“We're crazy, you know that.” A beautiful young woman with slightly exotic features sat at a table sipping a drink while loud music blared in the background. Across from her sat the most handsome man she thought she'd ever seen. His features were at once boyish and rugged. Bobby Ewing was the most eligible bachelor in Dallas, maybe in Texas.

He leaned across the table and kissed her quickly on the lips. “I don't care what they think. I don't care what anyone thinks.” Across the table, Pam pouted playfully. “… Well, anyone but you, that is.” They both smiled and he leaned over to kiss her again. This time, the kiss was much longer.

Before dawn in a luxuriously plush hotel room in New Orleans, Bobby Ewing lay in bed, staring at the woman beside him. As he watched her sleeping, he realized he'd never felt so satisfied and content in his entire life. He leaned over and kissed her neck. She awakened and returned his kisses.

He gently pulled away and looked deeply into her eyes.

Pamela was confused. “What? What's wrong?”

“I love you.”

She smiled, “I love you, too.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, I'm sure, Bobby.” Pam said in a gentle tone. “Those aren't words you just throw around.”

Bobby's eyes glimmered with excitement. “Then lets get married. Right here in New Orleans.”

Pamela laughed, sure that he was joking. “Bobby Ewing, that's the craziest idea I've ever heard…

From behind her, Pamela heard a clear voice. “I never tried to compete with them, you know.” The woman moved toward her through mist as well, but this mist was bright, almost ethereal.

“What?” Pam took her eyes away from the dancing couple and turned toward the woman. She looked oddly familiar; Pamela frowned as she tried to remember the woman's name.

April smiled brightly and held out her hand in welcome. “I'm April… and you are Pamela.”

Pam took April's hand and noticed that an odd warmth flowed from it. She let go and looked at her own hand – it looked normal. Then she looked around where they were standing. The light was brilliant; no, it was radiant. She finally relaxed and returned April's smile. “April? But you're… um… am I…?”

April stepped closer and put a hand on her shoulder. “Lets not talk about that right now. You and I have so much else to discuss.” April steered her further away from the dancing couple, but Pam looked back. Their dance was so lovely and part of her longed to stay and watch.

Finally she turned and walked with April. “I don't understand. What do we have to talk about?”

“I just meant there are some things you need to know.”

Pam looked around her once again. “I don't understand any of this.”

April shrugged, “I can't explain everything, I just do what I'm told…” April laughed. “…Boy was that ever hard to get used to.”

Pam smiled. “It's beautiful here.”

“Not only that, but it's the best instant makeover you can get! Look!” April held up a mirror and Pamela gasped. April smiled mischievously, “that's always the fun part.”

Pamela found herself laughing with April. “I think I'll dream this dream again and again. I could get used to this.” She was beginning to realize how wonderful she felt, there was no pain and she felt so calm and peaceful.

April let the mirror go and it disappeared. As their laughter died away, she looked closely at Pam for a moment. “You know, I always thought we might have been friends… well, if we weren't married to the same man!”

They laughed together again. There was indeed a bond between them, so alike in many ways, and yet each unique and beautiful.

April suddenly became serious. “He loves you very much, you know.”

Bobby – she had been so caught up in the wonderful feeling of being there in the light, that for a moment, she'd forgotten him. “I know, but it's so wonderful here. I don't want to go back, or wake up, or whatever is happening… I don't want it to end.” She continued thoughtfully. “Besides, Bobby would survive without me. He did before.” She looked meaningfully at April.

“No Pam, you don't understand. Things are different since you've come back to him. I don't want to even think about him trying to go on alone. Losing you again…” She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. It wasn't supposed to be hard. Pam was supposed to want to go back. But then, April thought, who could blame her for wanting to stay. She had to admit to herself that had she been faced with the same opportunity, she knew she would have chosen to stay. Especially knowing what faced Pamela when and if she went back. 'I wish I could use the babies', she thought, but she'd been told that was out of bounds. Even she didn't know their fate.

April turn toward her resolutely; she had to make her understand. Pam just had to make the right decision. “Look, you're right. When you left, Bobby did survive, but it wasn't that easy. It took him a long time to come around. Eventually, he let himself love me, but he never loved me in the same way he did you. I don't know about greater or lesser, just… different. I knew from the beginning that there would always be a hole in his heart, a part of him that would never belong to me. It belonged to you and it always would. If you took that away from him again…” April sighed in frustration. “Do you see where I'm going with this?”

Pam looked at her thoughtfully before she quietly said, “Yes, I know, and I don't want to hurt him, but…”

“Then don't! Do you remember the figures you saw?”

Pam nodded.

“Think about them. That wasn't from this place, that's the picture you carry in your heart. The strongest thing anyone has to live for. Love. That's as clear as I can make it. The rest is up to you.” April reached out, took Pam by the hand and said slowly, “How strong is your will to live? That's something only you can decide.”

April let go of her hand and turned around, “But maybe I can help a little.” She lifted her arms and the mists began to part before them. Pamela had the sudden feeling that she was hurdling through the sky toward the solid ground below. The next thing she knew, she was standing next to a hospital bed, her hospital bed. There before her, she saw herself lying still in the bed. She was very pale, except for the places where she was bruised, and that looked like it was almost everywhere. As she stared at herself lying there, she lost count of all of the wires and other devices she appeared to be hooked up to.

It felt so queer to be looking at herself … yet, what caught her eye and held her attention was Bobby. He was lying next to her in the bed, one arm carefully placed around her. He was sleeping, but she could see the drying tears on his face. Suddenly she felt a tremendous pull, almost as if some terribly strong force was pulling her from the inside.

April knew what was happening and smiled. Whether she consciously knew it or not, Pam had made up her mind.

Pamela began to feel as though everything around her was melting. She turned around to find April who told her, “You're making the right choice; it's just not your turn.” She nodded towards Bobby, “I guess I don't have to tell you to take care of him. He needs you more than you think.”

Pamela smiled a bittersweet smile. She suddenly felt as though she was losing an old friend. “Good bye, April, and thank you.” She then added sincere words that she never thought she would utter. “While I was gone, I'm glad you were there for him.”

April smiled and winked at her. “Me too. Hey, maybe when you're back here to stay, we'll sit down with a couple of drinks and compare notes!” Thunder crashed from above. April looked up. “I was talking about water!”

She looked back at Pam, “I never get the benefit of the doubt.” Then she was gone.

Sue Ellen had been studying Ellie's face for the last few moments and had guessed what she was thinking. “They'll be home again soon, Miss Ellie. I know they will.”

Ellie gave Sue Ellen a rueful smile and picked up her coffee cup. “We all need to keep believing that, Sue Ellen.” She took a sip of her coffee and as she set it back down on the table, she stole a glance at J.R. “You're awfully quiet this morning J.R. I suppose you have something to tell me.”

“What makes you say that, Mama?”

“Well, you didn't look very happy last night about the newest members of our family.”

“That doesn't bother me. I don't have a problem with Bobby and Pam having more kids. Only thing is, if they keep it up, we're going to have a population explosion here at Southfork.”

“You know good and well I'm not talking about the little twins. I was wondering what you thought about Garrison's daughter and her family finally coming home.”

“Home? Now wait a minute, just because some woman shows up saying she's related to us, doesn't make it so. We've been through this before, Mama, people appearing out of no where claiming to be long lost relatives.”

“No one is claiming anything. In fact, I'm the one who told Wade that he's my great nephew.”

“I like Wade well enough. I'm just sayin' that we have to be careful about letting just any Tom, Dick or Harry, walk in here and call themselves Ewing. I plan on having one of our private investigators check their backgrounds.”

Now Ellie was getting annoyed, she expected J.R. to be unhappy about her news, but she didn't expect him to outright deny it and hire and investigator to boot. “That's fine. You do that J.R. and when your private investigator tells you that it's all true, I'll be expecting you to apologize to Wade and his family for thinking they're imposters.”

“Mama…”

Ellie interrupted him. “I don't want to hear anymore of it J.R. I'm glad to have Garrison's family here and I mean to make them feel welcome whether you like it or not.” With that she stood and quickly walked out of the dining room through the kitchen door.

Sue Ellen put down the glass of juice she had been sipping. “You just can't leave things alone, can you J.R.?”

He looked at her incredulously. “Sue Ellen, don't tell me you think we should just accept these people with no questions asked! They could be after anything. Don't you remember that Wes Parmalee character?”

She calmly crossed her arms in front of her. “All I'm saying is that you didn't have to attack her like that. She has enough to worry about without you badgering her.”

“I am not badgering her, I'm trying to save this family from more interlopers.”

“Forget it, J.R., you'll do what you always do – whatever benefits you most. Never mind who you hurt, even if it's your own mother.”

J.R. picked his napkin up from his lap and threw it down on the table. “You're wrong Sue Ellen,” he said as he stood up. “Sometimes I think I'm the only one who cares anything about protecting this family.” He grabbed his briefcase and headed for the door, leaving an annoyed Sue Ellen staring after him.

He pulled one out to find rats had chewed through the power cord and he tossed it over to the side. That would make them one short, but he figured they would get by, being that they had less head of cattle this winter than they did last year.

A biting wind whipped through the open door of the barn and Manny pulled his goose down coat around him as tightly as it would go, but the wind still seemed to cut right through him. He found himself longing for his warm bunkhouse, where he could curl up by the fire.

He looked down at his watch and saw that it was a quarter past nine and decided it was time to go back to the bunkhouse for breakfast. Manny usually didn't eat breakfast until around this time because it took a few hours of work for him to develop an appetite. He threw the bag of heaters over his shoulder and left the barn.

On the way out, he ran into Kevin and he handed him the bag.

“Would you mind getting these in the troughs for me?” Manny asked.

“No problem.”

Manny patted him on the shoulder. “Thanks man. I'll be back in a little while. Going for some breakfast.”

Five minutes later Manny was outside his door. He pushed it open and went inside. As soon as he stepped in out of the cold, the scent of frying bacon wafted to his nose. He hung his coat on a hook near the door, took off his gloves and stuffed them into a coat pocket before going into the kitchen.

Jillian was standing in front of the stove with a spatula in hand. She greeted him with a warm smile. “Good morning Manny.”

“Wat are you doing here?”

“Well, I know that you always come back here around this time for breakfast and I thought it might be a nice surprise if I had it ready for you when you got back.” Jillian noticed the bewildered look on Manny's face. “That is okay isn't it?”

“I thought we decided it would be better if you didn't hang around here for a while? You know how your dad is.”

“He's at the office right now. Look…I just wanted to do something nice for you, but if you'd rather me leave, I'll do that too.”

Manny finally smiled. “No, it's okay. Besides, that bacon smells muy bien. What else have you got?”

Jillian pointed to the counter beside her. “Biscuits so far. Bacon's almost done and the eggs are on the way.”

“Sounds great.”

Jillian loved to see him smile and she smiled back. “So why don't you go wash up and I'll probably have this ready by the time you get back?”

Manny nodded. “That sounds like a plan.”

At first everything was blurry and had an unreal quality to it. As she emerged more and more from the comatose state that had gripped her, she found herself struggling to breathe. She began to panic and tried to breathe faster, but something was fighting her. She couldn't move and suddenly pain shot through her lungs causing her to end her struggle. She heard the machine before she saw it. Its 'whoosh' sound was familiar - too familiar. She immediately relaxed and allowed the respirator to breathe for her.

Lying there, she felt a presence beside her. She didn't need to look to know who it was. She felt Bobby's arm around her and her hand in his. Pam could tell from the sound of his deep breathing that he was asleep. She focused on the hand that was in his and with all of her might she willed it to move. It was only a very small movement, but it was enough.

Bobby felt the minute motion and immediately awakened. He took a firmer grip on her hand and leaned over her. “Pam?”

She smiled weakly and found that not only was it exhausting, but the muscles in her face hurt as well.

“Oh my God! Pamela…” Bobby gently touched her cheek. “I was sure I'd lost you. I can't believe it.” He gently kissed her cheek.

She tried to speak, but the tubes from the respirator wouldn't let her. She blinked her eyes and Bobby could tell she was getting a little frantic.

He quickly and gently lay his hand on her cheek. “No, not yet. You need to take it slow. I've got to call the nurse.” Before he could move away, Pam caught his hand.

When he looked back at her, there were tears in her eyes. She had noticed that she was no longer pregnant. He could see her trying to look down and her hand lay on her now flat stomach.

The babies. He wasn't ready to tell her about their unstable condition and she wasn't strong enough to hear it. He leaned over her once again and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Don't worry about anything, honey. Now that you're awake, everything's going to be fine.”

Pam tried to nod, but she found she couldn't even do that. She was quickly growing sleepy again and though she fought to stay awake, her eyes seemed to close on their own. Again there were dreams, but these were of her and Bobby walking along a beach keeping a watchful eye on the three small figures toddling along ahead of them, stopping every now and then to play in the white sand.

Margaret had immediately taken to Aunt Lil, but Lucas, as usual, had been more reserved about warming up to her. “Aunt Lil, these pancakes are out of this world!”

Lil relished the compliment, as it wasn't often that she was able to cook for anyone other than herself. “And don't you for forget it. I bet that maid of yours couldn't cook a decent pancake if she had to, now could she?”

“Well, I don't know,” Ray chimed in, “Iola can make a pretty mean flapjack…but nothing like yours of course.”

Aunt Lil blushed and busied herself with finishing off her plate. “So what else is there to do around here? Have the eggs been gathered yet? What about the cows? They been milked?”

“No milk cows here,” Lucas answered. “No chickens either.”

“My Goodness!” Aunt Lil exclaimed, almost in shock. “What on earth do you do without fresh milk and eggs every morning?”

Ray finished off the last of his breakfast. “Oh, we make do.”

Lil immediately stood up and took Ray's plate, along with hers, to the kitchen. Margaret followed Lil into the kitchen to help her and Donna finished off her plate and wiped her mouth. “Lucas…was everything alright with Isabel the other day? She seemed so upset when I saw her.”

“Oh…she was fine.” Lucas didn't have half the problem with Donna that he once did, but he still didn't appreciate her meddling in his business. “Just really emotional, that's all.”

“You two seein' each other?” Ray asked.

Lucas was taken aback. “What kind of question is that? No, we're not seeing each other…we're just friends, that's all.”

“She just seems like a really nice girl, from what I've seen of her. She might be good for you.”

“I think I know what's good for me Donna,” Lucas said sharply, “I don't need you or anyone else trying to point it out.”

Ray raised his brow and looked at Lucas. “Why don't you cool it there. Donna's just makin' conversation.”

“Oh yeah? Well how come her 'conversation' always turns to me and what's good for me?”

Ray looked across the table at Donna and he could tell she was growing uncomfortable. “Because she cares about you…she cares about you a lot. She wants what's best for you, that's all.”

“Well I haven't always gotten what's best for me, now have I?” Lucas snapped. “Otherwise, I wouldn't be living here now…” He pushed away from the table and quickly left the room before Ray could say anything else.

Ray stood up to go after him, but Donna called out to him. “Ray, no. Let him go.”

“He's not gonna talk to you like that. He was doing so good and now he's just snapped back into his old habits.”

“Something's bothering him.”

“And he's gonna have even more bothering him if he doesn't learn to control that smart mouth of his!” Ray listened as Lucas' door slammed and he sighed. This was not the happy family setting he'd hoped to come home to.

She glanced at her calendar and picked up the phone. It only rang once before Bobby answered. “Hello?”

Sue Ellen was surprised at the tone of his voice. She was expecting him to sound exhausted, instead, he actually sounded alert and cheerful. “Bobby, you sound like you're doing better.”

Bobby chuckled quietly; “I was never the one I was worried about. But thanks; it's been like a miracle just to have her wake up.”

“I was just thinking that I'd like to come visit Pam and I could give you a break at the same time.”

Bobby hesitated, “Sue Ellen, I don't think that's a good idea. Pam's not quite up to visitors yet, I mean you could see her, but she's still very weak. They have her on painkillers and she's just passing in and out of sleep.”

“All the more reason for you to let me stay there for a while and let you go home and get a little rest in your own bed.”

“I appreciate that, but there are some other things going on that I need to be here for.”

Sue Ellen bowed her neck and looked down at her desk. How could she be so insensitive? She hadn't thought to ask about the babies. “Are the babies okay?”

Bobby looked around the room at Pam who was still sleeping. “I'd really rather not discuss that here.” Then he whispered, “Pam doesn't know anything yet, and I'd like to keep it that way.”

Sue Ellen nodded her head. “You're right, she shouldn't have to deal with everything at once. If you're sure you don't want me to come down right now, I'll wait. I'm really happy to hear Pam's doing better, I'm sure she'll fully recover in no time at all. We needed some good news around here.”

“Why? What's going on?”

“You don't know?” It was obvious that he hadn't heard about Todd and Elayne yet and she really didn't want to be the one to tell him. “Bobby, I'm sorry, but Todd Foster and Elayne Bennett were killed in some kind of car accident.”

On the other end of the phone Bobby closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. “No… How did it happen?”

“I'm not really sure on the details. I'm sorry, I thought you knew.” Sue Ellen was suddenly very uncomfortable. “Um… that offer's still open, I want to see Pam, so let me know when I can relieve you, okay?”

“Sure. Thanks Sue Ellen, bye.” Bobby carefully hung up the phone so as not to disturb Pam. How could a thing like this happen? Todd was so young… Then it came to him as from out of a dream. He could almost hear April saying, “…[Todd] says hello.” Remembering Todd, Bobby grinned slightly; at least he'd made it to the right place.

Back at Ewing Oil

Five minutes later when Sue Ellen turned her head to glance back out the window, it had begun to rain. She frowned. But at least the weather forecast was accurate for a change, she thought.

What Sue Ellen wasn't expecting was a storm, but she got one when J.R. pushed open the door and entered her office.

“Sue Ellen, you'll never guess who I ran into on my way in this morning…”

“You're obviously going to tell me, so why bother.” Sue Ellen said with her usual biting sarcasm towards J.R.

J.R. ignored her remark. “That idiot Cliff Barnes. I decided I was just going to brush him off like I usually do, because frankly, this morning I didn't have time to deal with him. He's the most obnoxious man I think I've ever met. He started ranting something awful about how the Clifford Group had been invited in on this huge deal to join this alliance of oil companies, spear-headed by the U.S. government. Something about drilling in Africa and how there was an almost guaranteed pay-off and that he'd be a fool not to join the damned thing.”

As J.R. talked, Sue Ellen's thoughts drifted back to a few days before when she'd received the very same invitation and had stuck it in a drawer, her mind already dead-set against it. “Go on…”

“The little runt asked me if I was planning on joining and of course I couldn't say Ewing Oil didn't get an invitation…”

“Sure you could have.”

“And give Barnes the satisfaction of knowing he's in on something this big and I'm not? Like hell. It just kind of baffles me that we didn't get invited. Or maybe our invitation just got lost in the mail. Think so Sue Ellen?”

Sue Ellen nodded. “Oh, sure. That happens all the time around here, so I'd say it's a strong possibility.” At this point, she had no intention of letting J.R. find out that she'd hidden the proposal.

“Really? Think so?” Sue Ellen watched as J.R. pulled the proposal letter out of his coat pocket and tossed it onto her desk. “Or could be that it just got lost here in the office.”

Sue Ellen picked up the paper and read it over. Yes, it was the same. “Where did you find this?”

“Don't play dumb with me Sue Ellen, you know damned well where I found that. Right there in your desk drawer where you tried to hide it from me!”

“I don't think getting in on that alliance would be in Ewing Oil's best interest. And just what did you think you were doing snooping around in my desk?!” Sue Ellen tried to find something else on her desk to divert her attention, without looking in J.R.'s eyes. They were so piercing.

“Your desk is the least of my concerns. Now Barnes seemed to think it would be in our 'best interest'.”

“You just said yourself that Cliff is an idiot, so why would you listen to him anyway?” Sue Ellen quipped.

“Hell Sue Ellen, even an idiot would recognize the potential behind this deal! That could mean a goldmine for Ewing Oil and you were just gonna let it sit in your desk drawer? Good God, I'm glad my Daddy's not alive to see this. Of course, if he was alive, you wouldn't be sitting here in the first place.”

“Unlike you, I don't rush into deals headfirst without researching.”

“This doesn't take any researching! The early birds get the worms and I'm willing to bet we've already missed out because of you!” J.R. was furious.

“A goldmine is right J.R…a goldmine of trouble, that is. There's nothing but a load of political unrest going on over there. It's going to be one big clash between the African government, the oil companies, the natives and the environmentalists. It doesn't take a genius to realize that that means trouble!”

“No pain, no gain Sue Ellen. You know that. Gotta take the risks to get the pay-off and the pay-off on this one far outweighs the risks.”

Sue Ellen couldn't look into his eyes because he held so much power over her now. She didn't know what her reaction would be if she did. She had to get him out of her office. “I'll think about it,” she finally said. Of course she had no intention of ever consenting to it, but that might be enough to get him off her case for now.

“Nice try, but I don't believe that for a second.” J.R. noticed her avoiding eye contact and he walked around the desk and put his hands on her face. “Look at me Sue Ellen.”

She finally brought her eyes up and immediately regretted doing so. When she looked into his eyes, she didn't see the man that had caused her so much strife over the years; she saw a more caring, more mellowed man. Ewing Oil was his passion and that was why he was getting so worked up about this. “J.R. I'm sorry.”

J.R. pulled her into a kiss and Sue Ellen found herself not resisting.

Cliff took a deep breath and stood up. Turning to the window, he gazed out at the icy sleet that was pummeling the city. He suddenly felt very alone. Maybe being with family would make him feel better. With Afton off living with Rex and Pamela Rebecca nowhere to be found, Eric was his only choice. He decided to ask his son if he wanted to go to lunch. There was a Chinese restaurant in the lobby and a big bowl of chow mein would definitely make him feel better. He slowly left his office and made his way down the hall to Eric's.

When Cliff got to Eric's door, he didn't bother knocking, in fact, the thought didn't even occur to him. “Eric, wanna go get some lunch?”

Eric looked up from the papers he was studying. “Hi Dad, thanks for knocking.”

“What?” Cliff looked around at the door. “Oh, right.”

“So how's auntie Pam doing?” Eric's question obviously wasn't out of concern; it was dripping with sarcasm.

“She's doing better. What's with the attitude?”

“Nothing, I really don't have anything against her, it's her husband I hate.”

Cliff shrugged. “He's a Ewing.” He said simply, as if that fact in and of itself was enough of a reason to hate him. “But at least he's not as bad as his brother.” Cliff took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Eric's desk.

“Dad, I don't want to be rude, but don't you have anything to do? I mean, we are under a deadline here.”

Cliff buried his head in his hands for a minute and then looked up at his son. “I know, I guess this whole thing with Pam has made me think a little more about what's important.” Cliff paused, then, “Hey, I just realized that you weren't there. Why weren't you at the hospital with me? Bobby's son was there and I had to sit around worrying all by myself.”

Eric looked down at the paper again and rolled his eyes. “No, I wasn't there, I was here. I was trying to be sure this company didn't run itself into the ground!”

“You would have been better off at the hospital with me. It's too late for The Clifford Group now.”

“How can you calmly sit there and say that?!” Eric stood and walked around the desk to stand in front of Cliff. “I've been putting everything on the line trying to save this company. If The Clifford Group fails, it's because of your inept business skills!”

Cliff stood, now toe-to-toe with Eric. “First of all, it's my 'inept' business skills that built this company into what it is. Secondly, what do you mean 'you've done all you could'? I didn't have you working on this.”

For a moment, Eric faltered, then he decided to tell Cliff what he had done. He might be proud of him even though it didn't work. At least it was a good scheme. “Let's just say that but for Bobby Ewing, we would be the richest independent oil company in Texas right now.”

Cliff's eyes narrowed as he remembered Bobby's accusations about Eric. “What did you do?”

Eric sat back down behind his desk and templed his hands just below his chin. “I managed to get an… infiltrator into Wentworth Tool and Die. She was stealing designs for me for their new drill.”

Cliff leaned forward with his hands on the front of the desk. “Pam's company? I can't believe it. I can't believe my son would do something like that.”

“Hold on, I thought you'd be proud of me. That drill could have solved all of our problems. I was this close to being successful. And I would have been if it weren't for my dear uncle.”

Cliff still stood there, mouth gaping. “I can't believe it.”

“Dad, you know you have to be ruthless in this business. I didn't do anything you wouldn't do.”

“NO! NO! I would never do that. I might have done plenty of things in the past, but I would NEVER steal from my sister. If it was J.R.'s company, I might have done it, but I would not steal from Pam! Bobby told me about this and I defended you! He was right when he called you a little rat! I don't want anything to do with this. Bobby's not going to stop fighting, you're going to go to jail for your little stunt!”

Eric, who had gone pale during Cliff's little tirade, began to smile. “That's the beauty of it all! The police can't touch me. They don't have any hard evidence. The only people who could have turned me in are long gone.” Eric stopped talking and realized that what he was saying was having no effect on his father. He continued to try and make him understand. “Dad, it was worth the risk. If I had succeeded, we'd be home free.”

“I don't care what the police know. I know! I never would have believed a son of mine could sink so low. That's something J.R. would do… steal from his own family. I just don't understand how you could turn out this way.”

Eric saw that his father was not about to be won over. “You're right, Dad I should have been the perfect son, seeing as I was raised by both my parents in such a loving home. If I am what you say I am, then you made me that way!” Now Eric was yelling.

Cliff turned to leave Eric's office, but stopped and turned back to Eric right before he reached the door. “Oh yeah, I almost forgot, you're fired.

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