Dallas, Texas

"Let's just take it back a step here, before we begin to discuss anything else, I'd just like to check in with both of you in regard to your other friendships; JR, you with your cousin Jack, and Sue Ellen, you with Pamela. How are those going?" calmly addressing his patients who sat stiffly in his office, Doctor Williams watched the couple with interest as they made eye contact with each other before JR cleared his throat to speak. It was obvious that something was going on between the two of them, and surprisingly, JR was going to tell him what it was.

"Everything's fine between me and Jack, just fine. Daddy still treats him better than me, but that'll change the first time he screws up, and in the meantime, I'm enjoying the space him joining the company is giving me", responding dryly, JR's comments didn't exactly surprise him, he wasn't usually one to let him in easily anyway. "That's all? JR, that's a very negative way of looking at the situation, don't you think?" acknowledging what JR was saying, he prompted him to continue speaking, hoping to get into what the look between husband and wife meant, because he suspected it wasn't about what JR had just said.

"Perhaps", frowning, JR hesitated before sighing and speaking again, this time in a slightly less sarcastic tone, "would it satisfy you more to hear we all had drinks on Saturday night, me, Jack, and Bobby, and I'll be playing squash with Jack later this week". Shaking his head, Doctor Williams smiled with amusement as he listened to JR's reply, positive things were happening, yet JR seemed to want to appear gloomy, to get his money's worth for the appointment, or for another reason, he wasn't sure, but whatever his motivation, things weren't all that bad. "That's more along the lines of what I had in mind, very good, you're making progress. I urge you to continue focusing more on the positive like having social time together for drinks or sports, or helping him at the office rather than tearing him down or watching, waiting for him to fail. I don't know what is motivating you to focus on the negative, but believe me, you really will get further by changing your perspective a little, making the effort you've described". Well aware of Mr JR Ewing's need for friends, because it seemed he had no one but his wife to talk to or spend any leisure time with and that wasn't healthy or particularly normal, he tried his best to encourage what he already seemed to be doing.

"He's right JR, you had a lot of fun with Jack, and Bobby, that much was obvious when you came home on Saturday. Then we had fun together after that which was nice", supporting his comments, Sue Ellen chimed in with her own, appearing genuinely enthusiastic about her husband's efforts, though recently he didn't expect any less from Mrs Ewing. "See JR, the world isn't against you, Sue Ellen is the closest person to you, the one you should expect will support you, which she is, and she's encouraging you to keep with this". Speaking enthusiastically, he wasn't naïve enough to believe his or Sue Ellen's positivity would completely change JR's outlook, however, he did hope he'd choose to think more about the good times he'd had with his new friend Jack rather than what it meant for his shaky relationship with his father.

"Thank you darlin'", responding quietly, it seemed JR was beginning to close off again as he was either uncomfortable or bored, which wasn't ideal, but wasn't the end of the world either, they'd managed to achieve something in their short conversation so far. Seeing the delicate way Sue Ellen touched JR's hand as he spoke, he was suddenly reminded of the earlier exchange of looks between husband and wife, a look which was not so openly loving. What he saw earlier was the exception to what he usually saw between the two Ewings; he may have started seeing them jointly for marital issues, but it seemed they were mostly over those as of late, though it never did any harm to continue to check in with that situation. With that in mind and with JR having said enough to satisfy him for now, he waited a few seconds before speaking, this time addressing Mrs Ewing.

"Now, Sue Ellen, you have words for JR, what about yourself, how are you doing with your goals?" speaking in an equally calm tone to the one he'd used on earlier, he hoped Sue Ellen would be open and honest with him, he expected that of her but he also knew what he'd seen earlier. An uneasy glance between husband and wife may be a less common occurrence in his office as of late, but in his profession it was to be expected that things were complicated and changeable. "Well, Pamela and I are still in a very new phase of friendship, but I'm hopeful that it will continue to develop", answering him with a comment he felt was a little vague for her, he smiled friendlily and leaned forward slightly as he replied, attempting to get her to elaborate. "That's very good, but what else? You previously had a lot to say about this woman, yet now you're very quiet", sensing that perhaps the stiff posture of both Mr and Mrs Ewing at the beginning of their meeting had something to do with Pamela Barnes, a woman the couple had very different opinions of, he pushed her for answers by asking a direct question.

Making eye contact with him, as she opened her mouth to speak, it was both what she said and her lack of movement toward looking at her husband that interested him, her body language was just as telling as what she was saying. "You're right, I did and I am, and I'll tell you why that is, it's because I'm worried. I know how much JR doesn't like Pamela and despite his commitment to silently accepting my choices, I'm still apprehensive about what he has planned. I admit I asked him to introduce me to women he thinks I might get along with, and Pamela was my own discovery, but his newest choice of friend, Jenna Wade, raises some questions with me. I don't know whether I'm wrong to be sceptical or completely justified, and I don't want to rule out a friend in Jenna because I did originally ask JR about her, but I worry that if I get close with Jenna, then I'll lose what I have with Pamela. As JR has reminded me, it's none of my business what Bobby does with his girlfriend or ex-fiancée but that doesn't mean I don't feel a little bit responsible. On top of that, JR and Bobby seem to be getting along better now than they have in a long time and that makes me happy, which makes my feelings about the situation even worse, because I'm now worried about my friendships, how it will affect Bobby, and how this will affect JR's relationship with Bobby. I worry that JR hasn't thought about what his plans are going to do to his own life, because he's smart, but inexperienced in a lot of personal relationships…"

Explaining, Sue Ellen took a turn he hadn't expected; it appeared that Pamela was only part of what was on her mind and a majority of her distress was coming from situations surrounding the entire situation with her lack of friends, JR's too. This Jenna woman was someone he knew nothing of either, but from what had been said, he found her an interesting development, especially considering it sounded as if Sue Ellen had yet to actually meet her yet, and already she was causing problems for her and JR.

The young Ewings were a curious pair, materially they had what many would be envious of, but they weren't exactly ruling the social scene, in fact they led fairly sorry social lives considering what they could potentially have. His job was not to judge them though, he was there to help them and the first thing he could help with was communication. Sue Ellen knew better than to not address her concerns with her husband directly, they had been in far too many situations where a lack of communication caused more stress and hurt than necessary and they were supposed to have built a stronger, more honest relationship than what he found himself witness to now. Sue Ellen did have it in her to be honest and close with JR, she had supported his friendship without hesitation just moments ago, but when it came to sharing her true feelings about everything surrounding his plans for her relationships, that all seemed to disappear and she seemed hesitant to even look at him while letting her thoughts out.

"Thank you for being so honest. I'm afraid I don't completely understand the details of the situation here, we'll get to that soon though, but from what I gather now, this isn't so much about Bobby, Pamela, or Jenna as it is about JR and trust. Is that a fair assessment?" Choosing not to address her lack of direct eye contact with JR while she was speaking about a situation that very much involved him, he chose instead to ask her another direct question, pushing her to focus less on the other players in the situation and more on her own feelings, which was potentially difficult as the two were entwined.

"Exactly, she doesn't trust that I can be nice. I'm only doing what she asked me to", finding his voice again, JR was quick to respond, though the question hadn't been posed to him. Ordinarily, he didn't encourage interruptions like that, however, it seemed to be exactly what Sue Ellen needed to hear to finally look at him and address him with her concerns rather than avoiding eye contact and talking about him as if he wasn't present.

Snapping to attention as she listened to him speaking, Sue Ellen was quick to respond when he finished. "Yes, you are… You chose a hell of a time to do it though, and that's what worries me. I know you JR, you forget that sometimes; I've seen you form plots to ruin somebody else's plans while you watch with from the side lines and I'm just worried that I'm going to get caught in the middle this time. I know we discussed it and we agreed that I would meet with Jenna and see how things go, and if they go well then that's good and we go from there with whatever Bobby does with Pamela and Jenna, and if it doesn't go well then there's nothing for me to be so concerned about now. I just need you to understand where I'm coming from and at least try to empathise with me instead of knowing your opinion and seeing nothing other than that". Explaining some of her concerns, he felt as if he understood his patient a little better, unfortunately though, it appeared her husband didn't quite feel the same way.

"I don't know why I even bother sometimes; you ask for my help and then question every single one of my actions and motivations. It's almost as if you don't even want to trust me", having no problem addressing his wife, it was obvious that JR was annoyed with what was likely a repeat of a conversation they'd already had and in his mind, settled, and unfortunately, today his tolerance level for such repetition was low. "I'm thinking of you, and you're thinking of everyone else. That needs to stop, otherwise what's the point?" addressing her directly again, he then stood, as if to leave, though he wasn't certain that was JR's intention. "If you don't think you'll ever be able to make friends with anyone I introduce you to without getting suspicious, then I'll happily resign from the job, but if you think you can, then you have to actually trust me and try things before deciding against them". Holding eye contact with Sue Ellen as he spoke, he then addressed her a final time, "I make time in my day for this and if it's not going to result in anything productive then I'm not sure I should stay. It's up to you, do I stay or do I go?"

Watching as JR clearly manipulated his wife by threatening to leave their session, Doctor Williams closed his eyes and silently sighed before clearing his throat and intervening, "that's enough JR. You may leave if you wish, or you may stay, but don't put that decision on Sue Ellen". Holding a stare with Mr Ewing, he genuinely had no idea what was to come next; his patient that had seemed to make so much progress in some areas had just shown him that he was able to easily regress too, and that made things unpredictable.

To be continued...