Miss Ellie thought about the words she had just heard. “Welcome to Dallas." But, how could she feel welcome or relaxed considering the circumstances? The flight from Greece had been bumpy to say the least and her nerves were rattled by it. She had left her quiet, comfortable home in the Greek Isles to return to a place that she hadn’t seen in two years. Even after spending virtually her entire life at the Southfork Ranch; after growing up there; after having her wedding there; after raising her children there; she was pensive at the thought of returning. So much had happened since Jock’s death. Her family had fallen apart because of his absence and her own lack of ability to control her sons’ behavior. It had all been too much for her. All she had ever wanted was to be head of a happy family, but it was not, apparently, to be.

Now here she and Clayton were returning to the battleground, which had once been their home, under the worst of circumstances. Bobby had been aboard a jet that had crashed in the Swiss Alps. Gary, who she had considered lost to her forever, and whom she felt she barely knew anymore, was coming to meet them at the airport. JR was still the same as he had ever been, maybe even worse. How much worse could the conditions be upon her return? She was soon to find out.
 

As the landing gear wheels of the jet hit Texas ground Miss Ellie gasped deeply.

“Are you alright, Miss Ellie?” Clayton asked.

“Yes, fine Clayton. The landing startled me, that’s all.”

“Well, you just let me know if there’s anything at all I can do to make things better for you.”

Miss Ellie smiled. “I know I can always count on you to be my big, strong man Clayton. You’ve always been there for me, even when I couldn’t be there for myself or for you.”

“Just having you with me has been enough for me, you know that.”

“I know.” She reached her arm through Clayton’s and grabbed onto his upper arm.

The plane had reached the jetway and the other passengers had begun to deplane.

“Ready?” Clayton asked.

“Yes.”

The two made their way to the front of the plane and up the jetway into the terminal where they saw Gary, Valene and Lucy waiting for them. Lucy immediately lunged at them and gave them both hugs.

“Gramma! Clayton! Oh, I’m so happy to see you!”

“It’s good to see you too, Lucy,” Miss Ellie replied. “But I almost didn’t recognize you with this red hair.”

“Yeah, it’s for the new, improved Lucy Ewing image.”

“Well, it looks just beautiful on you,” said Clayton.

“Thank you.”

Gary and Valene remained just a few feet away both looking as if they had no idea whatsoever what to say.

“Hi Momma, hi Clayton,” Gary mustered with no offer of hugs or handshakes.

“I hope you had an okay flight, Miss Ellie,” said Val.

“Well, to tell you the truth, the flight was horrible. I’d like to go straight to Southfork and rest for a while. I’m anxious to see John Ross and Christopher.”

Gary, Val and Lucy exchanged concerned glances.

“Momma, there’s something you should know…about John Ross. He was in an accident and he’s at Dallas Memorial.”

“Oh no,” gasped Ellie, clutching Clayton’s arm tighter, “how bad is it?”

 “He’s in stable condition, but in a coma.”

 “Then we’ll stop by Dallas Memorial before going to Southfork,” said Ellie firmly.

 “Ellie, do you think that’s a good idea? We’ve had a long flight,” reasoned Clayton.

 “Clayton, I want to see my grandson and nobody is going to keep me from him.”

 Gary and Val exchanged another glance. Knowing that a concerned grandmother couldn’t be reasoned with, Gary drove the car into the direction of Dallas Memorial.

Afton Cooper was led through a dark corridor and escorted into a jail cell by a cop, she couldn't believe this was happening to her.  They had told her that they only wanted her for questioning, yet she had been arrested.

Afton hadn't even comprehended the Miranda Warning as they had given it to her, but it made it all seem so real.  She sat down on the cot as the cell door was slammed shut.

"I can't believe this is happening.  It was only self-defense."

Bobby waved frantically at the chopper that appeared to be landing, but at the last minute, the chopper veered off to the right and disappeared. “Damn it! We’re not going to last much longer out here if we don’t find some sort of shelter.”

 “Bobby, your wife is calling for you," said Craig from behind. The sound of his voice startled Bobby.

 “My wife? Oh, Jenna, she’s not my wife, just a good friend.” Bobby walked through the snow to Jenna, who was moaning something deliriously.

 “We…we’re…getting married today Naldo, this is the happiest day of our l..lives.”

 “Jenna, it’s Bobby, how are you feeling?”

 “Oh Bobby, I don’t feel so good.”

 Bobby turned to Craig, “that settles it, we’ve got to find a place to take shelter, looks like another storm is blowing in, and this mountainside is treacherous.” He turned back to Jenna, “I’m going to carry you as far as I can, but you may have to walk. I don’t think anything is broken.”

 “I’ll try Bobby.”

 The fourth survivor had died earlier in the night, leaving only Bobby, Jenna, and Craig alone on the mountain. Craig packed a backpack with everything he could cram in and Bobby picked up Jenna. The three people started their trek across a large expanse of snow, dotted with the occasional tree.

Anita Smithfield awakened at 9 am, suddenly remembering where she was—Robert Stockton’s apartment. She also remembered why she was there and quickly jumped out of bed, leaving Stockton to sleep. Anita saw what she had come for and walked over to it, Stockton’s briefcase; after perusing through the contents, she came across the paper with JR’s name on it.

“Well, well, it looks like there’s another person out to get JR,” she whispered, “I’ll just have to let him know about this, might even be a nice little bonus for me if I do.”

“Now Miss. Smithfield, do you really want to do that?”

Anita turned and stared at Stockton, “Rob, look, I can explain…”

 “There is no need to explain, JR sent you here didn’t he? Yes, he sends his little whore to do his dirty work for him. We’ll have to fix this, the boss wouldn’t look on this too kindly.”

“What are you going to do?”
“Now, I want you to walk out with me to the car, don’t say a word, act normally, and everything will be ok, but if you let anybody think you’re in trouble, then I swear to you, it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”

Anita stared at Stockton with wide eyes as he made a phone call. “This is Stockton, it appears that a spy has found out some info that just can’t be shared at this moment, do you think you can think of some way to ‘detain’ her?.....that’s great, I’ll be there as soon as possible.” Stockton put down the phone and turned to Anita. “Miss Smithfield, now, let’s take this trip.”

“JR Ewing WILL find out about this and you’ll be sorry,” said Anita, tears in her eyes.

“JR Ewing is only concerned with his son and brother right now, it’ll be a long, long time before he ever gets around to you again, and by then, it will be too late.”

Sue Ellen sat beside John Ross’ hospital bed, holding his hand while JR stared out on the happenings of Dallas. JR couldn’t bare the site of all the tubes and machines that adorned the room, especially since it was his fault that John Ross was here. A knock sounded at the door, breaking the deathly silence of the room.

 “Come in,” said Sue Ellen, not looking away from her son.

 The door pushed open and Gary walked in. “Hi Sue Ellen, JR.”

 “Hello Gary,” smiled Sue Ellen.

 “There’s someone here who wants to see John Ross.”

 “I don’t think John Ross needs anymore visitors,” snapped JR.

 Miss Ellie walked into the room and proceeded to where JR and Sue Ellen were standing.

 “Momma….” “Hello JR,” said Ellie, managing a smile. Ellie hugged JR and Sue Ellen before proceeding to John Ross’ bedside. A solemn look spread over her wrinkled face as she looked at John Ross. “Oh, my precious baby, my first grandson. All these years I’ve missed out on in your life. I was supposed to be here for you, I feel like I’ve failed you.”

“No Momma, you didn’t fail him, I’ve failed him,” said JR, leaving the room.

 “How’s he taking this Sue Ellen?” said Ellie.

 “Not very well, he tries to hide it, to keep that JR Ewing exterior, but I can tell he’s hurting inside. There’s just so much going on, with Bobby and Jenna, John Ross’ accident, Cliff, and now Pam showing up.”

 “What? Pamela Rebecca?”

 “No Pam Ewing, Christopher brought her to Southfork. She’s back, and very much alive.”

 “What…but..how? Oh dear..”

“I haven’t heard the explanation myself.”

 “Bobby would be so happy, if only he were here…”

 Clayton entered the room. “Hello Sue Ellen.”

 “Hi Clayton.”

 “Ellie, it’s time to get back to Southfork, you need some rest.”

 “He’s right Miss Ellie, I’m sure you’re very tired from your trip.”

 “Ok, but I’ll be back later today or tomorrow morning.”

Pam Ewing sat on the couch, catching up on the news of Dallas, something she had been without for the past ten years. Lucas and Bobby ran through the room, playing chase, and Pam laughed to think how Miss Ellie might have scolded them if she were there. But a feeling of sadness came over here when she thought about the baby that she and Bobby were going to have before the explosion. Lucas was also a reminder of Bobby and Jenna’s relationship, a reminder that would always be present.

 The doorbell rang and Jane answered it. Gary, Val, Lucy came in, followed by Miss Ellie and Clayton.

 “Oh my God, Miss Ellie…Clayton, what are you doing here?”

 “We might say the same thing about you,” smiled Ellie.

 If there was one thing that made Southfork seem like home, it was Miss Ellie’s warm smile. Pam hugged Ellie and Clayton as Christopher walked into the room. “Grandma!”

 “Christopher!” smiled Miss Ellie, even more warmly. Grandmother and grandson hugged each other for several minutes. “I can’t believe this! First I get my mom back, now my grandma.”

 Pam smiled, happy to see her son that happy. “Here’s three more you should say hello to Miss Ellie,” said Pam, pointing to Betsy, Bobby, and Lucas.

 “My, how they’ve grown.” Miss Ellie hugged the three of them, promising that a nice batch of sugar cookies would be waiting for them before bedtime.

 “I’m going to see Cliff now, I know he’s alright, I just talked to the doctor, but I still want to see him, so if you’ll excuse me…”

 “Of course Pam,” said Ellie.

Robert Stockton pulled up to the Velvet Lace Club and got out of the Lexus he was driving. He proceeded to the other side and opened the door for Anita. “Now, Miss Smithfield, I want you to follow me, and as before, don’t give the slightest hint of what’s going on.”

 “What are you going to do with me?”

 “You’ll see.” Robert took Anita’s hand and the two walked inside the club. The dark, smoky, atmosphere was uninviting to Anita. Waitresses dressed in almost nothing served businessmen their nightly doses of alcohol, and onstage, several women danced. Stockton led Anita through the crowd and past the stage. A flight of stairs led down into darkness and this was where Stockton was taking Anita. The two had entered some sort of basement and at the back of the basement was a door. Stockton pulled opened the door and switched on a light inside the second room. Inside the room was a cage, like the women danced in back on the stage, only this one was larger.

 “Oh my God, you’re not going to put me in there….”

 “I’m impressed, how would you ever guess?” smiled Stockton.

 He pushed her into the cage and used a padlock to lock the door. “One of the waitresses will make sure you have anything you need.”

 “How long do I have to stay here?”

 “Oh, just a few weeks. After we’ve taken over Westar, there’s no reason why you couldn’t get out,” laughed Stockton.

 “Damn you! You’ll regret ever crossing JR Ewing.”

 “Now Miss Smithfield, don’t make me laugh, JR is going to regret ever crossing my father. If you’ll excuse me, I need to be going. No one ever uses this room, and these walls are so thick and insulated, that you could scream until you were blue in the face and no one would ever hear you. The waitress I mentioned is the only other one that knows about you, so she’ll be taking care of you. Goodbye Miss Smithfield.”

 Stockton shut the outer door and plunged the room into darkness. The dusty, dim lightbulb barely provided enough light for Anita to see her own hands. “Don’t do this to me! Please don’t do this….JR is going to make you sorry you ever did this!” Anita was left alone in the almost dark room, something scurried across her foot.

Pam Ewing pushed open the door to Cliff’s hospital room. Knowing that seeing her would be a shock to him, she proceeded with caution. Cliff’s head was turned and he stared out the window at the Dallas sunset. “Excuse me Mr. Barnes, but it’s time for your shots.”

 “What?” said Cliff, turning around. “Oh my God, Pam? PAM?”

 “Hello Cliff.”

 A smile spread across Cliff’s face. “Pam, how…what…”

 Pam smiled and walked over to the bed; she stooped over and hugged her brother.

 “Pam, I want you to tell me everything, where you’ve been, why you’re here now, EVERYTHING.”

 “Oh Cliff, I’m not sure that you’re up to that right now.”

 “What do you mean, not up to it, of course I’m up to it. You know why? I’m up to anything right now, you’ve just made me the happiest person on this earth.”

 Pam laughed, “Ok Cliff.”

 Cliff pulled himself up in bed and gave his full attention to Pam.

 “I didn’t leave Dallas on my own free will, I was kidnapped, by JR and Katherine. JR kept me locked up in a sanitarium and drugged. They both wanted me out of Dallas. Katherine pulled out and tried to help me escape, but JR found out and threatened her…”

 “WAIT a minute, JR is responsible for this?”

 “Yes he is.”

 “But wait a minute, I talked to you, when April and I went searching for you on that tip from Jordan Lee. You said that you were in love with that doctor….”

 “All a set-up by JR. I was forced to watch that via camera, you don’t know how disheartening it was to me to see you leave that time, knowing that you were my only chance. JR found someone that resembled me, darkened the room, and planted the story that the accident had changed my voice. It all worked perfectly. Everything, every last detail was orchestrated by JR, the letter to Bobby, I was forced to write that, the doctors threatened me with some sort of injection and I had no choice. Oh Cliff, it was pure hell.

 “JR Ewing is going to pay for what he’s done to you, I’ll kill him if it’s the last thing I do.”

 “I would have stayed there forever if it weren’t for my son. He came looking for me, JR even went so far as to have someone plant a fake tombstone with my name on it, so that Christopher would believe I was dead. He hired a doctor and a nurse at a clinic in Brazil to plant this phony file to lead Christopher on a wild goose chase, it led him to another sanitarium, one that I had stayed at briefly. Christopher told me he was ready to give up and come home, until he got lucky by talking to the right person.”

 “And who was this person?”

 “Cliff, it was Katherine, our sister.”

 “What?”

 “She had been in South America the whole time, hiding from JR. She knew that Christopher was looking for me and she told him where I was. But you can’t tell ANYBODY that she did, or else JR will do something to her, something awful. Katherine doesn’t want her name mentioned in any of this. Our sister has turned into quite a different person from how we knew her before.”

 “I’d like to talk to her,” said Cliff.

 “No Cliff, it’s better for her if we just leave her alone.”

 “Ok, ok, I understand. I’m just glad she found the decency to tell Christopher where you were being held.”

 “So am I Cliff. Now, I’ve got a lot of things to take care of, so I’m going to go now, but I promise that I will be back as soon as possible.”

 “Ok Pam, I’ll see you later, take care. It’s so good to have you back with us.”

 “It’s good to be back.”

Jenna struggled to walk while leaning on Bobby and the three survivors were on the verge of exhaustion. As they were about to give up, Bobby spotted something ahead.

 “Craig, is that a cabin? Or am I imagining things?”

 “It sure looks like it Bobby,” said Craig with a new excitement in his voice.

 Bobby picked up Jenna and he and Craig almost ran to the cabin, the very site of it had energized them beyond belief. Upon reaching the cabin, Bobby pushed open the door and walked in. There was a small fireplace and to his surprise, a stack of wood. Craig examined the cabinets to find some canned food and there were still clothes in the closet. The best thing that Bobby could have hoped for was sitting on a table—a radio.

 “Bobby, don’t you find this all a little weird? I mean, this cabin is fully stocked, do you think someone lives here?”

 “No, more than likely these people were evacuated before they could get anything out, maybe danger of an avalanche forced them out.” Bobby put Jenna on the bed and covered her up. He examined her face; her cheeks were still red, which meant no frostbite. Craig pulled out a cigarette lighter and built a fire in the fireplace. Within a half-hour, the cabin was warm and there was a small meal cooked, consisting of bacon and a few canned biscuits.

 “Well, it’s nothing like Teresa used to cook,” laughed Bobby with a biscuit in hand, “but it’s damned near better than nothing.”

 For the first time since back at the barbecue, Jenna managed to smile. “Bobby, I don’t know how you always manage to keep a sense of humor in times like this.”

 “I’m going to step outside and have a look around,” said Craig, opening the door.

 “Bobby, I love you so much, I feel like I can say that now, considering the circumstances,” said Jenna, looking away.

 “Jenna…I..I love you too. I always have.”

 Bobby held Jenna to him and the two started to kiss, but Bobby pulled away at the last possible second. “Jenna, this isn’t right…what about Ray?”

 “I don’t love Ray anymore, at least not the way I love you.”

 Bobby leaned forward and the two finished the kiss that they had almost started just a few seconds before.

 A few minutes later, Craig came in.

 “How does it look out there Craig?” asked Bobby.

 “Not so good, we’ve got to get some help.”

 Bobby walked over to the transistor radio and tried to contact someone, but got nothing but static. “That settles it, I’m going to go for help, there should be a ranger station not too far away from here, no one would build a cabin so far away from civilization.”

 “Bobby, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” worried Jenna.

 “It’s our only choice,” said Bobby, pulling on a pair of snowshoes and a heavy coat. He searched through a drawer until he found a pair of gloves and a ski mask. “I’m going, I’ve got to go right now, before nightfall.”

 “Bobby, no,” said Jenna. Bobby kissed Jenna once more. “I love you Jenna, don’t ever forget that.

 “Oh Bobby, you make this seem so final, don’t think like that.”

 “Craig, you stay here and take care of Jenna for me.”

 “Will do Bobby, thanks for everything, and be careful.”

 “I will.”

 The door opened and the wind slammed it shut before Jenna even knew Bobby was gone.

Cliff Barnes was surprised to see Carter McKay walk into his hospital room.

 “Well Mac, where have you been hiding? I haven’t seen you in a while, which is kind of odd, considering you’re my partner in NorthStar Oil.”

 “Cliff, that’s what I came here to talk to you about. I’m withdrawing from the company. This revenge plan against JR is silly and I just want to go back to living a normal life with Rose. I’ve got more than enough money to keep us happy.”

 “But…what….but we’re partners…”

 “I’m sorry Cliff, I’ve taken the liberty of having my lawyer draw up an agreement. All you have to do is sign here and NorthStar will be all yours.”

 “Mac, I don’t WANT NorthStar to be all mine, we’re partners!”

 “Not anymore Cliff, just sign the paper and don’t give me any trouble.”

 “Why are you doing this?”

 “I told you, I made a mistake ever forming the company in the first place.”

 “Mac, I don’t have the kind of money to pull this off by myself..”

 “Then you’ll have to find another partner or take out a loan, now please sign this,” said McKay, handing a clipboard to Cliff. With some reluctance, Cliff signed the papers. “Thank you Cliff, and I’m really sorry about all of this. I want you to keep me updated on how the company is going.”

 “Ok Mac, whatever.”

 “Rose and I have bought a house in Galveston, so we’ll be leaving Dallas soon. That’s another reason I couldn’t do anymore with NorthStar Oil.”
 

 “Oh really, goodbye Mac.”

 “Goodbye Cliff.”

It was just before sunset and Miss Ellie had ventured alone to her favorite place on Southfork. It was a place that she had always been able to go to get away from everyone and enjoy the solitude. She chuckled as she remembered the time that Gary (who was only 8 years old) discovered her here and promised to keep her secret. She had always been closest to Gary, of all her boys. She was saddened to remember the tragic events, which ultimately took Gary away from Southfork and her life forever. She began to cry.

“Momma,” called a voice from behind.

Miss Ellie turned to see Gary standing just behind her.

“Oh, Gary,” she said. “You startled me.”

“I’m sorry Momma, I didn’t mean to. It’s just that I noticed that you had left the house unannounced and I thought you might have come up here. I should have intruded.” He turned to walk away.

“Gary! Don’t go!” Miss Ellie desperately called out to him. “Don’t you think it’s time we finally talked about everything that’s happened? You seem so happy to be back at Southfork. It would be a shame for you to be forced to leave again just because you continued to refuse to communicate with me.”

“You mean it, Momma? You really want to talk this out with me after all this time?”

“Gary, you’re my son and I’ve never stopped loving you. I’ve just been waiting for the time to be right for you to come to me.” They both began to cry and embraced lovingly.

“Momma, you don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear these words from you.”

“Oh, yes I do, Gary. I’ve been waiting, too. You know, I never forgave Jock and JR for running you off like they did, but I understood why they felt they had to do it. In their own ways, they were trying to make a stronger man of you.”

“You mean a Ewing of me…”

 “Maybe. Still, I don’t think they went about it the right way at all. I always wanted you back home, but they just wouldn’t back down. But now look at you. You seem to be doing wonderfully. You’ve got a good, solid marriage with Valene. You’ve got your relationship with Lucy back on track. Bobby and Betsy are a delight. I’m proud of you, son.”

“Well, it’s been a long road, Momma. Truthfully, I never thought my life would get to this point. I had to go through hell to get here.”

“I want to hear all about it, Gary…every last detail. And then, I want us to have the relationship we should always have had. I may not have much time left….”

 “Momma, are you…” Gary interrupted.

“No, I’m healthy as a horse. But you never know what might happen. Look at Bobby and John Ross and Cliff Barnes.”

“True.”

“Let’s walk down to the pond and you can tell me your story on the way.”

“OK,” they started to walk, arm in arm.

Valene was at the desk in her room at Southfork looking over some notes for her new book when there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

“Mother?” Lucy said slowly stepping into the room.

“Lucy, is that you?”

“Yeah, would you help me fasten this last button.” Lucy was fumbling with the back of her blue silk blouse.

“Well sure,” Valene reached and buttoned the remaining button on the blouse as her eyes began to well with tears. “I’m sorry Lucy.”

“Sorry?”

“Yeah, for—for getting all emotional about this,” Val said, embarrassed. “I had dreams from the day JR stole you from me of being your mother and friend, and I’m just so glad we ended up at Southfork at the same time, even if it had to be under these terrible circumstances.”

“Well, you could always stay for a while after things settle down.”

“Actually, Lucy, I’ve been thinking the same thing. I’ve just begun work on my fourth book and I have loads of research to do right here in Dallas. School is just getting ready to start back for Betsy and Bobby, so they could go to Braddock for the semester. I’m just worried that your father will never agree to it.”

“Well, you can’t blame him for being apprehensive as long as JR is here.”

“I know. Golly, he hasn’t changed on bit, has he?”

“He never will, Mother. So, tell me, did you really write three best sellers all by yourself?”

“Yeah, kinda hard to believe, isn’t it?” Val shrugged.

“No, I can believe it. I just admire you so much, Mother. I know I’ve never told you this, but I think you and Daddy are the best for surviving everything you’ve been through and coming out on top. I used to hate you both for allowing JR to take me, but I understand now that you didn’t have any choice and that you thought I’d be better off here at Southfork, anyway.”

“You—You forgive us?” Val said in disbelief.

“Of course I do,” Lucy said casually.

Both women started to laugh uncontrollably and then hugged as they continued to laugh.

Lucy looked at her Mother and said, “I want you to teach me how to be a successful woman, who doesn’t need the support of a man to make her mark in the world.”

“I’d love to help you, honey,” said Val delighted.

“Hey, my friend Murielle is coming in from Oklahoma City for a visit in a few days. I can’t wait for you to meet her!”

The two women left the room together continuing to chat…

Pamela Rebecca pushed open the door to John Ross’ hospital room. He lay in the bed, motionless, eyes closed. The doctor had told her that he had been stabilized and would live, but there was brain damage and he was still comatose. She pulled a chair beside the bed and took John Ross’ hand.

“John Ross, I know you can hear me…. Our baby is going to be born soon, and you’ve got to be here for that, I can’t go through it alone.” A sound at the door startled Pamela and she was startled even more upon seeing Christopher standing there.

“Oh, I’ll come back later didn’t know you would be here,” said Chris, turning to leave. “No Chris, it’s ok,” said Pamela turning to the window.

“No it’s not, I’ll go wait outside until you get through.” With that, Christopher turned and left the room. Back in the waiting room, he took a seat, but stood up upon seeing Karen run into the room.

“Where is he, WHERE is John Ross?” she screamed frantically.

“Karen, I don’t think now is a good time for you to go in there…”

 Karen turned to the nurse’s station and asked for the room number and despite Christopher’s attempts to stop her, she barged into John Ross’ room. Karen spoke up upon seeing Pamela, “what are you doing here?”

“The question is, what are YOU doing here, this is all your fault, because of you, he’s in this shape,” screamed Pamela. Pamela lunged across the room at Karen. Christopher attempted to break the two girls up, but only added to the noise and confusion. The three came to a dead halt upon hearing John Ross’ heart monitor flatlining.

“Oh my God,” said Pamela.

A doctor and two nurses ran into the room. A nurse grabbed a defibrillator and the other nurse took Chris, Karen, and Pamela out of the room.

Karen took a seat and began to cry, Christopher took the seat next to her. “Karen, he’s going to be ok.”

“I can’t believe this is happening to him, this is Pamela’s fault, all her fault, because of her actions in that room, the doctors are in there trying to save his life, and this time they may not succeed.”

Christopher put his arm around Karen, “Karen, I’ve got some business to take care of.”

Karen stared blankly as Christopher stepped up to the nurse’s station, “excuse me,” he said.

“Yes, how can I help you?” asked a less than friendly nurse.

“I want a 24 hour guard standing outside that door, I don’t want Pamela Cooper ANYWHERE near that room,” said Chris angrily.

“I’m sorry, but you have no authorization to do that,” frowned the nurse.

“I’m a Ewing, if that’s not enough authorization for you, then call JR or Bobby Ewing.”

“Oh, yes, I’ll have one stationed there right away.”

JR stood vigil by John Ross’ bed, he had been devastated upon hearing about the fight between Karen and Pamela and about how it had affected John Ross. He no longer cared about Pamela, or the fact that Pam was back and was going to tell about what he had done, or the fact that Ratigan was dead, or even Ewing Oil….he just wanted John Ross to recover.

 “JR,” said Sue Ellen, “I need to run over to Ewing Oil to get something.”

 “Sure Sue Ellen, go right ahead, I’ll be here. I’m spending the night.”

 “Ok JR, I’ll try to be back as soon as possible.”

 “No need to, I’ll take care of our son tonight, you go get some rest and take a shower.”

 “Are you sure?”

 “Of course I’m sure.”

Val sat up in bed looking over some notes as Gary entered their room at Southfork. He seemed to be overjoyed and filled with enthusiasm and laughter. Val thought of the irony inherent in his happiness as they were in the place which was the origin of his life’s pain. What could have brought this on, she thought to herself.

“Oh, honey, I’m glad you’re still up. I’ve had one of the best days of my entire life and I can’t wait to tell you about it.”

He jumped next to her on the bed, ruffling her papers and grabbing her so tight that he almost took her breath away.

“Gary! What is it? What’s happened to make you this way? I haven’t seen you like this since you were 17 years old.”

“Momma and I have been together for the last several hours. I found her out at Hidden Oaks. She forgave me, Val! She forgave me! She wanted to talk about everything that’s happened over the years and she wants us to have the relationship she says we always should have!”

Val was overcome with joy for her husband and for herself. She had taken on much responsibility for the distance between Gary and his family because it had had to do with his relationship with her. She reached her arms around his neck and hugged him even tighter.

“Oh, Gary, I’m so happy for you….for us. We’ve waited so long to make peace with that part of our lives and now it’s finally happened. Miss Ellie, Lucy, everyone….well, except JR.”

Gary grimaced, “Please, let’s not bring JR into this. I’m trying to enjoy being happy.”

The both chuckled. Then Val’s chuckle gave way to a concerned look.

“What is it, honey?”

Val hesitated. “Well…..this sort of ties in with something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Well, what is it, Val?”

“Lucy wants us to stay at Southfork for a while and I think I want to as well. I have at least 6 months worth of research for the new book to do here. Bobby and Betsy are here with family….with family, Gary. You’ve made peace with Miss Ellie. I think we should stay and enjoy this for a while. I want to enroll the kids at Braddock for the fall semester. Gary?”

Gary had a perplexed look on his face.

“Gary, what?!”

“You’re never going to believe this, Val, but I wanted to ask you the same thing!”

They both smiled and looked at one another slyly.

“Well, I guess that settles it, then. The California Ewings are back to stay!” Gary exclaimed.

Sue Ellen stood in JR’s office at Ewing Oil. She had thought about John Ross, about Bobby and Jenna, and had just recently heard about Cliff Barnes.

 “I’ve got to pull myself together,” she stuttered, “I’ve got to be here for John Ross. JR is holding himself together, and I’ve got to do the same.” Sue Ellen began to walk out of the office, but stopped. She turned slowly and her eyes fixated on something across the room—JR’s liquor cabinet. Sue Ellen peered around, guiltily, and walked to the cabinet. She grabbed a bottle of vodka and began to drink.

Credits Roll

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