Dallas, Texas

January 1978

Had it really happened? Sue Ellen thought so, but she couldn't be sure. Waking up in her own bed, beside her own husband, nothing around them looked different, yet she felt different.

Getting up, she noticed the change. Her hips still ached, but her back was nowhere near as tight as usual. She didn't remember returning to bed, but if she had left and come back, it must have only been a few hours ago, the clock on the bedside table now read 7:00.

Heading into the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror as she waited for the shower to heat up. Reaching around to her back, she ran her hand up and down, over the top of her nightgown, taking the corresponding relief as confirmation that it had indeed happened.

It was a strange realisation. Jock, a man she'd begun to avoid more often than not because of how uncomfortable he made her feel, had given her the most relief she'd had in months. She'd have to see if JR could do the same, because while it had genuinely helped, it wasn't something she wanted to make a habit of.

She knew Jock; if she gave an inch, he'd take a mile. Inviting him to share her experience a few times before had already led him to feel entitled, and she couldn't have him thinking he was entitled to any more of her now, simply because she'd been open to it last night.

"JR, before we go to breakfast, we need to talk."

"What is it?"

"It's about your daddy."

The words sent a chill down his spine, but he did his best to listen to what his wife had to say before getting upset. Her nervousness and lack of apparent anger made him think her news wasn't entirely negative.

Watching and listening as she spoke, it was clear that Sue Ellen's mood had improved considerably, which in itself was a relief. But the fact that his daddy had something to do with it stung.

He had tried everything to alleviate her discomfort, yet she continually pushed him away, only to find comfort in the arms of his daddy. If there had been anything more to it, he might have called it sick, but he stopped short, sensing that Sue Ellen was already questioning the behaviour herself. Anything he added would only be unnecessary and unhelpful.

He'd support her by doing as she asked, that was all he could do. Knowing she had no intention of letting his daddy get any closer provided some comfort.

He'd be glad when it was all over, and he knew Sue Ellen was more than ready for that day to come too. The process of becoming parents was proving far more complicated than either of them had anticipated.

Wichita, Kansas

In the moment, he had thought it didn't matter whether Sue Ellen's baby was his or JR's, but in the days since, the question had begun to eat away at him. Jock had to know either way; he needed to know if he was responsible for what they had shared in the study that night. It wouldn't change anything, he wasn't about to try to claim paternity. That had never been the plan; he'd always intended his actions to be altruistic. But he'd also always intended to know what was what, and now his clinic contact's disappearance had made a complete mess of that.

With his investigators unable to locate his original contact and his second contact proving more trouble than they were worth, he sought out a third and hopefully more reliable source: a family lawyer. He couldn't explain the situation to Harve or anyone in Dallas, maybe even in the entire state, but he felt safe enough traveling to Wichita, where he was unlikely to be recognised, especially since he hadn't booked the appointment with Mr Wilson under his real name.

Asking only broad questions, he let the man in the large leather chair opposite him do most of the talking.

"A blood test would be our first step, comparing the mother's blood type, the baby's blood type, and the potential father's blood type. Certain outcomes are only possible through specific combinations. For example, a mother with type AB blood and a father with type B blood could have a baby with A, B, or AB blood types, but not O. It's not perfect; sometimes it's inconclusive and we need to run a more complex test."

Jock nodded, probing further.

"What if the potential fathers have the same blood type?"

"We'd run an HLA test. It provides more detailed information, which can help exclude or confirm a match. It's never 100%, but it offers more clarity than just a blood type test."

Liking what he was hearing, Jock felt hopeful that he might yet get an answer about whether he was expecting a son or a grandson, but he didn't want to get ahead of himself.

"How exactly would that work?"

"Do you have children, ones you know are yours?"

"Yes, three sons."

"If we took blood samples from them, you, their mother, and an unrelated individual in the lab, we'd likely be able to exclude the stranger and confirm a genetic relationship among the rest."

Thinking it over, one question kept running through his mind.

"Say my son's son was tested?"

"We'd be able to determine you were related."

"Could you determine whether my son's son was my son's son and not my son?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

Mr Wilson, visibly unclear about the question, waited for clarification.

"What if my son and I both engaged with the same woman?"

"Oh. That's a bit more complicated."

It wasn't supposed to be complicated; it was all meant to be simple. Unfortunately, complicated was the perfect word to describe the situation now.