Dallas, Texas

Sue Ellen grinned to herself as her breathing returned to a normal rate and she began to giggle as she looked around the living room from her position on her husband's lap, a position she'd taken a million times before, though rarely quite this intimately. It really was amazing what could happen when they just let go of their inhibitions and gave themselves to each other freely. In the moment, they'd been so into their actions and needing each other that they hadn't even made it to the bedroom before consummating their relationship, she had no complaints though, only compliments. In hindsight, she realised that she probably shouldn't have given herself to him so freely so soon because he had only just apologised, but honestly, she had been just as deprived, if not more, than he had for the past few weeks, and being pregnant, her hormones did not make willpower any easier. The reality was, what she probably should have done and what she wanted to do were two very different things and she was totally happy to not do the 'right' thing right now; she needed to listen to her own advice and stop feeling guilty about enjoying their conjugal rights. "What's so funny?" JR enjoyed that his wife was in a good mood, though after what they'd just done, there was no way she wasn't going to be in a good mood, he certainly was; "nothing, not really. I was just thinking about all of those times when we were dating when we couldn't take our relationship any further; we spent a lot of time in this position, though not quite in this state of undress", she giggled as she looked down at their unclothed bodies. "If I had known then what I know now, I'm not sure I could have held out as long as I did". She spoke in a joking manner, she never would have actually given her virtue to any man that wasn't her husband, it just wasn't who she was, but she did feel bad for her past-self, she really had no idea what she was missing out on.

JR winced at the memory of her insistence that they wait until marriage before taking their relationship any further, he'd had more than a few uncomfortable evenings during that time, "that was all your doing darlin'", he grinned as he spoke, "I happen to remember a number of times where you were presented with the opportunity…" His words trailed off as they made eye contact again and his thoughts were suddenly clouded by his deep attraction to her, leaving him speechless for a moment; brushing a small piece of hair out of her eyes, he leaned up slightly and kissed her gently. Pulling away after a moment, he spoke softly, "I love you Sue Ellen", his words were simple, but powerful and as much as she didn't want to completely forgive and forget, she found her resolve melting, willing her to give him everything, because she loved him and it had been much too long since she had felt his love. "Make love to me JR", her request was simple and to the point, but it meant a great deal to him, no longer were their actions fuelled by the passion of the moment, now they were consciously making a decision to be together, "it would be my pleasure". As he moved his hands from her face to her thighs, Sue Ellen wrapped her arms around his neck and made sure her legs were securely around his waist as he moved to stand up, picking her up and carrying her into the bedroom.

"JR's late", Jock Ewing looked at his watch and then moved to pour himself another drink as the family gathered in the living room for cocktails. Miss Ellie had given him the condensed version of the day's events and she seemed confident that JR and Sue Ellen were on the right track again. So naturally, after the talk he and JR had had yesterday, he had expected the couple to return home as soon as possible, because JR knew how anxious he was to have Sue Ellen and his grandson back on Southfork. "I don't expect he'll be home for dinner. He and Sue Ellen are on good terms again, but they still have a lot of personal issues to resolve before they're completely whole again. They'll be back on Southfork by Sunday like you asked, but I doubt they'll be here tonight", Miss Ellie tried to word her comment as if she really believed that they were sitting in Sue Ellen's hotel room and discussing their issues like adults, however, she knew better than to believe that. She had seen and heard a lot more than a mother wanted to know about her adult son's life and although she had brought a lot of it upon herself by playing mediator, and it had been rather insightful, she didn't want to dwell on the thoughts, those things were JR and Sue Ellen's business now. She did however find her husband's comments a little demanding and ridiculous; he'd told JR to bring Sue Ellen home, but he'd also told him to make up with his wife, exactly what JR had and was currently still doing. If Jock had stopped for a moment to consider JR's perspective and feelings, then he probably would have understood why he wasn't home right now; he didn't though, and in response to his wife's announcement, he made a few grumbly remarks about the family sticking together and his son obeying his orders. Miss Ellie sighed with relief when Teresa appeared in the doorway, cutting off his rant with the announcement that dinner was ready; it wasn't that she disliked her husband, but his comments were petty and ridiculous. JR and Sue Ellen were a married couple who had been away from each other for weeks, it was only natural that they would want a little time to get reacquainted before returning home, so if Jock didn't like it, then tough, because it wasn't his decision to make, and it was a silly thing to get upset about.

Gently running his fingers along her side, from her shoulder, down her arm, to her hip and to the top of her thigh, appreciating each little curve of her body and the softness of her skin, JR found himself honestly regretting a lot of his past actions. His wife was now quite visibly pregnant and it saddened him that he had missed out on part of that experience, especially since they could have avoided most their problems if he had just had a little more self-control and had been a little more understanding toward her wants and needs. Their afternoon had been thoroughly enjoyable; they hadn't done a lot that would be considered particularly adventurous in the grand scheme of things, but what they had done was a welcome change from the conservativeness of their old sex life. Their somewhat cautious actions of the day were partially due to her pregnancy and being unsure of what was completely safe, but mostly it was simply because they'd only just realised that they could do other things together without it being 'wrong' and they were still coming to terms with that realisation. As they lay spooning together, silently satisfied and completely comfortable with each other, JR absentmindedly ran his hand along her body, causing Sue Ellen to gently curl closer to him as she began to relax and eventually, she fell asleep, JR following shortly after.

To be continued…