Chapter 15: The Morning After

From underneath the warm blankets, Clarice groaned and rolled over onto her left side. With both eyes closed, she reached her right arm out into the frigid room carefully so as not to aggravate her wound, felt around on the bedside table until her hand found the phone, and plucked the receiver from its cradle.

"Hello?" she croaked drowsily.

An automated voice met her ear. "This is your wake up call."

Clarice groaned again and hung up the phone. She rolled back onto her stomach and burrowed under the blankets. The warm body beside her stirred and she felt the mattress move as he rolled over to face her.

Will cracked an eye open and saw early morning sunlight streaming in behind the curtains. He rubbed his heavy eyes and stretched his arms out above his head. He could not believe it was already 7 am. The two of them had not arrived at the hotel the night before until well after 3. He snuggled up next to Clarice, draping his right arm across her back. She inched her head forward until it rested under his chin and sighed contentedly.

"Do we really have to get up?" Will groaned, his eyes closed.

"We do if we're gonna make it to work." Clarice mumbled. Her eyes remained closed as well.

He planted small kisses on her forehead and slowly worked his way down to her ear lobe. He nibbled on it and he heard her sigh with pleasure. "Because I got a much better idea," he said. "Let's stay here, locked away from the world today and just stay in bed." His hand stroked her back seductively.

"Mmmmm," Clarice purred. "I'd love to but you know we can't." She rolled onto her right side to face him, ignored the flash of pain this caused her shoulder, kissed him, and ran her hand slowly along his chest to his stomach to his thigh to his..

"Oh, that's not fair," he moaned. He smiled at her and kissed her mouth deeply, his hands sliding tantalizingly along her skin. Then he pulled away quickly, threw the covers off of them and sat up on the edge of the bed.

"Shit, it's cold in here," Clarice yelped, pulling the blankets back up around her protectively. "Why'd you do that?"

Will stood up and moved to turn on the heater. "Cuz otherwise we'll never get to work." He looked back at the bed and saw Clarice watching him.

"Come back to bed, Agent Graham," she cooed. "I'll make it worth your while."

He grinned, walked over to the bed, leaned down and kissed her lightly. She gripped his shoulders and pulled him down closer to her, extending the kiss. But he pulled the covers off her again quickly and piled them onto the floor. "Come take a shower with me, Agent Starling. I'll make it worth your while." He grinned.

Clarice yelped again at the cold, got up and pulled one of the blankets off the floor and wrapped it around her. She sat back down on the edge of the bed and rubbed her weary eyes. Meanwhile, Will walked into the bathroom, his feet padding on the ice cold tile and turned the hot water on in the shower. He walked back to the doorway and, leaning against the door frame, waiting for the water to heat up, he watched as Clarice yawned and stretched.

"How's your shoulder this morning?" He asked.

"Extremely sore," she grimaced. "But I did not give it the rest it deserved last night."

"I'm sorry," Will said.

Clarice shrugged. "It's a small price to pay," she grinned.

Steam began to fill up the bathroom and escape out the door into the room. Clarice stood up, dropped her blanket, and scurried for the warmth of the bathroom. She closed the door behind her to keep it from escaping. She turned around and Will met her with a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his arms wrapped around her waist. They embraced tightly and he lifted her up until she stood on her tip toes. She heard him sigh shakily into her ear.

"I don't want to go back to the real world, Clarice." He whispered. "There is a monster stalking us."

"I know," she whispered back. "Suddenly I'm afraid and I hate myself for it."

He let her go and looked into her face. "I'm afraid too."

"I've never been afraid of him before except in my dreams and I don't like the feeling."

Will smiled wryly. "I feel like that's all I've ever been of him whether I was awake or asleep."

Clarice regarded him for a moment and her brow furrowed. "You said he'd never hurt someone I care for, you said he would think that rude," she argued.

"I didn't think that the someone in question would be me," he said gently and moved behind her to remove her bandages. "He's hated me passionately ever since I caught him the first time. He will not let that go. And imagine how this feels for him, Clarice. To know that the woman he loves more than anything not only doesn't love him back but is now sleeping with the man he hates more than anything." He removed the bandage and inspected the wound. "I'm no doctor, Clarice, and I wish you'd let me take you to the hospital just to get this checked. It still looks very raw and angry."

Clarice folded her arms across her chest and shook her head stubbornly. "I'll live. Just give me some ibuprofen."

Will, rolling his eyes, snagged the bottle off the bathroom counter and tossed it to her. She popped open the lid and swallowed three pills. Will moved to the shower to test the temperature of the running water. He twisted the knobs until it was just right.

"Will," Clarice said quietly. "We could run."

He straightened up and looked at her. "Run?" He asked. "Run where?"

"Anywhere. It doesn't matter. Just as long as he couldn't hurt you." Her eyes blazed defiantly.

Will took her in his arms and held her close. "You know he'd find us eventually, Clarice." He said softly into her hair. "Besides is that how you want to live? Always on the run? Always looking over your shoulder? Always questioning and being suspicious of everything?"

She looked up at him and shook her head. "No." She said dismally.

"We cannot escape this, Clarice, no matter how badly we want to." He pulled back the shower curtain. "Come on, let's get showered. We gotta get going or we're going to be late."

They stepped into the warmth of the shower and Clarice let the water cascade down over her head and body. Will smiled appreciatively and ran his hands slowly up the curves of her body. Her porcelain skin began to turn pinkish under the heat of the water. She smoothed her wet now dark mahogany hair back, opened her eyes, and looked at him.

"So what do we do now? Just sit back and wait for him to come for you?"

Will gulped and took a deep breath. "Pretty much," he whispered and she shook her head gloomily.

He lifted her chin with one of his hands and looked into her eyes. "It'll be alright," he whispered.

He pressed closer into her body and the hot water trickled over him. She pressed back against him until there was not even a millimeter in between their curves. He rubbed her nose softly with his and smiled at her. She managed a small smile and he kissed her, his mouth taking possession of her mouth and tongue. Will slowly turned her around so that her back was to him, continually kissing her neck, her shoulders, and her back, he lifted her hips up slightly, spread her legs, and pressed her up against the warm tile of the shower wall. Clarice cleared her mind of fear and uncertainty and gave herself up to the desire that he caused to once again consume her.
An hour later, they walked into the Behavioral Science division and found it abuzz with activity. Agents answered busy phones, scurried from desk to desk, keyboards clacked, and there were shouts over the din at one another. Kendra Mitchell leaned against a filing cabinet, arms crossed, talking to one of the agents, glowering. She glanced up, saw them, and stalked toward them.

"Where the hell have you been?" She glared at Clarice. "We've been trying to reach you all night at your home and then on your cell phone."

"What's wrong?" Clarice asked.

"Lecter never came home last night that we can tell. If he attempted to, we never saw him," Kendra sighed and noticed the 'we told you so' glance between Will and Clarice. She looked weary and stressed with dark crescents under her eyes. She ran her hands through her blonde hair distractedly. "This morning we alerted the local and national news stations and the Associated Press that he has been residing in the D.C. area. The story broke a couple of hours ago. We've been swamped with calls."

"You did what?" Will asked. He shook his head, incredulous and inhaled sharply.

"Why did you do that?" Clarice asked, stunned.

"We couldn't reach you and I made the decision." Kendra replied haughtily.

"But I was home until 2 am and I've had my cell phone with me all night. There were no calls to either one," Clarice argued. "How dare you make a decision like that on my case."

"You were unreachable," Kendra countered coldly. "With the public notified, we stand a better chance of catching him. Someone will see him, and then he'll be ours."

"No," Clarice said simply and shook her head. "You don't know him. What you've done is turned this case into a circus and pushed Dr. Lecter further underground. Now he'll take more precautions and more carefully calculate his movements." She turned to Will. "We'll never see him coming now," she said in desperation.

"What?" Kendra asked. "Coming where?"

"He's not pleased that I have joined the case," Will replied. "We were going to try and draw him out and now you've blown the chance at us having the upper hand at all."

"My God, Kendra," Clarice said quietly. "Where did you get your training from? The back of a cereal box? First you cause us to lose the element of surprise last night by allowing agents free roam of the house thus most assuredly alerting Lecter to our presence. And now this? You have no idea what you've done. Not only have you just put the lives of your agents on the line but now you're lying to my face about having tried to have reached me last night."

Kendra leaned forward until her nose was almost touching Clarice's. She held her forefinger out to her. "Listen to me, you little whiney piece of.."

Before she could finish her statement, Will forcibly took Kendra by the arm and pulled her out into the hallway.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "Get your hands off me!"

He held her arm as she squirmed so she was forced to look at him. "Look you backstabbing, conniving, manipulating, pain in the ass little bitch," he breathed. "You have hindered the capture of Hannibal Lecter from your first day here. You're more interested in seeing your face on the news and in your own advancement than in the safety of your own agents. You make me sick. You belittle agents, you undermine them, you abuse them, and you sexually harass them. And it's going to stop now."

Kendra pulled her arm out of his grip and glared at him. "Don't you threaten me you fuck. Without me, you're nothing. I gave you a second chance, Graham, don't you forget that. You were a washed up nobody until I allowed you to come back here. Don't fuck with me or I'll have your badge back in a heartbeat."

Will pulled his badge and ID off of the waistline of his pants and dropped it onto the floor. "Take it," he said. "But don't you ever forget that I made the decision to come back here, you didn't. Once I made the decision to help, I would've worked this case with or without access to the building because Agent Starling asked me to. You have nothing to do with this." He smirked at her. "Besides if I were you, I wouldn't be making any threats against me right now."

She scowled at him. "Why's that?"

"Remember our little conversation in your office my first day here?"

Uncertainty registered briefly on her face then disappeared. "Yes."

He smiled. "I have the whole thing on tape, Kendra." He tapped a finger to his lips. "Hmm, I wonder what would be the D.A.'s favorite part? I know! I bet it'd be when you told me that once I'd captured Lecter and you and I had spent the night together, we'd then discuss my future back here in Behavioral Science."

"You're bluffing," she hissed into his face.

"Try me." He looked her squarely in the eye.

She stood there glaring icily at him for a moment and then sighed heavily. "So what do you want?" She asked coolly.

"I want you to leave Behavioral Science for good so that these agents can take back control of their own cases and the decisions that are made."

Kendra's eyes narrowed to slits and she stared him down. "And if I don't?"

"Then the tape will be in the hands of the D.A. by the end of the week."

Kendra stood there glaring at him for a moment. Then she whirled and stormed down the hall in the direction of the elevators, her blonde hair bouncing out behind her. Clarice, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, had watched the entire exchange and walked up to Will, dumbfounded.

"Is that true? She propositioned you?" Clarice asked, incredulous.

"And then some."

"And you really got it on tape?" Clarice's brow furrowed in disbelief.

"No, but she doesn't know that for sure," Will smiled half-heartedly. "Hopefully she won't call my bluff."

Clarice sighed heavily and ran a hand through her hair. "Okay, so what now?"

Will shook his head. "I don't know. I really don't. God this whole thing has become so fucked up."

They both stood in the hallway and pondered the situation. Clarice moved to the water cooler and filled a paper cup with cold water. She took a long sip.

"A media statement to draw him out won't work, he'd see right through it," Will muttered.

"We could shadow you for a few days," Clarice suggested. "Maybe he'd try to nab you."

"No, he'd figure that out too."

They were both silent, each lost in thought.

"What if I were in the hospital?" Clarice asked quietly.

"He wouldn't go to the hospital to see you now, thanks to Kendra, he'd wait until you were released."

Clarice shook her head slowly. "Not to get him to come see me but to get him to come see you."

"Why would your being in the hospital make him come after me?" Will asked.

"Because you put me there," she said quietly.

Their eyes locked and held for a moment, both pondering the implications of the suggestion. Clarice took another sip of water, her eyes never leaving his. Another agent walked passed them in the hallway and they barely noticed him.

Finally, Will shook his head. "He'd never buy it, he'd know I'd never hit you."

"He'd know the sober side of you never would, but what about the addict side? Or the drunk side? You could lose it in a fit of drunken rage."

"I don't like it, Clarice." Will shook his head. "It's too risky. He'd be able to tell it was staged."

"So then we don't stage it."

Will looked at her, incredulous. "Absolutely not. I'm not going to get drunk and beat you up on the off chance that it might draw Lecter out."

"Then you think of something better." Clarice said, frustrated.

Will shook his head and sighed. They watched as a small, wiry woman with raven black hair approached them. "Agent Starling? Agent Graham?" She asked. "Have you seen Agent Mitchell? Channel 5 news is pestering us for an update."

Clarice looked at her. "Kendra's left for the day, Agent Riley," she said. "So I guess that means I'm in charge since it was my case to begin with." She paused and shook her head dismally. "Tell them no more interviews."

The other agent nodded and turned to walk away.

"Wait," Clarice lightly touched her arm, stopping her. "You know what? Instead, call a news conference for half an hour from now okay?"

Agent Riley nodded again and walked away.

Will looked at Clarice. "What are you going to say?"

Clarice shrugged. "That the agent who initially broke the story was given false information and over-reacted instead of verifying it," Clarice sighed. "It's worth a try, right? Maybe things will calm down in a couple of days and we can get back to work."

"You think that's a wise idea? I don't think the higher ups will be happy with this, it makes the Bureau look incompetent."

"Well it is," Clarice smiled. "At least bureaucratically it is. Besides, I'm quitting when this is over anyway so what are they going to do? Fire me? Please, do me a favor." She ran a hand through her hair, drained the cup, and threw it in the small wastebasket next to the cooler.

Will chuckled slightly. "Alright, Agent Starling, you're the boss." He leaned closer so that only she could hear his next statement. "But I told you we should've just stayed in bed today." He smiled, bent down and plucked his badge from off the floor.
After the press conference, Clarice and Will drove to the hospital to interview Zachary. They walked through the whitewashed halls of the hospital permeated with the scents of vomit, blood, and disinfectant until they found the post surgery recovery rooms. After identifying themselves at the nurses' station, they were directed down the hallway to their left and given Zachary's room number. As they neared his room, they found a very young agent on duty, sitting upright in an uncomfortable folding chair, engrossed in a newspaper. He looked like he was about twelve, Clarice mused. He must have heard their approach for he placed his newspaper on the floor and rose to greet them, his face brightening.

"Agent Starling, Agent Graham, I presume?" They nodded and the agent held out his right hand and shook each of theirs in turn. "I'm Agent Bill Porter. It is such a pleasure to meet the two of you."

"Thank you, Agent Porter," Clarice smiled. "Has anyone else attempted to approach the room or have you seen anything out of the ordinary or anyone suspicious during your shift?" Clarice asked.

He shook his head. "No ma'am. Other than doctors and nurses, it's been awfully quiet around here."

"And all the doctors and nurses have had appropriate identification badges." Will asked.

"Yes sir. And no, none of them had the general appearance of Dr. Hannibal Lecter," Agent Porter replied, anticipating the next question. He smiled at them, eager to please.

"Okay," Clarice nodded. "Thank you, Agent Porter."

"No problem," he replied and sat back down, picking up his paper.

Clarice and Will stepped into the darkened hospital room. The blinds were drawn and closed. Zachary appeared to be sleeping. There was an IV line running into his left arm and his right was handcuffed to the bed railing. His chest was bare and there were bandages over his right shoulder, his left side, and his stomach from the gunshots. His face looked pale and drawn, as if he were already dead, despite the fact that he was listed in stable condition by the hospital. The blood pressure monitor hummed to life as it began its cycle again.

Clarice moved to the bed, placed a hand on his shoulder, and shook him gently. Will went to the window and pulled up the blinds. The day had become overcast and dim light filled the room, casting an eerie glow on the walls. He looked out and saw storm clouds threatening although no rain was falling just yet.

"Zachary," Clarice said softly as she gently shook him. "Zach."

He stirred under her persistent shaking. His eyes fluttered open and he focused on her blurrily. "Agent Starling," he mumbled dreamily and smiled. "I'm touched that you care enough to visit."

"Zachary," Clarice said slowly, "I know that you're on a lot of drugs right now so you're a little out of it but I need to ask you a few questions."

He continued to smile dopily. "And I have a question for you too, Clarice," he slurred. "Now I know that you have a thing for Dr. Lecter.."

"Zach," Clarice stated. "You can call me Agent Starling."

"...but he's like way too old for you. I mean just between you and me," his voice lowered to a whisper, "I don't know if he can even get it up anymore," he said secretively.

"Zach that is inappropriate," Clarice began.

"But me on the other hand," he interrupted. "I'm young. I could fuck you all night long. Will you let me?"

"Ugh," Clarice said disgustedly and shook her head.

Will, who had been watching the exchange from his place at the window, came forward and put his hand under the boy's chin. He gripped it tightly and turned his head to look at him.

"Shit," Zachary yelped quietly.

"Enough of this crap you pathetic moron," Will said. He was mere inches from Zachary's face. "Where the hell is he?" He let go of his chin and straightened up.

Zachary's eyes rolled over to Clarice. "You had to bring the party pooper, huh? You and I should really spend some time alone together," he grinned.

"Zachary," Clarice said evenly. "Do you have any idea where Dr. Lecter may be?"

He laughed snorting. "Baby, you're never gonna find him, he's always two steps ahead. I mean, come on, you've been chasing him for years and you couldn't even find him when he was right under your nose."

"You mean when he spied on her?" Will asked.

Zachary turned his blurry eyes to Will and sneered. "No, when he 'observed' her."

"How often has he done that?" Will asked, ignoring the boy's insolent tone.

Thanks in part to the heavy pain medication and in part to his desire to impress Clarice, Zachary's tongue wagged freely. "At first it was only about two to three times a week. But then for the last year, it's been nearly every night. He's obsessed. But I don't blame him." He gazed back at Clarice, his eyes moving hungrily over her breasts. "You're gorgeous you know," he whispered.

Will snapped his fingers in front of Zachary's eyes. "Hey lover boy, back over here."

Zachary's eyes swung lazily back to Will. "And you're in deep shit you know."

"Why's that?"

"Because you've got to be the FBI agent that H is making his plans for."

Clarice and Will exchanged a frightened look.

"What plans, Zachary," Clarice asked.

Zachary's demeanor dropped and he closed his eyes. "I don't know," he whispered.

"Don't bullshit us Zach," Will said evenly.

"I'm not," he whispered hoarsely. He turned his gaze to Clarice and she saw hurt burning within them. "He wouldn't share his plans with me, he wouldn't include me. Please, you must believe me," he beseeched her. "He doesn't trust me."

"He told you he had plans though?" Clarice asked.

"All he said was that he was planning on making an FBI agent disappear," Zachary's eyes rolled back to Will. "I can only assume it's you."

Will nodded. "Do you have any idea where he might be or where he might go Zachary?"

"No," he said flatly. "Like I said, he didn't tell me his plans and we never discussed the possibility of capture or what he might do."

Clarice looked at Will and he returned her gaze. He shrugged, sighed, and walked to the window. Clarice sat on the edge of Zachary's bed and looked squarely at him although she was careful not to touch him.

"Zachary," she said quietly. "If there's anything you can think of to help us find him, we really need to know."

"I told you I don't know anything," he said quietly. "He's crazy you know. He forced me to kill those men." He paused before continuing on quickly. "I didn't want to do it but he made me. He said he would punish me if I didn't."

"You know what," Clarice said. "I don't need to hear that. That's for you and the prosecuting attorney to discuss." She stood up. "Listen, if you can think of anything at all that might be significant to catching Dr. Lecter, please let us know alright?" Zachary nodded dully. "Well Zachary, I guess this is goodbye."

He smiled wanly. "At least until I get out of here."

"When you get out of here, you're going to jail," she said.

"We'll see," he slurred and closed his eyes.

The partners quietly departed the room, thanked Agent Porter once more, and made their way out of the hospital to the parking garage. Silence loomed between them ominously and heavy, like the rain clouds in the sky. A slight breeze lifted their hair as they walked to the car.

"Little punk," Will replied. "He's gonna try and get out of doing time by saying he was coerced."

Clarice nodded absently but said nothing.

Will sighed. "So what's our course of action now," he asked.

She considered for a moment. "Let's get back to the office and see if any of the airports, train stations, or ports have called in any possible sightings."

He nodded solemnly and they headed for the car.
To be continued. Please review.

Kurt: LOL! Actually though, I think the diehard/crazy H/C fans quit reading this fic eons ago! And I'm glad the smut was as you put it, 'very nice', since this was my first real attempts at fic smut! LOL! Hey thanks for your continued support in reading and reviewing.

LoT: Well of course, "I love you too!" Methinks you're right about the GD wanting to castrate Will (at the very least!) but we'll just have to wait and see what mischief transpires! And yes, Clarice would be none too thrilled with the GD if he did that! Thank you so much for your great reviews.

duckie: Ah yes, GUTB and their flaming reviews. Glad to know I'm not the only one who received one! GUTB's review was terrible, you should read it. But enough about them. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Star: LOL, I hope I did not take too long to update and you passed on!! Thanks so much for your great review, I really appreciate it and I'm glad you like the story.

Hanni85: Well, you'll just have to keep reading to see what the GD has in store for the lovers! But Will will (LOL) be in the story for a bit longer at least. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Nan: LOL to your 'Holy Hot Tamales' comment!! Yes, I agree, it was tough to see the GD hurt twice in one night but that makes for all the more angst! Thank you so much for your comments. And you'll have to wait and see what is in store! Thanks again.

Zechs Merquise: Thank you for your wonderful review. I'm so glad that you like the story. And yes, reader torture is one of the best parts about writing fics! LOL! Thank you again.

Shattered: LOL! As far as you being sick and twisted, you're about as sick and twisted as I am it seems! I hope this installment gave you a bit of a fix, my junkie! As always, thank you so much for reading and your awesome reviews!!

LittleMy: You've learned!! Nope, I will not tell you what's coming next, you have to keep reading! Thank you for your review.