Dallas, Texas

"Thank you for coming; please, make yourself at home and if you need anything, just ask me or one of the other adults", Sue Ellen smiled and politely greeted the children and some of their parents as they arrived at Southfork for Lucy's birthday party. "Cindy!" Lucy spoke excitedly as her friend arrived and she rolled her eyes as Sue Ellen repeated her same, overly polite and impersonal greeting. For a younger woman, Sue Ellen took things so seriously sometimes; her friends were other young girls, not DOA members or business associates, they didn't care what Sue Ellen had to say or even whether she was there to greet them at all; she really didn't need to be so stiff and formal. A few minutes later, both Jock and Miss Ellie walked outside to join the receiving line and Lucy relaxed a little, her grandparents knew most of her friends parents and their greetings were less stuffy and more friendly, exactly what she'd expected. "I'll go check on the food", Sue Ellen felt awkward as her in-laws struck up real conversations with their guests and she politely made her exit as she realised that she wasn't needed anymore. Walking inside and entering the kitchen, she spoke with Teresa for a moment, checking that the food preparation was all running smoothly, though once again, she felt awkward and useless as she realised that Teresa was a professional, she had everything under control and didn't really need any help. Leaving the kitchen, she walked upstairs and as she closed the bedroom door behind her, she began to cry. Although she'd been a Ewing for almost two years now and was carrying the next Ewing grandchild inside her, she still felt like an outsider sometimes, and today that feeling made her feel useless, sad and alone.

JR sat in the downstairs office drinking his bourbon and reading the morning newspaper in an attempt to get away from the noise of the birthday party going on outside. Usually at a party like this, he would be with the rest of the family socialising, however, this year, Lucy had asked for a party for just her friends, not their parents or any of their family friends or business associates, and his father, being the doting grandfather that he was, had agreed to that request. Because of that, he figured that aside from a few obligatory polite appearances, there was no requirement for him to be a prominent person at the party, no one important was going to be there, and standing around watching a bunch of young girls doing whatever it was that they were doing outside just didn't appeal to him. Hearing the door to the office gently open and close, he looked up from his newspaper, "daddy?" his father was acting as if he were breaking in to the office and it struck him as an odd thing to do in his own home; "JR!" Jock jumped slightly as he realised that he wasn't alone, though he relaxed as he realised that it was only JR that had caught him, he wasn't going to judge him for sneaking away from the party, especially since he was probably doing exactly the same thing. "Buy you a drink?" JR moved past the reason why they were both inside the office, if his father wasn't going to mention it, then neither was he, so instead of starting a conversation, he just stood and walked over to the bar to make his father a drink. Jock nodded at JR's statement and walked over to the desk to find the sports section out of the newspaper JR had been reading, he then sat down and gratefully took the drink JR handed to him before the two of them settled into a comfortable silence as they drank their drinks and read their newspapers.

Half an hour after disappearing upstairs, Sue Ellen pulled herself together and walked back downstairs, reappearing in the kitchen as if nothing had happened. She was pleased when Miss Ellie tasked her with making sure that all the food was arranged correctly on the table outside, it wasn't a big task, but it was something that made her feel useful and important, something Miss Ellie sensed Sue Ellen needed more of in her life. Meanwhile, in the downstairs office, Jock sensed a change in outside volume and looked at his watch, "come on junior, we should probably make another appearance before your mother comes looking for us". JR sighed as his father spoke, though he said nothing, his father was probably right; even if they weren't really required and Lucy wasn't particularly paying attention to her family right now, it was still polite to occasionally show their faces, and it was better to do it willingly than to have his mother chastise them for avoiding the party.

Hours later, as the party wound down and the final guests left, Jock, JR and Bobby stood on the patio, looking out at the ranch as the women began the party clean up, "you know, for all the noise and chaos, I think I just might miss parties like these when Lucy gets a little older. There's just something about children that makes me feel young again", Jock made a casual statement just as Miss Ellie walked past the three men and she had to laugh at his words. It was easy for him to be nostalgic, he hadn't had anything to do with planning the party or entertaining the children, of course he felt young as he watched from afar. "Southfork is a family home, it should be filled with the sounds of family, more specifically, the sounds of children, Ewing children", he gave JR a look as he spoke and it took all of JR's willpower not to tell his father right there that he would be getting his wish much sooner than he expected. However, the pleading look Sue Ellen gave him as she walked past him on her way into the house was enough to bring him back to a rational state of mind, "daddy, I totally agree; Sue Ellen and I are working on it", he grinned as he spoke, leaving no confusion as to exactly what he was referring to. It did annoy him a little that he wasn't able to share the good news with his father just yet, however, as he reminded himself of the reason why he'd agreed to wait until Thanksgiving, he felt better about his decision. He'd agreed to Sue Ellen's request for one reason and one reason only, he couldn't stand Patricia Shepard and spending any more time with her than absolutely necessary was not something he particularly wanted to do. Inviting Patricia and Kristin up to Dallas for the weekend any time before Thanksgiving so they could tell their families the news at the same time became a much less appealing idea as he thought about it. He had considered just telling his parents and then telling Patricia when she was in Dallas for Thanksgiving, however, Sue Ellen had reminded him that if they willingly told his parents before they told her mother, then she would hate them and they would never hear the end of it. "Good, good", Jock smiled to himself before looking at his empty glass, "looks like it's time for a refill", he looked at his two sons and they both followed him inside the house.

To be continued…