Dallas, Texas

Standing in the living room, a club soda in hand, surrounded by Ewings, Pam wasn't so sure about the decision she'd let Bobby talk her into overnight, but it was too late to back out now. They'd called the family together to announce their news in order to control who knew what and when, and the rarity of them initiating such a get-together had been noted by Lucy who loudly stated to anyone who would listen, "this is unusual, a Monday night and we're all here".

"Thank you Lucy, you're very observant", ruffling his niece's hair, Bobby didn't sound annoyed in the slightest, in fact, he sounded giddy, which was to be expected considering just how excited he was to tell everyone he was about to become a father.

"And you're grinning. You have news, don't you?" perceptive, Lucy's assumption was said loudly and with enough confidence that soon enough everyone's attention was on the discussion between uncle and niece.

"We do", squeezing her hand, Bobby addressed the family.

"Well?" gruff in his response, it didn't surprise her in the slightest that Jock had no time for any sort of suspense, she'd never known him to be a patient man and she couldn't imagine him starting now.

"Well, I'll just say it, things are about to get a little more lively around here, Pam's pregnant", hearing the words again, the wave of trepidation she'd been experiencing on and off over the past week still didn't retreat, not even when the volume of voices in the room increased and what was being said was overwhelmingly positive.

"Oh!" clearly thrilled, Miss Ellie was the first to approach her, pulling her into a hug.

"Wonderful news", no longer gruff, Jock's voice boomed as he announced his own feelings, clearly thrilled that his wish to have a house full of grandchildren was one step closer to being fulfilled.

"Congratulations", standing back, Jack waited for Jock to congratulate his youngest son before he stepped in next, shaking Bobby's hand, his reaction subdued compared to his aunt and uncle, but no less genuine.

"I'm so excited", addressing the family generally, Lucy's enthusiasm was not out of place this time.

"Thank you, we're excited too", stepping closer to her, Bobby spoke for both of them; no one needed to know that what he said was more his own opinion than hers, now was a time of celebration, nothing more.

"Well Bob, welcome to the club", approaching his younger brother, JR's words sounded genuine, and the smile on his face didn't immediately set off alarm bells, still though, there was something about his demeanour that made her wary of his well wishes. She didn't trust her brother-in-law or even particularly like him, but she didn't have to to accept his words.

"Thank you JR", shaking his brother's hand, Bobby quickly turned his attention to Sue Ellen as she approached them.

"I wish the both of you the best of luck", speaking quietly, Sue Ellen looked completely devastated, but that didn't stop her from maintaining her composure and doing the polite thing.

"Thank you Sue Ellen, it means a lot", holding her sister-in-law's hands in hers, she meant what she said and she suddenly felt terrible that it hadn't occurred to her how insensitive a pregnancy announcement might be at this point in time. All she'd been thinking about regarding Sue Ellen's recent miscarriage was that she hoped there was no truth in what she'd said about her thoughts before the accident somehow leading to the accident itself, it had barely crossed her mind that her present pregnancy might hurt Sue Ellen emotionally. She liked to think of herself as compassionate and caring, but perhaps she was actually self-absorbed and single-minded. She'd been thinking of her pregnancy in terms of how it was affecting her and would continue to affect her, then of how it would affect Bobby, and finally, far behind her and her husband, how it would affect everyone else, and perhaps that was selfish of her.

In the midst of the chaos of a family announcement, she didn't have much time to dwell on any one thought in particular though, especially not when Miss Ellie chimed in with a question for her, "Pam, how are you feeling?"

Gently letting go of Sue Ellen's hand, she turned to address Miss Ellie's question, saying, "just fine, thank you", answering purely in relation to her physical health.

"Really? No morning sickness or other symptoms?" most likely just making friendly conversation, there was something about her mother-in-law's question that made her uncomfortable; she'd never been in the habit of sharing her general malaise with the family and she didn't plan to start now.

"No, not yet", shaking her head, she didn't elaborate on what she had been experiencing.

"Well, it's still early", seeming not to notice her discomfort, Miss Ellie smiled knowingly.

"Yes", nodding politely, she still didn't elaborate. Her mother-in-law had three sons of her own, she knew a bit about what to expect in pregnancy, but as of right now she wasn't ready to hear any of it. She was still getting used to the idea of being pregnant at all and she hadn't particularly wanted to share the experience yet, the only reason she'd agreed to share so soon was that neither she nor Bobby could handle her restlessness at the thought of anyone guessing or pestering her until their suspicions were confirmed.

"I'm proud of you boy", never one to stay quiet too long, Jock's ongoing delight at the news was apparent; Ewing grandchildren were very important to him and Bobby adding one of his own to the family pleased him very much.

"Thank you daddy", grinning, Bobby seemed proud himself.

Turning to her, Jock acknowledged her part in the situation, saying what was probably the nicest thing to her he had since she'd arrived at Southfork, "you too Pam, I'm very happy and I hope you are too".

"Thank you Jock", smiling, she accepted his kind words. She wasn't necessarily happy, but most of the family was and as far as the uncertainty she felt went, it was one less thing she had to worry about. Worry was definitely something she felt though, she was worried she'd never truly feel connected to the baby growing inside her, she was worried the life she'd grown fond of was about to change completely, and she was worried her daddy's reaction to the news of a new Ewing baby would be very different to Jock's.

To be continued…