Dallas, Texas

January 1978

"Sue Ellen?"

Hearing soft footsteps on the hardwood floor, Jock looked up, recognising the figure standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't want to disturb JR with my tossing and turning. I was going to read, but you're busy working in here, so I'll go elsewhere."

Seemingly surprised by his presence, Sue Ellen looked ready to turn and leave before he addressed her again.

"Don't go on my account. I'm quiet, and the study is large."

"What are you doing in the study at four in the morning?" she asked.

"I had a call to make. Scotland."

Explaining his middle-of-the-night presence, he waited for her to respond.

"They don't keep our hours?"

Interested in his explanation, she stuck to that subject.

"Not until after we've signed the paperwork. Ewing Oil is the one pursuing the deal; we have to make allowances before we can make demands."

Nodding, accepting his answer, she didn't ask any follow-up questions.

"What's keeping you up?" he asked, waving Sue Ellen further into the room but not standing or approaching her himself. He was pleased when she walked a few paces closer and answered his question.

"I'm limited in how long I can stay in one position. My hips ache from the pressure of side sleeping, my back aches from the weight of the baby, and I can't sleep on my front anymore. Sometimes standing is the most comfortable thing I can do."

The discomfort she was experiencing was clear, and for the first time in a long while, he understood why she often looked so miserable. It had been years since his wife had been in the state Sue Ellen was in now, but he remembered well the complaints of aching joints and sleepless nights.

"I'm sorry. Feel free to stand in here; I've finished my call."

"Thank you."

Accepting his offer, their conversation tapered off as she turned her back to him, studying one of the bookshelves while he returned to the papers on his desk. They remained that way for a good while. When he reached the end of reviewing the notes he'd made during the meeting, his eyes naturally wandered, settling on her as she quietly moved from one end of the room to the other, looking at nothing in particular, her hands slowly moving back and forth over her abdomen.

"Is there anything I can do? You don't look comfortable."

Laughing humourlessly, she turned around and shook her head. "No, the baby's awake, and I've just about had it."

"What do you mean?"

"There are very few parts of me that aren't under some strain right now, and at four in the morning, I'm exhausted."

Not consciously making a choice to respond, he certainly made one. Standing and approaching her, he extended a hand, then withdrew it, remembering how she had supposedly felt the last time he'd touched her.

"May I?"

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not going to help."

Looking at his hand, her first response wasn't to recoil, but it wasn't to accept either.

"Let me try."

"Jock."

"I have three sons. This isn't new."

He had an idea, something Ellie had taught him, and he could only assume it would work on other women, especially one carrying a Ewing baby.

"All right."

Her voice was tired and resigned, but a weak positive response was all he needed to continue. Pulling a cushion off an armchair, he set it on the ground.

"Kneel down, elbows on the seat of the chair."

Looking down, then up at him, and then back down, Sue Ellen surprised him by doing as he said without question.

"Lean into the chair, let it take the pressure."

Dressed only in her nightgown, robe, and slippers, the outline of her back became more apparent as gravity pulled the fabric down around her, giving him a better idea of where his assistance might help.

"Hopefully, I still remember."

Kneeling down himself, he ran his hands down the slippery silk from her mid to lower back, starting softly and increasing the pressure as he continued, metaphorically pulling the tension from her.

"How's that?"

Curious about her response as she was quiet, he didn't stop what he was doing, only moving on to the next movement after she murmured, "Fine."

Balling his hands into fists and applying pressure to her lower back, he was pleasantly surprised when a slow, satisfied sound escaped her mouth. Relaxing her head forward on the chair, he couldn't see her face, but he could feel the difference in her. When she spoke a little while later, breaking the silence between them, her comment confirmed things were improving.

"I think even the baby finds that soothing."

"Why do you say that?"

"They're slowing their movements."

"Good."

Alternating between the two movements, falling back into a comfortable silence, he was genuinely surprised when she spoke again, this time inviting him to do something he had thought he'd never get to do again.

"If you slide your left hand around now, you'll be able to feel him or her rolling over, hopefully getting ready to sleep."

Doing as she instructed, he was overcome when he felt exactly as she had described.

"That's really something."

For a time, whether the baby was his son or grandson didn't matter. The shared experience was mesmerising regardless. He couldn't be sure how Sue Ellen would feel about him during daylight hours, but right now, kneeling together, with the stillness and silence of early morning all around them, things felt right.