Austin, Texas

Anxiously tapping his foot on the hospital waiting room floor and holding his wife's hand, JR's thoughts were a blur. The past two and a half hours had been both distressing and exasperating. First, someone from a hospital in Austin had called to inform Sue Ellen that her mother had been in an automobile accident, though information relating to what had actually happened and/or how badly injured she was didn't seem to be available at the time. After hanging up and hurriedly relaying the scarce amount of information to the family, Sue Ellen had then looked at him as if he had all the answers, which he didn't, even if he wished he did. He did have the next best thing though, access to a private plane that could be ready for them that evening. Shortly afterward, they had ending their dinner party and driven straight to their airport, leaving John Ross in the care of his grandmother and baby nurse. An hour and a bit later, after a long, tearful flight, they had arrived in Austin and made their way to the hospital, though in some ways, they may as well have been back home, because the nurses didn't seem to have any more information now than they had earlier.

The whole situation was maddening and saddening; Sue Ellen didn't like her mother a lot of the time, but she did love her and they had been making an effort to improve their relationship, so she was upset not only by the thought of her being injured and vulnerable, but by the thought that she could lose her too. The maddening part of the whole situation was the slow relaying of information, or even perhaps the slow attendance to injuries; JR had experienced it when Sue Ellen had been in a car accident a couple of years ago and he was experiencing it again now. It wasn't really up to him to make a huge fuss though, he was a businessman, not a doctor, and no matter how much he tried to buy answers or extra attention, in the hospital, his name and status meant almost nothing. The highly qualified staff had assessed Patricia's injuries and she would be seen in due course; he and Sue Ellen would eventually be given an update too, they just had to wait, exactly like everyone else in the waiting room.

After what felt like much longer, but was in reality probably only about half an hour, Sue Ellen's shallow breathing and light sobbing evened out, and as a result, so did a little bit of JR's anxiousness. Neither of them was completely calm though, it was hard to relax when so much was still up in the air. JR didn't like Patricia very much, but he didn't want her to die and he certainly didn't want Sue Ellen to feel any sort of guilt about not doing or being enough if her mother did die earlier than anyone expected. He was protective of his wife, he knew one of the worst things for her personal progress and sanity would be to be left with unresolved situations and feelings. Reverting to her previous frame of mind would be a disaster for everyone involved. He hated how useless he was in the current situation too; as much as he wanted to change things, he couldn't; he wasn't a miracle worker or doctor and his money, name and status meant nothing here; all he could do was offer his wife a shoulder to cry on.

A little while later, after the swinging doors opened and a nurse finally appeared with some news, both JR and Sue Ellen were reminded why they had such mixed feelings about Patricia as a person and why their relationship wasn't a closer one. It was a blur for Sue Ellen, she heard the nurse speaking and she knew she was probably being as clear as she could with the information she had available to her, however, in her mind, something seemed off. "…minor car accident… shaken… in good spirits… broken wrist… may need familial support… asking to see Mrs Ewing alone first…" she couldn't put her finger on what it was, but knowing her mother, it was something. She would know better when she saw her with her own eyes and assessed her condition herself, but just hearing the nurse's words made her feel strange. For JR, there was something odd about the whole thing too. He and Patricia weren't close and he understood why she wouldn't necessarily want to see him right now, he had been the same way about other people visiting Sue Ellen and John Ross in the hospital right after Sue Ellen had given birth. There was something about the whole situation that made him feel uneasy though; something in the way the nurse spoke and the way Sue Ellen gripped his hand, even after hearing her mother was in good health. He could feel it; he didn't know what it was, but he knew this wasn't just a normal medical situation.

A little while later, after stepping back and complying with Patricia's request to see Sue Ellen alone, JR's thoughts were confirmed. In stark contrast to how she had felt as she entered, Sue Ellen had left her mother's hospital room both flustered and annoyed, and now, pacing up and down the hospital hallway, JR was finding out exactly why. "I'm mad at myself. I don't even know why I even bothered shedding a tear. The doctors didn't seem very concerned about her health at all, and from what I've been told, for all intents and purposes, she is absolutely fine, or, she will be in about six weeks. She has a broken wrist and some cuts and bruises, but the cuts and bruises really aren't that bad, and since she broke her left wrist and she's right handed, she'll still be able to do almost everything she currently does. You should have seen her in there though, I knew the moment I walked in that she was absolutely fine, she's being her usual, overdramatic self. She was talking about suing the other driver, never mind that she has very good insurance and she's nowhere near permanently injured or traumatised. Do you want to know the worst part though? That wanting to see me alone request had nothing to do with me just being her daughter and everything to do with me being the one of us that's easier to manipulate. I'm sure the moment she found out she was fine, a lightbulb went off in her head, because I can guarantee you she's already planning how she can make this work for her. I have a very strong feeling that in the next day or so, we're going to be hearing a speech about how although she's mostly fit and healthy, it would be best for her recovery if she came to Dallas for a little while…"

Hearing the anger in Sue Ellen's voice and seeing the frustration and disappointment on her face, JR mentally cursed Patricia. Even when she was injured and vulnerable, and she had Sue Ellen's emotional concern and support without even having to ask for it, she was still scheming and manipulating things in order to gain more. It was never enough that Sue Ellen was there for her, loved her and would have probably offered some kind of assistance if the genuine need was there; for Patricia, she had to take things one step further. Being presumptuous and manipulative was her natural state, even if it didn't have to be. He didn't know what to do about the situation; he wished it was as easy as just cutting her out of their lives, but it always seemed that it wasn't. What he really wanted, for Sue Ellen, was for her mother to change, unfortunately though, change took commitment and willpower and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't force personal situations like he could business ones. Sue Ellen would have to speak to her mother again and she would have to decide what she wanted their future to look like; he knew now he couldn't be the one to make that decision; it had to come from Sue Ellen, no matter how difficult it was. It was a complicated situation, he could tell Sue Ellen wanted to have a good, honest relationship with her mother, unfortunately though, Patricia really didn't make it easy.

To be continued…