Dallas, Texas

"It hurts. Make it stop. Get the doctor back in here; I need more medication", seeing the tears streaming down his wife's face, JR felt helpless about his lack of real authority or power in the hospital and on top of that, he felt like a terrible husband for initially planning on letting her experience this all alone. It was painful for him to watch her in physical pain and he couldn't imagine how she would have felt emotionally if he'd abandoned her because he had followed his silly, traditional, uninformed view that men had no place in the process. The medical staff at Dallas Memorial, at least the ones in the labour and delivery ward, appeared to be very open and supportive of his presence and the only time he felt any real resistance to him being there was when he tried to put his foot down and make a decision that went against what they were recommending. He'd learned pretty quickly that manners and politeness were appreciated and respected there and if he asked nicely for them to do something for Sue Ellen, then they were more likely to do it. It was just after seven in the evening and having been in labour for over sixteen hours, he couldn't imagine just how exhausted his wife was feeling, not to mention how difficult it had to be for her to get comfortable. At least he was able to relax a little in the times between her digging her nails into his arm or crushing his hand with her own as a means of getting through the pain of a contraction; she had to deal with the initial pain and then the fear of the next wave of pain. Never in his life had he had so much respect and empathy for another human being, not even during his short stint in the military; Sue Ellen was the woman he loved and he hated to see her in pain. As much as he knew she had wanted this baby for herself, he also knew that a good percentage of the pain she was going through was because of her want to please him and his family by giving them the next generation of the Ewing family. He'd always planned on giving her a congratulatory gift, but he could see now that he probably owed her more than a pretty bracelet, some balloons and a bouquet of flowers and he made a mental note to deliver on that, because he was grateful to her, for everything. If at the end of this process they simply had a healthy baby, that was enough for him; a son would be wonderful and a daughter would be a completely new and challenging experience for him, but right now, the sex of the baby that was about to be born into the Ewing family was of little relevance.

Pressing the small button on the wall next to her bed, JR spoke into a microphone similar to the intercom in his office, letting the person on the other end know that his wife was in a lot of pain and a doctor who could administer pain relief medication would be very much appreciated in her room right now. Wiping the tears from her face and whispering a few words of encouragement to her in hopes of bringing her mind to a better place until the doctor arrived, he once again mentally chastised himself for ever considering leaving her alone. She didn't deal well with stress or pain and to purposely leave her alone would have been the worst thing he could have done. Even his father, a fairly traditional man, seemed to understand why he was there with his wife; he could see how much it meant to her to have a support person and even if it were a selfish hope that JR's presence would magically guarantee a Ewing grandson, he wasn't going to make a comment about it. During the family's short visit, it had been apparent that Sue Ellen appeared to be relatively happy and healthy and it wasn't entirely due to the medication; JR's presence was good for her. Unfortunately, at this moment in time, JR just being there wasn't quite enough for her though and as the door to her room opened and a doctor and nurse entered the room, Sue Ellen sighed with relief and hoped that her pain would soon dissipate again.

"It's time. Please, don't be scared, you've got this, you'll be fine. You've got everything on your side; you're ten centimetres dilated, you're young, fit and healthy. Medically, your body is as prepared as it can be, so I want you to focus your mind and listen to both my directions and the signals your body is giving you. When you feel the next contraction starting, I want you to take a deep breath and then push. I will count aloud and when I finish counting and the contraction begins to end, you may relax, but I really want you to focus. The more effort you put into pushing now, the faster you get to meet you baby", looking at Sue Ellen to gauge whether she understood what she was saying, Doctor Krane then turned to JR, "husbands are welcome to stay and support the labouring mother, but you may leave if you would like…" Not even getting to finish her sentence, Doctor Krane was interrupted by Sue Ellen, "don't you dare leave me now. I need you JR", starting off vehement Sue Ellen's words then changed into something more vulnerable; sure, she could do this without JR, but she didn't want to. "I'm not going anywhere darlin'", giving the doctor a dirty look for upsetting his wife, JR made it abundantly clear that he was there for her and their baby; "good. A support person is a wonderful thing for a woman to have, however, please keep in mind that you are just that. If I or Nurse Wilson here request anything of you, including that you leave the room in the event of an emergency, you must listen. This is not the time for arguing or mistakes; we all have the same goal, so if anything is requested of you, then it is for a reason. Understood?" she may have been a woman, but she was the highest qualified medical professional in the room and even JR knew that that was to be respected, she was right, they all had the same goal, "understood". Feeling Sue Ellen begin to grip his hand again, he knew it was time and turning toward the good doctor, he spoke, "start counting, my wife and I are ready to meet our baby".

To be continued…