Dallas, Texas

Squinting to get a better view, Sue Ellen smiled to herself as she drove up the long Southfork driveway, stopping just before the rectangular patch of concrete where Bobby was pulling a very happy John Ross around in a red wagon. As JR's wife she was a little miffed that Bobby seemed to have endless amounts of free time on his hands during the middle of the week when JR was always busy and Jock had little tolerance for personal activities during business hours, but as John Ross' mother, she was happy to see her son enjoying time with his uncle. It was good for John Ross to spend time with his extended family and since Jock had only recently taken an interest in being hands-on with his grandson, she was grateful to Bobby for being so keen to play with him at family gatherings, because not only was he family, he was also male. She hadn't intended for her or her son's lives to be so insular, but somehow it had happened and apart from JR, Bobby, and Jock, John Ross didn't really have any close adult males in his life. She didn't think he really suffered because of it, because almost everyone who spent any time with him doted on him, regardless of their sex, but thinking ahead, she knew one day he would might have questions that were best answered by a man and it would benefit him if he had strong men to look to in his life. As young as he was now though, and for the few activities he had made it clear he genuinely loved doing, he was lucky, because for the most part, in the Ewing family the women knew just as much as the men did, and vice versa. He didn't have to wait for Jock or Bobby to take him down to the stables if he wanted to see the horses, and he didn't need to wait for his parents, grandmother, or cousin to read him a story if he was sleepy, everyone was capable of playing with him and taking care of most of his basic needs. That didn't mean everyone played an equal role in raising him, life wasn't that easily dividable, and even if it were it wouldn't be fair to expect everyone to contribute equally to the workload in that came with taking care of her and JR's child, but as it were, she did think things were fairly good. Life wasn't perfect, JR had a lot of things to talk through with his parents, and Jock needed to change his entire attitude toward his family so he could start to see them as who they were as people rather than characters in his imagination, but as dysfunctional as they were she had hope and loved being a Ewing.

Parking on the long driveway rather than on the concrete outside the garage, her smile widened and her heart swelled as she stepped out and was welcomed by a happy clap and a few mumbled "mama" sounds from her son as Bobby turned and slowed the little wagon so he was facing her. Her voluntary work didn't take up too much of her time, so in reality she hadn't been away from John Ross for more than a few hours, but from the way she felt and the way he reacted to seeing her again, it felt like much longer. "Hello sweetheart, I missed you, it looks like uncle Bobby has been taking good care of you while I've been gone though. Did you have fun together?" rushing over to pick him up and cuddle him for a little bit, she smiled warmly at Bobby before speaking and looking between the two of them for an answer. Feeling John Ross squirming in her arms after a few seconds of being pulled away from all the fun of the wagon, she had to agree with Bobby when he spoke, "I think you have your answer right there". Laughing, she knelt down, sat him back in the metal tray and then walked alongside Bobby as he started the fun ride again and began to explain what she had missed.

"He loves this old thing. I was in one of the storage sheds out on the ranch earlier and there it was, just waiting for the next little Ewing to enjoy it, so I dusted it off, brought it up to the house to show mama and here we are. It used to be mine, then it was Lucy's, and now it's his. I think he didn't really know what to make of it at first, it's bumpier than driving in the car, and he's never ridden a horse before, but it didn't take him long to decide he likes it, even if he doesn't really understand it. Before you ask too, mama is here, she hasn't just left John Ross with me; she's inside discussing meal options with Teresa, she wasn't expecting me home for lunch but insisted I stay since I'm here now; who am I to say no to that kind of invitation?" Listening to Bobby explaining things, Sue Ellen's mood dropped a little as he smiled boyishly and continued to pull John Ross around. On one hand she loved that her brother-in-law was a thoughtful man, finding one of his old toys he could have been selfish and not told anybody about it, or oblivious and not considered how it could be used now, but instead he had been thoughtful and tidied it up for the current youngest Ewing to use. On the other hand though, it saddened her that his relationship with Miss Ellie was so easy and loving; that's all she wanted for JR and all JR wanted himself, but it was proving to be extremely difficult to get to that point. She would never think badly of Bobby himself for accepting the love his parents freely gave him though, he was just as entitled to that love as JR was, and in reality he probably had no idea how good and easy his home life was, so he had no reason to analyse the situation like she did.

"That's really nice of you Bobby, thank you", looking at him as she spoke, she hoped her tone sounded upbeat; she was trying not to let her sadness about JR's relationship with Miss Ellie overshadow her happiness about John Ross' happiness, but to so quickly move between emotions was tough. Luckily, John Ross provided the perfect distraction from her thoughts as he discovered the consequence of banging his hands against the sides and base of the metal wagon; he loved music, but more than that sometimes she thought he really just loved noise. Smiling as Bobby took it all in stride and continued with his loop, her mind turned to the other topic that regularly appeared when she thought about her brother-in-law; he would make a wonderful husband and father one day, and while she didn't want to play secret matchmaker again, when a more transparent opportunity arose, she wouldn't hesitate to strike. She would never interfere the way she had with Jenna Wade, that kind of effort made her feel dirty, but she saw no harm letting Bobby know the next time she met a lovely, single woman. He didn't have to do anything with her information if he didn't want to, she just wanted to help him find the happiness she had with JR and John Ross; being part of a loving family was nice and she wanted other people to experience it. Turning around as she heard the sliding door opening, her thoughts changed again as she saw Miss Ellie emerging from the house and visibly brightening as she saw the three of them on the driveway. It was nice to be a part of a small family, but she truly valued her larger family too, especially when all was good. Jock's return home later would probably bring more drama and hostility to the ranch, but for the few hours while he was still at work, everything was tranquil.

To be continued…