Dallas, Texas

"JR, we're going to be late."

Speaking through gasps and giggles as JR's stubble tickled her exposed abdomen, her nightgown long ago discarded, she couldn't say she had any great desire to actually get up, she just knew they should if they wanted to make their appointment time.

"Call and cancel," lifting his head, he grinned at her, continuing, "what do we need to see the doc for today anyway?"

Resuming his kisses, heading south slowly, delighting and frustrating her, his words swirled in her head.

"You might have a point…"

There was little need to see Doctor Williams when their marriage was as good as it was. She didn't feel stressed, depressed, guilty or overly concerned about anything, not in her personal life and not in JR's professional life. The oil crisis had been a concern for Jock and JR, but the embargo had ended now and Ewing Oil itself was doing just fine, and as far as expanding their family went, she was prepared for what the next few days held, positive or negative. It had taken a long time to bring John Ross into their lives and in comparison two months wasn't something to worry about; for now she was very much enjoying the journey and wasn't entirely focused on the destination.

"Mm, I'm happy, you're happy, and it's your birthday."

Lifting his head, he met her eye again as he spoke, holding still for a second before reversing the direction of his actions.

Reaching her lips, he pulled back, sitting up to push the remaining inches of the soft sheet off them, silently admiring her as she lay beside him.

"More than six and a half years on and you're just as beautiful as the day we met."

Observing him as he ran his hand over her cheek, neck and shoulder, she let out a light breathy laugh when his hand settled on her chest, his eyes following as his fingers cupped around her. More than six and a half years on from their first introduction and he still had just as much fun paying close attention to her body as he always had.

"It's true."

Mistaking her laugh for doubt, he returned his gaze to her, his sincere facial expression contrasting with the movement of his hand, squeezing lightly to ensure she didn't miss his interest.

"I'm not going to deny it; in fact, I've made the decision to leave self-consciousness behind me."

"I think that's an excellent idea."

Meeting her lips with his, it didn't take him long to bring them back to where they'd been earlier, his hands all over her, his lips nipping at her skin and his stubble both making her gasp and giggle depending on where and how it brushed against her.

A little later, she couldn't have guessed how long as time had been the furthest thing from her mind, she lay catching her breath, smiling as he whispered in her ear, "happy birthday darlin'."

"Very happy."

Turning to snuggle closer to him, she murmured a couple of words that didn't quite form a complete sentence but summarised her thoughts nonetheless, her eyes opening wide as she physically encountered just how closely their thoughts matched.

"It's only the beginning."

Leaning into her as she rolled closer, meeting her lips again, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her atop him. Having a brief thought as they took a moment to adjust, their bodies fitting together nicely, she knew he was right, it was only the beginning.

Only a few miles down the street, the mood at Southfork was positive in a different way to that at JR and Sue Ellen's home.

Up and ready to start moving forward with his business plans, his day filled with meetings he actually wanted to attend, Bobby stopped in the foyer to answer the ringing phone, suspecting it might be Cliff calling for him.

From what he gathered, Rebecca had finally made contact with her only remaining son, something Cliff had mixed feelings about, which he completely understood. He hadn't particularly warmed to Rebecca when he'd met her the first time, but he suspected she might be more pleasant following acceptance that her past actions had had unintended consequences and the only one that had really benefited was her.

"I'm calling for Jock Ewing."

Hearing the female voice on the other end of the line, he knew for sure it wasn't Cliff, and it didn't sound like Katherine or Rebecca, but he didn't know who it was.

"May I ask who is calling?"

"I'm sorry, my name is Jamie Ewing, I'm Jason Ewing's daughter, Jock's niece."

Hearing her explanation, he knew exactly who she was and interestingly she hadn't described herself as he might have.

"Jamie, Jack's sister."

"Well, yes…"

Sounding completely surprised, she didn't ask, but he suspected she was thinking it, so he clarified a few things.

"Sorry, now I'm the one who's being unclear, I'm Bobby Ewing, your cousin, and yes, I know Jack, he's here in Dallas."

"He is?"

"Yes, he actually works for Ewing Oil."

"I can't believe it."

Muttering mostly to herself, she had him curious now.

"Why not?"

Jack had given him only a brief summary of the family relationships he'd left behind in Alaska, mostly that his daddy and sister were closer to each other than to him, but beyond that he didn't have much information, so he had little understanding of what was causing Jamie so much surprise.

"Never mind, it's not important now."

Hearing in her tone that she really didn't want to talk about it, he didn't push her.

"I'm sorry; you wanted to speak to my daddy. You've just missed him but he's on his way to the office, I can give you the number."

"That would be helpful, thank you. Is Jack at the office too?"

"No, he's out on the road."

"Oh. Do you have any way to contact him?"

Sighing, her tone was weary, like making more than one more call was an exhausting thought.

"Not off the top of my head but the office will."

"He should probably know."

"Know what?"

"My daddy's died."

Hearing the words, they hit him hard. They'd had a year of loss and the news of another was just awful.

"I'm very sorry to hear that."

"Thank you."

Accepting his condolences, she didn't extend their conversation, likely not feeling very sociable at present.

"I'll make sure Jack gets the message."

"Thank you. I hope he'll make the effort to come back home for the funeral."

Sensing that she was unsure whether her brother would do as she hoped, he attempted to reassure her, his impression of Jack and awareness that even Gary had made a brief appearance at Miss Ellie's funeral giving him the confidence to say what he did.

"Whatever went on in the past is in the past, he'll come home."

"You didn't know their relationship."

"He'll be there."

"I should go."

Ending their conversation, they said their goodbyes, hanging up, feeling heavyhearted.

To be continued…