Ok, y'all, this part is a bit mundane, and there isn't much action, but trust me,

it's very important to the story line. The next chapter will be more action-packed.

~~~Next day~~~

Hannibal was sitting, reading the newspaper, when he heard someone coming up the

steps. It wasn't Hanna Clara, and after a second, he knew it was Melinda Lyle.

He smiled, put down the newspaper, and was very still. The door opened and

closed, and he didn't even breathe. He heard her sniff the air, and she walked

slowly over to the chair. "Good afternoon, Professor Lencharint." She said.

"Can't fool you, can I?" He asked, standing up and lightly kissing her hand.

"Not when you wear that strong cologne." She said, taking off her sunglasses,

exposing her glazed eyes. Melinda was totally blind. "Is Hanna here yet?"

"No, she'll be home soon, though. Sit down."

"Thank you." Melinda put her cane down and moved over to the couch.

"So what brings you here?" Hannibal asked.

"Hanna asked me to spend the night tonight. Did she not tell you?" Melinda

sounded worried.

"Oh, yes. That's right. I must have forgotten." Hannibal said.

"Hanna told me that you took her Ballroom dancing last night. Was it fun?"

Melinda leaned forward in her seat.

"Oh, yes. Except for little detail..." Hannibal said.

"You mean Mrs. Wizt?" Melinda asked, making a face.

"Yes. But we still had fun. Would you like something to eat?" Hannibal asked.

"Oh, a soda would be nice. Oh, no." She said when she heard his chair creak.

"Don't get up, I can get it. On the door of the fridge, right?" She rose and got

to the kitchen effortlessly. She knew her way around the Lencharint home almost

as well as she did her own. She felt for a can, and holding one up, asked "Is

this it?"

"A diet drink." He told her.

"Thats fine." She came back and sat down again.

"What's tonight's plan?" Hannibal asked.

"Oh, Hanna rented a movie." Melinda said. "She'll talk me through the quiet

parts."

"Ah." They sat in silence for a moment.

"Can I touch your face?" Melinda asked suddenly.

"Pardon?" Hannibal was surprised.

"May I touch your face? See what you look like?" She asked again. "I've known

you ever sense I was a little girl, and I can't remember feeling your face. I

hope it's not an impertinent question." She asked.

"Oh, don't be silly, dear. Of course you may." He moved over to her, and took

her left hand with his. She unconsciously rubbed the place where his old scar

was from the removal of his extra finger. Of course, she didn't know what that

was from, but she knew the scar was his. It was the way she identified the hand.

He brought her hand to his face, and she lightly brushed it over his cheeks, his

eyes, eyelids, lips and chin. She paused at his nose, and pressed a bit harder.

`He had collagen injections.' She thought. Living in high society, many of her

friends had done the same thing, and she could identify the feel very well.

`Rather old, though.'

"Well?" Hannibal asked.

"Hmm?" She replied, surprised, jerking her hand away.

"What do you think?" He sounded amused.

"Oh... Nice structure around the cheekbones, well formed eye structure..." She

told him. He chuckled and sat back.

"What's so funny?" A voice asked.

"Hello, Hanna Clara." Hannibal said.

"Hello Father, Mel." Hanna replied. "What's the joke?"

"Oh, your father just let me feel his face." Melinda said. "I just described

what I felt. You have the same eye shape."

"Same color too." Hanna said, sitting down.

"Your eyes are maroon. What is maroon?" Melinda asked.

"It's the feel of crushed velvet." Hanna started.

"The first glass of sherry poured, from a very good year." Hannibal added.

"And a chilly gust of air on a warm day." Hanna finished.

Melinda nodded. "I think I get it."

"You have a better feeling for colors." Hanna said, dropping her bag. "You get a

detailed description. We take them for granted. Come on, lets go upstairs." She

gave her father a peck on the cheek, and the two ran upstairs to Hanna's room.

"Dinner will be at 7:30!" Hannibal called after them.

Hanna ran into the kitchen, Melinda right behind her. "I won!" Hanna said as she

hit the counter.

"I would have beaten you if that chair in the dining room hadn't been in my

way." Melinda grumped.

"Oh, I forgot to push that in." Hannibal said as he stirred the soup on the

stove.

"Don't make excuses, Father. Mel's just not as fast a runner as I am." Hanna

said.

"What are you cooking, Professor Lencharint?" Melinda asked, sniffing the air.

"You should never ask. Spoil's the surprise." Hannibal said as he moved to a pan

where a slab of meat was sizzling.

"Lets see... I smell tomato, basil, garlic... Bread... Corn bread." She said.

"Asparagus..."

"Bravo, my dear." Hannibal said.

"What sort of meat?" Melinda asked.

"Like I said, it ruins the surprise." Hannibal repeated. "What movie did you

girls rent?"

"A documentary." Hanna said.

"Oh? On what? I'm sure I'd like to watch it with you." Hannibal said.

"Hanna picked it out. It's the 3rd in a series of sociopaths that got away. It's

about Hannibal Lecter." Melinda said.

Hannibal whipped around and glared at Hanna, who winked. "It sounds

interesting." Hannibal said, his voice cool. "I remember hearing about him, a

long time ago."

"I'm doing my psychology term paper on him. I`m glad you got it, Hanna." Melinda

said. "But you wouldn't believe how much information I've already found on him."

Hannibal grabbed a notepad and quickly scribbled a message onto it. It read

"Have you lost your mind?"

Hanna smiled, and wrote back "I thought it'd be nice to find out more about your

early life. It'll be fun, trust me. Plus, it`s got scenes of Mummy."

Hannibal gave her a look of disapproval, but turned back to his food that was

cooking. "We can watch it after dinner. You girls set the table."

"Plates are on the bottom shelf of the 4th cabinet?" Melinda asked, feeling her

way to the doors.

"Right. I'll get the glasses and silver wear." Hanna said.

"That was delicious, Professor." Melinda said as she sat down on the sofa in the

den.

"Thank you, Melinda."

"Won't you please give Mother the recipe for your liver?" She begged.

"Ah, but if I did that, what would keep you coming here?" He asked.

"At least tell me what type of liver it is. Beef liver doesn't taste like that."

"Old family secret." Hanna said, plopping down between her father and her

friend.

"Traitor. Did you put in the movie?" Melinda asked.

"I did, Mel." Hanna said as the music started.

Hanna smiled at her father, who was no longer disgruntled, as the video ended.

"That was cool!" Melinda said. "My favorite part was how he escaped from that

prison. But I'm confused. How did he use the face as a mask?"

"He had it flipped to the bloody side. It made it look as if he was a guard

who's face had been eaten." Hanna told her.

"And Clarice Starling... She sounds so much like your mother!" Melinda told

Hanna. "Did she look like her?"

"No." Hanna lied as she peered to the large portrait of her mother.

Hannibal was playing the video back, on mute, watching Clarice's face on the

screen.

"What did you think, Professor?" Melinda asked.

"It was facinating." Hannibal said, staring at the screen, a sad look on his

face.

"I'm glad you liked it. Next time we can get something on Multiple Miggs." Hanna

said. "Come on, Mel, we can start working on making the rough draft."

Hannibal was working in the basement, curing some meat, when Hanna ran

downstairs. "Ok, Mel's home." She said, opening one of the freezers.

"Good."

"And David is coming over later." She said, speaking of her boyfriend.

"I don't like you spending time with him." Hannibal told her as she took out a

container of fried sweetbreads.

"Why not?" Hanna asked, turning around. "He's sweet, he's polite..."

"I heard that two more people were killed last night." Hannibal said. "I think

he's been killing all of the people."

"Father, where did you think I was getting those fresh entrails?" Hanna asked,

rolling her eyes. "The research work at the morgue is great, but really, it is

SO hard to get good meat. Most of the time I can't get to the body before it's

been embalmed."

"He's a pyscotic murderer." Hannibal said.

"So are you." Hanna said, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Do as I say, not as I do, Hanna Clara." Hannibal said.

"Of course, Father. But can I still keep the deal, that I won't tell on him as

long as he brings me the good parts?" Hanna asked, with bambi eyes.

"Oh, all right." Hannibal laughed.

"Thank you! I'm going to nuke these, ok?" She said, gesturing to the

sweetbreads.

"Save some for me." He said as she went upstairs.

"Hey, baby." David said as he came in.

"Hi love." Hanna kissed him.

"I brought the liver, kidney, and brains." He said, handing her a tupperwear

container.

"Oh, you're so good to me." She said, kissing him again.

"What do you do with that stuff, anyway?" He asked.

"It`s for my biology project." Hanna told him. "I'm glad they're letting me get

some information at the morgue, but it's easier to study the parts when I'm not

changing to a different one each time they have the person buried."

"Hello, David." Hannibal said walking in from the basement. "What's that you've

got there, Hanna?"

"David stopped by the buchers shop for me." Hanna said.

"Hello, Professor Lencharint." David nodded.

Hannibal looked at Hanna, clearing his throat.

"Um, David, lets go for a walk. I want to talk to you about something." She

said, steering him towards the door.

"David," Hanna said, looping her arm through his as they walked down the streets

of London.

"What is it, Love?" He asked.

"Well... I'm going to be leaving soon." She said. "For college."

"Yeah?" David asked.

"And... Well, I don't like the idea of having to try and keep a relationship

going when we'll be away from each other." She said.

"Are you breaking up with me?" He asked, turning to her.

"No! Of course not... I just think we should be friends with privileges, instead

of a couple." Hanna told him.

"Oh." He thought for a second.

"I love you, David. You know that." Hanna said. "But if you started to see

another girl while I was away... Well, then it wouldn't hurt me if we were no

longer a couple. But this way, we can still have fun."

"I see your point."

"You're not mad, are you?" Hanna asked.

"No, Love. It's a good idea. And you're so pretty, you'll have tons of beaux

when you go to college." He said, kissing her forehead softly.

"Friends with privileges?" She asked, holding out her hand.

"Friends with privileges." He replied, shaking hers.

"That's so formal. We should seal this another way." Hanna said, licking her

lips as she looked him up and down.

"Have a nice walk?" Hannibal asked as Hanna entered, a few hours later.

"Yes." Hanna said.

"And you broke it off with him?" Hannibal asked.

"Well... Sort of." Hanna said, sitting on the counter.

"What does "Sort of" mean?" Hannibal asked, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

"We're not officially a couple anymore. We're friends." Hanna informed her

father.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't see him at all."

"For Gods sakes, Father! He's a psychopathic murderer!" Hanna cried. "You don't

want to make a psychopath mad! You of all people should know that."

Hannibal chuckled. "You're right, love." He said, kissing her forehead. "I have

been known to do gruesome things to people I dislike."

"Revenge can be sweet, but I don't want him to get revenge on me." Hanna said,

hugging him. "Anyway, David's a good way to get fresh meat. I mean, when you're

gone, what will I do?"

"Ah, my little Lamb. So gentle. You let your men do the killing for you."

"Why get my hands dirty when I've got other people to do it for me?" Hanna

asked.

Hannibal ruffled her hair. "Ah, Lamb. You're so sensible."