The man before him went from anger and confusion to sudden and complete absence and soon after that he began to shake fairly violently. This wasn't something new. Nevertheless, it was still disturbing to the older man. He pressed his palm to the side of the others cheek firmly but carefully and the other against his temple, using his thumb to gently lift his patient's eyelid. His pupils were dilated.
'Another seizure.' The neurologist was right, of course. Will's condition would only get worse, and it seemed it wasn't taking its sweet time either. There was nothing he could do except stay by his side until it passed and hope this one doesn't lead to a stroke this time. Unlike last time, Will's legs buckled under him but Dr. Lecter was there to catch him before he hit the floor, bracing him under his arms. With the man still trembling in his grasp, Hannibal dragged him over to the couch in the corner and set him down upright. He knelt just off center and continued to monitor everything. Strangely enough, the good doctor was finding this difficult to watch.
He resurfaced as he did last time. Slowly, it began with light piercing the hazy darkness. Images followed shortly after and soon he was able to comprehend the vision of his therapist kneeling in front of him, a small flashlight in one hand as the other held his eyes open one at a time. Will squinted against the harsh little beam and a small smile graced Hannibal's lips. His pupils were responding, that was a good sign.
"Welcome back." Will groaned at the half hearted greeting and used the hand he wasn't using to shield his eyes from the light with to push away Hannibal's own that were outstretched in an attempt to help. He hadn't forgotten the reason he had gone there so late and so angry in the first place.
"D-don't...t-touch m...me," he managed to sputter out as he visibly sunk into his seat, away from the other. Hannibal scoffed lightly at the motion.
"Come now, Will. I'm only trying to make sure you're all right."
"Y-...you k-killed them. You killed them all. That's why..." Hannibal pressed the back of his hand to Will's forehead and checked his head quickly to check for a fever, with Will being so dazed still he had enough time to retract before the younger man could rebel. "Th-that's why...I c...came he-here. You ate them!"
"Will, can you manage a smile for me?"
"You sick bastard. What kind of question i-is...th-that? Haven't you...heard a word I...j-..just said?" Hannibal nodded humbly and sat back for now, leaving the man be for a moment. "Then don't ask-"
"I think it's safe to say you haven't suffered a stroke this time either. That's good news." Hannibal stood and walked over to his desk where he picked up that pad and pencil he had made a habit of handing to Will at the beginning of almost all their sessions recently. He walked back towards the couch where his patient sat still, "I'm sorry the good news is apparently being overshadowed by this new theory of yours." He offered the pad and pencil to Will.
"It's not a theory and I swear if you ask me to draw a damn clock on that piece of paper one more time, so help me god..."
"You'll what? Kill me? Like you killed Garret Jacob Hobbs? And Marissa? Like how you killed Abigail Hobbs as well?" Will stood abruptly and snatched the pad of paper from Dr. Lecter's hand and promptly used it to hit him over the chest with repeatedly as he shouted.
"I did not kill Marissa or Abigail! I know it was you! It was all your f- fault!" he began to sway at the finish of his tirade, the expression on his face communicating a look of sheer dizziness. He held his arms out at his sides and stumbled back a step or two only to be steadied by a firm hand grasping his elbow.
"But you did kill Garret Jacob Hobbs." Will shrugged Hannibal off once more, stumbled over his right foot but steadied himself with the help of the couch arm, his sudden onset of vertigo forcing him to sit back down.
"I-...that was..." blue eyes searched the floor between them for the proper words, but for once he only saw the reality of the wood floors.
"And what about Georgia?" Hannibal mused. Something about Hannibal refusing to use her surname angered Will even more but in his weakened state he could only sit and glare into the eyes of his new adversary. Hannibal remained unaffected, as usual. He turned and paced back towards his desk, hands elegantly clasped behind his back like a gentleman as he took a leisurely stroll. It amused him to see Will like this. It was as if he had been captured and tied, but without any restraints to bind him at all. Alas, it was Will's own anatomy that decided to betray him and take the side of potentially the most dangerous serial killer that he had been spending the better part of a good amount of years pursuing. At least that's how it seemed to him in his mind. Will glanced into his own lap, contemplating what to do about Lecter.
"It was all you. I knew it too. I knew I was the target when I found out someone was trying to frame other people for what he had done and I knew it was personal. I just didn't know how personal at the time. Or maybe I did." Hannibal turned slightly back towards Will as he spoke, "Maybe I just...didn't want to believe it at the time. I didn't want to believe that the man who was trying to frame me was the very man I confided in the most in my life. Ever, really. I guess maybe I even thought-..." Hannibal became intrigued by Will's sudden disinterest in finishing his sentence.
"You thought what?" Will turned his glance aside and sighed deeply.
"I thought...we were friends. I actually thought you cared." He chuckled slightly at the notion. Hannibal's brow furrowed solemnly. He walked to Will's side and sat beside him. Will remained unchanged, staring into the edge of the rug where it met the wood grain of the neatly kept floors.
"I still am your psychiatrist, Will. You can still confide in me if you must regardless if, in the end, we come out of this as friends or enemies. Whether I'm dead or alive and in prison, I will always be there to listen." Will finally glanced sidelong at Hannibal. He seemed so normal still, sitting there with one leg folded over the other, his hands placed precociously on his knee the way therapists always sit while they pretend to listen to your problems. Just a normal therapist...well, as normal as therapists go anyway. It was hard to believe this man was the Chesapeake Ripper all along and yet at the same time it was completely believable.
"You really are a sociopath if you think I'm honestly ever going to come to you with my problems anymore, Dr. Lecter." He let a small grin escape him and beside him he could hear Hannibal himself chuckle softly.
What followed next was a silence. Silence that filled every inch of the room right into all the tight corners and fell just short of awkward. What it did hold plenty of, though, was tension. Will wasn't sure if he was allowed to leave. Allowed because he knew that if Hannibal had other ideas, leaving alive wasn't going to be easy. It was strange. Like sitting in a room with a wild animal, knowing at any second should it decide to it could easily turn you into its next meal and yet at the same time you can't help but sit and admire the beauty of the beast. The decision was decided for him however as Dr. Lecter finally broke the silence.
"Will, I feel I must let you in on a little secret," Will scoffed at the statement but Hannibal continued, "I know, but this is something that a colleague of mine highly advised against and although I usually take her advice into high consideration, this was a piece I chose to ignore time and time again, at least when it came to you." Will glanced at Hannibal but found himself unable to maintain a steady eye contact. There was no denying he was feeling very betrayed and despite his best efforts he figured it probably showed. "I've discussed you with her a few times when one session she asked me a question where I found myself considering building a friendship with you over time. Naturally, and as I said, she advised against it. A psychologist who breaks past that wall and becomes a friend to a patient cannot efficiently perform as said patient's therapist without developing feelings that would otherwise hinder the doctor's ability to remain honest and helpful. We, as psychologists, need to be able be tell our patients the truth, even if they don't want to hear it, but need to." Will interjected.
"Yeah doc, I know all this. Criminal profiler, remember?"
"Yes I understand. But although I knew she was right I was curious about you, Will. You're a very interesting and unique individual. Perhaps it is because of your ability to empathize and see the world the way I do that would not allow me to shake the thought that letting you go someday and that if I had to, that it would be a great waste. You have provided me with many stimulating conversations. Interesting ones. Your mind works differently than most people, and for that they tend to perceive you with caution but with me you are simply...Will Graham." Will now found himself able to hold the older man's gaze while he spoke.
"It's a very pure thing you have, Will." He hadn't realised it was happening in the moment but Will now noticed the soft glide of a thumb tracing down along his jaw. He knew it belonged to Hannibal but despite his best efforts he was caught by the man's stare, their eyes locked and only now was he realizing, even in the slightly dim lighting that the man's eyes which he had believed to simply have been brown actually held a slight tint of maroon.
"Dr. Hannibal Lecter," Will finally managed to say with a breathy sigh, "You truly are the devil." Hannibal paused but kept his palm pressed gently to Will's cheek. He glanced down for a moment and just as Will was beginning to expect his neck to be snapped at any second, another charming smirk graced one corner of the man's mouth and his gaze was reinsured. "Perhaps I am."
Will raised his own hand and grasped Hannibal's, relishing in the touch for a moment before pulling it away from contact. He took another moment to contemplate. Strange how at the beginning of the night he had gone there in a full rage, ready to confront the man that was causing so much sadistic mayhem in last couple of months for the county of Baltimore, and yet now everything felt different, like the tables had changed but not necessarily had turned. Will Graham smiled, genuinely for the first time in a long time before capturing Hannibal's gaze once more.
"24 hours... I'm going to keep your secret for 24 hours starting now."
Hannibal returned the smile.
"Well then, let's make them count, shall we?"