The prick of a thornless rose is a poison in my soul.

*****

Scents of popcorn and hot dogs waft on the fall breeze, tantalizing passerby young and old alike. Calliope music is also carried as an overtone to the scents, gleeful playful music accompanying the laughter and shouts of children. The smiles on their faces as they ride the painted steeds are wonderful, full of life and hope. One of the mothers riding on the platform, carefully balancing a child on the saddle of one of the steeds, mirrors the joy in the faces of the children around her. She beams and waves as she circles past, laughing as she does so. So vibrant on this fall day, he notes, watching from a picnic table just this side of the rail around the carousel. Maroon eyes watch her intently from beneath a white fedora perched low over his eyes, effectively blocking the sun from them. A smile crosses his lips as the two women in his life pass round again, his daughter waving happily this time.

"She looks happy today." a voice at his side offers, watching the carousel slow and the calliope begin to wind down.

"I truly believe she is, Barney." Dr. Lecter replied, standing from the picnic bench and approaching the exit gate. He catches a glimpse of his daughter hugging her painted pony and planting a kiss on its mane before she disembarks with help from her mother. The toddler runs ahead, slamming into her father's leg as she greets him.

"Daddy! I rode a PONY!" she informs him, giggling as she is scooped up into the air.

"So I saw." he replies, looking into her wide eyes.

Mischa turned her head over her father's shoulder and looked at the large black man standing behind them. "Didja see too, Barney?"

"I saw, Mischa."

Emily looked up at the man who was once the ward nurse when her husband was imprisoned in the asylum. He was large and powerful, and his voice was high and hoarse. Three weeks ago, after Emily's murder of Lisa, he had come to their home at the request of Dr. Lecter. Two weeks ago he had been her keeper, bringing her meals and keeping an eye on her during her forced imprisonment in the guest room. Last week, he had been her escort when she went to the store while Hannibal was at the office in Larkspur. Today, he was a friend accompanying the family on a trip to the zoo. The two men stood together with a happily chattering Mischa as Emily fetched the stroller from where it was parked under a eucalyptus tree.

A normal family, for all outward appearances. Mischa made her adored animal apparent as Hannibal strapped her into the stroller.

"Wanna see elphans." she informed him, grabbing the proffered sippy cup form her mother and using it to point at a sign, which displayed an elephant. "Elphans!" she cried again, before raising the cup to her mouth.

Emily grinned from behind the stroller, looking over at her husband, who returned her smile. She felt his hand present a gentle pressure on the small of her back as she began to move the stroller forward. Barney walked a few paces ahead, and Mischa held forth in a conversation with him, presumably about her beloved 'elphans' from the eagerness of her voice. Hannibal leaned close to Emily's ear as they paused at the next exhibit, looking in on a lazy tiger that basked in the sun.

"You look well, Emily."

She tingled from the voice in her ear, a reaction she had never been able to rid herself of. "I feel well, Han." she replied, turning her head to look at him, brushing a strand of red hair from her face. She looked into his eyes and fortunately, for once, didn't see anything in them. She smiled and he brushed a kiss against her lips.

"No urges?" he asked, he had been watching her carefully throughout their outing today. She hadn't reacted adversely to anything or anyone. Perhaps the monster and the shadows were back where they belonged.

"None." she assured him, returning his favor and quickly kissing him. "Thank you." she whispered as she put the stroller into motion again. The small entourage set off through the zoo, happy and content, and without any demons haunting them.

*****