Language warning

"Well, you see..."

Vic's been waiting for this moment all day and now that it's finally here she's surprised it seems to be so difficult to find the right words to say, "Wow, uh, this is harder than I thought it would be."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, um, I've imagined doing this about twenty different ways. It was almost all I could think about today. But, saying it out loud suddenly makes it more real. It feels a little strange to be honest."

Walt starts to feel very uncomfortable. He can't imagine there being anything that Vic wouldn't be able to say to him. God knows she's said plenty to him that he wishes she hadn't over the past several years. What could be so difficult for her to talk about now? Unless...Unless she's trying to say she's gotten tired of waiting for him, that she's moving on with someone else. After all they've been through, that would probably be hard to say.

"Okay," Walt nods his head, "I understand."

Vic's eyebrows draw together, "You understand?"

"Yep." He stands up, "It's okay. You don't have to worry about any of this. We're almost finished here. We can pack everything up and I'll run you home. I promise this won't affect anything at work. We can go back to the way things were before."

She's not following where Walt is taking the conversation, ""What? I don't want to go back to the way things were before."

Hearing those words causes his heart to drop even further as he fights to keep the nausea that is rolling over him in check, "Oh." He swallows hard, "I was making the assumption you'd be staying on with the department."

"Of course I'm staying on with the department, Walt." She cocks her head to the side as she looks up at him, "What's going on with you? Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?"

He runs his tongue over his teeth, "I'm trying to let you know that it's okay with me that we aren't going to..uh, pursue a relationship with one another."

Vic is silent for a moment, making sure she's heard him correctly. She stands when she realizes there is no other way she could have heard him, "Really? It's OKAY with you?"

"Yep." He looks at the ground, avoiding her eyes, "We're both professionals. We can move on from this."

Walt glances back up to see Vic becoming physically agitated. Her irritation is confirmed by the tightness and aggression in her voice when she speaks, "Walt, I can't believe the shit I'm hearing come out of your mouth. Just what exactly do you think I'm trying to tell you?"

Walt's decides to just rip off the band-aid and lay it out there, "I saw that man leaving your house when I pulled up tonight."

"Yes, I know. What does he have to do with this?"

"Look, Vic, I don't want to fight."

"I'm not trying to fight with you, you're just not making any fucking sense. I saw you park your truck as he was leaving. You know that. Hell, I teased you about being jealous...Besides, I don't see him as being a problem. He was just there to move my bed to his house. Now what's this really about?"

Walt's emotions make a rapid shift. The man was taking her bed to his house? It's one thing for Vic to get tired of waiting and find someone new but to have so little regard for him as to already move in with the guy? It's too much for him to think about. Walt knows he and Vic haven't made any kind of commitment to one another and things aren't as serious as she would like, but he thought they had something. Maybe it wasn't everything but it was a solid start. Now she's already made the decision to move in with someone else? He doesn't trust himself to speak. He's worried that the deep pain that's cutting through his chest right now will cause him to say something he might regret and he decided months ago that he was done with that particular feeling.

Vic is dumbfounded as she looks at Walt. She scans his body from the tightly clenched hands to the narrowed eyes...he's pissed. The thing is, she still can't figure out why. She certainly cannot wrap her brain around the things Walt is saying. She replays the last few minutes in her head trying to figure it out when the sudden realization of what Walt must be thinking hits her. The misunderstanding and his reaction to it brings a smile to her face. She can't help herself and begins to giggle.

Her laughter does nothing to improve Walt's mood. He shifts the weight on his feet, "I'm glad your amused by this whole thing."

"Walt, he's taking my bed to his house tonight because I needed to get it out my hallway."

"It was in your hallway?" He's confused about where the conversation is headed.

"Yes, my hallway. I had it moved it down there when my new bed was delivered. The new bed I bought this morning. The new bed I had hoped..." She lowers her voice, "The bed I had hoped you would help me break in tonight." Vic steps into Walt's personal space and lifts her face to his, "You...not him."

"Oh."

She slides her arms around his waist, "It's the bed I bought to celebrate."

"Celebrate?"

She bites her lower lip and nods her head.

He's vaguely aware of his arms moving to pull Vic in closer, "What are you celebrating?"

"That I'm finally free to be with most amazing man I have ever met."

"Free?"

"Boy, you're just full of questions tonight aren't you?..Yes, free." She pauses to take a deep breath, "The divorce was finalized today."

"You're not married."

"I'm not married."

Whew! So glad to finally get that out in the open. Silly, silly man! When will he accept that Vic only has eyes for him?