"Right." David shook his head, thoughtful. "I don't understand… you're so smart…

"Well obviously I'm an idiot when it comes to geometry, ok?" Cat stood up fast, the chair clattering over behind her. "Just put a dunce cap on me and put me in a corner, all right? There is no point to any of this! I'm done with geometry!

I'm done with Pythagorean's Theorem…and I am most especially done with you, David Slater!"

She kicked the chair as she passed it, heading for the front door-no books, no coat- tears making the world fill with sudden prisms. David caught her arm, and she tried to jerk away, but he was too strong. She stood there, head down, tears falling onto the hardwood floor between them. David saw them, and tilted her chin up. When she met his eyes, his quiet, watchful eyes, she simply burst into tears.

"Catherine, Catherine…" He folded her into his arms and held her, rocking with her. "Beautiful Catherine…you are so bright, please don't ever believe I don't think the world of you." He murmured into her hair, words and more words-

brilliant, lovely, smart, delightful, wise and wonderful. She found herself holding onto him, wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against the buttons of his shirt. The more he whispered, the harder she cried. He finally eased them both down to the floor of the foyer, leaning against the door while she attempted to curl her long limbs into a small enough shape so she could fit into his lap.

She found her forehead pressed against the side of his neck, her fingers hesitantly rubbing at his collar, grazing the skin at the hollow of his throat. His rocking slowly subsided with her tears. She sniffed as quietly as she could. She was afraid to move. She thought if she could match her breath, even her heartbeat with his, he might forget she wasn't a part of him, that they shouldn't be tangled here in a heap on the floor together, that this was the way it should be.