Murder Family Values

Hannibal rhymes with cannibal

The brunette teen would never admit it, but the vision made her apprehensive and she made a point to stand behind her mentor and teacher.

Ashley stayed behind him during the kidnapping and murder case. She stayed behind him when she had concluded that he was a demigod. She stayed behind him during the angel maker case. She was behind him when Will snapped at Agent Crawford —although her chocking on her coffee out of shock hadn't gone unnoticed —and when Dr. Gideon claimed to be the Chesapeake Ripper.

The change had been noticeable...of course it had been. The 'sassy science team' — as Ashley had once called them — had discussed it amongst themselves. Hannibal had brought it up during Ashley's "therapy" sessions, and she had shrugged it off. She was just always there. It became abnormal when she couldn't be found standing slightly behind the Special Agent, always to his left.

There were very few times she would stand in front of him. Will couldn't find a reason for her anger when she learned that he had asked Hannibal to feed his dogs. That was a mistake, the younger brunette had chastised... no, insisted. You'll regret it.

She had stood in front of him the day she shot the woman responsible for kidnapping 'the lost boys'. One clean shot, right between the eyes. One second she was nowhere to be seen, the next she was by his side, wearing a bright orange t-shirt and black jeans, a gun in hand.

And, just for a second, just a split second, as she bent down to hug Christopher, Will could've sworn she looked 16, not twenty. A simple flash of a 16-year-old with a white streak in her brunette hair — the bottom half was a fading black. As she let go and stood up, there it was again, this time flashing scars on her arms. Instinctively Will grabbed her wrist and examined them, only to find smooth, even skin.

"Is there something wrong, Professor Graham?" Confusion had crossed her face, but he could see curiosity and what he'd almost describe as fear in her eyes.

He blinked and let her wrists go. "No. Sorry, I thought I saw...never mind."

Ashley had stood in front of him later that evening when she had turned up to his house — obviously high — and had ranted about how Hannibal rhymes with cannibal before she had gotten distracted by his dogs.

Ashley had stood in front of him once more when he awoke the next morning, only to find himself walking down the streets of Wolf-trap, Virginia. She explained to the officers that he was her dad — a simple lie, really — and said that she would take care of him. She looked younger, then, too and he couldn't help but feel touched by the gesture.

She was the first to realize something had gone wrong, oh so terribly wrong with Will Graham. She had gone from slightly stand-offish to hovering.

Once again, when push came to shove, Ashley seemed utterly convinced Hannibal was the cause. The smaller brunette urged him to get a different therapist and stop contact altogether if he could help it. The fact that she was so weary, so convinced, seemed to make Will wearier too, but not nearly as much as she had hoped. But the seed of doubt she had planted seemed to be enough to get her to back off.

It was something she would bring up only when Will found himself alone with her. He considered telling Hannibal his concerns. He wanted to, but he found himself holding back. What if Hannibal was really all that Ashley claimed he was? Will doubted it, or at the very least, he wanted to doubt it. But she was so certain, and she was his cousin.

≈§≈

Ashley let out an annoyed groan as she opened the door before blinking in what looked like shock. "Good morning, Doctor Bloom."

"Morning Ashley. Will called...it sounded like he was in trouble." The psychiatrist paused before continuing. "Is that Abigail's shirt?"

Ashley grabbed her shoes. "Maybe. Abigail sleeps over here more often than not."

Alana glanced past her. "Is she here now?"

"No," answered the brunette as they walked through the dorm to Alana's car.

The ride was painful silent and Ashley practically leaped for joy as she got out and speed-walked towards her other teacher. "Morning Professor Graham."

He raised his eyebrows, obviously not expecting the younger woman to be tagging along. " Morning Ashley." As Alana approached, he continued. "If it wasn't a coyote, the coyotes probably got it."

As they continued to talk without her, her role became uncomfortably clear. Will didn't need her help... not truly. Alana wanted a barrier of sorts, and she had gotten it. As she came to the startling realization that they were flirting she felt a wave of nausea wash over her. Yes, she had almost reached the point where she could almost call both adults friends, but that didn't change the fact that she was fifteen and they were both her teachers.

Ashley wasn't quite sure what she was feeling, but she imagined it was rather akin to watching your parents flirt. Of course, she had never experienced that herself seeing as her dad was nowhere to be found and her Mother had fewer emotions than your average rock. It didn't help that Ashley had been 5 when she had been forced to move in with the maids and 11 when she had run away.

Since she wasn't much help anyway, Ashley decided it would be best if she just left. By the time the two adults realized she was gone, Ashley was already seven minutes into her first lecture of the day.

She bit her lip as she tried to focus. Why is it I'm only ever invited to act as a barrier? No one actually ever seems to need my help, except the gods, of course, but they're just about helpless.

Despite it being a relatively clear day, a definite crack of thunder was heard from outside. She pulled a face at Zeus' attempt to protest.

The rest of the day was a blur after that. Ashley's green eyes flickered from the corpse to Will. Jack was right... it was getting easier for him to look. For the first time, she considered that his arising problems weren't just mental. It was almost like his soul was changing. It was withering and protesting as someone had started to force it into a perfect mold.

She turned back to the body, but her mind wasn't able to focus. If Hannibal is altering his soul, this is far worst than I thought.

She stepped closer and her eyes widened. "He's not just altering it...he's tearing it at the seams."

She winced as she approached apprehensively, her arms stretched out in front of her. "This'll hurt me a lot more than it'll hurt you... I think."

As Ashley made contact with Will's soul, a bright light filled the room with an obnoxious high pitched whine before everything cut to black.