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I don't own any of the characters in this story and no copyright infringement is intended.
This fic takes place immediately after the last episode of season 12.
***
"I'll Leave You Be"
JR sat in the dimly lit theater, alone and seething.
How dare that woman?
He chuckled a bit to himself at that question. She dared because she wanted to hurt him. And he would admit, only to himself of course, that she had succeeded.
It wasn't the movie. Vile as it was, he wasn't particularly worried about it. Sue Ellen's angry threats aside, he knew she would never release it. She loved their son too much to air their family's dirty laundry in public. And she would never humiliate Miss Ellie that way.
No. Sue Ellen had no intention of ever showing that movie to another living soul. She made it for an audience of one, and now that JR had seen it, Sue Ellen would bury it forever.
Sue Ellen had wanted to make him see their marriage through her eyes. She wanted him to live her pain, feel her despair, understand what an abusive husband he had been. She wanted to make him squirm in shame and regret.
And she got her wish.
"No wonder she left me for good," he muttered to himself.
"For good," he said again.
JR closed his eyes and let out the breath he'd been holding in.
The bitter truth was that right up until that moment, he hadn't accepted she was lost to him forever.
Sure, the last couple of years between them had been just awful. First, he'd destroyed their happy and stable marriage to have an affair with Kimberly Cryder. He had wanted to control WestStar so badly that he had been willing to set Sue Ellen aside, even going so far as to push her into an affair with Nicolas Pierce.
But Sue Ellen hadn't rolled over and took his mistreatment the way she always had in the past. She'd teamed up with his worst enemy and his former mistress and stolen WestStar right out from under his nose. He had been furious. So furious, he had unwisely hidden their son from her and kicked her off Southfork in the most humiliating way possible.
He remembered that day so vividly. He had been so angry he had wanted to strangle her. Instead, he'd thrown her belongings off their balcony, almost taking her head off with a makeup case, then threatened to call the Sheriff on her. But even in his anger, even as he watched her climb into her car and tear out of the driveway, even then ...it never occurred to him that would be the end of her living at Southfork.
But then came the night Pierce tumbled off his balcony to his death. Sue Ellen had responded by shooting him. To this day he still couldn't believe she'd done that. No matter what he had done, he was still the father of her son. And even then, JR didn't really think it was over.
He supposed he should have faced facts when Sue Ellen tricked him into marrying Cally. On his wedding day, she had shown up as a guest. JR had erroneously thought she was there to stop the wedding, to beg him not to take another wife. But she hadn't. Instead, she'd sat in the crowd next to that snivelling Englishman with an evil grin plastered on her face. And even then, as hurt and angry as he had been, JR still believed it was nothing more than another bump in their stormy relationship.
But now…
She was gone.
She was moving to England with another man.
And she wanted to hurt him one last time before she walked out of his life for good.
"I have to let her go," he muttered sadly.
He probably could stop her if he wanted to. The lunch date they had shared before coming to the theater had been comfortable and easy. And of course, full of sexual tension. She wanted to hate him almost as badly as he had wanted to hate her after she snatched away his dream of controlling WestStar, but for all the anger and hurt between them, the love was always there, right under the surface, waiting for him to make the first move, turn on the charm, and start the chase.
And he wanted that. He wanted it badly. Yes, he was a married man and Cally was sweet and obedient and beautiful and accommodating. But Cally wasn't Sue Ellen and JR would toss her aside in a heartbeat to be with the woman he would always consider to be his REAL wife.
"But you won't," he admitted to himself.
Sue Ellen had changed so much over the years. And one thing was for sure, although JR had the power to make her happier than any other man on the planet, he also had the power to destroy her. After seeing the movie she had so carefully put together, JR finally realized he had used that power one time too often.
Gone was the loving, supportive wife. In her place now was a vengeful and bitter woman determined to make him as miserable as he had always made her.
He wanted the old Sue Ellen back. He wanted her smile, her laughter, her sweet nature.
It was clear to him now that the only way THAT Sue Ellen would ever return is if he stayed far, far away from her.
"And that's exactly what you're going to do, JR," he stood, put his hat on his head,and made his way from the theater, "even if it kills you."
***
JR drained his drink and slammed the glass down onto the table.
He was broken.
It had been so long. So much time had passed. But today, today FINALLY he had heard her voice. It had been the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Her tone was light, almost teasing. She had been more than just cordial to him, she had been friendly.
Problem was, moments before she had come on the line, her maid had informed him that she was now Mrs. Lockwood.
She was another man's wife.
And she sounded happy.
JR was working to rid himself from Cally for good. In the back of his mind, he'd been entertaining the possibility of flying to London and getting his family back once Cally had been put away.
But he couldn't do that. Not now.
She sounded happy.
Don Lockwood may never inspire the emotion JR himself had in Sue Ellen, but it didn't seem to matter.
Don couldn't make her crazy with lust. He couldn't make her head spin with angry passion.
But Don could do the one thing JR never really could; he could make her happy.
JR wasn't a man who cried. The last time he could remember shedding years was when his Daddy died. But tonight, a single tear slid from his eye down onto his cheek.
It was over.
She was happy.
And he would leave her alone.
He would spend the rest of his life lonely and miserable. Oh, he was sure he would have plenty of women, but none of them would be her. None of them could ever love him the way she had. And he would never love any of them. Not really.
But this was his bed. Now he had to lie in it. Without her.
He wouldn't snatch her happiness away from her just because he needed her.
Not now.
Not ever again.
"I love you, Miss Texas," he said into the empty space around him. "And because I love you, I'll leave you be."
THE END
This fic takes place immediately after the last episode of season 12.
***
"I'll Leave You Be"
JR sat in the dimly lit theater, alone and seething.
How dare that woman?
He chuckled a bit to himself at that question. She dared because she wanted to hurt him. And he would admit, only to himself of course, that she had succeeded.
It wasn't the movie. Vile as it was, he wasn't particularly worried about it. Sue Ellen's angry threats aside, he knew she would never release it. She loved their son too much to air their family's dirty laundry in public. And she would never humiliate Miss Ellie that way.
No. Sue Ellen had no intention of ever showing that movie to another living soul. She made it for an audience of one, and now that JR had seen it, Sue Ellen would bury it forever.
Sue Ellen had wanted to make him see their marriage through her eyes. She wanted him to live her pain, feel her despair, understand what an abusive husband he had been. She wanted to make him squirm in shame and regret.
And she got her wish.
"No wonder she left me for good," he muttered to himself.
"For good," he said again.
JR closed his eyes and let out the breath he'd been holding in.
The bitter truth was that right up until that moment, he hadn't accepted she was lost to him forever.
Sure, the last couple of years between them had been just awful. First, he'd destroyed their happy and stable marriage to have an affair with Kimberly Cryder. He had wanted to control WestStar so badly that he had been willing to set Sue Ellen aside, even going so far as to push her into an affair with Nicolas Pierce.
But Sue Ellen hadn't rolled over and took his mistreatment the way she always had in the past. She'd teamed up with his worst enemy and his former mistress and stolen WestStar right out from under his nose. He had been furious. So furious, he had unwisely hidden their son from her and kicked her off Southfork in the most humiliating way possible.
He remembered that day so vividly. He had been so angry he had wanted to strangle her. Instead, he'd thrown her belongings off their balcony, almost taking her head off with a makeup case, then threatened to call the Sheriff on her. But even in his anger, even as he watched her climb into her car and tear out of the driveway, even then ...it never occurred to him that would be the end of her living at Southfork.
But then came the night Pierce tumbled off his balcony to his death. Sue Ellen had responded by shooting him. To this day he still couldn't believe she'd done that. No matter what he had done, he was still the father of her son. And even then, JR didn't really think it was over.
He supposed he should have faced facts when Sue Ellen tricked him into marrying Cally. On his wedding day, she had shown up as a guest. JR had erroneously thought she was there to stop the wedding, to beg him not to take another wife. But she hadn't. Instead, she'd sat in the crowd next to that snivelling Englishman with an evil grin plastered on her face. And even then, as hurt and angry as he had been, JR still believed it was nothing more than another bump in their stormy relationship.
But now…
She was gone.
She was moving to England with another man.
And she wanted to hurt him one last time before she walked out of his life for good.
"I have to let her go," he muttered sadly.
He probably could stop her if he wanted to. The lunch date they had shared before coming to the theater had been comfortable and easy. And of course, full of sexual tension. She wanted to hate him almost as badly as he had wanted to hate her after she snatched away his dream of controlling WestStar, but for all the anger and hurt between them, the love was always there, right under the surface, waiting for him to make the first move, turn on the charm, and start the chase.
And he wanted that. He wanted it badly. Yes, he was a married man and Cally was sweet and obedient and beautiful and accommodating. But Cally wasn't Sue Ellen and JR would toss her aside in a heartbeat to be with the woman he would always consider to be his REAL wife.
"But you won't," he admitted to himself.
Sue Ellen had changed so much over the years. And one thing was for sure, although JR had the power to make her happier than any other man on the planet, he also had the power to destroy her. After seeing the movie she had so carefully put together, JR finally realized he had used that power one time too often.
Gone was the loving, supportive wife. In her place now was a vengeful and bitter woman determined to make him as miserable as he had always made her.
He wanted the old Sue Ellen back. He wanted her smile, her laughter, her sweet nature.
It was clear to him now that the only way THAT Sue Ellen would ever return is if he stayed far, far away from her.
"And that's exactly what you're going to do, JR," he stood, put his hat on his head,and made his way from the theater, "even if it kills you."
***
JR drained his drink and slammed the glass down onto the table.
He was broken.
It had been so long. So much time had passed. But today, today FINALLY he had heard her voice. It had been the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Her tone was light, almost teasing. She had been more than just cordial to him, she had been friendly.
Problem was, moments before she had come on the line, her maid had informed him that she was now Mrs. Lockwood.
She was another man's wife.
And she sounded happy.
JR was working to rid himself from Cally for good. In the back of his mind, he'd been entertaining the possibility of flying to London and getting his family back once Cally had been put away.
But he couldn't do that. Not now.
She sounded happy.
Don Lockwood may never inspire the emotion JR himself had in Sue Ellen, but it didn't seem to matter.
Don couldn't make her crazy with lust. He couldn't make her head spin with angry passion.
But Don could do the one thing JR never really could; he could make her happy.
JR wasn't a man who cried. The last time he could remember shedding years was when his Daddy died. But tonight, a single tear slid from his eye down onto his cheek.
It was over.
She was happy.
And he would leave her alone.
He would spend the rest of his life lonely and miserable. Oh, he was sure he would have plenty of women, but none of them would be her. None of them could ever love him the way she had. And he would never love any of them. Not really.
But this was his bed. Now he had to lie in it. Without her.
He wouldn't snatch her happiness away from her just because he needed her.
Not now.
Not ever again.
"I love you, Miss Texas," he said into the empty space around him. "And because I love you, I'll leave you be."
THE END
