1941
"Foyle a word?"
Reid's voice was strained and Foyle immediately pivoted and saw his friend grimacing as he stood near the back wall of the warehouse they had just raided; one hand tucked into his tunic.
He frowned, excusing himself from the conversation he'd been having with one of the uniformed sergeants and strode over, "Reid?" He kept his voice low, knowing Hugh wouldn't want a fuss but he felt his heart rate increase as he took in his friend's pallor.
Reid glanced around and then carefully withdrew his hand from his tunic and Foyle sucked in a sharp breath for even in the dim light of the warehouse he could see that it was slick with blood.
"Bloody hell Hugh" He breathed as Reid carefully slipped his hand back into his tunic, grimacing as he did so. "How deep?"
"Deep enough I think" Reid replied, his voice slightly hoarse even as he gave Foyle a poor imitation of a grin.
Foyle raised an eyebrow, lips pressed into a thin line, as he put a steadying hand on his friend's elbow. "Switchblade?"
Reid nodded, "Think so" He shifted his hand and then paled, "Thought it was just a graze"
"Of course you did" Foyle muttered, looking around quickly and gesturing a senior constable over, "Find Miss Stewart and tell her I need her to bring the car to the door and then tell DS Milner that he's in charge of the scene and to report back to the station when he's finished here. Understood?"
The constable nodded, "Yes Sir" and casting a worried glance at Reid he hurried away.
Foyle looked Reid up and down, "Think you can walk and keep pressure on it?" Reid nodded but all the blood washed from his face as he took a step and Foyle quickly wrapped an arm around his waist. "Steady on Hugh, just lean on me"
Reid did, his hand heavy on Foyle's shoulder as they slowly made their way to the door but he was still ashen by the time they reached the car and even more concerning to Foyle there was a growing dark stain on his tunic.
He eased Reid down on to the back seat before hurrying around the car and climbing in beside him, perching on the edge of the seat, Reid's legs bent somewhat awkwardly behind him, "Hospital Sam, fast as you can"
Sam's eyes widened but all she said was "Yes Sir!" Before putting the car in gear and pulling out. Confident that Sam would get them there as fast as was safely possible Foyle turned his attention to Hugh; he didn't like what he found.
Reid's complexion had not improved, his face crumpled with discomfort, sweat standing out on his forehead. Foyle took a deep breath and shifted closer, "Need to see what we've got Hugh." Reid nodded and Foyle set to work getting his tunic open, pulling out his handkerchief before gently pushing Hugh's hand out of the way.
The cut wasn't long but it was bleeding stubbornly, a crimson stain spreading across Reid's undershirt and Foyle wasted no time pressing his handkerchief to it, wincing when Reid grunted in pain. "Sorry, need to stop the bleeding"
Reid nodded but didn't open his eyes and Foyle swallowed hard, "Hugh open your eyes" his friend obediently blinked at him and Foyle forced a smile, "You need to stay awake"
"I know" anything else he might have been about to say was interrupted by a curse as they hit a pothole.
"Sorry Sir!" Sam called, "We're nearly there"
Reid nodded and forced his eyes open, "You'll tell Elaine…?"
Foyle raised an eyebrow, "That you're still daft? Yup"
Reid chuckled weakly and then paled as it jarred his wounded side, "No you'll tell her…I mean if…"
Foyle felt his blood run cold; he knew exactly what Hugh was asking and with his hand sticky with his friend's blood he couldn't dismiss it out of hand. "Christ Hugh don't speak like that" he breathed, half threat and half prayer.
Reid blinked at him, the moment stretching until Sam called out; "Here Sir! I'll find a nurse!" Foyle heard her door open and close but his attention was fixed on his friend and the way the blood was seeping through his handkerchief.
"Christopher…"
Reid's voice was weaker than Foyle liked and he pressed a little harder, trying to both stop the bleeding and ensure Reid stayed awake. "Yup, won't be much longer Hugh, stay with me"
Reid nodded, his face taut with pain, "Sorry, didn't think…"
"Yeah well nothing new in that is there?" Reid smiled weakly and Foyle swallowed back another wave of fear, "You'll be fine Hugh and so will Elaine and the girls. Give you my word"
Reid relaxed, gripping Foyle's wrist briefly, "Thank you Christopher" his eyes slipped closed then but before Foyle could say anything the door was open and Reid was being loaded onto a stretcher groaning in pain while a doctor took a look at the wound and then continued to apply pressure with Foyle's now sodden handkerchief as they rushed into the hospital; Foyle following behind.
A few hours later Foyle was pacing the waiting room chewing hard on his cheek, acutely aware of both Sam's effort to appear interested in the very meager supply of reading material and the dried blood on his cuffs.
He rubbed a hand across his forehead, turning the doctor's words over in his head again like he would with a witness statement, "Doesn't look like it's hit anything vital, of course we won't know for certain until we get in there but blood loss is the main concern. He'll likely need at least one transfusion, possibly more, depends how the surgery goes."
Foyle turned on his heel and started another lap, trying to tamp down the worry that was surging through him. He had decided not to tell Elaine until Hugh was out of surgery and he'd spoken to the doctor again but the longer it went on with no news the more he questioned that decision. She was Hugh's wife and if, God forbid, it were bad news she deserved as much time with him as possible.
On the other hand he and Hugh had discussed this precise eventuality and Hugh had been adamant that he didn't want Elaine pacing a waiting room as he was doing now if it were at all possible. "If I'm that bad off Christopher it won't make any difference and if it's come to that I want to spare her as much as possible. I know it's a hell of thing to ask but if it's at all possible do you think you could…?"
Foyle had agreed on the condition that Hugh refrained from daft heroics as much as possible. Turn about was fair play after all and Hugh had been his proxy since Rosalind's death; Charles having been too far away and too frequently deployed to be a sensible choice and Andrew being far too young at the time.
Now he sank into a chair, rubbing at his forehead again in a vain attempt to stave off the headache that was building. There was a rattle of paper and he turned his head slightly towards his driver; Sam met his gaze with an encouraging smile, even as the tightness of her shoulders spoke of her own worry.
"I thought I might go and see about more tea Sir" she said, nodding towards the now empty mugs that she had brought with her when she'd been shown into the waiting room. Foyle realized after a moment that she was waiting for his approval and nodded, unwilling to trust his voice to be steady.
Sam gave him another smile and quickly left the room, once he was sure she was out of sight Foyle leant forward and rested his head in his hands. It felt like only a minute later that he heard footsteps and looked up sharply to find Sam in the doorway with two mugs of tea.
Her brow was furrowed but smoothed out quickly as she crossed to hand him his tea. He took it with a weak smile of thanks and Sam settled back in her chair, taking a sip of tea before saying, "It's awfully busy out there now Sir, you don't suppose they've forgotten do you?"
Foyle raised an eyebrow, "Don't expect so, nurses have fairly impressive memories, in my experience." He shivered involuntarily and pushed away the memory of past visits to hospital for himself, for Andrew, for Rosalind…
He took a longer drink of tea and tried to force his thoughts to other matters. He glanced at the clock, "You had any lunch Sam?"
"No Sir, have you? I mean if you haven't I'm sure I could find some sandwiches or something"
Foyle's lips twitched at Sam's unfailing enthusiasm when it came to food, he didn't feel hungry but he knew Sam would be and that she wouldn't eat unless he at least tried too. He took out his wallet and handed her several notes, "Thank you Sam, whatever they have will be fine"
Sam nodded and got to her feet, "Yes Sir, I won't be long"
Foyle watched her leave and then ran a hand over his forehead again the bloodstains on his cuff catching his eye. "Damnit Hugh! You're supposed to be smarter than this" He rubbed a hand over his face, knowing the muttered words were unfair.
It wasn't as if Hugh had chosen to be stabbed but the fact remained that there was a chance, one that Foyle was actively trying not to calculate the odds on, that he would lose his friend, Elaine would lose her husband and Maggie and Grace would lose their father all because of one bloody black marketer with a switchblade.
He had meant what he'd said to Hugh if, god forbid, it came to that he would do everything in his power to ensure that Elaine and the girls never wanted for anything and he knew Andrew would as well, provided of course that he survived this bloody war.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly missing his wife more desperately than he had in months. He heard footsteps and looked up to find Sam in the doorway; the concerned almost sorrowful look on her face made him think for a terrible moment that she knew something about Hugh that he didn't until he realized it must be directed at him.
Before he could even attempt to force a smile Sam was coming towards him with a smile of her own as she nodded towards the tray in her hands, "We're in luck Sir! Fresh cheese sandwiches and even a little soup. There wasn't much so I just took one bowlful, I did take an extra bowl though so I thought we could share."
As she spoke Sam had settle beside him and Foyle suddenly had another mug of tea pressed into his hands while Sam cheerfully relayed her discussion with one of the tea ladies downstairs as she carefully divided up the soup. He took a sip of tea and let Sam's chatter wash over him, warming him just as the tea was, filling up his own dwindling supply of hope and courage with her own.
He didn't feel hungry but as he allowed Sam's stories about summers spent with some one or other of her seemingly enumerable clergyman uncles he somehow finished both the sandwich and his half of the soup. He set his dishes back on the tray and picked up his tea again taking a long drink before turning towards his driver.
"Thank you Sam"
The look in his eyes spoke of more than just fetching lunch and tea and Sam flushed slightly. "You're welcome Sir" Foyle nodded and turned back to his tea and Sam hazarded a glance at him, very relieved that the bleak helplessness she had glimpsed in his blue eyes when she first returned had been replaced with his customary calm resolve.
They waited another thirty minutes before a nurse finally stepped into the doorway, "Are you here for Superintendent Reid?"
Foyle nodded having gotten to his feet immediately, "Yes, how is he?"
The nurse smiled reassuringly, "He's out of surgery Sir and the doctor will see you, if you'll follow me?"
Foyle nodded at once and turned to Sam, "Won't be long" Sam nodded, her concern was palpable and he wished he had something comforting to say but he'd never been one for platitudes so he forced a quick smile instead and hoped it would suffice.
After following the nurse down several hallways Foyle was shown into a small room where the doctor he had originally spoken to was waiting, "Ah Mr. Foyle, well the good news is we were correct in our assumption that it was essentially a flesh-wound, completely avoided any vital organs."
Foyle nodded but didn't relax, "And the bad news?"
"Is thankfully not that bad; the bleeding was significant enough to require a transfusion, but at the moment I don't believe he'll need another; it is possible of course but given our current circumstances we have been asked to be more conservative in our treatments if possible. Although of course never to the detriment of the patient's health"
"So you expect him to make a full recovery?"
The doctor nodded, "Yes, barring of course any unforeseen issues with infection although we did clean the wound thoroughly and apply sulfa powder so I'm not concerned about infection but it is always a risk."
Foyle nodded his understanding, "May I see him?" The doctor looked ready to protest so Foyle hurried on, "I know that he's probably not up to visitors but I need to go and tell his wife what's happened and I'd prefer to be able to tell her I've seen him for myself."
"I understand Mr. Foyle, he was still being settled on the ward, let me go and speak with the ward sister." Foyle nodded his thanks, waiting until the doctor had left the room before he scrubbed a hand over his face, shoulders slumping with relief.
In the end he was allowed five minutes and after shaking hands with the doctor he quietly crossed to Hugh's bed and stood studying his friend. He was sleeping, chest rising and falling steadily and apart from being pale he looked fine and Foyle sank into the chair by the bed, suddenly weak-kneed with relief.
For a minute or two he sat quietly and then Hugh cracked open an eye, "Christopher? Where…?"
He looked like he might try and sit up and Foyle immediately raised a hand in a quelling manner, "Steady on Hugh, lie still." Reid complied but still looked very confused so Foyle hurried on, "You were stabbed during the raid this morning Hugh and you've just come out of surgery, the doctor says you should make a full recovery as long as you take it easy for a bit"
Reid frowned, "Don't remember…" He began and then tensed, eyes darting around the room anxiously "Elaine isn't…?"
Foyle shook his head, "No she isn't here Hugh, she doesn't even know yet; I wanted to wait until I'd spoken to the doctor."
Hugh immediately relaxed, "Thank you Christopher, can't tell you how much I appreciate that." He shifted slightly, grimacing as he did so, "They tell you how long I'd be in for?"
Foyle fingered the brim of his hat, "Not precisely, they think you may need another transfusion so I'd imagine a day or two at the very least."
Reid looked surprised, "Oh, that bad?"
Foyle looked down, gaze falling on his bloodstained cuffs, "Mhhm yeah…"
There was a pause and then Reid cleared his throat, "In that case I owe you an apology as well as a thank you Christopher."
Foyle looked up and found Reid looking at him steadily, or at least as steadily as a man just out of anesthetic and receiving strong painkillers could, and he forced a smile, "Know it wasn't your fault Hugh, would appreciate it if we didn't repeat this though."
Reid chuckled and then groaned as it clearly pulled on his stitches and Foyle could feel the ward sister's gaze on the back of his head, "Easy Hugh just rest, I'll go and speak to Elaine now. Not sure if they'll let anyone else see you today but Sam and I will bring her back if we're allowed."
"Thank you Christopher, and please thank Sam for me" Foyle nodded and got to his feet, watching as one of the nurses checked Hugh's pulse and rearranged his pillows before allowing himself to be shooed away.
Sam stood as soon he stepped into the doorway and he smiled reassuringly, "He's alright Sam, they'll keep him overnight at the very least but the doctor expects him to make a full recovery"
Sam beamed, "Oh I'm so glad Sir!"
"So am I Sam, now I need to call the station before I speak to Mrs. Reid. Would you mind bringing the car around?" Sam shook her head and they were soon striding down the corridor towards the front door.