Dallas, Texas

"It's quiet around here", stating an obvious observation as he ate his dinner, Jock Ewing mistook the sadness in his wife's eyes as being related to the loss of the presence of their vibrant grandson rather than what it actually was, an expression of her inner turmoil. It was quiet, Lucy had finished recapping her day at school, Ellie had asked her usual set of questions, and Bobby was out somewhere for the evening and for whatever reason, no one seemed to be making any conversation post their usual dinner discussions. He didn't want to sound soft by saying he missed John Ross' babbling and giggling, and he didn't feel like having Ellie reprimand him again for inferring they never should've allowed JR and Sue Ellen to leave Southfork in the first place, nor did he feel like hearing again about how much time he had wasted, so he stayed quiet.

"It is quiet, it's because John Ross isn't here and nobody ever seems as interested in my stories as they do in watching him eat, so I try to only tell you the interesting things about my day. If you really want something to listen to though, I'm more than happy to provide some content; I have stories, or I could pretend to be John Ross' age again. Alternatively, since you're not really into interactive theatre, you could always tell Bobby he has to be home for dinner, preferably with a wife and maybe another baby". Listening as his granddaughter broke the silence, Jock found himself almost regretting allowing the conversation to fall into a lull; Lucy always had some ridiculous comment to make, though as she continued speaking, he did find himself agreeing with her slightly. It only took him a second to realise though that she wasn't exactly being serious, about anything. From what he could tell, she wasn't upset by the attention John Ross received, in fact, she missed him just like the rest of the family, she just had a strange sense of humour, he accepted it and most of the time he enjoyed it, he liked that she wasn't always brooding like her father had. Her second point was the one that really caught his attention though; Bobby was still a young man, he had a while before he would receive the same pressure to settle down as JR had, but he did secretly hope that it wouldn't come to that and he would choose to marry and have a child sooner rather than later. From what he could tell from Lucy's facial expression though, she wasn't quite as serious as he was; she loved John Ross and she loved Bobby, but afternoons with John Ross, Sue Ellen, and Ellie, and occasional evenings and weekends with he and Bobby were enough to satisfy her familial needs for now. Everyone would love and welcome another baby and it would be wonderful to have another child at Southfork, especially since Bobby's children would actually live in the Ewing family home, but it was clear from both Lucy and Ellie's reactions that he was the only one seriously considering her brief joking suggestion. He wouldn't push it, for now he was happy with John Ross and Lucy, even when she started talking about inane things; family meant everything, though it would be nice if every once in a while the family all actually spent some time together; he was working on that though and he was sure things were beginning to turn again.

"Oh Lucy, you know that's not true, we love you just as much as we love John Ross. You two are different ages though, you have different needs and talents and it's not a competition. If you have something to share with us, please feel free to do so, I'd love to hear some of your stories. In future though, I don't want to hear you making light of marriage and parenthood; Bobby is an adult who will make his own decisions when the time is right for him to settle down, and your uncle JR and aunt Sue Ellen deserve time to enjoy their lives now before they consider achieving and providing this family with more". Observing his wife as she replied to their granddaughter, Jock was confused by the amount of emotion she used in her response; Lucy had clearly been joking, but something in Ellie's words and tone made her sound very serious. Women, he didn't understand them most of the time, but he wasn't stupid, he knew when Ellie was serious it was best to just let her do what she was doing, unless of course it messed with his plans; in this situation though, it didn't, he had no better response for Lucy so his wife's would have to do. As it was, it appeared that Lucy was happy enough to accept the invitation offered to her, without dwelling on the tone it was issued in or the small reprimand that accompanied it. Listening as his granddaughter babbled on and on about something to do with her and her school friends, he returned to quietly nodding and murmuring before letting his mind wander. Grandchildren were wonderful, but he couldn't say he didn't prefer actual activities to downtime; he was just better at hands-on things like horse riding or building blocks than he was at making conversation, he was beginning to realise that was ok though. He had his strengths, Ellie had hers, and his grandchildren had their own personalities, they enjoyed many different things and they had more than enough love and energy to share around.

An hour later, after Lucy had disappeared upstairs to finish her homework and he and Ellie had retired to the living room, Ellie to read and he to work on the job description for the advertisement they would be sending to the recruitment agency, Jock was surprised when his wife sighed loudly, closed her book, and cleared her throat. She wanted to talk, that much was obvious, but what about, he had no idea. He was an important, busy man at the office, but he was at home now and at home he always tried to make sure he had time for his wife, provided she was being reasonable with her requests of course. "Ellie?" closing his notepad, he looked straight at her and waited for her to tell him what was on her mind, and from her facial expression as she looked back at him, he had a feeling he was about to find out what her earlier mood had been about.

To be continued…