A/N: It's been forever since I posted. At long last, here is the final chapter. Thank you to everyone for reading and, especially, thank you, Susan. Without you, this never would have been finished.

Epilogue

Freeman found Ardelia sitting on a bench near the reflecting pool. He hung back a moment, wondering whether or not he should approach. Ardelia's posture was stiff and she sat very still. Freeman took a deep breath and walked towards her.

"Assistant Director?"

She turned her face towards him and smiled bitterly. There was a trace of something he couldn't quite identify in her tone when she said, "Not anymore. Just call me Ardelia."

"May I sit?"

She shrugged and looked back at the pool. "How did the OPR hearing go?"

"Better than I expected."

Ardelia was silent for a moment. "You lied for me, for her."

"I didn't plan to. It just kind of happened. I couldn't take it back." He sighed. "Do you think they're safe with him, Ardelia?"

"I think . . . I don't know what I think. I'm so tired." Her mouth twisted downwards. "He told me he'd look after them. Clarice said he never lied, so . . . I don't know."

Freeman leaned against the back of the bench. "I requested that I not be assigned to the case."

"I think Clarice would have liked you. You're different than most of the other agents."

They fell silent again, each looking out at the water. Then Ardelia said, "I resigned."

"I heard." He paused. "Are you going to be okay?"

She just nodded, then stood. Giving a half-smile, she walked away from the pool. Freeman watched her go, then looked back at the water.

Halfway around the world, Emma stood barefoot on the beach, watching the sunset. The waves licked at her feet and the evening breeze whipped her hair around her face but she hardly noticed. Her thoughts were on a life that felt so long ago; it was hard to believe it had only been half a year.

There were things she missed about her old life, but on the whole, she wasn't sorry she'd left it behind. Ever since she was a child, she had dreamed about knowing her father, and now that they were finally a complete family, Emma wouldn't give that up for anything.

What she'd discovered was that there was more to Lecter than the monster people saw. For the first few weeks, Emma had watched his every movement almost obsessively, and she'd learned three things. The first was that he genuinely loved her mother; more than that, he adored her, and Emma thought it sweet the way he spoiled her with gifts. The second was that he had a sense of humor similar to Emma's. The third was that he loved Emma.

She'd told herself early on that she couldn't expect him to love her when he'd only just found out about her, and she had been afraid – though she would never admit it – that there was only room for one love in Hannibal Lecter's life: Clarice Starling. Emma had never been happier to be proved wrong.

She glanced back up at the house they'd recently moved into. Her parents were on the porch, their attention focused completely on one another as they spoke animatedly. Emma watched them, wondering what they were discussing, but chose not to return just yet.

Something brushed against her foot; a starfish that had been washed ashore. Emma bent down and picked it up, studied it for a moment, then smiled and threw it back into the ocean. Then, abandoning her reflections of the past, she turned and slowly walked back up to the house, to a present and a future that were all she had ever wanted.

The End.