If you asked Finnick if he was a patient man he would say yes. Finnick was a liar.
He'd given Taiya one hour of uninterrupted 'trauma bro' bonding time before he was on his way to the hospital to ask if he was allowed to join. They'd spent two hours together the day before making hats and swords together and Finnick wanted to join the club.
It was when he was two hallways away from the hospital that his blood ran cold. He heard her scream.
He immediately ran the last few corners and slammed through the hospital door to see Johanna being escorted out of Peeta's room with blood on her gown. But it wasn't her blood.
The air in the hospital was crackled with tension as doctors hurried about, but no one stopped to talk to him. Finnick's heart raced as he heard one nurse whisper both Taiya's and Peeta's names in the same sentence.
Finnick's hand began shaking, his imagination running wild with what happened. Dread coiled in his stomach like one of the knots he'd tie into the rope. He'd been assured that Peeta was only a risk to Katniss, but now all he could picture was Peeta snapping and wrapping his hands around Taiya's throat.
His heart clenched with worry as he slowly stepped towards Peeta's room. Panic had seized him, his mind instantly jumping to the worst possible conclusions.
"I don't need help," he heard Taiya complain and his heart skipped a beat in relief. He immediately rushed forward into Peeta's room. She was alive, that much he knew for sure.
"Miss Ambersnow you should really stay seated," Mrs Everdeen tried to instruct.
"Taiya?" he asked, his voice laced with concern. "What happened? Are you okay?"
"Oh, hey babe," Taiya waved at him, her face contorted in pain as she smiled at him. She was alive. She tried to stand up again but winced and clutched her head. There was blood streaming out of a cut on her forehead. Mrs Everdeen was crouched over her, trying to inspect her head wound. Taiya turned her gaze to the sobbing boy in the corner. "Peeta, I'm fine," she reassured him. He was currently cowering in the corner of the room, rocking back and forward. "Just let me go speak to him," Taiya tried to push Mrs Everdeen away.
"We need to get you assessed," Mrs Everdeen protested.
A tumult of emotions washed over Finnick - relief mixed with confusion. He was still clueless as to what had happened.
"I'll be fine. Stop trying to break up the trauma bros," Taiya scowled through gritted teeth. "Finnick please," Taiya looked at him, her eyes pleading. He could never say no to her when she looked at him with those eyes.
He just nodded and raced to Peeta's side, allowing Taiya to relax to the point where Mrs Everdeen could get her to leave the room without argument.
"Hey, hey, Peeta," Finnick crouched down and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders. He had his hands over his ears and was rocking back and forward. Finnick was used to this. This was Annie's default reaction for years. "Are you worried about Taiya?" he asked, squeezing Peeta's shoulders in time with his breaths. "She's ok you know. Listen, you can hear her yelling at people out there," Finnick slowly pulled one of Peeta's hands away from his ear.
Finnick wanted to be out there with Taiya, to work out what had happened, but she needed him to help Peeta first.
"She's ok?" Peeta stuttered.
"Yeah, she's fine."
"There's blood on the floor," Peeta looked over at the trail of blood Taiya had left on the ground.
"We'll get that cleaned up."
"You promise she's ok? Please, she didn't do anything wrong, don't let her be punished. Just punish me."
Finnick had to suppress a whimper of his own. He knew they'd all been used against each other in the Capitol, but for that to be still so impressed on Peeta's mind hurt. Hearing Taiya scream must've sent his mind back to the Capitol. Peeta had to listen to her scream, and Finnick couldn't save her.
"Peeta," his school friend Delly entered the room. "Why don't we get back on the bed?" They'd been using Delly to help pull him back whenever he had a breakdown. Finnick seemed to have successfully suppressed it, but having Delly here meant he could go check on Taiya.
"You going to be ok now Peeta?" Finnick asked cautiously.
"Yeah," he nodded, but his eyes looked unsure.
Delly crouched down beside Finnick and took hold of Peeta's hands.
"I've got it," she shot Finnick a quick smile, allowing him to stand up and race out of the room and toward the chorus of yelling.
"It was your fault fish stick!"
"How was it my fault!" Taiya snapped back at Johanna.
"What kind of move was that?"
"An epic one!"
"How was it epic? You smashed your head up, it was stupid."
"It would have been badass if it worked."
"Hey!" Finnick loudly interrupted, making both Taiya and Johanna fall silent. He could see the doctors working on Taiya take a sigh of relief now that the yelling had ceased.
"What the hell happened?" he asked them both as he came to Taiya's side and checked her head.
"Johanna hit me."
"I did not!" Johanna immediately protested.
"Can someone please tell me what actually happened?" Finnick sighed. He knew Johanna would never hurt Taiya.
"Your fiancee is an idiot, that's what happened," Johanna snapped.
"I'm not an idiot, you're the one who said you thought I could do it," Taiya poked her tongue out.
"I did not say that!"
"Can we please keep still Taiya?" Mrs Everdeen pleaded.
"Tay, sit back," Finnick instructed, pushing her shoulders against the bed as she huffed. "Jo, what happened?"
"Well like I was saying, your idiotic fish stick here was bragging that she could do a backflip and not have her pirate hat fall off. So I said fine, I dare you to try. She did it, but her hat started to fall off, so she tried to catch it, and she lost her balance and fell and smashed her head onto the bottom of Peeta's bed and now she's bleeding everywhere. So basically, she tried something stupid and fell."
"How is that Johanna's fault?" Finnick asked, turning to Taiya with a frown.
"She said I dare you. She challenged me so I had to do it, so she has to take responsibility for the outcome."
"Oh my god," Johanna huffed. "That is not how dares work! I don't take responsibility for your stupidity."
"She's right Taiya," Finnick agreed.
Taiya gasped as she looked up at him. "Traitor! How dare you!"
"We're going to have to stitch this closed," Mrs Everdeen told them. "I'm am going to need you to sit still."
"Life isn't fair," Taiya groaned, allowing the doctors to get to work. "OW!" she snapped.
"We haven't started yet," Mrs Everdeen smiled nervously.
"Here," Finnick took hold of both her hands and squeezed them. This gave Taiya some comfort, she still hated doctors, and it also reassured the doctors that there was at least someone who might hold her back from attacking them if she tried.
"We should get you a new gown Johanna," Prim approached the girl's bedside. "How do you feel about a shower today?"
"No!" both Johanna and Taiya immediately shut down.
"Ok, ok, no shower," Prim agreed. They still hadn't been able to get the girl to shower. The very thought of a shower was often enough to make Johanna break down. "Let's just get a new gown," she led Johanna away.
"Ok, we're stitching now," Mrs Everdeen warned.
"Really? A backflip?" Finnick looked down at Taiya who was grumpily slumped in the bed.
"I thought it'd work," Taiya shrugged. "It was meant to be epic," her voice cracked with a mixture of pain and embarrassment.
"You're an idiot," he couldn't help but chuckle as he kissed her knuckles, still keeping her hands in his grip to stop her lashing out at the doctors. "Does it hurt?"
"Yes."
"You scared the life out of me, Taiya! I thought something terrible had happened."
"Sorry," she apologised. She knew all too well what it was like to feel that panic when you don't know what has happened to your partner. The moment you feel your breath freeze and your heart stop.
"We've already sent for Tyler and Buck," Mrs Everdeen told them.
"Oh no," Taiya groaned. "Buck's going to make so much fun of me."
"That's what you're concerned about?" Finnick had to laugh.
"Wouldn't you be? Buck can be brutal."
"I think he'll be more worried about the blood honey," Finnick rubbed her knuckles.
"At first. But then he'll laugh."
As if summoned, Tyler and Buck immediately came storming through the hospital, with Haymitch following behind.
"Hi," Taiya spoke up, pulling their attention to her direction.
"Oh thank god," Tyler sighed. "What happened?" he looked at her, eyes widening at the blood over her gown.
"I had a slight fall and cut my head, but all is well and dandy."
"A slight fall? What'd you do kid?" Buck asked.
"She fell out of a backflip whilst showing off for Johanna and Peeta," Finnick sold her out.
"Done," Mrs Everdeen finished the last stitch before she and the other doctors raced out of the area.
"A backflip?" Tyler deadpanned.
"It was meant to be epic," Finnick parroted back her earlier explanation.
And then Buck started laughing. Taiya kept her glare on him, but he didn't stop. She knew this was how he was going to react and she was far from impressed.
"We were worried Peeta snapped," Haymitch breathed a sigh of relief.
This time it was Taiya who laughed. "Peeta? No way. He's the one who caught me the first couple of times I fell."
"You did this multiple times?" Finnick asked and Taiya just nodded. "Oh my god," he rubbed his eyes in exasperation.
"You can do a backflip easily though, how'd you stuff it up?" Tyler asked.
"She was trying to keep her pirate hat on at the same time," Finnick told him.
This just made Buck laugh harder.
"Ever heard of gravity sweetheart? I don't see that working," Haymitch was also disappointed.
"Yeah, well I know that now," she huffed. "Can I leave now?" she asked Mrs Everdeen who was walking past.
"I'd like for you to stay overnight for observation, please. You hit your head and I'd like to monitor for a concussion."
"I'm not concussed."
"You're staying," Tyler instructed sternly. "And from now on, no gymnastics unsupervised."
"I was supervised."
"Johanna and Peeta are not supervisors," Tyler shook his head.
"Fine. If I agree to supervision next time then can I leave now?"
"If the doctors say it's best Tay, you should probably stay," Finnick agreed. "Gloss is right, you can't afford to lose any more brain cells."
"I hate you all."
A crackle then rang out over the speaker system.
"This is President Coin speaking. All able-bodied citizens are to gather in the main hall. An emergency meeting will be commencing in 15 minutes."
"Can I go?" Taiya immediately asked. "I've never been allowed to go to a meeting before."
"As long as you come back after I'll sign off on it," Mrs Everdeen nodded, not wanting to anger the girl if they were going to have to deal with her all night.
"Deal," Taiya nodded excitedly.
"You coming Haymitch?" Tyler asked when they noticed the man wasn't following.
"No," he shook his head, a glum expression on his face. "I already know what happened. I'm going to speak to Peeta and get him up to speed. No more backflips kid," he ruffled Taiya's hair before walking off.
"Attention citizens of District 13," President Coin spoke up as she walked onto her platform.
"Yo," Gloss whispered as he came to stand on Taiya's side.
"Where've you been?" she tapped his arm. "I haven't seen you in days."
"We had dinner together last night," he tapped her back.
Tyler, who was standing behind Taiya, reached up to squeeze her shoulder, warning her to stay quiet.
"I have gathered you here today with a heavy heart and a grave update concerning our valiant Mockingjay, Katniss Everdeen."
The mood in Taiya's little group of friends immediately changed. Finnick was on edge, worried about his friend while Taiya was concerned that if the Mockingjay was out of action, the deal struck to keep Taiya free from repercussions would be void. Gloss was smiling though.
"Unfortunately I must relay distressing news regarding her well-being. In our Mockingjay's recent mission in District 2, our beloved symbol of rebellion, Katniss Everdeen, encountered a dangerous circumstance. Amidst the chaos of the evacuation of the mines, in the fight for the freedom of Panem, our Mockingjay was struck by a tragic turn of events."
"She's obviously alive, so what's with the melodrama," Gloss whispered in Taiya's ear.
"Yeah," Taiya laughed quietly before she turned her concerned gaze to Finnick. He looked terrified. Coin still hadn't revealed how injured Katniss was. Finnick cared deeply for Katniss, and the thought of her hurt affected him. So Taiya wove her hand into his and gave it a comforting squeeze.
He needed that. Taiya watched as he drew in a ragged breath, still waiting for Coin to reveal the extent of Katniss' injury.
"As we sought to liberate District 2 from the tyranny of the Capitol, our brave soldiers were on alert day and night. Katniss Everdeen, in her unwavering courage, found herself in harm's way during a speech to the District. She sustained a gunshot wound. The Mockingjay survived an assassination attempt. This is a testament to the treacherous nature of our pursuit of liberation. We have to thank her stylist for his ingenuity in designing our uniform to be bulletproof, this is what has saved our symbol of the rebellion's life."
Taiya wrapped her arm around Finnick and ran her hand up and down his back to comfort him. Hearing that your friend had been struck by a bullet was probably not all that fun.
"Medical teams are attending to her with the utmost urgency to mend the injuries she sustained from this confrontation. Every effort is being made to ensure her swift recovery, for she remains a beacon of hope in our struggle against the tyranny that is the Capitol. Katniss Everdeen is currently on her way back to District 13 and will arrive this evening. I implore each of you to remain resolute and steadfast in our cause. Let this event fuel our determination, strengthen our resolve, and unify us further in our fight for a better Panem. Let it remind us of the sacrifices made by our brave soldiers and the precarious path that lies ahead. May our Mockingjay's unwavering spirit inspire us to press onward, to continue our march towards a future where freedom prevails. In these trying times, let us stand together, draw strength from the unity of the 13 Districts, and honour our Mockingjay's sacrifice by advancing toward a new dawn. Thank you, and may the courage of the Mockingjay resonate within each of us as we forge ahead in our quest for liberty."
The whole room erupted into cheers at the end of the speech. Everyone cheered except the victors.
The speech sounded eerily similar to the one they used to hear every year during the Hunger Games. The one that President Snow would give.
Taiya immediately turned to Tyler and pulled him down to her level.
"I swear I'll go back to the hospital, just let me be there for Finnick first," she whispered.
Tyler looked up at the shocked boy who was staring up at Coin's platform even though the woman had already departed.
"Ok," he nodded.
Taiya didn't waste any time, she immediately grabbed Finnick's hand and tugged him through the crowd. They needed some space.
Despite President Coin's optimistic speech about the future, there was a distressed chord in the heart of the District regarding the news of Katniss' injury. But none felt the impact more profoundly than Finnick.
The weight of worry and sorrow seemed to bear down on him with relentless force. The only thing he was aware of was the feel of Taiya's hand within his. He was barely aware that she was leading him away from the crowds.
As soon as she'd dragged him into the confines of their compartment, she immediately pulled him in for an embrace.
The familiarity and warmth of her hug was a bright light amidst the turmoil of emotions he was feeling. Her presence, her hold, and her understanding eyes pulled his focus back into the room.
Seeking solace amidst the turmoil of emotions, Finnick wrapped his arms around her, burying his head in her neck as they stood together in the quiet confines of their shared space.
She knew Finnick well enough to understand the intricate web of emotions entangling him - the guilt-ridden memories, the haunting echoes of past trauma, and the unwavering loyalty he harboured for Katniss, his friend and ally in the throes of the rebellion.
There was no need for words, Taiya's arms were a sanctuary amid the storm raging within him. Whilst his body was initially tensed, burdened by a sense of helplessness, gradually, he succumbed to the comfort of her touch, allowing him to lean into her support.
It was Taiya who broke the silence. "Finn, I'm here with you babe. We'll get through this. She'll get through this."
Her words were a comfort to his troubled mind, an anchor tethering him to the present moment, holding back the tumultuous sea of emotions that constantly lingered, threatening to engulf him.
She was his peace. Taiya's unwavering presence and the promise of her steadfast support were the glimmer of hope that kept him sane amidst the uncertainty that loomed. With Taiya by his side, he drew strength, allowing her presence to soothe the ache in his heart. The healing power of love could not be underestimated in times of despair.
So they just stood there together. Holding onto each other. Finding solace in their embrace, weathering the storm of emotions with the understanding that their eternal love would serve as a beacon throughout the dark times ahead.
Taiya had returned to the hospital with no complaints. Only authorised people were allowed to be in the hospital, with the intent of ensuring that the Mockingjay had a peaceful return to District 13. So Taiya returned to her hospital bed with no fuss so she could keep an eye out for the Mockingjay. It was the least she could do for Finnick. Keep an eye on his friend and make sure she was ok.
She had been maintaining surveillance waiting for the girl to arrive. But to be honest, it was very boring sitting there waiting. There'd been a mandate to try and reduce chaos in the hospital so she'd been prevented from visiting Johanna. Each time she got up to go hang out with her friend she got turned around and walked back.
She hated to admit it, but she had drifted off to sleep.
"Get up," Taiya felt someone slap her cheek lightly.
"Ah!" she instinctively swung her arm, connecting with someone's ribs.
"Ow! What the hell," Johanna groaned.
"I'm sorry!" Taiya sat up quickly. Johanna just waved her hand, no one could blame a victor for being jumpy. "How long did I nap for?"
"You didn't take a nap, Tay. That was a full sleep. You've been out for hours. Missed the arrival of the Mockingjay."
"Ah crap," Taiya rubbed her forehead. Her one job and she'd slept through it.
"Come on," Johanna took Taiya's hand and pulled her up. "The night shift's on duty now. Trust me, those guys are useless. We can go see the girl on fire and not be bothered."
"You're an evil genius," Taiya smiled as she followed Johanna to a white curtain that was pulled closed.
They heard a moan of pain from behind the curtain. Yep, she was awake.
Johanna grabbed ahold of the curtain, and as aggressively as she could, she whipped it open, making Katniss jump.
Katniss immediately looked on edge as she took in the sight of the two girls. To be fair, the last time she'd been with the two of them, they'd both attacked her to try and lead Enobaria and Brutus away from her. It took her a moment to remember that was just part of the rebel plan and relax.
"Well there she is," Johanna greeted. "The Mockingjay."
"I'm alive," Katniss croaked. She'd only just woken up.
"No kidding, brainless," Johanna rolled her eyes before she walked over and plonked herself down on Katniss' bed. Katniss immediately grimaced, the jolting had sent pain running across her chest where she'd been injured.
"What's up Katnip," Taiya waved sarcastically.
"Hi," Katniss blinked, unsure what to make of this reunion.
"Oh, that speech you gave in 2. Oh, man, feel. I mean, I still have goosebumps," Johanna sneered.
"You saw her speech?" Taiya asked. She hadn't been shown anything.
"Sure did. You see her get shot as well. Still a little sore?" Johanna asked, she didn't care though, because she was already in the process of disconnecting Katniss' line of morphling and plugging it into her arm. "Don't," she looked over at Taiya before she could even begin lecturing her. "They started cutting back my supply a few days ago. Afraid I'm going to turn into one of those freaks from Six. I've been running in here when the coast is clear all evening to borrow yours. Didn't think you'd mind."
"Wha… what?" Taiya whined. "You came in here without me?"
"To be fair, I tried to wake you up the first time but you told me to get lost and then rolled over," Johanna retorted.
"Please don't tell Finn," Taiya frowned. Her promise that she'd keep an eye out for Katniss' arrival was a complete and utter fail.
Johanna let out a sigh as the morphling hit her bloodstream. "Maybe they were onto something in Six. Drug yourself out and paint flowers on your body. Not such a bad life. Seemed happier than the rest of us, anyway."
"You never got to experience a Capitol party with us did you, Katnip?" Taiya asked as she took a seat beside the bed. "Now that was a blast. Can medicate yourself with alcohol, make up songs, and play games. You enjoyed those parties didn't you, Tanbark?"
"I guess they were tolerable," she agreed with her eyes closed.
"How are you?" Katniss asked nervously. She had absolutely no idea how to talk to these two girls.
"They've got this head doctor who comes around every day. Supposed to be helping me recover. Adjust to reality. Like some guy who's spent his life in this rabbit warren's going to fix me up, like he actually knows anything about my reality. Complete idiot. At least twenty times a session he reminds me that I'm totally safe. Safe from the Capitol. Safe from Snow."
Katniss couldn't help but smile. It was a ridiculous thing to say to a victor. 'Safe' was never a state that existed for a victor, and it certainly didn't exist now.
"Want to tell the Mockingjay about your sessions, Ambersnow?"
"I have your mom as my therapist," Taiya smiled. "So I'll say nothing bad."
"Mrs Everdeen has got Taiya down to a tee," Johanna told Katniss. "Taiya uses childish tenancies to avoid confronting her real trauma and utilises jokes to deflect from what's really bothering her," Johanna quoted.
"That's paraphrasing!" Taiya protested.
"It's what she said isn't it?"
"Basically, yeah," Taiya relented and Johanna sniggered.
"How about you, Mockingjay? You feel totally safe?"
"Oh yeah," Katniss sarcastically agreed. "Right up until I got shot."
"Oh, please," Johanna scoffed. "That bullet never even touched you. Cinna saw to that. Of course, your costume would be bulletproof."
"Broken ribs?" Katniss asked. She was obviously in a lot of pain.
"Not even. Bruised pretty good. Honestly, Taiya looks worse than you do at the moment."
"Hey!" Taiya immediately protested, using her foot to shove Johanna.
"What happened to you?" Katniss' head immediately whipped around to look at Taiya.
"Aw, that's sweet. Do you see that Tay? She cares," Johanna mocked.
"Your head," Katniss frowned. The girl's thoughts were running wild. Where was Finnick? Why wasn't he with her? If she was in the hospital with an injury, how was he holding up? The last time Katniss had spoken to Finnick, Taiya had still been struggling to adjust and he was stressed out of his mind. If she'd gotten hurt he'd be a mess.
"Cool battle scar right," Taiya proudly pulled her hair back to give Katniss a better view of her stitches. "I got into a fight with Haymitch."
"Hardly," Johanna laughed. "Taiya overestimated her gymnastic abilities. Smashed her head up trying to do a backflip."
"When you say it with that kind of tone it doesn't make it sound very cool," Taiya retorted.
"That's because it's not cool," Johanna rolled her eyes before turning back to Katniss' chart. "The bullet impact ruptured your spleen as well. They couldn't repair it," Johanna waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry, you don't need one. And if you did, they'd find you one, wouldn't they? Do you want mine? It's everybody's job to keep you alive after all."
"Is that why you two hate me?" Katniss asked.
"Partly for me," Johanna shrugged, not particularly caring if it hurt the girl's feelings.
"Personally," Taiya leaned forward, very excited to tell the girl what she thought. "I'm resentful that your actions led to Seneca's death, deliberate or not. And it pisses me off that you and Peeta got to be engaged and go public when you weren't even in a relationship. Finn and I spent almost a decade hiding behind closed doors so no one found out about us. It also pissed me off that you abandoned Peeta and ran off to District 2 when he needed support. I mean, there are more reasons, this is just like a synopsis. But Finnick seems to like you, so I'm partly willing to start over."
"Jealousy is certainly involved as well," Johanna smirked. "I also think you're a little hard to swallow. With your tacky romantic drama and your defender-of-the-helpless act. Only it isn't an act, which makes you more unbearable. Please feel free to take this personally."
"You should have been the Mockingjay. No one would've had to feed you lines," Katniss sighed.
"True. But no one likes me," Johanna looked down.
"I love you bestie!" Taiya leapt up and pulled Johanna in so she could kiss the girl on the cheek.
"Get off me! You nut job," Johanna shoved Taiya off her.
"Did you even watch Jo's pre-Games interview?" Taiya asked as she sat back down. "They definitely would've had to feed her lines. She's got no self-control."
"Yeah well, at least they trusted you both, though. To get me out. And they're afraid of you."
"Here, maybe," Johanna agreed. "In the Capitol, you're the one they're scared of now."
"I don't think they've ever been scared of me in the Capitol," Taiya sighed. "Unfortunately they like me. They're scared of me here though! It's kind of fun."
Gale then materialised in the doorway, and Johanna expertly unhooked herself and reattached Katniss' morphling drip.
"Your cousin's not afraid of us," Johanna smirked, making light of how they'd tried to play off Gale as Katniss' cousin in the Capitol so as not to interfere with the Katniss/Peeta love story.
Johanna scooted herself off the bed and walked to the door, nudging Gale with her side as she passed him.
"Are you gorgeous?" she winked before walking away with a laugh.
"I'm terrified of her," Gale confessed as he walked up to Katniss, stopping in front of Taiya. "How's your head? I heard you got hurt."
Taiya did her best, and somehow managed to suppress her eye-roll. "Oh it'll be fine," she glanced over at Katniss. "I'll let Finnick know you're ok and that you're awake. He's been so worried about you," she smiled up at Gale, whose smile had dropped slightly. "Have a good evening," she winked at the pair seductively before slinking out of the room.
ShiaraS46: I think like just watching TBOSAS movie alone could give that impression about Snow a little bit for some people, which is unfortunate because Snow is a psycho. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the movie. But when you read the book you get his inner monologue and you see how messed up his mind really is and you're like ew, no, reddest of red flags. But... rest assured. There will be a call back to one of the songs later for Snow to hear!
Atropos17891917: Aw no! I hope you are feeling better! But thank you so much! Once Jo gets up and moves a bit more outside of the hospital they'll out there nicely bullying Katniss haha!