Dutch and Osmium grow up together fairly well. Of course, as all siblings do, the two have had their ups and downs, but soon Osmium is 12 and Dutch is 14. Oh, how childhood flew.

"Mornin', Dad!" Os says, running into the kitchen.

"Woah, bud, watch you don't fall! You know what I said about running in the kitchen!"

"Aw, I know, I know! But don't worry, I'll be careful!"

Dutch runs in just then, too, and he slides on his way around the corner but keeps himself steady. "Hi Dad!"

"Dutch, be careful," I warn, but smile.

"What's for breakfast, Dad?!" Os asks, adjusting the glasses on his face.

"Yeah, Dad, something smells like it's burning…"

"Sh! It cooked for just how long the recipe said it should!"

But it kind of smells terrible.

"What are you trying to make today?" Dutch asks.

"I'm making scrambled eggs and it should be just f-" the sentence is interrupted by myself smelling the burning and bursting into a fit of coughs. As I hack my lungs out I shut off the heat and take the pan off of it. "God, that's awful!"

"You had to look up a recipe for scrambled eggs?" Dutch asks. He looks amused.

I turn on the fan and wave a hand in front of my face. "T-There's a reason that I didn't cook in the Arena."

"So I guess it's cereal again?" Osmium asks, stifling a laugh.

I sigh, "I will actually make something good someday, I'm telling you!"

Dutch laughs, "And we will hungrily await the day."

Os pours some cereal for all three of us.

"We studied your Games yesterday in school!" he says, "The teacher asked a lot of questions, and I knew all the answers!"

"Oh, did you?" I ask. I remember when Dutch said almost the very same thing, so long ago.

"Sure did! I showed her Champagne's necklace and everybody was so impressed! Later, I even made some friends!"

"Why do you need charms to make friends?" I ask.

"Uh, the other kids at school are very Games-oriented," Dutch says, "And Os isn't."

"Just saying, I don't think it's very fair… What they did to those kids. And I don't think the life you and Nate lived after it was very fair, either."

"There are ups and downs," I tell them.

"Come on, Os!" Dutch says, jumping up, "We have to get all dressed up for the reapings today!"

He runs to his room and Osmium follows.

I don't like how District 1 is taking to the Games. All I can do is try to keep my sons away from it.

Suddenly, my phone rings. I pick it up and say, "Hello?"

"Hey! Listen up!"

I jump, startled. "Uh, who is this!?"

"It's Valentina Crowly. AKA, Elijah's SISTER!"

"How are you calling me!?" I ask, alarmed.

"Got some help from a Victor friend. Anyways, listen up, Moron! I'm only saying this once!"

"What?"

"My SON is volunteering for your little Hunger Games pageant this year, and YOU need to get him out alive! DO YOU HEAR ME!?"

"Why don't you just stop him from volunteering?"

She heaves a sigh. "I wish. His father is forcing him. If Nick doesn't volunteer and go into the Arena… There's going to be hell." She sounds tearful. "I tried pleading… Begging… But it was no use. He's convinced that Nick needs to prove his worth by winning the Games."

"That's complete and utter bullshit!" I protest.

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT!? NICK WAS AN ACCIDENT! And I forced Trevor to marry me after that. And he's used violence against both of us to get his way! His sick, demented, JACKASS WAY! You let my BROTHER die, and you let my FRIEND AND HER BROTHER die, you've let my FATHER die, and you've left me with my annoying mistake child and my abusive husband!"

"Your father!? When did that happen!?"

She sniffles. "It happened when Nate was mentioned in that interview. Before your first child. He was taken away by Peacekeepers."

"God, Valentina! I'm sorry-"

"YOU CAN NOT LET MY BABY DIE. If you do I will personally and brutally murder you so bad you'll wish those drugs had worked!" I blink. "How the hell did you know about that!?"

"I have ways. My husband's head at the Academy, he knows these things. Prove to me that you are a miracle worker. GET NICK OUT ALIVE. Or else I swear you will fucking PAY!"

She slams the phone and I blink, in shock. I swear she forgets that I'm District 1, not 2. But I guess I'll have to try my best. After Nate died, I promised I would take care of them. And I think that, even though I'd forgotten, I still have to. And that means I'll have to find a way for Nick to come out alive.

Nick's mentor won the 8th Games. He's an orphan, his name is Talon Davenport.

He was reaped once before. For the 2nd Games, when he was 12. That's when Nate took his place and became the first ever volunteer. He's grown into a very independent young man, from the little boy he used to be. I think Nate said once that he was an orphan.

"Talon?"

He turns around and looks surprised. "Platinum. Platinum Krietzer. What an honor…"

"I'm really sick of hearing that. I'm here because the two of us need to have a conversation."

"About what?"

"The tribute that's going into the Games this year."

"Trevor told you about him?"

"Yeah. He did."

"Of course. It's his son, and he's convinced that he's going to be a Victor."

"Yeah. Nick's Mom put threats on me."

"Does she not realize you're from One, not 2?"

I blink, suddenly realizing something. "Are you talking in a Capitol accent?"

"I've always had a slight one. Everyone says that my Dad was a Peacekeeper that knocked up my Mom here and she put me up for adoption after he left to go back to the Capitol. The accent's actually not like this all the time. But I figure, I'd rather talk like them than look like them."

"Does it really keep the dyes away?"

He holds up his hand, showing off his black nails and the very tip of some ink on his arm. "What do you think?" he asks.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He takes a pause and finally looks up, slowly. His brown eyes look upset.

"You know, Platinum… I'm only alive because of Nate. Without him, I'd be dead. You know that, right?"

"Maybe-"

"I would've died. Face it. I would've been decapitated on Day One. It's all because of him that I'm alive."

I blink, and nod.

"And it may be hell, but it's my life. It may be the only thing I have, but it's my life. I'm still alive, and that's what counts."

"We can be allies in this. That gift that Nate gave to you… We can give it to Nick, too." I hold out a hand. He takes it and squeezes it with a strong grip.

Nick's visits to my house in the Victor's Village are very frequent after he gets out of his Games alive.

Today marks the start of another of those visits. "Gooooooddd morning Uncle Platinum!" he says cheerily.

"Morning? It's practically noon!"

"Noon already!? Ah, shit. I've forgotten how nice it is to sleep. Every day my Dad got me up at 5 to train."

"I'm sorry."

He smiles, "Don't be!" he says, walking to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"I'm making mac and cheese for lunch!"

"A real meal!?" Dutch exclaims, appearing in the doorway.

"Thank the Lord for you, my friend!" Osmium says. The two boys are very protective of me and always have to know who's in the house and why. It's another thing about them that annoys me, but I couldn't be more proud of at the same time. They've gotten pretty good at keeping Walt's hands off me, which both annoys me and relieves me at the same time.

"What's wrong with my cooking!?" I protest.

"Dad. You almost set the house on fire every time you try to cook something," Dutch says very seriously.

"And you had to look up a recipe online for scrambled eggs," Os reminds me, "And you still burned them."

I sigh. "Fine. You're right. But still-"

Nick interjects, dark green eyes full of pleading. "Let me do this for you, Uncle Platinum. Please."

I smile. "Alright. Go for it." Nick's smile reappears as he goes into the kitchen and the boys stay with me. We talk about life until Nick calls, "It's ready!"

We eat in the dining room. The table is built for fifty, but the four of us sit on the far end.

Nick's mac and cheese is spectacular. Dutch and Os eat hungrily, like they haven't had a decent meal in years.

"You have to come over more often, Nick!" Dutch says happily, mouth full.

"Let's be best friends!" Os says cheerily, "I want to be best friends with a Victor that can cook!"

"Your Dad's a Victor," I remind him.

"And we love everything about him. Except for his cooking," Dutch says, hugging my arm. I laugh and pat his head. "Yeah, yeah," I say teasingly.

Then the two boys get up and run off. Nick stands up, grabbing the three sets of bowls and forks. "Can I help you with the dishes, Uncle Platinum?"

"Oh, you really don't have to-"

"Sure I do. You've done so much for me the least I can do is help you with housework."

I smile. "Then your help is appreciated, Nick," I say, "Thank you."

He takes the dishes to the kitchen and I follow with my bowl.

"I'll dry and put away," I tell him, "You wash."

"Alright." He gets to work washing and hands me dishes to dry. Then I put them away and realize how glad I am that he's here. The work gets done in half the time and I think I like having Nick around.

"Dad! Dad!" Dutch runs into the room where I read a newspaper. "Look!"

He waves a paper around. He puts it in my hands and I read it.

Dear Mr. Krietzer:

It is our honor at the Academy of the Enhancement of Tributes to announce that your son Dutch has been selected to volunteer as the male District 1 tribute in the 20th Hunger Games.

I stare at the first sentence, in shock. "Dutchy…"

"Isn't it great!? I'm going to be famous!"

"But… Dutchy… The Games are-"

"Dad… Please… Let me have this one. I was never supposed to exist. I, uh, found your journal, Dad. I saw that you were cutting before I was born, I read it. And you stopped for me. You helped raised me. You didn't want to. You weren't ready. You only did it because you wanted me to grow up happy. You could've left me at an orphanage but you didn't. You could've abandoned me but you never gave up. Dad… I love you. But now it's my turn to prove that I'm worth something! That all of this wasn't for nothing! That I'm not just a waste of space and air! That all these 18 years have meant something! Please!" his teal eyes fill with tears. I put the newspaper down.

"You… You read the Dad diaries?"

He nods. "All the sacrifices you made for me… Everything you gave up so that I could live well-"

"Is worth it. And we can only enjoy it if you're alive."

"And I will be. I know I will be."

"You do realize I'm the mentor this year, don't you?"

He looks up. "You can do it. You can send me to Victory, Dad."

"I don't want to see you after, though! I already had to go through it with Nate, and now Nick…"

"I'm 18 years old! I can do it, Dad! Do you not believe in me!?"

I look up. "I promised that I would try and protect you. Especially from the Games."

"Well you will protect me. In the Arena. I'm going in and I don't care what the hell you say!"

"I am your father, Dutch. I'm only doing what's best for you."

"Then keep me alive!" he yells. "Dad, I'm not a baby anymore!"

"I know that," I tell him, leaving out the fact that I think he still is. I always will.

"You made me a promise in that book, remember!? You promised you'd love me no matter who I became! This is me!"

There's a pause. Tears fill my eyes because he's right.

He looks back at me with sad teal eyes. "Dad… I love you so much… But I really think this is what's best for me. I have to prove my worth somehow. And this is how. You have to understand."

I open my arms for a hug and Dutch walks over and wraps his arms tightly around me.

"I love you," I whisper. He buries his face in my shoulder and whispers, "Love you too."

Osmium's POV

You know what's supposedly "really great?"

Being related and/or best friends with 3 Victors.

You know what sucks?

Being related and/or best friends with 3 Victors when you're not a Victor yourself.

All three of them have these fits and there's nothing I can do to help them. It's been less than a year and Dutch won't even look my way anymore. I hate to see them all cry. I hate to see them all so broken, but there's nothing I can do for them.

There's nothing I can do for them.

But I will never stop trying, no matter how many times they shove me away. Because I care about them more than I care about anything in the world, including myself.

I want Nick, Dutch, and Dad to stop shooing me away. I think, if I go through what they went through, I would finally understand them. And I think that would be good for all of us.

So I decide to volunteer for the 21st Hunger Games.

Platinum's POV

We lose him.

After all of that, we lose him.

It's still a sensitive subject.

He was doing so well… He didn't go with his alliance from 1 and 2. Instead he went off with 7. They both knew well how to survive and they were doing so well together. And then he died. The boy from 6 killed him, and that hits a sour note with me. See, this boy is related to Henry, the 6 boy in my Games.

He killed my ally, Champagne.

And now another of his kind kills my son.

I don't consider either of the boys my nephews anymore. They're my sons. They're brothers. Nick is another one of my own kids, and so is Osmium's ally. She won his Games and she's depended heavily on Dutch, Nick and I for protection.

She's taken a particular liking to Dutch, and he's taken a liking to her, too. Young love can be dangerous, though, especially to Victors, so neither of them has done a thing more than make eyes at each other and laugh at things that aren't actually that funny to Nick and me. But if they have each other and survive together, well, who am I to complain? I say, good for them.

Marlowe's basically moved into Dutch's Victor's mansion, and Nick's practically moved into mine. I like having those two around. Nick does a lot of the cooking for all four of us, and sometimes, he teaches Dutch how to cook certain things. While that happens, I teach Marlowe some of my secrets for charming Capitolites. I've certainly had a lot of practice with it.

I still miss all the others with everything in me, and all of us miss poor Osmium like there's no tomorrow, but I think that, for the time being, we're all surviving.

Together.