"It's time to sleep," Hannibal hushed for the umpteenth time, but it did nothing to stop Morgan's outburst. The boy clutched tightly to his rabbit while Will clutched tightly to the boy, rocking him and brushing fingers through his hair.

"It's ok," Will whispered in a kind voice. "Tomorrow we can go look at the Gothenburg Museum. Wouldn't that be fun?" Morgan shook his head against Will's chest, the tears still falling like they had been the moment they had entered their new home that had been cold and dusty. "What would you like to do?"

"I want Wally."

"He'll contact us when time permits," Hannibal interrupted with a small dismissing wave of his hand from where he sat in a chair beside Morgan's new bed. "For now, there is no point in-"

"Hannibal," Will warned softly, meeting his husband's eyes. The silent conversation that fell between them was one that they often had. Will was too soft, and Hannibal was too harsh. Will was far too protective, and Hannibal could show a bit more support. "You're not making this any easier."

"Stop babying the boy," Hannibal threw out, obviously just as on edge as the rest of them and the emotions showing themselves through twinged anger. "He's not a child. I told you that they shouldn't have stayed together as much as they did. They can't live apart."

"Morgan is more than capable in handling himself," Will defended coldly. "Just because we've become dependent doesn't mean he has. Morgan is allowed to miss a person just like the two of us."

"He can miss Walter, but this is ridiculous. He's been crying for-"

"He's not a robot, Hannibal!" Will shouted, causing Morgan to jump at the outburst, more shocked at the fact that Will was yelling at Hannibal than anything else. They didn't yell. Fight, sure, but they never yelled at one another. Morgan's heart beat wildly as he silently listened to the conversation around him. "He is not some little emotionless toy! He is a person, Hannibal. He has feelings just like you, though sometimes I question that."

Morgan wasn't sure what he expected the outcome of the outburst to be, but Hannibal's sudden silence wasn't it. Hannibal slumped in his chair and a hand covered his mouth, leaving Morgan curious if his father were pouting. After a decent amount of time that ticked on for what felt like years, Hannibal got to his feet and excused himself from the room.

"Dad?"

"Shh," Will hushed. "It's going to be ok. You can cry. Just try to sleep."

Morgan didn't sleep that night. None of the three of them found any sort of comfort. The house, despite the way that it had finally started to warm up with the early morning sun and the smell of fresh coffee being made, did nothing to stop the way that there felt like there was a tear in the family. A very person sized hole that might never be filled again.

It was also one of the first times that Will had seen Hannibal cling to his cell phone for dear life. It was constantly in hand, ready to be answered at a moment's notice. He wouldn't wait until a Thursday evening to listen to incoming voicemails. The call that came in would be answered instantly, but until that point, the house stayed in a tense silence.

"Quand le mystère est trop impressionnant, on n'ose pas désobéir," Will read softly to Morgan. Morgan sat curled up against Will's side on the couch, looking over the book in Will's hands without much acknowledgement, but at least the house wasn't quiet. At least he could focus on something else other than what had happened. Will glanced down at Morgan who leaned his head into Will's shoulder with a deep breath. His eyes then flickered up to Hannibal who had been pacing the living room for the last good thirty minutes that Will had been reading to Morgan for. "Aussi absurde que cela me semblât à mille milles de tous les endroits habités et en danger de mort, je sortis de ma poche une feuille de papier et un stylographe." (As absurd as it seemed to me, a thousand miles from all inhabited and life-threatening places, I took out of my pocket a sheet of paper and a pen.)

There was a small whimper from Morgan and Will once more paused in his reading to look at the child who had pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and was chewing on it unconsciously while his hands rang the bunny's ears.

"Don't do that, Morgan," Will instructed in a kind voice, a hand reaching out to tap Morgan's chin. "We don't want your lip to bleed."

"Sorry," Morgan whispered.

"That's ok. Let's just work on noticing if you start to do that. We want to break that habit, right?"

"Right." Morgan gave a sigh. "Can we just call him? Why do we have to wait and-"

"We don't know if he's in a safe place," Will explained, eyes returning to the pacing Hannibal was going to start making Will dizzy if the man continued to make skid marks in the floor. "It's better if he calls us. Safer."

"What if he doesn't call?"

"I'll head back at the end of the week if we don't hear from him," Hannibal offered in answer, though it was distracted. "For now, patience would be a virtue, Morgan."

"Hannibal." Will's voice ached with irritation, and he let out a deep and pained sigh. "Maybe take some of your own advice?"

"Please don't fight," Morgan begged out in a voice so quiet that Will barely heard it. "I don't like it when you fight."

"We are not fighting," Hannibal stated, his movement finally coming to a halt. He turned to face the couch and stepped closer, kneeling beside Morgan and taking Morgan's hand. Their eyes met and Hannibal let the guilt of his harshness finally fill his body and he pursed his lips as he let himself see himself fully. "I'm sorry I've been so harsh with you. Your dad and I are... terrified that we've somehow lost your brother. We just want him to be safe and with us again. That's what you want too, isn't it?" Morgan nodded, hand tightening its grip on Hannibal's. "Emotions are high because we're scared."

"You don't get scared," Morgan argued out, looking between both Will and Hannibal with creased brows. "You're you. You don't get scared."

"Even we get scared Morgan." Will's hand brushed through Morgan's hair, and he gave Morgan a small smile. "When it comes to you and Walter, we will always be afraid of you getting hurt. We love you both deeply and this isn't a family without the four of us."

"It wasn't right for me to take that out on you. Do you forgive me Morgan?"

"Of course, Father," Morgan replied. "Can we do something, so we don't have to think about being scared?"

"Like what?"

"Make dinner? I'm hungry."

There was a small chuckle from both Will and Hannibal and Hannibal nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Would you like to go into town and look at the markets with me?"

"Yes please!" Morgan jumped to his feet. "Let me get my shoes."

The next day went by just as slowly and just as eggshell filled as the day before had, though Hannibal was able to stay far more conscious about the words that came out of his mouth. Will had been right, just as he always was, and Hannibal needed to keep himself put together far better. He couldn't let himself slip in the comfort that had surrounded him.

He hadn't realized just how badly letting people into his heart would tear him to pieces and instead of slowly adding one person at a time he had shoved three into such a small space that it had become a hopeless act to not come to love each of them as his own. That in turn had only proven to him how much he had to lose and how he couldn't afford to.

After dinner wine was nowhere near as lovely as it once had been, and Will and Hannibal sat in silence on the floor in the living room. Morgan had finally fallen asleep, head in Hannibal's lap and arms wrapped around his bunny. Hannibal still read softly from a book and Will stared at the wall opposite them where a fireplace sat, unlit due to the warmth of the evening. It wouldn't be lit for a few more months at least and Will found himself suddenly missing a faraway cabin in the middle of New York.

A ringing seemed to make the entire world stop. Hannibal's words fell still, and Will sat up a little more sharing looks with Hannibal before Hannibal reached for the phone that had been silent for the last two days. He didn't care what the number read or who it belonged to, he just had to answer it.

"Hello?" he asked quickly into the receiver, loud enough that Morgan stirred slightly.

"Oh, you're alright." There was a relieved breath on the other side of the line and Hannibal felt his chest loosen up at a familiar laugh. "All of you are alright?"

"Fine, fine," Hannibal dismissed swiftly. "What about you? Where are you?"

"At the villa," Walter replied. "It... took some time to get everything cleaned up. Well, as cleaned up as I could."

"And you're safe?" Hannibal pressed once more as if his son's voice alone weren't enough to prove the fact. Will had moved closer to hear the conversation a bit more, hand tight on Hannibal's arm as he listened.

"Yeah. My arm's killing me though. I think I broke it. I'll go to the doctors later. I have some more things to take care of first."

"What could possibly be more important than-"

"It's summer and there's a dozen-"

"Yes, yes," Hannibal quickly interrupted, his free hand reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Do not neglect your health, Walter."

"I'll be fine," Walter assured. "I set it the best I could for the time. Question, where is the magic room when you need it?"

Hannibal looked over at Will who was listening intently, and Will frowned with knowing in his eyes. Hannibal gave a small sigh. "You mean you don't know?" Hannibal asked.

"No idea. I've been looking everywhere. Kinda need a better place than closets. They're going to start to smell soon."

"In my study." Hannibal reached down and petted over Morgan's hair. Move the desk."

"Yes, Sir."

Will's patience must have run out because he snatched the phone and put it to his ear. "When are you coming home?" he asked in such a quick string of words that they nearly all ran together. "We have your room-"

"I'm not... I'm..." Walter gave a deep breath across the line and Will could hear the hesitancy in his tone. "I'm going to stay here."

Normally the absolutely dumbfounded look across Will's face would have caused Hannibal to smile or even laugh, but He couldn't find it in himself at this exact moment. Not when it came to their son.

"What do you mean you're going to stay?" Will demanded, anger missing and disbelief overtaking his words.

"I mean that my school and my friends are here and I-"

"You're coming home." The sentence was insistent, and Hannibal took Will's hand, giving it a light and reassuring squeeze.

"Dad, come on. I'm not a kid anymore."

"You're not an adult either."

"Dad!"

"Will, maybe we should discuss-"

"There's nothing to discuss Hannibal," Will interrupted, meeting Hannibal with teary blue eyes. "Walter Johnathan Graham, you are coming home-"

"My middle name doesn't scare me, Dad." Walter snorted out his laughter. "It's me we're talking about here. I'll be fine. The last six years have been training me for this. I think I can handle buying groceries and doing homework alone."

Will's chest contorted into so many different shapes that he nearly wanted to throw up. He couldn't remember the last time that he had been without his children for more than a night and these two days had been absolute torture.

"It's not safe," Will tried to reason once more, but it came out as a broken whisper.

"Nowhere is safe," Walter shot back, smile all too present in his voice for Will's liking.

"Please."

The line grew silent as both parties took in Will's plea. Hannibal pulled Will's hand up to his mouth and pressed a kiss to it. "He will be fine," he assured, but Will only shook his head.

"Dad, I can't just... Follow you around my entire life. You know that I've never wanted any of this and this is my chance to do something for me, something that I want, something that will make me happy." Walter took a deep inhale and Will closed his eyes, nodding as if Walter could see the motion. "I promise to work hard and I'm not going to disappoint you. I'll be better than she ever was."

Will frowned at the mention of Abigail. The pain of Hannibal's snap had never really left Walter and Will cursed the way that Walter used Abigail against himself. Used her as some unmeasurable feat to reach when Walter had all but outgrown her in an instant. But it didn't matter how many times Will tried to tell this to Walter, it never changed the damage that had been done.

"Walter-"

"I need to go. The police keep stopping by. I'll talk to you guys later. Tell Morgan I said hi."

Before Will had a chance to utter even a sound, the line went dead and he groaned, lowering the phone from his ear and tossing it to the floor beside Hannibal's leg.

"I blame you," Will grumbled, leaning back against Hannibal.

"Whatever for?"

"His stubbornness comes from you."

Hannibal chuckled and shook his head. "I'm afraid you are mistaken, my love. His rebellious independence is influenced by you and you alone."

"Let's get Morgan into bed," Will sighed. "We'll tell him in the morning."

"Hey kid," Walter said with a bright smile across the video call only to look upon the teary face of Morgan. His smile dipped slightly. "Hey, what's up? What's going on?"

"They said you're not coming home," Morgan mumbled into the head of his bunny. "You said we'd be together again."

"Kid," Walter sighed and ran a hand through his hair, laying back on his mattress with the phone held over his face. "I know I said-"

"Lying is bad," Morgan interrupted, pout present in his brows though Walter couldn't see his lips. "Wally, you wouldn't lie to me."

"Of course. It wasn't a lie when I said it. Things changed."

"Unchange them. You can come home!"

Walter's smile was soft, and his eyes flickered over the younger boy who had become so entangled in his life that it was as if half of him were missing. "I was actually able to get some sleep for once in my life, Einstein. You weren't kicking me." He was teasing and it wasn't a lie. Not completely. He had been able to sleep, but it wasn't restful. Having a whole bed to himself somehow felt so empty that he wasn't sure what to do with it. "I miss you too," he finally admitted. "But you'll get on without me. I've told you that it's time for you to grow up."

"Wally, I-"

"Look. I'll still come to visit, ok? Birthdays and some weekends and holidays. We can talk on the phone and write letters back and forth."

"But Wally-"

"You'll write me a letter, won't you Einstein?"

"I-I guess so," Morgan whispered, barely audible to Walter.

"Kid, I need to get some more work done. I'll talk to you later, ok?" Morgan hid his face further into the bunny and Walter bit his bottom lip, tightness constricting his chest. "Hey, when I stop by to see you, you'll be the first one to sign my cast. Just like always."

"Really?"

"Really. Now get some rest Einstein. It's late."

"Bye Wally."

"Bye kid." Walter ended the call before Morgan could say anything else and he sighed, lowering his phone onto his chest. He rubbed at his eyes tiredly, body aching as he forced it from his bed and back towards Hannibal's study where a trap door under a desk waited for him.

He stepped down the stairs, his tired legs making his feet clomp a bit more loudly on the wood than they needed to, but there was no one there to hear to see, so he supposed it didn't matter.

With a flick of a light switch, Walter blinked as the dark room burst into light, reflecting off of chrome medical equipment. With a deep inhale, he stepped over to the work bench and grabbed a pair of gloves, pulling the latex over his fingers that were already wrinkled with how much he had been sweating in his previous pair.

He pulled his earphones from his pocket and put them in his ears, turning his music up as loud as he could. He glanced over his swollen arm that was an angry red and gave another sigh. He just had to push through this and then he could get it set. He just had a few more to go and at the rate he was going, if he stayed up all night then he would be able to be done.

Walter picked up the bone saw that had been glistening red until he cleaned it. It was slow work, but it was quiet and with the phantom gunshots still echoing through the neighborhood, he had to keep it silent. Not that it was silent for him. Despite the music, he could still hear the way that the flesh sounded when he cut through it even if the sound came from the feeling alone. It radiated up his arms and to his head.

And just because cutting through frozen meat was easier, didn't mean that it wasn't difficult. He could feel the way the blade would catch momentarily on ice and the bone was an entirely different beast all together. The sound felt like trying to snap a tree branch that was just a little too thick to accomplish the task. It made his stomach churn, but it was just one of the many evils of the world that he had to take care of.

His arm ached, but not in sympathy as he tossed the extra limb aside to be dealt with later. His own broken bone screamed out in pain, but he bit his tongue to distract himself and moved to the leg.

Morgan: 11

Walter: 18

"Father," Morgan said as he played through the piece once more, stumbling over a few of the notes. Hannibal leaned over and pointed to the page and at the note that Morgan had missed. Morgan gave a nod and started once more. "I've been thinking?"

"Yes?" Hannibal questioned as he paced behind Morgan, watching Morgan's hands and the sheet music carefully.

"I want to be a doctor."

Will looked up from his book with a smile. He put the book aside and rose to his feet to step closer to the piano. He didn't like to interrupt his son's lessons, but he figured that in this moment it would be ok to broach the boundary he set.

There was a sense of relief that Will felt inside of himself at the idea of Morgan wanting to pursue such a noble career. At the moment, as far as Will could get out of Walter, Walter was busy working in a repair shop, saving up to pay for college where he was going to try for sports medicine. But Will was nearly certain that the only thing Walter wanted to do was play soccer. And that was a difficult task all its own, but it wasn't sustainable like Morgan's new direction would be. One injury and Walter would be done.

"That's an interesting idea, kleiner hase," Hannibal stated, a hand taking Morgan's shoulder. "Why kind of a doctor?"

"ER surgeon," Morgan replied carefully, watching the way that his parents traded glances.

"That's great!" Will patted Morgan's head and Morgan gave a light smile.

"Can you teach me Father?" Morgan had been ready with the question on his tongue for at least the last week. He knew Hannibal had been a doctor of some sort, though he still wasn't exactly sure. Walter wouldn't tell him, and he doubted that Will or Hannibal would want to discuss such a thing with him. They were still so protective over their pasts and Morgan was more than happy to allow them to be. "Or maybe find somewhere where I could-"

"You're probably too young for a medical school," Hannibal cut in swiftly, his face turning thoughtful. "But I am certain that your dad and I can figure something out. We just need to discuss some things before we move forward."

"Really?" Morgan's back straightened and a smile covered his face. "You'll teach me?"

"We've taught you everything the two of us know already," Will explained, hand still petting Morgan's head. "It's time for you to start learning more about something that you want to learn. I think this is a good direction for us to take, Morgan."

"Let's finish up your lesson and we'll discuss this further." Hannibal pointed back to the piano and Morgan nodded, returning his hands to the keys.

"When is Wally supposed to be here?" Morgan questioned as he started the piece once more.

"Six," Will replied, glancing at his watch. "Which means that I need to head to the airport. I'll be back in a bit."

"Bye," Morgan called over his shoulder.

"Bye, love." Hannibal placed a kiss on Will's cheek and Will went for the front door. "From the top, please, Morgan."

"Wally!" Morgan called when the front door opened. Morgan raced from the kitchen and through the front entryway to where Will and Walter were stepping through the door. He didn't wait for Walter to put his bag down before he jumped into Walter's arms.

"Hey, Einstein," Walter muttered, returning the awkward hug. "You're blocking the door."

"Don't care," Morgan answered, his grip only tightening on the older. Walter chuckled and picked up Morgan, moving him out of the way so that Will could step further into the house. Morgan did his best to ignore the way that another person entered the home after him. "Missed you."

"Missed you too, kid." Walter set him down and Morgan released Walter despite the fact that he never wanted too ever again. "This is Amelia. Amelia, this is my kid brother Ezra."

Morgan bit his tongue to hold back the dislike of the name that had been graced to him so long ago, preferring to hear his real name called in Walter's voice. Morgan held out his hand and shook the girl's hand, taking her in carefully. Her body was nothing, but curves covered in nearly skin tight clothing that couldn't have been that comfortable. She held herself with a strength that Morgan placed similarly to Hannibal's. Commanding, controlling, dominating.

"Hi," Morgan grumbled. This wasn't the first girl that Walter had brought home and Morgan had resigned himself to understanding that this wouldn't be the last. But at least it was a new face. It was never the same girl twice. That had to mean something. Maybe commitment issues were on Walter's side, but it wasn't really a place for Morgan to say.

The night drew on slowly. It always seemed to be excruciating when Walter brough a girl home. Morgan found the conversations and company dull due to the fact that they had to dumb down any sort of interaction to the point where Walter's less than bright girlfriends could understand. Morgan assumed that there was a reason that Walter dated girls with half a brain cell, but Morgan couldn't exactly name why. Everything Walter did had a reason though.

After dinner, Hannibal was able to entice Amelia enough to help make dessert and that gave Morgan the chance to be alone with Wally, something that hadn't happened in well over a year. They walked around the backyard slowly, taking in the cooling night air. It would be snowing soon, and Morgan knew that it would be nearly impossible to get Walter to come back until Christmas. He hated the cold.

"I told them I wanted to be a doctor," Morgan piped up, interrupting Walter's ranting about some colleges he had enrolled in. Walter stopped dead in his tracks and Morgan's brows knitted in confusion over the concern that overtook Walter. "What?"

Walter opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to piece together exactly how to respond before a hand ran through his hair. "How much do you know about them?"

"Dad and Father?" Morgan asked back, giving a shrug at Walter's nod. "I know Dad was a cop or something and Father was a doctor. And I'm not stupid, Wally. I know there's something darker there. Parents don't just teach their children how to commit insurance fraud and how to dig out of graves."

"There's a reason I call you Einstein." Walter's hand reached out and ruffled Morgan's styled hair and Morgan groaned.

"Stop that!"

The chuckle that came next was bright and warm, but when it stopped, Walter knelt to be beside Morgan and took Morgan's shoulders. "I want you to listen carefully to me. I'm not sure what they're going to teach you or how they plan on doing it, but you need to be prepared, alright?"

"More prepared than for killing someone?"

Walter gave a nod, eyes tight on Morgan's. "My guess is that cadavers won't always be what you're going to be practicing on if you're having Father teach you."

Morgan's eyes widened slightly as the recognition dawned on him and his mouth went dry. "They wouldn't have me-"

"Probably not right away, Einstein." Walter gave the boy's shoulders a squeeze and returned to his feet. "They are not very practical. Just be careful, ok?" Morgan nodded dumbly, jumping when Hannibal's voice called from the back door that dessert was ready. "Come on, kid." Walter shoved his hands into his jean pockets and started off towards the house.

Walter's shirt took the edge off the gnawing in Morgan's chest, but it did nothing to fill the hole that Morgan had lived with for the past year of sleeping alone. Maybe he should have listened to Walter when Walter had told Morgan they needed to start sleeping in separate beds.

The shirt might have smelt like sunshine, hard work, and a football pitch, but Morgan was nearly certain that it only made the night that much worse. He closed his eyes and hid his face in the fabric, wishing he had never stolen it from Walter's bag. He wasn't about to give it back, but what happened when Walter's scent disappeared? Would Morgan be able to find sleep again or was he just doomed to live in a half wistful snooze for the rest of his days?

"What do you think?" Will asked, resting his head in Hannibal's lap. He closed his eyes, sinking into the sensation of Hannibal's fingers through his hair. "Are you going to teach him?"

"I don't see why I shouldn't," Hannibal answered gently, eyes flickering lovingly over Will's face that was still just as angelic as it was the day, they had met so many years ago. "Is there any reason why I shouldn't?"

Will's lips pursed in thought, and he shook his head with a shrug. "No. I don't think so."

"He already knows a decent amount of the basics. It wouldn't be difficult to start him working on something a bit more challenging."

"What exactly were you thinking?" When Hannibal didn't answer right away, Will sat up and turned to look at his husband, taking in the micro expressions on the man's face. "No." Will shook his head. "No. We're not having him practice on-"

"Not right away," Hannibal swiftly excused. "But even medical students must work on actual patients eventually. Cadavers can only teach so much. It won't prepare him for what will happen in an emergency room."

"I didn't think I would have to start grave robbing again so soon." Will groaned and flopped back down onto Hannibal's lap. Hannibal's half smile was sweet, and Will returned it. "We're getting too old for this."

"Grave robbing?" Hannibal asked curiously, eyebrows picked up.

Will nodded. "Grave robbing, combat training, running from the cops."

Hannibal hummed as he leaned over and placed a kiss on Will's lips. Will sighed into the kiss, his hand going to Hannibal's cheek to pull him closer. "Too old for sex?"

"God, no," Will muttered breathlessly between kisses.