Season 3...Episode 4
Everyone remains in stunned silence in the Southfork dining room. Gary, Val, Lucy, Emma, and Bobby remain sitting. Sue Ellen is holding onto a chair tightly. Christopher gets up to pour himself a drink. Ann is pacing around the dining room, occasionally glancing at her shotgun. John Ross remains staring at the entry way, with his back to everyone else, hoping Pamela walks back in...the occasional tear rolling down his face.
Sue Ellen is the first person to break the awkward silence. "How could none of you tell me about JR?" she says quietly.
"It is all my fault, Sue Ellen." says Bobby. "JR wrote me a letter and I followed his instructions to the letter. I did not tell John Ross or Christopher about it until after the fact and Cliff was already in jail. They were not part of this the whole time, only after the fact. I acted alone."
Sue Ellen nods briefly. "I appreciate your candor." She walks over to where John Ross is still standing.
"Why did you not tell me the truth John Ross?" she asks pained. "This is something I needed to know."
"Mama," John Ross's voice breaks. "I am sorry. Everything happened so quickly and it was all done by the time I knew. I thought it was best to leave sleeping dogs where they lie."
"You should have told me the truth. You should have told Pamela, he is her father for God sake!" says Sue Ellen.
"He killed her babies!" yells John Ross. "We nailed Cliff for what we could get him for!"
"The ends do not always justify the means, John Ross." pipes in Ann.
"In this case it does," John Ross says defiantly. "He almost killed us. He almost killed his daughter. He murdered his own grandchildren. I have no sympathy for him and never will."
"Uncle Cliff deserves to pay for what he did to my children," agrees Christopher taking a big sip of whisky. "I am fine with him spending his days in jail."
"Bobby, why didn't you tell me about JR?" asks Gary. "I could have helped you!"
"Gary, I didn't want to involve you or Val. You guys were just repairing your marriage, this would've just added strain." replies Bobby.
"I appreciate that Bobby," Val responds. "I can't believe JR was dying. Sue Ellen, I am so sorry."
Sue Ellen looks around at everyone and walks out of the dining room and into Bobby's office, closes the door, and pours herself a giant glass of whisky.
"Ann, let me help you clean up," offers Lucy.
Ann begins crying. "No thank you Lucy. This dinner is ruined. Bobby, I can't believe you didn't tell any of us the truth about JR! Emma, I can't believe you would sleep with John Ross knowing he is married. John Ross, I can't believe you would use my daughter and hurt Pamela like that!" Ann walks out onto the patio and closes the door.
Gary, Val, and Lucy stand. "We are going to go upstairs to our rooms. Let you guys do some talking." They exit the dining room awkwardly.
Emma stands and walks over to John Ross. "Well, now that she knows, we can be together." She grabs his hand.
John Ross pulls away and takes a step back. "We will never be together. What I did, I did for business. Get that through your head," he says angrily.
Emma smirks at him "Sure, you did it for business. Let's see how long you last before you come crawling back to me."
"Emma get out of here and go up to your room. We won't tolerate this behavior." says Bobby exasperated.
Emma stomps away and heads upstairs.
Christopher, Bobby and John Ross remain behind. "I'm sorry about the damage JR's letter caused. I knew it would, but I thought it was best to keep it quiet. It was the wrong decision. John Ross, go find Pamela. Tell her you are sorry about Emma. I will tell her I am to blame for JR's letter being kept secret." says Bobby wistfully.
"I'm not sure there is any use Uncle Bobby. I cheated on her for business documents. I kept that letter secret from her. I lied to her. She may never forgive me." says John Ross sadly.
"You don't know until you try," Christopher chimes in. "I let Elena get away, don't let Pamela get away from you. Right now, she thinks you conned her...just like she conned me. Convince her otherwise, or else you will regret it. You seem to genuinely love her. She needs to see that."
John Ross contemplates it for a moment and nods. "I do love her. Very much so. I didn't realize at first but it has crept up on me. Thanks for the words of wisdom." John Ross stands and pulls out his phone to dial Pamela and exits the house.
"Can I get you a drink, Dad?" offers Christopher as he gets up to get a refill.
"Yes," says Bobby. "If there ever was a time for it, it is now. I have to go talk to Ann."
Bobby takes his drink, walks outside to the patio to talk to Ann.
Christopher remains seated by himself and drinking alone.
... ...
Pamela keys open her hotel suite door at the Ritz and drags in her two suitcases and her copy of the Ryland files.
After closing the door, she sits down in a large oversized chair and takes a deep breath. At that moment her cell phone rings "John Ross" it reads on her caller ID. Pamela hits ignore, tosses her phone onto the bed, and begins sobbing.
...
John Ross is walking down the driveway to his house when Emma pops out in front of him.
"Now we can be alone," she purrs seductively as she begins to unbutton her top in front of him.
John Ross just stares at her incredulously "What part of no, don't you understand? What I did with you may cost me the best thing I got going for me. I'm not going to do it again!" he yells at her and then walks away.
Emma rebuttons her top and walks away bitterly.
...
Sue Ellen is driving her Mercedes sedan at high speeds down a country road when she looks in her rearview mirror and sees flashing lights.
She silently curses herself and pulls over. A young officer asks to see her license and registration. He smells alcohol on her breath and asks her to step out of the car.
Sue Ellen complies and cannot quite walk in a straight line. "I'm sorry officer, it must be my heels. It has been a long and stressful day" she says.
"Ma'am have you been drinking?" inquires the policeman.
Sue Ellen nods sadly and puts her hands in front of her for the cop to put handcuffs on her. "Ma'am," said the cop looking around. "I recognize you. You ran for governor and have done a great amount of charity work. I am not going to arrest you, because it will be newsworthy. Please call someone to pick you up, and I encourage you in the strongest possible terms to seek alcohol counseling or attend AA meetings."
She gives the officer a slight smile "I am eternally grateful to you." Sue Ellen pulls out her phone and begins to scroll through looking for someone to call. She realizes there is only one person she is not angry at, so she dials Pamela's cell phone.
...
Pamela is removing her makeup in a mirror and changed into a pair of sweats, when her phone rings again.
"Damn it, John Ross. Leave me alone." she says to aloud to herself. The caller ID reads "Sue Ellen"
"Sue Ellen, I need to be alone right now. I can't see or talk to John Ross." begins Pamela.
"Pamela, I need your help. Can you please come and get me? I am in trouble." says Sue Ellen quietly.
"Are you alright? Where are you?" asks Pamela.
"I'm on County Road 43, several miles from Southfork. I was pulled over for speeding and drinking. There is no one else I can call right now." Sue Ellen says sadly.
"Oh, God Sue Ellen. I'm leaving right now, I will be right there." said Pamela, hanging up the phone and running out of her hotel room.
...
Elena is sitting in her Ewing Global offices, late at night, working on Joaquin's proposal when a drunk Christopher stumbles in.
"Hey you!" he slurs. "I've been looking for you"
"Christopher, you're drunk. You need to go home." she says sternly.
"That is not a good place to be," he says shaking his head and sitting down in front of her. "Bad things went down tonight, so here I am with you."
"Is everything ok?" asks Elena, genuinely concerned.
"Well, let's take it from the top. John Ross is cheating on Pamela with Emma. Someone mailed pictures of the two of them together to Ann and Pamela. Emma is infatuated with John Ross, who wants nothing to do with her. Pamela found a letter from JR to my dad saying he was dying of cancer, so he had his P.I. Bum shoot him and then frame Cliff Barnes for it. So Bobby, John Ross, and I are in the doghouse with everyone. Sue Ellen stormed off. Pamela left in tears and won't talk to anyone. So it was a great anniversary dinner for Dad and Ann." says Christopher, out of breath from speaking fast. "On the plus side, I got to see Gary, Val, and Lucy. Val still looks smokin'." he says winking at Elena.
Elena's mouth is wide open. "Oh. My. God. All that happened?!" she says incredulously.
Christopher nods. "Yep. So the office may be awkward with everyone here now. Be prepared for that. You guys should form a girls club!" says Christopher beaming. "It can be you versus the guys, since we seemed to have screwed you all over at some point."
"I'm sending you home in a company car." Elena calls downstairs and has a driver sent up to get Christopher.
"I miss you Elena," he says sadly as he walks away. "Can we talk about things sometime?"
"Yes, but you need to be sober." she says emphatically.
Now alone in her office, she contemplates all of the information she just heard...and what she will do with it. Elena then picks up the phone and calls Joaquin.
...
Pamela drives along County Road 43, until she sees flashing lights and sees Sue Ellen's car. She hops out and runs up to her. "Are you alright?" Pamela asks as she hugs her. Sue Ellen merely nods.
"Mrs. Ewing, I am letting Sue Ellen go home with you. I don't want to see this nice lady's reputation ruined." says the officer.
Pamela nods appreciatively. "Thank you very much, officer. And next time y'all are doing a fundraising event, please give me a call so I can repay your kindness." she says and hands him her card. Pamela walks Sue Ellen to the passenger side of her car and helps her in. She hops in the driver's side. "Don't worry Sue Ellen, I will have someone pick-up your car for you." she says soothingly.
They ride home in near silence as Sue Ellen just stares out the window.
Pamela escorts Sue Ellen, who is uneasy on her feet, into her hotel suite.
She lays Sue Ellen down on her bed and hands her a bottle of water. "Everything will be fine, Sue Ellen. No one knows what happened but the officer and us. He won't say anything and neither will I. Do you have a problem with alcohol?"
Sue Ellen thinks about it "Yes, I do. I always have. I need help and this was my breaking point. Something needs to change."
"Why don't you start attending AA meetings? I will always have my door open to you if you need to talk."
"Yes, you're right. I'm going to start going tomorrow. Thank you so much Pamela," Sue Ellen says gratefully and squeezes her hand before pausing for a few seconds. "We both had a pretty rough night, didn't we?"
Pamela nods "Yes, we did. I am so sorry you found out about JR, the way you did. I should not have done it there...I...I just was not thinking clearly and needed to air the dirty laundry."
"I am glad you did, Pamela. It may never have happened if you didn't. I am hurt by what Bobby did and by the fact John Ross and Christopher covered it up. My issues isn't what they did, it is the fact they kept it a secret."
"My father killed my babies. He pretended Aunt Pam was alive for decades, when she was in fact dead," said Pamela tearing up again. "He deserves to be punished for what he did. But I was tricked and mislead into being complicit in framing him. How am I ever supposed to trust Bobby or Christopher again?" Her voice breaks "How am I ever supposed to trust and forgive John Ross?"
"Look at me," Sue Ellen puts her hand under Pamela's chin. "This family is not easy. Not easy at all. But you are a strong, young woman. You can fit in and make it your own family. Call out Bobby and Christopher. They will own their mistakes and apologize, but you need to make it clear that it is unacceptable. As for John Ross, I can tell you this much. I love my son. I know my son. My son loves you very much. He may have made some foolish choices and he has to live with them, and so do you, but he is in love with you. Anyone that sees the way he looks at you knows that."
Pamela gives a weak smile "I'm not sure of that anymore, Sue Ellen. We married for the wrong reasons, way too soon. This was destined to explode in our faces, but we were too blind to see it. I do love John Ross, I loved him before I agreed to marry him. But I was never sure of his reasons or the extent of his feelings. I agreed to marry him to help your family and to oust my father, but also because I loved him."
"I know you did Pamela. We all know you did. So does John Ross. But if you are ever going to listen to me, this is the time. He loves you. Know that. What you need to do is take time for yourself and do some thinking. I hope your feelings for my son win out, because I think he would be absolutely lost without you. As much as John Ross wants to be like JR, he isn't. He has more heart and emotion then he cares to ever admit. I guess he gets that from me," Sue Ellen smiles. "Even if you need space from him, John Ross is not going to let you go. He is going to pursue you, because that is what he does."
"I just need to do alot of thinking Sue Ellen. Alot of thinking." Pamela stands up and covers Sue Ellen with a blanket. "Why don't you rest here and I will sleep on the couch. I will talk to you in the morning. Good night, Sue Ellen." she gives her mother-in-law a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for talking with me. It helped a bit"
"Thank you for saving me tonight, Pamela. My son is lucky to have someone like you in his life. Good night" says Sue Ellen as Pamela exits.
Pamela walks into the living room of her suite and begins to write a letter.
...
Emma walks into the main living room of Southfork.
She finds Christopher drinking, sitting alone on the couch.
"Still reeling from tonight?" she asks him, sneaking up on him
Christopher looks up. "Man, that was some intense stuff. You really helped stir up a hornet's nest in this house."
"It wasn't intentional," Emma replies. "I thought John Ross and I had a connection, but apparently that was only one-sided."
"Sorry," says Christopher without an ounce of sympathy. "Be wary of John Ross. He can be a shark. The only reason he is married to Pamela is because they're so much alike. She is a shark too."
Emma pours herself some whisky and downs it immediately. She rubs Christopher's hand gently.
"We could be good together, why don't we head upstairs and take this whisky with us?" she asks him seductively.
Christopher stares at her a moment and grins "Oh, so now that you are moving on from John Ross, it is my turn?
Emma walks around the table and begins to rub his shoulders. "I've had the hots for you since Ann's trial. But I kept myself in check. I don't feel like I need to do that anymore."
Christopher stands up and staggers a bit. "Really now?" he grabs her and kisses her. "This is a bad idea, but I really don't care."
Emma grabs his hand and they walk up to her room laughing with a bottle of whisky.
...
John Ross sits in his desk chair drinking his sixth glass of straight whisky. He is misty eyed as he stares at a picture of himself and Pamela taken 3 months ago at the state fair.
"I'm so sorry Pamela." he says, before taking a big sip and trying to call her again.
...
Joaquin stands on the terrace of his hotel smoking a cigar when his phone rings.
"Is everything going according to plan?" asks a middle-aged Hispanic male.
"Yes, Felix. The presentation went reasonably well today. My sources tell me Harris Ryland is making some major moves to get out of jail soon. We should schedule a meeting with him. His lawyer, Caroline Kirkland, told me today that pictures were mailed to Pamela and Ann Ewing showing John Ross Ewing and Emma Ryland engaged in an affair. Some serious family drama at Southfork tonight," says Joaquin, with a grin.
"Excellent," says Felix. "That will send Emma Ryland back towards her family, which will get Harris off my back. More importantly it should cause a major divide within Ewing Global, as John Ross and Pamela Ewing share 1/3 of the ownership. Time to divide and conquer."
"Yes, sir." replies Joaquin. "According to Elena Ramos, JR Ewing was dying of cancer and arranged for his private investigator to shoot him and frame Cliff Barnes for the death. That piece of dirty laundry also was aired tonight."
Felix chuckles lightly "That is pretty clever! From what I've heard about him, JR Ewing was not a man you'd want to mess with." he pauses for a moment. "Without proof of this, we can't use this information anyway. And Cliff Barnes is a sick man. He killed his own grandchildren, for our interests it remains best if he stays in jail. That keeps Ms. Ramos in the driver's seat, on his behalf, and I'd rather work with her."
"Agreed." says Joaquin.
"I will be checking in again in a few days. Keep up the good work" Felix says as he hangs up.
Joaquin continues to puff on his cigar staring out into the night.
...
Just as the dawn is breaking in Dallas, Pamela gets out of a chauffered car.
The driver carries her luggage up to the airport workers as Pamela boards a Ewing Global jet.
"Captain Tapper, please file a flight plan to New York. I want you to then change it after we are in the air, to a destination of my choice." says Pamela cryptically.
The captain looks at her curiously. "Yes, ma'am."
"And captain, if anyone asks you in the coming days where you dropped me off, do not tell them please. I am going away for a reason. And it will be worth your while to keep it to yourself" says Pamela.
Captain Tapper nods, as Pamela sits down on a leather couch and pulls out a tablet to read.
Within 10 minutes, the jet is airborne.
... ...
Christopher wakes up with a pounding headache and realizes he is not in his bed. He is naked and lying next to Emma.
"Oh no, what have I done?" says Christopher, sitting up.
Emma rolls over and yawns. "Why, hello" she says as she kisses him.
He looks uncomfortable. "Emma, what did we do last night?"
She grins at him. "What DIDN'T we do last night?" she climbs on top of him and begins to kiss him.
"How about round 2?" she says and they begin to have sex again.
... ...
Sue Ellen awakens in Pamela's hotel room. Her head hurts mildly, but she looks to see a pitcher of coffee still hot and a bagel laid out on a tray for her.
She smiles slightly, "Thank you Pamela" she calls out as she gets up.
Not hearing anything she walks out into the living room and finds a letter.
"Sue Ellen,
Thank you for talking with me last night. I meant what I said, if you ever need to talk about something that bothers you or are tempted to drink, I will be there for you. No judgements, no lectures.
I need to get away for a little while. I need to do some thinking. Please tell John Ross, so he does not worry and try to come and find me. I do love him, but my brain is muddled. I promise I will be back when I get some clarity.
Love,
Pamela"
Sue Ellen sighs. "Oh Pamela, he is going to go looking for you now."
She drinks a quick cup of coffee, eats the bagel, and leaves the empty room to go home and change.
...
Bobby, John Ross, and Christopher enter the Ewing Global boardroom for a quick meeting. Elena is already seated, with Sue Ellen coming in a few moments later. Sue Ellen sits noticeably apart from everyone else.
"I wanted everyone to discuss Joaquin's proposal from yesterday. I believe time is of the essence," says Elena.
"Shouldn't we wait until Pamela arrives?" says Christopher looking at everyone. "The whole board should be here."
"Pamela won't be coming in today. Or tomorrow." says Sue Ellen. "She went out of town. I think it is best if we table this discussion for now. Forgive us, for the inconvenience, Mr. Castro."
Joaquin stands up to leave and gives a simple bow. Elena walks with him out, grinning as her back is to the Ewings.
John Ross looks over at her, as soon as they leave.. "Mama, where did she go?"
Sue Ellen slides Pamela's note over to John Ross.
He reads it, as his eyes sadden. "What happened last night? Why did she leave you this note?" he asks sharply.
"I called Pamela after being pulled over for a DUI following dinner." Everyone looks at her shocked and with sadness.
"I hit rock bottom. The officer was kind enough to not place me under arrest. I needed to call someone and after what happened last night, the only one I felt comfortable talking to was Pamela. She smoothed things over with the police, picked me up, and took me to her hotel room and took care of me. When I woke up this morning, this note was waiting for me. All of her things were gone."
John Ross processes it a second, "Did she say where she was going or give a hint of it?"
Sue Ellen shakes her head, "No, no she didn't. I think it is best if everyone gives her some space for a bit. She has been through alot and needs time to think. I've been there myself."
At that moment, John Ross bolts up and opens the conference room doors, "Jill, did Pamela take the company jet?" he demands to know.
"Yes, she took off shortly after dawn. The original flight plan was for New York City, but then it was changed mid-air. I don't know where she changed her destination to." answered Jill.
John Ross storms back in "Damn it, Pamela." He walks over to the window overlooking the Dallas skyline and starts pacing.
Bobby and Christopher leave to go grab breakfast. "We will let you two talk alone," Bobby says.
John Ross turns around to look at Sue Ellen. "Mama, I am truly sorry. Truly sorry for not telling you about JR. I thought I was doing the right thing and I didn't mean to hurt you." he goes over and hugs her.
"I know, John Ross. I know." she answers hugging him back.
"I need to find Pamela. I need to make things right." he says to her desperately.
"Listen to me, John Ross. She needs time. She is hurting alot right now. Her letter said she loves you, so hold that near and dear to your heart. Give her the time to process and think. She will be back." says Sue Ellen confidently.
John Ross stares out the window. "I hope so. I need her by my side."
