Only the Beginning

Part Three - Family Reunion

Five days later, Hannibal looked in the mirror with satisfaction. The facial enhancements and the hair dye had been successful in altering his appearance enough that he could now move around more freely. During this time, he had done some research on his daughter: looking in her records from the hospital, the orphanage and the school she was attending. He was even able to obtain a fairly recent photo of her from the records at her school, and had an I.D. and passport made up for her. Computers were so useful, with them, the world was at his fingertips. What a person could do with the push of a few buttons. What he could have done if he had access to a computer while imprisoned. This was so much better: free and with such a delightful tool! The tidbits he had learned about Sadie only whetted his appetite. He was even more convinced that she was his daughter. The records were woefully inadequate, especially the ones from the orphanage. It appeared that CHC was at least a decade behind in their use of the computer, probably had most of their files on paper stored in cabinets. Only the financial records were more up-to-date, and Hannibal wasn't impressed.

There were a couple of knocks on his door, Hannibal looked at the clock: 11:45 p.m. He doubted Travis, or those of his ilk, would show up at his door without any orders for room service, so who would be at his door at this time of night? He looked through the peephole and didn't see anyone. Another knock - this had better not be a trap or a prank. He would definitely teach the perpetrator a lesson if it were. Lecter had his favorite knife, a harpy, easily and quickly accessible, up his right sleeve - another item he had picked up along with his money and credentials. This had been one of the essentials.

"Hello?" a young voice called out softly but Hannibal heard it. He opened the door and looked down at a girl he immediately recognized as Mercedes Anne Jones. Astonishment flickered briefly as red sparks in his maroon eyes and he quickly moved aside and said, "Come in. You have a bit of explaining to do."

"You know who I am?" Sadie asked. She was tired and hungry. Getting here hadn't been easy.

"Do you know who I am?" Hannibal asked as he closed the door and locked it.

Sadie heard the sound of the lock being engaged and hoped she hadn't made any miscalculations. "I'm sorry about the hour. The only non-stop bus available left at four and I had to walk from the bus depot. I made sure I left no trail so no one would find us." Sadie hoped that information wouldn't backfire on her but she didn't want Dr. Lecter thinking she might have led anyone right to him. She just stood there, briefly noticing the large, elegant room beyond the foyer they were in. Definitely not something she was used to.

Hannibal looked down at the young girl who stood before him. With a hood covering up her hair and the blue coat being at least two sizes too big; he could only see large, anxious purple eyes and a fatigued, pale face. She was quite a beautiful child but other things mattered more in his estimation.

"I know who you are, and by your statement, you know my identity. How did you find me?" Hannibal was still astonished that this child, even if she was his, had been able to find him. He had been planning on getting her in Chicago.

"I kept thinking that your face would be displayed in the papers and on t.v. so you would need to go where you could blend in while making changes in your appearance. I didn't think you'd actually go to a hospital, but I thought that maybe you would stay near a facility that specialized in facial reconstruction. I went on the internet and it listed the Myron and Sadie Fleischer Pavilion (I thought that was kind of neat having my name as part of it) of the St. Louis City Hospital as a foremost center. Two other factors contributed to this being a logical destination: one, it was only five hours away by car and two, you had been in this city when you did research. In an article you wrote for the Psychiatric Journal, you made a reference to the Robert J. Brockman Memorial Library."

Impressed, Hannibal held out a hand and gestured for Sadie to remove her coat and hand it to him. "And this hotel?"

Sadie first removed the bulky backpack and then, as she threw the hood back and unzipped the coat, she continued, "I figured you wouldn't want to stay at a hotel with small rooms, not after your eight years in a cell, so I kept that in mind when I looked at the hotels nearby the hospital and this one seemed to be the most likely one."

"My assumed name?" Hannibal took the coat and hung it in the closet.

"I estimated that you may have had to take care of some things, obtain a car, then make the drive, putting your arrival here between 3-6 a.m. I accessed the hotel's registration and saw that three parties came during that time. Only one was a single male, Lloyd Wyman, who just happened to be from Tennessee. At least, the real one was."

"Let's continue this in the other room. Would you care for something to eat or drink?"

Hannibal led her to a comfortable couch that had large pillows on each end. It looked good enough to sleep on, Sadie's body wholeheartedly agreed with this assessment and her stomach was growling at the notion of being fed. "Yes, please. My last meal was lunch and I only had the few snacks Latisha gave me for the trip."

Hannibal brought a fruit bowl over to Sadie. She looked at the assortment.

There were a couple of things she didn't recognize, she stayed away from those. Sadie finally chose a large, red apple and began to eat. Her backpack was on the floor by the end of the couch where she was sitting. She looked at the man who might be her father and wondered how long he had known about her. He only seemed surprised to see her here and hadn't questioned her identity.

Hannibal sat across from Sadie and was studying her also. He saw a look that contained questions and a little hurt in them. Figuring out what her eyes were saying (they were indeed windows of the soul) he told her softly, "I only read the letters you sent five days ago, here in this room. I would have contacted you if I had received them three years ago."

Sadie turned her face away from his. He seemed to see so much and she didn't want him to see how this was affecting her. She was hungry, tired, missing Latisha, and overwhelmed by the fact that she was actually here, with Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who might be her father. The questions that needed to be asked and answered had helped with the first few minutes of her arrival, but now what? Sadie had questions of her own, the ones that were most important were not being asked because she was trying to hold back the tears that were filling her eyes. "That sure didn't take long," she thought. Sadie didn't hear Hannibal leave the chair and walk over to the couch. She did feel him sit beside her and stiffened.

"I believe you know why I immediately asked you those questions and I know you have questions that you want answered. Look at me," Hannibal said as he turned his body so that he could see her, face-to-face when she would turn it towards him.

"I think it's better, at this time, if I don't." Sadie kept her face hidden, the tears had won and they were running down her face.

"You don't want me to see you crying." It wasn't a question and it sounded so understanding, even gentle, that the tears flowed even harder.

"I'm sorry."

"For what? You've been through a lot emotionally, mentally and physically - it is a perfectly natural response you are not to apologize for. Would you say, 'I'm sorry,' for breathing?"

"No," was accompanied by a couple of sniffs. Hannibal held a large, maroon handkerchief in front of Sadie. Six fingers took it from his own similar hand. As she wiped her face and nose, his right arm and hand went around her other side and turned her body until Sadie found herself against his chest, her face pressed into his shirt.

"I don't want to ruin your shirt," Sadie protested, her voice muffled. Hannibal was stroking her long, black hair which went down to her waist. Her hair had soft curls and waves and his hand, running down its length, felt good.

"Consider it a baptism of sorts. I put you in this position, it was my decision; so, once again, you are concerned over something you shouldn't be. Now, I'll talk and you listen." Sadie nodded with her face still pressed against the front of his shirt. The tears were slowing down. "Yes, I had been seeing a woman named Rachel before my trial. She also had a sister in Chicago, so I would say your conclusions are accurate. I am delighted to find that I have a daughter and was planning on going to Chicago tomorrow to meet you. One of the many ways the administrator, Dr. Chilton, used to get at me was to withhold my mail. An orderly discovered your letters buried in a closet and gave them to me as I was about to be transferred to Memphis. Now, who will be missing you and what precautions did you take in getting here without anyone's knowledge?"

"Well, Miss Jenkins at the orphanage. Latisha's family will probably be the most upset since I was spending the weekend with them. I left a note saying I was running away under the blankets of my bed at CHC. I figured it would be a couple of days, at least, til they discover it there. Last night, Latisha and I went online to see the bus schedule. She's 16, so her parents didn't worry about us going out together. The bus depot was only three miles away. Latisha wore a coat taken from a Salvation Army bin and hid her face from the security camera when she purchased the ticket. I was waiting in the bathroom. She gave me the ticket and a blue coat she had outgrown, hidden in her backpack. I buried the red coat I was wearing in a large garbage can. I had no trouble boarding the bus and getting here. Latisha was to tell her parents that I went back to CHC because I wasn't feeling well and just wanted to go to bed."

"The main bus depot is around 8 miles from here," Hannibal pointed out, still stroking her hair.

"I printed up a map so I wouldn't get lost," Sadie answered, she was losing the battle of keeping her eyes open and just left them closed.

Hannibal inhaled deeply and let his breath out slowly. He could feel Sadie relaxing against him and knew she was falling asleep. He was very impressed with her reasoning and intuitive abilities; however, he didn't like some of the risks she had taken. Sadie would have him to take care of her now. He went over everything that was said and done, and all he had learned these last five days. Somewhat to his surprise, Lecter found that a bond had formed for Sadie that he hadn't known since his sister. He knew Sadie wasn't Mischa but the feelings he had then: the joy, love, fierce protectiveness, possessiveness and tenderness were all welling up from deep inside of him. The focus for all those emotions was now sleeping quietly in his arms, which tightened slightly, relaxing as he held her close. Even though he still planned on paying a visit to Chilton, he now knew what satisfied him the most, and given the choice, which he would choose.

The End (but just like the title says, only the beginning)

Author's note: I'm already working on a sequel called Scents and Sensibility.