Dallas, Texas

"…darlin'?" noticing his wife tying her robe and holding her evening reading book, JR's concern grew; he'd assumed that their agreement to really try to be more open, honest and trusting meant that things were ok between them, however, from her physical and emotional coldness toward him and her current actions, he had a feeling that all was not right. "I'm sorry JR; I can't do this right now. I need some space, so I'll be across the hall in the guest bedroom", giving a quick explanation, Sue Ellen then walked toward the door, turned and gave him a weak smile and then left the room. If it hadn't been for John Ross, she would've probably left Southfork for the time being, however, she wasn't so selfish that she would really remove her three and a half month old son from the only home and family he had ever known, so for now, the guest room would have to do. She had left Ewing Oil shortly after coming to an agreement with JR that she would be more involved in his life and the current situation, however, just because she was now 'allowed' to be in on the information didn't mean she was happy about any of it or had to act as if she were. JR was on probation with her and with his father and until the circumstances surrounding the current drama changed, she didn't foresee them just slipping back into a happy marriage. Their meeting with Harve and possible negotiation or consequential punishment of Cynthia tomorrow would set the tone for the current and future situation, but until then, until she had a better idea of what the future held, she couldn't force herself to play happy, because she wasn't and she didn't want to lie or pretend everything was ok. Seeing the door close, JR sighed to himself; things were worse than he imagined and he wasn't sure how he was going to fix them; her trust and confidence were obviously diminished and once again, it was all his fault.

The next morning, after an awkward, tension filled breakfast with the family, one where it was obvious that JR, Sue Ellen, Miss Ellie and Jock all knew something that Bobby and Lucy didn't, but they weren't willing to discuss said topic, there was relief when the Ewing men left for work and the Ewing women went about their days activities. With the situation weighing on her mind, Sue Ellen found comfort in playing with John Ross and really paying attention to the details of his life, and in doing so, she found herself hoping and praying that John Ross Ewing III was the only child who had any right to John Ross Ewing, Jr.'s paternal love and attention. She and JR had a meeting with Harve Smithfield and that whore this afternoon and as much as she absolutely did not want to see that woman again, she knew she had to be there, she had to know the facts and what was going to happen in the future; it affected her whether she liked it or not. After a morning of avoiding talking to Miss Ellie about the situation, simply because she didn't really know what to say, she then put John Ross down for a nap, ate lunch and then got ready for her appointment, feeling ill as she changed into a more suitable outfit. No matter what the outcome of the meeting, things were going to be different; she didn't trust JR like she had in the past and that was a real issue. How could she be married to someone she didn't trust?

Sitting in a conference room at Smithfield & Bennett, Sue Ellen's ill feeling increased as she watched the clock ticking; she and JR were waiting on both Harve and Cynthia and the anticipation of either outcome was enough to make her want to be sick. This was a pivotal moment in their lives, one she had no control over and she hated it. If JR and Cynthia had a child together, then everything was about to change, absolutely everything; and if they didn't, then she was still left with the distrust and hurt that had come from this situation and there didn't seem to be a clear path forward. Hearing the door open, both JR and Sue Ellen turned around and were slightly shocked to see that Harve Smithfield and Cynthia Moore were not alone. It wasn't something Sue Ellen, or JR for that matter, had considered a possibility, but it made sense that little John Moore, Cynthia, and possibly JR's son, was with his mother; clearly she wasn't as privileged as the Ewings were and didn't have such open access to child minding services. However, even quickly mentally acknowledging this fact, for the two Ewings present, seeing the child in question made everything more real and a lot more confusing; he was so tiny and vulnerable and even if he wasn't JR's son, he was still an innocent victim in the situation.

After an awkward formal introduction between the four adults who had until this point, never met or communicated in such 'normal' circumstances, and the required words about Miss Moore's right to have her own lawyer present if she wished, to which she politely declined, Harve then began the meeting. Explaining the scientific accuracy of the tests and making sure that both JR and Cynthia understood that although the tests had been done independently and were legally ordered, they were still in a private negotiation, meaning that they weren't bound by Texan child conservatorship laws right now, he then stated the much anticipated and highly dreaded results."…these independently tested and evaluated results determine that John Ross Ewing Jr. is of no relation to the minor chid in question. I'm sorry Miss Moore, but you have no case against my client". In a short, direct statement, Harve laid out the information and waited for a response, from anyone in the room and although it was silent for a moment, as each concerned party comprehended the information, it soon became clear that not everyone was happy, a not completely unexpected result; conflicts of this nature rarely allowed both parties to be victors.

Letting out a relieved sigh and then smiling, JR turned toward his wife and gave her a gentle pat on the hand; they had a lot to talk about and a long way to go before they anywhere near a good place again, but at least they had a chance to do so without an illegitimate child in their lives. Not so relieved by the result was Miss Cynthia Moore who at hearing the dismissal of her claim, began to sob; she'd always had an inkling that JR Ewing wasn't her son's father and she'd always known that she was taking a risk in involving him in the situation, but she'd never expected things to end like this. She had assumed that he would be so ashamed by the fact that they did in fact sleep together and could have conceived a child that he would pay her off as a bribe to keep her quiet; she never imagined that he would fight her, or invite his wife to be a part of her takedown. With this news and the fact that she had tried to blackmail JR Ewing, she was worried and scared; she was worried that he would lash back at her for her manipulative, dishonest and endangering actions and scared about what the future looked like for her and her son, because right now, she had nothing and nowhere to go. She tried to act tough, but deep down, she was just a scared, wayward college dropout and right now, she couldn't even come up with a good list of reasons as to why her life had turned out that way. Sometime over the past year, she'd managed to burn bridges with her family, lose most of her real friends, cut her job prospects down to almost nil due to her lack of complete formal education and inflexible availability because of early motherhood, and become poor and dependent on an ex-boyfriend that used her for his own benefit, on his terms. She was in a terrible social and financial position and honestly had no idea what she was going to do. She couldn't easily independently support herself or her son, she couldn't run back to her parents after the way they'd left things, she had no money or time to finish college and she was at the mercy of two men, one who probably hated and wanted to punish her and the other who would probably tire of her soon enough.

Completely relieved that the current situation was a dead end, Sue Ellen looked over at JR and smiled weakly as he patted her hand; she was still upset with him that they were even in this kind of situation to begin with, however, she couldn't deny that she was happy about the results. Unfortunately, as happy as she was that the tests had come back negative, she couldn't help but feel a little bad for the young woman sitting across the table from them. It wasn't that she forgave her for what she had done, or liked her any better as a person now that she had formally met her, however, as a mother herself, one who had felt helpless during her separation from JR and loved her own son very much, she empathised with the base emotions the girl was probably feeling. Brought out of her thoughts by Harve speaking, Sue Ellen found herself even more conflicted; "now, ordinarily in a situation like this where paternity is disproven by scientific testing, releasing the alleged father from any legal obligations to support the minor child, both parties would simply sign the papers acknowledging these results as true and would go their separate ways. However, due to the surrounding social and financial circumstances, I am requesting, on behalf of my client, that an additional set of papers be signed, a non-disclosure agreement that effectively seals this information for good and prevents any future legal action, from either party". Looking through the stack of papers on the table, Harve then found what he was looking for and nodded at JR as he handed a copy to both he and Cynthia. They'd discussed options for every possible outcome and there was a plan in place if she decided to argue, however, not wanting to be too generous, JR had specifically told Harve to hold off on presenting it unless she did request or demand something in return for her signature. Looking over the paperwork, Cynthia began to cry harder; she was completely out of her depth and was regretting the fact that she'd ever tried to blackmail JR Ewing and the fact that she'd stupidly forgone hiring a lawyer to represent her. That silly mistake had occurred mostly out of embarrassment and naivety of the seriousness of the situation she was entering into, but also because she hadn't realised that contingency lawyers and legal aid services existed and had truly believed that she had no hope of ever affording a lawyer for herself. The fact was, if she had hired a lawyer, she would have known that she hadn't actually committed a crime in sending JR the first photograph of her son, because she hadn't demanded anything from him, he had contacted her before it got that far, therefore, she had a little more power than she was being led to believe. Unfortunately for her though, she hadn't hired a lawyer and had confirmed that that action was her choice; she was scared for both her and her son's future and was naïve in the ways of the world, so reading over the contract, asking for an explanation of exactly what she was signing, she then signed it and handed it back.

Watching the entire situation unfold, Sue Ellen was completely conflicted. With everything JR had told her about her social and financial situation, it was no wonder that she had been at a DOA charity event as an aid recipient and no wonder she was upset now; her chance at gaining steady support for her and her son was now gone. Although Sue Ellen still hated the way the woman had come into JR's life, hated that she had seen JR as a target and hated that she had put them through so much stress, distress, embarrassment and anger, she couldn't help but see the small baby in the room as a completely innocent and undeserving victim in the situation. Watching the woman silently gather her things as she resignedly realised that she had taken on a man much more powerful than her, had lost, and now had no real prospects or direction in her and her son's life, Sue Ellen cleared her throat and did something completely unexpected. "JR, Mr Smithfield, I'd like a moment alone with Miss Moore, please", looking over at the two of them, she gave her best convincing smile and waited for them to leave the room, which they both did, only because they both knew that she and JR were on thin ice right now and upsetting her was not a wise decision. Unsure of what was going on, but not having a good feeling about it, Cynthia jumped slightly as the door closed and both JR and Harve left the room, however, as she looked up and made eye contact with Sue Ellen, she was surprised, there was more than just anger and upset in her eyes. Empathy? Compassion? She wasn't sure, but whatever it was, something inside her was telling her to listen and find out; it wasn't as if her situation could get any worse than it already was.

To be continued…