Sorry it's taken so long for another update. A case of writer's block is the worst isn't it? I know where I'm going, just don't know how to get there. Well, here you go guys. Promise for more fun trials to come.

Hannibal sucked in his lower lip and turned to the sink. Polly ran out of the laundry room and looked to Francesca, "Why'd you get skim?"

Francesca stared at Polly and then looked to the milk, "I didn't, I got two percent."

"It looks like skim to me," Polly put her hands on her hips.

"What the hell is going on?" Francesca tried to catch the eyes of any of the others, but they all avoided her gaze. "Why is everyone avoiding talking to me?"

Polly looked down at the ground, "Francesca, go to the store and buy…something." She walked over took the milk and said, "Please."

Francesca scanned the boys once more, sighed, and turned out of the house without another word. Polly's mouth turned into a smile, "What's all this talk about true love?"

"No talk," Hannibal shook his head. "That's nonsense."

"Hannibal, come on," Murdock sat on the table. "You kissed her last night."

"So what? A kiss is just a kiss, just ask Face," Hannibal turned and gestured to his young colleague.

Face smiled meekly, "Man, when you punch out a guy for kissing someone, that's serious. Even I know that." He crossed his arms, "You really like her."

Hannibal narrowed his eyes, "I'm going to bed."

"Hannibal," Polly stopped him.

He looked to her quizzically.

"Francesca isn't someone who you can just forget about you realize," she smiled. "And I'm not just saying that because I've been her mother for fifteen years. She's… different than most girls. She has her passions, but they're secret. And I realize that you're like most boys. You're rough and tough and it takes a special person to reach your heart. And if she has. You can't let that go. If you broke her heart, it's up to you to pick up the pieces."

Hannibal stayed quiet, his heart was racing.

"Goodnight, guys," she said the boys and then turned back to Hannibal. Polly took his hand and squeezed it, giving him a sweet smile, "Good luck."

When Polly was out of earshot, Murdock laughed, "I think Polly just gave you her blessing."

B.A. laughed as well, "Face it, Hannibal."

"You're in love," Face clucked.

"Who knew all of this could come out of a little lipstick on your collar, huh?" Murdock swung his legs back and forth.

Suddenly Face gasped, "B.A.!"

"What?" B.A. frowned.

"You're head!" he replied. "What happened?"

B.A. glared, "Murdock happened."

"Anyway, back to me…" Hannibal said.

"Well, if we're going to get you guys together then we need… a plan," Face shrugged.

"Oh, not another of Face's plans," Murdock swallowed.

The front door swung open. Francesca stood there with a case of twenty four beers. "Alright, let's go. I want to get drunk and I want to wake up and not remember what happened tonight," she put the cases down, pulled out a beer, clamped her teeth down on the metal top and pulled it off with ease. After spitting out the cap, she turned to the boys, held up the drink and smiled, "Who's with me?"

The boys were all silent for a long time before Face asked, "Are you drunk?"

"Not at all," Francesca's smile turned into a grimace. She put the bottle to her lips and drank. Then, she growled, "I know you're not going to tell me what's going on, might as well have a little fun."

They still all stared at her.

"Oh, come on. There are twenty-four of them," she looked to her hand. "Twenty-three. You're not going to let me drink them all by myself. That'd be…embarrassing."

Face shrugged, "I'm in."

She nodded, "Who else?"

"What the hell, I don't have to get up early," B.A. smiled.

Francesca looked to Hannibal with big puppy dog eyes, "I'm not going to have to beg, am I?"

He bit his lip, "I am going to bed. Good night."

All of the boys heaved a sigh to which Francesca stepped back, "Fine. Have a nice night."

Hannibal walked up the steps feel a strange pull back down, but refused to give into it. Francesca looked at her feet, "Beer. Beer is fun."

Murdock smiled, "As long as you're not a weepy drunk, I'm in."

"I'm a fun drunk," Francesca laughed, finished her beer, and grinned. "Let's get started."

Flashback

"Colonel Smith!" a young man walked through the camp toward him. "Got a letter, sir."

Hannibal was sitting with his team, laughing, smoking a cigar. Face looked up from the conversation, a confused look on his face, "Another?"

"Face, don't wrinkle your face like that, it'll stay that way," Murdock laughed.

Face let his wrinkles smooth out, "But…I mean-"

"Thanks," Hannibal accepted the letter with a small smile.

"What number is that?" B.A. raised an eyebrow.

"Ten," Face nodded. "I'm pretty sure it's ten."

Taking the letter, Hannibal folded it and stuck it in his pocket, "Nine, actually."

"You've been keeping count?" B.A. crossed his arms.

He stood, "Boys, I'll be back in twenty minutes."

They watched him leave and then gravitated closer to one another. Murdock cocked his head to the side, "Anyone ever get a hand on one of those letters?"

"I tried once," Face frowned. "But he caught me. And I don't know where he keeps them anymore."

B.A. leaned back, "I have a plan."

"Wow, let's here," Face laughed. "Go."

Meanwhile, Hannibal sat on his cot reading the letter for the second time.

Hannibal,

Currently, I'm investigating a murder on Easter Island. I know that sounds so surreal. It sounds so stupid, actually. I can't help but laugh as I write this. It's quite beautiful here and I'm extremely lonely. Sure there are other people with me, but do they stay all night in my hotel room?

The answer is no, just in case you were wondering

I broke my hand after I punched a wall…don't ask. But I'm still working hard to catch a killer. Wish me luck.

I hope that you're feeling well. In your last letter you said you had a touch of the flu. Unfortunately, that was about a month ago, so I'm not sure if that's even relevant any longer.

I miss you. A lot. I've slept alone for two months now. A record considering the past year.

My ninth letter. I'm hoping you'll send me your third.

Me

P.S. Have you read Pride and Prejudice? I wouldn't expect you to since you're a man…but it's a classic. Just curious.

Hannibal had a quirky smile plastered on his face. He quickly and quietly flipped the page and wrote.

Touch of flu disappeared.

Easter Island sounds like a ball. Hope your hand heals quickly. You'll have to tell me about punching a wall.

Want to see you soon. South Africa in two weeks is convenient for me. Meet me at the Cape Town city hall, 9 PM. If you show…

I sleep in a tent with men every night. I'd rather have it your way. But sleeping next to you sounds so nice.

If you couldn't tell, I miss you.

And I told you I wouldn't be able to write often. I wish I could. I took twenty minutes to read your letter and write quickly. It's hard to get privacy.

Haven't read Pride and Prejudice. You're not just curious. You've got an ulterior motive which I am now determined to find out.

Hannibal

P.S. I don't have anything to say. Just thought I'd include a post script.

He shoved the letter back into the envelope to keep until he could find another. Then, instead of retreating back to his fellows, he kicked back onto the bed, sighing happily. It wasn't the sigh of exasperation or anger, but that of someone without a care in the world.

Two weeks later, he stood in front of city hall at 8:56. Four minutes meant too much anticipation, too much impatience. Sure enough, at nine, he could see a dark figure approaching him. Heels clicking, hair tossing, a feminine gait.

"Francesca," he said to himself through a smile.

Francesca came up to him, "So I showed…"

"I'm very glad you did," Hannibal pressed his lips to hers quickly, giving her a simple kiss.

First, she felt a little shocked, but then relaxed into the kiss. Francesca pulled away, "Woah."

He smirked, "I knew you'd come." That was a lie. "I have a hotel room and everything."

"How…prepared," Francesca said, confused.

Francesca put her hand around his arm, "So you shook of the boys, or what?"

"They're all sound asleep in their rooms, snug in their beds-"

"With visions of sugar plums-"

"Alright, I get it," he grabbed around the waist, laughing.

She giggled and rested her head on his shoulder, "Why are you acting so sweet?"

"Aren't I always?" Hannibal frowned.

"Well, yes, but you're taking initiative out side of the bedroom. It's nice," Francesca scoffed. "Now where are we going?"

Hannibal led her down to a waterfront hotel. He could sense that she was very tired, not really in an upbeat mood. "You alright?" he slipped his arm around her waist.

Francesca sighed and looked up at him, "I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

"Well, I am. I'm just tired," she closed her eyes, trusting his guidance. Then, she opened her eyes again to look out over the water, "It's so beautiful here. It's so quiet."

Hannibal felt bad that he had gone to so much trouble to make this special when she wouldn't be able to enjoy. He felt worse that she would probably feel bad for not being able to enjoy everything. His head hurt from all of the weird emotions within him.

She moved forward to the water, bending over from the walkway, and staring at the fish down below. Francesca seemed so peaceful, yet tormented. Her quietness worried him. He knelt beside her, "Are you sure you're alright, Francesca?"

Francesca didn't reply. He could see tears streaming down her cheeks. Her lips were pursed tightly.

"Francesca-"

"It's all just so…awful how fragile life is, John," she hiccupped in her tearful state.

"What's going on?" Hannibal asked urgently, gathering her in his arms.

But she didn't respond. She cried into his chest. Hannibal got her up on her feet, "Let's go inside, yes?"

"I'm so sorry," she pushed the tears out of her eyes. "I didn't mean to-"

"You don't have to make excuses," John smiled meekly. They approached a room which he unlocked with the keycard.

Walking in, Francesca looked at the luxurious sweet and everything that graced it. Her heart pounded and she cried harder, "I'm ruining everything."

Hannibal took a deep breath, "You want to tell me what's bothering you?"

She shook her head, "No. I can't, John. I really can't."

"There's a reason I'm here."

Francesca lifted her head.

He gave her a crooked smile, "I'm here for you. Right?"

She pushed back her tears and gave him a smile, "Right." Instead of telling him she jumped into the bed and rested her eyes for a moment, "Isn't the rain lovely when it turns purple?"

"Go to sleep, you're tired," Hannibal sighed.

"No, lie down next to me."

Lying down on his side, he narrowed his eyes, "So…purple rain."

"And then the sky turns to a bleak yellow and we all fall down…" her eyes shot open. "Colors."

"And there are orange-"

"Cows."

"The gulls are…a light-"

"Blue. With a hint of cherry."

"What does that mean?"

Francesca turned to him and quietly said, "Tommy has cancer."

End Flashback

"What was I talking about?" Francesca lifted her head from the table in a drunken stupor.

"I don't remember," Face laughed, hanging his head over the back of the chair.

B.A. started laughing without end, not saying anything.

Francesca stood up, leaning on Murdock for support, "I'm going to go run through the sprinkler."

"Sounds like fun," Murdock popped up.

"Why don't you go set that up, I want to talk to Murdock," Face pulled at the pilot's jacket.

She continued on her way, stumbling out the back door, laughing.

"What, Facey?" Murdock sat back down.

"You know that thing that happened earlier…" Face tried to find the words he was looking for without success. "With H-Hannibal?"

"Yeah."

"Well, how does Francesca feel?" Face slurred. "Like is this mutual or somethin'?"

Murdock whispered quite loudly, "I think so. She got so upset over what he did."

"What'd he do again?" Face stood up and stumbled toward the back door.

"Oh…I don't really remember," Murdock followed and rested on his shoulder.

Face laughed, "Well, what do you know?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Murdock pulled Face by the collar over to the table again. He leaned over it, "Like a deep secret."

Face nodded, "Uh, yeah."

"Francesca…Francesca thought that she was pregnant one time…with Hannibal. And then she told me. And I said I wouldn't tell. But I told. That was dumb," Murdock widened his eyes. "I'm going to bed."

Face suddenly sobered up, "What?"

"I mean…"

"Are you kidding?" Face laughed. "That's crazy. Does-"

"No, he doesn't."

They looked at each other for a long time. Face furrowed his brow, "Are you gonna tell him?"

"No…I mean it's her business, right?"

Face paused and pursed his lips, "Right. But what if she never tells him?"

"If everything works out…she will, won't she?" Murdock frowned.

Gasping, Face turned around, "Women are so complicated."

"I know, my head hurts."