Southfork Ranch; the Lounge – Morning

Miss Phyllis casually strolled down the staircase, sipping on her cup of Earl Grey tea. A sound from the lounge caught her attention. When she peeked around the corner, she noticed Bobby, who was placing ornaments on the tree. "Kind of early to be doing that, isn't it? It's barely past five."

Startled, Bobby turned around and smiled faintly. "Morning, Auntie Phyllis…."

Miss Phyllis set her mug on the nearby coffee table and proceeded to help with the decorating. "I can't believe I'm spending my first Christmas at Southfork in nearly 50 years. You were just a little boy when I left here, you know," she commented reflectively.

"I know that," Bobby answered in an agitated tone.

"I know you're still hurting over Jennifer's death-"

"It's not so much her death as it is the fact that she betrayed our whole family. She opened up our family to all the pain that Orlando inflicted upon us this past year! I've lost two women I loved very much – Pam and April. Jennifer forfeited her chance to be one of them!"

Phyllis was silent for a moment, then she commented, "Well, we still have a lot to be grateful for this holiday. As much as I detest Nolan, he was able to get Junior acquitted from the murder of Jeremy Wendell."

"Yeah, yeah…. Another SOB who proved he couldn't be trusted. Thank God Sue Ellen and I saw through his and Anita's scheme to get Ewing Oil back before they had a chance! I suppose it's our fault for trying to give him another chance…."

Miss Phyllis took Bobby's cold hands into hers and gained eye contact. "Bobby, I've been hurt a lot in my life as well. You don't have an idea how much so…. I had to learn to let go of the hate before it ate me up. If you let it consume you, it'll just ruin your whole life."

"I've had to do that time after time again, Auntie Phyllis. When I've finally found peace, someone managed to do it all over again. How much can one person take?"

"I wish I had an answer for that, Bobby. Just be patient and take it one day at a time. That's what I've had to do," Miss Phyllis answered softly.

Suddenly, a knock came to the door, which prompted the two of them to answer. Standing at the other side were J.R. and Cally.

"What are you doing back so soon, Junior?" Miss Phyllis asked. "You said you wouldn't be back till a week before Christmas."

"Well, J.R. and I had an unexpected change of plans," Cally stated gleefully as J.R. pushed her wheelchair into the lounge.

"Oh?"

Sue Ellen casually stepped down the stairs, making no noise as she tied her beige bathrobe. She listened to the rest of the conversation from the base.

"While we were eating at one of those fancy restaurants down there in Australia," J.R. began, "something just came over me. I suddenly realized how lucky I am to be free and not a victim of the electric chair. Life is too short not to take chances, and, well, I asked Cally to marry me again!"

"You what?" Bobby answered exclamatorily.

Cally held up her hand and showed off the big diamond ring on her hand. "I sure didn't hesitate to say yes. It looks like I'm Mrs. J.R. Ewing all over again!"

"We couldn't wait to share the news with all of you in person, so we headed back as soon as we could. I promised Cally I'd be a better person, and that I'm going to do. Getting acquitted from the murder really opened up my eyes, Bobby. This was truly the scariest thing I've ever been through in my life, and I have another chance. I know you probably don't believe me, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to show you and Sue Ellen that I'm sorry... not just for trying to take back Ewing Oil again but for everything!"

"We'll see about that, won't we?" Bobby rolled his eyes and returned to decorating the tree.

Sue Ellen jumped in her position. It was hard to tell if she was pleased or disturbed by the news. She arched her eyebrow in a peculiar manner before she returned upstairs.