POSITIVE

Hannibal stood quietly in the aisle where the pregnancy tests were stacked. He traced a finger along the selections carefully read each box, and finally settled on the test that would detect the presence of hCG within one day of a woman's missed period.

Clarice's method of contraception made that difficult to judge, however Hannibal was certain. The test, he believed was a foregone conclusion. He walked over to the cashier, placed the box on the counter and reached for his wallet.

Feeling eyes on him, Hannibal surreptitiously searched his periphery and could clearly see someone behind him, straining to get his attention. Hannibal shifted slightly to see Rodrigo Molina, Francisco the waiter's father.

"Signor Molina, a pleasure to see you again. How is Francisco?"

"He is doing well, Doctor. Thank you for asking." Rodrigo gestured to Hannibal's purchase. "And your lovely wife, Clarice…are we expecting a blessing perhaps?"

"We shall see." Hannibal paid the cashier, nodded a polite thank you and took the bag. Again he turned to Rodrigo. "Please give my very best to your family."

"And my best to your growing family as well, Doctor Dante."

Hannibal drove home as quickly as possible knowing that Clarice would be anxious. Though careful not to break any traffic laws he did bend the speed limit more than was his custom. Once on his property, he accessed the large gate protecting the compound by remote, knowing the security panel in the foyer would notify Clarice of his arrival. She was nervous and Hannibal worried what her reaction to this possible pregnancy might be. He also wondered what the result of her conversation with Ms. Mapp had been.

Thus far it has been an eventful day to say the least.

Hannibal barely had an opportunity to close the car door when Clarice opened the front door and anxiously waved him to the house.

"C'mon H… I'm dying here!"

"Pregnancy is hardly a terminal condition, Clarice. Mr. Molina sends his best."

"I don't care if Jesus came down off the cross to send me his best get in here!"

Hannibal jogged the rest of the way up to the house. Clarice grabbed the box and started to read the instructions.

"That took more than an hour, H. Did you stop for coffee too?"

"One makes and effort to please and is rewarded with sarcasm! Ah, so begins the life of a man with a hormonally challenged spouse."

"Very funny, H."

Hannibal guided her lovingly to the master bathroom.

"It is all very simple, Clarice. You merely have to collect urine in the provided cup, dip the small stick into the liquid and wait. Although the package suggests results may be visible after five minutes. I suggest waiting ten before checking the results."

Already at the limits of her patience Clarice was confused. "Why in hell would I want to wait an additional five minutes?"

"Because, dear wife, this test utilizes monoclonal antibodies designed to detect the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin. Your body may not yet be producing quantities optimal for testing."

Normally, Clarice would be impressed with Hannibal's knowledge but she was beyond caring. Impatient and irritated, she rolled her eyes, opened the box and took out the collection cup.

"H, I'm struggling with the logistics of urinating into a thimble…English, please."

"The hormone hCG is only released after the embryo implants itself onto the uterine wall. Therefore, if you are indeed pregnant and the embryo has just recently implanted, the levels of this particular hormone will be much lower. If you wait the additional five minutes the test will be able to detect even the lowest of levels."

"Got it, we'll wait ten. Husband or not, peeing in a cup is not a spectator sport so hit the bricks, H."

Hannibal nodded. "Understood…I'll be just outside the door should you need me."

After a few moments Clarice exited the bathroom. "Okay, start the clock. Let me know when our ten minutes are up."

Hannibal looked at his watch. "I'd be happy to play timekeeper for you Clarice."

Clarice dropped onto the bed and let her arms fall above her head as if in full surrender. Hannibal sat beside her and rested a hand on her knee. Seeking comfort, Clarice scooted over to him and curled her body around the outside of his. "How will we know if it's positive?"

He ran his hand through her hair, stroking it as much for her comfort as for his. "A line will appear in the designated area. If there is a line my Love, there is a baby."

Clarice was obviously inordinately agitated, tapping her foot on the edge of the bed nervously.

Hannibal believed discussing the conversation with Ardelia might distract her.

"Were you able to speak with your friend, Clarice?"

"Yes and she said to tell you Logan says hello." She didn't offer any more information than that. Hannibal was puzzled as the mere mention of Ardelia would often spawn countless stories and anecdotes.

"Logan…I should phone him one afternoon. He took quite a chance to help us. It would have been difficult to arrange our plan without his participation. Will you forward his phone number to my cell so that I might do just that?"

"Sure, that would make his life! He is a goddamned groupie! He drove me crazy talking about you every freaking minute of every day. I think if you actually called him…he'd probably die a happy man."

Clarice rolled back and forth on the bed. She was feeling edgy and hoped Hannibal would grow tired of the conversation and would shift his attentions to the pregnancy test. She didn't wish to continue talking about Logan or Ardelia or the goddamned FBI.

Hannibal smiled. "He's a very talented marksman. Talented individuals are often eccentric. One would hope he is as fortunate as I to find a woman tolerant of those eccentricities."

"He and Ardelia are dating. She always loved pretty boys and doesn't mind if they are a couple of nuggets short of a happy meal."

"Nuggets, Clarice?"

"It's a reference to McDonald's H. It means he's a little light in the intellect. He's adorable and sweet and a hell of a shot, but no one would accuse Logan of being a brain trust. Ardelia doesn't mind that."

"And you?"

"I've always loved you, H."

"And I have only loved you. Did Pearsall give Ardelia any further information?"

Clarice panicked at the mention of Pearsall and was sure Hannibal noticed. She had not considered what she would say to Hannibal about the offer from Washington. So preoccupied with the possibility of pregnancy, she hadn't formulated what she would or would not tell him, though she clearly remembered his words of warning to her from Baltimore.

Don't lie to me or I'll know.

Jesus, Clarice just tell him. You have no shot at out thinking him. Especially not under these conditions.

Clarice was convinced that if she tried to keep any of the information from him, he would perceive deception. He trusted her fully and she could not chance losing his trust, even if she believed it would be better for him not to know. She was a lot of things but she had never been a liar and wouldn't start now. Not to him and not over something as important as this. She would have to tell him the truth.

"They are having a meeting at the White House today, Hannibal."

"Hannibal is it? Not H? Has this conversation taken a serious turn, Clarice?"

Jesus Christ he doesn't miss a goddamned thing!

"Well it is the White House. That's no small matter."

If Hannibal was shocked, he didn't let on. His voice was calm and curious. "And who will attend this meeting at the White House?"

"Ardelia, Bowman, Pearsall, D.C.P.D., State Police and members of the Justice Department are meeting with the President and the Egyptian Prime Minister. They think they have a plan but to be honest H, I'm not a fan of it. That's why I didn't bring it up."

"What does the plan involve?"

"It involves a trip to Washington." Her heart sunk. Stop asking questions!

"The trip to Washington is for whom Clarice?"

Clarice wanted to crawl in a hole and pull the dirt over herself. With his intellect, she knew he had already deciphered the reason for the meeting with the President. He would be of only one use in this instance.

"The trip to Washington would be for you, H."

Hannibal glanced calmly at his watch. "Five minutes remain."

Clarice could see the wheels turning in her husband's mind. She wondered how many contingencies and possibilities he could consider simultaneously. His eyes were tracking as if he were reading, though obviously it was his method of processing information.

"Washington? What would make that a prudent option for us, Clarice?"

Clarice didn't believe her heart could beat any faster. Her mind raced and her thoughts cried out. There's nothing at all that makes this a prudent option for you! Nothing!

But her mind overruled her heart and stayed calmly and firmly in control of the conversation. "The White House wants you to be evaluated."

"To what end? Either the information I provide leads to the release of the girl or it does not. What could possibly entice me to jeopardize my freedom? The information I possess need not be given in person."

"No, they want to evaluate you to make sure you won't become a political liability if they actually do what they have promised they will do."

"Clarice?"

"Do you know who James Brown is?"

"I am assuming you are discussing the historical figure and not the musician."

"Yes."

"Is that a viable option, Clarice? Without the White House, that offer is a moot point."

"Ardelia will call after they finish with the meeting so we will know more later on today."

"I am curious. What is your opinion of this, Clarice?"

"I would rather look that girl in the eye and put a round directly into her head if it means seeing you in custody again, temporary or not. You would have to surrender in Washington. It's the only way they will consider it. I don't think I could see you taken away in chains again, Hannibal…not now…not ever."

Impassively, Hannibal looked at his watch. "Just a moment or two more, and we will be able to read the results. What precise kind of an evaluation are they seeking?"

"Psychological." Clarice stated. "They want to make sure you aren't going to be roaming through the world tearing people's faces off and wearing them anymore."

Hannibal smiled. "Ah, yes, well that might make celebrating Halloween a challenge but I suppose I can sacrifice realism for decorum. I cannot imagine how in the world I would be able to assure them that I am no longer a threat, other than the evidence of our daily lives, which I will not use as proof."

"What do you mean you wouldn't use that as proof? It's the only proof. Of course we would use that."

"No, Clarice. If I am ever to surrender it must be clear that you are here as my victim. I will not have you implicated in my escape. I would never allow that. If I am ever to submit to any of this, I would insist that Ardelia handle the situation and that she take responsibility for your care until the situation is resolved. I have a contingency plan that must be followed to the letter.

"You haven't taken any lives. There are no human kidneys roasting in our oven. We have all the proof we need. I just refuse to let you do it, H. I can't allow it. I won't allow it. You don't need a thing from them. We don't need a thing from them."

"Clarice if circumstances present themselves this offer may very well be worth the temporary inconvenience of incarceration."

"And what if they change their minds? What if the incarceration is not temporary?"

"The reward may indeed far exceed the risk…the potential outcome would have a tremendous impact on the rest of our lives, Clarice, especially if you are carrying our child."

"No! I'll never let you submit yourself to that kind of scrutiny or degradation again. I won't watch you be prodded and probed by lesser minds…by lesser men. I don't care what they offer…we already have all we need…we have each other. Do you understand how I feel about this, H?"

"I understand, Clarice." Hannibal checked his watch. "It's time."

"Can you get it, H. I'm too nervous."

Hannibal brushed a comforting hand down Clarice's arm as he moved to retrieve the test.

Clarice leapt to her feet and nervously paced back and forth, her heart racing, not certain if she wanted a positive or a negative result. Hannibal reached for the plastic stick Clarice had placed in the appropriate holder. He held it up. The result was clear.

Hannibal left the bathroom and walked over to his wife. He put his arms around her and kissed her tenderly.

"Thank you, Clarice."

"Thank you for what, H?"

Hannibal held his wife as tightly as he could manage. Until this moment they had been two orphans, linked only by their love for one another. Family had not been part of their vocabulary but now, in each other's arms, that single word had become the center of their universe.

"I thank you for my life, I thank you for our love, and I thank you for our child."

Clarice Starling kissed Hannibal Lecter as if she were kissing him for the first time. It was full and warm and Hannibal felt more love in that one prolonged moment than he had felt his entire adult life. Clarice held his face in her cupped hands and looked deeply into his warm crimson eyes.

"Hannibal, no matter what they offer you…I need you to understand that your life and the life of our baby…you are everything to me. I'll never let you go, H. I can't risk losing you."

"I know, my Love…I know."

Some days you wake up changed.

The safety of this child and of his wife instantaneously became the singular focus of Hannibal's existence and their well-being would now be the measure by which all things would now be weighed.

Hannibal opened a new wing to his memory palace and engraved 'My Family' in platinum above a crystalline door. From this moment forward, he was no longer only Lover and Husband. He was Father. He was Guardian. Within his mind, Hannibal Lecter stood a silent sentry to this entrance.

No man alive will breach this door. Within they will not awaken Father or Husband or Lover.

They will awaken Protector… Predator… Destroyer…and they will pray for Death.

Until next chapter, my friends,

LH