Austin, Texas

Clint waited a few days before trying to call Sue Ellen. He'd wanted to let her calm down before he attempted to apologise for his actions. Time and space might be good for them, but enough of both had passed now and he really did want to apologise for the way he acted. He'd gotten jealous and angry and his drunkenness hadn't helped the situation. He trusted Sue Ellen would do the right thing and call JR to turn down his invitation, she'd told him that she would.

Arriving at the sorority house he waited outside. He'd tried to contact her before and been told she wasn't available or didn't want to speak to him, but she had cheerleading practice this afternoon and would be returning soon. They had to talk.

Approaching the house, Sue Ellen spotted Clint sitting outside the front door, her daydream about JR suddenly cut short.

She was still upset with Clint and wasn't in the mood to hear an apology, if that's what he even had to offer.

Considering avoiding the front entrance and climbing in a window to create a little more distance between them, her mental plan collapsed when she realised he'd already spotted her walking toward the house.

"Sue Ellen!"

"Sue Ellen, please just listen to what I have to say."

Approaching her, she couldn't even look him in the eye, just his presence was making her uncomfortable.

"Please Clint, I'm not ready to talk, please just leave me alone."

"Sue Ellen!"

He was getting desperate; he didn't want to lose her, not now. Before he could think about his actions, he reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her back to him.

"Let go of me!"

Surprised by just how loudly she raised her voice, he let go of her hand. Bystanders observing them or not, he didn't want to push her to do anything she made so clear she didn't want to do.

Shaken, Sue Ellen ran into the house. She knew that Clint wouldn't hurt her out there but she couldn't stop herself from reacting, it was too soon.

Doing the first thing that popped into her mind, she opened her jewellery box and found the ring he'd given her, writing a short note to go with it. She would have Paula give the ring back to Clint, she couldn't deal it herself, not now.

Dallas, Texas

"Grandma…"

Miss Ellie's ears perked at the whining tone in her granddaughter's voice.

"Yes Lucy?"

"Grandma, I'm bored. There's nothing to do around here and I have no one to play with."

Miss Ellie sympathised with her granddaughter, Southfork was rather lonely these days, JR and Jock worked a lot, Bobby only occasionally came home from college and Gary, well she wished she knew where Gary was, but he didn't seem to want to be found.

"Nothing to do? Lucy dear, there are a lot of things to do. You and I could go swimming, or play with your dolls, or we could go down to the stables and visit the horses…"

Listing off activities, she didn't get to finish before she was interrupted.

"No grandma, we always do those things. I like those things, but I want to do other things, like play dress up or hide-and-seek, those things aren't as fun with only two people."

Looking at Lucy sulk Miss Ellie wondered how long her granddaughter had been feeling this way. It'd been so different when her sons were young, JR was always with Jock, and Bobby had many friends he would play with or would spend time with Gary out at the treehouse. The boys had had seasonal hunting trips with Jock and they'd all go and do whatever it was that men did on those trips.

Jock loved his granddaughter, but he was a traditional man and he was a busy man, there was no way he'd take Lucy hunting, and she didn't get the feeling that's what Lucy was wanting either.

"Ok dear, what would you like to do? We could call one of your friends and ask if they'd like to come over and play?"

Lucy was quick to answer. "Well grandma, I would like that, but Muriel is visiting her aunt in San Antonio and everyone else already has plans. No grandma, I know what I want even more than a friend…"

Miss Ellie was confused, Lucy had friends and a whole ranch to play on, but she was complaining about being bored, what more could she want?

"Grandma, I want a little brother or sister, someone I can play with and they won't have to leave at the end of the day."

She sounded so sure of herself, as if she were certain that her asking would bring her the permanent playmate she wanted.

Miss Ellie laughed to herself, Lucy was just a young girl, not yet wise of the ways of the world, unaware of the other things that came with a baby and that it wasn't as easy as asking for a new toy.

Lucy had been spoiled from the moment she came back to Southfork, no one saying it but all feeling the unspoken want to try to make up for the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Lucy's parents and her early life. She was used to asking her granddaddy, grandma or even uncle JR for things and one of them giving in to her.

"Well grandma? Can I have one?"

Lucy' tone inquisitive, Miss Ellie was brought back to the present.

"Oh Lucy, well unfortunately I can't bring you a little brother or sister, but maybe if you ask your uncle JR nicely, he'll have an answer for you. Just between you and me, I'd like another little baby around here too."

"Ok grandma."

Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Lucy waited a few seconds before reconsidering an earlier suggestion.

"Maybe we can just go and see the horses today instead?"

Austin, Texas

Setting her pen down on her notepad, her attempt at writing an essay not going so well, unable to focus, Sue Ellen wondered whether perhaps she did need to speak to Clint.

After another 15 minutes of staring at a blank page, she gave up. Standing and walking away from her desk, her eyes settling on the ring box. Collecting her purse, she left the room, determined to find Clint.

She made her way to the engineering library and spotted Clint sitting at a table making notes from a textbook. Still not entirely warm to him, she did quietly congratulate herself for knowing where he'd be without looking at his class schedule.

Sitting down across from him she spoke in a whisper. "I'm ready to talk now, but please, let me speak first. Can we go outside?"

Packing up his books, they left the library in silence.

"Clint, the other night, you frightened me, not just in the moment, but afterward. It was as if I was seeing you as a different person and I'm not sure I like that person. Were those your true feelings? Do you really just see me as an object? Something you can have just because someone else wants me?"

"What was happening between us was good, it was mutual and we were both enjoying it, but then everything changed. You let your jealousy get in the way of our relationship and couldn't think of anything else. You scared me and you could see that I was scared but you didn't do anything about it, I asked you to stop and you didn't."

"Without my own strength, you would have completely ignored my wishes and I'm not sure I can forgive you for that. It's not even just about the physical act, it's about how you made me feel. That's why I think that maybe you and I should take a break. I can't do this right now."

She handed the ring box back to him and continued.

"I'm not saying we're over forever, but for now I know I can't wear this, I can't be your fiancée."

She had tears in her eyes, it was painful to relive the memories and painful to think about them in the past tense, she did love Clint, but she couldn't be with him right now.

"I feel the need to tell you this so that you don't hear it from someone else. I've agreed to go to dinner with JR on Saturday and I want you to know that it wasn't to spite you. I would have agreed to it anyway, my mother is involved now and that means I lose a lot of decision-making power. I have to retain some of me before I become a puppet, only doing what everyone else wants me to. I said yes to JR because I wanted to. I still care about you but I can't do this, I can't be with you. I'm sorry, that's just how it is."

Listening, Clint was shocked. He'd expected her to be upset and angry, he could understand why she would feel that way, but she'd just broken their engagement, that he hadn't expected.

He was losing Sue Ellen and she hadn't even been on a date with JR yet. He'd seen the looks the two had shared when they'd spoken and he'd seen the effort JR had put in to get Sue Ellen to even consider him as a potential suitor. He wasn't naïve, if Sue Ellen was considering returning to him at some point in the future, that would all be lost after her date on Saturday.

"I… I don't know what to say, other than I really am sorry. I'm sorry for how I acted and how I made you feel, and I'm sorry that we can't make this work. However, I understand what you're saying and I respect it. I hope one day we'll be able to move on together, I love you and I always will."

He reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks, this time she didn't flinch at his touch, instead reaching up and cupping his cheek.

"Goodbye Clint."

She kissed him on the cheek and turned to walk away.

"Goodbye Sue Ellen."

Standing on the grass with an engagement ring in his hand and an emptiness in his heart, he knew neither of their lives would ever be the same again.