Rewind

It's late, considerably so, and Haymitch is still wide awake.

Since being forced into sobriety, he hasn't been able to get the usual dreamless sleep he has become accustomed to.

Haymitch decides that a celebration is in order for staying off alcohol for so long.... by drinking. Besides, he figured he deserved it given all that he's been through over the past month alone.

So he orders a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and drinks it straight from the bottle in his room.

Getting through two thirds of the wine, Haymitch decides the room is too stuffy. He gets up, clutching the Sauvignon Blanc for dear life, and decides to wander the Capitol train.

He roams freely, knowing full well that no Capitol attendant would ever dare stop a victor from doing whatever the hell he wanted, least of all him.

"Because it has to end somewhere, right?" he hears a very familiar voice ask from the television room. "The arena can't go on forever."

If Haymitch were in his right frame of mind, he would have recognised that voice immediately. As it was, he wasn't in his right frame of mind. So he steps closer to the door, curious, as another voice begins talking. "What do you expect to find?"

This voice is definitely one he recognises and one he hasn't heard in twenty-five long years. Now his brain finally catches up and he knows what to expect when he peeks in the room.

He sees himself on screen, twenty-five years younger, convincing his ally to continue following him again.

Maysilee had stubbornly remained where she was until he provided her with some answers.

"I don't know. But maybe there's something we can use," his younger self is saying.

Haymitch looks down at the couch to see who would possibly be watching his Games.

He sees the back of Katniss' and Peeta's heads, their faces transfixed on the screen. He clears his throat, wanting to alert his two tributes of his presence. But Katniss and Peeta are too absorbed in watching the Fiftieth Hunger Games to hear him.

So Haymitch remains silent, watching the second Quarter Quell and taking deep swigs from his bottle.

He watches as he and Maysilee climb a tree to get a decent view of the death recap that night. Then it's the following day and they are working together to salvage more rainwater. Haymitch is surprised to see that the Gamemakers have kept the scene of him simply taking a nap, his head resting on a somewhat disgruntled-looking Maysilee. He smiles at the expression on her face. Then the screen is showing their impressive battle with the squirrels. The next scene is of him pointing out constellations in the night sky to Maysilee as the two of them lie of their backs in the grass. Haymitch can remember how completely at ease he had felt then. He takes another deep drink as the younger him and Maysilee stare up at the sky, where two parachutes are drifting down to them. He doesn't need to see to remember that inside each are letters from home. Then the scene changes to him and Maysilee facing a maze of tightly woven hedges. Vaguely Haymitch is aware of the fact that none of the scenes of him and Maysilee hunting Capitol mutts for food ever made the cut. Thinking back to it now, Haymitch can see how them figuring out that the mutts were edible is something the Gamemakers wouldn't want to show, considering it made them look stupid that they were able to figured it out. He focuses back on the screen where they have finally made it across the hedge and Maysilee is breaking off the alliance.

"I don't want it to come down to you and me," she's saying.

"Ok," younger him replies, not even turning back to look at her.