Dallas, Texas

After reluctantly allowing the nurses to take her son down to the nursery, Sue Ellen finally acknowledged to herself that perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea. She'd been awake since three in the morning and she was both physically and mentally exhausted; a few hours of sleep tonight would allow her to be a better mother to her son in the morning when they brought him back to her. Smiling at JR laying down on a bed that had been brought in for him, she reflected on the day that had been; it had been a struggle, but she finally had it all, a husband and a son, a real family of her own. She hoped that she would remember this for the rest of her life, though from the way the doctor had explained the drugs to her earlier in the day, she was aware that she might not get her wish. However, despite that, she had made JR promise to retell the story if she didn't remember, because although it had been painful and unpleasant, she would absolutely do it all again if it meant getting to experience the euphoria that came with seeing her son for the first time. Nothing could replace that experience and nothing made her happier than to know that JR was by her side the entire time. Slowly drifting off to sleep, she lay dreamless and almost motionless for the first time in months; May 22nd 1972 had started out as simply another day, but it had ended as one of the best days of her life, it was her son's birthday, and was the day she and JR really became a family of their own.

"Daddy may hold him; he is half yours", awaking to the gentle and soothing voice of one of the nurses, Sue Ellen smiled to herself at the image of her husband holding their newborn son. Although she found it a little difficult to recall all of the details of his birth, she was quickly committing the image before her to mind. Sitting up in bed, she winced in pain as she realised that the baby JR was holding had literally come out of her just ten hours before and although he was physically fine, she was still a little tender; perhaps the mandated six weeks of abstinence wasn't such a stupid idea after all. "Look at that, mama's awake", JR was constantly surprising people with his new personality and attitude, but none more than both he and his wife this morning. The way he was speaking to their son was full of kindness, reverence and held a hint of playfulness, something an ordinary citizen of Dallas would never guess JR Ewing was capable of and even his family would do a double take at. "How are you feeling this morning darlin'?" enjoying having his son in his arms, JR decided to keep John Ross with him for now, he had a feeling that he wouldn't get to hold him as much as he would like for the rest of the day, especially not when the family arrived later. Addressing his wife's wellbeing, he hoped that she wasn't in too much pain, she'd already been through so much yesterday and it seemed unfair for her to have to keep suffering. "I'm a little sore and still a little tired, probably from the medication and the sheer exhaustion of yesterday's events; however, seeing you holding our son almost negates all of that. I'm happy, so very happy. I love you JR and I absolutely love our son, thank you, for everything", feeling herself on the verge of tears, she mumbled her final few words before passing the conversation back to him, "how are you?" Feeling uncharacteristically emotional about the events of the past twenty-four hours, JR replied as honestly as he could, "I'm wonderful darlin'. I just can't believe that all of this is really real; it feels so surreal. I really have a son, we really have a son, there's really another John Ross Ewing in the family. This little boy is really a part of me and a part of you; it's hard to come to terms with that; he's really ours", he didn't quite know how to verbalise what he was feeling, emotional expression wasn't his strong suit, however, from the way Sue Ellen was looking at him, he didn't think he'd done a bad job. "What I'm saying is, I love you and I love our son and I have to say thank you too", gently moving, cautious of the tiny baby in his arms, he held up a hand to silence her protest to his gratefulness toward her. "Don't say anything", smiling at her, he hoped that she understood that he appreciated everything she had done for him, "now, would you like to hold our son?" grinning as he emphasised the words 'our son' he had all the confirmation he needed when she fluffed her pillows and held out her arms in anticipation. "He's perfect", not taking her eyes off her son as she gently stroked his cheek, Sue Ellen knew she was in love, more in love than she had ever been, with the man she called her husband and now, with their son. "He really is", leaning over and giving her a sweet kiss on the cheek, JR then held his son's hand, enjoying the moment that was, just the three of them together.

Allowing the new family a little time to bond, the nurse who had brought John Ross into the room from the nursery stood off to the side for a while. She needed to check up on Sue Ellen's health, but it wasn't immediately urgent and the maternity ward wasn't full to capacity, so to allow Mrs Ewing a little time with her husband and newborn son wasn't too much of an inconvenience. Noticing a break in the reverie the new family of three seemed to be in, she cleared her throat, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience Mr and Mrs Ewing, but Mrs Ewing, I need to do a short check-up to make sure that everything is ok. Childbirth isn't all about the baby, the mother's health is important too", in her sweetest and most apologetic voice, the nurse explained her presence and hoped that she wasn't intruding too much; although it was her job, she still didn't enjoy disrupting the sweet moments between parents and their new baby. Aware and concerned about his wife's health, JR spoke first, "I'll be right outside"; directing a small smile toward her and giving her a light kiss, he then excused himself from the room. He'd had enough experience with the check-ups the medical staff performed to know that it was better if he wasn't present, mostly for Sue Ellen's personal privacy, but also because he, as a man, simply didn't enjoy hearing the details about some of a woman's bodily functions and issues.

Wandering down the corridor to find the nearest phone, planning on calling Southfork to tell the family they could visit this afternoon, he was almost not surprised at all as he walked into the waiting room and spotted his parents, brother, niece, sister-in-law and mother-in-law walking in the door. It was just after nine in the morning and knowing his family, especially his father, they'd specifically planned on arriving right as visiting hours began, even without an invitation. "JR!" he'd never seen his mother run as fast as she did toward him this morning and it made him smile a little at the evident excitement in her actions; "how is he? How's my grandson?" his father wasn't far behind his mother in approaching him and although he loved his father, it did annoy him a little that he neglected to ask about Sue Ellen. He'd gained so much respect for his wife in the past twenty-four hours that it struck him as rude for his father to bypass asking about her, even if it were an honest, excitement fuelled mistake. As the rest of the family was now gathered around him, JR found it easiest to simply say what he was feeling, "they're both wonderful, Sue Ellen and the baby, John Ross Ewing III", pausing for a moment with pride and looking at his father as he said his son's name aloud, he then continued to speak. "I won't speak for Sue Ellen or say that I believe that it was in any way easy, but I can say that the doctors seemed confident that everything went as well as it could and that everything is near-perfect now. Sue Ellen's just being checked over by a nurse right now and I'm not sure what's happening after that, but I was just on my way to the telephone to call Southfork to say that we'd probably be ready for visitors this afternoon". Seeing the disappointment on everyone's faces that they couldn't see the baby right now, he felt a little annoyed about their presumptuousness, but decided to explain instead of showing his irritation, "it's been less than twelve hours since Sue Ellen gave birth, it's all very new. You'll see John Ross soon and I'm sure Sue Ellen will be thrilled to see everyone, but there are a few things we need to do, for us as a family, before we start hosting visitors. Please understand", once again, he felt as if he were being uncharacteristically nice about their interruption, however, with the high of being a new father and having his own perfect little family, he didn't care to spend too much time getting annoyed about things that didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. He wanted to get back to his wife and child and he wouldn't let anyone tell him it was selfish for him to do so, because they were his and this was his and Sue Ellen's news to share, everyone else was simply a spectator. "We understand. We'll wait, excitedly of course", Miss Ellie stepped up and spoke for the rest of the family, giving a polite, but still somewhat disappointed answer, however, being a mother herself, she understood what the first few hours, days and weeks were like and she wasn't going to allow anyone to ruin JR and Sue Ellen's experience.

Giving his mother a quick kiss on the cheek, JR walked back down the hallway toward his wife's room, however, seeing that the door was still closed and the blinds were still shut, he walked down another corridor, straight toward the gift shop. He'd organized for his own florist to send several large bouquets of yellow roses to Sue Ellen's room and he had a bracelet purchased and on hold at a local jewellery store, simply waiting his call as to which name was to be engraved on the inside before he presented it to her. He also had one more idea for a larger gift he wanted to give her, though since she delivered a week prior to her due date and since he'd only thought of it recently, he hadn't actually purchased that gift yet. However, he was JR Ewing and it was no problem to get what he wanted; his wife would get her gift, he just had to set the wheels in motion. What he hadn't organized though were any balloons, soft toys or other small gifts for her or the baby, partially because many of those gifts were gendered, pink or blue, but also because they were so simple that it didn't seem worth it to pre-order them. However, now knowing he had a son and wanting to have something to present his wife with himself when he re-entered the room, he made his way down the corridor.

To be continued…