"You are a good man. I want that for her."
His words stopped me, actually made me pause in my tracks. I didn't turn back, unsure of how many cards I wanted to lay on the table. I was still trying to wrap my mind around the last question Max posed.
"Is it because of me? Because I killed one man . . . "
I know Max loves Bones, but that doesn't change things. Just because his intentions were good, just because he had her best interest at heart, doesn't change the fact that he left her. He loved her, and he abandoned her. That's what she expect from love, abandonment.
To any person that would have long term ramifications, but to a person like Bones, who lives her life based on logic, it had a devastating effect. She wasn't about to risk proving her theory of love valid by repeating the experiment and getting the same outcome.
I finally turned to face him. "Max, it has everything to do with you. I am grateful that you did what you did to keep her safe. If you didn't make the sacrifice you did, I may never have had the chance to know her at all, but I don't think you realize what the cost was to her."
"Cost? She is alive. Her brother is alive."
"She is alive, but is she living? Did you know that she doesn't believe in marriage or monogamous relationships or even love? Why do you think that is?
"I don't know. I am a scientist. Like my daughter, I don't put much stock in psychology."
"It is because you were there for her for half of her life. You loved her. You gave her everything she wanted or needed. You nurtured her love of learning and science, and with no warning or no explanation, you disappeared, along with your love and everything that went with it. You don't have to put stock in psychology to know that there would be consequences."
"So let's go back to my original question. Why aren't you sleeping with my daughter?"
I was getting frustrated. "Because I don't just want to sleep with Bones. I want her to believe in the possibility that I just might love her enough to stick around."
I did it. I put it out there, and he just watched me squirming like a worm on a fishing line. I couldn't tell if he was going to hit me or give me a sincere explanation. Then he actually laughed, and nudged me on the shoulder. "You've already figured her out. That's not a bad start. When you stopped gambling, maybe you should have made a few exceptions. Some things are never gained without taking a risk."