Forbidden Alliances // Alfie Solomons Peaky Blinders

(120) De Rigueur

*edited 04/03/23*

John stayed longer than he expected. Freya was administered a higher dose of morphine and the nurse checked her drainage tube which turned yellow and dripped a mucky yellowish-red liquid into a bucket at her bedside. That was her problem: her ribs. Her head felt it was a size bigger than normal and her brain was no exception but she blamed the stress and grief on that and kept it from the doctors.

There was minimal blood but the coagulation was being interrupted every time she cried or laughed or even talked for too long and each time she ripped apart the healing of her injury, her body was having to work overtime, causing her high blood pressure and further strain on her heart. It was one thing after another and without telling her, the nurse gave her a heavy sedative to get her to stay put and rest.

She was a stubborn woman with riches and power but the nurse's main concern was keeping her alive. Every person that seemed to be welcomed into Freya's room was not helping and yet she knew Freya needed support. The only way she could ensure her patient got the sound rest she needed was if she slept through it all.

Freya had fallen asleep minutes before Alfie arrived and John stayed to chat while he could. The two of them sat beside Freya's bedside as she was sedated for nearly two hours. They weren't nostalgic or emotional but their conversation remained very serious.

Because Freya refused to tell them about the things that were going on with the business and with her own personal life, and because they trusted each other more than any other Solomons or Shelby combination, they filled each other in on what they knew.

If things were different, Freya would have been proud and a little jealous of John's relationship with Alfie. If life had been a little different, they might even consider each other friends.

By the time the nurse stopped the IV, Freya had woken up from the sedative around eleven in the morning, allowing her to sleep for six hours and heal while her body still allowed it.

If it weren't for Alfie keeping to himself, she would have been furious at the nurse for having knocked her out when the result of Tommy's injuries were being given out to the family that cared.

Freya felt horrible when she woke up. Her chest cavity ached worst than it had when she refused treatment for pneumonia. Her lungs felt sore but not scratchy, her legs hurt from lack of use, and stretching would have only resulted in more pain in her abdomen so there was no winning.

Her shoulders and neck hurt and it felt like rocks were glued beneath her chin. On top of all that, she had a headache from Hell.

She turned her head and winced when she instinctually tried to stretch her legs and quickly opened her eyes to examine the room.

There was little to no light filtering through the window and for a moment, Freya thought she had only gone to sleep for an hour or so. But the truth was that the clouds were gathering darkly and threatened rain on those caught in the street.

"What's the time?" she groaned, trying to get to a sitting position and fighting the urge to give up the moment her arms tensed.

Alfie had sat in the same seat Freya found him the first time. He had a book in his lap and a pot of white Helleborus flowers sat next to the old pot of flowers the nurses brought in.

But her first thought was where John was and after that, it was if Tommy was still alive.

"Easy there, Love," Alfie grumbled, having a rasp take over his voice from not speaking for so long.

He slid a brown ribbon in between the pages of his book and quickly discarded it to aid Freya. He helped her sit up but made sure she didn't move any further.