The Last Years of Southfork

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

"The Last Oil Baron" continues...


London, 1990. Sue Ellen drove over to the nearby stables where they kept their horses and looked for her son John Ross. She looked terribly sad though she hadn´t been crying. Finally, she found her son:

"Hi John Ross! I´m glad I found you..." "Hi mum - he said, as he dismounted - . Is there any emergency?" "I need to talk to you about something, son." She held his arm and walked with him away from the stables. "John Ross, your daddy is dead - she bluntly told him. He blinked, clearly shocked. "But that´s...impossible. I talked to him a couple of days ago..." John Ross covered his face with his two hands trying to hide his tears. "I know, son. An accident happened at Southfork...and he died instantly." "I told him off the last time I talked to him..." - he said concerned. "But you couldn´t know..." Sue Ellen tried to comfort her son but he just ran away, got into his sports car and drove off.

The conference room at Barnes-Ewing Oil was crowded. Finally, Cliff Barnes arrived, followed by his secretary Jackie. He began to answer the questions of the journalists, and announced that he would keep the Ewing in the company´s name as a way to show respect to the family he had been so attached since his sister left. "I might not like J.R. Ewing, but my only nephew Christopher belongs to his family, and I want to honor him, and likewise my sister Pamela." Suddenly, someone began to applaud: "Bravo, bravo!!" Everybody turned around: It was the last person Cliff expected to see there: Jack Ewing.

At Southfork, Bobby received the call of Sheriff Washburn. He finally had the results of the ballistics testing on the gun found in J.R.´s hand. "Fenton - said Bobby right away - , I´d like to talk to you in person. May I come by in an hour?" "Ok, Bobby" - he answered. When he arrived at the police station, went directly into the sheriff´s office. "Hi Fenton. What did you find out?". "Our ballistics people confirmed that the bullet that killed your brother was shot by the gun he was holding. Considering the angle it hit him, J.R. himself was the one who caused his death, so it was a suicide." Bobby sat down and stared at the old man. "I need a favor - he said, very calmly - . I need to convince everybody that J.R.´s death was accidental, not a suicide." "Bobby, you know I can´t..." "You can and you will. You know that, if it hadn´t been for our help, you wouldn´t have been re-elected as sheriff last year." "Again, you are reminding me of the Ewings´ role in my career? Let me tell you something: I could´ve expected to hear this from J.R., but not from you." "I´m not pushing you, or threatening you, Fenton. But I will not let my family, or the world know that J.R. killed himself. Maybe he didn´t live with honor, but I can tell you he won´t be remembered as a suicidal Ewing. That´s the least we can do for him..."

To Be Continued

 

[Karin]

What a heartbreaking update with John Ross getting the news of his father's death and Bobby getting confirmed that his older brother committed suicide. That must be a heavy burden to bear for him as there must be these questions in his mind if he could have done something to prevent it considering the fact that he was closest to JR. Anyway I like how Bobby tried to save his brother's reputation by bribing the sherif and Cliff keeping the Ewing Oil name on the company.

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

What a heartbreaking update with John Ross getting the news of his father's death and Bobby getting confirmed that his older brother committed suicide. That must be a heavy burden to bear for him as there must be these questions in his mind if he could have done something to prevent it considering the fact that he was closest to JR. Anyway I like how Bobby tried to save his brother's reputation by bribing the sherif and Cliff keeping the Ewing Oil name on the company.

Thanks Karin for your feedback! I see you are spot on regarding John Ross´s reaction, I will get deeper into that. I think that the Bobby we all knew and loved would have done that...Can you also see a kind of parallelism between this and Bobby´s complicity with "J.R.´s Masterpiece", in the sense that in both cases he must lie for his dead brother, as if J.R. still had some power over him. I´ll comment other times I felt I was going to be "copied" when we get to that...though they didn´t (and anyway I liked my stories better to be honest...). One of them will come soon and will involve Gary and Val...and Sue Ellen.

 

[Karin]

Well I understand what you mean and I must confess I much prefer to think of what happened in my Dallas fanfic as what really happened after the original Dallas went off the air as the alternative universe that CC dreamed up and put on TNT was just depressing!

Yes you are right, Bobby did have to lie for JR both in your story and in JR's masterpiece. I'm sure that was just a lucky coincidence though!

I'll look forward to read more about how the family deals with JR's death.

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

"The Last Oil Baron" continues...


Cliff´s press conference had been interrupted by an old relative by marriage of his: Jack Ewing, brother of his late wife Jamie. "Bravo, Cliff - he continued sarcastically. - Dear people from the press, I have news for you. Something that Mr. Barnes will never dare to tell you." A dazed Cliff looked at Jackie and then at Jack: "What the hell are you doing here? I can decide who is allowed to get into this room and who isn't." "Do you have anything to hide, Barnes? - A newspaper woman put her microphone next to him: "You are Mr. Jack Ewing, right Sir?" "Yes I am. I´m here because I think it´s fair for you to know all the truth about the new owner of Ewing Oil. Cliff Barnes, here present, married my sister only to take over her share of the Ewing company. When the court ruled against them, he tried to annul their marriage and let her out on the street. But she died a few months later, and some clues fingered at him as the guilty part." "Nobody could ever prove that, you bastard! Why don´t you take your lies and go back to hell, where you belong?!" The TV cameras were filming their showdown and reporters kept making questions to both of them. Finally, Jack approached to Cliff and whispered into his ear: "I´m back to Dallas because I have unfinished business with you...and I´m going to make you pay for my sister´s death."

Bobby rode his horse Banjo through the Southfork land until he got to the family cemetery. It was early morning but he was used to ride at that hour of the day. He got off the horse, opened the iron gate and walked into one of the graveyards. Though his remains weren´t buried there, Jock Ewing´s tombstone stood up in the middle of the place, as he himself did when he was alive. Around his there were others belonging to Ellie´s father, brother and grandfather. Bobby sighed, exhausted: he couldn´t sleep the night before, and his thoughts were more and more dense. He looked at Jock´s tombstone, and asked him, as if he were in front of him: "Now Daddy, what am I supposed to do...?"

Meanwhile, in London, Sue Ellen and John Ross were sitting face to face. The woman had to deal with a serious subject and something had to be decided right away. "Sweetheart - she said to her son - , I talked to your uncle yesterday, and he told me that your father died...accidentally." John Ross stared at her: "What do you mean exactly?" She was afraid of having to explain the details to her son, but knew deep down that he had the right to know: "J.R. was cleaning your grandfather´s gun, and the gun shot itself...It was an accident." The boy, who was twelve years old but was clever and insightful, gave his mother an intense look: "Daddy would´ve never cleaned a loaded gun, and much less Jock´s. That pistol was a relic for the family...You´re lying to me." Sue Ellen blinked, tearfully. "John Ross, I know you are overwhelmed by his death, but that´s the truth, Bobby had no reason to lie to me." The boy got up and ran upstairs, leaving his mother confused.

Bobby and Ray were talking on the phone: "Don´t worry Ray. I understand you had business meeting scheduled for this week and so did Jenna." "How are you feeling? I wish I could be there right now." Bobby inhaled. "I have no idea to be honest, Ray. I feel lost in this empty house, with only the company of Raúl and Teresa. There´s a memory of J.R. in every corner of this house, of this ranch, and I can´t run away from it, nor I think I really want to." "I know that feeling, Bob. That happened to me when Jock died, and also when I and Donna separated. How did John Ross take it?" "Sue Ellen is having trouble with him because it seems that he was the last person he talked to. J.R. wanted him to come back and he was rude to his dad. Besides, he doesn´t believe the accident version..." "So John Ross is growing up quickly to become a real Ewing..." "I´m afraid he´ll have to cope with this carefully because guilt can take us through dangerous roads. We´ll hold the funeral tomorrow. Please send me photos of Lucas, Charlie and Margaret soon." "What about Miss Ellie and James?" "Clayton told me that Mavis was the one who informed her about what happened. She still is in denial, so they'll stay in Miami a few more days. And James...I just don´t know where he must be living now..."

At some point in the West Coast, James Beaumont was buying a newspaper, whose headline read: "J.R. Ewing, found dead in Dallas." He read the whole story and stayed in the middle of the street, astonished, as if the world had stopped. Until the car horns brought him back to the reality.

At Ray Krebbs' former house next to Southfork, Michelle Stevens had just washed her hair and switched on the TV. She had just come back from a holiday trip and her bags were still unpacked. When she heard about J.R.´s death, she switched off the news and locked up the door.

Cliff walked into the Braddock County District Attorney´s Office Building. Then he took the elevator and got off at the D.A. Frank Hillson´s office floor. He had a ploy in mind and needed his collaboration. Luckily, he had received a tip-off about the case of Johnny Dancer´s murder that he had confessed a few months earlier. The D.A. preferred not to convict him because Carter McKay had already been tried and sentenced for it. Now, Cliff wanted to turn tables and use the information he had to get even on Michelle Stevens. "So you want me to re-open the case of Hillary Taylor´s murder at Southfork? What makes you think I´d do that?" Cliff took out a small cassette out of his briefcase and played the tape inside: It was a conversation between Hillson and J.R., which turned out to happen a couple of days before the latter´s suicide, and one day before Michelle was released from prison. "I still have good friends at this office..." - he assured the attorney. "And now, I want you do something for me: Re-open Michelle Stevens´ case...and get her a lifetime sentence." Cliff smiled maliciously, very self-assured.


To Be Continued

 

[Karin]

I love how you've managed to balance comedy, Jack interrupting Cliff I found that funny, with tragedy, John Ross being all sad about his dad's death and also seeing right through his mom that it wasn't an accident.

Interesting that James and Michelle found out about JR's death. Will they be at the funeral I wonder?

Also I can't believe that Miss Ellie would want to miss it or even that Ray would...

The scene with Bobby at the gravesite did remind me a lot about a scene in Dallas TNT...

Anyway I'll look forward to the next update,

Take care,
Love:
Karin
x

P.S. When are you going to get around to reading my story?
I'm curious about what you'll think of it. D.S.

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

Thanks to all of you who are reading my stories and giving me feedback. There is nothing more inspirational for a writer than knowing that other people find his work entertaining. You can write as a therapy, or as a hobby, but it´s so much easier when you know there is someone out there reading them.

This is to you my friends!! :bh:

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

"The Last Oil Baron" continues...


In a hotel room, somewhere in Texas, a woman turned on the TV set. She had spent the last days traveling, and now, she wanted to catch up on the last news. She was wearing a light blue robe, and wanted to take a shower right after watching the program. A slim woman in her early forties, her hands were carefully manicured and her long brown hair was upswept, though she usually wore it down. Partly because she had a couple of scars on her face that surgery could not hide. She sat at one of the armchairs in the big room, and took the glass of white wine she had asked for. She took a sip, and put the volume up. After watching a report about financial news, she found on the screen a familiar face. It was J.R. Ewing´s face. Quickly, she put the glass down and listened to the news carefully. They were updating the news about his death, and the woman suddenly got up and walked over the next room. She took the phone and pushed a button first, and then, she dialed a number. But before her call was answered, the woman hang up.

Early afternoon at Southfork. Christopher got out of the school bus and checked out the mailbox at the ranch entry. He took all the letters and read the names of the people they are adressed to, out of curiosity because nobody used to write to him. So he got surprised to see there was one letter for him. He put it into his pocket, and then got the rest into his book bag. He began to walk towards the big house, and decided to read the letter for him. He looked astonished, and put the letter back into his pocket. Then he kept walking back home, quietly.


To Be Continued

 

[Karin]

Intriguing way to re-introduce Pam. At least I think it was Pam who saw the news but didn't dare to call. But I could of course be wrong since you wrote the woman was in her late 40s and back in 1990 Pam should have been in her early 40s.

Am I right to assume the letter to Chris is from Pam?
I think I remember reading about that in your summary in the beginning!

Anyway I look forward to read more of this story.

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

Although her age was never confirmed in the scripts, unlike Bobby (who otherwise had 2 different birth years!), I guessed that Pam was born in 1952 and sticked to this concept, as well as the other main characters (character guide here). Sometimes I had to guess, others I had to search. The Laura Van Wormer book gives the age of most characters, but even an official guide contradicts the official "canon"...

So if Pam was born in 1952, she was 38 (even younger!) in 1990. As usual you are spot on Karin!! If you want, you may change "late" for "early" directly, I will do the same thing on the version published on my site Soaptime Fiction. Anyway, and following the Star Wars comparisons, there is never a "definitive" version of my "Ewing Empire" episodes, as there is never a "definitive" version of George Lucas´first trilogy, with so many changes, digital FX and so on.

Once the complete version of the episode is published here, I put it on my site, and when I have time for it, I have to check it out for all the thousands of grammar mistakes waiting for me to correct them! Not to speak of the nits (did you know that once I wrote something like this: "Sue Ellen and Dusty were staying in a Swiss hotel, and they could see the Eiffel Tower from their window", I´m stil lol´ing when I remember it...). I´m a bit of an absent-minded writer...!!

Edit: Forgot to tell you that, quite obviously, yes, the mystery woman is Pam, though the letter may was NOT written by Pam (or by her own hand!).

 

[Karin]

lol about the swiss hotel room and looking at the Eiffel Tower reference!
Then again it's no worse than on "Jay Walking" when random people on the street didn't know that the leaning tower in Pisa is situated in...Pisa! lol

I changed the late forties to early forties for you as requested.
Do you want me to remove your summaries at the beginning of this story as well or do you wanna keep them?

I know what you mean about not having a definite version as the Dallas story I am writing together with my sister keeps evolving all the time too!

Anyway yay Pam is back!
I can't wait for her to be reunited with her family again.

 

[Piggyrella Sanderson]

lol about the swiss hotel room and looking at the Eiffel Tower reference!
Then again it's no worse than on "Jay Walking" when random people on the street didn't know that the leaning tower in Pisa is situated in...Pisa! lol

I changed the late forties to early forties for you as requested.
Do you want me to remove your summaries at the beginning of this story as well or do you wanna keep them?

I know what you mean about not having a definite version as the Dallas story I am writing together with my sister keeps evolving all the time too!

Anyway yay Pam is back!
I can't wait for her to be reunited with her family again.

Thanks for your feedback Karin! Yes, I think it would be better to remove the summaries so I won´t spoil myself!!

New entries for this story are on its way...

 

[Karin]

Okay I've now put your summaries as spoilers. So if people want to be spoiled they can read them. But they won't see them unless they click the button.

I'll look forward to read your update.

 

[Jessie]

Finally caught up sorry I'm so far behind in reading stories recently.

Great writing as always it is sad JR committed suicide. The reaction of family is sad especially John Ross and Bobby.

I love your videos too.

Hope to see more updates soon.❤