Dallas, Texas

Grumpily leaving her bedroom and making her way downstairs, Lucy Ewing did something she hadn't done in a long time, she turned the television on and lay down on the couch to watch Saturday morning cartoons. She felt as if she was a little old to be doing this now, but honestly, it was preferable to remaining in her bedroom, a bedroom that unfortunately shared a wall with her uncle JR's room. She'd been young and naïve when JR and Sue Ellen first married, or maybe they'd been different; quieter and less obvious? She wasn't sure, but she was older and wiser now and with her aunt and uncle not appearing to understand the concept of filtering themselves, remaining oblivious to what was going on between the two was more difficult and unpleasant than it had been in the past, especially when they were in the next room. She was sure that she wasn't the only one who had noticed, because although Southfork was a relatively big house, the bedrooms were all fairly close together, so it wasn't as if a few extra feet was going to save anyone from hearing what they didn't want to hear. Lucy had a feeling that the rest of the family probably thought exactly what she did, but they were all too polite to say anything about it, because from what little she understood about the world, it wasn't exactly an appropriate topic of discussion in polite company. What she did know for sure though was that there was an empty guest bedroom down the hall on the opposite side from JR and Sue Ellen's room, and being the apple of her grandparents eye, she was sure that a few sweet words would get her the new bedroom she wanted, without having to mention the real reason. It wasn't exactly a permanent solution, because it didn't address the real issue, but it was a start and all she really wanted was a little peace and quiet.

Collapsing onto the bed, exhausted and satisfied, Sue Ellen tried her best to bring her breathing back to a normal rate, though as her mind raced through a repeat of their morning activities, she found herself giggling, an activity that didn't exactly promote steady breathing. Turning toward his wife from his position, half next to her and half on top of her, JR wondered what she was laughing at, "what are you thinking darlin'?" Blushing, Sue Ellen found herself slightly embarrassed about her thoughts, partially because she was still such a lady about some things, and partially because one of her thoughts really wasn't what she wanted to be reminded of when she was in bed with her husband. Looking him in the eye, she grinned at him and then kissed him, "I was thinking that I love you, all of you, and as much as I love when we make love, slowly and gently, it would be a lie to say that I don't also immensely enjoy this. So please, promise me that we'll never stop…" she may have enjoyed the activity, but she still didn't feel comfortable using the vulgar word that described a different kind of sex in comparison to making love. Looking at his wife, JR found himself smiling at her comments; it was amazing how she could switch from sexy to cute in a matter of seconds. He had underestimated her when he assumed that because she was a lady, she was prim and proper and would never enjoy anything that didn't fit into that category, because that was the furthest thing from the truth. "Oh, I promise", he felt giddy at the thought of having her, anytime, anywhere and in any way he wanted her; yes, she was just one woman and that wasn't really what he was used to, but she was a hell of a woman and she had yet to disappoint him, so he was looking forward to their future together. "Good", she giggled again and then found herself blushing even more at the second thought she had had earlier; "tell me…", JR prompted her, she wasn't exactly good at hiding her true feelings and something told him that she wasn't just pleased about his commitment, no, there was something else going on in her mind. "How…?" she wasn't sure how he did it, but somehow he always knew that what she said and what she was thinking were often two different things; "my mother, she would kill me if she knew that I just said that. She wouldn't approve of the fact that we're doing it and enjoying it, but that's not her business, however, she would make it her business if she ever heard me speak of things of that nature". She blushed again as she imagined it, her mother had barely even acknowledged that a wife could actually enjoy her duties, only that they were expected of her, whether she liked it or not. So she highly doubted that her mother would approve at all of her expressing such an enthusiastic response to her husband, or, god forbid, actually taking the initiative to change the way that side of their marriage operated when she saw a problem. Letting out a loud laugh, JR found himself amused by both his imagined version of telling Patricia that he deflowered her daughter in such a way, uncovering a side of her that wasn't always a prim and proper lady, and also by the fact that Sue Ellen honestly had had such a thought. For some reason, Sue Ellen often forgot that she was an adult, an adult who had been married for two years and was simply enjoying being with her husband; she really had no reason to feel guilty about what she was doing, and her mother was the last person whose opinion she should care about. "I won't tell if you don't", he grinned and closed the gap between them, silencing any further discussion; just because they couldn't dive straight back into their new favourite activity, didn't mean that they couldn't still enjoy being together.

In the midst of trying to convince her grandparents to allow her to move to a new bedroom, Lucy paused her persuasive argument for a moment as JR and Sue Ellen appeared, shooting them a dirty look as they greeted everyone and sat down to breakfast, as if it was any other day. She thought that it was ridiculous for two seemingly aware people to be so oblivious to the fact that they were not the only people in the house and the walls were not soundproof, so whatever went on in the 'privacy' of their bedroom really wasn't particularly private. Politely greeting JR and Sue Ellen as they sat down for breakfast with the family, Bobby found it difficult to control himself as he noticed the look his niece was giving the couple, choking on his coffee as everything fell into place in his mind. In a moment, it all became strikingly clear that Lucy's request was not a coincidence and she was making a move to distance herself from something that everyone else was too polite to acknowledge. As much as he was amused by her argument, he was also surprised and impressed that the young girl had hidden her real feelings so well, because she wasn't known for staying silent about her thoughts. "Something wrong Bob?" JR didn't even notice the look Lucy was giving him, he never paid that much attention to her anyway, and when Bobby choked on his coffee, any attention that would have gone to his niece was now directed at his brother. "Hm? Uh, no, just a little tickle in my throat", he covered his actions with a casual excuse, and because neither JR nor Sue Ellen were aware of everyone else's experiences, JR didn't even think to dwell on the explanation, instead, moving on to simply eating the plate of food Teresa had placed in front of him, not questioning anything else. Observing the situation unfolding, Jock found himself amused; he wasn't aware of Lucy's real reason for wanting a new bedroom, but from the look on Bobby's face and his reaction to seeing his brother and his wife, he had confirmation that he was not the only person in the house that was completely aware of the couples actions. Miss Ellie hadn't told him all of the details about the visit she and JR had made to Sue Ellen's hotel room, just vaguely mentioning that they'd had a lot of issues to sort out and that when she had left, she was confident that they appeared to have come to an understanding. From the change in their behaviour as a couple though, he would have had to be deaf and blind not to come to the conclusion that a lot of their issues stemmed from problems in the bedroom, problems that they were now actively working to fix. Chuckling to himself, he mentally patted JR on the back, it had taken him a long time to realise it, but JR really had it all and if he made sure not to mess it up with selfish actions, life would reward him greatly. He knew that it would be a challenge for JR, but now that he was aware of the issues, Jock was working on his own plan to make sure that JR stayed on the right path. Finishing their breakfast, the family split up and went their separate ways for the day as they usually did on a Saturday; JR didn't really know what everyone else was planning to do and to be honest, he didn't particularly care, because today, he had a date with his wife. It was all part of their plan to rebuild their relationship and strengthen their marriage, because as great as sex was, it was only part of a successful marriage.

To be continued…