"So, what's on the agenda after this? There must be something special going on when you get dressed up like this! Let me guess! Is Mark coming over?" Katherine teased her sister.
It was a Sunday afternoon, and Pam had invited Katherine over to her hotel suite for a couple of hours to talk. Katherine was curious because her sister had sounded more serious than normal when she had called her and asked her to come over. At first, Katherine had assumed that it was because of Pam's recent decision to pursue a divorce. But now, after seeing how happy Pam looked, Katherine was more than a little confused. Even if things were going good with Mark, there was no way that Pam could actually be this happy about ending things with Bobby. Was there?
"Actually, I'm going out to dinner with Bobby!" Pam said excitedly.
Katherine's heart sank. She should have known better than to get her hopes up about Pam and Bobby splitting up. Now, there really was no chance for Katherine to be with Bobby. But even more than that, Katherine realized that she had been using Bobby as a sort of shield against JR. If Bobby was single, or even just having problems with his marriage, it gave Katherine an excuse to not have to deal with her feelings for JR. It didn't even actually matter whether Bobby ever decided to give her a chance to be with him or not. But if Bobby and Pam reconciled again, Katherine was afraid that she might end up being tempted to take things further with JR. After all, Katherine couldn't deny that JR did have an effect on her. But no matter how she might feel about JR, Katherine still firmly believed that a relationship between them would end up being disastrous. The question was whether she would be able to stop herself from giving in to her own loneliness.
"I'm confused. I thought you told me that you were going to ask Bobby for a divorce." Katherine said.
"Well, that was I thought, too. But after talking about everything for a while, Bobby and I decided that we want to try to give ourselves a second chance. We realized that everything between us got so bad because of everything that's been happening at Ewing Oil. But now that the contest will be ending soon, things will actually end up being easier for us. Plus, Bobby has promised that no matter how it turns out, he's going to decrease his work hours. He's even talked about quitting if JR wins!" Pam explained.
Katherine found herself bristling a bit at the "if" part of Pam's last sentence. Who does she think she's kidding!? Bobby has no chance of beating JR now! Katherine thought to herself in annoyance.
"I tried to tell you forever that it was just the contest that was making things difficult! If you had realized that sooner, it would've made things a lot less painful for Mark than they are probably going to end up being now! What are you going to tell him now!?" Katherine asked in frustration.
Besides everything else that this would mean for her, Katherine felt sorry for Mark. He really seemed to love Pam, and she had been getting his hopes up for nothing! Katherine had gotten used to having Mark around. He was like family to her now. But now, Mark could never come by for a visit again.
Pam looked a bit surprised at Katherine's outburst. "I have always made it clear to Mark that we are just friends and that I could end up going back to Bobby at anytime. Of course I feel bad for him, but he has not exactly chosen to make things easier for himself!" Pam said.
"I know. I'm sorry that I got upset. I guess it's just sad because I kind of got used to having him around with all of us. It felt like he was a part of the family..." Katherine admitted sadly.
"I'm sorry, Katherine. If I had known that you felt that way I wouldn't have invited him over so much when we were all together." Pam apologized.
"No, it's okay. Don't worry about it. I should be happy that you and Bobby are finally getting back together again! So...congratulations!" Katherine said with forced enthusiasm.
"Thanks, Katherine! That means a lot to me. But to be honest, there is something else that I want to talk to you about before I leave." Pam admitted. She sat down on the sofa next to Katherine.
"What is it?" Katherine asked curiously.
"Well, this is sort of hard for me to ask, but I don't know else to bring it up. I know that you don't tell me about everything that goes on in your life Katherine, so please forgive me if it sounds like I'm being too intrusive here. You see, I was on my way to see Bobby at his office yesterday when I just happened to see you leave with JR. Is there something going on between you and him?" Pam asked suspiciously.
Katherine panicked for a moment. She knew that her face was probably bright red. Just great! She caught me! Why did this have to happen!? Katherine thought angrily to herself.
"If you are asking if JR and I are seeing each other, then the answer is no. But it is true that we are very good friends." Katherine answered.
Despite the fact that Katherine had said that there was no real relationship between her and JR, Pam still looked angry. "How long has this been going on for?" She asked Katherine carefully.
"Pretty much right after I came back from New York. We've spoken to each other briefly a few times the first time I came here, but we weren't friends then." Katherine explained.
Pam groaned. "How could I not have seen this coming!? I should have known that JR would come after you like this! Especially after how he acted towards you when you were staying at Southfork for mama's funeral! Why didn't you tell me about this before!?" She asked Katherine furiously.
"Because of the way you're reacting right now." Katherine answered coldly.
"Look, I know that this not my business, but you have to understand just how terrible things will be for you if you get involved with JR like this! Women don't mean anything to him. JR had a wonderful wife who did everything she could to make him and his family happy and gave him more than enough second chances for all of the hell that he put her through! But nothing is ever good enough for that man! That's why you need to get out of this while you still can! JR will only end up hurting you if you continue this, Katherine!" Pam said emotionally.
"I already told you that I'm not seeing JR! Believe me, I've heard enough about him to know that he can't handle being in a relationship. But I would appreciate it if you stopped talking about him like that. Because he is my best friend. And despite what you believe, he is a good person." Katherine said.
Pam looked like she thought Katherine was crazy. "I'm glad that you at least seem to realize that getting too involved with JR is dangerous. But since he's spending this much time with you, you should know that friendship isn't the only thing that he wants from you." Pam warned.
"Men and women are perfectly capable of just being friends." Katherine said. If anything, Bobby was at least capable of doing that.
"Not when that man is JR Ewing. Katherine, can you honestly tell me that he hasn't told you that he wishes for something else as well?" Pam asked.
Katherine couldn't tell if Pam was referring to a romantic relationship or just plain sex. Either way, she was more than annoyed by Pam's prying and lecturing. Katherine knew that getting too involved with JR was a bad idea. But Pam made it sound like he was a monster who liked to rip a woman's heart out just for fun.
"He has...expressed an interest in me. But I told him that we can't ever be more than just friends." Katherine explained. There was no need for Pam to know just how much interest JR actually had. Katherine did not even want to think about how Pam would react if she knew about JR's love confession.
"And you think that JR will just accept that!?" Pam scoffed.
"He doesn't have a choice! And all of this is really none of your business, Pamela! You're not my mother!" Katherine practically shouted. She then realized just how awful the very last part of her tirade sounded. I forgot to refer to her as "our" mother! Katherine thought to herself miserably.
"I'm sorry... I'm still not used to this yet." Katherine apologized helplessly.
Pam softened a bit. "No, you're right. I have to realize that as much as I don't like JR, this really isn't any of my business. I won't tell anyone else about it. And I shouldn't be trying to be...her, either. I'm really sorry about how I reacted to all of that. I think that it's probably better if we just don't talk about JR anymore." Pam said quietly.
"Yeah... I think that sounds like a good idea. I guess I'll be going now. I'm sure that you and Bobby will have a great time today." Katherine said.
"Well, the decision's not exactly final yet. We still have some more things to discuss. But I have a feeling that it will all work out in the end. I'll see you later, Katherine." Pam said.
"Yeah. Later." Katherine said before leaving the hotel.
The next day, Katherine met JR at his office during the lunch hour so that they could both go out for coffee like they usually did. After JR had told Katherine that he would not give up on trying to convince her to be more than friends with him, Katherine had expected things to become difficult between them. However, the past few days had been the complete opposite of that. JR had not pushed the issue any further. Surprisingly, JR was acting the same way that he had before he had told Katherine that he loved her. Katherine didn't know what exactly she had expected JR to do, but it certainly wasn't this. Katherine was mostly relieved because she had been afraid that JR had been ready to ruin their friendship by turning into one of those arrogant womanizer types who believed that they could get whatever they wanted from her. But a small part of Katherine was actually sad that the chase seemed to have ended already for JR. Katherine hated to admit it, but she had found JR incredibly attractive when he had flirted with her and vowed to have her for himself that day in his office. Even now, she could still remember how good the touch of his fingers had felt on her face and hair. She could also still remember the low, seductive tone in his voice. Despite her attempts not to, Katherine found herself replaying that moment over and over again in her head.
"I still can't believe that I actually thought that your sister would do something right for a change and leave! I really got used to not having her around. And now she pulls this!" JR said in exasperation as they walked to the parking lot.
"I was surprised, too. It was the complete opposite of what she told me before." Katherine said.
"Although I guess I can't be too angry with Pam. After all, if she hadn't tracked down your mother back then, you probably wouldn't be here with me right now..." JR said thoughtfully.
Katherine didn't know what to say to that. Even though she didn't blame her sister for what she did, Katherine had always found herself thinking about how things could have been if Pam had never found Rebecca. For Katherine, it probably would have meant still having a future with her mother. But now, after realizing that it also would have meant having a future without JR, Katherine wasn't sure what to think anymore.
JR seemed to have realized just what his comment had implied. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that. It was selfish." JR apologized.
"No, it's fine. It's not wrong for you to feel that way. Either way, we have no way of knowing what every action will cause." Katherine said.
"Hmm... really? I have to disagree with you there." JR said quietly. Katherine realized too late just how close he was to her. His hands rested on her shoulders. Katherine could barely breath as JR leaned towards her; his face mere inches away from her own. Oh no! He's doing it again! Is he really going to do this now!? And why am I not doing anything to stop this!? Katherine thought frantically.
Before things could go any further, the sound of footsteps snapped her out of her trance. Katherine pulled away from JR so that she could see who was walking through the parking lot. Her stomach dropped when she saw that it was Pam.
Dammit! The last thing I need is another big sister talk! Katherine thought to herself angrily. Without a word to JR, she quickly hid behind a car before her sister could spot her. JR looked surprised, but made no move to hide himself.
Pam abruptly stopped walking when she saw JR. Her eyes narrowed.
"Fancy seeing you here, Pamela. Please don't tell me that you're hoping for a job here! Because I'm afraid that you don't exactly have the qualities that we look for!" JR joked.
"Spare me the pleasantries, JR! I didn't come here to see you. But since we've already had the misfortune of running into each other, I may as well ask you some things." Pam said coldly.
"By all means, ask away." JR said.
"Why are you so intent on making Cliff believe that off-shore drilling is a great idea? Even I know just how much of a gamble it is! I don't know what exactly you're trying to do, but this had better not be some trick to get Cliff in over his head!" Pam said.
"It's always so amusing whenever you and that loser brother of yours pretend to be real business experts like myself!" JR said in amusement.
"It's not just that, JR! I know that you've been spending a lot of time with Katherine, and I want you to stop it. She is still grieving for our mother and does not need you harassing her! I told you to stay away from her and I meant it!" Pam said furiously.
"First of all, I'm not harassing Katherine. We're friends. And whether we end up being something more is completely up to her. But none of that is your damn business, Pamela." JR said coldly.
"It is if she ends up getting hurt! Because we both know that she can do a lot better than a scumbag like you! So don't get her hopes up anymore, JR!" Pam said.
"You've wasted enough of my time. So why don't you make this easier for both of us and leave already?" JR asked in a bored tone.
"Don't worry, I'm leaving. I just want you to know that I'm going to do everything I can to help Bobby beat you in this contest while there is still time left! And I'll make sure that Cliff and I will be in a position to fight you as well! Don't forget that we're not the poor Barnes family, anymore! So you better be ready, JR!" Pam threatened. She then quickly walked away towards the Ewing Oil building.
Katherine was incensed with rage. It was bad enough that her sister was meddling in her private business. But threatening JR like that was going too far.
"I don't believe her! Who I spend time with is my business! And where does she get off with threatening you like that!? You haven't done anything to her! It's funny how Pam forgot that the only reason she and Cliff are rich is because they profited off of my father's death! Well, let me tell you that she has another thing coming if she thinks that I'll let her use his money to hurt you!" Katherine said fiercely.
"I think it's high time that I make sure that this little separation between our siblings is...permanent." JR said with quiet fury in his voice.
"Count me in, JR." Katherine said in the same tone as his. She had to do what she could to prevent her sister from hurting JR.
