"Why do you think it didn't bother Paul when I kissed George?" Katia asked Andrew while having breakfast that morning.  "He gets rather upset when it comes to you and me, even though there's nothing between us." 

"He knows there's nothing between you and George...and the kiss you gave him was all in good fun, if you will...It gave everyone a good laugh... but he's not sure about you and me...that's the difference." Andrew replied before taking a bite of his fruit salad. 

"But I've told him you and I are just friends." 

"Well...you've also told him that you and him are just friends...and look what happened yesterday." he added.

"Point taken." Katia replied.

"So...what do they have planned for George's birthday?"

"Well for starters, no filming today.  Ringo said they had planned on spending the afternoon out by the pool...and then there was going to be a big party on the beach tonight." Katia responded.

After breakfast, Andrew and Katia went up to their room to change into their swimsuits.  Neil had mentioned that the boys were already at the pool and were waiting for them.   Eleanor and Katia met Andrew by the elevator before all three of them headed to the pool.  George and Ringo were already in the pool when they arrived, along with a few girls.  

"Enjoying your birthday so far?" Katia asked as she sat down at the edge of the pool. 

"Oh yeah." George smiled as he swam over to where Katia was sitting.  "It's been a while since I've celebrated a birthday with you." 

"Too long." Katia smiled. 

"Are you coming in?  The water is perfect." 

"Yeah...of course." Katia said standing up.  She walked over to where Eleanor and Andrew were sitting and placed her sandals and beach dress on the chair next to them. 

"Are you guys joining us in the pool?" Katia asked. 

"Absolutely." Eleanor said. 

"We'll be there in a few minutes." Andrew smiled. 

Katia walked over to the shallow end of the pool and walked down the steps.  George met her there.

"So, when is this big party supposed to start?" Katia asked as she got acclimated to the water.

"In the evening sometime...Brian set it up.  I was more excited about not having to film today than the party.  A day off is gift enough." he grinned. 

"I can imagine." 

"Not that shooting this movie is a lot of work...we have a good time filming...I think for the most part it's the getting up early every day that does you in.  Everyone here is great..." 

Just then, Katia saw Paul and John walking towards the pool.  They were talking about something that looked to have Paul a bit worried.  Once they got closer, John patted his back and continued ahead of him.  Paul didn't address anyone, instead, he sat down on the closest pool lounger to him.  He seemed distracted.  Katia must have been staring because she didn't realize John running into the pool until she got splashed by the aftermath of his cannonball.  

"Always having to make a splash, don't ya Lennon!" Katia laughed once John came back out of the water.

"Would you have it any other way?" John smiled at her. "Paul...come off it and get in!" John then called out to Paul. 

"Nah...I think I'm gonna sit this one out...I have some stuff to take care of before tonight...I'll see you guys later, alright." Paul answered standing up and walking back to the hotel. 

"What's with him?" Katia asked John. 

"He just has some stuff on his mind..." John replied before swimming away. 

"What's up?" Andrew asked nearly making Katia jump. 

"Andrew! I didn't see you get into the pool." 

"Of course not...you were too busy staring at Paul." 

"He seemed a bit distracted. Don't you think?" Katia replied. 

Andrew shrugged. "We can't be questioning his every mood, now can we?" 

"He just seemed so relaxed this morning when we went to wake George up...and now he looked worried...concerned even."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it." Andrew reassured her. 

***

George's party was scheduled to start at 8pm.  At about 4pm that afternoon, everyone began making their way back to their rooms.  Between the sun, the drinking and the swimming, everyone needed at least a couple of hours of rest.  Katia had opted to not drink any alcohol during the afternoon. Eleanor had followed her lead. She knew if she started that early, she'd never make it to the party.  She was a bit of a lightweight when it came to holding her liquor.  Andrew and the boys seemed to do just fine drinking all through the afternoon.  Katia took her time in getting ready for the party.  She stretched out on the bed watching some television while Eleanor took a shower and then they switched.  Eleanor convinced Katia to let her do her eye make up for the evening.  

"This will look great with that dress!" Eleanor said as she put on the eyeliner.  "A little extravagant eye makeup will complement the simplicity of the dress." 

Katia had decided to wear an emerald green dress she had bought in London while she had gone shopping with Cynthia.  

"You don't think it's too casual?" 

"No...of course not.  Simple does not mean casual...Simple means classic.  It's beautiful, Kat." 

Kat smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror.  Eleanor had done a marvelous job.  She didn't usually wear that much eye liner, but it did make her eyes pop and she was rather pleased.  

A little past 8pm, Andrew was at their door waiting to escort them down to the party. 

"Doesn't Kat look amazing?" Eleanor smiled.

"Eleanor did my makeup...I could never pull this off myself." Katia laughed. 

"Both of you ladies look gorgeous tonight." Andrew complimented them.  "Shall we go?"

By the time they arrived at the beach, there were already quite a bit of people there.  George was talking with a few girls, John and Ringo were chatting with Mal, but Katia couldn't find Paul.  She left Andrew and Eleanor at a table saying she was going to talk to John and Ringo, but instead went back into the hotel lobby. The truth was that she wanted to look for Paul.  She knew there was something that had been bothering him since that afternoon and now that he wasn't at the party, Katia grew concerned.  She was getting ready to go up to his room when she heard the elevator doors open.  She saw him step out into the lobby, but realized he wasn't alone; there was a girl with him, which Katia recognized as Jane Asher. She couldn't believe it.  Paul's girlfriend was there, looking as gorgeous as ever.  The magazine pictures didn't do her justice.  Katia quickly hid behind a pillar so they wouldn't see her and continued staring at them.  They were walking hand in hand.  Paul looked a little uneasy and before walking out to the beach Jane stopped him, said something to him and then kissed him on the lips. 

Katia felt something in the pit of her stomach.  It was a mixture of disappointment, jealousy, anger, hurt and disbelief. She quickly made her way to the ladies' room.  Her heart was pounding rapidly.  She was trying to understand what was happening.  Jane Asher was here in the Bahamas with Paul and she...well she was staring at herself in the mirror of the hotel lobby trying to keep from crying. Katia took in deep breaths trying to calm herself down.  

"You're going to be fine, Kat...Relax.  You can do this...you can get through this." she told herself as she looked in the mirror.  "Paul and you are just friends...today is George's birthday...you're going to have a good time and forget about Jane.  You can do this..." Kat continued the false self-motivation.  She took in one last deep breath, stood up straight and walked back out to the lobby.  

Even though Katia had tried to talk herself into thinking she could get through the night, she knew it would take something more than just talking to herself to be able to handle tonight.  She walked straight to the bar and asked for a scotch on the rocks.  She finished the drink in seconds.  She could feel the burning of the liquor through her body and the mere taste of it made her shiver. She watched as Paul and Jane made their rounds, greeting everyone.  She was tempted to ask for another scotch, but decided against it.  Instead, she spotted John chatting with a couple of girls. She typically wouldn't have even approached him, but she couldn't take it anymore.  She stood up and walked right up to him.  

"Johnny boy!" Katia said with a smile on her face as she broke in on the conversation between John and the girls. She received glares from the girls, but a smile from John, who immediately turned his attention to Katia. 

"Kat...you look amazing tonight." 

"Girls...you think I can borrow him for just a bit?" Katia asked as she pulled John away from them.

"I...err...but." Katia heard one of the girls babble, but neither John nor Katia seemed to care. 

"Lennon...we go back a long time, right?" 

"Of course..."

"Then there's no fuckin' need to tell you what you already know..." Katia said, her eyes tearing up. "So...how about you give girl a break and help her try to have a little fun tonight?"

John glanced at Paul and Jane, who were now talking to George and then looked back at Katia.  His eyes were soft.  He knew exactly what was going on...and knew exactly what Katia needed.  She needed a friend.  She needed to not be alone right now.  She needed someone to help her have a good time even when her heart was breaking. 

"So, you wanna have a little fun with Johnny tonight, is that right?" he winked and smiled at Katia. 

"Desperately." Katia's voice cracked. 

"Well...let's start with something simple." John said pulling out a joint from his pocket.  "You need to learn how to smoke this." he said handing it to Kat.  "The trick is to not inhale...you need to suck on it...like you would a milkshake." John tried to explain as he lit it for Kat.  After a few 'practice' hits, Katia had gotten the hang of how to smoke the joint and she and John were giggling at the most mundane things. 

Katia saw Paul and Jane out of the corner of her eye.  She took one more hit from the joint and leaned towards John.

"How about you introduce me to Mr. McCartney's date for the evening?" she whispered.

"Now Kat..."

"Listen John...it's inevitable.  Might as well do it now...with the pot and the drink I had, I couldn't be more relaxed...besides, I have you to back me up, right?" 

"Well, if you put it that way....c'mon, let's go." John said taking her hand and led her towards Paul and Jane. 

Katia took a deep breath as she and John got near. 

"Paul..." John nodded to him. "Jane. I'd like to introduce you to my date for the night." Katia quickly glanced over at Paul and saw his face had gone pale.  She looked over at Jane and introduced herself. 

"Hi...I'm Kat.  I'm a friend of the boys....I used to live in Liverpool a few years ago." Katia clarified as she shook Jane's hand.  She didn't want her to think she was just some random girl John had picked up.  

"Nice to meet you." Jane smiled sweetly. 

"Likewise, I'm sure.  I mean if you're Paul's girl it must mean you're something special." 

"Well I sure hope so." She laughed. "I came today to surprise Paul and to be here for George's birthday." 

"That's so sweet.  Paul, you sure have a great girl here." Katia smiled. "How long do we have the pleasure of your company?" Katia asked Jane. 

"I should be here for a week and a half.  I have some time off from work." she smiled. 

"Well Paul...you better make it worth her while." Katia smiled. 

"Not to cut this conversation short, but seeing as I don't always have the opportunity to have Kat as my date, I feel I should take advantage of it."  John remarked as he took Katia's hand and led her to the bar. Jane waved goodbye and Katia returned the gesture.  When they got to the bar, John quickly ordered a drink for them. 

"You got it all out of your system then? John asked as they waited for their drinks. 

"For now." Katia laughed wearily. 

"Shake it off, Kat." John handed Katia a rum and coke and clinked his glass with hers.  "Here's to showing you a good time!" He said. 

"Cheers to that!"

Shortly after, Katia and John approached George.  It didn't take long for George to notice that Katia had been smoking pot.  

"Hi!  How's the birthday boy?" Katia giggled. 

"Not as good as you, apparently." he answered.  George turned to look at John and raised an eyebrow.  

"She wanted to have a good time...besides she didn't cough once tonight." John grinned. 

"John's a good teacher." Katia said. 

"So are you going to hold out on the birthday boy?" George asked. 

"Of course not!  I have your gift right here." Katia said looking around and patting her dress as if it had somehow grown pockets.

"I have it right here, Kat." John laughed as he handed the half smoked joint to George. 

George finished the joint off just as a cute red head came up to him and whispered something into his ear.  It was obvious she was a little more than inebriated, but that didn't seem to matter much to George.  He excused himself, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and walked off. 

"Save me a dance, birthday boy!" Katia called out just loud enough for George to hear her and give a thumbs up. 

"Hey...I've already claimed you as my girl tonight...if anybody is dancing with you, it's me." John smiled. 

"I'm holding you to that...let's go then."  Katia replied taking John's hand and leading the way to the crowd of people that were already dancing. 

They danced to a couple of songs before heading back to the bar. As Katia and John were finishing up their drinks, Katia saw Paul heading towards them. 

"John." Katia said with concern. 

"Not to worry, love." John winked

"John, would you mind giving Kat and me a minute?" Paul asked.

Before Katia could object, John responded. 

"Sorry Paul, but tonight, Katia is staying with me..."

"John, come off it..."Paul's voice became filled with frustration. 

"Not tonight, Paul." John reiterated his stance on the subject. 

"John, lay off and let me talk to her." Paul said angrily. 

Katia was about to tell Paul she didn't want to talk to him when John took Paul by the shoulder and walked a few feet away.  Katia turned towards the bar and pretended she couldn't hear them, but she did. 

"Paul...not tonight, alright?  She needs to get through this night without you making it worse.  Go back to Jane and figure out how you're going to deal with all of this shit. But not tonight...you got me.  Not tonight." John said intensely. 

Paul mumbled something inaudible and Katia felt John take her hand and lead her away from there.

"Thanks John." Katia looked at him gratefully. 

"Don't mention it. We still have all night ahead of us!" 

After meeting up with George, Ringo and Neil, Katia took this opportunity to dance with George. 

"How about that dance now?"

"About bloody time." George answered. 

"Ha!  It's the first time you've been free all night!" Katia said as George put his hands on her hips and Katia wrapped her arms around George's neck. 

"But I've been waiting  to dance with the prettiest girl of the whole party since it started." 

"I'm going to take that as a big compliment because I need it tonight.  Thank you for being so sweet." 

"Listen Kat...Paul didn't know that Jane was going to come tonight...so you shouldn't feel threatened by—" 

"George, I know you mean well...but I really don't think I can even handle talking about Paul right now." 

"Right." George nodded as they continued to dance in silence. 

"Thank you for the wonderful dance." Katia said leaning in and kissing George on the cheek.  "I hope you're having an amazing time." 

"I hope you are too." George replied. 

"Dancing with you, how could I not?" 

George and Katia walked back to the group.  As they were talking, Katia couldn't help search for Paul and Jane.  Her curiosity got the best of her.  She spotted them chatting with Andrew and Eleanor.   She stared at them, watching as Jane laughed and held onto Paul's arm.

"Oh no you don't!" John said snapping his fingers in front of Katia's face to get her attention. "C'mon...now.  Give us a kiss." he said as he puckered up his lips.

Katia laughed and turned to give John a kiss on the cheek.  John pouted and then smiled. 

"You're killing me here, Kat!  Here I have plenty of girls willing to do who knows what with me and all I get from my date is a kiss on the cheek?" 

"I'm sorry John.  I know it's a drag to babysit me tonight." Katia replied.  She realized that she was probably tying John down and preventing him from hanging around other people.  She didn't agree with how he behaved with other girls seeing as he was married to Cynthia, but she couldn't deny the reality of their life. She had been aware of it since their Hamburg days. 

John suddenly got a serious look on his face. "Kat...look at me.  Does this look like I'm not having an absolutely incredible time with you?" John said smiling widely. 

"I suppose not." she laughed. 

John and Katia sat down at a nearby table with Ringo, George, Neil and a couple of girls they were chatting up. Mal brought a round of drinks for everyone at the table. 

With the high Katia was still feeling from the pot, she was able to see the humor in almost everything. 

"Now come on Kat, admit it...aren't I more fun than Paulie?" 

"I have to admit I haven't had this much fun in a long time." 

"Of course.  Lennon never disappoints...you picked the right Beatle to show you a good time tonight...I've always wished you would ask me that." he laughed. 

"John Lennon....I do believe you are flirting with me." 

"If you're barely noticing that, I haven't been doing a good enough job.  I'm going to have to do something drastic to get the point across." 

"Like what?  Take me to bed?" Katia laughed. 

"Not a bad idea..." John smiled wickedly. 

"You'd finally have your fantasy come true, John!" Ringo remarked having overheard their conversation. 

"About bloody time too!" John countered. 

The party began winding down about an hour and a half later.  Despite the length of the party, Katia had failed to spend any time with Andrew.  That was mostly due to the fact that Jane and Paul seemed to have spent much of the night with Eleanor and him. Every time she looked over at Andrew, Paul and Jane were close by.  When the wind began picking up at the beach, John suggested they all go up to their room to continue the party, so George, Ringo, John and Katia all filed into their room while Mal went to retrieve John and George's guitar.   Ringo served everyone drinks as John and George messed about with their guitars.  Apparently it didn't matter it was dawn; any time was a good time for a jamming session. Katia didn't even bother starting on the new drink Ringo had made her.  She had started to feel dizzy as soon as she had sat on the bed. She leaned against the bedframe; her eyes getting heavier as she listened to the guitar playing in the room.  The last thing she remembered was John coaching her to get under the covers. 

The next morning, Katia awoke to the sound of someone closing the room door.  It took her a minute to realize she wasn't in her own room.  She looked over and saw John lying next to her.  He was laying over the covers, on his side, facing towards her. She stared at John...taking in how peaceful he looked as he slept. She glanced over to the room and saw Ringo sprawled out on the couch, but didn't see George anywhere.  She sat up, trying to keep from waking up John, but surprisingly, John turned out to be a lighter sleeper than she had thought. 

"Where are you going, love? I finally get a chance to wake up next to you and you don't let me enjoy it." he smiled groggily. 

Katia returned the smile, still feeling half asleep.  "Good morning."

"Sleep well?" John asked. 

Katia nodded. "Where's George?" she asked.

"Maybe waking up next to a lovely lady like yourself." John replied as he sat up.  He began rubbing his eyes and stretching, just as Ringo began stirring on the couch.  He looked over, his eyes only half open. 

"What time is it?" Ringo asked. 

"Half past noon." Katia said looking at her watch. 

"Ugh...too early!" He groaned as he put one of the pillows over his head. 

"I must look like such a mess right about now." Katia said heading towards the bathroom as she combed through her bed hair. 

"You exaggerate, Kat." John said just as Katia closed the bathroom door. Katia yawned as she looked at herself in the mirror.  She was surprised to see that her makeup hadn't made her look like a raccoon and had actually stood the test of the party plus a night's sleep.  Either way, she washed her face, removing the excess eyeliner and mascara, and twisted her hair into a bun before walking back out.  

"Your head doing alright?" Ringo asked having now awoken.

"No hangover, surprisingly enough. "I'm 0 for 2." she smiled going back to the bed.  "How about you guys?"

"Nah..." Ringo replied. 

"Are you kidding...we're built to last." John smiled. 

Just then, there was a knock on the door.  All three of them looked at each other to see who would get up to answer it.

"Fine...I'll get it." Ringo said stumbling to the door. 

"Good morning." Paul said to no one in particular as he walked in.  

John simply nodded and Katia gave a small smile.  There was silence in the room...a very awkward silence. 

"Well I better get going.  I need to take a shower and get out of these clothes." Katia said getting up.  She grabbed her shoes and her hotel room key and began walking towards the door.  "I'll see you guys around." 

"Kat, can I talk to you?" Paul asked. 

"Ummm...I'm about to take a shower right now.  Maybe later, okay?" Katia replied as she walked passed him and into the hall. 

Katia heard John tell Paul that she needed some time and to not go after her, but within a few seconds, Katia heard Paul calling her name down the hall.  Katia didn't stop and continued walking. 

"Kat...stop." Paul said chasing her down the hall. "Please...Kat." Paul said taking hold of her arm.  Katia quickly turned around to look at him. 

"Paul, please let go of me." she said a little irritated, as she pulled away from his grasp.

"I'm sorry.   It's just that—" 

"Look, Paul.  You should really be spending your time with Jane.  She came all this way to be with you...don't take it for granted." Katia responded and began walking down the hall again.  She could feel a lump in her throat and knew she had to get out of there fast before she started crying in front of him.

"Kat, let me explain.  I didn't know Jane was going to be—"

"What's there to explain, Paul? She's your girlfriend...she has every right to be here...isn't this what you wanted? To spend more time with her?  Well here's your chance." Katia said as they reached the door to her room and she began opening her room door.  She silently thanked George for suggesting she grab her room key last night as they passed the reception desk. 

"Don't act like this, Kat..."

Katia looked at Paul and took in a deep breath. "Paul..I don't know how you want me to act.  I'm acting as your friend...and as your friend I am telling you to enjoy your time with your girlfriend.  She's here because she wants to spend time with you...so go...be with her...enjoy her...and if you're worried about not spending time with me...don't.  I have a lot of things I can do here without you...and the boys will keep me company." Katia said more calmly than she had imagined.  She didn't give Paul time to respond.  She walked into her room and slowly closed the door behind her.