Katherine was absolutely miserable. After her argument with JR, she hadn't been able to sleep. Every time she had closed her eyes, Katherine kept seeing the look on JR's face when he saw her with Bobby. That sad, devastated expression seemed to be completely burned into her brain. So now, at about four in the morning, Katherine had finally given up on sleep altogether and was downstairs in her kitchen having an early breakfast.
Katherine still couldn't believe how stupid she had been to think that JR wouldn't have found out about her helping Bobby. While it was true that she was still hurt about JR not telling her that he had gone to Cuba, that seemed like nothing in comparison to what she had done to him. JR had been so happy and amazed to have someone on his side for once. How could Katherine even consider crushing his hopes like that!? It was beyond cruel. Especially because JR was the only person who had always understood and supported Katherine when it came to her owning Wentworth. JR was the one who had made it possible for Katherine to have everything she did now, and this was how she had repaid him!?
Katherine didn't want to do it, but she knew that the only possible way for her to fix things things with JR was by going back on her deal with Bobby and not letting him have the Tundra Torque. The official paperwork hadn't been signed yet, so there was still time for her to make things right again. Katherine hated herself for what she was going to do to Bobby. Especially after how Bobby had poured his heart out to her about how he felt about himself in comparison to JR. But Katherine just couldn't handle feeling like this anymore. She missed JR too much. Katherine didn't to want risk losing her friendship with JR just so that she might get a chance to be with Bobby. It just wasn't worth it. Because in the end, JR was the one who had been there for her when she had needed a friend. Not Bobby.
Later that day, Katherine met with Bobby at her office so that she could tell him about her decision. To say that she was nervous was putting it mildly. Bobby was not going to be happy about this...
"Hi, Katherine! Where are the papers? I can't wait to get started on those fields! I really can't thank you enough for this!" Bobby said enthusiastically.
"Um, about that... Bobby, I don't know how to tell you this, but...I'm afraid that I won't be able to give you those papers." Katherine admitted nervously.
Bobby looked confused. "Katherine, what do you mean? I thought that you said that everything would be ready by today!" Bobby said.
"That was the original plan, but things happened, and I can't do it anymore. I'm really sorry, Bobby!" Katherine said with emotion.
"What do you mean "things happened"? Wait a minute. Did JR find out about this?" Bobby asked.
Katherine thought about lying. It would be so easy to say that she had lost the papers, or that the drill wasn't ready for testing. But somehow, she knew that Bobby wouldn't buy anything like that. Katherine's expression must have already given her away.
"Yes, he did. And he's very hurt about it. Even though I explained that I didn't do it to help you win the contest, JR just doesn't see it that way." Katherine explained.
Bobby paused for a minute before answering. "Katherine, you shouldn't let JR pressure you into cancelling our deal. Look, if he's forcing you to do this then I can-" Bobby started to say before Katherine interrupted him.
"JR's not forcing me to do anything! And nobody else can, either! I make my own decisions!" Katherine said a bit more sharply than she intended to.
"Well, then I wish that you had decided this before you promised to help me! I already told the McLeish brothers that we were going to be able to start drilling!" Bobby said angrily.
Katherine calmed herself down before replying. "Look Bobby, I'm really sorry about what I've put you through. You have every right to be angry with me. I wish that I had never even done this in the first place. It's unprofessional, and it's wrong. But I just can't stand to see JR this way! He's my best friend, and because of me, he's miserable right now! I have to make things right again! It isn't worth losing my friendship with him for a business deal!" Katherine said.
Bobby looked a bit subdued. "You really care about him, don't you?" He asked quietly.
Katherine blushed a little. "Yes, I really do. I've never really had any real friends before him. And you. That's why I'm hoping that you can find it in your heart to give me a second chance at being your friend, too. I never wanted to hurt either of you, but somehow everything just got out of control. I'm really sorry, Bobby. Can we still be friends?" Katherine begged.
"I think it's pretty obvious that your intentions are good, and that you only want to do the right thing here. I can't fault anyone for that. We can still be friends, Katherine. But I don't think that we should try to do business together anymore." Bobby said.
"I understand. Thank you for giving me a second chance, Bobby. Even though I don't deserve it. You really are a good man." Katherine said softly.
"I'm not sure that I can agree with that these days, but thank you. I just hope that JR realizes how lucky he is to have someone like you in his life." Bobby said.
An hour later, Katherine was back in JR's office again. She was amazed that JR had even agreed to see her again after his reaction last night. Katherine could only hope that he would find it in his heart to forgive her now that she had ended the deal with Bobby.
"What do you want, Katherine? I'm really busy, so make it quick." JR said without emotion.
"I want you to know that I met with Bobby earlier today and ended the deal. I'm not giving him the drill. I even brought the paperwork with me." Katherine said quietly. She then placed the papers on JR's desk so that he could see them.
JR looked surprised, but he didn't say anything, either.
Katherine continued. "I feel absolutely horrible about what I did to you, JR! I haven't been able to sleep ever since this happened! I never should have done anything to help Bobby at all! You are the one who has always been helping me. Whether it's being my friend or business, you have been nothing but kind to me. Much more than Bobby has. What I did to you was wrong, and you don't deserve that after everything you've done for me. Even though I felt sorry for Bobby, I know that your friendship is more important to me than anything else. That is why I am begging you to give me a second chance! I promise that I will never do anything like that to you ever again! I just want us to go back to the way things were before! Please!?" Katherine begged with tears in her eyes. She didn't know what she would do without JR in her life.
JR's expression softened a bit. "It's true that I was really hurt when I found out that you were helping Bobby. I still am. But I also have to admit that I've been a bit irrational about all of this. After all, I wasn't honest with you about my trip to Cuba, and that was wrong. I'm really sorry about that. But part of it is also because I've been jealous about you being friends with Bobby. I feel like I'm afraid that you'll just decide that you would rather spend time with him than me. I guess that I just want you all to myself." JR admitted with a soft chuckle.
Katherine blushed. Whenever JR said things like this, she couldn't tell if he was just joking, or if his words actually meant something more. JR couldn't possibly be thinking of her as anything more than a friend. It just didn't make sense. Men with a history like him only wanted to sleep with women when it came to something besides friendship. Katherine's past experiences had taught her that better than anything. She brushed those thoughts off for the moment.
"So, does this mean that you'll forgive me?" Katherine asked hopefully.
JR hesitated before answering. "Yes, it does. I don't want to see you upset. And it means a lot to me that you ended the deal. But I just want you to know that I'm still hurt over this. Ever since you've become my friend, and even more since you've been helping me with the contest, I've been afraid that all of this is just too good to be true. No has ever been as supportive and understanding to me as you have. That made what you did ten times worse. I felt like I had been stupid for ever deciding to trust someone again." JR admitted sadly.
"JR, just why is it so hard for you to believe that someone can a true friend to you? Did something happen to you in the past? I want to understand, so please tell me." Katherine said.
"I... It's difficult to explain, but my childhood wasn't exactly a happy one." JR admitted.
Katherine was surprised to hear this. She knew that JR was different from the rest of the Ewing family, and that those differences sometimes caused conflict. But she never would have guessed that JR had been unhappy as a child. Katherine had always believed that the Ewings had a warm family atmosphere at Southfork, but apparently that hadn't been exactly true for JR. Maybe it never had been at all for him.
"I'm sorry, JR. I had no idea. Do you want to talk about it at all?" Katherine asked softly.
"It's too long a story for right now, but I promise that I'll tell you everything eventually. After all, we have plenty of time to talk now that we're friends again, don't we?" JR asked with a smile.
Katherine laughed. "We most certainly do! I'm so glad that we're friends again! And...I promise that I'll never hurt you again, JR." She said with conviction.
JR smiled softly at Katherine. "I promise, too." He said with just as much conviction.
Katherine was immensely relieved and happy. She was back where she belonged. Because more than anything else, JR made Dallas feel like home to her. She wouldn't do anything to risk losing him ever again.
Author's note: I know that it seems like it is taking a long time for JR and Katherine to really get together here, but I promise that it will happen eventually. I've started to write more chapters at once when they are connected to each other like this one and the previous two are. This will make it easier for me to get to the good stuff sooner! lol! The reason why it is taking longer than it probably would in other stories is because I want the relationship to develop in a realistic way. To me, both JR and Katherine are very vulnerable characters who have a hard time trusting and opening up completely to other people, and I really wanted to show that in this story. Thanks for reading!