Dallas, Texas

"He'll do it when he's ready Jock, I don't think we should pressure him" Miss Ellie tried to persuade her husband to stay quiet for a little while longer, if they interfered any more, they may ruin the whole thing. "A year Ellie, it's been almost a year since I had that little talk with him and we're still no closer to having a grandson and more importantly, an heir" he was frustrated, he wanted to retire and hand over the company to his son at some point and he wanted to know that it wouldn't end with JR. No one but a Ewing would ever own Ewing Oil and he needed to know that the future of the family company was secure before making any further moves; but for that to happen, JR needed a wife and a son. John Ross Ewing III already had a name and a legacy; his future was bright, and he wasn't even real yet. "I know and I understand your frustration, I want a grandchild too. He has Sue Ellen and they seem to be serious, I don't want to rush them though. Look at what happened just a few months ago; they had some kind of disagreement, Sue Ellen didn't visit for weeks and I wasn't sure that she would ever return; but she did, and they did it on their own. I think we should let them be, let them figure out their relationship before we start messing with things and pushing them into marriage. She's still young and JR doesn't turn thirty until next year, there is plenty of time for them to get married and have a child on their own before we should start interfering. You know how JR is; sometimes I think he just does things because he knows it will annoy other people. What if us pushing him to get married actually pushes him to delay marriage? Sue Ellen will be his wife one day, but we have to be patient. They are perfect for each other and she'll be a wonderful wife, her mother taught her well; but it's amazing that JR even likes her and I don't want to be responsible for ruining a good thing. Do you not remember this time last year, when he first started dating suitable women? He never outright said it, but he was completely bored with those women, they are not his type, but somehow Sue Ellen is different and I am so glad he found her. Sue Ellen is the best thing to happen to him in a long time and I think we should let them make their own decisions, I trust that we all have the same goal" she hoped that her husband would listen to her rational argument, though she wasn't sure that he would. "Oh, I have no doubt that he'll marry her, but I don't understand the delay. JR says he'll ask her when he's ready; he's already said he's going to do it, so why not just do it? Sue Ellen isn't in college anymore, she didn't win that other beauty pageant and I can't imagine her mother wants to see her daughter working for a living; there is no reason for them to wait anymore and I don't understand why they aren't even engaged yet. Ewing women don't work and she's expressed a desire to be a mother; she could be a Ewing very soon if JR would just ask. I will never understand how that boy's mind works sometimes; it is brilliant for us in business, no one can ever quite tell how he'll approach something. However, when JR uses his mind to mess with all of our lives, I do not like it. Things would be much easier if I could just put him over my knee like when he was a little boy. Then he'd be much more agreeable we'd all be happier" he shook his head, it really would be easier if he could just spank his son into submission, but things didn't work that way anymore and adult JR was unpredictable and difficult to control. "Oh Jock; please, just don't say anything to him, not yet anyway and especially not when Sue Ellen is here later in the week", she had a little more sensitivity and understanding than her husband. From what she'd managed to gather from the little bits of information JR gave her, Sue Ellen was devastated after losing Miss America and now was not the right time for hard questions.

Austin, Texas

Sue Ellen couldn't remember much about the past three days; she'd lost the pageant and tried to cut off her emotions but hadn't been too successful; drinking, crying and spending a lot of time alone had helped and she already felt a little better. "Sue Ellen?" there was a gentle knock at the door of her apartment and she was surprised; JR was here, but he hadn't called to tell her that he was coming to visit. It was Wednesday evening and JR had decided that she'd had enough time to wallow on her own; it was time for her to accept it and move on, and the Ewing fourth of July party would be the perfect distraction, everyone always had a good time. Sue Ellen contemplated ignoring his knocks for a minute, but she was feeling a bit better and he had flown all the way to Austin just to see her, he deserved to at least have his knocks answered. JR waited patiently; he had a key to her apartment, he was the owner after all, but he would wait for her to open the door before just barging into the room. "JR" she gave him a small smile as she opened the door, she actually felt better just having him there, JR entered the apartment and waited for her to make the next move. Sue Ellen was shy, she didn't quite know what to say to him, "would you like a drink?" she asked and he nodded; making his drink gave her something to focus on. JR sat on the couch and waited for her to bring his drink; "how are you?" she asked, making conversation to be polite, but still unsure of how to comfortably talk to him. "I'm fine darlin', the better question is, how are you?" he took the drink she handed him and motioned for her to sit down. She contemplated her answer and then started to speak, eventually telling him everything she was feeling and all of her concerns; JR was pleased, it seemed like they were finally getting somewhere.

"I'm sorry I burdened you with all of that; my problems are trivial compared to yours. I'm sure you have much more important things to worry about and this wasn't exactly how you envisioned tonight" she felt guilty for expressing her emotions, her mother had taught her that a woman's problems were always less important than a mans and she shouldn't add more worries to his already full list. JR sighed, just when they'd made progress, she would always start apologising and doubting her validity. She was right, his problems were much more important than beauty pageants and modelling jobs, but he liked it that way; it wouldn't be good for either of them if she were concerned about truly important things like business and the dirty dealings that came with it. "Darlin' how many times do I have to tell you? I asked because I care. If I didn't care, I wouldn't ask. I don't care about a lot of people's problems, but I don't ask them about their lives. Stop apologising for having concerns. Now, you just leave everything up to me and I promise, you'll have a good life in return. How about another drink?" he stood and poured two more drinks, he was ready to turn the mood around; sadness had no place in their relationship anymore.

Sue Ellen yawned, a mixture of exhaustion from the past few days and the alcohol they'd consumed tonight; she giggled as she apologised, "I'm sorry, I'm just a little tired. It's not you" she made it clear to JR that she was enjoying their night; he'd made sure to cheer her up and she felt a whole lot better already. "That's ok, it's getting late, I suppose I should be going anyway", he mentioned leaving and she felt sad, "you don't have to go" she spoke before realising what she was saying, partially affected by the alcohol and partially because she just didn't want to spend the night alone, she liked having him close. "I really should" he walked closer to her, knowing that if he was to stay the night it had to be because she 'convinced' him to, not because he pressured her into it, "no, don't be silly. All you are going back to is an empty hotel room. There's a perfectly good guest room here", she mentioned the guest room, but secretly they both knew he wouldn't be sleeping there. "Hm, you're right, you do have a two bedroom place and we are two people; and if I were to go back to the hotel I would have to call the car service to come and pick me up, and you never can rely on their punctuality. Besides, I'm going to be picking you up in the morning anyway" he added a few reasons to stay, he wasn't sure why they were skirting around the whole thing, they both wanted him to stay, but for the sake of future questioning, it had to be a logical step, not just because they just wanted to. "Exactly; so stay. Please" she added before stepping closer to him, their conversation had eliminated any tiredness she was feeling; now she just wanted him. "It just makes sense" he closed the gap between them, hooking his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him as he kissed her; their passion quickly taking over.

To be continued…