I do not own anything related to Hannibal, either thru television, or written books. Everything belongs to Thomas Harris and Bryan Fuller. I do own all the created characters. I do not own any songs, or literature mentioned. They are included to enhance the written words. Please read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 2

Song(s): Harvest Moon (Neil Young), Habibi (Tamino)

August 5th

Budget Host Inn Bedford, 4378 Business 220, Bedford, Pennsylvania…

8:38pm

"I'm going to take the dogs for a walk." Calling over her shoulder as she grabbed her ball cap once more, Oliveah slammed it down on her head before pushing the loose strains of her shoulder length brown hair back behind her ears.

Stepping out of the bedroom with the motel room's phone book in his hand, Will nodded his head as he took up the handle of the phone by the bedside table.

"How does Chinese sound?"

Feeling her stomach growl at the promise of greasy takeaway food, she reached over on the table for the dog's leashes as she thought of what she might like.

"Wonton soup and egg rolls please."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm getting more than that. You haven't eaten a proper full meal in two days. Though greasy and not healthy by any means, you are gonna eat more than fried rolls and pork stuffed wontons" Will lectured as he dialed in the phone number and agreed to be put on hold.

Clipping Winston and Buster into their collared leashes, Oliveah slipped a hand into her hoodie pocket and felt the sharp edge of the room key before pulling open the door. Smelling the threat of more rain, she walked slowly down the sheltered walkway past dark rooms and square shaped green hedges before she muttered a string of curses.

My music

Turning back around, she tied the dogs to one of the poles and ordered them to sit before walking back to the motel room. Pushing the door open, she froze with her hand on the doorknob just in time to see Will pulling off his white t-shirt. Running her eyes over his naked shoulders, she lowered her gaze onto the wide painful looking puckered scar that ran the length from his left hip all the way to his right.

I held your guts in my hands Will

"I…forgot my music"

Reading a chapter from the one dog eared baby book she had found in a second-hand Salvation Army thrift shop one day before they had started driving, she had read something called the "Mozart Effect" and had immediately taken all classical music off her Ipod in favor of an all Canadian Folk playlist

Classical music doesn't create killers

Hannibal Lecter listened to classical music

You've heard classical music little baby

Taking the Ipod and wrapped around earbuds from Will, she felt the rough skin of his fingertips against hers as she met his eyes. It was understood between them that they would never be intimate together. She couldn't bring herself to a relationship of any kind, not even with the small child that continued to grow daily in her stomach.

I know I am supposed to be happy and excited at the prospect of becoming a Mother, but I can't. I did choose to keep you so that must account for something

Closing the room door behind her as she stepped back out, her ears perked up at the sounds of light raindrops as she walked back towards the dogs. Letting Winston jump and lick at her hand as she untied their leashes, she curled the fabric around her wrist as she let them lead her out into the nearly empty parking lot. Hearing a low rumble of thunder in the distance as she felt the rain drops tickling along the back of her neck, she walked towards the front of the motel and watched as a single minivan drove past on the empty dark street.

Stopping as both Winston and Buster relived themselves on the grass, Oliveah raised her eyes and read the advertisement sign noticing a few letters missing.

"Free WIFI cable TV Truckers Rates Cont Breakfast Low Weekly Rates."

Pushing the small white buds into her ears, she chose the shuffle option as the opening notes of Neil Young's Harvest Moon started to play…

Come a little bit closer

Hear what I have to say

Just like children sleeping

We could dream this night away

…

Twenty minutes later…

Pushing open the motel door, she was hit by the strong smell of the delivered Chinese food as she noticed the large spread across the table near the window. Feeling the dogs running past her leg as she tossed their leashes, she watched as Will took up the remote for the television and turned off the CNN ticker.

"What have we got?"

Hanging up her wet ball cap and sweater on the coat stand near the door as she double checked the lock, Oliveah kicked off her shoes and moved towards the table.

"Vegetable fried rice, egg rolls as requested, orange chicken, mixed veggies with bok choy and carrots, chicken noodle soup, you can save that for tomorrow and your wonton soup with pork" Will announced as he started to pull the lids off.

Grabbing the plastic container of soup, a plastic spoon and a disposable plate, she propped herself up against the wooden headboard of her bed before crossing her legs at the ankles. Sighing in relief as the lights in the room flickered quickly with the storm rumbling outside, Oliveah closed her eyes and breathed in the hot smell of the wontons and broth.

(Flashback)

1 North Clinton Street, Baltimore, Maryland…

"I'm Andrew and this is Tyler. If you're up for it after you finish moving in, we can get Chinese if you don't have any crazy diet restrictions" the young man added as he pursed his lips.

Letting her Jansport bag fall off her shoulder and onto the floor of the foyer, Oliveah felt her lips twitching as she debated whether or not to make a joke to break the ice.

I just answered their ad on the Hopkins Classifieds, so let them see that you are not crazy

"I use to be a vegetarian when I was younger" she spoke, omitting the fact that her Mother and Stepfather had essentially made it that way by their refusal to buy even the most basic of groceries.

"Well, we interviewed a guy here yesterday that was a vegan. He smelled of patchouli and wore the tightest black jeans that I have ever seen. I mean hey, I'm allowed to look but not touch, but hell, I didn't even want to look. Know what I mean?" Andrew sputtered as Tyler rolled his eyes.

"He also didn't have first and last month's rent" Tyler added as Andrew nodded his head.

"Yeah, that too. So, you eat meat? Drink? Have sex?"

"Yipe. All the above" she smiled as she shoved her hand into her jean pocket, feeling the sharp edge of the checque she had certified at the bank that morning for the exact amount of the townhouse's first and last month's rent.

"What are you studying?"

"Psychology. Masters Degree, so I mean if it works out, I'd be willing to stay here for the two years" she offered, watching the two young guys exchanging a smile.

"Daniel would like that. But it's ultimately our decision on who we want as a housemate."

Mentally counting the meagre amount of money that she had left resting in her bank account after certifying the checque, Oliveah sucked in a deep breath as she formed the sentence that she hoped would seal the deal and welcome her as their new housemate.

"I can spring for the Chinese tonight?"

Two hours later...

"Well, that's the last of it."

Setting down the cardboard box of books onto the floor, Andrew looked around the sparse bedroom furniture and clicked his tongue against the inside of his cheek.

"Minimalism. I've heard of this kind of movement" he spoke as Oliveah stiffened from standing in front of the closed closet door.

"Yeah. Since it's socially acceptable for a University student to move around every year, I figured, why not get it down to a science you know?" she breathed as Andrew let out a laugh.

"Not me. My shoe collection takes over our entire closet, including Tyler's side. But he doesn't complain, he knows better" he smiled as Oliveah moved over to the black garbage bag by the single bed.

One white comforter, one set of white sheets, one badly flat pillow

"If you need any more help unpacking, just give me a holler. Other than that, we've got a takeout menu for Wok&Roll over on Light Street so come down when you're ready.

One hour later…

Thumping down the wooden staircase as she slipped her bank card into her back pocket, Oliveah heard voices coming from the kitchen as she pulled out her folded cheque.

"Hey, here's my checque for first and last month's rent. I had it certified so you know I am not gonna skip out" she smiled as Tyler pushed the take-out menu across the wooden table towards her.

"Are you on a full scholarship to Hopkins?" he asked as she picked up the menu and scanned over the listed items, immediately settling on wonton soup and egg rolls.

"Partly, but I have a job as a TA for my Professor and he said as long as I am not a complete failure, I'll have it for my second year as well" she spoke, setting the menu down.

Forty-five minutes later…

Taking the brown paper bag from the teenaged delivery boy, Oliveah turned and handed it into the hands of Andrew as she pocketed her change. Watching him bring the bag up he took a big sniff and pronounced it heavenly.

"Yes…thank you take away!"

Taking a seat on the couch in the living room, Oliveah pulled off the lid to her soup container and breathed in the broth as she stared at the small cut pieces of green onion that floated against the sides.

"Cut open a wonton and tell me what you think it looks like."

Hearing Andrew's challenge, the twenty-one-year-old grabbed her plastic spoon and with minimal mess, separated the piece into two.

"It looks like a brain!" Andrew laughed as Tyler shook his head.

"You're such a dink Andrew" he smiled as Oliveah caught his wink towards the still laughing student.

Staring down at the piece of pork that now rested at the bottom of her bowl, Oliveah held her breath and said not a word.

I've seen the inside of a brain Andrew, and this doesn't come close…

Staring down at the pork wontons that sat on the bottom of the container, Oliveah swallowed hard as she heard her late friend's laugh in her head.

I miss you Andrew

Slicing her spoon through a wonton, she stared at the meat inside before popping a half into her mouth with some broth.

Mason murdered you, so I took his sight.

I know he deserves to die, an eye for an eye, but all I could think about was you and Tyler

I know he will come after me one day

Sipping another spoonful of hot broth into her mouth, Oliveah reached over for an egg roll and watched as Will broke one in half and fed each piece to the dogs as another rumble of thunder sounded from overhead.

And if and when he does, I'll kill him with my bare hands

And Hannibal Lecter?

If and when he finds out where I am?

"How is it?"

Giving a silent thumbs up, Oliveah swung her legs over the edge of the bed and padded back towards the table as she glanced down at the paper menu that had been stapled to the bag. Scanning her eyes over the items as she reached for the mixed vegetables, she felt her breath hitch in the back of her throat as she settled on a particular dish.

Szechuan Dishes

Number twenty-one

Human Beef

That can't be right

It can't be

Blinking her eyes quickly as she felt Will's hand on her shoulder, she looked down again and read the proper wording

"Szechuan Dishes. Number twenty-one. Hunan Beef."

"Will, what does that say?"

Letting his hand slide down her arm, he stepped aside and picked up the menu scanning his eyes over the options.

"You'll have to be more specific Oliveah…"

Closing her eyes, she gently touched her stomach as she felt the slight bubbles of movement within her flesh.

"Under the heading Szechuan Dishes, number twenty-one…"

Moving his eyes down the food listings, he found the item she was referring to and read it out loud.

"Hunan Beef?"

"When…when I saw it, all I could see was…human beef."

Hearing the words falling from her lips, Oliveah felt the bile in the back of her throat as she laid a hand on the strong kick of the baby. Leaning over as she gripped both hands on the edge of the table, she felt her child kick hard as Will laid a protective hand on her back.

"You're not a cannibal Oliveah. Neither of us are. You, me, your baby. It'll never taste human flesh or blood. It will never see Hannibal and we will keep it safe if anyone dares try to fuck with us" he began as Oliveah straightened up to her full five-foot eight height.

"He never considered himself a cannibal Will."

Narrowing his eyes as Oliveah whispered, he stepped up beside her and crunched the take-out menu into a ball with both his hands.

"Hannibal only considered the eating of human flesh as cannibalism, if he and the other person were equals. He saw himself as equal to no man or no woman" she added hearing another rumble of thunder from outside. "And, the baby kicked, when I said human beef."

Throwing a hand up onto her forehead, Will noticed the flush in her cheeks as he felt the heat rising on her skin.

"It was around Christmas last year when I found out that Hannibal was the Chesapeake Ripper. I knew he was the Ripper and a cannibal, yet I still ate the food. I wanted to eat the food Will…"

"Hannibal made all us do a lot of things Oliveah. A lot of it under duress, a lot of it under his watch and words. Sit on the bed, I'm going to get you a cold washcloth."

Focusing her eyes on Will's retreating back as he disappeared into the bathroom, Oliveah took a deep breath and brought her eyes up onto the ceiling.

Why have I dragged you into all this Will?

I should have left you at the hospital

But I didn't

I need you Will

Hearing Will coming back into the room, she reached out and took the wash cloth from between his fingers before pressing it gently against her flushed cheeks and forehead.

"You can't work yourself up Oliveah. We left Baltimore for a new life to start over fresh for both of our health. I don't intend to revisit what happened to me in the kitchen or what Hannibal put me through, I've been questioned and analyzed enough in my hospital bed over the last four months" he spat, rounding the corner of the bed for his own. Grabbing his backpack, he sat it on the corner of his bed as he pulled out a map and a highlighter.

"Why Gresham?"

Taking his glasses off as he tossed them onto the bedside table, Will raised his eyes and folded the map in half as he took up the highlighter to plan their route for the early morning hours.

"Oregon is on the other side of the country. Furthest west from eastern Baltimore. New climate, new town, new life. Twenty-four-minute drive to Portland…"

"Cold, rain and wet" Oliveah muttered as she rose to her feet. Moving to her own bag, she pulled out a black tank top and sleeping shorts along with her toiletry bag as she walked into the bathroom only to be followed by Winston and Buster.

"The dogs liked you from day one."

Hearing Will's voice as she scratched along the back of Winston's ear, Oliveah thought back to the day the SPCA had come to the farmhouse to take away all of the dogs, except two. Changing into her sleepwear, she brushed her teeth and splashed warm water over her face before taking the last of her gummy pre-natal vitamins.

"The house is one floor. Two bedrooms, hardwood floors, one large kitchen with a wood stove. The house relies on collected rainwater and has no electricity."

Hearing Will's words as she stepped out of the bathroom, Oliveah brushed her hand over the light switch just as the entire room went dark.

"Seriously?"

"It's the storm outside. Let me get my phone."

Spying the light from Will's phone along the carpet of the floor, she carefully made her way towards her single bed sighing as she sat down.

God, I'm only six months…

"The house, well, more like a cabin, belongs to a friend of mine who is retired from the Bureau. It was an old homesteading project and he says we can have it for as long as we need it."

At least we have somewhere to live when we get to the other side of the country

Make it, somewhat of a home

Slipping in between the sheets as lightening lit up behind the curtains of the window, she settled down and adjusted the second pillow beneath her knees as she started to drift off to sleep…

(Flashback)

Standing at the threshold of the glass patio doors in the dining room, she threw a hand out against the wooden siding as she tried to steady her breathing. Feeling a thin trail of liquid running down her throat, she knew his bloody hand print would be all over her throat as she brought a finger up. Dragging her index finger against her throat, she looked down and saw the blood as she moved her eyes down onto Alana's bloody, twisted mouth. Hearing the woman's blood curdling scream as she backed up and nearly stumbled into the dining room table, Oliveah turned around and shoved one of the chairs as it banged against the wall, sending a framed painting crashing to the floor. Staring at the glass around her feet, she was careful to step around the table as she heard the sounds of gasping coming from just around the corner of the kitchen.

Will…

"WILL!"

Rounding the corner, her eyes fell on a wide blood trail on the floor of something that had been dragged before she threw her eyes onto the still body of Will Graham.

Jack?

Nearly slipping in the blood trail as she noticed the door open to the pantry, Oliveah rounded the corner and watched as Jack Crawford flipped himself over onto his back pulling tightly on the tie he wound around his neck.

"Jack?"

Watching his eyes go wide as he tried to kick the door shut on her hand, Oliveah fell backwards with a groan before she scurried onto her hands and knees.

"JACK! LET ME HELP YOU!"

Hearing her scream echoing off the walls of the kitchen, she watched as the FBI Agent kicked the door close with force as Oliveah banged her firsts on the door.

"JACK!..."

…

The Next Morning…

Slipping her pair of sunglasses on over the bridge of her nose, Oliveah sighed as she looked out her window to the blue early morning sky.

"Not a cloud in the sky" she spoke, reaching forward and opening the glove compartment. Pulling out a black Moleskine notebook and pen, she flipped it open to the next blank page and wrote the days date.

"What are you writing?"

"The baby is due in November, but I need to figure out what I am going to do for a job in Gresham" she answered. "Seeings how I have no health care or income to my name" she added, hearing Buster's whine from the backseat.

"How about you let me worry about the finances for now?"

Returning her eyes back onto her notebook, she brought the tip of her pen against the paper as she began to scribble.

Homesteading

Gardening

Farming

How to cook on a wood stove

How to grow vegetables

What vegetables grow in Oregon?

Birth Doula

"I'm eventually going to need to get a job Will and I sure as hell won't be flaunting around my degrees with my name on it. All it will take is one person to Google my name and Hopkins and anything related to Hannibal Lecter will be splashed all over the screen." Feeling the vehicle turning right as they drove directly into the sun, Oliveah brought the sun visor down directly in front of her as she reached for her bottle of water in the side of the door.

"I maybe would have thought, you'd be thinking of names"

I know I should, but that's the last thing on my mind

"Have you thought about where you are having your baby?"

"I haven't thought about any of this Will. Can you blame me?" Oliveah spat as she threw her eyes up onto his profile as he adjusted his glasses.

"Well, put it off as much as you'd like, but you're less than three months away and if it decides to come sooner, you'll be caught off guard without a plan. That would jeopardize both of your health's."

I just can't bring myself to…

"Once we get to Oregon, I'll start thinking about all of this." Feeling Will's hand settling briefly on top of hers, she looked down and watched as he rubbed the edge of his thumb against her index finger.

"You survived Oliveah. We both did, and we will continue to survive."

"I am anticipating to being reduced to a headline" she whispered, knowing full well that Freddie Lounds was most likely hiding out somewhere and keeping up with her website and the book she had been writing on Abigail Hobbs before the horror revelation that Hannibal Lecter was the Chesapeake Ripper.

Now she'll start writing another book…

Solely on me

Flipping over the page in her book, Oliveah felt her hand starting to shake as she began writing once more.

Why am I keeping this baby when it's half of Hannibal?

People will know when it gets older that he is her Father

If I can barely deal with all of this, then how can…it?

Did I make the decision to keep you because Hannibal is the Father?

Am I using you as a desperate prop to get him to come back for me?

…

Thank you to VentablackValentina, Nirvana14, Casper6six6, Americanlatinajapanesegirl, Luce1993, and ViciousGingerLady for leaving reviews!

Please read, subscribe and review! I will be updating this story every other Saturday just like before with Part 1.

VentablackValentina – Happy to be back! Thanks for sticking around : )

Nirvana14 – I'm excited to continue writing this story! Thanks for sticking around!

Casper6six6 – Thank you for continuing to read!

Americanlatinajapansegirl - I'm the queen of cliff hangers remember : )

Luce1993 – I have many ideas for where the story is going. I know how the second part is going to end to lead into the third part, but it's the meat and potatoes I need to organize : )

ViciousGingerLady – Thank you for your kind words!