Meredith laughs, inexpressibly fond, and lets go of his hand to wrap her arms around his neck. "No, don't," she says, "don't. Everything's okay." That might be stretching it, but there's no reason for tears even so, not now, even if the whole night seems sort of absurd and unbelievable to her. This time around, there's a kind of happy ending, but if anything, that just makes it stranger still.

She tilts her head up to kiss him, hand moving to his cheek again as she pulls back, unnerved by something that's only just occurred to her. "Everything's okay. Just, if something happens, if I do disappear or you go home... don't do anything stupid. Promise me you won't." She couldn't bear being the reason he goes through with it next time, and she can't hang all her hopes on the idea that he'll find her again, no matter how much she wants to.