A/N: HI, y'all! I know I have one major project going on here (Rising Storms) that I should be working on, at 51 chapters in Part 1, but ... Yeah... Lol. So, here I am with the sequel to my The Hunger Games: A Different Tribute story! Please enjoy the first chapter and tell me what you think!

Chapter 1:

The day of the reaping arrived and Nikki was nowhere to be found. Peeta sat up in bed and looked around their bedroom. Hearing something from their bathroom, he got out of bed and went to the door. "Nikki? Are you okay in there?"

It took a little while, but when she answered her voice sounded croaky. "I'm okay," she said. "Just nerves, I guess."

"It's going to be okay," Peeta said. "I won't allow anything to happen to you," he added.

"You can't promise that," she said. "You'll be outside of the arena. The one that will be there will be Haymitch. And, because of that, I will always be worried about the capital getting their hands on you. What if something goes wrong, and the capital needs to hold you captive to get me to do what they want?"

Peeta looked at the bathroom door and said, "They're not going to do that. The capital will not hold me hostage just to get you to do what they want."

"You don't know that!" She responded. "Nothing makes sense anymore. I mean, our wedding is a secret from everybody. What's to say they won't try to force you to marry someone else if I don't make it out of the arena?"

"Nikki, love, there is no way they would force me to marry someone else. We are what they consider the power couple, the darling couple."

"There's no guarantee, Peeta." She sighed. "I mean, this whole thing has put me off eating like I used to. My stomach is in knots just thinking about the Hunger games."

"Can you come out, or do you need a few minutes?" Peeta waited. The toilet flushed and the faucet turned on. A few minutes later, Nikki stepped out of the bathroom drying her face with a hand towel. "Are you feeling calmer?" Peeta asked worriedly.

"Not really." Nikki leaned against her husband. "Does today have to happen?"

"I'm afraid so," Peeta replied. "Today's going to be hard for me: I'm going to have to try and not volunteer and also not freak out over your reaping."

Nikki nodded her understanding. "It's going to be hard for me to see your struggle." They got dressed for the day, in nice outfits to show their victor status, and left their house. They were unable to eat, knowing that their day was going to be stomach churning enough.

The streets of Victor's Village were clean and well-paved, with manicured lawns and carefully tended gardens surrounding each residence. Security measures were discreet but present, serving as a reminder of the Capitol's watchful eye over the victors. Nikki couldn't help but glance at one of the less-hidden cameras as they left Victor's village. They walked through the main village of District 12, and were joined by other people of the district on their way to the village square.

District 12's village center served as the heart of the district, usually bustling with activity yet tinged with the pervasive sense of hardship and struggle. The village center was a relatively small area, consisting of modest buildings clustered around a central square... simple and utilitarian. At the center, stood the stage where the annual reaping takes place. The stage was a raised platform, adorned with the Capital's banners and symbols, serving as a stark reminder of the district's subservience.

Peeta and Nikki were the only two in the small group that had to check in, and soon they walked up to the stage where Effie had dragged Haymitch to stand near the edge of the stage. Peeta stood next to Haymitch. Nikki stood alone on the other side of the podium with the large bowls that held tiny slips of paper.

The video played, but no one watched it. Effie strode to the bowl for the female Tributes, looking at Nikki with sadness. She reached in to grab the lone paper inside and went back to the podium. "The female tribute is Nikki Swift."

Nikki swallowed back the comment that clawed at her insides, wanting to correct Effie. It wasn't time yet. She walked towards Effie and stood there while Effie walked over to the other large bowl.

Effie reached in and grabbed one of the two pieces of paper. She looked up at the two men. Her eyes showed her fear and sorrow. Then she made her way back to Nikki's side. "The male tribute is," Effie said. She looked at the paper and sighed. "Haymitch Abernathy."

Nikki saw everyone tense and look at Peeta as Haymitch walked over to her and Effie. She also saw Peeta's hands fisting as he looked at her worriedly. He bit his lip to keep from saying anything. Nikki smiled at him sadly, knowing that he was going to burst if they didn't hurry this part up. Her gaze turned to Effie and nodded to her.

Effie swallowed at the three's actions. "I present the District 12 tributes: Nikki Swift and Haymitch Abernathy." She watched as the crowd saluted the two tributes. Then they were all led away and straight to the train.

"No! I didn't even get to say goodbye!" Nikki said.

"Change of plans," said the horrible replacement for the head peacekeeper.

Nikki frowned, looking at the others. Just what was going on? Peeta's hand was warm on hers as they stepped onto the train. When Effie and Haymitch followed, Nikki mentioned the weirdness. "What do you think that was about?"

Haymitch and Effie looked at each other before looking back at the younger two. "We think it's because President Snow is trying to show his complete control. He doesn't like it when people don't follow his rules." Haymitch shook his head.

Nikki and Peeta nodded, understanding a little. She said what they were both thinking, "I hope he doesn't hurt anyone we love just because of what they just did."

Effie swallowed hard. "Well, let's watch the reaping of the other victors and come up with what we should do. Shall we?"

They walked over to the sitting area with the big screen tv, and sat down as Effie played each reaping. The victors from one and two were the usual career types, not looking like they had lost any muscle or agility since their hunger games.

"Beetee and Wiress, from district 3," Haymitch said. They saw the two tributes waving to the crowd before the screen switched to the female tribute volunteering for the younger girl from district 4. "Mags," he said sadly. "The younger girl hid until everyone else was dead, and there are rumors that she is Finnick's one true love. Not everyone believes that, since he's the Capital's favorite. Mags is a really sweet lady." They saw Finnick get reaped as he was the only male victor alive in district 4.

The two from District 5 were mostly unknown, but Haymitch laughed when he saw two more tributes. The man, Chaff, was apparently an old friend of Haymitch's. The woman's name was Seeder. Then there was Johanna... Johanna Mason was an angry woman, yelling at the screen, and Blight just stood there. Haymitch introduced Cecelia and Woof.

Brutus looked normal, but Nikki jerked back at the sight of Enobaria's smile. "What happened to her teeth?" She asked, horrified.

Haymitch chuckled. "Enobaria had them filed."

Nikki was a little confused on the why, but she shook it off. They continued talking about the other tributes for a while, even through dinner, before Nikki felt too tired to stay up. "I'm heading to bed."

She was almost to her room when Peeta caught up with her. "Effie doesn't know about our marriage, but she knows that we do share a room." Peeta grinned at her, wrapping an arm around Nikki's waist.

"Good," Nikki said. "I don't want to think about not sharing with you." They stepped into their room and got ready for bed. They made love gently that night, taking time to come to terms with their choices and what they could mean for them in the future.

The next morning, Nikki had just stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower before she felt her stomach rebel. She made it to the toilet just in time to empty her stomach of its contents. What was wrong with her? Was it really just her nerves over the Hunger Games? She flushed the toilet. No, it had to be that. It couldn't possibly be anything else. She heard a knock on the closed bathroom door. "Just a moment." She rinsed her mouth out at the sink and then went to open the door. It was Peeta with clothes in his arms.

"Good morning, love," he said with a soft smile. "Do you mind if I join you?"

Nikki smiled. "Of course, husband. I was just about to get in."

After showering with only minimal touching and distractions, they made their way to the dining car. Effie was there already. She was sipping daintily at her coffee. She glanced up as they walked over to the table. "Good morning," she said primly. "We're just waiting on Haymitch. Then we can discuss a few things."

"Good morning, Effie," Nikki and Peeta said, sitting down. Haymitch came into the dining car, looking hungover. He sat down and poured a cup of black coffee.

"Goodness, Haymitch! Did you get drunk after we went to bed?! You know how important this is!" Effie's voice was shrill.

Nikki saw Haymitch's glare. "Effie, he's not hungover. He's going through withdrawal." Her voice was calm. "Look closely. He hasn't had a drink since we came to him after the Quarter Quell was announced, have you Haymitch?" Haymitch shook his head.

"You haven't?" Effie asked, shocked. Her voice was a lot softer now. Haymitch shook his head again, sipping more of his coffee. "Oh." She turned to Nikki and Peeta. "So, what was that at the Reaping? I don't understand why Peeta didn't volunteer."

Nikki looked down at her hands, which were on the table. "I didn't want him to be in the arena with me. I wanted him safe from harm. I knew that there was no way that I could stay out of the arena, so I came up with the idea that Haymitch would go with me into the arena so that Peeta could live. I know that it's horrible of me to trade my friend's life for my love's, but I had to try. I couldn't stomach the thought of Peeta dying, and I knew that the Capital wouldn't save the both of us again." Tears started spilling over her lower eyelid, and sliding down her cheeks.

Effie placed a hand on Nikki's and looked torn. She looked at Peeta and Haymitch. Haymitch nodded to her. "It will be okay, Nikki. I'll figure something out." They were quiet until they reached the capital. "Now, Peeta and I will, of course, be trying to get you some sponsors, but I want you two to make them like you." She looked at Haymitch, who looked more awake but still worn out, and Nikki, who's eyes were red rimmed. "Well, maybe they'll be sympathetic with you two with how you look right now," she said.

"Gee, thanks," Haymitch said. He followed the others up to the building where they would be getting ready for the parade.

Nikki found herself a few hours later, looking at the chariots warily. Haymitch, Peeta, and Effie were already there waiting for her. With Cinna by her side, she walked over to her group.