Dallas, Texas

"…that's the truth, all of it", finishing his explanation, one he was sure had to have been upsetting for her to hear, especially since they'd been so happy lately, JR looked at his wife and waited, and when he felt his face stinging again, he knew that his assumption was correct; she was angry and an explanation didn't nullify that. "I hate you! I hate that you did this to me, to our son and to our marriage. Whether the child is yours or not is almost irrelevant right now, because even if he isn't, and I sure as hell hope he isn't, doesn't take away from the fact that you cheated, you lied and you went behind my back to cover it all up. You don't seem to really care about how any of that affected me and to make it worse, with your history and the fact that this woman has caused this much disruption in our lives without even proving her child is yours, who's to say that this won't happen again in the future? This woman could be just one of hundreds that could claim the same thing and try to ruin our lives and I don't know how I'm supposed to be ok with that. I know, I know we discussed it the last time this was an issue and I know I said that I forgave you, and I did, but with this new development, I'm not so sure anymore; you have to understand how this all is for me. What if you do have another child? How am I supposed to live with that? How is John Ross supposed to live with that? How does the child fit into our lives? How does his mother fit into our lives? You know what it's like growing up in an unequal home; we promised that we wouldn't do that to John Ross and I'd really rather not deal with it in marriage either. I can't and I won't be one of many women in your life", frustrated, angry and not entirely sure herself what she wanted or what could come out of their conversation, she sighed to herself. Why was their marriage so difficult? Surely, it didn't have to be. When they were happy, they were blissfully happy, but it never lasted, there was always something just waiting to be revealed and she was tired of dealing with that.

"Darlin'…" attempting to reply and then pausing as he realised that he had no good words to say in order to reassure her, JR was both hurt by her expression of hate and distrust and cornered by the fact that she was asking questions and expressing realities that he had no answers for. "I'm sorry, I don't have all the answers you're looking for and I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. I can tell you this though, you are my wife, you are the woman that I love and I am truly sorry that it took me so long to realise what that meant. I promise, no other woman will ever occupy the place in my heart and in my life that you do; no other woman will ever even come close. As for John Ross, he's my, our, first born son and he will have the best, as will the rest of our children, if and when the time comes; I promise, an illegitimate child will not interfere with the way we live our lives as a family, I don't want it to and I won't allow it to. As for the future and the possibility of this happening again, I can't make any statements guaranteeing that there won't be opportunists, however, I can promise you that those opportunists will not get anywhere near our family. You have to understand and believe me; that's the reason why I didn't tell you about this particular situation, I didn't want you to have to worry about something that's probably nothing and if it is something, then I wanted to have all the facts before I told you. I understand now that that was a bad decision to make, I should have just told you instead of hiding it from you, but I didn't deliberately try to exclude you or keep you in the dark", bending the truth about his motive little as he spoke, he hoped that she believed him, because his words weren't all lies. He had been hiding facts in hopes of making the problem go away before she ever heard about it, however, he was honest in his expression of plans for the future; he wouldn't allow an illegitimate child to interfere in his wife and legitimate son's lives, no matter what it meant he had to do. Sue Ellen hadn't really mentioned the impact on Ewing Oil partially because she wasn't involved in the business like he was and partially because she had no idea of the terms surrounding his future presidency, but if he could get this issue to disappear before his father found out about it, the better off he and everyone else would be. For that and other reasons, he had stayed secretive about the situation he was in and if all went according to plan, he would be off the hook in less than twenty-four hours; what he needed right now though was Sue Ellen's support, or at least her silence; he needed her to trust him, though he knew she probably didn't.

"JR…" feeling helpless and unsure of where to go to from where they were, because their conversation seemed to be going in circles, Sue Ellen paused and then spoke, "I'm glad that you agree that you should have told me about this and I want to believe that you have it all under control, but I don't. I don't understand how you're going to make all of this go away and I don't know if even if that happens, whether I can trust you again. I'm tired of the constant drama, I'm disappointed in the constant disillusionment of marriage and I'm nearing the end of my tolerance for a life like this. I… I don't know what you want from me anymore and I don't know what I can give you…" temporarily allowing herself to fall into a mindset of complete hopelessness, she then realised how pathetic it was to stand by and do nothing about the situation, and as she did, she found herself with a new perspective and determination. She wouldn't passively wait for him to tell her how things were going to happen or did happen, she would become a part of the solution. "…however, in saying that, I know that I cannot stand by and do nothing like I have been; it doesn't work for us and I don't want to keep repeating the same cycle of lies and mistakes. Now, you mentioned that you have a meeting with Harve Smithfield tomorrow; I will be joining you in that meeting, whether you like it or not, and don't even think about objecting, because you're not in a position to tell me what to do; this affects me and I will not allow you to control the situation without consultation anymore. In addition to that, you've said that you won't allow these types of situations to interfere in our lives any longer, so, in the spirit of being open, honest and trying to make things right, I expect to be included in every thought process and plan from now on, no matter how small or insignificant you think those things are. I want to know what you plan on doing about things before and as you do them, not after the fact. I need time to think and comprehend all of this and work out where we go from here, but for now, those are my two conditions for not just upping and leaving you, which I will do if anything more comes to light…" leaving her statement vague but ominous enough for him to listen, she then waited for his response. Knowing that she was right and that he was in no position to argue, even if he wanted to, JR simply nodded and agreed; his marriage was worth more than upholding his supposed strong masculinity through arguments and power struggles. If allowing his wife to be a part of his thoughts and actions was what it took to keep her and his son in his life, then he would do it.

"What the hell is going on in there?" walking out of his office and into the reception area in an attempt to find an answer to his question, Jock was surprised to see his wife worriedly hovering outside JR's office and the secretaries doing their best to look like they were working while also attempting to hear the argument inside. "Ellie?" addressing his wife directly, he was annoyed when she gave him a look as if to tell him to be quiet, "Ellie…" more aggressively this time, he was then a little shocked when she held up her hand and then motioned for him to follow her into his office; since when did she give the orders in their marriage? Shutting his office door behind him, he then demanded answers, "I asked a question and still haven't received an answer. This is my company and I deserve to know what is happening in these offices, especially when it involves an argument of some sort and three gossip hungry women hanging on every word", looking at her demandingly, he then waited for a response. "Have a seat Jock, I think you're going to need it", concerned more about the state of JR and Sue Ellen's marriage than the potential consequences the situation posed for Ewing Oil, Miss Ellie knew her husband wouldn't see things the way she did and she was prepared for such an event, though preparedness and calmness were two different things. "Ellie…" grumbling at the idea of being told what to do and not knowing the whole story, Jock did as she told him and as she began to speak, telling him what she understood about the situation, his anger and frustration grew. He didn't know what he was going to do with JR, but whatever it was, Sue Ellen wasn't the only one he had to worry about making good with.

To be continued…