AUTHOR'S NOTES: OK, final chapter. This is it. I'm really going to miss this story, and all of you and your reviews. Be sure to read my notes at the end.

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CHAPTER TEN

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Now that Katniss and Peeta had spent several days under sedation, the doctors had decided it was finally time to let them wake up. The short period of rest had restored them both to nearly-perfect condition and they would not have benefited from more time in the hospital, although Effie wouldn't have minded the delay.

She and Haymitch were at Peeta's bedside when he woke, and Haymitch himself broke the news about the amputation, while Effie held Peeta's hand tightly and offered optimistic platitudes, stifling her tears. "I know it seems horrible now," she said. "But once you get used to the prosthetic, it won't matter. Not really." Effie's lack of exposure to similar situations didn't lend her words much weight, but Peeta listened politely and nodded his head.

He took the news surprisingly well. But he was happy that he was alive. Happy that Katniss was alive. And all the things he wanted to do – bake, frost, paint, kiss Katniss – they didn't require legs. Effie kissed him on the forehead after he said that.

Haymitch squeezed Peeta's shoulder in comfort, and after being taken aback by the gesture, Peeta smiled warmly back at him.

Peeta wanted to see Katniss, and Effie informed him through gritted teeth that he would not be allowed to see her until they were reunited publicly on Caesar Flickerman's show. It infuriated her. "Don't they care about anything but their TV shows?" she had asked Haymitch after getting off the phone with her government liaison. "Not really," he told her. But he didn't want to say more than that in case they could be overheard.

Of course her anger over that had been noting compared to Haymitch's rage when he found out that the Gamemakers wanted to spruce up Katniss with breast-enhancement surgery. He had left Effie naked in bed and gone to the Games Headquarters to debate with them in person as soon as he got the news over the phone. Effie would not have wanted anyone making fashion choices for her, so she agreed with Haymitch in principal, although personally she thought the surgery would have been a definite improvement for Katniss' figure. The disruption to their holiday-of-sorts had been unwelcome, but Haymitch had returned triumphant and given Effie nothing to complain about afterwards.

Katniss woke after Peeta, and Haymitch, Effie, and Cinna were all there to greet her. Effie had felt like she needed to be strong for Peeta as he learned about the loss of his leg, but with Katniss she let her emotions show a bit more. Katnss flew into Haymitch's arms, and Effie petted her hair affectionately. "I told everyone you two were pearls," she said, to which Katniss laughed.

Cinna took Katniss to prepare her for the interview, while Portia was readying Peeta elsewhere.

Haymitch had subtly warned Cinna of his concerns. Smart, insightful, and cautious, Cinna had decrypted the code quickly and designed Katniss' dress with that in mind. "She's just a girl. Just a girl in love," Haymitch told him, and while it would have sounded to anyone like a casual observation, Cinna knew those were instructions.

Between the heavily-edited television news and Haymitch's discussion with the Gamemakers, he knew that there was a solid foundation for his fears. He made a special trip to see Chaff, who only confirmed what he had suspected. There was political unrest in more Districts than just 11, and there were rumors that President Snow blamed these Games, and specifically Katniss. Chaff knew one of the avoxes that worked at Snow's mansion, and they had found ways to communicate. The avox had informed him that President Snow was extremely displeased, and Seneca Crane was going to be punished.

"You shouldn't be doing that. It's too dangerous," Haymitch told Chaff.

"Unlike you, I've got nothing to lose," he responded.

Haymitch had thought nothing of what his friend had said at the time. But as he traveled back to Effie's apartment, the words struck him. He was afraid now in a way that he had never been before. And that could only be because now he had something to lose. Katniss. Peeta. Hope.

And Effie.

Haymitch hugged Katniss before her interview – he could tell she was surprised – until he leaned in and whispered to her that she needed to be a girl madly in love and nothing else. He felt the fear seize her body, but she played it off for everyone watching, the same way she'd played in the Games. He fixed her headband, she fixed his bowtie, and then he kissed her on the forehead and departed.

And just like that he knew that Katniss was family.

Haymitch didn't worry about Peeta. No matter what that boy was going to look like a lovesick puppy, not a traitor. Peeta's very nature was disarming. His demeanor was calming and assuring. His smile inspired a sort of inner peace. As if as long as Peeta was smiling, everything was OK.

Effie was introduced first on stage. She was worried too, but she couldn't help but be gleeful and giddy underneath the glimmering lights. She waved and laughed at the crowd. Haymitch was happy for her. And seeing her so twinkling and effulgent gave him a sudden pang of humility. There was something bright in her that he didn't deserve to touch.

Cinna and Portia were applauded heavily, and deservedly so.

And then Haymitch was called up. The audience was uproarious – hooting, hollering, and stomping their feet. He had to smile at that. And well, maybe his tributes weren't in the clear yet, but they had won the Games, and that was worth smiling about. That was worth being proud of.

Sort of.

He was reminded of his own interview on that stage after he had won the Quarter Quell. He had been a cocky tribute, but a grim Victor after losing Maysilee. After seeing so many people killed. After killing so many himself. It was easier to smile this time, especially after he glanced over at Effie, seated to the side of the stage. She winked at him, and then smiled softly when he sat down next to her.

Katniss' greeting for Peeta was full of love, and she clung to him in a way that was almost subconscious as they sat down, but Haymitch urged her with his eyes to do more. They curled up together on the loveseat as the three-hour replay was shown. As was the case with most of the non-Career Victors, she hated almost every second of it. Haymitch had hated his too, even though it had made him look like a god. You don't outlive 47 opponents and not look good. But killing even for self-defense leaves a nasty taste in your mouth.

The Victor's banquet at President Snow's mansion followed the interview and the replay.

Effie was self-conscious about the banquet not having spent as much time planning it as she might have because she had been busy with "other things". But as far as Haymitch was concerned, it was like any other. She was moaning about the color palette, and how she should have looked at the shade of purple instead of ordering it blindly, and that told Haymitch all he needed to know about the magnitude her planning failures. She was too busy to pay attention to him – there were phases of catering to organize, and crooked banners, and missing forks. Normally at these things he would just find a corner table and drink, but he wanted Effie's company and couldn't get it and it frustrated him.

Katniss and Peeta held hands through the entire event as they met and thanked their sponsors. Which left Haymitch entirely alone, and for the first time in a long time, it bothered him. But it did allow him to keep an eye on the President, who likewise spent most of his time watching Katniss. Haymitch reviled the man so much it was hard to be in the same room with him. It was so easy to pin all of his hate and blame on Snow, but the current system was so much more than just one man. It would take more than assassination to dismantle it. Haymitch almost wished he wasn't smart enough to know that. Then he would have murdered Snow 24 years ago.

Haymitch, Portia and Effie escorted Peeta and Katniss back to the Training Center when the banquet finally wound down around dawn. He was afraid of what Katniss would say to Peeta if she had a chance to speak with him privately, so he kept them apart as best as he could. The last thing they needed was for Peeta to stop smiling. Katniss was sent to her bedroom, and Portia took Peeta away for some last minute fittings.

Effie was exhausted. She laid down on the sofa in Peeta and Katniss' penthouse. "We should just stay here. It's so late. I can't even move anymore."

He lifted her legs up into the air and sat down underneath them. Then he pulled her foot into his lap, removed her shoe, and gave her a massage. "You know what tomorrow is."

Effie's eyes were closed, but she sighed. "Yes." In less than 12 hours they would be on the train heading back to District 12. She sat up and looked at him. "So you're saying we should go back to my apartment."

"Yes."

She nodded.

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All they did was sleep, but he pulled her into his arms and held her for those few hours. Her eyes closed the second her head hit the pillow, but Haymitch knew there was plenty of time for sleeping later. He ran his fingers through her pretty golden hair, and traced shapes on her back, and listened to her heartbeat, and did all the silly things he had never done with a woman before because he had never wanted to.

He woke her up earlier than she needed to wake up just to have those extra minutes with one another. They showered together and ate a long breakfast together and said very little. Then Effie had to leave to rouse their "little Victors", and he went and packed up his hotel room.

During the final interview, Haymitch stayed near the stage, and Katniss turned to him many times for guidance. She was visibly nervous, but her answers were perfect and he told her so after it was over. She was relieved, but he didn't let himself be.

Effie had a job to do, escorting Katniss and Peeta back to the Training Center, helping them collect their belongings, and then wrangling them and Haymitch onto the train. Like the banquet the night before, she didn't have any time for him.

Cinna and Portia saw them off.

"What about your mother?" Haymitch asked her when they were finally alone, realizing she was the only who was leaving something behind, even if it was only for a few days.

"There's a nurse who cares for her while I'm away." She was looking over the table, making sure that dinner was perfect. "It is kind of a relief," she remarked, "to be taking them back home." Then she smiled, with water in her eyes. "I've never taken any of them home before."

Haymitch couldn't smile. The worst thing to befall him had not happened in the Capitol. But he did wipe away the one tear that slipped down her cheek.

He automatically pulled away when Peeta came trudging in, loud and awkward with his cane and fake leg. Effie gave Haymitch a look, but it was not one of reproach.

They watched the interview after dinner, all sitting around the television much like they had at the Training Center. Then they got some fresh air and stretched their legs when the train stopped to refuel. Effie and Haymitch stood in the doorway, watching Peeta and Katniss strolling hand in hand. Peeta bent over and picked some flowers for her a short distance away

"They're so sweet," Effie commented, sighing.

"Do you want me to pick you some flowers?" he inquired. It was clear from his voice that he had no intention whatsoever of doing it.

She scowled at him wryly, before sighing again. "Haymitch, we need to talk."

"I know." But his eyes were on the kids. "Let's it do it later, though."

She crossed her arms. "Fine."

He watched Katniss and Peeta for a minute more, and then groaned. "I've got to do something."

Effie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's not fair to Peeta," was all he said before heading off towards the two of them.

"What did you do?" Effie asked him when he returned to her, and as they watched Peeta storm away a minute later.

"The right thing."

Effie hit him on the shoulder. "Stop being so cryptic."

Haymitch explained in a whisper that whatever Katniss felt for Peeta, she was acting strategically, and Peeta didn't know that. Haymitch had set Katniss up for a confession.

"Doesn't look like it went well," Effie noted sadly.

Peeta went straight to his room, and Katniss settled into hers before long.

"It wasn't that I didn't want to tell them about you and me," Haymitch said suddenly, after he and Effie had been alone for a few minutes. Effie was sipping on some wine and letting the movement of the train lull her. She lifted her head and turned to him. "But I didn't know what to tell them," he finished. "And you saw how they were on the first day, critical, and-"

"They had plenty of reasons to be critical of you on the first day," she pointed our dryly.

"Yes, well, I don't like interference, you know. The more they know about me, the more they'll try to fix me."

"So you'd rather keep it a secret?"

He nodded. "It's safer for you, anyway. Distance from me and Katniss can only be good for you."

"Distance?" she said softly.

"Or the appearance of distance," he amended shiftily.

"It's going to be more than the appearance of distance," she shot back. "Besides, you kissed me in front of everyone."

"Maybe I could turn that into a habit. Just start kissing random women."

"Don't you dare!" Effie threw a leftover roll at him.

He smiled. "I don't think that anyone is going to think much of that kiss unless they knew that we had kissed before it. And after it, too." He rose and walked around the table to her. "And right now" He leaned over and planted a firm kiss on her lips.

"We've got more to talk about," she protested.

"Nah," he replied. He drank down the rest of her wine in one swallow, then yanked her to her feet and pulled her into her bedroom.

"Your stuff is in here!" she noticed. "That was presumptuous."

"Was it?" he asked, winking at her.

"I had too much to drink," she admitted, followed by a guilt-proclaiming hiccup. "Because I should be making you talk more and I'm not. Because you live in District 12, and I-"

Haymitch had begun unhooking her dress, and he lifted it up over her head just in time to muffle her words completely. Her wig came off with it, and he removed the bands keeping her hair up, so that it tumbled down onto her shoulders. She shook is out.

"Yes, there are a few more things that we should probably talk about, but we're not going to, right?" he posed, kissing her on the shoulder.

She gave in and wrapped her arms around his neck.

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Effie woke when it was still dark. Haymitch was asleep beside her on his stomach, one of his arms thrown over her in a haphazard but not insignificant manner. She rolled over towards him so that they were facing each other, adjusting the blankets because he didn't know how to share.

Haymitch Abernathy.

She couldn't quite believe it. That she wanted this. How much she wanted this.

She let him sleep because she knew hard it was for him. She just laid there, feeling a kind of fulfillment she never had before, but also a kind of fear that she had never known. The train slowed through the mountains and Effie knew that they were nearing District 12.

She finally gave Haymitch a shake. The sun was starting to peek over the horizon, and it was gray outside her window instead of black.

He was lucid quickly, noticing the changed movement of the train and the dull light coming in under the curtains.

She ruffled his hair with a sad smile and didn't say anything.

Readying themselves side by side, the silence continued. It had felt so important to her the night before for them to talk about their future together, but now that they were so close to District 12 she didn't want to. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to know what he was thinking.

She woke Peeta and Katniss, but only Katniss came to breakfast. Katniss noticed Peeta's absence with a frown and returned to her room before long. Effie brought some food to Peeta, which he accepted only because it was the last time he would be spoiled in such a way. Even the richest of District 12 didn't eat like they ate in the Capitol.

Pausing in the door, she wavered indecisively and then finally spoke the dejected young man: "I like Katniss, of course, the dear, but really, she's a fool if she doesn't love you."

Peeta managed a courteous half-smile. "Thanks, Effie. But I can't make Katniss love me. She just does or she just doesn't, right? Even if she thinks she should love me, it doesn't mean that she can."

"Not everybody loves in the same way, Peeta. The way you love – not everybody can love like that. And sometimes people like Katniss…well, they get in their own way."

He nodded, considering her words, as she shut his door.

The train pulled up into the station less than an hour later, and Effie had to make sure that her little Victors were dressed for the cameras. She choreographed their exit from the train, including a short walk across the platform to a peacekeeper cars that would drive them to their homes. Effie made sure they understood that they were to stand next to each other, and Haymitch bluntly told them that the show wasn't over, but it was Peeta's idea for them to hold hands.

The cameras captured the homecoming while the crowd cheered for their returning tributes. Katniss' mother and sister and her "cousin" Gale were waiting. Prim ran to her sister and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Peeta's parents were there to greet him as well. There was a car for each family. Effie didn't let them leave without hugs, and Haymitch waved them off too even though they weren't really saying goodbye to him.

The crowd dissipated after the Victors left, leaving only Haymitch and Effie and the train crew.

"We're loading the coal now, it should only be another few hours," the conductor told Effie.

She nodded glumly.

There would be a celebration for Katniss and Peeta the next day in their public square, but it was the responsibility of the mayor; it was not Effie's job to be there. She would be returning on the train that night.

Alone.

Haymitch took her hand and began dragging her out of the station.

"Haymitch! You heard him. I only have a couple of hours. I can't leave."

"Victor's Village isn't far from here," he insisted. "You should take off your heels."

"And walk in the dirt?"

He shrugged. "Plenty of people here don't have shoes."

Effie didn't find that convincing, but she removed her shoes and kept pace with him all the way to his house.

"Not much nicer than your mother's house, is it?" he remarked, opening the door.

Effie stepped inside and looked around. "It's not nicer at all." The house was filthy and unmaintained, dusty and packed with bottles. She didn't think he'd cleaned it in all the 24 years that he had lived there. And she had to assume that the only reason there weren't dirty dishes was because they had been licked clean by wild animals.

"Is this your way of breaking things off with me?" she asked, looking around again.

He laughed. "Is it that bad?"

"It's worse."

Victor's Village was unoccupied except for him, so there was plenty of privacy on the porch behind the house. He brought her back there and sat her down on the bench. He knew they could talk safely there. Any outdoor bugging would never have survived the elements, and after 24 years of nothing it was unlikely he was still being monitored, though he had no doubt that he had been at first. He also never went back there – no one would have wasted time on planting a listening device in a place he never went. But just to be safe he turned on a creaky old fan, and planned to speak quietly.

It was warm, but not hot, and the breeze was merciful, carrying nice smells from the meadow. She closed her eyes for just a second, involuntarily considering the idea of this place as her home. She couldn't live in a district, could she? With a shudder, she thought that the worst part wouldn't be the amenities she would be giving up, but instead watching those children without shoes. Seeing them everyday.

"I thought you'd be taking me to your bedroom," Effie joked, even though she meant it. "I wouldn't have minded. We could still…" She popped to her feet.

But Haymitch pushed down on her shoulders and down beside her. "Listen, Effie…"

"When you told me loved me, were you just saying what you thought I wanted to hear?" she interrupted, searching his eyes. "It was awful quick, wasn't it?"

"Maybe not that quick," he responded. "Maybe not as quick as it seemed. And, I don't know, I felt it and it seemed like a good idea at the time to just say it."

"At the time?" she asked quietly.

"We can't be together, Effie."

"Haymitch-"

"No, No. Don't" He put his hand over her mouth. "I am trying to protect you. Things are happening. Uprisings, OK? And President Snow, he blames Katniss. All of us, by extension. Certainly me and Cinna. It's not safe for you to be seen as someone that I care about." He looked her in the eyes. "And I do care about, Effie. I love you, I love you just like I said. I lost everyone I truly cared about all at once, and I didn't want to love anyone ever again. But you, and Peeta, and Katniss – you didn't give me any choice. But this time - this time I'm going to protect the ones I care about. And if that means that you and I are back to just coworkers - escort and mentor - then that's what's going to happen. And it's better anyway, because you need to go back to the Capitol and take care of your mother. And it's just cleaner, because what if I was arrested or killed or turned into an avox? How much worse would it be for you if we had made some sort of…commitment to one another? How much more would that hurt? And anyway, what are you going to do? Live here in District 12 someday? In this disgusting house? With me?"

When Haymitch removed his hand from her mouth, he had her tears on his fingers.

"I could clean the house," she whispered miserably, as if the filthy house had been the greatest of the problems and not the least.

It garnered a smile out of him. "I'm not actually sure that you could. You would probably break a nail."

Effie looked down at her long, perfect fingernails.

Haymitch's head perked up. He rose to his feet and ran to the front of the house. Effie heard him shouting to someone.

"That was Purnia," he explained as he came back around. "She'll drive you back to the train station."

"I don't want to leave."

He lifted from under her shoulder and forced her to her stand. "It's better if you go now."

"'Better', 'better', 'better'. For a man who lives the way you do, you've got an awful lot of ideas about how things could be better. I think I'll wait to take advice from someone who actually has life figured out," she snapped.

He had expected her to say some things that would make him want to change his mind, but he had not expected her to make such a cogent point.

"I'm going to let you say these things and I'm going to leave because I have to, but the Victory Tour is only a few months away, and you will not find it so easy to put me aside then," she declared confidently.

"I'm not putting you aside, Effie, and it wasn't easy. Do you not believe me about Snow? He killed my family. I don't want to go through that again!"

Effie wiped away a tear, looking very much like a little girl, and then kissed him on his cheek. Then she began walking towards the front of the house and the car that would take her back to the train station, but Haymitch grasped her arm. "Just don't fall in love with anyone else," he begged.

She shook her head. "I couldn't."

"Because I don't think I could stand that," he elaborated.

And then she left, and Haymitch took a swig out of the first bottle he found.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES: I realize that the ending is a little open, so to speak, but it was always my intention for this story to parallel canon, which is why I went to such lengths to make sure it matched up with Katniss' narrative for the first book perfectly, and that's why I brought it back around. I wanted to be able to imagine this entire story as one big headcanon with nothing happening that might contradict the story as told by Katniss, for any of three books. (Spoilers: I envision this story continuing alongside canon for Catching Fire much like it did for the first book, and then ending with Haymitch and Effie together in District 12 after the events of Mockingjay. I probably won't write all that, but that's what I see for the proper ending.)

Anyway, my biggest thanks to everyone who tried out this story even if they didn't like it (I don't suppose they're reading this, though), to those who read the whole thing, to those who favorited and alerted, to those who reviewed, and especially to those who reviewed more than once, and/or have been with me for this whole month while I wrote it.

Oh, and I'm the worst for doing this, but my link to my tumblr is on my profile and I post a lot of Hunger Games, and Haymitch/Effie, at least right now, so consider following. I'm going to start making more original posts now that I've finished this story. It is an "I post whatever I want" type blog though, and I do have fandom-ADD, so fair warning.