For Joan

[theodorelasso]

Continued from here.

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

Comments

[formersurgeon]

Joan would absolutely love to watch Henry while Ted is working, but she doesn't want to make that a part of his decision, lest he feel awkward about her stepping into a role usually filled by his ex-wife.

"I'm sure he'd love to be here," she says. "It's not every kid that has the opportunity to spend time in London."

[theodorelasso]

"Yeah, we'll figure something out," Ted agrees, but in a gently dismissive way that implies he doesn't want to discuss it further right now.

[formersurgeon]

Joan gets it. She kisses his cheek, then settles against him again with a happy sigh. The circumstances aren't great, but at least they're together and comfortable and safe.

[theodorelasso]

He just finds it difficult to plan for things right now. Daydreaming about vacations is far enough from reality that it doesn't make him sad that he can't do it right now. And still reminding them that they have a future outside of their current situation.

"So what do we do for food here?" he asks curiously, angling his head a little to the area pretending to be a kitchen.

[formersurgeon]

"Mmm," she says, looking in that direction as well. "The cabinets are full of shelf-stable supplies. Cans and boxes and whatnot." She smiles up at him. "There should be a couple jars of peanut butter if you want to crack one open and leave it on the counter."

She's aware of and amused by the habit.

[theodorelasso]

Ted smiles back at her, aware this is just as much of a good-natured tease as well as a suggestion, and kisses her forehead. "Peanut butter is the best snack," he answers, then extricates himself so he can get up and investigate the supplies.

And yes, maybe get some peanut butter.

[formersurgeon]

She gets up too, sitting on the edge of the bed and watching as he investigates. Sherlock always made sure the safehouses were well stocked, rotating out old supplies to donate to homeless shelters before they went bad.

"I don't think there's any bread, but there should be some pancake mix if you want to have peanut butter on pancakes. There should be some honey, too."

[theodorelasso]

"Oh, pancakes could be great," Ted agrees, digging out the mix. He also locates some bread mix, which means he could bake if he wants to. Even if it has to be done pretty low-tech and by hand. And he finds some raspberry jam in there too, which he holds out to show Joan. "Have you tried jam on pancakes? Really good, and mildly more healthy than honey."

[formersurgeon]

"Jam is good," she agrees. It's so like Ted to go straight to making food. Just another reason he's a great person to be in hiding with.

"I think there are some boxes of shelf-stable milk in the refrigerator."

[theodorelasso]

"The box says 'just add water' - but it's always better to add something extra, right?" Ted says with a smile, poking his head into the fridge. The entire kitchen is a lot better stocked than he'd expect, looking at this place.

"Did you know you can also add apple juice instead?" he says, digging out ingredients and the various tools required. "Better in waffles though. Tastes like... crispy, you know?"

[formersurgeon]

"I did not know that! It sounds delicious." Joan's own culinary skills leave much to be desired. She and Sherlock basically subsist on takeout and delivery. She watches Ted as he moves about the kitchen so effortlessly, quietly proud.

[theodorelasso]

"Think I'm gonna stick to the tried and true for now though, since I don't really know what this mix tastes like in its base form," he says, pouring the mix into a bowl to make the batter. "Or what heat the stove top operates at, for that matter. Always a bit tricky."

It's not entirely effortless, but that's mostly because of the little hops he does to not put too much weight on his cast, walking around without the crutch.

"So, how's your pancake flipping skills?" he asks with a smile, turning towards there as he stands there mixing.

[formersurgeon]

She smiles and gets up, padding over to the stove.

"It's been a while," she admits. "But I'll give it a try as long as you don't mind eating pieces of pancake."

[theodorelasso]

"Well, that's part of the fun," says, holding the bowl out of the way so he can lean over and give her a quick kiss. "Like anything, it just takes confidence, but not too much confidence," he adds with a chuckle.

[formersurgeon]

She smiles at the kiss. "Ah," she says, picking up the spatula. "The happiest of mediums." She looks at the pan. "So...when do I flip the pancake?"

[theodorelasso]

"Ooh, we're that fresh, are we?" he asks excitedly, happy to teach Joan cooking stuff. "When you can see all of the batter has gotten sort of firm and isn't sloshing around anymore," he explains.

He finishes up all the prep, and then pours the first ladle into the pan. Which is definitely a little bit too hot, so he turns it down a bit. "Oof, okay, this one will probably not turn out great, so it's great for flipping practice." While they wait, he stands behind her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head against hers.

[formersurgeon]

She smiles and leans back against him, resting her head against his in turn, settling her free hand on one of the arms wrapped around her. He's being so sweet and loving, and her heart is so full.

"I love you," she murmurs.

[theodorelasso]

"Love you too," he answers quietly, and turns his head a little to kiss her hair. Even just her presence is making this entire ordeal seem a lot more bearable, even occasionally enjoyable when he forgets about the circumstances, and he's so grateful for that.

"...Now's probably good," he says after a minute.

[formersurgeon]

She takes the handle of the pan in one hand and with the other works the spatula underneath the pancake. Then she flips it, and it only sort of comes apart. It's a little burnt from the pan having been too hot.

"That wasn't so bad," she says with a smile.

[theodorelasso]

"Nice!" Ted answers supportively, ever encouraging. "Hey, how about for the next one, I teach you how to flip it without the spatula? Eh?" He looks at her, enthusiastically expectant.

[formersurgeon]

She loves the praise, but the suggestion takes her by surprise and she blinks a little, laughing. "Really?" She shrugs. Why not? "Okay, what the hell? You're on, Lasso! Do you want to demonstrate first?"

[theodorelasso]

"Yeah, sure!" he answers, unwrapping himself from her and taking the pan from her. "You just push the pan away from you, and then pull it back sharply, and you let the curved edge do the work for you."

He demonstrates, fairly smoothly too, although it's a bit messy since the pancake is already coming apart a little bit. He then hands her back the pan. "Go on. This one's pretty burned, so it's a zero consequence situation."

[formersurgeon]

She watches him do it. "Mmm!" she hums as the pancake more or less flips over into the pan. "Impressive!" She takes the pan back and weighs it in her hand a little, feeling it out, before awkwardly trying the motion. The pancake crests the edge, but doesn't have enough momentum to flip. Instead it breaks in half, one half flopping back into the pan and the other falling on the stove.

"Oh that is tragic," she laughs.

[theodorelasso]

Ted laughs along with her, quickly grabbing the spatula to get it off the stove before it burns stuck to it, dropping it on a plate. A little undercooked on one side, and burnt on the other. Just perfect.

"Like I said - confidence, but not too much confidence. Here," he says, and steps behind her. He reaches around her, putting his hand on hers, and then shows her how to flip it a couple of times, while her hand is still on the handle, before letting go again. "Like that. Try flipping that piece a few times, you'll get the feel for it. Flick it a little bit up at the end, just not to much," he instructs encouragingly.

[formersurgeon]

There's a simple domestic intimacy to this, and as Joan moves with him as he helps her get a feel for flipping the pancake, she's struck by two realizations. The first is that he's coaching her, and it's amazing to be on the receiving end of his considerable talent. The second is that, in sharp defiance of their current circumstances, she cannot remember the last time she was this happy.

She flips the piece again and again, laughing at her failures, then gradually laughing at her successes as she starts to get the hang of it.