Title: Come Clean, Day 28 of 30 Days of Hannibloom
Fandom: Hannibal
Pairing: Hannibloom
Rating: pg-13
Author's notes: This has totally gotten out of my control, for the record. Thanks to Jade for some reassurance on this chapter before I posted.

She awoke to find Hannibal sitting across from her bed in her easy chair in a clear plastic suit. She gasped and tried to swing her arms down to boost her up to a sitting position, but then noticed that her hands were bound together in front of her in handcuffs. She cried out in frustration and betrayal.

"You and I will converse. When you are ready, I will remove the restraints," Hannibal said.

"I'm ready," she spit out. She struggled, trying to pull her hands free of the cuffs. They chafed her wrists, and Hannibal stood up, walking over to her. He reached out to still her hands, and she jerked away.

Hannibal smiled wryly at Alana. "You're not ready. Please, calm yourself, my dear. I don't want you to injure yourself."

He produced a capped needle and a small bottle from behind his back with a flourish. Alana tried to scoot back away from him, but it was difficult to do with her hands being bound. However, Hannibal simply placed the needle and bottle on her bedside table. "Hush, my rue," he shushed her. "It's sodium thiopental, which as I'm sure you know is a very effective 'truth serum.' Due to your pregnancy, I am adverse to using it. I'd assume you feel the same. So please cooperate, so that I do not have to resort to its use."

Alana could feel her body start to shake from the tension. His hands darted out and grasped her bound wrists. He started stroking her wrists beneath the shackles with the gentle caress of a lover, and Alana hated herself when she felt some of the tension start to leave her body. She asked, "What do you want, Hannibal? Whatever it is, I'll cooperate."

He was feeling her pulse now, and knew she wasn't lying. "You will," he stated. He stood and grabbed a key from an old-fashioned doctor's bag across the room. Then he unlocked the cuffs and removed them from her wrists. He rubbed her wrists where the handcuffs had rubbed her skin causing redness. Then he brought one wrist to his lips and kissed the irritated skin. Alana started shaking and crying.

"Mylimoji, don't cry. We're just going to talk." Hannibal's voice was a quiet and soothing as she'd ever heard it, and thus she had never felt more frightened. "Tell the truth when I ask you a question," he commanded.

She nodded.

"First, you need to call...Will, I'm assuming? And tell him you are fine." He handed her her cellphone.

She called Will. Her voice didn't waver as she assured him. "I don't need you to watch Applesauce. My plans...fell through. I'm fine." She hung up.

Then Hannibal stated, "You were going to leave me." Alana nodded. He continued, "You discovered my truth. What finally illuminated it for you?"

Alana whispered, "You killed Chloe's uncle."

"He was a pedophile. A sorry excuse for an uncle, for a man. Is it such a loss?"

"No. But it's not your place to decide who lives or dies, Hannibal. You are not God."

"God kills indiscriminately. Just last week, a church collapsed on sixty worshipers in Brazil. I do not kill indiscriminately."

Alana clenched her fists, her nails digging into her skin. Was he trying to justify his actions to her? "You…eat…them."

"I don't see the use in letting meat go to waste."

Alana covered her face with one hand. She took deep, shuddering breaths as her body continued to shake. Hannibal pulled her hand from her face. His fingers traced random patterns on her shaking palm. "I have never hurt you, Alana." He seemed to decide something. He stood, and unzipped the plastic suit he wore over his favorite red sweater and dress pants. "I will not kill you." The suit dropped to the floor and he stepped out of it, sitting beside her on the bed again.

"Oh God," Alana thought. "You hurt me now, Hannibal."

He considered. "You are right; as you once pointed out, you often are. But I have only ever hurt you for your own good."

Alana could feel her anger rising. She cried out, "Not your decision, what is for my own good!"

Hannibal sighed. The conversation was clearly not going as he'd hoped. "I love you," he stated, staring into Alana's eyes.

Alana's lip curled. "How? How could a monster love?"

"Like this." Hannibal leaned forward and captured her lips with his. Alana raised her hand to slap him away, but Hannibal grasped her wrist and gently lowered her arm. And unwittingly, Alana could feel her betrayer's body responding; her mouth opened against his and her tongue darted out to lick his lips. He groaned. Alana hated herself for the way she felt, torn between disgust and lust. And love.

He pulled away, his breath coming in short bursts against the heated flesh of her cheeks. She felt a tear roll down her face. "How can I stay with you?" She seemed to be not asking but begging for an answer, any answer.

"I can help you."

Alana leaned away from Hannibal, back against her headboard. She thought for a long time. She could not deny her husband's horrible acts, but she also couldn't deny the love she felt for him still. If she were to stay, she needed…she needed…

She spoke. "Promise me you're done. Done with the killing."

He spoke without hesitation. "I promise."

Could she believe him? She didn't know, but she wanted to try. Another tear fell from her eyes. "How can you help me?" She would need help to forget her love's darker nature, to turn her eyes and mind away from his heinous actions.

"Let me show you."

Since I love titling my chapters after songs, this one's after "Come Clean" by Eisley. Charlotteof_denmark's prompt for this chapter was "kill you." But I couldn't bring myself to do it, neither could Hannibal, and fortunately, the muse cooperated. Are you glad?