The crimson stain in her shirt seemed to grow bigger and bigger more quickly than it should. Clasping her hands in front of the wound in her chest, as though uselessly trying to cover it, Katherine struggled to catch her breath. Breathing was becoming more difficult it time, and also more painful. If she wasn't resting her back against one of the columns in her porch, she knew she would probably fall. Once on the ground, she was afraid that the temptation to close her eyes and surrender would be too much.

With trembling hands, she had a sip from the bottle of water her best friend was holding in front of her. She tried to say thank you, but no sound came from her throat. Bree smiled weakly, swallowing the tears she was close to shedding at the sight of the agonizing woman. Her eyes could not help but rest on the bleeding wound, which – ironically – was on the same spot where she had stabbed herself months before. Yet this time it was much deeper.

"I've called the police" Bree explained "If Patrick Logan was able to do this to you, Angie is in serious danger"

Katherine's eyes were closed tightly; the light was stinging them. She gave a nod as her only response, unable to speak. Bree exhaled, slightly relieved. At least Katherine could still hear her.

"I've also called an ambulance. It'll be here soon" she continued.

"Thank you"

The words from Katherine's mouth came barely as a whisper, showing what an enormous effort she was making. Don't thank me, dear. I'm just doing the right thing. Save your energies to keep fighting. Bree wanted to say that, but instead she just reached out to rub Katherine's shoulder.

As she touched her, Bree couldn't help but think how long it had been since the last time they had been this close. The truth was, though, she couldn't even remember. Their last interaction hadn't been quite as friendly as either of them would have liked.

"I'm sorry, but I can't give you back your job. It's been a very long time and I already have too many employees"

"You can't be serious, Bree!" Katherine exclaimed "It's our business, we started it together!"

"I'm sorry" the redhead tucked some strands of hair behind her ears, uncomfortably, as she shuffled around the papers on her desk "Things have… changed…"

The other woman sighed harshly, one hand clutching on the edge of the desk and the other one on her hip. Bree looked at her over the paper she had in her hands. No doubt she was very disappointed.

"I can't believe you're saying this to me!" Katherine snapped "Things have changed? I thought we were friends!"

"Katherine…"

"No, seriously" the auburn-haired lady narrowed her eyes "I think you need to have your memory checked. This little empire you've built would be nothing if it hadn't been for me. I was the one who was there with you from the very beginning; I was the one who had the idea of starting the catering business; and even more than that, Bree, I'm your friend!"

Finally, Bree looked up at her friend. The tension on her cheekbones said it all; it was one of those rare moments when the redhead had lost her seemingly endless patience.

"How dare you play the friend card on me?" she raised her voice.

"I'm sorry?"

"Yes, you heard me" Bree spoke on, firmly "Did you think of our friendship when you decided to run away?"

"What?" Katherine wondered, blinking.

"Did you think of me, or any other friend of yours for that matter, when you chose to ride into the sunset with your lesbian girlfriend without saying a word to anyone?"

"What has Robin got to do with this all?"

"Well, you didn't take time to even say goodbye to us before escaping from who-knows-what to Europe with her!"

"For your information, I wouldn't have had to run away with her to clear my mind if it hadn't been for all the judgmental looks and the gossip. I couldn't deal with that. Besides" she let out a sigh "It's not like anyone would care about me leaving, anyway"

"Katherine, for fuck's sake! How can you say that?"

The older woman took a step back. Hearing Bree swearing was not a good sign.

"Will you ever stop playing the victim?" the redhead yelled "Ever since the incident with Mike happened, you keep acting like no-one cared about you, like the whole world was against you. You've done nothing but drive all those who actually love you away. And for your information" she mocked her "Your friends do worry about you. A lot. Do you have an idea how we felt when you left with no warning? Do you have an idea how I felt?"

Katherine shook her head.

"It felt awful" Bree went on "We were almost family, Katherine. In spite of the loony bin, in spite of firing you, I still see you as my best friend. I was so disappointed that it's not reciprocal"

Her listener ran a hand through her hair. She didn't seem touched by Bree's words.

"Well, it's hard to have such feelings for someone who let me down in the worst moments of my life. And it might have been easier to tell you about my trip with Robin if I hadn't seen the disgusted looks you gave us"

"I never looked at you like that!" Bree gasped.

"No, of course you didn't. You're Bree Van De Kamp-Hodge, Queen of Appearances! But guess what – I can see past that façade! Whenever you smiled and waved at us, I could see how uncomfortable you were to see me hand in hand with another woman"

"Sorry for not jumping of joy to see my best friend hanging out with a trashy stripper!" her voice had become slightly high-pitched, and her body was all tense "Especially knowing that she could do so much better…"

"You know what? Maybe I couldn't do better. Or I didn't want to. Maybe I'm just not like you and I don't care about everyone else's opinion when something makes me happy" a sigh escaped Katherine's mouth "Anyway, that doesn't matter anymore. Now she's gone. You might be delighted to know that Paris helped us find out that we were too different, so the relationship is over"

"Well, actually I am. I never felt she was the right one for you"

Katherine let out an angry chuckle. As she straightened up, she said:

"Oh god! You're just jealous! You can't bear seeing me happy while you're just becoming an old, embittered lady trapped in an unhappy marriage for the rest of her life. Well, maybe I don't want to work with someone like you after all. Maybe I don't even want to be friends with you"

Bree watched as she turned on her heels and left her office in the test kitchen. The sound of her shoes tapping against the floor was the only sound that filled that icy silence.

"Bree…"

Katherine's whisper brought her back to the real world. She glanced at her friend, whose skin had turned paler than usual.

"I just… w-wanted to say…" Katherine began, her voice cracking because of the pain "I'm s-sorry for all I… said to… you. I… I do c-care about you"

"It's fine, dear. Don't talk now…" Bree allowed herself to stroke over her neighbor's hair.

"No, I… if-f I d-don't… make it… I want you to know… I n-never stopped… caring for you. You're… still… my… best friend"

A smile played across Bree's face. She moved her hand from Katherine's hair to her cheek, caressing softly.

"I know. And don't worry about it anymore. It's all forgiven"

An agonizing sound came from Katherine's throat as she tried to speak again. Bree tried to stop her, but the other woman raised one blooded hand, asking her to let her continue.

"D-don't let me… die… on my own. Stay with me"

"I'd never leave you, honey" Bree said softly "And I won't let you die"

Out of the blue, her lips met Katherine's in a tender, desperate kiss. Probably the most sincere kiss she had ever given to anyone.

The End