Hello there and thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed the previous chaptesr and that this chapter continues to please you. Any feedback you have is always welcome and very much appreciated!

I do not own The Hunger Games nor its characters.

Chapter Sixty-Two

Once we're back in 13 Katniss is only asleep for a day and I spend the time with Finnick, hoping in some vain attempt to rediscover the effervescent young man I've grown close to. However, he may be improving but he's still not himself. He occasionally cracks a joke but there's still a lost look in his eye that the old Finnick would never had had.

Even as we're walking down to Command to see Katniss' prop from 8 he's quiet and reserved when he'd usually be chatty and excited to see what the film crew have come up with, I'm sure.

"Beetee has really outdone himself," says Plutarch as we enter.

Coin, Boggs, Fulvia and various other guards are gathered around a screen, all grinning surprisingly.

"Ah, Haymitch! Finnick!" Says Plutarch when he sees us. "Come and see our first propo, Beetee has already hacked in to Panem's feed and played it nine times across the districts!"

"Really?!" Says Finnick as we approach the screen and for the first time in weeks I swear I can see just a glimpse of his old vigour.

Plutarch nods before pressing play on the video again.

The screen is black but gradually a small spark appears and grows until the whole image is consumed by fire and then the image of the mockingjay on Katniss' pin takes centre stage.

"Katniss Everdeen, the girl who was on fire, burns on," says Claudius Templesmith's voice, causing my eyebrows to raise. Beetee must have done something clever with his voice because there's no way Panem's infamous announcer would be on the rebels' side, I'm sure.

The mockingjay disappears to be replaced by Katniss herself with the flames and smoke of District 8 behind her.

"I want to tell the rebels that I am alive. That I'm right here in District Eight, where the Capitol has just bombed a hospital full of unarmed men, women and children. There will be no survivors," she says before the image cuts to the burning hospital. "I want to tell people that if you think for one second the Capitol will treat us fairly if there's a ceasaefire, you're deluding yourself. Because you know who they are and they do." Cut back to Katniss. "This is what they do! And we must fight back!"

The following images are of the bombs being dropped and Katniss and the others fighting back, especially the part where her and Gale take down the hoverplanes before going back to Katniss.

"President Snow says he's sending us a message? Wwell, I have one for him. You can torture us and bomb us and burn our districts to the ground, but do you see that?" The camera zooms in on the burning plane. "Fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us!"

Flames take over the screen with the words 'IF WE BURN, YOU BURN WITH US,' set against them before they, too, turn to flames.

I'm so in awe that I actually find myself clapping along with Finnick before I realise what I'm doing and stop. I don't want these Capitol people thinking anymore of themselves than they already do.

"It's amazing, Plutarch," says Finnick.

"I have to agree. We're going to call a meeting when Katniss is awake to show it to her and discuss further propos. I'll send someone to fetch you," says Plutarch and I get the distinct impression that we're both meant to leave, now.

When we re-enter Command a few hours late I can see that Katniss is already there, looking sheepish. I can't help but shoot her a disapproving look, I'm still annoyed at her for taking her earpiece out but I think I've worked out how I'm going to prove my point now that she's awake. I don't care if she's in a wheelchair, her insolence is going to cost us all.

Eventually Coin quietens everyone and begins to speak, declaring how well the Airtime Assault has gone before playing the video twice. Talk quickly turns to how we should continue to send Katniss in to combat as that's when we get the best out of her and, amazingly, no one tells Coin how she directly disobeyed orders while we were in 8. Not even Boggs.

"Well, let's just be a little more judicious with her exposure. Especially now that the Capitol knows what she can do," says Coin and everyone agrees.

"Yeah," I say, smiling menacingly at Katniss. "We wouldn't want to lose our little Mockingjay when she's finally begun to sing."

"So what else have you got planned?" Asks Coin and Plutarch promptly launches in to his plan for his next propo using the footage from 8 before indicating that Fulvia also had a good idea.

Even though she's reluctant to talk about it the idea turns out to be pretty good. She wants to do a set of propos called 'We Remember' about dead tributes with Finnick narrating, which he's happy to do. I'm just glad he's going to have something to focus on besides Annie.

Coin eventually dismisses us and Gale quickly wheels Katniss out of the room but that's fine by me, I have another plan.

I head straight down to special defence and ask Beetee to show me all of the communication technology they have before selecting my three favourites and heading back to the hospital to find Katniss fast asleep.

Seeing as I have nothing better to do I end up spending the night in the chair next to her and I only wake up when her lunch is brought to her. However, she spends the next two hours asleep so I just help myself. It's better than it wasting, they hate waste in 13.

When she finally wakes up she looks terrified to see me and rightly so, I'm still furious. I drop her earpiece on to the bed in front of her and look her directly in the eyes.

"That is your earpiece," I say. "I will give you exactly one more chance to wear it. If you remove it from your ear again, I'll have you fitted with this." I hold up a grim looking metal headpiece that looks like a weapon of torture. "It's an alternative audio unit that locks around your skull and under your chin until it's opened with a key. And I'll have the only key. If for some reason you're clever enough to disable it," I drop the headpiece and pull out a small chip from my pocket. "I'll authorise them to implant this transmitter into your ear so that I may speak to you twenty-four hours a day."

I can see the worry stretch across her face. "I'll keep the earpiece in," she says, quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"I'll keep the earpiece in!"

"You sure? Because I'm equally happy with any of the three options."

"I'm sure." She picks up the earpiece and the headpiece before throwing them at me but I easily catch them. "Anything else?"

I stand up to leave. "While I was waiting…I ate your lunch."

"I'm going to report you."

I have to stop myself from laughing as I walk out the door. "You do that, sweetheart."

I'm not expected anywhere so I walk to the other side of the hospital wing in the hope of finding Vieve. Sure enough she's right by Rufus' side, stroking his shaved head.

"When you're out of here you can grow your hair again and all the girls will be swooning over you," she says to him, causing him to smirk.

"Maybe some of the boys, too," I say as I walk in and take a seat. "How are you doing, kid?"

"They've said I can leave tomorrow. We're going to be assigned new quarters," says Rufus.

"I've requested that we're near you," says Vieve. "I hope that's all right."

"Of course," I say.

The truth is that I want them all to be as far away from me as possible. I know that I'm in love with Vieve, I always have been, and her children are great but getting tangled up in their lives just seems wrong right now.

Peeta is trapped in the Capitol, Katniss is meant to be acting as the figurehead of the rebellion and there's a very high chance that we could all be blown to bits at any minute. I worry enough about Vieve as it is and I'm sure that will only increase if we see each other day in, day out.

"Did you see the propo?" I ask, eager to change the subject.

"Yeah, it was horrific and brilliant in equal measure," says Vieve and all I can do is nod my head.

Melia joins us an hour later after she's finished school and tells us how different it is from 12. They're telling the kids that they can be doctors, scientists, teachers and pretty much anything they want to be; something completely alien to them in 12. If you didn't like mining then you had to starve.

I'm only allowed another twenty minutes in this safe haven before Plutarch finds me, looking paler than I've ever seen him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he says, "But your needed in Command."

"Okay," I say, standing up and turning to Vieve. "I'll see you soon."

I follow Plutarch to Command, asking him what is so urgent but he refuses to say anything until we reach our destination and presses play on one of the television screens.

An emaciated and beaten Peeta sits opposite Caesar Flickerman as he asks the young man what he thinks of Katniss taping propos for the districts.

Poor Peeta, whatever Katniss does ends up hurting him all the time.

"They're using her, obviously," says Peeta. "To whip up the rebels. I doubt she even really knows what's going on in the war. What's at stake."

"Is there anything you'd like to tell her?" Asks Caesar.

"There is." He look straight down the camera. "Don't be a fool, Katniss. Think for yourself. They've turned you into a weapon that could be instrumental in the destruction of humanity. If you've got any real influence, use it to put the brakes on this thing. Use it to stop the war before it's too late. Ask yourself, do you really trust the people you're working with? Do you really know what's going on? And if you don't…find out."

The screen goes blank and Plutarch presses the stop button.

"Has Katniss seen this?" I ask.

"No," says Plutarch. "And she's not going to, she's unstable enough as it is."

"She has a right to see this," I say, mostly because what I think Peeta is saying is true. Admittedly, it might send her over the edge but I don't trust anyone from 13 and I want her to know that, too. Coin only sees Katniss as a pawn in her game, just like everyone who has ever had power has seen her from the start.

Unfortunately, I have to put myself in that bracket, too, and now all I'm doing is trying to make up for it.

"No, Haymitch," says Plutarch, his voice dropping. "I know what you're thinking but now is not the time. Let's win the war first and then we can talk about who's in charge."

"Fine," I snap. For too long I've been waiting for things to happen and it seems like the wait will never be over.

"Cressida is thinking of sending Katniss and Gale to Twelve for another propo, do you want to go?"

"I couldn't face that without a bottle," I say and leave the room.

With Katniss off filming in 12 I spend the next day helping Vieve move in to her new quarters, not that she has much to move but it gives me something to do. Rufus is looking well but both Vieve and I are adamant that he doesn't walk around too much and stays on his bed as much as possible, which causes him to have a tantrum.

Jeez, teenagers.

It turns out we're right, anyway, because as soon as he gets in to bed he falls asleep so we decide to head for lunch by ourselves.

"Haymitch, wait," says Vieve, grabbing my arm. "I think we need to decide what's going on between us. I've been going crazy for over a week now."

"Try sixteen years," I say. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you're right. I can't expect you to just fall back in love with me at the click of my fingers."

"Vieve, I've always been in love with you. I am in love with you. But the truth is all I've had in my life since you left is this rebellion and now that it's happening, I can't allow myself to get distracted. More importantly, I can't let Katniss know that the war isn't my priority, she's already falling apart."

After all these years I'm still useless when it comes to women because when Vieve smiles at me I'm completely oblivious as to why.

"You still love me?" She says.

"Of course I do. How could I not?"

"Then I can deal with all the other stuff. I'll wait until I'm old and grey if I have to. I made you do the same thing."

"Hey, I'm not grey," I joke and subconsciously find my arms wrapping around her slim waist.

She leans in close and places her lips on mine and this time it feels real. No surprises. No uncertainty. This is my Vieve and I'm going to come back to her.