"I feel my brother slipping, Hannibal," Elizabeth told him as they sat down on her sofa with a glass of wine in each of their hands. He had brought dinner to her when she said that she was "too lazy" to go out of her house tonight.

Hannibal took a sip of his wine and asked, "What has happened?"

"Jack is right-don't you repeat that to him," she warned playfully, pointing a finger at him.

Hannibal chuckled. "Scout's honor, Elizabeth."

"He's right about Will getting into the mind of killers so easily. He shouldn't be able to do that," she admitted and took a gulp of her wine. "This is really good wine."

"Yes, it is," Hannibal agreed as he smiled at her slightly looseness persona where alcohol was involved. He had learned that red wine was her favorite because she had a weak spot for sweets. "You're frightened that you may lose him if someone doesn't pull him back in time."

She nodded. "I can't be there all the time to pull him back. Especially not with Jack on my ass twenty-four/seven about Dr. Gideon and the ripper."

"Dr. Abel Gideon?" Hannibal inquired. "What did he say to you?"

Elizabeth sighed and put her feet in Hannibal's lap as she leaned more against the cushions. Hannibal tensed for a moment at the action and then relaxed as he held her feet closer. They were soft and pretty, her toes were painted a nude color. Hannibal put down his glass so that he wouldn't spill the wine on anything.

"He said that I was interesting. Also that whoever the ripper is…that I've caught his eye or something. He said that ever since I've came into town that his kills are going to escalate." She explained, drinking the last of her wine, feeling calmer ironically since she shouldn't feel calm when the ripper is after her.

"Perhaps he is trying to impress you," Hannibal suggested.

"You see now that's why I like psychopaths," Elizabeth told him with a languid smile. "The so-called 'normal' guys seem to be always the ones who let you down. That's why psychopaths don't scare me. At least they're committed."

Hannibal stared at her for a moment, his eyes analyzing her words carefully yet cautiously. Elizabeth met his eyes and felt something stir deep down in her stomach. This feeling had happened before when she was on a date with Hannibal. She wanted him…badly. Her rational mind kicked in and reminded her of all the things that made them so different. He'd have much more in common with Alana than I ever will.

A knock on her door made her perk up and then walk over to the door. Once she opened it, she was greeted with a beautiful bouquet of dark red roses with a dying rose in the middle of it in a crystal vase. There was a note as she picked up the vase, putting it on the counter.

Elizabeth eyed it with vigilance as did Hannibal, but with interest. She plucked the card and read aloud,

"Dearest Elizabeth,

I'll gaze no more on her bewitching face,
Since ruin harbours there in every place ;
For my enchanted soul alike she drowns
With calms and tempests of her smiles and frowns.
I'll love no more those cruel eyes of hers,
Which, pleased or anger'd, still are murderers :
For if she dart, like lightning, through the air
Her beams of wrath, she kills me with despair :
If she behold me with a pleasing eye,
I surfeit with excess of joy, and die.

Love,

Me."

Elizabeth's jaw tightened and she said, "The poem…do you know of it?"

Hannibal nodded. "I remember reading it in my younger days. It's called Murdering Beauty by Thomas Carew. The speaker is talking about killing the woman that he loves so much because she is too beautiful to look at and he couldn't bare the thought of someone else looking at her as well. It seems that you have an admirer who also wants to kill you yet loves you."

"I would say that it's the ripper, but flowers aren't his taste," she commented. "He's more of a body parts wrapped up with a ribbon kind of guy in my opinion."

Hannibal watched the blonde beauty deeply analyze the dead flower in her small hands. "What are you thinking? I can almost see the wheels in your head turning."

She laughed. "There is something elegant about all of this, don't you think? It's almost ad if he wants someone else to see it…"

"What? The flowers?"

She shook her head, her curls flying around her shoulders. "No, I'm talking about the body who was made into a cello from the inside…he reminds me of the ripper case, but I know it's not him. Still, he has the similar profile and random victims as do the ripper."

"I cannot imagine that the ripper will like that."

Elizabeth nodded her head firmly in agreement. "Nope, not one bit. The guy's narcissistic. He can't have anyone even remotely similar to his style. His ego won't allow it. He'll probably try to kill him first."

"Could…is it possible that they could become friends," Hannibal questioned with a manipulative worried tone deceiving Elizabeth's ear.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because the ripper likes to take self satisfaction in his work, complete control over everything. If he had a partner like this guy, then he would have a constant fear of losing control and dominance over a kill," Elizabeth explained.

Hannibal was silent for a moment before coming to the conclusion, "I'm impressed, Elizabeth. You are as great as they say you are."

Elizabeth softly chuckled. "Thanks, Hannibal, but it was one case that made me as good as I apparently am."

"Great," he corrected with a wide smile.

"You are one strange yet simple man, Hannibal Lecter," she teased him.

His eyebrows raised in astonishment. "You should tell that to my former psychiatrist."

"You, the most well-mannered and intelligent man I know has a psychiatrist even though you are one," she mused.

"If it makes you feel any better, my psychiatrist has one herself."

Elizabeth raised an elegant eyebrow in response. "I'm still surprised by others even till this day."

"Are you ever going to paint that wall over there?" Hannibal asked curiously. "It's been almost three weeks since you started on the house."

Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't know what color I want to paint the wall with…there are so many, many shades to choose from and if I choose this shade then I will have to waist for it and then I may not like it anyone in the end."

"How interesting," he commented lowly.

Elizabeth lost her balance on her feet for a second before Hannibal caught her in his arms.

"Whoa," she whispered, grabbing her head and felt dizzy. "I don't know what has come over me."

Hannibal held her closer to him as her head suddenly lolled backwards and she was now unconscious. Hannibal's hand came up to her face and his long fingers slowly pushed away the hair from her face which looked angelic and peaceful. He hooked his arms under her knees and carried her to the bedroom. He laid her small frame gently onto the bed.

Hannibal pulled a blanket over her body and then leaned down uncontrollably towards her face. His lips hovered over her perfectly shaped soft pink lips. She could probably get any man with those lips…the moonlight catches her well, it would be a perfect picture to draw and I would have if I wasn't already out of time.

He kissed her lips as softly as possible and then walked back to the kitchen. He dumped out the rest of the wine and cleaned it before taking a flask out of his jacket and pouring the contents into the empty wine bottle. Feeling pleased with himself, Hannibal left without another word and back towards his house.

Elizabeth was frazzled with the pile of cases that were given to her on top of those being Jack's cases which were apparently top priority in his eyes so that meant she would have to drop everything and give him her full and undivided attention.

She sped down the road and towards Hannibal's office. He was there. Someone is coming after him and yet here she was, breaking all the rules of society in order to get to him. His patient is good friends with their killer.

Tobias was planning on not only killing Franklyn, but Hannibal too if he somehow got in Tobias's way.

Which Elizabeth stupidly knew that of course, Hannibal would do something about whatever was doing on right.

And I am afraid…no, I am terrified that I'll be too late, she thought grimly.

TBC…

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