A/N: HI, y'all! I hope you like the story so far! I'm sorry that it took me a month to get this out. I finished Camp Nano in April (writing 50,000 words), and I've been working on other projects ...like my ream story that has a weekly deadline. Don't worry, though. Even though I'll be focusing on a Romance Mentoring submission for the rest of this month, I will try to continue this story in a timely manner.

Chapter 5:

Haymitch and Nikki were running through the woods as they heard the huge wave getting closer. In about two hours, the lightning would strike the tree. Last time, Nikki had been to scared to look at the tree. This time, Nikki would pay attention to how many times it struck. She had to be prepared so that she could find a way back to Peeta.

"This way," Haymitch said, running to the next section.

Nikki tried keeping up, and for the most part she was, but at the last moment, she tripped over a root and fell into Haymitch's back. They fell to the ground in the next section of woods just as the wave passed them by. "Sorry," Nikki gasped, slowly getting up.

"It's okay," Haymitch said, having had his breath knocked out of him but having cushioned her landing. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Nikki looked around. They were close to the beach, close enough that she saw the last of the wave crash against the cornucopia and up into the air. "Hmm. Whatever happens in an hour stays in that section... right?" She muttered to herself.

"Woah, woah, woah," Haymitch said suddenly, drawing Nikki's attention to him. He was holding up his hands and looking at the two tributes before him. It was the two from District One.

"Finally, we get you two alone," said the woman. Her brother smirked.

"You wouldn't really kill a pregnant woman, would you?" Haymitch asked, trying to step in front of Nikki.

"I-" The male tribute started to say before he and his sister were pierced by a long spear.

*-Flashback-

On the screen, Little Rue and Thresh were running through the woods while the careers chased them. One of the careers threw a spear, and it flew through the air to pin the two from eleven together.

-End Flashback-*

Nikki turned away and threw up, remembering watching the replay of the last Hunger Games. The person that threw the spear walked over to Haymitch and they were talking, but she couldn't make it out. Nikki jerked slightly when a withered hand came into view. Oh, Mags. Mags' right hand touched Nikki's arm, and her left hand was gently rubbing Nikki's back to soothe her through the spasms.

"Are you okay, Sweetheart?" Haymitch asked, worriedly. He came over to check on her, handing her the flask that Finnick offered him. "Go ahead, it's water," he reassured her.

Nikki took a swig of the water, swished it in her mouth, and spat it out. Then she drank from the flask. "Thanks."

"Tell ocean boy here," Haymitch said with a smirk. "It's his flask."

Nikki sat back on her butt on the forest ground and looked up at Finnick. "Thank you," she said. She was still a little wary, but he grinned and nodded.

"No problem. Oh," he said, reaching around his neck and pulling off a necklace. "Peeta told me to give this to you."

Nikki took the necklace... looking at it closely. It wasn't just any necklace. It was a locket of sorts, with spots for three pictures. Opening it, she saw a picture of her parents and her younger sister on the left. Nikki smiled at that. On the right, was a picture of Peeta's family, with his mom looking put out at being in the picture. Nikki snorted out a laugh. But, it was the picture in the middle portion of the locket that warmed her heart. It was a picture of Peeta and herself, holding onto each other, and looking into each other's eyes with smiles on their faces. "Oh, Peeta," she said, wiping sudden tears off of her cheeks.

Mags patted Nikki's cheek and Nikki smiled at her. Finnick and Haymitch got the two women up and they made their way to the beach. Nikki looked around, searching for the other tributes. Later that night, Nikki was watching the lightning hit the tree when she heard the sound of a parachute heading her way. Looking around, she saw Finnick reach up and grab the small container.

He opened the container and smiled at the note. "Here, it's morning sickness medicine. It should help with the nausea." He handed Nikki the small bottle. "The note says that you should take it as soon as you wake up. It will last all day, apparently."

"Hmm, that's nice of them," Nikki said with a small smile. She felt a little uneasy with lying to everyone.

...

Haymitch looked at Nikki thoughtfully as she and Mags slept side by side. He wondered if she was really lying about being pregnant or if she really was pregnant. She was getting sick all the time, which could be explained as her just getting nauseous from memories... His heart was torn. He wanted her to be pregnant for the sake of the capital, so they wouldn't punish the three from District 12 for the deceit. When his shift on Lookout was over, he looked over at Finnick. Finnick was sleeping up against a tree with his chin touching his chest. Haymitch slowly got to his feet and walked over to gently shake Finnick's shoulder. "Hey, Finnick. It's your shift to keep an eye out."

Finnick woke up, looking around. "Huh? Oh, thanks. Anything happening out there?"

Haymitch shook his head. "Not much. Thankfully, we are still on the beach for the most part." He smiled ruefully at Finnick's choice of sleeping spot.

"Hey, it worked." Finnick shrugged, smiling wryly. He looked over at Mags. "Go to sleep, I'll wake you if anything happens."

"Okay," Haymitch replied. He yawned and walked over to sleep near Nikki to protect her at a moment's notice. He hoped that the games would be over soon so they could go home and be done with this. He was tired of the capital... His eyes closed as he sighed.