Dallas, Texas

Barely tasting the bacon Teresa had laid beside his eggs and toast, Jock set his knife and fork down when Bobby indicated it was about time he, Lucy and Charlie left.

"It's almost 8.30am, we don't want to be late, go on inside and get your backpacks."

Clapping, his youngest son motioned to the girls to stand, which they did, running through the open patio door into the house to collect their school things.

"I'll be home for dinner."

Looking at him first, then Jenna, Bobby noted he would be gone all day, which wasn't unusual now that he'd finally decided what he wanted to do with his life.

"Before dinner."

Shaking her head lightly, Jenna didn't have to ask, her tone said it all; she'd stated he would be home on time and he had no option but to oblige.

Laughing, he agreed, "before dinner."

Women had different personalities, but wives, especially new wives, weren't all that different to each other; Amanda, Ellie, Sue Ellen, Pam, and now Jenna, they all wanted to enjoy marriage and work tended to get in the way of that, it was just how they dealt with that reality that differed. Amanda, Ellie, and Sue Ellen understood the privileges of being Mrs Ewing came from the hard work of Mr Ewing; Pam for some strange reason decided to make herself equal to her husband by making him fit into her schedule; and Jenna was a mix of both, while supportive, she wasn't interested in coming second to anything.

Appearing through the doorway back on the patio, Charlie's arrival caused both Bobby and Jenna to stand.

"Lucy?"

Calling inside the house, Bobby didn't have to wait long to get a response, Lucy re-emerging with energy comparable to Toffee, the horse she loved so much.

"I'm here."

"Good, let's go."

Waving at him, Bobby said a silent goodbye and started to walk away, Jenna's hand in his.

"Bye bye granddaddy."

Leaning down to hug him, Lucy said her goodbyes and followed her uncle, new aunt and cousin.

Watching the scene until they disappeared from his sight, his mind wandered as he looked out across the ranch. Bobby had a full day ahead of him, his new business coming together quickly, Lucy and Charlie had a full day of school and extracurricular activities, and he had little idea about how Jenna spent her time but he had no doubt she'd find something to do.

"More coffee Mr Ewing?"

Walking outside, Teresa glanced at his half-full plate.

"No thank you Teresa."

Nodding, Teresa appeared to understand that he wasn't quite ready to leave the breakfast table and headed back inside the house.

Ordinarily, he'd have left by now, the office a bit of a drive from the ranch and the day not getting started until he arrived, but after heading in early to meet with JR on Monday to discuss what he'd missed during his time in Alaska, it had soon become apparent that JR was handling things just fine by himself.

He had been away two weeks, attending Jason's funeral, dealing with estate matters, and grieving with his nephew, niece and those who had known his brother. Two weeks wasn't a long time as far as life went, but it was a long time for him to be away from home. A lot had changed in the time he had been gone which only added to the strange feeling that continued to plague him.

"Everything ok Jock?"

Walking back from the driveway, Jenna caught his attention, asking a question that was either polite or perhaps concerned.

"Just fine."

He wasn't fine, but he wasn't going to burden his daughter-in-law with his problems, he ought not to complain.

Approaching him, Jenna smiled and touched his shoulder, then just as quickly as she'd arrived, left again, walking inside, off to get ready for whatever it was she had planned for the day.

Left alone, the quiet of the ranch suddenly felt less peaceful and more isolating than it had in the past.

He had lost a wife, a daughter-in-law, a grandson, and a brother over the past few months; he still had three sons, two daughters-in-law, three grandchildren, a niece, a nephew, and an ex-wife, but he felt empty.

He knew he wasn't alone in his grief, everyone he missed was missed by someone else, but his own mortality and worth was something he'd considered more recently than ever before.

Jack had had mixed feelings about Jason's loss, the way he imagined Gary might feel about him when his time came. JR and Bobby would manage, they'd managed to pick themselves up after Ellie's death and they'd do it again when he was gone, but Gary, he wasn't the same as his brothers and their history was far more strained than Jack's was with Jason.

Gary had returned for Ellie's funeral, staying well away from the family other than Lucy, leaving town the same way he'd arrived, quietly. He expected the same might occur when the time came again, but he hoped that it would be different if he wasn't around to cause tension.

JR and Bobby butted heads at times, but since they'd separated their home lives from their work lives they'd almost become friends, their wives keeping them close and keeping them stable, something he hoped continued for a long time.

Turning his head as he heard movement inside the house, he wasn't surprised when Teresa appeared again, not engaging him in conversation as she cleared the breakfast dishes.

Sighing, he set his coffee cup down and stood, thanking Teresa before heading inside. He should go to work, Ewing Oil was his company, he was the president and he still had a place at the office, even with JR appearing to handle things just fine in his absence. Grief atop grief was no excuse for idleness, although seeing as he had no concrete plans at the office, perhaps lunch with Punk might be just what he needed.

To be continued…