TITLE:
 Pops, Clicks, and Purrs

PAIRING: Jerry/Katie

CHARACTERS: Katie


GENRE:
 Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort

RATING: 
G

SUMMARY: 
Katie thinks after the Thanksgiving dinner at Shirley and Carl's

WORD COUNT: 
457

WARNINGS: 
None

DISCLAIMER: not mine

She wasn't some softy that would sob in the car, her head on the steering wheel and hands covering her face. She wasn't going to weep like a scorned child with a skinned knee. And she certainly wasn't going to rage like a lunatic, screaming and tossing her hands around. No, she was going to sit here at this patio table and stew a bit, letting the cold afternoon air keep her face from becoming too hot.

She thought they had a friendship, a camaraderie, a bond that no one else had in the firm. She was loyal to him of course, and sure she wanted to protect him, but it wasn't because she thought he was weak or helpless, it was because…

"Oh god!" she snarled as the forbidden word entered her mind.

Love. It was because she loved him. Maybe not in love, but definitely love.

"Stop that! It's annoying!" Edwin had complained

"Leave him alone," she had defended.

"Stop it!" Jerry had ordered.

Even at the thought of those words she recoiled in disbelief that he wouldn't accept her help. His words had been bitter and vile and the next sentence that sneered in her head made her eyes burn from tears that were starting to form.

"If I get another maternal lecture from you I am going to throw up twice, to get all the puke out!"

A hard knot had formed in her throat. Maybe "love" and "being in love" were the same thing and she was just kidding herself. Now as she sat out here she could hear herself saying firmly, "You can go to hell," and it was making her want to throw up twice, just to "get all the puke out" too. She hadn't wanted to say that to him…no, she had…but she hadn't wanted to say it that way. She had wanted him to feel the pain he had made her feel, but at the same time there was no way she could do that to him. He dealt with so much on a daily basis, she could take her own grief in stride.

Maybe she was a softy and just wanted to be with her…friend. To be honest, she was so used to the pops, clicks, and purrs that it was strange when someone didn't do it. She'd actually have to remind herself that they weren't her Jerry…

'Really, Katie? Ownership? The next thing you know, you'll be asking him out on dates, trying to convince yourself that they are dates. Jerry isn't interested in you, just as much as you aren't interested in him.'

The patio door opened and she didn't have look over to know whom it was. Or why her racing heart felt broken.