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]

Joan smiles back, slipping her hand into his, and laughs a little at his playful compliment.

"I might have overdone it a little," she says. "At least no one will mistake me for a fan of...who are they playing?"

[theodorelasso]

"Coventry City," Ted answers. "I believe they wear red and black when they're playing away, so it should be pretty easy to tell who you're supporting," he agrees with amusement. "If you want to load off a little bit, you can give the hat or the scarf to me. I mean, how are they gonna tell who I'm supporting, right?" he says with a chuckle. Never mind he's wearing a Richmond patch right on his jacket that he wears every day.

[formersurgeon]

"Anyone who doesn't recognize you as the Richmond manager probably doesn't care who you support," she notes with a smile. "But if you're cold I'll be happy to give you my scarf or my hat."

She's not sure what the temperature will be like at the stadium. She knows she's seen people in the owner's box bundled up before.

[theodorelasso]

"Nah, you keep it, I'm used to the cold," he answers, squeezing her hand. He's got a lot more padding than she does, and he's spent many a day out in colder weather than this. Up in the stands, they're shielded from the wind too, so it shouldn't be too bad.

[formersurgeon]

She squeezes his hand back with a smile, then leans against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Are you ready for the reporters?" she murmurs softly.

[theodorelasso]

Ted sighs at the question, obviously not excited for it. Usually he doesn't mind reporters, especially because he's gotten to know them a little, so he knows what to expect. This is a little bit different.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose," he answers. "There shouldn't be too many, not before the match. And we're heading in a back way, away from the crowds. It's afterwards, once they know we were at the match, that we'll have more to deal with."

[formersurgeon]

Joan doesn't deal with reporters very often. She and Sherlock go out of their way to not draw attention to themselves. Sherlock in particular has a sour opinion of reporters, because he's seen cases ruined due to an eager journalist either meddling in the investigation or publishing sensitive information. Joan's opinion is more sympathetic, considering her friend Em is a reporter, and she's far more personable than Sherlock. Still, she's not looking forward to this sort of attention.

"Let's just concentrate on enjoying the match, then," she says, squeezing his hand.

[theodorelasso]

"That I can do," Ted agrees with a nod. As they get closer to Richmond, the familiarity of the streets and the shops bring a slight smile to his face. He is looking forward to seeing everyone and watching a game.

The cab arrives and Ted pays and thanks the driver, before they both get out. He tries not to worry about Joan's strength - she's been walking just fine, so there's no reason to expect otherwise.

There are two reporters waiting who immediately perk up when spotting them and head in their direction.

"It's alright, that's Marcus and Lloyd," Ted says quietly to Joan.

[formersurgeon]

The past couple days, Joan has been making a point of walking as much as possible, first around the apartment, then a bit outside. She did that to work on her strength as well as to reassure Ted, Sherlock and herself that she will be able to handle the walking necessary for going to the match. She still stays close to Ted, though, in case she falters.

She glances at Ted as he identifies the reporters, then looks back at the two men headed their way. She moves slightly closer to Ted, taking his hand, and gives the reporters a smile.

[theodorelasso]

Ted smiles at the reporters as well - usually he would keep walking and let them talk on the way, but with the crutches that's less easy to do casually. Just like he can't really hold Joan's hand back, though he very much appreciates her closeness and nonverbal support.

"Hey fellas, how you doing? What you got for me?" Ted greets cheerfully. Another way to gain some control of the situation - by greeting them he's basically giving them permission to ask questions, thereby making sure the conversation is on his terms.

"Coach Lasso, how are you feeling about the reactions to your recent interview?" Lloyd asks.

"I'm feeling pretty good about it. There's a lot of good stuff being said, more so than bad stuff, which ain't always true," Ted answers, smoothly slipping into professional answering mode.

"When do you think you'll return as manager?"

"I can't say exactly, but soon enough. I miss working with the team and the other coaches a whole heap of a lot."

Marcus however turns towards Joan. "Is this your first Richmond match, Miss Watson?"

[formersurgeon]

Joan loves seeing how Ted relates to the reporters, and it's obvious that the reporters appreciate it, too. There's a sense of comradery, of collaboration, instead of antagonism. A great deal of respect and trust on both sides. It's pretty great.

Joan smiles at Marcus. "It is! It's actually my first football match, period. I'm really looking forward to it."

[theodorelasso]

Marcus smiles back, maybe a little cheekily. "Has he explained to you about the off-side rule?" he jokes, obviously a playful dig at Ted.

"Hey now!" Ted interrupts, with good-natured affront. "That's enough of that. And yes, actually, I have," he adds, with a smile at Joan. Though it was more to prove he actually understood them himself. "Alright, fellas, we gotta head inside and get sitting down, we'll see you afterwards."

Marcus and Lloyd actually let them go without any further questions for now. He expects it'll be a bit more harrowing after the match, when there'll be reporters he doesn't have as good a relationship with, and people there to feed on the drama.

[formersurgeon]

She grins as Ted breaks in, and before she turns to follow Ted into the building Joan leans toward Marcus.

"On the first date," she says with a smile and a playful flash of her eyebrows. Then she turns and joins Ted, smiling in amusement.

"Nice guys," she remarks. She knows that things will be harder after the match, when everyone has seen them in the owners box and the reporters are scrambling to get an exclusive. It's nice that their first contact was so positive.

[theodorelasso]

"Oh yeah, they're local, they're pretty much always there after a match. Same with Trent," he explains, nodding. Even when there's comparatively almost no one in the room, now they've gotten relegated, they're staples.

Ted leads the way, having learned it last time he was up in the owners box. There's lots of people he greets on the way, random employees happy to see him back. Even ones that Ted doesn't actually recognize, people who only work up at the stadium and only on match days, when Ted is elsewhere and has other stuff on his mind. It's nice that people he doesn't even really know are welcoming him back.

[formersurgeon]

Joan smiles and nods at the people they pass. She recognizes a person here and there from when she was in the clubhouse for the investigation, being good at remembering faces. She's happy at the welcome Ted is getting. She knows he's missed his job a lot, and it's really wonderful seeing how much the people here missed him in return.

She can feel a bit of an ache creeping into her legs. Nothing terrible, she decides. She can totally make it to their destination.

[theodorelasso]

They are, obviously, definitely taking the elevator. And if it was just him, he might've been okay with standing around a little bit to chat with people, but he's still very conscious of making sure Joan doesn't have to stand or walk too much. He's sure she wouldn't enjoy suddenly having to sit down, or even worse her legs buckling, in a public place with reporters all over the place.

"All right, it's right around here," he says, leading the way out towards the stands. "You good?"

[formersurgeon]

It would definitely not be a good look. She can just imagine what the tabloid headlines would be, breathlessly scandalous theories about the gaffer's girlfriend in huge print, claiming some source or another divulged the detective is dying or some such nonsense. Making this whole trip as uneventful as possible is the goal.

"I'm good," she answers with a smile. She can hear faintly the sound of the crowd now, so they must be getting close.

[theodorelasso]

Ted smiles back, and leads the way out towards the door. Rebecca, Keeley and Higgins are all already there, and practically spring to their feet to make sure Ted and Joan get down the few steps alright, making way for them to take their seats and giving them a warm welcome.

[formersurgeon]

The way the three of them make sure she and Ted get to their seats safely warms Joan's heart immensely. They're wonderful people and wonderful friends. Joan makes a point to hug Keeley before she sits with a soft, relieved sigh. She looks out at the field, beaming with the infectious excitement radiating from the crowd.

[theodorelasso]

The excitement is definitely easily overpowering the anxious nerves by now, and the sound of the stadium and the presence of the people he cares about is making him feel at home in a way that only could be increased if he felt the grass under his feet.

He gives Joan and excited grin, just having a moment of appreciating that they're here and that they get to watch a game together. It's not something that's likely to happen often - not for a Richmond match, at any rate.

[formersurgeon]

She answers that excited grin with one of her own. They're here, not just at a Richmond game but out in the world after about a week of being shut up in their apartment, much of the time time spent worrying over Joan. Being here now feels like liberation, like they're starting to put their tribulations behind them.

She takes his hand, threading their fingers together, and leans in for a quick peck on the lips.

[theodorelasso]

Ted kisses her back happily, then looks down at their hands. "You know I'm gonna absolutely end up crushing your fingers in a fit of excitement like this, right?" he says playfully, though he's not entirely joking. Once the game gets properly going, at least.

[formersurgeon]

She laughs and squeezes his hand gently.

"I'll let you know if you're squeezing my fingers too tightly. For now, I want to hold your hand."

She's not quite that fragile, and it matters to her that they're doing this together, hand in hand.

[theodorelasso]

"Mmm. Underappreciated Beatles song," he comments cheerfully, bumping their shoulders together lightly, giving her a smile before looking down at the field to see how it's going. They got here pretty early, so the teams haven't even walked out yet.

While they wait, Keeley tells them about this new dating app she's promoting, and she's apparently got Rebecca trying. Ted obviously declines from trying it - even if he were to use it only for friendship, he's got enough on his mind, and he'd rather go out and see people face to face.

[formersurgeon]

"That it is," Joan says, smiling at the shoulder bump and returning it fondly.

Joan listens to Keeley's pitch with some interest. Not for herself, of course...she's happily coupled with both a romantic partner and a best friend. But...

"Maybe Sherlock should check that out," she remarks to Ted as he's looking down at the field.