JR was sitting in his hospital bed; hoping and waiting for a visitor to come and see him. Since he had only suffered minor injuries, JR would be free to go home the next day. That would probably be the excuse that his family would use for not coming to see him if they didn't turn up at all today. But JR knew what the real reason for their absence was. The driver of the vehicle that had crashed into JR's car had been identified as Walt Driscoll. Even though he had died in the crash, it was pretty clear to JR and anyone else who had an idea of what had been going on that Walt had been out for revenge against JR for ruining his life. Because of this, Bobby and the rest of the family saw the crash as something that JR had brought upon himself. But they should at least want to see me while I'm here! It's like this is their way of punishing me or something! JR thought to himself in frustration.

All of the sudden, a nurse stopped in front of the door to JR's room. "Mr. Ewing, you have a visitor." She announced.

JR looked up in surprise. Perhaps his family hadn't abandoned him after all. "Great! They can come right in!" JR said excitedly.

"Okay, you can come in now." The nurse said to someone behind her.

JR's breath caught in his throat when he saw who his visitor was. Katherine was standing in the doorway with an expression on her face that was a mixture of both relief and sadness. JR noticed that she had brought a small potted plant and some balloons with her. He felt horribly guilty. Katherine must have been so worried about him after she found out about the crash.

"JR, I'm so glad that you're alright! When I heard about the crash, I was so afraid that you might have died! It was like reliving mama's accident all over again! I thought that I had lost you!" Katherine said with tears in her eyes.

JR felt even worse now. He had made the woman he loved cry. JR couldn't stand to see Katherine like this.

"I'm so sorry that I worried you, Katherine. But I'm fine now and everything is alright. So, please don't cry..." JR said softly.

Katherine managed to calm herself down. "Sorry about that. You've been through enough already without me bringing you down. And I'm supposed to be the one cheering you up right now!" She apologized.

"Believe me, you've already made my day just by coming here to see me! And I see that you've brought me some gifts as well! It's not everyday that I get this kind of attention from a lady!" JR said with a smile.

Katherine blushed. "It's nothing special. Just a few things from the gift shop here." She said in embarrassment.

"Well, I still like them. And it's the thought that counts. Thank you." JR said.

Katherine placed the flowers and balloons on the table next to the bed. "There! Now it looks a little brighter in here!" She said.

"Although it already became brighter in here as soon as you came in!" JR said. This caused Katherine to blush again. JR loved to make this happen. Katherine was so adorable whenever she got nervous like this.

"How are your injuries doing? It certainly can't be any fun to have a broken wrist!" Katherine said.

"Thankfully, I was out of it while they set it. And of course I have medication for the pain. I only have to wear the cast for six weeks. I'm just glad that it wasn't my writing arm!" JR explained.

"I still can't get over how lucky you are. Especially considering what happened to the other driver..." Katherine said.

JR winced. He didn't feel any sympathy for the man who had tried to end his life. But he couldn't help thinking how their outcomes could have easily been reversed. Walt had tried to kill JR, yet he was the one who had ended up losing his life; while JR had once again managed to escape death.

"JR, we both know why this happened. I've never had a problem with how you deal with business. But after this; and knowing everything about what happened with Walt Driscoll, I've come to a realization. I don't think it is a good idea for you to push someone too far over the edge. Once someone's lost everything that's ever mattered to them, they don't care about the consequences of their actions anymore." Katherine said seriously.

"It's not like I left the guy with nothing! I offered to get rid of the charges against him and pay him so that he could start over again! But he refused everything!" JR argued.

"My point is that I don't want you to go that far ever again. It's too dangerous! And since I can help you with anything, there really is no need for you to have to go to such lengths for Ewing Oil! Can you please just promise me that you won't do anything to put yourself in danger like that ever again? I don't want to lose anymore people that I care about..." Katherine pleaded. She took JR's hand in hers as she spoke.

JR was momentarily distracted by the feeling of Katherine's hand holding his own. Her skin felt incredibly soft and warm. Just as he had imagined it. JR knew that he could not risk losing Katherine ever again.

"Okay, I promise." JR said softly.

"Thank you, JR. That means a lot to me." Katherine said.

JR had expected Katherine to let go of his hand after their exchange, but she didn't. They both just continued to hold hands and stare into each others' eyes. JR was completely content to just look into Katherine's eyes for as long as he could. They were so beautiful. A bright blue that matched the beauty of the ocean itself. Even though he had told himself that he would wait until the contest was over, JR felt like this moment was too perfect to pass up. He had to tell her now.

"Katherine, I..." JR started to say. Just then, the nurse from before came back. "I'm sorry to interrupt you Mr. Ewing, but you have another visitor. Do you want to see them now, or should I tell them to come back later?" She asked.

Dammit! JR thought to himself in frustration.

"If someone else is waiting to see you, then I should definitely be going now. I've pretty much said everything that I wanted to, anyway. So, I guess I'll see you again once you're out of here, JR." Katherine said.

"Oh, okay. I'll call you once I get back tomorrow. Thanks for coming today, Katherine. It meant a lot to me." JR said.

"And it means a lot to me that you are alright now. Just be sure to rest up while you're still in here. I'll talk to you later, JR. Bye!" Katherine said. She then smiled at JR one more time before leaving the room.

A few minutes after Katherine had left, Sue Ellen and John Ross entered JR's room.

"Daddy!" John Ross said excitedly before running to JR.

JR was delighted. He gave John Ross a one-armed hug and ruffled his hair. "Well, this is a nice surprise! I didn't think anyone else would come today!" JR said.

"After John Ross heard that you were here, he demanded to come and see you so that he could see that you're alright. And he's quite fascinated with the idea of visiting someone in the hospital!" Sue Ellen explained with a smile.

"And we got you some presents!" John Ross said. He handed JR a card and some more of those same smiley-faced balloons that Katherine had brought him earlier.

"Thank you, John Ross! I'll be able to get better a lot sooner now!" JR said.

"I made the card myself! Look at it!" John Ross said proudly.

JR looked at the card. On the front was a scribbled picture that JR couldn't identify. He then opened the card to find the words "Get well soon, daddy! Love, John Ross." in Sue Ellen's handwriting next to another picture. JR had learned from Sue Ellen that it was usually not a good idea to ask a child "What is it?" when he didn't know what their drawing was supposed to be of. It might hurt their feelings. So, Sue Ellen had taught him to use a slightly different approach.

"These are great pictures! Can you tell me about them?" JR asked.

"This one is you in the 'opstal. You're getting a shot. And that one is you and me after you are all better again! Mommy helped me with the rest!" John Ross explained.

"Well, thank you very much! I can tell you worked really hard! Once I get out of here, I promise that we will do something special! Just the two of us!" JR promised.

"Yay! Can we go to the park and have ice cream again!?" John Ross asked excitedly.

"You'll just have to wait and see! But for now, can you be a big helper for daddy and put your presents on the table over there?" JR asked.

"Okay!" John Ross agreed. He then added his gifts to the ones that Katherine had brought.

"Wow! More balloons! Can I play wif them!?" John Ross asked.

"Sure! But please don't touch the flowers." JR said.

"Yuck! Flowers are for girls!" John Ross said disgustedly. He then took the balloons to another corner of the room.

Sue Ellen eyed the flowers with a smile. "Since I'm guessing that these weren't from Miss Ellie, I would say that it looks like you have an admirer, JR! Am I right?" Sue Ellen teased.

JR couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. "Yeah, something like that." He admitted.

"It's alright if you don't want to tell me who it is, but I must admit that I am curious to know who this mystery woman is!" Sue Ellen said with a laugh.

"No, it's fine. And I know that you would never tell anyone. It was Katherine." JR admitted.

"I see. I thought that this might happen! After all, I still remember how you were so concerned about her after Rebecca's death. I know that our marriage was not exactly a great one. But I still think that it's really great that you've met someone else too, JR. You've changed a lot and I know that you are ready for this. You deserve another chance at happiness." Sue Ellen said.

"Thank you, Sue Ellen. After everything I put you through, it means a lot to me to hear you say that." JR said gratefully. Even though he loved Katherine now, JR would never forget the years that he had spent with Sue Ellen. He wouldn't be the man he was now if it hadn't been for her.

"I hope that things will go well for you both." Sue Ellen said.

"I wish that I could say the same thing, but I don't even know how she would react if I told her the truth." JR said.

Sue Ellen looked surprised. "Oh. So does this mean that you aren't seeing each other yet?" She asked.

"No, we're not. We're best friends, but Katherine hasn't said anything about wanting to take things further. It's...complicated." JR explained carefully. Sue Ellen didn't need to know about the whole problem with Bobby.

"I see. But has she ever actually told you that she doesn't want to be anything more than friends?" Sue Ellen asked.

"Well...no. But I'm still scared." JR admitted.

"I understand how you feel, JR. But I think that you should tell Katherine the truth soon. If you don't tell someone that you love them while you still can, you might end up missing your chance to be with them..." Sue Ellen said.

"I know. But I still need a little more time..." JR said.

"Well, that's up to you. But I wouldn't wait too much longer if I were you, JR." Sue Ellen said.

Later that night, JR found himself staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought. He couldn't stop thinking about what Sue Ellen had said. She's right. I shouldn't put this off any longer. I need to tell Katherine the truth as soon as I can. No matter how scared I am. I'll tell her the next time I come over to her house, and that's that. JR decided. Now, all he could do was hope for the best...