DICSLAIMER: I'm not stealing anyone's characters! I'm only trying to entertain myself by writing a mushy fic! Lol! Please don't sue… I don't have much money!

SUMMARY: Dr Lecter visits Starling after Silence of the Lambs and it's something she can't let go off…

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Ok, this is another attempt at a Hannibal fic, which I think is a bit of an improvement from the last ones! Lol! I'd like to dedicate this one to Anouk (a.k.a. Troesnaja) for giving me a LOT of the ideas for this story! And of course Little-Starling for her continuous encouragement! I wouldn't have come as far as I did without you! Thanks!

Visitor By Jane

PART 6:

Clarice looked at him warily for a moment, unsure of the new alliance. As far as she was concerned she still didn't trust him completely, but for now they had to work together. Her eyes wandered up the stairs to the top floor neither has explored yet.

"Look, may be we should call for more backup," Kirkins kept looking behind his shoulder at the playing shadows from the window as they ascended the stairs to the top.

"No phones, the door's locked," Clarice whispered as she adjusted her grip on the gun slightly.

She aimed her weapon at anything within sight and turned sharply at the corner. The floor turned out to be smaller than the previous and a small window at the far end prevented her from seeing much around herself. She knew that Kirkins was behind her… somewhere but didn't want to make the noise to check.

Suddenly her feet tripped on a soft heap on the floor. Her hands went forward as a reflex, so she didn't complete the fall. A strong scent caught her senses. Blood. A cold dread ran through her small form as she tried to scramble to her feet in the half-darkness. She suddenly remembered too well what it was like in Jame Gumb's basement and a small nausea filled her stomach before she forced it away.

Her hands reached out onto the floor. The body was still warm and she could feel a cooling liquid all around it, which she could only identify as blood. It must've been Agent Thomson. She cursed and suddenly felt desperation to get out of that dark house. She could feel her clothes were stained with blood. So many people were slaughtered and she couldn't save them. Being surrounded by death was not something she took lightly, even though it happened to her more frequently than most people. She hated the feeling that threatened to settle in… Complete failure…

A loud click behind her head pierced the silence. She swallowed. Clarice knew the sound of a gun very well. "Kirkins?" she called trying to move as little as possible.

"Get up," his voice was strained as he tried to disguise it somehow.

"What are you…" she never finished her sentence. She knew exactly what he was doing. She couldn't think of anything to say and begging was beneath her, even now. "One down, four to go," flashed in her mind. Of course! There were six of them. Four left excluding himself.

"Kirkins… don't do this," she said with more strength than she felt. No reply. So she stood waiting for whatever was to come for her. A second went by, 2, 5, 20 seconds… Nothing happened. Slowly turning her head, she couldn't see anyone behind her. With another glance around the room, she headed downstairs in a hurry. Clarice was determined to get out of this house alive, as she once again ran down the stairs. Three agents killed, one ran away. That just left her with Kirkins…. And someone else…

Last steps. She made it for the door but the floor was missing. She cursed herself for forgetting about the cellar. How could she be so dumb? Her body plunged into the hole and achingly rolled down a few wooden  steps until a strong grip held her in place. She let out a small groan as the pain started to seep through but stopped herself when she realized she was being held by a pair of warm arms.

It was still dark but there was no mistaking of who it was. It was that undeniable scent which had her form frozen in exhilaration and panic. "Dr Lecter…?" she felt her heart racing faster with every passing second.

"Very good, Clarice…" his soft rasp rang through the air. "Though you really should be more careful…"

She didn't know how to answer it and decided to instead ignore the comment and stay silent. "I must admit…" he went on rather casually, never changing his grip, "…I do rather enjoy you 'dropping in' on me…" Her eyes didn't allow her to see his features but she could feel he grinned at her.

"What happened?" she asked puzzled to the whole night. First she thought Kirkins might have killed them, even though why he did it was beyond her. But now that Lecter was on the scene, it changed everything.

"Judging from the clatter… you ran down the stairs and fell down the cellar…" he said plainly.

She groaned. He was teasing her. "No, what's going on? Why are you here? Who killed all those people?" she would have said more, but she ran out of breath.

"I believe it would be more appropriate to figure some things out by yourself, Clarice. As for why I'm here… why the only reason I'm here is youu…" The last syllable rang on. She swallowed.

Muffled sounds caught her ears. They weren't alone. This was followed by struggling from the same direction.

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Sorry short chapter! I promise to post more as soon as I write it! I know it's probably already getting boring for ya, but I need to finish this one!!! Just a few more left! Tell me what you think of it!  – Jane:)