Dallas, Texas

"What is this place?" Sue Ellen looked around the dark room, "it's a cabin, used by the ranch hands in times like this, when the weather suddenly turns. Originally, it was where the ranch hands lived, back when my grandpa Southworth first owned Southfork, before the ranch had a lot of workers and before the ranch house was where our house is now, the old ranch house was on the other side of Southfork". He used the candle in the lantern he was holding to light some of the candles in the room, "unfortunately, no one's lived here for a long time and I suppose we just never updated it. There's no electricity, but I'm pretty sure the bathroom is plumbed, luckily for us", he grinned, just imagining having to tell Sue Ellen, a proper lady, that the bathroom had no indoor plumbing. Sue Ellen didn't really care about the specifics, she was just happy to be out of the rain, "well, it's lucky that you know Southfork as well as you do", she shivered as another gust of wind rattled the old, wooden structure. "Mm, the ranching side of being a Ewing may not be my favourite, but daddy made sure I learned everything… You must be freezing, here", he took his jacket off and draped it around her shoulders before focusing his attention on the fireplace. Sue Ellen watched him throw a few logs of wood from the small basket into the fireplace, and use the box of matches to start a fire; it was a side of JR that she'd never witnessed before and it was a side that she found appealing.

"I'm sorry about your car", she lay back against him, seated on the floor, in between his legs as they watched the flames of the fire, "it's alright, the insurance should cover any damage, and if it doesn't, then I get to go car shopping. Mostly I was just annoyed that it left us stranded out here, at least until morning", she smiled at his words, their situation wasn't entirely terrible, "you know, I don't really mind, I like when it's just the two of us". JR grinned, she'd just confirmed his new thoughts, being all alone, cut off from the rest of the world wasn't so bad, it was actually quite perfect, "I do too…I love you Sue Ellen". Sue Ellen turned her body to face him and gently kissed his lips, "I love you too JR", she was always touched when he told her that he loved her, especially when it was for no real reason, just because he felt like it. JR looked across the room at one of the chairs where Sue Ellen had laid his tuxedo jacket to dry after she found a box of blankets; he needed to get the box in the pocket of his jacket. Something inside him was telling him to move, now seemed like the time to start the conversation and he didn't want to let the moment pass again; it just felt right.

Sue Ellen excused herself, partly because she needed to use the bathroom, but mostly because she could feel a change within JR, he seemed anxious, maybe a few minutes alone would do him good. JR didn't know how, but she seemed to have been able to tell exactly what he wanted and he sighed as she closed the door to the small bathroom, he stood and walked across the room, his jacket was still damp, but the box was in perfect condition, that was all he really needed anyway. "Did you miss me?" she joked as she returned to the room; "of course… more than you know" he whispered the second half of his sentenced before he kissed her lightly. His nerves returned, "JR?" she sensed the change again, he seemed different. "I'm fine darlin', come on, let's sit", he moved back toward the fireplace and directed her to sit opposite him, still close enough to touch her, but he also wanted to be able to look her in the eye when he spoke.

Sue Ellen watched him, there was definitely something going on, he was acting so shyly, almost like he was afraid, "JR? Are you sure you're all right?" He looked her up and down, everything was perfect, this was definitely the time, it was now or never, "yes sugar, in fact, I'm better than all right. Finally, everything makes sense, everything is exactly the way it's supposed to be", he smiled at her, enjoying the small look of confusion on her face. "That's wonderful; but I don't follow. Care to explain?" she was happy for him, he seemed content, and that's all she really wanted, their happiness, together. "I'm sorry about the way I've been treating you", he broke the eye contact that they'd established, instead focusing his attention on the flames dancing in the fireplace, "JR…" she began to say something, but he interrupted her, "no, please, let me speak, I need to tell you why I acted the way I did". She was touched, she didn't think that he'd ever acknowledge that he'd hurt her feelings, but she was interested to hear the thoughts and motivations behind his actions.

"…and you see, the idea of bringing someone else so closely into my life, well, it's difficult for me. I've always done things alone, because I've always had to. I've never had anyone who was so supportive and always on my side, not even in my family. Then I met you, and you changed the way I thought about things; you made me trust you and you always supported me. It's such a new and different feeling, one that I wasn't sure I was totally comfortable with and one I resisted for a long time. I'm honestly so sorry if I hurt you or made you feel like you weren't good enough, it wasn't like that at all. It was all me, I had a lot of personal challenges to face before I was able to see clearly exactly what I want. Then…" he paused for a second, needing the time to think about how he would phrase the second part of his speech, he had to acknowledge that she had been right in asking for space, although he hadn't seen it in the beginning. "Then, when you suggested that we take a break, that we needed space and time apart, I wasn't too happy about that. But you were right, we did need that time apart, because during that break, I had a lot of time to think. I realised exactly how much I love you, how much I missed you and how much I want you in my life". He looked her in the eye as he finished speaking and she knew that everything he said was the truth, he had benefitted from their time apart, and he wanted to make things better. "I missed you too JR, I love you", she felt like she was about to cry, she'd never really seen him this open and it was making her emotional; "shh, don't cry", he gently wiped the lone tear from her cheek and pulled her into his arms to hug her; she smiled, she loved when he was sweet like this. As the came apart, JR knew it was time, reaching into his pocket, he took hold of the small box, "Sue Ellen…" she looked up at him, seeing nothing but love in his eyes and she felt like the luckiest girl in the world, just blessed to have a man like JR in her life, a man who loved her. JR took a deep breath and started to speak, "I've had this ring for almost a year; I was waiting for 'the perfect moment', but as each special event in our lives passed and I let some small detail get in the way, I realised that there really is no such thing as 'the perfect moment'. Tonight of all nights has really proven to me that the location, food, weather, company, all of that stuff, it doesn't really matter; I thought it did, and I really wanted everything to be perfect. But it really comes down to this; I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you", he moved onto one knee and opened the ring box to reveal the ring, a huge, circular diamond surrounded by a cluster of smaller diamonds, "…Sue Ellen Shepard, will you marry me?"

To be continued…