Dallas, Texas

Saying goodbye to Liz Craig as she left their friendly reunion in the airport arrivals behind, Bobby turned to Pam and greeted her properly with a hug and a real kiss, thrilled to have her back with him again, "welcome home".

"I missed you", murmuring in his ear, her comments were completely believable considering how tightly she was squeezing him, and that made him feel good. He'd certainly missed her, married life had changed his perspective on what was comfortable and now things that he'd done without company previously all of a sudden felt lonely, so to have her back by his side, right where she belonged, just felt right.

"How was Paris?" having spoken to her over the phone a few times, the best they could with the time difference, he was aware of a few things about her time abroad, and Liz had certainly had a few things to say just a moment ago, but he was eager to hear it all from her in person. He was lucky enough to have seen some of the world on various vacations throughout his college years and had his own opinions on exotic places and experiences, but this was all new to Pam and as much as he wished to share it with her first-hand, second-hand was good enough for now.

"Oh Bobby, it was amazing. The architecture, the people, the designs, the lifestyle, the whole atmosphere, it was just spectacular. Never in my life have I felt so out of place, so unworldly, but so motivated", pulling back to look at him, she described her experience, her enthusiasm apparent.

"It sounds like you enjoyed it", happy that she was happy, he kept quiet as far as her hinted negative experience went. Saying she had never felt so out of place was a telling comment considering how little she enjoyed the atmosphere at Southfork, but he wasn't stupid, he knew to stay well away from starting that argument again if he wanted to enjoy their reunion. Some conversations couldn't be avoided, like the apology that he knew he needed to give her regarding her perspective on caring for Sue Ellen, but other conversations could be avoided because soon enough they'd be nonissues. Living at Southfork was their situation now, but eventually they'd have their own place, either because she agreed to make a home with him in College Station when he started grad school or because their future took them in a different direction, whether that was her changing her mind about starting a family or something of his doing. His daddy had told him that grad school wasn't his only option, but he'd said it with the inference that they have a baby instead, somewhere in-between was a third option, he just didn't know where or what that was yet.

"I really did", grinning, her response told him everything he needed to know; despite any instances of feeling like an unworldly foreigner, she had loved her time overseas.

"Would you like to go back?" keen to share the experience of travel with her again someday, he asked her a leading question, one he already had an idea of her answer to. She had priorities other than him, which made it more difficult to get her to agree to his grandiose plans, however, she wasn't opposed to the idea of doing things with him, if she had been she wouldn't have married him.

"I'd love to", circling her arms around his neck, her answer was as expected. She wanted to travel, he knew that from Hawaii, the challenge now was to get her to agree to go ahead and let him organise what he knew could be a wonderful opportunity for them.

"My offer still stands, we could explore the world", leaning down to meet her lips, he kissed her softly, leaving the proposal with her. Their circumstances were unique, his job was incredibly flexible, the ranch had operated fulltime for decades without him and would continue to for decades longer if he chose not to pursue it himself, and her job was more of a hobby than anything seeing as she didn't need the money to support herself, she did it because she liked it. Their reality was, they could leave town if they wanted to, the question was though, did she want to?

"Oh Bobby", whispering her words, she smiled at him before looking down, as if her initial reaction was excitement but she caught herself before she got carried away with those thoughts.

Touching her cheek, he held out for a few seconds, waiting for her to look up at him before he answered her, doing his best to reassure her and mitigate her concerns. "Honey, I'm not asking you to quit working, it's obvious that it's good for you, I'm just saying if life here ever becomes too much, or too little, or you want to find a use for your vacation days, just say the word and we can be out of here, just like that", snapping his fingers, he emphasised his point. If she was concerned about leaving her family behind, they could find a solution to that and if she was concerned about keeping her job, they could find a solution to that; she clearly wanted to travel with him, to see everything she had previously only been able to dream of, she just needed to relax and let him in.

Smiling as she listened to his more detailed offer, one that didn't bulldoze everything she had explained she felt was important, she replied, "I'll keep that in mind", though her eyes revealed much more.

"Good", satisfied, he leaned down to kiss her again, something he'd severely missed during their time apart; a week wasn't a long time, but considering how new their marriage still was, it was long enough to feel significant. "Now, I want to hear all about your trip, starting with, how was the food", bending down, he picked up her suitcase and motioned to the door, leading them out of the airport listening as she answered his question, "wonderful, I'm sure I've gained a couple of pounds…"

To be continued…