"What do you need, Dan?" Natalie asks as he sits on the corner of her desk. It's not cold or distant, because it's Natalie, she couldn't manage cold if she tried. It's just the difference from what used to be that makes it seem that way. He doesn't like needing a reason to talk to her.
"It wasn't supposed to be permanent."
Now she looks up. "Dan..."
"It wasn't."
"I know." Her voice is quiet, subdued. "Dan, I have work to do, so..."
"Right. Yeah." He slides off the desk, starts to walk back to his office, then stops and turns back. "Hey, what's the score on Oakland?"
"I'll let you know when I get it."
"Great." He goes back to his office, and ignores Casey's flat look. "I was asking about Oakland," he explains, unnecessarily.
"Uh-huh," Casey says, and lets it go, because they're men, they don't talk about these things. For some reason, Dan wishes just once that they would.