A BARRIER OF COMPLETE ICE STARTED BREAK. Its' corruption freezed the ominous atmosphere where Will Graham found himself, speeding up his breath, the glasses on his face blurry by the breeze.

The ice started to hit the thundreous and gelid waters, while they surrounded the human token he saw on a crime scene some time ago, now there, haunting his mind. His fingertips begun to froze, while the waters gathered themselves and largened, creating a wall, a huge tsumani that consumed the token and directed itself towards him.

The creepy world he was settled in, was a nightmare created by his restless consciouness, when in reality he was there, lied on his bed, the pajamas soaking with sweat as his chest started to move quickly.

Teresa Brooks woke up by his muffled whimpers as he was still controlled by the dreams. She turned to him, one hand resting on his agitated chest. "Will?" She tried to talk to him but he  wouldn't wake up.

He could feel the water invading his room, covering the sheets, the clock by the corner melting, vapor coming from beneath him, as the waters burned his skin.

He shivered, collapsed, hands gripping against the mattress. "Will!" Teresa tried to call him, as she grabbed his face, observing his pupils move beneath the eyelids. "Will wake up!" She shouted concerned, as his legs started to kick invisible waves. "Will, damnit!" She said helpless.

His whimpers became louder, his body trembling as she cupped his face, calling his name over and over while Will felt his destruction near still immersed in his dark reality.

A sharp sound echoed in the air, hitting him as he snapped suddenly back to reality, red cheek marked by her fingers, his eyes sinking into hers, clinging to reality.

"You there?" Teresa Brooks, who was on straddling him on the bed, after just slapping him back to his senses, asked with caution, watching as Will's breath slowly tried to ease.

His body was completely wet by the sweat, as now his hand trembled to grip ontobher arm, tears filling his eyes, lips pursing trying not to sob as he tried to nod once in confirmation.

"...you're real, right?" He mumbled still fragile, as Teresa responded affirmative. "You sure it's not in my head? Please...please just tell me..."

"It's real. We are real." She whispered back,s cupping his face, foreheadd touching as the cold cabin wrapped them in this momentum of complete blind trust and subtle caring. "You're safe."

He still gripped tight on her arm, and the soft linger of ber lips against his, made his heart flutter, it was almost as fireflies had invaded his home and illuminated the environment, warming his chest and brushing away the ghosts.

"You're safe." She whispered over and over, as she kissed him, soft sounds of their mouths reconnecting as Will's breath paced down. "You're safe" one of his arms wrapped around her waist, the other tangled in her hair pulling her close, inhaling her scent, savoring her touch.

She rolled down to stay by his side, still hugging him, who rest his head on her chest. "You can sleep now. I won't let anyone hurt you." She reassured, as Will hesitated. "Trust me."

"I trust you." He whispered back, his fingers caressing her back, cheek glued to her skin.  "I don't trust myself."

Teresa sighed realizing what he meant. Will was unstable, he could wake up as one of the killers he empathized one day, he could simply kill her at any instant of hallucination, no one could predict the result.

"But I do." She said back. "You would never hurt me." Will snuggled more against her, their feet touching beneath the sheets, legs intertwined.

"You can't be sure."

"I don't care, that's my choice, and I choose you." His heart beated fastly on his chest.

"It's not fair to make you go through this..."He whispered. "But right now I just want to be selfish and be here with you, so that's what I'll do."

"That's it, forget everything else." She tranquilized him, petting his soft brown curls. "Sleep, nothing will happen." Teresa muttered. "You can dream about me, if you want."

"About you?" He grinned to her. "Really? Anything I want?"

Teresa chortled, and her laugh was the sweetest thing to his ears. "Anything you want." She dropped a kiss on the top of his head, and he squeezed her tight.

"mhm..."He let out a yawn before closing his eyes. "would it be too cheesy if I asked you to dream of me too?"

"We can share the same dream." She said sweetly. "How does that sound?"

"Sounds like heaven." He kissed her collarbone for a minute. "See you there?"

"See you there." Teresa muttered back, and when she looked back at him again, he had already fallen asleep.

...

Her heart quickened to the clock ticking and the minutes spent waiting. Teresa had grown impatient over time, pursing her lips as she stared at that wooden door waiting for him to appear.

Her leg was twitching up and down in a constant rythm when the door finally opened, revealing an elegantly dressed but quite surprised figure.

"Teresa?" Hannibal questioned with interest as he approached the woman at the chair by the reception. "I must say that is a surprise...it's been long since we last saw each other."

Indeed, the last time she met him was at that dinner with Freddie Lounds. It was quite strange, Teresa never had a hard time facing people she hooked up before, but Hannibal...simply felt different. It's like everytime she'd see him she would remember the sensation of his fingertips on her skin, her chest glued to his, or how his hips moved and slammed against hers previously.

Her breath escaped for a moment, almost like his sex was a way to brainwash her and leave her numn to any word or thought. "Yeah...a long time." She muttered trying to collect herself again. "Um...I'm sorry to be here so suddenly, but can I come in?"

He opened a smile that gave her chills. "Of course." Hannibal responded as he guided her in his office.

Teresa looked around at the organized room and the two chairs in front of one another, he gestured for her to sit in one of them, while he faved her from the other, crossing his legs.

"How have you been?" He asked gently. "Would you like some coffee?"

"No, thanks, I'm fine." She retorted, still.a bit nervous.

He analyzed her figure for some time, shoulders tense, posture rigid, she wished to say something but didn't know how. "I must say I missed our talks, Teresa." He said softly. "Seems like Dr.DuMaurier is making a good job as your new confidant."

Teresa nodded. "She's really great...Thank you again for recommending her to the FBI."

"It is no issue, you deserve a great professional." He insisted. "But I'm quite jealous, I must say." He grinned plaufully. "Back in the day, when you felt overwhelmed you used to seek support in...me. "His undertone was celar by now, a hint of spiceness on it.

Teresa swallowed dry. She just heard the man saying he missed fucking her, and he did not even stutter when saying it. Remarkably hot but she needed to stay focused, that wasn't her goal there.

"I need to talk to you about Will." She cut him off.

Hannibal stood still for a moment.

"Will Graham?"

"Yes, Will." She insisted sternly.

Hanninal pursed his lips, a bit reluctant. He wished he could play cat and mouse with her a bit longer. "What about him?"

"He's getting worse." She declared. "Much worse...since you're his therapist-"

"I can not speak about my patients, Teresa." He interjected serious, for the first time he was actually cold to her.

"But you must tell me, h-how do we help him?"She asked a bit helpless.

That sparkle of desperation in her eyes...how beautiful and how rare it was for Teresa Brooks to show, oh, what a delight to witness.

"I am trying my best to help him, if that is what concerns you." Hannibal responded. "But my efforts alone aren't enough, Will must accept his condition and allow himself to be helped."

Teresa sighed, she knew Will was stubborn, but by now she believed he had accepted it. "He can't work like this anymore."She pondered, voice soft and gentle, almost like she begged the therapist. "You need to talk to Jack."

Hannibal got up from his seat, squating next to Teresa, looking into her fragile gaze that was almost breaking.

"I know he means a lot to you." he delicately whispered as she lookes back into those dangerous but comforting hazel eyes. "But this choice isn't mine or yours...it's Will's."

In a sense of urgency, Teresa gripped onto his large hand, her warmth instantly invaded his palm, as Hannibal omitted a quite surprised gasp.

"Please, Hannibal." She asked, as he could feel her ghosts by now controlling her mind. "Please, if you can, you need to help him."

His thumb stroked the back of her hand, as his mind worked in obscure ways creating machiavellian plans in his consciouness.

"I will do my best" He reassured her warmly, as his hand now reached to her cheek. "You can count on me, Teresa."

Teresa sighed relieved, expecting to have found someone to trust.

Foolish one, she handed her fate to the devil himself.

...

"No, it's not happening." Jack Crawford groaned as his best agent stood still in front of him as a stone. "What part of suspended you don't get??"

"And what part of, If she's not going, I won't either, you don't get?" Will Graham raised a sassy eyebrow while facing his superior.

Jack clenched his jaw, it's not like he had much choice at all, since Will Graham came to him that morning, aftee receiving the news that Abel Gideon had escaped, to give him an ultimatum.

If he wanted him on that case, Teresa Brooks needed to be with him.

"I don't understand why you insist on tagging her along." Jack said, because if he had any hair by now, it would all fall due to the stress.

"Brooks is smart, she researched about Gideon way prior to this." He insisted. "She even escorted Alana when she talked to him the last time he caused trouble." Will interjected. "We need her in this case."

"No, you need her." Jack pointed to him. "You're the one who's creating a storm in this, when the team has been working just fine without her."

"This isn't a simple investigation, we are chasing. Who's your best hunter if not Brooks?" Will frowned.

Jack sighed, he knew he was right, the girl was a damn wolf when it came to chase down a criminal, but backing up would mean he was wrong for putting her off the tracks in the first place. He despised proving himself wrong.

"Just this once." He said finally. "But I don't want her doing this on her own, she's not back in the team, you got it?" He warned. "I need you with her in this 24/7."

"That's already included in the offer." Will smirked, and without even thanking his attitude, he exited through the same door he came in before.

...

"Remind me why am I here again?" Teresa Brooks complained as she walked with Will Graham into Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

"Uh...to play good and bad cop?" He raised an eyebrow teasingly, not that damn charming smile again, Teresa thought.

"And who the hell is the good one?" She asked and the two laughed. "Fine, I'll play the bad guy if you want me to."

He measured her up and down with his eyes. "Always knew you had a bad girl in you, Brooks." He smirked and she slapped his shoulder "You're being aggressive to me in public, really?" He chuckled.

"What are you gonna do about it?"

A grip on her wrist made her stop walking, as he pulled her close and whispered in her eat in that husky, warm tone. "Just wait till we get home. You'll know." He threatned before creating space between them and releasing her wrist, like nothing happened.

Teresa scoffed, a bit too stunned by the audacity of that man, who would guess that shy sassy little nerd would be a brat like that? She didn't complain about it though.

They finally reached Frederic Chilton's office, and at the sight of them, the director of the hospital audibly sighed miserable.

"Agent Graham." He announced. "Agent Brooks...great to see you." He stood his hand to shake theirs, but none of the agents did so. He brought his hand back to himself. "I believe you are here due to Abel Gideon."

"No, we just want to have a party with the psychos" Teresa mocked, Will poked her with his elbow to make her stay quiet.

Chilton cleared his throat, adjusting the tight toe around his neck. "Would you like to take a seat?" The two remained silent, by this point he was cold sweating.

Will Graham crosed his arms instead. "You did dodge a bullet." He declared. "Gideon's escape foregoes a trial...and a very public humiliation for you"

Teresa almost smiled at the accusation, he knew just what to say at any moment, didn't he? That little bitch.

"Now you're hosting a private one." Gideon said offended. "Next you'll be accusing me of arranging a escape."

"You're the one saying it." Teresa scoffed.

"Weren't you suspended from your activities?" Chilton snapped back.

Teresa gave a bitter smile, her tongue kissing her teeth as she gazed back with fury at the director. Will decided it was his turn to take the lead of the situation before the bad cop got out of control.

"Still doesn't change the fact that you pushed Abel Gideon into believing he was someone who he actually wasn't." The agent interjected.

Abel Gideon tried to sit still in his chair, bothered by the two. "He gave me informed consent to treat him." He corrected. "Said he was grateful for helping him understand who he is."

"What did you help him understand?" Teresa questioned, exchanging gazes with Will.

"He wasn't insane when he killed his wife." Chilton declared. "Killing her drove him insane. He disassociated from the previous murders he comitted. I didn't convince him he was a serial killer, I just reminded him of that fact."

Teresa ran her hands through her face, already tired of that man. His face looked so punchable right now.

"Gideon is not the Chesapeake Ripper." Will insisted. "Although me may have thought that while under your care, doctor."

"If he is the ripper or not, doesn't change the fact that this butcher's wandering around, ready to cut some people open." Teresa said louder instead, trying to the end the discussion.

The two remained quiet for a moment, taking in the big problem they faced.

"What does Gideon want?" Will asked at last.

"The last thing Abel said to me is that he intented to tell everyone he's the Chesapeake Ripper." Frederick Chiltom answered with a bit of concern.

"He just wasn't intending to do it in court..." Will muttered, and without thinking twice he grabbed Teresa's hand and walked away from the room.

"Wait- Uh...okay bye!"She shouted to Chilton as Will dragged her down the hallway "Woah!" She pulled him to stop. "What's wrong?"

"Gideon is planning to do something, he's gonna kill someone to prove he's the ripper." Will said, his gaze alert, the tone serious. "I can't let you stay close, he might target on  you, this was a mistake."

"What? No, no, why the hell would Gideon target me? There are way more important people in line." She pointed to Chilton's office now behind them. "He's the first he's going after."

"You escorted Alana in one of her sessions with him."

"Yes and?" Teresa shuddered. "I was just there, didn't even speak to him." Will sighed, he seemed too worked up. "Hey, easy." She let her hands rest on his tense shoulders. "I'll be fine."

"I'm just...worried." He whispered.

"I know." She nodded. "But you know that whatever happens, I can handle it."

"Yeah, but..." he shook his head. "...it's stupid, nevermind."

"No, come on, say it."

Will pursed his lips a bit reluctant, looking at her with his eyes hidden beneath his curly hair strands. "I wish I could be the one to help you, just this once." She looked at him surprised. "You're always there to save me but...who saves you?"

"Will, that's not true."

"I don't want you hurt." He quickly declared. "And...and I don't even know what I'd do to Gideon if he hurt you."

Teresa swallowed dry, nervous then tried to comfort him. "Okay..." She whispered. "I'll do as you say, okay? But we both are gonna care for each other, deal?"

He didn't seem very much in agreement. "Deal."

...

The vibration of his heart could be felt against her breast, low groans escaped his lips as his hands gripped onto the mattress with each thrust. It was slow and gentle this time, uniting their breaths as Teresa's hands caressed his nape and then cupped his face before he could kiss her.

Will Graham's place was so warm it could melt, like a capsule of protection where they two could stay in for hours if necessary.

"Oh...fuck" She gasped a bit by the sensation, making him chuckle "hey, don't laugh!"

"The way you scrunched your nose when you moaned was cute, sorry." He giggled softly before pushing even further into her, until they both were out of breath.

It was already usual of the dogs to run away from Will's room when the two entered it, like a sign they would be doing that. And Will always made sure not to traumatize his little furry kids.

The feeling of being in her arms was a dose of dopamine Will Graham needed, longed for, it calmed his senses and eased his heart, he could see pure bliss of heaven in her eyes, and even imagine, believe that she loved her, even if just for this moment, he wished to.

"Should I go faster?" he asked gently.

She shook his head hugging his tight, high by feelings. "Mhm...no, stay just like that, it's perfect."

The two exchanged soft smiles and wet sounds of kisses while continuing, the sheets above them, trying to lritect against the coldness. It was funny how their sex became something so natural and so lovely, like a real connection between them, not a mere meeting of two strangers. It was comfortable.

A little buzz started, before Will could sigh in frustration. "Is that mine?" Teresa nodded. "Damnit."

She stretched her arm to get the phone next to ghe bed, looking at the ID on the acreen. "Hate to say this name in bed but...It's Jack."

"Yeah, that's a huge turn off." The two laughed as she gave him the phone. His eyes widened.

"What's wrong?"

"They may have found him, Gideon."

"Gideon? Where?"

"The observatory, he's got Lounds and Chilton."

"Freddie Lounds? That bitch?" She rolled her eyes. "What does he want?"

"Maybe make him become the ripper by her blog." He shuddered. "Jack only mentioned he needs me there with the team." He omitted the fact that he said it would be fine to bring Teresa along.

"You sure you want to?" Her eyebrows frowned as she held him close.

"I'd never choose a crime scene over you if I had the choice, Tess." He caressed her cheek. "But I need to make sure this guy won't cause more harm, especially not to you."

"Then let me go with you."

He shook his head. "You stay here, it won't take too long."

"But I'm the best in the field, I can help-"

"Tess, please." He asked at last, staring into her deep oak colored eyes. "I need you here, safe." Teresa could feel the intensity of those words, it was strange for her to accept help or stay put, but he was putting this offer so gently, so delicately. "Can you please do this for me?" He whispered.

Teresa looked at him still a bit uneasy, but able to sense the urgency in his words. She wanted to trust him, and wanted him to know that she trusted him. Even if she just wanted to be there for him, she knew Will needed this.

"Okay." She whispered back as he kissed softly her forehead. "Just be safe."

"Don't worry." He got up and looked for his clothes. Turning around to shoot her a wink. "We'll continue what we were doing soon enough. I won't let you get away so easily"

...

Will Graham had managed to drive Abel Gideon alone to Hannibal Lecter's residence. His state wasn't fully awaken, twitching with visions of Garret Jacon Hobbs. In an attempt to find his sanity again, he tried to ask the doctor if his illusions were real, or if Abel Gideon was in fact there, but Hannibal only lied to him, leading the agent to have a seizure and become unconscious.

Abel Gideon, who was sitting by the edge of the table only watched with amusement.

"He’s had a mild seizure." Hannibal informed as he took Will's weapon from his hands with his handkerchief and the phone on the pocket of his pants.

Dr.Gideon watched curious. "That doesn’t seem to bother you."

"I said it was mild." He snapped back, watching Will's phone explode with messages from Teresa Brooks, asking over and over where he was. "Are you the man who claimed to be the Chesapeake Ripper?" Hannibal questioned.

Gideon raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say claimed?"

"Because you’re not. You know you’re not and you don’t know much more about who you are beyond that."

Gideon remains silent after his statement, while Hannibal sat across him at the table.

Hannibal Lecter clicked his tongue, scrolling through Will Graham's phone and finding a picture of Teresa and the dogs surrounding her, seemed like a photgraph Will had taken of her in secrecy without her knowledge. The woman smiled brightly, childlike, hee hair was dark and constrating, a beautiful image to admire.

He only gave a small discrete smile while staring at the picture. "A terrible thing to have your identity taken from you." He muttered to his guest.

Gideon's puzzle in his brain started to work efficiently now. "I’m taking it back one piece at a time...You should see the pieces I got out of my psychiatrist."

Hannibal almost laughed at his attempt to show off. "Alana Bloom was one of your psychiatrists, too. Is that right?"

He nodded. "Yes. Dr. Bloom."

"Do you remember before the nurse incident, when Dr.Bloom visited you? She was escorted by an FBI woman."

Chilton thought for a moment. "Yes...black skin, wild eyes...you don't get to see a beauty like that often in a madhouse."

Hannibal agreed. "Her name is Teresa Brooks. She escorted Dr.Bloom to keep her safe"

"Safe from me?"

He tilted his head. "She and other members of the FBI may see you as a monster."

"The ripper."

"Not the ripper, though. No one believes you in that, Gideon." Hannibal said with delight. "The funny thing is...she's in a romantic relationship with Will Graham." He pointed to the agent still paralyzed in the dining room.

Gideon looked at the man for a moment, his thoughts wandering and blending dangerously.

Hannibal blood thristy grin widened through his face, causing Gideon chills across his spine. "I can tell you where to find her."

"Interesting...but why shouldn't I go after Dr.Bloom instead? After all she was my doctor."

"Everyone expects you to go after Alana Bloom." He interjected. "If you go, you'll be caught, you probably won't even stand a chance" Gideon listened quiet, like he was in a lecture. "If you target Agent Brooks instead...you'll not only have a chance, but will put on a  warning that you are comitted on your mission." Gideon finally smiled back. "So, should I write it down for you?"

...

A while after Abel Gideon escaped Hannibal's residence, Will Graham begun to wake up, Hannibal Lecter stood before him.

"Will... can you hear me?" Hannibal asked. Will slowly nodded, disoriented. "Repeat after me then. My name is Will Graham."

Will's jaw trembled as he tried to mutter the words, his face was covered in cold sweat, barely could stand on his own two feet. "My name is Will Graham." He mumbled.

"Raise both of your arms." Hannibal instructed and with difficulty Will did as he asked. The doctor observed the movements then gently pushed the arms back down again. "Although you may not feel like it, I need you to smile." he asked.

Will, with severe struggle to commit the act, did as he asked, opening a tortured smile.

"It wasn't a stroke." Hannibal concluded. "You may have had a seizure. Tell me the last thing you remember."

"I was with Garret Jacob Hobbs"He muttered, slowly coming back to his senses.

Hannibal touched his sweaty forehead. "You have a fever. You were hallucinating." He spoke before letting his hand go. "You thought he was alive. In the room with you."

"I saw him." Will insisted.

"He’s a delusion disguising reality. Don’t let that let you slip away. You killed Garret Jacob Hobbs once. Can find a way to kill him again." He slowly placed his car keys on the dining room table.

"Where are you going?" Will asked.

"I’m worried about Alana Bloom. Abel Gideon is still at large. He mutilated Dr. Chilton. They found him clinging to life." He said as he put on his long brown coat.

Suddenly Will seemed to snap out of it. "Teresa." He trembled, trying to walk but almost falling.

Hannibal pushed him to a chair so he could sit down. "You’re in no state to go anywhere but the hospital. I’ll call Jack
Crawford. Tell him where you are." He left the phone to grab his phone.

"No...no, Tess is waiting for me." He shook his head eyes watered, sweat still dripping.

When Hannibal returns, Will is no longer there. He didn't bite the bait, looks like Teresa Brooks would be saved after all, what an interesting connection these two shared.

...

Amidst the cold and the endless white carpet adorned with dark trees, there was a disturbed man with twisted thoughts, ready to fulfill them in the blink of an eye.

Behind him, was another disturbed man trembling because of his insanity.

"I don’t know if I’ll feel like myself again." Abel Gideon spoke, already acknowledging Will Graham's presence. "I don’t know if there’s a self left to feel like. I spent so much time believing I  was him it got harder to remember who I was when I wasn’t him."

Will Graham stood next to him, both observibg the house by the end of the hill, with yellow lights in the middle of the sky's darkest shade of blue.

"Who are you now?" Will Graham asked.

His mind, playing tricks within the twisted fever, showed the corpse figure of Garret Jacob Hobbs. "You." the figure whispered.

The two stared back at a figure by the porch of the cabin, Teresa Brooks, sitting on a chair, wrapped on a blanket against the snow, with three dogs by her feet, waiting for Will Graham to return home.

"We’re both here. Looking at her." Gideon said. "Just those kind of people who shouldn’t be in a relationship. You and I are already committed. Hard to be with another person when you can’t get out of your own head."

"I want to get out." Will's whisper cut against the winter breeze.

"We all want things we can’t have." Gideon muttered. "If I kill her... like he would kill her... I wonder if I could
understand him better, hear the cold drips in his darkness, watch the world through his red haze."

Will's brain still twitched between the two figures whenever he looked back at the doctor.

"I wonder if then you could finally
understand who you’ve become." Garret Jacob Hobbs whispered as spirit at last.

A sound blasted in the night, the sudden eruption made Teresa look to her right, finding a lonely figure in the snowy field, staring back at her, another on the ground. It didn't take long for the figure to loose their balance and fall.

"Will?" Teresa whispered in a horrible realization. She ran from the porch, the dogs following him, all of them hushing until the field, finding a familiar man lied on the ground, next to him, a poodle of blood beneath Abel Gideon. "WILL!" Teresa screamed in horror, body shivering as she tried to reach for him. "Will, no, will!" She mumbled on her knees, her fingertips touching his face, trying to bring him close, his body was terribly loose and unresponsive.

Flashes of a heartbreaking memory washed her as a wave. "Mom!" a young Teresa shouted as her aunt Delilah had finally opened the door. Her mother was there, lied on the floor, unconscious, wrists red. "MOM!" the little girl screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Teresa, stay away." Delilah shouted to the girl as she faced the scene. "Call the ambulance, NOW! The girl was still frozen, almost feeling the gentle breeze of death in her ear. "TERESA, NOW!"

The grown up woman's eyes teared up with the voices and the image in front of her, she sobbed uncontrollably, hugging Will Graham tight in her arms. "Will, please" She whimpered as she shaked to get her phone, not ready to dial those numbers. "Don't do this to me..."She whispered as the number calles. "Not you..."

"911 What's your emergency?"

...

Jack Crawford observed his corkboard, the image of Abel Gideon haunting his consciouness. He pulled all the images down, along with the maps.

"They’ll be sewing Dr. Chilton back
together until morning. If he lives through the night." The special agent revealed.

An empathetic doctor stood next to him. "At least Will remains in one piece. For now. His temperature is 105.White blood cell count is twice normal." He informed. "They still can’t identify the source of the infection."

"They will." Jack turned to him serious.

"You seem confident."

"Even with a 105 degree fever, Will  brought Gideon down. He’s going to be fine. I told you. Will always comes back to being Will."

Hannibal only mentally noted Jack Crawford pushing his best agent again. No matter if Will was bending and breaking, he'd continue pushing him forward, as his toy, his puppet.

"Will’s sense of self has not been  constant or even continuous. How he thinks of what he does is becoming less and less evident." Hannibal declared this time. He made a delicate pause for his next sentence. "I would recommend you suspend his license to carry firearms."

Jack glanced at Hannibal with concern. "Are you having a different opinion about who Will is?"

Hannibal was careful on his next words. "I know who Will is. Will knows who he is. But our experiences shape  us, Jack. How are Will’s experiences shaping him?" Jack looked down, pondering on the question. "And..."

"There's more?"Jack looked at him a bit grim.

"It's about Teresa Brooks."

"Not her again."

"She saved Will's life today."

"She only called 911." Jack complained.

"He trusts her." Hannibal insisted. "Also a motivation to his work...because of their relationship." He faked some discomfort.

"Aren't you bothered by them?"

"Whatever makes Will and Teresa happy, I'll be happy."

"You're a good man." he nodded. "But I'm not letting her back into the field."

Hannibal sighed. "I understand your concerns, Jack." He interjected. "I just...hope you may think about it." He said. "For now, let's only wait for Will to recover, right?"

Jack nodded, unaware to the devil on his shoulder embodied on a doctor's shape.

...

The beeps of the machine continued steady as she watched the body lying on the hospital mattress. Teresa Brooks was gripping on his hand, almost as if she let it go he would disappear.

Will Graham was peacefully sleeping, his semblant resembled an angel with closed eyes, his curly hair even more fluffy. The equipment tied to his body caused her an inner panic. What if he didn't come back?

Remorse and guilt came over her, an awful sensation that she couldn't get over. Her fingers caressed the back of his hand, careful not to take any wire out of its' place.

"I'm sorry" She whispered, eyes watered. "I know you wanted to save me...you did but...but I wish I was there for you." Her lips shivered trying not to cry. "You can't just leave me now. Not now." She begged silently. "I didn't even..."She inhaled a deep breath, almost not believing herself. "I didn't even tell you that I love you."

It escaped so naturally, so free, it almost didn't feeel real. She wished it wasn't real, only a nightmare that haunted her consciouness. She swished he would wake up, with that mocking smirk and stubborn attitude, complaining and groaning again. Loud and noisy.

But now all she had was the silence.

She never liked the silence.