Dallas, Texas

Sue Ellen was in shock, from his words, the beautiful ring and the realisation that this was really happening; "yes", she whispered, holding back tears. JR could barely hear her but grew concerned at the tears forming in her eyes, "please tell me those are happy tears"; realising that she mustn't have been heard, she cleared her throat, "yes, yes I'll marry you". JR didn't think any more words were necessary, instead choosing to kiss her, using the passion in his kisses to say everything words couldn't.

Sue Ellen moaned involuntarily as he moved his kisses from her mouth down her neck, he already knew her so well; he knew exactly how to get to her. Slowly laying her down on the blanket they had placed on the floor earlier, she was slightly conscious of her own moral boundaries, but right now, too happy to care about morality. It was only when she realised that his skilled hands had managed to unzip the top half of her dress and were now working on getting her bra off, that she started to become more aware of exactly what was happening. "JR…" she moved her own hand to his, gently reminding him that although she was in love with him, she couldn't allow herself to do that, not yet anyway. JR had almost forgotten her rules, so happy that he was finally getting what he wanted and relieved that she'd said yes and he hadn't been embarrassingly rejected; he had been so lost in the moment, his biological mind logically moving toward the next step, his conscious mind not thinking about the social or emotional consequences of his actions. "Sorry sugar, I just thought you might be more comfortable out of the dress…" he grinned, knowing that the answer to his assumption was yes, she would be more physically comfortable not wearing a tight, slightly damp, evening gown. "I…" she didn't know what to say, he always phrased things in a way that wasn't directly what he meant. He almost laughed to himself as she hesitated; it wasn't as if they'd never spent the night together before, and they were going to be married, it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that he, JR Ewing, of all men, wouldn't try and get her into bed once again. He was smart enough to know when enough was enough though, when to give up and not pressure her any further; moving his attention back to her lips, he hovered above her slightly as she lay underneath him. "I made you a promise a long time ago, I'll wait as long as you want, even if that means until our wedding night…You can't blame me for trying though" he grinned and kissed her again before she had the chance to respond. This time, Sue Ellen had no problem with his actions, she trusted him to keep his promise, and it wasn't as if she had to remain entirely abstinent, just enough to ensure that she kept her virtue, there was nothing wrong with enjoying time with the man she loved.

Sue Ellen moved her hand as the sunlight flickered through the dirty window, shielding her eyes from the bright light. Gone were the rain and clouds or any sign of the powerful storm that had been there just a few hours earlier; now, the sun was shining as brightly and the sky was as blue as any other Dallas morning. As she moved her hand to block out the sunlight, another sparkly object caught her eye; the large diamond ring was now prominently displayed on her left hand. She smiled to herself, remembering the night before and how wonderful her life had turned out, everything was perfect right now, there was nothing and no one that could ruin the way she felt. Everyone was getting exactly what they wanted, their families would be so pleased, her friends would finally get the answers they asked every time they saw each other, and she finally had a solidified place in society; she was no longer just 'JR Ewing's girlfriend', now, she was 'JR Ewing's fiancée', and would soon be 'JR Ewing's wife'. She hadn't realised it as she was growing up, but she craved the social recognition of being 'someone' almost as much as her mother did; the past few months of living life in-between being Miss Texas and being the future Mrs Ewing had made her realise just how insignificant she was when she was just herself. Those feelings were not enjoyable, and they weren't at all indicative of the way she wanted to live her life. It wasn't a conscious thought, but deep down, being married to a wealthy man like JR gave her purpose and status, this marriage was about more than just love, it was about securing her future.

JR awoke as small rays of danced around the room; slowly opening his eyes, he realised exactly what the rays of light were. "Do you like it?" he watched her playing with her new ring for a few minutes before he finally spoke, breaking her out of whatever deep thought she was in, "it's beautiful, I love it", she replied in a dreamy, dazed voice, still a little sleepy and also caught up in their new relationship development. "I'm glad. It took me a while to find it, but when I saw it, I knew that was the one", Sue Ellen smiled as she heard his words, he'd put so much thought and effort into everything, "was what you said last night true? Have you really had this ring for a year?" JR cringed a little, at the time it had seemed romantic to tell her that he'd been planning it for so long, but now, he wasn't so sure. He didn't want to be questioned about why he had waited so long, he'd given her the best explanation he could come up with last night and there was really no more for him to say. He certainly wasn't going to admit that he'd had any doubts about their sexual compatibility, he wasn't going to jinx that part of their relationship before they even got close enough to find out. "It is", he said no more than those two words and Sue Ellen sensed the hesitation in his voice, "the important thing is that we're here now. That's all I ever wanted, for us to be happy, together. I love you JR, and what you said last night was correct, nothing else matters". He was still continually surprised by how she could take so much out of so little, it was the opposite of how he would have expected a child of Patricia's to turn out; "good, I'm glad", he kissed her lightly before realising how uncomfortable their current position was. "Now, remind me again why we chose to sleep on the floor?" Sue Ellen laughed, it may have been cozy last night, but this morning, it was a little hard and cold, "the fireplace was warm and romantic, and the bed looked like the sheets hadn't been changed since your grandpa Southworth was alive". JR chuckled, "now I remember. Darlin', I hate to rush you to get up, but my back is killing me and I could really use a proper cup of coffee, so how about we get up and get dressed and we can head back to Southfork to freshen up and tell everyone the good news. Or we could go to a hotel if you'd prefer to tell everyone later", he also needed to use the bathroom and still had a small hint of his morning problem to get rid of, but he wasn't going to mention those two. "That sounds wonderful. I must look a mess right now", for the first time since waking up, she realised that she probably looked awful, she'd spent all night sleeping on the floor of an old ranch cabin and she'd been soaked by the rain the night before. "You look beautiful, you always do", he wasn't lying, he really did think she looked good, he'd seen a lot of women in the morning and Sue Ellen pulled the look off well. She kissed him lightly, now conscious that she probably had morning-breath, "thank you for lying. Now, go get dressed and I'll fold up these blankets".

Austin, Texas

Patricia Shepard drank her coffee as she read the Saturday morning newspaper, though she wasn't really reading the articles, she was too distracted to do anything other than think. Why hadn't Sue Ellen called last night? Her mother should have been the first person she told of her engagement. Surely she hadn't said no, she wouldn't have said no, not to JR Ewing, and not to the last chance at a good life. She almost dropped her coffee mug as she jumped at the sound of the phone ringing; "good morning, Shepard residence, Kristin speaking", her young daughter didn't have a clue what was going on and acted completely normally as she answered the phone. "Mama, Mrs Campbell is on the phone for you", Kristin informed her and she sighed, Sue Ellen would call when she was ready, she probably just forgot in all the excitement of the engagement celebrations.

Dallas, Texas

Sue Ellen was glad she was able to change into a more suitable pair of shoes for walking than the high heels she had worn with her evening gown the previous night. Her overnight bag had been moved straight from the limo into the trunk of JR's car, he was obviously planning on having her stay at Southfork or taking her to her hotel after their date, though neither really mattered now. "I'm sorry it turned out like this. I'll have to get daddy to make sure we get phones installed in all of the shelter cabins; otherwise, one day there could be a real emergency and no one would be able to call for help", JR held her hand as they walked through the fields toward the stables. "I told you JR, stop worrying, it wasn't your fault, and besides, it wasn't a real emergency, and I actually liked our little adventure, it was about as close to camping as I'd ever want to get", she grinned as JR laughed, she knew that JR didn't much enjoy camping either and would appreciate her joke.

"Ray!" JR called into the stables, knowing that Ray would help them out, he was the one ranch hand that JR actually didn't mind socialising with; Ray was one of Jock's best workers and Jock sometimes even invited him to go hunting with them. As long as he stayed on the ranch side of Southfork and just did his job, JR had no problem with him taking a little of Jock's attention, it gave him more opportunities to make oil deals by himself. "JR, Miss Shepard", Ray tipped his hat and noticed how well dressed the couple were, "what do you need me to do?" he asked, before JR launched into the list of problems and tasks. Ray nodded, taking everything in his stride; he was ready to help, without knowing how or why, he just was.

To be continued…