Frederick felt a strange sense of calm that had overcome him in the last few weeks. He and Carolyn had been together for almost two months and his feelings for her had only intensified. The days had quickly turned into weeks and he smiled as he thought of the old saying about how time goes by quicker when you're having the time of your life.

The woman that had shared his bed almost every night since they first made love had affected him like no other woman had done before. Show tunes about love finally made sense to him and he had to admit that he would catch himself in his office, when his mind would drift away from the patients and his work, humming a catchy pop song or an old rock song that he heard on the radio at the diner when she would still sneak him free cups of coffee.

He'd yet to be caught humming, but he knew his associates could see the little hop in his step or the goofy smiles when he'd receive a text or a call from her. He knew the love bug had bit him hard. He didn't want to scream it to the roof tops that he was in love with the local waitress, he knew he didn't have to; people could see it written on his face.

He'd found that once Carolyn had entered his life, he was given the opportunity to make new friends. He'd been teased often by the waitresses about his tie pin. Cheryl had dubbed him Lover Boy while Sammy always made sure to jokingly remind him that he was going to steal Carolyn away from him one day. The jokes had rushed in over him after Carolyn and he had a bit of a morning delight in the backseat of his car before she went into work as if they were two love struck teenagers. Her messy hair and goofy smile had given everything away as soon as she had entered the diner and the jokes had never ceased from that moment.

Not that he minded them at all. He found her co-workers endearing and he realized that they were people that were of great importance in her life.

Frederick looked down at his watch and sighed. He could feel the small velvet box in his pocket and he jumped with excitement. He had carried it around with him for over a week and had yet to pop the question.

He pulled the box from his pocket and opened it to examine the breathtakingly beautiful, extremely old diamond ring that had once belonged to his grandmother who had come to America with hopes of a new life. He smiled as the sun light cascaded through his office window and hit the rock just right to send a cascade of colors across the wall. His heart warmed as he thought about this gift upon her ring finger and how she would most likely play with it when she was bored in the same way that she twirled her hair around her finger.

It wasn't an engagement ring, but it was something that was very close to his heart and he had always planned on giving it to the woman that he knew he would eventually spend the rest of his life with.

"Frederick," the familiar, cultured voice called from behind him and he turned with a slight startle to see Hannibal Lecter standing in the doorway with his coat over his arms in an attempt to hide the scars that one of his employee's had gifted the good doctor.

'I'd be very nervous if I was Dr. Chilton. He's getting close too. The only way you and Frederick are going to get out of this alive is if the Chesapeake Ripper is stopped."

Will Graham's words to Abel Gideon rippled through his mind as he looked at the tall man in the impeccably well-tailored suit that stood in his office. That little seed had been planted in his mind and it was now taking root as he thought back to the many strange jokes Hannibal had made and how well Gideon had known the details of Hannibal's home.

He quickly snapped the box shut and smiled at Hannibal. He hid the small bubble of uneasy fear that rippled through his stomach.

"Dr. Lecter," Frederick greeted as he waved for Hannibal to enter his office, he tried hard to keep his voice steady in the man's presence, "I wasn't expecting anyone to drop by."

"What a lovely gift," Hannibal said with a knowing smile as his eyes trailed over to the pocket that hid the diamond ring from curious eyes, "A ring signals a lot of love. It's a circle that never ends."

Frederick gave a sheepish smile as he listened to those saccharine words and nodded with a soft chuckle, "It's for Carolyn," he shrugged his shoulders and added, "I have been waiting for the perfect time to give it to her."

"It looked very old, Frederick," Hannibal acknowledged as he walked deeper into the office while Frederick kept a careful eye on him, "An heirloom perhaps?"

He forced a kind smile upon his face as he shared the small space between a man that he suspected of being a cannibalistic serial killer, "It belonged to my grandmother."

Frederick felt a fog of anticipation and worry forming between them as he looked towards the floor, keeping his eyes off of Hannibal Lecter.

"I must admit Frederick," Hannibal said while pausing for only a moment for dramatic effect, "that I have a hard time not finding it discourteous that I've yet to meet this Carolyn that you have spoken of so fondly. I feel as if I know her and yet I do not."

He felt his heart falter at Hannibal's words. A sense of foreboding came over him as he contemplated his next move with the good doctor.

"I can assure you that it's no form of disrespect, Hannibal," he admitted with a small smile, "Carolyn has a busier schedule than I would like for her to have. Sometimes I don't even know how we juggled seeing each other between our work schedules."

"I must confess that I've given considerable thought of taking it into my own hands to meet this woman you talk so fondly of," Hannibal admitted, "just to see if she's real."

Chilton felt the laugh escape from his chest and roll off his tongue as he replied, "Sometimes I wonder the same exact thought. It seems a bit too fortunate for me to have found a woman like Carolyn. Who would have thought she'd come in the form of a waitress?"

Hannibal eyed him carefully with a stern smile that painted his lips, "A good woman is a rare and beautiful thing to find, Frederick. A woman can make a man want to better himself," he paused as Frederick fidgeted slightly under his gaze, "Has the love of this woman made you want to be a better man?"

Frederick took a deep breath as he controlled his nerves and replied with a smug grin, "More than I can put into words."

He stood with controlled nerves as he listened to Hannibal explain why he had come to the hospital for the day. He felt like a child as he stood in Hannibal's presence while he talked about his dinner party plans. He felt queasy as he thought about the food that would be served at the party, but he did not let Hannibal see that disgust.

"It would be a pleasure if you and your Carolyn could join," he heard Hannibal suggest, "I'd be delighted to finally meet the waitress that has so fully captured your heart, Frederick."

He knew it would be suicide to not accept the invitation. It would give away his suspicions if he declined, and he knew if Carolyn ever found out she'd be a tad bit upset with him.

He accepted the invitation happily and led Hannibal Lecter out of his office all the while thinking how he was going to keep Carolyn from eating any of the food that would be served at the party.

...

Carolyn hummed to the overhead music as she prepared salads before she left from her morning and lunch shift. Her bones ached and her feet throbbed from the busy morning shift that she had taken in an attempt to bring in extra money.

"How much left do you have until you're paid off, Lynnie," she heard Cheryl ask in reference to her college tuition that she had yet to pay off for her current semester.

"Uh," she answered with a disgusted sigh, "about a grand. I feel like I'm never going to get it paid."

"I don't get why you don't have Lover Boy help you out," Cheryl admitted as she watched Carolyn toss the salad, "I'm pretty sure that he's good for it."

"I'm not going to ask him for that," she heard herself answer with a defensive tone about her, "That isn't fair to him and I'm perfectly capable of paying it if I pick up a few more shifts."

She felt a flicker of anger burning inside of her as she thought about the suggestion that Cheryl had given her. She couldn't ask him to do that for her. It wasn't right.

"I will just have to take more shifts," she stated solemnly as she finished with the salads.

"Lynnie," her boss called towards her.

Carolyn turned to see her boss standing up shaking his head as a delivery walked in with a bouquet of yellow and white flowers. She smiled as the delivery man asked if she was Carolyn Long. She nodded and took the flowers with a large grin as instinctively inhaled the sweet fragrance.

"He must have really messed up, huh," the delivery man asked as he handed her a small white card that went along with the bouquet of flowers.

"No," she answered with a shy smile as she quickly opened the card to read Frederick's beautiful handwriting, "He's just sweet."

She smiled as she read the card. The other waitresses quickly made their way around her to see what the doctor that had once been so standoffish with them had to say to their friend. She knew exactly how they felt about Frederick. At first they had all been against her going out with him. They had thought he was a jerk and probably a murderer on the down low, but once they saw how happy he had made her they had quickly changed their mind about her.

"What's it say," Cheryl asked as she lightly touched the flowers.

"We've been invited to a dinner party tonight," she answered with a smile as she sat the card on the waitress table, "He asked if I had a dress for the night."

"That's so sweet," Monica, a young Hispanic waitress, replied with a smile as she played with the bow that tied the bouquet together.

Carolyn smiled as she thought about how sweet Frederick was. She knew that he was her Mr. Perfect. They'd only been with each other for a few months, but she could feel a comfortable ache in her heart every time she thought of him.

"When are wedding bells going to be playing," Carolyn heard Cheryl tease.

She didn't answer as she smiled down at the bouquet of flowers.

"I love him, Cheryl," she whispered so only Cheryl could hear as tears formed in her eyes, "I've never been so happy before, but I'm so afraid that-"

"No," Cheryl whispered in return as the other waitresses slowly scattered to continue on with their tables, "You deserve all of this. You've been through so much and out of everyone on this planet you deserve this happiness."

"I just keep thinking about how did I end up with someone like him," she said with a roll of her eyes, "I mean he's a doctor and I'm just," she sighed and rolled her eyes as if she were ashamed to admit it, "and I'm just a waitress."

"Life isn't about our stations in life, Lynnie," Cheryl informed her in a motherly tone.

Carolyn smiled at the reply and nodded as Cheryl walked away to tend to one of her tables, leaving her alone with Sarah, a young high school girl.

"Oh I wish I could find a man that took me to dinner parties and bought me things like your boyfriend does for you," Sarah whispered enviously as she lightly touched a petal on one of the flowers.

As those words rippled through her mind, her smile slowly faded and a sense of worry came over her as she thought about the dinner party and what his friends would think of her. She'd never met them, but he had talked about them on occasion. They were all leading professionals in their areas of expertise and she was still just a waitress, and she wasn't even that good of a waitress.

...

Frederick felt his chest swell with pride as he watched Carolyn easily blend in with the other guests at Hannibal's party. He couldn't help, but watch her closely as she laughed at a joke Alana Bloom had most likely told.

She was breathtakingly beautiful; she was the bell of the ball in his eyes. She was no longer the cute waitress; she was the future Mrs. Chilton if he had it in his ability to keep her in love with him for the foreseeable future. The elegant white dress that she had worn for the party made her resemble an angel. He felt his heart skip a beat as he recalled the similar white dress that she had worn on their first date.

He had never worried about how she would present herself when put up against people like Hannibal and Alana. She had a wonderful mind and could hold an intelligent conversation for hours or she could tell jokes that took a knowledgeable person to understand. She could blend in with any type of crowd.

The music played around him and waiters walked around with questionable food as he stood in the corner like a wallflower at a high school prom looking at the strange finger foods that Hannibal had prepared for the guests.

Frederick shook his head as he openly contemplated the finger foods as Jack Crawford looked around at the people carelessly enjoying the meal that had been prepared.

"Needless to say I will not be eating the food," he concluded as he stood beside Jack.

"Nice to see you again, Dr. Chilton," Jack answered in a bored tone as he observed the room around him.

He chuckled as he watched Hannibal walk up to Alana and Carolyn in an attempt to entertain them further, "Hannibal the Cannibal, that is what they will call him, you know?"

"Not according to Abel Gideon," Jack informed him in a matter of fact tone.

"Gideon has given me enough trouble for one day," he answered as he recalled how Gideon had quickly changed his story after Jack had come to interview him, "the fact that he lied to you makes me even more certain that he was telling Will Graham the truth."

"Why did you come here tonight if you are so convinced? And I take it that you've spoken with Carolyn about this," Jack asked as his eyes roamed across the room to stop upon the woman that Frederick had walked in with.

"Darwinism," he answered casually, "I do not want him to suspect that I suspect anything. Carolyn knows nothing. I thought it best to keep her out of these types of horrible realities of my work."

"So how are you keeping her away from the snacks," Jack asked, seemingly amused to Frederick's ear.

"We had a lovely dinner at a little bistro before coming here," he said with a shrug as he watched Carolyn take a sip of wine, her lip stick left marks on the glass that had so many times been left on his skin, "You know I really shouldn't be seen talking with you. I do not wish to be perceived as a threat."

He quickly stepped away from Jack Crawford and smiled as he pointed towards Carolyn and excused himself.

"Frederick," he heard her announce happily as she reached her hands out to him. Her eyes glittered from the effects of the expensive white wine.

"And how is everyone treating you," he asked as he felt her warm hands wrap around his arm as she leaned in close to him to whisper into his ear.

"I've never felt so classy before," she whispered with a smile on her wine stained lips, "the food looks amazing. I wish we hadn't had stopped to eat beforehand."

He felt a shiver run down his spine as her breath moved against his ear. He'd never been to a party where a woman happily stood beside him.

"You will never know just how happy you make me, Frederick," she whispered with that sultry voice that had always sent him over the edge. He wanted to taste the wine on her lips, but he'd never been one to public displays of affection that went beyond dancing and hand holding.

A cold shiver rushed through him as a sense of urgency and foreboding overcame him. He forced himself to pull his attention away from his beautiful lover to see Hannibal looking over at them both. He suddenly felt the need to grab Carolyn and run far away as Hannibal gave him a quick wink and a smile before taking a sip of his glass of wine.

The horrible feeling didn't evaporate from his mind as he felt Carolyn pat his hand. He felt like something very bad was going to happen in the near future and Hannibal was going to be the one to cause those events.

"We should go say goodbye," Carolyn purred into his ear as she squeezed his arm lightly, "I still owe you a kiss for the flowers and I'd prefer if we were in a more intimate scene, don't you?"

So there are two chapters left and you guys are going to cry!

Reviews are always amazing!