On The Horizon (Brannigan, Valerie)
Title: On The Horizon
Author: fly_to_dawn
Recipient: iambickilometer
Rating: PG
Character(s): Brannigan, Valerie, various
Warnings (if any): Spoilers for Gridlock.
Summary: Snippets from a certain Thomas Kincade Brannigan's life after Gridlock.
1.
'Good Lord,' exclaimed Brannigan as he stepped into the senate, holding the Doctor's coat.
'Bran?' Valerie's voice floated into the hallway, as Brannigan eyed the skeletons in the senate, his ears twitching backwards.
'Don't,' replied Brannigan, 'you stay inside the car, Valerie -'
Valerie screamed as she saw the remains of a human being, raising her hand to her mouth. Brannigan ran over to her, as Novice Hame glanced upwards before looking back down again, quietly attending to Boe's lifeless form.
Brannigan lead his shocked wife to a small ledge, and they sat down together, overlooking the city. 'Well,' he said slowly, 'there was a reason the motorway never ended.'
Nodding, Valerie closed her eyes to steady herself as Brannigan put an arm around her shoulder.
'Ah, Thomas Kincade Brannigan!' exclaimed a voice suddenly, 'there you are!'
Brannigan looked upwards and laughed as he saw the Doctor. 'Thank you, Doctor,' he said as he handed him his brown coat, 'you did it - I knew you would!'
'Oh, it was nothing,' the Doctor replied, 'you've got the Face of Boe to thank.' He looked sceptically at his coat. 'I hope you haven't got any cat hair on it. Or was that politically incorrect? Sorry.' He grinned.
Brannigan chuckled. 'Here, Valerie,' he said, pulling his wife up, 'it's the Doctor.'
'I can see that,' she commented, still sniffling. 'Thank you,' she said, shaking his hand.
The Doctor looked rather pleased with himself. 'Well,' he started, 'it's -'
Valerie cut him off. 'Will we be all right? These - there's no one here. In the senate,' she raised a hand to her forehead. 'I mean, how will we make it all work? The schools, and welfare, and - there's only us from the motorway. The undercity.' She sighed.
'Valerie,' said the Doctor slowly, 'Valerie, Valerie!'
'We'll manage it,' interjected Brannigan. 'We've got each other, and I don't know about you, but that leaves me feeling pretty damn good about the future.'
'Yes, exactly,' remarked the Doctor, until his companion dragged him away, muttering something about time and place.
Brannigan turned to Valerie. 'Well?'
'Well,' she contemplated for a second, 'yes.'
2.
Brannigan was woken up by a loud crash. Still not fully awake, he wondered why there was no one beside him in bed, until he remembered that Valerie was visiting a friend. He stumbled through the house, dazed, searching for a something to defend himself with. Settling for a decent-sized umbrella, Brannigan carefully tiptoed his way to the kitchen. where the noise had come from. He could make out a slightly muffled female voice, and a very large amount of of grey smoke.
'Oh no,' he heard the voice exclaim, 'the circuit's blown itself apart. I'll have to reverse -' Another bang. 'Ow!'
Whoever this was, she was not a threat, he decided, and called out: 'Lights on!', prompting the room's lights to switch on immediately. Brannigan furrowed his brow as he saw what looked like a small crashed spaceship in his kitchen, smoke pouring out from the engines.
'You've missed the spaceport by quite some miles,' he commented warily.
From inside the spaceship jumped out a young woman, with large blue eyes and blonde hair. 'I'm sorry,' she said, blushing, 'I was running from -'
A red blast shot through the kitchen window, and Brannigan yelled as he ducked.
'That,' finished the girl, rather sheepishly, and quickly fired over her shoulder at the offender. He threw himself to the floor as the the young woman continued to defend - or attack - the figure outside his flat. On the third blast, the woman raised a fist in the air.
'Woah,' exclaimed Brannigan, 'and how do I know that Novice Hame hasn't offered a mighty good reward for your pretty little head?'
'I set my weapons to stun,' she replied, grinning. 'You see. That man - or, at least something that looks like a man, I'm pretty sure it actually isn't, I think it's a Y'hadi or Y'zadi, whichever - has been caught by the safety forcefield surrounding this building.'
Brannigan pretended to listen whilst he poured himself a glass of milk and added two lumps of sugar. 'And who might you be?'
'Jenny,' said the woman, 'and can I have what you're having? I'm really thirsty.'
Not knowing quite what to say, Brannigan poured her a glass of milk. 'You're insane,' he remarked.
Jenny looked genuinely downhearted at this comment. 'I'm sorry I ruined your lovely kitchen and put your life in danger,' she said, 'I didn't mean to.'
'Nah, don't worry,' said Brannigan, grinning despite himself. 'you were lucky you missed my wife. And anyway, you did do quite a good job saving my life. You were a bit magnificent then.'
'Only a bit?' asked Jenny. 'I thought I was at least quite.'
She dropped her glass as another blast suddenly hit the fridge, bouncing off and leaving a scorch mark on the table. Brannigan groaned, and looked wearily at his guest. 'You better be.'
Not long after, they started to run.
3.
'New...Botswana,' said Valerie slowly, eyes carefully inspecting the map that hung from the car's controls.
'Yep,' replied Brannigan, 'it was one of the first to be rebuilt. Ten years and still thriving, says Novice Hame. I mean Chancellor Hame, whatever magnificent title she has now.' He reached for a biscuit.
'Well, obviously Dame Hame didn't know her Ancient History,' said Valerie, brushing crumbs from Brannigan's whiskers. 'Botswana wasn't next to Venezuela.'
'An insignificant detail about an insignificant little country. And us cats probably had no clue whatsoever as to where we were back then. Humans all over - woah!'
He swore as he narrowly missed an air-balloon, swerving away at the last second. Valerie reached to pick up the map and some biscuits from the floor. She fixed it back to cover the cracked screen, once a perfect automatic navigation system. One could almost make out a very blurred Sally Calypso.
'We could have had this fixed, you know,' Brannigan remarked, tapping his gloved knuckles against the screen.
Valerie smiled. 'Nonsense - it's a sort of relic now. You concentrate on your driving, Bran. Anyway,' she continued, 'we might as well use the Commemorative Vintage New Earth 10th Anniversary Map Collection that Uncle Jim gave us.'
Brannigan glanced glumly at the huge stack of paper at the back of the car. 'You were always his favourite niece, ' he commented.
'I'm his only niece.' replied Valerie, and she looked stern for a while, until the pair laughed; Valerie's sharp peals of laughter standing out against Brannigan's soft chuckles.
They concentrated on the world below them again. They could see the eighteenth Eiffel Tower, unceremoniously decorated with a banner announcing the re-opening of Gigamarket, the greatest shop in the galaxy. Raising her binoculars to see the sight below them, Valerie pointed out interesting-looking buildings to Brannigan as they passed through the city.
'Any idea what it's like?' Valerie asked, after a while.
'Not a clue,' said Brannigan, grinning.
'Just as long as it doesn't take twelve years,' said Valerie softly, now drowsy and eyes half-open. Brannigan winked at her, settling his gaze firmly back on the horizon as he gripped the steering wheel. New Botswana it was.
Author: fly_to_dawn
Recipient: iambickilometer
Rating: PG
Character(s): Brannigan, Valerie, various
Warnings (if any): Spoilers for Gridlock.
Summary: Snippets from a certain Thomas Kincade Brannigan's life after Gridlock.
1.
'Good Lord,' exclaimed Brannigan as he stepped into the senate, holding the Doctor's coat.
'Bran?' Valerie's voice floated into the hallway, as Brannigan eyed the skeletons in the senate, his ears twitching backwards.
'Don't,' replied Brannigan, 'you stay inside the car, Valerie -'
Valerie screamed as she saw the remains of a human being, raising her hand to her mouth. Brannigan ran over to her, as Novice Hame glanced upwards before looking back down again, quietly attending to Boe's lifeless form.
Brannigan lead his shocked wife to a small ledge, and they sat down together, overlooking the city. 'Well,' he said slowly, 'there was a reason the motorway never ended.'
Nodding, Valerie closed her eyes to steady herself as Brannigan put an arm around her shoulder.
'Ah, Thomas Kincade Brannigan!' exclaimed a voice suddenly, 'there you are!'
Brannigan looked upwards and laughed as he saw the Doctor. 'Thank you, Doctor,' he said as he handed him his brown coat, 'you did it - I knew you would!'
'Oh, it was nothing,' the Doctor replied, 'you've got the Face of Boe to thank.' He looked sceptically at his coat. 'I hope you haven't got any cat hair on it. Or was that politically incorrect? Sorry.' He grinned.
Brannigan chuckled. 'Here, Valerie,' he said, pulling his wife up, 'it's the Doctor.'
'I can see that,' she commented, still sniffling. 'Thank you,' she said, shaking his hand.
The Doctor looked rather pleased with himself. 'Well,' he started, 'it's -'
Valerie cut him off. 'Will we be all right? These - there's no one here. In the senate,' she raised a hand to her forehead. 'I mean, how will we make it all work? The schools, and welfare, and - there's only us from the motorway. The undercity.' She sighed.
'Valerie,' said the Doctor slowly, 'Valerie, Valerie!'
'We'll manage it,' interjected Brannigan. 'We've got each other, and I don't know about you, but that leaves me feeling pretty damn good about the future.'
'Yes, exactly,' remarked the Doctor, until his companion dragged him away, muttering something about time and place.
Brannigan turned to Valerie. 'Well?'
'Well,' she contemplated for a second, 'yes.'
2.
Brannigan was woken up by a loud crash. Still not fully awake, he wondered why there was no one beside him in bed, until he remembered that Valerie was visiting a friend. He stumbled through the house, dazed, searching for a something to defend himself with. Settling for a decent-sized umbrella, Brannigan carefully tiptoed his way to the kitchen. where the noise had come from. He could make out a slightly muffled female voice, and a very large amount of of grey smoke.
'Oh no,' he heard the voice exclaim, 'the circuit's blown itself apart. I'll have to reverse -' Another bang. 'Ow!'
Whoever this was, she was not a threat, he decided, and called out: 'Lights on!', prompting the room's lights to switch on immediately. Brannigan furrowed his brow as he saw what looked like a small crashed spaceship in his kitchen, smoke pouring out from the engines.
'You've missed the spaceport by quite some miles,' he commented warily.
From inside the spaceship jumped out a young woman, with large blue eyes and blonde hair. 'I'm sorry,' she said, blushing, 'I was running from -'
A red blast shot through the kitchen window, and Brannigan yelled as he ducked.
'That,' finished the girl, rather sheepishly, and quickly fired over her shoulder at the offender. He threw himself to the floor as the the young woman continued to defend - or attack - the figure outside his flat. On the third blast, the woman raised a fist in the air.
'Woah,' exclaimed Brannigan, 'and how do I know that Novice Hame hasn't offered a mighty good reward for your pretty little head?'
'I set my weapons to stun,' she replied, grinning. 'You see. That man - or, at least something that looks like a man, I'm pretty sure it actually isn't, I think it's a Y'hadi or Y'zadi, whichever - has been caught by the safety forcefield surrounding this building.'
Brannigan pretended to listen whilst he poured himself a glass of milk and added two lumps of sugar. 'And who might you be?'
'Jenny,' said the woman, 'and can I have what you're having? I'm really thirsty.'
Not knowing quite what to say, Brannigan poured her a glass of milk. 'You're insane,' he remarked.
Jenny looked genuinely downhearted at this comment. 'I'm sorry I ruined your lovely kitchen and put your life in danger,' she said, 'I didn't mean to.'
'Nah, don't worry,' said Brannigan, grinning despite himself. 'you were lucky you missed my wife. And anyway, you did do quite a good job saving my life. You were a bit magnificent then.'
'Only a bit?' asked Jenny. 'I thought I was at least quite.'
She dropped her glass as another blast suddenly hit the fridge, bouncing off and leaving a scorch mark on the table. Brannigan groaned, and looked wearily at his guest. 'You better be.'
Not long after, they started to run.
3.
'New...Botswana,' said Valerie slowly, eyes carefully inspecting the map that hung from the car's controls.
'Yep,' replied Brannigan, 'it was one of the first to be rebuilt. Ten years and still thriving, says Novice Hame. I mean Chancellor Hame, whatever magnificent title she has now.' He reached for a biscuit.
'Well, obviously Dame Hame didn't know her Ancient History,' said Valerie, brushing crumbs from Brannigan's whiskers. 'Botswana wasn't next to Venezuela.'
'An insignificant detail about an insignificant little country. And us cats probably had no clue whatsoever as to where we were back then. Humans all over - woah!'
He swore as he narrowly missed an air-balloon, swerving away at the last second. Valerie reached to pick up the map and some biscuits from the floor. She fixed it back to cover the cracked screen, once a perfect automatic navigation system. One could almost make out a very blurred Sally Calypso.
'We could have had this fixed, you know,' Brannigan remarked, tapping his gloved knuckles against the screen.
Valerie smiled. 'Nonsense - it's a sort of relic now. You concentrate on your driving, Bran. Anyway,' she continued, 'we might as well use the Commemorative Vintage New Earth 10th Anniversary Map Collection that Uncle Jim gave us.'
Brannigan glanced glumly at the huge stack of paper at the back of the car. 'You were always his favourite niece, ' he commented.
'I'm his only niece.' replied Valerie, and she looked stern for a while, until the pair laughed; Valerie's sharp peals of laughter standing out against Brannigan's soft chuckles.
They concentrated on the world below them again. They could see the eighteenth Eiffel Tower, unceremoniously decorated with a banner announcing the re-opening of Gigamarket, the greatest shop in the galaxy. Raising her binoculars to see the sight below them, Valerie pointed out interesting-looking buildings to Brannigan as they passed through the city.
'Any idea what it's like?' Valerie asked, after a while.
'Not a clue,' said Brannigan, grinning.
'Just as long as it doesn't take twelve years,' said Valerie softly, now drowsy and eyes half-open. Brannigan winked at her, settling his gaze firmly back on the horizon as he gripped the steering wheel. New Botswana it was.