Dallas, Texas

Floating in the new pool at JR and Sue Ellen's home, the day pleasantly warm, Jenna felt completely relaxed, that is, until she heard the murmurs of conversation between her husband, daughter, and niece.

"Would you like a little brother or sister?"

She'd missed what had come before the question, what comment had spurred Bobby to ask, but whatever it was, she didn't like where things were going.

Turning her head and pulling her glasses up, she looked over at the three in the middle of the pool, relieved when Charlie answered, "what for? I have Lucy and John Ross to play with."

Smiling, Lucy looked pleased to be included, but beside her, Bobby appeared deflated.

"Bobby," sliding off the pool float into the water, swimming up to them, she caught her husband's attention when she asked, "can we talk?"

"Now?"

"Now."

Swimming past them to the edge of the pool, she pushed herself up onto the hot concrete and reached for her towel, glancing over at Sue Ellen who was sitting on the pool steps as John Ross splashed around beside her. Receiving the confirmation she asked for in the form of a nod, that the children would be fine with her, Jock and JR, she waited for Bobby to join her and then walked away from the pool, far over to the other side of the patio.

"What is it?"

"Please don't lead Charlie with questions like that."

"Questions like what?"

Towering over her, his hair dripping water down his face, his expression one of confusion, he truly didn't appear ready to have the conversation they were about to, but she saw no reason to wait, he couldn't continue to push his wishes on their family without her blessing.

"Questions that imply she's missing out on something not having a sibling."

"I was just asking."

Defending himself she could see where he was coming from, however it felt pointless and disrespectful to her; they'd barely discussed having a baby between themselves yet without him bringing Charlie's opinion into the conversation. She wasn't completely closed to the idea in principle, but for the moment it wasn't happening, he knew that and he needed to respect that.

"I'm asking you not to."

"You're telling me not to."

"Fine, yes, I am."

Snapping back at him, she didn't think she should have to, he should know her better than to make decisions for them without first consulting her.

"Why?"

"Why? I'm not pregnant and I don't plan to be for a while, if ever again, that's why."

Tossing in that he might never get what he wanted, she could see that perhaps it was a cruel thing to say, however he was being cruel by pushing his wishes on her too, so he deserved it.

"Are you serious?"

Looking more deflated than he had in the pool when Charlie had shown little interest in his imaginary future, his demeanour made her feel a little bad, although not enough to change her mind.

"Very."

"But…"

"No buts. If we're going to have a baby it's going to be planned and it's going to be when we're ready."

She wasn't speaking from a place of selfishness, she knew exactly what having a baby was about, she'd done it before, all alone, and she wasn't overly keen to do it again, even if it wouldn't be the same this time as it had been last time.

She'd been happy with Naldo at first, and she hadn't wanted for anything, but her life had come crashing down around her as reality set in later on. Her life now was different, better, but she wasn't ready to put herself in a position where she was vulnerable again, especially not when she had a choice and the idea was one she wasn't particularly interested in, satisfied with what she already had.

She adored Charlie and she was a joy to have around, she couldn't believe how lucky she'd been to raise such a sweet daughter. In a way, she and Charlie were nothing alike, she could be spoiled and demanding whereas Charlie was thoughtful and easy-going, but whether or not she'd done well the first time around didn't necessarily have any bearing on subsequent efforts, Bobby's own family were a perfect example of that. JR was different to Gary who was different to Bobby who was different to Lucy and so on; they were all individuals, coming from the same place had little to do with who they were. Unless she had a deep desire to find out what personality further offspring might develop, she saw no reason to upset the status quo.

"We're not ready?"

"I'm not ready, and seeing as I am the one that has to actually go through with a pregnancy, childbirth and everything that comes afterwards I think that my feelings hold a lot of weight."

Bobby might feel he was ready to be a father, he and Pam had been preparing themselves for parenthood less than a year ago, however she wasn't Pam and he wasn't in the same situation anymore, his life was different now, he needed to realise that. She had her own set of life circumstances to deal with, something he could participate in if he so desired; Charlie was their daughter on paper and when they'd married he'd taken over the official role of being her father, so if he truly desired to be a parent, he could.

"What about my feelings?"

"They matter, but I'm not prepared to sacrifice my wellbeing to satisfy your need right this minute. We have time, let's take advantage of that."

Sue Ellen had had John Ross when she was twenty-five and was now looking to have another. She wasn't yet twenty-five, although sometimes she felt older having had Charlie so young, she had plenty of time to enjoy her marriage before they changed things again. In her eyes, there was more to life than growing her family and she wasn't losing anything by waiting a little while to make a decision that wasn't easily altered once it occurred.

"I don't know if I have much choice."

Frowning, Bobby's attitude didn't sit well with her.

"You'll have even less choice if you start sulking over it."

"Jenna."

Holding up a hand, she stopped him before he could wear her down any further. "No. I'm done with this discussion for now."

"For now…"

Passive aggressively smiling, she didn't answer him, instead just turned and headed back to the pool. They couldn't agree on the subject, that much was obvious, and what to do about their difference in opinion wasn't going to be decided any time soon, so she saw no reason to rehash it.

To be continued…