Dani didn't know why she was surprised to Nico standing at her back door at 10 am on a Monday morning. Oh, no, actually she did. It was very un-Nico to arrive during the daytime and on a work day, no less. She didn't even have a patient to get rid of. This was shaping up to be one strange day.

"Nico. Good to see you. Let me guess: we have a situation. So what's TK done now? Run away to the circus? Joined a cult? Sexually harassed Michele Obama?" She smiled playfully up at him, expecting him to return her grin with his patented half smile which always reached his eyes, but never was allowed to become a full grin. Unfortunately the expression on his face didn't change, an expression that was very different from his usual cool, confident façade. If it were on anyone else's face she would have called it uncertainty. He was even shifting his weight from foot to foot. It was really weird to watch.

"Is this a bad time?" That sentence scared Dani more than anything else Nico could have said to her. Nico was acting stranger than she'd ever seen him and there didn't seem to be a time sensitive crisis to manage. That mean something bad…really bad…had happened…her children…no,no she would have gotten a call from school. But TK, TK was always taking risks, so many risks and whenever something happened with TK, Nico was the first to know.

"Nico, what's wrong! IS it TK? Was there an accident? Is he-Is he-" Dani couldn't even get the sentence out. She felt light-headed and the sound of her heartbeat filled her ears. In some distant corner of her mind she was aware she was having a panic attack, but that knowledge could stop the increased flow of blood pumping throughout her body. Dani swayed a little on her feet and Nico's arms automatically shot out to steady her.

"Whoa. Whoa. Dani, TK is fine, everyone is fine. Just breathe. Breathe with me. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Deep breath in. Deep breath out." Dani didn't know if it was the feeling of Nico's hands holding her steady or the sound of his voice, so clear and so sure, that calmed her so quickly. All she knew was that, for a man who routinely startled her (sometimes she suspected just for the fun of it), he sure could make her feel safe. Dani smiled weakly at Nico to let him know she was okay.

"I'm good, Nico. Thanks." He nodded tightly, but didn't remove his hands from her forearms. He had such a look of distraction on his face as he looked at her, she suspected he may actually have forgotten they were there. Dani decided not to say anything, not after he'd been so…there…for her. Granted it had only been for a minute and he had partially created the problem in the first place, but still…it was nice to be caught by someone, now and again. Also it wasn't exactly like the feeling of his hands on her was unpleasant. Whoa, reign in that thought Dr. Santino. Fortunately it appeared that whatever theories she may or may not have had about Nico's telepathic ability were unfounded.

"My fault. I shouldn't have-This is a mistake, putting you in the middle of this. I should go." Nico seemed to suddenly noticed the location of his hands and hastily removed them. The places his hands had former been felt colder suddenly. She shivered involuntarily, blaming the onset of the autumn chill.

"Sorry," he apologized again and turned to leave. This time it was Dani who reached and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Nico. You said everyone was fine. But everyone is clearly not fine. If everyone were fine you wouldn't be here." Nico gave a somewhat twisted smile.

"You're right. What reason would I have to be here, if the Hawks didn't need you for something?" Dani didn't know quite how to respond. Nico was usually very direct when it came to telling Dani what he wanted from her. Or what his boss wanted from her. Maybe that was what this was all about? Pittman wanted something from her and Nico didn't think she was up to it? Dani had to admit, it kind of stung. She thought they were past the stage in their relationship where she had to prove herself to him. She thought he respected her. She'd done great work, damn it!

"Or Pittman," Dani definitely got a reaction there, but not the one she'd been expecting. What was that; disgust, anger, guilt? Some combination of all three? Something was up, and not with the team, or at least not just with the team. With Nico.

"Pittman. Right. Dr. Santino, I'm sorry for taking up your time. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon. I'll be leaving now." Nico looked pointedly at her hand, which was still on his shoulder. Dani gave him a tight smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Nico blinked, probably at that shock of hearing his own words repeated back to him. Granted the situations were different, he'd had her in a locked car and she had one hand on his well-muscled shoulder. Not exactly an inescapable position for a former SEAL. Still her power was in words, not physical strength and all she had to do was find the right ones to convince him to stay.

"Nico, you have come to my office during regular hours when I am patient-free without a troubled professional athlete in tow. You have asked me if I was available to assist you and now I have heard the words 'I'm sorry' coming out of your mouth. I am VERY WORRIED about YOU. Would you please come in?" It took a few seconds for her words to sink in, but when they did she received the smile she had hoped for from the moment she'd heard a knock at her back door.

"Yes, Dr. Santino, I would like that very much."