Me and Clarice stared at each other, not knowing how to feel. I was still angry on how she left me but I had longed to see her again. She didn't change much, except her age. She had more bolder cheekbones and jawline, even more beautiful ten years later. As much as I wanted to see Clarice, after many years, i didn't want to meet her now. Too much was going on in my life and I felt like this would become a chore. I didn't know if we should hug or not, however, Clarice wrapped her arms around me. I kept her close to my chest and I could hear her giggle while holding me. Everyone stared at me and Clarice, in confusion. We held onto each other for a moments then she let go of me. I never smiled so much as I did now.
"How do you two know each other?" Asked Abigail. I glanced at Clarice and she just seemed to not care about anything else that was going on in the world, I didn't feel pressured about my answer.
"We were old school friends, we were pretty close" I said. I didn't know if Clarice came out and even if she has, I haven't.
"That is sweet" smiled Jack. I glanced back at Hannibal and I saw he was smiling at the sight of me and Clarice.
"Oh, Clarice. This is Hannibal, he's my..." I didn't know what to say. Should I say friend, psychiatrist, lover?
"Friend" Said Hannibal, who kissed Clarice's hand. She seemed flattered and smirked at me.
"We have so much to catch up on!" I shouted, Clarice hadn't dropped her smile since she realised who I was.
"Of course! But, work is piling so maybe this Saturday?" She recommended.
"I have a tight schedule but I don't have an existing schedule..." I tried to explain. She seemed confused.
"Things are just happening out of the random everyday, I don't know if I can have a planned day" I expanded.
"Oh, course! I'm sure you have, a lot to do. I'm sorry for your loss, by the way." Assured Clarice.
"Thank you" I said, losing my smile.
"As nice as this must be for you two, I have to steal agent Sterling back to the FBI headquarters" explained Jack. Clarice looked back at me and I caught her gaze. I didn't know how to say goodbye, I didn't know what she was comfortable with.
"Bye" she smiled and waved. I waved back, smiling. They both left the room. I turned back to Hannibal and he was smiling.
"What?" I asked, I couldn't wipe my smile off my face.
"Nothing, I just haven't seen you smile in a while" he said, touching the dried blood on my forehead.
"Oh. I nearly forgot. I sorta need to go shower" I said, glancing over at Abigail who was reading. She looked up and saw me and Hannibal looking at her.
"What? I can be on my own" she assured and went back to reading.
"Can I shower at yours?" I asked. He nodded his head and lead me out the room. While leaving the hospital, I glared at all the patients roaming free. They were all sad sight, and it gloomed my day. When we left the hospital, the sun was shining bright and the sky was clear blue. I took in some fresh air and smiled at its cleanliness. Being in the hospital for so long, nearly broke my scent from the amount of bleach and sanitisation they used. Hannibal unlocked his car and I sat myself down in the passenger seat.
"You seem happy from what's happened recently" said Hannibal, who started his car engine.
"As much as I hate to admit it, but my dad used to always see me kick off and cry. He comforted me but every time he calmed me down, he used to always tell me that 'looking at the bad side of things will impact how you think about everything, if you start to see the good in everything, not only you but others will also notice" I said, rephrasing what my dad told me word to word.
"I wish I met your father" he said.
"Me too, you would've gotten along well" I smiled at his comment, I was glad I was spreading around what he raised me with. If everyone was raised by my dad, it would either just be pure chaos or peace and harmony. The drive home to Hannibal's was calming but loud since it was traffic hour.
Hannibal opened his door and held it open for me. I thanked him for holding the door open for me and I headed straight to the bathroom. I undressed myself and started the shower, it was very technical but I was naked so I couldn't call for Hannibal's help. I took one last look at myself in the mirror, my body was more or less clean except my hair and face. I got into the shower and shivered from how cold it was. I tried to heat it up but it just burned me. I jumped out before I could do something else to my poor body. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself, and I hollered for Hannibal. I heard him jump up the stairs and enter the room, he scanned the room and looked at my pile of clothes then saw me with a towel around me, sat on the toilet seat.
"You called?" He said while avoiding to look at me.
"I can't work your shower" I nervously laughed at my stupidity and felt a little embarrassed. He rolled up his sleeves and felt the temperature of the water.
"Thats scolding hot" he said, adjusting the shower for me.
"Thanks" I said. I pulled up my towel, anxious it would fall. Hannibal nodded his head at me and left the room. I got back into the shower, the temperature Hannibal put on me for me was just right. I washed away the blood that was a brown colour since it was on my face for so long. The water hitting the bath tub, startled me, thinking it was a gunshot. I was stunned from how fast my thoughts came back in. That's when I wondered if 'THEY' were in the bathroom with me. I slowly moved the shower curtain and I didn't see anyone, I sighed in relief and glanced at the steam, covering the room. I withdrew the curtain and faced the shower head again, relaxed and feeling clean.
SMASH
I heard a plate smash and I felt a sting on my hands. I looked down to just see the scabs and scars of the plate I dropped in Hannibal's kitchen.I was now a little concerned and stressed. I hurried washing my hair but it was so thick so I had to take more time on it.
BANG
I heard a shelf fall and a slight crunch, like something breaking. I was less concerned about the hygiene of my hair so I rushed, hoping nothing would happen again.
BANG. SMASH.
I heard, it sounded like someone was knocked onto a table and then I listened to the chimes of a valuable falling off, I was starting to struggle to breathe, like something was clogging my throat. I jumped out the shower and fell to my knees. I was staring at the ground, with my knees holding me up from the cold, tiled floor.
SLING, DRIP
I then heard a fence fly back and something was dripping, like drops of rain.. or blood.
SLAM
A door slammed shut and I heard cries of a toddler, I stared to cry as my breathing got worse. At that moment, I really thought I was going to die. I was just thinking of everyone I didn't get to do or say to people.
SMACK
The impact of the slap I heard, scared me and I felt like it was me who had just been smacked.
SMASH
I heard a window break and a door being slammed shut, maybe me after the fight with Freddie.
I screamed at the flashbacks running back. The worst ones started replaying in my head, SMACK, SMASH, BANG, CLATTER, SCREECH, SCREAMS. My vision went hazy and I felt like I was going to projectile vomit everywhere. The background sounded muffled and I had to assume what I heard in the background.
"GrAcE?" I heard. The sound was muffled and numb, I was too weak to look up to see who it was. I heard the shower turn off and I felt a towel wrap around me, I then passed out.
I woke up, with the most painful head ache in the world. It felt like my brains were slipping out my ears or my nose. I looked to see what I was laying on. It was a luxurious looking bed. As I was going to sit up, I realised I was still naked. My jaw dropped as I tried to grab all the duvet to cover myself up. I was worried for who came to my rescue. The door slowly opened and I saw Hannibal come in with a tray, I looked at what was on the tray and it seemed to be soup and a drink I wasn't familiar with.
"I made you some lunch" he said, placing the tray beside the night stand. The entire duvet was wrapped around me and I felt like I was still just standing in a field full entire Baltimore's population, while butt-naked.
"What uh, happened?" I cleared my throat a few times, awkward that I only had a duvet to hide my body.
"Not too sure, I found you crying on my bathroom floor. You screamed, it brought my attention" he exclaimed, sitting on a chair that was next to a mirror, facing the bed.
"I uh, see.. could I make myself decent?" I asked. He chuckled at my question and he stood up, walked to his wardrobe and left me a robe on the end of my bed. I watched him leave the room and close the door behind him. Once I knew he was gone, I grabbed the robe and threw it onto myself. It was a black robe with some white, fluffy areas, around my wrists and neck. It even smelt just like him. I got off the bed and looked at myself in the mirror. It suited me well and showed the outlines of my body, It didn't seem like it was manufactured for women since it showed too much of my cleavage than anticipated. I shrugged it off and hoped for the best.
"Come back in!" I shouted. Hannibal walked into the room and shut the door, gently. He turned around and smirked at the sight of me. I tried to cover up my cleavage but it was no use.
"Suits you better than me" he said, sitting back on the chair. I sat myself at the end of the bed.
"Feels nice, I would only wear it when I'm alone though" I said, adjusting my hair since it was tucked in the robe.
"You're not alone, though" he said, smiling at my comment.
"I don't want to seem picky" I exclaimed, crossing my legs. There was silence until Hannibal broke it.
"What happened, in the bathroom?" He asked. I looked down, embracing myself to tell him what happened in there.
"I heard, everything, that has happened to me. Gunshots, blood, things breaking, people being hurt" before I could continue this list, he interrupted.
"Could you see the flashbacks too?" He asked. I glanced back up at him.
"I saw some." I simply said.
"Tell them to me" he sat himself next to me, hoping that would make me feel more comfortable.
"I saw... that man get shot, back at the hospital. I also saw... " I had to pause to think through my decision. I also saw the shelf fall onto Felix, however that would mean I had to tell him about Felix.
"I saw...
nothing else" I exclaimed, looking at him in the eye.
"Are you being honest?" He said, scanning my eyes yet again.
"I promise" I said, not breaking my eyes from his.
"I'm afraid I don't believe you" he sighed.
"You're not my psychiatrist anymore. I know you want to help me, but Hannibal-" he suddenly used his hand to shut me up. I glared at him, confused on he was doing.
"Let me help you..." he whispered, slowly moving his hands away from my mouth. He leaned back and I still stared in confusion. I grabbed the back of his head and kissed him. He seemed stunned by my decision but didn't pull away. He put his hands on my waist and felt my leg. His palms were rough, which I had never noticed before. I sat myself on his lap, forgetting what I had and only hand on. He smirked at my decision and moved his hand up my waist to my hair, and played with it with his fingers. I wrapped my arms around him, as if I was hugging him. I felt him start to tug at the bottom of his robe, that was currently on me. I pulled my lips away from him and stared at his hand, slowly tug at the robe.
"Are you, okay Grace?" He tucked my hair behind my ear and looked at me, concerned. I decided to rethink my ideas before doing something I would regret. I had many thoughts and many outcomes, but I realised that this was a moment to think about now and not later. I started to kiss him again and my robe untied. I heard him gasp, realising my robe was missing. I pushed him, he was laying on his bed and I crawled on top of him. His eyes glistened as I leaned in to kiss him again.
I rested my head on his chest, I felt his bare skin and I had longed to feel his chest again after I had bandaged him that night, that now feels a century ago. He started to wrap my hair around his finger, I smiled, I felt him chuckle since his chest moved.
"You seem distracted" he said, his voice was rough and tired out.
"How can I not?" I asked. He moved his body to face mine. I moved my head and rested on a pillow. We locked eyes for a moment.
"What did you see?" He asked, repeating himself from what he said like an hour ago.
"You're still on that?" I asked, a little displeased he didn't say anything else.
"Well, it seemed like you wanted to avoid the question" he added.
"You think I did this to avoid your question" I was definitely offended now.
"No" he said, going to play with my hair again. I sat myself up before he could touch my hair.
"I didn't mean it like that" he said, pulling at my shoulder so I couldn't leave him.
"I, I know you didn't" I didn't know how he meant to phrase it, I couldn't think of a kind way to say it. He sat up and slid his hands onto my waist, to my stomach, hugging me from behind. I felt him breathe down my neck and I leaned on his warm body.
"I'm sorry" he said, kissing my cheek. I smiled at him, accepting his apology, I tried to get myself up before I could fall into his charms again, he repented and pulled me back. I let out a small screech and laughed.
"Not yet" he pleaded, holding onto me tight.
"What if someone comes in? I saw how Will came into your home the first time we met!" I said, hauling the duvet on top of us to cover ourselves up.
"So what if he sees?" He asked, adjusting mine and his bodies to a comfortable position. He used one of hands to feel my thigh, he knew it relaxed me.
"It would be embarrassing, what if he tells Jack then the word spreads out to Baltimore. It could get out to Marcus, or Maria and even Finn!" I said, wanting to leave his grip but too mesmerised to put any effort into leaving.
"I soppose you're right. People won't even be able to look at us the same" he sighed, at his defeat. He squeezed my thigh before letting me go. I jumped out of bed and threw on the robe and Hannibal changed back into his shirt, and pants.
He was making a dish for himself and I had heated the soup he made for me. It had so many spices and flavours, even if I just heated it in the microwave. While slurping on my soup, he added oil into his pan and it blew up in flames.
"Oh my god! Was that meant to happen?" I asked, with my jaw dropped.
"Of course it was" he smirked, while flipping his stir fry then putting it on the plate. Although it was just him going to eat, he made sure it stood spectacular together, and dashed a leaf on it. I did cook for Maria a lot, but it would always be mash, potato's, carrots and sausages. Maybe some Yorkshire puddings if she was lucky.
"What's with the leaf?" I asked, dipping my bread in the soup.
"Flavour and presentation" he said, taking the towel off his shoulders and folding it up neatly. I had to ask him this question, I thought it would kill me otherwise.
"Since I'm not your patient anymore, are you going to get another patient to replace my spot?" I asked. I placed my spoon down and looked at Hannibal, he stopped what he was doing, glanced at me and placed his dish next to me and sat down.
"I'm not sure yet. A man named Mason Verger wants me to give him my therapy" he sipped on his water and began eating his food. I glanced back at my soup and ate the rest to not be rude.
"Why do you ask?" He questioned, eating one vegetable at a time.
"Curiosity" I simply added, scraping the remains of the soup with the last of my bread. He went back to eating his food and I put my bowl in the sink and began to clean it.
"Is that a good idea?" He asked, referring to the time I dropped my plate and sliced my hand.
"Suppose we wait and find out" I said, washing out the soup. I successfully cleaned the bowl and left it to dry.
"You think I could be back in the FBI, like you?" I asked, leaning on the sink. He stared at his half eaten dish, while talking to me.
"I do not know, I think everyone would be happy to have you on the team, except for Alana" he said, stopping to eat for a moment to have a sip of his water.
"What has she said to you?" I crossed my arms.
"She is worried for you, we all are" he glanced up at me to almost analyse me again. I scoffed at his comment.
"I'm.. fine" I said, shrugging my shoulders and went to look in his fridge, I felt his eyes follow me around the room.
"You've handled too much stress recently, and not to mention I found you on my bathroom floor, blacking out" he slowly chewed on his food as he dragged on his sentence. In his fridge, was really expensive looking stuff and I found a bottle that had a liquid inside.
"What's this?" I asked him, looking at the fancy bottle.
"You said you liked cider, I made you some" he took another mouthful and looked at me again.
"I Never told you that" I glanced at him while holding the bottle.
"Someone did" he said, he went back to eating his food and I shut his fridge. I opened the bottle and smelt the inside of it. It definitely smelt like cider. I took a little sip and I could taste forest fruits and the alcoholic taste dropped in, after the berry taste.
"Tastes good" I said, sipping more. He smiled and put his plate in the sink, he was going to wash up until there was a knock at the door.
"It's okay, I got it" i exclaimed, placing the bottle on the breakfast bar and I went to answer the door. Clarice and Jack was there. I smiled at the sight of Clarice.
"Hey you guys" I smiled, opening the door for them.
"Hello, Grace" greeted Jack. I closed the door after they had both entered the building.
"Wheres Hannibal?" Asked Jack, viewing his storage of books and furniture while Clarice simply stared out the window.
"He's in the kitchen, finishing up a few things" I exclaimed, while fiddling with my fingers.
"I see....Well, me and Clarice have some updates on Franklin's case" Jack sat himself on Hannibal's black, leather seats while breaking the news to me. I was almost tongue tied. Hannibal walked in the room, drying his hands with a towel and glanced at them both.
"Good evening, you two" he said, smiling.
"Evening" Clarice spoke, her voice wasn't as jolly as it was this morning and she was still staring out the window. "I'm sorry, I must speak to Grace" she said, taking a hold of my hand and dragging me out the room, into somewhere private. The feeling of holding her hand again gave me butterflies. Her hands were so much more softer and were more firm. Once we knew we were set somewhere isolated, she sighed and stood in front of me.
"Hi" I said, nervously.
"I've missed you, I need to tell you so much more that's happened but I need to tell you this now" she said, using her hands a lot. I stared at her, confused.
"Hannibal-is-dangerous" she expressed. I stared even more confused, more than puzzled.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"He used to be a doctor and so many more people died in his care and even his patients from last year. They were all murdered and organs were missing from their body. Their slashes matched Franklin's slashes, but his organs were all in place, however. His stomach was still slashed open and-" I had to stop her.
"There's been some mistake" I said.
"There isn't, he is dangerous. Maybe even the Chesapeake ripper" she said. My jaw dropped at her accusation.
"Hannibal wouldn't hurt anyone! He takes care of me!" I defended Hannibal.
"Takes care of you? And maybe even loves you, that's why he killed Franklin" Clarice really believed what she was saying.
"Clarice, I'm telling you, he isn't the guy we're looking for-" Clarice's eyes beamed open and she nearly shouted
"You slept with him, didn't you? That would explain the robe! HIS robe, that doesn't even hold your bo-" I knew what she was going to say, so I stopped her.
"Clarice, oh my god! This isn't exactly a women's robe and no I didn't sleep with him" I lied "... I blacked out while in his bathroom and he gave me this to lounge in" I covered my cleavage, embarrassed at her comment. She bit her lip and looked away.
"You need to listen to me, stay away from him" she warned.
"If I don't?" I asked.
"More people will get hurt." She was heading towards the door, but something stopped her. She looked back at me.
"I'm sorry for how I left things.." she sympathised, with her puppy eyes." I never forgot our Halloween binge, you know?" She said, smiling. She walked back to me.
"Neither. It was the best night of my life" i said, it was also true, I cherished every memory of that day. Even our separation. She smirked.
"Does it still stand?" She asked.
"Maybe, it would be boring if I told you" I smiled.
"It would, yeah" she smirked at my teasing.
"Can we kiss?" She asked, breaking the silence.
"Huh?" I sorta zoned out when she said that.
"Ugh, just lemme-" she grabbed my arm and pulled me to her and we kissed. My eyes beamed open then I slowly closed them. It was an awkward kiss, we didn't touch each other except her holding my arm. I pulled away, ashamed. She seemed confused.
"What? Did I do something wrong?" She let go of my arm.
"No. No. I'm just not ready, I'm sorry" I tried to walk past her but she grabbed my hand.
"I will wait for you" she promised. I awkwardly smiled and got out of her grip. She stood there for a moment and watched me leave, she then left the room too. I joined back with Hannibal and Jack, I thought about Clarice's comment and I grabbed one of Hannibal's coats to cover myself up. Hannibal gave me a confused look and Jack stared. I leaned on the desk and they faced Clarice, who was doing her walk of shame. Hannibal sighed at the sight of her and looked at me, who was also ashamed.
"I see your not in your usual uniform" enquired Jack. Hannibal was just in pants, a buttoned shirt, with his sleeves rolled up.
"I wasn't expecting any guests" he said.
"I see, I see. We did turn up without any warning. Anyway, Grace. We also just finished clearing Franklin's car. We found his phone in a bush and someone timed them texts, he died a few hours before they were sent." He exclaimed. I just leaned on the desk, thinking about it.
"Is this a smart psychopath we have on our hands?" Asked Hannibal.
"I think so" said Clarice, scanning the room with her arms on her hips. I sighed and slapped myself on the face.
"I think I must be going." She left the building, Jack thought he should leave too and said goodbye. Hannibal got off his chair and shut the door. I felt comfortable enough to take off his coat and I placed it back where I found it.
"How come you covered yourself up? What happened with Clarice" he asked. This was a moment on where I tell him or not. I took in a gasp of air and said...