"It probably never should be," Neil says. But he's spent so much time worrying about that, even before things got very bad. And yes, now that he's seen that dumb video, he knows that his friends missed him and were upset--but that doesn't mean he doesn't still worry about being a burden on his friends here.

He smiles a little and shrugs, in the end. Probably it's just silly worry, and Rosie's right about that. He's perfectly happy to have this mutually knowledgeable relationship with Rosie, open and understanding and communicative.

He leans over and kisses her forehead.