Dallas, Texas

Exiting their bedroom and walking downstairs together, Sue Ellen repeated JR's request and promise in her mind; they would speak to Jock and they would make their position clear for the future, however, if they could, they would wait a few days. JR had managed to convince her that waiting until his verbal agreement with his father was a legal one was the best course of action and after thinking about it for a little while, she had agreed, on the condition that there would be real changes in the future and the issues wouldn't just be swept under the rug again. With that settled, she decided that it was time to focus on the other, happier aspects of her life and start enjoying things again; the past few weeks had been stressful, painful and confusing, but she was ready to move on and start enjoying her life again.

Upstairs, unbeknownst to the rest of Southfork's residents, Bobby Ewing's mood was worsening by the minute. Angry and upset by the information he'd discovered and agitated by the fact that he hadn't been able to confront either his father or his brother since making the discovery, he stomped around his room as he prepared for dinner. Closing his bedroom door a little more forcefully than necessary, he muttered a few words to himself before making his way downstairs, and entering the living room, seeing JR and Sue Ellen involved in an apparently happy and loving discussion, his frustration, anger and disgust mounted. He still didn't understand what had actually happened between JR and Sue Ellen a few weeks ago to cause their separation, but the fact that they appeared to be back together and happy in that state made him sick. Sue Ellen deserved a better man than his eldest brother, she deserved a man who would treat her properly, because he loved and respected her as a person, a woman and as his wife, not just because that behaviour would earn him the right to future ownership and presidency of a multimillion dollar company.

"JR, I need to talk to you!" jumping a little as she felt the anger in Bobby's voice, Sue Ellen looked at JR worriedly and took hold of his hand as he responded to his youngest brother. "Can it wait until morning, or after dinner? I was in the middle of a conversation with my wife", speaking in a calm but somewhat annoyed tone, JR looked at his brother and waited for a response. Bobby seemed angry, but Bobby was easily angered anyway, he'd been in more fistfights than any other Ewing and he'd always been quick to whine and make issues out of things that less spoiled adults just dealt with, so whatever he was upset about was probably nothing of real importance, or at least not something that required immediate attention. "JR…" speaking his brother's name in an aggressive and annoyed tone, Bobby glared at him as if to subconsciously tell him to obey his words or he would be sorry, unfortunately for him though, JR wasn't taking the situation nearly as seriously as he was and didn't appear to be particularly interested in doing what he wanted. Shocked by Bobby's aggression, Sue Ellen attempted to get him to verbalise something more than what he was giving them right now, "Bobby? Are you ok? You seem… upset". Turning his attention to Sue Ellen, Bobby attempted to calm himself a little before responding, she wasn't the one he was angry with and she didn't deserve to have such strong anger directed at her. "I'm fine Sue Ellen. I just need to speak with my brother. Alone. Now", attempting to sound calm, his tone mostly just ended up sounding cold and unfriendly, and when JR just sighed and muttered something to his wife about needing to deal with the current situation, as if he and Sue Ellen were the only two people in the room, his mood only worsened. Kissing Sue Ellen on the cheek, JR finished his drink and then motioned for Bobby to follow him into the office so that they could have the oh-so important conversation that Bobby was so obsessed with having.

Just minutes later, JR found himself grinning amusedly as his brother rambled on and on about how sneaky he was, how unfair the contract was and how Sue Ellen deserved a better husband than him. Speaking just a few words in response, JR's grin widened as his brother's annoyance grew, "little brother Bobby, always late to the party". Of course, he was annoyed that Bobby had been snooping in his private business, was making judgements about anything and everything without any real knowledge and was involving himself so personally in something that really had absolutely nothing to do with him, however, overall, he was more amused than anything else. Bobby was predictable, he'd always been hot-headed and petulant, he always found a way to make it seem as if he were being wronged and he would always whine and fight until he got his way, which when their father was involved, was quite often, however, despite Bobby's annoyance and anger, JR knew that he currently held the upper hand. It amused him that his brother was so self-righteous that he hadn't even considered his own actions in the situation and how they made him look. Clearly, to find out the information that he now knew, he had been snooping around confidential files, because there was no way he'd found out from Harve Smithfield or Brooks Oliver, both lawyers were much too honest to disclose confidential information and Bobby was much too naïve to consider blackmailing them for it. Whatever advantage Bobby believed he had, he was in for a shock when JR broke the news to him that the situation couldn't exactly be discussed openly between the Ewing men without their father realising that his golden child had gone behind his back and snooped for information that he had no right to, information that was now outdated anyway.

"So, what do you have to say for yourself? And don't smirk at me and condescendingly address me as 'little brother Bobby', I'm an adult and whether you like it or not, I'm a Ewing, a Ewing that's also involved in Ewing Oil and deserves to know what's going on in the company". Waiting for JR to respond, Bobby felt strange, he was relieved to finally be able to confront his brother about the immoral and unfair clause in his contract, however, seeing JR grinning at him, he knew that his brother wasn't taking him seriously and that further aggravated him. Shaking his head a few times, JR paused for a second before responding, "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby, you're always so quick to judge and retaliate based on your feelings, but you never take the time to consider things beyond your own perspective. It's one of your biggest flaws", taking a long pause between sentences JR then continued, very much enjoying the confused look on his brother's face. "You know, none of this is any of your business, however, seeing as you seem to be so fixated on knowing, I'll explain things a little more clearly for you. Firstly, I'm well aware of what the contractual clause says, and so is Sue Ellen, so if you're thinking of breaking the news to her, you can forget that plan. Secondly, I'm also very much aware that what is written in that clause is both degrading and humiliating and that Sue Ellen deserves better, however, Sue Ellen and I have already moved on from that, so you have no business judging that situation. Thirdly, before you go around calling me sneaky, take a good look in the mirror. How exactly do you know this information? I'm not sure which filing cabinet you broke into, but it doesn't really matter, I don't think daddy really distinguishes between the importance of his locked, private files here at the house and those at the office, snooping is snooping, the location is irrelevant and your status as favourite son won't protect you in this situation. Oh, and for your information, none of this was my idea, it was daddy's, and no, your name wasn't mentioned once during the conversation, but that's not my problem, or my responsibility, so if you take issue with daddy's plan for your future at Ewing Oil, then confront him, not me. Lastly, and really, most importantly, if it hasn't been established yet that you really don't know what you're talking about, then let this be the confirmation and your warning to stay away from the situation, because it will never end well for you; the paperwork you read is old and outdated and so are your judgements. Daddy and I have already come to a new agreement and I have already made new, real, honest promises to my wife about our future together. In short, the morality clause is no more, but my future inheritance of Ewing Oil is still guaranteed, and there's nothing you can do about it; really though, there never was, I was always the Ewing heir, whether you liked it or not, so grow up and deal with it. This situation has nothing to do with you, so leave it alone, it's in everyone's best interest". Glaring at his brother, JR then ended their conversation, "now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to spend some time with my wife, we have a lot of catching up to do", and turning, he walked toward the door, leaving his youngest brother to think about everything and hopefully realise that he had lost.

To be continued…