I do not own…
Annabelle couldn't help but sigh in blissed as she felt Hannibals' lips peck and nip down her neck. He always knew how to get on her good side. A couple of nights ago Abigail Hobbs woke up from her coma and Jack sent Will and Hannibal to talk to her. The teenager is playing the victim card and from what Hannibal told her Will is eating it up out of guilt. When Jack heard that she wanted to go home he agreed and wanted Will, Hannibal and Alana Bloom to go with her. The mention of Alana Bloom is what brought Annabelle in a bad mood. She has heard of this Alana woman and her little crush on Hannibal and this was bringing her dark side out. Annabelle didn't like anyone fawning or touching what is hers. So to calm her down and stay on her good side he had Raven watch over the girls while he showered up with her favorite food for dinner and had animalist sex. When morning came they started another round for another hour.
"When do you have to leave?" She asked
"In an hour and a half." He said
She looked up at him with a loving look and combed his hair with her hand before leaving it on his cheek. He leaned against her touch before holding her hand and kissed it.
"I trust you, Hannibal." She said "It's her that I don't trust. From what I heard about her, she has a thing for you and wants something more."
"I will never let that happen. You and the girls are all that matter to me." He said and kissed her. "Nothing will keep us apart again."
"Good." She smiled and kissed him again. "You should go and get ready. I'll go make you breakfast."
He kissed her one more time before getting up and headed to the connected bathroom to shower. After getting up and placing on her silk nightgown and matching robe before going downstairs to start breakfast. After breakfast she kissed him goodbye as he drove off to the airport. She wanted to drop him off herself so she could show herself to Alana but unfortunately she too had to get ready for an art gallery she was preparing.
At the airport Will was the last one to arrive. When they got to their seats on the plane he got a text from Raven. He wasn't surprised by this as they've been talking a lot lately. While looking at the text it made him smile a bit and Alana had noticed this. She asked who Raven was but Will simply said that she was a friend of his and left it as that. He felt selfish but he wasn't ready to share her with anyone else. Hannibal had already known about this and could see that Raven had already hooked him in.
A few hours later they landed in Minnesota and stopped at the hotel they booked. After that they headed to Abigail's house to see if she could remember anything. The place was vandalized as some of the locals grefieri 'Cannibals' on parts of the house. They tried to get her talking as the FBI found out that her father got a call from a blocked number after he tried to kill the family. Will asked if she recognized the voice but she didn't. Hannibal knew that she was lying but kept it to himself.
"Can you catch somebody's crazy?" Abigail asked
"Folie à deux." Alana said in French.
"What?"
"It's a French psychiatric term. Madness shared by two." Alana explained
"One cannot be delusional if the belief in question is accepted as ordinary by others in that person's culture or subculture. Or family." Hannibal said after bringing in an evidence box.
"My dad didn't seem delusional." Abigail said "He was a perfectionist."
"Your dad left hardly any evidence." Wil replied
"Is that why you let me come home? To find evidence?" Abigail asked
"It was one of many considerations. Are we gonna re-enact the crime?" Abigail said with a bit of excitement and pointed to Will and Alana. "You be my dad, you be my mom..." Then she pointed to Hannibal. "...and you be the man on the phone."
Hannibal kept a calm and blank face when she said that.
"Abigail, we wanted you to come home to help you leave home behind." Alana said
"You're not gonna find any of those girls, you know." Abigail sighed
"What makes you say that?" Alana asked
"He would honor every part of them." Abigail explained "He used to make plumbing putty out of elk's bones. Whatever bones are left of those girls are probably holding pipes together."
"Where did he make this putty?" Hannibal asked
"At the cabin." She said "I can show you tomorrow." She said
Then a friend of hers came by and the three decided to let them talk on their own. It didn't go very well as Cassie Boyle's (a victim of Hannibal's) brother came to the house, as he believed Abigails' father killed her. He ran off when her friend threw rocks at him and when he saw Will, Hannibal and Alana. When it got dark they headed to the hotel for a night's sleep. With an idea in mind to push things a bit Hannibal was gonna wait until everyone is asleep to do it.
The next day Annabelle had taken the girls out for some mother and daughter bonding. She took the girls to the mall to do some shopping, see a movie and get some ice cream. Anna hoped this would distract Mischa as she knew the young girl was missing Hannibal. When Anna explained that he and Will had to go and help the Hobbs girl she saw the hate in her eyes. She sure got both her and Hannibal's jealousy and knows how to hide it well. Anna knew that she should tell Hannibal about this in case the Hobbs girl ends up dead.
"What do you want to do next Mischa? We still have thirty minutes till the movie starts." Annabelle asked
"Can I get my ears pierced?" Mischa asked
"Yeah, I don't see why not. What would you like? Do you want it over your first one or right here on the helix?" Annabelle smiled, touching the upper top of her ear.
"I think I'll like the upper top." Mischa smiled
"Okay honey, ear piercing it is." Annabelle chuckled
"Do you think I can have my nose pierced when I'm sixteen?" Mischa asked
"Your father and I will have to talk about that." Annabelle said
Somehow she knew Hannibal wouldn't like the idea of their daughter doing any of that. They found a piercing place not far from the theater and there was no waiting. Mischa didn't flinch at all when they got it done and picked a pair of crescent moon studs. Penelope wanted to get her ears pierced next but Annabelle believe she should wait till she Mishca's age. After that Annabelle and the girls headed to the theater and watched the movie. When the movie was over they went to the food court to get something to eat. Hannibal is always against giving the girls fast food because of the fattening and chemicals inside them. Annabelle was okay with this as they were kids and believed they should try it but only did this once or twice a week. After they ate, they went to get ice cream from Cold Stone before heading back home.
In Minnesota, Will, Hannibal, and Alana took Abigail to her fathers' cabin that late morning. When they got there they found Abigail's friend, Marisas', dead body upstairs, pierced against a few antlers. This got them to call Jack and the rest of the FBI to come down. They thought the killer might be Nickolas Boyles when they found out that he was Cassie's brother. On the other hand it looked like this was the Copycat killer again which made Jack start to question Will thinking as it was him who believed Copycat wouldn't do this again. After getting Jack to calm down he had Hannibal and Alana to take Abigail back to the house to get her stuff so she could leave Minnesota for good. When they got to the house the place was crawling with reporters. Hannibal and Alana were able to get her to pass them but Marisa's mom came crying out blaming the Hobbs girl for coming back and getting her daughter killed. Then Freddie Lounds was found by one of the cops and was escorted away from the area. She tried to talk to Abigail but Alana quickly got her inside before she could answer.
After packing both Hannibal and Alana went outside to talk to the police while Abigail was in the living room mourning her friend's death. Then she remembered something her father always told her, that they would honor every part of the body. She knew the pillows were made by her father and ripped one apart with a hunting knife and found human hair inside. This terrified her but was interrupted when Nickolas appeared in the room.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." He said "Okay? I just need you to listen to me. I didn't kill that girl, okay? I didn't kill her."
Abigail's flight or fight instinct kicked in and tried to get away and he tried to stop her. When he slammed her against the wall this triggered her fight instinct and stabbed him in the stomach, very deep. In shock Abigail went upstairs to tell Alana when she heard her. Hannibal was the first to see the blood in her hands and knocked Alana out before she could see her. He demanded her to show him what happened and she obeyed as she showed him the body of the now dead Nickolas Boyle.
"He was gonna kill me." She said
"Was he?" Hannibal asked
When she said nothing he looked over the body mentally shook his head at the sloppy kill.
"This isn't self-defense, Abigail. You butchered him." He said
"I didn't." She whispered
"They will see what you did, and they will see you as an accessory to the crimes of your father." He stated
"I wasn't." She whispered as she shook her head.
"I can help you, if you ask me to." He said "At great risk to my career and my life. You have a choice. You can tell them you were defending yourself when you gutted this man. Or we can hide the body."
Seeing that she had no choice she agreed and helped him bury the body and clean up the blood. After that he called for Jack, telling him that Nickolas had attacked them but ran off when scratched him hard enough to make him bleed. He ended up taking her back to the hotel while Jack and Will waited for Alana to wake up. When Abigail fell asleep he texted Annabelle that he would be coming home tomorrow.
.
.
.
The next day Hannibal and the others got their luggage and headed out to leave. Waiting on the other side were Annabelle, Mischa and Penelope. Hannibal smiled as the girl ran up to him to hug him. Will couldn't help but smile at the scene while Alana and Abigail looked shocked. Alana was shocked to see that Hannibal was dating someone with kids. Abigail was just starstruck as she knew who Annabelle was as she and Marisa were big fans of her.
"Well this is a surprise?" Hannibal said
"I know how flights can be tiring so the girls and I thought we could surprise you and give you a ride home." Annabelle smiled and gave him a kiss. "Plus Mischa and Penelope wanted to see you. Hello Will. How have you been lately?"
"I've been doing well, thank you, Annabelle." Will said
"Oh my god, you're Annabelle Wastson, of Children of the Witch." Abigail gasped "I'm...I'm a...I'm a huge fan of yours."
"Hello Abigail." Annabelle said with a kind smile.
"Um...can I...can I have your autograph?" Abigail asked, as she dug in her bag and took out the band album and a marker.
Anna gave her a kind smile and signed the album for her. While signing she looked over at Alana and Hannibal saw the mischief in her eyes.
"And you must be Alana Bloom. Nice to meet another colleague of Hannibals'." Anna said
"...Hi. Nice to meet you too." Alana said
"Ready to go, Hannibal?" Anna asked Hannibal.
"Yes, let's go." Hannibal said as he picked up Penelope before looking at his colleagues. "Will, Alana, Abigail, have a good day."
The two took the girls to the parking lot with the others watching in disbelief.
"Did you have fun?" Hannibal asked
"A bit. At least she knows now." Anna said as she wrapped her arm in his right arm. "Do expect that she's gonna wonder what you see in me. And why?"
She wasn't wrong. The next day Hannibal got a visit from Alana. After offering her a drink Alana asked about his relationship with Annabelle.
"I don't see how my relationship with her is anyone's business." He said
"I'm just...worried for you Hannibal. Women in that line of business are always addicted to drugs and…" She said
"I'm disappointed in you Alana. I didn't expect you to judge someone out of the stereotype." He glared "I would never be with someone like that."
"I'm sorry, but do you even know her?" She asked
"Yes, I do. She's an old lover of mine from my youth days. We would connect every now and then when our paths meet. She is also the mother of my child. I know her better than anyone in this world." He said "The reason why we never told anyone is because we like our privacy. I love her and my daughters. I wouldn't trade them for anyone else in the world."
Hannibal saw the hurt in her eyes but didn't really care. He knew in the past of her interest in him but he never allowed it to go any further than a teacher and student relationship. Annabelle was his queen, lover and soon she will be his wife.
"I understand. I'm sorry." She said
"Good." He said
Seeing that she was crossing a line that shouldn't be crossing Alana drank her drink and left. After his talk with Alana he had another appointment with a patient. When it was over he got a call from Abigails' hospital, saying that she gone over the walls again. He knew that she would be looking for him soon, so he waited. After he was working on his paperwork he smelled her sense up on the second level of the room.
"Hello, Abigail." He said, not looking up from his work.
"How did you know it was me?" She asked
"Hospital called." He said and finally looked up at her. "You climbed over the wall.
He closed his notebook before getting up.
"Where else were you to go?" He asked "Home is no longer an option. Come down from there.
She hesitated for a moment but did as she was told and climbed down the ladder.
"I don't want to go to sleep." She said
"You can't anticipate your dreams." He replied "Can't block them, can't repress."
"I didn't honor any part of him, so it's just murder, isn't it?" She said
"Most would argue self-defense." He said
"Then why not tell the truth?" She asked
"Most would argue." He replied "There would still be those who would say you were taking after your father."
As he was saying this the young teenager noticed his tone was a bit happy when he said that.
"You're glad I killed him." She stated
"What would be the alternative?" He asked "That he killed you?"
"I don't know if he was going to." She said
"No, you don't." He agreed
"You're the one who called the house. You talked to my dad before…" She said in a sad tone. "What did you say to him?"
"A simple conversation, ascertaining if he was home for an interview." He said with a bit of truth.
She looked at him like she didn't believe him.
"Then why not tell the truth?" He recounted
"I think you called the house as a serial killer. Just like my dad." She stated
"I'm nothing like your dad." He said "I made a mistake. Something easily misconstrued, not unliked yourself."
He saw that she still didn't believe him.
"I'll keep your secret." He said
"And I'll keep yours." She said
"No more climbing walls, Abigail." He smiled