Had Brian Zeller ever gone to see a psychiatrist, his first complaint would have been Will Graham. Brian had decided long ago that the man was clearly unstable, but something else bothered him too. Will reminded him of his older brother Daniel, who had always upstaged him at home. Now, Brian was upstaged at work by Will Graham.
Jack Crawford never acknowledged his presence. Alana Bloom was pinning for Will, and because of the profiler's breakdown, it was Brian who was left to pick up the scattered pieces of Doctor Frederick Chilton, despite the fact that his line of work was dead bodies, not living.
What no one knew was how exhausted Brian was from picking up of all Will's slack, not even Brian himself, until Doctor Chilton replied to what should have been an internal monologue.

"I'm surprised you aren't crazy now." The doctor muttered from his hospital bed. He'd been unconscious since the emergency surgery to put back most of what Doctor Gideon had cut out of his midsection. Until the escaped convict was caught, Zeller was on watch-duty…though it wouldn't have surprised him in the least to know that Will Graham had gunned Doctor Gideon down in a field two hours before and no one had thought to call him.

"Trust me, I know crazy." Chilton continued when Brian was too stunned to answer. "Everyone I work with is crazy…I'm probably crazy…" Already he was drifting back into unconsciousness. "…everyone you work with, too, probably…"
That was so close to the direction of Brian's thoughts that he froze from where he sat beside the doctor's bed, looking down at the pale, stubble face of Doctor Abel Gideon's most recent victim. His face was a ghastly white, but his eyelids were dark like twin bruises on either side of his face.
What Doctor Chilton needed more than anything was sleep, but Brian couldn't help himself. This man was a professional who worked with crazies every day, who knew how they thought. He leaned over the hospital bed close enough that he could smell a hint of the doctor's aftershave under the chemical aroma of the hospital.

"Doctor?" he whispered. "Doctor Chilton, do you think Will Graham is crazy?"
This time the doctor's eyes didn't open when he spoke. " 'course he is…" he mumbled.
Doctor Chilton didn't wake again before Jack Crawford called Brian, and that should have been the end of it…but it wasn't. For one Brian was curious about how much the doctor had heard him say the night before, and to have someone else who believed that Will Graham was crazy…that was
something new.
And that would have been all it was if Brian hadn't found himself wondering whether to buy flowers when he visited the doctor in the hospital again. He had to remind himself that he didn't know the doctor personally, that he had to keep certain things to himself if he wanted to keep his job with the FBI.

He hadn't counted on feeling attracted to Doctor Chilton, and he hadn't counted on what one night of rest could do for a man as determined as Chilton. When Brian walked into the room (feeling strangely defenseless without even a tray of food in his hands) Chilton was already hitting on the nurse.

"Please send my thanks to the men and women who tied me up last night," he said, resting one hand on his impressive array of stitches. "But if you'd like I can clear my schedule tonight so you can have a go at it, too." He even managed a swat at the nurse's retreating behind, though from the expression on his face showed that his stitches reprimanded him promptly. He settled himself back on the bed when he saw Brian.
"Er, hello." Brian said, pulling the chair a few more feet from Chilton's bed before he sat down. "I'm Brian Zeller, I work for the FBI. I was asked to keep an eye on you and Miss Lounds last night, after…"

"Yes." Doctor Chilton pushed himself up into a sitting position so he could look at Brian. "I recall it, vaguely…thank you, Mr. Zeller." He raised an eyebrow, "I take it you're here for a reason."
Brian had a dozen reasons, but suddenly none of them seemed any good. He almost left then, but the most important reason kept him there. "I wanted to talk about Will Graham." He managed.
"Usually I charge for this sort of thing, but I don't expect any visitors today…or nurses, for that matter," Chilton said, shooting a glance at the open door. "Close the door, Brian, and we'll talk about Mr. Graham…"

Brian had never been alone with a therapist before. He hadn't even been invited to one of Hannibal's dinner parties ever. But, given how many insecurities and traumas he had managed to collect in the last few months, it was as easy and peaceful as falling asleep after a hard day's work. He didn't think it was strange that he visited Doctor Chilton every day until Jack Crawford asked him why he was leaving work early. It was the first time Jack had spoken directly to Brian in months, but Brian found himself lying before he had even fully thought about what it was that he was doing with Doctor Chilton after work. They seemed more like conspirators in on a secret than a doctor and a patient…and Brian had managed to tell Doctor Chilton the secret.

Doctor Chilton had guessed, actually. For all his flawed methods, he had taken psychology courses, and Brian had talked non-stop about his suspicions that Doctor Lecter and Will Graham were in a relationship.
"And you resent this because you believe that Jack Crawford and your colleagues would never support you if you came out of the closet…am I correct, Brian?"

Saying no had gotten easier over the years, but now Brian had no reason to lie…he felt safe with Doctor Chilton. "Yes," he admitted, a faint smile on his face. "No one respects me, few even really like me…"
Join the club. Doctor Chilton was thinking. That was followed by: As soon as I get out of this hospital, the things I could do to you, Brian…