Dallas, Texas

"Darlin', I can think of many more efficient and entertaining ways to tackle your frustration than pacing around this room", stepping behind his wife and placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her from moving any further, JR attempted to get her to relax. He understood why she was frustrated, she was a week away from her due date and had expressed every desire to have time speed up, or at least have the baby make an appearance early and he empathised with her position, at least as much as he, a man could. He completely understood her anxiousness and anticipation of actually having a real child to hold and call his own, he wanted it not only for his father and wife, but for himself too, he wanted to be a father and now that it was close, he didn't enjoy the waiting game. He also had an understanding of why she was ready to not be pregnant anymore; she was his wife and they spent a lot of time together, especially in an intimate setting; he knew that she was physically uncomfortable with being this pregnant and from looking and feeling her, he understood why. He didn't know how much his wife had gained, but from the way she tired doing basic activities, as if she were carrying something heavy, he imagined that it couldn't be very comfortable to have an extra weight attached to her body, especially not in her abdomen area. In a selfish and slightly chauvinistic way, he was pleased that she didn't seem entirely content with the way her body was now, because although he didn't find her unattractive, in fact, he enjoyed many of her features that had been enhanced by pregnancy, he very much enjoyed her slim, toned pre-pregnancy figure. He wouldn't be upset if she did carry a little extra weight in certain areas after birth though, simply because he enjoyed the way she had developed in a more womanly way at the beginning of her pregnancy and he knew that she had enjoyed the way he had paid special attention to her enhancements. However, in the current moment, none of the thoughts he was having about the future really mattered, because as far as his wife was concerned, she was the biggest, most unattractive woman in the world and didn't seem to understand that the way she was seeing herself was completely warped and not at all how others viewed her.

"Sue Ellen…" turning her around slowly, JR decided that distraction was his best bet, he'd already tried talking her out of her irrational mindset and it had gone in one ear and out the other, not changing a thing about the way she felt or was acting because of how she felt. "JR, what are you…" her sentence was cut off as he finished turning her toward him and kissed her as they came face-to-face, effectively silencing her with the ultimate distraction, him. He knew the effect his kisses had on her and he knew how to use that to his advantage, however, his actions weren't entirely about distracting her, he very much enjoyed kissing his wife and if he had his way, that wouldn't be all they did this evening. She was a complicated woman, but he was a smart man and thanks to the extra time and attention he now had since he made the decision to really be a monogamous man, he had begun to gain a deeper understanding of the way she was and the way her mind worked. From what he could tell right now, her self-esteem was low and instead of either ignoring it or trying to make up for her sadness in materialistic ways, he needed to tackle the issues head-on. So, in the spirit of being a better husband, he wanted to at least try addressing her body image issues, and having experience with his wife's personality, he knew he needed to show her that he loved her and wanted to be with her, not just tell her or allow her to imagine otherwise. She needed to feel it and he was making all the moves toward allowing her to do just that.

Hours later, after a thoroughly enjoyable and very distracting evening with her husband, Sue Ellen awoke suddenly. Looking at the clock, she noted the time, it was just after three in the morning and she was fairly used to waking up in the night to use the bathroom now, so thinking nothing of it, she stood, slipped out of bed and quietly walked into the bathroom. Returning to bed and laying back down next to JR, she closed her eyes and attempted to go back to sleep, however, for some reason, she was now wide-awake, though she wasn't entirely sure why, it wasn't as if she weren't tired. Switching positions in an attempt to help herself fall asleep, she groaned to herself as she felt an all too familiar cramping, the Braxton Hicks contractions were so unpredictable and she found them irritating to deal with; it wasn't as if they were real, so she saw no good reason why she had to suffer through them. Moving position again, laying on her other side and relaxing her breathing, just as Doctor Krane had told her to do, she was confused when the pain didn't appear to lessen as quickly as it had in the past. Sighing with relief after a few minutes as the pain did eventually dissipate, she once again began to try to go back to sleep, though just as she found herself drifting, she was hit by a sharper, more pronounced pain, one that she couldn't ignore or attempt to reposition her way out of.

Feeling his wife tossing and turning beside him, JR gently awoke, aware that something was going on, though not quite aware of exactly how serious it was. "Darlin'? Is everything ok? You seem restless", turning toward her, he mumbled a few words, not at all expecting the answer he received; "well, yes and no. I think I'm in labour, but I'm not sure". Processing her words, JR's eyes widened, "why didn't you wake me? Shouldn't we be going to the hospital now?" Letting out a small giggle, Sue Ellen was a little surprised at his reaction, though it pleased her that he appeared to want to help her, even if it was just by driving her to the hospital to hand over responsibility for her wellbeing because he obviously had no idea what to do in a situation like this. "Relax JR, the contractions are fifteen minutes apart and although they're painful and unpleasant, they're manageable right now. Doctor Krane told me to start counting the time between each contraction and only when they were around five or six minutes apart was it necessary to be in the hospital". Just as she finished speaking, another sharp pain hit her, completely wiping out any reassurance she had tried to give JR and allowing her to grip his hand, JR wasn't entirely sure what to do. He was out of his depth right now, even he knew that; the amount of pain she appeared to be in wasn't something he had experience in dealing with and acknowledging that, he made the decision to use the wealth and power he had. "Doctor Krane may have said that, but I want a second opinion. The Ewings have donated a lot of money to that hospital in the past and Ewing Oil provides only the best health insurance coverage, so I am calling the hospital now and you will get the care that you deserve". Waiting until she appeared to not be in pain anymore, he spoke quickly and reached over to the nightstand to pick up the phone, asking the operator to transfer him to the labour and delivery ward at Dallas Memorial Hospital. Resigning herself to the fact that she wasn't in control anymore, Sue Ellen tried to relax and savour the minutes without pain between contractions, because as far as everything she knew and understood about the birth process was concerned, the pain was only going to get worse from this point onward.

To be continued…

Enjoying the story? Consider leaving a review :)