McKinney, Texas

"Please, it'll be fun", widening her eyes and pouting a little, Sue Ellen attempted to convince her husband to get off the highway early so that could do one last activity before returning home. It wasn't that JR needed to be convinced to spend time with his family, it was more that he needed to be convinced to spend time doing the activity Sue Ellen had been fixated on since spotting a promotional sign on the side of the road half an hour ago. "Darlin', have you forgotten that we live on a ranch? Why would we make a special visit to someone else's ranch to look at horses or sit on a hay bale? We can do those things at Southfork anytime", raising an eyebrow as he spoke, but also slowly softening as he took note of her begging expression, JR waited for her response. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with Sue Ellen and John Ross, because he did, but did they really have to attend some wannabe Ewing barbecue as members of the general public? He wasn't particularly fond of animals or agricultural activities anyway, but if he had to do them, then once or twice a year at Southfork events was enough for him. "Well, firstly, because it sounds like fun and I think John Ross would like it, and secondly, because it's not a ranch, it's a farm, a pumpkin farm, and there are no pumpkins at Southfork. Besides, I know you, you pretend to dislike hayrides and horses, but you don't really, and I'm sure you can pay someone to let us have a trailer all to ourselves, you're JR Ewing". Grinning at him, she attempted to appeal to his egotistical side by convincing him that a fun family day out was an opportunity for him to bribe someone and make his power known, and watching him as she finished speaking and he processed what she was saying, she knew it had worked. Thinking about it, JR knew she was probably right, and even if she wasn't, there was no harm in at least checking it out, it would make her happy, John Ross did seem to enjoy animals and colours, and if nothing else, the photographs would look nice in their family album. "Fine, we'll go", giving her a small smile, he then turned his attention back to the highway.

Smiling to herself as JR agreed to her plans, Sue Ellen then verbalised their plans to John Ross, "did you hear that John Ross? Daddy's going to take us to a pumpkin farm. I know, it sounds silly when I say it like that, but it'll be fun, I promise. There will be horses, a petting zoo, pumpkins and maybe even a corn maze. You'll love it". Not really sure whether he understood what she was saying or whether he just recognized the sound of his mother's voice, she explained the situation anyway, it was enjoyable to see her son thinking about her words and then hearing him respond to her in his own language. The confirmation of their detour combined with her general happiness as a mother and a wife right now allowed her to relax and enjoy the rest of the car ride in a way that she hadn't earlier in the day. In all honesty, although she and JR were back together and on the same page again in marriage, she was still a little nervous and apprehensive about returning to Southfork. The atmosphere at the ranch hadn't exactly been friendly lately, so she wanted to delay returning for as long as possible. What was on her mind just as much as the tension waiting for them at home though was the sadness she felt at the impending end of their family alone time. She, JR and John Ross had been away from Southfork for less than two full days, but in that time, she'd really grown to love the privacy and calmness of their own space and although it sounded silly seeing as it had been such a short amount of time, she felt as if they'd fallen into a nice rhythm. It was nice to be able to decide for themselves what they would do and when they would do it and it felt wonderful not to have to worry about what other people thought of their actions. As much as she loved Southfork as a place, the lack of privacy and independence did get tiresome sometimes. Yes, the surroundings were beautiful and it was nice to be a part of a big family when everything was going well, but the moment things started to turn in the opposite direction, so did her attitude. It wasn't an everyday feeling, most of the time things were what they were and she enjoyed them, but then there were times where the obligatory family meals and close quarters really didn't do anything positive for family relations and it did all become a bit much for her to deal with. Making a mental note to assess the situation when they returned and then possibly approach JR with the idea of either taking more family vacations or making some kind of permanent change in the future, she then put those thoughts aside in favour of happier ones. She, JR and John Ross still had a couple of hours left to be a family of three and she wanted to make the most of that time.

Kneeling down to place John Ross on the grass so that he could touch the pumpkins and dry leaves, Sue Ellen looked up at her husband and grinned, "admit it, this really isn't as bad as you thought it was going to be". Although the pumpkins and leaves seemed to be the things John Ross was the most interested in out of all of the activities provided, they'd still managed to make their way around the various stalls and attractions without any grumbling from JR or whining from John Ross. "Well, I still don't see why he can't just pet a calf at Southfork, it's not like we don't have plenty of them… but seeing as you seem to want to hear me say it, I will. No, this wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, in fact, as much as I dislike ranching, I can almost see the appeal in farming. It's kind of nice to see crops growing instead of just field and fields of grass. Still, crops and ranching are secondary uses of land, only to be approved after a geological evaluation has declared them no good for drilling. Oil fields, they don't necessarily look pretty, but damn they're a beautiful sight to see, if that makes any sense…" Catching himself before he started a long spiel about oil, something his wife probably didn't care about other than in the sense that it supported their family, he then crouched down next to her to watch John Ross happily crunch dried leaves and prod the pumpkin in front of him; it was hardly riveting, but it was definitely cute. "It does", smiling at him as she replied, Sue Ellen then sighed happily, it felt wonderful to be part of a happy, loving family and she hoped that whatever the atmosphere was like when they returned to Southfork, the three of them could at least remain at their current level of happiness.

To be continued…