Austin, Texas

"Delivery for Miss Sue Ellen Shepard", Patricia answered the door and accepted the flowers, counting them as she had done each morning for the past week, each day adding one more rose to the bouquet. "Nine yellow roses", she handed the flowers to Sue Ellen with a smile; Patricia was happy that JR seemed to be making a romantic effort again and that it was having the desired effect, she could tell that Sue Ellen was enjoying the small display of affection and it wouldn't be long before they solved whatever problems they were having. Sue Ellen smiled to herself as she took the flowers and put them in a vase; JR was good at pursuing and romancing women and she very much enjoyed being pursued romantically, they were a perfect match. In the back of her mind though, she knew that romance wasn't the solution to all of their problems and wouldn't actually make their relationship any better in the long run. She was still lonely and lost, her only friends were mere acquaintances and her life was full of meaningless activities, especially when she had no one to share her accomplishments with at the end of the day. What use was buying a new dress if she had no one to compliment her appearance? Or beating her personal best five mile run time if she had no one to congratulate her? Of course, she knew people and she got the social interaction that she needed to function, but they weren't her friends and they weren't really people she cared about; what she wanted was a husband and a family, people who really cared about her; unfortunately, what she had instead was a lonely, unimportant life. "I wonder how long JR will keep sending flowers?" Patricia interrupted her thoughts and Sue Ellen smiled, she knew that JR was capable of sending flowers indefinitely, he'd proven that when he was first courting her. "I really think it's time to call him, a man won't wait forever"; her stomach dropped as she heard the words, although she was enjoying the attention, she wasn't sure she was actually ready to talk about their problems. Alternatively, maybe it wasn't the actual conversation, but the consequences of the conversation. She was afraid of the argument that would follow if he hadn't changed his way of thinking, because she knew she hadn't changed hers and she wouldn't; so they would probably end up in the same disagreement that they were currently in, but possibly with worse consequences. She wasn't ready for the finality of a break-up. "Sue Ellen?" Patricia could see that her daughter was not fully present in their conversation, "uh yes mama, I'll call after breakfast", she was dreading a possible negative conversation, but hoped that she was just being paranoid. After all, JR had been the one to start the whole thing again; he had to know that she would be taken in by the romantic ideal, and he knew exactly what she wanted; if he was making moves again, something had to have changed with him.

Dallas, Texas

"Grandma?" Miss Ellie looked down at Lucy as they waved goodbye to the helicopter, she knew exactly what the next sentence was and still had no real answer, well not one that would please her young granddaughter. "Yes Lucy?" she began to walk them toward the house, hoping that by the time Lucy asked and was told why, they would be in her bedroom and she could distract her with the task of gathering her school books. Lucy pouted and began to speak, using her whiniest and most childish voice, not exactly endearing her point; "I want to go hunting and camping with granddaddy too, it's not fair that I'm not allowed to. I know how to shoot a gun, granddaddy showed me, and I know all the survival skills, we learned them in girl scouts. I'm just as good as uncle Bobby at reading a map, we learned that in geography. It's not fair, just because uncle JR says I'm too little, what does he know?" Miss Ellie knew that although Lucy was making some slightly valid points, there was a whole lot more to the situation than just JR saying no. "Now come on Lucy, you know that's not fair to JR, he wasn't the one that made the decision, and he isn't the only one that thinks the same thing. I happen to agree with your granddaddy and uncles; you are much too young and too precious to be going off into the woods hunting. Besides, camping is dirty, smelly, and uncomfortable, you would hate it after a while. I would miss you too, Southfork is a big house and it gets awfully lonely here all by myself", she smiled, hoping to convince Lucy that she didn't actually want to go camping. Lucy would have to get used to the idea of being left out of certain events, Jock was a man's man, and although he loved his granddaughter, there was no way she was ever going to be allowed to go camping or to other traditionally masculine events with the Ewing men. Jock didn't mind taking her to see cattle auctions, riding horses or even doing some other manly things with her, but it was a different thing when it was grandfather, granddaughter bonding time compared to when it was serious men's business, the two just didn't really mix. "Now, gather your books, you're going to be late for school", Miss Ellie watched her pack a few books into her backpack and could see Lucy's mind working. Lucy was always a thinker, even when she didn't say things aloud, she was always analysing them, she reminded Miss Ellie a little bit of a young JR in that way. 'This is why we need Sue Ellen, she makes uncle JR all happy, which is always good for me, she's really pretty and fun, and she's grandma's friend', Lucy's thoughts moved to Sue Ellen, wishing that she would just come back. Miss Ellie was about to ask what Lucy was thinking, but before she had the chance to, Teresa knocked on the door and informed them that one of the ranch hands was downstairs waiting for Lucy.

Haleyville, Arkansas

"This was a great idea, just what we need", Jock slapped his sons on the back as they checked into the Haleyville Hotel, "ok, ten minutes should be enough, go upstairs, change clothes and get your guns, I wanna shoot something this afternoon". JR had grumbled a little at the impromptu hunting trip, mostly because it was still winter and he didn't want to sleep in a cold, wet tent; but Jock had insisted that they needed Ewing bonding time and Bobby was only home for a few days, it was the perfect opportunity for a long weekend. JR had agreed, as long as they stayed in proper accommodation and were home by Sunday evening, he had a personal delivery to make on Monday morning and he was not going to miss that, not even for the opportunity to bond over something other than oil or money; for once, he had somewhere much more important to be.

Austin, Texas

Sue Ellen waited until Patricia left to take Kristin to school, finally having the house to herself, she phoned Southfork before realising that JR actually worked for a living and it was only a Friday, if she wanted to speak to him, she probably should have called Ewing Oil. "Southfork Ranch", Sue Ellen panicked as Miss Ellie answered the phone, it was too late to hang up now, "Hello Miss Ellie, it's Sue Ellen". Miss Ellie was surprised, she had been left with the impression that JR had really messed things up between he and Sue Ellen, no doubt because he was so hesitant to move forward with their relationship, but she hadn't expected Sue Ellen to call the ranch this morning, or at all really. "Sue Ellen, how nice to hear from you. Are you well? Everyone has been missing you around here; I really wish you would come for a visit sometime. I know that JR would like that very much, I don't know what happened between you two, but I'm sure you can work it out". She realised she was probably coming on too strong, she hadn't seen Sue Ellen in weeks and she had no idea what actually happened between them, but she really did miss her, and she couldn't stop herself from expressing it. Sue Ellen was flattered by the depth of interest that Miss Ellie showed, she really did seem to care; "I'm just fine Miss Ellie, and I miss everyone too. Southfork really was becoming like a second home to me", she and Miss Ellie talked for a few minutes, never going too in-depth, but catching up enough for Miss Ellie to realise that Sue Ellen was not as happy as she was pretending to be. Sue Ellen got a little distracted by their conversation, but quickly remembered why she called, "I'm terribly sorry Miss Ellie, for a moment I forgot what day it was. I was actually calling to speak to JR, but I realise now that I made a silly mistake, JR will be at work now". Miss Ellie smiled, if JR wasn't going to be the one to fix their relationship, then at least Sue Ellen was taking the initiative, she informed Sue Ellen of the impromptu hunting trip and JR's current unavailability, but that she would tell him that she called when he returned. The two women said their goodbyes and ended the call, Sue Ellen hadn't realised it, but she missed so much more than just JR, she missed the way her life was when she was with him. She looked forward to Sunday evening, hoping that when JR got the message, he would call her back; she was ready to talk now.

To be continued…