Dallas, Texas

"I'm going to be an uncle?" lowering his hamburger back down onto the tray, Cliff's surprise at her news was clear. She'd asked him to meet her during their mutual lunch hour, something she hadn't done for a while, and now he knew why.

"Yes Cliff", nodding, she confirmed that he'd heard her correctly. His surprise was understandable, she'd been married only a couple of months and she'd never been particularly vocal about wanting to start a family of her own, so to hear the news that that's exactly what she was doing now probably did come as a shock to him.

Looking like he was mulling the news over, he said nothing for a few moments before he broke into a smile, announcing his feelings on the matter, "Uncle Cliff, I like that. Wonderful news".

Laughing aloud at his response, she shook her head, muttering, "I thought you might". She could always count on Cliff to provide a different perspective on a situation, in this case, a self-centred one, though her perspective was equally self-centred so who was she to judge?

"I can't say I'm fond of the idea of heading out to the Southfork ranch every time I want to see my niece or nephew but for you, I just might", reaching for his drink, he reminded her of the position she was in and the position her marriage put him in. Ewing had never been a popular word in their home and just because she called herself one now didn't mean everyone else thought fondly of the family she'd joined.

Thinking about his comments in the most basic sense, she understood exactly where he was coming from, she'd always thought the way he did and simply being married to Bobby had yet to change her mind. He did his best to make light of the situation by saying he'd go to Southfork for her, and she appreciated that, but she had a better idea, one that didn't involve Southfork at all. "You might not have to. Southfork was never supposed to be a permanent home for us, just a temporary stop before we decided what was next".

"So what's next? Your very own sprawling ranch house paid for with unscrupulous Ewing funds?" setting his drink down beside his burger, Cliff enquired about what exactly she meant, presumably partly because he was nosy and partly because this was the first time in her life that she'd ever had the real capability to project and plan long-term. He'd always had a goal he'd been working towards, whether that was to get into college, law school or a postgrad job, however, her life had always been a little less thought out, she'd worked, dated, and generally just lived in the present, not anymore though, at least not going forward, not now that she was married and pregnant.

"Hey, I work for a living too", mildly offended by his opinion, she corrected him, though not thoroughly. Bobby had a job all of his own, he worked on the ranch and that was good, honest work, but trying to explain that to Cliff was a waste of time.

"I know, but for how much longer?" acknowledging that she did contribute something financially to her marriage, he looked and sounded sceptical that her working was to be an ongoing commitment now that she was with child.

"That is a difficult question to answer", hopeful that she could maintain something of her own once she became a mother, she wasn't entirely convinced that that would actually happen.

"So skip it, tell me about this new ranch house", returning to his food, Cliff no longer appeared bitter about her relationship with the Ewing family and instead seemed fascinated now by the lifestyle she'd married into.

"Cliff", laughing, she shook her head. It was nice to tell someone her news and have them accept it and move on rather than dwell on it, though Cliff's version of moving on was something else.

"You're the one that married rich, I'm just asking about what it's like", holding his hands up, her brother played innocent, jokingly reminding her that she was living a life quite different to him. He was a lawyer and that paid well compared to many jobs, hers included, but there were well-paying jobs and then there was generational wealth, the latter being something he was unlikely to ever experience himself, but through Bobby, she did.

"Well, it might mean living in College Station, that's where A&M is", going along with his question, she circled back to her original comment about Southfork not being her and Bobby's permanent home. She wished to move out of the ranch house regardless of Bobby's job and education plans, especially now that they were about to start a family, so her comments stood, but for now, since they hadn't discussed it for a while, where they were moving to was still undecided.

"Hold on a minute there, A&M? You didn't go to college, but Bobby's a UT man, as am I, so I'd think if anything my nephew is also a future longhorn, but even then, college isn't for another eighteen years", working through the information as he understood it, Cliff's confusion was evident.

Shaking her head, she laughed as she realised her error; she'd been far too vague and to an outsider what she was saying didn't make any sense. "Not for the baby, for Bobby. He's supposed to be attending grad school in the fall".

"Supposed to be?" looking to her for an explanation, Cliff sounded surprisingly interested in something to do with the Ewings.

"Well, I don't want to move to College Station and he doesn't need to go to grad school to run the ranch, it was just some agreement he had with his daddy about leaving the oil business for ranching", giving him a brief explanation, she covered both sides of the topic, Bobby's opportunity and her opposition.

"Daddy pulls the strings?" smirking, Cliff's feelings of superiority were clear.

"Bobby's his own man", defending her husband because she was his wife, she couldn't deny that there was some truth in what Cliff had said. Cliff's successes were all due to his own actions, he'd put himself through college and law school without any help from Digger's wallet or familial connections, whereas Bobby was smart and capable too, but there was no doubt that the Ewing name benefited him immensely, but that came at a price.

"But Jock Ewing makes sure he has a say and that everyone hears him", holding his smirk, Cliff accurately assessed the situation.

"You're not wrong there", shrugging, she wished it weren't true. Jock was a talker, not a listener, she didn't like it, but for Bobby's sake she dealt with it.

"How does Jock feel about this new development?" pointing his hand at her abdomen to indicate what he was talking about, Cliff brought the conversation back around to her news.

"Oh, he's thrilled, the whole family is", softening to the idea herself, she didn't go into detail about how her feelings had originally differed greatly to the rest of the family's. She loved her brother, but he wasn't the most empathetic person she'd ever met, nor was he an excellent secret keeper; all he needed to know was that she and Bobby were going to be parents soon.

"A Ewing baby", stating the obvious, she knew what he meant and it was deeper than her child's surname.

"I'm a Ewing now", taking a drink, she attempted to appear casual, but the truth was, she still found the sentence strange to hear herself say.

"Don't let Digger hear you say that", shaking his head, Cliff looked at her with a mixture of sympathy and disapproval; he knew exactly what their daddy thought of her marriage and none of it was positive.

"I don't let Digger hear much, I don't think he wants to hear much", looking at him apathetically, she reminded him that she was making about as much of an effort to include their daddy in her life as he was in hers at the moment.

"He'll want to hear that he's going to be a grandfather", changing his tune, Cliff's comments made her difficult position clear.

"To a baby that's going to be raised a Ewing?" aware that her daddy loved her and would ordinarily be happy to hear that she was married and expecting, she was also aware that the Ewing aspect of her life changed everything. Her marriage wasn't good news when it was put in context and she was afraid that her pregnancy wouldn't be seen as a positive thing either.

"Well, maybe just don't mention that bit, not unless he asks", joking, he acknowledged her problem, but offered no real solution.

"Cliff, I'm being serious", suppressing a smirk at his attempt at humour, she urged him to help her. For all of her brother's faults, he was the one person that could come close to understanding and empathising with her experience and she needed all the support from him she could get.

"I'm sorry Pammy, you married a Ewing and you have to deal with the consequences of that", telling her nothing she didn't already know, his comments really didn't help her state of mind.

"I'm dealing with it", snapping at him, she wasn't surprised when he raised an eyebrow and muttered, "yeah, slowly", back at her.

Overcome by the mixture of amusement and annoyance she felt in dealing with him, she actually laughed aloud this time, before muttering what she knew was an excuse, "they say pregnant women should steer clear of stressful situations". She couldn't even pretend he wasn't right; she hadn't known she was expecting for very long, but she was in no hurry to tell her daddy.

"He'll have to find out some time", playing devil's advocate, his tone told her that he wasn't completely against her.

"He will", confirming she didn't intend to hide the news forever, she made no promises about when exactly she'd tell him; for now, all she knew was that she wanted Cliff to be with her for moral support when it did happen, the same way he had when she'd broken the news about her marriage.

"I'll say no more", miming zipping his mouth shut, Cliff gave her an out; he'd made his point, he didn't need to make it again and she didn't need to hear it again.

To be continued…