Within a week, J.R. and Sue Ellen were back at Southfork.
"Would you look at how much he's grown, honey?" Bobby noted to his wife as he playfully splashed John Ross, who meekly allowed his toes to dip into the pool. The entire family had suspended their day of work in celebration of their long-awaited return and all hostility temporarily subsided. The only member of the family who didn't appear to fully embrace the elevated mood was Pam, physically present but mentally absent, as her body curled into a deckchair. "Honey?" Bobby probed, and Pam forced a small smile for appearance sake - a smile Sue Ellen knew far too well - and continued to stare into the distance of the ranch.
"What a welcome home," J.R. sarcastically mumbled, as he flicked through the Dallas Press to reacquaint himself with recent events. His eyes playfully danced, back and forth between his parents and Sue Ellen, who rolled her eyes in mild contempt for his attitude.
"Bobby and Pam haven't had it easy since you've been away, J.R.," his mother frowned, "I don't think any unkind remarks would help the matter." There were a multitude of transformations that had occurred in his absence. Most notably, Lucy's marriage to Mitch Cooper. The newly-weds had purchased an apartment in Dallas and, while J.R. rarely relished her presence, even he found the lack of her difficult to reconcile.
Consumed with empathy for her sister-in-law, whose troubles Miss Ellie had vaguely confided, Sue Ellen excused herself once the conversation shifted to a less troublesome topic. "Pamela," she perched on the foot of the deck-chair, beside the auburn-haired woman. "Are you alright? You don't seem yourself."
"I'm sorry, I've had so much on my mind lately." The re-entrance of her mother, Rebecca, had caused complication in her life and Pam continued to seek a solution to her inability to conceive and carry her own child. Bobby was married to Ewing Oil and their ability to communicate with one another faltered majorly.
"Miss Ellie filled me in on what's happened, not in too much detail, of course," she noted, when a flash of panic spread across Pam's features. "But she has expressed her concern for you and, well... I know we haven't been particularly close but I hope you know you can confide in me, if needs be. A problem shared is a problem halved, as Dr. Elby likes to remind me." There was mild humour in her comment and Pam smiled, grateful. "He's been a real help. You know, I'd be more than happy to make an appointment for you." The directness Sue Ellen addressed her with startled Pam, who had become accustomed to her withdrawn and resentful nature.
Before Pam could promptly and politely refuse Sue Ellen's offer, Theresa approached serenely. "There's a phone call for you, Mrs. Ewing. It's from the Fairview Hotel."
Sue Ellen's interest peaked and Pam waved her hand, as if to answer the unspoken question. "It's probably my mother." She quickly strode away from Sue Ellen, who watched suspiciously, until her sons unmistakable scream of euphoria broke her concentration as Bobby continually splashed water in his direction.
"Miss Ellie, did you say Rebecca Wentworth had already moved to Dallas?" Sue Ellen followed her intuition, seated beside her mother-in-law.
"Oh," J.R.'s ears pricked, drawn by the new information.
"Yes, after her husband, Herbert Wentworth, died, she contacted Pam and moved to Dallas on a permanent basis." Miss Ellie confirmed, "Pam helped her move in. She invited Jock and I for dinner sometime next week, Bobby and Pam too, of course. I suspect you and J.R. would appreciate the chance to have the house to yourselves."
"I suppose she'll relocate her company to Dallas, too?" J.R. pried for more detail.
"What's the matter, J.R.?" Bobby climbed from the pool, his competitive streak in full force. "Not afraid of a little competition, are you?"
The brothers started to bicker back and forth but Sue Ellen's mind zoned out of the conversation. She was heckled by Pam's attempt to deceive the identity of her caller; her mother wouldn't have called from the Fairview Hotel if she had already purchased her home. Sue Ellen dried any dampness from John Ross' baby-soft skin and wandered inside. "I think the baby needs some shade." Only Miss Ellie noted her departure, while Jock refereed the immature squabble between his sons. Once inside, Pam's muffled voice could be heard from the other side of the door and she listened in.
"They flew back into Dallas yesterday afternoon." There was a brief pause. "It's permanent, as far as I'm aware." Another ten-second pause stretched, before Pam uncharacteristically lost her temper. "Well, you know, J.R. doesn't always inform me of his plans - I'm hardly his closest confidante!" Sue Ellen could practically see her shake her head, remorsefully. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose my temper but surely you can appreciate the position I'm in." Pam exhaled, loudly. "Yes, I promise, I will speak to Sue Ellen." The phone-call drew to its natural conclusion when a small cry of boredom from John Ross exposed her deceit. His cry, and the subsequent click of Sue Ellen's sandals, attracted Pam's attention and she followed Sue Ellen into the nursery. "Bobby didn't tire him out already, did he?"
"I think the flight home wore him out," Sue Ellen commented, as she dressed the toddler in his sleep-suit. "How's your mother?"
"My mother?" Pam's confusion was evident, and Sue Ellen's suspicion even more so.
"It was Rebecca who called you, wasn't it?"
"She's fine, a little worried about Cliff, though. She couldn't reach him and he hasn't dealt well with her at all. I don't know if he ever will, he's always been so devoted to Digger. Aunt Maggie, too. She was the only mother we've ever really known -"
"Quit lyin' to me, Pam!" Her ability to tolerate deception had withered considerably; she didn't accept it from her husband, neither would she accept it from her friend. "I find it hard to believe your mother would care whether J.R. and I have permanent plans to stay in Dallas. So, who were you on the phone with?" Sue Ellen distracted her son with his favourite rattle toy and directed her sister-in-law from the nursery. "Well, who was it? Was it Cliff? He never seems content unless he's hot on J.R.'s heels. Come on, Pamela, tell me! Is he worried about the new company? Does he have plans to boycott it, shut it down?" Pam's discomfort increased, her inability to respond and cease Sue Ellen's rising anger. "Is he pressuring you, is that it? Pamela, I know he's your brother and you love him but -"
"Sue Ellen, stop!" Her sister-in-law screamed, frenzied. "It wasn't my mother, and it wasn't Cliff." Her heart was frantic, "It was Kristin. She's here in Dallas, she has been for a few weeks now and I've wanted to tell you. I wasn't sure how, that's all."
"Here... in Dallas?" Sue Ellen stammered, in disbelief.
Her questions remained unanswered in the back of her throat when J.R. and Bobby stormed up the staircase. "I don't know what you're planning, J.R., but you better watch your back because I'll beat you at your own game!" The youngest Ewing brother snarled, his towel slung over his shoulder, as he skunked to his bedroom.
"Home sweet home, huh, sugar?" J.R. chuckled, amused by his brother's irrational temper.
Gently, his wife nodded her head but her heart was removed from the statement, "Home, sweet home."