Dallas, Texas

Closing the bathroom door behind her, Miss Ellie walked into her bedroom to continue the conversation she had been trying to have with Jock since the moment Jack had left Southfork earlier in the evening. She had seen the way Jock was warming to Jack, and she had seen the way Jack had made himself comfortable in their home and she was worried. Jack wanted something, whether that was just family or more didn't really matter to her, she was still concerned; JR had confessed how painful it was for him to see his parents treating his brothers 'better' than they treated him, so to see Jock being so friendly with Jack would probably hurt him too and she didn't want that. If Jock was going to pay attention to anyone right now, it really should be his sons, but to tell him that would certainly anger him and would likely cause him to act rebelliously, hurting JR in the process, so she wasn't going to take that approach.

"Jock, please, listen to me. I'm not asking you to stop seeing Jack, you're perfectly entitled to get to know your nephew if you want to, what I am asking you to do though is please consider JR and his feelings before you make any big steps toward bringing Jack into your life. If there's one thing I understand it's that JR might be a man of few words, and he might seem stoic on the outside, but inside he's anything but and I think we both need to consider that he does have feelings that we haven't considered before. He's not a child, I know that, but you didn't see him earlier, it's like the little boy he used to be is still inside him and every time he has to deal with anything emotionally difficult, he reverts back to thinking like a child. He's jealous of the love and attention I gave Gary and Bobby, and he still questions what Bobby had that he didn't when it came to how you treated him when he started at Ewing Oil. There's no quick or easy fix for the way he feels or to mend the relationship he has with us, but I know for a fact that seeing you treating Jack so well after such a short period of time is going to hurt him. Thinking too about the way he treated Bobby in the past, I don't think it would be very good for Jack to be in that position either. I'm not saying don't get to know Jack, he's your nephew and he came all the way to Dallas to visit you, but please, just take it slow and don't forget that JR is your son and he needs you too. I need to remember the same thing with Bobby, I can't act so caring and motherly with him when JR is around, not unless I'm able to do the same with him when he needs it; it's important for JR to understand that we love him the same as we love JR and Gary. I know you think this is all nonsense and he needs to be a man and stop making a fuss, but that attitude is not going to help the situation. JR needs his father and the first step in making sure he gets what he needs is to ensure there is still some attention left for him when he does talk to you and spend time with you. Jack is your nephew, but JR is your son, please keep that in mind going forward".

Pulling the covers on his bed back, Jock glanced up at his wife as she emerged from the bathroom, however, the moment she began to speak again, he felt his eyes drifting back down to the bed; he was tired and he had neither the desire nor the energy to listen to her ranting about his parenting skills again. If she wanted to spend her evenings listening to JR complain about his childhood then she was more than welcome to, but he was sick of hearing it and he wasn't interested in having those conversations brought into his home, especially not into his bedroom. "Ellie, I'm tired, so I'll make this quick. I don't know what you think I'm doing with Jack but it's not something for you or JR to worry about. Jack is refreshing to have around, he's not here asking for anything or trying to engage me in serious conversations, he's just interested in finding out about the other side of his family and where his daddy fits into the story. JR has heard my stories a million times, I'm sure he doesn't want to hear them again. JR also knows how important he is to this family, if he would just for one second take a breath and stop feeling sorry for himself, he would probably feel a lot better. I don't know what you want me to do, or what he wants me to do, I see him every day at work, I make an effort to get him to do things with me outside of work, and despite him saying otherwise, I have given him many benefits that neither Bobby nor Gary received. He's complaining about nothing and you're not helping the situation. I'm sure if you pushed Bobby hard enough he'd have some complaints about my relationship with JR; the difference here is that he's happy with what he has, even if it isn't an exact replica of what JR has. Jack will be visiting Ewing Oil for a tour tomorrow and we'll take things from there, I don't know what that will mean, I haven't planned it all out, because unlike what you seem to think, I'm not plotting against JR. JR is welcome to join the tour and I would like him to meet Jack, it would be nice for Jack to be friends with his cousins in Dallas, but even if he doesn't, his presence isn't a threat to JR's position in Ewing Oil or in this family and if he thinks it is then that's his problem. The invitation I gave earlier in the week for him to bring John Ross and Sue Ellen to dinner here sometime this week is still open, I am not about to put a stop to anything because of Jack. Now, I'm tired, and I have a lot of things to do tomorrow, so I'm going to bed".

Giving his wife a look that left no doubt about his thoughts on the whole conversation, Jock waited for her to make her way over to the bed before getting in himself and turning off the lamp on his nightstand. She could have as many conversations and try as hard as she wanted to enable JR's whining and complaining, but he wasn't going to take part in any of it. JR was complaining about nothing of any real importance and Ellie was making an issue out of a hypothetical situation, it wasn't worth his time or energy and he wasn't going to pretend it was. Feeling Ellie lay down beside him and then seeing the room go black as she turned her lamp off, both without saying a word, he knew she was upset with him and would probably still be in a mood the next morning. She really wasn't in a position to be upset with him though, if anything he should be upset with her for accusing him of things he hadn't done and had no intention of doing, however, she was being quiet and that was all he had really wanted a few moments ago, so he wasn't going to make a fuss. He had had the last word tonight and he intended to maintain his position of power; neither JR nor Miss Ellie were going to break him, they could fight with him all they wanted, it would make no difference to him. JR was his son and he treated him just fine, nothing needed to change, except perhaps JR's attitude. That was an issue for the morning though, not the evening, so instead of dwelling on his eldest son's immaturity, he instead rolled over, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the silence around him, letting sleep take over his mind.

To be continued…