Author's Note: The highs and lows of being a victor continue and danger is always around the corner.

….

Expansion

Three victors lived in the Victors' Village in District Ten once more. Adan had brought home a victor. Twenty-four years after his survival, he finally had a victor of his own. He had waited the same length of time as Haymitch, but Adan had no idea how Haymitch coped with the stress and anxiety of two victors at once when he could barely keep up with one.

Santiago emerged as a surprise victor, without any of the trouble surrounding Katniss and Peeta. But the attention had still been overwhelming. His victor had unintentionally been the first to discover the main secret of the arena and he did not even realise it. Each of the mutts in the moorland arena corresponded to one tribute who could tame it and deploy it as an ally or guard. Santiago intuitively knew how to respond to seeing the centaur which put him on the path to survival.

Sponsors loved the novelty of it and threw money at Adan, some because they were intrigued and others because they genuinely wanted Santiago to win. But Adan hardly used any of the funds, gifting his victor what he needed and what would act as effective communication. He showed his approval of the strange, mythical alliance and did his best to keep his boy calm when he saw him become nervous.

The other victors wholeheartedly supported him too. It was because of them that he and Charo were able to sleep during the arena and in the aftermath when Santiago needed guarding and there were victory events to prepare for. The Elevens and Twelves were at their disposal throughout and Ryan offered to help watch during the night as soon as his tribute had died. Poppy, Halley and Cecelia offered their continual guidance and Adan was surprised by the generosity of some of District One's victors, although he suspected that Gem's enduring friendship with Maria was the root of their kindness.

They were back to strength in the Victors' Village. However, Charo and Adan were busier than ever. They could not involve Santiago in rebel efforts immediately and he needed supervision and company almost constantly.

He was so confused on leaving the arena. He did not understand what had happened to him or how he survived. He felt like he was living in a daze, unable to confirm what was real and what was not. Events were happening to him, and he did not feel present. Adan was aware of this but there was very little he could do. His victor was on stage alone in front of the entire nation when the secrets of his arena were revealed to him, and Santiago found that he had nothing to say. He was alive and that was the end of the matter. That much he did know, and he would need Adan's help to figure out the rest. An interview with Lucretius Flickerman was not going to help at all.

Santiagos' life had changed, and he found himself between two worlds. His family had to continue running their equestrian business and could not move to the Village with their son. Santiago had never lived alone before and did not enjoy the quiet, so he spent most of his time living with Charo, Adan and Rosa. He only returned to his home when he wanted time to think without interruption or when the Capitol wanted photos and interviews.

Santiago immediately became part of Charo and Adan's family and Rosa had a big brother. His confusion and dazed state started to lift as he found joy in their company. Rosa was delighted seeing her parents return with a victor and told them that she was happy they had finally listened and brought another victor home for her. For Adan, his daughter's pride and excitement were some of the best moments about bringing a survivor home. Santiago was relieved that his survival had made some people genuinely happy, that much he knew was real. He could feel Rosa's excitement and constant positivity and he found that he wanted to be around her in the hope it was contagious.

Rosa would never normally be allowed to gather at the train station when her parents returned with the deceased tributes. Charo and Adan were determined to keep her away from anything associated with death in the Hunger Games. But this time, they saw her hidden in the crowds, nowhere near the front and positioned where she was not immediately visible to the Capitol's eyes. They knew she was there; they would find their daughter's face in any crowd, but they made sure not to draw attention to her and focused on Santiago.

After some initial wariness, Charo and Adan were happy for Rosa to spend time in Santiago's company. He hadn't shown any aggression and beyond the nightmares and survivors' guilt, he seemed to be adjusting to life as a victor. It was clear that being in their daughter's company was a good influence and she seemed to like him enough to want to be in his company without needing her parents for reassurance.

Santiago continued working in the family business and his presence was a boon to their income. The richest in Ten suddenly wanted their horses to be trained by the newest victor and Santiago would do what he could to help his family. Adan believed the return to relative normality was helping ground Santiago and did not try to stop him. His victor could carve out a path to ensure he remained connected to his family.

Ten's senior victors allowed Santiago to teach their daughter to ride one of his family's smaller horses. Rosa was delighted from the moment her first lesson began and Charo and Adan had privately resolved to buy the horse once their daughter had proven she would be able to take care of the animal with Santiago's assistance.

The newest victor only had brothers at home, and he delighted in having a sister he could take care of and be protective of. He understood immediately how seriously Charo and Adan took protecting Rosa, and it was one of the reasons why he eagerly taught her to ride. It was a useful skill and could assist her in fighting or escaping should danger come close. But more than that he genuinely enjoyed her company and found her calming and thoughtful, on levels he did not expect from a thirteen-year-old.

At first, Santiago and Adan were surprised at how keenly Rosa took to their newest family member. But they both soon realised that she had spent all her life living with three victors and that had intuitively taught her their ways. She did not need to be told what to expect or what she just let wash over her, she just carried on as usual, acknowledging their quirks and moving on.

The four of them fit together easily and by the time of the Victory Tour, it was difficult for Charo and Adan to imagine a time when Santiago no longer lived alongside them and their daughter. He still had his biological family but, in many ways, they had gained a son. Rosa firmly considered him her brother too. Whilst she had wanted Maria to meet Santiago, she did not want to go back to a time when there was only her and her parents living in the Village. It had become quiet and boring. Santiago had brought something fun and new to her life and she did not want that to end.

…

Finnick had been at the helm of the districts' rebellion for almost four years. In that time, he had seen Gloss, Cashmere and Aria come into their own and much to his surprise, Topaz had been brought willingly into the fold. Lyme had also sent a message instructing him to meet with Brutus alone during the next Games and he felt as if both men were about to get the biggest shock of their lives. He had no idea what to expect but trusted Lyme implicitly. She would not endanger any of them or risk what she had worked on for years.

There had been rumblings of disquiet in District Eight after another round of arrests and executions and Eleven remained Eleven. After seeing the images of Cecelia and Calico being led away by peacekeepers those years ago, every time there were reports of high-profile arrests in Eight, his heart stopped. He had no idea how much the peacekeepers or anyone in the Justice Building knew about their leadership. Calista was aptly positioned in the Mayor's staff but given her identity, Finnick was sure there would be information she was not privy to and if her mother and Calico were to be arrested, she would be too.

Marshall had sent word that Eleven's new peacekeepers' barracks had been built but not without some unplanned delays which Finnick knew to be courtesy of Chaff and his men. In a move taken from Halley's playbook, the main electricity supply had been tampered with and the lights would not switch on. It had taken weeks to repair. Finnick had realised that the peacekeepers were either incompetent or unable to source the wiring, in which case, District Three deserved his gratitude.

He had established secure communication channels with Halley and Poppy. Most of the time, he had no news from District Four to provide. Everything ticked over as it should. Their chosen candidate at their elections was poised to become their new Mayor after gaining the support of the Capitol whilst Coral's dementia worsened, and their fishing crews failed to meet their quotas with no repercussions. Nobody in the Capitol could so much as pretend it was feasible. That might change if the administration changed but they could deal with that at the time.

District Three was in a similar position. Their current Mayor had the support of their people and the Capitol and life continued as normal. The Victors Village thrived and the charade surrounding building Halley's bunker grew more complex as work started in earnest underground.

Halley found great joy in orchestrating her ruse against the Capitol. Orion and his assistants worked on underground construction under the cover of a forcefield and a tent warning passers-by and observers of so-called radioactive material. To complete her ruse, Halley was drafting a report for Plutarch to embellish regarding the research project she had apparently undertaken in blowing open the ground behind the Victors' Village.

She continued to speak with pride about Orion and how he had developed under her wing. Finnick was pleased that Three's youngest victor had found his place and could join in with his peers. He also noticed Poppy speaking with more ease regarding Cameron and his progress. His outbursts seemed less frequent, and he had continued with developing his woodwork talent whilst branching out into mechanics on Poppy's instruction.

Finnick had seen in the Capitol press articles about Cameron's newfound hobby and purchasing old, abandoned cars for restoration and knew that was a Poppy project if there ever was one. He was also not surprised to hear the news that Cameron had suffered mild injuries from an accident driving one of the cars into the wall of one of the empty houses in the Village.

Poppy had assured him and Halley that there was very little wrong with Cameron and the Capitol had blown it out of proportion to make a story out of it. In any event, the 'accident' was entirely deliberate. Cameron had figured out how to tamper with the breaks on one of the most common engines manufactured in Six, conveniently used in peacekeeper transport. He did not want to harm anybody unnecessarily with his tests or bring repercussions on innocent people, so he took the risk himself.

He was not badly hurt and kept quiet in Six where everything continued as usual. Poppy had organised the right people around her and together, they would bide their time and escalate when the time was ready.

But suddenly everything changed. Plutarch Heavensbee did not speak to Halley at their agreed time. He had never let her down before; so, she escalated her concern to Finnick immediately. His mind immediately went to the prospect of betrayal. He did not trust Heavensbee in the way Mags once did or how Chloe grew to. Halley still trusted him, but Finnick could not bring himself to put all his faith in someone so embedded into Capitol society.

Halley watched out for signs Plutarch was attempting contact, but nothing came. She sat by the television waiting for the news, her mind going to places she thought she no longer had to worry about. She was expecting to hear of his arrest or disappearance and was panicking that everything they had worked for might be over.

Orion had tried to keep her calm, sensing that Beetee and Wiress were almost equally as worried and wouldn't be able to help. His youth and relative inexperience were trying to keep his mentor positive, but he could tell there was not much he could do until they had news or evidence of what had happened.

Several stressful days later, news finally emerged of the arrest of an entire rebel cell in the Capitol. High-standing, old Capitol families had been torn apart. The Harringtons, the Cardews, the Sickles but somehow not the Heavensbees. Plutarch had evaded capture.

Finnick, Halley and Poppy were sure that if he had been discovered, Plutarch's name would have been paraded across Panem and the date for his public execution would have already been set. But whilst he may be safe, danger had come close.

The Cardew family member outed as a rebel was revealed to be Fulvia's cousin and Halley was relieved she had resisted the temptation to attempt contact via her. They must be lying low and going about their Capitol jobs to keep up appearances. Nothing could look suspicious now. The families of those discovered would all be interrogated and ostracised and that would have likely included Plutarch and Fulvia due to her family connection. It was possible that Plutarch was engaging in in damage limitation to preserve his and Fulvia's position given her name alone would now carry rebel connotations.

But the danger had been brought one step closer to the victors also. Finnick has issued an amber alert to everyone he could reach to order them to stay on guard and not engage in any brazen rebel activity. Their first attempt at acceleration had been stalled. They could not risk discovery now that the Capitol's attention had been turned to the rebel threat once more.

Inevitably, executions followed, and Capitol citizens were being rounded up and arrested for no real reason. Finnick expected the suspicion and interrogations to spill into the districts and had turned his attention to ensuring staff at the Centre and their tribute candidates were prepared for questioning and performing under close watch.

Paranoia was spreading and it was difficult to ignore. Even in Three, Beetee and Wiress had a renewed focus on technologies that they could deploy with the effort of being seen to help and offer kindness to the Capitol. It was a small part of their operations, but they had to revitalise old projects and ideas even if it was just to project the right image.

Work on Halley's bunker extension had to speed up and everything that could be filled to allow the ground to be restored was covered in case the Capitol arrived and asked for a closer examination. Orion began ordering various materials to give the impression that he was starting work on a new project. He did not know what that project was, but he was sure he and Halley could think of something if they needed to.

In District Six, Poppy ordered those around her to close ranks and go to ground. Cameron was to focus on the aesthetics of the cars he had brought and make some of them into a vanity project. Her trip further out into the district was delayed and she noticed she was being followed in earnest once more. The attention that fell on her immediately after Cameron came home was back and she had a shadow every time she left her house.

Across the districts, changes followed. Linden followed Finnick's warning exactly and cajoled Johanna into compliance with Blight's support. She was frustrated. Every step forward felt like it was followed by two steps back. She had wanted revolution years ago, they all had, but Johanna remained the most impatient out of Seven's victors.

Liev was tired and disappointed that it was becoming increasingly clear that he would not live to see the day they won. He still believed in the cause entirely and knew success would find Finnick but this latest, warranted delay, set things back even further. Change could not come quickly enough when it did finally arrive.

Back in District Ten, the slowdown allowed Charo and Adan more time with Santiago and Rosa. They needed to stop the agitation and anti-Capitol messaging and ensure farm productivity carried on as usual. They were down on their quotas and the prospect of enforcement was always hanging over them. Charo and Adan knew that would be a counterproductive measure. It would not stop the Capitol from taking aggressive control measures, but the victors knew what the consequences would be. It would only play into their hands.

But with the Capitol watching out for rebels, now was not the time to be reckless. It was time for them to spend with Rosa and adapt to living as a four again. Maria had left a hole in their lives and Santiago would occupy a different space. He could not replace her. She was a woman of an entirely different generation, but he could find a new role within their family.

They knew they would involve him in their efforts in the future, it was just a matter of when. Now was too dangerous. Santiago was new and had only been home from his Victory Tour for a matter of weeks before tensions increased once more. There was still a lot for him to learn and even more adjustments to make.

The confusion of his time in the arena had started to pass and he was growing increasingly confident in himself each day. He was becoming comfortable with the fact that he was alive when twenty-three other children were not but was yet to establish what sort of victor he was.

He wanted to spend all day with his family's horses as he used to do. But that was no longer an option. He still worked for the business almost every day but had been told that he could not devote all his time to it. Out of loyalty to his family, he was not about to set up a rival business and take profits and necessary income from his parents. Their escort had advised him to do just that, but that was never an option for Santiago. Charo and Adan supported him entirely and shut that idea down.

Becoming a victor did not mean a departure from his family. Instead, his family had grown. He had two new parental figures and a little sister he never knew he wanted. His time with Rosa, teaching her about the horses whilst her parents looked on proudly at them was some of his favourite times each week.

He knew that his role would change as he got older and more used to life as a victor, but he did not understand how. It was obvious that Charo and Adan's restaurant business was incredibly successful and lucrative. They made no secret of the fact that everything they did concerning their enterprises was to protect and provide for Rosa, but Santiago had guessed that there might be something more beyond it.

He had watched them grow increasingly uneasy when they heard the news about Capitol figures being arrested but he did not know why that affected them. Perhaps they thought tensions would make their way into Ten and being in the public eye, they would be in danger.

He knew enough to know there was an element of danger about being a victor. But he had not yet begun to understand exactly what that meant and what he would have to do, beyond compliance with the Capitol's rules to ensure he stayed out of trouble.

Charo and Adan had almost three decades of being a victor so Santiago knew he would have to trust them and let them guide him. He had done that since the arena, and they had not steered him wrong. He had to hope that whatever they were working on and whatever had made them nervous would turn out as they intended and not lead to any trouble. He was just getting used to his new life and did not know whether he could adjust to any further unplanned changes.

He would have to take each new day and experience as it came. He would find out more about the new world around him when he felt ready and when Charo and Adan believed he could cope. Santiago was clear that the senior victors were firmly in charge, but he did not mind. The last thing he wanted was responsibility beyond what he already knew. But he realised he cared for them deeply and loved Rosa as his sister so he would easily fall in line with whatever they needed him to do. They were good people, probably the best out of the victors he had met, and he knew he was in good hands and as safe as he could be within the constraints of being a victor. It would be good enough for him now. He would think about the future as it came closer.