She had spent the afternoon trapped in a dark elevator and then, to top things off, she and Mitch had missed their flight out of Dallas. Needless to say, Afton wasn't in the best of moods when they got back to his apartment. But a hot bubble bath was just what the doctor ordered.

She turned the knob and watched the hot water begin to flow into the tub. As steam began to fill the bathroom, Afton began to get undressed. She was so tired, tired of Rex Wentworth, tired of Dallas and tired of … Cliff? She hadn't thought of him in so long. A twinge of regret surfaced in her heart. Once they had been truly happy together; she wondered what had happened to change things so drastically.

Afton reached out and wiped away some of the steam that had completely covered the mirror. Staring at only her face, she suddenly realized that she was what had changed. Okay, so she was never an angel, but where was the caring person she used to be? Afton thought back to some of the things she had done over the last two years and shuddered. No more! She was determined to find the person she used to be. She finished undressing and smoothed out a towel on the back of the bathtub. She stepped in and slowly sank her body down in the water before leaning back to rest her head on the towel.

Afton closed her eyes and let out a sigh as the hot water relaxed her tense muscles and temporarily washed all of her worries away. Right now, she felt better than she had in a long while. Tomorrow morning they would attempt to leave Dallas a second time, only this time, they would make it out. Afton giggled to herself, thinking that there must be some hidden force that was trying to keep her here in Dallas. If there was, she thought, it was no match for her determination to leave. As far as Afton was concerned, there was no force on earth strong enough to keep her in this town.

Little did she know…

She stretched out her toes and propped her foot on the side of the old-fashioned tub and then she sank back into the water, relaxing in peaceful bliss. Soon, the silence permeated her and she realized she'd have to do something to break it.

Afton remembered the radio that sat on the sink next to the bathtub. She sat up and flipped it on and was instantly soothed by Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over.

There was the sound of a soft 'click' as the bathroom door opened. The music was so loud, Afton didn't hear the door open, but seconds later, she heard it shut. “Mitch?”

No answer.

“Mitch…is that you?”

Still no answer.

“Dammit Mitch, you're scaring me.”

Afton contemplated pulling back the curtain and peering out, but she decided to ignore him. He always played these games with her when they were younger and she didn't like them anymore now than she did then.

There was the sound of something sliding across porcelain and Afton opened her eyes. “Mitch Cooper, this is not funny. And leave my towel where it is, if that's what you're thinking about doing… I don't plan on getting out of this tub and freezing solid before I get to the bedroom!”

Afton thought back to when she was a teenager at summer camp when Mitch had stolen her towel from the showers and she'd had no way to get back to her bunk. She'd been ready to kill him then. She was quickly getting to that point now.

Suddenly, there was a crash and something shattered on the tile floor. Afton had had enough. She pulled the shower curtain open and then she froze. “Oh my God,” she said in a whisper, but her voice trailed off before she could say anymore.

A figure picked up the radio from the bathroom counter and tossed it into the bath water with a horror-stricken Afton. She tried to shrink back from it, but she knew it would do no good. As soon as it hit the water, Afton went into convulsions that were laced with screams of agony, the lights in the apartment flickered, and Afton Cooper's lifeless body sank back down into the bubbles.

He handed the clipboard back to the nurse, who then, without even looking at him or the paper, tucked it under her arm and hurried away. Bobby watched her until the swinging of the double doors obstructed his vision. There was no second-guessing now. “I'm sorry Pam,” he breathed, praying he'd done the right thing.

“What was that?” Bobby turned to see Cliff.

“Not now, Cliff.”

“I want to know what that nurse handed to you to sign… what was it? Some kind of living will or something?” Bobby didn't reply. “No matter what you think of me Bobby, I'm still her brother. I have a right to know.”

“Fine. The doctor asked me to sign a paper releasing them from liability in case they have to choose between saving Pam's life, or the babies.”

“Clever Bobby. But you're forgetting I'm an attorney, I know what that means. They asked you to choose whether they should save Pam or the babies during the surgery – not just release them from liability. Why did they let you decide that?” Cliff's anger was growing with each word. It was anger born of anxiety and worry, but it was still getting on Bobby's nerves.

“Since you're an attorney, Cliff, you should know that, being her husband, I'm her closest relative. Not you.”

“Well, you could have at least discussed it with me.” Cliff's voice began to rise. “I'm her brother, after all. I've known her longer than you.”

Bobby took a step closer to Cliff. “Just what are you getting at?”

“Let's face it Bobby, you haven't got the best track record here at protecting my sister. I mean, you let her be kidnapped by a deranged woman.” Cliff didn't mention that that woman happened to be his half sister. “And then, not only did you not look for her, you divorced her and married some one else.”

Bobby began clenching his fist. “You're forgetting that she left me and asked me not to look for her. I didn't even know if she was alive. But if I had known, there would have never been anyone else. I would have moved Heaven and Hell to find her. What did you do to protect her from Katherine, Cliff?” Bobby was breathless and angry, realizing that he had just divulged deeply personal feelings, and to Cliff of all people. He had to get away from there. He turned and began to walk away. But Cliff's voice followed him.

“If she doesn't make it, it'll be on your hands, Bobby. I'm sure you chose to save your 'precious Ewing heirs' over Pam…”

Though he didn't know it, part of what Cliff said was true. Ace ran her down because of Bobby, but he couldn't see that right now. All he saw was red. He turned on Cliff and delivered a quick blow to his stomach, Cliff doubled over and Bobby expertly finished the 1-2 punch, hitting his mouth and knocking him reeling backwards.

Cliff lay sprawled on the floor, one hand on his stomach and the other touching his already swelling mouth. As he took his hand away, he could see blood. His lip was bleeding.

Everyone in the waiting room turned to stare at the commotion as Bobby advanced on him again. Fortunately for Cliff, two security guards caught Bobby's arms and held him back. “Okay, I'm fine.” Bobby said, as he angrily shook them off. Standing over Cliff, he spoke again, this time, his voice was low and eerily calm. “Stay out of my relationship with Pam. Don't talk about it; don't even think about it. You've never given her anything but trouble – so I'm warning you… stay out of our lives if you don't want to lose yours.”

Bobby took a few steps back and the security guards began talking to him about the ruckus he'd just created. They seemed to ignore Cliff. He sat up and slid back against the wall watching Bobby talk his way out of being 'removed from the hospital' and probably charged with assault or at least disorderly conduct. Cliff knew Bobby would get out of it, somehow the Ewings always did.

He groped for the light switch in the darkness and finally his hand found it, but flipping it on produced no light. Thunder rumbled angrily outside and Mitch surmised that the storm must have taken the power out. He rounded the bar into the kitchen and pulled a large flashlight out of the cabinet. Mitch switched it on and it was then that he heard a noise—footsteps on a wood floor.

“Afton, why don't you get some candles…looks like we're in for a long night.” He turned back to the refrigerator and, with the help of the flashlight, began to put up some of the groceries.

There was no sound from Afton.

“Afton? If you'll go get the candles out of the bedroom closet we can have some light around this place. I bought some ice cream too…your favorite, mint chocolate chip. We don't have a freezer at the moment, so we'll have to eat it all before it melts…”

More silence.

The brown paper bag crunched as Mitch pulled his arm out and turned around. He directed the flashlight's beam into the kitchen behind him, but Afton was nowhere to be found.

“Halloween's not for another couple of weeks, so stop trying to scare me, okay? I don't spook as easily as you. Besides that, if you don't come out, I'm going to have to eat all of this ice cream by myself.”

Still…silence.

Mitch opened up the ice cream and took out a spoonful, savoring it extra loudly to entice Afton to drop her joke and come out. “Mmm, just the way you like it…lots of chocolate chips.”

Mitch shone the flashlight into the next room and caught a bit of movement as 'Afton' tried to step out of the way. “Nice try, but I saw you. Game's over.”

Not a sound.

“Ok fine, I'll come and get you, but you're not getting any ice cream.” Mitch set the spoon on the countertop next to the opened container of ice cream and he slowly walked into the living area. “Sometimes your sense of humor just stinks…”

The room was deathly quiet, save for the occasional low rumble of thunder, but even that seemed to be fading into the distance. Mitch was completely unaware of the dark figure that was suddenly made visible when the lightning flashed through the apartment's large window. He turned his back to its dark shape and continued into his bedroom, but Afton wasn't there.

“OK Afton, this stopped being funny a while ago. You got me. Now come out.”

Yet more silence.

She's in the bathroom. It was the only place left for her to hide. Mitch walked into the small bathroom and shone the flashlight down into the bathtub and what he saw made all of the color drain from his face until he was a ghostly shade of white.

“Oh no, Afton…”

It didn't require taking a pulse for him to know she was dead…he'd seen so many corpses before. He directed his light down to the radio that was floating in the tub and he angled the light along the cord that led up to an outlet in the wall.

“Afton…”

Mitch wasted no time running back out to the living room where he picked up the phone on the coffee table and began to dial 911.

Suddenly an excruciating pain raced through his back and his knees went weak from it. He tried futilely to grab the table as he fell to the carpeted floor, but it didn't break his fall. Mitch rolled over onto his stomach and groped helplessly for the knife that was plunged into the center of his back. The already dark room soon faded into nothing at all…

Miss Ellie shook her head. “Look at you, trying to be strong for me and here I was coming over to comfort you.”

Bobby put his arms around her and gave her a hug. “I'm okay Mama; as okay as I can be right now. How's Gracie doing?”

Ellie smiled encouragingly at the mention of her granddaughter. “She's fine; Karen's doing a good job of entertaining her. They're adorable together. I think being with Grace may be starting to make Karen think about having another child.”

The faintest smile touched Bobby's lips. “That'd be nice. I want to see her but I don't want to leave Pam right now.”

Miss Ellie put a reassuring hand on Bobby's arm. “Grace is fine. She's being well taken care of and you're doing what's best for her by staying here with her mother.”

“I guess. I just feel so helpless.”

“We all do.”

“Mama, there is something you could do for me.”

“What's that?”

Bobby glanced at his various family members sitting around the waiting room. “Do you think you could get them all to go home?”

Miss Ellie looked puzzled. Surely at a time like this, Bobby needed his family around him. He continued, “Mama, I know they all mean well, but I'd really feel better if they left.

“Are you sure Bobby? Maybe we should at least stay until she's out of surgery.” Bobby knew what she was concerned about; she didn't want him to be alone if the worst happened. But that was exactly why Bobby wanted them to leave.

“Really Mama, I'd just like to be by myself.” He looked meaningfully into her eyes. “No matter what happens.” Ellie nodded. She understood his desire, if need be, to grieve alone. She'd felt the same way after both Jock's and Clayton's deaths. She just hoped that her son wouldn't have to face what she had.

“Something like that is hard to forget. It's not every day that some one tells you you should remarry the wife you divorced twice.”

“… And married twice.” Ellie added. “Now lets get Sue Ellen and Lucy and go home.”

J.R. looked around for Bobby. “What about Bob? We can't just leave him here.”

Miss Ellie gave J.R. a knowing look, a look that told him not to argue with her on this. “It's nice to see you worried about your brother, but he's much stronger than you give him credit for.”

J.R. stood and then reached down and picked up his Stetson. “I know he's strong where everything else is concerned, but Pam has always been his weak spot. What if she dies while we're gone?”

“I'm not thinking about that, and neither are you.” She commanded. “He deserves some time alone and we're going to give it to him. Now lets get Sue Ellen and Lucy.”

Sue Ellen continued to stare straight ahead at the darkened road and she hesitated momentarily. “Pam is back at the hospital fighting for her life and the twins might not make it either.”

“I know that's a load on your mind, but that's not it. I've known you for a long time Sue Ellen and I can tell that there's something else on your mind, so you might as well spill it. Otherwise this is going to be a really long drive because I won't take you back to Southfork until well into the morning…”

Sue Ellen sighed and leaned her head against the padded headrest. “I'm not in the mood for games, so please just drop me off at Southfork.”

“So why didn't you ride with J.R. and Grandma? I mean, they were going back to Southfork. Not that I mind dropping you off, but…something's up…”

“You're right.”

“Of course I'm right. So, are you gonna share?”

Sue Ellen realized that she should probably get this off her chest. Otherwise, it would boil inside of her until she exploded. And who else did she have to talk to about this? Her best friend lay unconscious in the hospital. Was she supposed to confide in a sister that she barely knew? A mother that had been absent from her life for the past three years?

“Miss Ellie made a strange request of me and J.R. tonight at the hospital.”

“I'm listening.”

“She said that she should have never tried to keep Bobby and Pam at Southfork…that they would have been happier living their own lives somewhere else.”

“Can't argue with that,” Lucy interjected. “That's exactly what I'm trying to do.” She took a sip from the chocolate shake that they'd picked up earlier and put it back into the cup holder. Sue Ellen's strawberry shake remained untouched.

“And she went on to say that her greatest fear was to die alone and that J.R. and I shouldn't spend the rest of our lives alone. She thinks we should give marriage another shot.”

“Well that was unexpected.”

“It came right out of left field. I was so shocked that I couldn't say anything. She walked off and left us alone and we just sat there, staring into each others' eyes and then I had to walk away.”

“And that's why you wanted me to take you back to Southfork,” Lucy finished. “So you wouldn't have to ride with the two of them.”

“I couldn't have ridden with them…what if she'd pushed us further? I don't know what I would have done.”

“What are you going to do?”

The question caught Sue Ellen off-guard, much like Ellie's original request. “Things won't be the same between J.R. and me for a while now. I know he's going to bring that up…and try to use it.”

“You're probably right…if I know J.R. And I think I do.”

“And the thing that scares me the most…”

“Yeah?”

“Is that maybe deep down inside, I think there's a chance that Miss Ellie is right...” Thunder growled in the sky above, drowning out the rest of what Sue Ellen had to say.

“Kelly, how did you ever manage to get the house all to yourself? My parents would never go away and leave me alone like this!” another girl exclaimed with excitement. The prospect of having a house all to themselves for the night was an exciting one.

“When your parents both run the family business, they take a lot of business trips,” Kelly replied. She'd just finished passing out the drinks when another girl came into the room.

“Hey girls, I found something a little better than that Dr. Pepper you're drinking!” She set a six-pack of beer on the table. “Something that'll make these cheesy horror movies a little more fun.”

Jillian looked at Margaret and then back at the six-pack.

Kelly and Colleen both grabbed one and Maya, the girl who brought in the beer, already had one opened up. “Jill? Marg? Want one?”

Jillian nodded and reluctantly said yes while Margaret adamantly said no. They both looked at each other, surprised at the other one's reply. Maya tossed one to Jillian, who held it for a moment and looked at it, unsure of what to do. Finally she popped open the can and took a swallow.

The thunder rumbled far in the distance as the girls settled into various chairs and the couch to watch the beginning of a Scream marathon. Just as the opening credits began, the doorbell rang.

“Your parents?” Colleen asked.

Kelly shook her head and tossed a pillow off her lap as she stood up. “Not expecting them back until Sunday night.” She walked over to the door, wearing only a long t-shirt, and looked out the peephole. A smile came across her face and she pulled it open. “Kenny!”

Kenny greeted her with a kiss. Kelly invited him in and shut the door behind him. “You're a little bit early,” Kelly said, “but it's no big deal.” Kelly turned back to the other girls. “You ladies will just have to excuse me for an hour or so.” She winked to them and grabbed Kenny by the hand, almost dragging him up the stairs.

“Some people are so lucky,” Maya muttered with a roll of her eyes. “I've had sex like only three times this week!”

“That's what I'm sayin',” Colleen said. “Jeff's gone away to college and I've seen him one time in the past two months…so I guess you can figure that's all I've had…”

“What about you Jill?” Maya asked with more than a hint of nosiness.

Jillian was momentarily quiet. How could she tell them she was a virgin? They would laugh at her. She couldn't lie either. She'd never been a good liar.

“I can't believe how low this conversation has sunk,” she finally said. “I mean…we sound like a bunch of guys, sitting around talking about the last time we 'got some'.” She took a sip of her beer. But then she began to feel guilty about taking it in the first place and she put the almost full can back down.

“You know if you'd actually had any, you'd be more than happy to talk about it.”

Jillian glared at Maya. She was on to her. “Sex is a personal thing. Not something you advertise on the six o'clock news every time you have it.”

“Well when you do finally lose your virginity, I'm sure we'll hear about it.”

Jillian stood up. “And when you do finally get some class and stop being such a whore, I'd like to hear about it!” She grabbed Margaret by the arm and pulled her off the couch. “Come on Margaret. My stomach can't take hanging around sluts like her.”

Just then, Dr. Valita came through the double doors, followed closely by the surgeon, Dr. Leonard. As they approached him, Bobby stood. “How is Pam?”

“Mr. Ewing, this is Dr. Leonard, he's the surgeon who performed the operation.”

Bobby looked at Dr. Leonard and repeated his question. “How's my wife?”

“She's still in critical condition. But I think we managed to stop all of the bleeding. She did have to have several pints of blood and I'm going to keep her in the Intensive Care Unit for now.”

Bobby swallowed hard. “But she'll get better, right?”

The doctor nodded slowly. “I hope so. It's going to be a bit of a waiting game. We won't know whether we stopped all of the bleeding until we see how well she does. The next forty-eight hours are crucial.”

Cliff had walked over and was standing nearby. “Can I see her?”

“Yes, you can both see her, but only for a few minutes.”

Doctor Valita turned back to Bobby. “I'm sure you're concerned about the babies.”

Bobby's heart began to beat faster. Did he say babies? He hadn't even let himself think that they would survive, hoping in some way to spared himself some of the pain. “Are they… all right?”

“They were both born a little while ago. The little girl first and then the boy.”

Bobby let himself smile for the first time in what seemed like ages and was definitely the longest night of his life. Dr. Valita felt the need to caution him. “They're premature, so they're a lot smaller than other babies. Also, there are a few other problems…” Dr. Valita noticed the smile on Bobby's be replaced with a look of worry once again. “Why don't you go and see your wife. Then we'll talk about the babies.”

Bobby nodded and as they all made their way down the maze of hallways that led to the Intensive Care Unit. Cliff came with them, being sure to follow a few paces behind.

Manny was standing in the doorway, clad in only a pair of blue sweatpants. He froze, staring at her. “Jill?” Manny looked back into the bunkhouse at the clock and then turned back to her. “It's after midnight…what are you doing here? Is everything okay? You're dripping wet…”

“Can I come in?”

“Sure…but what's up?” Manny stepped out of the way and after Jillian stepped in, he shut the door behind her.

“If I tell you, then this is going to seem even more strange than it already does.”

Manny pulled a blanket off his bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. Jillian wrapped the blanket in her arms and pulled it around her more tightly. “Try me,” he said.

“Would it seem strange if I told you that I just wanted to see you?”

“At almost one in the morning?” Manny paused. This was strange. “What's on your mind?”

Jillian tilted her head to the floor, but then brought her eyes back up to look into Manny's. “You.”

“I don't understand?”

Jillian admired Manny's naiveté. She thought it was extremely cute. Before she could stop herself, Jill pulled him close to her and kissed him. At first Manny was hesitant, then he reciprocated, but pulled away only seconds later.

Jillian tried to pull him back into a kiss, but he pushed her away and stood up, turning his back to her. “No Jillian…”

“What do you mean no?”

“We can't do this.” Manny's voice was shaky and unsure. He ran his hands through his dark hair before turning back around to face her. “We can't…”

Frustrated, Jill stood up. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Yes…I mean no… Look Jill…can you just go? You should never have come here tonight. If your father catches you here, who knows what he'll to do me.”

The words hit Jillian like bullets. Can you just go? He was telling her to get lost. To scram. To skidoo. Sayonara. She looked at him, her eyes filled with hurt. “If that's what you want.”

“It's what I want right now, okay? This isn't the time or the place…I care about you too much to let anything happen here tonight.”

Jillian looked away, refusing to meet his dark eyes. “Whatever, Manny.”

She walked toward the door and Manny opened it for her and watched her disappear into the driving rain. He hated to see her like that and wanted so bad to offer to drive her back to Southfork, but it would only draw attention to them; attention that they didn't need; attention Jill didn't need. Manny sighed and shut the door behind him.

As Jillian walked away, she cursed herself for letting Maya get to her like that. Now it might have cost her Manny's friendship...or more.

“Hospital couches are notorious for ruining your neck.”

Bobby looked up and was surprised to see Gracie's pediatrician. Immediately, alarm bells went off in his head. “Oh no, is Grace all right. They said she was doing good…”

Dr. Bonetta smiled reassuringly and sat down next to Bobby. “I have been to see Gracie already this morning and she is doing very well. I need to speak with you about the babies.” She pulled out two sheets of paper. First I need to give you these forms to fill out for their Birth Certificates.” She handed the papers to Bobby, who took them numbly. “Do you and Pamela have names picked out?”

“Yes, well almost.”

“It's all right. I just prefer to call them by their names when we talk rather than 'the twins' or 'the babies'.”

The fog was slowly lifting from Bobby's brain. “You can call them B.J. and Savannah. How are they doing?”

“Good. I know that you and Pamela have been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours, but I'm going to be perfectly honest with you. Both B.J. and Savannah are very small. That in and of itself isn't a problem, but because they were premature, their lungs didn't have a chance to fully develop. Right now, both of them are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They're both on respirators and are being given serafactin to help their lungs develop faster.”

Bobby blinked, that didn't sound too bad. “So, they just have to stay on the respirators until this medicine helps their lungs develop? Then their okay?”

“Not necessarily. First of all, the medicine may not work. Sometimes babies born this early are just too little for us to help. There are other problems that accompany prematurity. Feeding problems, sometimes digestive disorders and there can be hidden disorders that may not show up until the child is a little older.”

“So where does that leave us?”

“Well, as I said, both are at a critical stage, but the larger one, Savannah has the better chance of making it.” She sighed heavily and looked straight in Bobby's eyes. “It's impossible to tell for sure at this point what will happen, it could go either way. But I would try to prepare yourself and Pamela for the worst as far as the little boy, B.J., is concerned. He has the longest way to go.”

The roller coaster had begun again.

Read on to the next page...