The following morning JR woke up to the sun shining through the window. He reached out for Sue Ellen but realized he was alone. Getting up he headed for the shower before going downstairs to find her. Sue Ellen was in the kitchen when he crept up behind her pulling her towards him and kissing her neck.
"I woke up alone" he said
Sue Ellen turned and looked at him, smiling she replied "Someone has to get our son ready for school"
"Where is he?"
"Upstairs getting ready…I'm just making breakfast do you want some?"
"I'd sooner have you" he said "But I guess breakfast will be okay"
"So what are you going to do today?"
"Well I thought I'd take John Ross to school; then go into the office and I did think about meeting momma for lunch"
"Are you going to tell her about us?"
"I don't know…what do you think?"
"Well sooner or later she'll find out that I'm not in London; I mean even if we do move it wont be for a while as we need to find somewhere and as I don't intend to let you out of my sight I'm going to have to stay here"
"I'm just not sure how she'll take it" JR said
"Just tell her the truth"
"Do you want to come with me?"
Sue Ellen thought for a moment. She didn't really want to have to face her former mother-in-law yet. "Hey we promised last night that we would face the future together so I guess I better go with you"
"You don't have to"
"I know…we're in this together sweetheart…we promised last night that whatever life threw at us we would face it together"
"Okay then I'll pick you up at about 1pm then after lunch we can spend the rest of the day together"
"Sounds good to me" she smiled
JR put his arms around her waist pulling her closer to him and kissed her "You know you are so damn irresistible; if John Ross wasn't here I might not be able to help myself"
Sue Ellen laughed "Maybe later but now we have to get our son to school"
John Ross walked into the kitchen; seeing his mom and dad kissed he grimaced
"Can you two cut that out I want to be able to eat"
JR laughed "You'll have to be quick we'll have to leave shortly"
"Are we going back to Southfork tonight daddy?"
JR looked at Sue Ellen "No I'm going to go there after dropping you at school and pick up some of our things"
"So we're moving in here?" John Ross asked
"Apparently so" Sue Ellen laughed "Well there goes my peace and quiet"
"Not for long though…I made a few phone calls yesterday and I may just have a surprise for your momma John Ross"
"What's that then?" Sue Ellen asked
"You'll see"
"So are you really going to get married again?"
JR looked at his son "Yes we are"
"When?"
"As soon as my divorce comes through. Never should have married her in the first place"
"Does that mean we'll be a real family?"
"I hope so" Sue Ellen said
"In that case can I have a brother or a sister?" John Ross asked
JR looked at Sue Ellen; the one thing he wanted more than anything was another child with her but she made it clear years ago that she would never go through another pregnancy. There marriage at the time has been volatile would her feelings be any different now?
"Eat your breakfast John Ross, you'll be late for school" Sue Ellen said
Half an hour later Sue Ellen sat alone drinking a cup of coffee; she thought about John Ross' request; she wondered whether that would be possible or whether she and JR had left it too late to consider having more children. Her mind wandered back to the pain of her last pregnancy and she thought how nice it would be to have a normal pregnancy with JR supporting her. The thought of having another child scared her a little but if she was honest with herself it was something she wanted.
JR drove his car through the gates of Southfork. Everything looked quiet and he hoped he could get but luck was not on his side when Miss Ellie walked out of the house as he parked his car.
"Hi Momma, I was going to ask you to have lunch with me today"
"What's going on JR, why did you stay at the Condo last night?"
"Like I said momma it was late when John Ross and I finished having dinner in town so I decided it was best to stay there instead of coming back here"
"You're lying to me…where were you last night?"
"Momma…can we talk about this over lunch; I've just come back to collect a few things for me and John Ross..we're going to be staying at the Condo for a while"
"Why?"
"I just feel that it would be better to move away from here, I mean let's face it I'm not your favourite person at the moment"
"There's someone else isn't there JR; that's why you're divorcing Cally. She was right wasn't she; that woman in Europe she was more than a friend"
"Momma that was a long time ago…before I met Sue Ellen and there isn't anything going on"
JR moved to go inside not wishing to continue the conversation.
"Momma I'll pick you up at 12.30 okay?
Miss Ellie watched him go; wondering what he was planning and who he was planning it with, She thought about ringing Sue Ellen in London but they hadn't parted on the best of terms.
After packing some clothes for him and John Ross JR headed back to his car. He suddenly realized that Ewing Oil would have to do without him today he had much more important things to do. Twenty minutes later he was parked in front of Sue Ellen's house. She smiled as she opened the door to him and the suitcases.
"You really were serious about moving in weren't you" she said moving into the living room.
"Deadly" he laughed, kissing her "I bumped into momma at Southfork; she's convinced there's someone else, I told her that we'd talk at lunch"
"How did she take you moving out of Southfork?"
"I think she thinks I'm going to take her grandson to Europe. Cally told her there was a woman I spent some time with when we were over there"
"Funny she told me the same thing. Who is she JR?"
"Someone I thought I was in love with a long time ago; before I even knew you"
"What happened?"
"She married someone else and then I met you and really did fall in love"
"That's what I love about you" Sue Ellen laughed "You always find the right words to say at the right time"
JR laughed "We've got an hour an a half before we have to meet momma what would you like to do?"
"How about talk"
"This isn't moving too fast for you is it…I mean me moving in here"
Sue Ellen smiled "No I love waking up next to you I always have…I guess I'm still a bit scared about the future"
JR sat down on the couch beside her "There's no need to be…I promise I'm going to make up for all the bad times"
"Do you remember the start of our second marriage JR…we made a vow go through everything together; I wanted to be the person who you turned to when you had a problem, I wanted to be the only woman you made love to but our relationship didn't last"
"It should have done; that was my own stupid fault. Holly offered me sex and I took it I had no idea what she had in store."
"But you didn't need Holly or anyone else for that; we weren't exactly celibate. Why the need for other women"
"The thrill of the chase and also being able to ask them to do things that I wouldn't ask you to do. However you were the only woman I ever made love to; you were the only one I truly loved and kept going back to noone else captured me like you did"
Sue Ellen looked at him "I would have done anything you wanted me to" She knew what he was talking about; something she had never done with him maybe it was time to show him she wasn't afraid of experimenting.
"I remember when we first met. You were so beautiful and I just wanted to take you in my arms and make love to you; we came so close at times but you never let me; said that if I loved you that I would wait. Do you know how many cold showers I took during those days?"
"So did I but my momma told me to make you wait; not give in to you. I used to love the time we spent just being on our own sometimes doing nothing but holding hands" she looked at him; she wanted him "So tell me JR what did those other women do for you that I couldn't"
JR tried to change the subject not wanting to discuss this subject any further.
"So have you thought of where you want to live?" he asked
Sue Ellen laughed "Always could change the subject in a flash couldn't you. I don't know"
"How about Galveston…it's near the ocean and I can set up an office for Ewing Oil down there"
"Okay…as long as Ewing Oil doesn't take up too much of your time. If we're going to start over we're going to do things properly and that means giving John Ross a proper family…putting him first before every else…do you know how much pain we've put that child through over the years with our fighting"
"I know and I promise things will be different but I still need to work; I can't sit around doing nothing all day"
"I'm not asking you to; I just want a faithful, husband and a loving father for my son"
"Can I ask you something? Do you really want John Ross to be an only child?"
Sue Ellen smiled "Of course not…and if things had worked out the way I wanted them to when we got remarried he wouldn't have been"
"Do you ever wonder about the baby we lost; whether it would have been a boy or a girl; it was mine wasn't it?"
"Yes…it wasn't Peter's; we only slept together once and I made him use protection; of course he had this childish notion that it was his and we could live happily ever after but I knew it wasn't"
"Why did you sleep with him…just to get back at me?"
"He made me feel young and attractive, I was flattered, one thing led to another but I knew deep down I shouldn't have let it happen"
"Can we have another child?"
She smiled gently at him "I certainly hope so…but this time I need you to be with me every step of the way; I want you to be there at every doctor's appointment; watch while they scan pictures of our baby; I want to see your face when you feel our child moving inside of me and I also want you there at the birth"
"Really….at the birth; darlin' you know I have a really delicate stomach"
"JR! you're going to be there at the conception so you're damn well going to be there when I give birth. I want you to be the first person to hold our baby"
He moved closer to her and kissed her "Thank you"
"For what?"
"For giving me another chance………for walking back into that theatre and not going off with Don"
"I was going to leave…but hearing you say 'please don't go' changed something in me. At first I shook off the feeling I had and carried on out the theatre but then at the exit something happened; I felt paralyzed, Don was waiting to go but I couldn't, I watched him drive off then I went back inside not knowing what I was going to do"
JR pulled her closer to him and kissed her "Sue Ellen, I love you"
Sue Ellen pulled away and looked at him; she smiled seeing in his eyes a look of total honesty; for the first time ever he was being sincere with her…this had nothing to with Ewing Oil; John Ross or anything else…he really did want her for herself; she knew that JR was finally in love with her"
"You mean that don't you"
"Yes…I can't make it without you…call it crazy but you're the other half of my soul…it's taken so long for me to realize that"
Sue Ellen looked at the clock "Hey it's time we got going if you're driving to Southfork to pick up your mother"
"Are you coming with me?"
"No I'll meet you at the restaurant"
"Okay" he kissed her before standing up, sighing he put on his jacket not really wanting to move; wishing he could stay here and shut the rest of the world out. Sue Ellen walked him to the door and watched as he got into his car and drove away. She then went back indoors and prepared to get ready for lunch. She was slightly apprehensive about meeting her former mother-in-law; especially after the way their last meeting had gone. This time things were different; it wasn't just her who wanted to make her relationship with JR work but JR himself knew that for some unknown reason they belonged together; he too wanted things to work this time.
JR sat in the restaurant with Miss Ellie; he sub consciously checked his watch; hoping that Sue Ellen would show up soon. He didn't see his mother watching him or hear her ask him a question
"JR…I asked you if it's really over between you and Cally?"
"Momma I told you it was…I married her on the rebound; it should never have happened"
"JR I know there's someone else involved; there has to be"
JR looked at her; maybe she did know him better than anyone else; apart from Sue Ellen. "Maybe you're right…but it's not what you think?"
"That woman in Europe?"
JR laughed "No…but someone that I've loved all my life only I never realized how much until now; someone who a few days ago was going to walk out of my life forever but I couldn't let her"
Miss Ellie looked up and suddenly saw the sight of a familiar figure walking towards them; suddenly the pieces of the puzzle fitted together
"JR you cannot be serious"
Sue Ellen nervously approached the table; Miss Ellie had never frightened her but just at this moment she felt as though she was walking into the lion's den.
"Momma..please hear us out"
JR stood up and reached for Sue Ellen's hand; gently he kissed her on the cheek whispering in her ear "Thought you changed your mind"
She smiled; JR pulled out the chair for her and she sat down.
"Sue Ellen I thought you would be in London by now" Miss Ellie said
"So did I Miss Ellie but sometimes things don't go according to plan"
Miss Ellie rolled her eyes "You two cannot be serious. JR I've watched you destroy Sue Ellen time after time; you've driven her to drink; cheated on her repeatedly…there's no way you two can be together without hurting each other"
Sue Ellen looked at JR; most of what Miss Ellie had said was right; JR had destroyed her so many times; her mind went back to the time when she found him in bed with Holly Harwood; for a full year before that she hadn't touch alcohol but on seeing what she had seen it pushed her back to the bottle and from that moment on it seemed to would never really use her dependency on alcohol; almost every time JR pushed her too hard she found comfort in the bottle…only in the past few years had she managed to control this habit.
"Momma I know what you're saying but this time it's going to be different. The other night I watched Sue Ellen walk away from me and something inside snapped; I begged her not to go; I felt if she walked out of my life for good I would die. You see I always thought that no matter what she would always be there in some form or not but that night she was leaving for good; never coming back and I couldn't bear it; I couldn't let her do it. We know what our fights have done to us, John Ross and the rest of the family but we want to put that right; to build a happy future for us and our son"
"For how long JR…until the next beautiful woman catches your eye and you have to have her…Sue Ellen, JR's my son and I love him dearly but you can't seriously be considering giving your relationship another chance"
Sue Ellen looked at her "Miss Ellie; this time is different…we both want this; it's going to take time but neither of us can make it without the other…there's a bond between us which is more powerful than anything I've ever known and it's that that draws us back to each other; it's time to stop fighting it and concentrate on being together."
"Momma I'm not asking for your blessing I just want you to understand that I love Sue Ellen and I'm going to do everything in my power to make up for the past and make her happy"
Miss Ellie looked at her eldest son and saw in his eyes something she had never seen before; he was telling her the truth.
"Miss Ellie; I love your son and there isn't anything I can do about it; even moving to London isn't going to stop it so I need to stop fighting it" Sue Ellen looked at JR and smiled "We need to stop fighting it"
Miss Ellie looked at the couple "Is this really what you want?"
Both replied without hesitation "Yes"
"Momma we're also moving away from Dallas; there's too many memories here for us to stay"
"Where are you going?"
"Well Sue Ellen wants to move near the ocean and I've been making some enquiries; there's a few places in Galveston up for sale which we're going to take a look at. That way we won't be too far away and maybe I can set up a small office for Ewing Oil up for there"
"Does John Ross know?"
"We told him last night…he's fine about it as long as I don't hurt his momma again" JR said
"Miss Ellie; JR knows that if he hurts me again he will lose both me and his son"
"It's not going to happen Sue Ellen…I love you"
Miss Ellie sighed "So where do you two go from here?"
"Once the divorce is over we're getting remarried then I'll make sure we only have happy memories"
"I'm not happy about this to be honest; I hate to think of what will happen to John Ross when you two fall apart again but at the end of the day it's your decision"
"I know momma; but this time is forever; I am going to put all my energy into making my marriage work this time; I'm going to be the best husband and the best father, I will make you proud of me"
Miss Ellie looked at him not sure whether she believed him or not but secretly she prayed that this couple could work things out; in her heart she always knew they belong together, she wanted them to be happy and what was more she wanted her grandson to have two loving parents who loved each other as well as him.