Paris / Ted Lasso

18. Helicopter

Wildflowers / Gregor Clegane out now!

"Jamie, how many times I gotta tell you to make the extra pass?" Ted demanded. "Come on. Sam was more open than the jar of peanut butter on my kitchen counter."

"What? What's he talking about?" the players murmured thinking it another one of Teds weird American sayings.

"Oh, that's right. Y'all don't know I like to keep the peanut butter open. That way, whenever I walk by, I can just stick my finger in there." Ted remarked.

"It's a fucking good idea, to be fair." Roy agreed.

"Yeah, it is." Ted agreed. "Now look, when Sam is that open, you gotta pass to him, okay?"

"But why?" Jamie countered. "Even when Sam's open, Sam is still shit."

"I heard my name. What did he say?" Sam questioned running up.

"Don't worry about it." Ted countered.

" Oh, okay." Sam agreed, a smile still on his handsome face.

"Guys, we gotta play like a team tomorrow. Otherwise we're gonna get our butts kicked. Extra passes." Ted remarked. "We're gonna keep doing this until we get it right. Let's go."

"Dad!" Teds son henry declared from across the pitch.

"Practice is canceled." Ted countered running off.

"You worried?" Rebecca questioned, as Poppy stared down at the pitch, her gaze shifting to where Ted was running to. 

"What do you mean?" Poppy countered. 

''You and Ted, he is married and-"

"We are friends, nothing more." Poppy assured. "Besides he will hate me for what you have done. I didnt want any part in it and yet I will receive hatred, that man has probably never hated another person in his life and when he finds out all the shit you pulled, he's going to hate me too." 

"No he won't he adores you." Rebecca corrected. 

"He's not my anything though, is he? He has a wife as you like to remind me, as he likes to remind me, and i know but he's the first guy in a long while that I feel comfortable and safe around. Someone that isnt Roy." Poppy declared. 

"That is a lot longer run than he thinks, though." Nate remarked.

"Metaphor." Beard offered as Ted kept running.

"Hey!" Ted scooped up Henry breathlessly into a hug.

"Daddy!"

"I kinda thought y'all would meet me halfway, but hey, that's all right. Hey, buddy!" Ted declared.

"Helicopter!"

"Oh, you got it." Ted agreed grunting as he picked Henry up spinning him around.

"Two spins."

" How about that? Boy, you're gonna be a dizzy fella there." Ted teased.

" Slower helicopter." Michelle requested.

"No way. Come on now." They laughed as they hugged.

"I missed you so much." Michelle remarked.

"Group hug." Henry declared. 

"i'm happy he gets to spend some time with his son but im selfish and I want... I want Ted." Poppy admitted. 

"Aim higher than the cowboy." Rebecca suggested. Rebecca knew Ted would go home and POppy would move on but Rebecca felt bad, Poppy was her biggest supporter and Rebecca couldnt support her crush on Ted. 

"Okay, now, little tip for y'all, all right?" Ted remarked as they headed to the pub closest to his place. "Fries are called chips. Chips are called crisps. And bangers aren't great songs, but they do make you feel like dancing 'cause they're so darn tasty." Ted remarked.

"When you gonna win a game, you fucking wanker?"

"Hey, Baz. Fellas. Uh, this here... This is my wife, Michelle." Ted countered and the boys put a smile on.

"Absolute pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lasso."

"Nice recovery. Well executed." Michelle mused.

"Yeah, coach's wife. She's heard it all." Ted agreed.

"Hi, Ted. Hello, young man." Mae the owner of the pub remarked. "Here are the darts. There's the board. Try not to hit any regulars."

"Yeah, go have fun." Ted agreed. 

"Tabloids are going to think we are fucking," Roy remarked. "Whats going on?" 

"Ted's family is here, thats nice, you meet them?" Poppy questioned. 

"No, he cancelled practice but I made the boys work an extra hour." Roy informed her.  

"I had a talk with Rebecca, she said go for Roy, you two already hit it off." POppy mused. "Maybe she sent the paps," Poppy nodded to the camera men. 

"No, they follow your pretty face around no matter what you do." Roy corrected.  "Come on talk to me, I'm your only friend." 

"Thats the sad truth." Poppy agreed. "I used to be popular. Remember that?" 

"I used to be popular," Roy countered. "Remember that?" 

"Three fish-and-chips?"

" Yes, please. And two pints." Michelle agreed.

" I like your style." Mae the owner remarked before heading off. 

"Do they, um, wrap the fish-and-chips in newspaper? I read they do that here." Michelle remarked.

"No, no. I wish. Boy, I'd love that. Having my food teach me stuff?"

"Yeah, that's your dream scenario, right?" she mused.

"A doughnut that knows about Rosa Parks or something." Ted chuckled. It was awkward between them, he hadnt realized how easy it had been, the conversation, just getting to know Poppy that trying to jump back into this clearly failing marriage the awkward tension filled the air. But he had to try for Henrys sake. 

"Yeah. Exactly, yeah." Michelle agreed remembering why she loved and both didn't love Teds energy. She realized being away from him that life didnt have to be always happy, always ready, always happy go lucky, she just got to feel bad and crappy sometimes and that was part of life. Ted's smile slowly started to irk her. 

" Can fit a lot of wisdom just in the hole." Ted went on. "Oh. You already done, bud?" Ted questioned as henry ran up to them.

"Yeah, he probably should be." Ted looked at the dart in one of the regulars that loved to bash on his lack of skill in coaching football.

"Ooh. Well, I'm sorry about that."

"Happens all the time." he whimpered staring down at the dart in his arm. 

"Poppy Welton, are you dating Roy Kent?" 

"In his dreams." POppy corrected. She looked to the playground where Birdie and Pheobe were running around playing lava monster. 

"Fuck off." Roy barked. 

Poppy should be happy that Ted got the happy life, the loving wife (maybe) the adorable son, the American dream. SHe didnt get the American dream because she was British.

"Yeah. Okay. Now, hold on a second." Ted remarked looking over their lego replica. "Think we might have missed a page. Oh, boy."

"Don't you wanna go ride a real double-decker bus?" Michelle questioned

"After we finish." Henry corrected.

"Mm-hmm. See? I like that. First we gotta build it, then we can ride it." Ted agreed. "It's kind of a Field of Dreams paradigm." Poppy had gifted it to Ted when he mentioned that Henry liked Legos. Poppy thought it was a discreet way of Ted thinking about her while he was away from her, while they built it. It was working. Ted smiled down at the box, XO Poppy and a little Bird drawn beside it in the bottom corner in sharpie. 

"Okay." Michelle agreed. "Well, six hands are better than four."