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Title: End of the Road
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Hannibal Lecter/Will Graham
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Author's Note: Sequel to "No Coming Back."
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.

***

"I think that we may have reached the end of the road in this situation, Will."

Will looked up at Hannibal, horrified at what he was saying. "What do you mean? Do you think that I just need to stop trying to figure out who might have done this to me?"

Hannibal nodded slowly, letting out his breath by increments. WIll wondered if he'd been holding his breath, if he'd been reluctant to say the words that he'd just uttered.

The other man shook his head, frowning. "I don't think that you should give up completely, Will, but I think that you may want to accept the fact that you did this to yourself, that there was no other person who attacked you. The stag in your drams .... may well symbolise the dark side of yourself."

Will sat back in his chair, his blue eyes widening. He hadn't really given that thought any credence; it had crossed his mind, but he's shoved it away immediately.

He didn't want to think that he could be so unstable as to harm himself. He didn't want to think that his own mind could become that unhinged.

If that was the case, then something was definitely wrong with him.

It was much easier to believe that he had been attacked by some random person, someone who wanted to do him harm. It wasn't nearly as frightening as the alternative.

The idea that he was losing his mind to that extent terrified him. What would happen to him if he was going crazy? Would he be committed? Institutionalized?

What would happen to his dogs, to his house? What would happen to him? He didn't think that doctors still used treatments like electroshock therapy, but if they did, would he be subjected to something like that? Would his mind be utterly and completely lost to him?

The thought of wandering around forever within the wasteland that his own mind could become, unable to find his way back into reality, was more frightening than anything else he could imagine.

"So, if we've reached the end of the line, where am I supposed to go from here?" Will asked, his voice shaking slightly. "Do I have myself committed, Hannibal? Do I just .... give up?"

Hannibal looked shocked at the thought. "Committed? I don't think you need to go that far, Will. After all, you aren't a danger to others. Only to yourself, when you're in .... a certain state." The other man looked thoughtful for a moment. "And I don't think that you would go so far as to actually take your own life."

Wouldn't he? Will had to wonder about that. If there was a part of his psyche that hated who he was so much, then he might be fully capable of doing just that.

But he wasn't going to bring that up to Hannibal. Because in his heart, he wasn't entirely convinced that what he'd gone through had been caused by his own hands.

He didn't think that he would cause harm to himself. He couldn't.

"I might be willing to accept the fact that I could have done this to myself once," he said slowly, shaking his head. "But I wouldn't keep doing it. I'm not that self-destructive."

Hannibal's brows knitted in a frown; then he mirrored Will's movements, nodding and looking as though he was going over something in his own mind. "I happen to agree with you, Will."

Will felt an overwhelming sense of relief at those words. If Hannibal agreed that he wouldn't harm himself over and over again, then he had someone on his side, someone who had more knowledge about the human mind than he himself did. Someone who others would listen to and respect.

He didn't have to feel that he was alone, or that he was fighting a losing battle. He had Hannibal by his side, and if he was lucky, they would figure this out together.

He was still convinced that it was a person who had attacked him, and that his mind was associating that person with something frightening, something that he didn't understand.

Together, he and Hannibal would get to the bottom of things.

It might not be the easiest thing he'd ever done to try and delve into his psyche, but with Hannibal there beside him, he would be able to do it successfully.

Will took a deep breath, looking into Hannibal's eyes and trying to keep his tone light. "Well, then, where do you think we should we start?" he asked, giving himself over to Hannibal's guidance. He had to trust this man to lead him; he was now in unfamiliar territory.

If they'd come to the end of the road in one regard, then they were just beginning to take another path. Will hoped that it was one that could lead to the solution of this mystery.

Because if it wasn't solved soon, then he would have nowhere else to turn.

***