Hey all! I know I said that you'd get a chapter last night, but that didn't happen. The internet went off before I finished writing! :( But here it is now, so you didn't have that long to wait! :D
I hope you like it!

Haymitch

We make our way down to the Square again, where the Victors are discussing this latest turn of events. I'm about to speak to a Capitol woman when I hear a collective hiss of pain coming from the people in the Square. I look to the screen and see that Katniss is examining her burn wound. It looks terrible; red and bloody. It looks so painful, and it's in desperate need of healing, or else she could die from the pain. I turned back and started talking to the Capitol woman, renewed in my need to get Katniss help. The woman, Hallie Faro, talks for ages about herself and her apparent connection with Katniss' plight, and before I know it, she's off talking to someone else. Capitol people, God.

"Oi, Abernathy, heads up!" I hear Chaff calling, and look over to the screen again. To my horror, the Careers have found Katniss, and are now chasing her up a tree. She climbs up further, and realises that the Careers are still on the ground. I realise something at the same time as she does. Those Careers have no hope of getting up there, they're too heavy. And they can't kill her if they can't get up there. The smile on Katniss' face makes it evident that she knows that too.

"How's everything with you?" She calls down to the Careers. The crowd starts laughing behind me; they love her sarcastic attitude. I can't help but laugh myself, that's how I played the Game myself.

"Well enough." Cato shrugs. "Yourself?"

"It's been a bit warm for my taste." Katniss says, and the crowds burst into laughter again. "The air's better up here. Why don't you come on up?" She taunts, and Cato takes her offer.

We spend the next fifteen minutes watching as the Careers try to take Katniss down. Each failed attempt is met with laughter, and some sarcastic comments from Chaff and I to Brutus, Enobaria, Gloss and Cashmere, the mentors for these tributes. Some taunts even go to Finnick, although not as nasty. Those so called "killing machines" are so incompetent it's funny.

Suddenly, I hear Peeta say "Oh, let her stay up there. It's not like she's going anywhere. We'll deal with her in the morning."

Good kid, taking the attention away from her. The Careers seem to buy it. They start setting up camp, and Katniss starts settling down.

With that, I realise that she's in real pain. She winces and moans, and I can see that the burn is bleeding and red raw. The crowd murmurs in horror and pity at her pain. That's it. I decide to use the biggest sponsor in our arsenal to get the best treatment. I walk straight into the lion's den, and go for Emilia Hart.

Emilia and I talk for at least fifteen minutes before getting down to business. In this time, Chaff's little girl, Rue, has found Katniss and has shown her something that could eliminate the Career threat for good. A tracker jacker's nest, right above the Careers' camp. Perfect.

"Yes! That's my girl!" I hear Chaff shout, pumping his fist in the air.

"Oh, that little girl is so sweet! And so smart! She's helping Katniss out!" Emilia squeals, and I smile. But I really need to get this medicine, so I go straight in.

"Listen, Emilia, you agreed to be one of Katniss' sponsors, and as you can see, she's in a lot of pain. Could we possibly arrange for you to get her medicine? Burn medicine would heal Katniss and leave her ready to take down the Careers. You want her to live, don't you?" I give her one of my persuasive looks, and she buys it.

Emilia thinks for a minute, and then agrees. We shake hands, and I lead her to the control room of the Games. As we leave the Square, I catch Effie's eyes. She looks surprised that I'm walking away with Emilia Hart, but also pleased that I'm going to do something for Katniss.

We reach the control room, where Emilia pays an extortionate amount of money and requests the finest Capitol-produced burn medicine.

Seneca Crane thanks Emilia for her kind donation, and then tells one of his lackeys to play the anthem. I can't help glaring at Crane; he caused the rift between Effie and me. It took everything I had not to rip him limb from limb; Snow wouldn't take kindly to his Gamemaker being attacked.

A woman drags the icon for the anthem up and into the sky of the miniature arena, a to-scale replica of the real arena. I had only seen this room a handful of times, and it still continued to amaze me to this day.

As the anthem plays, Katniss ends up scaling the tree, going for the tracker jacker nest. She knows as well as I that she had better do it now, while the Careers won't hear her because of the anthem. However, she's in so much pain that the going it slow, and she runs out of anthem before she can get to the nest. In annoyance, she slides back down to her fork in the tree.

Crane sends the parachute down when the anthem plays as I asked, so the Careers would not hear the sound of the parachute coming down. They don't need to know that she would be healed soon, and a part of me also didn't want Peeta to know that I was giving Katniss gifts.

The look on her face as it lights up is probably the best thing about giving sponsor gifts. Not that I've given them out much before. She opens the gift and looks at the medicine. She sticks her finger in it, and moans as the medicine helps the burns on her fingers.

"Oh, Haymitch," she sighs. "Thank you."

I puff up with happiness at giving her a gift. It feels good to do some good by her. Emilia and I watch as Katniss rubs the ointment onto her burns, and see as she sighs in relief as the medicine does its work.

"Thank you Emilia. She may win this now." We shake hands again, and Emilia declares that she was happy to help.

We walk back to the Square, and I register that everyone knows of what we did. Some Capitol people thank Emilia for her sponsorship, but many people are shocked that I had a sponsor deal. I haven't had one in so long, that people have probably forgotten that I can even mingle with sponsors. But now I've just struck a deal with one of the richest women in the Capitol. The shock must be overwhelming to them.

Effie flies up to me and hugs me, squealing like a Capitol clone. "Oh thank you Haymitch! You saved her! And thank you Emilia, for paying all that money for her!" She claps excitedly, and Emilia goes on about how they're kindred spirits and she couldn't just let Katniss die.

After a long time of chatting to various people, Effie and I excused ourselves, but suddenly, Effie stopped short.

"Oh! I shall have to go see Seneca..." she trailed off at my look of displeasure. "Oh come on, Haymitch, he's my friend! I'm not going to do anything, I just want to say thank you for helping Katniss." She looks up at me with pleading eyes, and I reluctantly let her go. I doubt Effie will do anything with Crane, especially after the disastrous consequences of last time. Still, I was a little bit wary. I hope that she stayed true to me this time.

Effie

I needed to see him, to say thank you for sparing her. And Peeta, really. He could have killed both of them off, but he abstained from that.

I found Seneca in the control room, and ran into his arms. He paused for a moment, and then hugged me back.

"Hey, Eff. What's the matter?" He asked, and I pulled back. I took in his beard; it was the same style that I had told him to get. He had kept it this way for the past three years, and had gotten into so many magazines with that style. He looked sexy, I had to admit.

"I wanted to say thank you, for not killing my tributes." I announced, and he smiled.

"My job is to give them a hard time, not to kill them. That's what the other kids do."

The way he said it, with a hint of sadness in his voice, made me think that he may feel regret. Just as I do; being inside the Games really opened your eyes to their cruelty.

"Well, thank you anyway." I said, and smiled at him. "How have you been, Sen? I haven't seen you in a while, what with all the stuff I've been doing to help the tributes and all you've been doing with the Games."

"I've been fine, Eff, and yourself? Yes, it's been too long; we need to meet up more often! I miss you."

The sincerity of the last comment made me feel guilty, a little bit. I had been neglecting him, what with my commitment to the tributes and my renewed relationship with Haymitch.

"I've been fine too, just a little stressed. We should go out for drinks somewhere sometime, if you're not too busy here." I looked around the control room at all of the workers who were helping to control the Games.

"I was just heading home now, actually. Nolan was going to take over for the night. We could go out now, if you want." He smiled at me, his blue eyes boring into me. I couldn't help associating so many happy memories with those eyes.

"Alright, now then."

Seneca got his coat, and then we left Games Headquarters and headed down town. Seneca and I had a favourite cocktail bar, and I could tell that we were going there. Again, so many happy memories were associated with this bar, many good times with Seneca and with other friends too.

Seneca held open the grand door of Angel's Elixir cocktail bar, and let me pass through. I thanked him, and then waited for him to come through, before linking arms with him. Seneca motioned to the bartender, Ryle, who knew us well enough to know what we liked to drink, and then led me to a booth.

I sat across from Sen, but looked out to the bar, taking in the scenery. I hadn't been here in a few weeks, and I hadn't been here with Seneca for at least a year.

"So, Effie, your tributes are doing well this year. With any luck, you may get promoted to a better district next year." Seneca said, leaning his hands over to my side of the table.

"Oh yes, well, they are, aren't they? But I may just stick with Twelve. It's grown on me." I smiled as Ryle brought over our favourite cocktails and wrote a tab for Seneca.

Once Ryle had left, Seneca looked puzzled. "Why would you possibly want to stay with Twelve? It's the most pathetic district." He took a sip of his Bloody Mary, but still looked puzzled.

Something within me flared at the use of the word pathetic, but I tried to push it down by taking a sip of my margarita.

"Like I said, it's grown on me." I said simply, taking a few more sips. The alcohol slid down my throat and helped to calm me a bit.

"I bet District One would grow on you just as fast. You'd be away from that slug of a man anyway." Sen said nonchalantly, looking at the girls dancing on the dance floor.

I immediately registered that "that slug of a man" was Haymitch. The anger that had risen within me before threatened to burst over, but I tried to calm myself down again. I didn't want to burst at Seneca, especially when he was taking me out.

"Maybe. And Haymitch isn't a slug. Just misunderstood." I mumbled, taking another sip. Seneca looked at me like I was crazy.

"Misunderstood? He's the biggest drunk in Panem!" He laughed, expecting me to laugh too. When I didn't, he frowned. "Come on Eff, it's a joke. I thought you hated the man anyway."

I knew that I should be pretending to hate him, but for some reason, my emotions were flaring up and I didn't want to pretend anymore.

"I don't hate him, Seneca. He's nice once you get to know him."

"Yeah, once you get him sober, which is never!" Seneca was still trying to make a joke, but this time, my emotions couldn't be suppressed anymore.

"Stop saying all that about him!" I shouted, but thankfully the music was too loud for anyone besides Seneca to hear. I stood up and turned to leave, but Seneca caught my arm.

"Effie! What is wrong?" He asked, his eyes full of pain.

"I'm sick of you insulting District Twelve and Haymitch! Twelve is my District, and Haymitch is a good man! A better man that you'll ever be!" I shouted in his face, and he frowned, hurt.

"How is he better than me? Please enlighten me."

"At least he's not a child murderer!" I screamed, anger getting the best of me. Seneca's face fell, and he loosened his grip on my arm.

I used that opportunity to run away from him, leaving the bar and going back to the apartment. Anger still coursed through me, but as I got closer to the apartment, it turned into sadness. When I got back, Haymitch was watching television. His eyes lightened when he saw me, but I didn't want to talk to him now.

I ran past him and threw myself onto my bed, tears pouring from my eyes. The anger had turned to an overwhelming sorrow. Why had I done that? Why had I insulted him like that? I felt horrible!

"Effie?" Haymitch knocked on the door.

"Go away!" I shouted, but suddenly, I didn't mean it. I was afraid that he'd walk away, but being the wonderful person that he was, Haymitch walked in anyway.

"What happened?" He asked, moving over to the bed.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said, knowing that if Haymitch knew what Seneca had said, there would be no end to the fight between them.

Haymitch didn't press me, only did what he did a few nights ago; cleaned off my makeup, took my clothes off, and helped me into bed.

"We both need rest." Haymitch muttered as an explanation. "And the arena will be quiet tonight after what happened earlier. Nothing to watch really."

He was right, if Seneca had left the control room, it was set to be a quiet night.

He laid down and I rested on his chest, feeling nice and warm against him. He rubbed my back as I started to drift off to sleep.

As I drifted away, I contemplated how I was feeling. My mood seemed to switch without warning. I supposed that it was Seneca's fault, for saying all that stuff about Haymitch, but I would never have blown my cover that way normally. I would have gritted my teeth and bore it with a smile; but my anger just seemed to get the better of me tonight. I wondered what was wrong. It was probably all the stress that I had come under from mentoring such popular tributes. I had been rushed off my feet quite a bit recently. But lying here in Haymitch's arms made me feel a lot better, and eventually I settled my thoughts enough to fall into a deep sleep.

Haymitch

Something was going on with her. I could tell. She wasn't normally so... emotionally unstable.

I stayed awake until I heard her breathing slow down enough for her to be in sleep, and then gently edged out from under her. I know I had told her that we both needed sleep, but I couldn't sleep now. Not while Katniss and Peeta were still in the arena.

I turned on the television in my room and sat on the bed. Night had fallen in the arena, and Katniss was fast asleep in her tree, with Peeta and the Careers all asleep at the same time beneath her. How stupid was that? All sleeping at the same time! I know that they were Careers, but they should still be cautious!

I saw little Rue awake in a tree near to Katniss'. She was looking up at the tracker jacker's nest wistfully and then back down at the Careers. Ah, smart girl. At least she was still awake and on the lookout. She'd be able to alert Katniss to any tribute who decided to come and try to kill the Careers. I was glad that the little girl was there. Chaff was right, she was sneaky and smart, she could go a long way. At least until it came down to her and someone else, and then she would die. The thought of Rue taking down anyone was too impossible to conceive.

I got a drink from the kitchen and then came back to my room. Effie was still asleep, and the light from the television illuminated her perfect face. Why did she have to wear all that ghastly makeup when she looked beautiful just as she was? That was another thing that confused me about the Capitol; why make yourself look uglier?

I drank all night, watching nothing on the screen. I don't know why, but I always stayed awake during the Games when my kids survived the bloodbath. It wasn't often, but about ten years ago one of my kids, the boy, made it to the final five, and I stayed up all night every night watching and waiting. Waiting for either death to claim him, or for him to exact death on other tributes. My desire to stay awake proved to be justified, as a Career member killed him in his sleep one night. I guess I stay awake because I don't want the kids to die alone. I want them to know that someone is watching over them, that someone is willing them to live. I had to do the same with my kids now, just in case.

I wouldn't let them die alone.

This wasn't a long chapter, compared to my normal length, but I had fun writing this one! I hope that you liked it, and please review! My birthday's next week, and your reviews will be the best birthday presents ever! :D