Given the havoc the lack of a trade deal between the UK and EU would unleash on both economies, there is little surprise Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen balked at collapsing negotiations today.
While there is still a chance of striking a deal, it is in both sides' interests to keep talking.
Is this more kicking the can down the road? Are they unwilling or unable to accept the inevitable – that the divisions are too wide to bridge?
Or are the sides so close that a few more days – four-and-a-half years after the country voted to leave the EU – could genuinely make all the difference?
Neither leader wants to be blamed for pulling the plug and setting in train a process that would damage both Britain and the bloc.
The public would – rightly – see the inability to seal a pact as a failure by both Brussels and London.
Neither VDL, as she is known in political circles, nor the PM wants to be deemed a failure.
Behind the scenes, negotiators must believe there are still things to talk about – a nudge here, a minor compromise there – which could finally break the stalemate and unlock an agreement.
David Frost and Michel Barnier could be forgiven for being sick of the sight of each other, so much time have they spent shut away in discussions at the Berlaymont in Brussels, the Business Department in Westminster and over video link as the coronavirus pandemic initially denied the protagonists face-to-face talks.
But the longer discussions go on, the more we must believe a deal is possible.
Neither the EU nor the UK wants to walk away, so today's deadline went the way of so many others.
The only real deadline is 11pm on New Year's Eve – midnight on the Continent – when the Brexit transition ends.
Strap in for a few more days of discussions yet.
