Dallas, Texas
June 1978
JR couldn't quite figure Sue Ellen out, but he wasn't interested in asking too many questions. He suspected her change of heart had something to do with the fact that merely suggesting they have more children was far from a commitment to actually doing so. For them, accidents didn't happen. If she decided to have another baby, it would involve specialists and sterile, clinical settings, it was not something that would simply occur within the four walls of their bedroom.
In that way, Sue Ellen held the upper hand. His daddy's insinuation that there was an ongoing competition between brothers and their wives was purely in his own mind. Bobby and Pamela might be their rivals, but JR believed they were already ahead. After all, they had what should, in theory, be the ultimate prize: the firstborn grandson, John Ross Ewing III.
The moment Pamela announced she was expecting again, he knew they'd have to have a serious conversation about whether they wanted to join the race. But for now, he decided to leave it alone and appreciate that his wife was finally enjoying being both a wife and mother, for the first time in months.
"JR?"
At the sound of the knock and Jock's voice, Sue Ellen tensed, though her husband didn't react nearly as quickly.
"JR? Are you coming down? We need to… oh."
She screamed, shocked, embarrassed, and deeply uncomfortable. Reaching for a sheet, she struggled to pull it over herself, hindered by JR's weight still atop her.
"Later," JR said sternly, without turning his head towards the door. She wished he would. Sharing the embarrassment might have lessened her own mortification.
As the door closed without another word, she felt a wave of both relief and lingering anxiety. This wasn't the first time she'd felt uneasy because of Jock, and she doubted she'd ever get used to it, nor should she have to.
"You need to set some boundaries," she muttered.
Still tense, she wriggled beneath JR, signalling her desire to end their actions. The interruption had killed the mood entirely. JR let out a pained sound, his expression matching her own frustration. The moment for pleasure had passed, but his body hadn't quite caught up.
He shuffled out of bed, muttering obscenities under his breath as he made his way to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Hearing the shower running, she knew it would be a cold one for him, and he'd likely go to work grumpy. She wasn't in the best frame of mind either, but at least she could avoid Jock for the rest of the day. JR, however, would have no such luck.
JR needed to talk to his daddy, to remind him once again of his place, which was certainly not in their marriage. As for her, she'd do what she could, starting with buying a lock for their bedroom door.
It hadn't been intentional. He really did have a question for JR, but he got far more than the answer he'd been seeking when he entered the room.
Sue Ellen wasn't his, but that didn't stop Jock from admiring her as if she were. Bathing suits and nightgowns had given him an idea of her figure, but seeing her partially unclothed filled in the gaps in his mental picture. JR had been there too, but with Sue Ellen in the room, he hadn't even really noticed JR.
He couldn't prove it, but he was sure he and Sue Ellen shared something special between them. John Ross had Sue Ellen's hair and eyes, but people had commented more than once that the boy had his mouth. That detail hadn't surprised anyone, since Jock, JR, and John Ross were all related. But to Jock, it was no surprise for a different reason: he was convinced John Ross had his mouth not because he was his grandson, but because he was his son.
It looked like JR was back in with his wife, and soon they'd likely be consulting specialists again. If his involvement the first time hadn't been such a secret, he'd much prefer to help a second time the old-fashioned way, by taking JR's wife to bed himself. His input, however, was secret and had to remain that way. So, if and when he was needed again, he would be ready, in a room down the hall from where the other John Ross Ewing was providing his input.
Lounging on the Southfork patio, Sue Ellen watched Jock through her sunglasses. The way he leered at her made her stomach turn. Pamela was younger and arguably more attractive, but his gaze wasn't on Pamela, it was on her. At first, the nausea was merely figurative, but as she continued to observe him, it became a physical sensation, one that sent her rushing into the house in search of the nearest bathroom.
As she retched, emptying the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl, a terrible memory resurfaced. History was repeating itself: Jock's leering was back, but that wasn't the only familiar feeling. She hoped it was just food poisoning or a stomach bug, because the alternative was something she was not ready to experience again anytime soon.
John Ross was only four months old; it was far too soon to be expecting another child. She hoped she was mistaken in comparing her current illness to morning sickness, but her intuition told her otherwise. It didn't quite make sense, considering what the doctors had said about JR's condition, but circumstances could change, and she suspected they had.