Walter had long ago given up on being found by Morgan in their game of hide and seek. Normally Morgan had Applesauce to help him look and Applesauce made the game go a bit quicker, but Alana had taken to the vet for a checkup.

So now, instead of being found, and he hadn't even picked that difficult of a place to hide, he sat in the cold and slightly muddy dirt and let his finger drag through it until the brown was caked around and under his index fingernail. He was about to give himself up and go find Morgan when some hushed voices caught his attention. His movements stopped and he leaned up against the corner of the house he was hiding behind, pretending like he didn't exist in hopes that they wouldn't notice him.

It wouldn't have been that big of an issue, but they had mentioned him. Not by name of course, he doubted that any of the staff knew his name, but who else could that strange older boy be?

"His dad just up and left?" a deep voice asked before there was a rumbling laugh. "Pathetic."

"That just makes our job easier, doesn't it?" another voice asked. This one sent a chill through Walter, reminding him of Mark Hamill's Joker voice. Raspy and sing-songy. "No man in the house. We could handle a couple of kids and the women."

"That wedding ring the bitch is wearing is enough to get us out of debt," the deeper voice expounded, causing Walter's mouth to go dry. He nearly wanted to lean around the wall to see who they were, but couldn't bring himself to unfreeze his body. "Could you imagine what we could do with the whole house?"

Walter blinked blankly ahead, mind completely trapped in the conversation, so much so that he almost didn't notice Morgan rounding the corner of the house. The boy's face lit up as he saw Walter and Walter jumped up, grabbing Morgan and dragging the boy down and into the mud. Walter's hand clapped over Morgan's mouth and he put the muddied finger to his lips to tell Morgan to be silent.

Morgan gave a confused look with brows furrowed over his blue eyes. Walter didn't remove his hand though. He kept it firmly over Morgan's mouth and focused back on the conversation that Morgan had hopefully not interrupted.

"-dinner."

"No one would hear a thing," the deep voice chuckled. "We're so far away from everyone and they have that meat processor in that barn. Easy clean up. The pigs can have them after that."

"Tonight?"

"Too soon," the other argued. "We need to scout out the house a bit more."

"Fine. I'll get my hands on some-"

"Shut the fuck up and get back to work," another voice ordered, this one sterner. "We have to finish shoveling out the pig pens."

"Fuck that shit," the raspier one groaned.

Walter's focus was torn away from the conversation once more as Morgan tried to pry his hand away with a muffled groan. Walter's gaze sharpened and he shook his head, once more placing his index finger to his lips to try to silence the boy. Morgan nodded with desperate eyes and Walter let his hand fall away, leaving Morgan's skin flushed in a perfect handprint.

"Go back to the house," Walter more mouthed than whispered. "We need to find your moms."

Morgan gave another unsure nod and got to his feet, the legs of his pants coated in mud. Walter followed, guiding Morgan the opposite way of the voices. Once inside of the house, Walter closed and locked the door behind them, though what good it would do, he wasn't sure, but it helped settle him just slightly.

"Come on," he muttered, taking Morgan's hand and dragging him through the house.

"Wally, you're getting the floor dirty," Morgan whined, pulling at Walter's hand. "Mom will get mad-"

"We can clean the floor later. Come on," Walter interrupted impatiently, only tightening his grip on the struggling child who had no hopes of ever being stronger than Walter. "Is Margot in the study?"

"She's in a meeting," Morgan replied. "We're not supposed to interrupt, Wally."

"Were you paying any attention?" Walter scolded as he finally reached the study's door and took the door handle. On second thought, maybe it was better that Morgan hadn't paid attention, Walter figured. If Morgan had, then who knew how the child would have reacted.

"Wally, we're not supposed to-"

Walter pushed open the door to the study, calling several pairs of eyes to him from rather older looking men who were gathered around Margot desk. Her voice faded away as her train of thought was lost and she looked away from the paperwork on her desk and to the two young boys.

A command to wait outside died on her lips at the sight of the seriousness over Walter's face. A seriousness that she had seen across Will's features from time to time. Something that told her that this was important and couldn't wait.

Instead, she rose to her feet and excused herself from the deal she was working on. She stepped around her desk, heading towards the boys and took Walter's shoulder, leading him from the room, closing the door behind them. Her eyes trailed over Morgan and she gave a small smile and knelt down. A light laugh left her lips and she reached up, brushing some dirt from Morgan's cheek.

"You look like you two were having fun," she said kindly.

Morgan nodded eagerly. "We were playing hide and seek."

"Isn't Wally the sweetest for playing with you?" Margot gave a sideways glance to the older boy who's expression had only darkened the longer he was kept silent. Morgan once more nodded in answer and Margot sighed. "How about we go get you cleaned up and I will have someone start work on dinner?"

"Ok!" Morgan agreed eagerly, pulling from Margot's grip and heading in the direction of his room. "Can we have pizza?"

"We had pizza two nights ago," Margot reminded, getting back to her feet and letting her hand take Walter's shoulder to guide him to follow Morgan. Morgan skipped ahead with a shrug that only made Margot smile a bit more.

"We can have it again, can't we?"

"I will need to ask Alana."

"But she'll say no!" Morgan whined as he opened the door to his bedroom, pushing it open far enough for the other two to follow.

"Go get washed up. If you need help, I'll be right out here," Margot instructed.

Morgan seemed to freeze at that and Margot's heart sank at the idea that maybe Morgan would never grow out of his fear of water. Morgan turned back with wide and worried eyes and before Margot could say anything, Walter stepped over to the young boy.

"Stop being such a child. Go and shower. It's perfectly safe," Walter instructed, pointing to the bathroom door.

"But-but-" Morgan glanced behind him to where Walter was pointing. "I'm not a child."

"Then what are you?" Walter challenged, though there was no bite to his voice.

"I'm a big boy!"

"Big boys take showers without being scared."

Margot opened her mouth to speak, but the taunting had obviously done its job. Morgan gave a huff and folded his arms over his chest before heading to the bathroom with pouting footsteps.

"Let me know if you need help," Margot called out after the boy before the door was shut. With a deep breath, her eyes returned to Walter who looked about ready to pop. "What's wrong, Wally?"

He inhaled deeply, the words coming out in a rush that was like a damn breaking. "I was hiding and there were some workers that were talking and I overheard them and they said that they had debts that they were trying to get out of and that your wedding ring could pay for the debts and that everything was going to be easier to do now because my dad had left and that they were going to wait until after dinner to do something. They said no one would hear anything because of how far away the house was from everyone else and-and-"

"Slow down," Margot instructed, sitting on the edge of Morgan's bed to be more at Walter's height. "What workers?"

"I-I didn't see them. I was hiding over by the edge of the fence line before the big barn. I could only hear them."

"Ok." Margot gave a nod, hand brushing back Walter's hair from his face, but it only fell back down into his golden eyes and across his freckled nose. "When Alana gets home we three will get together and speak. We'll come up with something then, alright?"

"But I-"

"I need to return to my meeting, Wally. I promise that the three of us will talk."

"Alright," Walter sighed, resigned. He looked down at the floor. "Morgan didn't understand any of it, if that makes you feel better."

As if on cue, a muffled voice called from the other side of the door. "Mom!"

"Coming dear!" Margot returned, getting to her feet. "Thank you, Wally. I want you and Morgan to stay in here until either Alana or I come and get you, do you understand? I want the door locked and it only opens to one of us."

Walter perked up and nodded at that. "Al-alright."

"Good." Margot made her way towards the bathroom door, her heels clicking on the floor. "I'll order you boys some pizza. Promise me you'll both be good and obedient."

"Promise," Walter agreed.

Margot gave Walter a smile that quickly fell as she stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She turned to face her young son who was undressed with the shower running, but clutching himself tightly in a hug while rocking where he sat on the floor.

"I can be a big boy," he muttered, shaking his head in disagreement, eyes tight on the falling water. "I can be a big boy."

"Dear, it won't hurt you," Margot said in a gentle voice, stepping closer to her son and lowering herself to her knees, her arms scooping up the young child in a tight embrace. There was a gasp and a sob from the boy who quickly shifted in Margot's arms to hug her. His cries were loud and echoed off the tile in the room. "I know this is difficult for you," Margot whispered, her hand cradling the back of Morgan's head against her chest, muffling his cries slightly. "Shhh," she instructed as she pressed a kiss to his head and rocked him, hoping it would soothe him even just slightly. "Shhh. Morgan, it's alright."

"I don't like water!" he all but shouted into Margot's shirt and she frowned at the dampness that was coming from the boy's tears. "Please don't make me. Please. I don't want to go back in the water!"

"Quiet, my dear." Margot shifted until she was sitting on the bathroom floor, her son in her lap. She continued to rock him as she leaned him back enough to look at his face that was scrunched up with tears rolling down his cheeks. With her free hand, she wiped at the wetness over his cheeks. "Hush, my dear. Everything is as it should be."

Morgan shook his head and tried to hide himself away in Margot's chest again, but she stopped him. Her index finger found the bridge of his nose and slowly caressed down it and then back up, between his eyebrows before following the same pattern back down. The action had started more as a desperation one night when Morgan was just born and wouldn't sleep and it seemed to have worked well enough and so she had continued to use it. It calmed the boy enough to talk him through things.

"Morgan, my love, you need to shower. You need to be clean," Margot pressed on softly. The boy's face un-scrunched and slowly turned to something softer, though the tears didn't stop flowing. "You don't have to take baths, but I need you to be strong and shower for me. It won't hurt you. You can breathe the whole time. I promise."

"Mommy..." he whined, shaking his head.

"Shhhh," Margot cooed once more, still petting over Morgan's nose. "Walter is going to watch you when you get out of the shower while I finish my meeting. I'll get you some pizza as well. I will visit you when I am done with my meeting. Can you be my big boy and shower for me?"

"Yes," Morgan whispered, sniffling.

"Good." Margot leaned forward and kissed Morgan's nose, causing the boy to giggle. "I'm so proud of you. You're so strong, Morgan. Never forget that, ok?"

"Yes, Mommy."

"Alright. I need to go. Be good for Walter. I'll see you again in a few hours, alright?" Margot kissed the boy's forehead and he hopped from her lap. She watched as he stared at the water with dislike before taking a deep breath and plunging into the steady stream. "Good job, my dear."

"Love you, Mommy."

"I love you too, baby boy." Margot straightened herself up slightly, ignoring the wet spot in her shirt, and left the bathroom that was beginning to turn into a sauna with the amount of steam that had gathered. She closed the door behind her and looked over where Walter sat at the foot of Morgan's bed, picking at dried dirt under his fingernails. "I'll be back as soon as my meeting is done. I'll make sure you have some food, alight?"

"Lock the door and don't answer for anyone but you or Alana," Walter muttered with a nod, his eyes flicking up from his work and to Margot long enough to show he understood what was going on before they returned to his work.

"Perfect." Margot gave a small nod before leaving the room and waited for the sound of the door to lock before heading back in the direction of her study. Her shoes seemed to echo down the halls hauntingly as she pulled her phone from her slacks and dialed Alana's number.

"Hello," Alana said, a bit distracted on the other side of the line. "I thought you were going to be in a meeting for the next hour or so."

"I was, but the boys interrupted," Margot explained, dragging out her short distance into something a bit longer.

"Oh," Alana's voice answered with a bit of disappointment behind it. "I would have brought them with me if I would have known they would-"

"We need to talk when you get home," Margot interrupted, one arm wrapping around her middle in an attempt to keep herself feeling whole, the scarring across her stomach giving a phantom twinge where it hadn't healed quite right.

There was a hint of suspicion across the line. "Talk?"

"Would you mind bringing home some pizza and dropping it off in Morgan's room? I promised them pizza." Margot found herself outside of her study door and began pacing. "Then come find me. I'll be in the study."

There was a deep breath. "Not a good talk then."

"Important, is more like it. Just get home soon."

"Alright. I love you," Alana said with a deep breath.

"I love you too."

The dog's tags jingled as Applesauce rushed into the house, obviously far happier with being home than Alana felt. She closed the door behind her with a pizza box balanced on one hand, her bag in the other. She made her way through the multitude of hallways before she finally reached Morgan's room, taking the door handle and turning it to only find it locked.

"Boys, let me in please," she called through the wood, a pounding deep in her chest that knocked the air from her lungs.

"Coming!" a faint voice called and there were hurried footsteps to the door before it was unlocked and pulled open to reveal a serious looking Walter. A boy who had been given a task and was going to complete it to the best of his abilities, though Alana wasn't exactly certain what that task was.

The dog pushed past Alana's legs, nearly tripping her in an attempt to get through the bedroom door. Walter let the animal pass and Alana could see Morgan jump from his bed with a laugh, hugging the dog when it got close enough.

"Margot's still in her meeting," Walter explained in the same factual tone that he always used with Alana, but Alana did her best to hold back her slight annoyance with how closed off the child always was with her.

"Here's some food," Alana said, holding out the box of pizza. "Please do not let him eat more than a slice. He's had enough junk the last few days. He doesn't need anymore."

Walter's brow rose in curiosity. "No command for me?"

"I would rather you didn't eat all of it either, but I can't make you do anything you don't want to do," Alana answered as Walter took the warm box from her grip. "And please don't let Applesauce eat any."

"Right." Walter took a step back and moved to close the door, but Alana stopped the movement with a hand pressed flat against the wood. "What?"

"Do you know what's going on?"

"Margot said we'd talk about it after her meeting."

Alana gave a small nod. So he did know. Probably knew more than either of them about whatever it was that was going on. Alana chewed on her tongue for a moment before giving a nod and releasing her hold on the door. She turned around to head for Margot's office, but paused at the sound of the door locking behind her.

She tried not to give it too much thought as she walked to her wife's study and quietly entered the room. Alana's presence quickly broke up the meeting and Alana waited for all of the men to leave the room before she turned toward the desk. Margot met Alana's gaze and a breath left the woman as she rose to her feet.

"This conversation is going to be difficult," Margot explained as the two women made their way back towards Morgan's room. "We need to keep Morgan busy while we talk."

"That bad?" Alana asked, unsure what else to say as her blood ran cold. She knew that something had to be coming for them the moment that Will had shown back up in that hospital room, but she had been hoping that their time in this place hadn't come to an end quite as quickly. They had been prepared for such a thing, and had always been prepared.

"I believe so," was Margot's reply as she knocked on the boy's bedroom door and gave Alana the needed information as to why it had been locked. "Please open the door, Wally."

"One second!" his voice called back before there were footsteps and the click of the door. It was pulled open and Alana gave a small smile at the small bit of marinara sauce that was down the boy's chin. Walter stepped back and allowed the women in, heading back to the bed where Morgan was sitting, with one hand petting Applesauce's head that was in his lap and the other holding obviously the largest cut slice of pizza from the box.

"Mother!" Morgan called happily through a mouthful when he saw her. The dog perked up just a bit before laying back down across the boy's lap. "Missed you."

"I missed you too, love," Alana answered, sitting on the bed beside Morgan and brushing his hair from his face with a smile. She snatched up a brown napkin and took Morgan's chin in her hand, wiping at the mess over his face with a small laugh. "When I said one piece-"

"It is one piece!" Morgan assured as he ungracefully shoved more pizza into his mouth proving to Alana exactly the reason she had the rule of only allowing Morgan to eat in the kitchen or dining room. Some of the toppings had dropped onto Applesauce's head and the dog jumped up, doing its very best to lick at the mess that it couldn't quite reach. Morgan giggled and Alana quickly swiped the slice away from the boy and rested it back into the box.

"Go clean up and help Applesauce," Alana instructed, pointing towards the bathroom.

"Ok!" Morgan agreed and jumped up to obey. "Come Applesauce." The dog gave a small bark and hoped from the bed to follow Morgan into the bathroom where the door was closed behind the two of them.

Alana looked over Walter who had a smile on his face as he reached for another slice of pizza. Alana gave a fond sigh and took another napkin, reaching out to take Walter's face in her hands too, cleaning off his chin. Walter froze momentarily with wide eyes and once he was released from Alana's grip, he faltered, becoming small and returning the pizza to the box.

Maybe I stepped too far, Alana thought as she added the second dirty napkin to the one in her fist to be thrown away after they had gotten down to business.

"Wally, can you tell Alana exactly what you told me?" Margot questioned gently with a kind smile across her lips. Something small and barely there, but Walter had come to recognize those micromovements across Margot's face. He had gotten rather good at reading them and had slowly come to the conclusion that Hannibal operated the same way. Everything was small and calculated. Hannibal's to keep himself hidden away so no one would see the monster, Margot's to protect herself from the monsters that were chasing her. "Please?"

Walter gave a small nod and a deep breath. "I overheard two workers talking about..." Walter trailed off and his brows scrunched up in thought and Alana watched silently as he licked his lips. "They were talking about how they were in debt and that one of your wedding rings would be worth more than enough to get them out of debt. They said that they wanted more from the house and would do something after dinner. They said it would be easier now that my dad was gone. I didn't hear when they would do this."

Alana was quiet as she let the words soak in, trading a look with Margot, knowing that Margot had come to the same conclusion that she did. "Alright," Alana said with a nod, a hand reaching out to give Walter's knee a small squeeze. "I need you to listen very closely to me. This is about keeping all of us safe, alright?"

Walter's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he nodded in answer. "Ok."

"We're going to pack up our things and by the end of this week-"

"We'll move," Walter interrupted Alana. "You must have a million safe houses like Hannibal does."

Margot gave the small boy a kind lipped smile. "Not nearly a million, but we have options."

"What about my dad?" Walter asked, looking between both Alana and Margot who both seemed to share another hidden conversation just as Walter had seen Will and Hannibal do together as well. "Is he going to know where we are? Are you going to get a hold of him or...?"

Walter already knew the answer before it was said in the air. It was easy enough to read on Alana's face and in the space around him. No. It was that simple. They wouldn't tell Will where they went. Walter knew that they didn't trust Will, but he hadn't thought that he would end up being kidnapped away from his own father who had fought so hard to keep him.

"He'll find me," Walter announced, back straightening in absolution. "One way or another, he will come after me if he comes back and we're not here."

Before either Alana or Margot could answer the bathroom door opened and both Applesauce and Morgan raced back out, the dog's head soaking wet and of course Applesauce waited until they were both back by the bed before shaking dry.

"Morgan, love," Alana said, wiping water from her cheek before scooping her son up off the floor and into her lap. She let the boy reach back out for his slice of pizza and allowed him to settle before she dared to speak again. "We need to have a serious conversation, alright?"

"Alright," Morgan said nonchalantly as he took another bite of his pizza.

"Do you remember what we spoke about when Dr. Lecter first came to our house?" Alana questioned, nuzzling her face into her son's cheek. Morgan hummed with a nod in answer around another bite of pizza. "We talked about maybe having to go away to stay safe, didn't we?"

"Yes," Morgan said slowly, looking up at Alana in confusion. "Do we need to leave?"

"Yes dear," Margot replied with a nod. "We need to go away."

Morgan's eyes went wide and he lowered the slice back to the box, looking between everyone in the room before his eyes rested on Walter as if Walter had a say or could help in some way.

"Can Wally come with us?" his small voice inquired, a glimmer of hope in it as if Walter was the only thing that could make the move bearable.

"Yes," Walter said with a nod, calling three pairs of surprised blue eyes to his face. "I will come with you."

Morgan's face cracked into a bright smile and he bounced in Alana's lap. "Where can we go? Can we see something new?"

"Yes, love," Alana answered. "Of course we can see something new."

Walter did his best to hide the way his heart dropped into his stomach about how far away they would be going. Will would find him, he had no doubt at all that Will would search the world for him, but he couldn't help but wonder if maybe Will might not be able to find him. What if he was moved to a safe house that not even Hannibal or Will Lecter could find?

It was beautiful to look at and Hannibal regretted not having had the courage to find it sooner. The cellar was cold, but not even the temperature had kept the man suspended above the air from decomposing. Not even the bitter winter had kept the bugs and rodents from eating away at the man's body whose hands were held at heart's center.

But the decomposition wasn't bad enough to distract from the hard work that Will had put into the design. Hannibal kept his distance due to the smell, but he did take a few steps closer to better look over the work in the dim light in the wine cellar.

Broken wine bottles of his family's own vintages made up the firefly's wings, catching the light of the candles that Hannibal had lit. The light that passed through the dusty green glass was dimmed, discolored, distorted, and gorgeous.

And the rope work that had been used around the man's limbs reminded Hannibal greatly of the art of shibari, something that he hadn't seen used since he used to live with his aunt who liked to practice it as a form of self-discipline.

Hannibal's head tipped to the side and he reached out, not touching, but allowing his fingers to hover through the air and trace the ropes carefully, respectfully. How had Will learned how to tie the knots? Had it come from years of fishing and working on boats? Had Chiyoh shown Will how to tie the knots? Chiyoh had always been rather close to Lady Murasaki and if his aunt had taught him how to practice shibari, then Hannibal had no doubt that she had also taught Chiyoh. Or maybe Will had always had a secret affinity for bondage that Hannibal hadn't had much of a chance to explore.

The idea put a smile on Hannibal's lips before he took another sip from one of the dusty wine bottles in his grip. He had wished he could have been stronger, but he knew that not even his courage alone could have gotten him into somewhere as simple as this. The ground was one thing, climbing the fence had been difficult but doable. But entering the buildings on the grounds had been so incredibly impossible that Hannibal had been keeping himself fairly drunk on his family's own wine.

His disoriented state did nothing to subtract from Will's design though. Hannibal held tightly to it and read into each and every line that Will had left behind for him to find. A symbol of Will's metamorphosis. A tableau dedicated to Will's evolution and Hannibal couldn't help but see the reach towards himself in the artwork. Will's calling card, invitation, and love letter to Hannibal. The empath trying to prove how invested he was in going deeper into uncovering the history that made Hannibal who he was.

Another Japanese term that Hannibal hadn't thought of in many years jumped to the forefront of his mind and he wondered if maybe all the alcohol was helping to bring back even more suppressed memories that he had long since locked away. But honestly, why not? He was already using a crowbar to tear his mind to shreds in hopes of repairing it, but not add a little more gasoline to the fire?

Hotaru, a metaphor for passionate love, poetically speaking. Will might not have known the hidden meaning behind the intentions, but Hannibal smiled at the idea of Chiyoh seeing all of this and knowing long before they met again that Will meant the world to him. That they were entertained, tangled with nooses around their necks in a red thread of fate.

Hannibal shook his head with a chuckle and took another drink of the wine bottle to find it empty. What did it matter? There were plenty more if he so wished to use the liquid courage to help blur his pain. He let the bottle fall from his hands and clink across the floor, unshattered, his body joining it.

He leaned back enough that he could stare up at the creation his beloved had left behind, smile still playing at his lips. What a cunning little boy Will was. His design was beautiful and precise with as much hidden meaning to it as what Hannibal added to his own work.

"Hanni, I don't like it down here," a tiny voice whispered in his ear, a hand tugging at his shoulder to get him to move. "Can we go back outside?"

Hannibal glanced back at the small version of his sister and wondered if this really was an exact recreation of her or if maybe he had just imagined what he wanted his sister to be and the real her was lost to time. After all, he had forgotten her for a time. As long as he had been mute he had suppressed her memory and now he couldn't help but be curious if his mind had damaged her in the process.

"I don't like when you drink that stuff, Hanni," she continued, giving another small tug. "It makes you act funny like dad used to sometimes."

"Forgive me," he whispered in the empty space around him, eyes still on the man before him. "This is difficult for me."

"Can I have my ribbon back now, please?"

"Almost. We're almost done, I promise." Hannibal let out a deep breath and pushed himself back to his feet, hands out to keep him steady as the cellar spun around him. "And then you can sleep and maybe I can move on as well."

Will was nearly certain that he was the sole reason that the aspirin industry hadn't crumbled in the last decade and his liver most likely wasn't thanking him for any of it. But he popped the pills anyway, took them dry as he normally did, and stared up at the popcorn ceiling of the hotel room he was in.

He could hear the hand on his watch ticking through the silent room, the only sounds to rival it being the next room's occupants watching the TV. The noises were muffled by the paper thin walls enough that it didn't cause Will much annoyance.

He wasn't sure if he could lay here for much longer without going out of his mind and the ticking of his watch only seemed to accent the fact that he still had another hour or two before he could head for the airport. Another two hours before he either was allowed onto a plane bound for Europe or if he would find himself locked up behind bars for the potential kidnapping of his own son. The very same son who was an absolute gift in his life and he had not been cherishing enough.

That would change the moment Will returned with Hannibal. They would take Walter and Walter would be the very center of everything, just as he deserved to be. Walter would come first, Will would make sure of it and he knew Hannibal would agree, obey, submit to that specific demand, just as Hannibal always had.

Hannibal would breathe, live and die at Will's command. Hannibal's use of possessiveness was not as terribly complicated as Will had once thought it was. All of it was done with Will's consent. They shared everything, spoke about everything, wandered each other's mental spaces and Will could feel the explanation whenever Hannibal looked at him, down to his bones. Hannibal's voice echoed through Will's skull, even when he wasn't fully present in it. Will had always happily complied with Hannibal's attempts at manipulation, understanding under it all that he merely had to ask and Hannibal would give him whatever he desired.

And this was what Will desired. His husband and his son and their life to start anew. A life far away from the prying eyes of the FBI and Jack Crawford. A life separated from all the court files and the news articles. A life where maybe they could be as normal of a family as was possible being married to a man like Doctor Hannibal Lecter.

They would be well taken care of. They had the means to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. They probably wouldn't be able to stay in the same place for longer than a year or so, but it would just give them the opportunity to see more of the world. Walter could learn so much. It would be good for him. Will had always thought that learning from the world was more important than being stuck in a school system that punished children for not learning a certain way.

Walter would succeed in whatever he put his mind to and the two of them would homeschool Walter. He would learn what was really important in life. He would learn the value of hard work and how to appreciate the small things in life. That was what Will wanted for him. For Walter to have everything that Will hadn't been able to have. A good education and a life worth living.

An alarm went off on Will's phone and the empath sat up, turning it off before gathering up his small backpack of belongings and his plane ticket. With a deep breath, he went for the door of the hotel room and stepped out into the hallway, ready for the next step of his journey to take place, as if the rest hadn't already been more than enough for a lifetime.