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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[formersurgeon]

He looks delightfully silly, and Joan can't help but laugh.

"Utterly ridiculous," she says with a grin. "And I love it."

[theodorelasso]

"So business as usual then, huh?" he asks with a chuckle, then goes to grab the smaller of the two bathrobes that has obviously been supplied for them.

"Here, give me your arms," he says, helping her on with it, while being careful not to graze the wet floor with it.

[formersurgeon]

She complies, sliding her arms through the sleeves. "Sherlock thought of everything, didn't he," she remarks.

[theodorelasso]

"Isn't that what he does?" Ted asks. Of course, he's not infallible, but it certainly seems to be what he aspires to. "I'm sure him and Beard could take over the world if they wanted," he says with a chuckle, drying himself off quickly and grabbing a robe for himself. "Ready to go back in the chair?"

[formersurgeon]

"They probably could." It's funny how they both have these taciturn, ultra-competent companions in their lives, partnerships that are so central to who they are and what they do. "We're lucky to have them."

She smiles and lifts her arms toward him. "Yes please."

[theodorelasso]

Ted hums in agreement at that. There's more similarities too, but Ted hasn't told Joan about how Beard and him started working together.

He loops Joan's arm around his shoulders, steadies himself for a moment, then helps her over into the chair, making sure the robe gets properly under her as well and she can sit comfortably. Though it probably won't be for very long, since that cuddling up in bed plan sounds great.

Once he no longer needs to walk around in the wet shower, he takes the bag off his cast. "Alright, shower mission complete. Ready for bed?"

[formersurgeon]

"God yes," Joan responds with a smile. Not only is she tapped out, she's also very much looking forward cuddling with Ted. Perhaps even naked. Some non-sexual skin-to-skin might be nice.

[theodorelasso]

"Away we go," he says, grabbing his crutch and hooking it over his arm, then wheeling her out of there, leaning onto the wheelchair for support, making a beeline for the bedroom.

[formersurgeon]

She can't help but giggle a little as he sweeps them into the bedroom. At the sound Sherlock looks up from his laptop in enough time to see Joan laughing as Ted pushes her into the bedroom. He rolls his eyes...but can't help but smile as well.

Once they get to the bedroom Joan smiles up at him. "Can we dispense with the clothing?"

[theodorelasso]

"Yeah, I like that idea," he agrees softly. After wheeling her into place, he makes sure to close the door, then goes to pull back the covers. He helps her slip out of the robe, since he's going to be lifting her out of the chair and thus out of the robe at the same time. They're getting quite practiced at the collaborating of moving Joan around.

Once he's helped her get in and tucked her in, he heads to the other side of the bed and sheds his own robe, before crawling in with her.

[formersurgeon]

They're getting good at maneuvering, and Joan even feels a little better about how much she's able to help, if just by moving her legs and shifting her weight to make it easier for him. Once she's in bed she rolls on her side and sighs with happiness, watching Ted literally disrobe. She loves the intimacy of seeing him naked.

When he crawls into bed she smiles at him.

"Hey," she says softly.

[theodorelasso]

There's a very short list of people Ted feels comfortable being naked in front of. ...At this point the list is probably just her. And only when it feels appropriate.

"Hey gorgeous, fancy meeting you here," he says playfully, cuddling in close and leaning over to give her a soft kiss. His towel turban unravels a little, and he'd almost forgotten he was wearing it by now, so he pulls it off and tosses the towel aside.

[formersurgeon]

There's a similarly short list of people Joan feels comfortable being naked with, a list that pretty much consists of Ted.

"Mmm. What's a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?" she answers just as playfully, nuzzling her nose against his.

[theodorelasso]

"Well, this is where my girlfriend wanted to go, you know. Gotta do what the lady wants," he answers. Clearly they're just trying to get all the cutesy-ness out of their system while they can.

[formersurgeon]

Joan figures that they should take advantage of the opportunity to be obnoxiously cute without actually annoying Sherlock. She smiles and kisses him.

"Very considerate of you. She's a lucky woman."

[theodorelasso]

"Right? That's what I keep saying," he agrees with a chuckle. "Come here," he adds, lifting his arm up so she can snuggle in close and he can wrap his arms around her. Part of him definitely wants to blow everything off and just stay here for the rest of the day.

[formersurgeon]

She chuckles as well, then gladly snuggles closer, nestling against him with a happy sigh, nuzzling a little against his shoulder. She knows he needs to talk to the team today, but for the moment she's just going to enjoy being in his arms as long as possible.

[theodorelasso]

Ted lets out a muffled "mmf" as her towel turban headbutts him. "Hang on," he says, and reaches up to move it and his face a bit. "There we go." He gives her turban a kiss for comic effect.

[formersurgeon]

Joan chuckles. "Sorry." She gestures to the towel. "You can take it off. My hair is probably dry enough."

[theodorelasso]

Ted does as suggested, reaching up and untwirling it, before gently tugging it off, careful not to pull at her hair. Once he's tossed the towel aside, he kisses her damp hair instead. "That's better."

[formersurgeon]

"Much," she agrees, snuggling against him again, his bare skin warm against hers. It feels so good to be in his arms, with nothing between them, just their bodies softly pressed together.

[theodorelasso]

It makes it very easy to forget about the outside world. And about their current somewhat fragile states. She's very nice and soft against him, and he wants nothing more than to keep her safe and happy.

"I love you," he whispers quietly.

[formersurgeon]

She feels safe and happy. There's so much they're facing right now, from their physical injuries to a confrontation with Rupert Mannion somewhere on the horizon to concerns about their friends and family. For this moment, though, they can set all of that aside and just be together. Just rest together.

"I love you," she whispers back.

The warmth of his arms and the sound and feel of his breathing soon lull her into a comfortable sleep.

[theodorelasso]

Ted doesn't fall asleep, not more than perhaps lightly dozing off, yet he doesn't get bored either, just lying here like this. He daydreams about living here with Joan, of Henry coming to stay with them. He worries about what's going to happen with Rupert, of how Rebecca is doing. He tries to plan what he's going to tell the team.

With all the stuff that's going through his brain, those few hours seem to go by pretty quick. Eventually he figures it's probably time for him to go, and he carefully tries to slip out from under her without waking her too badly.

[formersurgeon]

She wakes up, shifting with a quiet hum, her eyes fluttering open. She sees him and smiles. She knows he has to go, but also that it won't be that long before he's back.

"Heading out?"