The metal hinges of their front gate creaked noisily as Effie pushed it open with her hips, her arms full with paper bags containing her provisions.

"Haymitch, you need to do something about this gate! I've told you to oil it since last month," she said, as she walked past him into their house.

"I'll get to it," he grumbled, stomping on the earth beneath his feet where he had just dumped a whole lot of fertilizers for Effie's apple tree. The sole reason he was helping her with the gardening was largely due to the unsettling feeling he had ever since they returned home from the Capitol earlier that week. Effie had not been speaking to him much and he did not want to risk another few weeks of them not speaking to each other again.

"Did you get more groceries? Weren't we down at the market two days ago?" he shouted after her, mumbling under his breath about Effie not knowing the concept of saving money.

She waved her hand at him, reappearing again moments later.

"Do you have anything planned for this afternoon?"

Effie trailed after him as he walked over to his geese pen and started fussing over it. She stood a safe distance away. Effie wasn't really fond of his pets. They were obnoxious, rude and ostensibly loud at all the wrong hours of the morning.

"Just like you," Haymitch said when she complained about his geese once.

"Haymitch," she called out for his attention when he did not answer her question. "If you haven't got anything pressing for the rest of the day, do you want to accompany me to the clinic?"

He tilted his head to side, wondering for a second if he had heard her wrongly. Effie had never before invited him along to one of her appointments.

"Nah, you go ahead, Effs, I've got to fix this," he replied without bothering to turn around to look at her, tugging on the metal wiring of the pen for added emphasis.

He could hear her exhaled loudly behind him. Effie was annoyed at how it seemed as though he had just chosen his geese over herself and his own child. Still, she kept her composure and tried to persuade him. Effie had never lost sight of her goal – to make Haymitch at least care for the baby – and she needed to be delicate or run the risk of him shutting down and cutting them off completely.

"You want to be there today. It'll be an experience, I promise. Please, come with me. It'll be nice for the doctor to meet you, too," she persuaded him slowly.

"It's just the clinic, sweetheart. What possible experience are you even talking about?"

In the end, Effie had to resort to bribing him with alcohol. She swore that the next time he drank she will keep her mouth shut, not complain about the smell, and make herself scarce from the room. It took him a second to consider the deal, knowing that it was too good to let it go since she whine a lot about the smell ever since she became pregnant.

"If that is the case, my queen, then lead the way," Haymitch mocked.

"Stop calling me your queen whenever I succeed in making you do something," she admonished him.

XxX

Effie's hand was in his as they walked through the quiet corridor towards the room. He had grabbed her hand without even realizing as they crossed the road towards the hospital and had not let it go since. Effie kept quiet, relishing the rare feeling of closeness between them.

"Effie!" the doctor greeted with a friendly smile on her face as she gestured for them to enter. "Come on in. Oh, you must be Effie's husband!"

Haymitch nodded, extending his hand to the brunette in a long white coat. "Haymitch Abernathy."

"It's nice to finally meet you," she grinned. "I don't believe you've been here before. I'm Dr. Ashley Bell."

"First time, yes," he glanced around nervously.

Haymitch hated hospitals or clinics ever since his Games but he was used to them. He spent days recuperating from his stomach wound after he won and he had been in an out of the clinic at the Games Headquarters whenever he had been too drunk and needed help. Dr. Bell's clinic was unlike anything he had ever seen. There were charts pasted on the walls depicting the fetus at various stages of pregnancies. Haymitch sat down next to Effie and opted to keep his mouth shut as he listened in to their conversation.

"I saw you last month," Dr. Bell consulted her notes, "and everything was as it should be. So how are you today, Effie?"

"Still with the morning sickness, I'm afraid. And I can't stand certain smells, it makes me sick."

Dr. Bell nodded and jotted the information down on the medical sheet in front of her. "For most women, it will usually get better by the second trimester, which… would be just in a few weeks' time for you!"

Effie was directed to the examination table. When she had settled down on it, she beckoned for Haymitch to stand next to her.

"You want to be here for this," she whispered, offering him a small smile.

Haymitch shrugged, watching intently as Dr. Bell began to apply cooling gel on Effie's stomach. His eyes shifted to the screen and frowned at the image that had appeared on it, trying but failing to make sense of what he was seeing. Then he heard it – a soft steady rhythm, repeating itself like a drum beat in the room.

"Is that… I thought that sounded like …. Are those heartbeats?" he breathed out, finally.

"Yes, they are," Dr. Bell answered cheerily.

"Oh," Effie said, sounding amazed. "It sounds so perfect. I – oh god, this is real. She's really alive. She does exist!"

Effie was gushing and making little sense. He had known, of course, that the baby was alive, but he understood what Effie was trying to say - being in that room and listening to the beats that signified a life brought on a whole new meaning to the word 'alive'.

She clasped his hand in hers and held it to her chest.

"Can you hear it?"

"I'm not deaf," he mumbled. "It sounds – don't you think that it sounds like a horse galloping across a field?"

"Haymitch! My baby girl is not a horse – don't be rude!" she snapped at him.

Haymitch was about to retort when Dr. Bell called for their attention.

"Wait a second," she frowned, cocking her head to the side, and moving the instrument back and forth rapidly on Effie's stomach.

"Is there a problem, doctor? Is something wrong?" Effie asked worriedly.

"No. Nothing's wrong. Just listen carefully."

"I'm hearing the same thing as I heard earlier," Haymitch said.

"Pay close attention," the doctor said softly. "Don't you hear it? That's two different set of heartbeats."

XxX

Effie blinked, confusion written all over her features. She turned to look at Haymitch for some sort of guidance or comfort, he wasn't certain at the moment. Haymitch ignored her and did as the doctor said. Now that the doctor had pointed it out, his hearing began to pick up the two distinct heartbeats echoing each other at different timings.

He raised both eyebrows in astonishment. His head swiveled to the side and looked questioningly at the doctor.

"Is the baby abnormal?"

"Not at all!" the doctor chuckled.

"You said two heartbeats and I heard two heartbeats. What does that even mean?"

"Twins," Effie exhaled, realization finally dawning on her.

The doctor beamed up at the pair of them and nodded in confirmation. She congratulated them both but Haymitch was in a state of shock so it flew right by him. His ears were buzzing and he felt lightheaded. Haymitch gripped the edges of the examination table tightly.

"No, no," he mumbled. "No, no, absolutely not."

He gave out a slightly hysterical laugh and shook his head.

"Haymitch?" Effie called out worriedly.

"She's not having twins," he jabbed his index finger towards Effie. "How is that even possible? It's not possible, is it? Is it?"

Dr. Bell was unfazed by Haymitch's repeated, persistent questions. She launched into an explanation about monozygotic and dizygotic twins which Haymitch promptly interrupted with a rather rhetorical question – "So there are two babies?"

"You don't seem happy at all," Dr. Bell remarked. "All my years and experience, nearly every couple I knew was ecstatic at the prospect of having twins. I understand that you're concerned but – "

"I don't even want a child," Haymitch said out loud.

Effie shot him a dirty look and ordered him out of the room if he was going to act slightly off his rocker. Haymitch jumped at the chance and nodded.

"I need a moment," he raised his palm in an awkward apology to the doctor, "too much to take in. Just – I'll be outside, Eff."

Once the door closed behind him, Effie hopped off the examination table and adjusted her dress carefully before sitting down on the chair across from her obstetrician. She had been too distracted by Haymitch's rare panic attack that she had not really managed to process the news. Haymitch had been adamant that it was not possible for her to have twins. Now the same thought was nagging at the back of her mind.

"That's not possible though, is it? I mean, we did the ultrasound when I was 5 weeks pregnant and you could have seen if I was carrying two, wouldn't you?"

"There are cases of "hidden twins", very rare but it happened. When the ultrasound was done on your fifth week of gestation, it was still early on in the pregnancy. You have to understand that the ultrasound provides a picture of the womb which could sometimes be misleading. The second embryo could have been shadowed by the first. I clearly heard two heartbeats today and I am very certain you're having twins."

"I see," Effie replied in a daze.

The room was quiet. Dr. Bell allowed Effie some time to soak in the news. For a few minutes, the only sound was the soft stroke of pen scratching against paper as Dr. Bell began to note down her findings for the day. When Effie finally looked up, she had a sloppy smile on her face.

"When will I be able to see them on the ultrasound?" she asked, a hint of excitement creeping into her voice.

"At your next appointment, we'll do an ultrasound again and I'm certain the other embryo will no longer be hidden. You'll get to see them both. In the meantime, I'll need to do a blood test to check for chromosomal abnormalities."

XxX

When he heard the door open and Effie's voice saying goodbye to her doctor, Haymitch looked up and pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against. He had spent his time alone pacing the corridor agitatedly and staring into space.

"Are you calm now?" Effie asked with a slight teasing in her voice.

"I'm still in shock."

"Me too," she admitted, pulling her coat tighter around her body. "Let's just go home."

"I think I'll take that deal we made before we came here – I need a drink when we get home," he told her.

True to his words, Haymitch took his bottle of whiskey and brought it out to the front porch. He settled down on the steps leading up to the house and began drinking. With the open space, the stench of liquor wouldn't linger in the house and it wouldn't leave Effie feeling sick and nauseated.

He thought back to what happened at the clinic. It was true what Effie said, it was an experience. With his eyes closed, Haymitch rested his forehead on his knees, a lone finger swirling around the rim of his whiskey bottle as the soft sound of the heartbeats echoed in his mind. He could still hear it loud and clear, as clear as the quaking sound his geese was currently making. Hearing the source of life beating in that room - strong and steady - had shaken him to his core. It was so real and overwhelming. He had helped create those little things Effie was carrying and it felt surreal. It was unbelievable.

Haymitch had no idea how long he sat out on the porch, but Effie came out looking for him as the moon rose, telling him that she had made dinner. He waved her off and she went back in, eating dinner alone. Haymitch stood up and staggered towards his geese pen. In an attempt to take his mind off Effie's pregnancy, Haymitch continued where he left off, fixing the pen until his shirt was drenched in sweat and the crickets started chirping long into the night.

When he finally climbed into bed, Effie was already asleep but she woke up when she felt the mattress dipped under the added weight and the covers rustled as he slipped in.

"I showered – I don't think I smell of liquor," he spoke softly, "go back to sleep."

"Are you okay, Haymitch? Are you angry?"

He shrugged. "I'm not. I've been thinking - that's all."

Effie looked at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation or an elaboration. He knew she would not be going back to sleep anytime soon.

"The law asked for two children, yes? I guess we've done our part," Haymitch explained. "And I supposed, it's good for you, too. Save you the trouble of being pregnant again. It's sort of like those deals I saw at the Capitol sometimes - buy one get one free; one pregnancy, two children."

Effie laughed and smacked him with a pillow.

"It's true, though, isn't it?" Haymitch insisted. "If you think about it, it saves me the pain of having to deal with you being pregnant again in the future."

She buried her face in her pillow, chuckling to herself. "You're unbelievable, Haymitch."

Haymitch gave her a half smile, fluffing his pillow and turning off the bedside lamp.

"After how you reacted at the clinic, I expected you to be – well, I don't know exactly. But you're taking it in remarkably well, for a grumpy person like yourself.

He rolled his eyes. "I acknowledge the fact that there's nothing to be done at the moment. I hope they're not girls. I can't deal with two other miniature versions of Effie Trinket in my life."

Her lips curled upwards in amusement. In my life… She found herself slightly filled with hope. He almost seemed prepared for them to be around in his life and that was a start.

XxX

Things went on relatively normal for the pair of them. Effie still insisted on working at the factory and Haymitch busied himself with his geese. He finally managed to fix the front gate after a month of procrastination and Effie had beamed at him in satisfaction when she came home that afternoon to find the gate swung open noiselessly.

All too soon, Effie was reminded of the very real problem that existed and the reason why she was married to Haymitch in the first place. The phone call Haymitch received that night disrupted their momentary peace.

"It looks like District Five has found their voice," said Plutarch.

"Yeah? What happened in Five?"

"They found an abandoned baby by the street yesterday morning – barely days old, as I was told. They managed to track down the mother. Only problem is – she refused to acknowledge her child."

"What happened to the father?"

"Went missing," Plutarch answered, "they searched the entire district and couldn't find him."

Haymitch cursed loudly. "That is madness – leaving a baby on the streets like that! How is a child supposed to survive if nobody had found it?"

"It's a girl. She's being looked after. A middle age couple has volunteered to take her in, for the moment. There are reports that the mother is suffering from post-partum depression – said she can't take care of the baby."

"Post – what the hell is that?"

Plutarch sighed. "Depression that affects women, sometimes men, after childbirth."

"Hold on," he said into the receiver, "Effie! Hey, Effs, you know about this post … postpartum depression?"

"Yes," she answered, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Okay, just – hopefully you'll be alright," he said before returning to the conversation with Plutarch.

"Worried, are we?" Plutarch teased.

Haymitch ignored him and glanced up at Effie who was still standing there listening to the one-sided conversation.

"How long more do we have before we can submit an appeal?"

"In 3 months."

Right after they had submitted their case which was summarily rejected three months ago, the Council had put out a decree stating that an appeal could only be taken up six months from the date of the last unsuccessful appeal. Plutarch and Haymitch had used that time to build up an even stronger submission and the news that District Two had voiced out their unhappiness a few months back had certainly lent weight to their cause. Haymitch's mind was working rapidly as he tried to figure out a way to use the current situation in District Five to help with the appeal.

"3 months is a long time," he stated. "What if there are more cases like the one in Five?"

"It might work in our favour, don't you think?"

Haymitch cringed. He had known Plutarch for quite a while but it slipped his mind how that man sometimes had a knack of saying the truth without actually noticing how blunt or harsh it sound to others.

"Say, we do what Effie suggested while waiting for the time to be up? We incite some general unhappiness across Panem and shake the Council a little?" Haymitch's voice had taken on a slightly maniacal tone and in front of him, Effie shook her head.

Haymitch could hear Plutarch's heavy breathing on the phone, and he could imagine that man thinking through his suggestion.

"Very well," he agreed at last. "If you could send Peeta out to the Capitol to meet me, we'll start the interviewing as soon as possible. I think if word gets out that we're interviewing a handful of those affected by the law, it would make others volunteer to be heard and like you say, may be rattle the Council a little. But, just to let you know, I won't be bringing the tape over the Paylor or the Council just yet. Let them wonder for a bit."

"I'm fine with that. And, I'm coming with Peeta," Haymitch said before hanging up.

"You're leaving again?" Effie spoke up.

"Yeah, yeah I am. I just need to talk to Peeta about it. Not anytime soon, though, next week, most likely," he said, hoping it would put her at ease.

"But – My appointment with Dr. Bell is next week. She's doing the ultrasound again and we could – we could see the twins. Don't you want to go?"

Haymitch froze and shifted his gaze. He had forgotten all about it.

"Can't you postpone it? If you can't then that's fine, go ahead without me, it's not like I could make out the shapes of them during the scan anyway. I probably wouldn't understand," he told her indifferently. "It wouldn't make a difference whether or not I'm there. I've got to do this, Eff, this is important."

"But we're important, too," she said mostly to herself since Haymitch had rushed off from their house to go over to Peeta's house.

I debated back and forth about the twins before finally deciding that it would be interesting to write Haymitch who was in complete denial about Effie's pregnancy initially trying to come to terms with having two children. Future chapters will be fun to write, I expect.

Haven't touched the law in a few chapters & it's back :)

Anyway, do leave a review!