Hannibal Season 4

Episode 6: Time and Again

Sixteen years later

Mischa hummed as she drove, obeying speed limits, driving safely, and she arrived at their driveway. She saw her Pére's new truck and her Tėvas' Bently in their drive, Mischa parked her SUV and then unlocked the door, spotting Dragon first, giving the dog alot of love before she headed into the house spotting her Pére first on the couch reading.

"Hej pappa." Mischa greeted, kissing her father on the head.

"Bonjour ma douce biche (hello my sweet dove), how was your day?" Will asked, marking his place and setting his book down.

"It was not great." Mischa said, frowning.

"Oh, what happened?" Will asked, gently cupping her face in his hands.

"You remember that guy I liked?" Will nods. "He and I went on a date today, but Pére, he was so rude! He asked what I liked, and when I told him, he said the only "proper" thing that I told him about my interests was my love of cooking. I understand that some people still have some older views, but then he asked about you and Tėvas. He told me that I was a child born of sin... that you and Tėvas aren't even my real parents..." She sniffles, and Will hugs her to his chest. "I hated how he treated me and bad mouthed you and Tėvas. So, I brought him for dinner. I made sure no one saw. He's out cold in the trunk of my car. Could I do the butchering this time?" Mischa asked, and Will smiled, wiping her remaining tears.

"That is a question best asked to your Papa." Will said, and then Hannibal appears, carrying wine glasses.

"What is a question best asked to me? Ah, hello, Mano dukra (my daughter)." Hannibal paused as he saw her red eyes. "What happened, mylima? (Love)" Hannibal asked, setting the wine glasses down on the coffee table.

"I had a very rude date, and he's in the trunk of my car. I made sure not to be seen, but Tėvas I want to butcher him. Can I?" Mischa asked, and Hannibal smiled widely.

"Of course. What composition would you like, or would you like silence?" Hannibal asked, and Mischa's blue eyes sparkled in glee.

"I can pick the music?" Hannibal sighed, his smile softening.

"No rock and roll, but yes... you may pick the music." Hannibal said, and Mischa jumped up, hugging him, and then went to their basement.

Hannibal and Will pulled the man out of the trunk of Mischa's car, tying him down to the table. To Hannibal's relief, Mischa chose a slow Mozart piece to butcher to. She was dressed in a plastic suit and had a variety of surgical tools out on a rolling surgical tray. Hannibal and Will stepped backward.

"Would you like us to participate or observe?" Hannibal questioned, and Mischa looked up, and Will smiled.

"It's your kill, your call chérie." Will said, and Mischa nods.

"Tėvas could you help me dissect him, Pére you can watch and be here for moral support." Mischa said, and Will nodded, moving to a chair and sitting down to watch his husband and daughter work.

Hannibal just told his daughter where to cut and what to cut out of their victim, who screamed behind his gag. Misch commented on all his wrongdoings, how she was not a child of sin, how her dad's were her real parents, how she could follow her dreams and men like him; men so stuck in their ways they cannot get out, could not tell her where to go or how to be. The man lay gutted on the table, his genitals and some organs removed. Hannibal and Mischa sealed up the edible parts, and then they went about dissolving the body in a bathtub of acid. Mischa breathed out, and Hannibal kissed her head.

"Well done, mylima." Hannibal said, and Mischa beamed.

"Not bad for my first butcher?" She asked as they put their plastic suits in a sanitizing shower to be cleaned later.

"Yes, it was perfect." Hannibal said, and they returned upstairs to cook their newly gotten meat.

"You guided me and taught me about the body so many times I could probably name every body part blindfolded." Misch said, and Will chuckles.

"You most definitely could." Will said, and he also kissed her temple

"I agree with your tėtis (dad), now it is also your pick of tonight's dinner from anything we harvested." Hannibal said and pushed his new rolodex towards his daughter.

"Really?! Oh, there was a recipe you made for me at my sweet sixteen from that man who tried to rape me. What was it..." Mischa flipped through the recipes until she stopped. "I'd like this, please, and could I help prepare it?" Mischa said, pointing to the recipe card.

Rosemary-Garlic Lamb Chops with Pimentón and Mint

"Wonderful choice, and I enjoy your assistance in the kitchen. Shall we begin cooking?" Hannibal asked, putting all but one bag of meat into their freezer.

Hannibal and Misch served their "lamb chops" with a side of greenbeans with "bacon" crumble, whiskey for Will, wine for Hannibal, and sparkling cider for Mischa They ate and talked, Mischa asking Will to take her fishing again during her next break, kissing both of her parents' cheeks as she left for her apartment.

"She's growing up so fast." Will said, and Hannibal hummed, bringing Will into his arms for a slow dance while music played in the background.

"I agree, but we couldn't be prouder." Hannibal said, kissing the crown of Will's head.

"True, and the farther she goes, the prouder we'll be." Will said and laughed as Hannibal dipped him, then kissed him.

"I agree, Mylimasis." Hannibal said, and they continued their waltz.

They knew that they could face anything the world brought to them and their daughter. They moved every once in a while. Eventually, Mischa found a partner who also shared delight in the macabre. Hannibal and Will only gave the man one warning: "Do not harm her, or else you will face not only our wrath but hers as well. She is just as frightening, if not more so, then we are." Misch and her new partner made their way to the states, and her parents kept a scrapbook of the "Killing Lovers" that would often make headlines. Of course, Mischa would head back home to see her parents, announce her marriage, then move to a different state and start her killings under a new moniker each time. Hannibal and Will stood at the edge of a great cliff, hand-in-hand as they looked out at the sea.

"Don't go anywhere." Hannibal said, squeezing Will's hand.

"Where else can I go?" Will asked, and they shared a kiss under the setting sun, looking forward to more moments in time.

*end credits*