Dallas, Texas

Exiting the elevator and chatting to the secretaries for a few minutes, Bobby then remembered why he'd come in to the office this afternoon; he had news his father was definitely going to be pleased with and he wanted to tell him in person. "Is daddy in his office?" he looked at Julie and when she nodded and told him to go ahead, he said goodbye and walked down the hall. Knocking on his father's office door but receiving no answer, he just walked in; it wasn't exactly polite to enter a private office without permission, but he was Jock's son, not a burglar or business rival, he didn't see the harm in getting himself a drink while he waited for him to return from wherever he was. Walking over to the bar, he realised that making a drink didn't take nearly as long as he had imagined, so with a bourbon in his hand, he wandered around the office, looking at the photographs on the wall and then out the window at the view of downtown Dallas. Wandering around the office and back toward the desk, he noticed his father's weekly agenda was open and in plain sight, so naturally, the nosy side of him had to look at it. "Bobby!" re-entering the office, back from a quick trip to the bathroom, Jock noticed his youngest son had made himself quite comfortable; he didn't mind that he'd made himself a drink or that he'd come in without invitation, but he didn't like that he'd walked in on his son disrespecting his privacy by snooping at the contents of his desk. Jumping slightly as he heard his father's voice, Bobby panicked for a moment and then calmed himself down; he wasn't really doing anything wrong, so it seemed silly for him to act like a guilty man. "Afternoon daddy", he smiled and walked over to the bar to make his father a drink. "Afternoon. See something you like?" Jock couldn't help himself, even if Bobby was his favourite, he still felt the need to question his son's actions, at least briefly. "Oh, I was just waiting for you to get back. I have some good news", he handed his father his drink and didn't wait for him to ask before he launched into a recount of his latest business trip and the exciting new avenues of diversification he saw Ewing Oil had a potential to succeed in. He had seen something interesting in his father's calendar, but he wasn't going to risk annoying him by asking him about it; JR would be back at work on Thursday and he was sure that he would be able to gather the answers he was looking for simply by being in the office. Impressed with his son's business negotiation skills and ingenuity, Jock promptly moved on from being suspicious, instead, jumping into a discussion with Bobby about natural gas; it wasn't something he'd ever really considered, they were an oil company, not a general energy company, however, if there was money to be made, then he was always interested in hearing about it.

Cozumel, Mexico

A thousand miles south of Dallas, JR and Sue Ellen were much too preoccupied with their anniversary activities to think about much else. They'd spent a wonderfully relaxing day together, completely alone, well, with the illusion of being alone at least, they did have the private yacht crew at their service, however, they'd been instructed to leave them alone unless their services were specifically requested. Their day had been uneventful in the best, most relaxing way, but that was about to change. Toasting their marriage as the sun set, JR became aware of the quickly disappearing light and slowly moved into position, deciding that it was now or never; he had a plan in his mind and he wanted things to happen the way he imagined them. Before she really knew what was happening, Sue Ellen felt herself getting emotional again, it was a level of emotion reserved only for her husband and she knew something big was happening, though it took her mind a moment to catch up to her heart. "Sue Ellen Ewing, will you be my wife and the mother of my child?" she didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his gesture, so instead, she ended up with a mixture of both, happy tears running down her face. Their second wedding anniversary had been wonderful so far and the way he was acting right now was sweet, romantic and perfect for the moment, but it also made her giggle. Her husband was down on one knee, holding an open ring box, as if he were proposing, just like he had done three years ago, but instead of asking her to marry him, he was renewing and adding to his original promise, and just as she had back then, she felt optimistic and ecstatic.

If she looked at her life from an objective perspective, she probably would have thought she was crazy for continually seeing him as the loving, caring man that she did, but she wasn't objective, she was very much personally involved and she did see him in a different way to everyone else. Even after all of their drama and the cycle of disappointment and heartbreak she'd gone through in the short period that they had been married, she couldn't imagine her life without him. There was something magical about her relationship with JR, something she couldn't explain, but she knew she loved him and she wanted to be with him, so she was willing to try everything to make it work. "Yes JR, yes I will", as much as she knew that logically, he wasn't saying anything more than he had in the past, or even just on this vacation, for some reason, this felt more special; grand romantic gestures really did make everything more impressive and memorable. Sue Ellen couldn't stop smiling to herself as he slid the three-toned gold interlocking ring onto her finger; she always loved their anniversaries, but this was one she would remember forever, especially after hearing his explanation for why he had chosen the ring. The three interlocking rings were supposed to be representative of them as a couple and now as parents; he tried to brush it off as if the jeweller had just suggested it, but she had a feeling that he'd spent a long time in the store choosing the perfect one. No one ever believed her when she explained that there was a lighter, less serious side to JR Ewing, a side that definitely existed, but rarely came into public view; so she was sure that no one would believe this either, because it really was unbelievably sweet, a word JR didn't think described him, but definitely did in her eyes. She didn't need to prove anything to anyone though, because their marriage was about them, not their friends or family; so whether people believed that JR was capable of changing was of little importance to her right now, all she cared about was the commitment and love they shared.

Sighing with relief and happiness as she accepted his proposal, JR slid the ring on her finger, explained it's significance to her and then kissed her. It pleased him greatly to see that she was so emotionally touched by the gesture and it made him feel less uptight and awkward about showing his own feelings; even if he was no stranger to grand romantic gestures, it wasn't any less nerve-racking to actually do those things. Deepening their kiss, he was thrilled, their lives were absolutely perfect right now; their marriage was wonderful, they were united in their vision of the future as a nuclear family of three and in just two days, he would officially and legally be the heir and future owner and president of Ewing Oil. He had no plans to cheat on his wife, so he saw no reason why his father's retirement in the next few years wouldn't be a guaranteed partial handover of power and ownership. He was even a little more relaxed about Bobby's presence within the company; it was nice to know that he wasn't competing with his younger brother for power and control anymore; he could deal with Bobby being there now, because even if he did try to move up through the ranks, he would never really get anywhere. As his wife's hands moved to loosen his tie a little, the thoughts of Ewing Oil became less and less vivid; he could focus on his work and legacy later on, because he had a more pressing engagement right now.

To be continued…