Title: Saving Lives
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Will Graham/Sherlock Holmes
Fandom: Hannibal
Rating: PG-13
Table: Table 2, 20 in 20 Challenge, tv_universe
Prompt: 19, Work
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.
***
"What do you deduce from this, Will?" Sherlock's voice was soft and gentle, but Will could hear the serious question under the words.
Working with Sherlock was certainly interesting, he thought wryly.
He'd gotten more use out of his brain since he'd been working on this case with his boyfriend than he'd ever done when he was with the FBI.
That wasn't a bad thing, he assured himself. Working with Sherlock was teaching him a lot, and he enjoyed it. But there were times when he felt outstripped, as though Sherlock was miles ahead of him and he was running to catch up.
He was a good detective, and he knew it. But next to Sherlock, there were times when he felt that he didn't know anything.
His boyfriend was brilliant. He'd already known that, of course; Sherlock had managed to get him out of jail, and he still didn't know how that had been accomplished. But that had given him faith that Sherlock could deduce any case, bring any secrets to light.
Still, this case was a baffling one, and even using his empathy, Will hadn't been able to figure it out. The scene they'd faced when the case had started still made him wince.
He'd seen some horrific sights, but the look on that corpse's face ....
It was as though the man had literally been frightened to death. The lips had been pulled back from the teeth in a rictus of fear, a never-ending, silent scream.
In all the disturbing things he'd seen since he had begun working in the field, first with the FBI and now with Sherlock, somehow this had stuck with him. The look in those eyes, even though the man had been dead for a while, haunted him.
Whatever he had seen, it must have been the most terrifying thing he could possibly imagine. His face reflected that fear a million times over.
Had he been scared to death?
From the look on his face, Will wanted to say that he had been, but somehow, it seemed too ridiculous an idea to contemplate.
What was he supposed to say? That all of the bodies they'd seen had that same look of fear, as though they'd been chased down by something that had literally frightened them to death? It seemed impossible, yet it might be the truth.
"They were scared to death," he mumbled, shaking his head. "I know it sounds crazy, but that's what I'm seeing. That's my theory."
"I think you're correct," Sherlock told him, his tone musing. "Yes, it sounds silly when the theory is put into words, but that's the one thing they all have in common."
"That expression," Will said thoughtfully, his brow creasing into a frown. "But what could have scared so many people so much that they'd run from it until their hearts literally burst? Well, maybe four people isn't a lot, but it's too many for my taste."
"Even one is too many," Sherlock said, his voice grim. "We have to find this killer and determined what he must be using to bring about these deaths."
Will nodded, feeling just as grim as Sherlock did.
Working with his boyfriend was amazing, but this wasn't a case that he wanted to be on. It reminded him far too much of what he'd done in Wolf Trap.
Of course, every case was going to make him feel like that, wasn't it? This wasn't supposed to be fun, Will told himself firmly. This was work. And the type of work that he did wasn't something that could be considered enjoyment.
He saw dead bodies, saw the worst of what the world had to offer. He and Sherlock dealt with the bad side of human nature on a daily basis.
He should be used to that already, but it still bothered him.
Still, they saved lives, and that was the important thing. But this time, it felt as though they hadn't been able to do enough. At least, not yet.
Will sighed softly, not realizing that Sherlock was looking at him with a compassionate gaze. "You get very tired of seeing these sorts of things, don't you?" his boyfriend said softly. "So do I, Will. So do I. But we can stop it from happening in the future."
Will nodded, knowing that Sherlock's words were true. By finding this killer and putting them behind bars, they could save people.
And that was, in the end, all that really mattered, Will told himself. As long as they saved lives, it didn't matter that there were things he'd rather not see or deal with. What they did was important, even if they didn't always find it palatable.
Their work was satisfying in that respect. At the end of the day, when they solved a case, he could say that he felt good about himself, and about what he did.
He could be proud of that, and of himself.
"Then let's stop it from happening as soon as possible," Will said softly, following Sherlock away from the crime scene and hoping that they were heading home to their flat.
***
- Main Hannibal Fan Fiction page
- new stories page
- Will/Hannibal slash page
- other pairings page
- gen stories page