Rana sat on a Hospital bed, wearing only but a plain simple white Hospital Gown; her legs hidden beneath the cheap white hospital bed sheets that she had been provided with. The side of her head had been shaved just above her ear, in order for the doctor to work on the latest damage that had happened on her body.
Her ear was covered by bandages and held together by tape, effectively muffling any sound that would pass through. Of course, no sound did pass through after the damage she suffered due to Gideon firing a gun so close to her ear.
She stared at her hands, a butterfly needle piercing through the vein in her right arm as an IV bag supplied her with necessary fluids. There were stitches at the side of her head, some of her hair having been cut there for the doctors to treat the injury properly.
She flexed her fingers, her wrists having the faintest of bruising from the handcuffs and the force she used to break them. Thankfully, no one had truly questioned how she had escaped and that was for the best.
She had been in the Hospital for two days now, and her mood was sour. She had managed to lose Gideon and so did the FBI, only for a few hours later the agency to get a call from Alana. Will had shot Gideon outside her house, ending up saving her before collapsing himself.
Now, he was also in the same Hospital as her; just in a different room. He had a very high fever of 105 while his white blood cells had been twice above the normal range, a clear sign of some infection or disease.
He had been sick for a while and Rana had failed to see it in time. On top of that, despite fighting fever, Will had pushed his body and mind in order to find Gideon; somehow and then shoot him. The man, unfortunately, was not dead but he was severely injured by both Rana from before and later by Will.
Yet, the female Wolfskin felt like a failure in her mind. She was his Alpha, she was supposed to protect him and she was supposed to get the job done but she had failed on multiple levels. Failure was something Rana hated, especially when the result was her loved ones getting harmed in the process.
She closed her fingers, forming fists and she pressed her nails against the skin of her palm. She felt angry, no screw that, she felt furious and disappointed in herself. She could have done better, she should have done better but she didn't and that was driving her mad.
She pressed her fists against her forehead, leaning her head on her hands in the process and leaving a heavy sigh. She felt her own mind fighting her, putting her down as faces of the people she had let down and lost flashed into her mind.
For a moment, she felt she would go crazy and she didn't realize she had ended up drawing blood from her palms until two firm hands grabbed her wrists and pulled them off her face.
In a moment of frustration and pure instinct, she tried to fight back against the one holding her but her body was still filled with morphine to keep her in check and reduce the pain she would feel after her ear surgery.
Her red eyes glared at the newcomer, only to stop everything she was doing upon seeing familiar red ones glaring back at her. Hannibal's face towered above hers, his hands holding her wrists in a tight grip and preventing her from harming herself more or him instead.
"Breath, my love" he said, his voice while sounding odd due to her reduced hearing, still seemed to pass through most of her defences.
The voice passed through the thick walls surrounding her mind and heart, effectively clouding her thoughts and offering this comforting feeling that she so desperately needed at that moment. She took a moment longer to register what he had told her before she obeyed, taking a deep breath and then exhaling.
Slowly, the frustration started to go away and she unclenched her hands. The smell of blood made both of them look at them as he turned her hands to have a better view of her now damaged palms. While her nails had not injured the skin that much, they did manage to draw a little bit of blood.
"Oh, shit" Rana cursed, realizing she had almost lost control and that hadn't been the case for many years.
"It's alright, Rana. It's just superficial" Hannibal said as he sat by her side on the bed and grabbed a napkin from his coat pocket. He then gently tapped it against her palms, letting it absorb the little bit of blood that had managed to escape.
"Thank you, Hannibal," she said, slowly calming down instinctively by his presence alone being so close to her.
She hated to admit but her own body was betraying her far too often lately. Hannibal had started to have an even greater reaction from her, a far bigger influence without having to do much and Rana knew why.
Yet, she still fought hard with the few pieces of human logic she had been left. Hannibal had been nothing but supportive to her, attending to her needs and her injuries and being there for her no matter what.
And yet, she still felt afraid to truly let him in. She just did not want to take that jump of faith, not yet at least.
"Do not thank me, Rana. I am just glad I could be of help. I should have been more during this case" he said as he stood up and discarded the napkin to the trash bin nearby,
His words made her frown her eyebrows and look at him, their eyes now back to normal. "What do you mean? How could you have been more of a help?" she asked, looking up at his now standing form for answers.
"I do not know for sure, perhaps a better insight on Dr. Gideon. But it doesn't matter now, what matters is that he has been caught and there have been no new casualties" he said as he looked down at her.
He could almost feel how she wanted him to sit next to her again, her tortured mind visible through her pained eyes that kept looking up at him for answers that only he seemed to currently possess.
It was a welcoming feeling of self-pride and success, seeing her temporary vulnerable state as she had no longer the upper hand in what was going on. Currently, the roles had been reversed and it was now him; that she had to look up to if she wished for things to make sense.
And did he enjoy every second of this feeling, memorizing every detail of that moment to remain forever in his mind? Such a big step, so close to getting what he truly wanted from her...so close.
"I guess," she said, leaving a heavy sigh before glancing forward again, breaking the eye contact they had so far.
So close, Hannibal thought and moved once again, this time taking a nearby chair and moving it closer to the bed.
"I brought you a change of clothes, Rana. You are leaving this hospital today" he told her, deciding to give her some good news.
Blinking, Rana turned her head to look at him and lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. "You brought me clothes? I am sorry, Hannibal, but I do not get it"
He fought hard to hide his smirk and instead looked at her with empathic and understanding eyes. "It is quite alright, Rana. The doctors did say that your mind would be hazy the first few days after the surgery. They also mentioned a lack of balance the first few days until your ear has fully healed. I know you do not like Hospitals and I offered to host you in my house until you have fully recovered and could return to the field" he explained, placing his hand on top of hers.
The bullet had missed her ear and only had managed to chip off a faint piece of her outer earlobe. That piece would forever be missing, a small gap would exist in its place as a reminder but that was the least of her problems.
The gunshot had ruptured her eardrum and she had to undergo surgery to salvage and save her hearing. The doctors were successful and her recovery would take far less than normal, while she would regain her full hearing by the end of it.
However, until that would happen, she would have to take a few days of recovery from the FBI since she could not truly work in her condition. That was the one thing that had truly taken a blow on her mentality that day, for she had never been that wounded to be pulled off commission for a while.
The only good thing, if one could call it that, was the fact that Will was also pulled away. His gun licence would be taken and he would have to remain in the Hospital until he fully recovered; meaning he would not be exposed to any more serial killers and their psychotic minds.
Feeling his warm hand cupping hers, she turned her head once again to look at him. Hannibal was right, she did not like Hospitals or residing in them. She had never truly told him why but he had respected her opinion and understood the personal vendetta she had against them without asking for any more details on the topic.
At least she would be staying with him instead of her own and he was always more than perfect when he looked after her. Seeing his face and those beautiful eyes of his staring back at her, she could not help but smile.
"Allow me to check on Will one last time and we can leave," she said.
Hannibal was partially displeased with her bringing up Will once again, the Beta was always a recent topic in her mind. However, he understood her reasoning and only adjusted his act to fully keep her close to him and not risk her running away.
"Of course. I will go sort out your release papers" he said and stood up but not before placing a kiss on the side of her uninjured temple.
She closed her eyes momentarily, feeling the electrifying sensation of his lips against her skin that made her arms show faint Goosebumps all across their surface. Her smile remained and she simply watched him exit the room, partially thankful that at least she had him to shine some light into the darkness of the latest events.
Fully unaware of what dark twists were expecting her in the following week. Perhaps those were the days she should have first seen the signs and symptoms. Perhaps, it was that specific case that had led Will down that Rabbit's Hole where he lost himself trying to find his way out.
One thing was certain though, was that neither Rana nor Jack nor Will himself would be prepared for what was stored for them. For their biggest crossroad and obstacle to date, had yet to make an appearance but it would...soon enough.