Dallas, Texas

JR eyed the television as the parade ended and Lucy and Kristin turned their attention to the backgammon set on the table; quietly walking over and switching it off, he made eye contact with Sue Ellen to confirm that she was ready. It had taken a little while, but she seemed to be in a good place emotionally at the moment, and with everyone gathered in the living room and the general atmosphere in the room appearing to be light and pleasant, now seemed like the ideal moment to make their announcement. "Ahem", JR loudly cleared his throat as he stood next to Sue Ellen and one by one, the family quietened down to listen to what he had to say. "Sue Ellen and I have some news to share", he paused for a just a moment, though his pause appeared to be too long for Jock's liking, "come on JR, don't keep us in suspense". Taking a deep breath, JR, took Sue Ellen's hand, "the long awaited Ewing heir is finally here, Sue Ellen's pregnant, we're going to have a baby", he grinned from ear to ear as he finally spoke the words he'd been holding in for weeks and that everyone had been waiting for years to hear. "A baby?" Miss Ellie was the first to speak, excitedly repeating the words as if she were confirming them in her mind, and it wasn't long before Jock joined her excitement, "a baby! That is news". Sue Ellen couldn't stop smiling as JR delivered the news, she was happy, truly happy, and she felt like she was finally able to just relax and enjoy herself for the first time in months, because everyone finally had what they wanted, and it felt wonderful to be the one responsible for everyone's happiness.

As if it were choreographed, both Miss Ellie and Jock stood and walked over to the couple, Miss Ellie hugging Sue Ellen tightly as she congratulated her, and Jock hugging JR and giving him a pat on the back. "I just can't believe it. My oldest boy finally got himself a baby. Damn, I'm proud of you, damn proud of you!" JR couldn't help but feel a little emotional as his father expressed positive feelings toward him, it was a rare occurrence in his life, "thank you daddy". Patricia hung back as Jock and Miss Ellie enthusiastically congratulated the couple, and when Sue Ellen was free again, she gave her a quick hug, "congratulations dear", she and Sue Ellen had a more formal relationship and although she was happy about the new development, she didn't feel entirely comfortable with energetic, informal displays of affection. Sue Ellen didn't particularly mind that her mother was reserved with her affections, she was used to it by now, and a quiet congratulations and quick hug were better than a judgemental look and a critical comment, this was a happy occasion and she didn't want her mother's negativity to ruin the moment or her memories. After the new grandparents had finished congratulating the couple, the rest of the family joined in the celebration and both Sue Ellen and JR beamed with happiness and pride as they temporarily became the most popular members of the Ewing family.

Sue Ellen was glad that her body had somewhat sorted out its sensitivity to the smell and taste of certain foods, because as the family sat down to eat their Thanksgiving dinner, her mouth watered at the sight of the feast that had been prepared. However, her excitement and happiness were quickly squashed and replaced by guilt and self-consciousness as her mother eyed her plate and for some reason, saw it completely necessary to make a comment, "are you sure you want to eat all of that? I notice you've already gained a bit of weight, and you know the baby is still tiny, so it's not the one responsible for all of that. Pregnancy is no excuse to let yourself go". JR closed his eyes and tried to control his temper as his mother-in-law criticised her daughter again, they were at the dinner table and what he truly wanted to say wasn't exactly family-friendly, however, as he looked at his wife, it became clear that he had to say something. "You know what? I've tolerated this for long enough, but no more. Sue Ellen may be your daughter, but she's my wife, she's carrying my child and I am in control now. So help me God, if you do or say one more negative thing to her or if I even get the sense that she's upset by something related to you, you can say goodbye to the Ewing privilege that our marriage affords you and you can say goodbye to the opportunity to be a part of your grandchild's life". He looked her in the eye as he spoke and put special emphasis on the phrase 'Ewing privilege' so that she knew exactly what he was referring to, and that he was dead serious. JR had dealt with Patricia enough to know that although she would hate the idea of never seeing her grandchild, the idea of losing access to the money and social connections that came from her daughter marrying into the Ewing family was worse. Although Patricia could see the anger and seriousness in JR's eyes, she found herself questioning him, "is that a threat?" even if he had the intent to financially cut her off and sever familial ties, surely there was no way Sue Ellen, nor the rest of the Ewing family would allow him to be so cruel. "No, it's a promise", he was angry and determined, and he no longer cared whether everyone else could see his true feelings, Patricia needed to be dealt with once and for all, it had been a long time coming.

Sue Ellen sat uncomfortably at the dinner table as her husband and her mother had words with each other, neither one of them was the type of person that liked to lose, so the situation was bound to get messy. However, deep down, she was actually thrilled that JR had said something, she was humiliated by her mother's constant criticisms and the malevolent part of her personality enjoyed that her mother was finally being put in her place. If she had it her way, she wouldn't see her mother nearly as much as she currently did, and she didn't really see any real reason why JR should have to keep being financially generous toward her mother and sister, so his threatening promise didn't bother her at all. What did bother her though was the fact that they were having their conversation in front of the rest of the family when it probably should have just been between the two of them, it didn't seem proper to publicise their issues. Clearing his throat, Jock broke the uncomfortable silence the entire table had fallen into, "Sue Ellen, you eat whatever you feel is necessary, I want my grandson to be happy and healthy, and I know Ewing men, we're happiest and healthiest when we're well fed", he winked at her before asking Bobby to pass the sweet potatoes. Frankly, he agreed with JR, Patricia had overstepped the mark too many times, however, this was neither the time nor the place to be having a serious discussion, and with the way JR was looking at Patricia, he knew that he had to intervene if he wanted this Thanksgiving to remain a positive one in everyone's memories.

To be continued…

Author's Note: Credit for some of the dialogue goes to D. C. Fontana and Richard Fontana who wrote the episode Act of Love.