Author's Note: How about last night's finale? I swear this show kills me. Pun intended. The song I used, in my opinion, really goes with this chapter and the type of relationship I'm building between Hannibal and my OC. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Hannibal. I do not own any of the songs I used lyrics from. They all belong to their respected sources.
Chapter Two: Disarming You
"Rippin' my heart was so easy, so easy.
Launch your assault now, take it easy"
"Good evening, Miss. Ponds." Hannibal cooed as he opened the door to his office. Alexis stood and passed through the door. Having only met the man this morning, she couldn't help but shrink into herself as he held the door for her. She heard the sharp intake of breath and instantly felt uncomfortable.
Alexis Ponds smelt of the bland soap used at the Chisholm Home of Cancer Patients. He knew that was where she stayed, but the soap was such a bare scent that he couldn't deny it's entrance into his nostrils. A familiar scent was of her lonely, slowly dying kidney. He also smelled the heated nerve endings and he knew she was in pain.
Dr. Lector's office was incredible. The room was a splash of different browns, creams, and beige mixed with a constant deep crimson. Some other colors were included, like the two gray, leather chairs, and the pastel blue sofa. There was a small bookshelf on the ground level, and then the bookshelf surrounding the top floor, a wooden ladder leading up to the library above. It felt as if Alexis has stepped into another world.
"Please, sit anywhere you like." Hannibal said. The girl strode towards one of the leather chairs, Hannibal sat in the one in front of her.
"Alexis." Her name rolled off his tongue and his accent made it sound exotic. She thought he was addressing her, but he was only saying her name.
"That is Greek for 'defender of mankind'. Did you know that?" He asked playfully.
"No, sir, I didn't." Alexis answered.
His name was Phoenician hann meaning "grace" combined with Semitic ba'al meaning "lord" or "possessor". He laughed internally at this. He would be sure to take her, and with his superior knowledge and influence, he would break her down. Rendering her defenseless.
He made himself comfortable hoping she would mirror his actions, but she just sat up straight on the edge of the her seat. Her hands carefully knitted in her lap.
"How are you, Miss. Ponds?" Hannibal asked.
"I'm fine." She stated simply.
"You seem tense, are you in any pain?" Hannibal asked, seemingly innocent.
"Yes, a great deal, actually," She remarked, "But I wanted my sessions to be drug free, I don't want to be numb now."
"It's good to want to face your problems, head-on, but neglecting your medication may have long-term effects." The words were carefully ignorant, but he knew the effect they'd have on her. He took a look in her files from Chisholm immediately after leaving Quantico. It's so amazing what information you can unlock with the right honorary. Apparently, Alexis had a short fuse and her report showed that she had a bad habit of sneaking out of the facility. Much like Abigail Hobbs, Hannibal thought.
Her eyes met his with an icy glare.
"Long-term problems? I have cancer, Dr. Lector." The word cancer shot from her mouth as if it were poison.
'Yes, I am aware," Hannibal pointed out, "My apologizes."
Alexis' eyes darted away, her thoughts troubling her heavy head.
"Jack Crawford wanted me to ask you some questions." Hannibal said, changing the subject.
Her eyes met his again, brown on brown. Her eyebrow arched, waiting.
"How are you alive today, Miss. Ponds?" Hannibal asked. Jack Crawford never told him what to ask her, as he trusted his psychiatric abilities. The subject matter made Hannibal curious as to why she was alive.
Alexis' hand went to her scar. It was a long moment before she answered him.
"When I was cut open, the man didn't take my kidney because it wasn't there. The other side was left untouched which confused me. He dragged me through the forest and left me on the side of the road. I was still very much conscious during and after my attack. Someone who was driving by picked me up and sped to the hospital. The doctors were more concerned about infection than the amount of blood I had loss. My attacker missed vital arteries. I found out at the hospital that I had developed kidney cancer after I gave the other to my mother." She was silent for a while, then a haunting laugh escaped from her throat. Hannibal found the laughter disturbing.
"What is humorous about that situation?" He asked. His serious tone cut off her laughter immediately.
Her bright eyes bore into his own. The sun had started to set and it shone through the window. He could see that her eyes were more than just brown. A sunflower like shape surrounded her pupils, each the color of caramel. Her eyes had not glistened in the woods as they did now. The ones he saw in the woods were dark and pleading.
"Self-deprecating humor can be helpful in the healing procedure. It humbles oneself, however, in such an early stage of grief-" Hannibal started.
"Early stage?" Her voice dripped sarcasm, "My mother was killed five years ago." Alexis interrupted. Her words like daggers.
"So you have stopped grieving over the loss of your mother?" His words reflected the daggers like a shield.
"You mean, am I past the last stage of grief? Have I accepted the death of my mother and moved on?" Her voice trembling yet strong.
Hannibal waited patiently for an answer.
"Yes. I accept her death, however, I plan to avenge her by assisting the FBI catch her killer." The last word as coated in venom.
Hannibal leaned back more into his leather chair. Oh, how interesting this girl was. She seems to change every time he saw her. When he first met her she was loud and rude, much more obnoxious than the average teenager. His simple inquiry of the location of bleach was shot down at the supermarket where she had a part-time job. She didn't even turn look at him. Which now, he was glad she didn't see him.
At the FBI headquarters, she was nervous yet driven on proving herself.
Now, she just reminded him of Will. The dry humor, the sarcastic tone, the fleeting eyes, and the sense that she did not trust anyone.
"I suspect that you do not like me, Miss. Ponds." Hannibal said, his voice not changing, "Why is that?"
Alexis gave him a look-over, putting up more guards. She acted this way towards almost anyone she was alone with. Anyone who was requesting entrance into her thoughts. How did he pick up her particular disdain towards him?
Her reply was late as if she were pondering each word.
"Your demeanor, ever since I first saw you, is so calm. Too calm. AS if you are a spectator, and nothing can bother you. You act like this is all a movie and even though you partake in it and watch how everything unfolds, you act as if nothing can harm you." Alexis explained.
"Why should I be anything but calm? I do not go into the field with Jack and Will unless asked," If only she knew how much influence he had. "I am merely a psychologist for one of the investigators." He finished.
"For Will Graham?" She asked curiously.
"Yes." Hannibal replied simply.
"I read about what he does." She looked away.
"Something the matter?" Hannibal asked.
She looked at him, and he finally caught a glimpse of her open face, unguarded by her walls. He took advantage of this by turning his head slightly, feigning interest. Testing the calm waters of her usual stormy eyes.
"Raise your weapon, raise your weapon.
One word and it's over."
She blinked hard and the walls are back, as if they had never left.
"It may sound strange." She says, a blush creeping up her neck.
"I've heard many strange things in this room, Alexis." Hannibal pressed.
He hears a small laugh, bubbly unlike her other outburst. It's cut short as she plays if off by clearing her throat.
"I find what Will Graham does in the field, utterly... fascinating. His ability to empathize with the killer and put himself in their shoes is amazing." Alexis says.
"How is that so amazing?" Hannibal asked.
"Because I couldn't do that myself." She replies.
"Well, not many can." He states.
"Couldn't was the wrong word," She says, "I wouldn't ever do that myself. I would never empathize with those who take other people's lives or the lives of their loved ones." She continues, her voice grew darker as she explained.
"Haven't you hear that the best way to catch a killer," Hannibal replies, "is to think like one?"
"Dropping your bombs on all we've built.
How does it feel now to watch it burn, burn, burn?"
End of chapter two.
The song I used in this chapter is 'Raise Your Weapons' by deadmau5.
This was a hard chapter to write with all the dialog and such. I hope that nothing was too confusing. I'll try my best to get the next chapter up as quickly as possible. If you have any questions about Alexis Ponds, drop them in the review section. If I don't answer them there, they will be answered in later chapters. Thank you for reading! Don't forget to review!