss stared her friend's family down. The only one who was treated to an enthusiastic welcome was Rye and it was probably only because he was bearing gifts – Avengers trade cards, books, toys, anything he had thought his brother would enjoy…
As for the Mellarks…
They were cold.
Haymitch could see they were making an effort, even the mother, but Peeta remained sullen throughout the whole visit and it only grew worse when Liddy declared it was time to go.
"I'm going home with Auntie." Peeta declared petulantly, a determined sulk on his face.
Haymitch was happy to see nobody contested that.
Effie came back looking fresh and rested, her blond hair neatly pinned in a functional but classy ponytail, hips swaying in a tight red skirt paired with a green cashmere sweater.
"It is Christmas-y." she winked when he accused her of being colorblind.
"It's hot enough to give anyone a fever." he retorted smoothly, stealing a brief kiss. "Can't be good in a hospital."
She rolled her eyes but she looked pleased nonetheless.
Detaching Katniss from Peeta caused another scene. The girl wanted to stay, have a sleepover even, Haymitch could go without her, she said – if Effie was there, apparently it wouldn't be so bad not to have him, and, yeah, he felt jealous and irritated about that, too used to being the only one his niece wanted.
After all the kids had put him through that day, he almost granted that request but, in the end, he took pity on Effie and dragged Katniss back home with him.
The girl sulked in the car, she sulked when he opened the door and she was still sulking when he collapsed on the couch, his eyelids immediately drooping.
He was attacked by a furry thing with claws and teeth who jumped on his lap and stared at him with a judgmental nasty look.
"Buttercup is hungry." Katniss declared with a disdainful sniff. "I want pasta too."
Haymitch took a deep breath and blew it out very slowly.
Half an hour later, Katniss was having an early dinner, Buttercup was eating – cat food and not pasta – and he had checked on the geese. Haymitch wasn't hungry but he was ready to collapse right where he was standing. His niece wasn't sleepy though and it wasn't late enough that he could just tuck her in and hope she would fall asleep soon.
He let her put a dvd in the player, his eyelids barely twitching when he recognized the Brave menu. How many times could she watch this thing and not be bored? How many times? He pressed play and settled down for a long movie. Katniss was sitting on the rug, her Mockingjay and Lady on either side of her, mouthing the lines along with the characters.
Haymitch took the opportunity to stretch and lie down on the couch.
He fell asleep before the story truly started and only startled awake when the end credits rolled on the screen, mainly because of the dead weight on his chest. He had grown used to being used as a cushion by a five years old and her various stuffed toys in the last months but it didn't make it any more comfortable.
"Come on, sweetheart." he whispered, his voice raspy from sleep. "Time for bed."
This time, Katniss didn't fight him. She brushed her teeth, half dead on her feet, and crawled into bed without even requesting a story. He still waited until she was truly asleep to wander to the bathroom. A quick shower later, he finally lied down on his bed.
And obviously he tossed and turned until he rolled his eyes at his own stupidity and reached for Effie's pillow. It was too soft for his taste but it smelt like her. He slept like a baby.
It more or less established a pattern for the following days.
Haymitch relieved Effie in early morning, she went home to sleep for a few hours before swinging by the store and eventually coming back in late afternoon. Katniss tended to stay with him but she sometimes wanted to sleep in in the mornings, in which case he waited for Effie to drive home before heading to the hospital.
For almost a week, their path only crossed for a few minutes a day. They texted and called and kissed each other good morning and goodnight – despite the kids' giggling – but it was starting to become taxing.
Christmas morning rolled on them before they knew it.
Katniss was looking at the gifts wrapped in glossy gold papers under the tree with wary eyes. He had told Effie she was going overboard with the golden glitter.
"You can start if you want." he encouraged her, nudging her toward the tree. "There's another gift coming later."
Buttercup, at least, looked interested in the wrapped boxes. He sniffed everything and hissed when Haymitch pushed him away.
Katniss carefully opened one gift, as if she was scared something would jump out and attack her, but relaxed when she found a Merida framed poster for her room – that had been a safe bet. She looked pleased enough with the rest of the toys he had gotten her.
There were still a few boxes under the tree when she was done unwrapping her gifts.
"Who are they for?" she frowned. "Maybe Santa got it wrong."
"Maybe." he shrugged. "What do you want for breakfast?"
It was almost noon and they were in the middle of Frozen – Effie's gift and he wasn't going to thank her for it because he could already tell that he would be hating let it go before long since Katniss had insisted on watching the scene four times before going on – when the front door opened.
"Surprise!" Effie sing-sang.
"Peeta!" Katniss squealed in delight, hugging the boy in an uncharacteristic demonstration of happiness.
"I see Santa came by last night…" Effie hummed. She went mostly ignored. Katniss was already tugging Peeta toward the rest of the presents.
"Save your breath, sweetheart." he snorted, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss against her neck. "They don't care about us anymore. We're old news. There are new toys."
She laughed but leaned against his chest, looking exhausted but happy. "Should we tell them about us moving together or should we wait?"
He looked at the two five years old busy tearing up golden wrapping papers and shrugged. "We'll tell them tonight. Let them enjoy Santa's presents."
"Santa should think about giving his elf a raise." she teased. "She did an awful lot of wrapping."
"Like Portia and Cinna didn't do most of that." he mocked.
She pursed her lips and tilted her head but it was plain to see she was fighting a smile.
Soon they were horded to the couch by excited kids who wouldn't calm down until Effie had them sitting down with mugs full of hot chocolate. They had settled down for ten blessed minutes when Chaff invited himself in with a jovial ho, ho, ho.
Frozen was discarded for Ratatouille, because neither of the kids had seen it yet and because Santa had brought it at Chaff's by mistake, so it must have been good. Uncle Chaff was forced to sit down and was treated to some hot chocolate too.
Haymitch sipped from his mug, stretched his free arm on the back of the couch and watched his family just as much as he watched the movie.
Peeta declared it the best Disney ever and Haymitch could guess a stuffed rat would join the stuffed Toothless before long.
Katniss was a little less sold but she was content enough to see her friend in good spirits.
As for Haymitch…
He was simply happy.
It seemed impossible that he had first met Katniss only a few months earlier. To him it was as if she had always been there. He couldn't imagine his life without her in it. Or the people she had brought with her.
They had a whole new life ahead of them now.
And he intended to make the most of it.
THE END
The eeeeend! Did you like it? I encourage you to check out Archervale's work on tumblr if you did, this story wouldn't have existed without her art to inspire it. I hope you enjoyed this last chapter and this little story. Please, let me know!
And if you liked it, check out my new hayffie story next week, called "April Showers".
