Dallas, Texas

"JR?" staring at the ceiling above their bed, Sue Ellen addressed her husband hesitantly, something she hated feeling like she needed to do but seemed most appropriate given the present circumstances.

"Sue Ellen", saying her name, he breathed the words out as he spoke, indicating to her that her intuition was correct.

"Is something wrong?" asking him a general question, not wanting to accuse him of anything without just cause, she knew what she felt and what had happened, she just didn't know why.

"Why do you ask that?" rolling onto his side to look at her, he didn't immediately acknowledge his behaviour, nor the atmosphere between them, disappointing her because she'd hoped to skip the what and get to the why of the situation.

"Well I can't help noticing how incredibly distracted you seem to be", approaching the subject delicately, she hoped he knew what she was talking about. He'd come home late and in a mood that had persisted throughout dinner and into the night; he hadn't wanted to talk about what was on his mind and he hadn't wanted to talk about anything else, all he'd wanted to do was sulk. She understood him to an extent, sometimes she had days where talking wasn't her preferred activity, which she'd told him, she'd made it clear he could be alone if he wanted to, or he could choose to spend some time with her, it had been his choice. He'd chosen to leave the living room and follow her upstairs, apologised for being withdrawn, and she'd let him in. They'd been intimate, but he'd been far from present or emotionally connected to her and his continued distance now was really beginning to make her mind wander.

"Is it that obvious?" confirming he was distracted, he didn't ease her mind by explaining what was going on in his head.

"Yes", rolling onto her side, she met his eye, hoping but failing to figure out what he wasn't telling her.

"How?" asking her a sincere question, he seemed completely oblivious to how their behaviour now was different to usual.

"Do you want to take a guess?" knowing what she felt, it worried her that he hadn't seemed to notice anything was wrong.

"I really don't know Sue Ellen. Is it because I didn't say anything about complying with your wishes? Because I'm not in the mood to argue about that again", taking the conversation in a different direction than she'd been thinking, he brought up a point that only further made her wonder what was going on. It'd been five nights since she'd asked him to take precautions, four days since she'd had the unpleasant experience of seeing a doctor about taking her own precautions, and one day since she'd brushed over the topic in therapy with JR, delaying expansion of their family wasn't a new issue anymore which made her think it was something else. She didn't want to entertain the idea but perhaps he was happy enough to use protection like she was asking him to not because it was good for their marital relations but because it was good for his extramarital relations.

"I did notice that, but that's not what I was referring to. I'm more aware that you weren't exactly attentive to my needs, you haven't pulled me close to you to cuddle, and you haven't told me you loved me", cautious about accusing him of anything as serious as infidelity without much more than a feeling that something was wrong, she explained where her own concerns had come from.

Listening, he frowned at her words, hopefully because he realised how he'd made her feel, not because he was feeling guilty about something he'd done outside of their bedroom. "I'm sorry, I do love you", draping his arm over her, he pulled her in close to him, offering her some of the affection she'd been craving.

"You were also very determined, almost as if you weren't thinking about me but someone else", murmuring the words into his chest, she knew it was probably just her overactive imagination assuming the worst when it came to linking his aloofness with unfaithfulness, but she had to ask, either to ease her mind or to confirm her worst fears.

"That's not the case, I was with you, only you, it's just, I needed to clear my head and you helped me do that, not completely but at least a little bit", shaking his head against the pillow, he separated them and looked her in the eye as he denied her accusations.

Hearing his tone of voice, firm and even, with no increase in volume when he defended himself, she initially felt reassured, however, she still had no idea what was on his mind and although she'd forgiven his previous indiscretions the thought that he'd been capable of that at one point in time weighed on her mind. "I'm glad, but are you sure that's all? It's not other women? Because you know…"

"I know, and no, it's not other women. I've been faithful to you", sitting up, he directly addressed her concerns, his tone leaning in the direction of annoyed this time.

"JR, I don't want to doubt you, but I don't understand what's going on. You said it yourself, you needed to clear your head and I helped you do that. You using me for that purpose without explanation and then shutting me out sends my thoughts down a dangerous spiral of insecurity, you know that", pulling a sheet around her, she sat up and spoke up, sick of his ornery mood.

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to shut you out or make you feel insecure. You're my wife, I love you and I appreciate you, I also want to protect you. I know we're on equal footing but you've been upset recently and I don't want to further upset you by introducing my work woes into our marriage, especially since with what's going on now it's not up to me to decide what happens next". Finally giving her an indication of what was bothering him, he brought up some points she thought they were long past, things she wasn't going to let him continue thinking.

"Stop assuming what's good for me is treating me like I'm incapable of deciding how much is too much, I'm an adult, I can handle it and if I can't, I'll tell you. The only thing I'm upset by at the moment is your obvious struggle and lack of confidence in my ability to cope, especially since we've been through this at length before. Tell me, what's happening at work that's got you all wound up?" clear about what she wanted, simply for him to treat her like the equal he'd told her she was and that she knew she was, she said what she needed to, then waited.

"Ok", leaning back to drink from the glass of water on his nightstand, he paused for a few seconds, then started to speak, "there's some talk happening up in Washington…"

To be continued…