Dallas, Texas

"Sue Ellen!" JR grumbled as he pulled his pillow over his head to block out the noise, it was Saturday morning, there was no reason for her to be awake and moving around this early and he really needed her to be quiet, he was hungover and not in the mood to do anything other than go back to sleep. Sue Ellen rolled her eyes as she moved into the bathroom to finish getting ready; it wasn't her fault that JR had chosen last night to go out drinking with Bobby and Jock, not arriving home until just a couple of hours ago, and she wouldn't break her plans just because JR was hungover. It was the first day of Lucy's summer vacation and she'd promised her that they would go riding and then swim before breakfast; she'd been surprised when Lucy had asked her of her own free will, but she wasn't going to question it. Lucy distancing herself from her had hit Sue Ellen harder than she had expected it to, but she hoped that her wanting to spend time together now meant that their distance had only been temporary and she was ready to resume their former friendship; she'd grown somewhat maternally attached to Lucy and she wasn't ready for that to end. Her relationship with Lucy had always been what she wished she and Kristin had had growing up, a sisterly bond with the wisdom of age to fall back on; unfortunately Kristin had always been more mature than what was expected for her age and they'd never been very close. Patricia Shepard's parenting style was all about being the best, and that meant that her daughters were always in a competition with each other, it was something Kristin resented and Sue Ellen never really bothered to change, she always won anyway, she was the older sibling and her achievements were always more impressive than Kristin's. She had given up on having a close relationship with Kristin long ago, but Lucy was different, she had no mother or siblings at Southfork and she had always seemed very receptive to the idea of Sue Ellen joining the family, not only as JR's wife, but also as a friend and mother figure for her. It had been good for a few years, Lucy was just a little girl when she'd first met Sue Ellen and she had really needed someone like her in her life, but she was quickly growing up, she was already a preteen, and in just a few years she would be a teenager. Sue Ellen knew all too well how mothers and daughters fought and although she wasn't Lucy's mother, she still wasn't looking forward to their relationship changing for the worse, she always took everything personally and a rejection from her niece would hurt just as much as a rejection from a friend.

"Sue Ellen?" she exited the bathroom just as she heard the faint tapping on the bedroom door, "I'll be out in two minutes. You go to your room and I'll meet you there", she walked quickly to the door and hurried Lucy away from their bedroom, with the way JR was acting this morning Lucy would surely be in the firing line if she stuck around for much longer. "Uhhh", JR dramatically sighed as his niece knocked on the door and his wife spoke to her, everything was so loud this morning; perhaps he should have just stayed away from Southfork last night, it wasn't as if he hadn't had the option to, there had been plenty of women throwing themselves at he and Bobby. However, in an effort to try to be a good husband, he'd returned home to his wife at the end of the night, though it didn't appear his actions had done much good anyway, she was up and out of bed already and it was only just after six in the morning. He may as well have been gone for all she seemed to care. "JR, I promised Lucy I'd go riding and then swimming with her, but I've left you some pills and a glass of water for when you wake up", she pulled the pillow off his face to speak to him and as she looked at him her annoyance disappeared, quickly replaced by sympathy. He looked worn out and he'd made it clear that he felt terrible, she probably hadn't helped him by moving around the room so early in the morning either, "go back to sleep now, I love you", she kissed him on the forehead and left the room.

Returning from her horse ride and re-entering their bedroom to change into her bathing suit, Sue Ellen tried her hardest to be silent, JR had been grumpy earlier and it didn't matter whether she sympathised with his position or not, she really didn't feel like dealing with any more of his moodiness today. Stripping out of her jeans and shirt, she quickly changed into her bathing suit and cover-up before picking up her dirty clothes and throwing them into the laundry hamper. She stopped briefly to pick up JR's shirt that was lying on the floor where he'd missed the hamper last night, his aim wasn't the best when he was drunk; tossing it in on top of her clothes quickly, she didn't notice the smudged red mark on the collar and left the room without thinking anything more of it. An hour later, JR awoke to the sound of giggling and splashing outside their bedroom window, it seemed louder than it probably was in reality, but that didn't stop him from muttering a few expletives to himself and blaming his mood on everyone but him. His headache and sensitivity to sound was obviously Lucy's fault, she was being loud and inconsiderate; it had nothing to do with his excessive drinking last night. Opening his eyes, his mood lifted a little as he spotted the glass of water, two pills and the Bloody Mary that were sitting on his nightstand; he vaguely remembered Sue Ellen saying something about leaving him water and pills for his headache, but the Bloody Mary was a pleasant surprise. It was nice to know that Sue Ellen cared enough to at least attempt to look after him even when she wasn't there to tend to his needs; she was a better wife than he was husband, but he'd never openly admit it. To admit that he wasn't the best husband he could be would open the floodgates to questions about his failures and misbehaviours, something he did not want to discuss with anyone, especially not his wife. Deep down, he knew that he failed miserably at being monogamous and even keeping Sue Ellen in his list of top priorities was difficult sometimes, but he didn't want to be the one to open that conversation for discussion, those talks never led anywhere good. The truth of the matter was that he was the way he was and that probably wasn't going to change, so trying his best was as good as he could do, but he wasn't going to make more promises that he couldn't keep, and avoiding talking about their problems was easier than arguing. Taking the pills and swallowing his drinks, he got out of bed and showered before making his way downstairs; he had no real plans for the day, but if Sue Ellen would agree to stay with him and relax at Southfork, then he would be a happy man. Sometimes he just needed her to be close to him; he really did love her, his biggest problem was that he really just wasn't cut out for marriage and the responsibility that came with it. Truthfully, he enjoyed the life of a bachelor too much to completely let it go, but that didn't mean that he couldn't still want to be with Sue Ellen; it was a complicated situation, but not one he chose to dwell on often. "Morning mama", he stepped outside onto the patio and greeted his mother for breakfast, pushing his previous thoughts out of his mind for now.

To be continued…