Chapter 9
…
Will woke up the next morning to find Hannibal's side of the bed empty; he scanned the room to see the door to the bathroom open slightly. Getting up, he walked over an opened the door slowly to see Hannibal kneeling on the floor by the toilet. As Will got closer he could see how pale the older man was, a fine sheet of sweat covering his forehead.
"My god, are you alright?" Will asked, kneeling beside him…his arm rubbing his back in a soothing motion.
"It…appears to be fairly bad this…"
Hannibal didn't get the sentence out as another bout of nausea over took him.
"Should I call Callie?"
"I'm sure…it will pass shortly. You should attend to Arlo."
"No, he can sleep a little longer. You're more important right now."
"Will…"
"Han I'm not leaving you right now, this all my fault. Maybe sex was too much for you last night."
"Last nights activities have no baring on the present…it's our child causing me this distress."
"Maybe we should cancel the park for today."
"No, no we can't do that. We promised Arlo, we can't take it back now."
"You're not up to it."
"Will, it will pass. Go and see to Arlo, I'll be alright."
Will looked apprehensive but another look from Hannibal had him nodding his head in agreement before leaving the older man by himself.
Will made his way to the guest room and got Arlo up and dressed before taking him down to the kitchen.
"Okay buddy, what do you fancy for breakfast huh, we have cereal, toast…."
"Porge."
"Porge? Oh porridge?"
Arlo nodded and smiled as Will went to the cupboards to see if they even had any.
"Will…"
"Oh hey, you okay now." He asked, coming over to wrap his arms around Hannibal.
"I'm feeling a little more human now, thank you."
"Can you manage some food?"
"I don't think so, not right now."
"Tea?"
"Tea would be good."
"Great, oh hey…do we have any porridge, it's what he wants."
"Top cupboard if memory serves me."
"A kid that likes porridge…now that's something you don't see everyday."
"Nothing wrong with porridge, is there Arlo." Hannibal smiled, joining the young boy at the table.
"My favourite…are we going to the park today."
"I promised you, didn't I?"
"Swings?"
"Yes, we'll take you to the swings."
Hannibal got to his feet and came to join Will as he prepared the porridge for Arlo.
"You sure you're okay to go, I don't mind taking him by myself."
"Will I already said I'm fine, and besides…the fresh air will do me good."
"Have I told you lately how amazing you are?"
Hannibal smiled before Will kissed him gently.
…
Arlo ran towards the swings as Will and Hannibal followed him, Will had his hand pressed to Hannibal's back as they walked through the park, seeing all the other parents with their children.
"Just think, soon…this will be us." Will smiled.
"I can't wait."
Hannibal came behind Arlo as Will placed him in the swing.
"Are you ready Alro?"
"Push me."
Hannibal began slowly pushing the swing forwards as Will stood in front, pushing it back gently. One of the mother's was pushing her little girl next to them.
"Hey, I'm Faith, this is Caitlin."
"Hello, I'm Hannibal and this my partner Will."
"Hey, how you doing." Will smiled.
"And his name?"
"Oh, this is Arlo."
"Hello Arlo."
"Hi."
"I haven't seen you around here before, are you new to the area."
"No, we live about 10 minutes from here. We're babysitting for the weekend."
"Oh sorry, I just assumed he was yours."
"Soon."
"Oh, are you adopting?"
"Something like that." Hannibal smiled.
"Wonderful, you'll love it. There's no greater joy than your child, trust me. Well come on Caitlin, we better get back before daddy gets home for lunch. Hopefully we'll see you around again."
"More than likely…nice to meet you Faith."
"You too Hannibal…nice to meet you Will."
"Bye Faith."
Will came to stand next to Hannibal as he continued to push Arlo on the swing as Faith and Caitlin walked away.
"Why didn't you just tell her you were pregnant?"
"Will, a pregnant man isn't exactly normal is it? Your reaction was bad enough, could you imagine others."
"I knew that still affected you."
"What, no it…"
"I am so sorry for the way I reacted, it was just…"
"Shock?"
"Well, yeah. I never would have left you though; I just needed time to think. I love you so damn much and I couldn't live without you in my life."
"Sorry guys, Caitlin forgot her teddy." She smiled.
"Oh, allow me."
Hannibal bent down to retrieve the bear and handed it to Faith, who offered a smile of thanks.
"Erm Faith."
"Yes Will."
"Before…when you asked Hannibal and me about us having kids."
"What about it." She smiled.
"Will what are you doing." Hannibal asked, tugging on his arm.
"It's okay Han…well we are."
"Sorry, you are what?"
"We're having a baby, and no we're not adopting or fostering."
"A surrogate, that's wonderful."
"No, not a surrogate."
"Will, I really don't think Faith needs to know about…"
"Hannibal's pregnant, he's having our baby."
Faith's eyes went wide as Will spoke to her, she stood unsure of what to say.
"Oh…you're…pregnant. Wow, is that actually possible?" She asked Hannibal as she got closer.
"It would appear so, it's a small condition I have had since birth."
"Wow seriously wow, does it feel weird. I mean I know it felt weird for me, I can't imagine what it feels like for you."
"Hang on Faith, you're not shocked by what I just said?" Will asked.
"Well yeah but, I think it's great. Hey anything you guys need to know, any help at all…here, call me." Faith smiled, handing them one of her business cards.
"Wow, you're a designer."
"Was? I took a break when Caitlin was born and I've never really gone back to it."
"Well, thank you Faith." Hannibal smiled.
"Hey I mean, anything. I know there's a lot of single minded people out there. Hopefully we'll see you again soon, take care."
"Goodbye Faith…well she seems nice." Will said, turning to Hannibal.
"Yes she does, very kind."
"Hey buddy, you wanna try the slide next."
Arlo lifted his arms to Will as Hannibal put his hands on the side of the swings to stop it moving. Will lifted the young boy out and put him down as he ran towards the slide.
"We'll just be over here, don't go anywhere."
…
Will's arm came around Hannibal's waist as they went to sit down on the bench across from where Arlo was playing. The two men sat quietly and watched as Arlo kept himself amused.
"How are you feeling?" Will asked, his hand coming to cover Hannibal's.
"I think the fresh air did me the world of good."
"Well I'm glad, you had me worried earlier."
"Will, it's all completely normal, I assure you."
"I know it's just…you're such a strong person and seeing you like that this morning, you looked so…vulnerable."
"A word I would never have associated with myself."
"I hate not being able to help you."
Hannibal saw the way Will looked at him, his eyes full of love for him.
"Will, you're here with me now and that's all I need."
"I just…the morning sickness is bad enough on you, how the hell am I gonna handle you in labour."
"I admit, that part does terrify me a little."
"I'll try to help you all I can and hey…I'm sure Callie will supply plenty of drugs for you." He joked.
"Will."
"Mmmm."
"We've been though so much together…"
"Okay."
Will watched him with confusion on his face, wondering where he was going with it.
"I just want you to know that, everything I've done in the past…the hurt, the pain I caused you personally. If I could take it all back I…"
Will smiled before leaning in and placing his lips over the older mans, his hand coming to his neck, bringing him as close as he could.
"Hannibal…no more I'm sorry's…we don't think about the past anymore…just the future and the great things to come. You, me…and this little one."
Hannibal smiled as he looked down, feeling Will's warm palm against his stomach. He moved his body closer to Will and leaned against him, his hand covering Will's as they turned to watch Arlo play.
…
To Be Continued…
