Kindred Spirits

Rating: Teen

Standard Disclaimer: Foyle's war quite rightly belongs to Anthony Horowitz, its genius creator and the brilliant cast and crew who brought it to our screens and I'm only borrowing some of the characters for fun.

Summary: Andrew returns home from the war to heal an estrangement with his father and Sam, only to unexpectedly run into another woman from his past. Parings: Foyle/Sam, Andrew/Anne Roberts. Borrows canon characters, dialogue and plotlines from Eagle Day, Bleak Midwinter, Casualties of War, Plan of Attack and All Clear.

Authors Note: Here we come to the last chapter of my first outing into Anthony Horowitz's masterwork. Thank you to everyone who's been reading and reviewing my story. I don't think I've ever written a fic that's had so much support so quickly. Look out for my planned one shots in the near future as they'll show a bit more of the action that's "off camera" in this fic.

Chapter 9: 8th May 1945: All Clear

Andrew saw the look on his father's face that morning and knew instantly that something was up. It seemed that Sam had spotted it as well as she said.

'You're wearing your "cry havoc" look Christopher, you know who did it, don't you?'

Foyle smiled, 'the information Miss Pierce gave me has given me the last pieces of the puzzle, so now I can make the arrest.'

Andrew perused the paper and joked, 'just as well, if the state of Jane's uniform yesterday was anything to go by.'

'Andrew,' came Sam's admonition.

'You sound like Hugh,' said Foyle.

'Any word on Mrs Milner?' Asked Andrew.

'Foyle smiled, 'Paul will probably be in this morning to tell us.'

'Maybe I should look in on Edith this morning,' said Sam, 'the first days are always the hardest, even with only the one baby.'

'Jolly good,' said Foyle, 'what about you Andrew?'

'I only ever met Milner once and that was when that Henderson chap was after me, so I might as well introduce myself properly. I'll talk to uncle Hugh while I'm there, aunt Elaine still wants me over for dinner.'

So the Foyle family soon separated for their different destinations, Andrew idly walking through the streets of Hastings until he eventually came upon the old police station. He'd only ever gone in a few times when he'd been growing up and so he wasn't as familiar with the place as Sam. But even so he still felt the slight sadness as the gazed around at the evidence of the contents of the building being packed up.

Andrew noticed a gaggle of uniformed police officers standing around the front desk and one of them, a rather cheery looking sergeant with a Cheshire grin detached himself from the group as he noticed Andrew come in.

'Morning, you need something mate? Should think most of the crims would be taking the day off today, unless you're reporting more spivs selling flags.'

Andrew shook his head, 'just wondering if dad had brought his man in yet, or if a sergeant Milner was in.'

'Oh, you must be the boss's son. I'm Sergeant Brooke, your dads not 'ere yet as he would've taken the prisoner to the new building on Wilder Road. Mr Milner's not 'ere yet either, 'is wife just had a baby yesterday.'

'So I've heard, is Hugh Reid still here?'

Andrew soon noticed the neat figure of his godfather coming towards him, a broad grin adorning his features.

'Andrew! Elaine told me you were back, how are you doing?'

Andrew grinned, 'well I've been better, but I'm getting there. Things are a lot better now I've talked things through with dad and Sam and apologized for being an absolute prig.'

'I was your dad's best man at the wedding you know. Once everyone in Hastings had gotten over the shock of the age gap, it was impossible to disapprove of Sam and even the waggling tongues of the matrons soon fell silent. I could tell that Sam had your dad wrapped around her little finger pretty quick after they'd confessed to each other in 42. Believe it or not, if there was an appropriate commendation for it, I'd put Paul Milner in for making this nick a much happier place. Honestly, there were times the tension was so thick, one could cut it with a knife.'

Brooke and the other uniforms burst out laughing at this just as Foyle came in with a look of satisfaction on his face, leading Milner, and a young woman of about 20 with red hair and green eyes that Andrew recognized immediately.

Andrew was shocked, 'Susan, she's definitely grown.'

With a sudden feminine squeal of 'Andrew!'

Andrew soon felt the wind being crushed out of him as Susan did her best to squeeze him to death. Andrew tickled her sides to coax her off him which set the young woman giggling as she drew away, before she took a deep breath.

'Mummy told us you were safe Andy, and you're looking a lot better than what she said. Lyddie, Cecelia and I were going to drag you around to the house tomorrow if daddy hadn't given us more news by tonight.'

'You're looking well Susie, you've really grown since I was last here. Hope Hastings hasn't been too boring or dangerous for you without me around.'

Susan giggled, 'hardly, just when I got to an interesting age all the local men my age had gone. Jerry was a danger we all had to get used to pretty quick but we managed somehow. I ended up signing up for fire watching on top of my job at the law firm, about the only war work mum would let me do after dad kept on telling her all these ridiculous stories.'

She finished with a huff, 'honestly, I'm not made of glass Andy and nor am I as naïve as she thinks I am. Spend enough time around here and around solicitors and you learn a lot.'

Andrew smiled over at his godfather, 'uncle Hugh still needs his head screwed on in the mornings then.'

Susan giggled at the put out look on her father's face just as Brooke began pouring Champagne into mismatched mugs and glasses.

'Thought we'd celebrate the new arrival sir, bona fide French Champagne.'

'Where'd you get that?'

'From the evidence room sir, sadly the label seems to have gone missing.'

Andrew saw the look on the sergeant's face and guessed it had gone "missing" on purpose and judging by his father's face, Andrew wasn't the only one who'd spotted it.

'A boy or a girl?' Asked Andrew.

'A girl, thank heavens,' said the obviously relieved Milner.

Hugh Reid waved his finger, 'now Paul, don't think for a second that girls are any easier.'

Susan pouted, 'daddy, don't you love us? Honestly, don't scare him off.'

Hugh looked alarmed, 'Susan, I didn't mean it like that.'

Andrew saw the teasing look on her face and the classic, "why me?' expression on Uncle Hugh's as everyone laughed.

'Oh dear Hugh, ambushed by your own daughter?' Joked Foyle.

'Just you wait Christopher, you'll be eating your words soon enough.'

Sam arrived at the station pushing the pram holding the girls with Anne following her, both women soon joining their significant others as the last of Brooke's "liberated" Champagne was poured into glasses as a long awaited announcement came on over the radio.

Andrew found the speech somewhat anticlimactic, such a long war ended with a speech from the PM lasting only a few minutes. The remnants of the world's elegance that had survived the first war all but destroyed in a conflict of previously unimagined death and destruction.

A massive cheer erupted in the streets that was clearly audible inside the police station as Andrew said.

'So that's it then, five years of total chaos and it's all over with one speech from the Prime Minister?'

Anne squeezed his shoulder and whispered, 'no, it isn't over. That speech was simply marking the end of one world and the beginning of another. Now come on, I believe you and I have a party to get to.'

Anne gently tugged on his arm and Andrew put his glass down and began to follow her lead.

'Dad, you coming? It's going to be mad out there.'

'No, you two go on ahead and enjoy yourselves. Sam and I will find you later on, but do remember to get Anne back to Agatha at a decent hour.'

Andrew waved and left, noticing as he did so that Susan was pulling a grinning Brooke into the crowd with her.'

'So that's what dad meant.'

The party ran all day and well into the night, Anne and Andrew dancing until they could both barely stand. Andrew was getting a lot of attention from the Hastings locals, as food and drink was shoved into his hand. Determined women did their best to try and flirt with him as they noticed the lack of a ring on his finger, much to Anne's annoyance. Andrew in the old days probably would have enjoyed it, but found it as much of a trial as Anne and so did his best to let them down gently.

Eventually, a rather tired Andrew and Anne found themselves sitting beside a large bonfire that a group of vaguely familiar kids had built. Together they watched as the kids set fire to a series of rather comical effigies of Hitler and his high command. An ARP warden produced fireworks and began setting them off, much to the delight of the children that had gathered around the fire to watch the spectacle.

Anne smiled at the children's antics before she turned to Andrew and asked him.

'It's so simple for them, isn't it? The good people won, but what do you think is going to happen now?'

Andrew put his arm around his girlfriend who leaned into his embrace as he began.

'Well, the world will never be the same again. Too much has changed for everything to go back to the way it was. A lot of things got invented in this war too, just like in the last one and I suppose everyone will find ways of putting all that gadgetry to better use. Take radar for example, you used it to spot Jerries and keep us on course in bad weather. Now we can probably use it to keep track of civvy aircraft as well, make commercial flights a lot safer. Jerry invented way better planes than we had, not to mention those blasted rockets they kept on shooting at us. Everyone will want to find better uses for those. No, the whole world is going to be different, especially for the young, like Caro and Rosie and little Clementine Milner. Just a shame that so many people had to die to make that possible.'

Anne gently stroked Andrew's cheek and kissed him before she said, 'they didn't die in vain, and nobody will ever forget their sacrifice.'

'I know that, still, it'll be good to finally say goodbye to this uniform. I may not have "gone for soldier" like dad did, but I can understand why he never wanted to talk about it now. I don't think anybody really could understand unless they'd actually lived through it.'

One of the kids noticed Andrew's RAF uniform and asked him.

'Hey mister, did you shoot down many Jerries?'

Andrew shuddered but did his best, 'too many, when I was up there, you didn't usually see the faces of the Jerry pilots. We never had time to really think about it, but every single one of the occupants of those planes had families, just like us. They all had people on the ground that cared about them. Parents, brothers and sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews, wives and children. The only thing that really made us different was the fact that they were there because Hitler and Goering ordered them to be. The Nazi command were the real villains of the war, they're the ones who caused all of this chaos. Think yourself lucky if you never have to fight in a war, because there's no glory in it.'

The young lad had been quiet, and Andrew felt a bit guilty and fished a shilling out of his pocket. 'Nice work on the effigies though, haven't seen a good bonfire night since before the war.'

He tossed the coin to the boy who caught it with a grin as he hurried over to his friends.

Anne smiled, 'you handled that pretty well, but don't you think a shilling might have been a little much?'

Andrew shrugged, 'if I can spare that kid from having to go through what I did, it was worth it. Besides, I've got a lot of fond memories of Rex and me collecting for Guy Fawkes Night with our mates from when I was that age.'

Anne sensed a bad memory and asked, 'he was a pilot as well?'

Andrew smiled sadly as he remembered his friend, 'he got the chop in a dogfight over the channel just after dad finished an investigation into a petrol racket in Bexhill. It's strange though, when I think back, it was almost as if he knew he wasn't coming back that day when we took off.'

'At least he died with honour Andrew.'

Andrew looked at his watch and inwardly cursed as he noticed the time, gently leading Anne back through the streets, still full of revellers dancing the night away. As they reached the front of the flower shop Anne drew him into her arms.

'I don't know what the future's going to bring Andrew, but at least now we have our time to face it together.'

Andrew smiled and pulled her into a chaste kiss, remembering his last goodnight outside the shop.

'I love you Anne, and you're absolutely right.'

Anne smiled serenely, 'I love you to Andrew, the wars over and tomorrow is a new day.'

Five Years Later

Andrew Foyle led his wife and son over the threshold of his father and Sam's house on Steep Lane, mindful of the precious load his wife held in her arms. Two identical blonde whirlwinds ran across the room and did their best to knock him down as he entered the living room.

'Andrew, Auntie Annie.'

'You're both late.'

'Not up to no good again I hope?'

'Mummy and daddy will not be…'

'Amused,' they both chorused with a giggle.

Andrew laughed softly at his sister's antics as he hugged them tight and kissed their cheeks. Both of the girls had inherited Sam's cheery nature and her curiosity, and also the sharp eyes and intelligence of their father. Very little got past them and so Andrew told the truth.

'Never could hide anything from you two, could we? But it's a hard job running a newspaper and helping Annie with our little Angela. Say, where are dad and your mummy?'

'They're upstairs with Matt.'

'Shall we go get them?'

Anne smiled down at the girls, 'go on, and then you can all play with Charlie, but do try not to wake Angela up again, she's only three months old. Remember what happened when you came to play at our house last week? It took me quite some effort to settle her after you woke her from her nap.'

Andrew bent down to his son, 'you heard her my lad, and remember, no waking your sister.'

'Ok dad.'

Andrew smiled and ruffled his boy's hair before he watched the girls lead his and Anne's son upstairs. The trio soon returning with Sam and his father, just as a knocking came from the door. Andrew let his brother and sister in law inside as Jack greeted him.

'Not late are we Andrew?'

Foyle called to them all, 'no, you're all right on time.'

Time had been kind to the Foyle family, Sam giving birth to a boy almost exactly nine months after VE day whom they christened Matthew. Who was soon joined a few months later by his playmate and best friend Charles or "Charlie" as he was soon dubbed by his proud father.

'How's the newspaper business these days Andrew?' asked Sam.

Andrew shrugged, 'I'm only the editor because of a case of "dead man's shoes" but it's good work and Cecelia is a very efficient secretary. Although my office still reeks of stale tobacco thanks to my predecessor, Lord knows how he found enough cigarettes to meet his habit during the war. The pay rise was welcome, but it means I don't get to spend nearly as much time as I want to with Anne and the kids.'

Jack smiled, 'I know what you mean, and Laura and I haven't got any children yet. I hardly ever saw Sir Charles when I was growing up, and I definitely don't want to follow that example when the time comes.'

Foyle watched as Lady Laura whispered something into her husband's ear which made his eldest son's face split into the widest grin he had ever seen as tears leaked from his eyes before he pulled his wife into his arms and kissed her.

'Congratulations,' was all he said as he arched his brow and smiled.

'Thanks dad, has "the office" let you go yet?'

Foyle shrugged, as he had suspected Hilda Pierce had indeed returned to call in her favour for getting him the documents. Recruiting him to MI5 in 1946 in exchange for assisting him in pressuring the Americans to extradite Senator Howard Paige to stand trial for murder and forcing him to settle a large sum of money on his victim's family. During the time he had spent working for her, he had actually grown almost fond of the woman and was rather upset when she had finally taken her own life at the climax of the PLATO affair.

'Wwell, they're saying they don't need me right now so they've let me come back here for a while. But soon enough they'll probably have some other murky waters for me to delve into. The office is a difficult place to leave once you're inside it.'

'How are Brooke and Susan going?' Asked Anne.

'Very well,' said Foyle, 'the corruption scandal that erupted over the racketeering business cleared out a lot of the top brass who were in on it. That led to accelerated promotion for a lot of good coppers like him and Paul and Hugh and I did put in a few good words for both of them. Hugh got promoted to commissioner a few months ago and at the rate he's going, Brooke will end up going at least as far as Superintendent by the time he's forty.'

'No more self-important twerps bugging us from London then dear?' asked Sam.

'No, unless you count Hugh?' said Foyle with a perfectly straight face as his family laughed.

Foyle gazed around at his family, Sam sitting to his right still as beautiful as the day she'd first marched into his office. His elder sons and their wives, both doing well in their chosen lives and the children and grandchildren around him. His eyes landed on the framed photograph of Rosalind just as he felt Sam's hand squeeze his and saw her knowing smile.

'Can't go anywhere without you my dearest,' he whispered.

'Still a long ways to travel yet my darling.'