Chapter 19: Revelations

Clarice Starling woke up at 11am the next morning and felt as if she'd had too much to drink the night before. Her head ached slightly at her temples, her throat was dry, and her limbs were stiff and heavy. Despite these ailments, however, her mind felt rested and ready to tackle the task of helping to find Will and Joshua Graham. And she could not believe that she had slept for almost twelve hours.

In the shower, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the tile as the warm water ran over her, stimulating her blood flow and waking her up. Her mind was beginning to clear even more and the words from Dr. Lecter's note ran continuously through the back of her subconscious, always working. She was anxious to check in with Violent Crimes to see if they had had any luck in solving the riddle or if there had been any other developments during the night as she had slept. Clarice swiveled her neck around to work the kinks out of it and felt a dull ache on the right side of her neck. It ached as if she had been bruised but she passed it off as having slept on it awkwardly and went about finishing up with her shower.

After she had dried off and dressed in a pair of comfortable khakis and a black pullover sweater, Clarice removed the towel from her head and wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror with one hand to begin brushing out her hair. As she lifted the brush she stopped suddenly, gazing at her reflection as she noticed a welt on the right side of her neck. She put the brush back down, rubbed the mirror even more to clear it and leaned in for a closer look. In the midst of the creamy porcelain skin on her neck was a small, deep scarlet, slightly raised welt. The more she examined it the more she thought it looked like a hickey. Her neck ached as if it had been sucked on for either a very long time or very hard or both.

Clarice's brow furrowed. "How did that get there?" she softly asked her reflection.

She vaguely remembered waking slightly at some point last night and the memories of a dream tugged at her mind. Yes, she had had a dream about Will last night, now she remembered. He had kissed her and run his hands along her body and she had wanted him so badly. It had seemed so real as if he had actually been there with her, as if she had really felt his lips on her, his hands on her. She looked at the red mark closer.

'But dreams don't give real hickeys, Clarice,' she told herself as she stared at her reflection and suddenly her eyes widened in horror.

"Oh God, no," she whispered and shook her head.

The only thing that made sense was that Dr. Hannibal Lecter had paid her another visit last night while she had been sedated and alone. Then it must have been him that had kissed her and touched her and marked her. Clarice closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She wracked her memory to remember if in her 'dream' last night they had actually made love but she could not remember. Her body did not feel as if she had; it was stiff and sore, yes, but in all the wrong places and she knew that was due to sleeping hard. She fervently hoped that while she had been essentially passed out the doctor had not taken full advantage of her.

Angrily, Clarice strode back into her bedroom, stripped off the black sweater as she went and pulled a dark green turtleneck from her closet that would hide her neck. As she thrust it over her head she felt violated and used as if she were a mere plaything or an object to be owned. By the time Clarice Starling had finished grooming and was ready to leave, her anger had only increased to the point where she was practically shaking with fury and she knew with a certainty that if she saw Hannibal Lecter anytime soon she would kill him both for what he had done to Will and for what he had done to her.

Will Graham groaned and slowly regained consciousness. He was lying on his back on a hard cold surface and figured that he was probably back in his cell. He had thankfully passed out shortly after Dr. Lecter had brought the hatchet down through his finger. He lay now with his blood-crusted eyelids closed and felt the pain coursing through his body. His ribs, face, and broken nose had resigned themselves to a dull persistent ache as long as he did not move much. But it was his left hand that continued to cause him the biggest amount of misery.

His hand felt heavy as if there were something attached to it. The pain emitting from it was a burning pain now instead of the initial shocking, teeth gritting pain that had flared up his arm after Dr. Lecter had removed his finger. He slowly turned his head to the left and forced his eyelids to open. His vision blurred but he could see that his hand was bound in an Ace bandage wrap and his hand appeared to be double its normal size. Then he decided the wrap must be enclosing a bag of ice used to staunch the flow of blood where he was now missing a finger. That explained the burning feeling, his hand was numb. He also noticed that he was indeed lying on the floor and he had been deposited just inside the door of the cell, close to the wall in between him and Josh.

Will groaned once more and his parched throat began to tickle for lack of moisture. He coughed harshly three times, a deep barking cough, each movement causing his ribs to jar against one another and he grimaced, closing his eyes again.

"Dad?" He heard Josh call urgently and he heard his son's voice broken with tears. "Dad are you okay? Talk to me."

Will's mouth worked but it was a moment or two before he found his voice.

"I'm okay Josh," he croaked. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you at all?"

"No, he left right after he put you back in there," Josh paused and Will heard him break down again. "Oh my God, Dad, what the hell is going on? Why is he doing this? Who the fuck is he?"

"That's Hannibal Lecter son," Will rasped. "He's pissed off because I was trying to capture him again. It's my fault once again that you got dragged into this and I'm so sorry Josh."

Joshua continued to cry, huddled against the wall of his cell, knees drawn up protectively close to his body, and his arms wrapped around them. He had heard all of the stories about Dr. Lecter and his father as he had grown up. He vaguely remembered visiting his father in the hospital after he had been stabbed by Dr. Lecter, the tubes and hoses coming out of his father had scared him to death. He had been very young. Then he remembered his parents' fights after his dad had come home from the hospital; apparently his father had not wanted Josh to see him like that but his mother had insisted on taking him. Over the last few years since the divorce, Josh had been able to piece together bits and pieces of what his father had gone through with Hannibal Lecter by looking up old 'Tattler' articles on the Internet. His mother refused to talk about it, any time Josh had asked her to tell him about his father, she had given him a strained look and remained silent. At last, Josh's tears were spent and he wiped his face.

"Dad," Josh replied quietly.

"Hmm?" Will groaned.

"What about that girl though? You said something to Dr. Lecter about having slept with someone," Josh said quietly. "Please tell me this isn't over some girl. That doesn't make any sense."

Will sighed. This was not a discussion he wanted to be having with his son right now. He cleared his throat so he could speak more clearly and decided to give him the short and simple version of the story. "Dr. Lecter is fascinated by a certain female FBI agent. Oh hell, you could say he's pretty much obsessed with her," Will paused. "And yes, I slept with her."

"Did you mean all those terrible things you said about her Dad?" Josh asked hesitantly.

Will opened his eyes instantly and stared at the ceiling. "No, son, I did not. Not in the slightest. To be honest I care about her a lot. I only said those things to get him to come after me and leave you alone."

Will heard Josh sigh. He wished he could see his son, wished he could touch him, take him in his arms, and hold him. Will had missed so much of his son's life through his own stupid mistakes and choices and it was his one major regret in life.

"Listen Joshua," Will said quietly. "I want you to know how truly sorry I am for fucking up your life so badly. You may not believe it but I love you more than anything in the world. You are my son, you are a part of me and I would give anything to be able to go back and do everything differently." Will's own tears now began to course slowly out of his eyes to the floor.

"Dad don't do this," Josh pleaded. "I don't understand everything that happened when I was growing up or everything you went through but don't beat yourself up over it. I love you and I miss you and when we get out of here we are going to sit down and have a very long talk."

"Sure son," Will replied quietly and carefully wiped his face with his right hand so as not to aggravate his ribs. He did not add his thoughts that they would not be getting out of here except in body bags.

The two Grahams were silent for awhile and Will began to slip back into unconsciousness until the sound of Josh's voice brought him back.

"Mom misses you too," Josh all but whispered.

For years after she had left Will had ached to hear those words, to hear that Molly would take him back but he had come to realize that she was a stranger to him now and he knew that they would never work together. They would never be able to find the love they had once shared, there was too much hurt between them and too many unsettled issues. Josh thought his father had not heard him and was about to repeat his statement louder when Will spoke.

"I've missed her too son," he said quietly, his eyes still closed.

"Maybe when we get out of here you two could make things work out," Josh said excitedly, sitting up straight, and smiling for the first time in days.

"I don't think so Josh," Will paused. "I loved your Mom for years but I don't think we would be happy together anymore. I'm sorry."

Josh slumped back against the wall of his cell. Like most children of divorced parents, one of his biggest hopes and wishes in life was that someday, somehow, his parents could work things out and get back together again. But Joshua was also old enough to understand that sometimes people just could not live with each other anymore.

"Do you love her?" Josh asked carefully as he laid his head back down on his knees.

Will thought he meant Molly and took a deep breath. "Who?"

"That girl you slept with. The one Dr. Lecter wants."

Will paused and thought long and hard about his son's question. Until today he had not really thought about it. But now, having been torn away from Clarice, facing the fact that he would never see her again, he nodded slowly despite the fact that Josh could not see him.

"I think so Josh," he said quietly.

"Does she know?"

"No," Will said regretfully. "She doesn't."

"You'll have to tell her."

Will smiled slightly at his son's blissful naivete that they would actually get out of here alive. "Tell me about you, Josh," Will said. "What have you been up to?"

For the next hour or so, Will Graham listened contentedly with his eyes closed to his son's voice as Joshua happily told him about his school, about his basketball team, about his scholarship, about his grandparents' horse Lightning who was actually still alive, and about his girlfriend.

"She's gorgeous Dad," Josh smiled. "You should just see her. Her name is Michelle and she's got this beautiful blonde hair and absolutely stunning blue eyes," he paused and smiled from ear to ear as he pictured her. "She's got this cute little accent 'cuz she just moved to Oregon from West Virginia, I love to listen to her talk. And I absolutely love to run up the court during a game, glance over, and see her watching me. I always give her a wink and she grins."

Will smiled to himself again. "It sounds like you're smitten there Josh. She sounds amazing. I'm very happy for you."

"She's already making plans for Prom and that isn't even until spring," Josh laughed. "But that's okay. It's weird but I find that I just want to be around her all the time, like I can't get enough of her. I've never felt like this before. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes it does," Will replied. "And it's a good feeling. Now Josh, you make sure you're treating her right okay?"

"Yes Dad," Josh sighed. "I'm a perfect gentleman and all that other stuff Mom has told me about. I open doors for her and carry her books and stuff like that."

Will smiled again. It was nice to be talking about this with Josh, to be able to connect with him. He could almost delude himself that they had a normal father-son relationship instead of sitting in a dungeon awaiting their sociopathic keeper's return. He began to slip into his son's line of thinking that they actually stood a chance of getting out of here. "I don't mean just that son. That is important but I mean you also don't disrespect her and you always need to be gentle around her."

"Yeah, of course," Josh said.

"And you're being careful," Will paused. "I mean sexually?"

"Dad!" Josh exclaimed. "God! I can't believe you just asked me that!"

"Well are you?" Will persisted. "The last thing that girl or you need is a baby. And I'm not going to sit here and disillusion myself into thinking that you haven't done anything with her. Shit, I remember being 17."

Josh grinned. He could not believe his father, whom he had not seen in years, was talking to him about sex. Here they were, sitting in a dungeon, his father was covered in dried blood, had two broken ribs, and a finger missing and they were talking as if everything were normal. "Well, I don't know," he said embarrassed. "Mom's sort of talked to me about it and I mean, okay, we've done a few things but we haven't like had sex yet or anything. Probably on Prom night though. That seems to be the indication I'm getting from Michelle."

'Ah yes,' Will thought, 'infamous Prom nights.' He chuckled to himself and then grimaced as his ribs grated together and sent pain shooting through his chest. He clutched at it and clenched his eyes tightly. It was a moment before he could speak again.

"Well just as long as you're good to her and treat her well," Will replied. "And remember, if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm always here."

"I know Dad, and thanks."

They were silent again for a while and Will began to doze. Josh could hear his father's wheezing breathing and wished there was something, anything he could do to get them out of here. He was not sure exactly how injured his father was but he knew it was pretty badly. Josh knew he should try to sleep as well, in the last several days he had had little if any sleep. He lay down with his back up against the wall, knees drawn up, hands curled under his head on the cold floor and closed his eyes. He was unsure how long he lay like that before his eyes snapped open as he heard footsteps in the hall outside the cell. He raised his head and watched Hannibal Lecter walk by without a glance in Josh's direction.

Dr. Lecter peered at Will through the glass and saw his chest rising and falling slowly in sleep. At least he was still alive, Dr. Lecter mused. It was amazing what one could put the human body through and still live. But his life would end soon. In his weakened state, he would not be able to endure his final punishment. Dr. Lecter stared down at him lying on the floor, arms over his chest, and thought how Will Graham's death would affect Clarice. He knew she would be deeply hurt and would probably hate him for the rest of her life but after his realizations last night that she would never love him, it did not matter. Besides, he had come too far and made too many plans to stop now. He had two choices, either kill Will or kill himself for he knew they would never be able to live in the same world without trying to kill one another. What was that old phrase; 'this town ain't big enough for the two of us?' Dr. Lecter smiled dryly.

"Dr. Lecter?" Joshua Graham asked quietly. He had crawled to the front of the cell and kneeled before the bars, hands clasped in his lap.

Lecter turned his ice blue eyes to regard him and tilted his head slightly. "What is it young Graham?"

"Can I just ask you something?"

Dr. Lecter was pleased that the young man was being so polite and decided that surely it must have been his mother's doing. He stared at the boy and found himself looking into the face of the boy's father, Will Graham. It was almost uncanny how much he resembled his father. Dr. Lecter sighed inwardly and wondered what his own son might have looked like had he had one.

"Go ahead," Lecter nodded slightly, indulging the boy.

"I mean no offense, sir," Josh's voice trembled slightly. "But I'm confused. If you're angry at my dad for having slept with the woman you want for yourself then how is all of this going to turn her affections to you? I mean, if she cares about my dad and you hurt him, do you really think she'll ever forgive you for it?"

Dr. Lecter smiled thinly, it was the exact thought he had had during the night at Clarice Starling's home. And he knew the answer.

"No, young Graham," he replied quietly. "I know she will never forgive me."

"Then why can't you just let us go?" Josh asked innocently.

"It's simple really," Dr. Lecter smiled evilly at Josh. "If I cannot have her then I will make damn sure your father cannot either." He moved away from the cell in the direction of the chair outside of Will's cell.

"Wait, please," Joshua pleaded, standing up and gripping the bars. "Please don't do this! Please!"

Hannibal Lecter picked up the rope that lay on the floor next to the chair, unrolled it, threw one end up and over the beam near the ceiling, and tied a slip knot, pulling it until the rope was tied tautly around the beam. He strode to Will's cell, pulled the keys out of his pocket and opened the door.

"No, please, stop!" Joshua begged and fresh tears began to slip down his cheeks. "I'm begging you, Dr. Lecter, please."

He ignored the boy and walked over to where Will Graham lay. He bent down, grabbed the man under his arms, and pulled him roughly to his feet.

"Fuck!" Will yelped as his ribs awakened with a fresh burst of pain and he was forced from his unconscious state.

Hannibal Lecter supported Will's weight fully and half-carried, half-pulled him out to where the rope hung suspended from the rafters. He stood on his tiptoes to reach the loose end of the rope, lifted Will's arms up slightly, and tied the rope securely around both of Will's wrists, binding them together. Will groaned as his ribs continued to grate together and his hand let out a fresh burst of agony. His legs would not support him but the rope kept him upright.

"Hey you asshole," Josh called. "Why don't you pick on someone who actually has a chance at fighting back? You shit."

Dr. Lecter glanced at the boy. It was amusing that the boy was attempting to goad him just as his father had previously. He chuckled to himself. 'Like father, like son,' he thought. 'So much for his politeness.'

"All in good time, my dear young Graham, all in good time."

"God, stop this!" Joshua yelled.

Hannibal Lecter left Will Graham bound by the rope and walked back up the hallway. Will slipped in and out of consciousness, preferring the latter to the former. He could hear Joshua calling him but he had no strength to look at him or answer him. Then he could hear Lecter's footsteps returning.

"Remember yesterday when we initially spoke of the betrayal and crucifixion of saviors, Will?" He asked merrily as if this were all highly amusing fun.

'Shit,' Will thought but said nothing. 'God please just let it be quick.'

Dr. Lecter turned to look at Josh and winked at him. Joshua stared back, wide-eyed, horror etched on his face at what he saw in the doctor's hand but he remained silent.

"Well Will, you've been betrayed, and now you must be crucified."

The words did not register in Will's mind for he had slipped mercifully once more into unconsciousness. Dr. Lecter walked around behind him, pulled a pocket knife from his back pocket, opened it, and sliced Will's tee-shirt up the back. Dr. Lecter pulled it roughly from his body and Will groaned, conscious once again.

"Please, Dr. Lecter," Joshua whimpered from his cell. "Please don't do this. Please."

Dr. Lecter ignored him, stood up straight, and uncurled the whip he held in his hand.

"It is time for your scourging savior."

Dr. Lecter raised the whip and brought it down hard onto Will's back with a sharp snap. Will Graham's screams reverberated off the stone walls and mingled with his son's agonized screams.
On the drive into work, Clarice Starling's autonomous skills took over, the traffic and signals around her barely registering as her mind focused on the riddle of Dr. Lecter's note. The rumbling of her Mustang's engine lulled her into a type of trance as the words repeated over and over in her head. She had been repeating the rhyme all morning, even as she had fumed over Dr. Lecter's indiscretions of the night before. She repeated it once more now.

'Clarice and Will went up a hill, to fetch Dr. Lecter but alas, Will fell down, FBI savior uncrowned, and...' her train of thought trailed off. 'Wait a minute. Savior. FBI savior. I've heard that somewhere before. Savior. FBI savior,' her mind repeated the two words over and over. All of a sudden, it clicked. 'Savior. Will told me that Kendra referred to him as the savior of Behavioral Science the first day he was here.' Clarice's brow furrowed. 'Hmm, both Kendra and Dr. Lecter refer to him as a savior in the space of a few weeks. That's an awful coincidence.' She contemplated the horrendous thought that worked its way into her brain. 'Or is it?'

Clarice drove quickly the rest of the way to the FBI, swerving in and out of the unusually heavy Sunday traffic, impatience etched all over her face. Once inside the nearly deserted FBI Headquarters, Clarice raced to Kendra Mitchell's office. She opened the door to Kendra's office without knocking and walked in.

Kendra Mitchell looked up from her desk and frowned. "Excuse me, Agent Starling," she snapped angrily. "You don't just come barging in here without knocking."

"I'm having a problem with something Agent Mitchell," Clarice replied, ignoring the woman's irritation at her intrusion, brushing her hair back from her face. "And maybe you can clarify it for me."

Kendra just glared at Clarice and remained silent, tapping her pen impatiently on the desk.

"Maybe you can explain to me how both you and Dr. Lecter have managed at separate times within the last few weeks to call Agent Graham a savior." Clarice inquired.

"How the fuck should I know, Starling?" Kendra quipped. "Look, I'm extremely busy. If you haven't noticed, I've got an agent missing..."

"Have you been in contact with Dr. Lecter, Agent Mitchell," Clarice interrupted her quietly.

Clarice saw the other woman's eyes widen ever so slightly. The two women stared at one another for a moment.

"You've officially lost your mind Clarice," Kendra said quietly.

"Answer my question Kendra," Clarice demanded evenly and took a step toward the desk. "Have you been in contact with Dr. Lecter?"

"Absolutely not," Kendra replied smoothly.

"You set this whole thing up with him didn't you?" Clarice pressed.

"No," Kendra replied adamantly. "This is ludicrous. I can't believe you are actually accusing me of plotting with a serial killer. You really are certifiable Starling."

"Then explain to me why you needed to get Agent Graham out of the office?"

Kendra regarded Clarice with a look of distaste. "As I've stated before Starling," she replied coolly and slowly, as a parent instructing a young child might. "I thought if we met on neutral grounds it would be more conducive to negotiation so we would be able to reach an agreement."

"Hell Kendra," Clarice countered, irritated. "You could've met with him outside the building or in the lunchroom or in the damn elevator for that matter. I don't buy that. Why did you need to get him out of the office?"

"I don't have to sit here and take this abuse from you, Agent Starling," Kendra said angrily. "I don't have to answer to you. If you cannot accept the statement that I've already given then that's your problem. Now let me get back to work." Kendra looked back down to the paperwork on her desk.

Clarice sighed inwardly. She was getting nowhere with Kendra under this line of questioning. She ran her hand distractedly through her hair and decided to try another tactic.

"I know about the tape, Kendra," Clarice said quietly and Kendra's head bobbed back up to look at Clarice. "I know about your sexual proposition to Agent Graham that you would consider his future here at the FBI once he'd slept with you and I know about his subsequent ultimatum saying that he had the conversation on tape and if you did not leave Behavioral Science he would expose you. This was not some 'minor misunderstanding' between the two of you as you have the agents heading up the investigation believing. Given those facts, the fact that you insisted he meet you outside the office, and the two separate references by you and Dr. Lecter to Will being a 'savior' I'd say I've got a pretty good case that you were directly involved with Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the disappearance of Agent Graham."

Kendra stared sullenly at Clarice, anxiety beginning to build within her. "Do you have a copy of Agent Graham's tape?" She asked.

"No," Clarice said quietly.

Kendra Mitchell relaxed and leaned back in her chair. "Then basically it just comes down to your word against mine," Kendra grinned evilly. "Like anyone would believe you, a formerly disgraced agent who has been unable to accomplish anything productive in years, over me, Behavioral Science section chief."

"Just tell me one thing, Kendra," Clarice replied quietly. "Did you really proposition him? And if so, how could you? You're his boss for Chrissake."

Kendra scoffed. "Oh please, Starling, you're so naïve. Yes I propositioned him. You'd be surprised how many of these mousy men will give it up when you throw a little superiority in their faces. They want to be dominated by a strong woman."

"But Agent Graham was different," Clarice said quietly.

Kendra pursed her lips in thought. "Yes I guess."

"And you're not worried about getting caught? What about the tape he had? What if it surfaces?"

Kendra looked carefully at Clarice. She knew this was dangerous ground she was treading on. She was even now still unsure if any tape had even existed but the fact that Clarice said she knew about the tape led Kendra to believe there had actually been one and that Dr. Lecter had been wrong when he had said there was not. Despite her misgivings, if Clarice thought there was a tape then Kendra must make sure she continued believing it. "I watched him destroy it. It won't be surfacing. So once again, it's my word against yours."

"Oh really?" Clarice asked quizzically.

Their eyes locked and Kendra nodded slowly, uncertainty sticking in her gut. "Yes."

"See that's interesting Kendra," Clarice said quietly. "Because Will never actually had a tape," she paused. Kendra's eyes widened and Clarice pulled a small tape recorder out of her jacket pocket. "But now I do."

Kendra glared at her. "You sneaky little bitch. You know it is illegal to tape record someone without their knowledge. I swear to God..."

"Dammit Kendra," Clarice interrupted her loudly. "How could you do this? How could you give Will to Hannibal Lecter?"

"I'm not saying another word Agent Starling," Kendra replied quietly, putting down her pen and turning to look out the window, a blank expression coming over her face.

"I think you need to come downstairs with me and talk about all this with the agents in charge of Will's disappearance." Clarice paused and looked at the blank expression on Kendra's face. "We can either do this the easy way or the hard way," she said firmly.

Kendra's eyes shifted slowly to where Clarice stood, arms crossed defiantly over her chest. This was it. She knew she had been caught. She was going to go to prison, she had just lost everything. A surreal numbness came over her and all she could think about was how she had allowed herself to be played for a fool by Dr. Hannibal Lecter. She nodded slowly.

"Just give me a moment please, Agent Starling," Kendra mumbled. "Please give me a moment to compose myself."

"Come on, Mitchell," Clarice said unsympathetically, "let's go." She turned her back to Kendra and walked to the office door.

Knowing it was finished, her life as she knew it was over, and knowing the things that would happen to her in prison once the word got out that she was a former FBI agent, Kendra nodded blankly and pulled her gun from its holster.

Clarice Starling heard the gun cock. Her eyes widened and she spun around in seeming slow motion, reaching for her own gun. She drew it and turned just in time to see Section Chief Kendra Mitchell blow the back of her own head off, blood, brains, and white flecks of bone splattering the wall behind her as her body slumped over on the desk.

To be continued! Please review.

Kurt: Thank you so much for the kudos, I worked extremely long and hard on the ending of the last chapter with Hannibal and Clarice and I'm glad you liked it. And thank you for the compliment on Will. And I'm glad you picked up on the fact that the GD had actually really liked Will Graham prior to hating him! Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Shattered: LOL, yeah, I don't know what you're going to do with your addiction once this fic is over! There will be a sequel but I think I'm going to take a break from writing for a little while and catch up on other people's fics that I'm dying to read. I'm glad I have the power to render you speechless! Thanks as always for your wonderful reviews.

ducki: I'm sorry you almost choked on your Coke. No wait, I'm not because then that means the chapter was good! J/K! Thank you for reading and reviewing.

ar-men66: Thank you so much for your review, I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

LoT: Hey to my twin sister! LOL! I laughed so hard when I read your review! I think it is certainly possible that we were separated at birth (even with a decade in between us!). I'm so happy you are enjoying the story so much and thanks as always for reading and reviewing.

LittleMy: Thank you for your great review. Yes, I'd be happy to read something you wrote and let you know what I think, just email it to me. Thanks again for reviewing.

Guber: Well if the last chapter was almost like Christmas then I guess that makes me the Grinch (cuz I stole it!)! I know you want H/C together, a lot of people do but you'll have to stay tuned to see what's going to happen. Also, I don't think Clarice necessarily HAS to be in love with Will but she is for a lot of reasons that I've gone into in great depth in the story and I don't feel like repeating here! But I'm so glad you're enjoying the story.

Shifter: Thank you for reading and reviewing, I'm glad the last chapter evoked such emotion in you, that's a huge compliment for me! Thanks again.

Hanni85: Thank you so much for the compliments, I worked very hard on the last chapter and it's touching that you felt the way you did for the GD. As far as him being happy, stay tuned! Thanks again.

EyeSeeU: LOL, torn huh? Yes, I understand how you feel, at times I am a bit torn myself over the whole H/C and W/C thing! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing.

DevilsQT: I'm sorry you hate Will! Thank you though for reading and reviewing and I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

sweetnessspy: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you like the story.

Nan: As always, I loved your review. Thank you so much for the compliments and I'm glad everyone is on 'pins and needles' as they say! Thanks again.