In the morning Will was the first one awake, Hannibal clinging to him in an inescapable death grip. He didn't attempt escape, he just waited, playing with Hannibal's hair as he did so. Because when people kept their hair as tame as Hannibal, it just screamed for someone to mess it up.

Hannibal reached wakefulness with a pained groan, which made Will laugh.

"Morning," Will said.

"You let me go to sleep without nullifying the effects of the alcohol," Hannibal complained, squinting at Will's face.

"You didn't ask, so I did bother."

"Well, now you can fetch me my medical supplies."

"Oh, can I?"

"Please, Will?"

"Fine."

The medical bag was in the bathroom, under the sink. Will brought out a hypo used specifically to cure hangovers. He was glad to be alive in a time like this.

He walked back to the bed and tried to hand it to Hannibal, who merely leaned his head to the side, exposing his neck for Will to do it. One pinch and it was over with. Hannibal grabbed him by the waist and pulled him back into bed.

Will rested his chin on Hannibal's chest. "Something you want, Hannibal?"

"I believe you made a promise, Will."

"I believe I did." Will leaned up and let their lips brush. It was an odd sensation, kissing someone with a lower body temperature. Not unpleasant, but odd.

They kissed slowly, Will wasn't in any hurry and he was pretty sure it was killing Hannibal at least a little bit to have to hold back. Will had to admit that it killed him a little inside as well, he was actually enjoying this even more than he thought he would.

Slow kisses were growing ever more frantic as Will ran his hands down the scales of Hannibal's neck.

Distantly, Will heard a communicator go off. He turned his heard. It hadn't come from Hannibal's communicator on the bedside table, so it must have been his. But Hannibal was having none of that. He turned Will face back toward himself and pulled him into another kiss.

But the communicator chirped again and again Will looked toward the sound, but this time Hannibal rolled on top of him so that there was no risk of him getting up to retrieve it.

Will let out a huff of laughter. "I should probably be getting that," he managed to get out between kisses and embarrassingly needy sounds.

"I'm sure it can wait," Hannibal dismissed.

Moments later the chime for Hannibal's door went off. Will watched, half amused, half irritated, as Hannibal's expression flashed darkly and he looked in the direction of the door. He looked back to Will as the door chimed again. He sighed, kissing Will one last time for good measure and stood, running a hand through his slightly disheveled hair. Honestly, he didn't look especially ruffled all things considered. He just looked like he'd woken up from a late night.

As Hannibal allowed the doors to slide open, he saw an irritated Jack Crawford.

"I need to speak with Will. I know he's here, I checked with the computer," the Captian growled.

It took a deal of effort on Hannibal's part not to look annoyed. "You've put a lot of strain him recently, Jack, would you not say he deserves a break?"

"I think you know I wouldn't say anything if it wasn't important. So, will you let me talk to him?"

It was at this moment that Will chose to walk out of the bedroom, fully dressed and trying not to look like he'd just spent the last few minutes making out with Hannibal like a hormonal teenager.

"What is it, Captian?" he asked.

"Those murders I told you about before, the Ripper ones, the Federation is pressuring me to have you look into them. They want you to fly out to see the most recent one. It's a few hours into the neutral zone on a half-bajoran half-cardassian planet."

Will ran a hand over his face. "Can't they just send us a holodeck program of the damn thing. I honestly don't think I can handle a trip to something like that right now."

"Well, they can," Jack said, "But there is a murderer at large here, Will, keep that in mind."

Will could feel Jack pressuring him into agreeing. His burnt out mind ached at Jack's disapproval.

"And he is a living person, Jack, not a tool," Hannibal said, "Let us also keep that in mind."

"All I ask is that he shows up at the holodeck within the next hour."

"I'll be there, Captain."

Jack gave a brisk nod, "Good, I will see you soon." And he was gone.

"Well," Will said, "No rest for the wicked."

"Indeed. Shall I accompany you?"

"Yeah, you're the one with all the knowledge on the cardassian stuff."

They had a small breakfast and journeyed off to the holodecks. Jack was waiting there with the program already installed.

The crime scene was quite messy. A man had been pinned to his desk, impaled multiple times.

"The body was found two hours after he was murdered. This man may or may not have been responsible for the death of thousands of bajorans. The mutilation was done after his death."

"Anybody you know?" Will asked Hannibal.

The cardassian walked closer to the body to get a better look at the face. "I do not believe so."

Will took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The attacker had been waiting to ambush this man. He had a point to prove. He was the Ripper. He knew that he was and he had to let everyone else know. The first stab had incapacitated the cardassian, the second killed him. Then came the mutilation.

He felt nothing like the real Ripper, nothing like Hannibal. He was trying too hard. He wasn't even the same species. This man was not a cardassian. He was bajoran. He had probably been involved with the war effort, most bajorans were. Maybe he helped treat prisoners of war, maybe that's where he got the names of the cardassians he was now killing.

Will opened his eyes, having up his mind. "This is not the Ripper." His vision swam and he felt a stirring panic without a source but he forced himself to remain calm.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. This is a bajoran doctor."

"How do you know it's not the Ripper?"

"Because it doesn't feel right. Tell the proper authorities that they should keep an eye out for a middle aged bajoran doctor, probably treated former bajoran POWs." Will turned and walked out, Hannibal was close behind him.

Will managed to make it to his quarters, which were closer than Hannibal's, before he had his meltdown.

The door to his quarters slid shut behind Hannibal. Will crossed his arms over his chest, drawing in shallow breaths.

"Will?" Hannibal moved closer, his hand reaching out for the empath.

Will flinched back slightly. "I'm fine. I don't know what happened, it just didn't feel right."

"The murder?"

"Everything. I can't–" the words faded in his mouth. "I don't even..."

Hannibal hushed him, pulling his arms away from his body and drawing him close. "You push yourself too hard, Will. You must learn to relax."

"Easy for you to say. Not all of us would be comfortable doing something as extreme as murdering someone for the sake of pleasure."

"Well, I'd advise giving it a try anyway, you never know how much you might enjoy it."

Will snorted, "Yeah, thanks. I don't think anyone's ever recommend I go on a murderous rampage to relieve stress. At least not seriously."

"Maybe that is the thing you've been missing out on this whole time."

"Maybe."

XxxX

Within the next few days Hannibal was able to return to duty, which very quickly made the cardassians very angry, which made them not want to follow through on the agreements they'd made at the conference, which was a big problem for everyone.

"Hannibal, I'm sorry, the federation wants to reassign you to a different station." Hannibal was sitting in Jack's office. He couldn't say he hadn't seen it coming.

"But I contain valuable information on the inner workings of Cardassia. Information that is incredibly useful to you." It was a weak protest.

"Information that could just as easily be received via subspace transmission. They don't want to work with us when seeing you is like a slap in the face to the cardassian government."

Hannibal sighed, "How long before I am reassigned?"

"That depends. They haven't decided where to send you yet, but I'll keep you up to date."

"Thank you, Captain."

Hannibal returned to duty rather unhappy that he was being sent off. If they were going to send him away then he planned on taking Will and Abigail with him, so really it was the Federation's loss.

Hannibal thought it best to tell his odd little family of this development over dinner that evening.

Will blinked as he heard the news. "I'm guessing that you plan to to take us along. I mean you'd better, or I'd be quite disappointed."

"I had hoped," Hannibal gave a half smile.

"Well, with you and Abigail gone I'd probably literally lose my mind. So, it's not like I'd let you leave without me."

"And I think you legally have to take me with you, so it's not like I can stay," Abigail pointed out.

"Excellent," Hannibal's smile spread to a grin, "As soon as I have more information I will let you know."

XxxX

Will contacted the Federation directly about his wish to be reassigned with Hannibal. As he spouse, they had to be reassigned together and given the proper quarters to house the two of them plus Abigail. Like a proper family. Will did this because he wasn't sure he could handle Jack's response to losing such an important asset.

Jack did not find out until he received a message containing the details of their reassignment. Will first knew that Jack knew because the half-klingon angrily stormed out of his office and shouted so loudly he made the Operations crew jump. "Will, my office. Now."

Will remained seated a few moments before he forced himself up. Jack was yelling as soon as the door was closed behind them. The crew could probably still hear them.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jack shouted, throwing his arms out in exacerbation.

"I assume this about the reassignment," Will cringed.

"You're leaving because Hannibal's leaving."

"Yes."

"I need you here, Will. Bajor needs you here."

"Bajor isn't the only–"

"Bajor is recovering from a fifty year struggle! They want things to settle. You were helping us settle them. Now, you're throwing that away for one man!"

"It's not–"

"Not what? That's exactly what you're doing!"

Will grit his teeth, "I just want–"

"And your wants are above that of the entire planet of Bajor?" Jack's anger was explosive. Will felt constricted.

"Stop interrupting me!" The half-betazoid shouted, propelled by Jack's own anger. "I'm doing this because he understands me. This has never happened before and I'm not willing to give it up. I'm sure wherever they've sent us people will need me there too."

"I can't believe this."

"Well, believe it." Will grabbed the PADD off Jack's desk. "According to this message you've received, we are leaving three days from now."

"What about the Ripper copy cat?"

"I'm sure there will be a holodeck on this new station. Maybe he'll stop once Hannibal's gone anyway. Now if you're done–"

"No, I'm not done–"

"Well, I am. I'm only going to be here a few more days and I'm done, Jack. That's it. I'm done." He stormed out, avoiding the gaze of his fellow officers.

At this time Hannibal was also musing over the reassignment, having been contacted directly by a higher up friend. They were being sent to a completely different sector of the universe; to the romulan neutral zone. It was understandable that they wouldn't anything to mess up the fragile peace with Cardassia but it seemed like overkill to send them so far away. Still, it would be a decent strategic placement for Will. It took a skilled empath to decode the thoughts of a romulan.

"So, this is actually happening?" Abigail said at dinner that night.

"Yep," Will confirmed, "I got screamed at by Jack and everything."

"I hope he wasn't too harsh," Hannibal frowned.

"Not harsh enough to force me into staying," grumbled Will.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Though it was still rather rude of him."

"He's just trying to do his job."

"You're too forgiving, Will."

"I can't help it, I'm an empath. I see where he's coming from."

XxxX

The days they had left on the station passed remarkably quickly. The crew seemed sad to see Will go, which surprised him. That was nice. Jack was still furious with him, but his hands were tied.

The whole Operations crew gathered to see them off. A replacement doctor had arrived the day before but they were losing Will's position. Goodbyes for Will were awkward but more heartfelt than the goodbyes to Abigail. She and Alana seemed to have formed a sort of friendship but that was all for genuine warmth. Hannibal gave and received great farewells. He was, by their account, a man of the people and they were sad to see him go.

The vessel they were taking was on the small side with actual rooms instead of just seats. It would take around five days to get to the new station with all the stops being made in between. Hannibal made the suggestion that they should stop on Risa the pleasure planet but Will insisted that he would rather scoop his own eyes out with a spoon than set foot on that planet.

The trip, while slightly more comfortable than it would have otherwise been, was not fun for Will. The second stop they'd made, they picked up an older betazoid couple who bickered constantly. They were always conversing telepathically and it felt as if they were shouting directly into Will's head.

Hannibal did not seem to enjoy the travel much either with Will feeling as he did. Each night the cardassian would trace patters into his flesh and press his mouth to Will's fevered skin. They were both glad that Abigail had been provided her own room.

The third day of the journey, the ship started experiencing technical difficulties. An emergency stop was scheduled but before they could find a station to stop at the mechanisms started to malfunction and an emergency landing was scheduled for the closest M class planet instead.

The landing quickly became a crash. Passengers ushered to the back of the vessel as the ship plummeted, the thrusters making feeble attempts to stop the fall. They were huddled together, Will, Hannibal, Abigail. Will was paralyzed with fear that wasn't entirely his own, Abigail's breath was coming fast, and Hannibal was holding the two of them like he could keep them safe with his body.

The impact crushed everyone into the wall. The group of three were fortunate enough not to be on the more populated side and were therefore not crushed by other bodies. There were screams and sounds of pain as movement stopped. Will opened his eyes and looked around. People were hysterical, Will felt their panic as a physical force. He looked at Hannibal, "You should help, you are a doctor."

Hannibal gave him a blank state for a moment, then kissed him hard. After a moment, he drew back and kissed the top of Abigail's head. He stood there a moment longer before moving to help the wounded.

Will looked down at Abigail, "Are you alright?"

She drew a shaky breath, "I'm okay."

Will hugged her closely all the same.

XxxX

Everyone was at least somewhat damaged from the crash. One person was dead and there were three in what Hannibal would consider critical condition. At least the planet they landed on seemed alright. It was rather cold but not cold enough to freeze. They had landed in the middle of a temperate forest, tearing a long line of trees from their original placement. The trees in this particular forest were tall and thick with pale trunks and dark green leaves. Will shivered as he made his way outside. They had to abandon the ship, getting as much out of it as they could.

He'd been in earlier to check the state of the warp core and the thing was so unstable that he was surprised that it hadn't already exploded. Will was the best authority on that sort of thing at the moment as the ship's engineer may or may not have been knocked into a coma in the crash. The point was that they had to move quickly, a shield had been placed around the core but it would be blown to pieces if the core did actually rupture.

Hannibal hadn't had a moment of rest. Quite a few people needed his attention.

An emergency transmission had been sent out, so it was likely they would be rescued in the next few days, but still had to manage their supplies just in case. They had enough rations to last a few months at least, so they were set there. There were fifteen thermal blankets that they were going to have to fight over. Three large tents. Some of what Will would consider basic camping supplies. And they managed to recover two medium sized hovering cargo transporters that they were using to carry the most critical individuals. A lot of people were aided with just the dermal regenerator that had been in the pack of supplies. At least no one would bleed to death.

The group moved at a slow pace for those injured. The healthiest moved ahead to scout out the area. Will and Abigail moved with the middle of the pack. Hannibal was at the back in case anyone needed him. By the time it started to get dark, about four hours after they'd crashed, it was decided that they should set up camp.

The tents were actually really nice. About ten people were assigned to each one. The thermal blankets were large enough that they fit two people. So, if a person got a blanket thru had to share. Some didn't need blankets, there was an andorian who laughed at those other species that shivered in the cold, having grown up on an icy planet.

Hannibal insisted that Will and Abigail take the blanket, but Will insisted that this idea was stupid because Hannibal was shivering more than half the people in the tent. So, Abigail and Hannibal got the blanket, laying back to back. The thing was only half on Hannibal so that he could reach over and squeeze Will into his chest as a source of living heat. It wasn't the worst way to sleep, though it could have obviously been better.

The camp was woken up by some panicked shouting. Immediately, everyone was at the ready. As all able bodied individuals rushed to see what was the matter, Will lagged slightly behind. Hannibal had gone ahead. Will felt rather ill.

Laid out in front of the tents was a crime scene. They had assigned a vulcan man to keep watch over them in the night because he insisted that he did not need to rest at that time. He now rested on his back, his belly opened and filled with flowers. Green blood pooled like angle wings into the dirt.

It felt like the copy cat. There were fourteen bajorans on board. Eight were male, three were of the right age range. All three stood, gaping at the body in apparent horror.

Will approached Hannibal and leaned over his shoulder slightly. "You were right, he's here for you."

Hannibal examined Will's face, letting a small smile grace his features. "I'm always right."

Will rolled his eyes. "There are three people it could be. Any idea which one it is?"

"Hard to say at the moment, but my money is on that gentleman," Hannibal nodded to the bajoran closest to them.

"Why?"

"The emotion does not touch his eyes."

"I'll take your word for it, I don't want to look too closely."

"I'll look so you don't have to."

XxxX

The body had been moved away. Out of sight and out of mind. Well, not quite. Everyone was panicked over this development. The vulcan had obviously been murdered so there was a murdering amongst them.

It was decided that another distress signal should be made. They had a portable beacon with them intended to send out a priority one signal. Sure, they'd sent out a severe signal before but this one authorized drastic measures.

Unfortunately, the area where they'd chosen to set up their camp wasn't at the correct elevation to send out an accurate signal. They had to go higher, or at least out of the valley they'd settled in.

Will was the chosen one to set up the signal, being the only mobile engineer. It was insisted that he not go along. He wanted Hannibal to go with him, but not Abigail because he didn't know what might be out there. Unfortunately, the group wasn't eager to let a doctor out of their sights. So it was up to volunteers. The first person to volunteer ended up being the bajoran that Hannibal had pointed out as his prime copy cat suspect. A man named Abel Gideon.

At this, Will had met Hannibal's gaze. Hannibal wanted them to go together. He wanted something to happen. So, they went together, both with some level of understanding as to what would happen.

For the first thirty minutes or so of walking there was awkward silence. Will couldn't feel anything in particular coming off the Bajoran, he was thinking about the wildlife around them.

"So, I hear you are married to the man accused of being the Batal Ripper," Gideon said rather suddenly, startling Will.

"Yes, I am."

"And he was apparently executed for those accused crimes."

"A fabrication for the cardassian public."

"Indeed. And I hear the real Ripper has been on a bit of a spree."

"Yes, well. If it is the Ripper."

"If?"

Will met the bajoran's gaze. "I think it's a copy cat."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because his crimes don't feel like the Ripper's. He doesn't make the same art, it's cheap and lacking in taste. This man is a bajoran doctor, unlike the Ripper."

"And what is the Ripper?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

The bajoran stopped. "Well, I feel it is time that I make my stand here." He pounced before Will had a chance to respond. He closed a hand over Will's throat as he pulled out a knife. "How angry do you think he'll be when he finds I've destroyed his pretty little empath?"

Will choked in air. His hands grasped the ground, pulling up a fist full of dirt and flinging it into the bajoran's face causing him to back off enough for Will to scramble away. He reached down for the pack at his side containing the beacon. It also happened to contain some basic repair tool that could definitely double as weapons.

Gideon was lunging for him again. Will grabbed the first tool he could, which happened to be sonic screwdriver. The object wasn't quite the sharp one he was hoping for but it was small enough that it would do a lot of damage if it were used to stop someone in the eye. So, as he was tackled to the ground, Will attempted to gouge the eyes out of the murder's face. It was easier said than done. Gideon seemed as if he wished to keep his eyes.

As they struggled, Will managed to get his teeth around Gideon's left ear and bit down, tearing it off. The man shrieked, fumbling slightly.

His time Will grabbed a hyperspannet, a sturdy cylindrical object. Will wielded like a baton, smashing it into Gideon's temple. The man gave a startled sound from where he laid on the ground. But Will did not let up. He reached for his bag and brought out a laser cutter. Overcome with a strange feeling of power, Will drew the blade across Gideon's throat. There was no need to prolong this struggle. It was over as Will felt the life seep out of the body before him.

He sat back, breathing heavily. He would have to get rid of the body. It wasn't terribly likely that another person would happen by it but still. Will dragged the body off through a briar patch where it invisible to the world. He would have to tell the others there was some sort of animal attack, or better yet, there was some unknown humanoid species on the planet that had tried to strangle him and had dragged Gideon off.

Taking a deep breath, Will walked the rest of the way to the high point and put down the beacon. He remained there for a moment, looking over the trees back toward the little camp. He was eager to get back to Abigail and Hannibal. He felt strangely calm. After killing Abigail's father he had felt frantic. He was different now, seeing the situation from a different angle.

He strolled back through the woods to camp, only slightly limping. The walk felt much shorter with no one else there to bother him. When he reached the camp the first person to see him gave a startled gasp. That was probably to be expected given his current state. Faces blurred, they were unimportant. Hannibal was what he was looking for. When the doctor emerged into view Will stumbled forward and let Hannibal take his weight. Hannibal pulled Will close, whispering soft words to him, playing the worried spouse, but Will had seen the expression on his face. Or rather, the glint in his eye. He knew what had happened. Will was glad he knew.

Standing there in the middle of a camp of panicked people, Will and Hannibal settled into an understanding. They were for sure in this together now. For good. For the long run. For as long as they could keep going. And that was enough.

The end.

XxxX

A/N: And they were rescued, went off to the new station together, and murdered people together forever. Happily ever after.

This chapter is so rushed that I would call it more an outline of what should have happened but whatever, I was getting too bored to carry on. I started this story just after school started last year and as I write this now it's March, and not I'm probably updating it in January so I've had this done for nearly a year. So, yeah, I've been wanted to move on for a while now.

Ugh, I'm so awkward at writing physical romance. This is why I like super slow burns :/

I didn't mean to make a doctor who reference... I just couldn't think of another word for a futuristic screw driver.

Anyway, it's been fun. Hope you enjoyed. It kind of really sucked but it's done now. Thanks for reading :-)

Live long and prosper.