Dallas, Texas

"They're called Braxton Hicks contractions, essentially it's just your body preparing itself for the upcoming labour, it's a completely normal process. From what you've described, I don't believe they're anything to worry about right now, however, if they do become stronger, more frequent or there is any change in your fluids, I want you to call me and let me know. You're healthy and I do believe that you're on track to deliver at full-term, but that's not for another five weeks and medically, even the healthiest pregnancy can be unpredictable; preferably though, I'd like for that little boy or girl to stay right where they are, at least for the next four weeks". Sue Ellen sighed with relief as Doctor Krane finished speaking; she could deal with normal, it was the abnormal that she worried about, however, even though her doctor had mentioned that pregnancy was unpredictable, she didn't appear to be too concerned and her calmness about the situation helped Sue Ellen's own mood immensely. If her doctor, a woman who had spent years in medical school and had delivered hundreds of babies, wasn't worried, then she knew that she didn't need to be overly concerned either. She'd learnt the hard way that stressing over small issues was dire to her health and she was really trying to change the way she reacted to things, for both her wellbeing and the wellbeing of her baby. "Thank you doctor", saying goodbye before she left the room to allow her to change back into her own clothes, Sue Ellen felt much better than she had when she'd worriedly made the appointment that morning. Simply just lounging outside by the pool didn't strike her as a strenuous activity, so when she started to cramp and feel noticeable physical discomfort, she had panicked and done the first thing she could think of, hastily called her doctor, almost in tears by the time she finally got through to her. In her mind and medically, she wasn't ready for the baby to make its entrance into the world, not just yet; she needed the final few weeks she had left until her due date to really prepare and get herself ready to be a mother. It wasn't that she didn't have everything she needed and wouldn't be capable of pulling herself together if required, but she was determined to do a good job and that meant starting the new chapter in their lives in the right place, time and circumstances, and to her, that meant the end of May, exactly when the baby was expected.

In her mid-morning panic at feeling what she assumed to be the first signs of labour, much earlier than expected and was ready for, she had begun to worry about the situation as it was: JR was 1300 miles away and the baby wasn't yet considered safe to deliver. If it so happened that their baby was born prematurely, she didn't want to be all alone in dealing with it; she was scared not only the baby's potential health problems, but her own potential emotional state too; she knew it would all be too much for her to handle by herself and the thought scared her half to death. It brought her great relief to hear Doctor Krane reassure her and explain that not only had she done the right thing by calling when she was concerned, but that her concerns weren't anything to be worried about and what she was experiencing was completely normal. JR had promised to be home this evening and she couldn't wait to see him; they didn't even have to go out to dinner or really do anything exciting if he was tired, she was content to just be next to him at family dinner and then retreat to their bedroom to relax later on. Perhaps she was getting old, or boring, or perhaps she and JR were just more relaxed in each other's presence now, but she really did find pleasure in the simple things and she knew that JR did too. Their elaborate vacations and dates were wonderful, but even just spending the evening together at the ranch was nice, especially when the rest of the family left them alone to enjoy themselves as a couple. For the first time in years, she actually felt like she and JR were really connected and were on the same wavelength when it came to expectations and wants for their relationship. She didn't plan on letting go of their old, more exciting life forever, but right now, simply just enjoying each other as husband and wife before they became parents of a real, dependant baby, child and teenager, was something they were both enjoying.

In moments of self-doubt, she found herself worried and unsure of JR's commitment to a monogamous relationship, but when her sanity returned, she really did believe that he had changed and they were finally living the way they were supposed to be; she couldn't really say why, but she felt it, something was different, in a very good way. Of course, she wasn't stupid, she knew that they would have to work at their marriage to make sure that he never felt as if he needed another woman, however, she was a little limited in exactly how she could do that right now. Luckily though, he didn't even really seem to mind, he actually seemed happy to just have a wife, especially one who very soon was about to deliver the ultimate gift a woman could give a man, a child. The JR Ewing who had a short attention span and enjoyed a lot of variety in his life seemed to have checked out and had been replaced by the loving, attentive JR Ewing she had first met and fallen in love with and she was enjoying the change. She knew he would inevitably regain some of his old personality traits, it was only natural, she just hoped that when it did happen, it was an evolution of personality and character, not a regression. She didn't want him to make himself unhappy by having to pretend to be someone he wasn't for the rest of his life and she was more than happy for him to regain a few of his old personality traits, she simply hoped that when he did start to change again, he did so with love and respect for her and their marriage. If he did that, then she had no doubt that they could be very happy together, forever, and that's exactly what she had always wanted.

To be continued…