The heat was intense, uncomfortable against her skin as she watched the flames from a relatively safe distance, causing a tingling sensation to course across her flesh. She could not move away, did not want to move, eyes transfixed upon the sight before her as she clutched a hand within her own.

She should have felt horrified at their actions, ashamed that either of them could resort to such drastic behaviour. But all she felt was relief washing over her as the roof timbers began to fall and the building began to cave in slowly, a feeling of finally being safe gripping her heart.

"What if someone finds us Felicia?"

"We'll be long gone by then... The only good thing about this place was that it was in the middle of nowhere"

Sera gave a vague nod and squeezed Felicia's hand a little tighter, a small reassurance for both girls until a scream ripped through the flames and captured their ears. Eyes trailing up to the top floor window, the shadow of a man could be seen as he flailed and fought a losing battle against the inferno of his own death. Felicia smiled, slow and menacing as she watched him, allowing Sera to hide her face in her shoulder. He was gone from their lives, along with the memories that the house had held for the two young Omega. It was his fault Felicia could find no joy in her own biology, resenting the idea of any alpha ever becoming her mate. It was his fault that Sera was such a nervous teen and couldn't find her courage anymore.

He was meant to look after them, a foster father until they could go out into the world alone and find their own way. Alpha's were meant to protect Omega's, so why had he subjected them to mood dictated beatings, tortured them with their worst fears and then pretended to be a perfect role model to the rest of the world. Well no more. She'd help Sera find herself again and they'd look after each other, just like they had always done.

"We'll be OK... It'll be hard but anything's better than staying here"

The girls turned, their few possessions flung over their shoulders in rucksacks and hands still clasped together in a silent show of solidarity and joint strength, heading towards the nearest bus stop. The screams continued to dance within Felicia's mind long after they had left the burning house behind and feeding her desire for both she and Sera to become more than just a weak little Omega with nothing to their name. With the death of their foster father, a fate he deserved even if it had been an accident, they would be reborn.


Felicia snapped up in her bed, the feel of her heart pounding and the perspiration beginning to bead against her forehead as she took in the surroundings of the hospital room, forcing her breathing to regulate. What had she just dreamed of? It had felt so familiar yet completely foreign, like a memory trapped behind a cloud of uncertainty, as a mixture of lingering anger and relief continued to grip her. It had been nothing like the dreams she was so accustomed too, no sign of Hannibal to be found within her dream world, only memories of the teen who shared her name and face yet did not seem even remotely familiar to her.

"Hey, are you ok? you were moving a lot in your sleep"

Sera was stood beside the bed, concern in her eyes as Felicia swiped a hand across her face. The Sera within her dreams was nothing like the young woman she knew, she had been nervous and fearful of the world around her, nothing akin to the boisterous and confidant woman before her. So why did it feel as though she had seen an important truth, something that held a significance far greater than her addled mind could fully comprehend.

"I'm fine, just a weird nightmare. How did you sleep?"

She pushed the covers of the bed back, casting a quick gaze towards the other girl before staring out of the window. Sera was smiling brightly as she all but skipped around the room, packing the few items of clothing that Will had brought for her before tucking the husky plushie into the top layers of the overnight bag.

"I slept really well, clearly much better than you did. No dreams about Will for a change"

So Sera hadn't had the dream repeated either? Something seemed strange about that, the fact that the dreams that had plagued them for six whole months had suddenly disappeared. Felicia frowned as something clicked in her mind. Six months, the length of time that they had apparently been in the coma, the same length of time that the dreams had been occurring. Could the two be linked in some way? She forced the questions from her mind before they could develop too far. There was no chance that the two held any connection so there was no point thinking about them.

Besides, there was a far greater concern on her mind. Today was their discharge date from the hospital, the day they would be placed into the care of both Will and Hannibal. It was 9:00 AM, they had said they would be arriving at 9:30 AM.

"They'll be here soon. just short of half an hour. Any bright ideas on how to get away before then?"

"We could feign sickness"

Felicia scoffed at the idea, standing and moving toward the window to look at the scenery outside. It was a nice day, clear skies and no other patients wandering around the gardens that could be spying upon the room.

"Nice try, but you're forgetting who we're dealing with here. Dr. Lecter can smell Cancer for Christ sake, I'm pretty certain he could sniff out whether we were actually sick or not. And then you've got Will, a man who gets into the mind of the most horrific serial killers for a living. Even if Hannibal failed to sniff out our lie, Will could see clean through it just by getting into your head... No, we need something a little more drastic here"

Sera's eyes widened as the fair haired woman opened the window, moving to perch herself onto the ledge as she looked out and towards the ground below before assessing the drain pipe beside her, wrapping a hand around the cool metal to test its strength. Sera gave a startled gasp as she moved forward, aiming to pull her friend back from the edge.

"Fliss, I know the idea of living with a cannibal is scary but don't you think suicide is a bit much?"

"Get a grip! I'm desperate, not suicidal. We're on the second floor and there's a drain pipe right next to our window. It won't be too difficult and it's the best I can think of on such short notice"

She took a firm grip on the drain pipe once more, moving to link her right foot behind before carefully swinging herself outward as Sera rushed to watch her descend, jaw slack as her best friend shimmied down. It was usually her that acted reckless whilst Felicia chose to follow logic. This was definitely out of character. But then, faced with living with a cannibalistic serial killer would make anyone act a little differently. Slinging her legs over the side, still watching as Felicia finally reached the ground below, she decided to follow the other's example

"Hey wait up bitch!"

"Wait for what young Sera?"

She felt herself go rigid, turning her face towards the door in an almost robotic style as she met the unimpressed gaze of Hannibal and the concerned gaze of Will before turning back to watch as Felicia met her gaze, a smug grin on her face before walking on. Clearly this was revenge for leaving her to get coffee when they had first woke up. Her words were muttered as she glared at the woman's retreating back.

"Oh you bitch"

"And where, may I ask, has dear Felicia vanished too?"

She bit the inside of her cheek. She knew he was far from being a stupid man, he had seen her about to climb out of the window, noticed the way she had been looking forward rather than at the drain pipe she was aiming to shimmy down. There was no way he couldn't have put two and two together, so clearly he was testing to see whether she was brave enough to lie to his face.

"Erm... Would you believe me if I said I don't know?"

Hannibal felt his eye twitch slightly at the answer she gave. Of course she would continue to try and rile him up in this situation, annoying him had always been a hobby of hers. Clearly the amnesia hadn't changed that. Will frowned, moving quickly towards Sera as he noticed the gleam within those eyes. The last thing he wanted or needed was for Hannibal to finally snap with her.

"I think it's clear that she's gone down the drain pipe and wandered off, you'd be best looking outside, I doubt she'll get far with how big the grounds are for this place"

It took all Sera's self control not to laugh as Hannibal gave a slight growl of annoyance towards the situation before leaving the room, the door slamming slightly behind him.

"Can we follow him? I get a feeling that this is a show we don't want to miss"


Felicia groaned as she came to a halt, faced with the same dead end she'd wandered too at least twice now. Fifteen minutes after her initial 'great escape' though the window, she found herself lost within the labyrinth that the hospital claimed as it's grounds.

"I'm starting to think that, whoever designed these gardens, they planned ahead for escape attempts"

"You would be correct. Although, your sense of direction was never the best either"

Like a rabbit caught in the head lights, Felicia froze, the accented voice that sent a spark of heat through her body catching her ears. She forced herself to turn around, only wishing to confirm who was speaking, and came face to face with Hannibal. His jaw set in a vague show of irritation as his eyes glittered dangerously within the otherwise perfect calm of his face.

"Ah bollocks"

"Language chica. You know he doesn't like swearing"

The pair sent a glare towards Sera as she appeared around the corner, giddy grin on her face as Will trailed behind her. Clearly she had tagged along to watch the show as Hannibal returned his attention to the runaway woman before him.

"Would you care to explain Felicia why, not only did you decide to leave your room when you knew we would be with you shortly, you chose to risk your own safety by climbing down the drain pipe, in your pyjamas no less?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly and Sera could have sworn she could feel the dark aura swirling between the two, both sending challenging eyes towards the other as Felicia prepared her reply, with a slight click of her tongue and tilt of her head.

"I was trying to get some fresh air, a bit of alone time, after a poor night's sleep. I took the drain pipe route because I figured that I'd run into you two if I took the ordinary way out of the hospital. Guess I failed miserably in my ambition"

A low growl seeped through from within Hannibal's throat as he drew closer to the fair haired woman, her answer having frayed a small portion of his perfect self control as he allowed a brief spike in his pheromones to reach towards her, delighting in the familiar reaction that she gave. Her pupils were dilating as she began to back away from him, breath coming out in ragged pants as she tried to control the increase in her heart rate. but this was not a reaction of fear, whether she realised it or not, rather her body beginning the process of submitting to its rightful Alpha.

Sera couldn't describe it when she had felt the sudden shift in the air around them, the sudden feeling of true danger and aggression forcing her to hide behind Will as the curly haired alpha simply watched on, a small gleam of concern in his eyes.

"What is that?"

Her words were stuttered slightly as she watched Lecter advance, predator like, towards her friend. Will gave her a slight glimpse before looking back towards the other two. He had to bear in mind that neither girl had any recollection of their lives or even their own biology due to the amnesia, hopefully Hannibal would remember the same thing before he went too far.

"That is Hannibal reminding Felicia through his instincts as an Alpha that he is the dominant of the two. When an Alpha feels that their Omega has gone too far or behaved poorly, he or she is able to cause a spike in pheromones to act as a warning before any true punishment is required"

"I hope I never have to go through this with you"

Sera felt a lump form in her throat as she finished her words, swallowing down the uneasy feeling as she turned to look back at Felicia again, catching the moment when the other girl's back collided with the dead end wall and slid down as she continued to look up towards Hannibal, his lips pulled back in a feral smirk as his inner beast seeped through slightly, rattling it's cage at the sight of the Omega.

"You shall take no such risks again Felicia, You may fail to remember but it is my duty to protect you and I will not have you challenging this matter"

For a moment, Hannibal believed he had won this matter as he lowered the pressure he was placing upon the petite woman, stretching his hand out to help her stand once she had brought her breathing back under control. He was wrong it seemed as her eyes narrowed once more and she knocked his hand away, pulling herself up without his aid, a feral sneer of her own upon her lips as she rebuilt her courage once more.

"Whatever you just did, that didn't feel protective. The complete opposite in fact. Now, if you don't mind, I need to get changed"

Felicia didn't even look at Sera as she stormed passed, her face red with embarrassment that she had been made to feel so small and vulnerable by Dr. Lecter. Whatever he had just done to her had made every bone in her body feel like jelly, caused her to feel weak and submissive beneath the sheer power and dominance being directed towards her. It had felt intense as she had fought to hold back a whimper, felt betrayed by her own body as a strange sensation of arousal had begun to burn within.

She wanted to scream, cry and lash out with her fists towards the man that she would soon be at the mercy of. She could only hope that either she or Sera could figure out a solution to get home before anything bad happened.

Sera frowned as she watched the retreating back of her friend, shifting her gaze briefly to Hannibal as he swiped a weary hand across his face before moving to follow Felicia, seemingly caught deep in thought as Sera took a hold of his arm to catch his attention.

"Look, I'm not sure what you were hoping to achieve with that little display. But that isn't the way to get in her good books... The girl knows how to hold a grudge, trust me"

Hannibal barely managed a nod in acknowledgement before continuing after his enraged mate. Of course he knew his actions had not been the wisest, but he had been caught in a rare moment of anger and acted on instinct. Something he hoped he could rectify sooner rather later. He knew better than most that Felicia Shepherd could hold a grudge, knew some of the darkest secrets that she seemed to have forgotten. Including the truth behind the fire that had destroyed the foster home she and Sera had been in as teenagers.


OK, so I hope you all liked the update and that you'll let me know what you thought. In the next chapter, we will finally see the girls out of the hospital and apart for a little while.