Lee presents the relationship by having Atticus recognize that Boo has saved the lives of his children, and Scout understands that their neighbor has never meant them harm. She has long since given up the idea that Boo is a man to be feared. Even before the Halloween pageant, she fantasizes about meeting the man who left them gifts, mended Jem's pants, and warmed her shoulders on a cold night.

The Radley Place had ceased to terrify me... I sometimes felt a twinge of remorse... at ever having taken part in what must have been sheer torment to Arthur Radley.
Maybe someday we would see him. I imagined how it would be...

After the attack by Bob Ewell, Scout recognizes the depth of Boo's relationship with her and Jem. He has risked his life, as well as his privacy, for them. She agrees with Sheriff Tate's decision to call Bob's death self-inflicted, because to bring Boo "into the limelight" would be like "shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" Scout is immensely proud to take Boo's arm and walk her hero back home.

Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it, and it made me sad.