It Used To Be Just You And Me
By Carter Colby
Disclaimer: All characters are property of ABC TV. Sunday Dress is from Hole.
Rating: PG-13 (One swear word)
Summary: Kat vents at Nikolas.
The three of them stood outside where everyone could see them and hear them. But everyone was inside of Kelly’s drinking and eating and talking. "How could I have ever thought I loved you?"
"I don’t know Nikolas. I’ve often asked myself. Maybe, just maybe it was because I was helpless. You so love that character trait in women."
"What’s that supposed to mean?" Nikolas took a step closer to Kathrine, quite possibly to protect Elizabeth from Kathrine's words.
"Why Nikolas, must I really explain?"
"Humor me." He did not look humored.
"Oh all right. One last time." She smiled and took a step closer to the two of them, her voice lowering as if she was going to share some great secret. "Nikolas is drawn to women who need to be protected, who are in distress. I’m sorry Nikolas but it’s true. You treat us all like damsels in distress." Tammy stepped out,
"You are a bitch! Do you know that?" Liz shouted and Tammy went back in. No way did she want to get caught in that!
"Why Elizabeth! That’s hardly nice. You know, that would almost hurt if I had feelings."
"Them?" Nikolas asked, not wanting the verbal sparring to go any further than it already had "Who’s them?"
"Well, let’s see." Kathrine held up a hand and began to count on her fingers. "There’s poor defenseless Emily. Not to be taken the wrong way." She explained to Elizabeth, "I’m just using her as a case reference. Where was I? Oh yes. Poor wronged Lasha. There’s Poor Elizabeth who’s mourning over the loss of her lover by mooning over his brother." Kathrine’s voice began to rise and quiver. And Elizabeth was silent; her fears come to reality. She was not the only- "Well Nikolas, despite your efforts to turn me into" her voice became high pitched and breathy and she batted her eyelashes at the two of them "Poor misunderstood Kathrine." She returned to her voice, the harshness and cruelty of reality so evident, so blatantly obvious. "You realized I was neither misunderstood or defenseless. I knew exactly what I was doing. So did you. You wanted perfection and I gave it to you. I gave you what you wanted." She walked off, beneath the outside arch and to the street. "Kathrine" Nikolas called, going after her. He caught up to her in a stream of people. "Kathrine." He called sharply and grabbed her arm and twisted her rather viciously towards him. "What the hell are you talking about? You gave me nothing! DO YOU HEAR ME? NOTHING!" Elizabeth ran out after him, staying a distance behind. "Don’t you see Nikolas?" Her voice hushed to a whisper, floating to his ears. "Nikolas, I gave you everything. Everything! I gave you all that I was and you made it seem like nothing." She looked at him like she looked at his father. The same passion and intensity as well as the same hatred. And for the first time, Elizabeth saw the chemistry flow from one to the other and back again. She felt like she was intruding on some private moment, she felt like an outsider. They seemed so oblivious of the strangers around them, as the strangers around them were oblivious to them. But this, this spell did not last. Kathrine wretched her arm free of Nikolas’s hand, white marks where his fingers crushed her skin. "Kath-" She stopped him, even before he began to apologize, and she knew he was going to apologize. "Don’t even bother Nikolas." Her eyes flash with anger, "Do not even try. Not all women need to be rescued." She saw Elizabeth and smiled at her. "At least, I don’t." She pressed her key chain and her car purred to life and her hips swayed as she ran her fingers through her hair as she made her way to the car.
Put on my best Sunday dress and walked straight into this mess of mine. And I come here all undressed, for the boys and the pain and to take what is mine and you burn...WATCHING YOU BURN WATCHING YOU BURN WATCHING YOU BURN WATCHING YOU BURN WATCHING YOU BURN WATCHING YOU BURN WATCHING YOU BURN Put on my best Sunday dress.
Kathrine slid into her car and cranked the music, sharply twisting the car into an illegal U-turn and drove off. And that’s how Nikolas remembers her now, with the wind in her hair and the sun in her eyes and their child with-in her.