Dreaming of Monsters

by SingingInTheRaiin

The life and times of Will Graham, a boy with the unique ability to see people for the monsters they are long before they're revealed as such. As seen through the eyes of his father, Robert Graham. (one-shot) (warning for mention of sexual assault towards a child in the beginning)

"Hey buddy. Is everything okay?"

Will looked up at his dad, Rob, and put down his fork, which he'd only been using to poke listlessly at his dinner with anyways. "Yeah."

A corner of his dad's mouth quirked up into a small amused smile. "You sure about that? You know, it's alright if you're ever not feeling okay about something. You can talk to me, and I promise that this is a judgement free zone."

Will blinked a few times, then let out a sigh that seemed far too heavy for someone who was only five years old, and small for his age at that. He leaned back in his seat, and took a moment to think before he started talking. "I don't think that I'm normal."

His dad tilted his head thoughtfully. "Why's that?"

Will took another moment to think, but it wasn't unusual for him to put thought into every word he said, so his dad wasn't too worried. "I had weird dreams. There was a monster, a big one with hair everywhere and giant pointy teeth and a million hands, and then the monster was my teacher, but when I told him about my dream he got mad at me and put me in the time out corner."

Rob furrowed his eyebrows and leaned forward across the table. "There's nothing wrong with you. It was probably just a bad dream. But…" he trailed off, and he couldn't quite keep the troubled expression off of his face. "Can you tell me a bit about your teacher? Not from the dream, just from real life." He hadn't realized before just how little he knew about his son's time in school, and hated the fact that he had never really taken the time to get more than a simple 'fine' out of Will in response to how his day had been.

Will seemed confused about the question, but then he just shrugged and answered. "He's old, like as old as two of you smushed together. And one day his hair all fell off and he gave us all extra recess time 'cause Sarah and Jamie started cryin' and thinking that their hair was gonna fall off too. And he gives us candy when we get do good and answer the questions right, so I get lots of candy 'cause I get stuff right all the time."

"Have you ever seen your teacher outside of school?"

Will looked even more confused by that question, but he still answered it. "No. But one time when you picked me up late, Mr. Adam offered to bring me home so I wouldn't have to keep waiting for you."

Rob frowned, and then leaned back in his seat. He wasn't sure what to make of all that, but he knew that there was nothing wrong with his son. And he didn't think that Will's instincts would lead him astray. Why would he dream about this Mr. Adam guy being a monster if there was nothing to provoke such an image in the kid's mind? And even though Rob knew that certain accusations could ruin a man's life, he didn't want to risk anything happening to Will, who was obviously his priority. He decided to subtly ask around, and see what he could dig up. If it turned out to be nothing, then that would be the end of it. It most likely would amount to nothing. But it couldn't hurt to at least look into it.

,,,

Three weeks later, Rob was called while he was in the middle of working on a boat for a rich guy. He'd already told Will that he'd probably be late to pick him up, and Will had said that it was okay. It was a job that was bound to make him good money, but when the school asked him to come, he didn't hesitate to drop the job and go get his kid. Though the boat owner wasn't happy to have the job postponed, but Rob knew that there would be other jobs.

He hurried to the school, and saw police cars parked out front, and he felt his stomach twist in knots. Maybe he wasn't always the best at telling Will how important he was, but the truth was that that kid was everything to him, and he didn't know what he would do with himself if anything had happened to him. The phone call hadn't given him any details, though. Just told him to show up as soon as possible.

Rob signed in at the front office, and was then given directions to the principal's office. He hurried in, trying not to psych himself out by thinking of all the possible things that could have happened. When he stepped into the office, he saw the principal sitting on one side of the desk, while Will and an unfamiliar woman sat on the other side.

They all looked up when Rob walked in, and Will's face lit up. "Daddy!" He hopped out of his seat and ran over to Rob to hug him around the waist.

Rob crouched down to scoop Will up, and then turned to look at the two women. "So is someone going to tell me what happened here?"

The principal sighed, and motioned to the now empty seat. Rob sat down, balancing Will across his knees. "Unfortunately, you haven't been called here for anything good. There was an incident today, and-" she looked at Will, but he didn't seem too concerned by her words, so she continued. "I understand that Will was still in the classroom half an hour after the end of the school day, and that his teacher wanted to keep him company while he waited." Rob could feel his stomach sinking, and he wrapped his arm a little bit tighter around his son, as if that would actually keep the kid safe. "Another member of the faculty heard screaming coming from the room. Since young children often have trouble understanding proper volumes for talking, she didn't think too much of it, but decided to peek in anyways, and saw-" She cleared her throat, and looked pretty uncomfortable.

Rob clenched his jaw, and while he didn't want to hear what had happened, he knew that he had to hear it. "Please just tell me," he got out through grit teeth.

The principal nodded. "She found Will's teacher holding Will's arm and forcing him to touch his genitals."

Rob closed his eyes for a moment. It hurt him to know that he hadn't been able to protect his son from a disgusting pedophile. And he couldn't help feeling guilty, since he was the one who hadn't been able to come and pick Will up on time.

Will tilted his head back to look Rob in the eyes. "It's just like my dream," he said solemnly.

Rob blinked once. It was just like Will's dream. The teacher had turned out to be a scary monster, even if it wasn't the kind with pointy teeth and matted fur everywhere. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

The other woman in the room cleared her throat softly to get everyone to look at her. "I'm Arabella Crown. I am a trauma counselor with a specialty in working with younger children. I think it would be greatly beneficial for Will and I to talk about what happened, somewhere he feels safe and comfortable."

Rob nodded in agreement, feeling slightly numb. A few days ago, he would have turned down a child quack because he was enough for Will. But in the course of just a few minutes, everything was suddenly different. He hadn't been able to protect Will, and he had no idea what to say or do that might make Will feel better. He decided to focus on something less complicated than his son. He looked over at the principal again. "How did this happen? Do you not filter out perverts when you're hiring?"

The principal frowned. "Adam DeMarco has no previous record of any inappropriate behavior. Unfortunately, sometimes people are able to slip the system, and there was just no way for us to see this coming. I am very sorry, Mr. Graham. I know that this can't be easy for you, or for Will. But I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to make sure that this school is a safe place for your son, and for all of the other children who go here. And we will all make sure that Mr. DeMarco goes to jail for a long time. There are a couple of police officers outside who wanted to wait to talk to Will until you got here. I know that you probably just want to go home, but it would be best for Will to make his statement now, while the details are still fresh."

Rob sighed and stood up, picking Will up to carry him as he moved. He felt like he was barely aware of what was going on as the principal and counselor both said a bit more, and then he went outside, where the officers were waiting. They explained that they thought it would be easier for Will to talk here at the school instead of down at the station.

Rob stayed and listened to Will's entire recounting of the events that had led to this. He had always had a good eye for details, and was able to give them without a problem. At first, Will sounded fairly detached from the story, but then his voice started to waver, and he leaned over to bury himself against Rob's side. Rob automatically reached out to wrap his arm around his son. Then Will finished his story before bursting into tears. It was the first time Rob had ever seen the kid cry, and that was including when Will was just a baby, and the sight felt like someone had stabbed Rob in the heart several times over.

The officers took down Rob's contact information, and said that they would let him know how the case progressed, but that there was basically zero chance of DeMarco walking free. They said that Will would most likely not have to actually speak at a trial, and that his testimony, along with the teacher who had seen the incident, would most likely be enough.

Rob thanked everyone for their time and help, and then brought Will home. He helped tuck Will into bed, even though that was something had hadn't done since the time that Will was old enough to do it on his own. But Will was acting pretty clingy, not that Rob could blame him. He felt a bit clingy too, at the moment.

Even though Will was obviously exhausted, he refused to go to sleep, and in the end, Rob kicked off his boots and curled up in the bed next to Will. It made Will feel better to have his dad close, and it let Rob stay awake all night to watch over his son and assure himself that the kid was right there, and that he was okay. Or at least as okay as he could be, all things considered.

As the hours of the night passed by, Rob decided that the next time Will had a dream about someone being a monster, he would work a lot harder to look into it. Maybe there was something a bit different about the kid. Nothing bad, of course. It was something special if it meant that Will could somehow use it to protect himself. But that was something that could be figured out in the morning. Until then, Rob could only hope that Will would be alright.

,,,

It was the night before Will's tenth birthday, and Rob had big plans for a surprise party to end all surprise parties. He knew that it was hard to surprise Will at all, so just the shock value would make it a success. But he also knew that no matter how much Will denied it, he liked making friends and being around people, so a party seemed like the way to go.

Just as he put the finishing touches on some of the decorations that he planned to put up while Will was at school tomorrow, he was startled by a loud scream coming from Will's room. Rob dropped everything and darted to the room, and even though he preferred to give Will his privacy for the most part, Rob just threw the door open and rushed inside. Will was flailing around on his bed, getting the sheets all tangled around his limbs, and Rob sighed as he tried to force his heart to stop beating so hard. It had just been a nightmare.

Rob easily made his way over to the bed, since Will didn't even own enough stuff to make a mess with, and sat down on the edge. He gently grabbed onto Will's shoulders to lightly shake him a couple of times, until the boy's eyes fluttered open. He looked around in confusion for a moment, until reality shook off the dregs of the nightmare, and Will scooted to sit up. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Rob pulled Will into a tight hug. "You have nothing to apologize for." Then he pulled away so that he could look at Will properly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Will hesitated for a moment, but then his shoulders slumped down, and he nodded. Rob was relieved that Will still trusted him enough to talk things out with him, and was happy that his son wasn't trying to just bottle up all of his feelings. "I had a dream about a monster," he whispered so quietly that even in the stillness of the night, Rob had to lean in close to hear properly. "It was a little monster, covered in slimy scales, with pitch black eyes and no nose and a snake for a tongue. And the monster was a lady that we passed in the grocery store the other day. I don't know anything at all about her, but I dreamed that she's a monster. What's wrong with me?"

Rob pulled Will in for another hug. "There's nothing wrong with you," he said softly. "You're perfect just the way you are." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. "You've had a few different monster nightmares over the years, right?" Will nodded silently. "I know this is going to sound strange, but I believe that they aren't just dreams. I think that for some reason, you have the ability to see monsters where no one else can. It doesn't mean anything's wrong with you. I know it's scary to be able to do something like this, but I promise that I won't let any of those monsters hurt you again."

A few seconds passed before Will hesitantly asked, "So does this mean that I'm like a superhero?"

Rob let out a small chuckle, and then he nodded. "Yeah, exactly. Except, you're more like a superhero in training, which means that you can't go after the monsters by yourself, okay? It's too dangerous."

Will nodded. "I know."

"Promise me. Please?"

Will sighed as though he'd just been asked for the hardest favor in the world, but then he nodded again. "Fine, I promise that I won't go after the terrifying monsters all by myself." Then he let out a little giggle. "You're like a superhero too, you know. Superdad. Always keeping me safe."

Rob smiled, and kissed the top of Will's head, pressing down the curls a little bit. "Yup, that's me. I hope you know that now that you know my secret identity, I can never let you go again. In fact, I'll have to torture you all the time to make sure you keep this information to yourself." Then he reached down to start tickling Will.

Will let out a loud shriek of laughter. "Daddy no! You're the good guy, you can't torture people!" He rolled away, and then tried to tickle Rob. "I'm the super villain, so only I can do the torturing!"

Rob laughed, and then reached up to press the back of his arm to his forehead. "Oh no. I think that the torture was too much for me. I'm fading away… going… going… gone." Then he let his head flop to the side, and his tongue lolled out.

Will shook his head. "Nope, you're still alive. I can see you breathing."

Rob snorted. "Alright, alright, you caught me." Then he reached over to grab Will by the waist and yank him back up to the pillows. "Well, now that you've been assured of the fact that I'm still alive, I would love nothing more than for you to go back to sleep, if you think you can."

The mirth faded from Will's face, replaced by a vulnerable look. "Can you stay with me?"

The decorations weren't going to finish themselves, and Rob was going to have to rush to get everything completely finished tomorrow, but there was nothing that would make him turn down Will's soft plea. It was so rare for his son to ask him for anything that Rob always wanted to fulfill the few requests that were made, if they were possible. So Rob flopped back on the bed next to Will. "Sure thing, buddy. I'll make sure to keep away all the monsters while you sleep."

Will smiled, and it was such a sweet and innocent look that it only served to refuel Rob's determination to protect Will from the world. "Love you," Will murmured before closing his eyes.

Rob smiled. "Love you too," he whispered quietly enough to not wake Will back up.

,,,

"Hey, Dad-!"

"Will-!"

They both started at the same time as soon as Will walked in through the front door, and then they both paused to try and decide who would be able to actually speak first. After a few long seconds, Will sank down onto the couch next to his dad, and nodded towards him. "Yeah?"

Rob knew that Will wasn't exactly going to be happy about his news, but there was no point in putting it off. "I know that you've gotten to like it here, but I just got an offer for a more permanent job in Bayver, and it's too good to pass up on, so we need to start packing up and move out as soon as possible." Will's face fell, and Rob couldn't help feeling guilty, even though he knew that this was best for everyone. "What, uh, what did you want to say?"

Will stared at him for a moment before shrugged. "Nothing."

Clearly it wasn't nothing, or Will wouldn't look so bothered, but Rob knew better than to push Will for answers. Teenagers were supposed to have things that were kept secret, and if Will didn't want to share with his father, then there was no rule saying that he had to. "Well if it becomes something, you know that you can talk to me about anything." He reached over to clap Will on the shoulder, and then stood up to head towards the small kitchenette. "What do you want for dinner?"

"I'm not really hungry," Will mumbled. Then he got up and headed off to his bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him. Rob pressed his hands against the countertop, and closed his eyes as he let out a sigh. He didn't think having a seventeen year old was ever supposed to be exactly easy, but he had assumed that Will would be easier than the teens in the movies, since Will had always been different from his peers. On the one hand, Rob was glad that Will was able to act a bit more normal. But on the other hand, he didn't like the idea that Will didn't feel like he could talk to his dad about anything.

Rob ended up ordering a pizza with everything on it, just the way Will liked it. When the food arrived and was paid for, Rob grabbed a couple of paper plates, and then knocked gently on Will's door. "Hey buddy. I've got a peace offering for you." He opened the cardboard lid so that the delicious pizza smell would reach Will.

It took a moment, but then the door finally opened up enough for Rob to walk inside, and he followed Will over to the bed, since it was the only place to sit down in the small area. "Thanks," Will said quietly as he grabbed a slice to slide onto one of the plates.

They both ate in silence for a minute, and then Rob worked up the courage to speak. "I should have talked to you about this opportunity before accepting it. I know that you're old enough now to have a say in your own life, especially since you're so close to being an adult, and it was unfair of me to take the choice away from you. If you really don't want to go, we don't have to. I just want to be able to provide you with everything you want, and with our current situation, I can't really do that."

Will picked at his slice for a moment, prying off the olives. When had he stopped liking olives? Rob felt panicked for a moment as he considered the idea that he and his son had grown apart. He was pulled away from his thoughts when Will finally responded to him. "It's not anything important. It's just that I- there's this kid. At school. He asked me on a date. It would be my first one, so I didn't want to miss it." Will averted his eyes, looking intently down at the pizza box instead of at Rob.

"Oh. I didn't know that you-" liked boys, Rob thought to himself. "had any interest in dating. You never mentioned it before."

Will shrugged. "I guess it just took a bit of time for me to find anyone interesting enough." He glanced up at Rob for just a second before looking away again. "Are you disappointed?"

Rob couldn't keep the confusion out of his voice as he asked, "Why on earth would I be disappointed?"

Will shrugged again. "That I want to go on a date with a guy. Most of the kids at my school think that they have the right to say anything about it, even though I didn't do anything that affects them in any way."

Rob quickly shook his head. "I'll admit that I'm a bit surprised, but only because you never mentioned anything before about liking anyone of either gender. I promise that I'm not disappointed. I just want you to be with whoever makes you the happiest." When Will didn't immediately respond, Rob wondered if he'd said something wrong. He wished that he'd had some advanced notice so that he could have looked up how good parents show their support for their children when they come out to them. "Is he- is he cute?"

Will blinked a few times, and then finally looked up to meet Rob's eyes. He stared for a very long time, and it made Rob feel like he was being stared at right in his soul, but he didn't mind because he didn't have anything to hide from his son. Will must've seen whatever he was looking for, because he shared a small smile. "Yeah. He's really cute."

Rob leaned back against the headboard. "So tell me about him. Maybe if he sounds like he's good enough for my son, I can find a way to delay the move for a couple of weeks."

Will's smile grew, and he launched into an vivid description of the guy from school, complete with several wild hand gestures. There was no way Rob could deny Will the chance to go on a date with the kid. He was tempted to be one of those dads who threatened the date with a shotgun, but he didn't want to be overbearing, and he wanted to show that he trusted Will's ability to choose someone who wasn't a bad person. Mostly, he was just happy to hear Will sound so excited about anything. It had been a while since something had caught Will's interest.

,,,

"Yeah, and then the professor kicked her out, and she just burst into tears in front of the entire class before leaving."

"Wow," Rob managed to respond. It was already Will's second year at college, and yet, Rob never stopped missing the kid like crazy. And sometimes, Will's stories about his school adventures almost made Rob regret the fact that he'd never gone to college. But in the end, those regrets only lasted for a few minutes, because if he had gone off to college, he wouldn't have been able to take care of Will, which would have meant giving him up, and Rob didn't think that there was anything in the world that would have been worth giving up his son for.

Will laughed. "Yeah, it was pretty insane. But the way I see it, if she couldn't even handle getting criticized in a low level class like this, then she wouldn't survive the academy anyways, so it's best to cut her out now before she invests too much time and money in a career she wouldn't make it as."

Rob nodded, even though he knew that Will wouldn't be able to see the motion over the phone. "Well, at least it sounds like things are staying interesting for you." Will had always been a smart kid, and even with the constant moving around, he had always excelled in his public school classes. It was nice to know that he had finally found a place that challenged him a bit. "So what else is new?"

There was a brief pause, and then Will spoke in a hesitant voice. "Well, I didn't want to tell you right away in case it didn't turn into anything serious, but… I've already gone on four dates with a guy, and we officially agreed to tell other people that we're dating."

"What? I can't believe that you didn't start with that! Tell me all about him!"

Will laughed, but obliged and told him all about Paul. Paul was also a criminal justice major, with a minor in creative writing. He had already had three novels professionally published, one of which had actually won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and Rob promised to buy a copy of each book to show his support. Paul was also apparently sweet, handsome, funny, intelligent, generous with his self-earned wealth, and had nice abs, which Will quickly hurried on to say he hadn't meant to share that last bit.

When Will finally ran out of things to say about Paul, Rob couldn't help smiling to himself. "Sounds like you really like this guy. I always knew that you'd find someone who's perfect for you. You deserve nothing but the best."

They had already been on the phone with each other for over an hour, and Rob assumed that Will was going to need to hang up soon. But instead of the usual parting words, there was just a long moment of silence, and then Will spoke much quieter than he had a moment ago. "I had a nightmare." Rob could already guess where this was going, but he said nothing so that Will could get the words out on his own time. "It was about Paul."

Rob blinked a few times, then reached up to run a hand through his hair. "Will, I know you're adult and I have no right to interfere in your love life, but you can't-"

"I know!" Will snapped. "But he's just so great, and I can't imagine him doing anything seriously wrong, and it would be so stupid to break up with him because of a silly dream."

The defensiveness in Will's voice only made it clear that Will knew what he had to do. Rob took in a deep breath, then slowly let it out, forcing himself to keep his voice calm. "I'm really sorry, buddy. But we both know that your nightmares are more than just 'silly dreams'. If you stay with him, you could end up getting seriously hurt, and there's nothing that I'd be able to do about it from halfway across the country. I want you to be happy, but it's more important that you're safe. Please promise that you'll stay away from him, Will. You wouldn't have told me about having a nightmare if you didn't want me to remind you of common sense."

Will huffed out a soft breath. "I know," he repeated much quieter than before. "I just can't help sometimes hating this stupid 'gift' of mine."

"It's better to know now before things get more serious than to find out later when he turns against you. I'm so sorry, Will. But like I said, you deserve the best, and someone who's a monster isn't the best for you."

There was another long pause. "Thanks, Dad. You're right, I did want someone to tell me how insane it would be to stay with Paul, no matter how perfect he might seem right now. I love you, Dad."

It had been a while since Will had said that, and Rob couldn't help missing his son even more. "I love you too, Will. Call me when it's over, okay? It'll give me some peace of mind."

"Sure thing. I'll talk to you later, Dad." Then Will hung up, and Rob went to put the phone back on its base. He retreated to his bedroom, and laid down, hoping that Will wasn't going to let his natural stubbornness get in the way of doing what was safest for him.

,,,

Rob was surprised to get home from work only to find Will lounging on the porch swing. "Hey, I didn't know you were going to be in the area. I would have left the door unlocked if I did." He tried to keep the excitement out of his voice, because no matter how much he enjoyed getting visits from his son, he could clearly see that that there was something wrong. He walked past Will to open the front door.

Will got up, grabbing the small duffel bag that had been sitting next to him, and followed Rob into the house. Will had never technically lived here, but once Rob had bought a house that he actually owned, he knew he wasn't going to be moving around anymore, and had made it a priority to set aside a room just for Will, to make sure his son would always feel welcome.

Will retreated to his room, presumably to drop off his bag, and then made his way to the living room, where Rob was working on one of his fishing lures. He looked up when Will entered the room, and watched as the kid flopped down onto the couch. "So is there any special reason for this visit, or am I just the luckiest father around?"

Will sighed, and leaned his head back so that it was resting on the top of the couch. "I had a job interview. In Quantico. I didn't tell you because I thought that it would make it too real, and I didn't want either of us getting our hopes up."

Based on the look on Will's face, Rob was pretty sure that he could guess what had happened. "They're idiots if they didn't want you."

"Actually, they did. Between me graduating a year early, performing 'excellently' in my time on the force, and my papers, they said that I was a top candidate." Rob furrowed his eyebrows, but waited patiently for Will to get to the part where he explained he looked so defeated. "I passed the physical, and they seemed to love me. But I had to have a psych eval. Apparently I'm too 'unstable' to be an agent."

Rob got up and moved to sit down next to Will, slinging one arm around the kid's shoulder. "I'm sorry, buddy. I know how much you wanted it. Like I said, they're total idiots for not hiring you. But I'm sure you'll find somewhere out there that's going to be the right place for you."

Even as he was talking, there was the sound of a phone ringing, and Will slowly reached down to rummage through his front pocket until he pulled his cell out. He looked puzzled when he flipped it open, and stood up as he answered the call. "Hello? Yes, this is he. Yes I did. No, I'm sorry, I'm not in town at the moment. Uh, I can be back by tomorrow evening. Yes, that works. Yes, I will. Thank you, sir. You won't regret giving me this opportunity." Then he hung up, and gave Rob a strange look. Rob arched one eyebrow, and Will grinned. "That was Arnold Dimmer, one of the guys who interviewed me. He said that even though I can't be an agent, it would be a shame to waste my potential, and that there might be another position available in the academy itself, if I ace the interview for it, and am willing to take another two years of classes. I'm sorry, but I have to go."

When Rob stood up, he pulled Will in for a quick hug, then watched as his son hurried off to fetch his bag and then take off. He was so proud of the kid, and had always known that he would be able to get far in life. Too bad that also meant getting far away from Rob, and from home. And there was a small part of him that was glad Will wouldn't actually be an FBI agent. When he'd gotten that call last year to learn that Will had been stabbed on the job, he'd nearly had a heart attack. Hopefully teaching would be a slightly safer profession.

,,,

"Hello?" Rob didn't recognize the number showing on his phone, but Will had told him about a thousand times to just always answer, because unfamiliar numbers didn't always mean spam callers.

"Dad?" Will sounded awful, and Rob gripped his phone tightly as he sank down onto one of the chairs that were placed around the kitchen table.

"I'm right here, buddy. What's wrong?"

There was the sound of Will sighing on the other end before he responded. "Today was so insane, I don't even know where to begin. I- I had to shoot someone today. On the job. To save a girl's life, I killed her dad. I don't know what to do with myself. He's just- gone. Dead. But he's not. I keep seeing him everywhere, different from my usual nightmares, and I don't know what to do, Dad. I did see him before, but I know that everyone is going to ask how I found him, and it's because I had a nightmare about him, but I can't tell anyone that, and I-"

Rob gently interrupted. "Whoa there, slow down a minute. There's plenty of time to say everything." He wasn't sure how he felt about the idea of Will killing anyone. He wasn't even sure how that had happened, since the last he'd heard, Will was still just a teacher. But he figured that that was something to figure out some other time. Right now, Will just needed him to provide comfort and support, and Rob was going to do his best to supply those to his son. "Maybe it would help to talk about all of this from the beginning? Or maybe to just talk about something entirely different?" He wasn't exactly an expert on what to do when one's child called to say they'd killed a man.

Will took in a few gulps of air, and then seemed to steady his voice a little bit. "I already have to see a shrink to talk about everything that happened today, so please, let's just talk about something else."

"Alright," Rob said in an easy tone as he took a moment to think about what they could talk about to keep Will's mind off of what had happened. "Mrs. Kamendeer's dog finally gave birth the other day. Four of the most adorable little puppies that you have ever seen in your life." He went on to describe each of them in great detail, grateful to hear the way Will seemed to calm down more and more with each minute that passed. Maybe he couldn't be there in person when Will killed a criminal and saved lives, but he could at least be here right now, and do his best to try and keep Will happy.

,,,

When Rob heard that Will had been arrested and accused of being a serial killer, he thought that he just might have a heart attack. Of course he knew that Will had never been exactly normal, but he knew that his kid wasn't a psycho killer, no matter what anyone else might say. He would have dropped everything to storm up to Baltimore and give the FBI a piece of his mind, but Will had called specifically to tell him to stay out of it.

If this had been twenty years ago, Rob would have probably ignored his son's request, but he was starting to get older, and he knew that Will had to be able to take care of himself. It hurt to think of Will stuck in jail, constantly being told that he's crazy, but there was nothing that Rob could do about it. He just hoped that the truth would come out sooner or later, and Will would be set free.

,,,

"I promise, I'm okay now. Of course being accused of crimes I didn't commit sucked, and my reputation is pretty trashed right now, but I'm fine. Now I just need to focus on catching the person who is actually responsible for being the Chesapeake Ripper, and for framing me."

Rob sighed. "This sounds like it's going to be dangerous. The killer could be anyone!" There was a long, suspicious pause, and Rob narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me that you already know who it is?"

Will sighed too. "I may have had a few nightmares about a certain someone. But those won't mean anything if I can't get any actual evidence. And it can't just be circumstantial, or they'll think that it's just another person being framed. I need to get him to confess. If I play my cards right, everything will work out."

Something about Will's tone of voice sounded familiar. Rob realized a moment later that that was how he always sounded when he was about to talk about a new boyfriend of his, and there was a sick feeling in Rob's stomach. "Please, please just stay safe. You've already been through so much. I can't stand the idea of you suffering anymore."

"I'll be fine, Dad. I promise."

,,,

When Rob got the call, he really did drop everything and rush to Baltimore as fast as he could go. He didn't leave Will's side while the kid was recovering from being gutted in Dr. Lecter's house. Apparently the psychiatrist was the Chesapeake Ripper, and had put two other people besides Will in the hospital, and one in the morgue. And that was all just in a single night. Now the man was on the run, and no one knew where he was. Or at least, no one who could talk about it at the moment.

Rob held Will's hand gently, and prayed to every god that he didn't believe in for Will to pull through and walk away from all of this in as close to one piece as he could get at this point. He didn't think that that was such an unreasonable thing to ask for. The idea of losing Will forever was too scary to even consider, and Rob squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to try and hold back his tears.

,,,

Will had wanted a vacation from everything, which was a reasonable enough request, all things considered. Of course, even now, Rob knew his son pretty well, and was almost a hundred percent certain that the kid wasn't going out for leisure time. One thing that Rob had always loved about his son was his inability to just give up on anything. That, plus the fact that even now Will sounded almost infatuated when talking about Lecter, made Rob think that his son was going after Lecter himself. Of course he was worried out of his mind, since the kid had just gotten out of the hospital after being sliced open, but there was nothing he could do to change Will's mind about this.

,,,

Lecter was finally locked up, and Rob thought that he was going to collapse from the relief of it. He knew that there was some strange thing between the killer and Will, but he was dangerous, and now he couldn't hurt Will anymore.

On top of that, Will entirely severed ties with the FBI, and moved into a small place right outside of Rob's town. It was really nice to have his son so close by, especially after everything that had happened. Even though he knew Lecter was out of the way, and that even if something happened, he wouldn't be of much help, it still made him feel better for Will to be here.

Of course he was surprised to be invited to a small wedding. He knew that Will had gotten friendly with Molly, but Rob had never heard of Will being romantically inclined towards women, and he had to wonder if Will was really getting married for the right reasons. But he had to admit that he enjoyed being a grandfather, and Molly was a really lovely women who did make a good match for Will. So even though it wasn't what Rob had expected for his son, he was glad to be there for him, and to see him acting happy for once.

,,,

From the moment Jack Crawford dragged Will back into the thick of things, Molly and Wally came by almost every day to spend time with Rob. He knew that they did it more for him than for themselves, but he appreciated it all the same. Rob wouldn't go so far as to say that he was an old man, but he was definitely too old to be chasing after his son. So it brought him comfort to spend time with others who were close with Will, and it helped keep his mind off of everything that could be happening.

Of course, it was a lot harder to keep his mind off of things when Molly ended up in the hospital with a bullet in her. Rob called Will and begged him to just back down and end the insanity that had taken over his life, but Will refused, and when Rob went to visit Molly, she said nothing. All she did was hold out her hand, revealing Will's wedding ring resting on her palm. Rob couldn't say he was entirely surprised by the turn of events, but it still hurt because he had come to love Molly and her son as part of the family. And it made him even more worried about what Will's intentions were.

,,,

Rob felt his heart shatter into a million pieces when he got the call about Will. He and Lecter had made a run for it, fought against a different killer, and then- then- Rob sank down onto the couch, and reached up to clutch at his chest. It felt like his entire upper body was numb and on fire at the same time and he couldn't even comprehend what had happened.

Will couldn't be- couldn't be-

What was the point in being able to see monsters if one was just going to ignore the warnings and continue spending time with the monster? What was the point in crossing the ocean to catch a killer when it was still going to end with-

How could Rob possibly keep on living knowing that Will was-

But he couldn't be-

It wasn't possible. After all this time, after Will surviving so much, he couldn't just be- Not now, not after making it through everything else. Not after suffering through his 'gift'. Will wasn't-

There was no way for Rob to just keep on living like nothing was wrong. The most important person in his entire life was- wasn't-

From the moment Will had been born, a perfect, tiny little thing placed in Rob's arms, entrusted to him, Rob had vowed to do right by his boy in a way that had never been done for him growing up. He wanted nothing but the best for his son, who was the best child that any man could ever ask for. When Sharon had made it very clear that she wanted nothing to do with their beautiful, perfect, son, Rob had been only more determined to take care of Will properly.

It hadn't always been easy, since Will was clearly different than most of his peers, and his uncanny ability to see monsters had plagued him with nightmares had led to a fear of meeting people's eyes in case they were the ones that he dreamed about next. They'd moved around a lot, which hadn't helped Will make friends, but in the end, they'd been there for each other, and Rob liked to think he had given Will a decent childhood.

And even after Will had slipped out of reach, no longer really needing his father as he headed off to college, and then out into the real world, he'd always made an effort to stay in touch so that Rob would never really feel left behind.

There had been so many close encounters, but Will had survived them all because he was strong and smart and wonderful. And now all of that was just- Will was just-

But he couldn't be, because Rob couldn't bear the thought of living in a world without Will Graham in it, and Will couldn't be-

Rob dropped off the couch and onto his knees on the hard floor, not caring about the pain that cracked through them. Will was-

Rob burst into tears, and felt like he would drown beneath them because he couldn't figure out how it would be possible for him to ever stop weeping. It was just as impossible as him ever being able to put his shattered heart back together. It could never be repaired when the largest piece was gone.

,,,

Robert Graham walked home in the same daze he had been in for the past several months. His movements were mechanical and dull, and he knew that everyone always whispered about how his son had been in love with a serial killer before both of them had died. Rob didn't care about the rumors. He didn't care about anything anymore.

As he pushed the front door open to shuffle inside, he heard a slight crinkling noise, and glanced down. Instead of a stray leaf, he saw an envelope. Since Rob had a post office box, he never got mail delivered straight to his house. He felt too dull to be curious about the strangeness of this, but he did bend over to pick up the envelope and carry it inside with him.

He carelessly dropped his bag down on the kitchen counter, just like he always did, not caring if anything spilled out and got lost. The envelope was probably a bill, which Rob knew he would have to pay if he didn't want to be kicked out. Not that he could truly find it within himself to care about whether he was homeless or not, but he didn't want to lose this place, which still had Will's room that looked exactly the same as when the kid had last visited.

Rob clumsily slit open the envelope, and pulled out the folded up sheet of paper. He noticed that it felt thicker and fancier than the usual printer paper that was used for bills. Rob unfolded the paper, and was immediately struck by the sight of the familiar handwriting. He plopped down into a chair, and his eyes grew wider and wider as he took in each word. By the time he was done, there were tears streaming down his cheeks, and he hugged the paper to his chest to avoid ruining it with salt water.

,,,

Thousands of miles away, Will Graham stared out at the water as he waited for Hannibal to return from the market. There were a million things that he had wanted to say to his father, but he hoped that the letter had been enough. His dad had been the best dad ever, and Will knew that he would never forget the man who had gotten him this far in life, but he also knew that he needed to go the rest of the way on his own.