The great thing about working at Veridian Dynamics is they’re always full of surprises. Well, no - actually nothing the company does surprises me anymore. But the great thing about working with Veronica is that she always finds a way to make the inevitable interesting.

"So what if he's hearing voices? As far as I'm concerned that just means we're getting extra input on our projects for no cost. In fact, I wish more of our employees had voices in their heads like Phil. Good job, Phil!"

Ted wasn’t sure what it was about Charlie that convinced him he was innocent, but he thought it was the way Charlie looked haunted. Ted had been in prison and in business long enough to know that no one capable of causing the bloodbath that the Seyboldt murder had been was capable of looking haunted by what he’d done.

"You're totally the woman."

Ted looks up at her. He can tell from her expression that she's trying to provoke him, but Ted is going to be mature. Ted is going to be the adult. She's off-base anyway; okay, so he may sit at home some of the time while Charlie fights bad guys, and yeah, right now he's wearing an apron and unloading the dishwasher, but that's only because these are new pants and oh, for fuck's sakes.

Rachel is smirking at him sideways from under her eyelashes.

"Shit," Ted says.

"I advise against extreme sports," the shrink told him, closing his file at the end of the session. "Maybe don't try skydiving."

That ended up being their last session, because Ted decided he didn't really need therapy anyway, and definitely not from somebody who gave such stupid advice. You had to risk big to win big. Everybody knew that, especially everybody in the business of making money.

He had plenty of time to revise his opinions on the subject in prison, where he learned that sometimes a big risk led to a big fall on your ass. Or multiple, repeated big falls on your ass, supervised by large, angry guys who didn't give a shit about your delayed therapeutic revelations.

“Charlie?”

He cracks open one eye. It’s Ted come up behind him, hand outstretched but not quite touching.

“Charlie? Are you alright? I made smoothies.”

Charlie closes his eye again and rocks a little more, then presses the soles of his feet down flat and soaks up the chill, feels it up to his knees, little goose bumps all over his skin.

“Not just now, Ted,” he says. “I’m having a moment.”

“Oh,” Ted says, and clears his throat a little. “A moment.”

“Yes, Ted,” Charlie says. “A single moment, here, where I can absorb and acknowledge the tranquility of my environment.”

“Okay,” Ted says. “Well, ah, in case after your moment you’re hungry, I’ll put yours in the fridge.”

“Thank you, Ted.”

“You’re still nervous, Ted.”

“Uh, yeah,” he scoffs, shakes his head, and tucks the card underneath the paper. “It’s not everyday a former cop looks at me like he’s not a former cop and I have to consider adult diapers for a possible, second encounter – is there going to be a second encounter, Charlie?

But Charlie remains amused. “No second encounter, Ted.”

[Coda to 2x03]