FIC- Veronica Mars/Friday Night Lights x-over
So...Anyone remember that really big VM/FNL idea I had that I talked about like forever and then started that fic, but never finished? Um, yeah...
So...NaNo is kicking my ass, and I just needed a little variety today, so I dipped back into that universe. I'm hoping to go back to this story sometime soon, but I think the beauty of it is that it's so wildly AU so I can come back any time, and it really doesn't interfere with what's happening on the show now.
So, in that vein, I bring you Part III of the Miles To Go Before I Sleep series...
Part I
Part II
Title: The Reason (part III in the Miles To Go Before I Sleep... series)
Pairing/Characters: Veronica/Billy Riggins, Lorraine & Matt Saracen(VM/Friday Night Lights)
Rating: pg (for this part)
Word Count: 1337
Spoilers/Warnings: set post Not Pictured, and around the same chronological time in the FNL-verse, so June 2006 would make it pre-series. This...might be a shock to some of you.
Summary: It's been a long time coming...
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: This one's completely un-betaed. I’d like to thank hope27 for making me these beautiful graphics!
The tiny bungalow with the screen door and the chain-link fence somehow reminded her of Weevil's house, and somehow, the thought made her a little nauseous. She had checked and double-checked the address daily since graduation night, and she knew she was at the correct house, but she couldn't seem to make one foot move in front of the other. Once she knocked on that door, she knew that life wouldn't be the same again.
As if life hadn't changed enough over the past sixteen days.
Still she stood still on the sidewalk, taking in the sights of the potted plants crowding in front of the doorstep, the crooked sign reading Matthew Saracen, #7 half-hanging off the spike in the lawn. She knew standing still wasn't going to solve anything, and on shaky legs, Veronica walked up to the door and knocked on the door, twice. After a few moments of hearing someone moving around inside the house, a woman in her seventies with slightly mussed brown hair and a well-worn housecoat answered. "Hi," Veronica said. "I'm looking for Matthew Saracen."
The woman didn't answer her for a moment and narrowed her eyes. "Lianne? Is that you?"
"No," Veronica answered quickly, and forced her voice to be clear. "My name is Veronica Mars." The woman continued to look at her suspiciously. "Um...Lianne Reynolds is my mother."
"You're the spitting image of her, Lianne," the woman continued and Veronica decided that it probably wasn't the best idea to correct her again. "I don't know that you're supposed to be here, you-"
"Granma, who's at the door?" Veronica held her breath as she heard the unmistakable voice of a teenaged boy. Growly and soft at the same time. He was a big sucker for sixteen, tall and strong with high cheekbones and bright blue eyes.
"Uh...hi," his eyes widened when he looked at Veronica, and she wished that she'd had time to shower and wash her hair before coming over. Billy had dropped her off at the motel, but she couldn't check in yet, even though they'd let her leave her bags there. With a wry smile he asked her if they could meet for a drink while she was in town. It seemed she shocked him a little when she told him she was only eighteen.
But this had been put off for far too long. "Can- can we help you, miss?"
Veronica felt tears spring to her eyes. She was so unprepared for this. She didn't know what he knew, she was overstepping her bounds, she was sure of it. What if he had no idea? "Are you Matthew Saracen?"
The old woman crossed her arms and stepped in front of the boy, a protective gesture. "Yes, he is."
"What- what can I do for you?" He put his arm around his grandmother's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
"My name is Veronica Mars, and I...I need to talk to you."
"No, you don't!" Matthew's grandma wasn't going to give up without a fight.
"Granma!" Matthew hushed the old lady gently. "Um...maybe, yeah, maybe we can go somewhere, uh, Veronica." He had a sweet nature about him. Veronica waited patiently while he settled his grandmother in front of the tv, and led her around to the backyard. Tulips and honeysuckle grew in no particular pattern. There were flowers wherever there was a square inch of dirt.
"So...so how do you know who I am?" Matthew asked once they settled down on two plastic lawn chairs, facing each other.
Veronica sighed. Where do I begin? She pulled the carefully re-folded letter out of her jacket pocket and looked down at it, hoping to draw courage. "Um, well...Maybe I should tell you about myself. Um, I'm from California and..." She stopped again and he patiently waited for her to continue. There was no good way to ease into this. "Two weeks ago, the night I graduated from high school, my father was...killed." It was the first time she had said it, out loud, and she had been unprepared for the quick, sharp twist to her gut the words produced.
"Hey...Jeez, I'm...I'm sorry," Matt said, his eyes wide with confusion. But it didn't sound patronizing, coming from him, she could hear the genuine compassion in his voice.
"You're probably wondering what this has to do with you, huh?" Veronica tried to smile, blinking back tears. "Um...Well, this might help better than I could." She handed him the letter, and waited patiently as he read every word. She nearly had it memorized at this point.
March 7, 2004
Dear Veronica,
Hey honey. Well, this is difficult. I guess, if you're reading this, I'm not here anymore.
And baby, you have no idea how sorry I am about that. I know that you're going to be
sad right now, but I hope that in time, you'll know that I'll always be with you.
I never planned on writing a letter to you like this. But we lost Lilly five months ago,
and I know that you know that life is uncertain. Mom's been gone now for a little while,
and honey, I wish I could say I know that she'll come back, but the truth is I don't know
that for sure. So, I'm going to tell you a secret that I swore to her I would never tell you.
This isn't the first time your mother left us. She's always had to fight the booze pretty hard
and a little bit after your second birthday, she split on us. And she was gone for a long
time, over a year. When I finally found her, she was in a little town in Texas, and she'd
found herself a new family. She had just given birth to a baby boy, your little brother and
was living with another man. I offered to divorce her, if she wanted to be with this other
guy, but she couldn't bear the thought of not seeing you again. When this other guy found
out that she had another family she left in California, he threw her out and told her that
she would never see her son again. And I don't think she has.
Please don't be mad that you're just hearing this now. Your brother's father asked that we
never contact them. And he's not my child and I can't make those kinds of decisions for him.
But if I'm gone, and your mother's gone, I don't want you to be alone. I want you to have a
family.
Your brother's name is Matthew Saracen and he's three years younger than you. He lives
with his grandmother in Dillon, Texas. I've kept tabs on him over the years, so that you'll
be able to find him if you ever need him.
I don't know how to end a letter like this. I'll always love you, baby.
Veronica waited while her brother finished reading the letter from her father. It seemed he took years to finish, and Veronica couldn't read his expressions. Finally he folded the paper back up and handed it back to her. He was smiling.
So...NaNo is kicking my ass, and I just needed a little variety today, so I dipped back into that universe. I'm hoping to go back to this story sometime soon, but I think the beauty of it is that it's so wildly AU so I can come back any time, and it really doesn't interfere with what's happening on the show now.
So, in that vein, I bring you Part III of the Miles To Go Before I Sleep series...
Part I
Part II
Title: The Reason (part III in the Miles To Go Before I Sleep... series)
Pairing/Characters: Veronica/Billy Riggins, Lorraine & Matt Saracen(VM/Friday Night Lights)
Rating: pg (for this part)
Word Count: 1337
Spoilers/Warnings: set post Not Pictured, and around the same chronological time in the FNL-verse, so June 2006 would make it pre-series. This...might be a shock to some of you.
Summary: It's been a long time coming...
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: This one's completely un-betaed. I’d like to thank hope27 for making me these beautiful graphics!
The tiny bungalow with the screen door and the chain-link fence somehow reminded her of Weevil's house, and somehow, the thought made her a little nauseous. She had checked and double-checked the address daily since graduation night, and she knew she was at the correct house, but she couldn't seem to make one foot move in front of the other. Once she knocked on that door, she knew that life wouldn't be the same again.
As if life hadn't changed enough over the past sixteen days.
Still she stood still on the sidewalk, taking in the sights of the potted plants crowding in front of the doorstep, the crooked sign reading Matthew Saracen, #7 half-hanging off the spike in the lawn. She knew standing still wasn't going to solve anything, and on shaky legs, Veronica walked up to the door and knocked on the door, twice. After a few moments of hearing someone moving around inside the house, a woman in her seventies with slightly mussed brown hair and a well-worn housecoat answered. "Hi," Veronica said. "I'm looking for Matthew Saracen."
The woman didn't answer her for a moment and narrowed her eyes. "Lianne? Is that you?"
"No," Veronica answered quickly, and forced her voice to be clear. "My name is Veronica Mars." The woman continued to look at her suspiciously. "Um...Lianne Reynolds is my mother."
"You're the spitting image of her, Lianne," the woman continued and Veronica decided that it probably wasn't the best idea to correct her again. "I don't know that you're supposed to be here, you-"
"Granma, who's at the door?" Veronica held her breath as she heard the unmistakable voice of a teenaged boy. Growly and soft at the same time. He was a big sucker for sixteen, tall and strong with high cheekbones and bright blue eyes.
"Uh...hi," his eyes widened when he looked at Veronica, and she wished that she'd had time to shower and wash her hair before coming over. Billy had dropped her off at the motel, but she couldn't check in yet, even though they'd let her leave her bags there. With a wry smile he asked her if they could meet for a drink while she was in town. It seemed she shocked him a little when she told him she was only eighteen.
But this had been put off for far too long. "Can- can we help you, miss?"
Veronica felt tears spring to her eyes. She was so unprepared for this. She didn't know what he knew, she was overstepping her bounds, she was sure of it. What if he had no idea? "Are you Matthew Saracen?"
The old woman crossed her arms and stepped in front of the boy, a protective gesture. "Yes, he is."
"What- what can I do for you?" He put his arm around his grandmother's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
"My name is Veronica Mars, and I...I need to talk to you."
"No, you don't!" Matthew's grandma wasn't going to give up without a fight.
"Granma!" Matthew hushed the old lady gently. "Um...maybe, yeah, maybe we can go somewhere, uh, Veronica." He had a sweet nature about him. Veronica waited patiently while he settled his grandmother in front of the tv, and led her around to the backyard. Tulips and honeysuckle grew in no particular pattern. There were flowers wherever there was a square inch of dirt.
"So...so how do you know who I am?" Matthew asked once they settled down on two plastic lawn chairs, facing each other.
Veronica sighed. Where do I begin? She pulled the carefully re-folded letter out of her jacket pocket and looked down at it, hoping to draw courage. "Um, well...Maybe I should tell you about myself. Um, I'm from California and..." She stopped again and he patiently waited for her to continue. There was no good way to ease into this. "Two weeks ago, the night I graduated from high school, my father was...killed." It was the first time she had said it, out loud, and she had been unprepared for the quick, sharp twist to her gut the words produced.
"Hey...Jeez, I'm...I'm sorry," Matt said, his eyes wide with confusion. But it didn't sound patronizing, coming from him, she could hear the genuine compassion in his voice.
"You're probably wondering what this has to do with you, huh?" Veronica tried to smile, blinking back tears. "Um...Well, this might help better than I could." She handed him the letter, and waited patiently as he read every word. She nearly had it memorized at this point.
March 7, 2004
Dear Veronica,
Hey honey. Well, this is difficult. I guess, if you're reading this, I'm not here anymore.
And baby, you have no idea how sorry I am about that. I know that you're going to be
sad right now, but I hope that in time, you'll know that I'll always be with you.
I never planned on writing a letter to you like this. But we lost Lilly five months ago,
and I know that you know that life is uncertain. Mom's been gone now for a little while,
and honey, I wish I could say I know that she'll come back, but the truth is I don't know
that for sure. So, I'm going to tell you a secret that I swore to her I would never tell you.
This isn't the first time your mother left us. She's always had to fight the booze pretty hard
and a little bit after your second birthday, she split on us. And she was gone for a long
time, over a year. When I finally found her, she was in a little town in Texas, and she'd
found herself a new family. She had just given birth to a baby boy, your little brother and
was living with another man. I offered to divorce her, if she wanted to be with this other
guy, but she couldn't bear the thought of not seeing you again. When this other guy found
out that she had another family she left in California, he threw her out and told her that
she would never see her son again. And I don't think she has.
Please don't be mad that you're just hearing this now. Your brother's father asked that we
never contact them. And he's not my child and I can't make those kinds of decisions for him.
But if I'm gone, and your mother's gone, I don't want you to be alone. I want you to have a
family.
Your brother's name is Matthew Saracen and he's three years younger than you. He lives
with his grandmother in Dillon, Texas. I've kept tabs on him over the years, so that you'll
be able to find him if you ever need him.
I don't know how to end a letter like this. I'll always love you, baby.
Veronica waited while her brother finished reading the letter from her father. It seemed he took years to finish, and Veronica couldn't read his expressions. Finally he folded the paper back up and handed it back to her. He was smiling.