Listening to opera got me in the mood to write this. None of my other favourite authors are writing much (guilt, guilt), so it seems that I must amuse myself.

Add the usual "don't sue me"

This takes place after the book or all the stories where the movie ends properly.

The idea behind this is what would the doctor do if…?

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"I'm going out for a while. I'll be back sometime after lunch," Clarice called as the door slammed behind her. Hannibal Lecter looked up sharply from the paper he was reading to the window, in time to see her dash across the street and around the corner. It was very unlike her to go off without him, and even more odd to leave without telling him where she was going. He felt uneasy for a moment, but decided he would just ask her when she got back. He was sure she had a good explanation. Perhaps she had wanted to go shopping without him along. He knew that she was somewhat self-conscious about purchasing things when he was around, even though her own innate taste in clothing was superb. When she had access to the appropriate funding of course.

He chuckled as he recalled their first shopping trip together. They had just arrived in Paris from South America, and Clarice had been in terrible need of a new wardrobe. They had spent the entire day in quaint shops and high-end boutiques. At the end of the day, Clarice had sat, looking at the large pile of boxes and bags piled on their hotel room bed, with a highly amused expression on her face. She'd asked him if he realized that they'd spent more that day than she had made in her entire career in the F.B.I. He remembered laughing and telling her that if he hadn't know better he would have thought that she had married him for his money. As he recalled the 'fashion show' that had followed, a smile crossed his face. It was the same smile that the National Tattler had sworn could make babies cry. It certainly had other more amusing effects on Clarice.

Hannibal sighed and went back to reading the paper, but he was still uneasy. He was still rather stunned by the fact that Clarice had left everything behind her in order to stay with him. He came to depend on her presence to keep his nightmares away, just as she depended on him. He couldn't imagine what he would do if she ever left him. He didn't think he could just let her go. He didn't really want to think about such gloomy thoughts, and went to the kitchen to make lunch just in case she came home early.

She didn't. He ended up eating by himself, and activity that he had accomplished without much thought for the majority of his life. Today was different. After having had a table companion for many months now, he missed the soft flow of Clarice's voice as she chatted about some new book or piece of music she had discovered or what outing they would be enjoying that night. He missed being able to watch her eat. How she held her glass and the way her beautiful mouth closed around her fork, were things he took great delight in. Never being one to take anything for granted, Hannibal never the less, found himself more acutely aware of her little quirks and mannerisms when she was absent.

After tidying up the few dishes he had used, he returned to the library, with the idea that he would continue with the translation he was currently working on. He couldn't focus on the task at hand and ended up pacing up and down in front of the windows until he heard the front door open and Clarice's step in the hall.

She pushed the library door open and offered him a smile as she dropped her bag on the chair nearby. She walked over to the stereo and picked out Verdi's opera Il trovatore - her new favourite cd. Hannibal knew she had been listening to it lately while she bathed. He surmised that she was headed for the tub now.

"Did you have a nice time?" he asked. All he received by way of a response to his query was an affirmative hum, as she left the room and headed up the stairs. A minute later he heard the water begin to run in the upstairs bathroom and Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland began singing Di quella pira. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer he followed her upstairs.

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Well, this turned into a short one, but there will be more soon. I have to stop ignoring my chemistry now tho. And I promise no more anagrams. luna.