Disclaimer: All characters in here belong to Thomas Harris.

A/N:

Mads Mikkelsen is going to play Hannibal Lecter in the new NBC series, what do you guys think about that? He's a Danish actor that has been famous in Denmark for as long as I can remember. I've never had anything against him but I've never gone out of my way to watch a movie with him either. But he's the best actor Denmark has to offer and I'm actually quite excited to see his performance… But Hannibal will always be Anthony Hopkins to me.

Poor guy, he's going to suffer if he doesn't do a great job… it's quite the role to accept.

Good luck Mads! I'll watch it whether it sucks or not.

Chapter Nine

"Well, well, well, Agent Starling. What have we here?"

Clarice could feel her heart beat against her ribcage with painful thumbs as Dr. Chilton came closer. His smile reached his ears and he winked as he stopped in front of her.

"I think congratulations are in order." He eyed her stomach and raised an eyebrow. "I guess it has been a while since I last saw you…"

"Yes…" She said weakly.

"I must admit, I did wonder why you didn't visit."

"Dr. Chilton, please…"

"Oh! I have to get going." With those words, he hurried to the counter. Clarice had the rest of the sentence on her lips, but he left the book instead of taking himself time to buy it. He was out of the store before she could utter another syllable.

She watched his diminishing form with wide eyes as she took a deep breath. Slowly, she whispered "…don't tell Dr. Lecter."

Chilton was smiling.

That was never a good sign.

Hannibal had been sitting by his desk, drawing the Cathedral of Burgos. The gothic arcs were nearly finished when he heard the telltale sound of the barred door swinging open and Chilton's hurried footsteps followed by the confused orderlies. He'd remained seated not even lifting his gaze when they stopped in front of the glass, but as soon as Chilton spoke, Hannibal knew that he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello Hannibal."

With a sigh, he put away the drawing and lifted his eyes, staring coldly at Chilton. The man was standing far too close for Hannibal's liking and the intrusion into his personal space sent bile to his throat. This man was going to suffer one day… Hannibal was going to make sure of it.

"Hello Dr. Chilton." He said as he let his lips twitch into a smile. Make him suffer… what a lovely thought. Maybe he should eat his tongue. That would be rather poetic. On the other hand, Hannibal felt like eating all of him; to cleanse his bones from meat and then make soup on the rest. Not a trace of this man would be left and Hannibal felt rather content at the thought.

"You'll never guess what just happened today." Chilton chuckled.

"I can guess but I won't believe it." Hannibal's smile widened. "Did you get published?"

Chilton's smile faltered for a moment but with a sudden laugh and an ominous glint in his eye, the man took a step back, signaling to Barney. Hannibal knew he should have stayed quiet.

"Tie him up real good. I want him to look me in the eyes when I tell him this…"

Both Barney and Jim stood still, glancing at each other to see who would move first. Dean was shifting from foot to foot, holding onto the tranquilizer with a firm grip. His eyes were jumping between the two black orderlies, awaiting instructions. After several moments where the orderlies glanced between each other with indecision, Dean finally asked.

"Does that mean we have to go in there?"

Hannibal suppressed a chuckle as Chilton fumed with anger, stepping forward and wrenching the tranquilizer gun out of young Dean Morris's hands.

"Yes!" He hissed. "Get the mask, the straightjacket and the fucking cart!"

Dean scrambled down the hall and with a glance from Barney, Jim followed with a sigh. The big orderly remained behind, crossing his arms across his chest and looked down at his superior with the slightest hint of detest that only Hannibal picked up on. They waited in silence until they finally heard the squeak of the wheels on the cart as it was rolled down the hall. Dean and Jim came into view and Hannibal rose from his seat. It was better to get it over with.

"You know the drill Hannibal." Chilton spoke as he gave the tranquilizer back to Dean. "Try anything and we shoot. With any luck, you'll fall and break your neck."

The Doctor remained quiet as they sent through his mask and the straightjacket. He put the mask on and slipped his arms through the sleeves of the jacket, crossing his arms across his chest and standing with his back to the entrance. He heard the glass slide open and the sound of Barney's heavy footsteps as he came in. Hannibal felt the tug as Barney started strapping in the straightjacket and it was with a grateful thought to his friend that he realized that the jacket was a bit loose to help the circulation in his arms.

"Please turn around Dr. Lecter."

He did as he was bid, turning around and catching Barney's eyes in the process. The big orderly was frowning and Hannibal's red lips parted. He wanted to ask if he knew what was going on, but Barney must have understood as he shook his head. The cart was brought in by Jim and Hannibal realized that Dean was already in the room with the gun trained on him with a firm grip. Jim rolled the cart behind Hannibal and he stepped up, letting the two men strap him in.

"That's better…" Chilton was leaning against the glass, having stepped into the cell. "Barney, take the gun from Dean and wait outside the cell. The rest of you can leave…"

Hannibal licked his lips as they were left alone. Barney stepped outside the cell and stood still, holding the tranquilizer across his chest and watching Chilton warily. Out of the corner of his eyes, Hannibal saw Chilton push off from the wall and step up to him. He kept looking at Barney outside the cell and as the big orderly noticed it, his gaze shifted and their eyes locked.

Chilton walked around the cart, stopping as he came face to face with Hannibal again. The Doctor didn't acknowledge his presence and the man frowned with contempt. He was standing so close that Hannibal could feel his jacket brush against his jumpsuit, but he remained completely still, fighting an urge to flinch away from the man.

"I met someone today. It was quite a surprise, I must say." He started with the corner of his lips tugging into a smile. "A mutual friend of ours…"

Chilton turned his head to look at Barney for a moment, but the big orderly didn't move his gaze from Hannibal's.

"Agent Starling was in Washington DC today."

Hannibal would have frowned, but he kept his face completely emotionless. Washington DC? Wasn't she supposed to be in Detroit? She could be home for a day, but on the other hand… he hadn't heard about any serial killer in Detroit yet… As he had first suspected, she had lied. It was quite hard to read people over the telephone, he admitted to himself.

"She looked good; she really did." Chilton chuckled. "A bit big if you ask me… Did you know? Did she tell you?"

Big? Sure, she had gained weight but… still… big? And what was she supposed to have told him?

"No, she didn't, did she Hannibal?"

Hannibal was sure that his face showed no emotions, but somehow, Chilton was still able to read him. The man had known him for too long…

"This is priceless…" Chilton laughed, glancing between Hannibal and Barney, awaiting a reaction. They stayed still, but it was all he wanted from them. "How do I tell you this Hannibal…"

Chilton took a step back and then one forward again, watching Hannibal's face as if he was a sculpture to be studied. The light reflected against Chilton's tanned forehead and Hannibal wouldn't have been surprised if he had been able to see his own reflection.

"She's pregnant."

The words came like a blow to the gut.

Hannibal couldn't move nor breathe as pain shot up from his stomach and to his throat. He made an involuntary movement and Chilton smiled widely. Barney's eyes had gone wide and they wavered from Hannibal's for a moment. He tried to breathe and air finally came down his nose in a controlled manner, but the damage was already done; Chilton had seen him flinch.

"I guess, she got tired of waiting for you Hannibal…" Chilton started speaking and Hannibal heard all the words though his mind was somewhere else completely. Pregnant…? But she hadn't… wait… she had. Suddenly it all made sense. Clarice's weight gain, her clothes, the involuntary movements she'd made as if she wanted to touch her stomach, the tears and all the emotions he'd sensed in her whenever they were together.

"She found a plaything and he got her pregnant. Of course, she might not even be in a relationship. What a naughty girl she has been, sleeping around like that…"

Chilton's words rang through his head. What if…? What if she had found someone else? He tried to fight the bile in his throat and he swallowed hard. Had she really moved on? It now made sense that she had called instead of visiting, making up a lie about Detroit, but had he misread her completely? He'd thought… he'd been sure that she liked him. Or maybe… maybe he had imagined the whole thing in his own infatuation with her. His throat tightened.

Or maybe… A small voice sounded in his head. Or maybe the baby is yours…?

He remained completely still as the thought hit him like a truck running over a deer. No… no…

"Hannibal, if she's all alone, you might still have a chance. I might still have a chance, but I'm not sure that I could live with that woman… so rude. "

Alone… all alone… Clarice had no one. Hannibal knew that. How could he let her do it alone? To raise a baby as a single mother… If it was his… if it was his baby…

He wanted to groan as the pain started in his stomach, but he kept his eyes on Barney. The big orderly looked like he was suffering just as much as Hannibal.

"How does it feel Hannibal?" Chilton asked not really expecting an answer. "How does it feel to know that your girlfriend cheated on you?"

A moment went past where Hannibal tried to breathe normally. Chilton exited the cell, apparently happy with today's work. Hannibal vaguely heard the order to let him out of his restraints as Jim and Dean came hurrying. Chilton walked down the hall and the sound of his footsteps disappeared in the distance. When they released him from the cart, he could feel his legs give out underneath him. Barney caught him and held him up till Hannibal could stand on his own. It was quite normal that he couldn't stand after being restrained, but it hadn't been for very long and he shouldn't be feeling so weak at all. The straightjacket was loosened and the orderlies left the cell.

"Please put your mask and the straightjacket in the drawer Dr. Lecter." Barney spoke with a low tone and Hannibal couldn't look him in the eyes as he took them off. He didn't want to see the pain and the pity.

The orderlies left down the hall and Hannibal stood alone in the middle of his cell.

Clarice was pregnant?

Barney took the mask and the straightjacket from the drawer and glanced back at Dr. Lecter. The man was standing completely still, looking fixedly at the wall. It was better to leave him alone. As they went down the hall, Barney thought about what he'd just witnessed.

Agent Starling was pregnant…

Dr. Lecter had been completely still as Chilton delivered his small speech, but he'd seen it; the small flinch as he'd been told the news. It was just a flinch, but a flinch meant the world to Doctor Hannibal Lecter. Barney had tried to hold the Doctor's gaze during the show, but he'd found his own eyes flicker away too many times. The things Chilton had said… suggested, had been downright cruel.

As they came back to the surveillance room, Barney ignored the others' questions and sat down in the chair that faced the screen that showed Dr. Lecter's cell. He was still standing in middle of the room and Barney knew he hadn't moved an inch. Slowly, as if he had all the time in the world, which he probably did, Dr. Lecter turned around and lay down on the bed. He curled up, his knees nearly touching his chest and his arms covering his head.

And there he stayed.

Hannibal felt a tremble run up his spine as he drew his knees up to his chest. He ran his hands over his head and rested them there. How pathetic…

He hated feeling things. Emotions weren't exactly foreign to him, but for the last few decades not much of them had been left. But he remembered a time; a time where he could barely reach the table and where he'd thought he was safe. It was like being thrown back to childhood and he needed to be in control again. He needed to go back to a time with no Clarice Starling and no basement in Jame Gumb's house.

He took a deep breath.

Why did he get so emotional? There was no reason at all. The child was most likely not his and he'd known all along that Clarice wouldn't stay with him.

The child was most likely not his…

Did that mean that he believed Chilton's words? That Clarice had slept with someone else? It didn't seem like her… not so soon after him…

But she hadn't been showing and she should be well into the seventh month now if it was his… But you're not a very big man, are you now, Doctor? And I'm not a very big woman either… the child would be small. Our child would be small.

He needed to be sure though. He needed to be sure and he needed to see her.

As Hannibal tried to be reasonable and suppress those ridiculous emotions, he became embarrassingly aware that a single tear was making its way down his cheek at an alarming rate.

This was wrong. It was all so, so wrong.

Instead, as always, anger was the easiest emotion to handle. But he couldn't move. He couldn't show Chilton exactly how hard his words hit him. Hannibal wanted to throw the chair against the wall; rip it from the floor despite the bolts. He could rip apart his mattress his books and his drawings but in the end, it would only hurt himself.

Righteous, honest Clarice hadn't told him that she was pregnant. She, who told truths like they were nothing, had remained quiet when it mattered most. It didn't sound like her, but then again, as emotional and hormonal as she had been lately, wasn't it very likely that she had kept it secret in some misguided attempt to protect her child? But from whom was she protecting it? Was she afraid that he would hurt the baby or was she afraid, someone else would? That someone had been able to hurt him in his own cell and there had been nothing anyone could do about it. The guards were most likely walking free and if people already thought he and Clarice were close… then what about the child she had?

Hannibal wanted to rip something apart; anything, but he gritted his teeth and sunk his hands into the blanket. Images of blood and tearing flesh flashed through his mind and he felt his mouth watering. People would want to hurt the baby and whether Clarice had realized that it wasn't him that she should protect the baby from but the others, didn't matter to them or him. Anger coursed through his veins at the thought of her denial and stupidity, but most of all, he wanted to feed Mason Verger to the dogs all over again.

But there wasn't anything he could do in here to feel better; no outlet, no nothing.

And if the baby was his?

There wasn't anything he could do about it from in here either…

Oh fuck!

Clarice was pacing her room with her hand covering her mouth. Oh fuck... What had she done? No, she hadn't done anything. Chilton had. That despicable man had probably gone back to the Asylum and thrown it right in the face of Hannibal. And what would he do? He would get furious… she'd lied to him so much lately. And what would he think? Oh fuck…

Doctor Hannibal Lecter wasn't stupid…

She sat down on the bed with a sob. He would guess it right away. It would be his first question when she saw him again.

Is it mine?

She could hear his metallic rasp ask with wide eyes as he looked at her swollen belly. But what if she didn't go? She had no obligation to him. The only thing she had to do was call him in two weeks and pretend she had never seen Dr. Chilton.

But he wouldn't believe a word she said and if she kept lying, it would be the end of whatever friendship that resided between them. Friendship… Doctor Hannibal Lecter didn't have friends. He was a monster, but what did that make her? She remembered the names that she'd been called when she first visited him. Frankenstein's Bride… And what about her baby? She ran a hand over her stomach. If people knew… They could never have a normal life. Fuck…

Hannibal was the only one who knew that he could be the father and he wouldn't tell anyone, would he? He wouldn't try to get some kind of right to see the child, would he? Clarice stretched her hand out to the phone. She could call now and ask to talk with him, but wouldn't Chilton think it was a bit weird that she cared so much about Hannibal hearing that she was pregnant? Probably…

She let her hand fall to her side. Maybe she should just act normal and call him in two weeks. If he asked about the child, she would be truthful, wouldn't she? She only had to say yes when he asked if he was the father. Say yes and then tell him that he couldn't tell on them. He'd understand.

Why would Dr. Lecter want to claim a child anyway? He'd never showed any interest in children and if he'd wanted to, he could have married some woman had a bunch of them. It would have helped his cover. It would have made him look more normal if he had a family. He'd have no interest in a child much less a baby. Clarice was sure he wouldn't want anything to do with her baby, but he'd love to see her fall, wouldn't he? To say he was the father and see all her ambitions ripped away underneath her. Or so would Mr. Crawford have thought.

It wasn't the Hannibal she had got to know. To start with, he'd been just like Crawford had described but slowly, he'd opened up to her. He was courteous and he had respect. The more Clarice thought about it, the surer she became. Hannibal would never ruin her life in that way. He might even offer to help out in some fashion. But how he would react to the news of a child, how he would feel… Clarice had no idea.

Would he be happy or even care in the slightest?

He might feel obligated to do something. He did have some firm rules about what was right and what was wrong…

Clarice's hand hovered over the phone.

She too had some firm rules about right and wrong.

But she wasn't stupid either.

A/N:

What is it with the short chapters lately?

I left you with a cliffhanger last time and we needed the resolution. It was a bit short. Sorry XD

I really need to think about what's going to happen next and this time I'm going to let you guys decide.

Should she wait two weeks to be safe from suspicion or follow her moral code and call now?

What would Clarice do?

I really have no idea, but the conversation, two weeks later or not would still be the same.

These last few chapters have come pretty quick together on the expense of my other story, so I'll dedicate some time to it while I figure out how to approach the situation in this story. I do have a fair few scenarios in mind, but the timing needs to be right.

Did anyone notice that Dr. Lecter doesn't refer to the baby as his when thinking about it? It's just the baby. I once heard a saying that men don't become fathers till they see the child, but since I'm neither a dude nor a parent… he was pretty hard to write. I don't think he would become so emotional that he would start sympathizing with the child or imagining the child as his. He is far too objective. Whatever feelings he has, are for Clarice and only her at the moment. Of course, I intend to change that. He knows what a child means to a mother and in that regard, he doesn't want anything bad to happen to the child and thus upsetting Clarice.

I'll spare you from the lecture on his feelings… I was getting caught up in explaining something that I really should be showing through the story. If I need to explain then it means that I'm not doing my job good enough XD

Till next time!

Firebolt

BTW

Thoughts on Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal? I'm excited, don't know about you guys….