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Title: Brass Ring
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1drabble
Prompt: 22, Recovery
Author's Note: Sequel to "Flying Blind."
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.

***

"Don't think about it right now, Will. You need to rest."

Jack's words made Will frown; what else did he have to do while he was lying here but think about all that had happened, and how to find Hannibal?

"I can't just lie here and do nothing, Jack," he said, aware that he sounded as though he was complaining, but unable to stop himself. "If I do, then my brain is just going to turn things over and over until it gets stuck on a loop that I might never be able to get out of."

Jack sighed, shaking his head and reaching out to put a hand on Will's shoulder. He removed it hastily when the young man winced, sitting back in his chair.

"Thinking about it isn't going to make things any better," Jack pointed out.

Of course it wouldn't, Will told himself. But planning how to find Hannibal, and what he would do when they met face-to-face again, gave him something to look forward to.

"I know it won't," he answered, gritting his teeth. "But it'll give me something to do instead of just lying here and feeling sorry for myself, which is about all I can do until the doctors let me start walking around again. And I don't think that'll be for a while."

"Your recovery is what's most important now, Will," Jack told him, looking worried. "Don't try to start doing too much, too soon. Take things slowly."

"You're one to talk," Will answered, looking up at the other man from where he lay in his hospital bed. "You probably shouldn't be up and walking around."

"I didn't take a knife to the gut like you did," Jack pointed out, sitting back and folding his arms across his chest. "I had some pretty bad injuries, but they didn't keep me from walking. You, on the other hand, could have lost some internal organs."

Will sighed, nodding reluctantly in acknowledgement of those words. I was the truth. Hannibal had wounded him gravely; he was lucky to be alive.

But he was alive. And he would recover.

His recovery was probably going to take a long time, but he was determined to take on the challenge of going after Hannibal when he was out of the hospital.

It would give him something to focus on during the long hours of inactivity, and to get him through the painful physical therapy that he knew he'd have to deal with at some point. The thought of finding Hannibal, of being able to catch him and put him behind bars, would keep him going.

He would need that focus, that goal to reach for, if he wanted his recovery to proceed. He would need that brass ring to reach for.

And when he finally grasped it, victory would be incredibly sweet.

***