The simple answer was yes, but Ilaria's brain wasn't working so simply right now. Not sitting over a dinner plate while two bodies melted away in barrels downstairs. Yes is what she intended to say, but when she opened her mouth, a torrent of words beyond her control fell out. 

"I can't...be alone. Not tonight. I'm...not scared. It's just, you know, I'm supposed to heal people - save their lives. The thing we just did...it's kind of dark, and I've never done anything like that before...and I don't really know how to sit with myself while all this is settling in. But... I need to say thank you...because you kept me from harm without even thinking about it. They were bad guys, no matter what they were here for, and they had it coming. I just... I mean...if you hadn't been here they might have...."

Joe felt her appreciation. Her fear. Her vulnerability. It was natural. He nodded along with her words as much as he could, then couldn't help but cut her off as she finished speaking. Less to stop her from expressing herself. More to add his own interpretation on what she was trying to say.

"...Run into a nurse that knows how to handle herself."

He took a moment to see how she reacted, then placed his fork down on his plate. He'd never tasted pasta so good before. Maybe it was the work put in before the meal. Not exactly a stroll in the park before a shared ice cream. But it was just as romantic, in its own way. In its own, dark kind of way. He knew what she was trying to say.

Joe only had one thing to say in return. The one thing he really wanted to say.

"Come here."

The napkin fluttered to the floor as Ilaria got up from her chair and sank into his arms. There was nothing in the world - no food or wine or whiskey - that meant more to her than his touch. There, she felt a sense of relief; a sense of security. Most of all, acceptance. An emotional breakdown was something she had never been allowed to have as a child; and even now she wouldn't allow it - but relief came in his strong embrace, and in the knowledge that if she did let it all go, it would be ok. 

She held him tightly, her eyes squeezed shut for a few moments as she drew a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.