Final chapter:)

Chapter Fourteen

Hannibal gave Will a long look, still doubting his next move. Hannibal knew he had complete power over the outcome of this case, he just wasn't sure what to do with it.

He could claim the suspect is sane, and therefore guilty of the murders. However, that would mean Talia would be taken away. He could always declare the man insane and innocent, leaving Talia in his custody. However, that would most definitely result in a loss of Will's peace of mind. Hannibal wanted Will on the verge of insanity, but he wanted to be the cause of it.

There could be no uncontrolled factors in his experiment, and having Will think the murderer is still out in the world would be difficult to control.

Hannibal sighed and made his way to the interrogation room, stopping before the door and turning to Jack. "If you do not mind, I must ask you to turn off the microphones. Patient confidentiality is still in order, at least until the psych evaluation is due," he explained, hoping Jack would buy it.

"Of course, doctor," Jack agreed, flipping a switch on the desk. "Go on ahead."

Hannibal nodded and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He sat down at the table across from the suspect and plastered a smile on his face. "Hello Mr. Elwood," he greeted.

The thin man looked up meekly before shying away again. Hannibal cleared his throat before asking the first question of the verbal evaluation. "Do you acknowledge any of your psychosocial history?"

Ripley Elwood squinted at the table and appeared quite uncomfortable. "Y-yes…?"

Hannibal cocked his head to one side, still watching the suspect. "Would you mind explaining?" He asked.

Elwood was silent. His fingers wove together frantically on the table, held down by handcuffs.

Hannibal sighed and moved on. "Do you have any history of mental health treatment?"

Elwood nodded. "Yeah…"

Hannibal raised an eyebrow. "What clinic were you held at, and what were you being treated for?"

The suspect shrugged, and Hannibal found himself becoming curious. "Did you kill the Millers?" He asked after making sure the microphones were off.

Elwood reddened, his fingernails picking at the table. "Yes?"

Hannibal narrowed his eyes. "Did you kill Talia Miller?"

"Yeah…?"

Hannibal smiled, hypothesizing what condition the man suffered from. He pushed further, now doing so for his own entertainment. "Did you kill Jack Crawford, and Will Graham?"

"Yes…"

Hannibal nodded. "Then I think we're done here." He was almost positive he knew what was wrong with the man's mental health. He assumed that Elwood had a severe form of Avoidant Personality Disorder. This led Hannibal to assume the suspect would agree to just about anything out of fear of rejection. His mind wasn't capable of understanding his situation, he only cared about saying what the people around him wanted to hear.

Hannibal stood up and exited the room, easily putting on a concerned emotion. "I can get the official documentation for the evaluation to you tomorrow, but Ripley Elwood is certainly sane," Hannibal lied. "I strongly recommend, however, that you are quick with receiving the confession. He is placed in a highly stressful situation and may be apt to agree to anything you may say."

Jack nodded. "So what you're saying is, ask if he killed them and leave? No more questions?"

Hannibal smiled at how easily Jack could be manipulated. "Precisely."

Hannibal turned to the opposite side of the room to see Will pressed into the corner, holding Talia tightly in his arms. Hannibal's smile dropped into a sincere frown when he saw how Talia had buried her face in Will's shoulder.

Hannibal approached his patient and carefully put an arm around his shoulders. To Hannibal's surprise, the profiler didn't tense up under his touch. In fact, it almost felt like he leaned into it. Hannibal had about 45 seconds of peace before Jack walked over to them.

"I should take the girl now, there's a woman outside waiting to bring her to a home," Jack explained.

Hannibal then felt Will tense up. "N-no," the agent murmured.

"Excuse me?" Jack asked, his voice raising.

Will looked up and made direct eye contact with his boss. "I don't want to leave her."

"Well that's not how the world works, you can't just drop everything for a girl you took care of for a week!" Jack yelled.

Hannibal kept his arm around Will, fully supporting his patient's sudden defiance.

"Yes, I can. That's exactly what I plan on doing, too," Will replied calmly, still glaring at Jack.

"No, you can't! I need you back on the field. If you don't return, people are going to keep dying and it's my responsibility!" Jack shouted.

"Exactly, it's your responsibility," Will retorted. "Not mine."

Jack stepped closer and loomed over the profiler. "Will. I'm taking Talia to a foster home, and I'll even give you tomorrow off to work out your personal issues," he ordered, lowering the intensity of his voice. The larger man then pried Talia from Will's arms before turning his back to Will.

Talia immediately screamed out, tears forming in her eyes. She squirmed in Jack's arms and kicked at his stomach.

Hannibal pulled Will closer to him, unsure whether or not he was doing it more for his patient's comfort or his own.

It wasn't until Talia let out a terrified, high pitched 'No!' that Will instantly stiffened up and yelled out at Jack.

"Put. Her. Down!" Will shouted, and Hannibal could hear the painful rasping of the man's throat.

Jack froze, but kept his back to the profiler. "Will-"

"Put her down," Will demanded, barely lowering his voice.

Jack turned to face the agent, and Hannibal found himself subconsciously stepping protectively in front.

"Jack, I think it would be in everyone's best interest if you released the girl," Hannibal explained, his voice softer but clearly threatening.

"Dr. Lecter, you of all people should understand that Will's care for Talia was completely occupational. This was a small task that I assigned him, and now he's ready to go back to his real job," Jack argued.

"I quit."

oOo

Will could feel all the attention turn to him once he declared his resignation. The heat of their stares burned into his skin, but he held his ground.

Dr. Lecter spoke first. "I think what Will means is that he's willing to risk his work in return for a final goodbye to the girl," he tried to explain.

Will narrowed his eyes. "No, I mean-"

"Will."

Dr. Lecter was directly in front of him within a matter of seconds, holding on to his shoulders.

"I believe you are thinking irrationally due to your heightened emotions right now. Just let me guide us out of this argument and you can rethink your decision later," Dr. Lecter whispered, just loud enough for Will to hear.

Will huffed, but he nodded.

"Alright then," Dr. Lecter spoke up so that Jack could hear. "I think we need one more moment with Talia before she leaves." The psychiatrist turned to Jack, his glare clearly stating that this wasn't up for debate.

Jack sighed, clearly unhappy. "Fine. I'll be in the hallway for five minutes, then I'm coming back in and leaving with the girl."

Will watched his psychiatrist give a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Will didn't even bother pretending. He shot Jack an angry snarl until the man put Talia down. The girl immediately ran over to him and Dr. Lecter and hid behind them.

Jack paused in the room for a few more moments in silence before exiting, his jaw clenched in irritation.

Will turned to face Dr. Lecter, taking a deep breath before stepping closer and closing most of the space between them. His hand reached down and pulled Talia in tighter, while maintaining eye contact with his psychiatrist.

Will could feel his nerves and fevered heat returning, but that didn't matter right now. He heard hooves stomping in the back of his head, but he forced all hallucinations away. He felt his other hand twitching in anger, pain, and anticipation.

"Hannibal, I can't let her go," Will mumbled, feeling the lost words roll off his tongue. "I don't want to lose this, this family we have. I don't want to lose her, because then I'll lose you too. You've kept me sane and stable and you're the only person that doesn't talk to me like they're walking on glass."

Dr. Lecter smiled and reached out to rest his hand against the side of Will's face, using his thumb to caress his cheek. "I know, Will. We did what we could, but we have to trust that-"

Will silenced the doctor by pressing his lips to the other man's mouth. Dr. Lecter didn't pull away, so Will allowed himself to close what was left of the gap between them. He felt his demons dissipate into the air, the crime scenes and stags no longer poisoning his thoughts. The only thing that kept him grounded was the doctor pushed against him and the little girl holding his hand beside him.

After a few moments, Dr. Lecter pulled away and Will felt all the darkness swarm back into his mind. He was shaking, but he managed to look up and meet the doctor's gaze.

"Alright, Will. I understand," Dr. Lecter murmured before stepping back just in time for Jack to open the door and barge back inside.

"Okay we're done here, let's go," Jack ordered, picking up Talia and making his way towards the exit. Talia screamed again, reaching out to grasp empty air as she was carried farther away from Dr. Lecter and Will.

"Wait, Jack."

Jack turned to face Dr. Lecter, eyes narrowed in irritation. "What now?"

Will watched in awe as the psychiatrist walked up to Jack with complete confidence. "I believe Will and I have decided to obtain full custody of Talia," Dr. Lecter explained.

Jack gave a short laugh before realizing that the doctor wasn't kidding. He frowned, his anger evident. "Really, doctor? You and Will want to adopt the girl?"

Dr. Lecter didn't flinch. "I certainly do," he replied before turning back towards his patient. "Will?"

Will walked over and grabbed Dr. Lecter's hand in his own. "I'd love to."

oOo

Thank you all so much for reading this, the support was absolutely amazing. Sorry for the super cheesy, kinda ooc ending, but I didn't know how else to finish this. I'm always up for a collaboration fic with any of you guys, you can always message me on here or on tumblr at citizen-of-gotham. Thanks for everything!