It was a quiet night in Dallas. Katherine had just finished running a few last minute errands and was about to get back in her car to drive home.
That was when Katherine saw two familiar people heading in her direction on the sidewalk. Bobby and another man that Katherine recognized as Ray Krebbs, Bobby and JR's half brother, were both talking excitedly to each other.
"I can't believe we pulled that off!" Ray said with glee.
"Me neither! Boy, JR is gonna be mad as hell when-" Bobby quickly stopped talking as soon as he saw Katherine.
"Heey! Katherine, wanna come an' celluhbray with us!?" Bobby asked while slurring over his words.
That was when Katherine realized that Bobby and Ray had obviously been drinking. A lot. She couldn't help feeling a bit surprised by this. Getting drunk didn't seem like something Bobby that would do.
"Bobby, what is wrong with you!? You're drunk!" Katherine said in exasperation.
Bobby laughed. "No, no! We're not drunk! We're just enjoying a nice little victory!" He said in amusement.
"Yeah, what he said! Uh, wait. What did ya say again, Bob? I fergot!" Ray said carelessly.
Katherine chose to ignore Ray altogether.
"And just what are you celebrating, Bobby!?" Katherine demanded in frustration.
"Let's just say that JR is gonna be a lot more paranoid about airport security now!" Bobby said happily. He then paused for a moment.
"Oh, wait. I shouldn't be tellin' you this! Cuz you like him!" Bobby said in mock horror.
Katherine was shocked. Just what had made Bobby say that!? How did he even know that she was friends with JR? While it was true that she had never tried to be completely secretive about it, Katherine had also never told anyone either, and she didn't think that JR had told anyone. Since Dallas was a big city, Katherine hadn't thought that there was too much of a chance that someone she knew would see her and JR at a restaurant together. Clearly, she had been wrong.
"Look, I don't care what your reasons are for this! You need to go home and sleep this off!" Katherine said angrily.
"Yes, ma'am!" Bobby responded gleefully with a ridiculous salute.
"Yeah, we should go to Donna's! She'll probably have some nice coffee waitin' fer us!" Ray said.
Katherine didn't know Ray's wife, Donna. But now, she couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor woman.
"Great idea, Ray! Katherine, wanna come with us to Donna's fer some coffee?" Bobby asked stupidly.
"NO!" Katherine yelled in frustration.
It was then that Katherine noticed that one of the headlights on Ray's truck had been badly damaged.
"What is this!? I don't think that you should be driving right now. Why don't you wait while I call a cab?" Katherine asked.
"Nah, we'll be fine! That was just a little...fender bender." Bobby said.
Bobby and Ray exchanged a knowing look, and then they both burst out laughing before driving off. Katherine watched as the truck swerved dangerously to the left of the road for a second before disappearing around the corner. She wondered if she should have tried harder to get them a ride home. But at the same time, she just couldn't stand seeing Bobby act like that.
With a sinking heart, Katherine suddenly realized just how serious this situation was. Bobby had most likely done something that would severely hurt JR's chances of winning the contest for Ewing Oil. Katherine didn't know what it was, but she knew that she had to tell JR about this. Even though he probably already knew about it, Katherine felt that JR should still know that his own brothers had played a part in this scheme. What a mess! JR shouldn't have to go through all of this at all! Ewing Oil should have just been left to him! Katherine thought angrily.
It wasn't until the next evening when Katherine was finally able to tell JR about what had happened. They were both in the living room at Katherine's house. After Katherine had told JR about her encounter with Bobby and Ray last night, JR had then proceeded to tell her about everything that had been going with his side of Ewing Oil that had led up to this. Katherine wasn't shocked at all about JR's illegal activities. If he wanted to sell oil to another country, that was his business. Katherine trusted that JR knew what he was doing. He was smart enough to know how to get away with something like this without leaving any evidence that would point to him or Ewing Oil.
"-and that was all there was to it. But now, my dear little brother just screwed everything up for me!" JR finished angrily.
"I'm really sorry, JR. Is there no way for you to still profit from this deal?" Katherine asked.
"There is, but it's going to be a lot harder now. But never mind that. I still can't believe that Bobby had the nerve to behave that way in front of you! While I'm not surprised that that half-breed Ray would let you see him like that, I thought that Bobby was better than that! Doesn't he know how disgraceful it is to be intoxicated in front of a lady!?" JR said angrily.
"I was a little surprised, myself. But at least it's all over now." Katherine said.
"Maybe so, but you need to let me know if they ever bother you again like that." JR said darkly.
"Alright, I will." Katherine reassured JR just so that he would drop it.
"JR, please don't take this the wrong way, but I think that this contest is proving to be harder than you thought. And I think that you could use some help. If you'll let me, that is." Katherine said.
The idea had only just came to her last night. While it was true that seeing Bobby intoxicated last night hadn't changed Katherine's feelings for him, she still wanted to help JR win. After all, it would be better for Bobby to not get too involved in Ewing Oil. Last night had certainly proved that.
JR looked both surprised and touched. "You would really do that for me?" He asked quietly.
"Of course I would. You've helped me so much already, JR. And more than anything else, you're the reason I'm able to get through everything. I've wanted to do something to repay you for all of your kindness, and now I've finally found a way to do that. I want to help you." Katherine said softly.
JR looked a little shocked. "Well, when you put it that way, how can I say no? Thank you, Katherine. It means a lot to me. But how exactly do you plan on helping me win?" JR asked.
"Well, Bobby does drop by Pam's hotel suite every weekend. I may be able to find out what's going on with his end of the company if I ask the right questions. And a little eavesdropping doesn't hurt, either. And this sort of thing is even easier to pull off on Cliff. I bet that you would like that little bonus, too. Wouldn't you? And don't forget how big Wentworth Industries is, either. Since we also deal with oil companies, it's not too hard for us to find out about a lot of good deals. I can let you know whenever I hear about anything. I'm sure that you could find all of this information quite useful, JR." Katherine explained with a sly smile.
"You are a devious little lady, aren't you? And I like it." JR said approvingly.
Katherine couldn't help blushing. It had almost sounded like JR was trying to flirt with her. But surely, that couldn't be right. Could it? Katherine pushed that thought out of her head as quickly as she could.
"I'm glad that I can help. You won't be able to lose now that I'm on your side! But we should be more careful about where we meet for a while. If certain people were to see just how much we meet up in public, they might become suspicious." Katherine said.
Even though Katherine really believed that, she also had to admit to herself that she was afraid that Bobby wouldn't like her if he saw her spending so much time with another man. It was ridiculous, but she couldn't help it.
"That makes sense. I guess we'll just have to spend most of our time here for a while until all of this is over." JR agreed.
"You mean until we win, of course." Katherine said with a smile.
"Of course." JR replied with a smile that was identical to Katherine's.
That weekend, Katherine was at Pam's, waiting for Bobby to come pick up Christopher. Katherine hadn't spoken to Bobby ever since she had yelled at him for being drunk. Because of that, she actually wasn't looking forward to seeing him this time. But Katherine knew that no matter how awkward it was, she couldn't just abandon her mission to help JR.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Katherine reluctantly got up and went to the door. "Who is it?" She asked.
"It's me, Bobby." Bobby replied from behind the door. Katherine unlocked and opened the door for him.
"Hi, Katherine. I had to come pick up Christopher a little early this time. I hope Pam won't be upset. Where is she?" Bobby asked.
"I, uh, don't know." Katherine lied. She knew very well where Pam was. But Bobby would be hurt if he knew the truth.
"She's with Graison, isn't she!? It's okay, Katherine. You don't need to spare me the truth. I can take it." Bobby said.
Katherine noticed how much venom Bobby had in his voice when he asked about Mark.
"Yeah, she is. I'm sorry, Bobby. I'm sure it doesn't mean anything!" Katherine said.
"No, no. It's fine. I'd rather know. But listen, I'm glad we have a moment alone because I really need to apologize to you about the other night, Katherine. I shouldn't have let you see us like that. I was stupid, and I'm really sorry for saying all of that to you. I hope we didn't scare you. Can you forgive me?" Bobby said with feeling.
All of Katherine's uneasiness melted away. Bobby was obviously upset about what had happened. He was worried that he had hurt her. Bobby was still the same sweet and caring guy that Katherine had always known him to be.
"It's okay. I'm not mad at all, Bobby. I know that you were just excited. I was just a little surprised, that's all. I'm really sorry for yelling at you." Katherine said softly.
"Thanks. I'm glad that I didn't upset you." Bobby said.
Katherine hated to do it, but she had to ask Bobby about something he had said. It would bother her forever if she didn't.
"Bobby, I couldn't help wondering what you meant when you said something about JR and me?" Katherine asked hesitantly.
"Oh, that. Well, it's just that I've seen you guys a few times at some restaurants. And I saw you waiting for him at the office a couple of times, too. I thought that you and JR might be dating." Bobby answered casually.
Katherine was absolutely horrified. She was sure that she must have turned bright red.
"No, we're not dating!" Katherine answered a little too quickly.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to make any assumptions. It's just that JR has been acting a bit strangely, lately. And I thought that that would've explained it." Bobby said.
"JR is a good friend. My best friend, actually. He's been helping me cope with mama's death ever since I came back. He's not the monster that so many people seem to think he is. But, I only see your brother as a friend. After all, I know that he's divorced for a good reason. Probably a lot of them." Katherine explained.
Bobby looked surprised. "I do believe that JR is capable of kindness. And I'm really glad that you are friends. But you should know that he is doing some pretty reckless things right now. Things that could cost us Ewing Oil. So, please be careful. I wouldn't want to see you get hurt if he ends up getting in trouble." Bobby said.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. But Bobby, I'm worried. Just what is JR doing? I don't mean to pry, but if you told me more, then maybe I could convince him to stop." Katherine lied while feigning innocence. This was just what she needed to do in order to start getting the information she needed...
Later that night, Katherine found herself laying in bed, unable to sleep. She still couldn't believe that Bobby had thought that she and JR had been seeing each other. It was completely ridiculous.
But is it really that ridiculous? Katherine couldn't help wondering. JR was sweet, smart, and good-looking. Not to mention the fact that he also wasn't married. Katherine hated to admit it, but JR had done so much more for her than Bobby ever had, and he was still helping her even now. So, why shouldn't she want him?
But deep down, Katherine knew exactly why. It had been a long time ago, but Katherine still remembered it vividly. The time she had made the mistake of falling in love and trusting a man with a reputation for cheating and sleeping around. Katherine had foolishly believed that he had wanted to change, but it had all been a lie. Katherine did not ever want to relive that nightmare again. She now knew that having a relationship with a man that had done anything like that was a bad idea. That was why anything more than friendship with JR was out of the question.
Author's note: A lot of this chapter was based off of the season 6 episode, "The Sting". I sort of expanded on Bobby and Ray's "drunk scene". I hope you found it as funny as I did! It has come to my attention that a lot of my chapters are ridiculously long. If anyone is finding them too difficult to read, just let me know and I'll split them up. This would sort of go against my formula of switching back and forth between JR and Katherine's points of view, but I think it's more important that this is easier for everyone to read.
