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Bella smiled, her eyes still closed, as she smelled the telltale signs of breakfast being made downstairs. If she listened close enough, she could hear her parents discussing whether or not to come up and wake her. Deciding to end the debate, she slid out of bed and stretched as she walked down the hallway, happy to not feel a pain in her back with the movement. The only thing that remained on her back was a large red scar where Hannibal had stitched her up. Her leg was still recovering from her lack of using it, but she could dance for short periods of time. For now, she was happy with that.

"There is my little bird." Hannibal's voice echoed in the kitchen, his view allowing him to see the landing at the bottom of the stairs. "Good morning and merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Bella smiled as she entered the room. She sat down beside her mother at the kitchen counter, closing her eyes when Clarice pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "Any news today?"

Hannibal grinned. "They finally discovered we were on the cruise, but they won't get any further than that." He set a plate of food down in front of her. "You need to eat all of that. Don't think I didn't see the slight limp in your step."

"She's still healing." Clarice smiled, brushing back Bella's hair. "At least her back is healed." Hannibal nodded her way, acknowledging the scarier of the two injuries sustained a month ago. She turned back to her daughter. "Anyway, what did you want to do today?"

"Is there something going on in town today?" Bella asked as she poured herself a glass of juice. "I figured with the holiday there would be too many people to go out."

Clarice smirked. "Day in town, huh? I figured you'd want to open up your presents."

Bella's eyes widened, her fork frozen halfway between her plate and her mouth as she looked from her mother to her father. "Presents? What presents? We haven't left the house."

"You haven't. We've been taking turns." Clarice chuckled before standing with her cleaned plate. She moved around to Hannibal, setting her dirty dishes next to the sink to be washed later. She leaned into Hannibal's side when his arm wrapped around her. "Your father wasn't too keen on EVERY holiday tradition, but I got some things by him with a little persuasion."

"Like the monstrosity that has your presents underneath." Hannibal huffed out. "We made it as elegant as possible though."

Bella nearly sprung out of her chair, sprinting towards the living room. "You got a tree!"

Clarice grinned when Hannibal couldn't contain his joyful smile. Despite his objections to having a Christmas tree, she had used their daughter's happiness to sway his mind along with the idea of giving her some traditions to hold on to. "I didn't even see a limp in her step. You made her so happy."

"We did." Hannibal corrected softly before taking a step forward with her to follow their daughter.

Bella had stopped in the living room when she saw the Christmas tree lit up with white lights and coordinating ornaments. Not a single fern out of place. She could also see the pile of presents surrounding the bottom, some with her name and others with her parents' names. But, her attention quickly moved to the book on the coffee table that had her name on it.

Moving to the book, she sat down on the floor before it, gently caressing the edges with her fingertips. "What is this?" She asked, never looking away from the book even as her parents walked in quietly. It wasn't until she sensed the mood shift that she peered over at them. "I've never seen this before."

"I made it for your father while you were growing up. It was an insurance policy of sorts." Clarice explained in a breath. She watched as Hannibal moved to sit on the couch behind Bella, leaning over her protectively. She sat down beside him, keeping eye contact with her daughter. "I knew one day you would need to know who your father is. My job was dangerous, and I could've died without warning."

"So, I made this book. One, to tell Hannibal everything that was happening with you. He didn't get to see you grow up, so I wanted him to have something tangible. Two, in the chance that I died, I knew you would end up with your father." Clarice whispered, stroking Bella's cheek. "The FBI would come to take you into care. If they didn't find this book, I knew your father would when he came to see if I really was dead."

"Either way, you would be leaving with me." Hannibal finished, kissing the top of her head. "The FBI would leak the information for how valuable it is. I would've tracked you down and killed anyone who stood in my way. My love for you and your mother is that strong."

Bella smiled, hugging his arm that had moved in front of her when he sat down. "So, does the scrapbook help you?"

"It certainly does." Hannibal reached forward and opened the book. "I see these pictures of you and keep them locked in my memory palace. Although we don't have many memories together, my mind allows me to imagine what it would have been like to play with you as a toddler or lull you to sleep in the middle of the night."

Bella looked at the photos with him. "I imagine too. It started when you gave me those tapes to listen to."

Clarice smiled. "What did you see, baby?"

"Playing a very interactive game of hide and seek." Bella grinned, eager to see more pictures when Hannibal flipped the page. "Everything has a purpose. I figured a game of hide and seek would be perfect preparation in the event that we were discovered somewhere."

Clarice propped her chin on Hannibal's shoulder. "That does sound like something you would do."

"It was both of you." Bella stated. "Most of my imaginations have had both of you."

Hannibal smiled before kissing Clarice's head. "As it should be." He reached into his back pocket and retrieved the small box he had there. Swinging his arm around, he held out the item to his daughter. "I was saving this for your last present, but you have spent all my patience looking at these photos." He pressed a kiss into her hair as her fingers took the box from his bigger ones. "Merry Christmas, my little bird."

Bella opened up the box and smiled seeing a necklace inside. Instead of diamonds or priceless gems or even a little charm, the centerpiece was the bullet Hannibal had extracted from her leg. "You kept this."

"He's been trying to figure out what to do with it since we got off our ship in Cuba." Clarice chuckled softly. "It's yours, baby. You've got the battle scars. That is truly yours."

"It can remind you of what's changed from then to now." Hannibal whispered before taking the chain and latching it around Bella's neck, adjusting the bullet to lie between her collar bones. "That you are strong, like a hawk."

"I believe she is down for the count." Hannibal announced quietly as he entered he and Clarice's bedroom upstairs. After opening presents and spending hours dancing to his piano playing, Bella's still healing body had fatigued to the point he had demanded she take it easy. He had seen her pushing herself and found the determination to be much like her mother's, but he didn't want her to strain herself too much despite her joy at the activity. "She'll be sore tomorrow."

Clarice smirked as she looked down at the orange in her hand. She had brought up a couple in a bowl, currently pealing her second one. "I would imagine so. She was like a leaping frog down in the ballroom." She held out an orange slice to him when he crawled onto the bed beside her, and he happily pulled it from her fingers with his teeth. "I know it wasn't your ideal way to spend the day, acknowledging Christmas, but I do appreciate it."

Hannibal bit half of the slice into his mouth, leaning back as he held the other half between his fingertips. "Despite the holiday, today was a rather enjoyable day. One I will look back on fondly. Who knows? I may want to do this again next year."

Clarice chuckled as she bit into her slice. "Who knew making you a family man would turn you onto traditions?"

"I suppose I would fall under that title." Hannibal pondered it for a moment, the title foreign to his own name. "Family man. I never thought I was even capable of that after the war. I lost everyone dear to me."

"It might be therapeutic for you to return. We could all go. Show Bella and I where you grew up." Clarice shrugged, turning on the mattress to face his lounging form. "You were just a child, Hannibal. There was nothing you could've done to save them."

Hannibal nodded. "Yes, but it would not be safe to return. I believe I would be safer in the FBI headquarters than to return to the Lecter Estate." He reached into the bowl in her lap and retrieved another slice. "Bringing the two of you there would only remind me of my nightmares."

Clarice frowned. "You never told me about any nightmares of Bella and I. Other than on the train to Florida, but nothing else."

"Bella's torment wrecked havoc on all our sleeping habits. If Bella wasn't having night terrors, we were. It's been one month, and we haven't gone a night without one." Hannibal reminded his wife. "The love I had for my Mischa has never been matched until I met you. My love for Bella. . .to describe that would be an injustice. I suddenly have a family, people to protect and who mean more to me than my own life. Bullets and blades don't frighten me. Harm to the two of you terrifies me to my core." He played with his slice in his fingers, tracing the edges with his index finger. "When I told Bella of Mischa, I had a nightmare while holding her in my arms. Mischa and I were in the barn, freezing. But before my eyes, Mischa had turned into a young Bella. The animals were coming to take her to the slaughter, and they had already sacrificed you, my lamb. Even an adult, the feared cannibal, I couldn't save you. Trapped by my mask and strapped to a dolley, I was forced to watch again - the slaughter."

"The screaming." Clarice hummed in agreement. Setting the bowl aside, she straddled Hannibal's hips, looking down at him as he lay back in the pillows. She knew any words she said would never help him. He tried to help her with the screaming, but it was only silenced when she held her daughter for the first time. She had her lamb. Although Hannibal had her too, he still viewed Will's actions as the beginning of failure. "I don't know what it's going to take for your nightmare to end. But, Bella and I are here for you. We're here, because you helped us. We're a family now, Hannibal. We protect you as much as you protect us. Whatever you need to do, I'm not going anywhere."

"When did the screaming of the lambs stop for you, my lamb?" Hannibal asked, the question on a mere breath. His hands kneaded her thighs, moving to her hips.

Clarice leaned down and pecked his lips, feeling his fingers flex against her skin. "The moment I heard Bella's heartbeat."

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