Hunger Games 2

Dayton was almost blind with worry. He was as good as dead. Tyson would kill him. He glanced over at Aimée when she ran up beside him. He could barely focus. "While I was talking to you, she ran off. Then I head a scream." He mentally cursed himself. He took off on a sprint. He had to get to them. Lindi laughed softly and sat on the edge of the pool, watching Noah and then turning to look at Peyton and Dimitri. "That's going to be hard," she whispered.

Aimée listened to him explain, and she sighed as he started to sprint. It was going to be hard keeping up with him. She sprinted after him, falling a bit behind him. She would do all she could to help Willow. Dimitri sighed when Lindi spoke. He knew she was right, but he didn't want to believe it. "I'll keep them away. I'll find some way to make sure he stays single," he said, and he smiled down at her. "She has your eyes, you know."

Dayton came up to the abandoned building and threw the door open. His mother was waiting on them, a smirk on her face. "You know, you should really tell your girlfriend not to leave her car in my yard," she said. He just now noticed the gun. "It is dangerous, you know." She hovered her finger over the trigger, pointing it at Willow. Willow scowled and said, "You better get that gun out of my face you fart-" She was cut off before she could finish as Caroline hit her with the butt of the gun. Lindi smiled lightly and glanced to their daughter. She loved her children so much. "She looks a lot like the both of us," she agreed, half smiling.

Aimée narrowed her eyes at Caroline as she spoke. She couldn't help but feel guilty. It was her fault she had Willow. She lost it when Caroline hit Willow. "Don't touch her!" She yelled before she punched Caroline in the face. She was going to regret ever hurting Willow. Dimitri nodded, and he looked over at Noah. "And he just looks like my father so much. I guess I do too. The more we both get older, the more easy it is to tell the difference between us," he said, and he chuckled a bit. "I do still get called Drake every now and then," he said, and he lifted Peyton up and down.

Dayton was about to yell for Aimée to stay back but it was too late. His mouth hung open, but he was snapped back to reality as Willow took the opportunity to race over to him and hide behind him. Caroline scowled as Aimée punched her. She felt the sting but she smirked and didn't waste a fraction of a second as she pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. Before Dayton could react, another gunshot sounded, hitting Caroline in the shoulder. He turned to see Tyson standing behind him. He didn't know where he came from or how he got a gun, but he was grateful. He took off towards Aimée, dropping down beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked but then he turned on Caroline, scowling. "I hate you." Lindi nodded and smiled at her children. "You two could have been twins back in the day," she whispered, sighing softly. She thought back to the war and the revolution and tried not to shiver.

Aimée didn't regret punching Caroline. At least Willow got away, but that wasn't going to take away the pain of getting shot. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground, holding her wound. She could already feel herself slipping away. When Dayton rushed over to her, she managed a small nod. "I-I'm okay. Just get Willow out of here," she said, but she knew that she wasn't okay. She couldn't help bit wonder if this was what it was like when her father died. Was it this painful? Or was he lucky to get a quick one? She hadn't even noticed that she closed her eyes. Dimitri gave her a hesitant smile. "Yeah. People mixed us up all the time," he said with a laugh. He placed Peyton on his hip and kissed her head once more. "She's so beautiful though."

Dayton shook his head. There was no way he was leaving her there. She must be insane if she thought he would. "Go, get her out of here!" he yelled at Tyson. He didn't wait to see if he listened, but he was sure he did. Tyson cared about Willow more than most people on the Earth, excluding Mackenzie. He turned back to Aimée and picked her up carefully. "We have to get help," he whispered under his breath. Lindi glanced once more down at their daughter. "She is. And our son is very handsome," she added on, picking Noah up and tickling him lightly.

Aimée winced in pain, and she kept her eyes closed as he picked her up. "Dayton...," she managed to say, but she didn't finish. She went unconscious soon after, unable to take the pain of the bullet wound. It was bleeding badly enough. Dimitri nodded in agreement, and he smiled as he watched his son. Noah laughed and splashed the water as she tickles him. Dimitri chuckled and began to tickle Peyton.

Dayton barely heard her. He threw furtive glances over his shoulder. His mother hadn't followed up until that point. He picked up the pace. He could see Tyson up ahead, carrying Willow, who seemed more keen on walking but he wasn't having it. Once he reached his car, he carefully put Aimée in the back and headed off to the hospital. Lindi laughed softly and kissed the top of Noah's head before continuing to tickle him. She glanced over at Peyton and Dimitri. Peyton was giggling and splashing the water around.

Aimée lied in the back seat of the car. She was starting to look worse, and it wasn't going to be long before she really would need she serious help. If Dayton didn't hurry to get to the hospital, it wouldn't look very good for her. She was already getting more pale. She looked like a ghost. Dimitri smiled down at Peyton, and he took her little hand. "You are so beautiful and adorable. I'm going to have to stay on your toes," he said with a small smirk, and he looked over at Noah. "You better not be a trouble maker," he said.

Dayton sped; he knew if he weren't careful, he would have a speeding ticket. At this point, he could careless if he got a ticket or not. He came to a screeching halt at the hospital, and to his surprised, Tyson had followed along behind him. He didn't question it. Instead, he pulled Aimée out of the car and took off on a run to the hospital. "Get her a room...now!" Lindi smiled and shook her head, suppressing a laugh. "We have a few years before we have to worry about that," she said jokingly. Then again, time moved fast. It felt just like yesterday that the war ended.

Once he got to the hospital, doctors rushed to get Aimée. They quickly rushed her to a room, giving no room for Dayton or anyone else to follow them. A few minutes after Aimée was taken away, Mackenzie rushed through the doors of the hospital. She quickly ran over to Dayton, Tyson, and Willow. "What's going on guys? I came as soon as you called," she said, looking over at Tyson. Dimitri sighed, and he looked over at Lindi. "I have a feeling these two will be trouble makers," he said. Noah made a loud yelling noise before splashing the water. Dimitri laughed and pointed at his son. "See, even he agrees."

Dayton wanted to argue but grunted when he wasn't given a chance. He would put up a fuss later about that. On impulse, he took out a cigarette and placed it between his lips. He lit it, which made Tyson wrinkle his nose and force Willow to take a step back with him. Dayton noticed the ice pack pressed to her face and sighed. He wanted to apologize to her but now was not the time. Tyson sighed as Mackenzie came running in. "Caroline. It is a long story," he answered. Lindi shook her head and hid a smile. "They may be," she agreed, splashing Noah gently with water. "They are pretty rambunctious already."

Mackenzie bit her lip nervously when she heard Tyson, and she gave him a quick kiss. "I'm so sorry," she said, and she sat down. She picked up Willow, and she set her in her lap, holding the ice pack for her. She wasn't going to ask what happened. That could be explained to her later. Right now she just wanted everything to be okay. "Hey, do you want to play patty cake?" she asked, trying to distract her. Dimitri nodded in agreement, and he sighed. "These are going to be so much work. I hope it pays off," he joked, and he kissed her head. "I love you, Lindi," he said to her.

Tyson just nodded and took a seat beside her. He draped an arm across the back of her chair and called his mom to inform her on what happened. He wouldn't mention Willow until later. It would be better not to worry her too much. Willow opened her mouth to state that patty cake was for babies, but a sharp look from Tyson made her clamp her mouth shut. "Uh, yeah," she agreed even though she didn't want to. Lindi laughed softly and glanced over at her children. No matter what, she would love them so. When he spoke, she lifted her head and smiled up at Dimitri. "I love you too, Dimitri," she whispered, hugging him.

Mackenzie bit her lip when she saw that Willow was about to open her mouth. She would have said something if Tyson hadn't given her that look. "We don't have to. Hey, let's play some tick tack toe," she said, and she took a piece of paper and a pen. She glanced up at Tyson and offered him a small smile. She would do anything to keep Willow occupied. "So, how is school going?" she asked. Dimitri smiled down at his wife, and he kissed her head. "Have I ever told you that you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met?" he asked her with a smile.

Tyson hung up and offered a smile in return to Mackenzie. At least she was trying. He knew how Willow was. Willow simply nodded and took the pen to start off by drawing the tic tac toe "board" and putting an X in a spot. When she mentioned school, Willow dipped her gaze to the ground. "Boring," she grumbled, sighing. School wasn't her favorite place to be. "Who was she? The woman?" she asked, looking from Mackenzie to Tyson, and then Dayton, who wasn't listening to the conversation. Lindi grinned lightly up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I may have heard it once or twice, but it is always nice to hear," she said with a teasing smile. "You make me the luckiest woman in the world, Mr. Sherwood."

Mackenzie too the pen from her when she finished, and she placed an o on one of the free spaces, not really paying attention. She honestly just planned on letting her win, but she wasn't going to say anything. When she asked who the woman was, she glanced away and then looked at Tyson. She paused a moment before she looked back at Willow. "She's a very bad woman. We need to just leave it at that," she told her. Dimitri smiled, and he kissed her head. "Good. You make me the luckiest man in the world," he said, and he took her hand before he went back to his kids. "If I do anything as president, I want to make sure that my children will never have to go through what we did. My father wanted that for us, but I think the world needed another generation to realize the wrongs that we were fighting against," he said.

Willow scrunched her brows up in confusion as she placed another X onto the page. "But why did she shoot-" she began, but Tyson cut her off. "Just drop it, Willow," Tyson muttered. Willow flinched. Tyson rarely got stern with her, so it was rather a shock. She pressed her lips into a thin line and turned away from him. "When can we see Aimee?" she asked impatiently. She didn't quite understand what all went down, but she did know she didn't like the woman. Lindi walked along beside him and sat by the pool's edge. "I am sure they will have the best possible life that they can have," she agreed with a half smile. She knew Dimitri would do all he could to make sure their kids grew up happy, and that was all she could ask for.

Mackenzie bit her lip, and she glanced at the ground when Tyson snapped at her. Sure, it kept her mouth shut, but he didn't need to be so harsh. "Hey, how about we go and I can get you some ice cream. Maybe after we get back we can go see Aimée," she said, and she picked Willow up. Hopefully she could stall some time for Tyson and Dayton. Dimitri smiled down at her, and he hugged her. "I love you so much Lindi. I wish I didn't have so much work, but at least I'm able to save the future of out kids," he said. He thought back to just a few days ago when he had to head out to work and more than likely work overtime like he had the past days before. Noah held on to his sleeve and was crying. He knew then that he spent too much time at work.

Willow was still pouting about Tyson's words when Mackenzie made the suggestion. Now ice cream sounded good. She grinned slightly. "Yeah!" she agreed. She glanced at Tyson; when he didn't say she couldn't go, she nodded once more. "Let's go," she agreed. Aimee was momentarily forgotten. Sorry, Aimee...ice cream won this round. Lindi glanced away as he mentioned his work. She wished he was around more often. The kids wouldn't be young forever, and she missed him too. "I know," she whispered finally, taking Peyton into her arms. "I just wish you could be around more..."

Mackenzie gave Willow a fake smile. She kissed Tyson quickly before hugging him. "We will be back soon call me if you need me," she whispered to him before she got up, picking up Willow and carrying her to her car. She then after to dive off once they were both in the car. A few moments later, a doctor came in with a clipboard. "Aimée Reed?" he asked, looking around for any family member or friend. Dimitri sighed, and he closed his eyes. "I know, but it will all be worth it in the end," he said. He glanced over at his phone when he saw it ring. He picked it up and sighed when he saw that it was of course someone at work. He answered it after a moment of hesitation. "What do you want? It's my time off and I'm with my family," he said. "President Sherwood, I'm afraid that your free time will become less than it is." Dimitri couldn't help but clench his fist. "No. My time at home is already limited, and with that limited time, I use most of it for work. I refuse to be away form home more than I already am. My children need me," he said, and he hung up the phone. He was fed up with work.

Tyson nodded and waved a goodbye. He gave Willow a worried look but moved his attention to the doctor once he came out. He was about to stand but Dayton already ran up. "Where is she? Is she okay?" Dayton spouted off. He was clenching and unclenching his fists. He hated his mother so much. So, so much. Lindi averted her gaze as he spoke on the phone. When he hung up, she bit her lip and moved over to him. "Dimitri...what was that about?" she asked worriedly. Why would there need to be more time taken away from them? They took enough already, and Dimitri was always working. Although it was part of his job, she missed him, and their kids needed their father.

The doctor looked up at him and glanced down at hi clipboard for a moment. "She is stable for now. We have the bullet out, but she lost a lot of blood. She's still not awake. Visitors are now limited to immediate family. Where are her parents?" he asked him. Dimitri ran a hand through his hand, and he closes his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. "They want me to work even more. Lindi, I don't want to. It's bad enough already. I can't lose more time with my kids," he said, and he glanced over at Noah and Peyton. It hurt to think that they might grow up with their father gone half the time. He glanced over at his phone when it began to ring again, but he didn't even bother to reach for it.

Dayton narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Her immediate family?" He grabbed him by the shirt collar and fisted his hands. "Listen here, buddy. Her family doesn't give a shit about her. I am her family, and you will take me to her room. Now." He gritted his teeth and tried to keep his breathing even. "Take me to her room," he repeated in a clipped voice. Lindi reached out and took his hand. She gave it a squeeze. "I know it is hard," she whispered. Her gaze dropped down to the ground. "But whatever you need to do, you need to do it." She said it halfheartedly. She didn't want to admit it. They needed him.