Alana walked into Will’s hospital room as quietly as she could; the nurse had said that Will was asleep when Alana had asked for his room number. As she entered, she saw a not-so-surprising sight that made her smile.
Hannibal was asleep in the chair beside Will’s bed. It was obvious that he hadn’t meant to fall asleep at all; his head was at a crooked angle and his legs were cross, all in all looking rather uncomfortable.
Alan heard footsteps in the hall and turned to see Doctor Smith standing in the doorway behind her. “Is Will going to be alright?” she asked.
Doctor Smith nodded. “He’ll be fine. It’ll just take him some time to recover.”
Alana nodded toward Hannibal. “How long has he been here?”
The Doctor chuckled slightly. “Doctor Lector hasn’t left. He was waiting in the observatory while I performed the surgery to stitch up Mr. Graham’s kidney then he’s been in here since Mr. Graham got out of recovery,” Doctor Smith said. The man shifted uncomfortably. “I’m sorry to ask, but are they together?”
Alana laughed quietly, “No, Hannibal is Will’s psychiatrist and friend. Why?”
“Well, I noticed that - Hannibal, did you say? – is very possessive over Mr. Graham, like he’s something that needs to be protected at all costs,” the doctor said.
“Will did say that Hannibal thinks Jack treats Will like a piece of fine china, only to be taken out on special occasions,” Alana mused. “It’s possible that Hannibal also sees Will as a china teacup, but not necessarily in the same way. Maybe Hannibal is afraid someone will break Will, like Jack Crawford, and I think that he will do anything to ensure that that doesn’t happen,” Alana said thoughtfully.
“Well, whatever it is, Ethan and I wish them the best,” Doctor Smith said, turning back toward the door.
“Ethan?” Alana questioned.
“Oh, he’s the nurse that helped me with Mr. Graham’s surgery,” Doctor Smith told her. “He’s also my husband,” he said.
“Oh, well, congratulations,” Alana told him.
Doctor Smith smiled and walked out the door. Alana smiled at Will and Hannibal and followed him.
