Disclaimer: I don't own Hannibal, but all original characters are mine.
Pretty Little Things
Chapter Twenty-one
December, 2013.
As November gave way to December, and as the year drew to a close, Victoria found that working with Abigail was difficult. The girl was evasive, and Victoria found that she didn't want to discuss anything that her father had done.
"I'm ready to throw up my hands with her," Victoria told Hannibal as he carefully copied notes into a patient's file. "She's so difficult…"
"Have patience, Victoria," Hannibal said softly, not looking up from his work.
"Is she more open with you and Will Graham?" Victoria said, kicking off her flats and drawing her knees to her chin as she stared into the fire.
"I wouldn't say so. Of course, how open is she with you?"
"She doesn't want to talk about anything. It seems like she doesn't want me to help her."
"Then maybe you ought to wait until she comes to you, Victoria," Hannibal replied. "Abigail lost both of her parents, but she was closest to her father. It only makes sense that she would gravitate toward Will Graham and me."
"Speaking of which." Victoria made a face when she heard the door to the patients' entrance open and saw Will Graham enter the study. Victoria bent to pick up her flats and rose from the chair. "I can put together dinner tonight, if you want. I really want croque-madames…"
"Croque-madames sounds delicious. Good evening, Will. If you'll excuse me, Victoria."
"Sure." Victoria swept past Will, murmuring a hello and not giving him a chance to reply. She didn't know why, but she couldn't shake her initial feelings about Will Graham. She regarded him as an interloper, as someone who might be able to see through the façade that Hannibal—and even she—had carefully crafted to avoid detection.
She opened the refrigerator to take stock of what was in the kitchen, and frowned when she saw that he didn't have any Gruyere cheese. She would have to go to the store, she thought dismally, looking at the weather outside. She traded her flats for boots and nearly ran to her car, shivering at the cold. She was still a California girl at heart, she thought, as she started up the car, shivering as she waited for it to warm up. She wondered if she could ever persuade Hannibal to move to a warmer city, like maybe San Francisco, but he seemed to like where he was, given the close proximity to Johns Hopkins and Georgetown and even the FBI headquarters in Quantico.
Why did she feel so angry about that aspect, though?
She found some Gruyere and some Italian bread at the grocery store closest to the house, and somehow she was relieved that she didn't see Franklyn Froideveaux anywhere. That was something that bothered her, and something that she ought to discuss with Hannibal, but he dismissed her concerns. But now she had leverage. Now there was the baby, and she knew that Hannibal wouldn't want anything to happen to her or the baby.
She didn't enjoy the thought of using the baby as leverage now, but reality was a harsh thing: Hannibal had to think of things, now that he was going to be a father.
"Ms. Landry. Or should I say Mrs. Lecter?"
Victoria recognized the steely, cool voice of Freddie Lounds and turned to face her as she put the groceries in the car. "It's actually Landry-Lecter, Ms. Lounds."
Freddie inclined her head, examining Victoria with cool, calculating eyes. "Yes, I saw it in the newspaper. Congratulations."
Victoria glared at her. "Just what do you want?"
"Just some answers, Mrs. Landry-Lecter." Freddie took a step toward her. "Dr. Lecter and your lawyers have kept you very insulated from the press through all these years. But you've immersed yourself in it again with the Abigail Hobbs case."
"Fuck you," Victoria spat out. "I have nothing else to say to you."
Freddie smiled. "Of course you wouldn't. But Abigail Hobbs might."
"What might Abigail say?"
"I don't know," Freddie sighed mockingly. "That you're a tad too forceful with the desire to help…"
Victoria glared at her. "Fuck you," she repeated. "You print anything about me, I sue."
"I know that, Victoria. Which is why I exclude any coverage about you. It helps that Daddy was well-connected, doesn't it? But no one ever said I couldn't cover Dr. Lecter or even Will Graham, especially when he threatened to kill me…"
"You conniving cunt. You publish anything else having to do with my husband, my lawyers and I will sue. You'll be so fucked. You'll live in a double-wide before the new year…"
"You seem to like to drop f-bombs, Victoria."
"Only when it's related to you." Victoria put the last of the groceries in the car.
"That incident in Minnesota, Victoria," Freddie went on. Victoria focused on the rattle of the cart as she pushed it toward the cart corral. "There was a lot of concern over you. One of the police officers mentioned that you might be pregnant…"
Victoria whirled to face Freddie. "Are you recording this?"
Freddie remained silent.
"Good," Victoria said. "When I get home, I'm calling my lawyer. And getting a restraining order. I hope you have a good lawyer, Freddie. You print that stuff, you're going to need one."
Freddie arched a defined eyebrow. "This isn't California, Mrs. Landry-Lecter. I suggest you figure that out."
"I suggest you get a lawyer. Because you're going to need one. California or not, Dr. Lecter has lawyers, too. And he's connected to the FBI. So you just think about that." Victoria turned away from Freddie and walked casually to her car.
She won't find out. She won't find out. She won't find out.
I love you, Mischa.
She touched her belly before starting her car. This baby. Hannibal's and hers.
They won't touch you, Mischa. I promise you that.
She would tell Hannibal and call Lou tonight. And have Tamille taker care of Abigail from here on out.
And it would all be okay.
"You have excellent taste, Victoria." Hannibal appraised her purchases with a loving smile, and that was when she went to his side, clinging to his arm.
"I called Lou, Hannibal. They're subpoenaing everything she has concerning us, including any recordings she has of me…"
"What recordings does Freddie Lounds have of you?" Hannibal demanded.
"The ones she took tonight. I was calm enough," Victoria replied, stepping aside as Hannibal took over the preparation of dinner.
"What did you say?"
"I told her I would sue her, that she would end up with no money, all that…She mentioned the baby, Hannibal."
He stiffened. "Then warn her that, going forward, we will both be calling our attorneys if she steps on the property."
"If she does, I want her arrested. " Victoria sat down on the island in front of the counter as she watched Hanni bal cut the baguette for the sandwiches. "I'll get a protection order, if I have to…"
"There is no need to obtain a protection order, Victoria. A letter from your attorney should be enough."
"At least I sounded more civilized than Will Graham," Victoria said, snitching a piece of Gruyere that he had just cut.
Hannibal frowned. "Please leave Will Graham out of this discussion, Victoria. You know better than to behave as he did and threaten Ms. Lounds with bodily harm."
"But you wouldn't let me do it like you let him do it," she purred out.
Hannibal stopped cutting the baguette and put the knife down, his head snapping up so that he might meet Victoria's stare. She had surprised him, she knew, with what she had just said, and now he would try to regain his composure and his control over the situation. "You're very witty, tonight, Victoria, but I have no desire to discuss my patient with my wife. I endeavor to keep my personal and professional lives separate, now that I am about to have a family."
"You didn't endeavor to keep these things separate a few weeks ago when we went to Minnesota," she reminded him.
"And I saw how troublesome it can be. Do not interest yourself in Will Graham, Victoria, for he will only draw you into his world. You have only seen a glimpse of it. It can be very dangerous."
"Dangerous for whom? For him or for me?"
He took a sip of his wine, his eyes not leaving hers. She was challenging him, and he knew it. After some moments, he resumed preparation of the meal, placing the meat and cheese on the sliced baguette pieces just so. "It could be dangerous for you. Will Graham has a unique gift, but it has left him teetering on the edge of sanity. Given the right circumstances, he could very easily fall into insanity and become a danger not only to himself, but to those around him. To me, since I am his psychiatrist and he is under my care, and possibly to you."
"Don't you think you're preparing for the worst when it comes to him?" Victoria asked him. "Hannibal, he's weird, I'll grant you that, but he's pretty harmless. I certainly don't see how he can be dangerous."
"Danger comes in many forms, Victoria, as you well know. You yourself seem kind and compassionate, with only the best of intentions, but we both know that you can be dangerous. You do remember, don't you, my dear?"
"I was following your lead, Hannibal."
"You weren't following my lead, Victoria, you were embracing the darkness within you, the darkness that he created. You regained the power that he had taken away from you for so many years, and you wielded it as an Amazon wields a spear."
"That was only once." Victoria shuddered. "I don't want to remember that night, Hannibal."
"Of course you don't," Hannibal answered. "That was in the past, and we have nothing but the future to look forward to."
"That's why you need to be careful when it comes to Will Graham. I know he…fascinates you, with whatever it is he can do, his mojo…"
"His mojo?" Hannibal laughed.
"You know what I mean. His gift. He can so easily step into someone else's shoes and almost become them. It would be very easy for him to lose his grip on reality."
"And that is why he sees me each week. I help him to maintain that grip on reality."
"But how can you help someone who is already unhinged? You can't give him a pill to calm down. Once he's gone, he's gone…"
"What are you saying I ought to do, Victoria?" Hannibal demanded, his voice rising just a bit.
"I'm saying that maybe you ought to refer him to another psychiatrist. Or at least think about it. We have too many secrets, Hannibal, and the more you keep letting him in, the more likely it is he's going to find out."
"And you don't want him to find out."
"No."
"Why don't you want him to find out, Victoria? Are you frightened of the consequences if he does?"
"Hannibal," she croaked, her throat growing dry. "That's not it…"
"Are you frightened of what I would do to keep those secrets just between you and me?" he pursued, drizzling olive oil in the cast iron skillet.
"What would you do?" she whispered, her heart beginning to palpitate.
He turned up the flame on the stove, then set the skillet on it so the olive oil could heat up. He turned his face up to hers very slowly, a frown tugging at the corners of his lips. "I would do whatever it took to keep those secrets between us, Victoria."
And so now we're beginning to see the true nature of their relationship. Even if Victoria loves the Hannibal on the surface, she's terrified of who Hannibal really is, because she has seen it firsthand. The narrative of what occurred that night will occur within the next few chapters, juxtaposed with the Angelmaker episode. Yes, Victoria has had some of Hannibal's special shroom tea, too.