The Eyes of a Lamb

The Silence

Clarice hugged herself tight in the long sweater dress she wore to keep the chill of the winter out as she stared into the guarded hospital room where they were keeping Hannibal Lecter, now the confirmed Chesapeake Ripper, Hannibal the Cannibal. She saw the tubes going in and out of him as his breathing was labored, the three slugs Will Graham had dug into his chest out now, but doctors said he would make a full recovery. And then, he would be transported into the nearest maximum security psych ward for his actions.

"Clarice?" she faintly heard Jack Crawford say behind her.

Clarice turned, but her mind wasn't focusing right as she stared up at Jack for a moment, almost not registering who he was at first.

"Clarice are you alright?" Jack said looking down at her with a concerned stare "I've been saying your name now for the past couple of minutes."

"I'm just" Clarice said shaking her head "I'm just shocked it was him. It was him this whole time and we had no clue."

"Imagine how Will is feeling right now" Jack said "He trusted Lecter like they were family. And it was Lecter this whole time who was turning us around in circles, making us look like fools."

"How could we have not seen it?" Clarice said looking back into the hospital room "How could I not see it?"

"Do not blame yourself for this" Jack said putting a steady hand on Clarice's shoulder "He fooled us all, especially the ones closest to him. That's the trait of a psychopath, they appear charming, confident, and worst of all they are patient. Everyone had the hood over their eyes on this one."

"Ms. Starling?" a nurse said coming up to them "We are ready to see you now."

"Go get checked out" Jack said "And if you need me for anything you call, understand?"

"Thank you Jack" Clarice said following the nurse. She wrapped her arms around her tighter, feeling the emptiness start to sweep in. She had been in love with a monster this whole time, this man, who was not a man, but a windigo in a man's body, had hidden his true self away to the point where Clarice thought he was the hero in this story.

But hadn't she seen the darkness inside of him when they first met? Hadn't she seen that there was more to Hannibal then he showed? In yet she still chose to love him, still chose that it wasn't important, whatever his secret was, that she loved the man and not the darkness that hid inside of him.

And now, against her better judgment, could she still love the man knowing he was a monster?

"I don't know" she whispered.

"What was that?" the nurse said looking at her confused as she took Clarice's blood.

"Nothing" Clarice said shaking her head "Just tired is all."

"Well you should be" the nurse said giving the blood sample away as she straightened Clarice up "After all that you've gone through."

Clarice simply nodded and followed the nurse back into the examination room, the doctor poking and prodding at her for at least an hour until a nurse came back in with the lab results.

"Well Ms. Starling it seems that you are as fit as a fiddle" the doctor said smiling at her "And the baby is coming along quiet nicely."

"Baby?" Clarice said looking up at the doctor in confusion.

"Why yes" the doctor said puzzled "You are at least eight weeks, did you not know?"

"No" Clarice said nearly breathless.

"Well there seem to be no complications right now" the doctor said getting serious "But I do hope you stay away from anything damaging to the fetus for now. You aren't a smoker are you?"