Dallas, Texas

JR picked his car up at Ewing Oil and then drove back home, arriving just as everyone was finishing breakfast outside on the patio. Bobby was nowhere to be seen and JR assumed that his night had probably been just as good, if not better than his own had; Bobby was single and unattached, he didn't need a cover story for where he'd spent the night. "Good morning JR", Miss Ellie smiled at him as he walked toward the house, "morning mama", he smiled and took the cup of coffee and scrambled eggs Teresa handed to him before sitting down and joining the breakfast conversation. Jock knew the look on his eldest son's face but he didn't say anything; he couldn't say that he was pleased about JR's behaviour, but he understood it. It was only natural for a man to want to have a little fun, monogamy wasn't an easy thing to get used to, especially for men like JR; his wife visiting her mother was the perfect opportunity for him to get whatever extramarital desires he had out of his system. Jock wanted JR's marriage to work, and if bending a few of their marriage vows while his wife was away was what JR needed to be happy and remain a good husband, then he was prepared to look the other way. He truly believed that what a husband did in private was no one's business but his own, as long as it stayed private; in public he was expected to act charming, loving and committed, the picture of happiness, with a wife by his side. As long as JR held up his end of the deal, was discreet about his side actions, and still attentive to his wife, Jock wasn't going to say anything about it; he understood his eldest son and he'd been pleased with his performance since the wedding, he wasn't going to do anything to disrupt that behaviour streak. As much as JR had resisted, marriage had been good for him, he had stepped up to his responsibilities and had gone above and beyond the expectations he set for him, there was only one more thing that Jock really wanted now, a grandson. The family chatted a little before they finished breakfast and each went off to do their own thing; Mavis arrived to meet Ellie for their shopping trip, and Jock went down to the stables to see Ray, taking Lucy with him because she wanted to go riding, leaving JR home alone, at least until Bobby decided to return. JR enjoyed when he had a little peace and quiet, sometimes it was nice to have Southfork all to himself, especially when he was a still a little tired and hungover from the previous night; he walked upstairs and changed clothes, deciding that spending the day by the pool was about as much as he wanted to do right now. Although he'd had a wonderful night with another woman, he was looking forward to Sue Ellen's return later in the day, they always had a good time after a separation, no matter how brief; it wasn't even completely sexual, he really did enjoy her company, whatever they were doing. He always felt more refreshed after a little time apart, it gave him time to miss her and made their reunion even more enjoyable, though he sometimes wondered whether he felt good because he usually used their time apart to satisfy his buried carnal desires rather than because he couldn't bear to be away from his wife. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind, he loved Sue Ellen, and he only went to other women to satisfy the wants and needs he had that were too good for a lady like her, he wouldn't sully her like that. Ultimately though, Sue Ellen was the only woman that truly mattered to him.

Bobby arrived home a few hours later, finding the ranch empty except for his brother who was asleep under an umbrella by the pool. If he'd been in a more energetic mood, he would have jumped into the pool to splash water on JR and disturb his nap, but he was tired and hungover; what JR was doing looked more appealing than exerting real energy. He changed clothes and joined JR, lying outside by the pool in the shade while Teresa brought him a Bloody Mary and some pills for his headache. JR wasn't really sleeping, he was just relaxed by the stillness of the empty ranch, it wasn't often that there was no one there; he heard Teresa placing a tray down on the table and decided to get up and do something, it wouldn't look good if Sue Ellen came home and found him almost passed out. He walked inside, grabbing a newspaper and a cup of coffee and spent the rest of the afternoon in the downstairs office; he was happy and relaxed, ready for his wife to return home.

Austin, Texas

Sue Ellen helped her mother clean-up after the party, she was more tired than she'd imagined she would be, she'd almost forgotten how exhausting entertaining a group of children could be. The children had been the easy part of her day though; socialising with the mothers of the children was much more difficult. She had thought the marriage proposal questions had been hard to answer, but the baby questions were even worse, she didn't have an answer, no matter how much she or JR wanted it, neither could just make it happen, it was out of their control. As tired as she was, she had enjoyed the day and it had just confirmed her thoughts, she didn't just want a baby to please the family, she wanted to be a mother for herself too. It was the combination of the two things that made her emotional every time she realised that it hadn't happened yet; the monthly biological reminders were bad enough, but the constant talk of babies at Southfork was beginning to take its toll. Logically she knew that being six months married without conceiving was normal, her doctor had assured her so, but emotionally she had begun to wonder if she was doing something wrong, whether there was some greater force stopping her from reaching the ultimate happiness. She tried to push the thoughts out of her mind and remain positive; she didn't want anyone to know just how much it was affecting her, not even JR. Of course, he knew that she was upset about it, but he didn't know just how upset she really was, and he wouldn't; for now, she played the loving, dutiful wife role and she would continue that until she could provide what they all wanted. Being an emotional mess wasn't in her job description and she hid any hint of just how deeply she felt things, she didn't want him to have anything more to deal with than he already did. "Sue Ellen?" she'd been distracted and hadn't realised that she'd been wiping the same spot on the table for the past few minutes, Patricia had noticed though, she was unsure of what was bothering her daughter, but she didn't want to ask. Instead, she took over the cleaning and told Sue Ellen to put away the leftover food; she just couldn't deal with any problems today.

Dallas, Texas

Sue Ellen was surprised to find Southfork quiet and seemingly empty when she returned home, though she knew that both Bobby and JR had to be around somewhere, their cars were in the driveway. Teresa informed her that Bobby was sleeping upstairs and JR was in the office; she realised why it was so quiet when she went to find her husband. Walking into the office, she found him reclined in the chair with his feet up on the desk and his hands behind his head, the newspaper he'd been reading still on his lap as he lay lightly sleeping; she smiled at the sight, he was so handsome, and he was all hers. She walked over and picked up the newspaper, folding it and placing it on the desk, trying to be quiet; though she realised she hadn't done a very good job when she heard his voice, "you're home", he smiled at her. She turned as he spoke, annoyed with herself for ruining his nap; she was relieved when she saw his smile and she realised he wasn't upset with her. He held out his hand to pull her down into his lap before softly kissing her; she didn't know what made him act so sweetly sometimes, but she didn't care, she liked when he was kind and gentle and she wasn't going to ruin it by asking hard questions. "I missed you", she whispered after a few minutes, "good, because I missed you too", he replied, it was true, he'd thought about her a lot today, and he was glad to have her home. They spent the next hour talking and kissing, enjoying the relaxed mood of just being together, if it went further, then that was great, but even if it didn't, they still enjoyed their time together. JR knew it deep down that although other women were great, they were really only useful for one thing; Sue Ellen offered so much more, and she was the only woman he really wanted to spend his time with. If showing his worst side to other women meant that Sue Ellen only saw his best side, then that was what he would do, it was all justified in his mind, he was just trying to make their marriage the best it could be, and right now, it felt pretty close to that.

To be continued…