Main Hannibal Fan Fiction page | new stories page | Will/Hannibal slash page | other pairings page | gen stories page

Title: The Road To Victory
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: Personal Challenge, 1drabble
Prompt: 8, Victory
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.

***

Will opened his eyes, swallowing hard as he realized where he was. He was in his hospital room, flat on his back in bed, and he'd been through the first treatment for his encephalitis. He had expected to feel different after that initial treatment, but he didn't.

Nothing seemed to have changed, but he wouldn't really know that until he put it to the test. He wouldn't know if he still had his empathy until he was at a crime scene.

A part of him was afraid to find out, and another part wanted to leap out of bed and head to his office, to demand that Jack take him to the latest crime scene the team was working at and let him find out if he was still a valid part of that team.

Of course, he couldn't do that. It would be a while before he was even out of bed.

His illness had been a serious one; his brain had been swelling inside his skull. It wasn't like he could get out of bed and do anything he pleased after only one treatment; it would take several of those before he was in any shape to leave the hospital.

Had he been victorious? Was the swelling going away, or would they have to find some other kind of radical treatment that would make him better? Will didn't want to ask; he balanced on a tightrope between needing to know and dreading what he would hear.

"Will." The voice was familiar; he turned his head to see Hannibal sitting in the same chair he'd been in when Will had last seen him, just before he'd drifted off to sleep. Had Hannibal been here all this time, by his side, keeping watch over him?

He blinked, opening his mouth to ask the question, but Hannibal shook his head and pressed a finger against Will's lips. "Yes, Will, to answer your unspoken question, I've been here all this time. I didn't want to leave you. I wanted you to wake up with someone familiar close to you."

Will couldn't have spoken if he'd wanted to. His heart was too full.

This proved that Hannibal cared. That this man had stayed by his side, when he surely had other important things that he could be doing -- things that he needed to do -- meant more than he could say. The fact that he'd put Will first said so much that words couldn't convey.

"I believe that we are on the road to victory, Will," Hannibal said softly, his lips curving into a smile. "The results seem very positive so far. So you can rest easy."

Will closed his eyes, feeling relief seep through him. The treatments were working; he was going to be all right. He hardly knew it when Hannibal's hand came to rest over his; all he could think of was the future, and hope with all of his heart that it would be a bright one.

***