Dallas, Texas

"Daddy?" walking out into the living room of his family home as he heard the front door closing, Cliff Barnes' surprise showed on his face and in his voice as he came face-to-face with his father for the first time in more than a month.

"What sort of welcome is that for your old dad?" poking fun at his reaction, his daddy slapped him on the back good-naturedly.

"I'm just surprised. You didn't call or write to say you were coming home", explaining himself, he was happy to have his daddy home, whether he'd announced it beforehand or not.

"Was I supposed to?" questioning his expectation, his daddy rightfully sounded confused by the sudden need for contact when previously they'd been quite happy to live their lives autonomously, without constant consultation.

"Well, Pam's been trying to contact you for weeks now, I'm just surprised you'd come back without telling anyone that that was your plan", explaining further why he was surprised and that it wasn't because he'd suddenly become dependent, he watched his daddy's expression closely to get a sense of what he thought of Pam and her news.

"Pam? I haven't heard from Pam since she told me she'd married Jock Ewing's boy", giving him a look as if he was the one that wasn't making sense, his daddy completely surprised him again.

"She wrote you a letter", clarifying what he meant by contact, he doubted that his daddy had forgotten any form of contact with Pam, he was getting older and he'd always been a drinker, but there was nothing wrong with his memory.

"I didn't get any letter", shaking his head, his daddy confirmed his suspicions, complicating things.

"Well, she wrote one and she's been waiting for a response for a while now", cautious about saying too much, knowing and wanting Pam to be the one to tell their daddy she hadn't just married Jock Ewing's son but was also now carrying his child, he left his comments vague, something his daddy picked up on straight away.

"A letter about what?" asking the question, Digger's gruff tone was exactly what he knew Pam would not want to hear when she told him the news, though considering the news, she'd be lucky if a gruff tone was all she got. Pam was too old to be spanked, so she was safe from a physical response, outside of perhaps a disgusted sneer, but she knew as well as he did that sometimes the sting of being spanked could be less painful than hearing a brutally honest opinion, especially if it was said without the scent of alcohol on their daddy's breath.

"I think it's personal", pretending he knew less than he did, he was vague in his explanation again.

"Personal?" sounding interested, Digger showed a small hint of the affection he had for his daughter. Pam had gone and married Jock Ewing's son and he didn't like that at all, but he didn't hate her, he could probably never hate her.

Sensing the change in his daddy's attitude and uncomfortable with the idea of breaking the news himself, he was quick to suggest an alternative, one that would need to happen eventually, "yes, personal, she wants to tell you herself. Why don't I call her, ask her to come over?"

"Sure, why not?" unaware of the changes about to occur in Pam's life, and his too if he chose to accept rather than reject her new lifestyle, Digger shrugged, picked his luggage up and left the room.

Heading across the room himself, Cliff glanced at the clock and assuming Pam hadn't left work yet picked up the phone and dialled the number for The Store, reaching the receptionist who transferred him through to her office.

"Good afternoon, Pamela Ewing speaking", answering her phone with her married name, her greeting reminded him of what he already knew, it was going to be difficult for their daddy to accept that she was a Ewing now, but if he wanted to see his grandchild, he'd have to accept it, she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Pam", greeting her, he tried his best to sound normal, but he wasn't sure he succeeded. He didn't have anything to be worried about, he wasn't the one who'd gone and married a Ewing, he wasn't the one who was going to deliver his father his first grandchild, a grandchild named Ewing, his life wasn't cause for debate, Pam's was though and he loved his sister, so he really was worried for her.

"Cliff?" sounding surprised to hear from him at work, she greeted him and waited for him to explain why he was calling.

"Yes, it's me. A water pipe burst at the office so they sent us home early, so I came over to the house to check the mail and make sure nothing was wrong, I've been doing that more now that you're not around much. Anyway, not long after I did daddy arrived home. He says he didn't receive any letter, but he'd like to speak to you", giving her more information than she needed, he eventually explained to her why he was calling her at work.

Silent for a good few seconds, Pam eventually murmured, "will you please keep him there? I finish work in half an hour and I can come right over when I leave". It was evident from the volume of her voice that she wasn't ready for an in person confrontation with their daddy, but if he didn't receive her letter, he was back in Dallas and she was growing more visibly pregnant by the day, there was no time like the present to inform him he was about to become a grandfather.

"Sure", answering Pam, he was distracted by a crashing sound from down the hall.

"Daddy?" putting the phone down for a moment, he called out to his father, and receiving no response, he thought it best to investigate. "Pammy, hold on a minute", picking the phone up, he quickly asked Pam to wait and then ran down the hallway to see what was going on.

Shocked to find his daddy attempting to pick himself up off the floor, where he'd clearly not intended to end up, he didn't need to know anything about first aid to know the man lying on the ground was not in good health. Offering his help, his daddy's refusal was not unexpected, though eventually he did accept a little assistance.

"Pammy, are you still there?" returning to the phone, he was relieved to find it still connected.

"I'm still here. What happened?" sounding worried, Pam had reason to be, this time not just because of her surname or the baby growing inside her.

"Daddy collapsed, he's awake and talking but he's not looking too good. I really think he should go and see Doctor Hollister just to be on the safe side", giving her a quick recap of what had happened, he minimised the opposition his daddy had to going to see their family doctor. He could understand avoiding medical intervention for fear of the cost, inconvenience, or because he thought he was the best judge of his own health, but this wasn't a little cold, his daddy looked ill and he'd collapsed, he wasn't confident that seeing a doctor was an overreaction to the situation.

"I'll meet you there", assuming Digger would go along with what he wanted and what was best, Pam's response was a statement rather than a question; the situation was serious, their daddy needed to and was going to see a doctor.

To be continued…