For Joan

[theodorelasso]

Continued from here.

(warnings: sexytimes. also, panic attacks, brutal violence, attempted murder, discussion of suicide and actual murder... )

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[theodorelasso]

Ted nods, looking down at Joan, who looks peaceful and beautiful. "Barely stirred," he answers. "How long does she need to be watched, or stay on those meds? Till she's up and walking properly again?" They're making it work, but it does feel strange to be watching her like a hawk, and he's sure she's looking forward to some alone time.

[formersurgeon]

"I believe as of tomorrow evening we can be sufficiently certain that the medication is efficacious." He looks back up at Ted. "It's about time for her nighttime dose."

[theodorelasso]

"Right," he answers, and looks down at Joan again, and starts to reach out to wake her before he stops, pausing for a second. "I, uh.." he says, looking in Sherlock's direction but not quite at him. "I told her," he says quietly. He figures Sherlock should probably know, so he doesn't feel like he has to keep secrets. Though he's sure both of them are plenty good at keeping secrets.

[formersurgeon]

Sherlock nods at that. He's glad Ted told her. It's not that he has a problem keeping secrets from Watson on principle. He and Watson keep secrets from each other and lie to each other all the time, even now. But this is different. He felt very much that Watson should know, and equally strongly that he could not be the one to tell her.

"Are you all right?" he asks. He doesn't have to ask about Watson because he knows how she would react to learning that information. It's Ted he's concerned about.

[theodorelasso]

"Yeah," he answers, though it's more of an automatic answer than a genuine one, and then followed by a bit of a shrug. He's not... in a state of crisis about it or anything. But it's probably gonna take some processing. He doesn't want to talk about it though. He's done more than enough talking about it today.

So instead he reaches down to stroke Joan's hair, then her shoulder, gently stirring her, waking her in the gentlest way possible.

[formersurgeon]

Sherlock can tell the answer isn't genuine, but he's not going to push. As long as Ted isn't in crisis, Sherlock will let him take his time.

Joan stirs as Ted rubs her shoulder and blinks her eyes open.

"Hey...everything okay?" she says, frowning faintly.

[theodorelasso]

"Yeah, it's just time for your meds," he says softly, smiling reassuringly. Of course, now she's probably not just worrying about possible seizures, but also about how Ted's doing. "You've been sleeping like a log," he adds, so she's not worried about the first part at least.

[formersurgeon]

She is concerned about him, knowing that he is at the very least unsettled by all this. But his smile is reassuring and Joan smiles back.

Sherlock rises. "I will fetch the medication and some water," he says, leaving the room.

[theodorelasso]

Ted helps Joan sit up - though at this point it's more of a moral support than actual help, since she doesn't seem to need that anymore, and she wouldn't want him to help too much.

"Now Sherlock's awake I think I'll get some sleep too," he says. He's definitely looking pretty sleepy by now. A midday nap can only do so much. He got up pretty early this morning.

[formersurgeon]

She can indeed sit up on her own, but she still appreciates him looking out for her. Soon enough this will all be behind them, and in the meantime it makes sense to be careful.

"Probably a good idea," she says with a smile. "It will be nice to sleep together." In the most innocent sense.

Sherlock returns with the medicine, and as he hands it to Watson the two of them make eye contact, and in that moment there's communication between them, an apology of sorts on Sherlock's part and understanding on Joan's.

Then Joan puts the pill in her mouth and swallows it with a gulp of water.

[theodorelasso]

Ted doesn't notice the silent communication between them - partly intentionally, still feeling pretty awkward about it all. He starts arranging pillows for sleeping in a way that's good for his back, getting comfortable.

[formersurgeon]

Joan hands the glass back to Sherlock with a nod of thanks, and waits a moment for Ted to find and settle into a comfortable position before lying down to face him, smiling.

"Picnic tomorrow?" she asks softly.

[theodorelasso]

"Sounds great," he answers with a soft smile, already looking pretty ready to pass out.

He looks forward to the picnic though. Getting some air, smelling the grass, being around people... Eating yummy picnic food. The three of them doing something to feel part of the world, not just hidden away from it.

[formersurgeon]

Joan moves closer so she can lay her arm across Ted's waist and her head on his shoulder, getting comfortable, loving how being held like this makes her feel safe.

Meanwhile, Sherlock settles into the chair to stand guard, over Watson primarily, of course, but in many ways over them both.

[theodorelasso]

Ted gives her a little squeeze, his arm resting comfortably around her shoulders, and putting his other hand on top of hers on his waist. It's a lot harder to feel anxious when they're gently holding each other like this.

"Night, Sherlock.." he murmurs, already sounding like he's half asleep. And it doesn't take long before he's fully so.

[formersurgeon]

"Goodnight Ted," Sherlock replies softly. He watches them closely for several minutes, enough time so that Watson is out of the stage of sleep where her seizures were taking place. Once he's assured Watson is not going to have a seizure this time around he sighs, relaxing, and settles in for the next several hours, giving them both time to rest and to heal.

[theodorelasso]

Ted continues to have strange, anxious dreams, that aren't quite enough to wake him up, but enough to make him gently frown and stir in his sleep.

He is however still fast asleep when the doorbell rings in the morning.

[formersurgeon]

The doorbell wakes Joan up, and she pushes herself up to sitting, rubbing her eyes.

"Is someone at the door?" she says, her voice still blurred by sleep.

"It would seem," Sherlock says, rising. He looks at Watson. "Awake?"

She groans a little. "I think."

"Excellent." He leaves her and goes to answer the door.

[theodorelasso]

At the door stands a middle aged man wearing a grey suit and carrying a briefcase, and who smiles politely when Sherlock opens the door.

"Mr. Holmes," he greets. It's not a question. "My name is Harry Wilson, I'm a lawyer. My former company used to represent Rupert Mannion, and I have some information you might be interested in."

His accent is American, and he's recently arrived in the country. He also seems very pleased to be there, beyond mere politeness.

[formersurgeon]

Well this is unexpected.

Sherlock narrows his eyes, taking in their visitor for an uncomfortably long moment.

"Interesting," he says finally, and stands aside. "Please, come in and have a seat." He gestures toward the living room.

[theodorelasso]

Harry seems mildly confused and curious about the very lengthy scrutiny, but also not entirely surprised by it.

"Thank you," he answers with a smile and heads inside. He notes the empty living room, and the open door to the bedroom. He assumes that's where Mr Lasso and Ms Watson are. He sits down in a chair and puts the briefcase on the table and opens it, getting straight to the point.

"These have already been delivered to the police, but I assumed you would like to see them as well, given your personal stakes," he says, sorting through some papers.

"We don't have much on the incident with the car, but we do have some rather compelling reading regarding the plane," he continues.

He starts putting down papers on the table, briefly summarising each one. There's memos, in-house emails, further financial information, documentation of how Rupert had no intention of going on that trip - none of it is conclusive evidence, which is exactly why he hasn't come forward with it earlier.

But all together it does paint a pretty obvious picture, and it also provides fresh leads to follow up on, potentially to some real proof. But even without that, it makes a much stronger case than what the police had before.

[formersurgeon]

Sherlock continues his observation of the man, noting the glance toward the bedroom door that suggests their visitor is aware that Sherlock is not alone in the apartment. Considering the clear fact that Mr. Wilson knew exactly who Sherlock was, it raises some questions. He sits across from Mr. Wilson and surveys the documentation as it is presented. Many of the vague aspects of Sherlock's investigation into the plane crash are brought into sharp focus by what Mr. Wilson is presenting. Sherlock had been expecting that their best chance of making sure Rupert went away for a long, long time was to nail him on his attempts to kill Ted. But with this information, they might have had Rupert dead to rights without putting Ted and Joan in harm's way.

"Mr. Wilson," he says after the last document is laid out. "Who do you work for, and how do you know where we are staying?"

In the bedroom, Joan can hear what's being said, and it's clear this is something they likely both want to be present for. She gently shakes Ted to wake him.

[theodorelasso]

Ted blinks awake groggily. "What? You okay?" he asks, bleary-eyed. Then he hears an unfamiliar voice in the living room, and he starts waking up a lot quicker.

"Oh, thieves," Harry answers immediately, and with a smile. Obviously this is not something he would normally disclose, especially so frankly, but he's been told there is extremely little reason to lie to Mr Holmes. He's likely to find out the truth eventually, and that will just make him trust them less.

"After Mannion's arrest, my team looked into you guys," he explains. "Rest assured though, these papers are legit, and were sent to the police directly from the firm - though perhaps as much to their surprise as the police's - so there shouldn't be any doubt as to their credibility."

"Mostly I'm here because I wanted to thank you for giving us an opportunity to help take Mannion down," he adds. And he very genuinely means that. He almost looks a tiny bit giddy, though he's obviously trying to control himself, because the circumstances could've been better.

[formersurgeon]

"I don't know who that is," Joan whispers, looking around for her clothes. "But they're talking about Rupert."

In the living room, Sherlock tilts his head and furrows his brow at the man's answers to his questions. Both of them are frankly unsettling.

"You work for thieves who have been investigating and monitoring us," he surmises, tapping his middle finger against his thumb as he wraps his brain around the situation. "And who have secured this information from your firm and without the firm's knowledge. I would ask if you are a member of Everyone, but I doubt Everyone would send an American to London on short notice. You clearly have some personal connection to the case apart from or in addition to your affiliation with this company. What is it?"

[theodorelasso]

Ted gets up, rubbing sleep from his eyes, and goes to help Joan with her clothes. While also trying to listen for what's going on.

At the description of 'investigating and monitoring', Harry gestures a wobbly hand, meaning he doesn't necessarily agree with the way that's being framed, but also doesn't outright disagree with it.

He doesn't actually really know who Everyone is - though he thinks maybe Hardison has mentioned them? Something hacker related, then?

At the question he does get a bit more sober and sincere. "Not exactly. I personally never worked for Mannion. But I did work for a lot of people like him," he explains. He does not look remotely proud of that fact. "I guess I'm just looking for redemption. One greedy rich bastard at a time." He looks both genuine and a little bit sad at that. Like he's still doubting if it'll ever be enough.