Crista held out her hand for Annika to shake. Disappointment flooded him as she released his hand to shake Crista’s. He grimaced to himself. Ridiculous. He hardly knew her; she shouldn’t affect him like this. His reprimand was quickly forgotten as she took his hand and righted his world again.

“Oh, my. That doesn’t look too good.” A wide-eyed Crista nodded at Annika’s bandaged hand. She didn’t even bother hiding her smirk to Daniel. “You should have someone look at that for you.”

Annika flushed, darting a glance at Daniel, but rallied. “Oh, this? This is old...” Daniel gently squeezed her hand as if they shared a joke.

Crista raised an eyebrow at them. “Uh-huh. Yeah, probably all healed up by now.” Crista’s smirk was quickly headed to an outright laugh. Of course, Nilay chose that moment to barge in.

“Hey, did you see the chopper?” He was breathing heavy and his face carried that excited flush all boys seemed to get from seeing anything that flies. “That was seriously cool!”

Daniel made introductions without actually making eye contact with Crista. “This is Annika’s brother. He drove.”

“Uh-huh.” Crista leaned into Daniel and whispered, “Might want to get the hell out of here before Andrea sees.”

Daniel threw her a grateful grin. “You’re the best.” He glanced at Annika and nodded toward the door, then addressed Crista again. “I’m on shift in two days. See you then.” Daniel gently guided Annika with a small tug of her hand and dismissed Crista with a wave as they walked past her. “Let’s go, kid.”

Once in the car, Annika turned to Daniel. “Are you in trouble?”

“Nah. Crista won’t say anything. Trust me.”

“Who’s Andrea?”

“Oh, she’s the pilot. Kind of a stickler for the rules.”

Alarm flashed across her face. “You sure you’re not in trouble?”

Daniel nodded. “Yes. We got out before Andrea got in. No problem.” He’d be doing Crista’s share of the cleaning for a month, but it was worth it.

Nilay chatted almost the whole car ride, asking question after question. Annika teased her brother, laughing at his antics and excitement, the way only an older sister can. It reminded Daniel of better days with Emma. He didn’t see her as much these days. It was too hard to see her son.

Something inside Annika seemed to have been released, and the professional in Daniel knew it was because she had shared some of her most personal fears with him. It was basic—a medical degree was not necessary to know that talking about the difficult things was a step toward healing.

He just couldn’t do it himself.