Dallas, Texas

"Mama", standing as his mother entered Doctor Williams' waiting room, JR touched her hand lightly to greet her and was pleasantly surprised when she squeezed his hand and smiled at him in response; for all the awkwardness between them recently, things didn't seem to be quite as bad presently as he had imagined they would be. "JR", taking a seat next to where he had been sitting, she waited for him to sit down too before speaking again, "thank you for agreeing to meet with me here today, I meant what I said, I am sorry and I do want to change things". Listening to her words, he took note of her facial expression and knew she was telling the truth; it was likely that she really hadn't realised quite how much her actions and attitude had hurt him, but now that he had told her point blank, she felt guilty and wanted to make a change. Her willingness to try to improve things was nice, it wasn't often that he was around someone who listened to his perspective and actually looked at their own actions and how they had contributed to his perspective. He didn't completely trust his mother to do that in everything either, she still adored Bobby and with his luck probably thought Jack was a 'fine young man' too, but with her words during their meeting a couple of days ago and the way things felt now, he did feel like he could trust her a bit more now. Sue Ellen's point was probably one he should listen to too, instead of focusing his emotional energy on his relationship with his father and what could have been, but was currently not there, it would be better to focus on trying to build something with his mother, she, unlike his father, was at least willing to discuss everything with him. "So do I mama", keeping his response short, because he really didn't want to get too deep in conversation out in the open area, he then cleared his throat and changed the subject, steering toward something much blander, something he didn't care about the other patients or the receptionist overhearing, "did you, find the place ok?"

A few minutes later, walking down the hall and into the waiting room, Doctor Williams greeted JR and the elder Mrs Ewing before waving his hand down the hallway and directing them to his office. Taking the short period between entering his office and settling down to study the interaction between mother and son, his initial suspicions about the relationship between the pair were confirmed, though in actually seeing them together, a new set of questions were raised too. He would have to wait to see what they actually had to say to him and to each other, but he could see that there was a distance between them, though it seemed it wasn't by choice; what puzzled him most though was how the self-declared mighty JR Ewing was so affected by his mother, a small, seemingly kind woman. Of course, he knew not to judge a situation on appearances; the smallest, least physically imposing people could still have wicked tongues, and the most confident, bold people still had feelings that could be hurt. The few minutes he had seen JR and his mother together had set his mind racing though, they were an interesting pair and he sensed things were about to get more interesting.

"JR, nice to see you again, and Mrs Ewing, nice to meet you", following JR down the hallway, Miss Ellie nodded friendlily as he greeted her, responding with a genuine, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you", and taking a seat on the couch next to JR. It was true, after months of hearing all about the magical Doctor Williams, and seeing the positive results of his work, she was thrilled to actually have the opportunity to talk with him. She was conscious of the fact that she wasn't just a visitor to his office though, she was a patient too, much like JR and Sue Ellen were. It was definitely a pleasure to meet the man that had vastly improved JR and Sue Ellen's marriage, she had been curious about him for a long time, but she wasn't naïve enough to believe all of her interactions with him would be so pleasant. She was present to try to work through the emotional issues she and JR had with each other and if their previous conversations were anything to go by, that wouldn't be very easy.

"Likewise", nodding and smiling at Mrs Ewing, who had insisted he refer to her simply as Miss Ellie, especially since he, JR, and Sue Ellen were on first-name basis with each other, Doctor Williams looked between both Miss Ellie and JR and spoke again, "so, now that we're all acquainted, shall we discuss why we're here today?" Taking note of JR's sigh and Miss Ellie's sad facial expression, he had an idea, though without their verbal assistance he wasn't completely sure. Not one to sidestep issues because they were uncomfortable though, he jumped straight into an attempt to determine exactly why he had been asked to meet with them, "no takers? That's fine, let's talk about something I know you both have an interest in. How is John Ross?" Sensing that the issues between mother and son were very much related to that familial relationship, he decided to approach it from another angle. From talking to JR and Sue Ellen, he knew a lot of the way they wished to raise their son was related directly to how they themselves were raised, especially JR in relation to his father and Ewing Oil, but too in relation to his mother and his brothers. What he was interested in hearing from Miss Ellie was how she regarded her relationship with her eldest son, especially in relation to her other sons, he was getting the feeling that she was shying away from talking now though, but he wasn't a quitter and they had sought his help. He didn't mind having to go through the backdoor, enquiring after John Ross first, most conversations with his patients gave him some insight of value, and the majority of the time such complex issues weren't simply fixed in a day, so listening and waiting was just fine.

Looking at JR as the doctor spoke, Miss Ellie relaxed a little; she'd initially been pleased to meet him, but as soon as he had asked for an explanation about why they were present, she'd been reminded of exactly that; with the doctor's second question though, her mood improved, she loved John Ross and he was easy to talk about. "He's wonderful, isn't he JR? He's just like how Bobby and JR were when they were babies, he loves walking and he's so inquisitive when it comes to the physical world, he's always touching things, toddling back and forth, playing with his toys, and he adores the animals in the barn. He's taking his time with talking, but that's not a surprise, he's a Ewing but he's still a baby, he can't be good at everything, plus, he's just shy of a year old, it would be a surprise if he was good at everything already. Both of my grandchildren are wonderful, I think they both take after their daddies too, Lucy always enjoyed being held when she was young, just like Gary, though I think Lucy has been shaped quite a bit by her circumstances, she's a lot quicker to speak her mind than Gary was… John Ross though, he's a joy to have around, he's an example of reciprocal love, he has no reservations about showing affection to those who show him affection. It's taken Jock far too long to work out that if he wants the close relationship he's always envisioned he would have with his first grandson, then he has to work for it, but when he does work for it, it's so worth it. Lucy helped him understand that, she adores John Ross and I think she feels a real kinship with him, she wants him to have a relationship with his grandfather and she's been of great assistance for Jock".

Listening to what Miss Ellie had to say and studying the way she said it and how JR reacted to her as she did, Doctor Williams nodded, made small "mm" and "mhm" sounds to indicate he was listening, and mentally began to build a picture in his mind. His initial thought that the small, homely woman was also a kind woman appeared to be true, and it seemed apparent to him that she held family in high esteem, what still puzzled him though was what exactly the issue between she and JR was. JR clearly had issues with his father, issues that were completely understandable from the stories he told, and from the way Miss Ellie spoke about her husband, it seemed that she had an opinion on his attitude and actions, however, whether she ever spoke out against him was a different matter. Their problems could be as simple as that, but he didn't know for sure and he couldn't assume anything, so instead of assuming, he just continued to watch and listen; studying his patients body language was just as helpful as listening to their spoken language.

To be continued…