Chapter Text
"Mischa, don't forget that the new carer is coming today." Hannibal shouted through the wooden door, listening for any sounds on the other side. Small grunts and groans followed by the sound of fabric rustling. Wheels squeaking and floorboards shifting under weight. The door opened to reveal blonde curls and annoyed face staring back at him.
"You don't have to remind me, Hannibal. I still don't know why it's necessary for me to have one." She rolled her eyes, hands gripping on the wheels of her chair.
"Because you love your brother and want me to have some peace of mind that you're not going to run someone over." Hannibal moved his foot out of the way just in time before the wheels connected with his toes. He'd made that mistake plenty of times in the past.
"When have I ever done anything for your peace of mind, dear brother?" Mischa grinned at him. "What's for breakfast?"
"Bacon and eggs." Hannibal rolled his own eyes as he followed her down the hallway.
The doorbell rang at precisely eleven o'clock. Right on time. Hannibal was admittedly sceptical at Alana's recommendation of her friend. But Alana knew how much he fretted over his sister. She wouldn't recommend someone that wasn't competent.
"Hi, you must be Doctor Lecter, right?" A voice asked. Hannibal glanced down at the man standing in front of him. Dark brown curls that looked slightly askew. Black wire frame glasses, concave lenses. Short sighted. Hannibal couldn't see his eyes. He was wearing a green flannel shirt and some plain t-shirt with loose fitting jeans. They suited him. He could just make out a little bit of fur on the shirt.
"Will Graham, I presume?" Hannibal extended a hand with a smile. Will shook it and glanced up at him briefly. He finally saw his eyes. A breathtaking blue that reminded Hannibal of a lake. He tried his best not to show his reaction to that. "Please come in."
"Thank you, Doctor. Alana told me all about you." Will smiled and stepped inside, taking in his surroundings.
"All good things, I hope?" Hannibal chuckled and led the way to the kitchen.
"She speaks very highly of both you and Mischa. She briefly explained the situation to me but said that I'd be better off asking you for the specifics." Will seemed to hesitate for a second. "Has she briefed you on my situation?"
"If by situation, you mean your autism, then yes. I assure you that it is not a problem and that I am more than happy to arrange any accommodations that you need to feel comfortable while working. Mischa is low maintenance and very independent. Having a carer for her is more something for my own peace of mind than a necessity for her." Hannibal turned towards the kettle. "Tea or coffee?"
"Coffee please, if you don't mind." Will said as Hannibal reached for two mugs. "I understand that Mischa is a wheelchair user?"
"Ambulatory wheelchair user. She doesn't use it all the time but it does help her a lot. On her good days, she uses either a walking stick or crutches to help her with her mobility, but she still struggles. She has fibromyalgia which was caused by a car accident. She was in a coma for several months and while she has made a full physical recovery, she does suffer with chronic fatigue and brain fog as well as a few short term memory problems. But she is very bright and quick witted. I'm sure she'll try to run rings around you." Hannibal grinned over his shoulder.
"There's no try, only success." Mischa said as she came into the kitchen. Will practically jumped a mile. "I do hope that my brother isn't interrogating you."
"He's been perfectly pleasant, I assure you." Will smiled nervously at her. It was rather sweet. Hannibal placed one of the mugs in front of him and pointed to the sugar and cream. "I completely understand his concerns. I have a little sister, too and I know that I'd want to make sure that someone has her best interests in mind."
"What's she like?" Mischa studied him carefully, watching how he reacted.
"She's…Chaotic, for lack of a better word. She's got me wrapped around her little finger. Her name is Abigail." Will grinned as he thought about her. Abigail was clearly quite dear to him.
"Abigail sounds fun." Mischa smirked.
"Elgtis, Mischa." Hannibal shot her a warning look. She rolled her eyes at him. "Did you need something?"
"Brain fog hit full swing in the middle of my coursework so I decided to take a break and get something to eat." Mischa headed towards one of the cabinets and quickly grabbed a snack before leaving the kitchen. Will let out a laugh.
"It's good to know that siblings are the same across all nationalities." Will shook his head.
"Yes, if you pardon my language, she's a pain in the ass, but she's my pain in the ass." Hannibal had begun to laugh with him. It was surprisingly easy. There was something about the man that just put Hannibal's mind at rest. They sat in a comfortable silence as they sipped their coffees.
"So, are there any daily chores you'd like me to do? Cooking? Cleaning?" Will asked before draining the last of his coffee.
"I have a cleaner come in twice a week but if you feel so inclined, I would appreciate little things like dusting and Cleaning up any dishes as you use them. You can help yourself to anything in the kitchen, but please clean up any mess you leave behind. I'm very particular about my kitchen. If Mischa asks you to make her something, there's always leftovers in the freezer." Hannibal quickly said, glancing around his kitchen. Everything was neat and exactly where it was supposed to be.
"That's completely understandable. My Mom is the same. The amount of times Abi and I have been chased out of the kitchen with a dish cloth or wooden spoon is amazing. She'd definitely be impressed by it." Will laughed again, making Hannibal smile.
"I have the day off work today, but I do need to run a few errands. I trust that if you need anything or have any questions that you'll text me?" Hannibal took the empty mugs over to the sink, quickly scrubbing them clean. He placed them on the draining board before they were swiftly picked up by Will, dish cloth in hand.
"I promise you that everything will be fine, doctor Lecter. I'll let you know immediately if anything happens." A nervous hand hovered above his shoulder for a brief second, coming into contact with his suit jacket with a light squeeze before slipping away.
"Thank you, Will." Hannibal breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'll go say goodbye to Mischa and I'll leave you to it. Mugs go in the cupboard on the left, by the way."
Mischa was sitting at her desk in her little office space, quite happily working on her computer. She looked up at him with a small smile.
"You like him." She teased.
"I think that he is a good fit for your care, Mischa. That is all." He replied, more defensively than intended.
"O, Dieve! You need to get laid." She rolled her eyes for probably the hundredth time that morning. Mischa couldn't speak much Lithuanian. But when she did, Hannibal knew that she was serious.
"I am not having this conversation with my little sister." Hannibal walked over to her and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Be good."
"I'll be practically angelic." She grinned at him.
"Even the devil was an angel first, Saulytė." Hannibal sighed before leaving her to her work.
Heels clicking against the linoleum floor of the hospital. The scent of expensive perfumes. Hannibal turned around just in time to see Alana standing in the doorway of his office.
"What did you think of Will?" She asked with her eyebrow raised.
"He seems nice." He answered, hoping that she wouldn't pry. But of course, this was Alana.
"You've made some sort of observation about him, Hannibal. You may as well share it with me." She sighed and came further into the room.
"Anxious. A little flighty. He reminds me of a stray dog. Aware that he needs company, but unsure of who to trust. I'm guessing that he has previous trauma, but I won't pry that information from you." Hannibal continued to search through the paperwork on his desk.
"He doesn't mind people knowing, but I'll tell you the basics. He grew up in the system. Naturally, that comes with a few abandonment issues and all kinds of trauma. He's a good guy." She smiled softly at him. "It's funny that you mention dogs, though. He has about six. Last I checked, anyway."
"I figured that he had at least one." He mused, remembering the fur on his shirt. Alana groaned.
"He promised that he wouldn't wear anything with fur on it." She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I do not mind it, Alana." He chuckled as he found what he was looking for.
"Describe it?"
"What?"
"Describe the fur, Hannibal." Alana's expression turned stern.
"A golden brown sort of colour. The breed was probably some kind of retriever." Hannibal responded. "May I ask why?"
"The golden brown could be Harley but she's not a retriever. Could be some of busters fur, but he's a short haired Jack Russell." Alana sighed as she thought carefully. "The bastard found another stray."
"Another stray?" Hannibal smiled.
"There's Harley, Buster, Max, Zoe, Jackson and Jet. He really likes dogs."
"And of course the new stray." Hannibal pointed out.
"And the new stray." Alana parroted. A fond smile was playing on her lips. "When you go home, give him a slap from me. He'll know who it's from and why."
"I'd prefer not to do that." He grinned. A nurse poked his head around the corner.
"Doctor Bloom, the labs are back for the patient in bed three." He said, smiling nervously at them both.
"Thank you. Duty calls." She patted Hannibal's shoulder before following the nurse out of the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
He returned home around two in the afternoon, listening to a mumbled conversation.
"...Jack and Bella are amazing. They're patient with both me and Abigail. God knows we're both a little messed up." Will chuckled humorlessly.
"They sound amazing. You seem really lucky to have them." Mischa replied, voice soft and gentle. Hannibal entered the living room with a smile.
"I do hope that she hasn't given you too much trouble." He grinned at his sister, watching the mischievous look in her eyes.
"She's been an angel, Doctor Lecter. You've done a good job with her." Will smiled brightly, looking up at Hannibal's face so that his eyes were plain as day. They caught in the light in the most beautiful way, like sunlight dancing above water. Hannibal didn't have time to think of a response before a phone rang. Will pulled it out of his pocket and checked the screen.
"Shit." He muttered. "Sorry, it's Abigail's school. Do you mind if-?"
"Go ahead." Hannibal responded as Will nodded and answered it, standing up to leave the room. Hannibal turned to Mischa. "So, what do you think?"
"He's good. Leaves me alone except to check if I need anything every now and again. He knows a lot about forensic psychology, too." Mischa shrugged. "It's like having a less stuck up version of you around."
"You little-" Hannibal started before Will came back into the room, looking panicked.
"Hey, I'm so sorry. Abigail needs to be picked up and they can't get a hold of our parents." Will said, flustered and bright red.
"Is everything okay?" Hannibal asked, standing up.
"S-she has PTSD and ended up having a flashback and she's-" Will was working himself up. Hannibal stepped towards him and put his hands on his shoulders.
"Calm down, Will. Deep breaths." He instructed, waiting for Will to relax. "Go get your sister, and if you'd like, you can bring her back here and I'll check her over."
"It's a lot to ask, but would you mind trying to get in contact with our dad?" Will finally said after a moment.
"Of course." Hannibal pulled a pen and a piece of paper from his pocket for Will to write down his number. Will did so as he left the room. Hannibal turned around to glance at Mischa, only to see her making a whipping motion with her hand. He glared at her momentarily before following the other man.
After Will rushed out, Hannibal retreated to his study to make the phone call.
"Look, whatever you're trying to sell, I'm not trying to buy." A gruff voice answered. Hannibal worried for a second that he had the wrong number.
"Is this Jack Crawford?" Hannibal asked cautiously.
"Speaking."
"My name is Doctor Hannibal Lecter. Will Graham asked me to let you know that he is going to pick up Abigail from school. He said something about PTSD?"
"Fuck." Jack mumbled. "Is he taking her straight home?"
"I'm not quite sure, at the moment. I did tell him that he's more than welcome to bring her to my home so I can check her over, but I won't take any offence if he decides against that." Hannibal thought for a second. "If he comes back here, I'll send you my address."
"Thank you, Doctor Lecter." Jack paused. "Will is taking care of your sister, right?"
"That is correct. I have to say that he's done a wonderful job so far." He smiled. He heard a sigh of relief from the other end.
"Well, take care and thank you for letting me know." Jack hung up quickly, presumably to call his son.
Will didn't return that day. Hannibal chose not to think too much about it as he busied himself in the kitchen, preparing dinner for himself and Mischa. He would make extra. He'd plate it and leave it for the next day. If Will ate it, then Hannibal could at least breathe a little easier.