Dallas, Texas

"Stress and anxiety?" JR looked at the doctor as if he were crazy, Sue Ellen had no job or real responsibilities, she didn't even have that many friends, her days consisted of shopping, DOA meetings and being there for him when he returned home from work, so what she had to be stressed or anxious about was a mystery to him. Dr Danvers looked at JR disapprovingly, his reaction wasn't at all what Sue Ellen needed right now, she was unstable and emotionally drained, and having JR act as if she didn't have the right to feel that way was not good for her recovery. "Yes, it appears that she's been internalising negative emotions and burying them rather than dealing with things as she feels them", he explained to JR about the talk he and Sue Ellen had had about her life and marriage. He didn't want to break doctor-patient confidentiality so he made sure to not go into too much detail about their conversation, but he said enough for JR to realise that her calm, perfect-wife exterior was just a façade and that she felt everything on a personal level, even when it wasn't directed at her. The late nights at the office, the business trips, his position in the company, his rivalry with Bobby, the way he chose to spend his free time, the way he spoke to her when they were alone and treated her when they were with the family; she felt something about everything, but she said nothing. JR truly had no idea that she thought so much about what he did and how she could change herself to better suit the situation rather than the other way around. He had assumed that sending her flowers and taking her out to dinner would make up for the times when he couldn't be there for her; he had believed that because she had said so, but apparently it couldn't have been further from the truth. She never made mention of the way she felt or that she didn't think his efforts were good enough, she always accepted his apologies and promises and never countered his arguments, so he really had no idea that she was so upset about everything. He occasionally heard her whine about his decisions, but she usually quickly changed back into the submissive wife that he expected her to be; he had assumed that when she did that, she was realising that she was being unreasonable, not that she was faking acceptance for his sake. Things were a mess; selfishly he was thinking about the strain that this was going to put on their relationship, he couldn't really dedicate any more time to her than he already did and he really didn't need anything else to worry about right now. There were enough serious things going on in the world for him to be concerned about and his wife having a breakdown was an unnecessary strain; this had all come at a terrible time for him. He knew it wasn't about his feelings and what was convenient for him, but the selfish and uncaring side of him didn't really see it that way, she was his wife and she needed to learn how to deal with the things that came with that role. "So where do we go from here?" he asked the doctor, subconsciously doing exactly what Sue Ellen had been doing, burying one set of feelings and displaying another; they weren't completely false feelings, he really did want her to get better, he just didn't want to have to do anything differently in his own life.

Jock, Miss Ellie and Lucy had just been chatting in the living room when Dr Danvers arrived and was met by JR who ushered him upstairs without explanation; they didn't know what was going on and were growing more concerned by the minute as Miss Ellie remembered the way Sue Ellen had been acting earlier in the day. "Thank you doctor", JR shook his hand as he walked him to the door, he felt a little better now that Sue Ellen was getting medical help, but he was still hesitant about the whole situation. Just because she was sedated now didn't mean that she was cured, she would wake up with the same issues that she went to sleep with and she was the only one that could fix her problems. The thing was, he wasn't sure that he was ready for a wife who openly told him how she felt about things; what he really needed was her to act the way she had been acting, and mean it. He needed her to be understanding and supportive of his decisions, but he needed her to act that way because she actually believed that it was the right thing to do, not because she was playing a character; in a way, things had been easier when they were unaware of her issues. "JR?" Miss Ellie stood and walked toward him, concerned at the way he looked, but more concerned about his wife, something was wrong with Sue Ellen, she just knew it. "I don't want to go into detail mama, I don't think it's fair to Sue Ellen, but she'll be fine, she's just exhausted right now. I think I'm going to have dinner upstairs, will you have Teresa bring me up a tray please. None for Sue Ellen, she's sleeping at the moment", he was weary, he didn't feel like going through the whole thing again, especially not before he had a chance to speak to his wife about it. Therefore, instead of trying to explain, he opted for a very basic summary, Sue Ellen would be fine, her problem was more mental than anything and he was sure that with the right mindset, she would be all right, he couldn't deal with thinking anything else about it right now. Jock didn't like what he was hearing, he didn't like being out of the loop, but from the way Miss Ellie acted he knew better than to start questioning JR, there would be plenty of time for answers in the morning, but now was not the time or place to start asking difficult questions.

JR sat in a chair next to their bed as he watched Sue Ellen sleeping, he empathised with her for her feelings regarding what she believed to be a pregnancy; he knew how much she wanted a baby, and he understood it, he wanted a son himself and it was disappointing to have each month pass without news. It must have been difficult for her to hear the news that she wasn't actually pregnant, from the way the doctor had described it, she had been convinced that she was and that the test was just to confirm, so to be told that she wasn't, he understood why she would be upset. It troubled him that she had been keeping so much inside though, so much that her mental and emotional thoughts had caused physical symptoms; the balance in her life was clearly not correct if she was getting physically sick or breaking down in tears for no reason, it just wasn't healthy for her and that worried him. The doctor had been brief in his explanation of the issues, he had been trying to uphold confidentiality while also explaining the extent of the problem, but he had emphasised to JR that speaking to Sue Ellen would provide him with more insight into her problems and help them to work through their issues. Right now though, she was sleeping and JR was tired too, it wasn't the right time for either of them to talk, but tomorrow was a new day and he intended on getting some answers, as gently as possible of course.

To be continued...