Katia and Andrew spent most of the early afternoon at the doctor's office doing what she thought they'd be doing- waiting. They finally called her in to take the X -ray and they had to wait another half hour to see the doctor, who told her that everything looked good and there wouldn't be a need for surgery.  Katia didn't even realize surgery was even a possibility until she was told it wouldn't be needed.   She was told to keep taking the medicines she had been prescribed, to keep her arm in the sling and then gave her a follow up appointment in 4 weeks.  Just as Neil had promised, the bill for her appointment had been taken care of. 

Seeing as she had called in sick that day, and it was Andrew's day off, they had the rest of the day free. They opted to have a late lunch at a nearby restaurant before heading back to the apartment. 

"Katia...what are you going to do about school come February?" Andrew asked as he slouched into the couch.  

"I had been meaning to tell you...."

"Tell me what?" 

"I'm most likely not going to be able to afford another semester of school." Kat confessed.  "So I guess it won't be a problem other than taking my vacation time at work." 

Andrew sat up.  "Why hadn't you told me you were having money problems?" he questioned. 

"I was hoping it would work itself out."

Andrew sighed.  He had been in Katia's shoes not long ago. 

"Don't worry about it...I'll finish school...I just need a little more time." Kat smiled. 

Their conversation was interrupted by the telephone ringing.  It was Neil calling to ask if Katia and Andrew wanted to come by the Bel Air house that evening.  Katia quickly accepted the invitation and Neil informed her that Mal would pick them up within the hour.  

"Looks like we'll be seeing the boys tonight after all." she said when she hung up the phone. "Mal is coming to pick us up to take us to the Bel Air house." 

"All of this is so surreal." Andrew said. "This morning the Beatles were having breakfast here.  They invited us to visit them during the filming of their movie and now we're being picked up to be taken to a mansion in Bel Air." 

"I know. I'm going to be so sad when they leave tomorrow." 

"So just enjoy them tonight knowing we already have plans in place to see them again."

"Yeah...umm...I asked Paul about Jane this morning." 

"You did?  What did he say?" 

"He said they were fighting a lot.  They haven't been spending much time together...with Paul on tour and Jane working with her movies..."

"Hmmm."

"What are you thinking?" 

"It's not about what I'm thinking...it's about what you thought when he told you."

"You want the truth?"

"Always." 

"I feel guilty saying it, but...when he said they were fighting, I felt a little...hopeful." Katia replied softly. 

"I knew you still had feelings for him."

"I felt so guilty about it, Andrew. He sounded so sad when he spoke about not being able to spend hardly any time with Jane...and there I was...thinking what would happen if they broke up."  

"Kat...you shouldn't feel guilty about your feelings.  You can't control them." 

"No...I have to control them, Andrew.  Paul is in a relationship with Jane.  It doesn't matter what I feel for him right now...I'm not even quite sure what it is that I feel at the moment.  Just a lot of emotions that I never worked through when I left Liverpool."

"So maybe you should."

"Can we just stop talking about this?" Katia replied a bit annoyed.  "I'm going to get ready.  Mal should be here soon." 

Katia began walking to her room, but Andrew stood up and blocked her way. 

"Kat...I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm fine, really." 

"I won't bring it up again." 

"Thanks." she said as she walked past him.  

Andrew saw Katia close the door behind her and regretted having pushed the conversation about Paul.  In the year he had know Katia, she had never really talked about being seriously interested in anyone.  More so, today, when he had seen her interact with Paul, he had noticed something in her that he hadn't seen before.  There was a sparkle in her eyes that was absolutely beautiful.  

About twenty minutes later, Mal was knocking on their door ready to take them to see the Beatles.  By now, the news of where the Beatles were staying had gotten out and Katia saw a crowd of fans outside of the mansion.  

"Wow." Andrew whispered as they got out of the car and walked up to the house.  Katia laughed recognizing it as the same reaction she had the first night she was there. 

"Exactly what I said...and wait until you see the inside!" 

"You weren't kidding!" Andrew said as he looked around the house.  

"Kat!  Andrew!  You're here!" Ringo said walking up to them.  He was wearing a blue shirt and wrapped around his waist was a pink towel. 

"Hi!" they both chimed. 

"We're out by the pool. C'mon!" 

Katia and Andrew followed him outside.  They found Paul, George and John posing for a picture on the diving board.  Ringo quickly made his way over to them and pretended to push John.  Unfortunately, John wasn't expecting it and toppled forward, using Paul and George to balance himself.  Paul, who was sitting on the edge of the diving board, was inevitably pushed into pool. They all began laughing as they saw Paul come up. He began cursing at John while everyone continued laughing.  

"Tsk Tsk...watch that language. We have a lady present." John said motioning to Kat.  

"Oh, I've heard a lot worse come out of your mouth, Lennon." Katia smiled. 

Paul walked up the steps and out of the pool.  His grey trousers and white shirt clung to his body.  

"So glad you guys are here." he said when he reached Katia and Andrew.  "I'll be back...just need to change."  

Katia nodded.  She and Andrew walked over to John and George who were still laughing about what had just happened. 

"You guys want a drink?" John asked. 

"Non-alcoholic, please..." Katia replied. 

"Well that's no fun." 

"Doctor's orders.  I'm on medication." Katia pouted.  

"How about you Andrew?"

"Sure.  I'll go with you." 

John nodded and Andrew and him walked off to get the drinks. 

"What did the doctor say about your shoulder, Kat?" Ringo asked as he brought her a chair. 

"Everything's fine.  Just need to keep taking the medicine he prescribed and keep this sling on."

"And Neil took care of the bill, right?" George asked.

"Yes.  That was very sweet of you guys. Thank you."

"It's the least we could do." Ringo said. 

Andrew and John, who were now accompanied by a dry Paul, all arrived with drinks in hand.  Andrew handed Kat a coke while Paul pulled up a chair next to her. 

"So...how was the charity event today?" Katia asked. 

"I think $10,000 were raised..." George responded. "It was quite amusing actually.  They had a striped tent set up in the backyard where vendors had ice cream and lemonade set up for all the well groomed children that were brought to meet us." 

"They even had pony rides and games for them too." Ringo added. 

"I wasn't impressed.  We saw a few film stars, but I thought there'd be more." John said rather disappointed. 

"Well...you guys raised $10,000....I'd say that's a success." Kat said. 

"Who were the celebrities?" Andrew asked curiously. 

"Ummm...I saw John Forsythe, Groucho Marx, Rock Hudson...Dean Matin, I think." Paul responded. 

"And I think the mayor was there too." Ringo remarked. 

"Sam Yorty?" Andrew asked. 

"Yeah... not to mention all the fans trying to get in too." Ringo laughed. 

The conversation quickly diverted to other topics and Katia once again found herself with Paul as her conversation partner.  He asked about her doctor's appointment that afternoon with genuine interest in what she had to say.  He was glad to know the injury would not require surgery. As she looked at Paul she couldn't help feel a bit resentful towards him.  It wasn't anything he had done since she had last seen him.  He had been only nice and attentive to her, but the fact that he was acting like this towards her now only brought out feelings that she had pushed down for a long time. 

"Paul, why did you stop writing to me?" Katia blurted out.

Katia was sure Paul hadn't been expecting her question.  He leaned back in his chair and cleared his throat.  He shifted in his chair, but still didn't respond. 

"Is it really that hard to answer?" Katia pressed him. She had expected to hear him say it was because of how busy life had gotten when the Beatles hit it big.  That would have eased her mind...taken away the sting of his letters having stopped so abruptly, but he wasn't saying anything. 

"I knew that question would eventually come up..."

"And yet you're not ready to answer it..." Katia replied as she got up. "I'm going to get something to drink." she announced to the others. 

Without even looking at her, Andrew could hear something had happened by the tone of Katia's voice. 

"I'll go with you." he turned to her. "Anybody else want another?" Andrew asked as Katia began walking to the house. Everybody's glass was still full- including the untouched glass Katia had set on the floor.  He glanced over at Paul who was following Katia with his gaze.  Andrew stood up and quickly tried to catch up to her. 

"What did you say to Kat?" John leaned towards Paul. 

"Nothing...that was the problem." Paul mumbled. 

"Kat..hold up!" Andrew called out to her as she walked into the house.  

 Katia leaned against the wall next to the backdoor.  She was holding back tears.  

"What happened back there?" Andrew asked gently. 

"Nothing...I'm just being irrational."

"What did Paul say that got you so upset." 

"It's not what he said, it's what he didn't say, Andrew. I asked him why he stopped writing to me and he couldn't answer me." she sniffed as a tear fell down her cheek.  She wiped it away and tried to laugh it off. "This is ridiculous.  I don't even know why I'm crying about this!"

"You've been holding onto that question for a long time, Kat.  It's normal to feel this way." 

"I'm such a girl!" she said wiping another tear from her cheek.  

"I kind of like that about you." Andrew smiled.  

Katia laughed. "I don't even know why I got to upset about this...so much time has passed...it doesn't make sense." 

Andrew knew it made perfect sense.  He knew Katia had never really closed the chapter on her relationship with Paul and she was hurt at how abruptly Paul had stopped contact with her.  The fact that she had asked him so directly and he hadn't been able to answer her with the same directness was what had Katia so troubled. 

She glanced outside and saw that the boys were heading towards the house. 

"I'm going to pull myself together...no need to put a damper on the evening." she smiled at Andrew as she quickly made her way into the bathroom down the hall.  

Katia looked at herself in the mirror.  She could see the tears that had formed in her eyes and blinked a few times to force them to fall.  The truth was that it had hurt her deeply when Paul's letters had stopped coming.  She had left Liverpool so sad after the death of her dad and her heart broke at the thought of having to leave Paul and the others.  But it had been Paul's reassurance that they'd keep in touch that had caused her to go through with following her mother to the States.  It had been him who had suggested they could put their relationship 'On Hold' until they saw each other again.  She had never really believed that would happen, but she never thought they'd lose touch completely.  It had taken a long time for her to accept that she may never see Paul again, but having him back in her life had brought to the forefront a lot of feelings, including the hurt he had caused her.  She wiped her face again and took a few deep breaths.  She fluffed her hair a bit and smiled.  She would try to get over the sad memories and just enjoy the time she had with her friends now.  They'd be leaving tomorrow and she still had a few hours left to have a good time.  

When she walked into the sitting room she found John with a deck of cards in his hands and George was setting up for a game of dominoes on the floor.  

"Who's game for a little Liverpool shuffle?" John raised an eyebrow

"I'll play as long as you pull up your sleeves." Ringo said.

"I take offense to that, Ritchie. How about you, Paul?"

"Sure." Paul replied. "You want to play, Kat?" 

"I'll stick with dominoes, thanks." Katia answered Paul.  She had meant for her response to sound friendly, but her tone unfortunately didn't do her intention justice. John shot a sympathetic look to Paul before he grabbed another deck of cards. 

"What'll it be, Andrew?  Dominoes or are you up for a challenge?" John asked.

Andrew looked at Katia for counsel. 

"Don't look at me!" she laughed.  "I never learned how to play...but if you do play, just keep your eye on that one." she said looking over at John. 

"Hey! Are you going to start too?"

Everyone laughed at the expense of John.  Andrew decided to play but was quickly confused with the rules after the first game and ended up switching to dominoes with Katia and George instead.  Between the games, the food and the drinks, the hours passed quickly.  Katia caught Paul looking over at her a few times during the night, but besides a few remarks between the group, they didn't talk much.  It was getting late and on top of that, Katia was fighting against the drowsiness her medicine was causing.  

"I'm out." Kat yawned as the game ended. 

"No, Kat...who's going to be my partner now?" George asked. "Andrew? You in?"

"You kidding?  I'm not embarrassing myself like that again."

"I'll play." John volunteered.

After Andrew had proved to be a terrible partner for Katia, she and George had partnered up to play against Ringo and Mal and won almost every game. 

Katia looked over at Neil and Paul, who were chatting in the corner of the room with a cigarette in their mouth and a drink in their hand.   John had taken her seat and was strategizing with George. 

"You really are a horrible dominoes partner." Katia laughed as she walked over to him. She sat down on the floor next to him and leaned against the side of the couch.

"Who do you think will win?" he asked. 

"If John's playing, I'd put my money on him." she smiled. 

As they watched the dominoes game, Katia fell asleep on Andrew's shoulder.  

"Kat?" Andrew gently shook Katia. 

"Hmm?" Katia faintly responded. 

"Kat...come...get some rest.  We have plenty of bedroom available." she heard Neil say.  

Katia opened her eyes and tried sitting up.  

"A bed would be a little bit more comfortable." she smiled.  She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but by the soreness of her body, it had been more than a couple of minutes.

"Here, let me help you up." Andrew said as he took hold of her.  

"Thanks." she said.  

She looked over at John and George who were now playing against Paul and Ringo. Paul looked at her and smiled. "Get some rest, Kat." 

She nodded at him and smiled back.  "Who's winning?"

"We are." Paul said. "I guess you were the one bringing George luck." he chuckled.

"Don't remind me." George muttered.  

Katia laughed. 

"Come with me, Kat." Mal said. "I'll take you to your room." 

"You guys have fun," Kat said as she followed Mal. 

Mal took her to a beautiful room on the second floor. If she thought a bathroom in this house was luxurious, this was absolutely incredible.  It had an oversized bed with elegant  decor, a beautiful desk, vanity set, armoir. The bathroom in this room was twice as big as the one she had seen downstairs. She had never been in a room as impressive as this.   She took off her shoes and laid down on the bed.  She fell asleep instantly. 

Katia woke up to hear Andrew's voice. 

"Thanks, Mal." he said softly as he closed the door. 

Katia shifted in the bed and yawned as she looked at Andrew trying to maneuver his way through the dark room. 

"You can turn on the lights." She said. 

"Sorry.  I didn't mean to wake you." 

"Don't worry.  What time is it?" she asked as Andrew switched the lights on.

"A little past 3." he said looking around the room.

Katia yawned again. 

"You know what's ironic?" Andrew asked as he sat on the opposite side of the bed. 

"What?"

"This is the biggest house I've ever been in...the biggest room I've ever stayed in...It hardly compares to our tiny little apartment...yet, it's the first time I've had to share a bed with you." he chuckled. 

Katia laughed.  "Well...beggars can't be chooser's right?"

"Oh I'm not complaining! I just find it amusing. I think Mal seems to think we're a couple." Andrew commented.  

"Why do you say that?" 

"He was going to take me to another room and then abruptly brought me to this one." he laughed. 

"Well, it's not like there's no room.  This bed is almost twice as big as any I've ever slept in."

"Same for me." Andrew said as he took off his shoes.  "Let's go to sleep.  It's an early morning for everyone.  Paul told me they are set to leave LA by noon."

Katia sighed. "I can't believe they're leaving already. These couple of days have been straight out of a fairytale."

"And let's not forget we have a vacation at the Bahamas waiting for us next year." Andrew replied shutting off the light. 

The next morning Andrew got up when he heard a knock on the door.  He looked over to see Katia still asleep. 

Andrew walked over to the door and opened it.  

"Andrew?" 

"Good morning, Paul."

"Oh...I thought this was Kat's room. Mal must have gotten confused."

"No. She's here... still asleep." 

" Oh...umm...I just wanted to let you know we're going to be having breakfast in about half an hour." 

"Okay.  We'll be there shortly."

Paul nodded and walked away.   Andrew closed the door and smiled to himself.

"Who was that?" Katia asked having heard voices. 

"Paul.   We should get ready.  He told me they're having breakfast soon.  He seemed a bit surprised to see me here." he chuckled. "A bit jealous, I think." 

"Jealous?"

"Yeah.. I saw him last night.  He kept looking over at you.  He still has feelings for you, Kat." 

"Don't be ridiculous, Andrew.  He's with Jane." 

He shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I think." 

Katia rolled her eyes and got out of bed.  

As they were having breakfast, Brian arrived. He gave the boys a breakdown of the day's events.  They would arrive today at Denver to give a press conference before their concert tomorrow. Brian also informed Katia and Andrew that he would arrange everything for their trip to the Bahamas.  Neil would be contacting them with all of the information they would need. 

Katia and Andrew thanked Brian for all of their help and generosity. 

"Remember before leaving Liverpool, I told you when we made it big, we'd take you along for the ride?" John asked. 

Katia nodded and smiled. 

"Well here's the proof!" He replied. 

"I can't wait!"

"I hate to break up the party, but we need to start getting ready to leave." Neil said. 

Katia felt the disappointment, but she knew that in less than six months, she'd see them again.   

"Kat...could we talk?" Paul asked approaching her. 

"Of course."  

Paul took Katia to the library and shut the door to have some privacy.  

"Kat, I wanted to talk to you about what you asked me yesterday..."

Katia looked at him.  "About why you stopped writing to me..."

"Yes."

"Okay..."

"Kat, when you left Liverpool...it was very hard for me...I was missing you like mad."

"Yes...I remember you telling me in your letters." 

"Kat...a few months after you left, I...got involved with someone.  I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't want to hurt you."

"You could have lied to me...it would have hurt less than completely forgetting about me."

"I never forgot about you, Kat..."

"You preferred to stop writing than to tell me the truth?  That you had someone else?"

"It wasn't like that...I didn't have anyone else..."

"You just slept with her, was that it?" 

Paul sighed. "Yes...I felt like such a cad...I was ashamed and didn't know how to tell you...so I avoided writing to you until...I figured out what I was going to say."

"But you never did figure it out, did you?" Katia scoffed. "And here I thought the reason was that you had gotten so busy with the band..."

"Part of it was because of that.  We were playing constantly and then when we met Brian, well, everything changed and he started booking us tours..."

"It would have been easier if you had just told me that...instead of hearing that you were a..."Katia stopped abruptly. 

"What were you going to say?" Paul urged. 

."..a coward." Kat continued.  "When I left Liverpool, you and I both knew that our romance was over...you had every right to do whatever you wanted with whomever you wanted. Just like I had that same right.  I would have understood if you had told me you had gotten together with someone else.  It was obvious you wouldn't just...stop having carnal desires.  I just never expected you to stop being my friend." Katia 

"Kat." Paul said as he took Katia's hand in his. " I never stopped being your friend.  I constantly thought about you. I know I should have told you the truth...and I was a coward for not doing it, but I had every intention of writing back to you..."

"Just that you never got around to it." Katia added sadly. 

"I'm so sorry." 

Kat knew that she and Paul could continue this conversation for hours, but she didn't want her last conversation with Paul to end in a fight.  She knew that Paul was trying to make an effort to try and explain his reasons.  Despite his attempt, Kat was still hurt, but it didn't do any good to keep talking about this.

Katia took a deep breath and smiled. "You know what Paul...let's just forget about this. It's all in the past...water under the bridge.  Just...don't lose contact with me again, okay?  I really missed you guys.  It was just really hard to deal with everything here and not have anyone to bounce it off of, you know?"

"Of course not!" Paul said excitedly.   We'll be in constant contact from now on...we have a lot to catch up on.  Two days is hardly enough time.  And when you come to the Bahamas, we'll pick up right where we left off." 

"I'd like that...we better get back now, though. You guys need to be leaving soon." 

Paul nodded. "I really am sorry, Kat." he said as he opened the library door. 

"There you two are.  Paul, we need to start heading to the airport. Everyone is already outside.  Kat, a taxi is waiting for you and Andrew to take you back home." Neil said when he spotted them.  

"Thanks for everything, Neil." Kat went over to him and gave him a hug. 

"Don't thank me, Kat.  It was wonderful having you here. I already gave Andrew  a phone number where he can contact me.  If you need anything, just call that number and they'll be able to get a hold of me.  With us on tour, we're moving about constantly. We have your number, so it'll be a bit easier to get a hold of you." 

Paul and Katia walked outside to find Andrew saying goodbye to everyone.  

"I guess I'll see you in February," Katia said turning around to Paul. 

"Absolutely."

Katia could feel a lump in her throat.  Memories of her last goodbye came rushing in.  Her eyes were starting to water and despite her trying hard, a tear fell down her cheek.  Paul smiled sympathetically. 

"I promise you I'll call you every week." Paul said as he wiped her tear away with his thumb.

"You better!" she half laughed and cried. 

"I really missed you, Kat..." 

"Just stop with that...you're going to make my start crying even more.  I don't like long goodbyes! Just go...and call me." 

"Okay." Paul laughed.  He quickly gave her a kiss on the forehead and started walking to the car.

Katia walked toward the taxi that was waiting for her and Andrew.  As Paul said goodbye to Andrew, Ringo, George and John came to hug Katia goodbye.  

"Cheer up, love.  We'll see you soon." John said. 

"I know...I just don't like goodbyes." 

"We'll call." George said. 

"Take care." Ringo added. 

Andrew walked next to her as they watched everyone pile into the car.  Before getting into the car, Paul waved one last time to her.  

"It's alright, Kat.  February will be here sooner than you think!" Andrew said.