Hannibal's house, Friday

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Hannibal's house, Friday

After Vatalija had somehow managed to set small fires in the kitchen, living room, and downstairs bathroom, Hannibal had decided that redecorating was in order. He'd spent a while going over possibilities and finally decided upon some that he liked.

Then, in rearranging some things, he'd found one of her hair ties and made the mistake of picking it up. Precisely how it exploded he had no idea; he was definitely blaming her other father for this one.

Now he just had to try to get Beethoven into a carrier to get him outside before the house burned down. And then keep him and the sparkly lawn flamingos far away from each other.

[Open if anybody wants to gawk at a house fire!]

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Lucille hadn't visited since she had stopped by with her temporary teenager, so she decided to stop by in the afternoon, bringing cookies from JGoB.

"Dr Lecter?"

"Lucille, hello." Hannibal smiled, just a little strained, and nodded to her. "I'm afraid I can't invite you in today." On account of the smoke and heat coming from the foyer.

"I can see why," Lucille said. "Can I help you in any way?"

"No, thank you," Hannibal said. "The fire department is on the way; all that's left to do is wait. How is your day going?"

"My day is going well, thank you," Lucille said. "Up until now. What happened?"

Hannibal sighed. "My dubious and explosive offspring left something behind. When I picked it up..." He spread his hands to indicate the fire. "Fortunately I was already planning on redecorating from the scorch marks she left while she was here; I only hope my harpsichord and books are spared."

"So do I," Lucille said.

She definitely did.

"I brought these." She offered him the bag of biscuits. "They shouldn't go to waste at least."

Hannibal smiled. "Much appreciated. If you don't mind waiting until the fire is out, we could perhaps retire to my office?" He gestured at the outbuilding. "I can at least make tea."

"I don't mind waiting," Lucille replied. "Tea and biscuits in the office might not improve the day enough, but I hope it won't make it worse."

"Tea and biscuits will be perfectly lovely," Hannibal assured her. "You can tell me about what you've been doing lately, and take my mind off of this latest calamity."

"At least there is nothing much you can do about it right now," Lucille said, smiling at Hannibal as she walked towards the building.

"True." Hannibal unlocked the door and held it open for her before heading for the kettle. "Black tea? Shall I set out milk and sugar?"

"That would be lovely, thank you," Lucille said, as she stepped inside. "So, your... offspring brought explosives?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Hannibal answered as he began heating the water. "It's just that my offspring was explosive." He sighed. "Have you ever met Beaker, or do you know him by reputation?"

"The little red-haired... person?" Lucille said.

"An apt description," Hannibal said. "Apparently there was a laboratory accident which led to the two of us having offspring. Such accidents are more usual than not with him around, and apparently she inherited that."

"I see," Lucille said, not sure if she wanted to know more details. "I am sorry she caused such damage to your house, even after she left. At least your other child was less prone to accidents."

"Yes, Angela is lovely." Hannibal smiled. "I do enjoy seeing her, I confess. How were your children this year? You had only the one?"

"Yes, Sheridan. He was very sweet."

Even if he had had an overly idealised view of her time.

"Most of the children are," Hannibal agreed. "Although I'm certain the parents have something to do with that." He gave her a smile and a bow as he added the tea to the pot. "They're a fascinating glimpse into alternative worlds, aren't they?"

"They are," Lucille agreed. "I wonder if this version of myself would ever feel at home enough in Tisarwat's universe to live there. Or maybe that version of myself did it for her."

She smiled back. "What about Angela? Where is she from?"

"Jono's world, actually," Hannibal said. He chuckled. "Another lab accident, actually. An alien cloning machine that took a bit of each of our DNAs and mingled them. Luckily, she was old enough this year to understand his absence without me having to explain too much."

"What happened to Jono?" Lucille asked, hesitantly. "How did he... pass away?"

"Blew himself up to take out one of his team's enemies." Hannibal smiled at her. "I'm not terribly worried. He's essentially immortal as I understand it. The only question is if he manages to reform himself in a few weeks, a few years, or a few centuries. It would be good to have it happen within my lifetime, but if not, it's his own loss."

Well, yes, he might be a little wistful, but he wasn't about to stop his life because of it.

Anyone who'd missed the smoke probably wouldn't miss the wail of the engine's siren. Sure, the rickshaw was nowhere near as large or intimidating as a standard fire engine, but that didn't mean it couldn't be loud.

Rickshaws and pedestrians cleared out of the way, gawping as he went past, and he pulled up to the house in no time, hopping out and scanning the area for any hydrant.

"Fandom Fire Department!" he announced, even as he scanned the building. As though the (tiny) truck and his helmet wouldn't give that away. "Is there anyone still in the house?"

"No, we're all out," Hannibal said. "The fire began in the living room about there." He gestured. "I'm not aware of anything particularly flammable in that area the house, but it does back up on the kitchen, which has a gas stove."

Travis nodded. Everyone was safe, so he could just focus on the fire itself. He scanned the smoke coming out the front door, noting its thickness and color and idly wished Andy were here. No one read smoke like she did.

"We need that gas line shut off," he said. "If you could call your company, or if you know where the valve is, that'd be great. Any idea how the fire got started?"

"The valve is around the back," Hannibal said. "And the fire was started by a hair tie." He held up a hand. "And no, I've no idea how. Its owner is...explosive."

Maybe Hannibal should set Beaker up with Travis. They'd be perfect for each other.

Travis blinked at him for that one, but, well. Bigger things to worry about just now than whatever that meant.

"Right," he said, moving to the truck to start unspooling the hose line. "If you can get to the valve without going inside, do it, please. There likely to be any other, uh, 'explosive' hair ties I need to watch out for in there?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Hannibal nodded at the cat carrier with Beethoven and Joni in it. "Mind the cats. And the flamingos."

The sparkly flamingos eyed Travis with beady eyes as Hannibal walked around the house to turn off the gas.

Joni meowed pitifully.

Travis eyed the birds. "....Good flamingoes," he said, then went to hook his hose up to the hydrant he'd spotted. "Stay out here where it's safe."

He wondered briefly how he was going to manage the fire hose without a partner, but, well. Maybe it was a magic hose. He could only hope.

He hefted the nozzle, pulled his gas mask on over his face, and headed into the house.

Hannibal found the valve and shut it off, then peered through the glass doors to see that the fire at least didn't seem to have spread too quickly. The living room was a loss, and the kitchen would probably need redoing, though.

And then there was the smoke damage. And water damage soon to come.

Hannibal was no longer looking forward to the children next year as much as he usually did.

Meanwhile, Travis took stock of the fire and didn't think it was all that bad, really. It hadn't spread beyond the living room, so he'd be able to contain it pretty quickly. This guy was lucky.

He opened the nozzle and started wetting down the floors and walls surrounding the fire to help keep it contained before aiming into the fire itself. He hoped the homeowner had that gas shut off, or this could get much worse really fast.....

He had the fire dampened and smoldering instead of flaming in short order, and kept up the water coverage until it no longer even smoked. Then he shut the water off and strode forward to poke into the burnt remains of the living room, making sure there were no more linger embers. Or....hair ties.

(Seriously? Hair ties?)

Declaring the space all clear, he took a moment to check that the homeowner had fire alarms properly installed, more out of habit than anything else, and headed back out front.

Hannibal had proper fire alarms! And carbon monoxide alarms. And radon alarms. And every other sort of alarm they made for homes.

Look, when you lived on Fandom and your (currently dead) husband was half made of flames, you took proper precautions.

Hannibal had headed back to the front lawn by the time Travis was done, and was doing his best to convince the flamingos that no, he did not currently have any food.

He looked up expectantly as Travis came out, waiting for his report.

"Fire's out," Travis said. "Your living room's pretty much toast, but everything else looks okay. Don't know if people around here have insurance, but they'd probably suggest getting a room at a hotel or something while you air the place out at least." He gave Hannibal an assessing look. "Speaking of. You should probably let them check you out at the clinic. Not sure how much smoke you might have inhaled, but you do not want to mess around with that stuff."

Hannibal smiled. "I appreciate the thought, but I am a doctor. I'll keep an eye on myself and check in if I notice any problems. And the hotel sounds like a good idea."

He held out a hand to Travis. "Thank you for your prompt response. I confess I never expected to need your services, but I am glad you were here."

"No one ever expects to," Travis said. While thinking that doctors make the worst patients and that maybe he'd check in on the guy over the weekend just to be sure his throat hadn't quietly swelled up and suffocated him in the night. "Not really. But you all were pretty lucky this place didn't burn down while the station sat empty the last few years."

Well, unlike most of the island's populace, Hannibal actually would go to the clinic if he needed it. But he'd be touched (if amused) to get a visit later.

"Very lucky," Hannibal agreed. He nodded toward the doorway. "Are the stairs and upper floor sound? I should like to retrieve some clothing. And some cat food from the refrigerator - I assume I should switch off the power as well until it can be looked at?"

“Definitely,” Travis agreed. “You’ll want to make sure the fire didn’t compromise the wiring. I’d avoid the room right above where the fire broke out, but the stairs and other rooms should be safe. I can scout ahead if you’re concerned.”

"No, thank you," Hannibal said. "My closet is straight up the stairs and away from the center, so as long as the stairs are safe, I should be fine. I'll call to get the electric shut off as I go."

He held out his hand. "Thank you again. You must join me for dinner once the house is presentable again."

Travis took his hand for a shake. “Just doing my job,” he said. “But if you insist. . . .”

Hannibal grinned. "I certainly do. I love to cook, and I enjoy having friends for dinner." Because he never could resist that pun.

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Hannibal's house, Friday

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