Dallas, Texas

Slipping her nightgown on and getting into bed, Pam leaned across the covers to pick up the eye-catching piece of paper on Bobby's nightstand. Studying the drawing of three people and three horses, she called out to her husband, "Bobby?"

"Mhm?" appearing in the doorway between their bedroom and bathroom, Bobby murmured a few sounds to ask her to continue.

"What's this?" waving the paper at him with one hand, she tried not to sound hysterical, but she wasn't sure she succeeded; she had a fair idea of what it was and she didn't like it.

"Flip it around so I can see it and I'll tell you", making a turning motion with his hand, he looked more amused than guilty.

Turning the paper as he'd asked her to do, she said nothing, there was nothing to say until he made a claim.

"It's a drawing", stating the obvious, Bobby truly didn't appear to understand what her concern was with the picture.

"I can see that. Where did it come from?" not bothering to hide her frustration, she asked a more specific question, one he surely couldn't misunderstand.

"Charlie drew it for me", confirming her fears without so much as a hint of guilt, his lack of perspective was astounding. She'd been back from Milan for only a matter of hours, but in those hours they'd had plenty of time to talk and he'd not once mentioned the event depicted in crayon on the paper in her hands.

"Charlie? Jenna's daughter Charlie?" knowing exactly who he meant, she asked him again anyway, offering him the opportunity to reframe their conversation through her eyes.

"Yes", nodding, he provided no further explanation.

Getting out of bed, she walked toward the bathroom, approaching him as he stood in the doorway, "I'm trying not to be upset by this strange development, but you're making me work for answers here".

"I'm sorry honey, it's all very simple really", a good seven or so inches taller than her, he looked down as he spoke, apologising but not touching on what he was apologising for.

"I'm listening", looking up, she held eye contact with him, determined to hear him explain to her face-to-face exactly how simple it all was.

Reaching out, he rested his hands on her shoulders, slowly running them down her arms to settle in her hands as he spoke, "Jenna and Charlie were staying next door last week and during the time they were there we spent some time together. It wasn't planned, I didn't even know they were coming to stay in Dallas until I spotted them out at the treehouse, then we got talking and I ended up showing them around the ranch. That was on Monday, it was just the three of us because Sue Ellen wasn't feeling well, but Tuesday and Wednesday Sue Ellen was back to full health and I stepped back from hosting guests".

Listening to his explanation, she still wasn't entirely convinced that his behaviour was as reasonable as he made it sound, not when it involved Jenna and his prior knowledge of exactly how she felt about his ex-fiancée. Running her finger over his wedding band, she asked him an important question, "why didn't you mention this to me?"

"I tried to, but if you'll remember, every time we spoke you seemed about ready to fall asleep, with good reason too considering the long workdays, jetlag, time difference and that you're pregnant", freeing his hand from hers, he was quick to do as he had done so many other times, connecting his hand with her curved abdomen.

Stepping back, she was frustrated with his continued need to remind her of what she'd been dealing with and his apparent unawareness that there were things she needed and wanted to know and it wasn't up to him to decide whether or not she was in a state to hear them. Raising her voice, her tone was firm as she stated, "I would've woken up if I'd heard the names Jenna or Charlie mentioned".

"I'm sorry. It wasn't something I wanted to burden you with", acknowledging that he knew his interactions with Jenna upset her, the fact that he'd still gone ahead and done what he'd done anyway didn't seem to register with him as wrong.

"So you did hide it from me?" pointing out his error in judgement, she couldn't believe they were really having the conversation they were having.

"Are we arguing about this?" avoiding her question, he asked one of his own.

"Yes, we are", not wishing to argue, it was unavoidable considering his actions and attitude.

"I'd rather not", answering her, he stepped forward, moving to circle his arms around her waist, seemingly ignoring her earlier move to extricate herself from his touch.

"I'd rather you weren't so cosy with your ex-fiancée and her daughter", reaching behind her back to pull his hands apart, she wriggled out of his grip, letting him know she was serious.

Looking completely surprised by her outburst, his response did absolutely nothing to inspire confidence that he truly understood her, "does it bother you that much?"

"You know it does!" raising her voice again, she was tempted to stamp her feet or shake his shoulders in frustration, although she stopped herself before she actually did either, a physical outburst wouldn't help her argument.

"I'm sorry", apologising, he smiled sheepishly. It was nice to hear an apology, but it wasn't enough, especially not when it sounded as if he had more to say.

"But…?" leading him to continue voicing his thoughts, she hoped there was no but, but as expected, that was wishful thinking.

"But it was innocent. I offered them the same tour of the ranch that Jack got when he first arrived here and that I gave you", excusing his actions as nothing more than friendliness, Bobby's lack of empathy no longer surprised her; where Jenna was concerned, he was blind.

"Jenna doesn't need a tour, she's plenty comfortable on Southfork already", shaking her head, she reminded him that she knew all about Jenna's past and attempting to rewrite history was futile.

"It sounds like you've already made up your mind", noting that she sounded unwilling to accept his story, his assessment of the situation was about right.

"I just don't like it", softening, she reiterated what she'd said many times before, that his continued overfriendliness with Jenna made her uncomfortable and upset and she'd prefer if he avoided anything more than absolutely necessary. It was one thing for them to be at a group event where Jenna was also present, but it was another for her husband to be spending time alone with his ex-fiancée and the daughter she'd legally named as his.

"Would it make you feel any better to hear that they've gone back to Tyler?" matching her softer tone, his words still indicated that he didn't really understand the extent of her concerns.

"Jenna spends so much time here she might as well live in Dallas", answering him, she didn't think she was too far wrong, judging by Jenna's ability to attend all sorts of Dallas based social activities, her ties to Tyler were not particularly strong.

"Pammy, I'm trying here, you have to work with me", frowning, he made it sound like he was being flexible with his actions when in fact he was just completely ignoring her feelings.

"It bothers me", matching his expression, she reminded him again that their perspectives were in direct opposition to each other; he thought nothing of spending time with Jenna whereas she felt it was completely inappropriate.

Standing still, he was silent for a long while before finally asking, "we don't have to agree on everything, do we?"

"No, but it would be nice if we did, especially on this issue", answering his question, she threw her arms up in frustration and turned around to head back to bed.

"I do have some other news", following her, he sat down on the end of the bed, changing the subject and the tone of their conversation.

"Oh?" not exactly satisfied that they'd settled the Jenna issue, she set it aside in her mind to hear what else he had to say, thinking maybe it would be a better reminder of why she'd come home.

"Mm, JR's invited us to a dinner party next Saturday. Jenna and Richard are invited, as is Jack and presumably a date if he chooses to bring one", telling her his other news, he didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed that after everything she'd just told him, he was back to talking about socialising with Jenna again.

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" straight-faced and flat in tone, she questioned his thought process.

Shrugging, he smiled sheepishly again and then attempted to explain himself, "sort of. Jenna has a man of her own; she doesn't need to be going after me".

"Need and want are different things", suddenly feeling even more exhausted than she had earlier, she touched her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. She truly failed to understand how he continuously convinced himself that there was nothing to Jenna's actions because to her it was obvious that she had an ulterior motive, she couldn't be just friends with Bobby and she didn't want to either.

"We don't have to go", brushing his hand against the sheet covering her leg, he offered her a way out of more time with Jenna.

Thinking about it, she opened her eyes and responded to his offer, clearly surprising him when she said, "oh no, we'll go".

"Are you sure?" questioning her, he looked and sounded as if he couldn't figure out whether or not she was joking, which was interesting because sometimes she felt the same way about him.

"I'm sure. I like Sue Ellen, Jack is the second friendliest Ewing man I know, and I'd just love to meet this Richard", being truthful in her comments about Sue Ellen and Jack, her acceptance of his invitation was mostly driven by her curiosity about the man that kept Jenna in the lifestyle she'd become accustomed to. She had no recollection of ever having met Richard, which was fascinating considering the amount of time Jenna managed to spend socialising in Dallas, what was more fascinating though was the apparent interest Jenna held for men. Clearly, Jenna was attractive, but for being as forward as she was, it was shocking she wasn't married yet, and she wondered whether perhaps meeting the man Jenna had linked herself with might give her some answers, or at least give her the opportunity to make a few pointed comments to tell him to pay more attention to his girlfriend.

"I'll pass our RSVP on to JR then", seeming to accept her answer without digging too deeply into it, Bobby leaned forward on his hands and knees from the end of the bed, this time taking her by surprise as he kissed her.

"Thank you", whispering confirmation of his plans as they came apart, she felt confused. On one hand, she was annoyed with him for putting more effort into patching their relationship with sweet kisses than he had into actually listening to her concerns about his association with Jenna, but on the other hand her jetlag, pregnancy hormones and love for him were strong and the urge to snuggle in bed was hard to ignore.

To be continued…