trashchildren | For Joan

"I appreciate your restraint," he responds, a bit gruff but not unkind. Ted is clearly a hugger, while Sherlock most definitely is not. He's never even hugged Watson. Physical affection that is not sexually directed is too emotionally intense for him, and his experiences with absent parents and cruel boarding school classmates and teachers have ensured those emotions are more negative than not.

Ted continues smiling, and finally can't resist reaching over to very lightly stroke Joan's hair. It's still nicely braided, and she looks so calm and peaceful. Ted just feels very physically affectionate right now, and if he can't hug Sherlock, he still wants to do something.

Joan remains sound asleep, having been so thoroughly worn out.

Sherlock watches Ted being tender with Watson, and he can't help but smile faintly. The love and devotion they have for each other is clear. What's more, Sherlock knows he doesn't have to worry about Ted taking Joan away, so he can be happy without being afraid.

"We're going to have to wake her shortly for her medication," he notes quietly.

Ted nods. He sits there for a moment longer, then sets his smoothie aside, stretches a bit and starts to get out of bed. "I'm gonna go get presentable before Shaun gets here," he says, grabbing his crutches. "You good here?"

"She is in good hands," he assures him. "Is there anything you need for your session?"

"Nah, I think we're good," he answers with a smile. "We're just gonna be in the living room." If they need anything, they can always come ask. While the visits are somewhat about managing the pain and recovering properly, they're also health checkups and making sure that he's taking his pills responsibly, and all that.

Ted heads to the bathroom to wash, put on deodorant, shave, change clothes, all that stuff. He doesn't take his pills just yet, since it'll be difficult to examine his pain levels if he's just taken meds for them.

He's just in the middle of making coffee when Shaun shows up, and Ted lets him in. And then there's small-talk and coffee before they even start, which Ted always appreciates. Though the small talk this time does include a few bigger things, like whe's living here right now.

When Ted leaves the room, Sherlock pauses for a moment, then gets up and carefully sits on the bed beside Watson, back against the wall and legs stretched out in front of him with his ankles crossed. He sits there, aware of Watson sleeping beside him as he ponders over the Rupert Mannion case. He wonders in particular why exactly Moriarty sent the photo to Ted. The woman does nothing without some purpose.

His pondering is eventually interrupted by Joan stirring. She opens her eyes, smiling, expecting the person by her side to be Ted. She blinks when it's not.

"Your lover is fine, Watson," he says before she can say anything. "He's in the living room with Shaun."

"Oh. Good." She begins to stretch...then realizes she's still naked. She clutches the blankets to her chest and gives Sherlock a look. He stares forward.

"You have been fully covered while I have been present," he assures while pointedly not looking at her.

"Good." She sighs with a slight frown. "I think I'll still need help getting dressed. But I don't want to interrupt Ted's session."

"If the covers are sufficient, you can wait until the session is over," Sherlock suggests. "At any rate, it is time for your medication. I will fetch that for you."

He gets up and heads out of the room toward the living room and the kitchen beyond.

It's a productive session at least, with Shaun teaching Ted ways of managing his sciatica better, sleeping positions, stretching exercises, how to make sure he doesn't make it worse by walking wrong. He also gently chides Ted for walking around a lot with just the one crutch, and makes Ted promise to be more careful.

Ted also tells him about his withdrawal symptoms when he forgot to take his meds, though they agree not to lower his dose, since Ted still has a little bit of pain even when he takes them. He also reassures Shaun that Joan used to be a sober companion, so he's in very good hands.

By the time Sherlock comes out, Ted and Shaun are mostly just chatting, Ted laughing at a joke Shaun just made. Shaun looks like the poster boy for physical therapists.

Ted looks up when he notices Sherlock heading for the kitchen. "Oh hey, Sherlock, Joan's awake?"

Sherlock glances at Shaun, then back at Ted. "Awake and unclothed," he says, not caring whatsoever that there's a stranger in the room. "I am fetching her medicine and a glass of water as she arranges herself."

"Oh, shoot, right," Ted says, realizing he should've brought her clothes first. Well, actually, she might not have been able to put it on, so then he'd have woken her.

"I'll be there in a sec. Oh, Shaun, this is Sherlock, Joan's partner in crime-solving. Sherlock, Shaun," he introduces. Shaun gets to his feet, and Ted starts to as well, but then Shaun gives him a stern look and Ted holds up his hands in surrender, before Shaun turns to offer Sherlock his hand. "Oh, you don't have to.." Ted starts, but trails off.

Sherlock accepts the hand, shaking it as he takes in the man. "Welcome to our home, temporary as it might be." He drops the hand and steps back, turning to Ted. "The covers will be sufficient for the moment, so we will manage. Please, finish your appointment."

He nods to Shaun, then makes his way into the kitchen.

Ted's pleasantly surprised by the level of politeness. He was ready to apologize on Sherlock's behalf, but seems he doesn't have to. (Ted doesn't personally mind him being a bit stand-offish, he just doesn't want others to feel like they did something wrong.)

"Well, I think we're just about done?" Shaun says, turning to Ted.

"Oh, yeah, guess so," Ted agrees, grabbing his crutches and getting to his feet, as Shaun picks up his stuff and they head in the direction of the door. "And hey, tell your sister good luck on her recital from me, alright?"

"I will, thanks, Ted," Shaun answers with a smile, reaching out and putting a hand on Ted's arm.

They say their goodbyes, and Ted makes sure he gets out alright, still smiling a little after he leaves.

Sherlock emerges from the kitchen, pill bottle in one hand and glass of water in the other, in time to see the two men exchanging farewells at the door. He sees the physical therapist's expression as he puts his hand on Ted's arm, and it strikes him that there might be more than mere friendliness with a patient there. He would even go so far as to say that there was attraction there. Curious.

Then Ted turns around, and Sherlock blinks at the expression on his face.

He hadn't picked up on any suggestion that Ted might be something other than heterosexual, but he's only interacted with him in conjunction with Joan, who Ted is clearly in love with and attracted to.

Ted starts heading back, then looks up as he sees Sherlock. "I'll get Joan some clothes, I'll be right in," he says, not thinking anything of him looking at him, figuring he was just waiting for them to finish.

"Does Watson know?"

Sherlock is not one to beat about the bush, nor to be coy. It isn't even a matter of attraction between Ted and his physical therapist, as Ted clearly loves Joan and is devoted to her, and Sherlock would be surprised if Ted would ever consider cheating on her. It's more that this is something important about Ted, and something Sherlock knows Joan would want to support him about.

Ted pauses, tilting his head and frowning in confused curiosity. "Know what?" he asks. "That Shaun's sister is doing a recital?" It's the only thing he can think of that Sherlock could be referring to.

"Is it just Shaun?" he asks, his voice quiet and as gentle as Sherlock gets, clearly asking out of the care he has for both of them. "Or are you attracted to men in general?"

Ted stops, his pleasant smile fading for a moment. He definitely wasn't expecting that. It makes his hackles rise a little, for reasons he doesn't stop to identify.

"Boy, you'd better put that detective brain back to work where it belongs," he says with a chuckle, an attempt to be playfully dismissive, but it doesn't quite have its usual warmth. It ends up reading a bit like a warning.

Sherlock notes the warning and continues anyway.

"I understand if it's a secret," Sherlock says, still quiet and gentle. "With your background and your chosen occupation, it would make sense if an attraction to men is something you would want to keep hidden. That is why I am asking you here, and not in front of Watson. Whether you tell her or not is your choice. I would point out, however, that Watson loves you deeply, and would support you."

Ted stares at Sherlock in disbelief as he talks. He doesn't know what to say. He can't quite make himself deny it, but he definitely doesn't want to talk about it with Sherlock.

"How about you keep your theories about my personal life to yourself?" he answers, and there's definite hostility in it. Before Sherlock can answer, Ted scoffs and heads to get Joan's clothes.

Sherlock watches him go. He supposes that is answer enough.

He stands there for a moment, tapping his fingers on the glass of water he's holding for Joan's medication. He's clearly upset the man, which really was to be expected, for the very reasons Sherlock outlined. He's not exactly sorry, but he certainly wishes the encounter had gone differently.

Watson needs her medication, so Sherlock heads into the bedroom.

Once alone, Ted takes a second to take a deep breath and calm himself. He's aware that was not a great reaction to have, and that Sherlock probably was trying to be nice. But he also wishes he'd leave things alone when they're none of his business.

He takes his time to gather clothes for Joan, not wanting to head in there immediately if Sherlock's in there. There's a limit to how long he can dawdle though, so soon enough he heads in there.

"Morning, sunshine," he says, smiling with his usual cheer, even if it takes a little bit of work to maintain just now. "Or lunch, I suppose."

Joan is sitting up in bed, holding the covers up and over her chest and drinking the water Sherlock brought her. She beams as Ted comes in and hands the glass back to Sherlock, who is sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. Her hand is noticeably steady.

"Hey," she says. "How did your appointment go?"

Sherlock gets up and heads out of the room to give them time and Watson privacy. He doesn't look at Ted as he passes by.

Ted likewise does not look at Sherlock.

"Good. He only yelled at me a little bit for walking too much," he jokes playfully. "How are you feeling?" he asks, setting the clothes down on the bed and sitting down next to her. He was at least using both crutches now, holding the clothes under his arm.

She smiles at the joke and reaches out to take his hand, threading her fingers through his.

"I'm feeling pretty good," she says. She's not holding the covers as tightly to her chest, so they've slipped down a little, not exposing her breasts entirely, but the edge only an inch or so above her nipples. "It would probably be good for me to try walking a little today."

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