Fire Meet Gasoline [HANNIGRAM]

chapter three

when the fire dies

darkened skies

hot ash, dead match

only smoke is left

it's a bad debt

*

Will presses down on the gushing wound, attempting to halt the blood flow, as he waits for Hannibal to answer. He's noticed the doctor's more casual approach to the topic of murder, and he hopes his suspicions about the other man are, at the very least, remotely true. He's not particularly in the mood for a court case.

He's about to hang up and try again when the phone clicks, signalling the beginning of a conversation.

"Will?"

His voice sounds a lot more pained than he'd like when he asks, "You said you were a surgeon?"

"What happened?" Hannibal asks, and Will can easily pick up on the genuine concern in the other man's voice. "Are you alright?"

"I may have been stabbed."

"Stabbed?"

"Twice."

"By whom?"

"Not important right now, Doctor Lecter."

"Where?"

"My thigh."

"How bad is it?"

"Bad, I think. There's a lot of blood, Hannibal."

"Where are you?"

"At home."

"I'll call a—"

"No, don't. You can't."

"Why?"

"Because you can't. I need you to come," Will says, voice breathless. "Preferably quickly. And with painkillers."

"Are the wounds deep?"

"Kind of."

"That's not an appropriate answer, Will," Hannibal says, and Will can hear him rushing around on the other end of the phone.

"I think I'll need stitches."

"Wonderful," Hannibal deadpans. "An ambulance would get there quicker."

"And you'll see why that's not an option when you get here."

Hannibal sighs, and Will can hear the slamming of a door. "Are you applying pressure to the wounds?"

"To one of them. The knife's still in my leg."

"Don't remove it." Hannibal tells him, and Will can hear the engine of a car start.

"I wasn't going to."

"Good."

"How long will you be?"

"I'll get there as fast as I can. Remember to remain calm."

"'s easy for you to say."

"Try and apply pressure to both wounds, preferably with something other than just your fingers. Use a cloth if it's on hand; your shirt if necessary. Don't let your dogs infect it."

"How do I apply pressure if the knife's still in it?"

"Apply pressure around the knife as best you can. If it's possible, press down on the main artery closest to the wounds as well as the wounds themselves."