Dallas, Texas
February 1979
Kristin made things easy. JR was distracted, Sue Ellen was distracted, Bobby was distracted, and Pamela was distracted. Even Ellie was preoccupied. No one was paying attention to him, giving him the perfect chance to take stock of where things stood. Business was a nuisance, with Cliff Barnes poking around again, looking for information he had no right to. Bobby insisted his wife knew nothing about it, but how could he be sure? They were separated.
Jock had his boys on the Barnes issue and trusted they'd do whatever it took to handle things.
At home, with Kristin settling into life on the ranch and spending equal time with her older sister, nephew, and Bobby, there were plenty of opportunities for him to join in conversations and activities as well.
Little John would soon turn one, and his personality was changing by the day. One moment, he had a clear favourite toy, song, book, animal, or food, and the next, it was something different, just like Gary and Bobby had been as kids: flighty and indecisive. JR, on the other hand, had always known exactly what he wanted. For that reason, Jock was now more certain than ever that little John was his; the boy reminded him so much of his other sons at that age.
Watching Sue Ellen mother their son was a rewarding experience. With Ellie still fussing over him like he might drop dead any second, insisting he slow down and take it easy, Sue Ellen and John Ross kept him young, they kept him going.
Sue Ellen was unhappy with him and made no effort to hide it. His supposed affairs with other women, really just one-off flings, and pictures that were more suggestive than actual evidence, along with his role in Bobby and Pamela's marriage, particularly his failure to discourage Kristin from pursuing Bobby, had already caused tension. Now, his involvement in arranging a few incriminating photographs of his own only added fuel to the fire.
In a way, JR was relieved he hadn't agreed to try for another baby when Sue Ellen had suggested it a few months back. He could only imagine how much more emotional she'd be if she were pregnant right now.
He'd do his best to make amends, but she needed to give a little too; he hadn't done all the things she believed, and he could only apologise and explain so many times before it was on her to take the next step.
Wincing as she set John Ross down for bed, her little baby not so little or light anymore, Sue Ellen turned at the sound of a voice behind her. It was Jock, standing in the nursery doorway.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
She had an answer for that, but it wasn't one she intended to share. Not with him, not even with JR. Her condition wasn't something a man needed to worry about, unless he was her doctor. Women's issues were manageable, or at least they had been in the past. This time, though, things were unusually intense.
"You look like you're in pain."
"My back aches," she said simply.
It was more than her back, her entire lower body ached, and she had stomach cramps worse than she'd had in months. It wasn't something she needed a doctor for; womanhood was nothing new to her. But that didn't make it any less uncomfortable. She knew what it was, but he didn't need to know that. A backache was enough of an explanation.
"I have a solution for that, one I know you like," Jock said, approaching her and laying a hand on her back. She stiffened at his touch.
"I don't think…"
"We had this discussion once before," he interrupted, his tone insistent, as it so often was.
"Mm."
She knew what he was suggesting, his hands had offered her relief at a difficult time just over a year ago. But things were different now. She wasn't his wife, she wasn't his mistress, and she wasn't an unwell expectant mother in need of care. She was nothing to him that would make his behaviour appropriate.
"Come on."
He guided her out of the nursery, and her heart began to race as she realised where he was leading her.
"Lie down," he said, opening the guest room door and pointing at the bed. His command was far too expectant for her liking.
"I don't think I should."
"Sue Ellen, I'm going to rub your back while you lie on the bed. I'm not trying to get you into bed," he quipped.
She let out a nervous laugh, not entirely convinced by his explanation. Reluctantly, she obeyed when he restated his instruction, "lie down."
The pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together in JR's mind. His wife was a woman, and all women had times of heightened emotion. His daddy, on the other hand, had no excuse for his behaviour. Jock continued to overstep clear boundaries that should have been obvious, whether JR had stated them aloud or not.
Sue Ellen had come to him in tears, guilt gnawing at her, her conscience telling her she'd done something wrong and needed his forgiveness. He felt a flicker of annoyance, what had happened was due to someone else's actions. Her role had been more passive than anything. Still, her belief that he wouldn't end up in the same situation was hypocritical. Annoyance would have to wait, though, because the bigger issue was what he felt about his daddy's continued pursuit of Sue Ellen under the guise of friendliness.
It was one thing for Jock to offer her help when she was in a difficult position and then pass that responsibility back to him. It was another thing entirely to corner Sue Ellen and give her no choice but to comply with his instructions.
Sue Ellen was clearly unwell, but the moment she hesitated, Jock should have backed off and let her make her own decision. Sue Ellen was a grown woman, she knew how to take care of herself, and as her tears in JR's arms had shown, she knew what she wanted and didn't want.
And JR knew what he wanted too: he wanted his daddy to stay the hell away from his wife. Unfortunately, just saying that didn't seem to get the message across, so he'd have to find another way to make him understand.