Dallas, Texas

"I don't like it. Why did you let them go? How do we know that they're really just staying at the lake house? What if that's just a cover story and they don't plan on coming back at all? That'll ruin everything!" grumbling and then shouting at his wife as they stood in the living room waiting for Bobby and Lucy to arrive for pre-dinner cocktails, Jock Ewing then gulped down his drink and made his way back over to the drinks cart for another, he needed it. "Stop shouting! I will not have your anger and distrust ruining family dinner for us Ewings who are actually here", raising her own voice in response to her husband, Miss Ellie then paused, recentered herself and then spoke again, this time in a more calm manner. "Now, to answer your questions: I didn't object to them leaving because it's not my place to stop or forbid them from taking a short vacation, they're adults and as much as we like to have our opinions heard, we can't force them on them. As for whether they are really staying at the lake house, we really have to just trust that they are, however, since they have given me no reason to doubt that they are, I don't doubt it and I do trust that they're there and that they'll be back on Sunday evening exactly as planned. Regarding the possibility of it being a cover story for something bigger, well, I certainly hope it isn't, and as I said, I don't believe it is, especially since all of their things are still here and it's clear that JR wants what he's always wanted, Ewing Oil for himself and a real legacy plan for his son. I don't believe he would just leave Southfork, he may not have many Southworth traits, but he knows how much family means to us and how much it means to us to have that family at Southfork. Sue Ellen too, although she doesn't have nearly as much history with Southfork as the rest of us, I believe that she loves this ranch, even if just the land and amenities, not the people, because right now, I very much understand why she'd have a problem with the people. Still though, I have no reason to doubt their return". Speaking calmly but firmly, Miss Ellie sighed to herself when almost immediately after uttering her final words, Jock responded, "problem with the people? What does that mean? We've been nothing but good to that girl and yes, JR made mistakes and then made a mess of the situation by involving her instead of being a man and dealing with it himself, but even in that situation, she should've realised that I was really doing her a favour, I guaranteed that JR would act like a proper husband". Stopping as he thought about it, now angrier than ever that everyone had gotten involved in the situation and was blaming him for the way it had all happened, Jock mumbled a few words and then poured himself another drink.

Glaring at her husband, Miss Ellie shook her head and then spoke, again using a calm but stern tone, "that's exactly the problem, both Sue Ellen and JR have explained it to you before and they have a point, it's not right to connect business successes and consequences with personal successes and consequences. I understand that you believe you were doing the right thing when you and JR signed that contract and I believe you when you tell me that you did think long and hard about that decision prior to suggesting the contract or negotiating the terms, but I don't think you're seeing the rest of the situation clearly. When JR asked you to renegotiate, he was doing so in good faith, he wanted to be a better husband and put his past behind him, but you questioned his motivations and he reacted to that questioning by doing what he saw as an honest action, he told his wife everything, as he should have in the first place. You cannot hold it against Sue Ellen for getting involved or getting angry, this concerns her just as much as you or JR, whether you like it or not. On that note, I don't believe that…" stopping in the middle of her sentence as she caught sight of her granddaughter entering the room, Miss Ellie simply looked her husband in the eye and silently warned him not to ruin the rest of the evening, at least not until they were alone. He may be the man of the house, but that didn't automatically give him the right to control everyone and it didn't shield him from having his decisions questioned. She and Jock would be having a long discussion later that evening, because he needed to hear exactly that.

Denison, Texas

Watching John Ross' eyes droop and then eventually close, Sue Ellen laid her son down in the small, foldable travel bed she'd purchased at The Store earlier in the day, watched him sleeping for a few moments and then motioned to JR to follow her out into the hallway. "He'll feed again at around eleven, but other than that, Mrs Smith has informed me that he sleeps through the night most of the time now, so we probably won't need to tend to him again until around six thirty or seven tomorrow morning. She did say that he does occasionally still wake up in the night though, sometimes for feeding, other times just because he wants to be held and soothed. I'll sleep in this room tonight just in case he does wake", explaining the general situation to JR, she was pleased when he didn't put up a fight and agreed to her plan, additionally offering to feed John Ross his morning bottle so that she could sleep in for a little while. Thanking him, she happily agreed to his plan and for a brief moment, she felt lighter. She hadn't forgiven him for his actions yet and she still wasn't sure she was ready to do so either, however, kind and compassionate JR was a JR that she liked and she was pleased to see that that side of him still existed outside of his paternal role.

To be continued…