I write the finis here against my love,
This is my love's last epitaph and tomb.
Here the road forks, and I
Go my way, far from yours.
~Robert Louis Stevenson

Dedication

"Booth, we have to talk about this."

A sigh. "I know, Bones. I know. I just…"

"I'm actually quite pleasantly surprised by your behavior."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't get all upset. I just mean that I thought I was supposed to be the one who didn't like to talk about feelings and love and all of that…"

"It's not that, believe me."

"Then what is it? It's not because you're worried I'm going to run off for another dig, are you?"

A beat of silence, too long.

"Booth…"

"Bones, it's okay. It's not something you can fix; I just need to work through it, that's all."

"I don't accept that. There must be something I can say, something I can do…"

"This is, literally, one of those clichéd moments where it really isn't you, it's me. You've done nothing wrong, Bones. Nothing. I'm just a little off kilter. This is just as new for me as it is for you."

"But…you've been in a committed relationship before, Booth. Rebecca, Tessa, Cam, Hannah…you know how it works."

"What do all those women have in common, Bones?"

"Well, except for Cam they're all blonde….I honestly don't know what they all have in common."

"I'm no longer with them. We broke up. Every single one of those relationships failed."

"Yes, that is true. And if we're being honest, I am happy of that."

"Well…"

"Are you saying that you're not, Booth?"

"No! But, really…at the time, I wasn't glad that those relationships ended. I don't like the idea of being happy about that."

"Alright. I suppose I understand that. I wasn't happy when Sully and I ended things."

"See? That's good, Bones. You should be sad when a good relationship ends. Sully is a good guy and he loved you. Not that I'm not glad it didn't work out…."

A smile. "I know."

"I think, like I said before, good people leave a mark. We pick up small and large parts of those around us, and they end up becoming a real part of us. We should never regret knowing the people we've been with."

"And I don't. Not even Michael, and he turned out to be a…"

"Selfish, jealous jackass?"

"Mmm. That's a succinct way to put it, yes."

"I am just readjusting my view of how things are between us, that's all it is. For years, years Bones…I have been pretty much waiting for this to happen, and now that it has I'm a little thrown."

"I told you I was sorry about that, Booth. I never imagined someone your size would go flying off the bed in a moment of unrestrained passion, especially since I am smaller-"

"No, Bones." A smile. "Thrown, emotionally. Not physically."

"Ah. Got it."

"You have a steep learning curve, mine…not so much. I just need a few days to accept the fact that…"

"I'm not going to run?"

"Yeah."

A sideways glance, then…"Are you going to run?"

"Bones. You know me better than anyone. Do you really think I'm going to up and hightail it to Bora Bora just because of a little emotional upheaval? I'm not going anywhere, Bones. Never again, and certainly not without you."

"I knew that, but sometimes…I need to hear it."

"Sometimes I need to say it, I know. I'm in this, Bones. Don't ever doubt that. And you know that I love you, right?"

"I do."

"And I know that you love me. And that you're not going anywhere either."

"Yes."

"So…"

"So…?"

"What the hell am I worried about again?"

"I haven't a clue, Booth."

A smile. "Me either, Bones."

"Lunch? Diner?"

"Diner for lunch it is."