Austin, Texas

Walking out of the elevator and down the hallway back to her hotel room after breakfast on Saturday morning, Sue Ellen was surprised as she unlocked the door and was greeted by the image of hundreds of yellow roses carefully placed around the room and against her better judgement, she found herself actually smiling at the gesture for a moment. She quickly reminded herself that she couldn't allow herself to get caught up in the grandeur of JR's 'apology' though, because all the gifts in the world didn't equal the two things she really wanted, a real apology and an honest future commitment. It had been two days since she'd told Miss Ellie everything and although Miss Ellie's promise to personally deal with the situation seemed to have been partially acted upon, nothing much had really changed. Sure, JR had reinstated her access to their joint bank account, sent her a few material gifts and written a few generic apology notes to go along with the gifts, but none of those things were anything more than what she was entitled to and deserved for just being his wife. JR was capable of so much more than his current effort and she knew it; she'd experienced his honest, loving, apologetic side in the past when his actions hadn't been half as bad as what he'd done to alienate her this time. It didn't seem right to just call him and start the process of forgiveness now just because he sent her a few flowers, gifts and made the bare minimum effort to be the husband that she deserved; he had so much more to prove and say before she could even begin to think about going back to him.

Miss Ellie had been appalled at her eldest son's behaviour and had vowed to have a strong word with him, and from his quick change of attitude and behaviour, it appeared clear that that had happened. However, because of Miss Ellie's involvement, Sue Ellen was hesitant to believe that the efforts JR was currently making were genuine as opposed to him reacting to his mother's chastisement and just reaching out to her because he had no other choice. No, JR was going to have to show that he was honestly and genuinely repentant for his actions and he really did want to change his lifestyle and repair their relationship; anything less simply wasn't good enough, she deserved better. Miss Ellie had said nothing but positive things to her in response to her questions of where she'd gone wrong and moments where she blamed herself for JR's actions, and she had confirmed to her what she'd already known deep down, that it wasn't really her fault and she didn't deserve the way JR treated her. Miss Ellie's words fed into the teachings she'd heard her entire life; her mother had raised her to believe that as long as she did exactly what was expected of her and she did it to the highest standard, then she was entitled to all the trappings of a wonderful, decadent life. To that same idea, Sue Ellen had added that if she was a loving, caring, dutiful wife, then she deserved an equally loving and dedicated husband; she didn't want to be a clone of her mother, so she'd needed to ground the idea in emotion rather than money. If money was the most important thing, then she would be Mrs Billy Frampton right now, but it wasn't and she wasn't, she was Mrs JR Ewing, but recently, she'd not been treated the way she should have, not emotionally, physically or financially. She firmly believed that she deserved more than what she had been given lately and to run back to her husband at the first sign of change would send him the wrong message, especially since she believed that he'd only changed his attitude toward her because his mother told him to. No, JR Ewing had a lot of work to do before he was anywhere near getting his wife back.

Dallas, Texas

Looking up from his newspaper as he ate his breakfast, JR greeted his parents as they sat down at the breakfast table, though neither of them seemed particularly pleased to see him right now. His father hadn't said anything about the situation with Sue Ellen since their discussion in his office a couple of days ago, but it was clear from the way he'd interacted with him that Miss Ellie had told him everything Sue Ellen had obviously told her and his father was equally disappointed. At first, JR had been aggravated at Sue Ellen for telling his mother the details of what had happened and for allowing her to have a say in their marriage, because the way he saw it, their marriage and their problems really weren't anyone else's business. However, after cooling down from his initial annoyance and after really considering what his mother had said to him, he realised that she was right and that he couldn't blame Sue Ellen for the situation, especially since she never would have had anything to complain about if it weren't for his actions. As much as he didn't want to admit it, everything his mother had said made sense; Sue Ellen did try hard and deserve better than what she was given, there was no good excuse for his actions and his mother had stood by and waited for them to fix their issues before really interfering. The only person to blame for Sue Ellen's indefinite absence from Southfork was JR and he knew it.

In identifying that he only had himself to blame, he'd found himself feeling things that JR Ewing didn't feel very often; he was ashamed, embarrassed and actually remorseful, both for what he'd done and the effect it had had on his wife and very nearly on his child. He'd never intended for Sue Ellen to find out that he was cheating on her and hadn't really considered what effect his actions would have on her in a situation where she did find out, so when the veil was lifted and she not only had a suspicion, but complete proof of his misdeeds, he didn't know how to react. He'd originally gone to Austin to see her with the intent to apologise and bring her home, however, he hadn't expected her intense anger and hostility toward him and in his surprised state, he'd made a huge mistake, he'd tried to excuse his behaviour instead of just taking responsibility for his actions and the repercussions of those actions. Reflecting on the conversation that day, he saw why she'd been upset and why his presence hadn't been welcomed, he'd underestimated just how angry and upset she really was and he'd approached her in the wrong way. Looking back at his reaction, financially cutting her off in response to her justified emotional outburst was the wrong thing to do, but at the time, it had seemed like the only logical step. Honestly, he was hurt by her words, especially when she'd said that she hated him and he'd really reacted on an emotional level more than a logical one; if she wasn't going to return to him out of love, then he'd get his satisfaction from making her beg; it was twisted and cruel, but it felt good in the moment. However, now, almost a week later, with his parents now knowledgeable of the situation and having had time to really consider his actions, he realised that he was the one to blame for everything, and for that, he felt ashamed, embarrassed and remorseful. In response to his feelings, he'd begun sending Sue Ellen flowers and gifts; a gesture that was partially because he wanted to soften her up in preparation for his in-person apology, but partially and more honestly, he was just buying time for himself. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he was scared of what would happen when he eventually did fly to Austin again to apologise. He wanted his wife back, he was sure of it, but Sue Ellen was an angry, disappointed woman and no matter how much effort he put into apologising to her, he couldn't control her reaction to him and that made him uncomfortable. He didn't like the vulnerability that came with the situation; this was all new to him, JR Ewing wasn't known for his apologies, he was known for his ruthlessness. He needed to mentally prepare himself for the situation, because the way his life had worked up until this point was all but useless right now, and that worried him.

To be continued…