Dallas, Texas

"Well, that was a warm welcome…" raising an eyebrow as he listened to his supposed cousin talking, JR glanced over at his father and wasn't particularly surprised when he found him looking directly at him. It was highly likely he had expected exactly the response he had given and he was just waiting for him to say something worse so he could justify whatever it was he had in mind for Jack's future. His father was a smart man, but he was also a man who didn't play fair all the time, especially when emotions were involved, and for some reason, they were now. He didn't understand exactly what appeal Jack held for his father, he barely ever mentioned Jason, he wasn't known for being overly generous, and Jack wasn't anywhere near his age, so it's not like they had a lot in common with each other. If what Sue Ellen had told him was true, the most likely reason his father was interested in Jack was because he was self-centred; he liked to be flattered and he liked to talk about himself, so it was nice having someone around to compliment him on his hard work and listen intently to his stories about the old days. He didn't know for sure if his assumptions were true, but if they were and that was what Jack's appeal was, he wasn't sure there was really any possibility that he and his father could have the kind of relationship he wanted them to. He had tried so hard for so long to be better than Bobby in hope of clawing back some of his father's misdirected attention, and he had tried being a mature adult and actually tell his father how he felt, but both attempts to change their relationship had been unsuccessful. With that in mind, it seemed like a sick joke that a stranger could wander into his father's life and gain an unreasonably high amount of attention without much effort. His father had the capacity to love and give positive attention to more than one person, but by doing so selectively with Bobby and Jack, but not he, John Ross, or even Gary, he was choosing to alienate certain people, it wasn't an inevitable consequence.

"Mm, yes, well I'm not sure what you expected. You seem to know all about me and my family, but I know nothing about you, or even really of you, so I think it's only reasonable for me to have a few questions. I'm sure you don't experience it in Alaska or wherever you're from, but around these parts the Ewing name means something, and as part of the reason why it means something, I think I have the right to be protective; you wouldn't believe how many people have a hidden agenda when attempting to associate with us". Looking Jack in the eye as he spoke, JR hoped the young man was smart enough to listen to what he was saying and understand what he wasn't directly saying, because he wanted him to understand, but he didn't want to have to explicitly say it, not in front of his father who seemed to be captivated by him. There was no way his father would take his suspicions seriously just yet so he needed to play it safe and wait for the right time and until he had enough information to prove that Jack had not come to Dallas solely for a tour of the office and a drink with his extended family. He didn't have any proof, but it seemed obvious to him that his 'cousin' was an opportunistic, greedy man who was not just going to disappear now that he had seen what the Dallas Ewings had.

Meeting JR's gaze, Jack leaned forward just slightly, taking another sip of his drink, and then responding, "you know, you're right, things are different in Alaska, and you don't know much about me, so I guess I can understand why you're protective of your family and their assets. I have to say though, I didn't expect to be met with such hostility, and frankly, rudeness, especially not after the way uncle Jock described you, and after my interactions with your mother, niece, and your lovely wife went. I'm not here for any reason other than to meet the family I've heard so much about, and I'm trying to do that, but you don't make it very easy. If you want to know who I am and what exactly I'm here to investigate, I'll tell you, I have nothing to hide, but if you've already decided I'm not worthy of your attention, I'm not sure I should even bother". He'd done some research on what exactly he was going to find when he eventually made contact with his family, so it was a bit of a stretch of the truth to say he hadn't expected to be met with hostility from JR, because from his research, JR wasn't particularly friendly with other men, however, experiencing it was still surprising. Jock had been so welcoming to begin with, and although the rest of the family had been a bit distracted by Bobby's predicament the previous evening, they had still been polite and friendly, so to come up against such suspicion and negativity from JR was a bit of a shock to him. He had sensed something was going on in the family during his visit to Southfork though, so he wondered if perhaps everyone's behaviour and attitude toward him was influenced by that too; perhaps there was more to the Dallas Ewings than his research had described and Jock had chosen to inform him of just yet.

Taking a drink, JR watched Jack with interest; he was certainly young, he still seemed to have the mind of an immature teenager, and if his eyes weren't deceiving him, he was not an experienced bourbon drinker, which to him meant that he wasn't experienced in much of anything important. Just because he was immature and naïve though didn't mean he was someone he didn't have to pay attention to, because he was; Jack had managed to convince his father that he was worth interacting with and that was dangerous. Surprisingly, his father was watching them quietly, but if he knew his father, he was listening carefully to everything that was being said, so he had to ensure his concerns for the Ewing family as a whole were clear, otherwise he risked his father thinking he was being selfish and unfair toward Jack, his new pet project. "I'll tell you why you should bother, if your answer is satisfactory, you get the opportunity to prove yourself as something different to the rest of the pack, but if it's not, or you simply walk off in a huff to sulk about how rude and hostile I am, then that opportunity disappears. Nothing in this world is free, and not everything is fair; those who accept that reality and deal with it do well in life, the others, not so much. You might be a Ewing in name, and my daddy may have invited you into our home on that pretence, but a name only gets you so far, from here on out, you have to prove that you're worthy of this family's time and attention. Since you have nothing to hide and you seem to be very eager to gain something here, let's begin now; start at the beginning, I want to know everything".

To be continued…