Dallas, Texas

Sue Ellen was pleased that no one else was home when she had arrived back at Southfork from her doctor's appointment and shopping trip; it gave her time to adjust to the new emotions she was feeling without being questioned about why she was smiling so much or having to explain what she had been doing all morning. She knew that she had to tell JR before she told anyone else and she planned to do that when he arrived home from work, however, she was still undecided on whether she wanted to tell the rest of the family the good news today or whether she should wait a while, just to be safe. Dr Danvers had estimated that she was about six weeks pregnant and that although she was fit and healthy and it was relatively unlikely, there was still a risk of miscarriage, a statistical risk that dropped after the first trimester. She was torn between being completely thrilled and wanting everyone to share in her excitement, and being a nervous wreck that feared the way people would look at her and talk about her behind her back if she did lose the baby. She'd spent enough time with the DOA ladies to know that they gossiped gleefully about anyone's misfortune and if anything happened to her, she wouldn't be an exception. Then there was the problem of her mother, she knew she would be upset with her if she told the Ewing family the news before she told her, however, Sue Ellen didn't particularly want to see her mother or sister unless completely necessary, and at the moment their next trip up to Dallas wasn't scheduled until Thanksgiving, five weeks away. However, if the dates Dr Danvers had estimated were correct, by the time the two families were gathered together at Southfork for Thanksgiving dinner, she would be just past the eleven-week mark and her first trimester would be almost over. Then, by the time everyone went back to work and started socialising again after the long weekend, inevitably spreading the good news, she would be far enough along that she wouldn't mind it being public knowledge. She smiled to herself as she opened her shopping bags and looked at the two outfits she had purchased for her baby, she then neatly folded them and placed them into an empty dresser drawer; the news was good news, and whether they told the family now or in five weeks didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

JR sighed to himself as his final meeting of the day ended without an agreement and he began to wonder whether he'd lost his touch, it was highly unusual for JR Ewing to have this much trouble negotiating a deal and he began to wonder what had happened to him. The only thing he could think of to blame for his distraction was his current concern for his wife's wellbeing, and that frustrated him; if Sue Ellen really wanted to be a good wife, then the best thing she could do for him was support him unconditionally and not give him more things to worry about. Although he was a grown man, he still feared his father's reaction to his failures, and if he couldn't get a contract written and signed by next week, then his father would not be pleased. JR always had to work twice as hard to show that he was the best Ewing at Ewing Oil because his father's favouritism toward his younger brother was so apparent. If he couldn't make a deal with this company, a deal that should have been relatively simple for him, then he had no doubt that his father would start to doubt his capabilities and start to see Bobby in an even more favourable light than he already did. In Jock's eyes, despite the fact that Bobby's role was all about handing out favours to those who could help Ewing Oil and had nothing to do with negotiating actual deals, he and JR were of equal importance to the overall running of the company. JR knew of his father's general plan to make him president when he retired in a few years, however, the way he saw it, there was no reason why Bobby would automatically move into a higher position within the company at that point too; Bobby wasn't nearly as experienced or devious enough to be the next vice president. However, if JR kept going the way he was going and failed to easily negotiate basic deals, then his father's opinion of him would surely drop, and that worried him; he couldn't lose to Bobby, it wasn't an option. Walking over to the bar in his office, he poured himself a drink and downed it before gathering his things and heading downstairs to the parking lot, heading back to Southfork.

Sue Ellen spent the early afternoon outside by the pool, enjoying the last remnants of the summer heat before the fall weather arrived, and then in the late afternoon, she headed inside to take a nap, something that didn't go unnoticed by Teresa or Miss Ellie. Waking up an hour before JR arrived home, she changed clothes, headed downstairs to say hello to Lucy and Miss Ellie and then returned to her room to change for dinner. As she heard JR's car parking in the driveway, she walked downstairs and made him a drink before meeting him in the foyer just as he walked in the door. Greeting him with a hug and a kiss, she handed him the glass and was surprised when he downed the drink in one gulp; he wasn't in a good mood and that worried her, she wanted the moment she gave him the news to be perfect, but now was not that moment. The rush hour traffic leaving downtown Dallas hadn't been any worse than usual, but to JR, it felt as if it were moving at a snail's pace and combined with his already dark thoughts and frustrations of the day, he wasn't in a particularly good mood as he returned home. However, the sight of his wife standing in the foyer waiting for him with a drink in her hand and a smile on her face did somewhat improve his mood; it pleased him to know that Sue Ellen would always be on his side, even if no one else was.

Miss Ellie watched Sue Ellen with interest as the family ate dinner, it seemed obvious from her pale face and lack of involvement in the conversation that it was taking all of her willpower not to leave the dining room. So far, she had noted eggs, strong seafood and some chicken dishes as foods that Sue Ellen seemed to have an aversion to lately, and as she watched her daughter-in-law gag slightly as she chewed and swallowed the food, she added steak to the list. Sue Ellen had to be pregnant, it all made sense, and if she had come to the conclusion just from watching her, then there was no way that Sue Ellen didn't know it yet; though from the way JR had been acting lately, she wasn't entirely sure that Sue Ellen had let him in on the little secret yet. An hour later, Sue Ellen sighed with relief as she lay down on the bed, far away from the smell, taste or visual reminders of food; as much as she was pleased about her condition, she couldn't wait for the next few weeks to pass, food aversion and nausea were particularly unpleasant symptoms. Unwittingly, she fell asleep, and as JR returned to their bedroom after talking to his father for a few minutes, he was both concerned and confused at the image of his wife lying on the bed, she wasn't even under the covers, so her nap appeared to be unintentional. That behaviour worried him though, because it didn't strike him as particularly normal to need as much rest as she seemed to have been getting recently and coupled with her mood swings, he didn't know what was wrong with her. Perhaps it was time for him to give Dr Danvers a call.

To be continued…