When Worlds Collide

36) Surprise! THERAPY!!

A/N: tis long

Nico followed Canary down the hallway while everyone else split off to do their own things. Once training had finished, she had told the demigod that she wanted to speak to him in private. He didn't quite know what that entailed, but he knew it was nothing good based off of how the team kept glancing at him.

Canary stopped in front of a room and used her handprint to open the door before allowing Nico to enter first. It was a cozy-ish room with two armchairs in the center.

"Please, take a seat," she said as she sat down in one of the chairs, the door having closed behind them.

Nico did as he was told, but his demigod instincts kicked into high gear as he examined the room. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not at all," she said in a calming voice, though he remained as anxious as ever. "I simply wanted to have a conversation with you. This room is completely sound proof and there are no cameras or audio recording devices. Whatever you say in here stays solely between you and I."

"Okay?" Nico said hesitantly, not quite sure what she was getting at. "Did I do something wrong in training? I didn't mean to ever step when I talked about your training style."

Canary smiled at him with a strange, almost fond, look in her eyes. "You did nothing wrong. I appreciated your openness and I hope that you continue to be honest with me. I asked you in here to give you a space to talk about anything that might be going on with you. I know these fast few months can't have been easy on you and Bruce has never been known for his ability to handle emotional issues well."

Nico wasn't sure what to feel about that. Sure Canary was nice, but he didn't know much about her. How could he be sure she wasn't just looking for more information. "I am still bound by my oath. I can't tell you-"

"I'm not looking to gain information. I have been working with the team since its formation not only as a trainer, but a councilor. As a civilian, I work as a therapist. I help the team deal with the hard stuff in their lives, both in and out of costume. Some come to me willingly while others only come when it's mandatory. After Markovia and what we thought was your death, the team was ordered to have sessions with me before any of them could be cleared for missions. I can't share what I discussed with them, but they were all heavily affected by what happened, and they weren't the ones who lost a limb."

Nico looked at Canary for a long moment. He didn't say anything, he just stared, studying her. He looked for any sign that she was lying. He wanted to find one. He didn't want to trust her, but something in him took over, and before he could stop himself, he spoke. "I did die."

Canary's eyebrows raised slightly before she schooled her face. "You flatlined?"

"No." Nico's heartbeat picked up, but he ignored it. He didn't like that he was in an unfamiliar room, or that he didn't know if the door had to be unlocked from the inside in order to leave. He didn't like what was happening, but his stupid mouth had a mind of its own. "I was dead. I stayed dead."

"Do you mind if I ask how long?" She asked cautiously, probably able to look right through his poker face and see the anxiety he was trying to suppress.

Nico glanced at the door before his eyes looked at the ring in his finger, only then realizing that he was compulsively twisting it. "A day and a half. I used to have brown eyes."

Nico saw her eyes grow a look of understanding, but they didn't seem to pity him.

"The Lazarus pit. I'm sorry you had to experience that."

Nico shrugged and let out a half hearted laugh. "Had to happen eventually."

"What do you mean by that."