Dallas, Texas

"…you say they'll figure it out and I don't need to worry about it, but I do. What if grandma and granddaddy decide they don't want to be married anymore? My daddy left my mama and you left JR, what's stopping grandma from leaving granddaddy? What would happen to me then? You and JR are already leaving and taking John Ross with you; Bobby is fun, but between travelling for work and going out at the weekend, he's hardly ever here; and my parents sure don't want me. I just want things to stay how they have been; I don't like it when grandma and granddaddy fight and I know you say it's not JR's fault, but when I hear his name mentioned more than once in their argument, you can't blame me for feeling angry". Sniffling as she spoke, Lucy's helplessness was apparent. Most of the time she enjoyed the way her life was, but in times of turmoil, she was reminded of the circumstances surrounding her living situation and her inner insecurity about the permanence of that situation. She didn't really remember her life with her parents, but from everything she had heard, it hadn't been anything like what John Ross had, and just since she hadn't heard from either of her parents for a long time, she had a lot of doubts that it would be any better now if she did ever have to return. She didn't want her grandparents to end up like her parents or like JR and Sue Ellen had been many times before, separated and at war with each other; all she wanted was for JR to apologise for whatever he had done to cause an argument between her grandparents and for things to go back to normal. Preferably, JR would also make a promise and change his behaviour so in the future, there were no repeats of the occasional family disagreements he was often somehow linked to, but she knew that was probably too much to ask and not her business to request. She would settle for peace if she could get it, that and happiness were all she really wanted anyway, especially since she, like Bobby before her, had grown up without giving a second thought to the source or availability of money that supported the Ewing family. She just wanted to be happy again, she hated the way worrying made her feel and she had no desire to make the way she felt now a permanent feeling, or even a familiar feeling.

Listening as her niece shakily explained why she was so upset and angry, Sue Ellen had mixed feelings; she was torn between wanting to comfort Lucy in what was clearly a painful, emotional time for her and wanting to shake her because she was being so melodramatic and had clearly overreacted when it came to her interaction with JR earlier. She stopped herself from doing or saying anything she would regret later though, because she was in a better frame of mind than Lucy and she knew reacting in any kind of exaggerated manner would not help the situation. Additionally, Sue Ellen also knew she had no right to tell Lucy she was being silly and her feelings were probably not particularly valid because they were based off such vague snippets of evidence, because as Doctor Williams had told her many times, all feelings were valid and no one had to have a logical explanation for their emotions. As well as that, she also knew that unfortunately, some of Lucy's concerns were completely valid. The fact was, Lucy was a granddaughter living with her grandparents rather than her parents, something had occurred in the past to make that happen and naturally, whatever it was had had an impact on Lucy and she had a few insecurities related to that situation. Sue Ellen didn't know enough about Gary and Valene's situation to make an honest judgement about whether they wanted their daughter, but she had a feeling that their age, maturity levels, general personality characteristics and unfortunate socioeconomic statuses had more to do with their lack of presence in Lucy's life than a lack of love did. Sue Ellen had no doubt that in her life though, Lucy had many people who loved her, no matter what she thought; even JR loved her in his own way, so her insecurity related to her parents 'not wanting' her was understandable, but probably not something to worry a great deal about. In addition to that, Sue Ellen knew Jock and Miss Ellie, they loved their family members and they loved the idea of the family as a whole, so something huge would have to occur for them to even consider making changes to the way the Ewing family existed. Sue Ellen was sure that whatever Lucy had heard, she had imagined the consequences to be much worse than they actually were and would be in the future, because as far as she was aware, there were no problems in the greater Ewing family, especially not ones JR was involved in. JR's shock and confusion at Lucy's outburst earlier was genuine, she could tell just from his facial expression, he didn't have a clue what Lucy was so upset about, and coming from JR, that was a good thing.

Unable to remain solely angry when she was just around Sue Ellen, Lucy found her sniffles quickly developing into sobs and then complete, unrestrained torrents of tears; she hadn't intended for her feelings to take such a sharp turn, but they had. Worrying about her normally happy grandparents arguing and being angry with JR for causing the argument had quickly turned into something much more complex; she had a large family, but in a way, she was still alone, and that thought really upset her. As she felt Sue Ellen's hand in hers and heard her soft, soothing voice reassuring her she would never be alone, that everyone loved her and that she absolutely was wanted, she then found herself even more inclined to cry. Sue Ellen was purposely avoiding saying anything negative about JR, partly because he was her husband and she loved him and was loyal to him, and partly because she could clearly see that despite JR being the catalyst for the entire scene playing out presently, he really only played a small part in a bigger situation. Lucy knew Sue Ellen had an angle, however, in the moment, the comfort and reassurance she was receiving was more than enough to defer any doubts she had about Sue Ellen's motivations; her aunt cared about her and wanted to help her and in the moment, she was willing to take all the love and kindness she could get.

To be continued…