Ok, my move is finally here, so at the end of today, no internet for a whole week! *sob* (Don't worry, I'll come back with a flourish.) I'll miss you Sweets lovers! :( Thanks again for those reviewing and reading. You are lovely!

It was early morning—as the alarm clock informed Lance, precisely 5:23—and he extracted himself from the covers without waking the slumbering Daisy. It had been a big night and Lance had been up late, yet here he was wide awake to greet the dawn. First, Lance had agreed to help Hodgins steal back his father-in-law's car, and the two had been accosted by dogs and angry bikers. Then Hodgins had driven off, leaving Lance to make his own hasty escape. Everything had turned out fine in the end. Lance had taken a cab, though the driver eyed him warily, considering Lance was wearing his patented "Mr. Adventure" stocking cap. But no worry, he had made it home in time to explain the story to Daisy, who rewarded him handsomely. As Daisy loved to point out, she had excellent control over her gag reflex. Lance appreciated that.

He sought pants in the darkness and found his flannels. He padded out to the front room, looking for something specific. From his oak book shelf he removed a shoebox. But this was no ordinary shoebox. It was THE box—the one filled with family photographs that he had not been able to bring himself to look at since his parents' deaths. He had simply carried it from their house and placed it on this shelf where it sat resolutely for two years. What compelled him to look in it now, he wasn't quite sure.

Lance was beginning to feel a bit less melancholy over the loss of Daisy. As his heart attempted to disentangle itself from her, it ventured back to the world of comfort and love his parents had built for him over 16 years, and he longed to feel their presence. He knew that part of the reason he was feeling better was also because of Hodgins. Hodgins had proven to Lance that he considered the psychologist a friend and accepted Lance exactly how he was. Lance had been there for Hodgins when things had been dismal in his life, after losing Angela and Zack, and Hodgins had returned the favor by including Lance yesterday when he needed a friend to lean on. Something about Hodgins' regard for him almost felt more authentic than Daisy's intense love of the past year. Lance felt that long after Daisy was gone, there would be Hodgins. There would also be Angela, Cam, Dr. Brennan, and Booth. With a pang, Lance realized that there was a good chance neither Booth nor Brennan would be around for a year. But he sensed they would return. They wouldn't abandon him forever.

Lance sat cross-legged on the floor of his apartment and opened the box. Knox came over to rub against him, and Lance softly said, "Hey, kitty. These are my parents." The first picture was of his mother and him seated at the piano. He was nine years old. They were playing a Shubert duet and laughing. Lance traced the outline of his mother's face and smiled lovingly. She was always so beautiful, even when she became elderly and was gripped by the unforgiving vice of chemotherapy.

The picture reminded Lance of an incident when he had been practicing a particularly difficult Bach prelude at age nine. He became infuriated with the fingering in a passage and threw the music down on the floor with a dramatic flourish. His mother had stooped down, picked up the music and said, "Bach made this beautiful piece for you to cherish. It's ok to be frustrated, but express it in your music. Play harder, play with passion. You'll do him and yourself far more justice."

He thought about Daisy, and his recent anger toward her. What would his mother say to him if she were here? He looked over at his childhood piano, which now sat adjacent to the bookshelf in his apartment. It was a beautiful baby grand Mason & Hamlin built in 1913. It had been alive more than 4 times as long as him. He made a promise to play that prelude later on in the day. His hands were large now and that fingering was no longer a source of frustration.

Next in the box, he found a picture of his father and mother holding hands in their back yard in front of their old sycamore. He had taken the picture shortly before going off to college, so he could remind himself of home. Home had always been people and not places for Lance. Knox was now in Lance's lap and he pet the cat with a far off look in his eyes.

That was enough for now. He would finish the pictures later. Lance looked up at the ceiling and thought, Booth's right. I should move on from Daisy. She was enchanting, loveable, intelligent, and sexy, but she wasn't really home. He had tried to fashion her into something secure, but she was not family after all. Still, there would be inevitable grieving, and even in this moment, his chest physically pained him. There was also something else. Lance had a growing desire to make a change in his own life. He needed a new way to express his passion; to shine.

It was time. Everyone had gathered at the airport.

For the past day Lance had been helping Daisy gather up her belongings. They had confined her papers, her books, her extraneous clothes to boxes and bid them farewell in a storage facility. Daisy was not sentimental in the least about objects. She was the opposite of a hoarder. She shed her possessions and moved on to sunnier skies.

Lance was not feeling quite as strong as he had hoped. He had been shaking this morning and had barely slept. Daisy rolled over to comfort him in bed, and they had made love for the last time. Lance couldn't help but think that their relationship had begun with spontaneous sex on the first date and was ending with it. Sex had always been the glue of their passion, and recently it had proven that it was not enough. He had once told Angela to forgo sex for stronger connections, and somehow he had been deceived by sex in his own most important relationship. But, he thought glumly, I invested my whole heart in this relationship; it was Daisy who hadn't. She wasn't shallow, she just hadn't loved him enough.

Lance wondered if he would ever be loved like Hodgins loved Angela or Booth loved Dr. Brennan. He wanted it so badly, he wondered if it made him a little desperate to seek love where he shouldn't. It didn't matter now. He was alone again.

Daisy was standing before him, asking if he hated her. He said no and meant it, kissing and hugging her one last time. When she asked if he'd wait for her, he told her no. It was the right decision, but it hurt and Lance hoped he would be able to resist the memory of her. In some ways, he wished he would never see her again.

Then Daisy was signaling for Dr. Brennan to hurry up, but Dr. Brennan was going the wrong way. Lance saw Booth emerge from the crowd in his fatigues. He looked impossibly beefy in uniform. Lance felt a few tears leap into his eyes when he saw them hold hands. Please let them figure this out while they are apart, he begged the universe. He wanted them to be happy now more than ever. Everything was so messed up so suddenly. He felt like his heart was going to explode. Inexplicably, Dr. Brennan's and Booth's happiness was all wrapped up in his own. He probably loved them as much as he loved any living humans.

He turned to Daisy, "Be safe. I hope you achieve your dreams, Daisy. I'm glad to have shared a year with you."

Finally, he saw tears in Daisy's eyes. So it was hard for her. She nodded, and gathering up Dr. Brennan, they departed. Lance almost wished he hadn't seen Daisy cry. It was going to be even harder to let her go now.

Lance felt a hand on his right shoulder and then another on his left. It was Angela and Hodgins. They weren't leaving for Paris for a few days, and he was grateful. They walked out of the airport, their arms around him, Cam next to them. No one said anything.

When I return from my travels, we shall move on to the exciting summer I have planned for Baby Duck! He's headed toward sadness but also happier times. :) The Jeffersonian will be getting some new staff, and Lance will be presented with new job opportunities. Cam's motherly friendship will be key to helping him, since his usual surrogate parents are away.