The next time he saw Katinka, it was probably more by chance than any of the others. As it was his mother's birthday he decided to take her to the little theatre house within the city, as any good son would do. It was there he was met with the biggest suprise of all.

At the theatre house there was a ballet performamce on instead of a play. He didn't know what music they were performing to, it had an eastern European feel, but he recognized it the vaguest bit. He leaned back into his seat next to his mother, eyes lazily looking at the stage -- that is until the dancers came out onto the stage. There were only three of them, but one stood out more than all the others. She had dark brown hair that almost looked black, a nice figure, and while he was seated almost too far away to make out the smaller features of her face, he recognized that sloping nose and hooded eyes. The only thing that really made him doubt whether or not it was who he thought was the sereneness of her face. Her face was calm; there was nothing remotely similar to the euphoria he had seen in her before. It was surreal. He watched her, enraptured, until the curtain fell.

He told his mother to wait for him as he moved towards the stage, wondering if he could catch a glimpse of her. As people left the theatre, he walked opposite the current of thew crowd, reaching a door near the stage. Proper convention told him not to enter, but the burning curiosity made him disregard convention. He opened the door to back stage, walking through a hallway. He emerged into an open space, looking side to side. On the right, he saw her. There stood Katinka Raskolnikova in a leotard, face still containing a semblance of calmness. She looked up, her eyes flashing as she saw him. Like every other time she caught a glimpse of him, she made her way over, a huge smile on her face.

" How nice of you to come!" She grabbed his hand, shaking it with both of hers. "What brings you here?"

"I brought my mother here for her birthday," he told her, face still a little shocked.

Who would have known?

"Ah. That is good for her. Did she enjoy it?"

"I believe so."

"Good. I am proud then."

She puffed out her chest, a satisfied smile on her face. Her hands still hadn't left his.

"I didn't-"

"Katinka!"

Brett turned, looking to see a woman making her way towards them. He looked back to Katinka, noticing a brooding look had taken over the one of satisfaction.

"What are you doing?" the woman asked when she had reached them.

Katinka's hands tightened around his.

"I am talking to my friend, Brett. What are you doing?"

"I'm checking up on you, my dear." She smiled softly at her, before turning her gaze to him. "So you're Katinka's friend?"

"Did I not just tell you?" Katinka interjected, annoyance in her voice.

"I am. Nice to meet you," Brett answered, smiling.

He didn't know what was going on, but he guessed he better be cordial through it.

The woman looked over him once, eyes lingering on his hand within Katinka's before giving something of a smile.

"I am Katherine, Katinka's friend and manager." She looked over at Katinka. "We need to be going soon, so I'm sorry to say we need to say goodbye."

"That's fine. It is almost supper time."

Brett smiled to both of them, looking over at Katinka. Whatever spell she had been under before seemed gone as she looked around with distrustful eyes.

"Goodbye, comrade," Katinka told him.

"Goodbye."

He smiled again and bowed a little, turning to leave when he was stopped by a soft kiss on his hand. He turned to look, but Katinka had already let going and was walking away towards her bag. Katherine stared at him, eyes questioning. He bowed again and took his leave.

His mother was waiting like she had told him, a smile on her face. Somehow he had the feeling she thought he had a some sort of crush on one of the ballerinas. They walked out together, her hand on his elbow.

"So?" his mother asked.

"So?"

"Who is the lucky lady I had to be put on hold for?"

"Mom, it wasn't like that."

"C'mon now. You don't have to hide it from me. Was it the one with the darkest hair? The one who looked eastern European?"

He felt himself flush slightly.

"She's a pretty lady."

"It's not like that," he reiterated.

It really wasn't like that.

"I saw the way you watched her. You were enamored." She grinned, playfully tapping his elbow with her other hand.

"I... I couldn't believe she was there. I had seen her before, but there was always a different feel to her before. It was ... It was kinda shocking to see how much she could change when she danced."

"I say it was destiny then if you keep running into her. That's how me and your father met. We kept ending up at the same place."

"Maybe," he sighed.

The image of how calm her face looked kept popping up into his mind. He couldn't believe how much of a change there could be in her.

==>

So I was wondering if anyone would like a full on story to this or just another part?

-Johann