Miss Ellie contentedly stretched her legs out onto the chair opposite as she watched Sue Ellen playfully glide John Ross across the surface of the swimming pool and the toddler splashed his arms to create further ripples. She didn't doubt her first born grandson would cause ripples of his own in the oil business like his namesakes before him; those piercing blue eyes weren't the only thing he had inherited from Jock and J.R.. The rare oasis of peace that had fallen over Southfork was suddenly broken, its serenity withered away with the deafening screech of tyres, as J.R.'s car roared into the driveway. Her eldest son appeared from his vehicle, furious. "J.R., what's wrong?"
He ignored his mother's inquisitive probe and halted at the entrance, "Sue Ellen, I'd like a word with you in private, if you'd be so kind. Mama, look after the boy, would you?" Neither woman had the opportunity to argue before J.R. marched indoors and they were equally baffled by his sour mood.
Sue Ellen promptly evacuated herself and John Ross from the pool, roughly drying them both off with a nearby towel before passing the toddler into his grandmother's care. She slipped on a loose, oversized blouse and followed her husband into their bedroom. His rage unsettled Sue Ellen; it had been a few days since she informed J.R. of their unborn child and very few words had been exchanged since, nor had the family been informed of her condition. "Bad day at the office, darlin'?"
Her tone of ridicule struck a chord and J.R.'s temper reached its limit, "Pack your bags!"
"J-J.R., I don't understand -" her confidence wavered and she stumbled over his name, as he scrambled to collect their suitcases from the closet.
"Daddy backed Bob to run Ewing Oil," her husband furiously reported the showdown that had occurred at the office.
Sue Ellen folded her arms across her chest, "Well, I highly doubt that's a challenge the great J.R. Ewing will find hard to conquer." Truthfully, she possessed a reluctant sympathy for him - he had been thrown off his game ever since Kristin's attempt on his life.
"If daddy wants the golden boy at the helm, that's fine. I'll have to find another way in, that's all. We're leaving!" Nothing irked Jock Ewing more than the possibility of his children abandoning the family home he had built and that was step one of J.R.'s beautiful scheme to reclaim his rightful position. After all, Bobby had threatened to leave and it had worked wonderfully in his favour. "Don't look so worried, sugar! I'm about to jet you off on that honeymoon you missed," he guided Sue Ellen toward the closet and dragged her suitcase onto the double bed. "You have Theresa come up here and help you pack whatever you want. I'm not too sure how long we'll be gone but we can buy anything else you need when we get there."
Wriggling free, Sue Ellen's eyes narrowed, suspiciously. "When we get where, J.R.? This had better not me a little scheme of yours to have me leave my son -"
"Don't be so paranoid, honey, the boy's coming with us!" His bad mood was suddenly a distant memory, replaced by the grin of manipulation. "Now, it won't be too warm where we're going but I'm sure you'll find something suitable in that closet of yours. Lord knows, you could fill a department store with all I've bought you over the years." He left Sue Ellen to pack her suitcase and merrily wandered back downstairs where Miss Ellie had clothed John Ross and enticed him indoors with a snack. "Hey, John Ross!" J.R. playfully ruffled his son's thick blonde hair. "Say, mama, how do you feel about a good ol' family dinner tonight - all of us Ewing's 'round the table, like old times?"
Surprised by the one-eighty in his mood, she stammered agreeably, "Yes, J.R. -"
"Good... good! Make sure the whole family's there, you hear? Sue Ellen and I have an announcement," he tantalised his mother with the power of suspense and exited the kitchen with a home-baked cookie seized from John Ross' plate. When he returned to the bedroom, J.R. discovered Sue Ellen had hovered over her empty suitcase in his absence. "Well, what's the matter, darlin'? Have you forgotten how to pack?"
"What game are you playing, J.R.?" Sue Ellen defensively snapped, "Don't think for a second I'm going anywhere before we've reached a resolution of our own."
"I thought we'd already reached it," he stared his wife plainly in the eyes. No matter how hard she tried, Sue Ellen wasn't wicked enough in nature to decipher his ulterior motive and, truthfully, he probably wouldn't have loved her if she were. "Sue Ellen, the way I see it, this child is a second chance. This time, we have the opportunity to really do things right." J.R. smoothly reeled her in, "We missed out on the kind of moments that bond a husband and wife forever - that's my fault and my fault alone. I committed myself to the company more than I did to you but I'm ready to change. With Bobby as president of Ewing Oil and a new baby on the way, I don't see a better time than right now." Sue Ellen was magically captivated by his eyes, wide and full of promise, that she barely noticed his arms snake around her waist. "Think about it... if you could be anywhere, anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?"
Overwhelmed, she simply shook her head, "I don't know, I..."
He chuckled, deviously, "Well, it's a good thing I've figured it all out then, isn't it? Now, whatever you don't remember, we can have shipped to us." The question of where on the scale between temporary and permanent their little vacation was entered Sue Ellen's mind but faded as quick when J.R. flattened one hand on the small of her back and another swept on her stomach. "I know how difficult your pregnancy with John Ross was for you. I promise, this one will be different. We'll be away from Southfork, away from Dallas, and really find time for the four of us."
It was the last direction J.R. had ever expected his life to follow but, with his company lost, he didn't see any other option.