Foyle's War: "God Save the Closed Loop" (tiny Dr Who crossover mention)
Title: God Save the Closed Loop!
Summary: Paul Milner married her...but not who Sam thinks he married.
Crossover: Foyle's War / Doctor Who
Characters: Sam, Milner, Foyle.
Spoilers:
-Foyle's War: Plan of Attack, Broken Souls.
-Doctor Who: Blink.
Pairing: Milner/Sam,
Length: short
Rating: PG / PG-13
Note: the Doctor Who part is incredably small...but it is vital to the plot (such as it is), imho.
Note: I found Milner's first name here at the Radio Times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He'd been standing there all day.
Oh, not there there, Sam knew, as she'd been ferrying Mr. Foyle (DCI Foyle right proper) around across the Hastings countryside all day. But Mr. Milner had - Paul is - right there all day, like a crow on a washing line...
Just watching you. Watching us.
Watching me?
Sam tried putting such a silly thought out of her head, but it lingered like a persistant stain, refusing to be shoved away out of mind entirely.
Finally, after seeing Mr. Foyle to his office, Sam cornered Mr. Milner down one corridor of the building. Though, was it really cornering, if the quarry not only was nearby, but also cooperated far too much far too easily? She funneled those emotions into the force of her questions: "What is your problem?" always careful with her volume, not wanting to draw a crowd. "Mr. Foyle told you this morning to go home. So why aren't you with your wife?"
And he just looked at her. It wasn't a pitying look, Sam could tell - she'd recieved a few in her time - more of a little boy who has a secret that he wants to tell, but can't tell.
"You went to dinner with Mr. Foyle," and with me, "the day before last. Before that..." and shook her head. "Don't you care for your own wife? I mean, you married her!" And not me.
"I do," Milner said quietly.
"You've sure got a funny way of showing it."
"I have a very knowing wife."
Not 'she understands' or anything more demeaning. Just 'a knowing wife.' Knowing about what? She doesn't suspect - no, how could she suspect something that isn't happening?
Then again, paranoia's a real thing. "What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked.
"My wife knows why I was out with you and Foyle." She was there.
Sam made a noise. "Never did say why you married that," said a word under her breath, "girlfriend of yours."
"Oh," and Milner had the grace to look awkward, sorry. Embarrassed? "I didn't marry her."
"No?"
"That's right."
"Who, then? If you don't mind me asking, that is."
"I don't mind, not at all. It's safe to say you know her."
"I do?"
"Yes." Oh yes.
"And Mr. Foyle? Does he know her too?"
"They've met."
"Once?"
"Many times," Milner says. "She's proven invaluable on more than one occasion, as it happens."
"Huh," and made a note to ask Mr. Foyle who he thought it might be. Mr. Foyle probably already knows. But why wouldn't he mention it to me? Does he figure I already know & think I don't want to talk about it?
"What is it?" Sam wants to know. And Milner wants to tell her, she can tell. So why's he keeping mum about it?
Paul Milner meets her eyes and so wants to share the secret with her, with Sam, with his Sam. But she's not his Sam, he knows that - knows that her uncles've upheld their part of the bargain, keeping quiet about the two of them, content to attribute the bizarreness of the happenstance to Divine Works (or His sense of Humour). He looks in her eyes, and damn it, the worst thing he can think of is how Foyle'll feel to discover he hadn't been invited. But then, he couldn't've been invited...Sam would've wanted to go. And she'd been there at the time already.
It was still a headache. But one he didn't object to - the impossible logic was a cross he was fine bearing, given what it gave him: Sam.
Sam coughed, not looking away. He wants to hold a staring contest, fine by me.
She blinked as Milner leaned in, towards her shoulder - a quick sniff verified he didn't smell of alcohol - as her eyes darted back and forth, making doubly sure that nobody was paying attention to them. Sam parted her lips, was about to say - something, maybe his name, maybe a question - but it was academic, as he stopped when his head was alongside hers.
Sam felt sure that she could feel a few of his hairs escaping their usual combed precision to brush against her skin. Irrational, maybe.
And he whispers something in her ear. No, not something, but a something specific: "Six months from now, there'll be an angel statue by the back door of the Cambrigeshire vicarage. Remember to turn your back on it." And he kisses her ear like the silky threads of heaven, and he's gone.
Off to the wife. Sam frowns, but trusts him. Six months.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End
Summary: Paul Milner married her...but not who Sam thinks he married.
Crossover: Foyle's War / Doctor Who
Characters: Sam, Milner, Foyle.
Spoilers:
-Foyle's War: Plan of Attack, Broken Souls.
-Doctor Who: Blink.
Pairing: Milner/Sam,
Length: short
Rating: PG / PG-13
Note: the Doctor Who part is incredably small...but it is vital to the plot (such as it is), imho.
Note: I found Milner's first name here at the Radio Times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He'd been standing there all day.
Oh, not there there, Sam knew, as she'd been ferrying Mr. Foyle (DCI Foyle right proper) around across the Hastings countryside all day. But Mr. Milner had - Paul is - right there all day, like a crow on a washing line...
Just watching you. Watching us.
Watching me?
Sam tried putting such a silly thought out of her head, but it lingered like a persistant stain, refusing to be shoved away out of mind entirely.
Finally, after seeing Mr. Foyle to his office, Sam cornered Mr. Milner down one corridor of the building. Though, was it really cornering, if the quarry not only was nearby, but also cooperated far too much far too easily? She funneled those emotions into the force of her questions: "What is your problem?" always careful with her volume, not wanting to draw a crowd. "Mr. Foyle told you this morning to go home. So why aren't you with your wife?"
And he just looked at her. It wasn't a pitying look, Sam could tell - she'd recieved a few in her time - more of a little boy who has a secret that he wants to tell, but can't tell.
"You went to dinner with Mr. Foyle," and with me, "the day before last. Before that..." and shook her head. "Don't you care for your own wife? I mean, you married her!" And not me.
"I do," Milner said quietly.
"You've sure got a funny way of showing it."
"I have a very knowing wife."
Not 'she understands' or anything more demeaning. Just 'a knowing wife.' Knowing about what? She doesn't suspect - no, how could she suspect something that isn't happening?
Then again, paranoia's a real thing. "What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked.
"My wife knows why I was out with you and Foyle." She was there.
Sam made a noise. "Never did say why you married that," said a word under her breath, "girlfriend of yours."
"Oh," and Milner had the grace to look awkward, sorry. Embarrassed? "I didn't marry her."
"No?"
"That's right."
"Who, then? If you don't mind me asking, that is."
"I don't mind, not at all. It's safe to say you know her."
"I do?"
"Yes." Oh yes.
"And Mr. Foyle? Does he know her too?"
"They've met."
"Once?"
"Many times," Milner says. "She's proven invaluable on more than one occasion, as it happens."
"Huh," and made a note to ask Mr. Foyle who he thought it might be. Mr. Foyle probably already knows. But why wouldn't he mention it to me? Does he figure I already know & think I don't want to talk about it?
"What is it?" Sam wants to know. And Milner wants to tell her, she can tell. So why's he keeping mum about it?
Paul Milner meets her eyes and so wants to share the secret with her, with Sam, with his Sam. But she's not his Sam, he knows that - knows that her uncles've upheld their part of the bargain, keeping quiet about the two of them, content to attribute the bizarreness of the happenstance to Divine Works (or His sense of Humour). He looks in her eyes, and damn it, the worst thing he can think of is how Foyle'll feel to discover he hadn't been invited. But then, he couldn't've been invited...Sam would've wanted to go. And she'd been there at the time already.
It was still a headache. But one he didn't object to - the impossible logic was a cross he was fine bearing, given what it gave him: Sam.
Sam coughed, not looking away. He wants to hold a staring contest, fine by me.
She blinked as Milner leaned in, towards her shoulder - a quick sniff verified he didn't smell of alcohol - as her eyes darted back and forth, making doubly sure that nobody was paying attention to them. Sam parted her lips, was about to say - something, maybe his name, maybe a question - but it was academic, as he stopped when his head was alongside hers.
Sam felt sure that she could feel a few of his hairs escaping their usual combed precision to brush against her skin. Irrational, maybe.
And he whispers something in her ear. No, not something, but a something specific: "Six months from now, there'll be an angel statue by the back door of the Cambrigeshire vicarage. Remember to turn your back on it." And he kisses her ear like the silky threads of heaven, and he's gone.
Off to the wife. Sam frowns, but trusts him. Six months.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End