Dallas, Texas

JR looked through his closet and picked out a shirt and tie to wear, it was a bit of a strange feeling not having Sue Ellen moving around the room as he got ready for work, he was so used to her being there now that he had forgotten what it was like without her. It was what was best for them right now though; he'd encouraged her to take a little trip to Austin to visit her mother and get away from the 'problems' that Dallas presented her with and he hoped that her trip was enough to clear her head and she would come back with a better way of thinking. The whole situation had been a wakeup call for him, he really hadn't realised that she had such strong feelings about his problems; he only told her things because she was his wife and he needed someone to rant to, but if she couldn't handle them, then it wasn't worth the stress it caused her. Because of the effect it had on her, he had made a personal commitment to himself to not burden her with unnecessary stress anymore; it had become quite clear that that did more harm than good and she didn't see things the same way he did. He couldn't do anything about the amount of time he spent with her and away from her, but he reasoned that those things would be less of a strain on their marriage if she didn't have to worry about why he was away; she didn't need to know the details of his work if they were going to upset her. He had a plan for her return to Dallas, she would no longer have to worry about him and he wouldn't really have to change anything about the way he treated her in their marriage; if he approached it correctly then it would be a win-win situation, at least that's how he saw it.

Austin, Texas

"…all of the lovely things you have …he has responsibilities and so do you …what would people think?" Sue Ellen listened as her mother rambled on about all of JR's good qualities and all of the positive things that came with being a Ewing. Almost everything she mentioned had something to do with power, money or her reputation; it was obvious that her mother cared an awful lot about those things and not much about anything else, especially not Sue Ellen's emotions. "…so I think it's time to go home to your husband", Sue Ellen listened and politely smiled, she actually agreed with her mother on that point; even with the way she felt at Southfork sometimes, it was her home now and she missed it. It was true, absence really did make the heart grow fonder, she actually missed Dallas and her life there, she missed being Mrs JR Ewing, part of the powerful, renowned Ewing family, she missed the ranch and the family, but most of all she missed her husband. Sometimes she was sad about the way things were, but her time away had taught her that being with JR in any capacity was better than being without him, she wanted to be his wife and she would live her life whatever way he wanted her to if it meant that she got to stay with him. Her trip to Austin had been nice enough, but she was glad to know that it wasn't permanent, she had almost forgotten what it was like to live with her mother, but she remembered now; being in Austin no longer felt like being at home, Dallas was her home now and she was ready to return to her life.

Dallas, Texas

JR walked down the stairs just as the phone began to ring, answering it, he was surprised to hear Sue Ellen's voice, he hadn't expected her to call, but he wasn't disappointed. He was pleased with her words and tone, she sounded calm and collected, not like the last time he had spoken to her, and she was calling to tell him that she would be returning home later that day. He was relieved, he had been worried about her mental state, but it seemed that her breakdown was really just temporary and a little bit of time alone was exactly what she needed. He hoped that when she did return that things would improve and go back to the way they were supposed to be. He had already decided not to burden her with his problems anymore and at least try to make her feel as if she wasn't the last thing on his list of priorities, but he needed her to make an effort too, he couldn't be the only one to change. He needed her to be the wife that she had been taught to be and he needed her to really mean it, he hoped that the purposeful lack of stress in her life would mean that their marriage would improve. He couldn't think of any other way to change things, his attention was already stretched thin and he had to put Ewing Oil first, that's just the way things were and the way they had always been; she had known what she was getting into when she agreed to marry him. She couldn't claim ignorance of reality, she had dated him and wanted to marry him knowing full well that he was the vice president of a multimillion dollar company and that he had a long list of responsibilities; he couldn't be held responsible for her disillusionment with marriage. The things that he could change he would try and make an effort with, he would try to be more attentive and present in her life, but he couldn't commit to anything and she had to understand that.

He understood that part of her problem was the need for a child, but that was something that neither of them could control at present. A son was something he wanted and needed, but for him personally, it wasn't an urgent requirement, there was plenty of time before an heir was needed and he didn't see the point in worrying about it when it didn't happen immediately. He thought that she was worrying unnecessarily about the whole thing, she was a Ewing because she was his wife, she just needed to believe that; the lack of a son wasn't something that anyone was holding against her, they'd only been married for a year after all. He was sure that it would happen eventually; medically she had been assured that everything was fine and she just had to wait for everything to fall into place, for JR that was enough of a confirmation and he didn't see the point in worrying about something that couldn't be manipulated or influenced by power or money. What he needed when she returned home was for his wife to have a complete change in attitude, he needed her to be an optimist instead of a pessimist, he needed her to understand that she didn't have to be so concerned about everything, especially the things that she couldn't control. The things that would make their relationship good were things that she actually had the ability to change; her listening to him and supporting him and meaning it was the biggest thing she could do, he didn't need her to worry about how to fix his problems, he just needed her to be there to listen and agree with him. He had a part in improving their relationship too though and he intended on doing just that, he would only tell her things that she needed to know and no more, all she had to do was play her role correctly and he would deal with everything else. He didn't need her to fix his problems, but he sure as hell didn't need her to be so weighed down with his issues that she became a problem herself. It really wasn't that difficult, but he hoped that she understood what he expected from her and what he didn't expect from her and she did just that, no more and no less.

To be continued…