A knock at the door.

Hannibal is there in a moment, dressed sharply as usual, his casual clothes folded neatly in his hamper. The crisp maroon of his dress shirt matches the glint in his eyes as he bows his head graciously to his guest "Will, I trust you brought your appetite? Lunch is ready and will be served when young Miss Hobbs is ready from her shower. She did well this morning, brought a very nice deer for us to work with. She expressed that her mother never taught her to cook and in order to feel completely self-sufficient she feels that she needs to learn to feed herself, we can't have her living off of that repulsive fast food now can we?" Hannibal smiles, his teeth not quite showing but the light against catching his eyes as he puts his hands out for Will's jacket, receiving it he hangs it on a hook before turning back to Will. "Forgive my socked feet, I was dressing when I saw your car in the drive. I will be but a moment."

With that the doctor gives another nod and goes to fetch his shoes, securing them to his feet before returning to the Special Agent. "Are you thirsty Will, some wine? Or perhaps a beer, I have a very decadent brew from Portland, Oregon." He inquires, appearing soundlessly in the room behind Will who is looking at some drawings. "I will always envy your hand Dr. Lecter, so steady, so sure in your precision. No thank you, just a glass of water please" He answers with a comfortable smile, seeming more at ease with himself than normal, the look of his eyes tells Hannibal that dear Will had gotten a real night's sleep, or as close to one as he has had in a very long time. "Yes, of course. Would you like me to bring it to you in here or would you prefer it in the kitchen"

"The kitchen will be fine" Will replies and follows after Lecter making a mental note to use the toilet after Abigail has finished her shower but the thought is cut off by a scream, her scream. His instinct leads Will to draw his gun and run in the direction of the scream, Hannibal on his heels worrying what has frightened his protégé, knowing that no one could have gotten into the house without him knowing full well of it and deducing that it must in fact have been an attack of her own mind. Luckily for them three Abigail had forgotten to lock the door and Will is able to barge in without harming Hannibal's lovely home one bit. "Abigail!" Will shouts "It's Will, I am coming, is anybody with you" he continues, pausing in speech but not movement as he proceeds to the steaming shower. Will's heart sinks at the sight of Abigail's pale form, her head tucked protectively down as she cowers in a corner "Daddy, Daddy is here." She wails and Graham hesitates, worrying that his nightmares have come true, that Garret Jacob Hobbs is indeed seeking his revenge, trying to finish what he intended to do but Hannibal's cool voice behind him soothes them both, kicking Will into action. "Abigail, I can assure you that not a soul is here beside yourself, Will and myself. Your father is quite dead still". Hannibal soothes. The special agent sets the gun down on top of her folded camo clothes and approaches her "Abigail, Abigail, it's me Will" he says before sinking down, ignoring the water soaking his clothes just long enough to pull her against his chest, one arm reaching up to shut the water off. "I have you Abby"

Hannibal stands eyeing the gun that Will has discarded before looking away, looking at his lovely pair. Her pale flesh glittering as if all drops were those of her fresh tears, the usually unsociable man clutching her tightly. The doctor tilts his head curiously, wondering if Will sees himself as providing comfort or receiving the scent of fear that had emanated from the special agent a moment before is now dampened beyond even Hannibal's keen senses' ability of perception. Reminding himself that it is rude to stare Lecter moves, retrieving another crisp towel "Will, Abigail. I think perhaps modesty dictates that drying off is in order, Will, I will fetch you some spare clothes and put your wet set in the dryer."

Leaving again Hannibal finds a clean pair of sweat pants and white tee shirt, returning with them he sets them down. "Do not fret about water on the floor, I will clean it up later my friends. Abigail, how do you feel now? Better?" Looking up the teen nods quietly from her place of protection against Will's chest, whimpering slightly when Will stands and accepts Hannibal's proffered towel. Taking his cue Hannibal hesitates only a moment before leaving the room to his patient and his protégé. Now that the moment has passed Will feels awkward as he strips, wrapping the cloth around his waist to wring his shorts out in the sink, sighing when he finds that until they have been properly dried he could never feel comfortable sitting in Hannibal's home he resorts to going commando, making a mental note to replace this pair of sweats with a new pair out of courtesy His back is turned away from Abigail so that she may feel a little more comfort in dressing.

Downstairs Hannibal waits, his mind in Abigail and his own terrible nightmares of youth, close to her own age. He worries about the psychological toll they may take on her and whether they will interfere with his plans for her. His reverie, however, is soon disrupted by the girl in question and his patient. Standing he wraps his arms around her in a unprecedented show of affection. "We will eat, then we will retire to the sitting room to discuss what it is you saw. You are safe Abigail, here with Will and myself. Please keep that in mind" He kisses her forehead tenderly, eyeing Will, only the slightest of nods escapes as he mentally gives his approval of the younger man's appearance in his clothing, one corner of his lips upturned pleasantly. Abigail hesitates a moment, her heart still beating wildly within her chest but she calms much quicker having both men nearby and she nods before following Hannibal, her hands held fast at her sides self consciously. "I'm sorry for scaring you bo-" Hannibal cuts her off "None of that my dear, we will discuss what you saw after lunch, for now focus on nourishing your body." Hannibal leads the two of them to the kitchen where he has set up three bar stools around the counter "I usually take my lunch in here when I am not at the office, the dinning room feels far too formal for a lunch. I hope you do not mind"

The pair of guests shake their heads in the negative, taking their seats beside each other, across from Lecter. "Will, are you still interested in water or is something stronger calling to you now?" "Water please, I feel...very thirsty" Will smiles and nods, glancing out of the corner of his eye to check on Abigail's condition, checking her steadiness and noticing a slight tremble that she is taking great care to hide, she is doing well, nearly to the point that will contemplates second guessing himself to the point of wondering if he is just imagining the tiny tremors in her arms. "And Abigail, I was not sure what you like to drink so I purchased some pop, will that be fine or would you like water as well?" Abigail weighs her options for a moment, the sudden craving for sodium and sweetness presenting its self. "I will take the pop please." Nodding to his guests he turns and pours a bottle of filtered water for Will and a glass of pop for Abigail over ice before handing them their drinks and pouring himself a glass of wine. "I believe the saying is, it's five o'clock somewhere correct?" He smirks and the pair chuckle lightly.

After sitting down Hannibal takes a bite of his sandwich, chewing carefully and dabbing at his lips with a napkin "So Abigail, last we spoke on the subject of your future you seemed aware of which direction you wish to head, is that still the case?" she nods eagerly, her youth showing through in that moment of fine hair slipping into her eyes "Yes." she turns to Will "I would like to join the FBI, to help save others the way that you saved me." Taking a bite of his Will eats slowly, buying himself some time and looking neither in the eye. Once he has chewed so long that he knows that he can't draw it out any longer. "Well the thing about the FBI is that their testing is designed to pick up any instability, with the right amount of therapy now, you may be stable enough. Just, please don't quote me on that" He pauses "Are you thinking about continuing therapy now that you are out of the hospital?" Abigail nods but Hannibal speaks first. "I have suggested that she begin to see me as well as continuing to see Dr. Bloom, it is my belief that maintaining a strong and wide support system that she will heal much quicker and much more efficiently, for now though she and I are committing to a series of friendly encounters, what was your term Abigail? Hanging out? I believe that was it, and that term of course sounds much nicer" The doctor beams proudly at her before returning to his food. "I'm applying for some jobs so that I can support myself while I am healing. So far it has been really hard, with my name being in so many news papers and magazines."

Will quiets, again retreating to the recesses of his mind but this time going over conversations that he had had in recent history before he comes to a conversation with the local county animal control when they came to renew his dogs' licenses "You dogs are always so happy and healthy, you are doing a good job Mr. Graham, I wish there were more citizens like you, we have far too many animals and far too few able to give them the help they need, the shelter is always so over-crowded. Anyway, I can see you want to get back to your business. Have a nice day Mr. Graham" "Abigail, how do you feel about animals, like domestic animals? Are you any good with them?" He asks but a part of him already knows the answer, being near animals for work may be just what she needs, quid pro quo. The animals may sooth her soul, keep her grounded and as he knows are much easier to be social with than humans, whereas the animals would get the love and care that he could see in her eyes when he had asked the question. Abigail nods "I love animals, dogs especially. I am pretty good with them, especially if they like to take hikes for their exercise." She had always wanted a dog but her father wouldn't let her have one, he said that the scent of a dog would spook the deer that was their main source of meat though he always wondered what the real reason was. She will never know though. "I may know of a place, the shelter in my county is looking for full time employees." Will says, not really realizing that by mentioning that he was, in effect, offering himself up to advocate for a position for her but on second thought he realizes that is just what a responsible party would do, support her and help her in any way possible and doing so may ease his conscience.

-A.N.-

A HUGE thank you to Kendra Luehr and Srta Ka for your reviews. :)

so I currently have no life so this is my second update, they will not always be so close together but I hope this one isn't a let down