Thank you for the reviews. They help me for my work.

Disclaimer : Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling are the intellectual property of Thomas Harris. I'm just borrowing them.

----------------------------------

Chapter 5 : Discussion

When he was dressed, Hannibal went down too. Clarice was not in the house. He found her on the terrace. She looked at the garden where some dewdrops still remained on the roses' petals.

Her long hair floated in the light breath of the wind and the first rays of the sun lit her face. Hannibal stayed a few minutes to contemplate her. Clarice was unique. She was not only very beautiful but she was also a woman of characters with an iron will. He particularly liked her intelligence and her frankness... and her ability to surprise him. It was difficult for him to anticipate her reactions and he loved that.

A smile appeared on the doctor's lips. How could he not love a woman like her ? At the beginning, he had difficulties to understand his feelings. The last time that he had felt these feelings, he was only a child. He had done everything to make his sister Mischa happy, to offer her the most beautiful things. And years later, he felt the same feelings. It was the most beautiful gift life could give to him : to love again.

He captured the image of Clarice in his memory palace and approached her. He stopped at her side and they stayed long minutes staring right in front of them. It was difficult to know what they could think of. Clarice was the first to break the silence.

''Why didn't you say something ? You should have warned me.''

Hannibal could hear a little bit of anger in her voice. He turned his head towards her but Clarice didn't look at him.

''If I remember well, I didn't want to get up until you used force... I believe that nothing could have convinced you at this time.''

''You should have been more convincing'', she answered with a bitter tone.

''You could have supposed that I didn't wear clothing to sleep.''

''How ? It's not the kind of thing which appears in your file, doctor.''

''Touché.'' Hannibal found that she was even more beautiful when she was angry. He said with amusement : ''At least, we are quits.''

She finally turned to him : ''Quits ??''

''Yes Clarice. To be quits, not to be in advance, to be on the same level with another person.''

She raised her eyes to heaven : ''Please doctor, I know very well what 'quits' means. What do you mean by 'we are quits' ?''

''It's very simple, you saw my body today as I saw yours at Krendler's home.''

Something had just broken inside Clarice. She looked away from the doctor and murmured : ''Are we going to speak about that now ?''

''If your 'that' refers to that evening on Chesapeake Bay, one year ago, then yes I believe that we have to discuss of it.''

Hannibal placed his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him. ''Clarice, I know that what happened that evening was not easy for you but speaking about it will do you a lot of good.''

She found only patience and sympathy in the doctor's eyes. She nodded and Hannibal led her to one of the wicker chairs. He took another one and sat down opposite her. He crossed his legs as he had done at Christie's and he gently said :

''I would like you describe me your feelings during that evening ? I know it's difficult but try to relax.''

Clarice was disturbed. She had spent these last four months to find the doctor and now that she had found him, she spoke with him on his terrace without trying to arrest him. The subject of their discussion was in addition the only one that she wanted to avoid. After having breathed deeply, she started :

''I was under the effect of morphine, but I believe that your words left their mark on me, doctor. Of course, I would never forget the vision of Krendler tasting his own brain, however when I think of that evening, it's not the first thing that comes to my mind.''

As she didn't continue, Hannibal decided to help her by asking a question : ''What do you see, Clarice ? What is it ?''

She leaned forward with her arms on her knees. ''I see you beside the table in the dining room. You speak about the FBI, about medal and mirror. I remember each word perfectly. Words which made me think about my life, which have opened my eyes...''

The doctor waited patiently until she continued : ''I became aware that I work for an institution that wasn't as honourable as I thought. Where I sought justice and honesty, I found only machination and corruption. During the months that followed our last meeting, the department of justice deliberately put me aside by giving me administrative tasks initially then by putting me on your file. All these practices disgust me.''

Hannibal listened carefully and what he heard pleased him immensely. ''Clarice, look at me.'' When he held her eyes, he said : ''You are the Ugly Duckling of the FBI. You represent all they will never be. Your courage, your intelligence or your incorruptibility, all these qualities which make what you are... all these qualities embarrass them because they can put in danger all their small businesses. They tried to change you, to corrupt you but they failed and it's much better like that.''

Clarice was lost in the eyes of the doctor. All he had just said was only the truth and the young woman felt a big weight disappear with the words he had just pronounced. ''Why do you continue to work in a place where nobody is interested in you ? Where the quality of your work is not recognized ? Why do you work for people who represent all the opposite of what you seek ?''

However, it was difficult to forget a whole life devoted to find her place within the FBI. She had felt a great pride when the director had given her the badge of special agent. If she gave up now, she would have to start her life again.

''I don't know if I'm ready to leave the FBI. I always made this job. I don't have the courage to begin something else'' she said after a long moment.

Hannibal sat in the same position as the young woman and he crossed his hands : ''Clarice, nobody tell you to leave your job. It's a difficult decision and it's not in a few minutes that you will be able to make your choice.'' He smiles slightly. ''There are only truths which must be said...''

With this conversation, Clarice felt much better. All seemed so easy with the doctor. He took the life as it came and he took the maximum from it. It was appeasing to see things this way.

Clarice smiled : ''Thank you.''

''You're welcome. All the pleasure was for me, agent Starling'', Hannibal answered by inclining his head slightly.

A SWAT team could have entered at this moment, Clarice or Hannibal wouldn't have heard. They held each other eyes, nothing didn't seem to exist around them. Clarice was the first to lower her eyes to examine the doctor's hands. It wasn't difficult to notice the scar which surrounded his left thumb.

She took hesitatingly the hand of the doctor and stayed long seconds to examine the scar. Then she felt a tear ran on her cheek and another one followed the same path.

Hannibal had shivered when Clarice had taken his hand. He could read many emotions on her face and, now, she was crying. He would have liked to gather her in his arms, he didn't want to see her suffer. He said gently :

''Clarice, please don't cry. It's not necessary.''

''I am sorry, doctor. This is all my fault.'' She had difficulties to speak, her sentences were cut by small gasps. ''If I didn't have...''

Hannibal stopped her : ''It was only your duty. As an FBI agent, you tried to stop one of the most wanted criminals. You don't have to blame yourself.''

''You had just saved my life, Doctor Lecter... and all I have done... is to oblige you to...'' With these last words, the tears ran even more.

The doctor drew a handkerchief from his pocket : ''Here Clarice. Wipe your tears. It's over... You should know that my hand works perfectly.'' He squeezed her hand to prove his statement. ''I don't feel pain any more and I play the piano like before. Even Beethoven wouldn't have succeed to play the piano again after having cut one of his fingers...''

Clarice smiled to this comparison and Hannibal said to her at once : ''The smile suits you very well my dear.'' That stopped definitively her tears.

After having wiped her eyes, she said : ''When I thought of that evening, I never had the courage to see the moment when the knife fell on your hand. As if I wanted to erase it from my memory and to forget it forever. I saw this scar and this bad moment came back into my mind.''

The doctor asked : ''Don't you have any pleasant memory of that evening ? Did it occurred anything you have liked ?''

Clarice felt her cheeks turned red. She was very embarrassed again. If she didn't tell him the truth, he would know it immediately.

''Well... There is something indeed...'' she mumbled. ''I liked... when you... when you...''

''When I kissed you'' Hannibal said.

She looked into his eyes, a little astonished. ''Yes…''

He appeared to be very happy with this answer. ''Don't be so embarrassed Clarice, I also found this kiss very pleasant.''

The doctor released his hand that Clarice still held in hers and set aside a strand of hair that had fallen on her face. Hannibal's fingers brushed against her cheek and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, he stood in front of her.

''I go upstairs to take a shower, Clarice and pack some clothes and I would be ready to accompany you.''

She rose and frowned : ''To accompany me , doctor ?''

''Yes, you came for that, isn't it ? To bring me back to the USA.''

She couldn't find her voice. He had reached the French doors when she called him back : ''Doctor Lecter ?''

He turned over : ''Clarice ?''

''Why do you do that ? We both know what awaits you there.''

Never had he looked at her the way he looked at her now and she was disturbed by this look. Before he stepped into the house, he simply said to her : ''You already know the answer to this question, Clarice.''

----------------------------------

To be continued...

Let me know what you think of this.

Lecter-in-love.