trashchildren | For Joan

Joan can hear the two of them chatting, and it makes her happy. She knows how hard all of this has been on Ted, taking him away from his team, away from his work, his calling. Joan has felt that herself, of course, not being able to engage in the Work to the level she's accustomed to. But she's had a little, what with going through those documents the lawyer dropped off, whereas Ted...well, she doubts playing the video game is quite the same thing.

Dinner takes quite a while this time. He's making one of his comfort foods from home: chicken and noodles, atop mashed potatoes, with a side of hot rolls. Delicious, and if Joan is still having trouble, it should be easy to digest.

He is taking a couple shortcuts so he doesn't have to spend all day, though. Like not boiling the chicken since morning, nor making mashed potatoes from scratch. He could, but then they'd all be starving by the time he finished.

But he figured after this day (these few weeks..), and with Beard visiting, it's a great time. And he knows exactly how to cook it, so he can chat at the same time.

Finally Beard pokes his head out of the kitchen and says dinner's just about ready, but this one probably has to be eaten at a table, not on a couch.

While Ted cooks, Joan looks over some of the files on Rupert she hasn't gotten to yet, while Sherlock grabs his laptop and starts research into Turner's mother. Both of them are still embroiled in the work when Beard announces dinner. Sherlock helps Watson to her feet, then gives her his arm to steady herself with as they walk into the kitchen. She barely needs it, though, and sitting down at the table is almost as easy as usual.

"It smells amazing," she says, smiling at Ted.

"This one of my favorite comfort foods," Ted explains, stopping by Joan's chair to give her cheek a quick kiss, before he continues directing Beard in serving the food, so Ted doesn't have to run around himself.

He's already arranged it onto plates for everyone, though there's more left over in the kitchen, for further helpings, or to be heated up later.

Ted also seems a lot more enthusiastic now than when he got home, the cooking and socializing obviously doing him good, a positive distraction. Even just the smell of the food is a comfort for him. And it's been a while since he's gotten to make Joan something properly Kansas.

Joan smiles warmly when Ted kisses her cheek, and murmurs her thanks to Beard as he sets a plate in front of her. She loves seeing Ted so happy. He's definitely a lot more like his usual self, clearly recharged by the cooking and the interaction with Beard. Joan thinks it's a good thing he's going back to work soon. He definitely draws happiness and strength from the people in his life and the things he loves to do.

Lately Ted feels a little bit like an emotional yo-yo. There's just so much in his life to make him both happy and sad. It's hard to find equilibrium, and maybe he's overcompensating with the happiness to make up for the worry and the sadness. But mostly he's just trying to take whatever happiness he can find, without thinking too much about it.

He sits down next to Joan, reaching over to squeeze her hand for a moment. Beard makes sure everyone has water to drink. (Ted still wouldn't mind some alcohol, but he's waiting until Sherlock's no longer staying with them for that.)

"Alright, dig in," he says as Beard sits down. "Oh, and I'll be accepting no constructive criticism on this one," he adds to Sherlock with a smile. He knows exactly how this is supposed to taste.

Joan understands the feeling of an emotional yo-yo, especially since even in this difficult time and with everything they're dealing with, Ted makes her happier than she's ever been with anyone else. She's so grateful to have him by her side, and that gratitude absolutely beams from her smile at him as she squeezes his hand back.

"Noted," Sherlock says as he takes a forkful, and Joan notes the word is without a hint of his customary sourness. She smiles a little at that as well, also grateful that Sherlock now has Ted in his life. It's amazing how Ted is able to truly make a difference in so many people's lives, and she feels both proud and grateful to be his girlfriend.

She takes a forkful as well, and hums as she chews. "This," she says after swallowing, "is so good."

"Right?" Ted answers immediately - not in a bragging way, more just an appreciation of the dish itself. "Just like Nanna used to make it. Well, except for the various shortcuts I took, but you know, close enough given circumstances," he adds with a chuckle.

Beard is nodding in approval too. He's not even originally from Kansas, but he lived there long enough to get an appreciation for the cuisine. Well, selected parts of it, at least.

"I'm sure Nanna would be proud," Joan says with a smile before taking another forkful. Sherlock isn't making any sort of commentary as he eats, but it's still fairly clear that he approves, if just because his expression remains fairly neutral.

They all eat in silence for a bit - the period at the very beginning of the meal where everyone's hungry enough that they're just focused on eating. It's very filling food though, so soon enough Ted has to slow down to not stuff himself immediately.

"There's a game on Saturday," Ted says, glancing over at Joan. "Do you wanna go, or would you rather watch from home?"

He knows Joan is healthy enough that she'd probably be up for it physically. But there's probably going to be a lot of media, given their last appearance in public, and he can see why she wouldn't want that. Ted's not entirely sure he wants it either, but his desire to be there for the team, even if just from the audience, outweighs that for him personally.

"Hmm," Joan says considering that. "The media will probably want to get a story about the reappearance of the coach's detective girlfriend after she was nearly killed by the owner's ex. That said...it's going to happen. If not this Saturday, then next Saturday, when I will definitely be going. So...maybe it would be a good idea to go to the game this Saturday. That way I'm not alone when the reporters come after me."

Ted nods in agreement at the logic. He would very much like to be there to fend off reporters from her, yes. Sure, he'll do it with a smile and a quip, unlike some people defending themselves from reporters, but even so.

"Do you want to talk to them at all, or...?" he asks. Ted is used to having press conferences all the time, to answering questions after every match. But he knows Joan would rather avoid it. And there's obviously a lot they can't (or at least shouldn't) talk about.

She grimaces slightly. She definitely doesn't like the idea of doing a press conference, with cameras flashing and people yelling out questions. That said, she's definitely aware that they won't be able to stop stories from being run with wild speculation entirely unmoored from any reality.

"I think...only if we can control the circumstances."

Ted considers a press conference to be pretty controlled, comparatively. At least now he's got a rapport with them, and can usually get them to settle down even if they're overexcited. But he guesses that's not what Joan means. Especially given the sensitive nature of everything that's happened.

"So like.. an interview?" he suggests. It might be about time, honestly. Ted did answer some things at the gala, before everything went down, but things are sure to be worse now Rupert's arrested. Ted's taken a few days off from reading the paper.

"That might work," she says softly. "As long as it's with someone who won't be trying to play gotcha. Someone you trust."

She knows Ted has surprisingly good relationships with many of the reporters who cover Richmond. Although it really shouldn't be a surprise, considering this is Ted they're talking about.

Ted looks over at Beard. "Trent?"

Beard gives a silent agreeing nod, and Ted smiles. "I know just the guy," he says. "Wrote a piece on me when I first got here, was real nice. Heck of a writer, too."

Joan smiles back. "He sounds great. How do you want to do this? Should we invite him to our home? Meet him somewhere?"

Joan has spoken with reporters before, of course, not to mention one of her best friends back home is one. But she's never done a formal interview before.

Ted shrugs. "Invite him here?" he suggests. No reason why not, and he'd rather talk about it in private. Especially if things get emotional, or if they want to give some confidential information for context or something.

"We can do that," Joan says with a smile. She glances over at Sherlock, who lifts his eyebrows and gives her a shrug, conveying that it isn't really his place to comment. Joan knows he's not a fan of the press himself, but he can just not be around while the guy is at 221A.

Joan turns back to Ted. "Do you want to call and ask when he can come over?"

Obviously Sherlock doesn't have to be there. It's Joan and Ted that they're excited about, because of the connection to Richmond and Rupert and all that. And Ted especially won't be able to avoid it anyway, since it's part of his job. So it's better to get out ahead of it.

"Mmm," he agrees, getting out his phone to text Keeley, figuring she'll have his number. I'll call after we finish dinner."

"That works," Joan says with a smile. It's definitely best to get ahead of it and to control the narrative. She's well aware of what can happen when the media has scant evidence and a public hungry for a story. Doing it this way, they get to tell the story instead of letting the public imagination run mad.

She takes another bite of food. In addition to being delicious, the food is mild enough that her stomach is giving her no problems.

Ted texts her, then puts his phone down with a soft, thoughtful frown.

"So how much do we say?" he asks, looking between Sherlock and Joan. Beard at least knows most of it, so Ted's not worried about him overhearing. "I mean, when it comes to Rupert, especially?"

She hums, frowning faintly. It's a good question. They know a lot of things, and much of it probably shouldn't come out outside a courtroom.

"I think we keep it to our case," she says. "The other things Rupert's done will come out in court. We probably shouldn't be tipping that hand ahead of time."

"It would be advisable," Sherlock adds, "to keep Moriarty out of it altogether."

"Good advice for life in general," Ted quips, maybe a bit bitterly. He doesn't blame Joan, but he definitely blames Moriarty.

He figures for anything involving Rupert, he'll allow Joan to be the one to talk about that mostly. She'll have better judgement regarding it, probably.

Joan lowers her eyes at that. Ted might not blame her, but she still carries a lot of guilt for what happened to Turner, and to the man who recruited him. Of course, if Moriarty hadn't gotten involved, they might not have known that Rupert was going to try again to have Ted killed. He could have been the one to eat the cyanide-laced food at the gala, and not have known there was a problem until he had ingested so much that he could not be saved.

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