Dallas, Texas

Roughly tugging her hairbrush through her brunette mane, releasing some of the tension and restlessness inside her, Pam watched her husband in the mirror, locking eyes with him as they spoke. "Can you at least try to understand where I'm coming from?"

Having returned to Southfork late in the night, a little worse for wear, she'd been in no emotional state to discuss the Jenna situation with him, even if he had seemed to have words at the tip of his tongue to explain everything. Now though, with the bright morning sunlight streaming through the windows and the smell of fresh bacon and eggs wafting up the stairs, they had to settle a few things and they needed to do it soon. There were a couple of reasons for the urgency, firstly, she was simultaneously hungover and starving, in no mood to skip the breakfast Teresa had prepared for the family, and secondly, because it was a family breakfast and she had no intention of letting the rest of the residents at Southfork have a say in what was a private conversation. She and Bobby needed to present to breakfast as a united front, a happy couple, and when they did so she'd like it to be genuine.

"I do understand", finishing buttoning his shirt, he approached her from behind, maintaining eye contact with her in the mirror.

"Do you?" dropping her hairbrush on the vanity, she turned around, looking up at him as he towered over her. It would be wonderful if he really did see her perspective, but she knew better than to assume he did without hearing what he had to say specifically.

"Yes, it's uncomfortable having my ex-girlfriend around", hitting one point, he missed several others. She wasn't simply put out by the Jenna's presence, Dallas was Jenna's town as much as it was hers and she could be friends with whoever she wanted to, however, she always seemed to take things a step further than they needed to go, which Bobby allowed, pushing back on only the easy challenges, not the difficult ones.

"Ex-fiancée", correcting his wording, she stood up and walked over to the closet, letting him follow her as they continued talking.

"Now that's not fair, I'm not the only one with a past. Jenna was in my life long before you were, but you're my wife now, I love you and only you. There is no contest, no competition", doing his best to remind her of her position in his life, he seemed to forget a few important details about their situation.

"No?" believing him when he said he loved her, she found it hard to believe having Jenna around would ever be simple, Jenna didn't seem to do simple and the situation they were in was complicated, inevitably comparisons were going to be drawn and she was going to have to fight for what was hers, she felt it happening already.

"No. Why? Do you think there is?" addressing her sincerely, he sounded like he genuinely cared to hear what she thought, which was nice, though it still surprised her that he didn't already know what her thoughts were.

"Well I can't stand how she acts around you and I'm afraid she has what you want, so I don't know, maybe there is a contest", telling him again how his ex-fiancée's overly familiar behaviour made her feel, she reminded him too of his potential permanent connection to her, one he knew about and had yet to investigate any further.

"What I want? What's that?" raising his voice in frustration, his selective memory was surprising considering his feelings on the subject when it came to the two of them and their future.

"A child, your child", well aware that if it was up to him they'd have a baby by Christmas, she thought it more important that before they went ahead and started a family themselves, he knew for sure whether or not he was already a father. It surprised her that he didn't already know, especially since he knew there was a possibility, it was just so out of character for him, at least the him she knew. It was unfair to everyone involved to keep it an open secret and if she had to be the one to say it then she would.

"Now Pammy you know…" starting to reply, she could already predict what he had to say. He was reluctant to address the paternity of Jenna's daughter for fear of complicating the situation, which was silly, because the situation was already complicated.

Holding her hand up, she interrupted him. "No, I told you before, you need to ask her. You need to know and so does her daughter".

Looking a little startled by her interruption, he appeared to think about her comments for a few moments before sheepishly conceding she was right.

"I know I am", happy he could admit when he was wrong, she wasn't exactly happy they were in the situation they were. He had a point, he'd known Jenna long before he'd known her and it wasn't necessarily fair to judge his past actions based on what she thought now, however, she sure had no problem judging his present behaviour. He knew he potentially had a daughter and he was avoiding asking difficult questions because they were difficult, he was acting immaturely when the situation called for someone to take the position of a mature adult and to start asking some real questions.

"So, when…?" appearing unsure about where to go next it became clear that although he needed to be the one to take the lead, because Jenna was coy and sly and they'd be a long time waiting for her to just come out and say it, he wanted her input too. It was nice to be wanted, to feel like he was including her, but she was his wife, not his mother or his teacher, she didn't expect to have to direct him every step of the way.

"Today, tomorrow, whenever, but soon", making a few suggestions, she left the final decision up to him. He needed to speak to Jenna, but even she could admit it didn't need to be immediately.

"I'll call her", nodding, he seemed to understand that it had to be done.

"Do you have her number?" asking the question without thinking too deeply about it, she couldn't believe the relief she felt when he answered, "actually, no. I'm sure she's listed though". She hadn't even seriously considered the possibility that they'd had contact outside of their chance meetings, but hearing him essentially confirm they hadn't definitely eased her mind.

"Sue Ellen probably has her number", remembering that it wasn't just them who had a connection to Jenna, she suggested an alternative to his idea just in case Jenna wasn't listed, which given the fuzzy details around her relationship, was possible.

"You want to involve Sue Ellen?" sounding surprised by her suggestion, he seemed to be more uncomfortable about the idea than she was which was interesting considering she wasn't particularly fond of Jenna in any respect.

"Not any more than she already is", shrugging, she thought Sue Ellen was the least of their problems. She wasn't about to start telling her sister-in-law and friend who she could and couldn't socialise with, not just because she had no authority to do so but also because Sue Ellen was desperately lonely and could certainly benefit from having someone other than JR to talk to.

"What do you want from this?" changing the subject slightly, he surprised her again; earlier he'd been quite sure he was seeing things from her perspective, but now he was asking her what she wanted, telling her that he really didn't see where she was coming from.

Initially annoyed that he couldn't seem to wrap his head around the situation well enough to empathise with her, she quickly realised that annoyance would get her nowhere and instead listening to him and talking to him, explaining where she was coming from and how she saw things was what would really help them move forward together. "I want your children to be our children, but if you do already have a daughter, I want to know I'm married to a man who steps up to his responsibilities and does the right thing by his child".

Listening to her, his facial expression told her he was beginning to comprehend what she was telling him, smiling to start with, then slowly nodding, and finally settling on a serious gaze. Silently staring beyond her out the window, thinking, considering everything, it took a little while but he finally returned his attention to her, holding eye contact as he told her, "I want to be that man. I love you and I want you to be proud to call me your husband, and I can see now that the way I've been dealing with this isn't the way I should have".

Softening, she couldn't hold what he didn't say against him this time, simply answering, "I love you too. I hate that we're in this situation, but only because I love you". It was true, she really wasn't a big fan of the idea that her husband already had a child, especially with a woman she couldn't stand, however, it bothered her that much because she wanted her life with Bobby to be their life and their life alone. A child from an earlier relationship complicated things, but it wasn't anyone's fault, not Jenna's for going it alone, which whether she liked her or not she could agree had to have been difficult, not Bobby's for being absent after a surprise breakup, and certainly not the child's, a daughter Jenna called Charlie. What had happened had happened and couldn't be changed, but how things played out going forward was something Bobby had control over, starting with finding out whether it was even something he needed to be thinking about at all, finding out whether he was in fact Charlie's father.

"I'll call", putting his strong hands on her shoulders he confirmed his plans, giving her exactly what she wanted.

"Thank you", wrapping her arms around him, she leaned into him, enjoying the way he held her. She couldn't stay angry with him when he was making an effort, she didn't want to stay angry with him either, in fact, now that she felt secure, she felt more than ready for the breakfast at Southfork experience.

To be continued…