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]

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?"

[theodorelasso]

"Yeah," he answers reluctantly, pausing his extraction. "Want me to help you get up and get dressed before I go, or are you just gonna stay here?"

[formersurgeon]

"Mmm. I should probably get dressed so Sherlock can come in if he wants." She doesn't necessarily think she needs such close observation, but she knows it would make Sherlock feel better. Ted too, probably.

[theodorelasso]

"I'll get your clothes," he says, and gives her a quick kiss before getting out of bed and grabbing the bathrobe. "And my clothes too, for that matter," he adds with a smile. "I'll probably stop by my apartment and grab some more stuff."

[formersurgeon]

She smiles at the kiss and watches him get out of bed, enjoying one more glimpse of his body before he puts on the bathrobe. "Sounds good," she says.

Ted will find that Sherlock brought over Joan's green Joe Namath New York Jets jersey, doubtlessly for Ted's amusement.

[theodorelasso]

Ted goes to pick up her clothes, then pauses as he sees that's clearly a jersey, and he holds it out to see what it is. Then he gives Sherlock a look of entirely unconvincing exasperated disapproval, though it gets replaced by an amused smile almost immediately.

He heads back into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. "I'm afraid you're gonna have to go topless, as this was the only thing Sherlock brought back," he says, holding up the jersey.

[formersurgeon]

Sherlock lifts an eyebrow at Ted's clearly teasing disapproval, smiling a little to himself as he refocuses his attention on his laptop.

Joan laughs and rolls her eyes when Ted shows her the jersey. "Oh please. Joe Namath is gold. He led the Jets to a Super Bowl championship in 1969. And he's my dad's favorite player."

[theodorelasso]

"Yeah, and what have they been doing since then, huh?" Ted asks, playfully antagonistic and teasing. "Very next year, who won then? That's right, KC Chiefs, that's who," he says, grinning and holding up his own Kansas City t-shirt (that isn't sports related, but still gets the point across). "Then who won last year, huh? The Chiefs, baby!"

[formersurgeon]

She laughs, her smile wide and fond. "You're cute when you're bragging about your team," she says. "I'll grant you that the Chiefs are a better team. Joe Namath is still a legend."

Her smile widens.

"But get me a Chief's jersey and I'll gladly wear it. Occasionally."