Will was asleep by the time Hannibal pulled into the driveway. He cut the engine and glanced over at Will. His head was resting on his shoulder and his face was relaxed and peaceful.
Hannibal sighed and gently shook Will’s shoulder. “Will? Will, we’re here.”
Slowly, Will’s eyes opened and he rubbed them. Then he fumbled with the door latch, trying to get out.
Quickly, Hannibal got out of the car and rushed over to Will’s side, opening the door to help him out. He grabbed his coat from Will’s lap, letting Will move his legs without tangling them up in Hannibal’s coat. Hannibal then helped Will out of the car and they walked up to the porch and Hannibal unlocked the door. He led Will into the house and upstairs.
Hannibal led Will into the guest room across from his own room and set Will on the bed. He helped Will take off his coat and slip off the pair of slippers he had put on Will’s feet in the kitchen when he had grabbed his coat. Hannibal laid Will’s coat over the chair next to the windows and set his slippers by the dresser. He then tucked Will into bed and left the lamp on that was sitting on the nightstand.
Hannibal went back downstairs to the kitchen and was met with half-finished preparations for breakfast. He put them away in the fridge and then made Will a cup of hot chamomile tea. He set the mug on a saucer and took it upstairs. He was met with a fast asleep Will Graham when he walked into the guest room. Hannibal set the tea on the nightstand and shut the lamp off. He walked out of the room and left the door slightly ajar. Hannibal then went back down to the kitchen and then began to clean up while he waited for Alana to arrive.
He didn’t have to wait long, he was almost finished when he heard Alana’s car pull into the drive. He opened the door and Alana hurried in, a duffel bag clutched in her arms. She stamped the snow off her shoes while Hannibal took the bag from her. She shrugged off her coat and hung it on the rack next to the door.
Hannibal walked into the kitchen, Alana followed him, and set the bag for Will on one of the stools in front of the counter. Then Hannibal walked around the counter and finished wiping it off.
“How’s he doing?” Alana asked quietly.
Hannibal looked up from the counter at her. “He’s asleep at the moment,” he answered curtly.
Alana rubbed the back of her neck and sat down on the other stool that was in front of the counter. “Do you think he’ll be alright?”
“It’s hard to say. Will could go either way right now. I just hope he goes one way more than the other,” Hannibal answered.
Alana watched Hannibal in silence as he finished with his task and began to do the dishes. “You care about Will don’t you?” Alana asked curiously.
Hannibal was surprised by Alana’s question. He turned toward her and dried his hands off with a towel. “Of course I care about Will. I consider him a friend and care about his well-being.”
“But it’s more than that, isn’t it?” Alana probed curiously. “I can see it, occasionally, the protectiveness in your eyes. You hold everyone at arms’ length, never letting them truly get to know you. Everyone except Will. Somehow he knocked down your barriers and you let yourself care for him.”
Hannibal set the towel down on the counter. “Perhaps I have, but I’m not the only one. Jack Crawford, for example,” he stated.
“Jack’s only worried about Will so he can catch the Chesapeake Ripper,” Alana told him. He’s just using Will to get what he wants.” Alana glanced at the clock on Hannibal’s counter. It was a quarter past midnight. She got off the stool. “Well, I’d better go,” she said. “Thank you for taking care of Will, Hannibal. I’ll see myself out,” she told him and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Hannibal alone with his thoughts.
