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]

"You too," he whispers back, before grabbing a crutch and quietly hobbling off to the kitchen.

He doesn't go too fancy, since he doesn't have a lot. He's been ordering a lot of food the past few days. But he makes some scrambled eggs, some toast, and cuts up some fruit.

He looks at the assembled food thoughtfully. There's no way he can carry that stuff. But he has a poke around and finds some lunch boxes, which he puts the food on. Then he puts the boxes in a bag, along with a carton of orange juice, and two glasses.

It's not as fancy as carrying it in on a tray, but darn it, he's determined.

So after a little bit, he sits back down on the bed and starts unpacking from the bag.

[formersurgeon]

Joan snoozes as he cooks, and wakes again when he sits on the bed. She pushes herself up to sitting, stretching her arms and yawning before sitting back against the wall.

"Mmm. That smells good."

[theodorelasso]

"It's simple stuff, but you can't go wrong with scrambled eggs," he answers with a smile, handing her a lunch box and a fork. He even partitioned it so the fruit isn't getting heated by the eggs, and the toast isn't getting soggy.

"I can't really carry a tray like this," he adds, for explanation.

[formersurgeon]

"This is kinda brilliant," she says, duly impressed. She takes a forkful of eggs and puts it in her mouth, and is wholly unsurprised that they're delicious. "Mmm," she says with a smile. "I've missed your cooking."

[theodorelasso]

"I've missed cooking for you," Ted answers happily, settling in comfortably and digging in. "Did you sleep well?"

[formersurgeon]

She leans against him so they're shoulder to shoulder as they eat. "Best I've slept in a while," she says. "How about you?"

[theodorelasso]

"Like a baby," he answers cheerfully. "In other words, peacefully, but only for a couple hours," he adds with a chuckle. "I figure we can just order something in for dinner. Maybe move to the couch at some point if we're feeling adventurous."

[formersurgeon]

"All the way to the couch?" she teases. "Let's not get too crazy here!"

Joan eats a bit of fruit. "So," she says after she swallows, "how has the team been doing?"

[theodorelasso]

"Well..." he says, frowning gently. "There's been a lot to deal with lately. But Beard and Nate are doing a good job. And I think they were... you know, powered by spite and righteousness."

They are very loyal to Ted at this point. Even the ones who don't always agree with him.

[formersurgeon]

"They'll be happy when you're back," she says. "They must miss you a lot."

She knows how tight a bond he has with his players and with Beard and Nate. She knows he misses all of them a lot as well.

[theodorelasso]

Ted nods a bit. "Hopefully they'll let me come back soon," he answers. He's basically been ordered to take time to heal. Not just physically, but from the emotional strain. But soon enough the strain of staying away will probably be worse. "I did go visit them though."

Ted continues talking about the visit and the team, the stuff they're working on and trying to improve. He's clearly aching to get back to them.

They do make it to the living room eventually, and order some food, then pick a movie to watch.

Ted finds it difficult to actually focus on it though. As much as he's decided to not worry about anything, the worry seems to sneak in anyway.

[formersurgeon]

Joan snuggles against him as they watch the movie. She's relaxed and still a little tired, but still observant enough to notice that Ted's focus is drifting and he seems worried.

"Hey," she says finally. "Is everything okay?"

[theodorelasso]

Ted takes a moment to register she's talking to him, and blinks in surprise as he looks over at her. "Oh, sorry, guess I'm a little distracted..."

[formersurgeon]

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.

[theodorelasso]

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.

[formersurgeon]

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?"

[theodorelasso]

"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.

[formersurgeon]

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.

[theodorelasso]

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.

[formersurgeon]

"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?"

[theodorelasso]

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?"

[formersurgeon]

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."

[theodorelasso]

"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."

[formersurgeon]

"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."

[theodorelasso]

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?"