Dallas, Texas

Although he was busy at work, doing his regular job plus making plans to ensure everything would run smoothly in a couple of weeks when the Ewing Oil offices shut down over Christmas and New Year, JR was never too tired to spend time with his wife and son. Doctor Danvers had been right when he had said John Ross was just fussy because he was going through some uncomfortable teething pain, because now, a few days later, things appeared to be back to normal, just the way he liked it.

Driving home from work, he smiled to himself as he thought about the upcoming weekend. He and Sue Ellen had no specific plans for that evening, but with the way their relationship was right now, he had no doubt it would be enjoyable. He had never really been much of a homebody, but with Sue Ellen, he actually enjoyed spending time at Southfork, because there was actually something fun and interesting for him to do there now. That didn't mean he wanted to spend all of their time at Southfork though, so with that in mind and knowing that Sue Ellen loved it when he made an effort, he had organized a date for them on Saturday evening. They would start their evening with a drink or two at a nice bar, then they would move on to attending the symphony orchestra's Christmas concert, then he'd planned for them to have a quiet, intimate dinner at Scalini, a restaurant he knew was nice but wasn't widely frequented by their associates. All of those plans would be somewhat expected for Sue Ellen, because he'd done the gentlemanly thing and asked her to go out on a date with him rather than just informing her it was happening. He had withheld some information though, because he wanted her to be surprised; she didn't particularly enjoy surprises, but he knew she'd like this one, because she was always eager to spend time completely alone with him. She would be thrilled to hear he had arranged for their evening date to continue after their dinner was over and eventually conclude with them, alone together in a suite at one of Dallas' finest hotels. Sue Ellen loved a little bit of romance and JR couldn't deny he enjoyed planning something and then watching things unfold as he enacted it; he had no doubt this would give him the same satisfaction and he was excited for the next evening. For the moment though, he was simply happy to be almost home, because he genuinely enjoyed the routine he, Sue Ellen and John Ross had fallen into recently.

An hour or so later, Miss Ellie observed her son and daughter-in-law as the family chatted with each other during pre-dinner cocktails. They looked extremely happy and content and she was very grateful for that; she was also a little worried though, because although she truly wanted to believe things were finally perfect, she knew she had to be realistic. Perfect marriages didn't exist, that was just a fact of life; there would always be disagreements, though she was confident that JR and Sue Ellen were finally on the same page, so their disagreements about large things would probably not occur again. That being said, things were still new and she was afraid of putting too much on them right now; she didn't want to put their marriage under any more strain than they had just recovered from, however, she knew Jock's upcoming proposition had the potential to do just that.

Jock had never been thrilled about losing JR, John Ross and Sue Ellen as permanent residents at Southfork, but he had agreed not to fight their decision for two reasons. The first was because as much as he hated to remember sometimes, his son and daughter-in-law were adults and he had no real say in what they did with their lives and no real power to control their actions. The second reason was a little more complicated and devious; upon hearing JR and Sue Ellen's intention to leave Southfork and purchase the old Wade ranch land, he had begun plotting and had quickly devised a way to twist the situation so he also benefitted.

Miss Ellie loved her husband, but she didn't always support what he was doing or planned to do and in this situation, she knew she had to tell him exactly how she felt. She couldn't allow Jock to do something that would introduce tension in the family at a time where their time with JR, Sue Ellen and John Ross was already about to be cut. She couldn't allow Jock to attempt to convince JR that it was his duty to assist in the expansion of Southfork ranch.

Aaron Southworth was a champion of the land, specifically, using it purposefully and responsibly, assisting it to flourish and provide, not robbing it of all its resources and then leaving it dead and worthless; so technically, he probably wouldn't have been pleased to hear how few future plans his grandson had planned for the land he and his wife owned. Miss Ellie also knew her father well enough to know though that despite his feelings regarding responsible and resourceful land use, he wasn't an unfair man and he wouldn't have supported or respected forced or strongly pressurised decisions like the one Jock was about to attempt to guilt JR into. Ellie Ewing's feelings about the situation were complicated; she too loved the land, so she wanted to see it used for something useful, however, she also knew it wasn't really her choice what happened to the land JR and Sue Ellen owned and she didn't believe Jock's intentions were pure, so she couldn't bring herself to completely support his proposition. If JR and Sue Ellen wanted to give back to the earth and the community by allowing their land to be put to use for cultivation or ranching, then she would completely support their decision, however, if they really just wanted to live on a semi-landscaped, semi-rural non-working ranch, then that was their right too and she would support them. She understood their intentions for moving away from the Ewing family home, they wanted independence; she and Jock had to loosen the reins a little, they couldn't attempt to maintain overall control of what and how things happened, not when their family members were independent adults.

Knowing how she felt and knowing Jock's intention to maintain a certain level of control over JR by tying him into another business venture and family responsibility, she knew she had to say something and she had to do it soon. She wasn't usually passive or quiet, but for some reason, she had been about this. No longer though, Jock had to learn that there were boundaries and consequences for his actions and unfortunately, she could see that if he kept going with his plan the way he had intended, he would learn that lesson much too late. JR would probably be interested in a financial gain from his land, he loved money, but it had to be his idea or an idea he felt equally a part of; he wouldn't appreciate or put up with being told what to do in his personal life. Ewing Oil was different, he knew his father was the president and a wise man, but he wasn't stupid, he would see this proposition for what it was if Jock approached the situation the way his wife knew he intended to, and Ellie knew if things went wrong, they risked losing a lot more than what they currently were. Yes, she absolutely had to speak to Jock and make her opinion heard, it was the only way to protect the overall Ewing family and the relationship JR and his family had with everyone.

To be continued…