Dallas, Texas
May 1979
Sue Ellen had begged him not to leave her ever again, and he'd promised he wouldn't. If he had to travel, she could come along, as boring as that would be, or he'd send her to stay with Pamela, anything to keep her happy. Why she felt the way she did, he still hadn't fully figured out, though he strongly suspected his daddy had a lot to do with it.
Everything about the way his daddy interacted with Sue Ellen made JR uncomfortable, and he could only imagine how she felt. She clung to him, and only him; not even John Ross seemed to bring her joy anymore. They'd been in a better place with their son for a while, but that seemed to be gone now.
He knew he needed to confront his daddy, but the lack of details about what had actually happened between them made it difficult. Had his daddy offered her another back rub that made her uneasy? Had he looked at her as if she were his? Said something inappropriate? Or worse, had he finally acted on those desires he'd hinted at in the past?
Holding a dishtowel filled with ice cubes to his jaw, Jock replayed the argument that had led him to this point. JR had barged into his office, dismissed Julie, and then laid into him, showing no consideration for other possible reasons behind Sue Ellen's state.
"Daddy, I meant what I said before, I want you to stay the hell away from my wife."
"JR, we've had this conversation, and I won't have it again. You're paranoid. We're all adults, including Sue Ellen. She can make her own decisions."
"I'm not paranoid at all. I left my wife here in Dallas twice on your orders, and both times I returned to find her shaken and practically terrified of being alone."
"Sue Ellen is a lady; she doesn't have the strongest disposition. You know that. You leave her alone and she gets lonely. It isn't hard to understand, and it isn't my fault."
"No, that's not it. Sue Ellen isn't uncomfortable around Bobby, Mama, Lucy, or Pamela, but you, she won't go near. And I dread to think why."
"You're getting at something. Say it."
"I don't know what you did or said to her, but I'm worried she won't recover from it. For her sake and yours, stay away from her."
"I'll do as I wish. Sue Ellen can do as she wishes. And you can do as you wish, whether motivated by paranoia or not."
"I'm not paranoid. I know something happened. Tell me, did you touch my wife?"
"I have, you know that."
"Did you proposition my wife?"
"What you really want to know is, if I did, did she accept?"
"That's a yes, then."
"Go ask your wife, JR."
That had been the final straw. JR didn't want to have to ask Sue Ellen whether they'd gone to bed together, he didn't want to hear the answer. He already knew. He didn't want to hear that his wife wasn't his alone anymore, that she'd shivered at another man's touch, breathily murmured his name, and might soon be carrying his next son. The thought was unbearable. He couldn't handle it and had snapped, resorting to physical blows instead of the sharp words he usually wielded. JR wasn't the man Jock had raised, and he knew then that JR didn't deserve Sue Ellen.
JR had reassured her he wouldn't leave her again, and she believed him as far as business trips went. Still, it terrified her to be alone at Southfork during the day while he was at work. Bobby didn't stay home, Lucy was supposed to be at school but who knew where she really was, Pam no longer lived at Southfork, and Miss Ellie was still deeply involved with her DOA work. Jock knew all this, and she feared he'd use it to his advantage.
So, when she heard the sound of a car coming up the driveway in the middle of the day, her heart started pounding. She felt lightheaded, sick, and shaky. But when Pamela appeared in the nursery doorway, she couldn't stop herself from crying. Pamela had kindly dropped by to check on her; it wasn't Jock coming to find her. The sight of a friendly face was such a relief, and she realised once again how wrong she'd been to judge Pam. Pam's care for both her and a now fussy little John was genuine.
"You're safe, it's okay. I'm here," Pam said gently.