trashchildren | For Joan

Joan reaches for the remote and pauses the movie, then pulls back so she can sit facing him with her legs crossed.

"What's up?" Her tone is gentle, not aggressive. She wants to help.

Ted bites his lip, considering if he even wants to talk about it right now. But apparently he can't not think about it, and Joan obviously wants to help.

He sighs and gets to his feet, carefully limping over to a drawer. "I wanted to give us a little time before I shared this, but..."

He pulls out the envelope with the photo of Rupert, and Moriarty's signature. "This is what I actually called about when you told me about Turner," he says, handing her the envelope and sitting down heavily.

She sees him debating whether or not to tell her, and her concern deepens. What could be so bad that he wouldn't want to tell her?

She takes the envelope, her brow furrowed, remembering that Ted had indeed been calling her at an unusual time that morning, and they hadn't talked about it at all. She opens the envelope, and her stomach drops.

"Where did you get this?"

"Mail slot," he answers. He definitely would have mentioned it if someone had come to talk to talk to him about it.

"The man is Rupert Mannion," he informs seriously. "Former owner of Richmond FC, and Rebecca's ex-husband." He shouldn't have to explain why that's... a big deal. And not something Ted is all too happy about.

She nods. She knows. All of that had come up in her research for the case she worked for the team. She knew Mannion was rich and ruthless, but...

"She's saying he's the one who hired Perry," she says softly.

Ted nods. That part was not difficult to figure out.

"I've just been... trying to decide what to do about it. That's why I haven't mentioned it," he explains.

"I'm glad you told me," she says, still examining the note and the photo, trying to figure out Moriarty's game. Was she serious? Was she needling Ted? Was she needling Joan by screwing around with Ted when she so aggressively told her not to?

"What do you think?" Joan looks up at Ted. "Do you think he would do something like this?"

Ted pauses. "What I said when you asked me is still true. I don't like to think about people like that."

He pauses again. "He can be cruel. And selfish. He wants Richmond to win, but he also wants to stick it to Rebecca. And he could certainly afford to pay someone twenty five grand," he sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Means, motive, opportunity, right?"

It breaks her heart all over again that all of this happened to Ted, that he's ever had to even think about the horrible things people can do, much less have them done to him. She wishes it never happened. And she wishes it was over. But it's not.

"Right," she says grimly. She looks at the note and the photo, lips pressed as she considers what to do.

"I don't think we can go to the police with this."

"Only if you found a way to actually track the money," Ted agrees. If they know who it belongs to, maybe it's easier. "Or find some proof they talked."

"We tried to find out where Perkins got the money," she says, thinking out loud. "We could try coming at it from the other side. Try proving that Mannion deposited twenty five grand. But I don't know if that's any easier. And we can't ask Perkins."

Ted growls angrily, rubbing his hands across his face. "Ugh, heck!" he exclaims, actually displaying outwards anger, which Joan hasn't really seen him do before. Not directed at her, just... everything. "I mean, what am I supposed to do with this?"

It's a little alarming, seeing that anger come out, but Joan doesn't blame him one bit. She's not afraid of him so much as she's afraid for him, that things are so bad that it's brought out that anger.

"We need to talk to Sherlock," she says, maintaining her calm to ground him.

Ted nods in agreement and sighs, tired and frustrated and unable to actually do anything about all this. He feels so stuck and helpless, which are some of his least favorite ways to feel.

He doesn't say anything more for the moment, just sits there leaned forward in his seat, staring ahead.

"Hey," she says softly, reaching over to gently rub his back. "We're going to figure this out together, right?"

She wishes she could give him more.

"Do you want me to ask Sherlock to come over?"

Ted shakes his head a little. He'd rather not be dealing with any of this. He doesn't know how to help with this investigation. And he's honestly not in the mood to be around anyone but Joan.

"Can you just ask him to look into Rupert?" he asks quietly.

"Of course." She stands up and kisses his head gently. "I'll be right back."

She goes into the bedroom, takes out her phone, and calls Sherlock.

"Hey. We've got a problem."

Ted nods a little and sits back. He wants a drink, honestly, but all they have is wine. So instead he just sits there, waiting for her to return.

Joan comes back in and sits next to him, taking his hand in both of hers, threading their fingers together.

"He's going to look into it," she says.

Joan had suggested to Sherlock that there must be some sort of trail if Moriarty knew Rupert was the one to hire the hit on Ted. To which Sherlock pointed out that she could have gotten the information from Perry before he was murdered and dismembered and scattered to the winds. Joan's not going to say that to Ted, though.

"He did say it's unlikely that Moriarty is lying."

Ted squeezes her hand gratefully, and gives a nod. He hadn't really thought it was a lie. Because... well, it actually makes sense. Ted doesn't want to think it, that someone he's looked in the eye, someone who wants the same exact thing Ted wants (when it comes to the team), someone who's laughed at his jokes, and smiled at him... could not just want him actually dead, but go through with making it happen.

He knows Rupert isn't a good man. Knows that Rupert chooses to do cruel things. Knows that Ted has stuck it to him, prevented him from seeing the games in person. But it's still so difficult to imagine him going that far. This isn't a desperate young fan acting out of emotions. It was cold-blooded. It's easier to imagine some far-off criminal masterminds doing that.

Ted sighs sadly and leans over, resting his head against Joan's shoulder, closing his eyes for a moment. Leaning on her, both physically and emotionally.

Joan wraps her arms around him and holds him close, stroking his hair, her heart breaking for him.

"I love you so much," she murmurs. "I'm so sorry this happened."

She'll do everything in her power to get justice for him, but she's worried her power is limited.

Ted just takes a moment to sit and breathe, to let Joan comfort him and hold him. After a moment he wraps his arms around her too, holding onto her like he's a kid with a teddy bear.

After a minute or two he finally sits up, still holding onto her, sitting close. He hasn't cried, but his eyes are a little bit glassy.

"Uhh.. So there's a thing on Saturday," he says, which might seem like a subject change, but is definitely not. "A benefit gala Rebecca hosts. I'm invited, with a plus one." He nods to indicate her. "I haven't mentioned it, cause, you know, so much happening, I wasn't sure if I was gonna end up going." He takes a breath. "Rupert is probably going to be there."

They cling to each other for that moment, and Joan closes her eyes, breathing with him. When he sits up she keeps her arms loosely around him. She tilts her head as he tells her about the gala, then raises her eyebrows when he says Rupert would be there.

"You want to confront him?" she guesses.

Ted shrugs, but not in a way that implies 'why not' or 'I guess', but rather that he actually doesn't know.

"I don't want him to scare me out of going," he answers. "And I want to be there for Rebecca." He pauses thoughtfully. "And I guess... I do kind of want to look him in the eyes."

He doesn't want to let him know that he knows. But he wants to see his reactions. And maybe... just maybe there's a little bit of spite in him too.

"We should definitely go," she says. They can't hide away forever, even if the person responsible for Ted's attempted murder is still at large. "I'm sure Rebecca will appreciate it. As for Rupert...very few people are able to lie, or even just hide the truth, without exhibiting some common tells. If we talk to him, and he did do this...I might be able to see it."

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