Chapter 9

Sue Ellen tore out of the Emergency Room madder than a wet hen. J.R. followed fighting the urge to laugh. He knew if he cracked even a slight smile, life as he knew it would end.
"Who the hell does he…as if my husband would hit…by the time I'm done he won't be able to…," she muttered as she stormed toward the car. She wrenched the door open, entering it and slamming the door shut. J.R. winced at the force she had used. J.R. opened the driver side door, slid inside and started the car before pulling out of the parking space and onto the side road that led away from the hospital. Sue Ellen stared out of the car window, her hands clenched tightly in her lap fighting the urge to cry angry tears. Her cheek throbbed and she could feel a headache beginning, even with the pain killer she had been given at the hospital coursing through her body. Closing her eyes she leaned her head back against the headrest, her sigh loud in the relative quiet of the car.

J.R. split his attention between the Dallas traffic and his wife. He knew she was angry but even more than that she was embarrassed. Embarrassed the emergency room doctor erroneously thought she was a weak, battered wife. He knew she hated to be viewed as a weak. Something that happened quite often in their earlier marriage thanks to his actions and her reactions. She fought long and hard to change the view most of Dallas society and his family held of her. Now thanks to his brother's actions Sue Ellen was once again forced to fight against society's preconceived ideas concerning her. J.R.'s jaw clenched and his hands tightened on the steering wheel in anger.

Sue Ellen glanced over at J.R.. His gaze was fixed on traffic but she could feel the anger coming off him in waves and she knew she needed to defuse his anger. She reached over and placed her hand on his leg, squeezing gently. When J.R. glanced at her she smiled at him softly, assuring him she was alright. Still a bit angry but much less than she was before. J.R. reached down and gently grasped her hand in his large one. He smiled at her, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing her fingers gently. He let her hand drop back to his leg, holding it as he gently caressed the top of her hand with his thumb.

"J.R.?" said Sue Ellen softly.

"Yes darlin'?"

"Are you busy at Ewing Oil?" she asked.

"No...not really," he answered. "Why do you ask?"

Sue Ellen shifted in her seat so she was facing J.R. "I want to get away for a while, " she said. "I was thinkin' since John Ross has the rest of the week off of school for in-service teacher training it would be a perfect time to take a small vacation."

"Do you have an idea of where you might want to go?" asked J.R, glancing over at her.

Sue Ellen nodded. "I was thinkin' it would be nice to go to the cabin. Maybe spend a few days fishin' and swimmin'. What do ya think?" she asked.

J.R. smiled. "I think that's a perfect idea darlin'. John Ross and I can fish while you work on your tan," teased J.R., knowing Sue Ellen would insist on fishing with him and their son. For all her feminine elegance and grace Sue Ellen could hold her own in pursuits that many would consider masculine in nature. She could ride, fish and camp with the best of them. Although the one thing she did refuse to do was hunt, regardless of how many times he had tried to get to do so. She had no problem cooking what he killed but she adamantly refused to hunt. Her exact words were 'I'll eat tree bark before I hunt' and considering how stubborn she was he knew she would do exactly as she said.

"More like you'll work on your tan while John Ross and I fish," she teased back.

J.R. chuckled in response.

Sue Ellen smiled before turning serious. "I also want to get away from Bobby and Pam," she added.

J.R. didn't say anything in response but he understood Sue Ellen's feelings. Both Bobby and Pam had become exasperating over the past few months. Between the two of them they went out of their way to be patronizing, constantly making snide and malicious comments about he and Sue Ellen. And while J.R. wasn't above making his own sarcastic comments in response it had become apparent that for whatever reason his younger brother and his wife were determined to sow discontent as often as they could. It had become so bad that J.R. had actually entertained the idea of moving his family off of Southfork. He had even went as far as to look at a few available ranches in and around Braddock. Something neither Sue Ellen or his mama knew. He didn't want to move off of Southfork but he would if it meant peace for his family.