Ted leans into it, closing his eyes and hugging her back. Maybe a little tighter than the situation calls for.
He probably wouldn't admit it, nor has he really confronted it, but part of him is definitely afraid. Wondering how long it's really going to last. How he's going to be able to cope if Joan leaves him. He tries not to entertain those thoughts, but sometimes they sneak up on him.
She feels how tightly he's hugging her, and she tightens her own hold on him, wanting to reassure him. Wanting to reassure herself. She knows he loves her, and she loves him, but sometimes circumstances just tear people apart. God knows they've already come close a couple times.
"I love you," she whispers, tightening her hold further. "So much."
He holds onto her for a few moments longer, before finally pulling back and smiling at her. His eyes are maybe a tiny bit watery, but it's just as much from how much he loves and appreciates her.
Those unshed tears cause her heart to ache a little.
She leans in, takes his face in her hands, and kisses him one last time. Then she pulls back and sighs before smiling. "Definitely. Don't want to keep Keeley and Roy waiting."
Ted may be dealing with a lot of stuff, but he also feels like Joan sees it, and wants to be there for him, and make him feel loved. And that means a lot.
"Yeah, Roy gets even grumpier than usual," he answers with a chuckle, turning to pick up her cardigan, finding the arm holes to help her on with it.
Joan shifts so that she's facing away from Ted to make it easier for him to undo her braids and brush her hair. She smiles at the comment about Roy and Beard. "I can totally see that. Who needs an irresistible force when you can have two immovable objects?"
She grins. "Yes you are, and I love you for it. But I'm going to hazard a guess that you're not usually around when Roy and Beard get into their staring contests."
"No, though I've walked in on them. Been a while now though. Since he's no longer on the team, the two of them don't really socialize on their own."
To the point they ever socialize with Roy. It is a fairly rare occurrence, and mostly because of Keeley. He probably wouldn't have even shown up at the club if it weren't for, well, the stuff going on in Ted's life.
Joan gets that it's been hard for Roy to come back to the club after his retirement. She remembers how, when she decided to leave medicine, she didn't go back to the hospital, even though she had had friends there. In her case there was shame and guilt involved, but still. It was a world she had left and was no longer a part of.
Joan smiles as he kisses her shoulder. She loves all the little ways he gives her physical affection. It makes her feel so very loved, which is particularly nice with the physical difficulties she's fighting through.
As he moves to the other side she reaches out to take and squeeze his hand for just a moment before letting go and turning so he can get to the other side of her hair.
"Hard to argue with the Crown & Anchor," she remarks with a smile.
The only downside to all this affection is it's incredible easy for them both to get wrapped up in it, to just keep returning and escalating. And then soon enough they're either snuggled up or they're having sex, and either way they won't want to get up. It's dangerous. Still, there are definitely worse problems to have.
"It's true. Great food, great ambience, great location. Outstanding staff," he says with a chuckle, obviously referring to Mae.
In their present circumstances, she doesn't necessarily see that as a downside. Spending most of their recovery time snuggled up (and occasionally having sex) sounds perfect as they recover.
"Mae is a treasure," Joan agrees with a smile. "I love it when she's yelling at the TV with those superfans."
Ted's a little trepidatious about just helping her to her feet on his own, but he's going to trust that she knows what she's doing. He takes her hands and prepares to help her up when she's ready. He's also very much ready to catch her if she overestimates her strength though.
He does very much appreciate her reassuring him, cause he is internally freaking out just a tiny bit. But he's mostly just trying to be something solid she can hold onto, and hold onto her a bit to steady her.
"Alright," he answers, a bit nervous, but ready to help her sit down. "You wanna pop by the bathroom while we're up and about?" he suggests. Especially if she doesn't want to be carted around while they have guests.
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