Will slowly opened his eyes as he struggled to lift himself up from the bed. It had only been a couple of days since he was released from the hospital. He sat up against the wall and looked to see his dogs protecting Peanuts. When his sister left, she gave him that dog to keep safe for her until she returned. He wondered if she would ever return...it was sad that he hoped she would.

Will forgave his sister.

And Hannibal too.

Most thought he was some fool for feeling this way, but he wanted to go with them. He wanted to go with them badly, but yet he couldn't. He just told them to run. He understood why his sister did what she did; she had a family for once in her life. She thought that she was happy. He smiled at the thought of seeing his nephew one day.

Peanuts yawned and stretched out her limbs, but Winston propped his head on top of hers. He chuckled when he saw Peanuts growl lowly until Winston kissed her by some licks. He knitted his brows in confusion as he saw the dogs stand up and walk out of the room.

They didn't come back until a few minutes later. He watched as Buster sniffed Peanuts' private areas just below her tail. Winston growled fiercely as Buster barked at him. Will stood up and walked towards the two dogs, scolding them.

He looked towards Peanuts who was sitting patiently beside Winston, staring up at Will.

Already causing trouble…she's definitely Lizzie's dog.

Will somehow compared the interaction between the three dogs to his relationship with Hannibal and his little sister. He wanted to protect her since the day his father brought her home. She was his only sister…his only family and he let Hannibal take her from him. He should've been like Winston, growling back at the predator who sought out to destroy everything good about them and turn it into darkness.

Will walked over to the bathroom, splashing water in his face. As he stared into mirror, he heard whimpers and excited barks from the dogs in the other room. Soon he heard a knock on the front doo. He knew that it could only be two people: Jack or Alana. Will traveled back into the room with a glass of water in his hand.

The glass cup fell from his hand and shattered to the ground.

Elizabeth opened the door and walked inside; carrying a black and beige baby car seat in her hand, her bags still on the porch behind her.

"Hi," she greeted softly, seeming to be nervous around him.

"W-What-"

"I left Hannibal," she explained, sitting the seat down on the chair.

Will stretched his head a little to look inside, a genuine smile graced his lips as he saw a blue-eyed version of his sister looking all over the place. He had a slightly curled brown hair sitting on top of his head. He kicked his chubby legs around and wiggled his body around, muttering, "Mama."

Elizabeth turned around and unstrapped him from the seat, picking him up as he gripped onto his mother. Will watched the interaction closely and anyone could tell that this mother would do just about anything for her son…including leaving the father in the hope of a better life. Elizabeth chuckled happily when his face broke out into a wide smile and spread his arms open wide as he told her gibberish.

"Will," she started. "I would like you to meet your nephew…Ichabod Graham-Lecter."

Will smiled at Ichabod when he told his sister, "A literature reference? Interesting choice."

"I wanted something unique and unforgettable." She told him. "He's beautiful, isn't he?"

He nodded. "He seems very bright."

"Everyone in our family is bright," she reminded him.

"I have to call Jack," Will said suddenly.

"I know," she replied sadly. "Which is why I already called and told him that I was here."

Will was shocked and then asked, "Why? Why are you here? Why did you come back?"

"When I was pregnant, I had this need to be closer to Hannibal and to be everything for him. I imagined it was because of the fact that I was carrying his son so I felt closer to him. When I was pregnant, I wasn't myself. After I had my son, those feelings went away. I still love him though…I don't think that I could ever stop, but he…" She trailed off, looking into the innocent eyes of Ichabod.

"What did he do?" Jack asked from the doorway, surprising all of them.

Elizabeth wet her lips and gulped nervously as she sat Ichabod down onto the ground, telling him, "Go play with the doggies, okay?"

He nodded happily, oblivious to the horrors that his mother was about to share to them. He crawled over to them and giggled constantly when they "attacked" him with licks.

Elizabeth came closer to them and crossed her arms over her chest defensively as she told them in a hushed voice, "We wanted different things. I now realize that we're too different. I'm not-or well, couldn't be the person that he wanted to be. He fed our child a small piece of meat and I snapped. I couldn't…"

Jack nodded and seemed to agree with her answer. "So you changed your mind and came back."

"Something was missing from my life and I realized that being with Hannibal wasn't enough after all and that I want a normal life for my son. I don't want him to grow up knowing the name, The Chesapeake Ripper or Hannibal the Cannibal-he's too young for any of this. I just want my life back, okay?" Elizabeth said in frustration. "I want my son and I know that what I did can never be forgiven and I understand that completely, but please don't take him away from me"

"That's not going to happen, Lizzie," Will interrupted sternly.

"Will," Jack warned.

"I promise," he told her.

Jack pulled Will aside quickly and told him, "You and I both know that there are a lot of charges against her."

"You can't do this, Jack. She doesn't deserve this"

"She put a bullet in your stomach, Will," Jack shouted at him. "Alana can barely walk and I almost died as well. Abigail died too, remember? She stood there and watched us get butchered by the man she loved and then ran off with him! Don't forget about the fact that she probably killed some of Hannibal's victims"

"I did no such thing," Elizabeth answered angrily, striding up to him. "I can assure you that if I did kill someone then it was justified."

"That doesn't mean shit to me."

"I know that he will kill me once he finds me and he will take my son away. Please, Jack. I may love Hannibal, but I love my son more than anything in this world and I can't think of a life where he's not inside of it."

"I'll make you a deal," Jack offered impassively. "If you can get me Hannibal then I will have the DA drop all charges against you."

"So you're saying Hannibal's life for my own," she questioned breathlessly. "Betray him?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "But only if you catch him. Until then I will have your every move monitored and everything you do, I will know about, I will have a tracking device around your ankle. So if you run or double cross me then the deal's off the table and we're coming after the both of you instead. Now do we have a deal?"

Elizabeth's jaw hardened and then she looked back at her son, her hesitance was clearly written over her face. She turned around, the hesitance suddenly gone and replaced with firmness.

"Deal."

"Alright then," Jack responded and strode out the door and back into the cold.

Will wrapped his arm around her shoulders, explaining, "I forgave you a long while ago by the way."

She chuckled. "Thanks. I really don't know why I did anything to you guys. I should've saved you and arrested him. I should've done my job."

"Hannibal knew you. He played the game with us and he won. He knew which buttons to press and which glass to crack, but now we are playing a much more dangerous game."

"He warned me," she confessed in a rush.

"What?"

"He said that if I took his son away from him that he'd…well, let's just say that it was the ripper talking for a while," Elizabeth replied. "What happened to Jack?"

"His wife died recently and Hannibal sent him a letter that day. It enraged him and he now blames Hannibal for her death. He's grieving," Will elaborated and then went over to Ichabod. "Where will you be staying?"

"I was thinking Hannibal's house since I sold mine."

"You can stay here," Will offered. "I would like it much better if you two were closer to me. I want to get to know him better."

Elizabeth sighed. "Are you sure? I don't want you to feel obligated to do something like this."

"I love you," he said. "You're my sister and I love you. I love my nephew too. We're a family and we don't each other behind…no matter what, blood is thicker than water. That's why I have forgiven you because you realized your mistake and came back."

Elizabeth smiled in relief and sat down next to him on the floor. They both watched as Ichabod stood up and wobbled a little bit.

"He's getting older," Will commented.

She nodded. "He's growing up too fast. Luckily, he can barely walk so it gives me time to just enjoy him as he is still young."

"Can you say Uncle Will," she cooed at Ichabod.

"Unchill Bill," he recited with a lopsided smile.

They laughed, feeling a sliver of happiness seek its way into their lives for once.

Ichabod laughed and went towards Will as he smiled widely, stumbling a little. Will had his arms held out for him. When the boy fell onto his uncle's lap, they all cheered for him. Will suddenly cuddled him closer to his chest, a strong feeling bursting inside of him and spreading its wings as he felt a need to protect this child from the horrors the world had shared with him. A couple of them involve his father.

Will saw the child's resemblance to both of his parents. He looked like a mixture of the both of them. He was going to be a lady killer someday, Will thought with a light chuckle. Have all the women fall before him no doubt.

"I'll be gone for a couples days," he informed her. "I have to go to Italy."

"Dada," Ichabod brightened suddenly.

Elizabeth jumped up and looked around on instinct. Will's hand on hers caused her to jump in shock.

"He knows where he's from," Will reminded her. "It's common with children that if they hear a place long enough and associate it with feelings that they know who is coming."

"Hannibal used to take him around Italy every morning, showing him everything that they could see and was trying to teach him many languages. It was Ichabod's favorite time of day because he knew that whenever one of us said Italy that he was going sight seeing," Elizabeth replied with a hint of unspoken sadness in her voice.

Will smiled at her. "Then I guess I'll have to take him around here too."

Elizabeth returned his smile. "He's such a sweet boy so I think he'll love that. Why are you going to Italy?"

"You already know the answer to that, Lizzie."

She nodded. "Okay. I'll stay here and Ichabod and I will unpack our things. Be safe alright. I don't know how Hannibal will react to you being there, Will. He just lost his wife and son."

"Wife?!" Will coughed up. "You married him!"

"Not really…it's so complicated when you think about it," she explained. "I'm sorry…I can't talk about this-about him anymore, okay?"

Will nodded in understanding. "I'll be leaving in the morning."

"Good luck," she muttered.

"Stay safe and sound while I'm gone, okay?"

She nodded firmly. "I promise."

TBC…

THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS, FOLLOWS, AND FAVORITES, YOU GUYS ARE STILL VERY AWESOME! I hoped you liked this chapter.

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