Dallas, Texas

Stroking his sleeping son's cheek with the back of his finger, JR smiled to himself as he received a reflexive wriggle and something that resembled a smile in response; of course, John Ross was asleep, he didn't know who was touching him or why, but his small reaction was enough to lift JR's mood a little bit. "When's he due to wake up?" wondering whether John Ross would be awake and smiling any time soon, he looked over at Mrs Smith as she occupied herself with busywork in order to give him some space with his son. "Not until morning; he's sleeping between eleven and twelve hours at night now"; hearing the baby nurse's response, his mood deflated. He wanted John Ross to be healthy and well rested, and it wasn't his son's job to provide him comfort, especially when he didn't understand what that meant, but even knowing that didn't stop him from feeling a bit disappointed. John Ross was his son and their relationship was very different to the relationship he had with his parents; where he found it emotionally difficult to spend time with his mother, because there were so many feelings inside of him that weren't positive, he had the opposite feeling when he was with John Ross. He loved his son, wholly and completely, and his son showed him affection in a way that indicated he loved him the same way; John Ross' love was unconditional and pure, it wasn't tainted with bad experiences and peppered with conditions like the relationship he had with his parents. He was sure Doctor Williams would have something to say about him seeking John Ross' affection when just minutes earlier his mother had been offering him an opportunity to explore what he had missed during his own childhood, however, if Doctor Williams was going to judge, he had a very simple explanation for him in response. He wasn't ready to let his mother in just yet, he still held so many negative feelings toward her, but John Ross was different, his son meant the world to him and as terrible as it sounded, he wasn't sentient enough to disappoint him, so he felt safer letting his guard down with him than he did his mother. "Oh, ok", giving a very brief response to Mrs Smith's answer about John Ross' sleeping habits, feeling a bit silly as he did since somewhere in the back of his mind he already knew the information she'd told him, he then lightly brushed his son's hair with his hand before nodding at the baby nurse and silently leaving the nursery.

Down the street, arriving back at Southfork, Miss Ellie stood outside in the crisp night air for a few minutes to collect her thoughts before she entered the house and faced Jock's inevitable bad mood. She loved her husband, but he was a stubborn, negative man sometimes, especially when he got it in his head that other people were deliberately trying to rankle him, rather than the alternative scenario where there was more than one perspective and his wasn't necessarily the 'right' one. Her evening with JR hadn't accomplished everything she had hoped it would, but it hadn't gone the complete opposite way either, things weren't any worse now than they had been before, and for her, that was something to be pleased about. She was sure if she told Jock anything about her conversation with JR though that he would think she was being pathetic, he already thought JR was making a fuss about nothing. With that in mind, she made the decision to not engage in any deep conversation with him about her evening, he didn't understand her motivations and he didn't want to understand them, so there was little point in sharing such a personal experience with him.

Looking out over her familial land, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud sound, one that reminded her a lot of Jock's genuine, unrestrained laugh, though she was sure couldn't be that as he was home alone and hadn't been in a good mood for days. Turning toward the house as she heard the sound again, her interest was piqued when Jock's laugh was clearly followed by another man's laugh, one she didn't recognize. Looking around to see whether she had missed an unfamiliar car parked on the driveway, but seeing nothing, she then set off toward the house to investigate. Anyone who could make her husband laugh as loud as he was now was worth meeting.

"…so he had a nose for sniffing oil, but he was absolutely useless when it came to any kind of manual labour, so naturally he earned himself the nickname Digger…" walking into the house in the middle of a story she recognized, Miss Ellie wasn't quite sure what to expect when she entered the living room. Willard 'Digger' Barnes had been her first love and one of Jock's original business partners, however, there was a lot of history post the foundation of Ewing Oil, history that often led Jock to cast Digger in a negative light when retelling stories, so to hear him speaking about his old friend in such a casual manner surprised her. What surprised her even more than Jock's tone and mood though was what she saw when she finally entered the living room; she didn't know who the man was she had expected Jock to be chatting with, but the young man sitting opposite Jock wasn't him.

Seeing Jack's facial expression change, Jock turned around and looked over his shoulder before standing, walking over to his wife, gesturing toward his nephew, and breaking the brief silence that had come over the room, "oh good, you're home. Ellie, meet Jack, Jason's son". Waving his hand back toward Ellie, he then looked over to Jack, "Jack, meet my wife, Miss Ellie Ewing". Waiting for Ellie to politely nod, say hello, and take a seat, he then walked over to the bar to make her a drink and take a moment to figure out how he wanted to approach the whole situation. Briefly considering it, he decided a basic introduction was all that was necessary for now, Ellie didn't need to know everything just yet, he would bring her into his circle of thoughts when the time was right, and as much as he liked Jack, he wasn't ready to lay all of his cards out on the table quite so soon.

To be continued…