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<blockquote data-quote="CeeCee72" data-source="post: 225924" data-attributes="member: 5055">I don&#039;t own any of the characters in this story and no copyright infringement is intended.This is a &quot;What if?&quot; fanfic. What if in the season eleven episode &quot;Top Gun&quot; Sue Ellen had changed her mind at the last possible moment and instead of teaming up with Kimberly and Wendell to beat JR she voted her Weststar shares to make him CEO?***What IfPart 84***&quot;They look so miserable,&quot; Patricia sighed. &quot;All three of them.&quot;&quot;Sounded like they all had a difficult night,&quot; Ellie responded.Patricia turned away from the window and sat back down at the kitchen table. &quot;I keep wondering if I should go out there and try to talk to them.&quot;&quot;I wouldn&#039;t. It will all work out. Or it won&#039;t. Either way, you and I can&#039;t make their decisions for them and I for one don&#039;t care to be pulled into their drama.&quot;&quot;I suppose you&#039;re right.&quot;&quot;How is the house hunting going?&quot; Ellie changed the subject.&quot;Not as well as I&#039;d hoped. It looks like I am going to have to settle on something in Dallas. There&#039;s nothing suitable available any closer.&quot;&quot;Why settle on anything at all?&quot; Ellie asked. &quot;Clayton and I have truly enjoyed having you here. It&#039;s been wonderful to have someone with our own age with our interests. Stay, Patricia. At least until you can find something closer.&quot;&quot;Oh, Ellie. That&#039;s so kind of you. But I couldn&#039;t possibly impose on you any further.&quot;&quot;It&#039;s not an imposition. I want you to stay. So does Clayton. I wouldn&#039;t offer if I didn&#039;t mean it.&quot;&quot;I...well, I do love being here with the boys. And I enjoy spending time with you and Clayton too. I accept, Ellie. But only if you&#039;re sure.&quot;&quot;I&#039;m sure. Very, very sure.&quot;&quot;Thank you, Ellie.&quot; Patricia&#039;s gaze drifted back out to the window. &quot;The boys will be down for breakfast soon. I fear they will sense something is terribly wrong and be upset.&quot;Ellie&#039;s head shot up and her eyes narrowed. &quot;I hadn&#039;t thought about that,&quot; she admitted. &quot;Oh well. Guess I won&#039;t be able to stay out of the drama after all. Come on, Patricia. Let&#039;s set these ladies straight.&quot;Patricia followed Ellie out to the patio table where Pam, Sue Ellen, and Lucy sat moping.&quot;Alright, you three,&quot; Ellie said sternly, taking a seat. &quot;I have something to say to each one of you and you&#039;re all going to listen. Understand?&quot;&quot;Pam, I understand you&#039;re disappointed that Bobby didn&#039;t dive right back into your relationship and pick up where you left off, but you owe him your patience and understanding. He spent a very long time torturing himself because he believed he had done something to make you leave him. He&#039;s afraid to trust you&#039;re back for good. If one of you needs to prove love and devotion in your relationship, it&#039;s you, not him.&quot;&quot;Lucy, you&#039;re too old to come running home crying like a teenager who got dumped at the prom every time you and Mitch have a fight. You know very well that Mitch has always had a hard time accepting your family. You can either learn to live with that or not, but either way, you&#039;re not twelve and it&#039;s ridiculous to make your uncles chase all over Dallas to defend your honor - which hasn&#039;t even been tarnished.&quot;&quot;And you, Sue Ellen. I am disappointed in you most of all. You are too smart to think that JR is ever going to be perfect. Yes. He lied. So what? You know WHY he lied. He lied because he was scared to death. Scared about your health. Scared about your hormones. Scared about your jealousy. He was scared of all those things because he loves you so much and he knows what a snake he has been in the past. You have him wrapped around your little finger. Take advantage of that. Put him in his place where he belongs. Make it clear that you simply won&#039;t tolerate that kind of cowardice from him in the future, then take the boy to bed and remind him why he has no choice but to behave!&quot;&quot;Now,&quot; Ellie said, standing up. &quot;Our boys will be down for breakfast soon. They are happy and secure for the first time in a very long time and I won&#039;t have the three of you changing that with your silliness. Patricia and I will take them down to the stables to ride. When we get back, I expect the pity party to be over! You are Ewing women. All of you. Strong, resilient, smart Ewing women. Start acting like it.&quot;Ellie stood up and marched back into the house. Patricia stood, squared her shoulders, and turned to follow. &quot;Everything she just said? I agree!&quot;Pam, Lucy, and Sue Ellen sat, staring after Miss Ellie in shock for a few minutes before all of them burst out laughing.&quot;Well,&quot; Sue Ellen grinned when she finally caught her breath, &quot;when she&#039;s right, she&#039;s right!&quot;***&quot;JR?&quot; Bobby nudged him with his elbow. &quot;You agree?&quot;&quot;What? Oh. Oh yes. Everything looks good. I say we go.&quot;&quot;You heard the man,&quot; Bobby said, standing up and extending his hand to the bankers. &quot;Send the paperwork over when it&#039;s done.&quot;&quot;You&#039;ll have it this afternoon,&quot; the men stood up and shook Bobby&#039;s hand.&quot;We&#039;ll cut the check as soon as we get them back.&quot;&quot;It&#039;ll be done tomorrow morning,&quot; Bobby told them, walking them to the door. &quot;Phyllis will see you out.&quot;He shut the door and turned to look at his brother. &quot;Go home, JR.&quot;&quot;I can&#039;t,&quot; JR said sadly. &quot;She doesn&#039;t want me there.&quot;&quot;She&#039;s had time to calm down,&quot; Bobby told him. &quot;At least call her and test the waters.&quot;&quot;I can&#039;t,&quot; JR repeated. &quot;The last thing she said to me was that if I loved her, I&#039;d leave her alone.&quot;&quot;JR, she&#039;s hurt and upset. It&#039;s up to you to make things right. Look, doesn&#039;t she still want you to take her and Pam shopping?&quot;&quot;Yes. After my meetings. Lunchtime.&quot;&quot;Then tell her you got finished early and came on home to see if she was ready to go. But you have to go. God knows you&#039;re not doing any good here today.&quot;&quot;I don&#039;t know, Bob. Maybe I should wait.&quot;&quot;JR? You&#039;re my brother. I love you. But get the hell out of my office and get your ass home. Handle your wife. For once in your life, don&#039;t take the easy way out and avoid this. She loves you. Go home and show her you&#039;re sorry,&nbsp; but that you won&#039;t let her shut you out again. You&#039;re the man, JR. Start acting like it!&quot;Bobby knew almost as soon as the words had left his mouth that he&#039;d gone too far.&quot;Oh yeah? I&#039;m a man alright!&quot; JR exploded. &quot;What about you, Bobby? You think I didn&#039;t see your pansy ass slip out of the house early this morning before Pam got up? What&#039;s wrong? Too weak to face her? Too scared? Worried you won&#039;t be able to keep her at a distance because you want her so much, so you snuck off to the office to avoid melting in front of her like a scared little boy,? You want me to go home and handle my wife? Tell me then, pretty boy, just how do you plan to handle yours!&quot;&quot;I&#039;m going to go home and tell her I want to work things out!&quot; Bobby shouted.&quot;Oh yeah?&quot; JR snapped back.&quot;Yeah!&quot;&quot;Well, me too. I&#039;m going to do the same thing!&quot;&quot;Then let&#039;s go!&quot;They both grabbed their hats and their briefcases. &quot;We&#039;re done for the day,&quot; Bobby nodded at Phyllis on their way out.They stalked to the elevator and JR angrily pushed the button. &quot;And you know what else, Bob?&quot; his voice still loud and angry.&quot;What, JR?&quot; Bobby was just as loud.&quot;We&#039;re both gonna end up following our wives around all day carrying shopping bags like trained, lovesick puppies!&quot;Bobby couldn&#039;t help it. The truth of JR&#039;s last statement cracked him up. &quot;Yes, we will. But we&#039;ll be manly lovesick puppies!&quot;JR laughed along with his brother. By the time they got to the ground floor, neither of them could hardly breathe.***&quot;Is that a taxi?&quot; Pam pointed to the driveway.&quot;Yeah,&quot; Lucy answered. &quot;What in the world?&quot;&quot;Oh, good Lord in heaven,&quot; Sue Ellen sighed when she saw who got out of the cab. &quot;We don&#039;t need to have to deal with her right now.&quot;&quot;Doesn&#039;t look like we have a choice,&quot; Pam said, watching the taxi back up and drive away. Pam stood up and walked around the table to greet their visitor.&quot;Pam?&quot; the voice was unsure. &quot;Is that you?&quot;&quot;Yes, Afton,&quot; Pam stepped forward and hugged the other woman lightly. &quot;It&#039;s me.&quot;&quot;I&#039;m so happy you&#039;re safe and home.&quot;&quot;Thank you,&quot; Pam replied. &quot;Please. Take a seat and join us.&quot;Afton glanced at Sue Ellen and Lucy to see if either objected. When neither did, she sat down and took a deep breath.&quot;I&#039;m not here to make trouble or to cause a scene. I have some things to say, then I&#039;ll leave. I know I don&#039;t deserve to have any of you listen, but I hope you will.&quot;&quot;Go ahead,&quot; Sue Ellen waved her hand.Afton took another deep breath. &quot;Pam, I love Cliff. Very much.&quot;&quot;I know that, Afton,&quot; Pam said quietly. &quot;You always have.&quot;&quot;Yes. But I shouldn&#039;t have left him. And I shouldn&#039;t have hidden Pammy from him. The truth is, by the time Pammy was born, I was so embarrassed by what I had done and by how it had harmed my baby that I couldn&#039;t face him. I blamed him, but it was me. All my fault. He&#039;s giving me another chance. I hope you can accept me being back in his life. I promise I won&#039;t give up on him ever again.&quot;&quot;Sue Ellen, I know you hate me. And you have good reason. I never apologized to you for sleeping with your husband. I was horrible and nasty, especially considering I had sex with him in your own bed at my brother&#039;s wedding…&quot;&quot;Whoa!&quot; Lucy gasped. &quot;You did what?!&quot;&quot;It&#039;s true,&quot; Afton bowed her head. &quot;I wanted his money and his power and I did everything I could to take him from you. And then, I blamed you for my problems with Cliff. I despised you because he loved you and not me. What I couldn&#039;t admit to myself is that I would never be as good a woman as you. You even sought me out and were kind to me after Cliff tried to kill himself. I was too weak and immature to appreciate that back then. But I do now. And I am truly sorry for the pain I caused you. I don&#039;t expect you to forgive me, but I needed to say it anyway.&quot;&quot;Afton,&quot; Sue Ellen breathed out, &quot;I forgave you for sleeping with JR long ago. You were so young. JR is the one who made the choice to bring you into our bed. I blame him for that - not you.&quot;Afton nodded and turned to face Lucy. &quot;I hurt you most of all. I deliberately destroyed your marriage because I didn&#039;t want to go back out onto the streets and I didn&#039;t want to lose my daughter. I am so sorry. I can&#039;t go back and undo the damage I&#039;ve done to you, Lucy, but I know in my heart Mitch truly loves you. Please don&#039;t give up on him. Whatever mistakes he&#039;s made with you, I&#039;m the cause, not him.&quot;&quot;Did Mitch tell you about our fight last night?&quot;&quot;No. He isn&#039;t speaking to me. But I heard about it.&quot;&quot;We weren&#039;t fighting about you. Mitch and I had problems long before you ever came to.live with us.&quot;&quot;I know that, Lucy. But I made them so much worse. And I did it deliberately.&quot;&quot;Afton,&quot; Lucy said tentatively, &quot;I need to ask you something. Hard as it is for you, can you at least try to be honest?&quot;&quot;Yes.&quot;&quot;Are you done with the drugs this time? I mean really, truly done?&quot;&quot;I…&quot; Afton hesitated, wanting to organize her thoughts. &quot;I&#039;m an addict, Lucy. I&#039;ll always be an addict. There&#039;s no cure. Only treatment. Cliff found me a wonderful counselor and he set me up with a sponsor here in Dallas. I believe I&#039;m done. I want to be done. And I hope and pray that with Cliff&#039;s love and support, I am done. Pammy needs me. And she is the most important thing in my life. I truly believe she&#039;s enough to keep me sober. But I am always going to be what I am; addicted.&quot;Lucy looked over at Sue Ellen who nodded. &quot;That&#039;s an honest answer. From one addict to another,&quot; Sue Ellen looked Afton in the eyes, &quot;the key to sobriety is finding whatever fills that awful void in your soul and filling your life up with whatever that happens to be.&quot;&quot;I think for me, that will be being a wife and mother.&quot;&quot;Wife?&quot; Pam repeated. &quot;Has Cliff proposed?&quot;&quot;Oh! No! But someday, after I&#039;ve proven to him I can love and take care of him and Pammy well, I hope he will.&quot;&quot;Alright,&quot; Lucy stood up. &quot;Come on, Afton.&quot;&quot;Where are we going?&quot; &quot;To see Mitch. The three of us need to talk.&quot;&quot;He won&#039;t want to see me,&quot; Afton said sadly.&quot;Well, that&#039;s just too damn bad for him, isn&#039;t it? We have some things that need settling. No time like the present. Ladies,&quot; she nodded at Pam and Sue Ellen, &quot;have fun shopping. And put my uncles on notice that&nbsp; all us strong, resilient, smart Ewing women are done moping and are taking charge of our own lives!&quot;***&quot;Hello?&quot;&quot;Hi, lady, how are you on the beautiful day?&quot;&quot;You&#039;re way too chipper this morning, Cliff,&quot; April laughed. &quot;Sounds like someone got laid last night.&quot;&quot;I did,&quot; Cliff admitted. &quot;Twice. Jealous?&quot;&quot;Extremely,&quot; April sighed. &quot;Especially considering even though I think me and Jack are ready to take the next step, we won&#039;t have an opportunity for a while. Not with Michelle here.&quot;&quot;Buy the girl some earplugs and go at it!&quot;&quot;You&#039;re awful! Did you talk to Afton about tonight?&quot;&quot;Yep. We&#039;ll be over around 7:00. Need us to bring anything?&quot;&quot;No. Just your company.&quot;&quot;Okay. See you then. Oh, by the way, can you check your guest room and see if my grey sports coat is in there? I can&#039;t find it anywhere.&#039;&quot;Sure thing. I&#039;ll leave it out for you if it&#039;s here.&quot;&quot;Okay. See you tonight.&quot;April hung up the phone and walked over to the door to her guest room. &quot;Michelle? Can I come in?&quot;When there was no answer, she quietly pushed open the door. She heard the shower running in the bathroom and moved to the closet. She dug around a bit and found Cliff&#039;s jacket. She backed out of the closet and bumped into the dresser. &quot;Ouch,&quot; she rubbed at her hip where it had collided with the wood. She noticed she&#039;d knocked over a folder and some papers had fallen out of it. She bent to pick everything up, but froze in her tracks when she saw some of the papers.&quot;Oh, my God,&quot; she breathed out in shock. &quot;Oh, my God, Michelle! What are you up to?&quot;***&quot;They&#039;re home early,&quot; Sue Ellen nodded towards the driveway where Bobby and JR were both parking their cars.&quot;Both of them,&quot; Pam said. &quot;I wasn&#039;t expecting Bobby home until dinner time.&quot;&quot;They&#039;re up to something,&quot; Sue Ellen said thoughtfully.&quot;That&#039;s just fine,&quot; Pam smiled deviously. &quot;So are we.&quot;&quot;What do you think JR?&quot; Bobby asked his brother, his eyes fixed on their wives who were lounging by the pool.&quot;We can&#039;t out flank them,&quot; JR mused. &quot;They&#039;ve already spotted our position.&quot;&quot;Full frontal attack then?&quot;&quot;Hmmmm. No choice. Remember though, we can&#039;t break under questioning from the enemy. Hit them fast and straight, then break their line.&quot;&quot;Divide and conquer, then?&quot;&quot;Absolutely. Meet you downstairs at home base in an hour.&quot;&quot;Good luck, brother. May the force be with you.&quot;&quot;And with you.&quot;&quot;What are they doing?&quot; Pam wondered out loud.&quot;Plotting,&quot; Sue Ellen told her sister-in-law. &quot;Stay strong.&quot;&quot;You too. Here they come.&quot;&quot;Ladies,&quot; JR spoke first, tipping his hat to them. &quot;We finished our meetings early and thought we&#039;d come home and see if you were ready to go shopping.&quot;&quot;You&#039;re going to?&quot; Pam asked Bobby.&quot;Yes. Didn&#039;t feel right leaving JR to carry packages for both of you.&quot;&quot;We need to change,&quot; Sue Ellen announced, standing up. &quot;We&#039;ll be ready in a few minutes.&quot;Pam stood up and followed Sue Ellen into the house.&quot;Going to their rooms to change,&quot; Bobby whispered to his brother. &quot;Success on the divide part.&quot;&quot;Now all we gotta worry about is the conquer,&quot; JR sighed.***&quot;Mr. Krebbs? I hope I&#039;m not disturbing you. May I come in?&quot;&quot;Of course, James,&quot; Ray stood back to let the young man enter the house. &quot;Charlie isn&#039;t here. She&#039;s out shopping with her mother.&quot;&quot;I know. I&#039;m not here to see Charlie,&quot; James said. &quot;I guess she told you we decided to stop seeing each other.&quot;&quot;She mentioned it,&quot; Ray nodded. &quot;So if you didn&#039;t come to see Charlie, what are you doing here?&quot;&quot;I came to see you, Sir.&quot;&quot;Me? About what?&quot;&quot;Your family. Specifically your brother.&quot;&quot;Which brother?&quot;&quot;JR. You see, Mr. Krebbs… I have a reason, a really good reason…&quot;&quot;A good reason for what, boy?&#039; Ray snapped. &quot;Spit it out!&quot;&quot;I have a very good reason to believe I am his son.&quot;&quot;What?! What did you just say to me?&quot;&quot;My mother&#039;s name is Vanessa Beaumont. She had an affair with your brother approximately nine months before I was born. Mr. Krebbs, I believe JR Ewing is my father.&quot;***Lucy and Mitch sat on the couch in the living room of the hotel suite and watched Afton and Pammy playing in the corner.&quot;She&#039;s a good mother, Mitch. She wasn&#039;t at first, but she is now. Cliff will be a wonderful father. Please don&#039;t take Pammy away from them as revenge for what Afton did to our marriage.&quot;&quot;You mean don&#039;t do to Pammy what JR and your grandparents did to you?&quot;Lucy turned her head to look at him. &quot;Yes. That&#039;s exactly what I mean.&quot;&quot;Pammy actually smiled when she saw Afton. That&#039;s so rare for her.&quot;&quot;They belong together, Mitch.&quot;&quot;Yes. Alright, Lucy. I won&#039;t fight Afton and Cliff.&quot;Lucy smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. &quot;Thank you.&quot;&quot;I have to go back to Atlanta for work, but I&#039;ll see about putting in a transfer to Dallas Memorial as soon as possible.&quot;&quot;You&#039;re... you&#039;re moving to Dallas?&quot;&quot;Can&#039;t see anyway around it. My niece will be living here. And the woman I love lives here too.&quot;&quot;The woman you love?&quot;&quot;Yes. Maybe you know her. She&#039;s a really voluptuous blonde. Just gorgeous. On the short side, but that&#039;s okay because she looks so hot in heels. She has a really big mouth and a tongue sharp as the devil&#039;s pitchfork. But she&#039;s really sweet and softhearted deep down.She grew up rich and her family is really powerful, so sometimes she comes off as spoiled. But she&#039;s not. She&#039;s kind and generous. But I have to move here to be with her because she can&#039;t leave Dallas. And it&#039;s not because her family has money. It&#039;s because she loves them. And they love her. Especially one of her uncles, who may or may not have come by my hotel room really early this morning to talk some sense into me.&quot;&quot;JR?&quot; she whispered.&quot;Yeah,&quot; Mitch confirmed. &quot;I&#039;m sorry for last night, Lucy. I&#039;m sorry for not coming to you when I got that stupid note. I&#039;m sorry for letting you go twice. Give me another chance. I promise I won&#039;t let you go again.&quot;&quot;Well, you know what they say, Mitch,&quot; Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck&nbsp; and pulled him down for a kiss, &quot;third time&#039;s the charm.&quot;***&quot;Pam?&quot; Bobby knocked softly on the bedroom door. &quot;Can I come in?&quot;The door opened and Pam appeared in front of him. &quot;I&#039;m ready to go,&quot; she told him, starting to move out into the hallway.&quot;Hang on just a minute,&quot; he told her. &quot;I need to talk to you. May I come in?&quot;&quot;Of course,&quot; Pam backed up and moved out of his way.&quot;Pam, when you left me I was devastated. &quot;I know, Bobby…&quot;&quot;Please. Just let me talk. Okay?&quot;Pam nodded and he continued. &quot;I looked for you. Moved heaven and earth. Then when I got your letter telling me you wanted a divorce and not to try to find you, all that panic and loss turned into hurt and then anger. I couldn&#039;t understand why you would ever think my love was so shallow that I&#039;d care how you looked. I didn&#039;t know you were sick. I didn&#039;t know you thought you were dying. And even now, I don&#039;t understand why you left. But you&#039;re home now. And you wanted to come home. To Christopher. And to me. But I didn&#039;t know how I felt about you. I still had so much doubt and pain. But last night, the way you were. How you and Christopher just seemed to pick up right where you left off. How you sat and comforted Sue Ellen until Lucy got home. How you looked at me, how it felt when you leaned against me while we were watching the movie. You&#039;re my Pam. You look different. But you&#039;re still my Pam. And I still love you.&quot;&quot;Bobby...what are you saying?&quot;&quot;I want my wife back, Pam. I want to try to get over all the pain and love you, and have you love me. I want to be with you.I know it can&#039;t ever be exactly like it was before. I know things have changed. They&#039;ll be rough spots, with Sue Ellen and Christopher and with my doubts and your fears, so I know it will be different. But maybe different will be better. I want to try. I want to work things out.&quot;&quot;Oh, Bobby!&quot; Tears of joy slid down her cheeks. &quot;Me too! I want to work things out too!&quot;Bobby smiled and pulled her into his arms. &quot;Welcome home, honey,&quot; he whispered before capturing her lips in a soul crushing, passionate kiss.***JR sat back in his chair in stunned silence as he watched his wife strip off her bathing suit and walk naked to the dresser.&quot;Something the matter, JR?&quot; &quot;What?&quot; his mouth went completely dry when she bent over right in front of him to slip on a pair of panties. &quot;Oh no. Nothing wrong, Sue Ellen.&quot;&quot;Realy?&quot; she asked, turning around and giving him a close-up look at her bare breasts as she put on her bra. &quot;Because you look a little distracted.&quot;&quot;Well, hell, Miss Texas,&quot; JR snapped, forgetting his plan to charm her, &quot;you prancing around here.naked makes it hard to concentrate.&quot;&quot;Is that right, JR? Do you like what you see?&quot;&quot;You know damn well I do.&quot;&quot;Do you want to keep it?&quot;&quot;You know damn well I do,&quot; he said again.&quot;Then you are going to stop keeping secrets from me. I don&#039;t care how upset you think I&#039;ll be. I don&#039;t care how sick I am. I don&#039;t care how much stress I&#039;m under. You will stop treating me like a fragile child! I am a lot stronger than you ever give me credit for, and I will NOT tolerate being so disrespected ever again. Understand?&quot;&quot;Sue Ellen, in my defense, I was only trying to…&quot;&quot;Stop it, JR!&quot; she commanded. &quot;I mean it! I know perfectly well what you were trying to do, and I won&#039;t have it. I don&#039;t expect you to be perfect. But I do expect you to respect me enough not to lie to me!&quot;&quot;You&#039;re right, honey,&quot; he said meekly. &quot;You&#039;re right, and I&#039;m sorry.&quot;&quot;And?&quot; &quot;And it won&#039;t happen ever again.&quot;&quot;Don&#039;t break any more promises to me, JR. I mean it. Next time I won&#039;t be so forgiving.&quot;&quot;I won&#039;t, Sue Ellen. I swear it.&quot;Sue Ellen shook her head dismissively and moved towards him until she was standing directly in front of his chair.&quot;We&#039;re going shopping with Bobby and Pam. Then the four of us are going out for a nice dinner. Then you and I are coming home and figuring out what to do about this possible son together. Got it?&quot;&quot;I got it, Miss Texas.&quot;&quot;Good. Now, before we do any of that,&quot; she parted his knees and moved to stand between his legs, &quot;I am going to remind you who you belong to,&quot;&nbsp; she sank down onto her knees and moved her hands undo his belt and his pants, &quot;and who belongs to you.&quot;JR groaned loudly and surrendered to his wife&quot;s expert attention. He tangled his hands on her hair and leaned forward as far as he could to kiss the top of her head. &quot;I love you, Sue Ellen,&quot; he growled, already starting to lose control. &quot;We will always belong to each other.&quot;*&quot;&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="CeeCee72, post: 225924, member: 5055"] I don't own any of the characters in this story and no copyright infringement is intended. This is a "What if?" fanfic. What if in the season eleven episode "Top Gun" Sue Ellen had changed her mind at the last possible moment and instead of teaming up with Kimberly and Wendell to beat JR she voted her Weststar shares to make him CEO? *** What If Part 84 *** "They look so miserable," Patricia sighed. "All three of them." "Sounded like they all had a difficult night," Ellie responded. Patricia turned away from the window and sat back down at the kitchen table. "I keep wondering if I should go out there and try to talk to them." "I wouldn't. It will all work out. Or it won't. Either way, you and I can't make their decisions for them and I for one don't care to be pulled into their drama." "I suppose you're right." "How is the house hunting going?" Ellie changed the subject. "Not as well as I'd hoped. It looks like I am going to have to settle on something in Dallas. There's nothing suitable available any closer." "Why settle on anything at all?" Ellie asked. "Clayton and I have truly enjoyed having you here. It's been wonderful to have someone with our own age with our interests. Stay, Patricia. At least until you can find something closer." "Oh, Ellie. That's so kind of you. But I couldn't possibly impose on you any further." "It's not an imposition. I want you to stay. So does Clayton. I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it." "I...well, I do love being here with the boys. And I enjoy spending time with you and Clayton too. I accept, Ellie. But only if you're sure." "I'm sure. Very, very sure." "Thank you, Ellie." Patricia's gaze drifted back out to the window. "The boys will be down for breakfast soon. I fear they will sense something is terribly wrong and be upset." Ellie's head shot up and her eyes narrowed. "I hadn't thought about that," she admitted. "Oh well. Guess I won't be able to stay out of the drama after all. Come on, Patricia. Let's set these ladies straight." Patricia followed Ellie out to the patio table where Pam, Sue Ellen, and Lucy sat moping. "Alright, you three," Ellie said sternly, taking a seat. "I have something to say to each one of you and you're all going to listen. Understand?" "Pam, I understand you're disappointed that Bobby didn't dive right back into your relationship and pick up where you left off, but you owe him your patience and understanding. He spent a very long time torturing himself because he believed he had done something to make you leave him. He's afraid to trust you're back for good. If one of you needs to prove love and devotion in your relationship, it's you, not him." "Lucy, you're too old to come running home crying like a teenager who got dumped at the prom every time you and Mitch have a fight. You know very well that Mitch has always had a hard time accepting your family. You can either learn to live with that or not, but either way, you're not twelve and it's ridiculous to make your uncles chase all over Dallas to defend your honor - which hasn't even been tarnished." "And you, Sue Ellen. I am disappointed in you most of all. You are too smart to think that JR is ever going to be perfect. Yes. He lied. So what? You know WHY he lied. He lied because he was scared to death. Scared about your health. Scared about your hormones. Scared about your jealousy. He was scared of all those things because he loves you so much and he knows what a snake he has been in the past. You have him wrapped around your little finger. Take advantage of that. Put him in his place where he belongs. Make it clear that you simply won't tolerate that kind of cowardice from him in the future, then take the boy to bed and remind him why he has no choice but to behave!" "Now," Ellie said, standing up. "Our boys will be down for breakfast soon. They are happy and secure for the first time in a very long time and I won't have the three of you changing that with your silliness. Patricia and I will take them down to the stables to ride. When we get back, I expect the pity party to be over! You are Ewing women. All of you. Strong, resilient, smart Ewing women. Start acting like it." Ellie stood up and marched back into the house. Patricia stood, squared her shoulders, and turned to follow. "Everything she just said? I agree!" Pam, Lucy, and Sue Ellen sat, staring after Miss Ellie in shock for a few minutes before all of them burst out laughing. "Well," Sue Ellen grinned when she finally caught her breath, "when she's right, she's right!" *** "JR?" Bobby nudged him with his elbow. "You agree?" "What? Oh. Oh yes. Everything looks good. I say we go." "You heard the man," Bobby said, standing up and extending his hand to the bankers. "Send the paperwork over when it's done." "You'll have it this afternoon," the men stood up and shook Bobby's hand."We'll cut the check as soon as we get them back." "It'll be done tomorrow morning," Bobby told them, walking them to the door. "Phyllis will see you out." He shut the door and turned to look at his brother. "Go home, JR." "I can't," JR said sadly. "She doesn't want me there." "She's had time to calm down," Bobby told him. "At least call her and test the waters." "I can't," JR repeated. "The last thing she said to me was that if I loved her, I'd leave her alone." "JR, she's hurt and upset. It's up to you to make things right. Look, doesn't she still want you to take her and Pam shopping?" "Yes. After my meetings. Lunchtime." "Then tell her you got finished early and came on home to see if she was ready to go. But you have to go. God knows you're not doing any good here today." "I don't know, Bob. Maybe I should wait." "JR? You're my brother. I love you. But get the hell out of my office and get your ass home. Handle your wife. For once in your life, don't take the easy way out and avoid this. She loves you. Go home and show her you're sorry, but that you won't let her shut you out again. You're the man, JR. Start acting like it!" Bobby knew almost as soon as the words had left his mouth that he'd gone too far. "Oh yeah? I'm a man alright!" JR exploded. "What about you, Bobby? You think I didn't see your pansy ass slip out of the house early this morning before Pam got up? What's wrong? Too weak to face her? Too scared? Worried you won't be able to keep her at a distance because you want her so much, so you snuck off to the office to avoid melting in front of her like a scared little boy,? You want me to go home and handle my wife? Tell me then, pretty boy, just how do you plan to handle yours!" "I'm going to go home and tell her I want to work things out!" Bobby shouted. "Oh yeah?" JR snapped back. "Yeah!" "Well, me too. I'm going to do the same thing!" "Then let's go!" They both grabbed their hats and their briefcases. "We're done for the day," Bobby nodded at Phyllis on their way out. They stalked to the elevator and JR angrily pushed the button. "And you know what else, Bob?" his voice still loud and angry. "What, JR?" Bobby was just as loud. "We're both gonna end up following our wives around all day carrying shopping bags like trained, lovesick puppies!" Bobby couldn't help it. The truth of JR's last statement cracked him up. "Yes, we will. But we'll be manly lovesick puppies!" JR laughed along with his brother. By the time they got to the ground floor, neither of them could hardly breathe. *** "Is that a taxi?" Pam pointed to the driveway. "Yeah," Lucy answered. "What in the world?" "Oh, good Lord in heaven," Sue Ellen sighed when she saw who got out of the cab. "We don't need to have to deal with her right now." "Doesn't look like we have a choice," Pam said, watching the taxi back up and drive away. Pam stood up and walked around the table to greet their visitor. "Pam?" the voice was unsure. "Is that you?" "Yes, Afton," Pam stepped forward and hugged the other woman lightly. "It's me." "I'm so happy you're safe and home." "Thank you," Pam replied. "Please. Take a seat and join us." Afton glanced at Sue Ellen and Lucy to see if either objected. When neither did, she sat down and took a deep breath. "I'm not here to make trouble or to cause a scene. I have some things to say, then I'll leave. I know I don't deserve to have any of you listen, but I hope you will." "Go ahead," Sue Ellen waved her hand. Afton took another deep breath. "Pam, I love Cliff. Very much." "I know that, Afton," Pam said quietly. "You always have." "Yes. But I shouldn't have left him. And I shouldn't have hidden Pammy from him. The truth is, by the time Pammy was born, I was so embarrassed by what I had done and by how it had harmed my baby that I couldn't face him. I blamed him, but it was me. All my fault. He's giving me another chance. I hope you can accept me being back in his life. I promise I won't give up on him ever again." "Sue Ellen, I know you hate me. And you have good reason. I never apologized to you for sleeping with your husband. I was horrible and nasty, especially considering I had sex with him in your own bed at my brother's wedding…" "Whoa!" Lucy gasped. "You did what?!" "It's true," Afton bowed her head. "I wanted his money and his power and I did everything I could to take him from you. And then, I blamed you for my problems with Cliff. I despised you because he loved you and not me. What I couldn't admit to myself is that I would never be as good a woman as you. You even sought me out and were kind to me after Cliff tried to kill himself. I was too weak and immature to appreciate that back then. But I do now. And I am truly sorry for the pain I caused you. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I needed to say it anyway." "Afton," Sue Ellen breathed out, "I forgave you for sleeping with JR long ago. You were so young. JR is the one who made the choice to bring you into our bed. I blame him for that - not you." Afton nodded and turned to face Lucy. "I hurt you most of all. I deliberately destroyed your marriage because I didn't want to go back out onto the streets and I didn't want to lose my daughter. I am so sorry. I can't go back and undo the damage I've done to you, Lucy, but I know in my heart Mitch truly loves you. Please don't give up on him. Whatever mistakes he's made with you, I'm the cause, not him." "Did Mitch tell you about our fight last night?" "No. He isn't speaking to me. But I heard about it." "We weren't fighting about you. Mitch and I had problems long before you ever came to.live with us." "I know that, Lucy. But I made them so much worse. And I did it deliberately." "Afton," Lucy said tentatively, "I need to ask you something. Hard as it is for you, can you at least try to be honest?" "Yes." "Are you done with the drugs this time? I mean really, truly done?" "I…" Afton hesitated, wanting to organize her thoughts. "I'm an addict, Lucy. I'll always be an addict. There's no cure. Only treatment. Cliff found me a wonderful counselor and he set me up with a sponsor here in Dallas. I believe I'm done. I want to be done. And I hope and pray that with Cliff's love and support, I am done. Pammy needs me. And she is the most important thing in my life. I truly believe she's enough to keep me sober. But I am always going to be what I am; addicted." Lucy looked over at Sue Ellen who nodded. "That's an honest answer. From one addict to another," Sue Ellen looked Afton in the eyes, "the key to sobriety is finding whatever fills that awful void in your soul and filling your life up with whatever that happens to be." "I think for me, that will be being a wife and mother." "Wife?" Pam repeated. "Has Cliff proposed?" "Oh! No! But someday, after I've proven to him I can love and take care of him and Pammy well, I hope he will." "Alright," Lucy stood up. "Come on, Afton." "Where are we going?" "To see Mitch. The three of us need to talk." "He won't want to see me," Afton said sadly. "Well, that's just too damn bad for him, isn't it? We have some things that need settling. No time like the present. Ladies," she nodded at Pam and Sue Ellen, "have fun shopping. And put my uncles on notice that all us strong, resilient, smart Ewing women are done moping and are taking charge of our own lives!" *** "Hello?" "Hi, lady, how are you on the beautiful day?" "You're way too chipper this morning, Cliff," April laughed. "Sounds like someone got laid last night." "I did," Cliff admitted. "Twice. Jealous?" "Extremely," April sighed. "Especially considering even though I think me and Jack are ready to take the next step, we won't have an opportunity for a while. Not with Michelle here." "Buy the girl some earplugs and go at it!" "You're awful! Did you talk to Afton about tonight?" "Yep. We'll be over around 7:00. Need us to bring anything?" "No. Just your company." "Okay. See you then. Oh, by the way, can you check your guest room and see if my grey sports coat is in there? I can't find it anywhere.' "Sure thing. I'll leave it out for you if it's here." "Okay. See you tonight." April hung up the phone and walked over to the door to her guest room. "Michelle? Can I come in?" When there was no answer, she quietly pushed open the door. She heard the shower running in the bathroom and moved to the closet. She dug around a bit and found Cliff's jacket. She backed out of the closet and bumped into the dresser. "Ouch," she rubbed at her hip where it had collided with the wood. She noticed she'd knocked over a folder and some papers had fallen out of it. She bent to pick everything up, but froze in her tracks when she saw some of the papers. "Oh, my God," she breathed out in shock. "Oh, my God, Michelle! What are you up to?" *** "They're home early," Sue Ellen nodded towards the driveway where Bobby and JR were both parking their cars. "Both of them," Pam said. "I wasn't expecting Bobby home until dinner time." "They're up to something," Sue Ellen said thoughtfully. "That's just fine," Pam smiled deviously. "So are we." "What do you think JR?" Bobby asked his brother, his eyes fixed on their wives who were lounging by the pool. "We can't out flank them," JR mused. "They've already spotted our position." "Full frontal attack then?" "Hmmmm. No choice. Remember though, we can't break under questioning from the enemy. Hit them fast and straight, then break their line." "Divide and conquer, then?" "Absolutely. Meet you downstairs at home base in an hour." "Good luck, brother. May the force be with you." "And with you." "What are they doing?" Pam wondered out loud. "Plotting," Sue Ellen told her sister-in-law. "Stay strong." "You too. Here they come." "Ladies," JR spoke first, tipping his hat to them. "We finished our meetings early and thought we'd come home and see if you were ready to go shopping." "You're going to?" Pam asked Bobby. "Yes. Didn't feel right leaving JR to carry packages for both of you." "We need to change," Sue Ellen announced, standing up. "We'll be ready in a few minutes." Pam stood up and followed Sue Ellen into the house. "Going to their rooms to change," Bobby whispered to his brother. "Success on the divide part." "Now all we gotta worry about is the conquer," JR sighed. *** "Mr. Krebbs? I hope I'm not disturbing you. May I come in?" "Of course, James," Ray stood back to let the young man enter the house. "Charlie isn't here. She's out shopping with her mother." "I know. I'm not here to see Charlie," James said. "I guess she told you we decided to stop seeing each other." "She mentioned it," Ray nodded. "So if you didn't come to see Charlie, what are you doing here?" "I came to see you, Sir." "Me? About what?" "Your family. Specifically your brother." "Which brother?" "JR. You see, Mr. Krebbs… I have a reason, a really good reason…" "A good reason for what, boy?' Ray snapped. "Spit it out!" "I have a very good reason to believe I am his son." "What?! What did you just say to me?" "My mother's name is Vanessa Beaumont. She had an affair with your brother approximately nine months before I was born. Mr. Krebbs, I believe JR Ewing is my father." *** Lucy and Mitch sat on the couch in the living room of the hotel suite and watched Afton and Pammy playing in the corner. "She's a good mother, Mitch. She wasn't at first, but she is now. Cliff will be a wonderful father. Please don't take Pammy away from them as revenge for what Afton did to our marriage." "You mean don't do to Pammy what JR and your grandparents did to you?" Lucy turned her head to look at him. "Yes. That's exactly what I mean." "Pammy actually smiled when she saw Afton. That's so rare for her." "They belong together, Mitch." "Yes. Alright, Lucy. I won't fight Afton and Cliff." Lucy smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "Thank you." "I have to go back to Atlanta for work, but I'll see about putting in a transfer to Dallas Memorial as soon as possible." "You're... you're moving to Dallas?" "Can't see anyway around it. My niece will be living here. And the woman I love lives here too." "The woman you love?" "Yes. Maybe you know her. She's a really voluptuous blonde. Just gorgeous. On the short side, but that's okay because she looks so hot in heels. She has a really big mouth and a tongue sharp as the devil's pitchfork. But she's really sweet and softhearted deep down.She grew up rich and her family is really powerful, so sometimes she comes off as spoiled. But she's not. She's kind and generous. But I have to move here to be with her because she can't leave Dallas. And it's not because her family has money. It's because she loves them. And they love her. Especially one of her uncles, who may or may not have come by my hotel room really early this morning to talk some sense into me." "JR?" she whispered. "Yeah," Mitch confirmed. "I'm sorry for last night, Lucy. I'm sorry for not coming to you when I got that stupid note. I'm sorry for letting you go twice. Give me another chance. I promise I won't let you go again." "Well, you know what they say, Mitch," Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss, "third time's the charm." *** "Pam?" Bobby knocked softly on the bedroom door. "Can I come in?" The door opened and Pam appeared in front of him. "I'm ready to go," she told him, starting to move out into the hallway. "Hang on just a minute," he told her. "I need to talk to you. May I come in?" "Of course," Pam backed up and moved out of his way. "Pam, when you left me I was devastated. "I know, Bobby…" "Please. Just let me talk. Okay?" Pam nodded and he continued. "I looked for you. Moved heaven and earth. Then when I got your letter telling me you wanted a divorce and not to try to find you, all that panic and loss turned into hurt and then anger. I couldn't understand why you would ever think my love was so shallow that I'd care how you looked. I didn't know you were sick. I didn't know you thought you were dying. And even now, I don't understand why you left. But you're home now. And you wanted to come home. To Christopher. And to me. But I didn't know how I felt about you. I still had so much doubt and pain. But last night, the way you were. How you and Christopher just seemed to pick up right where you left off. How you sat and comforted Sue Ellen until Lucy got home. How you looked at me, how it felt when you leaned against me while we were watching the movie. You're my Pam. You look different. But you're still my Pam. And I still love you." "Bobby...what are you saying?" "I want my wife back, Pam. I want to try to get over all the pain and love you, and have you love me. I want to be with you.I know it can't ever be exactly like it was before. I know things have changed. They'll be rough spots, with Sue Ellen and Christopher and with my doubts and your fears, so I know it will be different. But maybe different will be better. I want to try. I want to work things out." "Oh, Bobby!" Tears of joy slid down her cheeks. "Me too! I want to work things out too!" Bobby smiled and pulled her into his arms. "Welcome home, honey," he whispered before capturing her lips in a soul crushing, passionate kiss. *** JR sat back in his chair in stunned silence as he watched his wife strip off her bathing suit and walk naked to the dresser. "Something the matter, JR?" "What?" his mouth went completely dry when she bent over right in front of him to slip on a pair of panties. "Oh no. Nothing wrong, Sue Ellen." "Realy?" she asked, turning around and giving him a close-up look at her bare breasts as she put on her bra. "Because you look a little distracted." "Well, hell, Miss Texas," JR snapped, forgetting his plan to charm her, "you prancing around here.naked makes it hard to concentrate." "Is that right, JR? Do you like what you see?" "You know damn well I do." "Do you want to keep it?" "You know damn well I do," he said again. "Then you are going to stop keeping secrets from me. I don't care how upset you think I'll be. I don't care how sick I am. I don't care how much stress I'm under. You will stop treating me like a fragile child! I am a lot stronger than you ever give me credit for, and I will NOT tolerate being so disrespected ever again. Understand?" "Sue Ellen, in my defense, I was only trying to…" "Stop it, JR!" she commanded. "I mean it! I know perfectly well what you were trying to do, and I won't have it. I don't expect you to be perfect. But I do expect you to respect me enough not to lie to me!" "You're right, honey," he said meekly. "You're right, and I'm sorry." "And?" "And it won't happen ever again." "Don't break any more promises to me, JR. I mean it. Next time I won't be so forgiving." "I won't, Sue Ellen. I swear it." Sue Ellen shook her head dismissively and moved towards him until she was standing directly in front of his chair. "We're going shopping with Bobby and Pam. Then the four of us are going out for a nice dinner. Then you and I are coming home and figuring out what to do about this possible son together. Got it?" "I got it, Miss Texas." "Good. Now, before we do any of that," she parted his knees and moved to stand between his legs, "I am going to remind you who you belong to," she sank down onto her knees and moved her hands undo his belt and his pants, "and who belongs to you." JR groaned loudly and surrendered to his wife"s expert attention. He tangled his hands on her hair and leaned forward as far as he could to kiss the top of her head. "I love you, Sue Ellen," he growled, already starting to lose control. "We will always belong to each other." *"" [/QUOTE]

Verification

What month follows July?