Katherine Wentworth sat by herself on the sofa in the living room at Southfork. It was late now and she knew that she should probably try to get some sleep, but she just couldn't. Katherine was afraid to go to sleep because she knew that she would only then have to wake up later and realize that what had happened today was not just some horrible nightmare.

Her mother was dead. Gone forever, just like her father. It had felt like she had only just begun to accept his death. Or maybe Katherine had never even really been able to completely comprehend Herbert's death until her mother was also gone.

Just last night, Katherine had been sound asleep in her apartment back in New York when she had been woken up by the phone call that had caused her whole world to crumble even further until it had completely broken apart. Bobby Ewing had called Katherine to tell her that Rebecca had been in a serious accident and that she might not survive. As soon as the call had ended, Katherine had immediately rushed to the airport and took the quickest flight that she could find to Dallas.

Even though Katherine had been trying to mentally prepare herself for the worst possible outcome during the whole flight, it seemed that a tiny part of herself had still been holding on to hope. She had thought that maybe, just maybe, her mother would be alright and would somehow make it out of this alive. That was probably why she was completely unprepared for Bobby's news when he came to pick her up at the airport in Texas. As soon as Katherine saw Bobby, he simply shook his head sadly at her. That one simple gesture had signaled the beginning of the end for Katherine. She had then collapsed down on her knees, sobbing and screaming, while Bobby had attempted to comfort her. They hadn't talked at all during the drive back to Southfork, and that had suited Katherine just fine.

The next few hours had been a blur to Katherine. She vaguely remembered Bobby's mother, Miss Ellie, giving her a hug. Then, Miss Ellie and her granddaughter Lucy had kept saying things like "I'm so sorry!" and "Can I get you anything?" to Katherine. Can you get me anything? No, you can't. Not unless you can bring back the dead, that is. Katherine had thought to herself grimly.

Once Katherine was inside the house, she had then been reunited with her half-sister Pamela for the first time in almost a year. (Katherine had no idea where her half-brother, Cliff, was, or if he had even heard the news about Rebecca's death at all.) It was clear that Pam was upset over Rebecca's death. What Katherine didn't understand was how Pam could blame it on JR Ewing and the so-called "Barnes-Ewing feud". If anything, it seemed to be more of a "Cliff and JR feud" than anything else.

Now, when Katherine finally had a moment alone to think, she really started to regret her decision to move back to New York after her brief stay in Dallas when Rebecca had moved back there again last year to be near Pam and Cliff again. If Katherine had known that she was going to lose her mother so soon, she would've never moved back to New York again! She could have at least spent a little more time with her before she had died! Or maybe Katherine could have even found a way to make Rebecca see how stupid her idea of revenge against the Ewings really was! Then this never would've happened!

Katherine still vividly remembered the time two years ago when Rebecca had first told her the truth about her past. It was still impossible for Katherine to comprehend that her mother had once had a whole different life and that her first marriage hadn't been to Herbert. Rebecca's first husband, (and Cliff's father) Digger Barnes, had been a violent drunk who had pretty much made her life a living hell. Apparently, that had been why Rebecca had ended up having an affair with a ranch hand named Hutch Mckinney, who had turned out to be Pam's father. Katherine just couldn't believe that her own mother had gotten herself into such a mess. Rebecca had always seemed so strong and in control to Katherine. This whole story just sounded like a bad soap opera; and just what kind of names were Digger and Hutch, anyway!?

What had hurt Katherine the most was that after her father's death, Rebecca had simply packed up and moved to Dallas. It had turned out that Pam had found Rebecca again not long before Herbert's death. The sad truth of the matter was that Rebecca would have never tried to make any sort of contact at all with her first two children if Herbert hadn't died first. But the fact that the move had happened so quickly was what really unnerved Katherine. Why couldn't her mother have at least stayed with her in New York for a little while first? Did it not occur to her that Katherine had needed her for emotional support while she was still grieving over her father!? Katherine would have even been willing to move back in with Rebecca to their old house in Houston if she had asked her to! But instead, Rebecca had simply sold the home that they had all lived in together for years as if it had meant nothing to her and then immediately left for Dallas. Katherine had felt as if it had been her turn to be the one who was abandoned.

Last year, Katherine had tried living in Dallas herself since it had seemed like that was the only way that she would ever get to see her mother again. Rebecca had set Katherine up with a job as a field reporter for the local news station. The job was fun and had decent pay. It was a lot easier than the countless time Katherine had spent in New York either filling in for reporters who were on vacation, or desperately trying to find a newspaper or magazine that would include a space for one of her stories in it. Being a journalist in New York City had not been nearly as glamorous and exciting as Katherine had originally thought it would be.

The hardest part for Katherine had been (and still was) adjusting to her new siblings. Pam was nice. Maybe a bit of a goody-two-shoes type, but she was easy enough to get along with. But Cliff was a different story altogether. He was obnoxious, annoying, and seemed to have no real interest in getting to know Katherine better. To make matters worse, Rebecca had simply given him Wentworth Tool and Dye! It was completely unfair! Katherine had been the one who had studied and learned about the family business for years, not Cliff. Cliff did not love the company at all. He had simply wanted to use it as a weapon against JR. Cliff had never even asked Katherine if she had been okay with him taking something that meant so much to her and her father. He had been unwilling to even listen to any of her own ideas about running the company. Cliff had also loved to openly gloat about it to Katherine whenever he could. He had never once stopped to consider how hard all of this was for Katherine.

The truth was that unlike Herbert, Rebecca had never wanted to pass down the family business to Katherine. It had been one of the few disagreements that Katherine's parents had ever had. That was why the ownership of the company had been left to Rebecca in Herbert's will. Rebecca had always claimed that the business world was no place for a lady. While she hadn't had any problems with Katherine's career in journalism, Rebecca had always wanted Katherine to eventually get married and settle down with a family of her own. What a joke that was turning out to be.

Aside from how hard it was for Katherine to adjust to her new family, there was another reason why she had not been able to handle living in Dallas anymore. Last year, Katherine had finally met the man of her dreams. The problem was that this man, Bobby Ewing, also happened to be her sister's husband.

Katherine always had problems with men. It was always the same thing. She would meet a man who seemed nice, he would go on a few dates with her, and then ultimately end up dumping her just because she hadn't been ready to sleep with him. Katherine didn't know what she was doing wrong. Even though she always tried to be nice, for some reason it seemed like men just didn't like her enough to try to see beyond her looks.

But Bobby was different. When they had first met last year, he had been sweet and kind. He had a sort of casual innocence to him that Katherine loved. Bobby hadn't acted like he was trying to impress Katherine like other men had when they would brag about their jobs and salaries to her. He also didn't look at her in that creepy, appraising way like so many other men did. Bobby had not once complimented Katherine about her looks. While other women may have hated that, Katherine found it a refreshing change. It seemed like Bobby had somehow understood that she wanted someone to see her for who she was on the inside.

Meeting Bobby and dancing with him at his family's annual barbecue had felt like a magical moment to Katherine. But she had known that the magic couldn't last. Katherine could tell that Bobby loved Pam with all his heart. He would never leave her for another woman. Especially if that woman was also his wife's sister. It hurt Katherine to know that she could never be with the one man that was perfect for her.

Of course, Rebecca had been absolutely delighted that Pam had found such a wonderful husband. Rebecca had also been ecstatic about Cliff's new girlfriend, Afton Cooper. While Katherine had understood why Rebecca had liked Bobby, she couldn't understand her fascination with Afton. Katherine had found it quite suspicious that Afton had suddenly been interested in Cliff right after Rebecca had given him Wentworth Tool and Dye. Money had to have been Afton's motivation for having a relationship with Cliff since Katherine did not believe that her brother possessed any actual redeeming qualities.

Seeing how happy her mother was about Bobby and Afton had only made Katherine feel even more depressed. Katherine was afraid that Rebecca had probably thought that there was something wrong with her because she had been unable to find someone for herself. Katherine had even imagined Rebecca thinking to herself: My poor, loser daughter. What is wrong with her? Why can't she find someone special, too?

Eventually, the whole situation in Dallas had just become too much for Katherine. She had felt like her mother was moving into a different world, away from her. Not to mention that there was no way that Katherine would have ever confessed to Rebecca how she really felt about Bobby.

So Katherine had ended up leaving. She had told Rebecca that it was because she wasn't completely satisfied with her career, but that had been a lie. I just need some time away to try to come to terms with all of this. She had thought to herself back then. Katherine had thought that maybe things would not seem so bad if she could find a way to make New York feel more like home. Maybe meet some new friends or find a hobby to distract herself. But it had never happened. Katherine only felt more alone than ever now that she had lost her mother.

It did not help that all of Katherine's old feelings for Bobby had resurfaced after she had come back today. Even while all of her grief had been overwhelming her, Katherine had still managed to feel it. When Bobby had held Katherine and tried to comfort her, she had felt that same warmth and security that she had before. It felt like Bobby somehow always made everything seem better. But having feelings like that would ultimately only make things harder for Katherine. She would have to hurry and go back to New York as soon as she could just to escape them.

Katherine didn't know how long she had been sitting there, lost in her own thoughts. So she was a bit startled when she heard someone behind her call her name. "Katherine?" The voice cautiously questioned her. Katherine turned around and was surprised to see JR standing there. With everything that had happened today, Katherine had actually sort of forgot that he lived at Southfork, too.

When Katherine didn't answer him, JR continued to speak anyway. "I heard about what happened to your mother today. I am so sorry. Maybe you don't know this yet, but the real reason why she died was because she was trying to close a deal before I could. If I had never been interested in it, she would still be alive right now. It is all my fault and I am so sorry! This has hurt you more than anyone else, and it is not fair that you have to suffer because of my mistakes." JR said.

It was then that Katherine was finally able to respond back to JR. "JR, I don't know why you would ever believe that this is somehow your fault. You had no idea that mama would try to buy that refinery, or that her plane would crash. You never tried to hurt her. You were just making a business deal like you always do. You need to get it out of your head that you have somehow caused this! I don't blame you for anything, and I don't want you to believe anyone who would try to blame you!" She said.

JR looked a little bit relieved after hearing Katherine say all of that, but he still looked sad. He then answered back. "That is very kind of you to say that, Katherine. It is more than I deserve. But I don't think that I am ready to try to forgive myself for this just yet. I just want you to know that if you ever need to talk to someone about this, I am here. I am also willing to do anything I can for you to try to make up for this. All you have to do is ask me." JR said.

"You'll do anything to make up for this!? Now that is a laugh!" A new voice replied with a bitter edge to it.

Katherine and JR both turned around in surprise. Pam was standing there with an expression of fury on her face. She then continued to talk. "If you are really sorry about mama's death, then why don't you end this damn contest before you end up killing anyone else, JR!?" Pam yelled. JR looked like he had been slapped in the face.

"Pam, please stop this! JR didn't do anything wrong, and he feels really bad about this!" Katherine pleaded.

Pam turned back to her sister. "You shouldn't believe anything he has told you, Katherine! It's all lies!" Pam said angrily.

JR then interrupted Pam. "That is not true! You can't possibly know how I feel about all of this!" He said.

Pam then turned her attention back to JR again. "I would say that you are telling Katherine all of this just so that you can feel less guilty, but that wouldn't make sense since you don't actually have a conscience! Just stay away from my sister, JR!" Pam yelled.

Katherine tried to get Pam to calm down. "Pam, it really is-" She started to say.

"Katherine, enough! We're leaving now!" Pam angrily interrupted her.

Katherine thought about arguing further with Pam, but her expression looked so dangerous then that she decided that it would be safer not to push things. In that moment, with her eyes widened in anger, Pam looked startlingly similar to how Rebecca did when she had gotten angry.

Katherine barely had time to glance back at JR, who now looked more miserable than ever, before Pam had grabbed her hand and angrily led her back to the guest room.

Once the door was shut behind them, Katherine spoke calmly to Pam."I really wish that you hadn't said all of that to JR. Even if what he said really wasn't the truth, it doesn't help anybody when blame is thrown around like that." She said quietly.

Pam looked a bit subdued. She then replied to Katherine. "I know that I reacted a bit too harshly. But you need to understand that I was really only trying to protect you, Katherine. I've known JR for years. He can be a very good liar when he needs to be. I don't know what it is exactly, but I know that he is hoping to get something from you by making you believe that he actually feels guilty about this. So whether you believe me or not, I am asking you to please be careful, Katherine." Pam said.

Even though Katherine did not agree with everything that Pam had told her, she decided to just play along with her. "Don't worry, I will. Anyway, it's been a long day and I should try to get some sleep now. So I'll say goodnight now, Pam." Katherine said.

"It most certainly has been a long day... So I guess I'll say goodnight, too. Let me know if you need anything, though. Goodnight Katherine." Pam said. She then left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Katherine knew that Pam had only been trying to look out for her, but she just couldn't agree with her about JR. It was true that Katherine had thought that the way that JR had looked at her sometimes last year was downright scary. He had also complimented Katherine with words like "beautiful" and "lovely" a bit too excessively, in her opinion. But JR had never tried to push Katherine into anything. He had saved Wentworth Tool and Dye from Cliff. JR had even been kind enough to pay back the cost of the money that Cliff had embezzled from the company. Katherine had no reason to hate JR.

What was startling to Katherine now was that the JR she had met last year bore no resemblance at all to the sad, defeated man she had just talked with back in the living room. Katherine couldn't help but wonder if there was actually more to JR than she had first believed...