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]

Ted takes her hand, and with the other one he reaches down to stroke her hair gently. Eventually he'll want to grab his laptop (to make sure he also doesn't fall asleep), but while she falls asleep, he'll happily pay attention to nothing but her.

[formersurgeon]

Joan squeezes his hand, then closes her eyes. The conversation definitely riled her up a bit, but Ted's hand on her hair soothes that tension, and she soon falls asleep.

[theodorelasso]

It's obviously riled him up a bit too, and even after all this gentle cuddling, there's still that little pit of anxiety in his chest. But he tries to breathe deeply and not give into it.

Once Joan's breathing deepens, and she's been asleep a while (with no twitching), he carefully lets go of her and grabs his laptop to go through emails. He's still getting a lot of work updates, but he's pretty sure they've intentionally kept him out of the loop of anything related to media and how to handle PR. For which he's very grateful. At some point it gets to be enough though - he doesn't like not being able to actually be at work - and he ends up just watching silly videos while he waits for Sherlock to wake up.

[formersurgeon]

Sherlock doesn't sleep, per se. Instead he lies on his back and consciously deepens his breath and slows his heartbeat. He settles at a comfortable resting rate and allows his body to relax while his mind ponders the situation: Watson's recovery, Ted's stress about Watson and about his sexual orientation, the evening with Keeley and Roy.

After a couple hours his body feels rested enough for the moment, so he slowly increases his breathing and heartrate and gets up. He goes to the doorway of the bedroom and knocks softly before entering in order to give Ted and Watson the chance to cover up if necessary.

[theodorelasso]

No covering up is necessary - they didn't even get fully changed for bed. Ted's used to sleeping at least partially dressed anyway, and the past few days he hasn't gotten dressed in more than he could comfortably sleep in, beyond pulling on a sweater or hoodie. (He does kind of look forward to having a reason to get properly dressed.)

"Hey," he greets quietly when Sherlock enters, and closes his laptop and sets it aside. "You sleep alright?"

[formersurgeon]

"I rested adequately," he answers softly, coming over to sit next to Ted. He looks down at the sleeping Watson. "Is she all right?"

[theodorelasso]

Ted nods, looking down at Joan, who looks peaceful and beautiful. "Barely stirred," he answers. "How long does she need to be watched, or stay on those meds? Till she's up and walking properly again?" They're making it work, but it does feel strange to be watching her like a hawk, and he's sure she's looking forward to some alone time.

[formersurgeon]

"I believe as of tomorrow evening we can be sufficiently certain that the medication is efficacious." He looks back up at Ted. "It's about time for her nighttime dose."

[theodorelasso]

"Right," he answers, and looks down at Joan again, and starts to reach out to wake her before he stops, pausing for a second. "I, uh.." he says, looking in Sherlock's direction but not quite at him. "I told her," he says quietly. He figures Sherlock should probably know, so he doesn't feel like he has to keep secrets. Though he's sure both of them are plenty good at keeping secrets.

[formersurgeon]

Sherlock nods at that. He's glad Ted told her. It's not that he has a problem keeping secrets from Watson on principle. He and Watson keep secrets from each other and lie to each other all the time, even now. But this is different. He felt very much that Watson should know, and equally strongly that he could not be the one to tell her.

"Are you all right?" he asks. He doesn't have to ask about Watson because he knows how she would react to learning that information. It's Ted he's concerned about.

[theodorelasso]

"Yeah," he answers, though it's more of an automatic answer than a genuine one, and then followed by a bit of a shrug. He's not... in a state of crisis about it or anything. But it's probably gonna take some processing. He doesn't want to talk about it though. He's done more than enough talking about it today.

So instead he reaches down to stroke Joan's hair, then her shoulder, gently stirring her, waking her in the gentlest way possible.

[formersurgeon]

Sherlock can tell the answer isn't genuine, but he's not going to push. As long as Ted isn't in crisis, Sherlock will let him take his time.

Joan stirs as Ted rubs her shoulder and blinks her eyes open.

"Hey...everything okay?" she says, frowning faintly.

[theodorelasso]

"Yeah, it's just time for your meds," he says softly, smiling reassuringly. Of course, now she's probably not just worrying about possible seizures, but also about how Ted's doing. "You've been sleeping like a log," he adds, so she's not worried about the first part at least.

[formersurgeon]

She is concerned about him, knowing that he is at the very least unsettled by all this. But his smile is reassuring and Joan smiles back.

Sherlock rises. "I will fetch the medication and some water," he says, leaving the room.

[theodorelasso]

Ted helps Joan sit up - though at this point it's more of a moral support than actual help, since she doesn't seem to need that anymore, and she wouldn't want him to help too much.

"Now Sherlock's awake I think I'll get some sleep too," he says. He's definitely looking pretty sleepy by now. A midday nap can only do so much. He got up pretty early this morning.

[formersurgeon]

She can indeed sit up on her own, but she still appreciates him looking out for her. Soon enough this will all be behind them, and in the meantime it makes sense to be careful.

"Probably a good idea," she says with a smile. "It will be nice to sleep together." In the most innocent sense.

Sherlock returns with the medicine, and as he hands it to Watson the two of them make eye contact, and in that moment there's communication between them, an apology of sorts on Sherlock's part and understanding on Joan's.

Then Joan puts the pill in her mouth and swallows it with a gulp of water.

[theodorelasso]

Ted doesn't notice the silent communication between them - partly intentionally, still feeling pretty awkward about it all. He starts arranging pillows for sleeping in a way that's good for his back, getting comfortable.

[formersurgeon]

Joan hands the glass back to Sherlock with a nod of thanks, and waits a moment for Ted to find and settle into a comfortable position before lying down to face him, smiling.

"Picnic tomorrow?" she asks softly.

[theodorelasso]

"Sounds great," he answers with a soft smile, already looking pretty ready to pass out.

He looks forward to the picnic though. Getting some air, smelling the grass, being around people... Eating yummy picnic food. The three of them doing something to feel part of the world, not just hidden away from it.

[formersurgeon]

Joan moves closer so she can lay her arm across Ted's waist and her head on his shoulder, getting comfortable, loving how being held like this makes her feel safe.

Meanwhile, Sherlock settles into the chair to stand guard, over Watson primarily, of course, but in many ways over them both.

[theodorelasso]

Ted gives her a little squeeze, his arm resting comfortably around her shoulders, and putting his other hand on top of hers on his waist. It's a lot harder to feel anxious when they're gently holding each other like this.

"Night, Sherlock.." he murmurs, already sounding like he's half asleep. And it doesn't take long before he's fully so.

[formersurgeon]

"Goodnight Ted," Sherlock replies softly. He watches them closely for several minutes, enough time so that Watson is out of the stage of sleep where her seizures were taking place. Once he's assured Watson is not going to have a seizure this time around he sighs, relaxing, and settles in for the next several hours, giving them both time to rest and to heal.

[theodorelasso]

Ted continues to have strange, anxious dreams, that aren't quite enough to wake him up, but enough to make him gently frown and stir in his sleep.

He is however still fast asleep when the doorbell rings in the morning.

[formersurgeon]

The doorbell wakes Joan up, and she pushes herself up to sitting, rubbing her eyes.

"Is someone at the door?" she says, her voice still blurred by sleep.

"It would seem," Sherlock says, rising. He looks at Watson. "Awake?"

She groans a little. "I think."

"Excellent." He leaves her and goes to answer the door.

[theodorelasso]

At the door stands a middle aged man wearing a grey suit and carrying a briefcase, and who smiles politely when Sherlock opens the door.

"Mr. Holmes," he greets. It's not a question. "My name is Harry Wilson, I'm a lawyer. My former company used to represent Rupert Mannion, and I have some information you might be interested in."

His accent is American, and he's recently arrived in the country. He also seems very pleased to be there, beyond mere politeness.