It was Valentine's Day, Cassandra was in pink, and she and Stone were in Paris. Which wouldn't have been all that bad, Stone reflected, if they weren't several feet below the city in a dark, damp tunnel. Most romantic city in the world on Valentine's Day with a pretty girl . . . Jacob stopped his train of thought immediately. He liked her just fine and she'd managed to erode a lot of his trust issues. But she still was his co-worker. You're a romantic fool with notions about Paris and she is pretty. That's all it is.

He looked over to where she was holding her cellphone above her head, trying to use it for light. He and Cassandra had decided to team up on this case, tracking a stolen Nazi painting that was reported to be a treasure map leading to the real location of Charlemagne's fabled sword Durendal. Getting the sword itself would probably be a mission for all of the Librarians and their Guardian but this step seemed to be up Cassandra and Stone's alley.

"Ugh, after the dragon in Rome, catacombs . . ." She shivered.

He looked around. "Not technically catacombs here. These are old limestone mines," his voice got wistful like it always did when he spoke of history, "some of them datin' to the 10th century. The buildings above us were built from the limestone. Only a small portion of the old mines are burial places, catacombs. The rest, well there's hundreds of miles of them down here. Technically off limits . . ."

Cassandra grimaced. "Yeah, that's why we had to go through that vent. I wish Jones had come. He's good at that."

Stone shrugged. "Yeah, that wasn't fun. But anyway, the Underground used these tunnels during World War II which is why there's a good chance we'll find that painting here."

"You said the tunnels were technically off limits? Why?"

Stone looked at the walls. "There's been some cave-ins. Starting in the 18th century, some of them even ruined the streets above. They have reinforced them over the years. After the war, they locked them down, but various groups use them. Most of them are harmless; explorers, adventurers, kids partying, even people doing guerilla restoration work." He grinned as if that idea delighted him.

"Most of them."

"Well, it is underground. I can't imagine bad guys aren't using these for drugs or whatever."

"Reassuring." Cassandra hugged herself and Jacob found himself standing closer than usual to her. "Well hopefully we'll be able to find this painting quickly."

"I found the clue in the painting in the museum, so you have to navigate for me here. Compass in your head and all."

"Right." She stared off into space for a moment, doing calculations that only she could see.

He stood watching intently, waiting to step in if she needed him. But she figured it out quickly. "Alright, down this hallway and to the right at the bend."

They walked on for a while until they came to what appeared to be a cul de sac in the tunnels. A slightly round room with only the one exit. It was also very empty.

Cassandra looked confused. "Based on everything you told me about the painting, it should be right here."

Jacob sighed. "Well either I got it wrong or someone got it before us. Or hell, maybe there's a hidden panel somewhere. Wouldn't be the first time."

"You don't get things wrong, Stone."

He quirked a smile at her. "Art is subjective, Cassandra."

Stone grabbed a flashlight out of his bag and shined it at the walls, trying to find anything that seemed out of place. While he was doing that, Cassandra thought about the clues in the painting to see what they might have missed.

"You said five right? It was based on five."

"Yes, the five wounds of Christ, the five books of the Torah, a whole lotta fives going on in that."

"Five, Five, Five, the 3rd prime, the first safe prime, the third Catalan number . . . ." Cassandra muttered on, words that had no real meaning to Jacob, whose math did not extend beyond regular high school.

He shot her a worried look, then an even more worried look when he noticed dust falling from the tunnel's ceiling.

"Cassandra!" More dust fell from his raised voice, so he lowered it. "Cassie, darlin', I need you to focus."

But Cassandra didn't seem to hear him, "There are five Platonic solids: tetrahedon, hexahedron, octahedron, dodecahedron, oooh icosahedron . . . Oh Euler again, no no no. Five not six."

"Cassandra!" There was more rushing of dust and Stone was starting to panic. "Cass, come back to me, you need to . . ."

Then the room shook and a chunk of limestone fell on Cassandra, knocking her to the floor. Stone cried out, running to her and pulling her out of the doorway just in time before more rocks fell to the floor, blocking their exit.

"Cassandra?" He cradled her in his arms and she started coughing.

"Ouch," she muttered. "What happened?"

Stone took a deep breath. "Cave in. I probably can dig us out once I'm sure it's stable. Are you okay? You got hit by some rock before I could get to you."

"Yeah uh. . ." She tried moving her shoulder. "It hurts but I can move it. So probably just a bruise, huh?"

"Probably a nasty one." He pushed back so they were against the far wall. "Stay here and let me go check out the damage."

Stone's flashlight was still on and mercifully hadn't broken when he dropped it to grab Cassandra. He grabbed it off the floor and went to the entrance. Some dust still fell but it didn't look like much more was going to cave in. The blockage was, on the bright side, only about three-fourths of the doorway. Which meant that air was flowing in and he might be able to get enough rocks free for them to squeeze out.

He came back to sit next to Cassandra. "Good news is that the doorway isn't completely blocked. That means we won't run out of air and someone might hear us."

"Someone?" Cassandra asked. "Didn't you say these tunnels were off limits?"

"Yes, but the Parisian police regularly patrol down here because of all the people who do access the tunnels."

"But we're not supposed to be down here, Stone! What if we get in trouble?"

"We'll work that out when we come to it. If the Librarians doing research excuse doesn't fly, we'll contact Baird. I'd rather not have to move rocks bare handed and hand you over a rock pile with that bruised shoulder of yours."

"Good point." Cassandra winced. "Ouch."

Stone moved the flashlight between them so he could look at her. "Take your jacket off, I want to check."

It wasn't very comfortable, but with Stone's help, her jacket came off, and he pushed down the sleeve of her short sleeved dress. There was an angry bruise, already turning shades of blue and purple, but the skin didn't seem to be broken. He gently touched the bruise and she hissed.

"I don't think anything is broken, but you're going to be in pain. Especially with no ice to put on it. The water bottle might be cold enough to help some, but I don't know. "

He suddenly realized that he had been caressing the unbruised bare skin of her shoulder and moved his hand. She shivered and he realized just how cold it was in that tunnel. He gently pushed her sleeve back up and grabbed her jacket.

"It'll probably hurt too much to put it back on, but we can put it around you." He tucked her jacket around her like a blanket then shivered himself. They had accessed the tunnel via an air duct in a building above and neither had been wearing coats. It probably was warmer in the tunnels than on the streets but that wasn't saying much.

He dug in his backpack for the first aid kit. It was just a small one, didn't have much in it. He came back with a packet of pain killers and their water bottle.

"At least this will help a little with the pain," he said, opening the packet and shaking the pills into her hand.

They both went quiet for a while after that. Stone slumped against the wall trying to think of a better way to get out of the tunnel. He'd been confident for Cassandra's sake that someone would be by eventually, he was sure the tunnels were monitored for cave ins. He might act like a tough guy but the idea of climbing up those rocks and trying to move them bare-handed . . . .Well, he would if he needed to. Cutting the hell out of his hands would be worth it to make sure Cassandra was protected. Stop it Stone, you're already too protective of her as it is. And she doesn't really need it, she's the bravest person you've ever met.

Next to him, Cassandra gave a soft moan then turned her head as if she was ashamed to be in pain.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I know it hurts." He suppressed another shiver. It was cold in there and he could see Cassandra trying hard not to shiver. "Are you cold? I am. Kinda dumb just rushing out of the Annex in winter without a coat, huh?"

She laughed softly. "Sometimes we really don't think when we get these cases. It's probably warmer down here then it is at the surface."

"But that's not saying much." Stone scooted closer to her and she looked at him quizzically for a second. "Body heat, come here."

Because of her shoulder, he positioned her on his lap, so he could put his arms around her waist instead.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, resting the back of her head against his chest.

"What for?"

"I caused the cave-in, talking too much."

"Oh, honey, that's a myth. I was worried because I could see the signs and I couldn't get you out of your spell to get you to move. It's my fault you got hurt."

"It's not. I was in my head."

"And I could have walked across the room and grabbed you." Stone's voice was tense, angry at himself. "Instead of talking, I should have just grabbed you. But I was too busy trying to find that damn painting."

Cassandra fell silent but then surprised him with a sudden bark of laughter.

"What?"

"We both do this a lot. Blame ourselves for what happens, when it's not really our faults. The cave in wasn't my fault and me getting hurt wasn't yours. It's the little things . . . .There are big things like what happened to the Library that was my fault. Why you can't trust me . . ."

Stone took a deep breath behind her, in for a penny . "I trust you, I have since long before the Library came back. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It's hard for me, there's so much I need to tell you about why that is. But after the first time I went to Paris. . . .Well I thought long and hard about why I keep you at arm's length."

"Why do you?"

"Because I let a girl in once and she broke my heart. She . . . ." Stone was really glad that Cassandra couldn't see his face because he wasn't sure he wasn't going to cry. "She left me on our wedding day."

Cassandra gasped, ignoring the pain in her shoulder to look at him, even though she could barely see him in the dim light from the flashlight on the floor. "On your wedding day? That bitch!"

That startled a laugh out of Stone. "Language, missy." Then he sighed. "Stood me up at the altar. I'd come clean to her the night before, about how smart I really was, about my writings, about everything. And she didn't show up. Left town with some old flame, left me a note about how a girl like her would just hold me back."

Cassandra was crying. "Oh, Jacob."

"Cassie, when I met you I was, well, smitten is a great word. Smitten. And I wanted to let you in, so bad . . . ."

"And then I broke your heart." Cassandra sighed. "That's why you took it so personally."

"Not quite sure broke it is quite right but you sure kicked me in the gut. I knew I couldn't hide the art historian from you. Working here, I've had to let it out."

"And bits and pieces of Stone the oil rigger come out because you've had to use them. By the way, the way you can survey in your head is astonishing."

She saw the brief grin. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"But you still . . . ."

"Hold back from all of you, although you . . . .You can't leave it and I should be angry at you for it. But instead, I let you in, bit by bit. You know me better than anyone ever has."

"I wouldn't let it go because I was . . . well, smitten is a great word. You don't see me as math girl or the freak. Sometimes you're overprotective, but I don't think it's because I'm ill."

"No, it's not. It's because I . . ." Oh the hell with it. "Because I care."

"Everyone else sees my tumor. Even Baird and Jones. Maybe Flynn. Maybe not Jenkins. But you, you just see me. I just wanted to return the favor."

"Oh, honey." Jacob gathered her up to rest closer to him, and she could hear his heart racing. "I'm tryin'."

Then he kissed her. Gentle, sweet, loving. In her mind, she saw pink, the pretty pink of a sunrise and she could smell sweet meadow flowers. When they broke apart, she smiled at him and he didn't need the flashlight to see it.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Cassandra. When we get out of here, I know this great little cafe. Also there are roses on your desk. I mean I got some for Baird too, but . . . ."

She giggled. "You're such a romantic, Stone."

"The real me is." He kissed the tip of her nose. "I wish someone would come. I really don't want to try to push those rocks out."

"No," Cassandra kissed the hand she was able to grasp, "I don't think I'd want your hands all cut up. And I don't think there's anything in here to use to move them."

"Already checked," he said letting out a sigh. Then he heard something.

He carefully moved Cassandra off his lap and ran to the rock pile. He yelled something in French and eventually he heard a woman's voice yelling back at him. A few moments later, a young woman's head popped over the rock pile.

She must have noticed Stone's accent because she spoke in English. "Are you okay?"

"My friend is hurt, not badly but I don't want her to get more hurt climbing out. Are you alone?"

"I will get friends, hang on."

While the girl scurried away, Stone turned back to Cassandra. "Help's on the way. Cassie?"

"I figured it out." She pointed at the wall opposite. "It's in that wall."

"But I . . ." Stone shrugged. "Okay."

It took him a few minutes, but as he could hear male voices in the tunnel and the sound of rocks being moved, he found the discolored rock. He removed the rather small painting from the wall.

"It's so small!" Cassandra said as he fit it in the backpack.

"Doesn't need to be big to give us clues." He grinned at her.

"Quickly!" The girl's voice came over, as the rocks were being moved. "The police will probably come to investigate the cave in soon."

The large men she had brought were wearing gloves and moving rocks like they did it all day. Stone hoisted Cassandra up and handed her to another large man. "Her shoulder is hurt."

Then he threw his pack up and climbed up over the rubble.

"Merci," he said as he landed safely.

"No need," the girl said with a laugh. "It is our jobs. Quickly though, we need to leave. Will you be alright?"

"We know our way back and she'll just need an ice pack."

"Then quickly go, we've heard the police radio."

The groups fled. "So much running in this job!" Cassandra yelled as she tore in front of him, leading him back to the air vent.

They were safely back in the basement of the office building. The backdoor to the Annex was just around the corner.

"Rain check on that cafe?" Cassandra asked. "I just want ice."

"How about next week? Wear a coat."

When they got back to the Annex, he took the vase off her desk. "I'll give you a ride home."

It was the week after Valentine's Day, Cassandra wore pink, they both wore coats, and they strolled through the most romantic city in the world. Holding hands.

The End