She knew he was right-she stayed at his place most nights, her clothes were spilling from his closet and various suitcases strewn about the spare bedroom--hell, she had nearly half of her expansive shoe collection there! But when he asked her to move in with him, something sent her into a panic. She couldn't place it immediately, but later, when she told him she needed to stay at her place for the night to think, it came to her. Her quicky marriage during a fire ritual, something she didn't think counted as an actual MARRIAGE... she closed her eyes and remembered. It wasn't the best relationship--well, it barely qualified as a relationship then. She and Kirk had just met two weeks before, and he had asked her to come along with him on location for a new shoot he was doing. She knew that two free-spirited artists would never really last, but surrounded by the cool night air, the flames dancing before them, their eyes locking together... it was something magic. It was every girls fairytale... She did the one thing she swore she wouldn't do, and that was let him in. He was fantastic in every way she could think of, and he loved her... but she could never return that love. Yes, she had love for him, but she knew that she was not IN love with him. He settled for her stipulated three week vacations in Arizona; three weeks a year she was fully committed to him, able to truly love him. The other 49 weeks, however, she devoted to loving herself, taking care of herself. She may have been selfish, but she knew in the long run the wouldn't last. She never would've guessed, in all of her wild, sordid dreams of their demise, that it would be his murder on their time that drove the pair apart.

Her relationship with Jack was different. With Kirk, she loved him, yes, but it was never a need--she never NEEDED to see him, or have him hold her. She simply felt she should see him and let him hug her. She was in love with Jack. She knew it instinctively, from their very first date at the park... It was the way he looked at her, the small smile he gave her when she walked by, the way his fingertips brushed her forearm innocently, but the simple touch set off fireworks within her. She couldn't deny it, nor did she want to. She needed to be near him, to have him hold her while she slept. He was the only man she'd ever had the desire to do the "post-coital cuddle" with, and according to Hodgins, she was the only woman he'd ever cuddled with. She sat on her couch, staring at all her things in her small studio apartment. "Why do I need this place?" She wondered aloud. She tried to think about what it had meant to her when she'd first gotten it--it had been freedom from her life as a dependent. It had been someplace that she could call her own. But she was younger then, with ideals far different than the ones she held now. Alone in that place, she felt it was more like a prison than the sanctuary she'd found years ago. She stood, gathering what remained of her clothes into a few suitcases, and piling her art supplies and photos into boxes, placing her loot in her car. She pulled in front of his house, noticing with a smile that he'd left the outside light on for her, should she show up. She threw the car in park and turned off the engine, jumping from the car and rushing to the door. She pounded on the dark wood until he pulled it open, his sullen face brightening instantly.

"What are you..." She interrupted him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply, her fingers tangled in his curls. He pulled her closer and they stayed that way, locked together, until they were out of breath.

Finally pulling away, she leaned her forehead against his, looking into his eyes, "I'm moving in. Unless you've changed your mind," she whispered, smiling.

He grinned back, kissing her again, before releasing her, and eyebrow raised, "Where is all of your stuff?"

She blushed, "Most of it's already here. What was at my place fit inside my car," she smiled sheepishly, "I only have one condition, Jack..."

"Anything," He replied, kissing her forehead, unable to remove the silly grin plastered on his face.

"I need my own space, somewhere I can go and just... exist."

He nodded, "Let's worry about that tomorrow. Come on, I'll help you carry your things..."

After they carried all her things inside, they found their way to their bedroom, shedding their clothes in the hall and falling into his large bed. Afterwards, he held her close to him until he knew she was asleep, and he quietly slipped from between the sheets. He found a pair of old sweatpants and a tee he didn't like, creeping from the room without a sound. If he wanted to do this right, he had to work fast.

Angela smiled as she began to wake up, cuddling back into her boyfriends body. Only, there was no body to back into... She sat up, looking around the still-dark room. "Jack? Baby?" She called quietly, her voice echoing off the walls. She glanced at the alarm on the bedside table, her confusion raising as she saw the red numbers glow an alarming "2:18 am". She looked to the master bathroom, the lights out... "Jack!" She called, louder now. She waited for a few seconds before getting worried, jumping from the bed and springing for the door. She flung it open and collided with him. She held one hand over her heart, still pounding furiously in fear, as her other hand reached out and slapped him across the face.

"What the hell was that for?"

Her eyes welled--she had been so afraid that now that she had let him in, he had gone. She'd flashed back to Arizona, left alone in the desert with Kirk's skull on her friend's doorstep. "Don't you EVER do that to me again!" She whispered, her voice cracking as a tear streaked down her cheek.

"Oh, Baby," He pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair as she sobbed into his chest. Her fear still consuming her as her thoughts drifted from Kirk's death to the Gravedigger case, where both Jack and her best friend had gone missing--when she'd almost lost them both forever. "It's alright, I'm right here," he whispered. When she'd calmed down, he pulled back, looking into her reddened eyes. "Do you want to see why I left you in that bed?" At her nod, he took her hand and led her down the hall, past the guest rooms and into the one room he said he'd show her when the time was right. "I've been in here since you fell asleep around 8.. it's almost finished..."

"Wait, this is your lab... you said.."

"I know what I said before. Just, trust me, okay?" He swung open the door and flicked on the lights, smiling as her hand covered her mouth. "This USED to be my lab. As it turns out, it gets the best light, and has an amazing view of the estate..." He gestured to the wide window on the far wall, a bench seat installed. The room still smelled of paint, the damp white still glistening under the overhead lights. He had a huge table set up with all of her art supplies in one corner, with an easel and an inclined drawing table set up near the window. In another section, he had all of her sculpting supplies, and a new pottery wheel.

"Jack..." She whispered, taking it all in.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day where you were speechless!" He grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm glad you like it..."

"But, your lab! All of your things, where'd it all go?"

He shrugged, "I have another room I'll set up later. That's where I put my stuff... I decided to give you this room the instant you said you needed your space, but I had to paint over the ugly green. I wanted to paint it white so that... if the muse ever strikes, maybe you could just paint the walls. You know, murals, or portraits... whatever fits." He blushed as she turned, a pleased smile on her face.

"I love it... I love you!" She kissed him quickly before noticing an empty space in the corner. "I think I know what we can put there."

"What's that?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "How about we put a bookshelf, full of your science books, and a couch... so when I'm slaving away in here... you can keep me company once in awhile."

"What about needing your own space?"

She smiled, "I think I have everything I need right here," she whispered, leaning in to kiss him once again.