Dallas, Texas

"Mrs Ewing, I assure you, your son is in good hands. Now, please, you need rest. Master Ewing and I will see you in eight hours", Mrs Smith, a lovely older woman with years of experience as both a mother and a baby nurse, spoke quietly as she encouraged Sue Ellen to go to sleep. The elder Mrs Ewing had hired her, though she was caring for the younger Mrs Ewing's son, and she suspected that the slight disparity in what was expected of her came more from the minor miscommunication between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, rather than she and the two Mrs Ewings. In her experience, it wasn't uncommon for first time mothers to feel a little guilty about leaving their child in the care of someone else in their own home, even when they'd hired her themselves, but she also knew that most of the time, all they needed was a little assurance that they weren't being neglectful. She was a firm believer in the idea that it was better for a baby to have a loving, attentive mother for 2/3 of the day than to have a tired, overworked and possibly inattentive mother for the whole day. In hiring her to look after their child through the night and selectively during the day, they were making moves toward improving the quality of the relationship between parent and child and were investing in their child's future. At least, that's how she saw it; she had no real research to back-up her idea, however, anecdotally, she knew of many women and children who had benefitted greatly from her services. "Ok… I will be right down the hall if John Ross needs me", picking her son up and kissing him goodnight, she joined JR in leaving the nursery and walking down the hall to their bedroom. It wasn't as if she'd ever actually cared for John Ross at night before, he'd always spent nights in the hospital nursery, but seeing him in his own nursery at Southfork and knowing that he would wake up at least once, she felt a strong urge to be there for him. However, JR and Miss Ellie had strongly encouraged her to listen to the advice the baby nurse was giving her, she deserved to sleep too and Mrs Smith was a professional, just as the hospital staff had been. John Ross would be there in the morning and she would be able to do everything for him again multiple times tomorrow; his needs were round-the-clock and she was lucky to have help with them. It was a blessing for her to get to sleep through the night and wake up refreshed and ready to be a good mother in the morning, not every woman had those benefits and if they were available to her, then she was entitled to take them and not feel guilty about it.

Getting back into their usual morning routine, though without the occasional morning intimacy that she and JR had established prior to giving birth, Sue Ellen awoke on Monday morning feeling good; physically, she was beginning to heal and mentally and emotionally, she was getting used to what it meant to be a mother. In just sixteen hours, her son would be a week old, though in a way, it felt as if he was both much older and much younger than that. The past week had been filled with ups and downs, from feeling surprisingly guilty about her excitement over having a son to the first little speedbumps that came with getting used to catering to another human being's every need and getting used to having so much attention directed toward her, though not really at her personally. It was an adjustment for everyone, but she was finally getting used to it and she could honestly say that being a mother was as fulfilling as she had hoped, though it wasn't in the way she had originally imagined when her and JR's child was still a figment of her imagination. She'd never known the type of love she could feel for another human being, it was different to the overwhelming romantic love she felt for JR and it was different to the feelings she felt for her family and friends; being a mother had introduced her to a whole new set of emotions and she was enjoying them immensely.

In imagining having a child, she'd never quite expected to get excited about tiny things, like feeling him grasp her finger or even just getting him to burp without regurgitating the entire contents of his stomach. It had never occurred to her that in caring for him and being responsible for his every need, she would begin to see his actions as a reflection of her parenting and it fed her feelings for him to see him thriving under the care of everyone at Southfork. JR had been amazing over the past week and it saddened her that their lives were about to change again with him going back to work this week; she'd gotten used to having him around during the day and selfishly, she didn't want to share his attention with anyone other than their son. Of course, she knew how much Ewing Oil meant to them and even though they had more than enough money in the bank and investments to provide a steady income for them to live a nice, comfortable life, it wouldn't be fair to him to ask him to step back from the business. She had a feeling that JR was beginning to gain a new perspective on life though and even though he would still be a dedicated businessman, she didn't anticipate him neglecting any of his personal responsibilities in favour of Ewing Oil. She could see how much he already loved his new life and she felt the change in him; everything he was doing at Ewing Oil was in hopes that their family would have a good future, not simply because he wanted to boost his own ego and please his father. JR Ewing was an oilman and a family man, he was everything she'd ever wanted in a husband and she hoped that their lives always stayed that way, even when things got tense or stressful in one area; she would always love him and support him and she wanted everyone to know that.

Arriving at work on Monday morning, JR felt odd; he was excited and ready to get back into his work, he loved the oil business, but at the same time, he felt a little sad at the knowledge that his wife and son were at Southfork, living their lives and inevitably making memories without him. It had been different when he and Sue Ellen were just a married couple, she had her activities and responsibilities and he had his and although they missed each other during the time they were apart, they were able to come together at the end of the day and still maintain a strong relationship. He worried that with all of the new responsibilities in his life, he wouldn't be able to be the father and husband he wanted to be while still operating at full capacity at Ewing Oil. He was determined to juggle everything and give one hundred percent of himself to everyone who he considered important though and when JR Ewing set out to achieve something, chances were that it would happen, so with a lot of hard work and conscious consideration, he was sure that he could do it. He would make his son, wife and father proud of him and he would feel good about it, of that he was sure.

To be continued…