"Do you ever wonder who we would be if we had never met?"

"Who would you be, Will?"

"Way less scarred, way more bored, I guess." Although it created the impression, his half-hearted smile was not entirely cynical. "And you? Would you feel alone?"

"Alone? No. But lonely."

"Were you lonely when you were with Doctor DuMaurier?"

"Yes."

"She wasn't a good substitute for me then?"

"Has Molly been a good substitute for me?"

"She wasn't a substitute."

"What was she to you?"

"My wife." An instant long, he hesitated. "And my attempt of being someone else."

"Have you been successful?"

"For a while, yes."

"Craving change is not a shame. Closing your eyes to your own nature and potential though is." He paused and beheld Will with an alert gaze before averting that very gaze. "Did you love her?"

"I loved what we had. I loved how she made me feel. Normal. Ordinary."

"You are not ordinary, Will. You are unique."

He snorted mirthlessly. "Yeah..."

"I wish you could see yourself through my eyes, from my point of view. I don't want you to feel the need to change who you are. I want you to spread your wings; and become. You are unique, but you neither need to be alone nor lonely. If you want to fly, I will lift you up. And if you fall, I will follow you down."

"No one can be fully aware of another human being unless we love them. By that love we see potential in our beloved. Through that love, we allow our beloved to see their potential. Expressing that love, our beloved's potential comes true."

Hannibal to Will 2.09