JR stood in front of the mirror while he readjusted his tie. He was feeling uncharacteristically lost. JR usually felt better after spending some time in bed with a woman he had hired. But lately, it just didn't seem to be working for him anymore. It was true that JR was a man and that he had needs. But he also did this just so that he could actually have someone to talk to about his problems. Or at least, he used to.
"JR, have you been feeling alright lately? You hardly ever come to see me anymore, and when you do, we barely even talk to each other anymore. If there is something bothering you, you know that you can always talk to me about it, right? I care about you and your problems. So please, let me help you." The woman in the room said.
JR almost sighed in exasperation. "Yes Serena, I know that." He lied.
Serena, who had been one of JR's longtime "favorites", looked at him with what was supposed to be a concerned expression. But JR knew better. He knew very well that the only reason Serena, or any of the other women that he had hired, listened to him talk about his problems was because of the substantial amount of money that he paid them for this whole charade. These women didn't really care about JR or his problems at all. The funny thing was that for a long time, JR hadn't really cared whether they actually did show any real concern for him or not. But after he had sort of become friends with Sue Ellen this year, JR realized just how much he wanted that. Unfortunately though, there was only so much time (if any) that he could spend talking to his ex-wife. After all, Sue Ellen was now remarried and had a life of her own.
The truth was that JR had never really been comfortable with having a serious talk with anyone before. He had always been afraid that other people might see it as a weakness. Or that they just wouldn't understand him. The latter was certainly true when it came to his own family. For reasons that JR never understood, his own mother had pretty much cut herself off emotionally from him for as long as he could remember. Maybe that was why JR had always been afraid of opening up to others. Either way, JR's way of thinking was just too different from the rest of his family.
Aside from Sue Ellen, there was no one that JR could really talk to. But now that JR really thought about it, he realized that maybe that wasn't entirely true. Just two days ago, JR had talked with Katherine about how he felt about his father's death. This was something he had never been able to discuss with anyone else before. But somehow it had been easy to tell Katherine about it. She had been understanding and sympathetic. It had also surprised JR that Katherine had actually asked him for advice about how to cope with her own loss. JR wasn't even sure if anyone else had ever come to him to ask for his advice at all.
Katherine seemed almost completely different when compared to how she had acted around JR last year. She had been polite then, but Katherine hadn't seemed to have any interest in getting to know JR or in talking about herself at all. It had all been strictly business then. But now, Katherine was kind to him. She had even stood up for JR against people that cared about her. JR was more than a little embarrassed that he had had to be defended by a woman. He had felt too guilty to even attempt to argue for himself. What could he have even said? JR had felt weak and powerless then. He hated feeling that way. After all, he was JR Ewing. Nobody was supposed to be able to get the better of him!
Rebecca's funeral had turned out to be even worse than JR had imagined. Everyone had given him angry looks and then whispered furiously to each other. To make things even worse, Katherine hadn't even been able to finish her speech for Rebecca. When she was only about halfway through, Katherine had burst into tears which caused her to have to leave the room. It had been an absolutely horrible day for JR, and he wasn't even sure if going to the funeral had helped him to feel less guilty or not.
Now JR was here, with this stupid woman in her stupid lingerie, even though it probably wouldn't even have mattered to her if he happened to die tomorrow. JR couldn't believe that he had ever actually used to find this sort of thing exciting. Even with different women, it was always the same old thing. The flirtatious smiles, the praise, and the fake sympathy as well. It was all so phony. It was true that JR needed to sleep with women in order to satisfy his urges. But now, JR felt like he wanted to avoid having to do that for as long as he could just so that he wouldn't have to put up with the social part of the process.
"I really hope that you'll feel better soon, JR. I've really missed you." Serena said in her fake, sugary tone.
To further prove to himself about what Serena really cared about, JR purposely started to walk out of the room.
"Excuse me! I would like my payment now, please!" Serena whined angrily.
"Oh, right. Sorry about that. Here." JR quickly set some money on the top of the dresser. He then hurried out of Serena's place as quickly as he could.
Later that morning, JR returned to Southfork. When he went into the dining room, JR was surprised to find Bobby sitting at the table by himself. He wasn't actually doing anything, just sitting.
"Hey Bobby, what are you doing just sitting here all by yourself on a beautiful day like this? Trouble in paradise?" JR asked with a smirk.
"Pam is gone." Bobby answered simply.
"Gone!?" JR asked in surprise. Maybe it was just because he had had death on his mind too much lately, but JR couldn't help thinking that maybe another accident had occurred.
"She took Christopher with her and left this morning. They're staying at the Fairview Hotel right now." Bobby explained.
"Hmph! I knew that this would happen sooner or later. It's no surprise that she let you down when you needed her the most! Well, cheer up Bob! I'm sure that you can find a woman who is much more supportive than that!" JR said carelessly.
"Pam hasn't really left me, JR! She just wants some time alone to think about things! Besides, with all the time I've spent on this contest instead of with her and Christopher, she has every right to be upset with me! But it's not like I can just quit! Oh, I don't know what to do!" Bobby said helplessly.
While JR could understand why Bobby felt guilty, he was still irritated with Pam. It wasn't like Bobby had acted like JR had during his own marriage, and the contest wouldn't last forever, anyway. It was just like that Barnes woman to pull something like this!
"Well, it's not like this hasn't happened before. So if it's any consolation to you at all, I'm sure that she'll come back again this time too." JR said grudgingly.
"I hope you are right, JR. Heh, I never thought that I would end up saying that!" Bobby said humorlessly.
After it became clear that Bobby wanted to be alone so that he could continue to stare at his hands, JR went upstairs.
JR paused when he passed by the guest room where Katherine was staying. He could hear Katherine talking on the phone."Yes. For a one-way flight to New York City." Katherine was saying.
After hearing that, JR was surprised that he had forgotten that Katherine actually did still live in New York. And now, she would be leaving soon. JR was surprised when he realized just how much he didn't want Katherine to leave again. They hadn't spent a lot of time together, but JR had really enjoyed talking to Katherine. She was friendly and easy to talk with. Katherine didn't seem to see him as "JR Ewing". She had treated him like a regular person. This was what JR had really wanted all this time. A real friend. He had to try to talk Katherine into staying while there was still time!
After waiting a few minutes, JR nervously knocked on the guest room door. "Come in." Katherine answered.
JR opened the door. From the looks of things, it seemed like Katherine had been in the middle of packing her things. Her suitcase lay open on the bed with a few articles of clothing folded neatly inside of it. The closet door was also open.
"Oh, um, hi. You caught me in the middle of my packing." Katherine said sheepishly.
"Are you really leaving already? It seems like you just got here." JR said.
"Well, now that Pam's not here, I really can't be here anymore. And I had already planned to go back to New York after the will-reading tomorrow, anyway." Katherine explained.
"Oh. Well, it's just that it's been nice for me to have someone I can actually talk to. I wish that you would stay." JR admitted shyly. What was wrong with him? He never got this nervous in front of a woman!
Katherine smiled shyly at JR. "You want me to stay. I didn't know that you enjoyed my company that much, JR!" She said in amusement.
"Well, yeah. I do. You're very easy to talk to Katherine. And you've been much more understanding about what happened than anyone else has. Despite what has been going on, I've liked having you around." JR admitted.
Katherine looked surprised for a moment. She then seemed to be thinking very hard about something.
"Thank you, JR. That's really nice of you. It's not that I would hate living here, but my work is back in New York." Katherine said.
"Couldn't you find something here again like you did last time?" JR asked curiously.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. Someone at the TV studio had to take over my position after I left since I didn't plan on returning. And the only reason that I got that job in the first place was because mama talked them into giving me an interview." Katherine explained.
JR was starting to get desperate. "Well, don't you think it might be better for you to take a break after all of this? I mean, you already have enough money, and it might be better if you took it easy for a while instead of just jumping right back into work." JR said.
Katherine thought for a minute before answering. "You have a point. It's not like I have a serious career back in New York, anyway. It's mostly just fill-in jobs." Katherine paused briefly before finishing. "And it's embarrassing to admit this, but I haven't made any actual friends while I've lived there. Especially not any friends who would try to talk me into staying like you are right now." She admitted.
"Wait, you mean that you actually consider me a friend?" JR asked in disbelief.
"Yes, I really do. You have been really kind and supportive to me ever since I've come back, JR. I think that having a good friend is probably what I need more than anything else right now. So... you've convinced me. I'll stay." Katherine said.
JR couldn't help smiling. "I'm really glad that you're staying now, Katherine. I feel like I really need a good friend, too. So I'll be happy to talk with you anytime you want. I'm glad that we're friends now." JR said. He then looked around the room. "Well, now that you're staying, there really is no need for you to finish packing anymore!" JR said excitedly.
Katherine laughed. "Sorry, JR. But even though I'm staying now, that doesn't mean that I can still keep living at Southfork!" She said in amusement.
"Actually, you probably could! I think that mama would let you if you asked her!" JR said with a laugh.
"Well, even if I could, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it. Especially while Pam is gone." Katherine said.
JR decided to not push it. He could understand why Katherine would feel that way. As it was, he was more than happy enough already that Katherine was staying in Dallas at all.
"I understand. But where will you go right now?" JR asked.
"Well, for now I'll be staying at the Fairview since Pam's there, but I'm going to start looking for a house after tomorrow." Katherine said.
"Great! I'll be looking forward to hearing how that turns out. But you do still have to cancel that flight you just booked. And you should know that I'm going to watch you just to make sure that you actually do it!" JR said teasingly.
Katherine laughed. "Don't worry, I didn't forget! You can watch while I do it right now!" She said.
Later that day, JR was sitting outside on the patio, lost in thought. True to her word, Katherine had cancelled her flight to New York. Before she had left for the Fairview, JR had given his own phone number that was separate from the main line at Southfork. Plus, she already had the number for his office at Ewing Oil. Katherine had promised to give him the number for her room at the hotel tomorrow, as well as a house number after she managed to buy one.
JR still couldn't believe everything that had happened. He was happy to have a real friend now, but it was more than just that. JR was shocked at how relieved and happy he felt after Katherine had agreed to stay. He still felt that way, too. JR didn't think that it would affect him this much. What was happening to him?
Author's note: I would like to thank all of the visitors who have viewed this story! Also, a big thanks to djinn djinn and UK Dallas fan for their lovely reviews! I know that it probably seemed like I wrote a lot of build-up for the funeral, but I decided not to write a chapter about it because it was hard for me to visualize since it wasn't actually in the show. Plus, I just didn't feel like it was really necessary to include it.
