The room was silent for a full minute. Beetee's eyes met Wiress' large anxious eyes. "Once again, my Wiress has shown her stroke of brilliance." Beetee addressed the group. "Yes, Katniss as our Mockingjay is a perfect symbol. The Capitol, of course, never intended for the Jabberjays to create Mockingjays." Wiress blushed as the crowd applauded.
"Alright, well, let's get our plan moving. We have a Mockingjay to support and a dictator to oust!" A woman dressed in her factory forman uniform. "Meeting adjourned! Back to your work, rebels!"
The next day, Wiress worked on her machine that would mass-produce Beetee's soon to be new wire. "Beetee -" She began hearing the crackle of electricity on the other side of the work room.
"Just testing a bit." Beetee began before adjusting his safety goggles and connecting his wire to a generator. "That's it." He said reading the output on his laptop screen.
"Beetee - gloves." Wiress reminded him rolling her eyes.
"I have them on, dear." Beetee began before turning the dial on the generator.
"Beetee - your heavy duty rubber insulated - and your welding goggles -"
"Wiress, dear, I have been just fine in the shop so far." Beetee said camly with a touch of irritation. "I'm just fine, love."
"But Beetee -" Wiress began before Beetee sighed and pushed the button creating a louder crackle of electricity. The thin gold wire lit up with a bright white light before Beetee yelped and hopped around the workshop cursing loudly while holding his left hand.
"BEETEE TESLA! I TOLD YOU - WHAT DID YOU -" Wiress cried hurrying over to her husband. Pulling a lever on the wall, she shut off the generator before examining Beetee's hand. "It's a thermal -"
"Burn. Yeah, I took off my gloves before opening the testing compartment for the wire."
"BEETEE TESLA!" Wiress admonished before grabbing his right hand and yanking him toward the stairs.
"Wait! Wiress!" Beetee yelped as his very irritated wife practically pulled him up the stairs. Wiress! I need to see if the computer read that last reading!"
"Beetee -" Wiress grumbled exasperatedly.
"Dear, you turned off the generator."
"Yes, because YOU hurt your -" The Panem national anthem played on the speakers on the wall connected to the TV in the living room to alert the Teslas to a mandatory broadcast. "Come on." The Teslas continued bickering pausing only for Wiress to press a cool washcloth over Beetee's hands before practically pushing him onto the couch.
"There they are." Caesar Flickerman narrated over the broadcast. "Our Victors and their escort Effie Trinket." Tears came to Wiress' eyes as Katniss looked at Rue's picture. Peeta gave his speech and Katniss also spoke about Rue.
"The families will get their winnings - I don't know -" Beetee began.
"Shush!" Wiress hissed as the broadcast continued. Beetee gasped more at what he was seeing than his wife's grip on his burnt hand. A man raised his fingers in the District Twelve salute a second before the entire crowd followed.
"Yes!" Beetee cheered.
"No! They can't!" Wiress gasped as Peacekeepers grabbed the man pulling him to the front of the steps of the Justice building. "That won't stop them." She said in a hushed whisper before the man was shot on national television. The broadcast was interrupted by a clip of Katniss and Peeta's pre-Games interviews.
"They didn't have a backup plan for the broadcast." Beetee said. "They didn't think it would get out of hand."
"Well, our Mockingjay will see to it that it does." Wiress said smugly.
As the week wore on, they took notes on their Mockingjay's victory tour. Predictably the two victors stayed to their scripts and the broadcast cut the live feed once their speeches were over. However, the crowds were hard to subdue, their chanting often drowning out the speeches by Effie, Katniss, and Peeta. "Did you see that?" Beetee asked. "Katniss didn't take his hand when they left the stage."
"Oh - I guess -" Wiress began. "I guess not." She watched as the District Seven mayor gave his speech while the two victors stood behind him. Indeed, Peeta and Katniss were standing next to each other, but not hand in hand. "Maybe they are not like us -" She kissed the back of Beetee's hand that was interlaced with hers.
"Well, they don't have to be making out on stage, but I would expect the young man to want to show his girl some affection. These things are stressful." Wiress nodded.
"Look -" Wiress pointed at Katniss who had her arms folded in front of her. "She doesn't want -"
"Now that won't do." Beetee commented. "Those kids can't fight in public. This must be straining their relationship, but the Capitol needs their story as a distraction."
"So you will have the talk with Peeta -" Wiress quipped as Beetee blushed.
"I will if his father hasn't taught him how to treat the young lady he loves." Beetee pulled Wiress into a hug. "Just a few more days and they come here."
"Yes." Wiress said smiling. "We will give them a proper District Three welcome."
"One that the Capitol won't be able to forget." Beetee replied kissing his wife on the forehead. "One that you thought of."
"You invented for it -" Wiress began.
"But it was your idea, and I'll be right by your side as you pull it off." Wiress smiled at her husband as she leaned into his embraced and held his hands. "We'll see victory and we'll do it hand in hand."
A/N: The snuggling on the couch bits are inspired by how sweet my fiance's embrace is as he holds me - aaaaaaaaaaw! Ok... sorry... sappy, but yeah. Hope you are all enjoying this version of Catching Fire: The epic rebellion before the epic arena :)