“Suddenly question number four popped into my mind. Have you thought about how this relationship will end?”

“And yet there's one question whose answer I have thought out, and it suddenly comes to mind . . . 'Stay with me.”

“...the first question to be asked and answered in every contingency of life being: "How will this thought or action contribute to, or interfere with, the achievement, by me and the greatest possible number of other individuals, of man's Final End?”

“Numbers still gave Astrid pleasure. That was the great thing about numbers: it required no faith to believe that two plus two equaled four. And math never, ever condemned you for your thoughts and desires.”

“I blush as that word pops into my mind again, "relationship." Is this what a relationship feels like, I wonder -- close, comfortable, warm, safe, thrilling, erotic, and smelling deliciously of pancakes...”

“What would you do if it were me?' she asked, her voice practically a whisper. 'Do you think you'd feel different about it?'My breath caught in my throat. *I'd marry you* was the first thought that popped into my mind. And it was true, I realized suddenly. I would marry her. I would take care of her. I would do whatever to protect her.”