Washington, D.C.

JR sat back and relaxed as the plane levelled, using the quiet time alone to consider everything; personally, the trip had been a success, he hadn't lacked companionship or satisfaction; but professionally, the oil business was in a lot more trouble than even he could attempt to fix. No longer was the United States just self-sufficient and self-reliant, they heavily dealt with foreign countries, countries who were beginning to realise the power they could hold if they banded together; it was a bigger issue than anyone had ever faced. JR was lucky that Ewing Oil was a private company, they had no shareholders to answer to, but he did have his father, and Jock wasn't going to be happy about the current situation. Jock Ewing was an original wildcatter, he was around before all the modern technology, regulations and politics that were associated with the oil business; JR wasn't looking forward to telling his father that things weren't looking too good, Jock would probably blame him and not see the bigger picture. JR took a drink and sighed, he had done the best he could and he had gotten a few people on his side, but the problems were more than he or any one man could fix, and they were just going to have to deal with that. For now, Ewing Oil was safe, they still had their producing fields and were in a position to purchase new fields if needed; it was more to do with the global price of oil and the wider industry that was cause for concern. JR sighed again, pushing the thoughts out of his mind for now, it wasn't much use worrying about it, it was out of his control.

Dallas, Texas

Sue Ellen sat at her dressing table as she applied her makeup and prepared herself for cocktails and dinner with the family. It was the fourth night in a row that she was going it alone and she wasn't particularly looking forward to another night without her husband, she still felt like an outsider in the Ewing family sometimes, especially when JR wasn't there to validate her presence. Finishing her hair and makeup, she heard Lucy and Bobby speaking in the hallway; taking a deep breath and putting on her best smile, she left their bedroom and made her way downstairs. Cocktail hour really wasn't as bad as she had psyched herself into thinking it would be, it was November and the topic of conversation amongst the women centred on the upcoming holiday season, it was a fairly neutral topic, something Sue Ellen didn't mind adding her own comments to. She was thankful that she had already spent a Thanksgiving weekend at Southfork, it gave her something to comment on in the conversation, and it made this year's celebration seem much less scary than it would have been otherwise. Just as Lucy was explaining her role in the Thanksgiving play her class was rehearsing, Teresa appeared in the doorway to tell them that dinner was ready. Everyone stood and made their way into the dining room, sitting down just as a car pulled up outside and parked in the driveway, the driver closing the door loudly and walking inside the house. Sue Ellen's mood lifted as her husband walked into the room, he hadn't told her that he was coming home tonight, but she didn't care about that, she was just happy to have him here now; "oh, good, looks like I'm just in time. Hello darlin'", he addressed the family and kissed Sue Ellen on the cheek before sitting down to eat. Sue Ellen smiled at him, he seemed like he was in a good mood and she hoped that it was because his business trip had gone well, because from what he had told her, it sounded like they could use all the help they could get right now. JR grinned as he sat down casually, not acknowledging the surprised looks his family were giving him, he liked being a little unpredictable, and this was harmless; besides, he didn't really want to bring down the mood just yet, there was plenty of time for that, especially after he explained everything to his father.

"JR", Jock gruffly reminded him of their after dinner meeting, JR's timing had meant that they really hadn't had time to discuss the details of his trip to Washington when he got home, and they had a general rule to not speak about business at the dinner table, so after dinner was the assigned time for that kind of talk. "I may be a while, you go do something and I'll meet you upstairs later", JR gave Sue Ellen a light kiss and sent her upstairs. He gave her specific orders to do something, because she didn't need to stand around waiting for him to finish his meeting, and he didn't want her to do nothing but sit and worry about him. He knew that she would do that if he didn't tell her not to, she took her wifely support duties seriously and she always put his needs before her own, even when it was unnecessary. Sue Ellen made her way upstairs, she was a little saddened that her husband's first night home was taken up with more business talk, but she understood, Ewing Oil had to come first, and she had to be understanding and supportive, no matter whether she felt like it or not. "Well…?" Jock looked at JR and waited for his response, he didn't expect that JR had great news, but his earlier mood had thrown him, JR hadn't seemed too down when he arrived home. Jock wasn't uninformed, the general murmurings within the industry weren't positive, things were changing in the global economy and there wasn't much they could do about it. "Well, the good news is that everyone is on our side, the price of oil is rising, and Ewing Oil has enough reserves to last us a good while yet, we're not in any immediate danger. The bad news is that in general, the supply in this country is dropping, and our peers are becoming increasingly reliant on foreign countries, that could be potentially disastrous. As I said though, Ewing Oil isn't in any real danger right now, and the people in Washington are looking in the same direction that we are", he tried to throw a positive spin on the situation. Having government policies on their side was always beneficial; they didn't always have that luxury. Jock sighed, JR was right, things weren't as bad as they could have been, "fine", he looked like he was thinking and was about to elaborate, but he chose not to, there really wasn't much more to say right now, "we'll talk about it at the office tomorrow. Now, go see your wife, that poor girl's waited long enough for her husband to come home". He meant what he said, Sue Ellen really was perfect wife material, she did everything JR asked and was a credit to the Ewing name, she deserved to be rewarded for her attentiveness every once in a while; and Jock really wanted a grandson, he wasn't going to stand in the way of their reunion.

To be continued…