"No," Kate says slowly, drawing the word out. Looking back, she realizes how stupid it had been. Everything with Ben had been stupid, from dating him to sleeping with him and right back to inviting him to that party Marshall had insisted they'd throw. But until Harry she hasn't exactly made great decisions regarding dudes and she still isn't sure how to explain it.

"He was an idiot," she settles on saying finally. "And being around him made me an idiot, I think." It turned her into someone she wasn't, that much was certain. "I let him push me around once, too. I mean, it didn't get very far. My mom saw it and she transitioned into Buck. He's the alter who's a Vietnam war hero or whatever. So Buck came to my dance recital, saw Ben and then pretty much kicked his ass."

But sometimes she wonders. If Tara hadn't seen it, if Buck and Marshall hadn't beaten the hell out of Ben, how far she would have let it go. If she would have stopped him from shoving her again or if she would have let him get away with it.