Fandom Island Counseling Services and Psychiatry, Wednesday

[sharp_as_knives]

After days of dealing with Nanika in the house - which mostly consisted of trying to get her to respond to anything and eventually conceding that she did in fact seem stuck in her current thought - and the same amount of time in dealing with a husband who was increasingly out of sorts (though at least not with him anymore), Hannibal was glad to spend time in his office dealing with other people's problems.

At least until the fifth call and tenth e-mail interrupting other people's sessions, the mail delivery, and the two people in the anteroom attempting to reschedule.

Finally, Hannibal gave in and put a sign out under the business plaque on the wall - Secretary needed - inquire within.

Until then, he was going to try to pretend he didn't find this all terribly rude. He had a promise to keep.



[Open post! Come bug Hannibal, apply for a job, or show up for therapy!]

Comments

[crimson_sister]

Lucille hadn't spoken to Hannibal in a while, apart from at the party, so after her shift at Groovy Tunes she stopped by, knocking at the door.

[SP?]

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal looked up, then went and answered the door, and smiled at her. "Lucille, hello. Please come in."

[Absolutely! Very S.]

[crimson_sister]

She smiled back. "Good afternoon. Are you busy?"

[sharp_as_knives]

"Too busy for you?" Hannibal smiled. "Of course not. Please, come in. Would you like some tea?"

[crimson_sister]

"Yes, please." Lucille took of her coat and smiled back. "I wanted to tell you about my trip home. It was so unexpected."

[sharp_as_knives]

"I would love to hear about it." Hannibal took her coat and hung it up, then poured hot water from a carafe over the tea and let it steep. "I'm pleased you were able to see your brother again. How is he?"

[crimson_sister]

"He is, although he isn't happy at his school," Lucille said. "It was hard to tell him that I felt more at home here than I had expected."

[sharp_as_knives]

"I'm sorry to hear that," Hannibal said. "What doesn't he like about his school?"

[crimson_sister]

"The teachers can be cruel, and the other students often are," Lucille said. "He finds it hard to make friends and is lonely."

[sharp_as_knives]

"That is difficult," Hannibal said. "Not unendurable, but I imagine it makes the time seem much longer. You write to him already, yes?"

[crimson_sister]

"I do," she said. "He told me he had kept every letter even though I had told him to burn them, as some of the content might make others think I had lost my mind. You never know who might steal them."

She said this fondly though, knowing how her brother felt.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Could you gift him with a box to lock them in, perhaps?" Hannibal suggested. "If that's a serious concern."

[crimson_sister]

"I could," Lucille said thoughtfully. "Do you think being cautionary is unnecessary?"

He didn't know what she knew about her time, but Lucille did trust Dr Lecter's judgement.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I don't know," Hannibal said. "Do you?"

[crimson_sister]

Lucille considered this for a moment. "I am safe from that as long as I am here. But when I go back... And perhaps my brother would be judged for my assumed illness."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Then perhaps it would be prudent," Hannibal said. "It never hurts to be cautious with secrets."

[crimson_sister]

Lucille gave a small nod. Then she hesitated before asking: "Have you ever made the mistake of not being cautious enough with secrets?"

Dr Lecter didn't seem like he would.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Yes and no," Hannibal answered. "I have rarely been found out when I did not intend it. And never through unintended evidence."

He had, after all, invited Jack to his wedding.

[crimson_sister]

"But the yes?"

Lucille couldn't help being a little nosy here. She knew about Jack showing up of course but she didn't connect that to her question.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal raised an eyebrow. "I had not intended for you or Sparkle to find out as you did," he reminded her.

He wasn't going to speak of Will.

[crimson_sister]

She should have known that, of course. "Of course."

She hadn't minded as much as Sparkle had, but she knew Dr Lecter well enough to know he would have preferred another way.

"But you had intended to let us know?" That has been implied.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I hadn't entirely decided, but I had hoped to," Hannibal answered. "Still, it is pointless to dwell on what wasn't to be."

[crimson_sister]

"That is true," Lucille replied. "Forgive my curiosity."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled. "I will always forgive polite curiosity."