"You need to hear it," Bod said, firm on that point. "I love you. And I'm not going to hold you back but I want you to understand that not knowing what you're doing is hard. It's difficult. This is not me asking to know anything and everything either but if our positions were reversed and I was leaving and hinting about things being bad and crying, wouldn't it be hard for you?"

He still felt the tinges of being upset and worried, still felt tense, but his voice was steady.

"Being in my position with you, it's hard. I love it but it's hard. There's so much you can't or won't tell me and I'm left to wonder if you're all right, if you're in trouble, whatever. I don't stop you though. I never have. I worry and I hope but I need you to understand that's hard and I'm allowed to be stressed and I'm allowed to be worried. I know you're not good at sympathy but when I say I'm worried about you not coming back, a speech telling me that my fear is misguided isn't going to help. You do what you need to do, Kate. I hope everything does go well but just remember that it's not easy to be the one here, with little information, hoping you're all right. I love you and I'll wait but it's not always easy to not know. That's all. The end."