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THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

It was not merely unusual for Hannibal to ask for comfort from another human being it was patently unheard of and quite frankly it shocked Clarice. She was well aware that her husband had not sought out either physical or emotional support from another person since very early in his childhood.

What she was not aware of was the fact that he would not have sought her help at all if not for Barney and Logan's advice. In other words the asking of it was as much for her comfort, perhaps more so, than it was for his.

Hannibal Lecter loved his wife very much but he was also a man who did not require conventional emotional reinforcement.

Clarice held him, her body unusually warm from the heat of her pregnancy and Hannibal was surprised to find himself soothed by the experience much more than he had expected to be. Hannibal rested quietly assessing his physiology system by system as he experienced the chemical response to this relief with the curiosity of a scientist peering through the eyepiece of a microscope.

Finding his emotional experiment to be quite successful thus far and knowing his wife was concerned for his welfare he decided to take Logan's advice and tell Clarice of the dream. It seemed that Barney's advice was also useful as filtering the information given to Clarice would minimize her worry. He spoke very softly certain to make his voice soothing for her in order that he might counter her emotional response to the experience.

"Clarice?"

"Yeah H?"

"You were in my dream as was Nico. He hurt you and I was unable to stop him. I could not protect you, Clarice and the thought of it within my dream terrified me."

"It was just a dream H. You already protected me from Nico. I watched you plant your Harpy in his chest and pull his heart out of the hole. He's dead. You did that H. You killed him to protect our family. I'm safe because of you."

"He killed our baby as well."

"No, you killed him," Clarice hugged him tightly, "and he can never hurt us again."

She kissed his chest and smoothed her hand across the breadth of it, her hand rising on his ribs like a raft on a swell. He grasped her hand and pressed it to his body so that she could feel the beat of his heart pounding slowly but with unusual force. He breathed deeply in an effort to minimize the chemical changes his body was experiencing.

"Your heart is not beating fast, but it's really pounding a lot harder than normal."

Hannibal understood her concern though he did not share it. His body's responses to stress were efficient and while awake he was exceedingly adept at controlling his physiology. "There is no need to worry, Clarice. It is the fight or flight response. My body responds to the anxiety of the offending dream by flooding my sympathetic nervous system with adrenalin. It is a defense mechanism that I am certain you have studied at length preparing for your assignment to behavioral sciences. There is no cause for concern. It will settle down soon enough."

"What about the nightmares? When do you think they'll stop?" Clarice questioned as she curled against his body. She rested her ear against his chest to listen to the beat of his heart.

The baby kicked raising a smile from his father, "I felt that little one. You always make yourself known when I have need of you."

Clarice lifted her head to make eye contact, "What do you mean when you have need? What need?"

"Though I had never considered having children prior to our relationship Clarice I find comfort in the prospect of fatherhood. This child is the fulfillment of a wish I had never dared to voice. It is a dream that I did not allow myself to consider. When I hold you in my arms and feel the life of our child as it grows within you I am a fully contented man."

Clarice breathed a deep sigh and returned to rest. There was relief in her voice, "It makes me happy to hear you say that H. I worry about it a lot."

"You worry about what my Love?" Hannibal asked with genuine curiosity. He found women to be magnificent in every detail especially in their ability to feel empathy and concern. His wife was particularly sensitive to him. Empathy was an emotion that Hannibal had considered somewhat superfluous to his needs previous to his relationship with Clarice.

Clarice whispered the sentence as if the speaking of it were somehow taboo, "I worry about how you feel. I know the baby wasn't planned."

Hannibal dismissed the thought with a tsk and kissed the top of Clarice's head. "The child may not have been planned nonetheless he will be most welcome."

Still worried about her husband's response to the nightmare and seeking comfort through contact with his body Clarice searched her husband's side with her left hand gently memorizing the patterns of the scars with her fingers. She bumped the padded tips along the ridges and bumps as if his scars were a record of his emotional wounds. She pressed upon his flesh reading the newly formed fibroblasts much like the blind might read braille.

Still she whispered her words as if too frightened to speak them, "I'm a little worried H. What if the nightmares don't stop before the baby is born?"

Hannibal had not expected this question and the voicing of it was cause for his immediate concern. "Clarice? Surely you realize as a trained psychiatrist I fully understand the process and it is well within my control. I present no danger to you."

"I know that H."

He pursued the line of questioning and quickly began to extrapolate information based on the answers she provided to his questions. "If you understand that I will not hurt you the next question that begs asking is whether you'll please clarify your statement? Are you worried about the prospect of the nightmares continuing for the baby's sake or for mine?"

She kissed the rounded keloid where Stuart's bullet exited her husband's body. "Is there a reason it can't be both?"

Hannibal was becoming increasingly agitated by the conversation. His voice took on its metallic hiss. "You obviously have an agenda, Clarice. I'm asking you to save me the trouble of deducing it although I am fairly certain I already know what it is you are considering. I must say I find the thought of it disconcerting in the extreme and it is my most sincere hope that you have not pursued it as I would be most distressed."

"Don't be ridiculous H. You have no idea what I am considering."

With one direct question Hannibal tackled her verbally, "Clarice, do you believe that I am unaware Dr. Bloom will be lecturing at Quantico in one week's time?"

Clarice was upset that Hannibal was already aware of Bloom's visit. She did not attempt to quiet her frustration, "Fucking Logan! I swear that Jarhead can't keep his mouth shut to save his life."

Hannibal's response was direct and defensive, "He may not be able to keep his mouth shut to save his life but he did keep his mouth shut to save our lives, Clarice. We would not have had our freedom or our home in Argentina if not for his cooperation."

"You're right…it's just that…"

"It's just that what Clarice? Were you considering setting up a consultation without my knowledge? I would have been most upset."

"No…I hoped that you might…"

"You hoped that I might what? Volunteer? Knowing how I feel about Bloom that does seem unlikely does it not?"

"When you put it that way it does. I just thought, because we have to go in next week for your meeting we might speak to him."

"Had you arranged a meet and greet or an awkward faux collision in a random hallway?" he questioned with an edge to his voice.

"Don't get your knickers in a bunch H. I didn't speak to Bloom. I wouldn't do that behind your back. I know better than to try and outsmart you. Not to mention that would be a level of betrayal you would have a problem ignoring."

"I would forgive you anything at all Clarice but if I found you had contacted that man it would irritate me in the extreme. Whether or not you realize it Bloom had a rather long professional relationship with Doctor Chilton. He did in fact play intermediary in my interaction with Will Graham and while I have no evidence that he participated in designing the petty torments Chilton initiated, I put Bloom's face on the discomfort of my incarceration as well. Please be honest with me in this regard."

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

Her hand stumbled across the collection of collagenous fibers where the bundle of arrows had found their mark so many years ago. She searched it swirling her thumb in a circle as she slowly perused the raised area by touch. "I considered contacting him, that's all."

Hannibal was firm in his reply a clear warning that this subject was now closed. "Consider it no longer, Clarice."

CHUM IN THE WATER

Hannibal and Clarice had showered and readied for the day. Hannibal moved about the house, the sounds of Bach soaring up to the high ceilings from the speakers installed throughout the home. Suddenly Hannibal's enjoyment of the notations was interrupted by the blaring ring of the doorbell intrusive in its interruption. Hannibal was a sensory driven man and there were sounds that he found pleasurable and sounds that were discomforting in the extreme. After his escape from incarceration during the years he remained in hiding the doorbell was not a welcome sound. It was more a warning that someone uninvited beckoned and as such was cause for great concern. Hannibal's body and mind aligned to alert immediately.

Clarice entered the hallway at the same time as Hannibal and noticed his eyes ablaze with concern.

"Something is wrong Clarice. There is the smell of blood and fear in the air."

"It's not as if every law enforcement agent within a hundred mile radius does not already know where we live H. We aren't in hiding anymore, remember? We have nothing to be concerned about no matter who or what you smell."

Hannibal nodded, "Droll Clarice…very droll."

Hannibal turned to walk away and allow Clarice to answer the door. She walked through the entry and as soon as she saw the person who rang them she turned to Hannibal and called out, "H…I can't handle this…I need you."

Hannibal moved quickly to the door to see his elderly neighbor standing, shaking uncontrollably his hands and his shirt covered in blood. They opened the outer door to allow him entrance and escape from the cold. The elderly man stood very quietly shaking from fear and the diseases that were threatening to overtake him. He grasped the lapels of Hannibal's suit only spoke four words, "Help…it's… my…wife."

Exhausted from the exertion the elderly man collapsed in Hannibal's arms.

Hannibal lifted his neighbor and carried him to the living room placing him gently on the sofa. He moved to cover him with an elegant quilt. "Watch him carefully Clarice he looks to be in shock. I will get some medical supplies and see to our neighbor's needs."

Hannibal quickly left the room, opened a closet door in the front entryway and retrieved a medical bag. He also grabbed a very large medical supply kit and dashed out the front door. Seeing his neighbor stretched out on the sidewalk mere steps from Hannibal's front door he rushed back and pushed his front door open. He called after Clarice, "Call 911! We will need an ambulance. Tell them she's been attacked and I am beginning treatment. Hurry she is having difficulty breathing. Something has compromised her airway."

Clarice knew there would be a situation as soon as the call was made. The ambulance would be on the way as well as the police and fire departments. Each branch of emergency and rescue services would be alerted. Clarice was also fully aware the every news outlet in the area monitored the police scanners.

There was an assault with injury outside the home of Hannibal Lecter. The chum was in the water, the sharks would soon circle and the feeding frenzy was about to begin.

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Until the next chapter!

LH