[That got him to stop again, and he turned around to face her, leaning against the wall a little, his expression earnest and serious without appearing angry or frustrated. His tone was very frank.]

I'm a cop, Ariadne. Or, I used to be, anyway, and that kind of conditioning doesn't really go away, so I'm going to be concerned and want to get involved in this kind of situation regardless of the circumstances. I'll be worried and want to help whether or not this blows over, and I'll be worried and want to help when we get new stuff thrown at us. I do it to everyone I care about, and it drives some people crazy, but it's just what I do. [Namely, if he ever got particularly protective of people who knew they could actually take care of themselves in a crisis situation. He knew first hand that kind of behavior was annoying, and he was sort of okay with accepting that someone like Tim was more than capable of taking care of himself, but even that didn't stop him from being concerned sometimes.]

I've never been good at sitting on the sidelines and hoping everything will turn out okay, and I don't want to be good at it. Getting involved is what I do.