Birkin fell to the ground, expression not unlike a kicked puppy's. He rose back to his feet, realizing that Stein probably hallucinated something - probably the only reasonable explanation for the look of terror on his face. Taking a few slow steps forward to avoid freaking the other scientist out more than he already evidently did, he knelt down in front of Stein. "It's just me. Just Birkin. No matter what I look like, I'm never going to hurt you. Okay?" Damn, was Stein shaking? This was going to be harder than he thought. Birkin sighed. "Please. I just want to help. But I can't do that if you're scared of me."