Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/724311.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/F
  Fandom:
      A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire_-_George_R._R._Martin
  Relationship:
      Myrcella_Baratheon/Arya_Stark
  Character:
      Myrcella_Baratheon, Arya_Stark
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-03-17 Words: 210
****** The Lion And The Wolf ******
by ghalei
Notes
     This starts during A Game Of Thrones when Robert Baratheon comes to
     Winterfell to ask Eddard Stark to be Hand of the king.
     The ages have been changed due to the nature of the contents,
     Myrcella is 14 not 8 and Arya is 15 not 9.
When Robert Baratheon came to Winterfell, it was a chance for the Stark
children to meet the Baratheon children. Myrcella Baratheon most definitely had
Cersei Lannisters looks, Myrcella was extremely beautiful with long curly
blonde hair down over her shoulders, Arya Stark on the other hand had short,
messy brown hair that came down to just below her ears. At the age of 14
Myrcella gained lots of attention from boys and Robert had been trying to
arrange a marriage with another of the great houses, it was commonly believed
that Robert had came to Winterfell to broker a marriage with Bran of House
Stark since he was just one year younger than Myrcella at 13. As King Robert's
convoy came up the Kingsroad towards Winterfell, Arya Stark was sitting in her
room when a knock came at the door. "It's Septa Mordane, King Robert and his
entourage will be here soon so you need to be ready for when they do."
"Ok" replied Arya. Within minutes Arya was ready and came down to the courtyard
of Winterfell waiting for the king to arrive.
When King Robert Baratheon entered the courtyard in Winterfell, Arya got her
first look at Myrcella, wow, she is so beautiful, lucky Bran thought Arya.
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!
 come
     join me on my little trip to hell, should be an interesting one :)
***** Prologue *****
kneading the dough with his fists Will wondered what he was going to about the
little predicament he was in, as much as he would love to ignore it and pretend
his father hadn't said anything and just play ignorant, he knew he wouldn't be
able to get away with it. He stopped what he was doing and turned around,
leaning against the counter and crossing his arms he looked over at the man he
thought to be his father.

"...How?"
 

The elder man sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. He looked down at the
table for a moment clearly thinking over how he wanted to say what need to be
said next.

"Please, Will, take a seat."

After a moment's pause he takes a seat opposite the other, he can't quite look
at him, not right now anyway, it was too much.
"It was a time when me and your mother were on a break... she was travelling
with her family at the time around Europe. Just a one night stand kind of
thing. She told me about when she came back, at the time I didn't care, just
glad she came back to me. Then we found out she was pregnant and... we decided
we didn't care if it-if you weren't really mine, we'd raise you to be mine
anyway... when she left... I was terrified she took you with her... I don't
care what anyone say's Will. You're my son, no matter what." 
His father was openly crying now... there was more to it. "Why tell me now...
why now? After all this time."
His father took in a shuddering breath. 
"I didn't know if I was ever going to tell you to be honest, I know that sounds
selfish of me but... well this man was a complete stranger, who knows what he
would do... he wasn't there when you were little... and I know he didn't know
about you but..."
His father broke off taking in another breath, Will waited patiently.
"She told me his name of course, a name I had forgotten about until... just
remember son, you're not like him Will, and no matter what anyone says, you're
not obligated to do anything or say anything to anyone."
Well now Will was just confused, this seemed to be a roundabout way of telling
him who his real father was. He chanced a look into his father's eyes, letting
all his emotions wash over him.
"... You will always be my real dad to me." Will told him gently, he could feel
the sad yet happy feeling filter through his father followed by a strong sense
of determination mixed in with trepidation.
"... His name is... Hannibal Lecter."
With that Will's mind shut down. 
***** A meeting of convenience *****
Chapter Notes
     Wow, I'm so glad that you (yes you ;D ) have decided to join me on
     this rollercoaster into the fiery depths of hell, where it's much
     smut very sin. However that wont be till quite a few chapters in, but
     this is merely the start... Poor poor Will... ◕‿◕
See the end of the chapter for more notes
As quickly as his mind seemed to shut off, it started up again just as fast,
the cogs in his head turning as he thought about what that name meant for him
now. Because there was no way his life would remain unchanged.

No not when a serial killer, not just any serial killer but Hannibal-fricking-
Lecter the cannibal, was his real father. Perhaps it's a differentHannibal
Lecter he thought hopefully to himself only to scoff at the mere thought, as
if. It wasn't like it was a common name and knowing his luck of course his real
father would be a murderous cannibal why wouldn't he be!
Nobody knew though, he didn't know (hopefully), and there was no way anyone
would ever find out unless.
Once again he found his eyes locking onto his father, the guilt was almost
unbearable.
"Who else knows?"
The man let out another tired sigh, "Only a few of those who were on his case,
it was for your protection Will, I didn't know if he knew about you. He
doesn't... but..."
 
"But?"
 
"Well, they want to come and speak to you, Agent Crawford and Dr. Bloom...
They'll be here tomorrow morning."
 
"Why... because you told me who my... who he was?"
 
"Agent Crawford said it was more than that, they know of you studying to work
in the FBI. They read that thesis you wrote about that case, they were
impressed with what you picked up from it just looking at the pictures in your
lesson... what was it again?"
 
"The Marlow murders..." Will muttered, getting up and heading back over to the
counter to continue with making dinner. "What time?"
 
He could feel his father eyeing him wearily, "They'll be here at half nine...
Will... is there anything you want to... talk about?"
The question hangs in the air awkwardly, they probably should talk about it,
but Will doesn't want to, just wants to forget, and he knows his father does
too, that's why he mentioned about that's why he mentioned about the thesis he
had written just before he had finished college. At the time it was meant to be
a little assessment to add to his portfolio in preparation for the Uni's he
applied for, but his teachers had recommended that he publish. That had proved
beneficial as all the Uni's he applied for accepted him (actually giving him a
choice)  and some even offering him a scholarship.
His father had mentioned it now, thinking that maybe they would be more
interested in what he was aiming to be rather than where he came from. But Will
highly doubted that, they already had profilers and specialists on hand, why
would they ever need the advice of an 18 year old?
 
If he was kneading the dough a little too hard, or chopping the vegetables up
something akin to butchery, his father never said anything, but the concern
never wavered.  
===============================================================================
 
After dinner Will decided to take a walk, he need to be alone for a bit to get
his thoughts together, and whilst he was normally used to the solitude he
didn't really want to be alone completely right now so he decided to bring
Charlie (their golden labrador) with him, and he was only to happy to oblige,
giving a happy bark as he ran off to grab his lead.
 
The evening was warm but much cooler than earlier, the humidity of the day
faded into a cool breeze that Will was more than grateful for. He lit Charlie
run ahead of him a bit, they didn't really have to worry about other people
being all the way out here, they were practically in the middle of nowhere
after all.
His thought didn't stay focused on the weather or his surroundings for long,
the thoughts fleeting, his mind instantly thinking about his conversation with
his father. He couldn't help but feel a little bit... betrayed, he knew of
course it wasn't his dad's fault, heck he even knew it wasn't really his
mother's fault, at least she had told her fiance about it, it wasn't her fault
that she was charmed by the snake.
It was however a bit of an inconvenience for him now however, he was already
treated... different enough as it is, but now this was going to make it worse,
and what about tomorrow? The meeting with Agent Crawford and Dr. Bloom, he
already knew where that conversation was gonna go. Why else bring a doctor?
Will had no doubt that they probably did a bit of snooping into his past,
probably wondering whether or not the apple falls far from the tree. He
wondered what they thought when they saw how many psychiatrists he'd been to
before he had finally put his foot down. 
If there was one thing that was for certain, tomorrow was going to prove to be
very interesting day indeed, and he couldn't help but feel the dread that
slowly creeped up through him, he knew, just knew that everything was going to
change after tomorrow.
===============================================================================
 
Tomorrow came far too quickly for Will.
He had fallen into an uneasy sleep, he had dreamt he was sat at one end of a
dining table, dressed to the nine's and feeling like some kind of porcelain
doll, any wrong move and he would shatter, at the other end sat a man, his face
hidden by shadows, and on the table before him sat a buffet straight out of a
horror film, silver platters upon silver platters of delicacies, eyeballs
pierced with little toothpicks stabbed into the pupils, actual finger bites,
there were intestine sausages surrounded by bones and tulips, in front of where
he sat a heart sat atop of a bed of roses, thorns piercing into the organ, and
in front of the other man there was a brain, white lily heads circled around
it.
Will wanted to scream.
But he couldn't, in fact he couldn't do anything, he couldn't even blink, maybe
he really was a doll. A puppet doll he realised, and the man had his strings.
"Sit up straighter William," The accented voice hissed out, "Be a good boy for
Daddy, and eat all of your dinner, you wont be allowed to leave till it's all
gone."
Will wondered if the horror he felt when his limbs moved without his permission
to pick up the utensils and begin cutting into the heart, showed on his face.
He thought he was going to throw up when an unnatural amount of blood began
pouring out from the heart as he cut the first bringing it up to his face. Just
as he was about to take the first bite he jerked awake.
That was over an hour ago, he had showered and changed his bedding since, he
hadn't had a dream that was that vivid for a long time, he always had trouble
sleeping, and the occasional nightmare, but nothing the intense. 
Perhaps he was more worked up about the news he heard yesterday than he
thought. 
 
It was still quite early so he decided to do a bit of tidying before taking
Charlie out for a couple of minutes, when he came back his father was up and
dressed. He gave Will a soft smile. 
"You ready sport? They'll be here soon."
Will tried to give him a smile back, but he had a feeling it came off as more
of a grimace. "As ready as I'll ever be."
They didn't have to wait long, at exactly half nine the doorbell rang. Will
waited in the lounge whilst his father went to get the door, he hurriedly put
his glasses on just before their first guest entered the room.
The man was intimidating that was for sure, somewhat stout and broad shoulder,
Agent Crawford was definitely not a man to be trifled with. The man held his
hand out to Will to shake, under any other circumstance Will would have
politely declined, not all that happy with skin-to-skin contact, he might as
well just look them all in the eyes and let their souls pour into him.
Definitely something he was very uncomfortable with, but for now he obliged
with the handshake, no need to make these people hate him (if they don't
already that is).
"Hello Will, I'm agent Jack Crawford, and this is Dr. Bloom," He said,
gesturing to a very pretty woman that walked in the room after him, who was
followed in by another woman, though not quite as pretty in Will's opinion,
"And this is Agent Clarice Starling." Will shook hands with Dr. Bloom, and gave
a swift nod back in response to Clarice's nod. Apparently she was the only one
who didn't want to be there, her annoyance was practically rolling of her in
waves, though she tried to hide it, he would alway be able to see write through
it.
With the introduction's out of the way they all took seats, Will ended up
seated next to his father, across from him sat Dr. Bloom or Alana as she
preferred to be called, next to he sat agent Crawford, only agent Starling
chose to remain standing, she gave off the air of being more superior, looking
down at him as if he wasn't worthy to be in her presence, he silently dared her
to try and say something.
Jack let out a sigh, staring intently at Will, Will stared intently back at the
mans tie. 
"I'm sure you know why we're here Will. Your father... your real father," If he
noticed how both Will and Todd Graham flinched he didn't say, "Hannibal Lecter,
was of course arrested a few weeks ago and officially sentenced to Baltimore
state hospital for the criminally insane."
Will nodded, so, his real father was just over an hour away, the thought seemed
so surreal to him.
"I just want to start off by reassuring you both, that he will not be getting
out anytime soon and you will not have to worry about him turning up on your
doorstep."
Will exchanged concerned glances with his father. That hadn't actually occurred
to them, as far as they were aware the man didn't know Will existed. Right?
"Umm, sorry to interrupt agent Crawford but he doesn't know about me... does
he?"
The older man exchanged and uneasy glance with the doctor next to him before
looking back to the teenager.
"Unfortunately... he somehow... found out about you, we have a feeling that Dr.
Chilton, head of the facility, must of found out and questioned him about it.
Naturally since then the man has 'clammed' up as it were..."
Jack trailed off once more, Will narrowed his eyes, here comes the however.
"However, we believe he has some information about another serial killer that
has been attacking young girls your age across Minnesota. Agent Starling has
been trying to get it out of him, she was... almost successful," She bristles
at that shooting Will a glare as if to say 'its-all-your-fault' Will would of
perhaps protested if it weren't for the fact what Jack says next pretty much
says she's right, "he now refuses to talk to her, to anyone really about it.
Demanding instead that we bring his son to him... along with DNA test. We
already have the test..." 
Will's eyes widen when he realises what the FBI agent wants him to do.
"You've got to be kidding me." 
 
Chapter End Notes
     I probably should avoid writing and posting chapter when it's like
     gone past 2 am, but I ended up deleting it (and didn't have a backup)
     I should say now I'm sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, this
     story isn't beta'd because I'm to impatient for that. But I do try
     and keep an eye out for any mistakes, plus I live in England so know
     very little about the places and life styles ect in America, if
     anyone notices anything wrong then please feel free to point it out
     and I will correct it as soon as I can, anyway, I hope you enjoyed
     this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one ;)
***** A meeting of convenience pt2 *****
Chapter Notes
     Another chapter for you all, I hope it is satisfactory. Just to add,
     Will is like 5'6 at the moment, he'll get taller as he gets older
     (obviously) he'll be 5'11 when he turns like 23, plenty of time for
     him to grow in-between
See the end of the chapter for more notes
It turned out they hadn't been kidding, four hours later and Will found himself
in the back seat of an SUV, Alana sat beside him, telling him softly that he
didn't have to do this, that they would all understand and that he shouldn't
feel at all obligated or responsible to stay. He had a feeling that Jack would
say differently. Miss. Starling on the other hand-
"He shouldn't be getting involved with this, just leave it to me, I'll have
Lecter talking in no time."
"We've been over this," Jack growled out for what must of been the thousandth
time, "Lecter won't say anything to anyone till he sees Will. You will be
accompanying him and keeping an eye on things, and reporting back to me when he
say's anything."
"Come on Jack this is ridiculous, why are we allowing a child to get involved
in this?"
Will bristled at the insult, choosing at that moment to ignore them to the best
of his abilities, didn't they know it was incredibly rude to talk about someone
as if they weren't even there. It didn't help him that the emotions rolling of
the two collided together and hit him like a tidal wave against his mind.
Sensing his discomfort Alana reached across, resting a hand against his arm and
rubbing circles softly, the friction it caused on his arm from the material
gave him goosebumps. He couldn't help but notice how pretty she was, he also
couldn't help but feel the pity she felt, he didn't like being pitied. He knew
what she thought though. That he was broken, and perhaps he was. 
He certainly felt broken at times. 
 
It seemed like in no time at all that they finally reached their destination,
in reality it had taken just over an hour, but to Will it seemed only mere
seconds had ticked by. 
Getting out of the car he walked up to the steps, looking up he couldn't help
but feel, anxious, nervous, nauseous, and not all of that was because of what-
or rather who waited for him side, but also the little niggling fear that
rested at the back of his mind, where the dark voices in his head taunted him.
Who's to say that once you're inside, that you'll get to leave?
 
He startled slightly when an arm wrapped around his shoulder, he looked next
time him, not quite meeting Alana's soft gaze.
 
"It isn't too late you know." She told him gently, he glanced up slightly to
look her in the eyes, more than thankful for the glasses he had on providing a
slight barrier between their eyes. He still looked away quickly.
 
"I'm fine, it's just that... I hate places like this."
 
"Why?"
 
"I feel like once I'm in they won't let me out."
She gave him a sympathetic look but before she could console him it was Jack
that spoke up; walking ahead of them up the steps.
 
"Don't worry we won't leave you behind."
 
"This time." He couldn't help mumble the words a little bitterly to himself, of
course only Alana heard him.
 
She gave his shoulder a light squeeze before letting go and making their way
inside.
===============================================================================
 
Murky grey eyes appraised the work he had laid out before him, it
was perfect. This was his design.
The blonde curls of the dove were now matted with blood, the only little flaw
to his art, but that was ok, flaws are what make things perfect after all. The
dove was a symbol, and he had placed her reaching for the sky, as if to fly
away. The white dress she wore fluttered in the wind, giving the illusions of
wings. His dove was free now, and it was only fitting to show her as such. 
He loved her, and it showed.
Oh how painfully it showed.
===============================================================================
 
Will had schooled his features into a perfectly blank slate. It would be almost
scary how the mask fell easily into place, but he had been working on it since
the first time he had seen a psychiatrist when he was eleven. 
And there just no way he was going to let Dr. Chilton psychoanalyze him.
Said man was smiling down at him fondly, mockingly. He didn't need his empathy
to know that the man was scheming, probably thinking of the ways he'd be able
to manipulate his top patient. Will was grateful that the man knew next to
nothing about him. Apparently they wanted to keep what they knew about him
unknown to the doctor, after having proved himself unreliable the moment
Hannibal found out about Will's existence. Not that he needed to know thats
what they thought.
It was decided that agent Starling would go with him to meet him. Jack and
Alana will remain behind in the office though they would be there instantly if
he needed them. Jack also suggested that Will should perhaps head back to
Alana's office and chat.
He would have declined if he knew he had a choice on the matter.
He focused once more on Dr. Chilton as the man went on about the rules.
 "Stay begin the white line, and do not approach no matter what. You might be
his son but we still have no way of knowing how he will act. We have camera's
monitoring him constantly, not to mention guards stationed around so you'll be
perfectly safe as long as you follow the rules, and of course agent Starling
will be near by if you need quick assistance."
Both Will and Clarice gave him a look at that. "I thought agent Starling will
be pretty much by my side the entire time." He might not be entirely fond of
the woman but he still didn't want to face the man on his own, father or not.
"I will be." She quickly reassured, she might not like the fact they were
getting the kid involved but she wasn't just gonna leave him defenseless in
Hannibal's reach.
Dr. Chilton merely smirked, shrugging he began walking over to the door, "Shall
we go?"
Will swallowed and nodded his head staring determinedly ahead.
They walked down through the hall ways, Dr. Chilton in the lead whilst Will
stayed at the back, trying to remain as invisible as possible. He didn't
realise how nerve wracking the would really be.
Finally they approached a hall filled with glass cells, it seems the inmates
here had little to no privacy. the guards stationed by the cell nodded at the
doctor before moving away.
"Here you go Dr Lecter, the DNA results you requested." He said slipping the
papers into a slot for the other man to take. Will took the time whilst the man
was distracted to study him. He almost sighed in relief to find they looked
nothing alike, no one would think to look at him that he was the son of a
murdering cannibal.
The man seemed to be the complete opposite of Will, where he was just a bit to
scrawny with messy dark hair and bright blue eyes, the man stood tall at 6' his
short hair was cropped neatly and despite the hospital uniform that the
patients had to wear Will could see the man was quite muscular, though that
shouldn't really be all that surprising considering what he did as a
hobby.  Brown eyes that looked almost maroon looked up from the papers with a
curt smile on his face.
"Everything seems to be in order." he told the doctor, he accented voice echoed
slightly from the walls of the cell despite not speaking loudly.
And finally the man turned his gaze onto Will. Will felt his eyes widen
briefly, like a deer caught in the headlights, he couldn't help but shake the
feeling that he was prey. The older man studied him for what seemed like an
entirety, eyes practically devouring him. The man looked at his face, trying to
catch his eyes but Will's never strayed from the man's chin. 
"Hello William, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Chapter End Notes
     So they finally meet, and what's up with that weird guy with the
     weird grey eyes... what a weirdo right.
***** A meeting of convenience pt3 *****
Chapter Summary
     "I don't find you that interesting." The words left his mouth before
     he could stop them. Will didn't have a death wish but sometimes he
     couldn't help the words that would tumbling from his mouth, lacking a
     filter in so many ways.
     To his relief and disappointment the man didn't get angry at the
     comment, only determined. "You Will."
Chapter Notes
     And so we continue on our journey spiraling down further and further
     into the sweet abyss below.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
"Hello William, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
 
Will said nothing as the man raked his eyes up and down him once more, a dark
smirk crossing his face.
 
"You take after your mother I see.. how is she by the way?"
 
Will knew the man didn't really care about her, Will could feel the anger that
the elder felt for the woman, and who could blame, if he thought she was
keeping his son from him.
Will supposes that would be any father's reaction. But there was something
darker about it, it only just occurred to Will that maybe if his mother was
still around, this man might just try and kill her.
 
Perhaps she was right to leave.
 
"I wouldn't know she left when I was little."
 
The man frowned at that, "Who do you live with?
 
"My father, my  real  father."
 
Hannibal grinned, showing of somewhat sharp teeth, he walked right up to the
glass, looking down at Will. His grin seemed to become more sinister by the
second.
 
" Oh really.  Perhaps the man deserves a reward after having to deal with you."
 
Will felt himself flush with anger. Before he could respond Clarice beat him to
it.
 
“Rude Dr. Lecter.”
 
This seemed to snap something inside of him, taking a step back he ran his
hands over his uniform, straightening out invisible creases.
 
“You’re quite right Miss Starling, where are my manners at theses days. Do
forgive me William, I find that being  imprisoned  here has made me a little
standoffish .”
 
He smiled sweetly down at Will who only glared back.
Hannibal’s gaze shifted from his  son  to his once  favourite  agent.
 
“Ahh Clarice, be dear and wait over there, I wish to speak to  my son  alone,
if you please.”
 
Hannibal barely contained the malicious smirk at the look of shock on the
woman's face. Surely she would of realised that once he had his son she would
become obsolete to him. Perhaps that's why she was there now, to prove him
wrong. She was failing.
Will felt a flare of panic at the thought of the woman leaving him to this man,
now he understood why Dr. Chilton said what he said, smirking knowingly all the
way to the cell, laughing silent to a joke only he knew.
Clarice splutter for awhile before glaring heatedly at the older man.
"Unlikely! I'm not leaving him alone with you!"
Will felt himself relax slightly, he was thankful that Clarice was standing her
ground. He felt himself tense back up again however when his father gave him
another look over before his gaze went back to the agent, a pleasant smile
graced his lips, it didn't match the malicious cunning look in his eyes.
 
"But if you don't let me spend some quality time with myson, who will tell you
how to find this new killer?" He asked innocently. 
Clarice felt her body stiffen. She looked over at the boy, she couldn't just
leave him... but they had no idea how to find this new serial killer, he was
too clean, it's like he attacked on a whim but made sure to clean up after
himself thoroughly, and he hadn't slipped up in the last three years since they
started hunting for him so she doubted he would slip anytime soon. 
Will looked back, briefly making eye contact then looking instantly away. She
was desperate he realised, they all were, and if he could help then he would.
Even if that did mean having to spend time alone with this man.
"It's fine, I'll be ok on my own."
She looked at him with concern, "You sure?"
He nodded his head and after a few seconds of contemplative silence she finally
nodded back and began, hesitantly, to make her way down the hall, stopping so
that she was far enough away that she wouldn't be able to hear them but not far
enough that if anything should happen she wouldn't be able to rush  back to
him.
Finally they were alone. Father and son together at last.
 
The man gave him another sharp grin and  Will couldn't help the small sound of
distress that seemed to escape from his lips unwillingly at the sight. He felt
to much like prey, to vulnerable and small, too weak. 
Hannibal felt his insides quiver at the soft noise that escaped the boy. He
wondered what other little noises the boy could make.
"Now that I have you alone William we can talk, get know each other."
Hannibal's grinned widened as he thought about running his scalpel across the
pale body in front of him. He could see it in his head, the blood pouring from
the pale flesh, the blood clinging to the reflective surface of the metal blade
as it continued its journey, trailing down the willing flesh, he could hear the
soft moan his boy would make as he arched up to the blade, craving more. 
He could hear the echoes of the fantasy in his mind, his son begging him for
more, more pleasure or more pain he didn't know yet, but he would gladly give
him both, and one day this wouldn't just be a fantasy.
 
The boy was scowling at him, as if he knew what he was thinking, or perhaps he
was just getting offended over being reminded that once again he was Hannibal's
son.
Will felt disgust churn in his stomach, he hated the constant reminder that he
was related to this monster.
"Yeah well I don't want to talk to you!" As an afterthought, not even thinking
through it really he added, "And it's Will, not William."
The man chuckled amusedly at him. "Why not Will? I know I want to talk to
you." 
Will shuddered at how that sounded, he might have said 'talk' but Will had a
feeling he wanted to do more than just that, maybe gut him open like one of his
victims.
If only he knew.
"I don't find you that interesting." The words left his mouth before he could
stop them. Will didn't have a death wish but sometimes he couldn't help the
words that would tumbling from his mouth, lacking a filter in so many ways.
 
To his relief and disappointment the man didn't get angry at the comment,
only determined. "You Will."
 
Cocking his head to the side Hannibal once again took all of Will in, savouring
his sight to memory, then locking him away in his mind palace. His brows
furrowed in dissatisfaction and his grin fell from his face. E yeing up the
clothes the boy weared, they had certainly seen better days, and that thought
alone made him aware that boy hadn't just purposely put on the tattered
clothing just for the occasion, but perhaps they were one of fewing clothing
choices he had that were in good condition. 
He knew when he'd get out that he'll spoil the boy with clothing and
accessories of the highest quality, and why shouldn't he, this was his son
after all it was his right as a father to spoil him. Whether he wanted it or
not.
"I take it you haven't had much growing up?" Hannibal questioned, not expanding
on exactly what, the boy had so obviously gone without a lot of things he
didn't need to.
"Enough to get by." Will said, glaring at the man, "Petty isn't it. Judging me
and my upbringing based on my clothing."
Hannibal chuckled, "Perhaps, though I only say it out of concern. Have to make
sure my son is being well cared for and not neglected ."
Wincing Will felt his glare intensify, if the floor could cower away from such
a heated look it surely would do so now, instead it remained still and firm as
concrete would.
He knew what Hannibal was hinting at, he might of been nearing adulthood and
this man might be a serial killer but if he so much as uttered the word to
anyone else social services would be all over Will and his other father like a
rash. Will became very aware of the power the other man held over him. His
wealth meaning he could get any lawyer he wanted to have Will removed from his
home, and no one would do anything about it because it wasn't like they could
afford to. Enough to get by may have been good enough to him, but to social
service that wouldn't be good enough. They'd only have to weigh him and it
would all be over.
"I wouldn't worry about  me Dr. Lecter," The title rolled off his tongue
mockingly, "I'm perfectly safe and well cared for where I am, even more so
without you."
The man's eyes darkened, and before Will could even have time to regret what he
said or how he said, a hand was tightly wrapped around his throat, barely aware
of his body hitting the glass barrier and the sound of Clarice running down to
them. 
Will hadn't realised that he was shuffling closer to the barrier not until it
was too late, and now the man had reached out through of slots and had him by
the neck.
Gasping Will began trying to pry the man's hand from his throat, however the
man just tightened his grip even more. 
It was startlingly scary just how stronger than him this man was. Will kept one
hand on top of the man wrist, his nails digging into the skin beneath, whilst
his other hand was planted onto the barrier as if to help ground him.
Blue eyes stared frightfully into maroon.
"Now William that is no way to talk to your father, you need to learn some
respect," At this Hannibal pulled the boy as close to barrier as possible,
grinning at the moan of pain Will had made when his head collided with the
barrier. "And I'll be more than happy to teach you."
"Hannibal! Let him go, now!"
He gave one last tight squeeze to the boys slender neck before letting go,
watching with detached interest as the boy tumbled to the floor coughing and
trying to crawl away from him. 
He could feel jealousy flare through him when Clarice reached down and gently
helped Will to stand, he squashed that feeling down however and gave her a
pleasant smile.
"He works in construction."
Clarice frowned in confusion, "What?"
"The killer, the Minnesota Shrike, he works doing construction jobs, although I
imagine after his last one he's retired from it now."
Clarice nodded, it wasn't the information they had wanted however, but she
wasn't going to complain as long as they got to capture and stop at least one
serial killer. She had a feeling she knew why the man hadn't given her any
information on the other killer they were hunting, her suspicions all but
confirmed when he gave Will another smile.
"Remember to take care of yourself Will, and hopefully we can see each other
again soon."
"I wouldn't count on it!" The angry words didn't have quite the impact he
wanted as the man laughed.
"We'll see."
 
Chapter End Notes
     Hannibal what is wrong with you, that's your son! Ahh well Will, what
     you gonna do?
     Anyway thank you to everyone who's commented on this story and left
     kudo, mean's a lot to me :)
***** Observations. *****
Chapter Summary
     And then nothing happened. No connections to him was made and
     everything was fine.
      
     Until the phone rang.
Chapter Notes
     I'm sure you guys have noticed that I've changed the summary, I
     really hated how the other one sounded but couldn't think of a better
     one at the time. I feel the new one is a little bit better though :)
     Massive thanks to my friend Sophia for beta reading this story.
     Anyway on with the story.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Garret-Jacob Hobbs was a family man.

He had a beautiful wife and daughter.
 
No one would know, no one would find out, he was almost certain of it.Almost.

There was always a risk when it came to doing what he did, it was just one of
those things that couldn't be helped. But he did always make sure that
everything would go smoothly. That way no one would get hurt.

The girls didn't deserve that. They deserved more that what this world had to
offer them, she deserved more that what life had to offer.
But he wouldn't touch her, he couldn't, not yet.

After a while he started to feel immune as if nothing could ever stop him.
Really he should've known such a feeling wouldn't last.

It was the girl that made him realise that he was not as impervious as he would
have liked. He couldn't honour her, she deserved more, but he couldn't deliver.
So he fixed her and put her back. Maybe there was a chance he was still safe;
everything was clean, nothing amiss. He tucked her back into bed. It was a risk
he knew but it was the only thing he could do for her, to put her back.


And then nothing happened. No connections to him was made and everything was
fine.

Until the phone rang.
===============================================================================
 
Hannibal sat at his desk, thinking over the events of the previous day; the
meeting with his son had gone well, considering. Could have been better, would
have been better if the glass hadn’t been in his way.

Although he bitterly craved to get out of this prison, he had to remain patient
and wait. After all, timing was key and things were only just getting started.

Thinking back on the look on Clarice's face, he smirked. Both when he had
pretty much told her that he didn't find her interesting anymore and when he
had told her the information about the Minnesota Shrike.

He was aware that Clarice hadn't mentioned to Jack about the other serial
killer he knew about; Jack had only assumed he knew about the Shrike.

Clarice, however, was highly aware about the information he had on this other
killer. In fact, it had been one of the first things he told her about - after
she admitted she had a sister. A certain sister that was murdered by this
particular killer.

So, she had asked Hannibal to give her information onhim instead.

He was going to; after all she did bring his son to him. However, he saw the
look on her face those two times. She wanted to keep Will far away from him. In
all honesty he couldn't blame her but seeing as Will was his son she didn't
have a right to decide whether or not he was allowed to see the boy.

So he didn't tell her, only giving her a little bit of information to feed back
to Jack, a taster of the main course to come if you will.

If she wanted more she'll have to come back to him bringing his son along too.

He knew she would think about it, be up all night tossing and turning before
deciding. He knew what she would do, it was her only option after all.

Hannibal couldn't help the smile that took over his face at the thought of his
innocent, feisty boy. Soon Hannibal will see him again, and then it would only
be a matter of time before his true plans were put into effect. Soon.
But first, he had a phone call to make.
===============================================================================
 
Clarice sighed for what must have been the millionth time as she drove to work.
She had been up all night mulling over the events that had transpired the day
before; lingering on the boy and what his part in all this would be.

She hated to do this, especially when she saw how Hannibal looked at Will, it
just wasn't right. But she had no choice.

There was another killer out there, and she had to stop him, for Bethany.

And if that meant allowing Hannibal to see Will again, then well... It wasn't
as if she would allow anything happen to the boy - she would ensure Hannibal
didn't lay a single finger on him! Well, at least this time anyway.

Finally arriving at work, she got out of the car and began thinking over what
she was going to say to Jack; she wasn't overtly concerned about him letting
the boy get involved but more worried about how he would react to the
information of the other serial killer that she had information on. He would
probably try and convince her to let someone else take this particular case due
to her emotional involvement.

She gritted her teeth at the thought. If it came to it, she would fight him on
it; there was no way she was not going to get involved. This bastard killed her
sister, three years hadn't lessened the pain she felt. The day they discovered
her sister’s broken body. Posed in a field of roses, white roses painted red
with her blood.

No. She wouldn't let Jack talk her out of it. Besides she still had her
leverage - or rather, Jack still thought she had leverage.

That was another problem with getting Will involved. She lost the leverage she
had with Hannibal, the boy now becoming his main focus, though thankfully the
boy had started to cling to her yesterday. She knew Hannibal saw this, and
surely he knew that there was no way Will would go anywhere near him without
her.

She realised that this was quite a risky thing to rely on, Hannibal or Will
could ask for someone else to chaperone them. Like Alana Bloom for instance.

Not only did Hannibal have history with her, but now she had taken Will under
her wing, taking the role of his therapist.

It seemed that she would just have to hope beyond hope that Hannibal wouldn’t
say anything on the matter. After all, she did not have a choice on the matter.
It was her only option.
===============================================================================
Alana sat in her chair, watching Will pace around the office, examining the
titles of her books with curiosity.
She had of course seen the notes from all of his previous doctors, some were
quite interesting indeed. Others lacked imagination. 
Reading through his records, the most interesting aspect about Will was how he
had been consistently diagnosed with an empathy disorder; she herself had
noticed how he reacts when emotions are running high and intense. Although she
had yet to talk to him about how he felt and how he experienced the world and
those around him to confirm whether or not he really did have an empathy
disorder. 
From what she had seen in the notes, not to mention the amount of doctors Will
had actually seen, he never stuck around long enough for them to properly
engage with. Though she really couldn't blame Will for that. 
This sort of disorder was rare, especially for someone Will's age. 
Normally those who suffer are high-functioning adults on the autism spectrum,
it was found they had an increased prevalence of alexithymia, a personality
construct characterized by the inability to recognize and articulate emotional
arousal in oneself or others. It was most intriguing - it was as if heightened
emotions had a physical effect on the boy, like a pressure built up inside him
that was created by an absorption of excess emotion.
"So Will, shall we begin?"
 
Chapter End Notes
     I'm sorry if this seems more filler than thriller as it were, I
     promise next chapter will be more interesting with the conversation
     between Will and Alana as well as Will and Hannibal, so thats
     something to look forward too! Once again thank you all so much for
     those reading to take the time out to leave a comment and kudo's!! :D
***** Therapy session Dr.Bloom pt1 *****
Chapter Notes
     How's it going my darling's? It's been a while I know, but I've got
     some time to write out this chapter. Just want to say that Will and
     Alana's meeting takes place before Hannibal makes that little phone
     call, ok?
     P.S. This chapter isn't beta'd my apologies for my mistakes.
"So Will, shall we begin?"
 
Will paused with what he was doing. His hand that was hovering over one of the
books fell to his side. Turning around he leaned back against the counter, his
arms crossing his chest. Alana watched him curiously, taking note of the
defensive stance he put himself in. It came to no surprise to her that he's
previous experiences left him tense and anxious, even if he was more relaxed
around her.
"Where did you want to start?" He asked in a tight voice, he may have liked
Alana but he knew better than to assume she would see him as anything more than
a peculiar specimen under a microscope.
 
Alana considered asking about the meeting with Hannibal but decided against it.
No doubt the confrontation between father and son had been on Will's mind since
the incident three days ago, she wondered how he processed it, how he relieved
it-was it through his own eyes or was it through Hannibal's. She knew very
little with how Will's mind worked, the notes only questioning and offering
theories but nothing factual or solid was offered, it was all mere speculation.
No, if she wanted answers she would have to start at the beginning.  
"How about the start?" She offered with a small smile gesturing for Will to
take a seat opposite her.
He hesitated for a moment before making his way over and perching on the edge
of his seat looking ready to bolt at any second.
She searched his face as she began to speak, very aware that Will wouldn't meet
her gaze, looking anywhere but at her eyes.
"Do you remember how old you were when you began to empathise with others?"
"I dunno, I've been able to as long as I could remember."
"You first saw a doctor when you were fourteen, tell me, why did you wait that
long to go to the doctors? What changed for you Will? Surely you and your
father would have noticed you respond to certain situations differently, react
differently."
Will looked hesitant before he let out a sigh and began explaining. "Everything
was fine at first, or at least I thought it was." Once more he stood and began
to pace the office.
"It was just me and my dad, we rarely had visitors and only time we were around
people was when we went shopping or to the market to sell the fish we caught. I
avoided people as much as I could back then I suppose, I just found them noisy,
it wasn't till I started school that I realised just how loud people really
were. The more time spent around them the more I... became them. I could see
them for who they were, I could hear their intentions," Will let out a self-
depreciative chuckle, "Heck I could practically taste them, their essence.
Their soul."
"Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is
experiencing from within the other person's frame of mind, it's the capacity to
place oneself in another's position, in their shoes so to speak. Tell me Will,
how does it make you feel? When you become them so much, you feel as if you can
take a hold of the soul?"
"... Terrified."
"How so?" Alana leant forward in her seat slightly, eyeing the figure wandering
around her office curiously.
"I... It-I became... lost. I would lose myself in them, as if I was taking a
part of them and it became apart of me. It terrifies me, it makes me afraid
that I will lose myself to someone else, lost in them entirely I become them...
and then I'll be gone. I know that doesn't make sense to you but it does to me,
and that terrifies me. So I avoid people, avoid feeling them getting lost in
them."
Alana listens and nods along. "It makes sense Will, you're building barriers to
protect yourself. I've read through some of your doctors previous notes, tell
me do you still regularly suffer from panic and anxiety attacks?"
(A/N: I just want to point out that whilst both can have similar triggers both
panic and anxiety attacks are experienced differently and therefore are not the
same.)
At Will's nod she continues with caution, "Will, I can recommend some
medication, it may help you a little with panic attacks you have and help
minimise your anxiety and depression, however I cannot say for certain what
effect it will have on you empathy disorder if any at all, however I can teach
you some exercise that will help ground you as well as being able
to differentiate your emotions to others. Would you be interested in this?"
Will bit his lip in thought, he had turned down the offer of drugs from his
previous doctors, but perhaps he could trust Alana's judgement and accept her
help.
Alana watched him, could see the cogs turning in his brain as he thought over
his choices, when he gave a small nod she couldn't help but smile at him.
Will had been through so much already, not to mention the obstacles that have
yet to come he needed all the help and support he could get, and she was more
than happy to help the poor boy. If only to state her professional curiosity.
"Right, shall we begin those exercises?"
===============================================================================
 
After his session with Dr. Bloom Will found himself going over a few of the
exercises in his head, he had felt some had actually relaxed him when he
practiced them in the office, however seeing as it was only him and Dr. Bloom
he was more curious to see how he would get on trying them when he was
surrounded by people, hopefully the medication he was given would help. He was
waiting in line at the pharmacist to hand his prescription, there was only him
and another elderly couple waiting so he found it safe for his thought to drift
over what had gone on over the last three days.
He could still feel phantom fingers around his throat. If it wasn't obvious
before it certainly was now, Hannibal Lecter was a disturbed individual. In the
privacy of his home he had let himself re-play what transpired that day, from
both perspectives, and he was quite disgusted what he picked up, small little
things that he missed the first time around, and then they seemed so obvious
when it was in his point of view. Hannibal Lecter was a disturbed man indeed,
who would ever have thoughts like towards their son? The violence and need to
cause pain he could understand, the longing to be able to own and control him
again he could understand, Lecter was a psychopath after all... but the lust.
Will shuddered in disgust as he tried to shake the thoughts from his head,
luckily at that moment his name was called. After retrieving his medication he
began to make his way home, he decided to put his thoughts about the last few
days to the back of his mind, thinking instead about the start of term for Uni,
it will be his first day in just two weeks, he figured he had better prepare
and get everything ready, besides he needed the distraction. 
Unfortunately for him a lot can happen within two weeks.
 
Which is why in one weeks time Will found himself wide eyed and shaking covered
in blood hoovering over a girl and trying to keep enough pressure on her neck
wound trying to prolong her life as it seeps out beneath his finger tips.
***** A change in perception *****
Chapter Notes
     Sorry for the delay, been a bit busy with work and doing my English
     exams. Now without further ado we descend further into hell :)
     Warnings for graphic violence and spoilers from the show in this
     chapter!!
     Apologies for any spelling or grammar mistakes in this chapter.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
 
If Will had known what he knew now three days ago... well things may have
turned out completely different.
 
Two days after his therapy session Jack had came out to see him, filled with
fake concern, a mask Will was able to see through with ease. His real
intentions became clear however soon enough when he asked-i.e. demanded-him to
go and see Hannibal again, which Will politely-i.e. with a bratty attitude-
declined. This caused quite a row that even Will's father got involved in.
Eventually the guilt trip Jack laid out won, though not enough for Will to go
back and see Hannibal (he just wasn't ready for that yet) but he could offer
other services. This had Jack curious. 
Will then went on to explain his empathetic abilities and how he could think
like others, which is how did so well on that paper just by reading information
the police already had. Jack realising that Will could make leaps like no
other, not even Starling, wasted no time in getting him special access to the
case so Will would have some 'learning experience' that would benefit him for
when he starts Uni.
Will let out a snort of disgust, he would never admit it out loud, but he had
to agree with agent Starling on this, Jack getting a kid involved on this case
was just plain ridiculous. Apparently the woman had been looking into the
construction site theory that Hannibal had offered and found a construction
site located not too far from the Strikes latest victim. Thats when things
seemed to become complicated for him.
Will, once again accompanied by a rather pissed of agent Starling went to the
construction site and began going through what seemed like millions upon
millions of files and paperwork. The lady who worked as receptionist proved no
help as she babbled on the phone as they both dug through the paperwork,
putting everything into piles. 
After what seemed like hours Will was just about to admit defeat before he came
across one page that seemed to stand out to him. It was a resignation letter. 
"Garret Jacob Hobbs." Will muttered, Starling looked up at him, pausing with
the sorting she was doing. 
Will looked over at her, glanced one more time at the letter before handing it
over. 
After reading through it she looked at him with raised eyebrows and said in a
patronising tone, "It's a resignation letter."
"I know what it is!" he snapped, snatching the paper back, "Don't you see
what's wrong with it!?"
"No."
"Exactly."
Getting up from where his position on the floor he walked over to the
receptionist who looked at him as if he had two heads.
"Tell me about Garret Jacob Hobbs."
The woman shrugged, "I don't know, its not like I get pally with any of them I
hardly see them."
"This is his resignation letter, do you have any documents on him?" 
Will let out an annoyed sigh when she shrugged her shoulders again. 
"You do realise we're investigating a murder here right? This man could of
potentially killed eight young girls in this area."
Starling got up and walked over to him, this time her gaze and tone was purely
curious. 
"How do you know it's him?"
"His resignation letter... there's no address."
===============================================================================
 
He knew he should of listened to Starling when she told him to wait in the car;
he was certain it wasn't an act of rebellion that had him following her more
like fate, if you believed in that sort of thing, even though he certainly
didn't. He just knew he need to go, to be there, to follow. 
That's when it went really crazy. 
Garret Jacob Hobbs and his wife came out of the house, and it took them both a
moment to long to realise something wasn't quite right, that blood shouldn't be
spraying out the woman's neck like it was. 
He had no idea what possessed him to do it, maybe it was his adrenalin, or his
impulsive instincts kicking into gear as he snatched the gun from the back of
Starlings pocket and ran ahead, completely oblivious to her startled cry of
"Don't!". But it was too late. Both to stop him, and to save Hobbs wife.
Rushing through the door he headed inside, making his way into the kitchen.
Freezing on the site that greeted him.
Hobbs stood in the middle of the kitchen his arms wrapped around his daughter,
one against her waist, the other holding a knife against her neck. 
He said something, Will couldn't think what, his mind was in a whirlwind at the
moment. Then Hobbs moved. 
Without even thinking about it Will pulled the trigger, his aim deadly and
true, he pulled and pulled till there was no bullets left and hobbs was
collapsed against his kitchen cupboards staring lifelessly ahead. He hesitated
barely a moment before rushing forward to the girl on the floor, his shaking
hands pressing down on the wound on her neck. His blue eyes were wide, a mix of
emotions were rushing through him, not all of them his. 
A movement behind him made him turn to look back at Hobbs, who was now looking
at him, his eyes also wide and shiny yet still very much dead. 
"See." he said, "See." His voice deep and raspy.
He blinked, and Hobbs was once again staring lifelessly ahead, his gaze
transfixed onto nothing in particular. Turning his gaze back to the girl
beneath him, he tried to still his shaking hands to no avail. He could
literally feel her life slipping away beneath his fingertips with every gasp of
pain and twitch her body did.
It seemed like an eternity though in reality it must've only been a few minutes
when Starling came in, gently moving his shaking hands from the girl's neck and
replacing them with her non-shaking ones. Maybe she would have a chance to live
now. Time seemed to blur from there, one second it was just the four of them...
the three of them, in the kitchen the next members of the fbi had surrounded
the place along with some doctors, he watched in a daze as the girl, Abigail,
was loaded up onto a gurney and wheeled out to the ambulance. 
He continued to watch as the ambulance drove away, he idly wondered if she
would live. 
He remained impassive as another doctor approached him, wrapping a blanket
around his still shaking form, he listened with one ear as the doctor explained
that he had gone into shock and that they were going to look over him and clean
up the blood. He hadn't realised he had been covered in it. A mix of Garret
Jacob Hobbs and his daughter, maybe even his wife's was splashed all over him. 
More time passed and things started to come back into focus. He wanted to go
home. He wanted to be with his dad. 
He looked up from the ground when he heard footsteps approaching. 
Jack gave him a once over, looking entirely to satisfied with all things
considering. 
"You did well Graham, Clarice mentioned how you took down Hobbs on your own and
save his daughter... you bought an end to a sadistic serial killer Will, you
should be pleased."
"Pleased." he bit out, will his voice to stop shaking, for there to be a
venomous bite to his words, but he knew it came out all broken and shaky, just
like the scared little boy that he was. He just wanted to go home.
Jack reached out and squeezed his should reassuringly before walking away,
leaving Will to the darkness of his mind. Where he found he wasn't quite so
alone anymore.
===============================================================================
 
That night Will was sent home, his job was done... it was quite the 'learning'
experience indeed. There was one thing playing on his mind though, something he
perhaps should of mentioned to Jack or Starling... Hobbs knew. He knew they
were coming, it why he lashed out at his family. He knew they were on their way
and that was it for him... so the question was. Who told him?
===============================================================================
 
Across the country a man and his dog were on their usual morning walk, everyday
at 5:30am they were out, no matter the weather, the man whistled happily
thinking of the pancakes his wife and children were probably making at this
very moment, the man had no idea that his day, his week, heck maybe even his
life was going to be ruined with one curious bark and horrid smell of decay.
===============================================================================
 
Another few days passed since the Hobbs incident and Will hadn't been able to
sleep a wink unless he crawled into bed with his father who cradled him and
lulled him to sleep like he did when Will was a babe. 
The medication seemed to have no effect on the darkness that now seeped into
his everyday life, awake or asleep. 
He often wonder how Abigail was doing now, if she survived that is. His answer
came in a rather unexpected yet expected visit from Doctor Bloom.
"Hello Will." Her voice was as a soft and kind as her gaze. 
"Hello Dr. Bloom." He replied in a deadpan tone with an equally deadpan gaze.
They both settled into seats in the lounge whilst his father made them all tea.
"I came to see how you were after what transpired a few nights ago."
"I'm... fine."
"Will."
"I'm... in all honesty I dunno how I feel I guess... how is Abigail, is she..."
He trailed off, he didn't need to finish his sentence to know that Alana knew
what he meant.
She offered him a small but reassuring smile.
"She is doing remarkably well. She went into a short coma just after arriving
at the hospital, in fact she woke up just a few hours ago. I'm assigned to be
her therapist, just like I'm yours... She's asked after you. I think you must
be her knight in shining armour." She jokes, trying to brighten the very dim
situation. 
"Or perhaps she just wants to see the guy who killed her father." He claims,
making the very dim situation seem dimmer.
Letting out a sigh she pauses briefly as Will's father comes back in with the
tea's before continuing. 
"I believe... it may do you both some good if I arranged a meeting between you
too, this could be the closure you both need. I've already talked to Abigail
and she readily agrees; what say's you Will?" She asked, her soft smile
flitting across her face.
Will let out another sigh, how could he possibly refuse. 
===============================================================================
Maroon eyes brightened when learning of the death of Garret Jacob Hobbs; it
wasn't so much the death that brightened his day, not even the how, but rather
the who. Hannibal grinned his shark like grin, his face alight and positively
manic. Well done son, he thought proudly, well done indeed.
 
 
Chapter End Notes
     Sorry if the start seemed rushed, its currently 23:28pm and I've been
     up since 7am annnnd I did my last English exam today, expect the next
     chapter a lot more sooner!
***** Building Bridges pt1 *****
Chapter Notes
     Sorry for the delay and this being a short chapter, life got in the
     way, some family members have died, and some have been diagnosed with
     cancer, and I haven't been doing to well mentally. But I'm still
     working on these stories promise.
The next day Will found himself waiting anxiously in visitors ward in the
hospital Abigail was admitted to. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t
thought much about the visit or the events leading up to it.
 
In truth Will had spent the night pacing his room, thinking of what he was
going to say, what she was going to say. How was she going to act seeing him?
Would she be thankful, grateful? Or would she despise him. The boy who murdered
her father, the boy who hesitated to long in doing so nearly causing her death
to. Nearly. So close. There was such a high chance she wouldn’t wake from the
coma.
 
But she had.
 
So that brought Will to the present. Sitting down in a hard uncomfortable
plastic chair, leg bobbing up and down, waiting for Alana to give him the ok to
go inside.
 
Sometimes people experience moments where time seems to be moving at an
exceedingly slow pace yet also a fast pace, this was one of those moments. Were
seconds ticked by like hours, that were actually miller seconds.
Not to long after a while, Alana came into the room, a soft smile on her face
as she gestured for him to follow.
Taking a deep breath, Will reached for somewhere in himself to find some
strength and courage to go on. Though he would never say he only found fear
that made him to afraid to look back.
 
===============================================================================
 
 
A few days earlier
 
Jack found himself staring grimly at the body displayed in front of him.
Jessica Bridge’s was reported missing one week ago, the body was discovered
early morning by a man walking his dog.
Jack sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration, it was always one
killer after another, he had his forensics on it now.
 
“What have we got?”
 
“Everything looks clean, whoever did this knew what they were doing, this
wasn’t their first rodeo Jack.” Beverly Katz said walking over to him.
 
Jack let out another sigh. “That’s because it’s not. The last attack like this
took place 6 years ago. They called him the ‘art killer’.” Jack grimaced at the
name, and Katz rose an eyebrow.
 
“The art killer? A bit… cliche.”
 
“The killer poses his victims like works of art.”
 
“Now that sounds familiar.”
 
“Except this killer doesn’t take pieces of his victims, at least not the same
way as the Ripper did.”
 
Zeller and Price began to walk over, “It’s like Bev said, everything is clean,
obviously once we get back to the lab we can do some further inspections, there
was spec of blood on her dress, but there’s no way to see whether it’s our
killers or the victim’s. Though with how careful our killer has been so far,
and how obvious the stain is I get the feeling it’s the victims, it is always
safer to check first though.” Price said as he finally reached them.
 
Jack nodded his head, “Alright then, it looks like we’re done here, Price,
Zeller you both run test back at the lab Katz, I want you to read up on the
last recorded victims of this killer, see if there’s nothing that we may have
missed.”
 
Just everyone separated his phone rang, today was going to be a long day.


===============================================================================
 
 
Will perched on the windowsill, looking out at the grounds below, he felt to
guilty to let his gaze linger on the girl lying in the bed, who had yet to take
her eyes off him.
 
“I guess I wanted to thank you. If you weren’t there, or a moment too late…
Well, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
 
Will looked at her then, studying her face without looking at her eyes, she was
glad she was alive yes, she was also both glad and sad that her father was
dead, because she knew, she had always known. But at the end of the day it was
them or her, and Will certainly couldn’t fault her for trying to survive.
 
“You’re welcome.”
 
She looked at him curiously. “Why were you there?”
 
“That’s… a long story.”
 
They sat in silence, Will looking anywhere but at her, and Abigail focusing
solely on Will. After awhile Abigail smiled, it was a bitter thing, but full of
understanding, Will wasn’t used to someone looking at him in understanging.
 
“You too huh… mum or dad?”
 
Will debated on whether or not to say he had no idea what she was talking
about, but it was nice, having someone else to understand him, without pitying
him.
 
“... Dad… though I don’t call him that.”
 
Abigail nodded. “Alive?”
 
“Unfortunately. Locked up though.”
 
“If word got out?”
 
“It’ll perhaps make my life a little more difficult, not that it’s really easy
now.”
 
“Who?”
 
“... Hannibal Lecter.”
 
“A cannibal too huh? What a pair we make, two messed up kids with a
cannibalistic father. Though mine is now dead, I will have to live with the
burden of being linked to him will give me,” Will nodded his head, sadly
everyone will know about Abigail, some will think she was just another victim
lucky enough to survive, others will think she was in onit the whole time.
 
“And you, you will have to live with the burden of your father being alive,
never knowing if he’ll escape and come for you, never knowing if somehow word
will get out that you are linked together.”
 
“You can move on from all of this Abigail. Worst case scenario you end up in
witness protection. The important thing to remember Abigail is that you are
alive, you get to live your life no longer in his shadow.”
 
“They don’t though… and in the end their shadows will always follow me.”
 
Will didn’t ask who’s shadow, he didn’t need to.
 
“Me too.”
 
He’d never felt so understood before, never felt someone experience something
like him till now, and wasn’t it terrible.
 
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