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Hugo

“ I just heard the news, Hugo,” Tristan said loudly.

“Best news we’ve heard all month,” Alex said. “I for one have missed your sunny personality.”

“I’ve missed you too, asshole.” Hugo looked around the office, only just noticing the little potted plants on each desk, each holding a miniature succulent. “What is this, bring your potted plant to work day?”

“Damien’s kid was here the other day. It’s some kind of summer camp project, so we all chipped in and donated five euros. Look, that one’s yours.”

And there it was, on his desk, a small, spiky looking thing.

“It’s a Crown of Thorns. Just for you. We all found it appropriate,” Ry chimed in, as he and Beau walked up from behind.

A knot formed in Hugo’s throat. He forced it down violently.

“None of us ever doubted you’d be back, Hugo,” Beau said, clapping him gently in the shoulder. Too gently , and Beau was not gentle. Hugo wondered if any of them would ever go back to treating him as they used to. Hell, he wondered if he’d ever be as strong as he used to be. He wasn’t yet—far from it—but he would fucking get there. Because that’s where he was useful to the team. He wasn’t a medic, like Ry. Or a brilliant pilot, like Tristan. Or an expert outdoors man, like Lorenz. He didn’t have Beau’s strategic mind or patience. But he was a strong fighter. The muscle of most operations. So he had to get stronger. He had to bring that back to the table.

“It means a lot to me,” Hugo said, his eyes still on the little succulent, because he didn’t think he could look at his friends without breaking into sobs.

“Anyway, sign the paperwork and get out of here. Go enjoy your last weeks off,” Beau said, putting the papers in front of him. “We’ll see you on the sixteenth.”

Hugo nodded gratefully. He was tempted to tell them about his session with Dr. Marsh, but something in him wanted to keep it a secret for a while longer. Not that he thought his friends would judge him for it—the opposite, they’d be glad he was reaching out to get help, but he wasn’t quite at the point where he could share.

Truth was, he felt lighter after his chat with Dr. Marsh—still hadn’t quite gotten over his surprise that she was a woman. And what a woman . He wished, for the thousandth time, that he’d met her anywhere else. In a bar, or a store. Anywhere where he could have asked her out for a drink … and whatever came after. But he wasn’t about to mess with the one person who might be able to help him. And maybe it was some kind of strange placebo effect, but she’d sounded so certain when she said she could help him, it was hard not to believe her.

Trust me . That was all she’d asked.

He said his goodbyes and strolled out of the office. He was half-way back into town when his phone rang. He winced as his mother’s name flashed on the screen. He’d forgotten to call her back.

“Hugo?” she asked, her voice shrill in his ear.

“ Maman? Is everything okay?” Hugo’s father was strong as an elephant. Hugo took after him, rather than his petite mother. But he wasn’t a young man any longer, and he refused to stop drinking, and ate cheese at every meal. Hugo worried about him.

“That’s what I should be asking you! You didn’t pick up.”

Hugo sighed. “I’m sorry, Maman . I was in a meeting, and then forgot to return your call.”

“Last time you didn’t pick up, you were in a hospital, dying.” Shit . Her words hit close to home. And was his mother crying?

“I wasn’t dying, Maman ,” he refuted. “It was a work accident, and you know I’m fine.”

“For now. But I need you to pick up when I call, Hugo. Or at least call me back.”

He knew the hurt ran deep. He’d tried to keep them from finding out just how close he’d been to dying, but his mother was no fool.

“I’m sorry I didn’t pick up earlier. But I’m well. I promise.” He paused for a second, then spoke quickly. “ Maman? I’m lucky to have you and Papa as my parents.”

“I know that, Hugo,” she said, relenting. “That’s what I’ve been telling you all these years. When are you coming to visit?”

His parents still lived in Lyon, in the same house he and his two brothers had grown up in. Hugo was the first person in the family to make it through university, when he’d gotten a scholarship to study structural engineering. He knew his parents wondered why he’d ended up on a gendarme’s salary, when as an engineer he could have been making so much money. But they’d never said anything to him about it.

“I’ll come down soon, Maman .”

“Be sure you do. Your father wants to see you,” she sniffed. “And make sure you’re eating enough. Last time I saw you, you were skin and bones.”

Hugo laughed. He was six three and, even now, after three months of little physical activity, still close to two hundred pounds. Nobody in their right mind would describe him as skin and bones. Except his mother, apparently.

His stomach chose that moment to growl. It wouldn’t hurt to go by the store and find a steak to grill that evening.