Chapter Text
Hannibal hummed along to the soft music as he tided up the guest bedroom. Today was going to be a very big day for him. Although he would never admit it to anyone, he was nervous. It's not everyday that you take a possible witness to murder under your care after all. It's even less common to do so when you are the murderer. The thought filled him with both excitement and just a hint of fear. He relished the chance to prove the continued incompetency of the FBI agents who have sworn to bring men like Hannibal to justice. They believed themselves capable of catching him, and then hand him the one human being who could lead to his capture.
Hannibal knew that most in his position would have just turned down the offer to take custody of the victim, but he always found it hard to say no to Alana. She was one of the few people who Hannibal could honestly say he enjoyed being in the company of. Besides, he had been expecting her to ask him for several days. Leaving a child with FBI agents swarming around him asking questions and dragging up painful memories was the last thing Alana would ever want a child to experience. Someone calm and understanding would be needed to help the boy adjust to being parentless without the pressure of the FBI harming his fragile psyche. Hannibal had more than enough room to accommodate one more person in his home, and was not under any obligation to report to the FBI.
He paused to look at the file again. William Graham, age 8 was printed on the first page next to a photo of the boy. He was in need of a good haircut and a good meal. Hannibal would see to both. It was his responsibility now. He briefly wondered how long it would take to get in contact with his mother, or even if she had any desire to see her son at all. The file said she had left William and his father about five years prior and hadn't sent them so much as a postcard since leaving. This was what most likely led to a bad case of alcoholism for the late Mr. Graham. Perhaps he had taken to drinking before she left, prompting the sudden departure. The true cause for her departure didn't matter. All that mattered was that in a few hours, Hannibal would have access to the only person who had seen the Ripper and lived.
Even if the offer to take in the young boy hadn't been presented, Hannibal would have found some way to get him. After all, William Graham was the reason Hannibal chose to kill his father.
Will didn't like hospitals. They smelled funny and everyone looked sad there. It was a place where people went to die. Will still didn't know why he was here. He just wanted to go home, but none of the doctors or police officers would let him. They didn't understand that Will needed to go home. He needed to know if what he saw was real. He hoped it wasn't. What he saw in his nightmare seemed to be all anyone wanted to talk about with him. They kept asking him questions and wouldn't leave him alone until he started to cry or that nice lady made them leave.
Will did like the psychologist lady who came and talked to him. He couldn't ever manage to remember her first name. It started with an A. He knew her last name was Bloom, like a flower. She was the only one who would talk to Will about something other than his dream. Sometimes, she even brought him chocolate. He wanted to trust her, but Will knew that Dr. Bloom was working with the police and that was why she visited him so much. She wanted to know what he saw, but didn't want to upset him. She wouldn't let him go home either. She didn't understand that Will needed to go home. He needed to be sure about what he saw.
Sometimes, his mind played tricks on him. It made him see things that weren't really there, or told him how bad things on the news happened. His father said that he was broken and that was why his mom left them. His dad didn't like it when Will's mind decided to show him something when people were around. He got angry if Will started to talk about how the man on a stranger's newspaper killed three girls or if he started to scream because he could see monsters that no one else could. Will didn't like when his dad got angry.
He could hear voices outside his room. He recognized the rough voice of the man that made him stay in the hospital. He said his name was Jack and Will did not like him. Jack was the reason Will couldn't go home even though he wasn't sick. The Dr. Bloom was there too, as well as a third voice that Will didn't recognize. It sounded strange, like the person it belonged to came from some place far away. The door opened and a group of adults entered. Will recognized Dr. Bloom and Jack as well as an older lady who always carried a briefcase with her. Another man came in as well, dressed in a dark blue suit and a mask of polite concern on his face. All the people that visited Will put on that face. He hated that look.
"Now, William, there's no reason to scowl at us like that." The lady with the briefcase remarked, her face morphing into one of disdain. She didn't like her job, Will could tell. "We're just here to see how you're feeling."
"I told you I'm fine." He relied crossing his arms and staring her down. "And don't call me William." His father called him that when he got mad. Will didn't like being reminded of when that happened.
"Will, would you like to leave the hospital?" Dr. Bloom asked. "If you're ready to leave, I've found a place for you to stay."
The grin that had briefly appeared on his face vanished as quick as it came. "Why can't I go home?"
"You know why, Will. You were the one who called the police." Jack rubbed the spot between his eyes in annoyance. He wanted to understand Will, but he didn't know how. He didn't have the time to learn how. He needed something from Will and he wanted whatever it was as fast as possible. He thought it was very important for some reason.
Will didn't remember calling the police. He didn't remember a lot from the last few days. "I need to go home." Why wouldn't these people listen to him? He needed to see if the monster he saw in his house was real or just in his head.
"Why do you need to go home, William? You keep asking to go there, but you don't ever say why." The briefcase lady was not happy with him. She took out a few pieces of paper and handed them off the the stranger while shooting Will a look that made him shrink in on himself. "I really think that he needs more time here before you send him away with a complete stranger. He's not stable enough to handle such a big change."
The man in the suit bristled at her comments, and Will found himself shrinking even further into his bed. This stranger was the type of person parents warned their children about. He was dangerous. "I am more than confident in my ability to care for young William." He paused before pinning Will under his gaze. "I believe you said earlier that you did not like the name William, is there a more preferable version you would like me to use?"
It took Will a moment to find his voice. No one had asked that, not even Dr. Bloom. She had just assumed it was ok to call him that. It was nice to be asked. "I like Will." Why was it that the man who scared him was one of the only people to treat him kindly?
"Very well, Will it is then." He gave Will a smile that both comforted and frightened Will. "I am Dr. Hannibal Lecter. You may call me Dr. Lecter or Hannibal if you prefer." Will simply nodded, hoping that this Dr. Lecter would find someone else to look at. "I will be taking care of you at my house for a while." Papers were signed as he spoke. Will relaxed slightly when the man's eyes dropped to the papers beneath his hands.
"Can't I go back home instead? All my stuff is there." Truthfully, Will did not have much waiting for him back home. His dad spent most of their spare change on beer and bandages. Will was just looking for and excuse to avoid going to this man's house. He felt that he may never leave it once he stepped inside.
Dr. Bloom sighed before reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. She stopped when she saw Will flinch slightly. "Will, I'm really sorry, but you can't go home just yet. Your things will still be there later. Right now though, we can get you out of this hospital. I know you don't it here."
"If you don't want to go with Dr. Lecter, there are a few of my men that would be willing to let you stay with them." Jack offered an alternative when he sensed Will's hesitation. He wasn't happy with the idea either. It must have been Dr. Bloom's idea then.
"No!" Will actually yelled while Jack was still finishing the last half of his sentence. As much as the idea of going with this strange man scared Will, he liked the idea of staying with Jack's workers even less. They would spend all their time trying to pry open Will's head to get at what Jack was looking for. "I'll go with Dr. Lecter." This came out as more of a mumble while he tried to vanish from the four pairs of eyes looking at him.
When he looked up, Will expected to find faces full of displeasure, or at the very least surprise. What caught him off guard was a grin on Hannibal's face. "Very well, we'll sort through getting you signed out then. I believe that some nurses will be along in a moment to help." As if on queue; a pair of nurses and entered and promptly began herding the group out the door.
Will wasn't sure if he should be feeling happiness or fear now that he was finally going to leave.
Hannibal had decided that he would eat this social worker later. He had already collected her card and was trying to pick which organs would taste the best with his current selection of wine. He'd need to wait until the threads binding her to him were much less solid. Perhaps within the next half year. No one who treated their charges with such disdain would be missed when gone. Such plans, however, were pushed to the side when Agent Crawford started speaking.
"I know you want to help that kid, Alana, but he's clearly not ready to face the real world yet." He sounded annoyed that Will was slipping ever so slightly out from under his thumb. "You both saw how he was in there. I'm not even sure if he realizes that his father's dead yet."
"Perhaps the fact that young Will has been confined here for so long is part of the reason he is acting so strange. He does not seem to like being trapped in a hospital." A hypothetical counter to Jack's own hypothetical argument. "Besides, I believe that you were eager to send Will home when Dr. Bloom first suggested the idea."
"That was when I thought someone from the FBI would be watching him." Jack already knew he was going to loose this argument, but kept going anyway. "What if the Ripper comes after Will? Do you really think you're capable of fending off a serial killer?"
This got a chuckle out of Hannibal. "I doubt that I shall ever find myself fighting with the Ripper."
Alana wisely picked this as the moment to intercede between the two. "Doctor Lecter is one of the best psychiatrists that I have ever met, Jack. He'll be much better at taking care of a mentally scarred boy than any of your field agents will be. Besides, you're still going to learn what Will knows. This will be best for everyone."
Hannibal's future dinner reappeared with a small bag and a few final pieces of paperwork. "Sign here and date the bottom please." The papers were quickly filed away in the briefcase. "This bag has the items that William was originally admitted to the hospital in. He's your problem now Doc." The bag was unceremoniously handed off to Hannibal, and she took her leave. She was going to make a lovely roast one day.
She returned in a moment, grasping Will's hand in a way that could not be comfortable for the boy. He was dressed in a plain white tee-shirt and some grey sweatpants that the hospital must have had in bulk in some back room. Faded sneakers hid beneath the slightly too large pants. As soon as his hand was released, Will all but ran away from her. He stopped a few feet before Hannibal and hung his head. It seemed his desire to leave had beaten whatever part of him was saying not to trust the man before him.
A kind grin stretched across Hannibal's face as he offered Will his hand. "Shall we go now, Will?"