Clarice was really ill right now. The nurse told her she shouldn't be moving around too much for risk of it getting worse. It was a severe flu that has been circulating around. She didn't want Ardelia to worry right now though. She has been vomiting for the last hour, but Hannibal was more important than her condition. She wiped some sweat from her forehead and took a deep breath. She sat up from the hospital bed and slowly walked to a cabinet.

"Ardelia, if we are going to get him, we are going to have to make this believable. Do you still have a pair of cuff keys?"

"Yeah. What did you have in mind?"Clarice opened the door and pulled out some nurse's garments. She walked into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. She slipped off her gown and put on the scrubs and watched herself in the mirror. All that time of planning and the careful procedures of meeting together out of the US has been reduced to this. These next few hours at an attempt of a desperate rescue. What would become of them after this? She didn't want to think about losing him. The guards would be posted everywhere all around that building. Could she really pull this off? She would have to, once he gets in public or during transportation security will be so tight no one will be able to stare in his direction. She felt dizzy and thought she might faint, but Clarice inhaled a sharp breath. She walked out with nurse's scrubs on, and told Ardelia she was ready to go. She went to the closet again and pulled out a mask doctor's use for surgery. She figured they would probably come in handy when she got to the other hospital. They started out the door and a nurse came up to Starling. She had short red hair and green eyes. Her smile was very kind.

"Excuse me, Miss Starling. Are you really sure you want to leave-"

"Yes, I am checking myself out for the night. Agent Mapp was just taking me to my house. I borrowed some clothes too. I hope you don't mind since mine were confiscated when I came here." Clarice cut in for fear of her saying too much.

"Yes of course. You can sign yourself out at the front desk. They will probably give you a prescription. And are you sure this is ok? The police officers said you needed to be watched."

"Yeah, I am sure. She is my escort. Thanks for everything."

"No problem."

The nurse continued on with what she was doing. Clarice and Ardelia went to the parking lot, and Clarice noticed an ambulance. She had a pretty good idea of how to get inside, but how to get back out was still a work in progress. She broke into the ambulance and grabbed a few things especially for the break in. They loaded it up in Ardelia's van, but before they could do so they had to remove a row of seats.

They got into the car and started down the road.

"So what exactly is your plan for getting out?"

"Not sure yet, but just stay back in case we need a distraction."

"But how will I know when to give you a chance to get away?"

"You will know once it happens. If something happens."

The rest of the drive was pretty silent. The night sky made everything seem so calm and relaxed. Even the busy streets were quieting down with people heading home after a long day. Ardelia parked her little car at least two blocks from the hospital. Clarice knew this was probably the smartest plan, but her stomach disagreed. They got out of the vehicle and walked toward the hospital and security was very strong here. SWAT was on the building, and police officers were stationed at every building. Of course, this was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, she even planned for their to be security on every floor of the building, too. Including guarding his door.

Two guards were standing outside, and their job was pretty simple make sure no unwelcome guests got inside. They guarded the back entrance where most of the ambulances came through. One was a rather large man and the other looked like it was maybe his first week on the job. The larger man seemed exhausted at this late hour, but he rubbed his sleepy eyes awake. The younger man had more energy in him, and was actually taking this job a little too seriously, or at least the older man seemed to think so. Moments later they saw a young woman with the medical symbol on her jacket. She also wore a hat to cover her face, and she ran by fast saying, "We need to get this person into the ER stat! Out of the way!" She was sprinting while pushing a gurney. The person on the gurney was completely unrecognizable. She had on an oxygen mask and parts of her face were covered up with bandages. Ardelia was really playing the part of ambulance caretaker quite well. The police let her run by. Once inside Ardelia walked down the white hallways. Pushing the little bed around until she found an empty room with the door open. She pushed the bed in and locked the door. The room was pretty simple a bed was in the middle with a chair sitting directly across from it. The television was placed on the wall. All kinds of machines were around it. Ardelia then told Clarice everything was clear. Clarice then stood up and pulled of the oxygen mask and the bandages.

"Nice work, Ardelia. You could be an actor."

"Hah, after what I've been through tonight there wasn't much to fake."

Clarice smiled and pulled out the nurse's cap and surgery mask. She slipped them on.

"Ok, I am going to find Hannibal."

"What else do you need me to do?"

"Just stay back for now. If this takes longer than ten minutes assume something went wrong."

"Sounds like a major risk here Starling."

"I know, but this is all I could come up with right now. From this point on, I am making the rest up as I go."

"You know he is probably still weak from the drugs they are administering him and the gunshot would not have healed completely in this short of time period."

"I know, but we can't wait. I will think of something, I promise."

Ardelia stayed behind in the room and Clarice walked out. She stopped by the front desk to pick up a clipboard and pen. She started acting like she was jotting some things down and glanced up once at the directory to find what floor the Lecter would be in the ICU most likely, because it is more isolated and people aren't aloud back there besides nurses. She walked into the elevator and pushed the third floor button. She was hoping that they wouldn't try to stop her. They shouldn't, because of the condition he is in. Clarice's stomach felt like it was doing somersaults again. She wished she could just stop time and sit down for a minute and rest. The sickness she caught apparently isn't one that will disappear within twenty-four hours. According to the nurse, she shouldn't even be up and moving around. If Ardelia knew she would kill her. She was forcing herself to do this. She knew that she needed to help him. At this moment she realized exactly how he might feel about this. He wanted to establish a place for her, where she would never have to worry only live and be happy. He knew if the police ever caught them he would be the one to jump in front, to shield her from the people that made her life a living hell. Hell…hmm…Dante is protecting his Beatrice. The elevator finally stopped and Clarice sighed. She would do whatever it took, even if she was about to vomit. She stepped out of the elevator and the police were everywhere. Two were at the front office just to the left. Another three were stationed next to the door she could only assume was his room. She stepped off and walked towards the bathrooms. She pulled off the mask could take a moment. Now what? She would have to get a hold of Ardelia. Ten minutes would be up soon anyway and then she would make her move. There is no way at this point she could do anything without someone asking her something. This was the point of no return, and the rest was up to Ardelia. But what could she do that would change so much? Could she really do something big enough to grab people's attention. Just then the security alarm went off. Clarice opened the door slightly to see what was going on. Ardelia was up to something all ready after ten minutes were up. Police all around started hearing over their phones something was going on, on the first floor. The two police at the front office were heading down to check it out. About two minutes later the three stationed at the door moved to all exits of the ICU room. Clarice waited until the last cop moved past the bathrooms then she came out. She walked a fast pace to his room and walked inside. She closed the door behind her and walked forward. He appeared to be sleeping. It was an odd thing, he looked so peaceful. She knew all too well of what he was capable of though. She was looking over top of him now. She bent over and placed a kiss on his forehead. He stirred slightly.

"Clarice, you really shouldn't have come here."

"I had to come. Can you move are you ok?"

"I will be fine. Are you ok?"

She smiled, "Yeah I am."

She pulled out cuff keys and unlocked him from the bed. He started rubbing his wrists. His legs were stiff from not being able to move too much.

"Where are the guards?"

"Not sure. Ardelia is handling some of this. We need to hurry."

He pulled off the blanket and Clarice felt sad. His upper body was wrapped in bandages and he was wearing his pants.

"Agent Mapp is here?"

"Kind of hard for her to reject. You took a bullet for her. Ardelia is not the type of person to just take that lightly."

She helped him stand up for a moment, until they heard guns firing from the floor bellow.

For those of you who have waited forever for me to update I apologize. I have been writing another story Emotional Ties, and if you haven't read it you should give it a try. Honestly, I have been kind of stumped on how to go about this and that is why it has taken me so long, but I think I have a good idea now. I still have more action on the way, and don't worry I won't take as long to update next time. Thank you for your reviews and please continue to do so.

Kanan.