Dallas, Texas

"Daddy!"

Clear as anything after finally mastering more than just a few babbled sounds and words decipherable only amongst the family, John Ross ran to JR as soon as he caught sight of him through the office doorway.

"Hiya partner."

Crouching down to scoop him up, pretending to toss him in the air a few times, receiving delighted giggles in response, he then held him to the side to greet Sue Ellen.

"Darlin'."

Kissing her, their wriggling son cut their hello short, although he didn't mind. With any luck they'd be wrangling two energetic little things soon enough, something he was well prepared for now that Bobby had married Jenna and she and Charlie had moved into Southfork with him.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Nodding at Sue Ellen's question, he sat John Ross down on top of the desk, leaving him for only a few seconds to grab his hat off the rack. Returning, he then ushered both his wife and son out of the office, past the secretaries and into the elevator.

"So, how has your day been?"

Asking a general question as the doors closed, he wasn't surprised when Sue Ellen started a story about their morning with Jenna down at the stables, one that he gathered had gone a lot better than the previous ride they'd taken together.

With Charlie and Lucy in school all day and Jenna living next door, the sisters-in-law spent the majority of their days together, which was great for him because other than the occasional argument over Jenna's bad moods putting a dampener on things, Sue Ellen no longer reported ever feeling lonely, resulting in consistently good moods when they were together.

"What about you? Have you been busy today?"

Exiting the elevator, they walked through the lobby out onto the street where he'd left his car.

"Always busy darlin'."

Opening the passenger side door for her, he waited for her to settle John Ross before he closed it and walked around to the driver's side.

Pulling away from the curb, out into the traffic, he continued with what he'd been saying.

"…it's hurting us a little not having Jack around but we'll survive."

With his daddy and Jack away in Alaska for Jason's funeral, their return date unknown at present, and Bobby leaving long ago, now off setting up his own business, he was the only Ewing at Ewing Oil, which kept him busy although he wasn't complaining. The days were long and the workload heavy, but he loved it, even more when Sue Ellen made the trip into town for lunch together.

"You're not tempted to go back out on the road?"

Sounding more curious than concerned, her former insecurity now only a fraction of what it had once been, she put the idea out there, something he hadn't even thoroughly considered himself.

"Not at all, besides, then someone would need to do my job, and no one could replace me."

Laughing at his cocky comment, one they both knew was true, she stated something else that was true.

"You love it, don't you?"

"Working? Yes."

Shaking her head, she further clarified what she'd been referring to. "No, I know that. I meant working at Ewing Oil, alone."

"You're perceptive."

Glancing at her, grinning, he knew she knew well his desire to be the president of Ewing Oil, something he was getting the opportunity to practice with his daddy being out-of-state.

"Beep beep." Pointing as he mimicked the sound of a honking car as they pulled up to a stoplight, John Ross temporarily distracted them from their discussion.

Acknowledging what he was catching their attention for, explaining what it was and making the sounds themselves a couple of times, John Ross seemed satisfied enough to continue watching the traffic through the window, murmuring to himself as they started to move again, zipping past other cars and pedestrians on the road.

"It's hard not to be perceptive, you speak about stressful situations with such pep, it's contagious."

"You're not upset?"

Aware she was supportive of his efforts, he also knew that she'd once felt uneasy about his dedication to work, how it took up much of his time and mental energy and often required him to make decisions that weren't popular or always ethical as far as the masses were concerned, leading him to question her present opinion.

"I'm happy you're happy."

"Thank you darlin'. Unfortunately, Daddy's going to come back eventually."

Pleased to have her support, he didn't want to get too carried away with thinking he had everything he could ever want. He was acting as president, not actually president.

"Perhaps he'll see you have everything under control and consider retiring early."

"That's wishful thinking." Chuckling, he liked where her head was, he just couldn't allow himself to get to comfortable with the same thought.

His daddy would be eligible to retire in just a few short months although he hadn't mentioned a thing about packing up his office and handing over the reins, leading him to believe he had no intention to do so any time soon. His daddy was still mentally sharp, well-respected, and without a wife at home to live out his golden years with he'd likely be bored, so it didn't overly surprise him that retirement didn't seem to be in the cards.

"I'll be the wishful thinker and you can focus on practicing for when you're the president."

"I've been doing that for years."

"You do it so well."

Pulling up to another stoplight, he turned to face her, brushing his hand over her thigh.

"That's very nice, thank you darlin'."

Squeezing his hand, opening her mouth to say something, John Ross got there first again.

"Mama look, truck."

"You're right sweetheart that is a truck."

Carrying on a discussion with their son about the colour of the truck and number of wheels it had, Sue Ellen's attention didn't return to him for a while as the truck headed in the same direction they were going until he pulled off at the next exit, parking outside the family friendly restaurant they'd chosen for lunch.

Opening the door, taking John Ross from Sue Ellen's arms and offering his hand to her, he locked the door once she was beside him and led them inside.

To be continued…