Hannibal was caught; he knew there was no getting out of this. They had finally managed to outsmart him; either that or he had gotten a little too cocky with his people jokes. It didn't really matter though, his game of cat and mouse with the FBI was over, at least for now.

There was just one thing left to do before they carted him off to the psychiatric prison, and that was to tell Will.

Hannibal was curious how Will would react to the news. Would he have another seizure? Would his already fragile mind finally break?

Jack was the one who had taken Hannibal into custody and it was him now that brought Will into the interrogation room where they were holding Hannibal for the moment.

Will hadn't been told, Jack had been worried about his mental state for a while now, and he was concerned how the news would affect him.

Will sat down opposite Hannibal, eyeing the handcuffs that chained his friend to the table. The pieces started slotting into place in his head.

Jack was about to explain, when Hannibal beat him to it.

"Will, I am the Chesapeake ripper" Hannibal said, without a hint of expression on his face, or in his voice, it was as if he was reading out a shopping list.

An awkward silence settled in the room, not even the slight noise from outside reached them.

Hannibal tries to reach out his hand for Wills, but the handcuffs stop him. The sound of the chains broke the silence.

Will's shoulders start moving, almost like he is crying. Jack starts to panic; he has no idea how to handle a crying Will. But then the sound of laughter bursts from Will and echoes around the room.

Both Hannibal and Jack are taken aback; they were not expecting this response. Maybe Will has finally lost it.

Will laughs for five full minutes, all the while Hannibal and Jack keep quiet, scared to even move.

Finally Will calms down enough to splutter "all those people jokes! Oh my god, I can't believe you did all of those!" and quickly dissolves back into laughter.

Hannibal relaxes slightly; it appears that his friend has a good sense of humour after all.

All of a sudden Will turns to Jack and giggles "His name even rhymes with cannibal, how the hell did you not catch on? How the hell did you suspect me and not him? His name is a big giveaway"

Jack merely states "you didn't see it either"

"That may be true, but I'm sick" Will whips back, all trace of laughter gone.

Hannibal's eyes widened in surprise, Will knew about his condition.

"Of course your ill Will but that is why you are so good at your job" Jack spits.

"No. Not my empathy thing, Jack. After everything that has been happening recently I thought it would be best if I got a second opinion. So I went to an old friend and did some tests. I have anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, basically an autoimmune brain inflammation" Will calmly explains.

Jack stands stock still, slack jawed, he couldn't think of anything to say.

Hannibal relaxes against the back of his chair. Well now, Will knows. I wonder how he took it. He looks okay now but how was he when he first found out. It's a shame I wasn't there, it would have been interesting to watch.

Will turns back to Hannibal, and they lock eyes. Will can't see a single emotion in Hannibal's eyes, they are empty, dead. Hannibal is letting Will see the real him. The killer, the man who warned another killer that Will was coming, just to see what his response would be. The man who ate the people he killed.

A thought struck Will and Hannibal smiled viciously as he saw the horror in Will's eyes. That smile it reminded Jack of a predator that knows it has you cornered and that it can take its time and kill you slowly.

As the thought grew in Will's mind, all the blood rushes from his face, leaving him the pale colour of a fresh corpse. He attempted to stand but his legs wouldn't hold him. He slumped back into his chair, turned to the side and vomited. His whole body shook with the force of his stomach trying to expel everything inside it. Jack steps in to help when he was sure Will had finished, and as he bends down to ask if he is okay, Will whimpers in his ear.

Its Jacks turn to shake, he has just enough strength to make it out of the interrogation room and find the nearest bin. As Jack kneels on the floor of the departments main office space, the rest of the department simply stared in horror. They knew that Jack has seen a lot of horrible things, things that would make any normal person see their breakfast again, but they had never seen Jack vomit, not even at some of the worst crime scene. What was it that had made him finally loose his lunch?

As they gathered around him in a wide semi circle, Jack raised his head from the bin and its now liquid contents and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, "He fed us people"

The rest of the office blanched at the revelation, as one by one the officers remembered the time Hannibal had brought in muffins for them. Some of the officers hurried off to find the nearest bathroom or a bin of their own.

Throughout all of this Hannibal had not moved an inch, that predatory wolfish grin still on his face and Will noticed a spark of joy in his eyes.