Sunrays soared between the open blinds and Pamela woke to the smoky aroma of bacon, which stemmed from the kitchen, in Christopher's city apartment. Dressed in a bathrobe Christopher kept at the apartment for late stays at EE offices, Pamela wrapped the soft material around her body and climbed from the bed. "Hey, sleepyhead." She didn't return his joyful mood and Christopher poured her a cup of coffee from the fresh pot. "I decided to drop in, on my way to work. I have to admit, I didn't expect to still find you here."
"Well, it's not like I have anywhere else to go." She shrugged her shoulders, and wandered toward the wall-length windows, which overlooked the Dallas skyline. When she had refused to return to Southfork, a place she couldn't call her home without John Ross as her husband, Christopher had offered his apartment and Pamela had accepted, since it remained her only option.
"My father asked after you, so did Ann. They're under the impression you and John Ross are at his city apartment." Christopher continued to rustle up his best attempt of a fried breakfast and bowed his head, as he knew his next piece of information would cause another tear in her heart. "John Ross didn't come home. In fact, I haven't heard from him and I called the office before I left the ranch but Sarah says she hasn't seen him." Pamela remained still, her expression blank, as she warmed her hands with the coffee between each palm. The cruel way in which John Ross had ended their relationship and his role in the scheme had left Christopher filled with remorse but, as John Ross had fiercely pointed out; it was the best decision for all involved, most of all Pamela.
"Technically, he's a free man. Truthfully, he always was. The vows we spoke the day we married in a tacky chapel in Vegas didn't really mean what they should have. I don't know why I let myself believe that we could ever be happily married." She diminished the emotion behind their decision to marry and remained nonchalant. "I've spoken with a divorce lawyer. We meet this afternoon to discuss the plan of action but, since John Ross has a deal on the table, he sees no reason why the divorce shouldn't take a couple months. Finances certainly won't be a problem." Money had never been of much interest to Pamela; her mother had little in her childhood and she had only truly been introduced to the importance of money after she and her father met. "There are no children to bicker over custody for and no joint properties." Their life had barely started, and Pamela had no wish to battle for Southfork, nor the fancy cars John Ross possessed. "Once I have my affairs in order, I should be able to find more suitable accommodation and I'll be out of your way. Then, once the divorce has been finalised, I can move back to California with my mother."
"You're welcome to stay here until the divorce is finalised, Pamela. Consider the place your own. I have no need for it." Christopher assured, somewhat perplexed by the idea of a life after Pamela. Even after they had divorced, she had the kind of presence that Christopher expected to remain with him for a lifetime and, in an odd fashion, she was a connection to the mother he had lost. They were family, and that ran far deeper than her relationship with John Ross, or the children brutally ripped from them.
"Dallas isn't my home, Christopher. The only reason I ever came here was my father." She shook her head; she needed a fresh start. A plan already started to form in her mind; a month in California, to soothe any fears her mother had for her welfare, and then the world would soon become her oyster. Australia, Japan, France and Ireland were all places which enchanted Pamela.
"Just because your life with John Ross has ended, it doesn't mean your life in Dallas has to too." Christopher protested, "There are still people here who care deeply for you, myself included."
Pamela refused to accept as much; Sue Ellen, and the entire Ewing family, for that matter, cared for her simply because she had married John Ross. If not for him, they would still see her as the spawn of their enemy, no matter that she had cut off any ties from her father since his imprisonment. Sadness overwhelmed her as she collided with the sudden realisation that her family had been limited to her mother. And, in truth, Pamela didn't particularly feel as if she could even count on her support. The only person who she had felt a deep connection with had been Tommy, and her schemes had literally killed him. She started to consider the possibility of a further search for her paternal aunt, who had supposedly died a mere few months after her disappearance from Dallas. The possibility that her father had somehow manipulated the situation for his own personal benefit continually crossed her mind. If he could commit murder, fraud would barely leave a scratch on his conscience. "Christopher, I appreciate the sentiment but I have no reason to stay here. Even for you, I would be a constant reminder of the future my father crushed. The children we lost, the way we jeopardised your relationship with Elena."
Still bitter of his recent separation, Christopher scoffed. "We found our way back to one another and she jeopardised it all by herself. The only person to blame for our failed relationship is Elena." She had broken his trust, and her betrayal had opened his lines to see just how blurred the lines were between herself and Pamela. They weren't so different, after all. "If we were really to happen, we would have found our way back to one another and fought harder to stay together. Maybe we didn't because, deep down, we knew we weren't meant to be, after all."
"Sometimes, it doesn't matter how hard you fight." Pamela countered, as her mind inevitably wandered to John Ross. "No matter how much you love someone, you can never make them love you back."
The second John Ross noticed his mother waltz past his office, he leaped from his chair. "Mama."
Fully aware her son had followed her, Sue Ellen blatantly dismissed him as she made her way to over to the office which held Christopher's name. "I'm busy, John Ross." She had been brave to even consider an appearance in the office but she didn't have the stamina to enter another confrontation with her son. She knocked on Christopher's closed door and entered to discover the empty room.
John Ross faced his mother and exhaled, in exasperation, as her back remained to him. "We need to talk." She made a blatant refusal to pay him an inch of her attention and John Ross scurried behind his mother as she strutted back into the direction of her own office. Various employees passed mother and son by and John Ross waited until they reached the privacy of her office doorway before he plucked up the nerve to confess his latest action. "Look, you can avoid me all you want but you should know that Pamela and I have separated." He braced himself, for what would undoubtedly be another bad reaction. While he and Pamela may not have been married for more than a few months, his mother had quickly warmed to Pamela and would be understandably upset.
Disdain filled her expression, as Sue Ellen finally turned to face her son. Still sour from his many betrayals, she somehow mustered the ability to disconnect herself from the situation. "Well, I suppose, I should be relieved you actually bothered to update me on the latest turn of events yourself, rather than lay back and let the likes of Emma shove the information in my face. Or you could have taken a leaf from your father's book and written me a letter." She clenched the paperwork in her hand and prepared to shut John Ross out, her hand rested on the handle. "Excuse me, but I'm extremely busy."
Troubled by her lack of reaction, John Ross watched with a frown of confusion as his mother nonchalantly closed the office door in his face. After a moment of disbelief, he busted in. "Is that all you have to say?"
"John Ross." She snapped, as she raised her head and let her eyes roll. "I am not in the mood for this conversation."
"You have avoided me for days." John Ross barked, as he slammed the door behind him. "You are my mother. You should support me." Whatever injustice his father may have provoked over the years, he always appreciated and loved every side of John Ross' personality but, the way his mother had reacted to his involvement in Cliff's arrest, John Ross didn't feel confident his mother could offer the same.
"Support you?" Sue Ellen screamed, so furious she leapt to her feet. "Support you while you blindside your wife into the belief that her father murdered your own. Support you and stand by while you live a lie for the rest of your life. Support you when you were more than happy to blindside me too. If you and Bobby had your way, I would still be the clueless idiot who wept over the future I lost with your father and the two of you would have stood by, even if you knew fully well that there would never have been a future."
"How many times do I have to say this to you; I didn't know about J.R. until it was all over and done with." Her son vented, and his desperation to make his mother understand shone through. "Bobby and Bum didn't come clean until Christopher and I confronted them, days after Cliff had been arrested."
"Christopher –" Sue Ellen almost choked, "Christopher knew too?" The realisation dawned on her that nearly the entire family had been behind the betrayal, not simply her own son, and she only became more incensed by the notion. "What about Ann?" If her supposed best friend had been involved, it would have been the final straw to break her heart. "Did she know?" A simple shake of his head soothed her fears and Sue Ellen sarcastically noted to herself how the men of the family had followed form and schemed to keep the women uninformed. "So, the three of you, and Bum included, all made some kind of pact to lie to everyone you know in the name of J.R. Ewing." Mother and son stared at one another and Sue Ellen shook her head, unable to view the situation from any kind of perspective but warped. "You framed Cliff Barnes for your father's murder and you married Pamela for Barnes Global assets. Instead of love the woman you married, you'll use and abuse her. Just the way your father did me because you learned from the best."
Offended by the lack of faith his mother had in his affection for Pamela, John Ross snarled. "Because you were always so innocent, huh, mother?" Sue Ellen flashed her eyes wide but quickly narrowed them, as she attempted to interpret which of her many indiscretions he would pinpoint. "J.R. has another affair so poor Sue Ellen has another drink." His mother pursed her lips, able to withstand his remark. "Except, that just wasn't enough for you, was it?" John Ross pointed out, as he started to wander toward the desk. "No, you had to humiliate my father. You had to have your own affair and with Cliff Barnes, no less." The mention of the affair she had participated in before her son had been born caused Sue Ellen to swallow the lump in her throat. "To top it all off, you nearly killed yourself and your unborn child with the addiction you have allowed to rule your life." Tearful and cornered, Sue Ellen failed to respond and John Ross smirked. "Just because I never asked you about it, doesn't mean I didn't know all these years. This is Texas. People talk." He could still remember the day a married socialite his father had knocked back readily informed him that there had once been a possibility his father could have been Cliff Barnes. Thankfully, Bobby assured him that several DNA tests had proved the rumours to be untrue but the affair had, in fact, happened.
Tormented by memories of the past, Sue Ellen brushed away the tears, "John Ross, please –"
"Please, what, mother?" John Ross seethed, as resentment he had once buried toward his mother hurled itself from the box locked deep inside of him. "None of it really mattered, after all. Half of Texas knew you only married my father because you liked the idea of social position. So, don't you dare scold me on my reasons for marrying Pamela when your intentions were less than honourable." Instead of defend herself, Sue Ellen stood tall and John Ross scowled, in frustration. "You have never been a saint, mother. Don't play one now that my father's dead." Without another word, John Ross fled from the office and stormed into his own, where he crumpled into his office chair and slammed his hand on the desk, furious at how easily the conversation had run out of hand. Little did he know his mother had done the exact same.