Hannibal followed Will as he always did. Fearing the young man could get lost, he continued to walk to the woods behind him, on that snowy freezing day. Hannibal had no idea where he was going, but he followed. He had the strangest feeling that Will didn't know either, why he was or where he was walking. Well, they would see where this led them. But Will had made so many changes, had changed directions so many times, walked so much that Hannibal lost himself too. That was not good.

He didn't know where he was, he didn't know where things started and ended and Will was moving faster than ever. And then, suddenly, he steeped on something that was not quite solid, that was not the ground. But he stepped on it as if it was, and the ground broke below his feet and he fell. A frozen lake. And he had fallen before he had time to think.

At first he felt only surprise, shock at the sudden cold. Then it hit him, like a hard slap on the face or a hard slap just anywhere. The change of temperature reached his body and the cold filled his whole being. The cold attacked his body like a disease. He felt like screaming but didn't.

No, there was no time to freak out - every second was precious. He had to think fast and act even faster if he wanted to get out of there. If he didn't react, the ice in top of him would form again, trapping him in an icy grave. So he tried to sum up and up, and up. But was proving ridiculously difficult, his clothes were weighing him down and it was so cold it was making it difficult to move. It was just so cold. So so cold. And the surface was so far. And he couldn't breather.

Knowing he was fighting for his life, Hannibal let go of his coat to get rid of the weight and went up. But it was already too late and a thin layer of ice had formed, leaving him trapped. He tried to break it, but couldn't. Every second was agony. Fortunately, there was someone trying to break the ice on the other side, too.

Will had been quite far, but he had seen what had happened. Hannibal stepping on the lake, the ice breaking, the doctor suddenly disappearing. He went there as fast as he could, careful not to break the ice. And he arrived to the site he found with horror that the ice was forming above Doctor Lecter. He tried to break it with panic, failing at the start until with one mighty footstep the ice broke, finally. Hannibal's head resurfaced and he took one long breath.

He had made it. It could seem unbelievable, impossible, but he was alive, still alive. He was not going to die in the ice. Will offered him a hand and h accepted, getting out of the water for once and all. Getting out of the water, but not of the cold. Because when he came out of the water, the cold remained attached to him like a skin, like his own blood. The cold stayed, it had gotten inside of him. He was so, so cold. The snow was heavier now, with only made the atmosphere colder.

Moving into the woods again and away from the lake, Will asked:

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, just slightly...cold." His teeth were chattering and he was just so, so cold.

Not knowing exactly what to do, Will took out his woollen hat and offered it to Hannibal.

"Maybe you can dry yourself a bit with this." He offered.

Hannibal took it gladly and dried his face and neck as best as he could with those shivering hands. He was losing control, giving himself to the cold.

"Tha- thank you, Will." He said through chattering teeth. So undignified.

"We should go back, get you somewhere warm."

Fortunately, Will seemed to know where they were going. Hannibal breathed and he could almost feel the breath freezing as it came into contact with the snow outside. It was just so incredibly cold and his clothes were drenched. He shivered and then again. Hannibal couldn't think properly.

Will noted how the dunk in the water had damaged the doctor, and was getting worried. Yes, he thought he knew the way and it was obvious that they had to get somewhere warm, and fast. The snow was only getting worse and Doctor Lecter was shivering almost uncontrollably.

Hannibal had never felt so cold in his life. He was so terribly cold that it hurt, positively, literally. His hands hurt, and they wouldn't get warmer. His eyes, his face, his whole being was hurting because it was fighting the cold and the cold was winning. He shivered. His teeth made an ugly sound. This was so far from his usual elegant control. And he had lost a very good coat, to top it all.

After some minutes, Will admitted he was a bit lost.

"You wouldn't happen to have a flare gun with you, right?" He said, trying to lighten up the mood.

But Hannibal's mood, like the rest of him, was frozen. There was only the cold. Only the cold. Will looked at him with a worried expression. Without much thinking he put his warm hands on Hannibal's freezing ones.

"Is this better?"

"So- somehat, yes."

But it was not working fast enough.

"Embrace me." Will said, out of the blue.

"Wh-what?"

"The best way to fight hypothermia is body heat, I-I know that."

And so they hugged, while the good Doctor still shivered and held Will as if fighting for dear life. Trying to battle out th cold, with all his strength. They had snowflakes in their hair.
That's how Alana found them, a short while later. Lost in a deep embrace, with snow on their clothes. Dr. Lecter's clothes seemed wet, too and he appeared to have lost his coat. It was a beautiful sight in its own way. She smiled.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Crawford is looking for you guys. We thought we lost you." Alana said.

The two men ended the embrace and looked at the newcomer.

"You almost did."

Hannibal had indeed developed a mild nut persistent hypothermia and didn't recover until the next day, with the help of electric blankets, warm cocoa and a long shower that had started warm but ended up scolding.

On their next session, the incident was brought up with Hannibal thanking Will for his speedy action.

"It's me who has to thank you, Doctor."

For once, Hannibal was confused.

"I was lost and you were the only one who came after me. It could have easily been me, who fell in the ice and nobody would have seen it. Thank you for coming with me."

"Thank you for allowing my presence."

They smiled, changing the subject from the cold ice.

Even if he pretended to not have been affected, Hannibal had to admit it was a while until he felt at ease eating a popsicle again. He had indulged in them, every once in a while, as a guilty pleasure. But now...

Too many unpleasant memories, trapped in the ice.

A/N: Weirdness is weird.

Hoping to hear from you, dear readers and reviewers!