Dallas, Texas

"Look what you've done Jock", "I haven't done anything, that girl is far too sensitive where it pays not to be". Listening to the conversation from down the hall, Sue Ellen looked at JR and shook her head; it was a nice thought for them to return to Southfork, but the reality was quite different. Besides collecting John Ross and taking him home, she had no real desire to be at Southfork, not if the conversation they were overhearing was any indication of the atmosphere and general mood of the occupants. She felt bad for Bobby and Pamela, but after JR had spent the drive back to Southfork telling her that it really wasn't her business what went on with them and that she should let go of whatever responsibility she was holding onto in regards to the decisions they'd made as a couple, she was beginning to believe him. Being supportive was one thing, but involving herself was quite another, at least according to JR.

"About time you two returned", addressing them gruffly as they appeared in the doorway, what little will she had to stay neutral about the situation began to dissipate; Jock might be the man of the house and that demanded a certain amount of respect, but he was doing himself no favours when it came to garnering sympathy for his position.

"We came as fast as we could considering we weren't planning on returning today", answering his daddy, JR seemed to be of the same mind as her, because even if he didn't look at Bobby and Pam's marriage very fondly, he looked at disruption of his own marriage even less fondly.

Scanning the room, she took in the crowd, Jack and Lucy were sitting quietly, looking like they wished they were anywhere but there, Miss Ellie looked worried, Jock remained tense, gripping his glass, and notably absent were Bobby and Pam. Overall, the group didn't look like one she particularly wanted to join.

"Where are Bobby and Pamela?" seeing an opportunity to leave the room, she took it, enquiring about her brother-in-law and new sister-in-law's whereabouts, knowing they probably hadn't gone too far because Bobby's car was still parked in the driveway. Luckily, she got an answer to her question without too much fuss as Jock barely even glanced at her as he muttered, "upstairs, probably sulking. Bobby never did like being told her was wrong and that new wife of his seems about as resilient as I'd expect a Barnes to be".

She didn't like that Jock seemed to be writing off the feelings of his son and daughter-in-law, but she wasn't going to stick around to argue with him, not when she didn't want to and not after JR had spent so much time telling her it wasn't her battle to fight. What she could do was be nice, there was nothing wrong with offering to be a friendly face.

"I'd better go and speak to her, see if she's ok", making her excuse to leave, it appeared that she finally had his attention, answering, "good idea, get her used to what it means to be a Ewing wife". If there was any indication that he knew little of her alliance, that comment was it. "Seen and not heard?" reinforcing what she expected he meant, she wasn't surprised in the least when he nodded satisfied and muttered, "yes, something like that".

"Somehow I don't think that's how Pam operates", making an obvious comment, she wondered whether he'd ever drop the belief that being a Ewing woman meant being quiet and docile, it just wasn't true, not for her or his own wife, Miss Ellie could make her opinion loud and clear when she needed to and everyone listened. His response was somewhat less thoughtful, simply an, "unfortunately, I think you're right", which she took as her cue to leave.

Heading upstairs, leaving JR behind to deal with his family and their bias, she looked in on a peacefully sleeping John Ross before knocking on Bobby's bedroom door. "Bobby, Pam, its Sue Ellen, can I come in?" announcing herself, she wasn't prepared for the scene she was faced with as the door swung open. "Sue Ellen, good. Will you try talking to her?" muttering a few words as he stepped out into the hallway, Bobby didn't seem to wait long before taking off, leaving his new bride staring at the doorway in bewilderment.

Closing the door behind her, Sue Ellen made her way over to the bed, taking a seat next to Pam before asking her how she was, knowing she could probably guess based on the frosty atmosphere downstairs and Bobby's greeting but wanting to give Pam an opportunity to speak herself.

"Oh Sue Ellen, it's been awful", listening to the shakiness in Pam's voice, she had to sympathise; she'd never really been in the position Pam was in now, but she'd had enough disagreements with Jock to know the emotional distress he could cause.

"I'm sorry, Jock can be a real pill but Miss Ellie is really very kind once you get to know her, I'm sure if you haven't seen that yet it's just because she's in shock right now", trying to offer a little bit of comfort, Pam surprised her with her response, "no, not just that". Of all the things that could be wrong, she expected the reaction of her new in-laws to be what was bothering her, but apparently that wasn't the case.

"What then?" curious as to what else was wrong, Pam's response put everything into perspective. "It's Bobby too. We've not even been married two days and we've already argued multiple times and then we come back to Dallas to this and oh, I don't know if I did the right thing", tearfully explaining herself, things began to make sense. Of course she was more upset about an argument with her husband than anything else, marriage was overwhelming and at this early stage was supposed to be nothing but happy experiences, but with Bobby walking out earlier and whatever had come before that, Pam was clearly not feeling the honeymoon happiness.

"Pamela, we're all human, we don't always agree on everything. The important question to ask yourself is do you love Bobby?" hoping to remind her of the bigger situation, she was pleased when Pam took a deep breath to calm herself and answered, "yes, I do".

"Well then it's settled, you did the right thing. You married quickly and the circumstances surrounding your marriage are tense, so you're bound to be emotional but that doesn't last forever. Marriage is a bigger commitment than what's happening right now, you don't get a divorce because you had a couple of disagreements, if you did there'd be no married couples left". Making a joke, she was serious too, Bobby and Pam had made the decision to get married and now they had to live with the consequences, good and bad.

"You're right, you'd know too, you're married to an antagonistic man yourself", hearing Pam's comment, she frowned. Right now, if anyone had problems in their marriage, it was Bobby and Pam not her and JR, though she reminded herself it was probably just Pam's emotions talking. "I would argue that point but it sounds like you have enough on your plate", making her point known, she moved on and hoped Pam would too.

"I'm sorry, I just thought Bobby would be different, but I'm beginning to realise that we barely know each other so who knows what I was supposed to expect", verging on tearful again, Pam made a point she didn't quite understand. "Different to what?" asking the question, she was interested in what Pam had to say because she wasn't sure whether she was referring to the normal adjustments married couples had to make, adjustments that just couldn't be prepared for beforehand, or whether it was something more.

"Different to other husbands. He never had a problem with who I was or what I did before we were married, but now that we are it seems he thinks he can control everything and I'll be happy to follow. I didn't get married to be told what to do, not by my husband and certainly not by his family". Explaining herself, Pam's comments gave her some clarity and the answer seemed obvious.

"Have you spoken about this? Bobby doesn't strike me as the type of man who wants to control his wife", answering, Sue Ellen sympathised. She knew how hard it could be to speak up when something was wrong, she'd spent the first part of her own marriage quietly discontent when it came to certain issues, but her world had changed when she and JR had learned to communicate with each other.

"Of course I have but… Oh I don't know how to explain it, you probably wouldn't understand anyway, because you're happy to do what JR wants, but I want to make my own decisions. I don't want to have a baby now, I don't want to move away from Dallas, and I don't want to quit my job to sit at home and do nothing. I thought Bobby understood that, but he doesn't". Detailing a few of the issues her and Bobby were facing, Pam made the mistake of assuming they were truly unique issues, where Sue Ellen believed they really weren't; lifestyle changes affected every married couple in one way or another and Bobby and Pam were no different.

"Pam, you think I don't have any understanding of how you feel because I always follow JR's lead, but that isn't true. All couples have problems, problems with common themes, and usually we can find solutions to those problems. Admittedly, it took JR and I longer than a couple of days before our marriage had problems, but our time came, we didn't let it ruin us though, we used it to our benefit and now we talk and make decisions together and we're stronger because of it". Trying her best to convince Pam that her marriage was perfectly normal, she interpreted the weak smile she received in return as more of a polite gesture than anything else.

Considering things for a moment, she decided to try a more personal approach. "I know, it sounds too general to be of any help, but let me explain. We don't share the exact same circumstances, but I think I might be able to offer you some perspective, coming from my own personal experience. I don't know what Bobby wants you to do regarding moving, but it might not be such a bad thing once you've lived at Southfork a while. I was the one that convinced JR we needed our own home and while yes, I like to please him, because I love him, I don't let him walk all over me and I will stand my ground when it comes to certain things that I think are important, things like our living situation. Like I said, I don't know the details, but is it possible that Bobby thinks he's doing what you might want before you ask for it? Is he potentially just following the request I made of JR and applying it to your marriage? I wonder too about Bobby's thoughts regarding children, it could have something to do with the experience JR and I had. It took me eighteen long months to get pregnant with John Ross. Perhaps he doesn't want you to have to endure the same pain as we did when we wanted it to happen".

Pulling experiences from her own life, she tried her best to relate to Pam's issues with Bobby, though her efforts didn't appear to achieve the outcome she was looking for. Instead, Pam let out a breath and shook her head hopelessly as she replied, "I'm sorry to hear that, but that's not it. Bobby had our entire lives planned out before he proposed to me, but he didn't tell me any of the plans until afterwards and didn't really want to hear my thoughts when it turned out they differed from his own. Then I come back here to this and wonder what I've gotten myself into. I can't live here with people that clearly dislike me and I can't go home to tell my daddy I've gone and restarted the old feud my marrying the son of the man who cheated him out of what was rightfully his".

Giving her a little more information, the situation became clearer and she began to understand why Pam felt so helpless. "Oh Pam, I'm sure things aren't bad as you think they are, believe me", offering a friendly, but mostly meaningless, comment, she knew she wasn't helping very much when Pam shook her head helplessly again and responded, "you were raised for this, I wasn't", as if that made any difference.

Giving Pam a look as if to tell her to stop making excuses and feeling sorry for herself and to stop and listen for a minute, she tried a final time to explain herself. "I was raised with a better understanding of what I was getting into, that's true, but I wasn't any more prepared for the issues JR and I faced together. I think that's beside the point when it comes to your situation though. You're married now, what came before shouldn't matter, you've made a commitment and now it's time to live with that decision. You need to talk to Bobby again and he needs to learn to listen, then when you're united as a couple you can tackle your families. I think once you and Bobby come back together get on the same page again you'll realise you're not as unprepared as you think; you talked a lot about who you were and what that meant when you were dating, don't forget all of those things now just because you're married and it's all suddenly very real".

In her own mind, everything she said made sense, Bobby and Pam had married knowing their families wouldn't like it, but they'd done so probably expecting to deal with the problems together, which they still could, even after having an argument.

"It is all very real", repeating her own words back to her, Pam seemed to be coming around to her way of thinking, and surprisingly, apparently so was Bobby if Pam's following comment was true. "He did say we'd discuss everything before we made any big decisions, I guess I just feel like we didn't really prepare for the reality of what our lives would look like when we returned. It's one thing for him to say who cares what our families think, but it's another to live with that attitude; I can't live in such a hostile environment and we cannot bring children into this atmosphere".

Listening to Pam's brief moment of clarity about her husband, followed by her own reiteration of feelings, Sue Ellen felt the need to ask the obvious, "did you tell him that?" Shrugging, Pam responded, mumbling, "most of it".

"It sounds like Bobby heard some of it. I'd suggest talking again. Leave Southfork if you have to, Jock will make a fuss, but he already is, so what's new. Jock doesn't matter here though, neither does your daddy, focus on fixing your issues with your husband and you'll be able to face the hostility from your families a little better because you'll have each other to fall back on. As it is now, it seemed Bobby was trying to fix whatever went on downstairs, but you're more focused on what's happening months and years into the future. Is that a fair assessment?"

She still didn't really know what had gone on before she and JR had arrived or really any other sides of the story, what she did know was it was a big issue, one she wasn't personally involved in and she couldn't solve it herself, so the best thing to do was encourage communication between the people who were involved.

"I guess so. Will you please go and get Bobby? I think we need to talk again", appearing calmer, Pam asked a question she couldn't have been happier to hear, especially now; JR was right, it was ok to be a friendly face, but taking on other people's emotional issues was too much. They were happy in their own marriage and nobody could teach Bobby and Pam to be happy in theirs if they weren't on the same page.

"I can do that", smiling, she squeezed Pam's hand in support before standing and leaving the room in search of Bobby, closing the door behind her to give Pam some privacy.

To be continued…