Katia leaned against the door as tears fell down her face. Last night had been a blur. John had helped her get through it by keeping her mind off of Paul. The drugs and the drinking had helped her a lot, but today, she had to face the truth. The truth was that Jane was here at the Bahamas and she would be here for the rest of their vacation. Katia would have to see them holding hands, kiss...and just thinking about it caused her stomach to churn.

As Katia was walking to her bed, Eleanor came out of the bathroom. Katia tried hard to not let her see her crying, but the simple act of wiping the tears from her face, was enough for Eleanor to take notice.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Eleanor asked walking up to Katia.

"Oh, it's nothing...I'm just a bit emotional." she sniffed as another tear fell down her cheek.

"Anything I can help with? Sometimes even just talking about it can help."

"I...just got to thinking about my dad...and how I miss him." Katia replied trying to give Eleanor a believable answer.

Eleanor directed her to the bed and began rubbing her back as Katia took in deep breaths.

"Andrew told me you lost your dad while you lived in Liverpool."

Katia nodded.

"I guess seeing the boys brought back those memories?"

Katia nodded again, but didn't say anything.

"We don't need to talk about it." Eleanor said sweetly after about 20 seconds.

Katia smiled at her, grateful Eleanor wasn't pushing the issue, and after a few minutes, Katia was able to regroup and place the attention on George's party.

"Did you and Andrew have a good time last night?" Katia asked.

"It was a great party...and Andrew is very nice." she smiled. "How about you?"

"I had a lot of fun. I don't think I've had that much alcohol in a long time. I fell asleep in John and Ringo's room after a short jam session."

There was some small talk between Eleanor and Katia for a few minutes. Eleanor was scheduled to do some scenes in about a half hour. She was a bit hesitant to leave, but Katia reassured her she'd be fine.

After Eleanor had left, Katia took a quick shower and got dressed. She needed to get out of the hotel. She needed time to think. She needed to be alone. She walked along the beach looking out to the open ocean. The soft waves calmed her a bit and it wasn't until she realized she could no longer see the hotel that she became aware of just how far she had walked. She sat down on the sand and pulled her knees up to her chest. Her mind wandered to Paul and she immediately felt her heart aching. She still had feelings for him and even though she had denied it, the kiss she had shared with him at the pool had allowed her to create a romance between them that didn't exist. She had to convince herself that things had changed. A lot. She was no longer Paul's neighbor back in Liverpool. She was no longer the person he went to confide his secrets. She was no longer his best friend and accomplice. She had been replaced by a girl named Jane and the sooner Katia learned to accept that, the easier it would be for her heart to begin healing.

Katia thought about a lot of things that afternoon. She thought about Liverpool...about her time living there...about her dad. She cried a lot too. It was as if she had pushed all these memories to the back of her mind for years and had finally allowed herself to feel them again. She walked into a small restaurant a little further down the beach and had lunch there. She listened to the little Calypso band that was playing at the restaurant and completely lost track of time. By the time she looked down at her watch, she saw it was almost 5 in the afternoon. She had left the hotel nearly 7 hours ago. Walking back to the hotel, Katia felt at peace with her thoughts. She couldn't just yank out the feelings she had for Paul out of her heart, but she could try to be graceful in falling back into her role of just being friends with him.

Katia went up the elevator and up to her floor. As she walked down the hall towards her room, she heard footsteps running behind her.

"Kat! Where the hell have you been?" Katia heard John's voice.

She turned around to find John, George and Andrew with very concerned looks on their faces.

"I went for a walk on the beach. What's going on?"

"Well for starter's, it was a fuckin' long walk, don't you think?" John replied annoyed.

"Last Eleanor saw you, you were crying and then you leave and don't tell anyone where you're going? Nobody knew anything about where you'd gone! What were you thinking, Kat!" Andrew raised his voice. It was the first time he had talked to Katia so forceful.

"I'm sorry...." Kat replied meekly. "I guess I lost track of time..."

"Paul and Ringo are out there looking for you right now." George said with more concern than anger.

"Fuck Kat! We thought something had happened to you!" John said angrily.

"I'm sorry...I wasn't expecting to be gone so long...really." she said regretfully.

John looked at Katia and shook his head before he turned around and started walking to the elevators, mumbling something Katia couldn't understand. She looked over at Andrew and George.

"I'm glad you're okay, Kat. Just let us know next time, okay?" George smiled.

"I will. I'm sorry." Katia answered.

"C'mon. We need to talk." Andrew said taking Katia's hand and leading her to his room.

"What the hell is going on, Kat?"

Katia didn't even have to say it, Andrew knew just by her look. He sighed heavily and sat down next to her. "Jane, right?"

Katia nodded. "I'm sure you noticed...she and Paul practically spent the entire night with you and Eleanor."

"You do know the reason why, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Paul wouldn't leave our side hoping you would show up. He knows you and I typically hang out...I guess he was expecting you to show up sometime during the party."

"I hadn't thought about that."

"I was expecting you to stop by today to talk about it...I went looking for you this morning, but instead found Eleanor. She said the last time she saw you, you were crying. I thought you might be with John, so I went looking for you. When we realized nobody knew where you were, everyone went a little nuts."

"I'm sorry. I just needed some time to think about everything."

"Okay. So what did you conclude?"

"That I need to accept that Paul and I can just be friends."

"Somehow I think that's going to be easier said than done." Andrew said.

"Most likely."

After a short silence, Andrew mentioned to Katia that there was going to be a gathering down at the beach again tonight.

"Birthday party for George part 2?"

"Pretty much." he smiled.

"I think John is still mad at me."

"He was pretty worried when no one knew anything about you....I'm sure if you just talk to him, things will be alright."

"How about I get changed and we head down to the party?"

"Sounds like a plan."

About an hour later, Andrew and Katia were making their way down to the party. There were a lot less people than yesterday night. Katia saw John smoking and having a drink at the bar as he talked to one of the crew members. She spotted Jane and Eleanor sitting at a table chatting, but she didn't see Paul.

"Andrew...I had been meaning to ask you...about Eleanor. How are things going with her?" Katia asked.

"She's great. We have good conversation and she's a very nice girl...but I just don't see a romance between us."

"Really?"

"Yeah...there are no sparks....you know?"

"Does she know that?"

"That we're just friends?"

"Mmmm Hmmm."

"I think she and I know that about our relationship more than Paul and you know that." he chuckled. "Speaking of Paul...." Andrew said as his gaze shifted past Katia. Katia turned around to see Paul walking towards them.

"I'm going to let you two talk. I'll be at the bar if you need me." Andrew said leaving Katia on her own. As Paul got closer, Katia could see a very angry, yet relieved look on Paul's face.

"Where the fuck have you been, Kat!" Paul said with such anger in his voice that at first scared Kat. She fell silent for a second out of disbelief, but quickly regained her voice.

"Hey! Don't take that tone with me! I took a walk on the beach. I already apologized for not letting anyone know, but that doesn't mean you can talk to me that way! Besides, I do not belong to you or anyone for that matter and I especially do not have to tell you where I will be every waking second of the day!" Katia replied impatiently.

Paul took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for talking to you that way. I was just so worried when nobody could find you. Ringo and I went out looking for you...every minute that passed where I couldn't find you, I...well...I can't even begin to imagine something happening to you. I was...just...I was worried about you, Kat. I care about you." Paul said gently.

"I appreciate your concern, Paul. I really do. I'm fine. I'm sorry about today. I just lost track of time. I didn't mean to make anybody worry." Katia genuinely apologized to Paul.

Katia looked at Paul for a few seconds before saying she was going to go meet Andrew.

"Wait...Kat." he said reaching for her arm, but stopping short of actually taking hold of it. "I wanted to talk to you about the whole Jane thing. I know we didn't get a chance to say much about it the other night."

"Paul." Katia sighed. "There's nothing to talk about regarding Jane. She seems like a nice girl...and...I don't want any problems...I don't want to cause any problems between you two. What we had...it was a long time ago...and that kiss should have never happened."

"But it did happen." Paul refuted.

"It was a mistake." Katia added.

"I don't think it was, Kat."

Katia glanced over and saw Jane approaching them. Paul followed her eyes and Jane smiled at him.

"Kat! I am so glad to see you. The boys were really worried about you all afternoon."

"Thanks Jane. I took a walk along the beach...I took a little longer than I had expected. I didn't realize it was going to cause such havoc!" she smiled.

"See..." Jane said looking over at Paul. "I told you guys she probably went to the beach."

"Well I apologize for all the worry an innocent walk to the beach caused today..." Katia smiled. "I actually need to talk to John...he seemed a bit upset with me when I came back."

"Oh, he's at the bar now." Jane replied.

"Thanks...I'll see you two later." Katia smiled as she walked over to John.

She found John having a drink with Mal.

"So...I hear there's a girl that is very sorry for having worried you today. She says she wants to make it up to you." Katia said as she looked at him.

Mal excused himself as John looked at Katia. "Oh? And what does she plan on doing?" he asked.

"Well...she says that you're a smart boy...you'd probably think of something."

John raised his eyebrows and smiled slyly.

"There are certain limits, John." Katia laughed.

"You want a drink?" he smiled.

Katia nodded. "Listen John. I really am sorry. I just didn't-"

"Kat, I know what you said and I understand...but understand me. You come up to me last night, completely messed up asking me to help you get through this whole fuckin' thing with Jane and Paul. And yes- we have a good time like I promised and then the last time I see you, Paul is chasing you down the hall and I don't hear back from you. Then, Eleanor tells us she found you crying in your room and nobody has a clue where you've gone.

"I know...I know...I just didn't think I would be gone so long. I was thinking a couple of hours...tops."

" Just let someone know you'll be gone next time." There was a short pause before John smiled wickedly. "Now...let me think...how are you going to make it up to me?"

"Now John...there are limits...I did make that very clear."

"Relax, love...I'm not going to ask you to sleep with me." he laughed. "Unless of course you want to..." he winked.

Katia laughed. "As enticing as that sounds...I think I'll pass."

"Enticing, huh? You find the possibility of sleeping with me enticing? Please proceed." John replied; Katia's last comment having caught his interest.

Katia laughed nervously. "It was just an off the cuff comment."

"Well I'm rather interested in continuing the conversation...in fact that's how you can make it up to me...now we had left off with you finding sleeping with me...what was the word?...oh yes, enticing." he leaned in and looked directly into Katia's eyes. "Why?"

Katia began to feel a little embarrassed. John and her had always flirted back and forth, but it had always been an innocent flirting. Yet, right now, Katia was feeling a little cornered with this subject being discussed.

"Can we not talk about this right now? I promise we'll continue this conversation, but not here."

"Are you insinuating we go up to my room?" John acted offended.

"No!"

John laughed. "Okay..." he said picking up his drink and handed Katia the other. "I think you're going to need this. Let's get away from the crowd...and to keep it safe, so you don't feel tempted to rip off all of my clothes and have your way with me, let's walk along the shoreline." He paused for a short second. "Well, unless you're one of those birds that wants the world to know she slept with a Beatle."

"John!" Katia hit him playfully.

"I'm teasing!"

When Katia and John got far enough from the crowd, John stopped and smiled at her. "Now...about sleeping with me."

She laughed uneasily. "Well...the thing is that...how do I put this...the reason it is... enticing is...because...well...I've never slept with anyone...so..." Katia confessed.

John looked at Katia with questioning eyes.

"Wait...you and Paul...never?"

"No...we never slept together." Katia replied.

John looked completely surprised. " And back in the States?"

"No...I didn't really do any serious dating."

"And Andrew?"

"No...John, I'm a virgin." Katia clarified

"How can you live with someone and not be tempted to have sex with him?"

"Well..we're just friends."

"Wow! That just surprises me, you know?"

"Well...not everyone has people throwing themselves at him." Katia smiled. "Opportunities like that are limited to four certain Beatles."

John laughed. "Well, I've been throwing myself at you."

"Lennon, come off it." Katia laughed.

"I'm just saying...I could show you a few things in that department...it would be one friend helping out another."

"Thanks for the offer John, but I'm going to have to disappoint you on that." Katia laughed.

"Saving yourself for Paul, then?"

"John." Katia looked at him surprised. Ever since the whole Jane and Paul situation, John had refrained from saying anything about a romance between her and Paul.

"Look Kat, I didn't want to tell you anything last night because I saw you so upset, but I've had a chance to talk to Paul...you know, about Jane."

"Did you know she was coming?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Oh."

"Listen...things between Paul and Jane have not been the greatest...Jane is only here to try and save a relationship that is on life support right now...Just so you know, when Paul found out you were missing, he went a bit mad. He immediately took off looking for you. Look, Paul and I have had our shares of talks and I really think he cares deeply for you, Kat."

Katia didn't say anything. She just looked at John dumbfounded.

"What are you thinking?"

"I don't know what to think John. I guess I am just afraid of what could happen." Katia said tearing up.

"C'mon now, Kat. Don't cry." John said as he hugged her. "I didn't tell you this so you would cry. I thought it would make you feel better to know that Paul does genuinely care for you."

"It just makes things harder, John."

"Would it make it easier if you slept with me to forget about Paul?"

Katia looked at him and smiled. "Let's change the topic, okay?"

"You want to get out of here? Maybe watch a movie or something? See what's on the telly?"

"Alright." Katia said.

John and Katia walked back to the hotel. Along the way, they saw Andrew and asked him if he wanted to join them. A few minutes later, John, Andrew and Katia were watching a vampire film that was playing. It wasn't exactly what they'd call a horror film. In fact, they spent most of the time making fun of the horror factor. The film was just about over when there was a knock on the door. Katia got up and opened the door to see Paul and Jane. She was caught a little by surprise, but let them in all the same.

"There you guys are! We were wondering where you guys had gone." Jane said.

"Just hanging out. You guys hungry?" Katia said offering some of the food that had been ordered about a half hour ago.

"No...thanks." Paul said sitting next to her.

"Thanks..." Jane said as she went over to see what was left. She soon came back with a served plate and sat down on a chair across from them.

"So...Kat...tell me a little about the boys before they were Beatles?" Jane asked.

Katia told her a few stories and everyone laughed. Then she asked the dreaded question.

"Just between us..." she winked. "Did Paul have a lot of girlfriends?"

There was a sudden silence.

"Jane...what kind of question is that? Come off it!" Paul said irritated.

"Well you've never really said much about it! I'm just curious if there way anyone special you left in Liverpool before heading to London." Jane replied looking at Paul.

"Well..." Katia started. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. "He had a few, but...it's obvious that if Paul never mentioned anyone to you, none of them were really that important..."

Jane was left satisfied with Katia's answer, but everyone else was left cold.

"Let's go." Paul said with a firm voice.

"Paul, she hasn't even finished eating." Katia remarked.

"That's alright, Kat." Jane said setting her plate down.

Paul stood up and took Jane by the hand before walking out of the room without saying another word.

A little after Jane and Paul left, Andrew and Katia excused themselves too. They walked to Andrew's room and found it empty. Kat sat on the sofa and looked at Andrew.

"Well that was a bit awkward." Andrew finally said.

"Yeah. There seems to be a lot of tension between Jane and Paul, don't you think?"

"Yeah...a lot more when you're around."

"Well it was made perfectly clear that Jane has no idea that Paul and I were together when I lived in Liverpool."

"That doesn't mean Paul didn't consider you to be important..."

"I disagree..."

"You hadn't told me about Paul...and we had been living together for nearly a year." Andrew rebuked.

"But..."

"Besides, I don't think it's wise to talk about former girlfriends when you're dating someone."

"Are you defending Paul?" Katia questioned.

"I'm not defending anyone. I'm just trying to get you to see a man's point of view. We don't go around talking about past relationships...but that doesn't mean they were not important. Kat, it's evident Paul still cares about you deeply."

"That's what John said."

"Do you believe it?" Andrew asked.

"I guess..."

"But?"

"But caring about someone doesn't mean you love them."

"Sometimes it means just that, Kat."

Katia sighed.

"I don't mean to confuse you, but you are trying to make feelings and emotions rational and they simply aren't."

"Thanks for being my voice of reason, Andrew." Katia said taking hold of his hand.

***

The next day Katia slept in. Andrew called her to see if she wanted to go with him to see the filming of the last few scenes at the Bahamas.

"That'd be great! I'll be ready in 10 minutes."

John had mentioned they'd be done filming early that afternoon and would be spending the rest of the day at the pool so Katia grabbed her bathing suit and a pair of shorts and t-shirt, put her hair in a ponytail and was ready by the time Andrew was knocking on the door.

When they arrived to the location of the filming, Ringo was painted red and the others were running around the beach.

"I'm not even going to ask!" Katia laughed.

"We'll just have to watch the movie!" Andrew added.

When filming ended, the boys walked over to them. Everyone was chatting except for Paul. He seemed serious and quiet. He didn't really talk to anyone on the way back to the hotel; it wasn't until they were in the lobby of the hotel that Paul pulled Katia to the side and asked if he could talk with her.

"What's up?" She asked casually.

"Jane's gone. She went home."

"What?" Katia asked surprised. "Why?" She heard herself ask.

"Kat, I already told you that Jane and I are not on the same page anymore. Besides, you know I care about you. I want to be with you."

"Paul...we've already gone through this...we're just friends. Let's just leave it at that."

"Kat, we need to talk about this."

"I don't want to talk about this right now. And if I was you, I'd try to patch things up with Jane. She seems like a nice girl." Katia said walking away.

She could hear Paul sigh in frustration. As Katia walked towards Andrew, she saw John walking to Paul.

"What happened?" Andrew asked as he and Katia walked to the pool of the hotel.

"He said Jane went home."

"I thought that'd make you happy."

"I'm not happy, Andrew. I'm an emotional wreck is what I am. He said she went home, but that doesn't mean they broke up. Paul's confused. He doesn't know what he feels for me...or for Jane...and until he gets that straight, I need to stay away."

"What do you feel?"

"I don't know what to think about Paul. I feel like I am still in love with him, but...am I in love with the memories I hold of Paul, from the persona I knew back in Liverpool? Or the Paul he is now?"

"Do you think he's changed that much?" Andrew asked.

"His life has changed enough for me to question it. Besides, we're leaving in a few days...and as I already know, a long distance relationship with Paul simply does not work."

They sat down on one of the pool loungers.

"Why is falling in love so complicated, Andrew? Why can't we control to whom we give our heart?"

"The point of falling in love with someone is to live the love...not to check off what you think is the ideal man for you."

Katia sighed.

"I can't believe today is our last day here." Andrew said trying to change the subject.

"I can't help feel sad at the thought of leaving tomorrow. I know the boys are usually busy most of the day, but just knowing that we could see them and spend time with them..it's going to be so hard to say goodbye."

"We knew this vacation would eventually come to an end."

"I know...let's just enjoy today. Tomorrow we'll be heading to London for a couple of days and then we'll have to go back to our reality in the States."

A few minutes later, Andrew saw John coming into the pool area. John put his finger against his lips in order to keep Andrew from saying anything to Katia. A few seconds later, Katia felt John grab her from the lounger and began running towards the pool.

"John! Put me down! What are you doing?" Katia yelled.

"Oh I'll put you down! In the pool!"

"Don't you dare! If I go in, you're coming with me!" she said as she tightened her grip around his neck.

"We'll see about that!" John said as they reached the pool. Andrew and George were laughing as they followed them. A few of the crew members had also made their way into the pool area and were smiling at the scene. As Katia struggled to convince John to not throw her into the pool, she saw George and Andrew whispering something to each other, smiling and then coming towards them.

"Ummm...John, don't look now, but I think-" and before she could finish what she was saying, George and Andrew rushed towards them and pushed John and Katia, who he was still carrying, into the pool. As Katia and John came up for air, they saw everyone was laughing- and it was contagious."

"Bloody swines!" John smiled as he looked over at Andrew and George. "That was not how it was supposed to go!"

Katia was laughing when she suddenly saw Paul standing in the back of the crowd with an angry look on his face. John got out of the pool and helped Katia out.

"You could have at least waited until I took my clothes off to throw me in the pool." Katia said as she pulled her wet shirt and shorts off, revealing her bathing suit.

"Kat, if you had taken off your clothes, I would have thrown you somewhere else, definitely not the pool." John smiled.

"John!" Katia laughed.

After a few minutes, Katia found herself sitting again with Andrew as she watched Ringo, George and John being overtaken by a group of girls that had showed up.

"Guess I was replaced quite quickly, huh?" Katia asked Andrew smiling.

"Not for a certain Beatle. Paul is coming this way. You want me to stay or do you need some time alone with him?"

"Let me talk to him..."

"Okay...I'll be getting a drink if you need me."

"Thanks." Katia said as Andrew stood up.

Katia looked over at Paul and saw his expression had softened from the angry look he had a while ago.

"Hi Kat."

"Hi Paul. So it looks like our time at the Bahamas is over, huh? Next stop London, right?" Katia asked casually.

"Yeah...it's nice to now we have finished one part of the film...but there's still a lot of work to do at the rest of the locations."

"Yeah...you'll have to tell me how it goes...I am sure you guys will have a lot of good times while you're filming. As for Andrew and me, we'll have to live them through you guys when we watch the film."

"About that..." Paul started. "I wanted to throw something out and see what you thought."

"Thought about what?"

"Well I know you and Andrew are planning on heading back to the States...but how about you stay a while longer."

"Oh Paul...as much as I'd love that...I need to work...I need to make money..."

"I know...so how about getting another job...with us."

"With you guys?"

"Yeah...I mean from what you mentioned, your job is just a job...not really a career or anything...so why not arrange for you...to work for us."

"Me work for you?" Katia chuckled.

"Well...Freda...Brian's secretary could really use some help. She's drowning with work and since she doesn't come on the road, I'm sure Brian could use your help. Kat..." Paul said taking Katia's hand. "I really need to spend more time with you...you and I both know we need to spend some time together."

"Paul...I don't want to talk about us right now..." Katia said taking her hand back and turning her back towards him.

Paul walked around her so he could see her face. "Okay...I'm sorry...but just think about this...please."

"As much as that idea appeals to me, I can't leave Andrew with all the expenses...I pay half of the bills and-"

"So we'll have Andrew help us out too." Paul added.

"I'll have to talk to Andrew about it."

"You do that...but I'd really like for you to stay."

Katia stared at Paul. He seemed very sincere and for a split second she felt as if she were back in Liverpool. Katia couldn't help but think about how precious those moments had been.

"Yeah...so I guess I should go and talk to Andrew about your suggestion and see what he thinks."

"Okay."

As Katia headed towards Andrew, she could feel Paul's eyes following her. Andrew was waiting for her with a drink in his hand.

"Thanks." She said taking the drink. "I need one after what Paul and I talked about."

"What happened? What did you guys talk about?"

"Guess what he proposed?"

"Matrimony?"

"No!" Katia laughed. "He did suggest we stay a little longer."

"How much longer?" Andrew smiled widely.

"A lot longer." she smiled.

Katia told Andrew exactly what Paul had offered and they both worked hard not to show too much excitement. "...so I told him I had to talk to you about it."

"Kat...was there even a need? Seriously...do you know what this means?"

"What?" she laughed.

"It means one hell of a resume!"

"I don't even know what we'll be doing."

"It doesn't really matter, does it? It's not like our job is a career...working for someone like Brian Epstein and the Beatles can actually begin our career."

"So it's a yes?" Katia smiled.

"Of course!"

For the next twenty minutes, Andrew and Katia talked about quitting their jobs, packing up their apartment, going back to the States to get their visas. Katia couldn't contain her excitement as the conversation continued. She was about to go tell Paul their answer, when she saw John approaching him. A few seconds later, John was raising his voice and telling Paul he was crazy. Paul yelled back something that was incomprehensible at Katia's distance and then she saw Paul try to punch John. Luckily Paul missed, but he wasn't as lucky because John made direct contact with his ribs.

Katia gasped as she rushed over to them. Neil, George and a few of the crew members had reached them and had separated them by the time Katia and Andrew got there.

"What's going on? What are you guys doing?" Katia yelled.

"You better stay away John! I Mean it!" Paul yelled as he struggled.

"And what if I don't Paul? What are you going to do about it? It's obvious I can kick your arse!"

"Fuck you, John!" Paul yelled as he was held back by George and Andrew.

John was let go as he didn't have any plan to continue fighting with Paul, but Paul had to be taken out of the pool area and into the hotel lobby.

"What the hell happened?" Katia asked John.

"He'll get over it, Kat. He's just being unreasonable and fuckin' stupid."

"What did you say to him?"

"I didn't say anything! He's the one that doesn't want me hanging around with you!"

"What? Why?"

"He's jealous. Plain and simple...fuckin' jealous!"

"Of you?" Katia questioned.