"Me? How is that my fault?"
"Before I met you, I led a perfectly fine life. I had my scientific work and I was making important contributions in my field. I liked my life," she said.
"You weren't," he started to respond, but Brennan held up her hand. He pressed his lips together and nodded for her to continue.
"And one day I met Angela. And she was so…" Brennan paused, trying to find the words to explain.
"Alive?" Booth asked.
"Exactly, but that was okay. I could kind of live through her. Until," she paused a second time and finally motioned toward him.
"Until I came along," Booth filled in for her.
"Yes. You stopped me in that airport that day and turned my whole life upside down. I couldn't hide in my office anymore. We were out in the field and talking to people and catching monsters and suddenly, I had to deal with things I wasn't ready to face."
"Like, emotions," Booth said. "And me. You had to deal with me."
"But I liked dealing with you," she argued. "You taught me about dealing with people and never made me feel stupid while you did it. I could understand the world outside my office, as long as I had you to explain it to me."
Booth pulled up outside of her apartment. "Do you still want to deal with me?" he asked. "You said in the car that you weren't sure you wanted to go back to the Jeffersonian." Had he saved her, only to have her leave him again?
"I haven't figured out the Jeffersonian yet. And Cam may not give me my job back, even though she'd be crazy not to. I am the best after all." she said. Carefully she maneuvered herself from the vehicle. One slip and Booth wouldn't leave her side until the cast was cut off. "But Booth, despite everything that has happened between us, you were the one thing I fought to survive for on that mountain."