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]

It doesn't take them too long to get to the karaoke place, and while not everyone is there yet, people have already started drinking a bit, though no one has started the karaoke yet.

Pretty much the moment they walk in the door, Beard shows up out of nowhere and hands each of them a bottle of beer. As usual with his supernatural ability to predict what Ted needs and when he needs it. Beard gives a respectful nod of greeting to Joan.

"Thanks, coach," Ted says with a chuckle, giving an amused look to Joan before taking a sip.

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Joan blinks in surprise as Beard hands them their drinks. It really is uncanny. She gives him a smile and a "thank you," then glances at Ted with raised eyebrows, impressed.

As they move into the room, Joan looks around, recognizing people she talked to for the case here and there, smiling at them and raising her beer in greeting.

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Ted nods at various team mates too, and is about to suggest they go get some nice seats, when someone pokes him in the back and he turns around.

"Hiya Ted," says Keeley, with a cheerful wave.

"Hey Keeley! Oh, this is my friend Joan," he says, gesturing.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," says Keeley to Joan immediately, and she looks and sounds about equally sincere as Ted usually does.

"And that's Roy right there," Ted says, gesturing towards the man a step behind Keeley. Who does absolutely have murder eyebrows, and settles for a curt nod as a greeting.

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Ted was right...Joan takes an instant liking to the woman. "It's nice to meet you too," she says, with an equally sincere smile. She turns her attention toward the man behind Keeley and has to keep herself from a surprised and delighted laugh. Angry eyebrows indeed! She raises her beer to him and nods in return.

"So, Keeley! Do you work for the team?"

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"Oh yeah, I come in sometimes and do PR stuff for the players, set up branding deals and stuff like that," she answers enthusiastically. "What about you, how do you know Ted?"

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She glances at Ted. The investigation had been kept fairly quiet so that the players who were involved had a chance to make amends without their careers being destroyed.

"I work with Scotland Yard," she says, turning back to Keeley. That's true, at least. "There was an investigation into a fan that got a little too enthusiastic that I was helping with. Ted was one of the people I talked to, and we hit it off."

She says it casually, like they're just friends hanging out.

[theodorelasso]

Both Keeley and Roy look surprised at the news of Scotland Yard being involved, and probably also that Ted hit it off with someone who works with them. Then again, Ted seems to hit it off with everyone he talks to, sooner or later.

Ted meanwhile just smiles and nods along. "And I wanted to thank her for helping out, and karaoke seems like a fun way to do that," he adds, which is true. They had only barely started flirting by the time he invited her.

"Y'all wanna get some seats?" he adds, gesturing towards the couches, so they don't spend too long that subject.

[formersurgeon]

She smiles at his addition to the story. He was in fact being honest, if a bit misleading. They certainly had yet to fall for each other as they had since when he invited her to karaoke.

"Definitely!" Joan turns to Keeley and Roy. "Would you like to sit with us?"

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Keeley nods excitedly immediately, and Roy shrugs. Ted smiles warmly at both of their reactions. Roy never does anything he doesn't want to, so despite lacking enthusiasm, he's clearly not here against his will. And Ted knows he'll warm up as soon as everyone gets to alcohol in them and the singing starts. He's been a lot cheerier since starting to date Keeley.

Ted goes ahead and sits on the edge of the couch, so that Joan and Keeley can sit together in the middle and chat.

"So what's it like working at Scotland Yard?" Keeley asks, obviously already deeply excited to hear about this.

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Joan appreciates Ted's thoughtfulness, and when she sits she surreptitiously brushes her knuckles against the back of his hand as she's getting comfortable, a tiny hidden gesture of affection and thanks.

Keeley's excitement is infectious, and Joan smiles wide. "I'm a consultant, so they bring me and my partner in on the cases that have them stumped. We actually live in New York, so the cases have to be pretty big to bring us here."

Keeley might think that Sherlock is a romantic partner, and at the moment she won't disabuse her of the notion

[theodorelasso]

Ted smiles to himself at the gesture, and is otherwise very content to just sit and listen to them. They're both delightful ladies, so getting to see them interact is lovely. And they haven't discussed her work too much, so he may even get to hear some new things as well.

"Oh my god, so you're like special agent super detectives," Keeley says excitedly, which even Roy cracks a quiet smile at. "What's the most outrageous case you've ever solved? Ooh, or NOT solved, like, the biggest mystery?"

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"Biggest mystery," she says, considering that. "There's not a lot of cases we haven't solved. We're pretty good at what we do. I think one of the craziest cases I was part of was the one with the severed ear." She pauses for a moment to allow a reaction to that before going forward. "There was a man whose wife disappeared about ten years before. He had been suspected of killing her, but he insisted that he had been contacted by kidnappers and had paid them, but she hadn't been returned. No one believed him. Then he got a package containing an ear and another ransom note."

[theodorelasso]

Both Ted and Keeley react with exclamations to the severed ear. Ted's a pretty good audience, but Keeley is even better, big gasps and everything, while also looking excitedly horrified. They're probably pretty similar in how they actually feel about this sort of thing; exciting to hear about when told like this, properly detached from reality -- would be absolutely horrified to be anywhere remotely involved. Ted really admires the fortitude required for a job like that.

"Oh my God, that's-- Oh, there's Rebecca!" Keeley cuts herself off, sitting up straight to wave at Rebecca entering the club, who starts heading towards the couch when Keeley flags her down.

Ted doesn't realise until she's actually reached them that she's trailed by another tall woman (slightly taller than Ted, and therefore very much taller than Joan, even if it's not as noticeable while they're seated).

"Marlboro Man," she greets Ted with what can only be described as a knowing smile.

"Hey, Sassy Smurf," Ted answers with a surprised smile, that's maybe a touch on the awkward side compared to his usual greetings.

Rebecca seems mildly surprised to see Joan there, but steps in with introductions right away. "Oh, this is Joan Watson. This is my best friend, Flo Collins," she says, though she doesn't add any descriptions to who Joan is.

"Hi. You can call me Flo or Sassy, I don't care which," she says with a friendly smile, offering a handshake to Joan. Keeley seems very excited to have Sassy there too.

[formersurgeon]

Joan smiles when she sees Rebecca. She admires the woman for her independence and fortitude, and she had been grateful for her help in the case, if not quite as much as Ted. Then again, Ted's gratitude is hard for anyone to beat.

Then she sees the woman accompanying Rebecca, and notices the way she looks at Ted. One glance at Ted's awkward smile paints a pretty clear picture for Joan. Ted had told her that he had a one night stand right after his divorce. The sort of awkward energy between them has Joan guessing this is the woman. Joan isn't one to be jealous of past lovers...god knows she has many herself. So she smiles at the woman and shakes her hand.

"Sassy. I like it. It's nice to meet you, Sassy."

[theodorelasso]

"You're singing tonight, right?" Sassy asks, giving Joan an expectant look. "We have far too many dedicated spectators." She points two fingers at her eyes, then at Roy's eyes, who proceeds to roll his. "That goes for you too, Ted," she adds, looking at him.

"Oh yeah, I promise," he answers cheerfully, doing a better job at hiding his awkwardness now he's not so surprised.

He does shoot Joan a quick look, meaning something along the lines of 'I'll explain later', though he wouldn't be terribly surprised if she's already made some deductions, given how observant she is.

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"I've said I will participate, yes," Joan says with a self-deprecating smile, knowing she's terrible but being a good sport about it anyway. She catches that look and gives him a slight nod. It might not be enough to convey that she's figured out the relationship, but it definitely conveys that she gets that something's going on and it's okay.

"So, how does this work?" she asks the group. "Do we sign up for slots or something?"

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"Uh yeah, there's a list over by the machine," Ted says, gesturing towards it.

"Oh, Boss!" he adds excitedly, gesturing at Rebecca. "'Shallow'? Yes?"

He's giving her such a hopeful look that Rebecca can't deny him. She resists for a moment, then gives up with a "Oh, fine," and a reluctant smile. "But not until I've had a drink."

Ted claps his hands together excitedly. They're spared from being the first ones to perform though, as Sam has apparently already made his way over there, already slightly drunk, and spurred on by Dani, starting strong with 'Wonderwall' to encouraging cheers, as Rebecca and Sassy walk off to get drinks.

[formersurgeon]

It's interesting seeing Ted interact with Rebecca. If she didn't know better, she might have guessed that there was something going on there. But knowing Ted and sort of knowing Rebecca, she's pretty sure it's just Ted being an amazing friend and coaxing Rebecca out of her shell.

That said, there is a slight twinge of jealousy when Ted convinces her to sing a romantic song with him.

Joan signs up for "Material Girl" and returns to the couch.

[theodorelasso]

In Ted's defense, most of the amazing karaoke songs are romantic ones, and Shallow is relatively mild. And Ted is definitely going to sing an equally (if not more) romantic one with Beard, though that one will definitely be more amusing than actually stirring.

When it does come time for Ted and Rebecca to sing, Ted can't help himself, and ends up looking right at Joan as he sings the line "I'm falling." There's only so much subtlety he's capable of, though for most of it they're just playing up the drama of the song. And Rebecca is, of course, amazing.

However, there is definitely a fairly equal amount of decent singers and not-so-great singers, so Joan shouldn't feel alone in that regard. The audience is equally encouraging regarding of skill level, everyone cheering and hooting. And Ted is cheering loudest of all when it's Joan's turn.

[formersurgeon]

Their eyes meet as he sings the line, and for just that split second there's nothing else. No one else. Just this man, those words. And Joan knows, in that moment, that those words are true for her, too. She's fallen for him, completely.

Then the moment is over, and Joan takes a breath, shaking herself a little, and starts clapping and cheering with everyone else.

When it's her turn up there, she's obviously a little nervous. But the crowd is so wonderful and supportive, cheering her on, Ted most of all. She smiles at him, takes a breath, and gives it her absolute all, playing up the lyrics, dancing around the stage. Her voice leaves much to be desired, but by the end she is beaming, and the crowd cheers.

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Ted is of course absolutely delighted. Even if she doesn't have the strongest voice, her actual stage presence is impeccable, which is honestly the only thing that matters in karaoke.

He's still beaming right back at her as she returns to the couch, and it takes some extreme willpower for Ted to not reach out for her or physically show his affection. Keeley excitedly offers a high five for Joan as well.

"Holy smokes, lady, you absolutely rocked it," he says excitedly as she sits down next to him.

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She enthusiastically gives Keeley a high five, and blows some Marilyn Monroe-style kisses to a few of the players who are still hooting at her. They cheer in response. She sits next to Ted and beams at him, having to keep herself from kissing him. She wants to, so much, but he's been trying so hard to keep the extent of their relationship a secret and she doesn't want to ruin it.

"The crowd definitely helped," she responds. "Especially you."

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Ted looks so pleased to hear that he helped her feel comfortable while performing. That's basically his whole ambition in life - encouraging and helping people be their best. And when he gets to do that for someone he really cares about, it's even better.

"I'm glad," he answers, though he probably wouldn't have needed to say anything. He just looks happily at her, until he has to look away and focus on the next performer, just so he won't give in and just kiss her.

"Want another drink?" he offers after a moment, to do something with himself. He leans forward a bit to look past Joan as well. "Keeley? Roy? Drinks?"

[formersurgeon]

They look happily at each other, and Joan is so close to just leaning in and kissing him that she winds up looking away at the same time, just to keep from giving in. She's a little out of breath, her heart fluttering, her cheeks flushed. Good thing the lighting is dim and people are focused on the stage.

When he offers to get drinks she smiles and nods. "That would be great." It would give both of them a moment to catch their breath, steel their resolve.

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Ted gets drink orders from Roy and Keeley as well, and heads off to the bar to order.

He does not expect to be joined there by Sassy, though at least he's less awkward about it now. They make some casual banter - she is still a very funny lady, and very easy to talk to.

At least until she casually put a hand on his arm and asks him if he's seeing anyone. He flounders for a moment before telling her that no, he isn't. Then immediately after, he thinks he probably should've said that he was, just not that it was Joan.

She leans in and whispers something in his ear, which makes him blush and flounder even more. Thankfully then the bartender hands him four drinks, and Ted can excuse himself to bring them back to the group.