Dallas, Texas

Awaking later in the evening, slightly disoriented, it took Sue Ellen a moment to realise where she was and what had happened. As she lay still in bed for a moment, she began to return to reality and place her memories in context; she remembered everything, her heartbreak of the morning, Miss Ellie's visit, her emotional exhaustion induced nap and then JR's visit and their discussion. What she remembered most vividly though was the eventful and thoroughly enjoyable afternoon she'd had alone with JR. It was somewhat unfortunate that in the two years they had been married, she could still count on two hands how many times they'd simply spent the afternoon together in bed. For the most part, in those two years, she had been quite a happy young lady, so to think that she had been missing out on a huge part of JR's love and attention simply because she was just that, a lady, was hard to deal with. They had made a commitment to a new start though, so she tried not to dwell too much on the sad parts of their former marriage and instead, she looked forward to the future, a future where she was about to have everything she had wanted when she first married JR. She had always wanted to please him and had tried her hardest to be the best wife she knew how to be, but it'd still taken them almost two years to figure out that there was more to their marriage than just playing the lady and the gentleman and they were allowed to do whatever they wanted with each other. Their newfound awareness and understanding was an exciting thought though, no matter how late it was.

From her discussions with Miss Ellie and her time alone, Sue Ellen realised that she had to have more to her life than just JR though, she had to be her own person, not just Mrs JR Ewing. So, although she was going back to him and she was happy to be going back to him, she was determined to take that advice to heart and actually have a life of her own, one where she had an identity outside her role as JR's wife. Thinking about what it was that she wanted to do, she found herself considering all of her past activities. She genuinely did miss the DOA, she liked helping people and being a part of something, so she would definitely start attending meetings again when she returned to Southfork. She liked tennis and horse riding too, but her doctor had recommended that she not do anything too physically demanding or dangerous during her pregnancy, so she had stopped months ago. She also missed modelling, but she had shelved that for now, though not because she really wanted to, the harsh reality of the industry was that even if she wanted to, she was no longer able to just be a model, she had been out of it for too long and it wasn't an easy thing to get back into. Although none of her previous activities would automatically give her a fulfilling life, she still liked the idea of having something to do with her time; it didn't particularly matter to her what that something was, she just didn't particularly want to go back to the monotony her old life. There was one huge change coming in their lives though, one she was prepared and excited for; in just a few short months, she and JR would be parents and she would fulfil her longtime desire to become a mother. Even if she had no solidly planned activities outside the home, her child was reason enough to keep living and she was motivated to improve her life and circumstances for the sake of the baby. As her mind moved toward the baby and then by coincidence, the baby began to move a little, she suddenly realised that she had awoken for a reason, and gently slipping out of bed, careful not to wake JR, she walked into the bathroom.

Physically and emotionally exhausted, JR was pretty much dead to the world from the moment he fell asleep hours earlier and he really only began to awake when the smell of food filled the air in the bedroom. "Steak?" he spoke in a tired, groggy voice and willed himself to open his eyes, though he was pleased at what he saw when he did; "mhm. Medium, not medium-rare, not medium-well, just medium", Sue Ellen smiled at him and repeated his predictable and demanding order before she leaned down from her seated position next to him and kissed his lips lightly. JR grinned to himself and began to really wake up as she spoke and then kissed him, "a beautiful woman and a good meal, what more could I ask for?" Sitting up, he gave her a proper kiss before turning his attention toward the food, his stomach grumbling as he looked at it and thanking him as he took a bite. Falling into an easy, casual conversation as they ate, Sue Ellen was fairly comfortable and relaxed, but she did have a few nagging thoughts in the back of her mind. There were a few things she needed to ask JR before they completely resumed their relationship, things she really should've asked him before she allowed him back into her life so intimately. However, foolishly, she hadn't asked him and they'd already done the one thing that her doctor had warned against, so if he gave the wrong answer when she did ask him, there really wasn't much she could do about it now. She was annoyed at herself for being so caught up in the moment that it had slipped her mind, but she found another part of her mind defending her actions, because as much as she had been told by her doctor, it simply wasn't a natural thing for her to think about before being intimate with her husband. JR was the only man she had ever been with, so she never thought of contraception as something that she required for protection, and although the primary focus of their marital activities had been on loving each other, conceiving a child was a secondary aim, so they had never discussed nor used any kind of preventative measures. It honestly wasn't a reality in her life, so to forget to raise the subject earlier was an honest mistake, though it wasn't one she felt that she could simply ignore now that she was thinking about it; the potential consequences were too great to just pretend they didn't exist.

Finishing their food, JR set aside the tray and moved his attention back to Sue Ellen, telling her he loved her before kissing her, intent on showing her how much he loved her and how sorry he was for letting her go. He was conscious of wasting time, they'd already been apart for much too long and he didn't want to waste the opportunity that he had right in front of him. "JR?" Sue Ellen felt herself melting into him again and feared that if she didn't say anything now, she'd end up feeling like an idiot again afterwards, "mhm", JR wasn't particularly interested in talking, but he wasn't going to tell her to be quiet, he wasn't going to risk her getting mad at him now. "Can I ask you something without you getting offended?" she managed to get her words out, but it wasn't easy, "mhm" he continued to kiss her as she tried to phrase her words, though it became more difficult as his kisses intensified. "Did you go and see a doctor after you read my note?" she was worried about her health, but mostly about his response. She wasn't entirely sure whether he'd actually experienced symptoms like she had or whether he was just a carrier, and if he was just a carrier, then she wasn't sure that he would have actually seen a doctor, especially if he was angry at her and didn't want to take responsibility for his actions. Abruptly, he stopped kissing her and pulled away to look at her, "good lord woman, you chose to ask that now?" he was frustrated at being interrupted this far into their activities, but he calmed himself down for a moment to answer her rationally, because getting angry with her honest question wouldn't do either of them any good. "I did, the good doctor gave me some pills and a long lecture and then sent me on my way", he sighed in shame and frustration, "now, you can call him if you'd like, though he probably wouldn't appreciate it right now, being after hours and all. Or, alternatively, you can choose to believe me and stop talking so we can resume our activities", he looked at her lustfully as he spoke; despite her annoying interruption, he was still deeply attracted to her and was in need of release. Enjoying the look in his eyes and feeling her equally attracted to him, Sue Ellen found it difficult to say anything other than yes, so instead of questioning him any further, she found herself kissing him back, accepting his answer and moving past the conflict. Her head told her that they had much more to discuss, but her heart and her body told her that their conversation could wait until tomorrow, because for now, they had much more important things to do.

To be continued…