It was a regular day at the office for JR. But after last night's events, he found himself having a difficult time concentrating on his work. Even though JR had thought that he had prepared himself for it, Katherine's rejection had still managed to leave him completely heartbroken. There was also the fact that he wasn't used to women turning him down. JR mostly blamed Bobby for this situation. His brother always had to pull his stupid Prince Charming routine on women and lead them on into thinking that he was the only man in the world who was capable of giving them a happy fairy tale life. The worst part was that Bobby didn't even need to try. It made JR sick. Well, this time he pulled his act on the wrong woman! JR thought to himself furiously.

JR knew that Bobby wasn't the only reason for Katherine's rejection. After all of the time he had spent with her, JR could tell from the way that Katherine reacted to some topics that she had probably been hurt badly by someone before. She also had probably had to deal with more than enough losers who just wanted to sleep with her or use her for her money. It made JR cringe to remember that he himself had once been one of those losers. But now, after falling in love with her, JR could not fathom how all of those other men hadn't felt the same way that he did about Katherine. Or how they hadn't even had any interest in having a normal relationship with her. JR supposed that he should feel grateful that they hadn't, since that would have meant that he probably never would have even met Katherine. But it still made him angry. Katherine was sweet, kind, intelligent, and amazingly beautiful. She was also incredibly talented. Katherine ran a successful business and had also been a successful journalist in Dallas. JR didn't see how any man could NOT fall for her. After so many unpleasant situations, Katherine had most likely become too afraid of trusting any man that didn't have a record that was completely perfect. That was most likely why she was so drawn to Bobby. His reputation spoke for him.

JR wasn't ready to give up on Katherine, though. After he had spent hours feeling sorry for himself while having a few drinks, JR had finally been able to really analyze the whole situation. After all, JR liked to solve his problems; not give in to them. He believed that there was a possibility that Katherine felt the same way as he did about her. The way she reacted to his subtle flirtation spoke volumes. JR had been around enough women to recognize the signs of a woman in love. While it was true that JR had a harder time deciphering Katherine than any other woman he had met, he still believed that he was probably right about her. When push came to shove, Katherine had ultimately chosen to help him over Bobby. But more than anything else, JR had never experienced this level of kindness and concern from a woman since the early part of his marriage with Sue Ellen. Every other woman that had been interested in JR had only wanted him for sex or money. Even though he wasn't broken like Katherine, he could still understand how frustrating it was to be valued for all of the wrong things.

The real problem for JR would be convincing Katherine to give him a chance to show her that they really did belong together. This whole situation was completely different from when he had been trying to win Sue Ellen over all of those years ago. Back then, it had been easy. They had both had an immediate attraction to each other as soon as they had first seen each other. Things with him and Katherine were different. It hadn't been love at first sight for either of them. It had taken some time for JR to fall in love with her, and he wasn't completely sure if Katherine ever could feel the same way that he did. She was afraid to trust him. There was also the fact that JR had no real experience in this area when it came to dealing with wealthy women. Somehow, he knew that he wouldn't be able to charm Katherine with flowers, gifts, and a few trips to some fancy restaurants. This was a woman who had grown up having the best of everything and still had all of it now as well. JR would have to get creative. It would be challenging, but JR believed that he could have a chance with Katherine. Because more than anything else, he believed that they could be happy together.

The intercom buzzed; interrupting JR from his thoughts. "JR, Katherine Wentworth is here to see you." Sly said.

JR immediately became more alert. Maybe Katherine had changed her mind and was ready to give him a chance! Before JR could indulge too much into the fantasy that was playing out in his mind, he answered Sly. "Alright, tell her that she can come in." He said.

Katherine tentatively stepped into the office and shut the door behind her. JR noticed that once again, Katherine looked as if she had barely slept at all. It didn't matter how much she tried to conceal it with make-up; JR could tell whenever Katherine had been upset. It made him feel guilty this time, though. JR loved her and didn't want to cause her any pain. But he hadn't known that his confession would have affected her like this.

For a moment, it seemed like neither of them knew what to say. After about a minute had passed, JR decided to speak first. "Hi. I guess I didn't expect to see you again so soon after last night. But I'm glad that you're here." JR said carefully.

"Well, it wasn't exactly easy after the way we left things last night. But it's important that we talk now, JR." Katherine said.

"Okay. Why don't we sit down?" JR asked.

Katherine nodded briefly and then sat down on the sofa on the other side of the room. She looked a bit apprehensive when JR sat down next to her.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Katherine?" JR asked.

"First of all, I want apologize again for what I told you last night. I know that I hurt you, and even though I still stand by my decision, I feel bad about how it made you feel." Katherine said.

"Katherine, I'm not mad at you. Even though I don't agree with your decision, I do understand that this is not easy for you." JR said.

"I never thought that you would ever tell me what you said last night. I thought that you only saw me as your friend. So I was completely shocked." Katherine explained. She paused for a moment before continuing. "But the thing is...despite how awkward things have become between us, I still want us to be able to go on being friends. I don't expect it to happen immediately because I know that this is hard for you, JR. But I don't want us to stop being friends just because we don't agree with each other about having a relationship. We can still support and be there for each other just like we did before. Because you are still a very important person in my life, JR. And I don't want this to ruin our friendship." Katherine said.

JR mentally cursed to himself. He should have known that Katherine would say something like this. But he wouldn't let this get to him.

"Katherine, you don't need to worry about this affecting our friendship. I promise you that I will always be there for you." JR said.

Katherine looked relieved. "Thank you so much, JR! I was so worried that you wouldn't understand! Now we can go back to the way things were before!" Katherine said.

JR was a little hurt by the last part of Katherine's speech; but he tried not to show it. After all, he had been expecting something like this. But now, it was time for him to go on the offensive.

"Well, don't think that I'm going to give up that easily!" JR said with a smile.

Katherine looked surprised. "What!? But you just said that-" She started to say.

JR cut Katherine off before she could finish. "I said that I will always be your friend. But that doesn't mean that I can't still try to convince you that we can be something more than that as well." JR said.

"JR, please don't do this. I already told you why we can't be anything more than friends. I don't want to hurt you." Katherine said quietly.

"Well, I don't buy your explanation for not wanting to be with me. I think that you just believe that you are in love with my little brother because he is one man whose record is completely clean." JR said.

"That is not true! I really am in love with Bobby!" Katherine exclaimed nervously. She almost sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

"And yet you have done everything you can to help me instead of him. If you really loved him, you would be doing everything you could to help him win this contest between us." JR said.

Katherine hesitated a bit before responding. "That's different. I know that winning the contest is not good for Bobby. He would just end up overworking himself more and more. Looking out for his best interests like this just proves that I do love him." Katherine rationalized. But JR noticed that she didn't exactly sound confident about her explanation.

"You can try to rationalize it however you want to, but I still believe that you would be happier with me if you gave yourself the chance. After all, I know that there are things that you could never expect Bobby to understand. Things that you have only felt comfortable telling me about. Because when it comes down to it, you're my kind of lady. And you never said that you don't have any feelings for me. Can you honestly tell me that you don't?" JR asked softly. As he looked straight at Katherine, he slowly stroked a few strands of her hair; the tips of his fingers just barely touching her face. Katherine blushed furiously, but she didn't even attempt to pull away from him.

Satisfied with Katherine's reaction, JR lowered his hand back down to his side. "That's what I thought." He said smugly.

"I can't give you what you want, JR. Especially now that Pam is going to divorce Bobby. I'm sure that you've already heard about that." Katherine said.

JR was surprised for a moment. He actually didn't think that his annoying sister-in-law would actually end up making this decision. While it was true that JR was worried how this turn of events could affect his chances with Katherine, he was still excited about not having to live with the Barnes woman anymore. He had gotten quite used to life at Southfork without her.

"So, you think that you will just be able to live happily ever after with my naive little brother now?" JR asked.

"I'm not holding my breath about anything happening between me and Bobby. But I have to at least try if an opportunity for me comes out of this. But you need to understand that whether there is a chance for me to be with him or not does not change the fact that I still can't be with you, JR." Katherine said.

"That's not what you said last night." JR pointed out.

"I know that, but you are intentionally making things difficult now." Katherine said.

"Then what exactly is the issue here?" JR asked, even though he felt like he already knew what it was.

"I can't tell you that. I know that you don't like hearing that, but that's just the way it is." Katherine said.

"Despite that we're best friends, I don't expect us to feel like we have to tell each other everything about ourselves. I respect your need for some privacy, and I know that you would do the same for me. But please let me know if you ever do want to talk about it." JR said.

"If I do, I will. I have to get back to the office now. My break is almost is almost over. I'm glad that we had this talk, but I still wish that you wouldn't get your hopes up like this, JR. I don't want to hurt you any more than I already have." Katherine said.

"You don't need to worry about hurting me. After all of this time you should know that I always get what I want. And you are no exception, Katherine. I'll call you later." JR said.

"Later." Katherine said dazedly before she quickly exited the room.

Even though JR knew that he probably still had a long way to go yet, he couldn't help smiling to himself. He had a feeling that everything would work out just the way he wanted it to.

Author's note: Some of this chapter was based off of the season 7 episode "The Road Back". I'm sure that at least some of you are probably wondering what the heck is wrong with Katherine. Just know that even though she is not crazy in this story, she is still kind of screwed up. You'll just have to wait and see what happens! Unfortunately, there will be no chapter next week due to the fact that I have some exams coming up. I'll try to make up for it by writing more when I have a break during vacations. Until then, I would like to thank everyone who has been reading this story. You guys are awesome!