Chapter Twenty

Felix spent the morning with his arm crossed, sulking to himself as he watched Effie and Haymitch preparing to leave Annie's house. He was less than thrilled when he found out that they would be spending the remainder of their time in District Four at the resort - with a room catered to them courtesy of his brother.

"This is Elias," Felix stressed. "He probably has something up his sleeve."

"He's your brother," Effie pointed out. "Don't be so hard on him. People change; maybe he has. He offered me a room when he found out I was here but it was only just us, Felix. Now that Haymitch's here, he was nice enough to offer it to us again. It would be rude to deny his offer of hospitality the second time. Besides, you won't be alone in Annie's house and we'll all be going to the carnival together!"

He scowled. "That's exactly it. You're leaving me here with that woman," he jerked his head towards Johanna who was spinning Finn around in a dizzying circle.

From his place against the wall, Haymitch watched Effie rubbed her temple in exasperation before looking up with a patient smile on her face. She rested her hand on his shoulder and spoke to him quietly. Felix's expression changed. He looked abashed and with a resigned shrug of his shoulders, he enveloped Effie in a hug and kissed her cheeks.

Haymitch smirked. "Played the guilt card with him, did you?"

He was quick to help her with her luggage, holding the door open for her.

"I did and he did made you panic, didn't he?"

Haymitch was informed by the clerk at the check-in counter that they would be staying in the seaview room. The porter talked at length about the grandiosity of the room as they rode the elevator up to the third story of the resort. The room was spacious with a huge king sized bed in the middle of it and beautiful paintings hanging on the walls. There was a sliding door with glass panel installed that led to the balcony which overlooked the sea. Effie oooh and ahhhh in appreciation and the porter swell with pride as he deposited their bags.

Effie stood out at the balcony, her hair whipping about her face, looking serene as ever. She was mesmerized by the scenic nature, something that she was deprived off while growing up at the Capitol and discounting the meadow, District Twelve did not have such a beautiful view as this. Haymitch had to pull her away from the balcony when he saw her shivering slightly from the sea breeze with only her thin dress for protection.

"Nothing much to watch," he reported as he sat at the edge of the bed, flipping through the channels.

"You don't even bother switching on the television back home," she laughed, shaking her head at him. "And that's probably a sign for us to go out more instead of staying in."

"This is a good room," Haymitch stretched across the bed. "A waste to spend it outside."

"Oh, Haymitch, a little socialization won't kill you."

"It won't, perhaps. But all the same, I'd rather stay in today," he replied, walking over to inspect the contents in the mini fridge. He pulled out a bottle of beer after discovering that there wasn't anything stronger than that and adjourned to the adjoining balcony.

Effie moved to join him after making sure that she was sufficiently bundled up.

"Finnick grew up here," he nodded towards the sea. Finnick crossed his mind more often now that he was in District Four. The thought of Finnick not being there to see them in his hometown for something other than a Victory Tour left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"And it's here that his son will learn what Finnick had. Annie always said that he loves the sea as much as his father did."

The rhythmic sound of waves against the shore was soothing to them both. Haymitch stood over the banister looking out over the distance. He could make out tiny figures of people hurrying about preparing for the carnival that was due to begin tomorrow. They were erecting up tents and banners, setting up booths all around and there was a group of men by the shoreline putting on the last coat of varnish for their wooden boats before the sun sets in.

He turned to point something out to Effie who was lying on the lounger and his lips quirked at the sight of her. She was fighting to stay awake, nodding off once in a while only to jerk upright again. The silence was suddenly punctuated by Effie's sharp intake of breath. She gripped the armrest tightly, a slight grimace marring her face before she let go a second later. Effie gave him a pained smile and shook her head.

"You alright?"

"Yes, nothing to worry about," she waved her hands dismissively.

His eyes lingered on her, not quite believing what she said but did not want to press her for answers at the same time.

"Haymitch? We should think of names."

"Too early, isn't it?"

"I don't think so. I'm just worried that we won't have enough time to decide on names before they're born. And - it's even more daunting because we have to think of four names!"

"Four?"

"Yes, four. Two for each gender."

"No one's asked you to keep the gender a surprise, so good luck there, sweetheart."

Effie blinked at him in surprise and smacked his arm with the thick book she was clutching in her hands. She muttered something about how he should also be involved in the naming process. He said nothing as he plucked the book out of her hands to see the front cover. It was a book of baby names and the pages were creased as though Effie had gone through it multiple times, some were dog-eared.

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Research?", he teased.

XxX

They formed an unlikely group as they made their way to the town centre for the first day of the carnival.

Annie, despite the smile on her face had a faraway look in her eyes. Nobody needed to ask to know who she was thinking off. Effie looped her arm around Annie, glad that even if their bond had been forged in the unlikeliest of place, she could still call Annie her friend.

"Finnick would have loved this sort of things," Annie spoke quietly so that only Effie could hear. "He would have shown off his fishing skills with the trident at the fishing competition to Finn, I'm sure of it."

"That would be an unfair competition, wouldn't it?" Effie laughed. "He would win."

Johanna and Felix were hissing to each other under their breaths, probably finding some fresh new insults to lob at one another. Finn was sitting on Haymitch's shoulders since he was the only one amongst them with the required strength to bear the boy's weight and gifted with such a vantage point, Finn became their navigator as the group weave amongst the crowd.

"Uncle Mitch," he began, "the popcorn booth is on the right."

"Don't call me Uncle Mitch. I'm not a Mitch to you, my name's -"

"Haymitch," Annie chimed in, "don't bring him to the booth. No popcorn, not before lunch."

"Sorry, kid - mother's order."

"Oh, Finn - game booth! Want to give it a try?" Felix asked. He hurriedly gestured for Haymitch to put the boy down and with a side-long glance towards Johanna, he said, "Adios, I'm out of here!"

"I can't stand him," Johanna stated out of the blue.

"He grows on you," Effie laughed. "You couldn't stand me either, remember? Back when… Anyway, look where we are now."

"It took years to like you, Trinket," Johanna muttered.

"You and I both, Jo," Haymitch added.

The town centre was bursting with activities and packed with people. From their accent, the majority of the visitors were from District Five and Six, being the nearest districts to Four but there were also those from the Capitol. Haymitch spotted them from a mile away. They wore the nicest clothes and the most insane hats he ever laid his eyes on – hats being the latest trend in the Capitol at the moment according to Felix.

"Trinket, do you own a hat like that?" Johanna pointed to a wide brimmed floral hat as the woman walked past them.

"It's rude to point, Johanna."

"You two enjoy yourself," Annie said suddenly, pulling Johanna away from the pair of them.

Johanna's protest was swallowed as they disappeared amongst the crowd. Effie stood staring after them unaware that Haymitch had moved closer, trying to shield her as best as he could from the rowdy crowd.

"Anything you'll like to see?" she turned towards him.

He looked around, noting the various booths surrounding them but his eyes were drawn to the shore, to the cluster of boats he saw the night before.

"That way," he nodded to his right, steering Effie away from the crowd.

XxX

"Honestly, Haymitch, if instead of drinking, you spent your time working out doing some sort of housework, you would have managed this far more easily," Effie grumbled.

How dare she, he glared at her angrily.

Haymitch wiped his brows with the back of his hands and looked up at the sky. The plain flannel shirt he wore was at the bottom board of the traditional wooden boat and his white undershirt was soaked with sweat. The muscles in his arms were burning and his long strands of hair were matted to his face. He was seriously questioning his judgment at that very moment; it had looked so easy but it felt nothing like it.

He wasn't the problem, he decided. It was Effie. If she had stayed behind and not insisted on coming along then he was certain he would have fared so much better. As it was, it looked like he was doing all the hard work trying to row the boat back to shore.

"Effie, it's not that difficult," he began with surprising restrain. "Follow what I'm doing. Paddle your oar the same time I paddle mine. We were taught by the same person. It's not that difficult, sweetheart."

"My arms are aching. I've never done this before," she complained.

That did it. He lost his temper. "Then why did you insist on coming with me?!"

"Because… Because I wanted the experience! And I'm pregnant, Haymitch, you can't expect -"

"Don't," he warned, his eyes narrowing a fraction. "Don't play the pregnancy card."

Effie opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it. She adjusted her hold on the oar and tried to match her pace with Haymitch.

"I thought it would be fun," she muttered after a while.

"Yes, we're certainly having fun - stuck in the middle of the sea," he glanced around, at the large expanse of water surrounding them. They were not too far from shore. If he could just coordinate with this hopeless woman, then perhaps, they could make it back soon. In the distance, he could see two figures waving at them – Felix and Annie.

Haymitch shook his head. How did his simple intention of just taking a curious look at those shiny, wooden boats turned into such a disaster? Haymitch had stood with Effie at the shoreline, with his arm around her shoulders, watching the boats row out to sea as the locals demonstrated to the visitors the way to row a boat. He had the sudden urge to be on one; to understand why Finnick loved the sea so much.

With a word to Effie to stay put, he approached one of the local men who was more than happy to have someone so genuinely interested in something he was passionate about. Shouting over his shoulder, he told Effie that he would be back soon. They pushed the boat out to sea and just as Haymitch climbed on board, Effie was there, announcing to him that she would very much love to join instead of being stranded alone.

Effie was a useless companion.

"We'd never make it back," Effie whispered despondently, turning around to look at the local man sitting on the stern sheet behind her.

He chuckled in amusement. He looked to be about Haymitch's age, with tanned skin and popped out veins running up and down his sinewy arms.

"Not to worry - this is why I'm here. Perhaps you've had enough, Miss? Let me have the oars. I'll row the boat back with your husband. Best do it soon before the water turns choppy with the change of tides."

Her demeanour changed and Effie became positively smug.

"See Haymitch, we're not stuck. They're not stupid enough to let us take the boat out without a chaperone – Oh!"

"What?" he asked sharply. He wanted to row the boat out to sea and back to shore on his own. Maybe it was his pride getting in the way but he wanted to have that sense of accomplishment.

"Your hand - give me your hand."

Haymitch looked at her as if she had lost her mind. Before he could say anything, she had already grabbed hold of his hand. Effie pressed his palm flat against the side of her stomach and Haymitch jerked it back in surprise.

"It's alright," she coaxed him, reaching out again.

He let her guide his hand. Haymitch searched Effie's smiling face, his brows furrowed with a look of intense concentration on his face.

"It's odd," he said more to himself.

"It's them."

"Hello," he whispered, his voice scratched against his throat. Rather awkwardly, considering how this was the first time he was addressing the twins, Haymitch said, "it's me."

Something moved beneath his palm. He flexed his fingers and barked out in surprise. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. In a daze, he looked at Effie who had laughed at the way he introduced himself and then to the man rowing the boat studiously on his own since Haymitch had abandoned his oars.

"I just felt them move," he announced to the man unnecessarily.

He received a smile in return.

XxX

Her fingers skimmed the surface of the water as Haymitch painstakingly rowed the boat back with the help of the man after the excitement had died down. They hit the shore just as the water began to roll in big waves. All around them, Haymitch could see other people getting off the boat.

"I need a massage. Maybe I'll get room service, I saw that they have such –"

"You will not," she cut him off. "The masseuses are all women."

"So?" he asked as he helped her off the boat.

Effie splashed unceremoniously on the water and grabbed on to his already aching shoulder to steady herself. He gave a sharp hiss and an exasperated sigh.

"Here I thought the esteem Effie Trinket was more elegant."

"Excuse me, but it's difficult to balance myself when I'm pregnant with your children," she retorted. "And why couldn't he let us off at the shoreline?"

He held her hand as they waded out of the water. It was barely up to their knees but Effie certainly took a long time to walk out. The hem of her dress was wet and she was shivering. She stopped suddenly, her hand pressing against her abdomen. Haymitch gave her a sharp look noticing that it was the second time since he arrived that she had been in some sort of discomfort. He said nothing still.

He chose to indulge her and answer the question. "I have a feeling that he thought it'll be funny to see a woman such as yourself with her expensive sandals and dress ankle deep in sea water, wading out like a helpless penguin."

Haymitch knew that was not the reason. The man and some of his friends had rowed out again to the sea and if the boat had hit the shoreline, he would have the arduous task of pushing it back into the water. They were laughing and challenging each other as the waves crashed against their boats, rocking it unsteadily. Thrill seekers.

"Penguins do not wade out of – "

"Look at what I caught!" Johanna jogged towards them holding a fish up by its tail. Finn trailed closely after her, holding a small fishing net in his hand and a pail filled with guppies he had caught at the man-made canals for children. "You should try fishing! It's interesting – oh wow, look at that Abernathy, never thought I'd say that."

"No, thank you," he muttered, "I do not have the patience."

"You just spear it! It's like embedding my axe on a tree branch. Except this one thrashed," Johanna's eyes gleamed with excitement. Effie took a step back, involuntarily. It was times like this that she could see the victor in Johanna seeping out and how that same manic determination had saved all of their lives while in prison - Annie, Johanna and herself.

"We could grill it whole," Annie suggested, approaching them with Felix peering curiously over her shoulder.

"Good idea, I'm hungry." Haymitch said.

"Eat that?" Effie asked. "But – "

"Are you certain that it could be eaten?" Felix questioned the group dubiously.

"Did you misplace your brain somewhere?" Johanna demanded impatiently. "It's a fish, of course, it could be eaten. I understand that back home, since young, you had everything cooked and served on a silver platter but -"

"Jo," Haymitch warned. She was treading on thin ice, mocking his upbringing.

"What?" Johanna asked before turning to Felix once again. "You've never saw a fish before it was cut into those ridiculous, nice little fillet before, have you? Well, this is how raw fish look and smell. No need to look so disgusted, pretty boy."

"You're possibly the meanest person I ever had the unfortunate luck to meet," Felix scowled; his hands went up to fix his hair, in what Haymitch noticed had become his characteristic gesture whenever he was uncomfortable.

Effie covered her hand over her mouth and began to dry heave. "The smell's awful."

"She's right," Felix jumped in. "The smell will cling to my clothes. I'll have you know that this is haute couture. It's specifically tailored for – "

"Think fast," Johanna said suddenly and threw the fish towards Felix who gave a shrill scream and instinctively caught it. The look of pure horror dawned on his face when he realized that he was clutching a dead, wet fish. There was a wet patch on his expensive shirt.

Johanna smirked. Effie stared in shock, her eyes shone with pity at the way Felix look. Finn, thinking that the adults were joking, laughed and pointed at Felix. Annie smiled sympathetically and moved to take it away from him. Haymitch shook his head, wondering why he was stuck with the whole lot of them.

He tugged Effie by the hand and led them away. In the background, they could hear Johanna and Felix squabbling.

"What if your children bickers like them?" she whispered.

I didn't want to do my assignment, so I did this chapter.

Something's going to happen in Chap 21! Wait for it :)