Katherine felt a sense of nervous anticipation as the car drove down the busy downtown street. It was only a couple of days until her sister's divorce. Katherine, Pam, Afton, Cliff, and Mark were going out for dinner together. But only Katherine really knew the true significance of this outing. Things had been going along smoothly in JR and Katherine's plan to end Pam and Bobby's marriage. The forged letter had fooled Bobby into believing that Pam wanted a divorce. No questions had been asked about it, and they were now in the final stages of their divorce proceedings. But JR and Katherine had decided that they couldn't rest easy until it actually happened. That meant doing whatever they could to keep their siblings away from each other until after things were legally declared in court. Katherine had invited Bobby out to dinner and tried to convince him that it would be better for him to stay away from the courthouse on the date of the divorce. However, JR had decided that that might not be enough. That was what had led to Katherine's family outing today. JR had told Katherine that he would have a "special surprise" in place for Pam at the restaurant they were heading to. All Katherine had to do was to make sure that Pam saw it.
"It's certainly been a while since all five of us have been able to spend time together like this! No matter what, I'm glad that at least this is one thing that will always stay the same..." Pam said.
"I know that you're upset about what's happened with you and Bobby. But remember that we came here today so that you could relax for a while and not think about it right now." Mark said gently.
Pam smiled at Mark. "You're right. It won't do me any good to dwell on that while I'm here with all of you." She said.
"That's right! If anything, you should be focusing on the future!" Cliff said. He then gave a not so subtle glance from Pam to Mark.
Afton rolled her eyes at Cliff. "Cliff, that's enough already." She said wearily.
Pam turned towards Katherine. "Katherine, are you feeling alright? You've been awfully quiet since we first left." Pam said worriedly.
"I'm fine. I guess that I'm still recovering from that cold I had on Friday." Katherine said.
"I still wish you would have called me when that happened. You shouldn't have been alone like that. I would have come and taken care of you." Pam said.
"You're going through enough already. And besides, it was just a small cold. I was okay by myself." Katherine lied.
A slow warmth spread over Katherine as she remembered everything that had happened on Friday. JR had been so sweet and attentive to her; making sure that she had everything she needed to get better. Katherine still couldn't believe that she had actually let JR into her bedroom. Even though nothing had actually happened, Katherine knew that things were starting to get out of control between her and JR. But the frightening part about it was that she wasn't even sure if she still wanted to stop herself from giving in to him.
"Well...alright. But let me know if you ever do need my help, Katherine." Pam said seriously.
"Okay." Katherine lied. She didn't believe that she had any right to ask Pam for anything ever again after what she had done to her marriage.
After they had entered the restaurant, it didn't take long for Katherine to see exactly what JR had set up for Pam. All five of them had stopped in their tracks on the way to their booth. Bobby and JR were seated at a booth not far away from them. But they weren't the only ones there. Two curvy blonde women were sitting next to the two brothers. Bobby seemed completely oblivious to what was really going on here. He smiled in embarrassment as the woman next to him continued to babble away.
Katherine's heart sank when she saw the woman next to JR smile flirtatiously and lean in closer while she talked to him. What is he doing with her!? Katherine thought viciously. She then realized with a start just how much this was upsetting her.
Why am I letting this get to me!? This is all just part of the plan. And even if JR is with someone, I shouldn't be upset about it. We're not in a real relationship, and I don't even want to be with him! So why!? Katherine thought to herself in confusion.
Katherine snapped herself out of her thoughts to see that Pam was quickly heading towards the front door of the restaurant. Katherine was a little surprised at her sister's reaction. After everything she and Bobby had been through together, did she honestly have that little faith in him? Did she not have enough imagination to even consider that this might be JR's work? Especially since he was here right now. Nevertheless, Katherine couldn't help emphasizing with Pam. She herself was already upset enough to see JR like that.
Katherine followed Pam outside. "Hey, are you alright?" Katherine asked Pam.
"No, not really. And I don't think that I will be for a while. I just want to go home." Pam said firmly.
"I can't believe what I just saw! I didn't think that Bobby was that kind of man!" Katherine said with feigned disbelief in her voice.
"It's just like I told you. Bobby really has changed. And not for the better." Pam said. She looked at Katherine for a moment. "Are you alright, Katherine?" Pam asked meaningfully.
Katherine realized that Pam must have noticed her own reaction to the scene. Since they still had an unspoken agreement to not talk about JR, Pam couldn't really ask what she wanted to, but her question was enough to let Katherine know what she was really wondering about.
"I'm fine. I'm just sad that you happened to see all of that. After all, we all came here to have a good time." Katherine lied.
"It doesn't matter. It will all be over soon, anyway..." Pam said sadly.
A day later, Katherine and JR were in his office at Ewing Oil. Katherine visited the office so frequently that Sly never even bothered anymore to call JR on the intercom first to tell him that she was there. As long as JR wasn't meeting with someone else, Katherine was free to just walk right into his office.
"So, it looks like everything went well! I knew that Pam would fall for that trick!" JR said happily.
"It's true that it worked out easier than I thought it would. But I don't know why you needed those sluts for this!" Katherine blurted out angrily before she could stop herself.
JR raised his eyebrows in surprise at Katherine's remark. "It was a sure fire way to make Pam doubt Bobby. She's always had little patience when it comes to other women hanging around him. I just took advantage of that. But your reaction has led me to believe that this isn't really about that." JR said thoughtfully.
Katherine purposely looked away from JR. "I don't know what you're even talking about, JR." She said coldly.
"I think that you do, even though you don't want to admit it. Look, I'm sorry that I had to go that route in order to do this, but I want you to know that those women mean absolutely nothing to me. I only hired them to make it look like Bobby was having a good time. Nothing else happened." JR said firmly.
"I don't know why you feel the need to apologize to me. You're free to do whatever you want with other women, JR. Especially since we're not even seeing each other. It doesn't matter." Katherine lied.
JR placed his hands firmly on Katherine's shoulders. "Katherine, look at me. It does matter." JR said intently.
Startled by JR's sudden gesture, Katherine forced herself to look at JR. He had an intense look in his eyes that she had never seen before, and it was only making her heart pound faster.
"No matter what you're feeling right now, it's important to me that you understand that no one can ever replace you. You are the only woman that I love. And want. But whether we start to have any kind of real future together is all up to you..." JR said seriously. He then slowly withdrew his hands from Katherine's shoulders.
Katherine had to take a moment to recompose herself. These moments with JR always left her breathless.
"JR, please. I can't do this. It's...not easy for me." Katherine said softly.
"I know that it isn't. But I'm not going to stop believing that it will be, someday. I need to." JR said almost to himself.
There was silence between them for a few minutes.
JR glanced at his watch. "Well, it looks like it's about time for all of our hard work to pay off. I'm surprised that you didn't go with Pam to the courthouse today. This is what you wanted, after all. I would think that you would want to be there to see it happen. I know that I would want to go. I would just love to see the look on your sister's face right about now." JR said. His face broke into his signature, evil smile.
"Why should I have gone? My presence isn't required. And I'm not supposed to look like I'm happy about it. Either way, it's over and done with now." Katherine said carelessly.
Katherine would never admit to JR that she felt a bit guilty for her part in all of this. Pam had asked her to come with her to the courthouse for moral support, but Katherine just wasn't able to make herself come. It would be too much to actually see the results of her actions being put into place legally.
JR looked thoughtful for a moment, but quickly let it drop. "Well, I guess I should get back to work now. We have a meeting in an hour. I'll call you later." JR said.
"Yeah. I need to get back to work, too." Katherine said. She started towards the door; eager to escape the room.
"Katherine, wait." JR said suddenly. Katherine turned around.
"I just want you to know that I'm not trying to pressure you. I just felt that it was important for me to tell you what I did today." JR said.
"I know that." Katherine said quietly.
A few days passed. It was Friday evening, and Katherine was lounging around her house while trying to not feel depressed. On one hand, she was glad that things between her and JR had calmed down since her visit to his office. But a part of her couldn't help feeling sad about it. She hated hurting JR.
Suddenly, the phone rang. Katherine hurried to answer it. It was probably JR.
"Hello?" Katherine asked.
"Hello, Katherine? It's me, Bobby." The voice on the other end of the line answered.
"Oh. Um, hi." Katherine answered awkwardly. Why is Bobby calling me right now? She wondered to herself.
"I know that this is kind of last minute and that you're busy with work a lot. But I was wondering if maybe you'd like to have lunch with me tomorrow. I've been feeling depressed ever since the divorce hearing, and I feel like I could really use a good friend to talk to right now. And since you're Pam's sister, I thought that you would be the best person for me to talk to about it. But it's okay if you're too busy." Bobby explained.
"No, um, it's fine. I'm not doing anything tomorrow." Katherine said.
"Okay, great! Then how does one o' clock at the Oil Baron's Club sound?" Bobby asked.
"That sounds good. I... guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Katherine said hesitantly.
"Are you okay, Katherine? You sound a bit strange." Bobby said curiously.
"I'm fine, Bobby. I guess I'm just tired from work right now. Tomorrow will be a nice break." Katherine lied.
"I can certainly understand that! But thanks for taking time out to do this, Katherine. I'll see you tomorrow, then." Bobby said. After that, they hung up.
Katherine stared at the phone. She was surprised to realize that she had actually sort of forgotten about Bobby. Even though it was just a friendly invitation, Katherine still couldn't believe that Bobby had actually invited her out to lunch. Normally, she would have been ecstatic. But Katherine didn't feel any kind of enthusiasm at all.
Why aren't I happy about this? This is what I really want, isn't it? Katherine thought to herself.
Katherine's gaze wandered over to her nightstand. Her eyes landed on the small vase that contained the single red rose that JR had bought for her when she had gotten sick that day. Suddenly, it all became clear to her. Katherine had been trying to ignore her feelings for a while now, but she couldn't deny them any longer. Katherine knew that without even realizing it, she had fallen in love with JR. A part of her wanted to give him a chance. A chance for them to be truly happy together. It would be so easy to just give in to him. It had been a long time since Katherine had ever had such intense feelings for a man. JR made her feel like the only woman in the world. The only woman in his world. They had a true connection that came from emphasizing and understanding each other in ways that no one else could. But at the same time, Katherine was terrified to start a relationship with JR. Her heart had been broken before, and if JR ended up hurting her, Katherine didn't see how she could handle being around him anymore. If she took a chance and things went wrong, Katherine would end up losing JR's friendship forever. Then, she would truly be all alone in the world. It was that fear that kept holding Katherine back.
But what about Bobby? How can I be in love with two people at the same time? Because I'm pretty sure that I still have feelings for him, too. Even though they aren't quite the same as my feelings for JR. I just haven't spent a lot of time with him lately, that's all. This could be a chance for me to be with someone who would never hurt me. Someone who makes me feel safe. Katherine thought to herself. But when she thought of how JR made her feel, she couldn't help wondering if it might be worth the risk to have something better with him.
Either way, I don't have to make any kind of decision right now. Bobby called because he needs a friend right now. Nothing more. And it probably won't ever be anything more than that. Katherine reassured herself.
The only thing Katherine was worried about right now was keeping tomorrow a secret from JR. Even if she didn't tell him about it, Katherine knew firsthand that JR had a way of finding things out. Even though it wasn't a date, JR wouldn't see it that way, and he would probably be hurt. More than anything else, hurting JR was the last thing that Katherine wanted to do.
I wish that I could go back to how it was before with JR... When we were just two friends who were always there for each other. Why did I have to end up falling in love with him!? Katherine thought to herself in agony.
Author's note: Some of this chapter was based off of the episode "My Brother's Keeper". There are only a few chapters left that will be based off of the TV show now. Especially since I've finished what I like to call "Breaking Pam and Bobby". There will be some... excitement after the next couple of chapters. I'll leave what that is up to your imagination, though. Thanks for reading!
