Hannibal's eyes focused as much as he could make them and he looked around the room, taking in the sun and the emptiness of it all. He was in bed with a faint bitter taste in his mouth from his mouth having gone dry. His arms ached and when he finally found enough strength to lift them, he could see deep bruising down both of them.
Hannibal slowly pushed himself up in the bed and a frown covered his lips at how alone he was. There was no semblance of life in the room at all other than the open window that was letting a rather nicely warm breeze into the room.
Hannibal's legs shook beneath him as he forced himself to stand and a hand went to his side that was still bandaged. It throbbed dully, but most of the pain was kept at bay and Hannibal could only assume he was being kept on something very good to make it so he wasn't still curled up into the mattress.
Hannibal made his way to the window first and found that most of the snow that had been there when they had arrived had melted away and the sun was a pleasant sort of warmth. He inhaled deeply of the clear air, letting it fill his lungs with a satisfying type of burn.
He turned back to the room after a few moments of quiet and looked at the open door to the room before heading for it. He walked down the hallway and towards where two voices were chattering lightly and Hannibal felt his stomach drop at the idea of there being someone else there with Will and him, if that even was Will.
Hannibal had thought that Will would have stayed by his side indefinitely and he found himself feeling a touch abandoned at the fact that Will hadn't been there when he had awoken. It was a stupid feeling to feel, of course, as were most of the feeling that had come barging down his walls when Will was concerned. Will had always had a way of making Hannibal explore emotions far deeper than any other person could and it always disturbed Hannibal how much Will affected him and how much he let Will affect him. How Will could have his way and there was nothing that Hannibal would do in argument.
whiff of something cooking and his hand went to his stomach, clenching at it. How long had it been since he had eaten? Long enough that his hands felt a little numb and funny. He probably needed something with potassium, maybe some thiamine or magnesium.
He walked into the main room and looked over the scene that was there. Will was at the stove, cooking something and there was a man standing at the counter with a glass of wine. Hannibal could faintly recall the man, knew his voice though he couldn't, for the life of him, place exactly who he was. Blond, tall, strong. Kind enough to gain Will's trust to be allowed into the house.
Will snatched up his own glass and brought it to his lips, eyes flickering up to meet Hannibal and Hannibal watched as Will nearly dropped the glass. The wine spilled over whatever he was cooking and there was a hiss of dislike as the wine evaporated on the burner. Will set the glass aside and Hannibal was surprised to see the way the man raced to him, always so sure that Will would turn away from him, rejecting him once more.
The blond man quickly went to the stove top to save whatever it was that Will had been working on and Will's steps were hurried. Hannibal was tackled in an embrace and he groaned at the strength it took to stay upright as Will clung to him.
"I'm so happy you're alright," Will said in his ear, nose nuzzling against Hannibal's neck and into his hair. Hannibal let his eyes close as Will's hands gripped at him, holding Hannibal in a crushing hug that pained the killer, but he couldn't bring himself to argue. "I don't know what I would have done if I lost you."
"Will," Hannibal croaked out, voice hoarse from disuse. His arms slowly wrapped around the empath and he could feel the way that Will only relaxed further into his body, making it only more difficult for Hannibal to stand upright. "Careful."
"I'm sorry," Will said quickly, dropping his hold on Hannibal and Hannibal frowned, wanting to take back what he had said so that Will would touch him again. He felt so starved for contact, as if it had been years since he had been anywhere close to Will's presence. "I-I made breakfast." Will pointed over his shoulder shyly and Hannibal couldn't help the fond smile that pulled at his lips. "It won't be anywhere near as good as your cooking, but I..." Will's hand went to his curls and dug through them, making them stick up in all sorts of angles that only made Hannibal's heart soften.
His boy didn't need to be ashamed of his cooking. His boy didn't need to be ashamed of anything. His boy would learn to be proud of his efforts. It would take time and work, but Hannibal would see to it. Will would be confident in all things. As confident as he was beautiful.
"I am sure that it will be perfect just as it is," Hannibal assured, voice still soft and weak. Will gave a small nod and a toothy smile before he reached out, taking Hannibal's hand up in his to pull Hannibal to the dining room. Hannibal sat down at the table and folded his hands over the top of it, looking over the blond man that he still couldn't exactly place. The blond man had simply pulled the frying pan from the stove top and set it aside, returning to his glass of wine.
He didn't seem uncomfortable with the present company and Hannibal could only guess what story Will would have told the man. He must have noticed Hannibal's staring because he gave Hannibal a small smile and a nod of his head that Hannibal slowly returned. He wasn't rude at least. Will wouldn't have let the man in like this if the man had been rude. At least, not while Hannibal was recovering. Hannibal couldn't kill the rude in his current state and he honestly didn't really have the want to at this very moment. He didn't need to see blood to be happy right now. Seeing Will was enough.
"'You seem to be doing better," the man commented and Hannibal's eyes narrowed at the voice, unsure of what exactly to make of it. It wasn't threatening, but it held a commanding power to it that unnerved Hannibal. How much control did he have on Will? Was that how the man had gotten in? Will wasn't stupid, but Will could be trusting. Hannibal knew better than anyone how much trust you could pull from the empath before he snapped. "We'll give you another dose of your medicine after you eat. Then you should probably go back to bed."
Hannibal's brow softened slightly and he looked towards where Will was plating three plates with whatever it was he had made. Scrambled eggs most likely by the smell of it and the fact that some horrible plastic bottle full of ketchup was on the counter.
"A doctor," Hannibal finally decided on and Will stopped his work to give a slightly worried look in Hannibal's direction. Will then looked to the blond man before he set the frying pan back down and brought two plates to the table, setting one in front of Hannibal with a wonderfully domestic-like kiss to Hannibal's temple and the other was placed across from Hannibal. Hannibal watched carefully as the blond man sat down and dug in without the good conscience to wait for Will to return with his own plate. "Will, I didn't think that-"
"Please," Will said, voice an absolute beg and Hannibal fell silent. "Be kind." Will took the seat beside Hannibal and squeezed some of the offending tomato puree onto his plate before he reached out and took one of Hannibal's hands, giving it a small squeeze. "Eli has been very helpful."
"Eli," Hannibal repeated, the name familiar on his tongue.
"I don't expect you to remember much, Dr. Lecter," the blond man said around a mouthful of food and Hannibal could feel Will's hand tighten on his in warning as if Will could tell that Hannibal's control was in short supply. "You've been barely conscious for the better part of a week and the few times you were there fully enough to talk, you had a fever and were on many different medications. I would be surprised if you remembered any of it, to be truthful."
"Right," Hannibal agreed tightly, trying to decide the course of actions as naturally as he could and he needed to discuss it with Will to know how many others could be involved, an inconvenience he did not foresee. But he needed to be prepared for such events, always needed to be prepared for such events.
The breakfast passed like a transaction and Hannibal was merely there for his stomach and for Will´s sake. When they finished, Eli, as he said he would, gave him his dose of medicines and Hannibal was placed back into bed without a word of argument at another small, please be kind from Will.
"I will be right with you in a moment," Will said to the other doctor as he brushed Hannibal's hair from his face.
"I will wait. Have a nice day, Dr. Lecter," Eli said as a goodbye, nodding his head as he went for the bedroom door.
"You too… Doctor…?" Hannibal asked to return the courtesy, though his eyes stayed on Will who had yet to stop playing with his hair.
"Starling," Eli clarified, stopping at the door to glance back. "Elijah Starling. Will has my number if you need anything Dr. Lecter."
The door was closed and the moment the click sounded, Will was kissing him soundly. Hannibal gasped for air when Will finally broke the long kiss, eyes brimming with tears, but none of them fell.
"You fucking bastard," Will hissed, fingers once more brushing through Hannibal's hair. "That fever nearly took you twice. That was worse than the cliff."
"You remember the cliff?" Hannibal asked softly, body feeling tired once more despite the amount of rest he had been suspended in.
"Faintly," Will answered with a small nod of his head. "Just pulling you from the ocean and performing CPR. I don't know why I said that." There was a broken kind of laugh from Will. "I say these things and I have no idea where they come from."
"They'll come back to you," Hannibal assured, doing his best to push through the sleep that was pulling on limbs. "You'll remember. I just hope you don't run away when you do again."
"Never," Will replied quickly, shaking his head. "You're supposed to marry me, remember? And I am not about to wait on that any longer."
"I have not forgotten," Hannibal replied with a smile. "As soon as I can stand for more than ten minutes without wanting to fall over, I will marry you."
The smile Will gave was blinding. So full of life and so happy as it pulled at the white scarring in his cheek. The tears that had been there earlier were gone and all that was left was pure, unadulterated happiness and Hannibal wasn't sure if he had ever seen Will this happy before, save for maybe when he had obtained Izzy.
"Will, is Dr. Starling going to be something we need to deal with before we leave here?"
Will's smile dampened slightly and for the third time in his life, Hannibal wanted to snatch his words back from the universe.
"No," Will answered, voice soft. "He's been so good to you, Hannibal and he has a family. They're beautiful. A daughter and two sons. One of the boys was just born. One of his son's is around Walter's age. Maybe a year or two older. They're beautiful, Hannibal. Please don't take him from them."
"Then we will see if we do not need to take care of him. You, the boy and I come first, always," Hannibal stated and he could see Will's face twist oddly, though he didn't seem upset by it.
"You're still serious about Walter?" He sounded more curious than anything and Hannibal smiled. "I thought that after a time you would-"
"Do not ever doubt me and my word, Will. Please," Hannibal interrupted, his hand reaching out to pull Will's fingers from his hair and to his cheek. "I told you that you and your son would never want for anything. I didn't lie. If I would have passed away, my lawyer has my will. I've had it adjusted for you and the boy. It all belongs to you if something were to happen to me."
"When on earth-why would you do that?" Will asked in breathless surprise, eyes wide and searching Hannibal's face.
"Just after you fell asleep in the car on our way out once the boy was safe with Alana and Margot," he explained. "I called my lawyer and made arrangements for you and the boy and the boy alone, just in case." Hannibal's smile was sweet just for Will, just to help ease him into the idea.
"You did?"
"I did," he replied with a nod, bringing Will's fingers to his lips to kiss.
"Well then, let's make sure you are completely recovered before we come up with a course of action," Will said standing and pulling his hand free. "I will say goodbye and be back."
Elijah was patiently in the living room when Will came from Hannibal's room.
"He will be just fine Will," Eli said as he pulled on his coat. "There's nothing to worry about. Keep him on medication for the next few days, hydrated and he needs to recover his strength, so make him sleep and eat." Will walked Eli to the front door, hands shoved into his pockets. "And if he needs me, just call me right back." The words were kind and honest.
"Thank you very much," Will said softly, standing by the door as Eli's hand rested on the door handle. "I'm really sorry I've pulled you away from your family and your work. Please let me pay you-"
"Don't worry and don't be sorry. He is my patient and I am responsible for him."
"Thank you." Will wished he could do more, the words didn't seem to be quite enough.
"Any time."
Will accompanied the Doctor to his car, the one that all of this had begun in, and then he hurried back to Hannibal´s side. Hannibal's eyes were closed and Will slowly approached the bed before he carefully placed himself beside Hannibal. Hannibal opened his arm to receive him.
"I will cook dinner tonight," he stated softly.
"Of course you will," Will laughed, shaking his head as he snuggled into Hannibal's side, ear pressed to Hannibal's heart as it had been every night, worried that it would stop beating if Will wasn't there to keep it in check.
"I owe you a decent one after all the trouble yo-"
"You would have saved me the trouble if you would have just said that you weren't well, Hannibal." Will's voice was harsher than he meant it and Hannibal grimaced at the words, but he knew Will was right. It would have been so much better if Hannibal had mentioned that he was hurt. "Hannibal, you have to promise me never to do that again."
"Of course," Hannibal whispered, shame in his voice.
Will sat up on his elbow. "Hannibal, I-I need you to understand that I will never change my stance on this. This endangered you and what is going to be our new family and I will never let you hurt that again. Promise me, Hannibal. Promise me that you will never lie or hide anything from me ever again. I couldn't stand living through something like this again because you got some stupid little idea stuck in your head that you're a burden to me. Promise me, please."
"I promise, Will," Hannibal said as he pulled Will closer to him. Will rested himself back against Hannibal's chest and inhaled deeply. "I promise to never lie or hide anything from you again, my darling boy."
"And the kid...?" Jack motioned outside where the two boys were busy playing with the dog in the backyard.
"Spit it out, Jack," Alana said as she sipped on her cup of coffee.
"Does the kid know where Will could be in case he escapes from Hannibal?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Jack. By now you should know better. No one escapes from Hannibal, he simply leaves or permits you to exist," Margot said as she stepped into the terrace to see the kids playing with Applesauce. "And Will is not being held hostage."
"It's always a hope," Jack grumbled, placing aside his own coffee, no longer interested in the drink as his eyes watched the kids playing.
"If I can give you some advice, Jack. That would be, do not upset Will's kid with an interrogation from you. He is not happy with you around and my son isn't either," Alana said with a deep and annoyed sort of sigh. "Let me try to find out that and if you doubt my ethics you can ask someone to monitor the conversation, but Walter must not feel ambushed or threatened. He doesn't like me much and he lives under my roof, I can't imagine who he would like at the moment."
"And he's already said he doesn't know where they are," Margot added, head tipping side to side as if she were thinking. "I have to say that I believe the boy. Will and Hannibal left him just as answerless as he left us."
Jack thought about it for a minute, listening to the child laugh. Jack watched the kid carefully. He seemed fairly well adjusted for his life being uprooted and completely changed. Two weeks hadn't been nearly enough time for Jack when Bella had passed and Jack didn't want to think about what his life would be like when his own mother finally passed.
He sighed with a small nod, tongue bit between his teeth. "He knows more than he's telling you," he said decidedly.
"Even if he does, he's not going to tell you," Alana argued, her tone icy despite the slight warmth the sun was starting to bring around.
Jack growled lowly, hands taking the banister around the terrace. "I will write down a list of questions I need him to answer. I will trust you to record them, Alana."
"I suppose that's the least you owe him, isn't it?" Margot asked snarkily, a frown on her normally tight lined lips.
There was a discomfort in the air as the notion that Margot knew exactly what had happened finally bombarded Jack. How many other people knew? He should have realized that Alana would tell her wife, but for some reason the thought hadn't occurred to him. His teeth felt chocky as he gritted them, but there was a slight relief as Margot left the terrace and out into the yard where the children were still happily playing fetch.
"Have Morgan ask him the questions," Jack instructed, pulling his gloves from his coat pockets to pull them on over his chilled digits that were no longer being warmed by his cup of coffee that was a bit too dark for his liking. He turned away from the kids and headed for the door, feeling the outrage bubble off of the doctor beside him.
"What?" Alana demanded, following Jack back into the house. "Absolutely not. We are not using my son as a pawn."
"You're not going to get any answers from him if you ask," Jack explained with a shrug, finding his way through the house easily from how many long nights he had been spending there recently. "Neither will Margot. And you said so yourself that Walter holds to your son like a teddy bear. He will speak to Morgan."
"No," Alana hissed strongly, her pace keeping up with Jack as they reached the front door, fuming with her anger. "Jack, your methods are so twisted-"
"I get results," Jack shot back as he opened up the front door. "I am good at my job. I am right. Morgan needs to ask Walter those questions. I will get them to you."
"Is this lying?" Morgan asked curiously as the phone was slipped into his pocket by Alana who looked fairly unsettled and had been in a mood most of the evening, though Morgan didn't dare ask what about. Instead he looked over to Margot whose arms were folded over her chest because Alana wasn't answering.
"This is not lying," Margot finally said for Morgan. "We just need Walter to be happy and none of us make him as happy as you."
"But you want me to ask him those questions from dinner?" Morgan looked back to his mother who held out a plate of food for Morgan to take to Walter who had once more skipped dinner.
"It's to help find where his dad went," Alana explained, her voice cold. "He misses his dad, doesn't he?"
Morgan gave a small shrug as he took the plate. "I guess. I told you he doesn't talk to me much."
"Just be yourself," Margot instructed. "It's ok if he won't answer. Just try."
"Alright." Morgan inhaled deeply, his heart pounding in his chest at the idea of trying to get anything other than harsh words out of Wally and he couldn't help but wonder how upset the cruelness would make Alana once she listened to the recording. "Don't be mad with him, please. He lost his mom."
Before there was an answer from either of his parents, Morgan left the kitchen and headed in the direction of Walter's room. He stopped at the door and knocked on it, waiting for an answer, but none came. He knocked once more and when nothing came again, he hesitantly opened the door and glanced in.
"Go away," Walter's voice ordered grumpily, but Morgan ignored it and stepped inside of the room to find Walter laying on the floor like a starfish, just staring up at the ceiling. Morgan closed the door behind him and stepped closer to Walter. "I said go aw..." Walter trailed off as he sat up enough to finally catch sight of Morgan. "Oh. It's you." His head fell back to the floor with a dull thud.
"I snuck you some food. You weren't at dinner again," Morgan said in barely more than a whisper. He stopped awkwardly beside Walter's body and set the plate down on the floor. "I hope-"
"You snuck me dinner?" Walter asked, head flopping to the side to look over Morgan's stiff form that was still standing there. "Alana is going to have your head if she finds out you're doing that."
"She's strict, but she's not the Queen of Hearts."
"The Queen of who?" Walter's brows furrowed and he pushed himself up onto his elbows.
Morgan gave a confused look. "The Queen of Hearts?" he asked and received a small shrug from Walter. "Alice in Wonderland?" Morgan lowered himself to the ground beside Walter. "Off with her head?" Walter's lips pursed and he shook his head, causing Morgan to frown. "Do you read anything?"
"Baseball Digest, USA Today Sports Weekly, those kinds of things," Walter replied, looking over the plate and picking at the garlic bread that was there. He pulled off a small piece and put it in his mouth. "You didn't have to do this you know."
"I know," Morgan replied with a small shrug, sitting more fully on the floor since Walter hadn't tried to make him leave again. "But you are a guest and no matter what, a guest must feel welcome and secure, as my mom said… And Hanni." Morgan smiled.
"Hanni," Walter mused softly, something like distaste on his face as he ate another larger bite of garlic bread.
"Hanni talked about a lot of things," Morgan continued on.
"What?" Walter sounded almost curious.
"He knows many things. He likes to read like me. He told me I am going to be a socialite. I asked mom and she said he was right. I didn't know what that meant so I tried to look it up, but Hanni explained better."
"Explained how?" Walter asked, being furious with himself for being interested in that killer. He didn't need to learn anymore about the man. He was already Hannibal's biggest fan if a fan was the right word for it.
"He said that I am going to spend a lot of my time with people that would have the same education as me, and same hobbies, and interests. We would know how to run companies and make money, that we would pretend to like each other but we wouldn't really. I wouldn't be able to escape because we would need each other for business reasons. There will be a few genuine people too. They would be there because they would be very successful at their studies and that I should pay attention to them because they would have earned their place not like the rest of us that inherited it," Morgan explained as he watched Walter dig into the lasagna on the plate. "And… That I will spend a lot of money trying to help others just to look good, but that I can actually do good for others." He said with a smile. "I would like to help people."
"What a nightmare," Walter replied dully through his mouthful of noodles and sauce.
"I don´t know, I haven't had to do any of that yet."
"Lame."
"Have you done any of that?"
"No." Walter snorted and rolled his eyes. "Does it look like I come from money?"
"So… How can that be painful to you if you never tried?" Morgan asked curiously.
"Don't you get tired of yourself, Brat?"
"No, I really like me," he said with a smile. "But… You look like you are tired of being you… Aren't you?"
"You are a lot like your mom, you know that?" Walter grumbled as he lifted the plate from the ground to better get at the food and Morgan wondered if Walter had eaten lunch at all with the way he was shoving as much into his mouth as he could.
"Which one?"
"How do you call them to keep them straight?"
"I have a mom and a mother," Morgan answered, playing with the shoelace on his shoe. He wasn't asking the questions that Alana had made him memorize over dinner, but at least Walter seemed eased enough to talk openly. "Mom is Alana," Morgan explained.
"Alright." Walter nodded his head in understanding. "Mother suits Margot." There was a smile on Walter's face at the thought.
"How are you going to call Hanni when you go with your dad?"
"If he sticks around he'll just be Hannibal." Walter's smile dropped and he set the plate aside, the lightness that had been there tightening up quickly. "I don't expect him to though."
"Why not?"
"You're asking a lot of questions, kid." Walter fell back to the floor, arms and legs spread out once more, though he did grab back at the garlic bread to continue to nibble at it. "Why do you want to know?"
"I'm just curious." Morgan glanced around the room and slowly stretched out beside Walter who grumbled at the movement, but didn't say anything against it. "Why would Hanni leave?"
"Because of me." Walter sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm not good enough for him."
"Do you want to be good enough for him?"
"Fuck no," Walter answered, eyes snapping open. "Why would I want anything to do with that man?"
"Your dad likes him. And I like him. I just thought that you-"
"Well, you thought wrong." The crease in Walter's brow was deep and troublesome and Morgan resisted the urge to reach out and rub at it like Margot did for him when he couldn't sleep. He sighed. "Sorry. I just..." Walter gave a huff and flung one of his arms over his eyes. "I don't like talking about this because I feel like it's my fault."
Morgan glanced over to Walter and looked over the older boy's face for a moment. "It's not your fault."
"How is it not my fault?" Walter asked back, chest rising and falling heavily with each breath as if he were crying, but no sobs came from his mouth. "You didn't hear them in the car on the way over here. I've never heard my dad yell like that before. And Hannibal was just so calm. He didn't say anything unkind or raise his voice, he just held my dad's hand. I've never seen anyone like that when my dad is upset. My mom would yell right back. I'm sure Jack would yell back just to prove he has a louder voice."
"What did your dad say that makes you think it's your fault?"
A frown set itself deep in Walter's lips. "He said that I was the reason that Hannibal wouldn't leave. I was why Jack had found them. I was why they had to hide."
"That doesn't sound like Will," Morgan offered, thinking back on the small amount of time he had spent with the man. "He was sweet when I met him. Smiling, soft. I can't see him yelling."
"It's nearly impossible to get him to stop!" Walter said with an agitated cry from his throat. "He's like Newton's first law of motion. Once you get him moving..." Walter trailed off with a sharp breath through his nose.
"You know Newton's Laws of Motion but you don't know what Alice in Wonderland is?" Morgan asked, pushing himself up onto his elbow and shaking his head as if that would help him understand better. "What kind of school do you go to?"
"Public?" Walter asked back with a sarcastic snort. "I'm not some rich preppy school boy who studies French and reads poetry and-"
"I don't know French," Morgan shot back. Walter's arm lifted from his face and he gave Morgan an incredulous look with a raised brow. "I know German."
"See?" Walter said with a hard smile, sitting up on his elbow to face Morgan. "Kid, they don't teach that type of shit in public schools. I'm lucky I know my numbers up to ten in Spanish."
"You can only count to ten in Spanish?"
"Stop being a showoff, kid," Walter murmured as he took another bite of his dinner before laying back down. "I know a bit of Lithuanian, though."
"Why Lithuanian?" Morgan asked and there was a shrug in response. Morgan thought about pushing the question, but it wasn't one that had been on the piece of paper and he had already strayed pretty far off topic. "Did your dad say where they were going?"
Walter tensed at that and Morgan watched curiously as Walter chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. "No," he eventually answered bitterly. "Just that I was the problem then they dumped me here with you."
"And they didn't tell you how to reach out to them?"
"Look!" Walter nearly shouted, sitting up fully and turning to focus his attention on Morgan, cheeks red with anger. "My dad said I was a problem, Hannibal told him to calm down and he shut up the rest of the ride. I fell asleep in the back seat, was put into this bed and ditched. Are you happy? I'm not sure what else I could possibly tell you."
"Have you tried to reach out to Will?" Morgan sat up fully now, doing his best to keep his voice as nice as he possibly could. Walter seemed to do better with niceties than demands. Alana was always too forward and harsh with her questions. Walter had opened up more to Margot, or that's what Morgan had figured when they took hours to return from their morning rides instead of the normal hour that Morgan got. "He would answer you if you tried, wouldn't he?"
Walter sighed and lowered his head into his hands, crossing his legs for his elbows to rest on. "Why do you always ask so many questions, kid? You're exhausting."
"You don't have to answer them. I just wanted to understand. I didn't mean to upset you," Morgan said quickly in apology.
"I had one text from him my first day here," Walter whispered from behind his hands. "He said he loved me and that he would come back for me. Nothing else. Just that he would come back. He hasn't answered a single one of my texts since."
"I'm sorry." Morgan pulled his knees into his chest, unsure of what else to do or ask. There had been a ridiculous amount of questions on that paper that his mom had given him but none of them seemed important anymore and it was clear that Walter wouldn't have an answer for anything. Will was gone and silent and Hannibal would disappear like a black cat against the night sky. Alana and Margot had said so enough so it must have been true. They wouldn't be found unless they wanted to be. "Will will come back for you."
"How do you know?" Walter's voice cracked as he spoke, broken and small. "How could you possibly know?"
"He came back for Hanni," Morgan reasoned gently. "Why wouldn't he come back for you? He loves you."
"I doubt that."
"Wally, I overheard a conversation with my mother and Hanni in the stables one day." Morgan rested his chin on his knees and waited until Walter looked up from his hands curiously. "He said that the reason Will wouldn't leave with him was because he was trying to gain custody of you. Though I'm not exactly sure what that means."
"He did?" Walter blinked several times and seemed to hold his breath for a long while before he released it again. "He was going to fight for me."
"Fight for you?" Morgan found himself asking. "What do you mean?"
"My mom and him were getting a divorce. He was trying to make sure that he could stay my dad."
"Why would he not be able to be your dad?"
"My mom didn't want him to be around me. She thought he was dangerous."
Morgan gave a small laugh that caused Walter's mouth to tip down. "Will isn't dangerous."
Walter shook his head. "You have no idea what hides behind his smile, kid. You don't have any idea what he's done."
"If they're bad, I'd rather not know," Morgan decided. "Why does Jack want them anyways? What did Hanni and Will do?"
"You just said you didn't want to know," Walter pointed out, straightening out his body once more so he could reach for and finish off his plate of food. "I will tell you if you want to know." Morgan quickly shook his head and Walter nodded. "It's probably for the best that you don't know."
There was an easy silence between them as Walter finished his food and Morgan found that he didn't mind the quiet. It was nice in a way that the other quiets in the house weren't. There was something warm about this one when the others in his life felt so very cold and Morgan didn't want it to end.
"Do you have to leave when they come to get you?"
Walter shrugged. "It's not like I can decide. I'm not 18."
"Do you want to go with them?"
"Well, I don't want to stay here."
"Why?"
Walter groaned and placed his empty plate aside, head thrown back. "Kid, come on. Why do you ask so many questions?" Morgan gave an embarrassed shrug and hid his face in his knees. The silence settled back in for a moment before there was a sigh. "I just... miss my mom. My dad is all I have left and so if he comes to get me, then that means he loves me, right? That means that he cares about me and I want that. I want someone in my life who wants me."
"I want you," Morgan muttered from his knees. "I like you living here."
"You like that you're not bored anymore because you have me to annoy at your leisure."
"Maybe."
There was a laugh from Walter and Morgan looked up to see a tired sort of smile on Walter's face. "Thanks for the food kid," Walter said, voice low and nearly a whisper. "I'm getting tired. I think I'm going to try to sleep."
"Oh," Morgan said, slowly getting to his knees. "Alright." He scooped up the plate and rose to his feet heading for the door, but he stopped, eyes down. "Wally, there was something that Jack said when he was at dinner last night." There was a low growl from Walter at the name and Morgan closed his eyes. "He said that Hanni had your mom's cell phone. Maybe you can try texting that? Maybe Will would answer."
"I... Thank you."
"Good night Wally."
"Night kid."