"Oh wow, Sam! What happened to you?" Barney's eyes were wide with concern as he looked at Sam's gruesome black eye.

"I'm fine, Barney. I got up last night to use the bathroom and walked right into the door frame. I guess I should start turning on some lights, huh?" Sam despised lying about anything, but she really didn't feel like explaining to her supervisor how she got ripped the night before and fell on the stairs.

"I'd say so! That's a pretty good shiner." He turned to the mini fridge and grabbed a frozen bottle of water. "Here", he gestured toward her face. "It will hopefully help with the swelling."

Sam placed the bottle to her eye and winced. "Thank you, Barney." It was all she could do to manage a fake smile.

"I'll let you nurse that a little bit before you make your rounds."

'Shit'. Dread hit Sam as realized she would have to confront Dr. Lecter. 'Oh, that sonuvabitch is gonna eat this shit up…' As she sat thinking of a way to explain her current situation without him picking her story apart, a thought occurred to her. 'I don't have to tell him shit! It's not my job to have conversations with a cannibal.'

A devilish smirk crossed her lips as she stood from her chair. "I'm gonna go ahead and make my rounds, Barney. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Dr. Lecter stood from his desk upon hearing Sam's footsteps make their way down the hall. As Sam appeared in front of his cell, amusement flashed in his eyes upon catching a glimpse of her eye. Deciding to let her to acknowledge him first, he stood patiently, watching Sam fill out the information on her clip board.

As Sam was reviewing the information, she could feel Dr. Lecter's intense gaze watching her every move. Hurriedly, she completed her paperwork, beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable. As she turned to make her way back to the nurses' station, Dr. Lecter's voice stopped her.

"Good morning, nurse Brodie."

'Shitshitshitshitshit'

Taking a breath, she turned to face him. "Good morning."

Dr. Lecter made a wincing face as he looked at Sam's eye. "My my my. What, pray tell, happened?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Sam looked down to the floor. "I walked into a door last night."

"Ah. I see. By walked, I'm sure you meant ran, correct? I doubt the force from walking into anything could cause that amount of damage."

"No, Dr. Lecter. Like I said before, I walked into a door."

Sam could have sworn she saw a glint of anger or impatience flash before his maroon eyes for a brief instance before he replaced it with the same unreadable look.

"Tsk tsk tsk. I do believe you are lying to me, nurse Brodie." The mocking tone in his voice was light and airy. Sam felt her heart rate rise, and heat flooded her neck.

Trying to calm her nervousness, Sam took a few seconds to slow her breathing. "I told you. I walked into a door. I got up in the middle of the night, didn't turn any lights on, and walked into a door. That is all."

As Sam spoke, Dr. Lecter's eyes darkened.

"I do not take lies very well, Ms. Brodie. In the past, situations have turned quiet messy when people lied to me. You would do well to remember that."

Sam felt her throat tighten. Was she just threatened by Hannibal the Cannibal? Before she had time to process this, Dr. Lecter's gaze lightened and he began to speak.

"Now then, I imagine your head hurts pretty badly from the copious amounts of alcohol you consumed last night. The remnants of the mid shelf whiskey you polished off are seeping through your pores as we speak. Is this how you handle your troubles, hmmm? By drowning them?"

He was right, her head did hurt. To add insult to injury, anger took over. Anger so strong, the injury to her eye was now throbbing along with her heart beat. How bold he is. How conniving and heartless. He had seen through her lie before she even opened her mouth to speak it, and in turn, completely destroyed her with it. "What I do in my spare time is no concern of yours. I am fine. I have everything under control." Sam hated how her voice sounded shaky and weak.

"Oh, I can see that." Dr. Lecter pointed to her injured eye. "You are the poster child of self control, it seems. Drinking away your problems will not help you, Ms. Brodie. It will only make it worse."

With a shake of her head and an exasperated sigh, Sam gave a half smirk. "As much as I appreciate your deep concern, Dr. Lecter, trust me when I say this: She looked deep into his eyes, "It's none of your fucking business."

Dr. Lecter's mouth formed a silent "oh" shape before raising his eyebrows and smiling pleasantly. "Have a good day, Nurse Brodie." Turning on his heels, he showed her his back and made his way over to his bunk.

Mouth agape, Sam was stunned for a few moments. As soon as the words left her mouth moments earlier, she regretted them. Immediately she had feared that Hannibal the Cannibal would emerge; she was shocked and confused when he just smiled. The real punishment, however, came when he turned his back to her. This man didn't have to use violent force or his cutting words to hurt you; he could do it with minute gestures as well. Still angry and confused by his reaction, Sam made her way back to Barney.

When the clip board landed hard on the counter beside him, Barney looked out of the corner of his eyes to Sam.

"Is… everything alright?"

Sam let out a huff of air and ran her fingers through her dark hair, pushing it back from her face.

"I don't know how you deal with some of the inmates, Barney, I really don't. "

Barney turned in his chair to face her and smiled.

"Some of the patients are a little much at times, yes. It will get better with time. Which patient is giving you such a hard time?"

Sam fell into the chair in front of him and stretched her back. Without looking at him, she mumbled under her breath: "Dr. Lecter."

Slowly finding his gaze, she noticed his smile faded away.

"What did he say to you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"He just wants me to talk to him about myself. He wants to know about my troubles. He is very persistent in the matter."

Barney smiled a little at Sam as he stood and looked at one of the monitors to Dr. Lecter's cell. "He is a very curious person. He did the same thing to me when I first started here as well. I think it's mostly because he is bored. Or hell, it could be he really wants to help. I never did find out."

Sam had a look of curiosity on her face. "Did you ever talk to him about it?"

At this, Barney turned to face Sam again. "At first, no. I refused to be quantified and subjected to a mad mans influence… But over time, and with the help of his persistence, I slowly began to talk to him. Small things at first; guilt from cheating on a test in grade school, and on to larger burdens that I still carry with me today." Sam noticed Barney's eyes become distant.

Suddenly, Barney shook his head and looked back at Sam.

"I'm not taking sides or telling you what you should do, but I will tell you this: After all the years of speaking with Dr. Lecter, It hasn't hurt me one bit. Come to think of it, it might have actually helped me some."

Time passed in silence before Barney looked up at the clock. "It's time to make the rounds Sam. I'll go with you this time."

As the two made their way down the hall, they noticed it was quiet. Everything seemed in order, that was, until they reached the last cell on the right.

Dr. Lecter had watched as the man in the cell across from his, Travis Conners, a bi-polar schizophrenic, worked the bottom of his metal plated sink lose. Once he had a large enough piece bent towards him, Dr. Lecter watched as he started at the inside of his elbow and sliced his arm down towards the wrist. The combination of overbearing pain, and dull metal made for a messy situation with many attempts to sever the artery. Once his goal had been made, Travis leaned against the wall and waited for the darkness to take him away. The sight and smell of fresh blood caused Dr. Lecter's mouth water and his maroon eyes to flash.

"Oh fuck." Barney's eyes were wide as he tossed Sam the keys to the cell.

"Get in there and do what you can, Sam. I've got to go call this in!"

As Barney sprinted down the hall to the office, Sam unlocked the gate and ran into the cell. With no time to spare, she jumped right in. No gloves. Every instinct in her from her medical training screamed no, but there was no time. She checked for a pulse, it was next to nonexistent. Her years of training kicked in as she pulled his back from the wall and laid him on the floor. Once she got his legs close enough, they were propped on the top of his bunk to keep what little blood he had left flowing to his major organs. Taking a towel off the counter, she wrapped it around the mangled forearm. The blood seeped right through.

Dr. Lecter stood and was watching with rapt attention. Sam's movements were so unforced and natural, it was beautiful to watch. Where he had so elegantly taken life, he thought that she may very well be his equal when it came to trying to save it.

Checking his pulse again, Sam realized it was dropping still. As she positioned his head ready for CPR, her breath caught in her throat. Instead of the brown eyes that belonged to Travis Connors, Sam was staring into the green eyes of Matt Davis. In a flash, she was no longer in Baltimore, no. The smell of burning wood and gunpowder filled her nose as she realized she was back in that hospital wing in Iraq. Fear ran through her body as she began to frantically give compressions. Matt's blood soaked face rocked with the movements, as his eyes stared deathly off into space.

"C'mon, Matt! C'mon! Please, Matt, Breathe!"

*one, two, three, four- nothing*

"MATT! BREATHE!"

*One, two, three, SNAP. One rib broken*

"No… God, no! Please! Come back Matt, PLEASE! Don't leave me, PLEASE! BREATHE!"

Tears were falling from her face now as she sobbed over Matt's lifeless body. Blood was pouring from his mouth, nose and ears, mixing with the tears falling from Sam's eyes as she leaned over to embrace him.

The feeling of strong arms could be felt pulling on her, but she ignored it. Now trapped in darkness, Sam was lost to grief. Silent tears rolled down her face.

"Ms. Brodie." There was a voice in the distance, very quiet, almost an echo.

"Ms. Brodie, I want you to focus on my voice." There it was again, calling out for her, gentle and comforting.

Other sounds were now intruding. Footsteps and the sound of a large zipper. Something was rolling, a gurney, rolling the body away.

"Samantha, open your eyes and look at me." Her name sounded like a soft whisper.

As Sam opened her eyes, she was back in Baltimore. As she tried to slow her breathing, now hitched with sobs, she looked forward and saw Dr. Lecter kneeling in front of her behind the glass. He had both hands pressed against the invisible force field locking him away from the world, looking into Sam's eyes.

"Samantha, you are fine. You had a lapse earlier and it caused you to black out. Barney placed you outside of the cell so the morticians could take the body."

Ah. The body. Another soul lost on her watch.

Sam started to run her fingers through her hair when she realized her hands were sticky with blood. As she looked down, she saw her uniform was soaked as well. Immediately, her body broke out into a cold sweat as she felt the need to vomit. Leaning her head back against the cool, brick wall, she closed her eyes and swallowed hard.

Silence took over as Dr. Lecter watched her. The event that he witnessed unfold earlier left him quiet intrigued. There was a lot more to Sam than he originally expected. She lost someone very dear to her. In her arms, from what he gathered earlier. This "Matt" character was very important. He decided he would have the rest of her story.

As Sam sat with her head against the wall, she let out a dry, throaty chuckle. This caught Dr. Lecter off guard as he tilted his head slightly to the left.

"Is something amusing, Ms. Brodie?"

When Sam sat forward and met his gaze, he could see the tears were back.

"I'm sure if Chilton witnessed what just happened, he would try his best to have me in one of these cells."

Dr. Lecter smirked and gave Sam a wink. "At least I would have someone to talk to."

"He really was hoping to find a reason not to hire me."

As Dr. Lecter thought about Freddy harassing Sam, a look of disgust replaced his smirk and his eyes darkened. God, how he loathed that worm of a man. His thoughts were broken as Barney approached. "Do not think you are the only person who is haunted by their past." He spoke so softly, Sam barely heard him.

She had no time to process Dr. Lecter's meaning. A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder as Barney tried to comfort her.

"Are you alright?" Barney's eyes were full of concern as he glanced over her bloody hands and uniform.

Sam nodded her head and smiled for a split second before returning her gaze back to Dr. Lecter who never took his eyes off her.

"I can promise you, Barney that this will never happen again."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Things happen." Barney gave her a reassuring smile and gently squeezed her shoulder.

As Sam struggled to stand, she caught Dr. Lecter moving forward as to try and help, but was stopped by the glass barrier. This made Sam smile inwardly. Finding her feet, Sam looked back down at her uniform and grimaced.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to clean up."

As she started down the hall, Barney called after her. "Did you bring a change of clothes?"

Sam stopped and turned to face him. "Nah. I'll just have to clean up the best I can."

"I've got some sweat pants and a tee-shirt. They will swallow you whole, but at least you won't have to leave with blood all over you."

"Yea, that sounds good, Barney. Thanks"

Barney nodded and walked down the hall, leaving Sam alone with Dr. Lecter.

"It seems Barney is quite fond of you already." Sam turned to find Dr. Lecter watching Barney depart before turning his gaze to her.

"Yes. He seems like a really nice guy. I feel comfortable working alongside him."

"He has been the closest thing to a friend a person like me could have since my incarceration. He is the only person, since I have been here, that has treated me as a human being and not the monster the world has deemed fit to label me as."

Silence passed as Sam thought about what Dr. Lecter had said before Barney appeared.

"Dr. Lecter, what did you mean when you said what you said earlier?"

He smiled and winked. "Hmm. Imagine that. Me telling you things about my personal life. One could say that it's none of your fucking business."

Sam felt that familiar sting of rejection from earlier. She really didn't mean to be that rude. Never once had she heard him use that kind of language. She felt her throat begin to constrict and tried to swallow.

"My offer still stands you know. Who knows, we could become friends." The mocking tone he developed helped Sam become more at ease. He wasn't mad. Thank God.

Just as Sam was about to speak, Barney appeared with the clothes. "They are clean, I promise." Sam smirked as she took the clothes.

"I believe I have worn worse." Sam looked down at her bloodied scrubs and back up to Barney, who smiled in turn.

As Sam looked at her watch, (after chipping away the dried blood) she realized it was past five. "Well gentlemen, I'm gonna change and head out."

Barney smiled and nodded. "Alright, Sam. You go home and get some rest and enjoy your weekend. I'll see you Monday." He held out a balled fist towards Sam who in turn met his fist with her own. A fist bump. A sign of friendship.

Dr. Lecter watched the exchange between the two, intrigued with the goodbye they shared.

Sam turned to Dr. Lecter, his eyes travelling to her once balled fist, to her eyes.

"Goodbye, Dr. Lecter. See you Monday."

With a slight bow and nod, Dr. Lecter watched as she walked away.

Barney stood in front of Dr. Lecter's cell watching Sam as she was leaving. Before he could follow behind, Dr. Lecter's voice stopped him.

"Barney?" Dr. Lecter was standing very close to the glass, watching Sam as Barney had just done.

"Yes, Dr. Lecter?"

"I don't think dear Dr. Chilton needs to know about what happened earlier with Ms. Brodie."

A small, all too honest smile played across Barney's lips as he took Dr. Lecter's meaning.

"I don't know what you mean. From what I saw, Sam did her job. Sadly we lost the patient, but that was no fault of hers. I think she is working out wonderfully here."

Dr. Lecter gave a small wink and took a small step back. "Thank you, Barney." An idea popped in Dr. Lecter's head as he remembered the goodbye shared between Barney and Sam earlier. With slight hesitation, Dr. Lecter put his fist up to the glass and looked at Barney.

Upon seeing Dr. Lecter's balled fist, Barney let out a small chuckle. With a smile, Barney met Dr. Lecter's fist on the opposite side of the glass with his own.