Where had Abigail gone? It was a question that always stumbled in the back of Will Graham's mind. He had tried with her: visiting her when she was recovering from the horrible event of Hobbes, being her guardian; keeping Freddie Lounds at arm's length and taking her back to her house. But at the house he found out her dirty secret and Will scared her. Of course he never blamed her because it was Hobbes who drove her to it and Abigail was making progress. They were making progress.
The profiler's eyes kept searching for her. Hadn't she left him at the airport? Will couldn't fill in the blanks but she'd left him before he went on the plane, where she was supposed to return with him. Paranoia sought out Will, surrounded in a building with hundreds of people. Thump. A person bumped into him and a mutter of apology pokes Will out of his stillness and back to walking towards his flight.
*
Will was the last passenger on the plane and through the noise, the heiress mimed that his seat was out of sight. A man and children blocked the narrow path and Will began to feel clumsy. "Ummm… Excuse me?" Will stuttered but the man's behind did not react. Instead the obstacle gave directions to the children on where his magazine lay buried in the pile of bags. The older girl struggled to follow them as her sister gave different directions.
"Can you move it please?" a woman commanded. The man drew a blank face and began to scorn at the small lady. "I'll move it when I've found my magazine and when you learn some manners lassie."
The cockney London accent came as a surprise but she still shot back, "I said 'please' unlike you, Lestrade." The young woman looked very thin and innocent yet that didn't make her comment any less intimidating. Will would like to cheer her on but his job did require him to keep the peace. "Thanks and all but it's not a good idea to murder each other - especially in front of a…" Will stops himself before he lets the cat out of the bag. Lestrade and the women looked expectantly towards him, "…especially in front of a… psychiatrist?" Hopefully Hannibal wouldn't mind his career being borrowed or preferably not hear about the event.
The girl's brown eyes light up at that and the two kids presented the magazine. "Does our uncle have anger problems?" the oldest inquired. The man ruffled his niece's hair, "Sorry about that, you know how it is in the airport with kids?" Will's teeth bit his lip. "I'm Greg. This is a friend of mine Molly." Will shook Greg's hand and went to shake Molly's, whose eyes were looking down on the ground – something Will regularly did himself. "I'm Will," Molly's big eyes finally met his. Will was about to put his hand away but Molly awkwardly grabbed it and shook hands. She smiled shyly and went to her seat next to Lestrade. The FBI profiler nodded his head in goodbye and went to find his own seat near the back of the plane.
As he slid past everyone, Will hoped that he'd meet Molly again and wondered if he could catch her for a drink somehow. It felt as though the two had a connection and Molly seemed to like him as well. Somewhere near the back, Will had finally found his seat. He hadn't taken a bag with him, just a book in his pocket for the flight. The book was a classic by Charles Dickens that he had already read but Will wanted to read it again since he was actually going to England, the birthplace of the author.
The seat by the window was already taken by a man in jeans and a hoodie. He wondered whether he should speak to him but decided against it. There can only be one sweet Molly on a flight and one new acquaintance was enough. This one wasn't new though. "Hello Will" a familiar voice greeted. His eyes searched around him but he couldn't spot who had called him. "I'm right here," Hannibal's voice gave a wave, "can you not recognize me without my suit?"
He couldn't believe his eyes: his psychiatrist sat on the plane with him to go to England and in a hoodie and jeans, "I-Is… Is that a beanie!?" Will hardly manages to say. Amusement sneaked into the curls of Hannibal's lips and very few could catch it. Did Jack arrange this? It bothered Will to think that Jack couldn't trust him with a case by himself without needing someone to fall back on and also that he didn't give him any warning…
"You're offended? It was a last minute decision for Jack. Others felt that you could use a hand and Jack asked me." Hannibal said it without answering the real question. His speech was very soft and Will wondered if his friend got much sleep. He looked so uncomfortable in casual clothes and Will couldn't help imagining his friend packing all his suits into a small bag by magic.
Will settled in time to listen to the safety procedures. Even Hannibal, who used to be a doctor, politely listened. Molly and Greg were hidden by the towering seats and Will had to force his eyes to keep on the belt the heiress was using as an implement. Once she was finished, and recommended them to read the information in their seats, the pilot introduced himself and said, "…we should be arriving at London at 4:46pm. Have a pleasant flight."