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Title: Put Up A Fight
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Hannibal Lecter or Will Graham, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue. soar

***

Hannibal stalked down the hallway outside of Will's room, ready to do battle with Jack Crawford and anyone else who thought that Will needed to stay here. This atmosphere wasn't good for him; it was making him feel like a victim, not like a survivor.

He hated the way that everyone was crowding around Will with platitudes and sorrowful faces -- when they had done nothing to help when Will needed it.

The last thing that Will needed at the moment was to be made to feel that he'd been a victim, and that all the people around him felt sorry for him. He needed to draw on strength, not weakness. He didn't need to be made to feel that he was a figure of pity.

Hannibal was ready to tear into the next person who dared to do so. He was here to protect Will, and the best way to do that, in his eyes, was to make sure that he could take Will to his home as soon as possible, to let him stay there while he convalesced.

If anyone tried to stop him, he would simply go over them.

He was Will's psychiatrist, as well as his lover. He knew Will better than anyone, and he knew what was best for his lover. He had no intention of letting Will stay here and have it beaten into his head that he should be pitied and treated with kid gloves.

Of course, he had no intention of bullying Will in any way -- or in rushing his convalescence so they could resume their sexual relationship. He didn't intend to push Will in any way, not until he felt that the young man was ready. He didn't want a broken toy.

That thought made him pause, his steps slowing. A toy? He didn't think of Will in that way. Not any more. Maybe he had at first, but now, everything had changed.

Having Will almost ripped away from him had made him realize just how much he cared about the young man. Yes, in some ways Will was still an experiment for him, but he could no longer deny that there was more to their relationship than he'd originally planned for there to be.

Will was his. His. His to protect, his to .... to care about. And no one was going to take that right away from him. Will belonged at his house, convalescing from his terrible experience, rather than here in this cold, sterile place.

He would take Will home. As soon as he could.

Rounding the corner at the end of the hallway, he saw Jack standing near a nurse's station, talking to WIll's doctor. Hannibal approached the two of them, his mouth a thin line; he wasn't going to hide his annoyance. There was no need for him to do so.

"When will you let me take Will home from the hospital?" He didn't mince words; he was in no mood to be polite, to circle around the main issue. "He needs to be in a place that's calm and stable, and conducive to his recovery. This isn't it."

Jack's eyes narrowed; he looked belligerent, as though he would step in front of Hannibal and stop him in his tracks. "Will needs to be kept under observation."

"Why?" Hannibal's brows rose; he had expected Jack to make that objection. "I am a doctor; I can observe him just as well in a quieter environment at home as anyone can do the same here. This atmosphere isn't good for him. It's making him feel depressed."

"Did he tell you that?" Now it was Jack's turn to raise his brows; it ws obvious that he didn't believe what Hannibal was saying. "I don't think you have the right to make decisions for him. If Will wants to go home, then we'll take him home. To his home."

Hannibal could feel anger rising within him; with difficulty, he pushed it down.

"You would take him all the way to Wolf Trap and leave him there, on his own, to fend for himself?" he asked, his brows still raised, his voice icy cold. "That's not a very good way of caring for someone who you claim is your friend, Jack."

"He would have someone there with him around the clock," Jack snapped, shaking his head. "I wouldn't just leave him there by himself."

"But you would have one of your people there to tell you that he could come back to work the second you got a new case, and decided to work him relentlessly again," Hannibal told him, the anger in his tone a knife edge. "I won't allow that. Will needs to rest and recover."

Jack looked abashed, then raised his hands, shaking his head. "All right, all right. I agree, Doctor Lecter. You're a doctor; you know better than I do what Will needs. But I think the doctors here are just as qualified as you are, so you might want to listen to them."

"No." Hannibal shook his head decisively, his hand slicing through the air. "I didn't want to bring this up, but I am not only Will's doctor -- I am also his lover. I want to keep him with me and take care of him. I believe that I have the right to do that, as I am involved with him."

Jack's incredulous stare almost made him feel as though he'd made a terrible mistake in telling about his relationship with Will, but it was too late to back down now.

"You and Will are involved?" Jack said, frowning. "That changes things."

"It changes nothing," Hannibal said sharply. "As you know, I am not officially Will's psychiatrist. I've talked to him about some problems he's faced, but nothing more than that. There is no professional impropriety here. He became involved with me of his own free will."

He knew that he was on safe ground. Technically, Will wasn't his patient, so he hadn't violated any kind of professional ethics. And even though they were work colleagues, he wasn't really a part of the FBI team; he was only consulted now and then.

No one could fault him for wanting the best for the man he was involved with. And in Hannibal's eyes, resting at home was best for Will.

He turned to the doctor, raising his brows and speaking in a haughty voice. "As I am a doctor myself, what do you think of the idea of Will staying in my home to convalesce, rather than being here, in an atmosphere that makes him feel weak and victimized?"

The doctor couldn't meet his eyes; he looked down at Will's chart, nodding as he did so. "I think that may very well be a good idea. He would recover more quickly in a place where he feels comfortable -- and with someone he knows and trusts taking care of him."

Hannibal allowed himself an inward smile. He had won.

He turned to Jack, feeling somewhat magnanimous now that he had gotten what he wanted. "Of course, my door is open to you, if you feel that you should need to talk to Will. But I warn you -- I won't allow you to make him work. He needs time to recover."

Jack nodded, looking as though he agreed, but Hannibal could tell that his lips had tightened and that he was holding back what was more than likely an angry reply. "Of course. I'll defer to you as to Will's health, Doctor Lecter. But he can't be away indefinitely."

"Of course not." Hannibal managed a tight smile, wishing that he could punch Jack into the wall. "But he also can't be pushed into going back to work."

For a moment, he thought that there might be a standoff with Jack, right here in the hallway of the hospital. But after a few seconds, the other man nodded curtly and turned on his heel, making his way down the hall in the opposite direction from Will's room.

He was a little surprised that Jack had backed down as quickly as he had, but he hadn't expected the other man to put up much of a fight, really. He knew that Jack only viewed Will as an automaton, a machine to be used and thrown away when it no longer functioned quite as well.

Will meant nothing to Jack. Will meant everything to him.

He felt more protective of Will than he ever would have thought possible. This was something that he would have to think about; it was something of a shock to him that Will had grown to be so important to him, not just as a distraction, but as .... a person.

Will was taking over his mind, becoming more a part of him than Hannibal had ever dreamed he could be. At the moment, that didn't seem like such a bad thing.

Having Will in his house, being with him on a daily basis, would bring them closer than anything yet had. He was looking forward to that time, though he knew that he would have to move slowly with Will, and aid in his recovery as much as he could.

Turning, he made his way back down the hall to Will's room, to tell his lover the good news. He had some things to set in motion before he could take Will home, but after that, the way would be clear for them to be together for some time as Will recovered.

***