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“You ready to head out, boss?” Ted asks her with an easy smile on his face from his place beside her in the booth at the Crown and Anchor. They’re out celebrating another Richmond victory - this one all the sweeter because it had been over West Ham - and everyone else in the pub - fans, players, and coaches alike - still seem to be going strong. It isn’t all that late, but Rebecca had been feeling the pull to leave the noise and revelry behind. Trust Ted to recognize that, even though he’d been thoroughly engrossed in a conversation with Higgins.
“I think I am, actually.” She gives him a small smile.
“Alright then. C’mon, I’ll walk you home.”
“Oh, Ted, no, you should stay. Keep celebrating. I’ll be fine. I can just call my car.”
Ted is already up, holding her coat open for her. “Nah, c’mon, let Charlie enjoy his night. It’s not far and I could use some fresh air anyway.”
He’s smiling at her in that way that makes her stomach flip just the littlest bit and she finds that she can’t argue. “Alright.”
He helps her into the coat and goes quickly to the bar to settle up with Mae before returning to her side. They move through the pub saying their goodbyes, getting hugs from most of the boys before they make it out into the cool night air.
Ted offers his arm and, feeling warm from the victory and the celebration, she slips hers through it, leaning close to him. It’s an easy intimacy that they’ve fallen into more and more recently, and after the almost chasm-like distance she’d felt between them the year before, she’s quite content to settle into this and not second guess herself. Things are complicated, yet completely natural and easy with Ted.
They’re enjoying the quiet of the night and just being together, not saying much of anything. She’s allowed herself to drift in her thoughts, knowing she’s safe with Ted, and so it’s even more of a shock when she feels Ted pull to a stop just as she registers the flashing blue lights coming from the police car parked right outside her house.
“What’s happening?” She asks, not quite comprehending the harshness that is intruding on her otherwise lovely evening.
Ted gives her arm a gentle squeeze and goes to untangle himself from her, probably to speak to one of the police officers, but she doesn’t let go. He seems to understand and gently moves them both forward until he gets an officer’s attention.
“Excuse me, can I ask what’s going on?” The officer moves over, seemingly ready to tell them to move along until he catches sight of who they are.
“Oh, Ms. Welton! We were just about to try to contact you.”
“What happened?” Closer now, Rebecca can see that her front door is ajar and there is glass scattered on her stoop.
“Someone walking by heard the glass breaking and called it in. Your alarm system also alerted us. We think it may have been an attempted robbery. We’ve checked the house and it’s clear. There’s been some damage though…” the officer trails off, seeming to realize that Rebecca isn’t really hearing anything he’s said. Instead, she’s staring at the door, her body rigid. Someone was in her house. Someone broke into her house.
“Hey,” Ted moves so he’s standing in front of her, blocking her view, breaking the trance she’d fallen into. “Becca, you with me?”
She blinks trying to refocus. “Y-yes. Ted. Yes.” She nods, but is still clearly disoriented.
“Good. That’s real good.” He smiles softly, taking her hands before turning back to the officer. He easily takes charge of things, speaking to the officer, getting all the necessary information and giving the officer hers.
She thinks, in the back of her mind, that if the paparazzi are getting shots of this - and surely those vultures are - that it will look very much like she and Ted are a couple. She considers moving away from him for all of a second before she banishes that thought. Let them think and say whatever the fuck they want. Ted is her lifeline right now and she isn’t letting him go.
She has no idea how long it’s been before Ted pulls her back to reality again. His voice is calm and soothing, even as he squeezes her hands. “Hey, c’mon. Let’s get out of here.”
“But -“ she doesn’t know what she was going to say, and Ted doesn’t let her finish trying to find the words anyway.
“They’ve got it under control here for the night. Let’s get you somewhere warm, ok?”
He wraps his arm around her shoulder this time, and she curls into him, let’s him guide her away from the crime scene that is her home.
**
She doesn’t register anything else until she’s settled on a sofa in what she realizes suddenly is Ted’s flat and he’s holding out a tea cup towards her. A small pink box is resting on his knee and for some reason, she starts to cry when she sees it.
“Hey. Hey.” Ted is beside her in an instant, the tea cup left of the coffee table and the box of biscuits fallen to the floor, wrapping her in a hug, holding her tight. “You’re safe. You’re safe.” He murmurs into her hair, and she nods even as her tears soak his polo, because she knows that’s true. She is with Ted. Of course she’s safe.
“I’m sorry,” she says later, when the tears have finally stopped and she feels utterly embarrassed for her emotional breakdown. She is lucky, really, she knows. She hadn’t been home when the break-in happened. Her security system had worked. The police were doing their jobs. Yes, maybe some of her things may have been taken, but it wasn’t like she had many things of major sentimental value (a thought which makes her wince just a bit) or like she didn’t have the money to replace anything that had been taken.
“Nope.” Ted shakes his head, even as he brushes her hair back and wipes away her tears. “Not one single thing to be sorry about. It has been a long and emotional day. Even before the last few hours.” He gives her a smile. “And you are allowed to feel any which way you want about all of it. And I am here for whatever you need, ok?”
“Ted.” She says his name, hoping he understands everything she can’t say.
His smile says that he does. “There we go. Now, why don’t you drink this garbage water and have some of these biscuits while I go get things settled for you, ok? I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
He places the tea cup in her hand and the biscuits on her knee and then presses a quick kiss to her forehead before he’s gone. She feels almost bereft at the loss of him, but her forehead tingles pleasantly where his lips had pressed, and the smell of the biscuits is comforting, even before she begins to eat them.
True to his word, Ted’s only gone a few minutes, and she hears him the entire time, humming a quiet tune she can’t quite place, making little noises as he moves around the flat. She hears water running in the bathroom just before he reappears.
“How do you feel about a nice hot shower before bed? Loosen up those muscles a bit? Wash the day away. Wish I could offer you a nice soak in a tub, but… the shower’s real nice.” He gives her another smile, warm and coaxing.
She still can’t find the words, not to thank him or to tell him that he doesn’t have to do this, so she just allows him to take her hand and lead her to the bathroom.
It’s much smaller than her own bathroom, and only has the shower, no bathtub as he’d alluded to, but there’s the smell of lavender in the air, and steam coming from the shower, and suddenly all she wants is to be under the spray.
“They wouldn’t let me in to get anything of yours, but hopefully what I did rustle up will do for tonight.” He gestures towards the sink counter and toilet seat where he’s laid out towels and clothes and then he smiles. “If you need anything, just holler,” he says as he shuts the door.
She strips out of her clothes robotically once he’s gone and then steps into the shower, letting the water fall over her. It does begin to feel, as Ted said, like the day is washing away, and finally she feels alert enough to wash up. She is surprised to see a small bottle of body wash in her preferred scent next to his soap, as well as small shampoo and conditioner bottles beside the ones that clearly belong to Ted. She feels a stab of something she doesn’t want to name as she lathers up, wondering if these belong to Sassy.
It’s only when she steps out of the shower, wraps a large fluffy towel around herself, and looks at the counter, where more small bottles of make-up remover, face cream, and lotion sit that she realizes. These aren’t Sassy’s toiletries. They’re hers. The ones Keeley had stocked in her guest bathroom for when she stays over.
The tears are back then, slipping from her eyes as she wonders when exactly Ted had contacted Keeley and how he had managed to get the items from her and keep her at bay. She wipes the tears away, feeling thankful for these incredible people in her life, before she puts the rest of the toiletries to use.
When finished with her routine, she feels exhausted. She reaches for the pile of clothes and cannot help the smile that spreads across her face when she sees them. They are not like anything she would normally wear, but tonight they seem perfect. The sweatpants look well worn, with a faded SHOCKERS up one leg. They are a bit too big at the waist for her, but she doesn’t mind, as they are incredibly comfortable. The t-shirt is soft and comfortable against her skin, the logo for some kind of barbecue restaurant across her chest. It is so obviously Ted’s shirt and that adds comfort.
Once she is dressed, she leaves the bathroom, finding Ted in the kitchen puttering around. “Hey!” He smiles widely at her. “Feeling better?”
“I am.” She nods. “How on earth did you get my toiletries from Keeley?”
“I texted her while I was talking to the police officer. She brought your things over right away. Managed to convince her that I could take care of you tonight. I’m sure she’ll be chomping at the bit to see you tomorrow though.”
“Thank you. For everything. I can’t -”
Ted shakes his head and comes over to her, pulling her into a hug. “You don’t have to. You’re welcome. Always.”
He holds her for a while, just gently rocking her, and she sinks further and further into his embrace, not in any hurry to leave his arms. Finally he pulls back. “Alright, bed time.”
He leads her to his bedroom, where he’s already turned down the bed. “It’s probably not as big and comfy as your bed. The sheets definitely have a lower thread count. But hopefully you’ll still be snug as a bug in a rug.”
She climbs into the bed, watching as Ted hovers near it watching her before offering up another smile and then turning toward the door.
“Ted?” She calls. “Where are you going?”
“Oh, I’m just gonna hunker down on the couch tonight. Give you your space, you know.”
“Please don’t.” Her voice comes out like a whisper. She hates this feeling of vulnerability, looking at him with pleading eyes, praying he doesn’t make her actually ask for more.
And, as always, he understands what she can’t say and gives her what she needs. “Well, alright then. Sleepover time, huh? Hope you don’t snore.”
It’s a gentle tease as he turns off the overhead light and climbs into bed. He settles easily beside her, turning off the bedside lamp. She turns, facing the other nightstand and she catches sight of a line of little green army men in the dark, watching over the bed. She thinks of the green army man that Ted had given her, her first line of defense. She realizes now that Ted has become her first line of defense, not just in taking care of her tonight, but in so many ways over the years that she can’t even name them all, probably doesn’t even know them all.
She turns and finds herself shifting closer to him. She hears him suck in a breath as she curls towards him. “Is this ok?” She whispers.
He shifts away from her for a moment and she feels like her heart shatters, until he carefully repositions himself on his back so that he can pull her more fully into him, resting her head on his chest. “It’s perfect,” he says softly, and she feels the gentle press of a kiss to the top of her head.
She listens to the sound of his heartbeat under her ear and falls asleep easily.
**
She fights against waking up in the morning, wanting to stay in the warm cocoon she finds herself in, safe and not needing to face any awkwardness. But as she feels Ted begin to shift carefully under her, she knows she cannot stay this way forever. She shifts too, blinking her eyes open to catch sight of Ted, smiling down at her. “It’s still early. Go back to sleep, Becca.”
She starts to protest, but Ted just carefully slides his pillow into her arms for her to hold and draws the blankets back up over her, effectively tucking her back in. It’s only after he’s left the room that she registers the nickname, a warmth spreading through her as she falls back to sleep.
**
When she wakes up again, it is to the feeling of the bed shifting under someone’s weight. She opens her eyes, but is surprised to see someone who is decidedly not Ted. “Keeley?” She blinks, trying to figure out what has happened.
“Hi, babes.” Keeley offers her a soft smile. “You doing ok?”
Rebecca thinks about it for a moment before she nods. “I think I am.”
“Good.” Keeley smiles widely. “I brought some clothes over for you. Ted is making breakfast.”
There’s a gleam in Keeley’s eyes like she wants to ask a million questions, but she’s holding herself back. Rebecca finds herself extremely grateful for her friendship and presence in her life once again. She scoots over and wraps her arms around Keeley. “Thank you, Keeley.”
“Oh, babes, of course! Anything for you, you know that. I was nearly out of my mind with worry last night, but Ted promised he had it under control.”
Rebecca nods. “He did.”
“Yeah?” There’s a tease in Keeley’s voice, but Rebecca ignores it.
“He’s a wonderful friend, just like you.”
“A friend.” Keeley repeats. “Right.”
Rebecca is saved from having to answer by a brief knock on Ted’s bedroom door, before it opens to reveal the man himself. “Good morning, ladies. Breakfast is ready. The police want us to meet them at your place in two hours so that you can check if anything is missing. They’ve cleared the scene and cleaned up as much as possible. You up for it?”
Rebecca sits up and nods, somehow not feeling even the littlest bit self-conscious to be in front of these two people with no make-up and bedhead. “Yes.”
“Alright. I’ll let ‘em know we’ll be there.”
And just that statement, the word ‘we’ll’ makes Rebecca feel safe and warm and ready to face the day.
“So Ted,” Keeley is saying as she climbs out of the bed, trailing after him towards the kitchen, “does breakfast include your biscuits?”
“Well now, you know they’re Becca’s. But if she’s willin’ to share, I’m just fine with that.” Ted replies easily.
Rebecca smiles as she goes into the bathroom to get ready for the day.
**
True to his word, Ted goes with her back to the house to meet with the officers. She goes through the house, seeing that there’s been some damage to her front hall, an expensive vase and mirror smashed, but otherwise, it appears that nothing is missing or out of place. Her bedroom looks exactly as she’d left it, her jewelry, shoes, and bags are all still in their usual places. No electronics or other valuables are gone.
The officer nods when she explains this. “We figured as much. It seems like they may have been more interested in vandalizing things rather than stealing anything. Plus, the alarm probably spooked them. We pulled some prints and we’ll run them, see if we can catch whoever did this.”
He hands over his card, telling her that the house has been cleared and she’s welcome to return to it whenever she’d like, and to call him if she notices anything missing or anything else happens. She sends a text to Higgins, asking him to find someone to repair her front door and then turns to Ted.
“Shall we head to Nelson Road, then?”
“You got it, boss.”
**
Ted offers to go back to her house with her when they leave Nelson Road that evening, but she waves him off. Around lunch time Leslie had informed her that the door had been fixed and the front hallway cleaned, the mirror and vase both replaced. Everything was back to normal.
“Thank you for everything, Ted. Truly.” She hugs him again and he hums into her hair.
“You call me if you need anything, boss.” He tells her and she nods.
When Charlie drops her off, he offers to go in and check things out for her. She would bet that Ted had asked him to do that. She smiles and thanks him, even as she waves him off. She walks confidently up to her door, opening it and going inside like it’s any other day.
It’s only once the door is closed that she lets out a breath and tries to draw in another one, feeling her heart pounding. “It’s fine. You’re fine.” She tells herself, before she moves further into the house.
**
She takes a bath in her large bathtub in her spacious bathroom and then changes into her silk pajamas. She climbs into her large bed, setting her little green army man on her bedside table before turning off the light and pulling up her high thread count sheets, determined to fall asleep.
But the bed feels too big and empty. She hears every little noise throughout the house and cannot help but flinch at them.
She lasts ten minutes in the dark before she calls Ted. He answers on the first ring.
“You ok, boss?” He sounds worried about her.
“I -” she feels foolish. She is perfectly safe and sound inside her house. She should be able to sleep. She should not have called Ted.
“Rebecca, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t think I can sleep here tonight.” She whispers the confession.
“I’ll be right there.”
“No, Ted,” she tries to protest, but the call is cut off.
Ten minutes later, Ted is standing on her doorstep, holding his arm out to her to lead her across The Green to his flat. When they enter his flat, she simultaneously feels like she is intruding on his life and like she’s exactly where she belongs. She moves towards the bedroom, but then stops and turns toward Ted. It’s silly, she knows. She’s already in her pajamas. And yet.
“Ted. Could I -”
“Waiting for you in the bathroom.” He tells her with a soft smile before she can even finish asking. She moves into the bathroom and sure enough, her toiletries are all still there and the sweatpants and t-shirt are sitting on the counter waiting for her.
She quickly pulls them on and then goes to find Ted, who is already in bed. She stands awkwardly in the doorway then, feeling like she has completely overstepped all bounds. But Ted just offers her a smile and lifts up the covers in an inviting manner. And she knows she should go back to her home and sleep alone in her bed. But instead, she moves over and slips in next to Ted, feeling peace settle over her almost instantly.
He turns off the light and settles down, holding his arms out for her, and she curls right up against him without hesitation. She feels the press of his lips against the crown of her head again and considers tilting her head up, pressing their lips together. But she doesn’t. She just allows herself to relax and fall asleep.
**
Ted enters her office the next day just as she’s packing up for the day. He grins at her and holds up a bag. “So, I thought maybe I could come to your place tonight. Cook you dinner?”
She knows what he’s doing and she wants to protest, but she also doesn’t want to go back to her house alone. She nods. “That sounds lovely, Ted.”
“Oh, I hope you are up for some Italian because I am gonna make you the best chicken parm you’ve ever had.”
Rebecca doesn’t doubt that for a second.
**
It is the best chicken parm she’s ever had. And not just because it’s fucking delicious, although it is. But because she’d sat in the kitchen with Ted while he cooked, filling her glass up with wine and telling ridiculous stories and jokes and making everything seem light and fun and easy, the way he always did.
They eat at the kitchen island and then retreat to the living room to watch some television curled up on the sofa. As the evening wears on and it gets closer to bedtime, Rebecca feels herself beginning to tense up. Because surely Ted will leave her soon and she will be alone in this house, and she’s spent years sleeping by herself at this point - minus a few small exceptions - but suddenly after two nights sharing a bed with Ted Lasso, she feels like she just can’t do it anymore. But she absolutely cannot share those feelings with Ted. So she keeps her eyes on the TV screen and her mouth shut until finally Ted yawns.
“I don’t know about you, boss, but I’m feeling like it’s bedtime.” He says as he stands up and stretches.
“Oh. Yes. Right.” She nods, wanting nothing more than to ask him to stay, but swallowing down the words. “Well, thank you for a wonderful evening, Ted. Do you want me to call Charlie for you?”
“Oh.” Ted breathes at her words, suddenly going still. “Uh, no. No. That’s okay. I can make it back on my own. Don’t want to bother anybody. I’ll just get out of the way here.”
He moves past her, towards the door, and it’s then that she knows that something has gone wrong. She just doesn’t know what. Not until he reaches down and picks up the bag he’d left sitting by the door. The bag that he’d brought with him, but never opened.
“Ted.” She rushes forward. “What’s in the bag?”
“Nothin’.”
“Ted. Please. What’s in the bag?”
Ted looks down, refusing to meet her eyes. “I thought that - I brought some things - in case - but that was silly, you’re obviously fine and -”
“Ted. Do you want to stay the night?” She asks, suddenly realizing that he had planned on staying, until she’d made it seem like she didn’t want him there.
He looks up then, locking eyes with her. “I don’t want to if you don’t want me to.”
“And if I do want you to?” She asks, moving closer to him.
A small smile begins to play on his lips. “Then I guess it’s good I brought this bag.”
**
Ten minutes later, Ted is walking towards her bathroom, the bag sitting on her bed. “There’s something in there for you too, if you want it,” he says before shutting the bathroom door.
When Ted emerges from the bathroom a few minutes later, Rebecca is wearing what they have both now come to consider her pajamas. She gives him a small grin before going into the bathroom to finish her nightly routine.
She comes back out to see Ted already in bed, his eyes glued to the bedside table where her little green army man sits. “Ted?” she asks, when she sees tears in his eyes, sliding in next to him.
“I can’t believe you kept that,” he says, his voice slightly choked. Reaching over, she cups his cheek and brushes the tears that have slipped out away.
“Well of course I did. He was my first line of defense," she whispers, feeling something shift in the air. Something crackling and electric, like lightning.
“Was?”
“Was. But now I’ve got you. Don’t I?” The last words come out as a question, a need for reassurance. Ted, as always, gives it to her.
“You surely do,” he says and then leans forward slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away. She doesn’t. Instead, she meets him halfway, finally kissing him. It is sweet and soft and still every nerve ending on her body feels like it’s come alive. She melts against him, wrapping her arms around him, pulling him closer.
They continue to hold each other and kiss until finally, Ted pulls away to let them both catch their breath and turn off the lights. “Think you’ll be able to sleep here tonight?” He asks as he settles down, pulling her against him and kissing the crown of her head.
Tonight, she does tilt her head up, capturing his lips. She feels him smile into the kiss. “With you beside me? Absolutely.”
“Mm.” Ted kisses her again. “And what about tomorrow?”
She pulls back just a bit to look him in the eye. It’s his turn to be vulnerable now, to check that she’s still going to want this outside of this room and his bedroom. “Tomorrow, next week, next year. As long as you’re mine, I’ll be just fine.”
“That rhymed.” He grins, laughing before kissing her. Then he pulls back, his voice serious. “And you’re gonna be fine for a long, long time.”
“I’m holding you to that, Ted Lasso,” she says before kissing him again. Then, she settles into his arms and drifts off to sleep, just as easily as she had the past two nights, and just as easily as she knows she will from now on.