Dallas, Texas

"JR? I have a suggestion, one you're free to say no to, but I think might help us if you say yes. From everything you've told me, Sue Ellen's told me, and the changes I've seen in you two and in your relationship, it seems that Doctor Williams is a real asset in your life and I was thinking he might be able to help us too. I take it that you've already told him some of the things you've told me, but you feel like he has a better grasp on how to communicate and where to go to from here? If you're willing to bring me into that part of your world, I'll gladly follow you. I think you have a hard time understanding just how much this is all hurting me and how much I want things to change. I'm sorry that you felt excluded and treated unequally, and I'm sorry it took me so long to notice or do anything about it. I want you to accept my apologies and I want us to start afresh and build the relationship we should have had all along, but I understand that it's not that simple or easy. You are obviously holding a lot of anger and sadness from years past and that's not the kind of thing that can be easily set aside and forgotten, so I understand where you're coming from, even if you think I don't. Because of that, I want you to seriously consider my suggestion; Doctor Williams has been very good for you and Sue Ellen and you even brought him up in this conversation, so I don't think it's a crazy idea for you and I to see him together. I want you to be the one to make that decision though; I don't want you to be uncomfortable with the idea".

Watching her son intently, Miss Ellie felt helpless; she had come to his home to try to make amends and start things anew, but she was hitting a wall. JR was communicating, but it wasn't very constructive or beneficial communication; he was hurt and angry and that was understandable, but he seemed to only want to tell her how angry he was and how much she had hurt him, not accept her apologies or suggest any way of moving forward. Sharing their relationship with a professional wasn't something she had ever really considered, counselling wasn't something her generation had had access to in the past or ever really considered an option now that they did have access to it, however, she was open-minded about it because she had seen how well it had helped Sue Ellen, JR, and Lucy. She wasn't going to force JR into anything though; he was a grown man, even if during their talk she had seen shades of the little boy inside him; she couldn't tell him what to do and she couldn't make him do anything, he had to want to do something and want for it to work. "Mm, I'll think about it", receiving a few mumbled words and a frown from JR in response, she moved closer to him and touched his hand lightly, making sure to look him in the eye as she spoke, "thank you. I love you JR, I always have, even if sometimes you didn't feel it. I want us to be able to have a good relationship, and when you're ready to talk more, I'm here". Squeezing his hand a little, she then stood and allowed JR to show her to the door; their talk for the evening was finished, but she hoped he would take her suggestion seriously and they would be able to talk in more depth soon.

A few miles east of JR and Sue Ellen's house, after taking a step back so an off-duty doctor could assess Bobby's condition, Sue Ellen slowly began to take in the scene, and as she did, a few things suddenly became clear to her. Bobby had had an accident, but that accident had also been a serendipitous encounter, because he hadn't just skated straight into the back of anyone, he'd skated into the one woman she'd had in mind to introduce him to if the opportunity ever arose again. Knowing Bobby's general kind manner, it hadn't been all that much of a surprise to see his concern about Pamela before he had collapsed, however, she had a feeling that his reaction to her was about more than just being polite and apologetic. Seeing Pamela's concern in the moments after the incident too, she had a strong feeling that she wasn't the only one who saw something in Bobby. Of course, Pamela knew nothing about him and Bobby knew nothing about her either, but Sue Ellen's intuition was telling her what she had initially suspected was true, that there was at least a physical appreciation present between them and there was the potential for an emotional connection to develop. Things seemed to be going well, or as well as they could considering the circumstances, however, observing the overall picture, she knew that it wasn't going to be quite as simple as just making sure Pamela stuck around to introduce herself to Bobby and vice versa. If the young man hovering around the scene, or more specifically, around Pamela, were to have his way, their date would continue as it had been before Bobby's little accident. Sue Ellen was sure that from his perspective, Bobby's actions had been careless and his condition now that he was receiving medical attention was nothing for him or Pamela to be concerned about. Unfortunately for him, but fortunately for everyone else, from everything she previously knew and what she was seeing now, Sue Ellen had a strong feeling that things probably weren't going to just return to how they had been; something had happened earlier and they just had to wait and see how it played out.

A few feet away, Pamela Barnes knelt down and watched the off-duty doctor intently as he assessed the handsome stranger as he lay on the ground. She couldn't pinpoint why she felt so compelled to make sure he was ok, she didn't know him, and she hadn't been the one in the wrong earlier, however, for some reason, she cared and she needed to know. Studying his face, she felt a little guilty for finding him attractive, she was on a date with Frank, a perfectly nice, handsome man himself and it seemed wrong for her to be thinking about men other than him when she was supposed to be his girl for the evening. She was conflicted though, because as hard as she tried, she couldn't just walk away from the man she now knew to be named Bobby before she knew he was ok, even if it were unfair to Frank. She needed to know he wasn't permanently injured, and deep down, she also wanted to find out more about him, because in the second he'd spoken to her before he'd collapsed, she'd felt something, and that something was just begging to be explored.

Stepping back at the request of the doctor, her thoughts turned to the wider situation; there was something very familiar about the brunette woman Bobby had been skating with, and the relationship between the brunette woman, Bobby, and the young blonde girl puzzled her. If the brunette woman was Bobby's girlfriend that was understandable, but they were both too young for the blonde girl to be their daughter, unless perhaps she was one of their sisters, though she didn't look particularly like either of them, so she wasn't sure. The three other skaters were strangers to her, so she wasn't sure why she cared so much, but for some reason she did and she wanted to know more about them. Studying the brunette woman again, she noticed something she hadn't before, her rings, and quickly looking back at Bobby, she felt guilty again at the amount of relief she felt seeing no rings on his fingers. The brunette woman was married, but Bobby was not, and as bad as she felt for Frank that she felt relieved, she couldn't deny her feelings; she was glad Bobby wasn't married, because that meant there was a possibility she had a chance with him.

"He has a mild concussion, but he's going to be fine. I suggest you take him home now though, skating, or any kind of contact sport is not something he should be doing at present or for the next few days. He may experience some headaches, dizziness, and tiredness, and he'll probably have a couple of bruises, but no permanent damage has been done and I don't think he needs to seek further medical treatment unless his symptoms worsen. Rest and over-the-counter pain medication should be just fine for any little aches and pains that appear". Listening to the doctor speaking, Frank Copeland sighed with relief; the clumsy man was going to be just fine and his companions seemed capable of taking care of him from here on out, so there was absolutely no reason why he or Pam needed to stick around any longer. He liked Pam and she seemed to like him, but she had a problem he didn't have, she was too kind sometimes; there was no reason she had to be so concerned about a stranger, but she was and that was just who she was. They were on their forth date in two weeks and so far, he was happy with how things had been going, publicly and privately, and he was interested in maintaining and growing their relationship, so he really didn't want anything to disrupt or halt that progress. "Good, I'm pleased to hear that. We'll let you get going now", directing his words toward the doctor and other pretty brunette, he then took Pam's hand and motioned toward the rest of the skaters in the rink, though she didn't immediately take his hint. "I'm sorry about your injuries…" hearing her start off as if she were going to apologise and then announce that it had been nice spending time with the group of strangers, he then squeezed her hand a little harder before nodding at her and at the group and sliding his skates across the smooth floor. They were leaving, now, whether she liked it or not, and while for a moment it seemed like she wasn't going to follow his lead, eventually, he got what he wanted and she did follow him, though from the look on her face, it may not have been because she really wanted to.

To be continued…