Dallas, Texas

"I'm sorry ma'am; no one is answering the phone. I can take a message and have it delivered to Mrs Ewing later in the day if you'd like", the receptionist gave Miss Ellie a sympathetic smile, it was obvious that the older woman was rather disappointed by the news. Thinking about it for a moment, Miss Ellie made a decision, "no, bring me upstairs. I want to see her myself", she didn't add any particular reason for her request, but inside, she knew that she had to see Sue Ellen personally, she was concerned and she would never forgive herself if something happened to Sue Ellen and she could have fixed it. "I'm sorry ma'am, the hotel policy states…" the receptionist began to explain the hotel's guest and visitor policy, though she was quickly shut down by Miss Ellie, "I don't care what the hotel policy states, I want to see my daughter-in-law and I want to see her now". Pausing for a moment, she calmly and clearly spoke again, taking a page from the Jock Ewing book of manipulation, "we Ewings hold a lot of power in Dallas and I know that one word to a few friends and business associates about the poor customer service at this establishment could make or break the hotel's popularity. I'm sure your manager and the owners would not be happy about that at all". She rarely took advantage of the Ewing name and the power that came with it, however it seemed like the only way she was going to get what she wanted right now and from the look on the receptionist's face, she was right. "Of course ma'am, I'm sorry for the inconvenience", she motioned a bellhop over toward them and instructed him to escort Mrs Ewing upstairs. It was technically against hotel policy, but she knew that the elder Mrs Ewing was right, and from the look on her face when she'd originally enquired, she wasn't there to cause trouble, so it really was the best option to just allow her upstairs.

With tears running down her cheeks, Sue Ellen read and reread the small story in the society section of the newspaper. She had been questioning JR's lack of communication and wondering whether he'd given up on her and their marriage, but she'd been holding out hope that she was wrong; however, from looking at the newspaper article this morning, she felt stupid for ever considering that JR was just giving her space like she'd asked him to. It was almost undeniable now that he had moved on and she was no longer someone he was concerned about, and although she had been incredibly hurt and angry with him, she had still never really considered a life without him as her husband and it hurt to think that she was nothing to him anymore. The content of the article itself was mostly just speculated drama about her hotel stay and general activities that her husband was suspiciously absent from; it was somewhat expected that the press would report on their marital problems sooner or later, because in Dallas, it was difficult for a Ewing to do anything without someone noticing. She had been somewhat prepared for the story because of her lack of expectation of privacy and anonymity when she was in Dallas, however, she wasn't at all prepared for the photograph that accompanied the story, a photograph of JR and a congressman's daughter, a beautiful, young, single woman. If she had looked at the picture from a logical, critical perspective, she would have realised that the picture had been taken at a mixer where hundreds of other businessmen and their wives or daughters were present and there was no evidence that JR had done anything other than pose for an event photographer when asked. However, she wasn't thinking logically right now and all she saw was her husband and another woman, a woman who didn't look at all upset by his presence, a woman who was young, thin and beautiful and a woman who was probably wooed by the JR Ewing charm, straight into the bedroom. She was crying, but she couldn't entirely pinpoint what she was crying about; she was angry and hated JR and everything he had done to her, but she also loved him and was incredibly hurt and frankly, a little jealous that he had been able to move past any emotional issues so quickly, leaving her behind without a second thought.

She had heard the phone ringing, but in her current state, she really didn't feel like answering it, so instead, she just left it to ring out and hoped that whoever it was just assumed that she wasn't there. However, from the polite knocking on the door a few minutes later, she knew that she hadn't been so lucky; deciding that she needed to tell whoever it was to leave face-to-face, she made her way over to the door and spoke through it, not even attempting to open it. "Please, I don't want to see anyone", she mumbled through the door and when she heard Miss Ellie's voice, not that of a hotel employee, she was more than surprised. Standing outside the door, Miss Ellie grew more concerned at the shakiness in Sue Ellen's voice, she had obviously been crying and if she was crying, then she was hugely emotional and it wasn't good for her to not have anyone to confide her emotions in because in the past, it had always proved disastrous to keep things to herself. "Sue Ellen, I'm here to help, I don't want to upset you", she spoke in a quiet, soft voice and urged her daughter-in-law to open the door. She had to get to her before JR did, because if JR's mood at breakfast had been any indication of his attitude toward the situation, his presence here was the last thing Sue Ellen needed. She shook her head at the thought of Jock ordering JR to bring Sue Ellen back to Southfork by Sunday; she firmly believed that forcing the situation was the wrong approach. Sue Ellen was emotional and hurt, JR hated being told what to do and felt as if he'd done his apologising, and neither of them were in a good place to rationally discuss and actively try to resolve their issues. She was relieved when the door opened and Sue Ellen invited her inside, however, her relief was short-lived as she assessed Sue Ellen's appearance; it was clear that she had been crying and not just a few tears. It had been weeks since Sue Ellen had left Southfork, and if she was still this upset, then Miss Ellie knew she had reason to be concerned.

Hours later, after a lengthy conversation, a long, emotional crying session and a lot of self-esteem boosting words from Miss Ellie, Sue Ellen was finally asleep, though Miss Ellie was still concerned. She didn't entirely trust her eldest son, but she doubted that the photograph Sue Ellen was so upset about was actually something that she needed to be worried about. Jock had been pretty clear with JR about his expectations of him and she doubted that he would risk going to bed with someone as well-known as a congressman's daughter, not now. In addition to her doubt, she was also fairly sure that a lot of JR's attitude had to do with his pent-up sexual frustration; his father was watching him like a hawk and he'd been home every night since the news had become public knowledge within the family. She didn't really want to think about JR's sexual habits, however, it seemed to be the topic of conversation a lot nowadays, and it wasn't hard for her to conclude that this was possibly the longest he'd been without female companionship in his entire adult life, and it was obvious that it was beginning to get to him. Sue Ellen had every right to be upset about his infidelity during their marriage, but in this case, Miss Ellie had an inkling that she was overreacting just a little bit.

"Sue Ellen?" Miss Ellie jumped as she heard her eldest son's voice boom through the door into the hotel room and she was surprised when Sue Ellen didn't even stir at the sound, though she assumed that the young woman was probably exhausted from the emotional strain. Quickly getting up from her seat next to Sue Ellen's bed, she made her way over to the door and shushed JR as she allowed him to enter the room. She had briefly thought about telling him to leave, however she knew that Sue Ellen and JR did need to talk to each other and there was no way he was just going to leave without doing that, not with Jock's ultimatum hanging over his head, so she allowed him into the room. JR was surprised as his mother opened the door and even more surprised when she began to give him orders, however, he didn't argue with her, firstly because she was his mother, but mostly because her request made sense. He could see with his own eyes that Sue Ellen was asleep in the bedroom and he didn't want to disturb her or upset her even more than she already was, that wasn't the objective of his visit; he just wanted to bring his wife home. Miss Ellie was relieved when JR complied with her request, though she was still worried about how Sue Ellen would react when she awoke, because the way she was exhausted from their conversation earlier, she wasn't sure that Sue Ellen was ready to have another serious conversation just yet, especially not with JR. She knew one thing for sure though, there was absolutely no way she was going to leave Sue Ellen and JR alone, not with Sue Ellen's fragile state and JR's strong intentions; no, she needed to be there to mediate, or at least just be present to keep JR in line and give Sue Ellen a little moral support. If history had proven anything, it was that although they may technically have been adults, they didn't necessarily act like it sometimes and a parental figure was exactly what they needed right now.

To be continued…