She opened her eyes and slowly sat up. Running a hand through her hair, sweeping it out of her eyes, she sleepily called out, “…Bobby?”

At hearing her, Bobby looked around the corner from the dressing area. “Morning, I hope I didn't wake you up.” Only half dressed, he came to the bed and kissed her lightly on the lips before going to his closet to find a shirt and tie.

Pamela looked at the clock on the nightstand next to the bed and frowned. “Aren't you up a little early?”

Bobby, tie in hand, walked back into the bedroom. “I wanted to get an early start.”

Pam sighed, “I was hoping we could have breakfast together this morning. It seems like I've hardly seen you lately.”

Bobby finished buttoning his cuffs and walked across the room to the mirror to work on his tie. “I know it seems that way, honey, but you know better than anyone the time it takes to run a company like Wentworth Tool and Die.” Bobby finished tying his tie and picked up his briefcase and suit jacket. “I've got to go. Bye.” He walked out the door before Pam could ask what time he planned to be home, or even say good-bye.

She slid out of the bed, donned a silken robe and walked over to the window. She pulled back the lace curtains just in time to see Bobby getting into his car and drive away from Southfork. She watched him until she couldn't see his car anymore; as she let the lace curtains fall back into place, she sat down in the chair nearest the window. Pam found herself fighting off feelings of resentment; but the resentment quickly melted away as she realized that what Bobby said to her was true, she did know better than anyone how much time running Wentworth took. After all, not long ago, she was the one working endless hours at the Tool and Die.

She felt one of the babies kick and it reminded her that Bobby was working so she could care for herself and their children. Pam placed a hand on her tummy and felt another kick. She smiled. No matter how she felt, Bobby was doing what was best for their family and she would support him however she could.

Once in his car, Bobby fired up the engine, picked up his cell phone and dialed a number he had written on a piece of paper.

“Dallas Police Department.”

“This is Bobby Ewing, I need to speak with detective Ed Poole.”

“One moment, I'll have to transfer you.”

While he waited, Bobby pulled his car out of the Southfork driveway. A few moments later…

“Hello, this is detective Poole.”

“Ed, it's Bobby Ewing, how are you doin'?”

“Bobby! It's been a long time. I haven't talked to you since you ended your football career and quit getting me those 50 yard line seats!”

Bobby chuckled, that seemed like lifetimes ago. “Listen Ed, I wish I were calling to reminisce, but I really need your help.”

“I'm all ears.”

“I haven't been into the office to check it out yet, but apparently, there was a break in at Wentworth Tool and Die. It was in the research department and they may have been after some top-secret material. From what I've been told, the police are already at the scene, but I want someone there that I can trust.”

There was a pause as Ed checked through some schedules… “Looks like they sent Gordy over there, I think I can get him to switch with me. He owes me a few favors.”

“Thanks, Ed. I owe you one.”

Ed laughed, “No, you can consider us even… I knew I'd end up paying for those seats! See ya at the Tool and Die.”

Helen Sawyer wasn't out in the cold to Christmas shop that morning; she was out for grocery shopping. She clutched a paper grocery bag under one arm and fumbled for her car keys with her free hand. Helen was walking blindly toward her car when the collision happened. The grocery bag was knocked from her hands and its contents scattered across the cold sidewalk. Helen looked up to see a rather imposing looking man staring at her.

“Watch where you're goin',” J.R. Ewing said. He looked down at the spilled groceries in his way, annoyed.

Helen was furious. This man had knocked all of her groceries on the ground and he was telling her to watch where she was going? “Just who do you think you are, telling me to watch where I'm going?”

“J.R. Ewing, that's who.” J.R. stepped over her groceries and walked over to his car.

Helen watched with her mouth wide-open as he unlocked the driver's side door of his Mercedes. J.R. Ewing

Helen looked from his Mercedes to her own little car and then she sighed and kneeled over to pick up her measly supply of groceries for the week. It was all she could afford for a while, due to the adding up of Amelia's doctor bills.

Helen almost wanted to cry when a crowd of people walked by, not even bothering to give her a hand. To make matters worse, one man, not paying attention to where he was stepping, flattened her loaf of bread and another accidentally kicked one of her cans out into the street.

Almost five minutes later, Helen had everything rounded back up into the unwieldy grocery bag but something about the way she repacked it caused the bottom of the bag to rip, sending its contents scattering all over again.

“Damn you Ewings…damn you and all your money…” In tears, Helen kneeled over and began to pick everything back up once again.

“Are things any better at all, Don? We should be seeing some improvements due to those procedures that we put in motion a while ago.”

“Things are somewhat better. I just had a meeting with the accountants and we met the budget this month – but just barely. We really need that new drill; that'll put us back on top!”

Elayne spoke up. “Can we do it without the drill?”

At the question, alarm crept into Don's voice. “Why? Are you trying to tell me something's wrong… isn't it working?” There was a pause. “Bobby?”

“Don, there may be a problem with the drill, but it's nothing I can't handle. Don't worry about it, just handle things on your end, I'll take care of the drill.”

There was hesitation in Don's voice. “Okay, just keep me posted.”

They had barely hung up the speakerphone when Elayne began apologizing. “I'm sorry Bobby. I didn't mean to put you in a difficult spot with Don… I guess I'm just worried what will happen if the person who broke in actually gets the right disc next time.”

“Well, if you're worried about your job, don't be.”

Just then there was a knock at the door. “Come in.”

Daryl strode into Bobby's office carrying a stack of papers. “Mr. Ewing, I have some important papers here for you to sign I wanted to be sure they got to you, so I thought I'd bring them myself.” He laid the stack in front of Bobby.

“Okay, thanks Daryl.” Bobby gave him a dismissing look and turned back to Elayne. But Elayne was glaring at Daryl who was still standing next to Bobby's desk. Bobby turned back to him. “Is there something else I can do for you?”

“As a matter of fact, sir, I think there is something I can do for you.” He held up a folder and placed it on Bobby's desk. “I have some ideas that I thought you might like to see.”

Bobby was anxious to get back to talking to Elayne about the theft and he didn't have time for Daryl's 'ideas'.

“All right Daryl. I'll get to them later, Elayne and I are right in the middle of a meeting. So if you'll excuse us.”

Daryl still stood there trying to think of something impressive to say. Just as Bobby was getting ready to have him thrown out of the office, Ed walked in through the open door.

Bobby stood up to shake his hand. “Ed, we've been waiting for you. Have a seat.” Daryl was still standing there and didn't look like he was planning to move anytime soon, so Bobby picked up a stack of papers and handed them to Daryl.

Daryl was thrilled, “Thank you, Mr. Ewing. You want me to read these and give you my opinion on them?”

Bobby fought hard to hide the smile on his face – Daryl meant well and was essentially a good worker, but he tended to think too highly of himself. “Actually I was wondering if you would give those to my secretary, Sandra, on your way out.”

Daryl reluctantly took the papers and headed for the door, wondering just who 'Ed' was. As he walked through the door, he stopped and left it open just a crack. He stood quietly and listened.

“What's the verdict?”

Ed hesitated and looked toward Elayne.

Bobby sat back down in his chair. “Elayne is my vice president. She's the last person here you have to worry about. She's completely trustworthy.” Out in the hallway, Daryl smirked.

Elayne urged Ed on. “Yes, please tell us what you've found.”

“I still have some work to do, if we find some finger prints, that'll help. But there are a couple of things I can tell you for certain. I'm sure that they were looking for some particular software because one of the computers was on and there was software in it, as though the person was checking it for something. The second thing is that this was no break-in, it was an inside job.”

“Are you sure?” Bobby had been prepared to hear that the thief had been looking for discs, but not that it was someone working at Wentworth.

“I can't believe that someone in our lab would steal from us.” Elayne's voice was quiet.

Ed turned toward her. “I didn't say that it was someone from the lab. In fact, I think the evidence is against that. Someone from the lab wouldn't have to try different discs to find the one they were looking for. No, had to be someone inside the Tool and Die, but outside the lab.” Ed turned back to Bobby. “Any idea who it could be?”

Bobby thought for a moment and shook his head. “There are hundreds of people working here. It could be anyone… with the exception of the people in this room, that is.”

“If you could come up with some names for me, I could start doing some poking around.”

“All right, I'll start going through personnel files looking for anything that might point to a person being involved in this.”

Elayne suddenly had an idea that would help her prove her loyalty to Bobby, and might just get that little twerp Daryl fired. “I'll help you go through the files.”

Bobby raised his eyebrows. “Elayne, you're talking about a lot of work there… on top of helping to keep this place running. Are you sure you're up to that?”

“It's like you said, it could be anyone, so the fewer people who know, the better. You and I could do it.”

Bobby looked back at Ed. “I guess that's your answer. You keep working on your end and we'll get you some names as quickly at we can. I need this solved fast, Ed.”

“Get me the names, and I'll find 'em for you.”

“I'll get you the names, but when you find him, leave getting the spy to me. Whoever is behind this is going to get a lesson in what it means to be on the wrong side of a Ewing.”

The flint hard glint in Bobby's eyes and the hard edge to his voice made Elayne shudder. Outside the door, Daryl dropped all of the papers he was carrying. He bent over and picked them up as fast as he could. The last thing he needed was to be caught eavesdropping. That would make him look guilty for sure.

Kaitlin and Rex had been making small talk for the last twenty minutes, they had complained about laws constraining oil production and had a very lively discussion about the recent election. Kaitlin was livid about Vice President Gore's attempt to steal the presidential election from Governor / President Elect George W. Bush. Rex continued to be amazed at how easily she could converse about the oil business and also be so knowledgeable about the electoral college and Florida's “kangaroo” courts, as Kaitlin put it.

Although Rex found Kaitlin's passion for politics refreshing, he found himself wanting to know more about her personally, so he steered the conversation to a more personal level. “So, have you lived in Dallas all of your life?”

“I've lived a lot of places. I suppose you could say that I lived here off and on, more off than on, though.”

A slight grin crossed Rex's face. “That's not an answer. In fact, I'd say that was almost a dodge.”

Kaitlin laughed lightly. “Fair enough. Tell me about you. Where did you grow up?”

Rex's grin almost turned into a smile. “I'm still growing up.”

“An equally artful dodge, Mr. Wentworth,” Kaitlin said playfully.

“Okay, but I'm warning you, it's not a very exciting story. I was born in Paris… but we only lived there for a short while. We moved to the States before I could walk… and I lived here until I was in my teens and then we moved back to Paris. End of story. See, I told you it wasn't exciting.” Rex carefully left out the fact that he was the illegitimate son of Millionaire Herbert Wentworth and that his mother moved them to the United States to be near him, only to be shunted aside when he married Rebecca Barnes. Leaving his mother heartbroken. That was the reason they had moved back to Paris.

“On the contrary, it's just as exciting my story.”

“Well?”

“I was born here in the States and shipped around to various boarding schools… then on to college and finally back here to Dallas.” Kaitlin, who had plenty of secrets of her own to hide, conveniently left out the fact that as a baby, she had been sold to Jeremy Wendell… and that she had come back to Dallas pretending to be her dead twin sister. How would she ever explain that?

As they walked and talked together, Kaitlin stole sideways glances at Rex; he was so handsome. He wore the expensive kind of coat one would wear over a business suit and his gloves were of the finest leather. He was the picture of wealth and success.

Rex suddenly stopped walking. “Here we are.”

Kaitlin looked down at the ground in front of her, “Rex, tell me you're kidding. A picnic in December! You must be crazy.”

Rex took her hand and led her to one of the big fluffy pillows placed on top of a large blanket. “Kaitlin, my dear, you only think that because you have never been on a picnic with Rex Wentworth.”

Rex sat down on the other big pillow. Right on cue, two men dressed in tuxedos walked out from the trees and began to busily set things up. One set up a small heater and some soft lighting. The other man set up a small table between them complete with white lace tablecloth. Then they each pulled over trays of food. A shrimp appetizer was set before each of them and finally, the man placed a vase of roses on the table. Then both men went to stand a short distance away. Close enough to hear if Rex called, but far enough away to give them privacy.

Rex pulled one of the roses out of the vase and handed it to Kaitlin. She didn't know what to say… she'd never had a man go to such trouble for her. She managed to say, “Thank you, it's beautiful.”

Rex looked into her eyes and said, “Yes, it is.” He obviously meant her and Kaitlin found herself blushing. Rex sat there and looked into her eyes. Kaitlin was like no woman he had ever met. And though he wasn't ready to admit it even to himself, he cared for her much more than he had ever cared for anyone – except himself. Another thing that Rex wouldn't realize until later, was that on that night, he wasn't thinking about oil or revenge or his plans for talking her into selling her Westar stock to him… all he wanted was to see Kaitlin smile.

The door opened quietly, interrupting her thoughts. “Hello there. I didn't think you'd still be up.”

When she saw him, Pam breathed a sigh of relief. “I couldn't sleep. And…I just had to finish the next chapter of my book.”

Bobby stepped into the large walk-in closet and began to undress. “Actually, I'm glad you stayed up. I was thinking about what you said this morning… about us not spending much time together lately.” He emerged from the closet and crossed to his side of the bed, where he sat and turned to Pam.

“Bobby, there's something I want to say about that too.”

“Just a minute, let me finish. What I was going to say is that you're right. I have been spending too much time working, and I know just how you feel. I know how I felt when you were at the Tool and Die all of the time.”

“But… I wanted to apologize for not being more understanding this morning. I know you're only doing this for our family and me. It's not like you have to work.” She scooted over closer to him. “I just want you to know that I want to be supportive in every way.”

There was a twinkle in Bobby's eye as he said, “I'm glad to hear that, in fact, there is something you can do.”

Pamela looked at him quizzically. Bobby leaned over and gently kissed her. She pulled back and smiled at him. “I should have seen that one coming.”

Bobby just nodded as he pulled her into another kiss. Pam responded passionately, but after a moment, she pulled away again. “Oh! That reminds me, I forgot to tell you something!”

Bobby was surprised, he sat back and frowned, “That's it, I'm losing my touch.”

“No, no, I'm sorry, it's not that, it's just that the kiss reminded me of JR and Sue Ellen.”

Bobby feigned mock relief. “Oh, yeah, now that really makes me feel better.” He lay back on his side of the bed.

“Bobby, stop it. This is important. Sue Ellen may be making a big mistake. I talked to her, but I'm not sure she listened to me… Maybe if you talked to her…”

“Talk to her about what?”

“She told me that when she and JR were coming home from Alaska, they had to make an emergency landing… and they had a fight in a hotel room that ended in a kiss.”

Bobby raised his eyebrows, “I am surprised, but I don't see the emergency.”

“When we talked, she was really upset about it. She wouldn't admit it, but I'm afraid she might actually be thinking of going back with him.”

“Pam, I agree that that would be an awful move for Sue Ellen, but everyone knows that, for whatever reason, they've never gotten over each other completely. And a simple kiss doesn't exactly constitute wedding bells.”

“I don't know. Sue Ellen seemed really upset and confused. I'm worried about her.”

Bobby sat up and rubbed his hand across her back. “Well don't be. Sue Ellen is a big girl and she's certainly proven that she can more than handle JR…. Now I think we need to discuss the progress of another, more important, kiss.”

Pamela smiled mischievously. “Oh? What kiss would that be?”

As Bobby put his arms around her, he said softly, “Let me remind you.” He kissed her passionately and soon Pam reached up and put her arms around him, pulling him down on the bed with her. A few moments later, Bobby reached up and turned off the light.

McKay smiled and stepped into the house behind Ellie. “Well, I wouldn't be, but I have some business going on here in Dallas that won't be wrapped up for a while now.”

Theresa met Ellie in the entry to the living room, where Ellie gave her instructions to bring them both a cup of coffee. “So what brings you to Southfork?” Ellie was quite curious as to why McKay was here.

“I had a meeting today that was cancelled and to be honest, I didn't have much else to do.”

“Sounds like we're in the same boat,” Ellie confessed. “Everyone is gone for the day and I'm here alone.”

As Ellie and McKay continued their conversation, Wade waited outside the door, contemplating what he should do next. He'd arrived just in time to see Ellie let McKay into the house. Why was he here? Wade still had more than just a sneaking suspicion that McKay was behind all the problems they'd had on the ranch…but then they'd found the barrels at the neighboring ranch on Halloween night. Of course, that could have been a coincidence…or maybe McKay had had those planted there.

At any rate, Wade intended to find out why McKay was here now. He quietly opened the front door and stepped inside the warm foyer and began to listen.

“So…would you mind allowing me the pleasure of taking you out to lunch this afternoon?” McKay asked.

In the foyer, Wade was shocked. Why in hell was McKay asking her out to lunch?

“Mac, I'd love to.” Ellie was genuinely glad he'd asked. It would be a nice change to get out of Southfork for a while.

McKay looked at his watch and then glanced back up at Ellie. “Then it's all settled. I need to run and take care of a couple more errands and then we can get going…”

“Tell you what…I have a couple of errands to run myself. I wanted to pick up a few Christmas presents. I always tell myself I won't wait until the last minute. Why don't I just meet you somewhere at around noon?”

“That'll be wonderful. Where to? The Oil Baron's?”

Ellie nodded in agreement. “I'll see you there.”

Elayne was sitting across the room on a couch with a stack of files of her own. She looked up. “Tired?”

“No, but my eyes are getting blurry from looking at all of those files.” Bobby got up and walked around his desk to the wet bar and poured himself a drink. He turned to Elayne and lifted his glass. “Want one?”

“Yeah, I think I could use one. My eyes are getting blurry too.” She took the drink from Bobby and tapped his glass in a silent toast.

Bobby walked over to his desk and leaned back against it as he took another swallow of his drink. “At least I think we've made a little head way… we have a few people for Ed to check out.”

Elayne picked up a small pile of folders containing the files of people that could possibly be the spy. She placed them on Bobby's desk, making sure that Daryl's file was on top of the stack. “Yeah, I think he's got his job cut out for him just starting with checking out all of these people.” She walked around to the front of his desk and stood next to Bobby. “Bobby… I just wanted to tell you that I've really enjoyed working on this with you the last few days.”

Bobby smiled, “No offense, but I'm just glad it's done. We can't find that spy soon enough for me.” He took one last drink and sat the empty cup behind him on the desk.

Elayne moved closer to him. “It's getting late, why don't we celebrate finishing up here with dinner and drinks?”

Bobby was surprised at her invitation and he didn't have time to respond before Elayne continued. “I really think it would be good for you to get your mind off of this for a while.” She moved even closer to him and said, “I promise we'll have a good time.”

Bobby started to explain that he had to go home, but before he could say anything, Elayne closed the remaining space between them and kissed him.

When Bobby didn't respond to her kiss, Elayne pulled back and looked at him with hurt in her eyes. But the main emotion she was feeling was embarrassment; he obviously wasn't interested. She moved away from him. “Bobby… I'm sorry; I don't know what I was thinking…”

Bobby's irritation quickly turned to compassion when he saw the embarrassed look on her face. “Elayne, it's okay. Really. Actually, I'm flattered, but you know I'm a married man.”

“Since when does that mean anything to a man!”

“Well it means something to me. I'm in love with my wife. Pamela and I have been through a lot together and I would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship. I'm sorry, Elayne.”

Elayne shook her head, “No, I'm the one that's sorry. I feel so embarrassed. I'll write my resignation and have it to you tomorrow.”

“There's no need for that. You're a great vice president and I don't want to lose you. Why don't we just forget about it?” Bobby suddenly had an idea. “In fact, I want you to join Pam and me for dinner tomorrow night.”

Elayne smiled. “Really? Do you thing that would be okay with Pam?”

“Sure. And anyway, I have someone I want you to meet, I have a feeling you two might just hit it off.”

“That's mysterious. But okay, I'd love to.” Elayne turned to go and then stopped, turning back to Bobby. “Thank you for being so understanding. I'm looking forward to meeting Pam, she's a lucky lady.” Elayne turned and left, shutting the door behind her.

Bobby grabbed his suit jacket. He wanted to get home as soon as he could. He wanted to see Pamela and Gracie. He needed to be sure they knew how much he loved them.

“Wow…I have men running to see me now? What's up?”

“Howdy Sly.” Wade grabbed Sly by the wrist and she stood up, confused. “We're goin' to lunch.”

“Oh really?” Sly teased. “What's with this new forceful and demanding Wade?”

“Ready to play spy again? That rattlesnake McKay is takin' Miss Ellie out to lunch today and you and me are gonna be there to see what he's up to.”

J.R. walked out of his office with a manila folder in hand and stopped short when he saw Wade. “Sawyer, what the hell are you doin' here? You dating my secretary now?”

Wade had never been J.R.'s biggest fan. It wasn't that J.R. had done anything to him, but it was just a general feeling about the man he got. Plus, he'd heard plenty about J.R. Ewing and he knew J.R. was a man to have as a friend—never an enemy.

“No sir. We're just goin' to lunch.”

“Lunch? Didn't know you even knew each other til Momma told me you two went over to the Hammond ranch on Halloween night. How's the investigation going anyway? Find anything else?”

Wade shook his head. “No, but we might today…”

“Oh? That what this lunch is about?”

“That's what I'm hopin'. Mrs. Farlow's havin' lunch with Carter McKay today.”

“She's what?” J.R. was furious. Hadn't his mother learned her lesson with McKay? “Like hell she will! I'll go call her right now!”

Wade shook his head. “No, wait. Me and Sly are gonna go over there and get a table near them…see if we can find out what McKay's got up his sleeve.”

“So you think McKay's behind all the trouble we're having at Southfork?” J.R.'s anger was growing by the minute. If he found out McKay was behind this…

“That's my theory anyhow.”

“If you do find some sort of clue that he's behind this, let me know.”

“Will do J.R.”

“And if you need anything…private investigator or anything, I can get it for you.”

“I'll remember that.”

“Sly…you go on to lunch. Take an hour and a half…hell, take two if you need it.”

“Thanks J.R.”

Sly grabbed her coat off the nearby rack and Wade helped her into it as they walked toward the door. With any luck…and with J.R. on his side, Wade felt more confident than ever that he'd be able to nail McKay.