The mountain of pillows stacked at her back seemed to help her breathing come easier, she noticed. Of course it helped, he had put them there. There was no denying that she was in the best possible care.

That didn't help her overactive imagination though, and Clarice struggled with sitting still as she envisioned where he was and what he was currently doing. She was waging a war within herself as mental pictures from his case file flooded her mind. She had tried to sleep and wouldn't be lying to him when he asked, she'd tried for a full 30 minutes before giving up and gingerly standing from the bed.

Her toes hit the floor and her eyes immediately moved to the bathroom door. Really, how hard could it be?

It took her far longer than she'd care to admit to get to where she was now stood, before the gleaming white tile of the huge tub. It's large gold, ornate taps beckoned her and she leaned down very slowly to turn it on.

The disapproving tut from the Dr Lecter who was ever present in her mind made her pause for only a moment.

She desperately needed a wash and she'd be damned if she was accepting a sponge bath from Hannibal Lecter.

Yes, a walk-in shower would have been easier, but what Clarice had at her disposable was a gargantuan tub and… She lifted an unlabelled bottle to her nose and breathed in — almond scented bath oil.

So she was determined to have a bath and emerge smelling of almonds rather than the several days build up of grime, sweat and blood which currently clung to her skin. Consequences be damned.

She decided not to analyse too closely the fact that she'd waited for his absence to disobey rather than defying him when she'd been stood toe to toe with him.

Coward. Her mind whispered but she ignored it and instead attempted to figure out a way to plug the hole down which all her bath water was currently escaping. She attempted to bend but sharply corrected herself as pain shot through her. Her grip was white knuckled on the tub edge as she tried to breathe through the pain.

Next she tried to bend using her uninjured side, but no. That was just as bad, clearly the muscles on her other side relied just as heavily on her injured side to work. A huff of frustration left her as she watched the hot water trickle away whilst the pain receded to a manageable amount.

Right. What was next?

Knees. She would try kneeling. As long as her torso was kept upright she shouldn't feel too much strain on her ribs, or at least that was her theory. So, acting as though she had a pole fastened to her spine, Clarice began attempting to kneel upon the thick bath mat at her feet.

The pain wasn't too unbearable as she got to one knee and only increased when she attempted to bring the other knee beneath her. She quickly stopped trying as she realised she only needed one knee on the floor anyway. Her arm extended over the edge and as Clarice leaned against it for support the warm water trickled down her fingers as she gingerly searched for hole in which the metal plug was supposed to fit.

The feeling of minor suction as the plug clunked into place was an elation Clarice didn't think she'd ever feel over something so menial, but a smile of triumph lit her face as she carefully stood and began pouring oil into the tub.

Ha. Clarice 1 - Dr Lecter 0

The scent of almonds soon filled the steaming air and she decided to next turn her attention to her clothing. Pulling her T-Shirt over her head wasn't an option and it was only when she'd gotten one arm stuck in her sleeve and was in agony with pain shooting through her, did she realise that pulling her arms out wasn't a great plan either.

Clarice shuffled her way over to the medicine cabinet and with her unrestrained arm opened and searched within for something sharp. Her hands landed on some scissors and she breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled them out and began snipping at the grey cotton.

As it fell away from her shoulders, Clarice realised there was no way she was going to be able to get her hands behind her to unhook her bra, and so with some regret she snipped at the front of the lace and watched it fall away. That had been one of her nicer undergarments.

The panties were much easier and didn't require the scissors, so she returned them to their home and then stood to contemplate her next task.

The tub was three quarters of the way full and beckoned invitingly. Almond scented steam curled off of the surface of the water and she took a steadying breath as she stepped as close as she could.

Come on Clarice, you have come this far. You need to get in the damn tub before Hannibal Lecter comes home and finds you standing naked in his bathroom.

That was enough motivation for her to pre-emptively grip at her side at the pain she knew would be forthcoming as she lifted her leg and made to drop it into the tub. Pain lanced through her and she cried out through gritted teeth before deciding the best way would be to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Ten minutes later she was still gasping for air in the pleasantly hot water that surrounded her as pain continued to assault her, tears streaming heavily down her cheeks as she cursed her own stupidity. She had made it into the tub but the painful spasms still hadn't stopped and oh how she wished for some pain relief.

She couldn't move and no one was coming to help and so she laid there, naked in the water, clutching her side and breathing in short, panting breaths until the pain subsided.

After another ten minutes she couldn't decide if the pain had faded or if she was becoming accustomed to it, so she softly let the water take her lower and lower until her hair streamed beside her in red ribbons.

Once entirely submerged and with her eyes closed, Clarice allowed herself a moment of recollection, of fear and of fury. Then she envisioned it all being washed away on this almond scented water. The smell of their sweat and the sharp gravel that had torn into her cheeks. Her fear and the tears she had shed in anger were now gone and replaced with calm and serenity.

It was with this in the forefront of her mind that she emerged from the water, her head tilted back somewhat to allow the water to drop from her hair.

She felt her muscles twinge threateningly but ignored it, instead choosing to examine the change in the air around her. Something was different.

Her eyes were still closed as she counted up the minutes it had taken her to get to this point. It must have been over an hour but nowhere near two. How could he be back so quickly?

She was only slightly aware of her breasts arching out of the water with the rest of her body as she'd risen, her hands rising to stroke through her dripping hair.

When she opened her eyes, she did not startle to see the figure stood beside her, radiating power and fury.

"Still not knocking, I see." Her voice was calm as her eyes swept over him, whether looking for her own pleasure or to see any evidence of a butchering, she wasn't sure.

Her eyes shot back to his when a low growl seemed to rip from him unintentionally whilst his eyes bored into hers.

"Still determined to do yourself additional harm after my every attempt to keep you comfortable, I see." His voice echoed around the high ceiling and she knew she needed to choose her next words very carefully.

"I know…" She sighed, closing her eyes a moment before opening them again as she shifted to lay back against the tub. "You were right, this was incredibly stupid of me. But I had to… I had to get the smell of them off me."

The admittance cost her, but she could see it almost immediately soothed him as the fire in his gaze lessened somewhat as his eyes scoured her face. She would grant him, since she'd noticed his presence his gaze hadn't once dipped below her chin.

"Forgive me, Clarice. Had I known I would have seen to it myself, I could have assisted you so that it was far less painful."

"I didn't want you to." She said simply, her tone explaining that her words weren't an insult to him, but her own stubborn wilfulness asserting itself. "Though I am glad you are back, I'm not quite sure I will be able to get out."

A smirk curved his lips as he took off his jacket and unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt, before rolling them to his elbows. This revealed his strong, tanned forearms; which were pleasingly adorned with dark hairs. She looked away as he returned his attention to her, blaming the heat in her cheeks on the temperature of the water.

How she could get so flustered at seeing his forearms whilst she was laying naked, she thought, was a little ridiculous.

"Err… How're we gonna do this doctor?" She was eager to leave the grimy water and her fear behind, but the task seemed a monumental one for her over-taxed body.

"You need only hold on, Clarice. I will see to the rest." He approached, his gaze soft and his fingers had just touched the water before her hand shot out to lay against his chest, stopping his movement from progressing.

"Wait…" She breathed, feeling humiliation begin to overwhelm her now that his fury had abated. "I'm not… Maybe I can manage."

"Don't be stubborn, Clarice. You most certainly cannot manage. If it helps, I swear to you that I attend to you now purely in the form of a physician and not as a man who desires you."

"Wha- What?" Her head turned sharply as his hands delved beneath the water and hooked beneath her legs and her back. "You desire me?"

He stood swiftly and the water slopped around her and against the sides of the tub, her arms quickly found their place around his neck and her naked body pressed against his now soaked shirt. Her eyes lingered on the material that was now see-through and showed matching dark hair across his chest.

"At this very moment, Agent Starling, I am not permitted to."

His steps were even and measured and she looked at him beneath her lashes, hesitating only a moment before she whispered her next words.

"And if you were…?"

"Clarice."

His warning growl reverberated through his chest and against her peaked nipples, shooting waves of pleasure through her. "Now is not the time to test your claws."

She wasn't brave enough to say anything else and so settled for chewing on her bottom lip as he lowered her onto the bed and pulled a towel from the chair at his side. He had clearly prepared for needing to help her, just as he had prepared for everything else. He wrapped the towel about her and she pulled it tight around her shoulders, her crossed legs raising so that her knees were as close to her chest as she could manage.

"Are you able to remain here for just a moment whilst I retrieve another towel, Clarice? Or will I return to find you attempting to dress yourself, hmm?" A twinkle in his eye told her he was teasing her in good nature and so she responded with a put upon huff as he turned back to the bathroom.

He was out of her field of vision for only a moment before he returned, another fluffy white towel held loosely in his strong hands. He bid her to stand by offering her his own hand and she did, with much more care than she had done the first time round. Her pruned fingertips clung to his tanned forearm as she cringed at the pain from over exerting herself.

The towels were swiftly switched, the larger covered her from chin to toe whilst the smaller was wrapped carefully around her dripping hair.

"You've done this before." She'd meant it to be teasing, but instead it had sounded jealous.

He only hummed low in his throat as he let his gaze run over her face, taking in every inch of freckled skin before returning to the armoire and selecting appropriate clothing. As he did so Clarice dabbed at her towel encased hair, ensuring most of the moisture was gone before discarding it from her hair and letting her wet hair cascade over her shoulders.

Dr Lecter had clearly found what he was looking for, for as he turned back it was with a crisp, white shirt in hand, he held the garment up for her to put her arms into.

"You are of course more than welcome to return to your room for your own clothing, Clarice. However I thought that something with buttons within easy reach might stall any further injury caused by pulling things over your head, hmm?" A maddening quirk of that brow in challenge was all it took to stoke her ire.

She knew he expected her to hesitate and more than likely thought she might protest or perhaps would comply, but holding the towel around her at all times to preserve her modesty.

He clearly hadn't realised she was aware of him when she rose from the bath earlier. Or perhaps was challenging her to again show the same bravado.

She met his maroon eyes with the confidence of a woman secure in her desirability and shifted her shoulders very subtly, just once. That was all it took for the towel to drift down her shoulders and, when she released it from within her fingers, drop to the floor.