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 is going through the endless stream of people who want to poke and prod at him, and all he wants to do is sleep for a month or so.

They do eventually seem to rule out him dying in the immediate future, which is encouraging. Even if he didn't know that he could've died until they tell him that he won't.

Then the police want to interview him, but Ted asks for Joan and the others first.

[formersurgeon]

Joan has been on both sides of the ER waiting room experience, both as a doctor coming to update a family in good and bad situations, and as someone waiting to hear news and praying it isn't bad. She's sitting with Beard beside her and Rebecca up and pacing. She can't help but play through the possible scenarios that might be going on behind those doors, from simple tests to complex surgeries, from Ted resting to Ted coding.

"Joan?"

She looks up to see a doctor looking around the waiting room. Joan rises.

"I'm Joan."

The woman comes over, and Beard and Rebecca stand on either side of Joan.

"Mr. Lasso is stable," she says. "He has a concussion and a number of fractures, but there's no serious bleeding."

Joan sighs with relief, her body relaxing. "Can I see him?"

"You can. Follow me."

The three of them follow the doctor, through hallways lined with rooms of seriously injured and sick people. When they get to Ted's room, Joan pauses at the doorway, her breath catching in her throat.

"Hey," she says softly.

[theodorelasso]

"Hey!" Ted answers, with the kind of soft happy surprise that might be more appropriate to less dramatic situations than this.

"Come on in," he says. He's still beat up, and his brain is definitely still recovering, but he's sitting up, and apart from his bruises, his skin color is more or less back to normal. His broken leg has also been wrapped up, as has his wrist, though there it's just surface damage. He definitely looks worse for wear, but now in a patched up way at least. They should be glad he's wearing a shirt though...

Beard and Rebecca respectfully keeps behind Joan, but Rebecca puts her hands in front of her mouth when she sees him.

[formersurgeon]

He's so beat up, but he's awake and sitting up and talking and himself. Joan can't help but smile as she comes into the room, going to his side.

"Can I hug you?" She doesn't want to hurt him.

[theodorelasso]

"Just be careful around the ribs," he answers, already having started to lift his arms for a hug before she even asked.

He is definitely going to hug each and every one of them, but he's reserving a long one for Joan first.

[formersurgeon]

"I will," she says, smiling warmly as he lifts his arms to hug her. She carefully wraps her arms around him and rests her chin on his shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze.

"I'm glad you're okay," she whispers.

[theodorelasso]

Ted hugs her back, a lot more tightly now than he was capable of earlier.

"Thanks to you," he whispers back, closing his eyes and burying his face in her hair. He does not let go for a little while, emotions welling up. He's trying to keep a lid on it, but there are definitely tears in his eyes when he finally lets her pull back.

[formersurgeon]

Those whispered words and the tightness of his embrace weaken Joan's calm, and she closes her eyes as well, her own hold tightening slightly. When they part she keeps her hands lightly on his arms for as long as possible, her own eyes shining with unshed tears. She takes a shuddering breath to steady herself.

"How are you feeling?"

[theodorelasso]

"Oh, they've got me on some kind of pain meds, so I'm alright. Probably a little loopy though," he says with a chuckle.

He waves the other two over, and Rebecca takes her chance to get a hug immediately. Which Ted knows is uncommon for her, and he gives her back an extra little rub.

"We're so glad you're okay," she says as they part.

Beard is stoic, not that that's unusual, but there's definitely some buried emotion there too. He does come in for a hug immediately too, but doesn't say anything.

Once everyone’s gotten their hugs, Ted holds his hand out for Joan's hand.

[formersurgeon]

Joan steps aside for Rebecca and Beard, taking the opportunity to quickly wipe her eyes. She smiles, knowing how relieved Rebecca and Beard must be, and how happy Ted must be to get his arms around his friends.

When Ted reaches for her hand she takes it, squeezing gently. She doesn't know the visitor policies in this hospital, but she doesn't intend to let go of that hand any more than she absolutely has to, for as long as possible.

[theodorelasso]

Once they reach this part, no one seems to know what to say for a moment.

Ted's first instinct is to ask about them, which he supposes is not maybe the best time for -- he has an inkling they've mostly been feeling worried, and are currently feeling guilty about the time they were not yet worried.

And he doesn't want to talk about what happened yet. Certainly not with all three of them as audience.

"What are you gonna do about practice?" he asks Beard.

"We cancelled today. We'll probably return tomorrow with me and Nate. You can come back when you're ready, but until then, we've got it covered."

Ted nods thoughtfully. He starts thinking back to what the guy was saying at him about the team, getting a dark sort of look for a moment, before shaking his head to stop thinking about it.

"They, uh, haven't asked me any questions yet, the doctors have been holding them off, so I'll probably have to do that soon," he says.

[formersurgeon]

She sees that look on his face, a darkness so foreign to him, and she can guess he's thinking about what that man did to him. Then he mentions being questioned, and she's pretty certain that's it.

"I can stay with you, if you want," she offers. He has the right to have someone with him as he's questioned, and Joan is familiar with procedure.

[theodorelasso]

There is a brief moment of protective instinct, where he wants to shield her from having to hear what happened. But she probably deserves to know, and while it won't be fun, he knows she can handle it. Better than most people would know that about their significant other. Besides, she saw him down there, and can probably piece together a pretty accurate picture.

So he nods and gives her a grateful smile.

[formersurgeon]

She smiles back, squeezing his hand. It will also give her information to pass on to Sherlock, who is working the case with Scotland Yard.

She thinks about Sherlock questioning the suspect, trying to figure out if the kidnapping and near murder was Moriarty's doing.

The thought makes her tighten her hold on his hand.

[theodorelasso]

Ted strokes her hand with his thumb reassuringly.

They don't have time for much more than that though, as there are some cops hovering at the door.

"Hey, I'll talk to you guys later. I'll be alright, don't worry," he says to Beard and Rebecca.

She gives him a watery smile and gives his other hand a quick squeeze, before they both vacate the room.

[formersurgeon]

The cops part to let Beard and Rebecca leave before entering. Joan recognizes both of them. They've worked cases with her and Sherlock on a number of occasions, and had always had a good rapport with them.

"Mr. Lasso," the older one said. "I'm Inspector McCoy, this is Inspector Rudd. We're going to be asking you some questions." He nods toward Joan. "Miss Watson. Mr. Holmes said you'd be here."

Sherlock probably sent them, and Joan silently thanks him.

"I'm glad to see both of you," she says, then turns to Ted. "I know them. We've worked with them before."

[theodorelasso]

"Yeah, okay," Ted answers with a nod when they say they're gonna ask him some questions. "Nice to meet you guys."

It obviously doesn't have the same chipper warmth he usually gives, but he means it nonetheless, knowing they're there to help. And when Joan says she knows them, that's reinforced. "Oh good, okay."

[formersurgeon]

It's strange how that lack of chipper warmth hits Joan. She's seen Ted smile at people shouting obscenities in his face. Somehow this seems worse to her than his physical injuries. What did that man do to him?

"Let's start with Sunday morning," McCoy says. "Can you tell us what happened?"

Joan remembers the scene she and Beard saw on the tape, how startling it was to see it. She squeezes his hand.

[theodorelasso]

"Uh, yeah," Ted answers. "I went out to get coffee, at... my usual place." He doesn't remember the name of it right now, despite the fact it's right next door. He frowns softly at himself.

"Then I went to the bakery around the corner. I don't remember when, but it was early... On my way back, this guy -- Wait, what's his name? The guy in the house, do you have his name?" he asks, interrupting himself and looking between the three of them.

[formersurgeon]

Joan notices how Ted is unable to name the coffee shop. That sort of thing isn't uncommon with concussions, but she makes a mental note of it and keeps an eye out for similar things in case it indicates a bigger problem.

The cops glance at Joan.

"Turner Chapman," she answers.

[theodorelasso]

Ted turns that name over in his head. "He wouldn't tell me, he just said it was Richmond..." he says, frowning gently as he looks into space. He's glad to finally have a name to the face, but in a way also almost... confused? By finally knowing it. He'd gotten so used to this nameless tormentor, and it had almost gotten easier to think of him that way, rather than a person who could choose to do this to him.

[formersurgeon]

The cops frown, confused.

"He said his name was Richmond?" Rudd says.

Joan understands.

"The fans," she deduces softly, looking at Ted, her expression a mixture of sadness with a tinge of anger for him. "He was hurting you because he blamed you for the loss."

[theodorelasso]

Ted nods and points at Joan, looking at the cops. "That's it."

He doesn't go more into that though. At least not yet. He sits there for a moment before realizing he should continue.

"Anyway, on my way back, this guy -- Turner. He had his arm like, in a sling?" he explains, frowning softly to concentrate as he's thinking back, trying to make sure he gets it right and says the important things. "And he was in this van, big white van. And he asked me for help carrying something. So I go into the van. And then I guess he must've knocked me out, cause everything went black."

[formersurgeon]

It's terrible that the man decided to take the frustration of the loss out on Ted, but there is a silver lining for Joan. If this was all due to a crazy fan, then Moriarty had nothing to do with it.

He recounts how he was taken, and Joan's heart aches for him. He was being his kind, friendly, helpful self, and the man had taken advantage of it to hurt him.

"Beard and I found your coffee cup and the bakery bag in the alley," she says softly, hoping that maybe if she shares a little of how they found him, it will give him something to hold onto, the knowledge that what he went through was not wholly unseen. "That's how we knew you had been taken, and where. The market across the street has a surveillance camera, which showed the white Opel van entering the alley. And you, coming later. We couldn't see who you were talking to, but we saw you go in. And not come out."

[theodorelasso]

Ted looks up at her as he starts to explain - he didn't know Beard had been with her, but knowing that, his heart is warmed. Of course he was helping. He may not be a detective, but Beard's got his back.

It's strange, he knows it's still only Monday. He only lost a day and a half or so. He would've guessed longer. He felt so lost to the world, knowing a bit more about what went on while he was gone actually helps. Not just to know they were looking for him, but just... that the world was still going. It's somehow encouraging rather than demotivating.

He gives her hand a squeeze, and smiles (albeit somewhat weakly) up at her.

Then he looks down and clears his throat a bit, thinking how to continue. This is the part where it gets harder.

"I, uh... When I woke up, I was already in the basement. He'd handcuffed me to a pipe," he explains, gesturing at his bandaged wrist. "He.. dumped a bucket of ice water on me, to wake me..." He frowns, pausing, his shoulders tightening a little as a chill runs down his back at the memory.