Sexual content warning.

CH 5: Like a Flame, Burning Brightly

By the time they actually reached a motel, it was well into the wee hours of the morning. Will looked over at his sleeping companion, who was curled up on her side of the car and breathing deeply. His stomach roiled. Insomnia coupled with Abigail's sobering confession was making him ill.

After taking two Di-Gels, he leaned over and roused the girl from her slumber. "Abby...hey, Abby..."

"Hmm?" Her lashes fluttered sleepily.

"I finally found us a place to rest – think you can get up?"

Abigail wearily rose and she blinked, her head bowing over as if it weighed a ton. She gave a noncommittal utterance.

Taking this as a 'yes,' Will helped her out of the car and led her toward the motel office. Inside was a squat, rodent-like man with bifocals perched on the bridge of his nose. Though he was poring over some Tom Clancy novel, he managed to put it aside when he realized he had customers. "Ah, good morning!" he cried. "I take it you and your sister would like a room?"

Sister? Well...at least he hadn't thought she was his daughter. With a weak smile, Will nodded and agreed, "Yeah, but just for a little while. We want to get back on the road again after we've rested."

"In a rush, eh? I don't blame you. The worst part about traveling is being in the car."

Will didn't answer. He was far too busy watching Abigail, studying her movements as she inspected the pictures on the far wall. After he'd paid for the room and gotten their key, he came up to her and cleared his throat. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," she softly agreed, "I guess so." He realized she was admiring a loving, cozy portrait of the clerk and his family.

Alarmed, Will took her by the elbow and steered her toward the exit. "You ok?"

As they were greeted by the chilled morning air, Abigail released a breath and nodded. "Yeah, sure – it's just . . . it's my birthday. Feels kind of weird not celebrating it with my family, you know?"

Will's gaze was incredulous. "Are you serious? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't seem important."

"How could it not be important? You're only eighteen once." Though Will hadn't had a great journey into adulthood, he was determined to make Abigail's at least a little enjoyable.

"Wait here," he urged. He was gone for a few minutes, then he returned with his hand stuffed in his coat pocket.

"What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," he lied. Using his free hand, he jimmied the key into the lock of their motel room, then shoved the door open with the brunt of his shoulder. Sparse furniture and dismal wallpaper greeted their senses.

"Classy," Abigail joked. "Do you think the bed bugs are free of charge?"

"One can only hope," Will grumbled. Tossing the key onto the table, he turned back to her and urged, "Get on the bed and close your eyes. I have a surprise for you."

"Wow...should I be naked for this?"

"What? No, no, it's nothing like that – just do what I ask, alright?"

Abigail grinned and hopped onto the bed, covering her eyes as she crossed her legs Indian style. "Ok, now what?"

"Stay like that until I say otherwise."

Now turning his back to her, Will unearthed a packet of cupcakes he'd gotten from the vending machine and fished around for a match. Though most people used lighters nowadays, he was old-fashioned and preferred to do everything the way he did as a boy.

Abigail smiled when she heard the crinkling of plastic. "What the heck are you doing?"

"You'll see...just promise you won't peek."

"I'm not!"

Though her tone was defensive, Will could sense she was telling the truth. After finding a match, he came over to the bed and sat down beside her. "Alright...you can open your eyes now."

With a triumphant grin, Abigail removed her hands from her face and faltered, glancing down at the cupcake in confusion.

"Birthday cake," he shyly explained. His soft smile was infectious, and she couldn't help but laugh.

Will struck the match and stuck it flame-side up into the dessert. "Hurry, make a wish before it disintegrates."

Laughing again, Abigail quickly leaned over and blew out the match, and not a second too soon since it had nearly blackened the top of the cupcake.

In between their situation and the smoldering match, something about the scenario struck her as insanely funny. Unable to help herself, Abigail threw her head back and laughed and laughed, clutching at her sides as tears streamed down her cheeks. Perhaps it was the exhaustion, or the fact that lately she'd been relying on mirth to erase her pain – but whatever the true reason, she wasn't in the mood to psychoanalyze herself.

Will gave a sheepish smile. "Uhh...does this mean you like it?" To his bewilderment, Abigail's laughter suddenly turned into violent sobs. "Hey," he urged, grasping her by the shoulders. "What's wrong, huh?"

Abigail sniffed and shook her head. "Nothing, I just...this is probably the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. Pretty fucking pathetic, right?"

Will frowned. "Why would I ever think that? It's not like my list of 'people doing nice things for me' is very long either, you know."

She huffed. "Yeah, right."

"People are afraid of me," Will insisted. "I represent the thin line between man and monster...of what can happen if someone's pushed too far."

Abigail looked up at him then, her heart throbbing once she detected the earnest sheen in his eyes. He was right – people were afraid of him, and now they were afraid of her, too.

"You're not a monster to me," she whispered. She could sense how lonely he really was, and it hurt her heart. Setting the cupcake off to the side, she turned and held out her arms to him. "Sleep with me."

"What?"

"No...I mean really sleep with me."

There was something gentle and tender in her voice, and it made Will regard her with caution. What had changed? Did she pity him?

"You don't have to do anything for me," he softly assured her. "Your being here is enough."

Abigail snorted. "Actually, I'm doing this for me – I want to lie with you. Please, Will? You can make it my birthday present."

He felt her take his hands and he paused, staring down at their interlocked fingers with a whirlwind of emotions. This was the first time anyone wanted to befriend the man behind the gift – to truly know him and love him, and this realization hurt very much.

Will's smile was tremulous as he made his decision. "Ok...sure."

Mirroring his smile, Abigail tucked her head beneath his chin and coaxed him into reclining. They soon became a tangle of arms and legs, their foreheads pressing together as a soft, bittersweet calm overcame the room.

Closing her eyes, Abigail placed a hand on Will's chest and sighed. She could feel his heart beating – a heart that many were convinced didn't actually exist. Though Will's baser instincts were always within reach, she knew he wasn't capable of becoming the monsters he tracked. Unlike them, he actually had love to ground him.

Love...did she really love him, she wondered? She'd loved her father – a possessive man who didn't deserve her affections – but it was easy to care for someone who put her on a pedestal. Will did all of this and more, but instead of wrongness, she felt warmth and safety in his arms. It was nice to feel like someone's equal for a change.

Tightening her hold around his waist, she heard him stir as he re-situated himself. "Will?"

"Hmm?"

"You're the bravest person I've ever met – just figured you might want to know that."

Will's eyes slowly opened and he blinked at her, a soft smile gracing his lips as he brushed the hair from her face. "The feeling's mutual," he murmured.

With a bright smile of her own, Abigail curled up beneath his chin and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. As far as she was concerned, this was the best birthday she'd ever had.

When Hannibal Lecter opened his office door, he was surprised to see Alana Bloom on the other side. "Forgive me, Doctor, but do we have an appointment?"

Her eyes darkened, their brilliant azure depths sparkling dangerously. "I think you know why I'm here."

"Indeed, I do not," he argued. Their agitated expressions deadlocked, then Lecter finally stepped aside and urged, "Come in. There is no need to state our business beyond closed doors."

"Thank you." Though Alana had been relatively polite, there was no warmth in her tone as she entered the proud, overly furnished office. "Guess who I talked to this morning."

Lecter came up behind her with a blank look. "Forgive me, but I do not have time for guessing games. It would save us both the effort if you'd just state what's on your mind."

"Very well," Alana agreed, "if that's how you want to play it." Folding her arms, she narrowed her eyes and announced, "Abigail's hospital called me this morning – apparently Will spirited her off into the night using me as an alibi. Do you see what I'm getting at here?"

Lecter's lips twitched into a humorless smile. "I presume you're guessing that I, as his psychiatrist, have something to do with his sudden vacation?"

"Something like that, yes," Alana relented. "Why didn't you stop him?"

"It is not my job to tell Will what to do – I can only steer him in a certain direction. Ultimately, it is up to him to see the error of his ways. That is the only way he will heal."

Alana's smile was incredulous. "Well, Doctor, it would seem that I'm going to have to disagree with you once again. You don't even seem bothered by this!"

"I must admit I am not," Lecter agreed. "According to my records, today is Abigail Hobbs' birthday – Will probably took her on a brief retreat to celebrate. It would've been cruel to leave her alone on a day like today."

Alana was immovable. "They're having an intimate affair – though I suppose you already knew this?"

"I will not deny my knowledge."

Exhaling through her nostrils, Alana looked sharply at him and asked, "Why didn't you call the police? And don't give me any of that doctor-patient confidentiality garbage, because you had a moral obligation to uphold. Grown men shouldn't be sleeping with vulnerable girls."

"To be fair, Will was vulnerable as well – they both sought the one person who could understand their turmoil."

"Oh, I get it - you're actually defending this travesty."

"Indeed, I am not." Lecter's expression was passive, though his maroon eyes burned into hers with a slow intensity. She shivered.

Finally, he broke the silence. "I hope I may speak candidly, colleague to colleague."

"Of course you may."

"I think something lies much deeper within you...perhaps repressed feelings for Will?"

Alana immediately went on the defensive. "Oh, I see – so because I'm concerned for Abigail's well-being, that must mean I want her lover. Am I getting that right?"

"Your response tells me all that I need to know." Lecter smiled then, his eyes still on hers as he asked, "Would you care for a drink?"

"Why, so you can pump me for more information?"

"My dear Alana, I call that being a good host – you must forgive me if you received any other impression."

She exhaled, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "Alright, fine...but only for a little while. I still need to take this information to Crawford."

"I will go with you," Lecter offered.

"That'd be great – he should hear both sides of the story." When the doctor returned with two flutes of alcohol, Alana finally cracked a smile and accepted her beverage. "Cheers."

The stench of death is what first roused Will from his slumber. Jerking awake, his chest heaved as his eyes darted back and forth to take in his surroundings. There was so much blood...

Crab-walking toward the headboard, he trembled when he realized the bed sheets were drenched in gore. Various limbs – human and deer – littered the room, and he jolted when Abigail's voice reached him from the side.

"You could've saved me, you know," she said. "All these years I've been taken advantage of, but where were you, Will? Where were you?"

He regarded her then, mouth dry when he discerned that she, too was covered in blood. "I...I couldn't have known," he weakly insisted. "Back then, there was no reason to investigate your father..."

Abigail's laugh was brittle. "Yeah, well it's all your fault. You're supposed to be such an expert on people and their behaviors, but in this case you failed. And you know what? It might as well've been you who raped me."

"No," Will choked. "Shut up! That's not true!"

"It is true! Every time he touched me, it was on you! It's your fault that you didn't catch him before he snapped!"

Clapping his hands over his ears, Will gave a tortured shout and cried, "It's not true, goddammit... Stop lying like that!"

"You would think I was lying, wouldn't you? It's just like a man to ignore the ugly truth!"

Will was on her then, pinning her down with his knees as he wrapped his hands around her throat. "Take it back!" he sobbed. "Take it back!"

"I won't take back what's true!" Abigail rasped, her face reddening as he squeezed her neck. Bucking and twisting beneath him, her voice grew hoarse as she choked out, "You're no better than him...you caught him because you both think the same!"

"NO!" Gritting his teeth, Will tightened his hold and pressed down on her windpipe, reveling in the panicked look on her face as she swiped at his head and shoulders. She caught him on the cheek with her nails.

Strangled sobs soon reached his ears and he shushed her, his lips almost smiling as he promised he'd make all the hurt go away. Abigail gurgled once and then went still. Her arms fell limply at her sides and the blood, limbs and gore suddenly seemed to melt away from the room.

Will jerked awake. With his body vaulting upright in terror, he sensed Abigail out of the corner of his eye and fearfully shook her by the arm. "Hey...hey Abby, wake up."

"Hmm?" She stirred and squinted at him over her shoulder. "What's the matter with you, huh? You're sweating like a pig."

Unable to hold back his relieved laughter, Will dropped his forehead against her back and exhaled. "Nothing, I just...nothing. I'm glad you're ok."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, I just... I'm sorry for waking you."

"It's alright." Feeling her hand capture his wrist, Will released a breath when she urged him against her. He knew what would happen next, and it wasn't enough – maybe it never would be. The nightmares were officially back, so he felt – no, he needed to be inside her for everything to be safe again.

"Abby," he whispered against her hair, "Abby, please..."

She instantly understood. Wriggling against his throbbing hardness, Abigail pushed her jeans down to her knees and bit her lip, her breath hitching as she reached behind her and cupped him through his pants. "I need you, too," she assured him. "Please, Will...make it all go away."

He sighed and arched his hips into her grasping hand, groaning as his pants grew painfully tight around his erection. "Abby, I can't undo what your father did..."

"Yes, you can," she whispered back. "You already have."

Closing his eyes, Will kissed her hair and fussed with his zipper. After he'd removed his pants and boxers, Abigail arched her back so that her ass pressed snugly against his front. He trembled. When he curled a hand between her legs, he was shocked to find how wet she already was.

"Hurry up," Abigail pleaded.

With only a moment's hesitation, he buried himself inside her to the hilt, his lips steeling back a hiss as he gritted his teeth and felt her body snugly take him in.

Grunting, Will pressed his face against the nape of her neck and gently bit down, his lips and tongue working against her skin as he began to diligently move inside her. Cupping her breasts, he shuddered and listened to her soft moans. His hand crept upward in order to take her by the chin. Promptly forcing her to look at him over her shoulder, he brought their lips roughly together as he slid his tongue inside her mouth. Groaning into the heated kiss, he gave several quick, powerful thrusts as he licked and bit at her lips, his hand sliding through her hair as the bed continued to rock violently from side to side. The electrical feeling coursing through his veins almost made him euphoric. He knew she wanted him, but his perverse side wanted to hear her sounds to reaffirm the fact.

"Faster," Abigail begged. "I don't want gentle..."

Kissing his way down from her neck to her shoulder, Will groaned against her skin and pounded into her more forcefully. He could feel all of his frustration and self-loathing channeling into his thrusts, each movement alternating in between quick and frantic to slow and forceful.

Panting and gasping against her neck, he shuddered as he felt her inner muscles squeezing him tightly. His teeth sank into her shoulder in order to quiet his moans as he frantically jerked his hips. She was warmth...she was light...she was hope, and he knew he could never lose those feelings.

Desperate to prolong the inevitable, Will withdrew from Abigail's warm haven and flipped her around in his embrace, his arms now lifting her up so that he pinned her against the mattress. Bringing his lips to hers, he forced her to sink back down onto his shaft as he continued to ravage her at a more vigorous pace. She whined and gripped his dark locks.

Cursing when he felt Abigail milking him, Will panted against her neck and shuddered as her legs squeezed his hips, her nails digging into his shoulders as he gave several low, animalistic grunts. He felt his arousal pulse inside her, and then he came in a sudden, violent thrust that left him quivering from head to toe.

For once Will was the first to recover. His teeth clenched as he slowly withdrew from her warmth, all the while groaning at the loss of contact.

Abigail raised her leg and draped it over his hip, urging him back against her as her lips sought his. Unlike most of their kisses, this one was soft and sweet. Will could taste her lost innocence on his tongue.

Weaving her fingers through his hair, Abigail gave him one last kiss before moving to sit up. "Shouldn't we get back on the road soon?"

Will smiled and touched her thigh. "Yeah...don't worry, we'll go before long. I just need to shave and get dressed first."

"Ok – I'll clean up while you do that." With a grin, she leaned over Will to grab a handful of tissues from the nightstand, her lips quickly meeting his before she withdrew. "Hurry up."

Will slowly rose and stretched. Watching as Abigail began to clean the mess on the sheets, he felt his cheeks color when she wiped at the spot between her thighs. It seemed so primal claiming her in that way – by showing his ownership through bite marks and fluids – but he hated to admit he loved seeing the flushed look on her face. It suggested that she was happy and sated.

Sending her one last introspective look, Will grabbed his overnight bag and headed into the bathroom.

"What? Leaving so soon?"

Will nodded. "Yeah, like I said earlier, we just wanted to rest up for a while." He placed a hand on Abigail's shoulder and smiled, tracing several soft, reverent shapes along her back. She beamed and hugged him around the waist.

Startled by her blatant PDA, Will tried to act nonchalant, but it was already too late. The clerk was eyeing him very queerly.

"You're bleeding there, son."

"Huh?" Bringing a hand to his face, he looked down at a bright red, half-clotted smear across his fingers. He must've cut himself while shaving. "I, uh...thanks," he stammered. "How much do we owe?"

With his eyes never leaving Will's, the clerk slid his information book forward and said, "Fifty bucks."

"Alright, um...hang on." Trying to detract himself from Abigail's snug embrace – to which she responded by hanging on tighter – Will removed his wallet and proceeded to pay. After he'd checked out and provided all the necessary information, he smiled at the squat man and said, "Thanks a lot."

"Sure thing, son. You take care now."

As Will turned around with Abigail in tow, she giggled and attempted to slide a hand down the front of his pants. He jerked away in surprise. Once they were well into the parking lot, the clerk grabbed his phone and began to frantically dial 911.

"Jack, I don't think you're hearing me: Will is having sexual relations with a former minor."

"I can hear you just fine," he fired back. "But believe it or not, Dr. Bloom, your repeating yourself – and loudly – isn't helping us find them any faster."

Alana's cheeks burned. "Tell him, Dr. Lecter – tell him how serious this is."

Hannibal didn't appear pleased to be put on the spot, but he gave a stiff nod of acquiescence. "Though Alana is right, I do not believe that Will is an immediate danger to Abigail. The emotional attachment far outweighs the physical, in my humble opinion."

Alana shot him a withering look. "We need to send out an APB right away! Are you both forgetting how Will broke the law before Abigail turned 18?"

Crawford grimaced. "Look, I get why you're so passionate about this – believe me, it isn't easy for me to stomach, either – but these things take time. I can't risk botching the investigation by diving in headfirst."

Alana moved to give an impatient retort, but Crawford's cell interrupted her train of thought.

"Hold on," he urged. Lifting the phone up to his ear, he cleared his throat and greeted, "Special Agent Jack Crawford speaking."

Alana and Lecter both watched on as his eyes grew wide, followed soon after by the blood draining from his face. "Oh, God," he breathed. "Are you sure? That can't be right..." He passed a hand over his mouth and exhaled. "Alright, thanks for letting me know first. Yeah, uh-huh...sure. Goodbye."

As Crawford hung up, Alana was immediately at his side. "What happened? Why are you so upset?"

Releasing a shaky breath, Jack gestured to the chairs in front of him. "I think you both should have a seat."