OKAY!

You may have noticed that this is now labeled as complete, and I think it is. I want to leave the ending open to a bit of interpretation for what is to come. So, I hope you enjoy this final chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING

Driving up to go visit his charge's soulmate was actually quite entertaining. Neither Abigail nor Will truly knew what to say to each other so much of the conversation was done through stilted conversation. It was endearingly awkward and he saw the amusement in Alana's eyes as she observed the two. Alana was rather taken by the idea of getting Abigail out of the facility, saying that it would probably do the girl some good.

After listening to Will and Abigail struggle through the topic of interests, he decided to step in. "Abigail, why don't you tell us a bit about Marissa," Hannibal suggested, glancing at her from the rear-view mirror.

"Marissa?" Abigail asked, looking puzzled that he was interesting.

"As one of your new fathers, I feel the need to know more about your soulmate." It wasn't a lie per-say, but he truly wanted to know whether he was going to have to deal with her in the future.

"Of course, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Will said, giving her a soft smile. Hannibal smiled to himself, his soulmate could be polite when he wanted to be.

Abigail sat silently in her seat for a moment before saying anything. "Marissa is a spit-fire," she said, "she's very protective and has something of a temper when something sets her off."

Will cracked a smile and looked pointedly at him from his spot in the backseat. "Now who does that remind me of?" Will asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about, do continue Abigail," Hannibal said.

Abigail seemed to be relaxing the more she talked about her Marissa. "She's really great, she has these stunning eyes and she gives really good hugs and she loves to cuddle and kis-"Abigail paused in her sudden rant. Hannibal glanced up and chuckled at the blush that had blossomed across Abigail's face.

"She sounds like a beautiful girl, Abigail," Alana said, her voice soft.

The car settled into a comfortable silence that stretched the rest of the duration of the trip.

Arriving at the recently sold Hobbs' residence should have run more smoothly, if the world wasn't populated by the rude. The spray-painted word across the garage was crude despite the truth of it. The small group made their way throughout the house, some boxes full of mementos that Abigail might have wanted to keep were pushed against a wall.

"Would you like to look through any of them?" Will asked, the awkwardness almost absent from his voice for once. Hannibal knew of the confidence that dwelled beneath Will's timid mask, but said nothing about it.

Abigail looked at the boxes with no small amount of trepidation. "I- If there is any pictures of Marissa, I might want those, but we can just take them with us, right?" she asked, directing her gaze back at Will. At his nod of approval, Abigail's shoulders sagged in relief.

Alana was strangely quiet throughout the walk of the house, letting Will and Hannibal do all the talking. Hannibal understood that she was most likely analyzing how they interacted together so that she could put her input in on whether they would make good fathers to Abigail. She really was a good lamb.

Seeing Abigail's shoulders tense again as they walked further into the house, Hannibal suggested they step outside.

"We can come right back if you'd like, but I believe some fresh air would do you some good," Hannibal said, placing his hand on Abigail's shoulder to guide her towards the back door.

The fresh air was better, and he noticed how Will's shoulders' noticeable relaxed once leaving the house. It would seem his Will wasn't as unaffected by the whole thing as he had believed. He nodded his head at Alana who re-entered the Hobbs' house to presumably begin to move the boxes to the car while they spent time with Abigail. He would have to invite the woman over for dinner soon.

"Are you okay?" Will asked, bending down slightly to look Abigail in the eye. Abigail released a weary sigh and nodded her head slightly. "You don't have to be okay, you know that, right? No one expects you to suddenly bounce back from what happened."

"But I want to be able to," Abigail sighed.

Will nodded his head sagely and hesitantly opened his arms to her. Hannibal was mildly surprised at the action; Will was as fond of social events as he was of physical contact, but perhaps Hannibal just had to learn more about his significant other. Abigail copied Will, opening her arms up just as hesitantly and the two moved toward each other to embrace awkwardly. In any other situation, Hannibal might have found it comical, but in this instance, it was beautiful. Before their relationship had even started, they already had a child together, how scandalous.

The touching moment was ruined by an indignant squawk from behind them followed by a rush of footsteps.

"What are you doing to Abigail?!" the female shouted, repressed fury in her eyes. The girl walked with purpose towards Will and Abigail, who had jumped apart at the noise.

"Marissa!" Abigail cried with a large grin, scampering towards the girl and all but leaping into her arms. Marissa let out a quiet groan at the sudden tackle, but happily wound around her. "It's so good to see you."

"You're telling me, I didn't even know where you were," Marissa said, pulling away slightly to look Abigail in the eye. It was fascinating seeing the two interact, and Hannibal wondered if Will and he would ever be that open with each other. More than likely, not. "I'm glad you're okay though, Abigail. If your dad wasn't already dead I might kill him myself…"

Abigail shook her head quickly and leaned her head against Marissa's. "It's okay, it's over, I'm okay," she said softly.

Marissa mumbled an acknowledgment before turning to glare at Will. "Who are you?"

Hannibal felt his jaw clench at the knee jerk reaction to rudeness, but attempted to quell his first instinct. If he wanted this family to work, he couldn't kill his daughter's soulmate, perhaps etiquette classes?

Will didn't seem to be bothered by Marissa's animosity and instead lifted his hands up in an innocent gesture. "I'm Will Graham," Will said, before gesturing to Hannibal, "this is my soulmate, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. We were the ones that made sure that Abigail-"

"They're my new dads," Abigail interjected giving them a smiled. "They made it possible for me to come see you."

Marissa's glare melted away to reveal a relieved and thankful expression. "Thank you for helping Abigail," she said.

Hannibal felt his previous displeasure with her nullify. Perhaps Will had a point when he said that he and Marissa were alike. The protective nature they both seemed to possess in monstrous quantities was probably beneficial for them. To keep what was theirs safe and get rid of those who would harm them.

"There is no reason to thank us, Marissa," Hannibal said, walking over to Will and placing a hand on his lower back. "We felt a connection with Abigail and wanted to help her."

Will looked at him curiously, but nodded his head in agreement. The group settled into an easy silence, only broken by the quiet muttering between Abigail and Marissa. Hannibal felt Will lean into his side.

"Are you cultivating a murder family?" Will asked, his warm breath brushing against Hannibal's ear.

Hannibal didn't answer Will and instead buried his nose in Will's curls. Taking a deep breath he grimaced slightly at the strong atrocious aftershave, but didn't move from where his nose was. "Tell me Will, do you believe I could be a simple family man?" Hannibal asked curiously.

"No," Will said with a chuckle, "I think you like molding people too much to be any kind of 'simple' man. But be careful, I can't cover for your hobbies if you get too out of control."

"You'll have to tame the beast then, won't you dear Will."

"Are you implying that I haven't already?"

Hannibal would have replied if he didn't hear a rustling behind them. Turning away from Will he looked at the young man who stood partially shadowed by the trees. The man didn't seem to notice anyone else except Abigail.

"It's your fault," the man muttered, his eyes dark. He took a step closer to Abigail and increased his volume. "My sister died because of you. It's your fault!"

Abigail startled at the sudden accusations and shrunk in on herself, something that Will was prone to do when Jack raised his voice suddenly at him. Marissa's eyes narrowed and she bared her teeth at the boy; Hannibal felt proud that she had such a reaction. "You need to leave," she hissed, stepping in front of Abigail.

"My sister didn't have to die if you she had just died," the man shouted.

Will took a step towards the man before Hannibal could stop him. "You are not authorized to be here," Will said firmly. It would seem Hannibal's mongoose was posed to attack.

The man looked like he was ready to say something else when a rock struck him. Hannibal looked on in interest as Marissa drove the man away.

Will grabbed Hannibal's arm and gave him a pointed look. "I think we should go hunting together," Will said calmly.

Hannibal knew his pupils dilated and his breathing hitched for a moment. Slowly, a smile tug at the corner of his lips. "What a wonderful boy you are Will," he muttered softly, "but I thought you were to be my moral compass."

Will scoffed and smiled at him, "I've grown up learning to embrace your darker qualities. Who's to say that I haven't stepped into the dark myself?"

"Like blowing out a candle."

"Make a wish," Will joked, turning away from him and walking over to Marissa and Abigail.

Hannibal wasn't sure how he had gotten so lucky, but he couldn't ask for anything more.

And that's it! I hope you all enjoyed reading this fic (if not sorry) and thank you for sticking with it to the end.

*gives you all a plate of cookies and a glass of milk*

Please leave a review if you have time!