Perhaps there isn't much hurt in this prompt, but there is plenty in others – the soulmate fill for prompt #5 for one! And there may or may not be more to come...

It was a very bedraggled figure that rode into the courtyard of Shrewsbury Abbey that cold winter's evening. Hugh Beringar slumped in the saddle, limp hair almost brushing the horse's mane, clothes dark with damp.

A few monks of the Abbey, still finishing their daily duties after Vespers crowded round, surprised to see the deputy sheriff of the county in such a state. It seemed to take a few moments for him to notice he had company, shake out the cobwebs in his mind and sit up straighter, though he was shivering so violently it was a surprise that he was still on his horse.

"Lord Beringar," said Brother Jerome, descending the steps trailed by two of the younger novices. "Do you have news of the culprit?"

"I came to tell the Abbot that his thief has been caught and is being held in the castle." His words were so stuttered and slurred that the surrounding monks found it hard to understand him. "If you kindly tell the Abbot in my stead, and pass on my apologies at not giving him the news personally, I would like to go home and get warm."

"You cannot go back into the city like this," said Jerome in his usual brisk manor, "you are soaking wet and shivering like a leaf. It would be very bad form if we let our deputy sheriff succumb to the cold when we have warmth within our walls."

The thought of warmth was irresistible and he nodded in acceptance.

"Just until I get warm, my wife will be wondering where I am."

Hugh stiffly climbed off his horse but his frozen fingers slipped off the saddle and he fell more than dismounting, knees buckling as he hit the ground, the hands of a helpful monk or two the only reason why he didn't end up on the floor.

"Brother Oswin," called Jerome as Hugh found his feet, "fetch Brother Cadfael."

"No need," came a voice from the Abby steps. "I am here. And what happened to you, Hugh? You look absolutely frozen!"

"Ended up in the Severn." He looked a little sheepish at that admission and the sound of his teeth chattering as he spoke. "But I caught your thief, he's in the castle dungeon as we speak."

"Then he is in far more comfort than you are in now." Cadfael turned and ploughed his way through the increasing crowd of curious monks, looking back at Hugh when he didn't move. "Come, Hugh, come. You'll catch your death of cold like that."

The heat in the infirmary burned Hugh's frozen skin, hands and face painful as they started thawing before he finished ridding himself of his soaked clothes. They were sodden through to the skin and slid off uncomfortably, even with Cadfael's warm helping hands.

He had been reluctant to let the monk help at first, pride taking control of his actions even as his muscles still shook uncontrollably.

"I am not a young maiden, Hugh," said Cadfael as Hugh stubbornly fumbled with the buckle of his sword belt. His fingers wouldn't cooperate and he found that he couldn't even rid himself of it, let alone the rest of his wet clothes that stuck firmly to his skin with both water and mud. "I dare say I've seen more men's bodies in my years than you have!"

But he finally acquiesced and Cadfael's practiced hands soon rid Hugh of his outer clothing, ice dropping into puddles on the infirmary floor. They were placed near the brazier that a pair of novices had brought over, under the hesitant direction of Brother Oswin, to dry. His under layers soon followed and Hugh was left wrapped up in a thick woollen blanket sat on one of the infirmary beds, still shivering, as Cadfael ran a cloth through his sopping hair.

Silence reigned between the pair as one worked and the other slowly warmed. Words were not needed as Cadfael finished drying Hugh's hair and worked on removing the mud that was drying on his skin.

Cadfael's hands were gentle as he wiped the cloth in long strokes down Hugh's arms and chest. Whilst he was sure that the water hadn't been heated it felt like sinking into a hot bath, the warmth of the water washing away all traces of mud and grime from the River Severn.

Once the monk was finished Hugh was given a warm broth to drink then covered with many more blankets as he lay down. Hot rocks wrapped in cloths were brought to him and placed by his feet and around his sides. He curled round one of the heated rocks in an attempt to stop shivering.

It seemed to take an age but finally Hugh's muscles stilled, relaxing into an aching calm. He sat up but was restrained by Cadfael's hands on his shoulders, forcing him back down.

"You stay here until I say you can go. I'll not have you riding the streets when you have only just stopped shivering."

"But Aline…"

"I've sent one of the novices to inform her of your whereabouts, so you needn't worry about her. Rest and I'll check up on you later."

Hugh watched his friend as he pottered around the infirmary, chatting with patients and checking in the infirmary store cupboards. He didn't notice when the day's exertions finally caught up with him, slipping peacefully to sleep, cosy and warm at last.