If not for my careless heart...if not for my careless heart...

"No, we don't have time for a test run," he insisted. "I'm not gonna take no for an answer, just...do you love me?" He asked.

If not for my careless heart...

"Yes..." she said softly. "Yes, J.R., I've always loved you..."

You'd still be loving me...

Miss Ellie had now gathered with John Ross and Lucy, who stood watching the couple on the dance floor. "Watch this," Miss Ellie instructed.

He reached into his pocket and produced a small jewellery box, which he quickly opened, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. "Sue Ellen Ewing, will you be my wife?" He asked, as he looked powerfully into her eyes.

If not for my careless heart, you'd still be mine...

He sat looking at her for what seemed like an eternity, and as the song winded down she finally tilted her head up, looked into his eyes and opened her mouth to speak. She had her answer.

Christopher let Lucas' words sink in and he carefully chose his own. He'd been there before. “How do you feel about that?”

“Sick. I'm sick that I even had sex with her in the first place. I don't know what I was thinking…it just happened. I'm not even interested in…” Lucas trailed off.

“What were you going to say?”

“I don't think you'd understand, Christopher.”

“Try me. I'm a pretty understandable guy. And how can I help you if I don't know the whole scenario? I really do want to help.”

Lucas remained silent for several minutes, but Christopher didn't probe for any more details. If Lucas wanted him to know what was going on, he'd tell him. He wasn't going to dig.

“I…Christopher…I'm gay.”

Miss Ellie smiled as she watched. Thanks, Roy she said to herself as suddenly the elusive comments J.R. had made earlier in the day made sense. But what had Sue Ellen said?

She looked at John Ross. “I think your father just asked your mother to marry him,” she said softly.

“I know...” he replied, distantly.

Their attention was diverted from the dance floor with the sound of ambulance sirens in the near vicinity. “What the hell?” Lucy asked.

At that moment, all hell broke loose as the remaining guests scrambled to find out what was happening. When Ellie turned back to the patio, J.R. and Sue Ellen were gone. She decided she would find out what Sue Ellen's answer was later, and began walking in the direction of the sirens, which had settled on the driveway.

“Mrs. Farlow? Mrs. Farlow!” She heard someone calling from a distance. She stood still and scanned the crowd, looking for who was calling her. It was one of the valets.

“Yes?” She asked. “What is it? Do you know what's going on on the drive?”

“Yes, Ma'am. We found Mr. Stackhouse about ten minutes ago, he was unconscious and shaking. The paramedics think he had a heart attack.”

Miss Ellie scowled. “Why weren't we notified?” She asked, her tone mean and frustrated. “I'm sure someone here knows CPR, somebody could've helped him!”

“I'm sorry, Ma'am, we weren't sure what to do. It looks like he just collapsed, one of the other guests found him. We thought it was too late, I guess we just didn't think.”

“No, you didn't,” she retorted. “I suppose it'll be on your conscience if he dies.” She brushed by him as she attempted to make her way to the front of the mass which was moving towards the scene. When this failed, she signalled Wade over.

“Yes, Mrs. Farlow?” He asked.

“Do you carry a gun, Wade?” She asked him.

“Not usually, Ma'am, but I do have one on me, now. I'd heard these parties can get kind of unruly…just a protection thing, you understand.” He smiled.

“Can you do me a favour? Fire it into the air, I need to stop this crowd; the last thing the medics need is bedlam.”

“Yes, Ma'am,” he answered, as he drew into his holster for his revolver. He raised it above his head, amid screams from a woman nearby, and fired. Almost immediately, the crowd was silent.

Christopher wasn't sure what to say. How did you respond to a revelation like that? “Have you told anybody else?” He supposed it was a stupid question, but he had to break the ice.

“No. Nobody else. I couldn't even admit it to myself until lately. I guess right after I slept with Isabel was when I accepted it…and I guess that's why I slept with her in the first place.”

“To decide for sure one way or the other?”

Lucas shook his head. “Not so much to decide. It was more or less a last-ditched effort to hold onto some sense of normalcy in my life, but it did help me decide…not that there was any decision. I was born gay and will always be gay, but sleeping with Isabel help me realize that's who I am.”

The music to Roy Orbison's Careless Heart was slowly dying down and eventually it gave way to the soft murmur of the departing crowd.

“Do you think you'll tell Ray?” Christopher asked. He couldn't imagine Ray taking the news well.

“I really don't know. I guess he'll have to know someday. I'm not planning on hiding this forever.” Lucas' tone was nonchalant, as if he didn't care whether or not Ray knew.

“So why me?” Christopher asked.

“Huh?” Lucas asked, confused.

“Why am I the first person you've come out to?”

“You're my brother, for one thing. Then I thought you were pretty open-minded about things like this. I remember you talking about your college roommate being gay and you becoming good friends with him. Most straight guys would have put in for a transfer after finding out their roommate was gay. And part of it was just a 'right place, right time' kind of thing, you know?”

Christopher smiled and nodded. “Well either way, I'm flattered and your secret is safe with me Lucas.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

“And if you ever need to talk, just give me a call or stop by the house. Or if there's anything else I can do…”

“I'll be sure to do that.” Lucas' smile faded as his thoughts went back to the current situation with Isabel. He had to think of something, but what? The sound of a nearby ambulance interrupted his thoughts.

“Can you please start moving back towards the house, please?” Ellie directed to the guests. “We'll have the cars brought around the East exit for anyone who wants to head home. If you don't want to drive through the grass, feel free to stay; the bar's still open and there's still plenty of food, but nobody is to go anywhere near the South drive until the ambulance is gone, is that clear?”

She heard plenty of “yes, Ma'am”s as the mass began moving back towards the house. “I've never seen that side of you, Mrs. Farlow,” Wade laughed.

“Oh, well Wade, I don't often show it,” she beamed. “But I can when I have to. Where has your mother gone?” She asked.

“I reckon they headed in to bed, I guess they missed all the commotion. I thank you again for the room; I knew Mom would come around.”

“It was my pleasure. Like I keep saying, you're family.”

Wade nodded sheepishly. “Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna find Sly before I join Amelia and the baby inside.”

“Of course,” Miss Ellie said. “Thank you, Wade.” She put her hands on her head as she looked around again. There was still a man standing at the end of the drive looking down. She called Wade back, and asked for his gun.

“Mrs. Farlow?” He asked.

“Watch,” she commanded. She held the gun up. “Mr. Dent!” She shouted. “What did I just say?”

He turned around sharply, and saw her in the distance, pointing a gun at him. “I…I…” he stammered.

“How about you come away from there,” she instructed, “or children won't be in your future.”

He looked down at where the gun was pointed. Let's see… he thought quickly to himself, she's about fifty feet away, but with eighty years of living on a ranch…that could make for a pretty good shot! He immediately began moving towards her. “Sorry, Ma'am!”

Miss Ellie frowned and handed the gun back to Wade, who stood there stunned. “Wow.”

She winked at him. “I could've hit 'em, too!”

He was about to pack up and head inside to say goodbye to Miss Ellie and get Donna when Garnett McGee approached his table and took a seat. “Hello Ray.”

Ray found himself smiling. “Well, Garnett, what a surprise. Have you been here all day?”

Garnett shook her head. “I wish I could've been, but I had to work my other job. Money's tight and I can't afford to take a day off. Would've loved to have tried my hand at the barrel race though.”

“There was prize money too, for the winners. Maybe you could've won,” Ray added.

Garnett looked out across the dark ranch. “How did the bareback competition go?” she asked.

“Scrawny little kid named Dirk something won. I swear, I wouldn't have bet money on him, that's for sure. He hung on and won the thing though, with a score of ninety-eight.”

Garnett smiled. “I knew he would win!”

Ray looked over at her, puzzled. “You know him?”

“Know him? Heaven's yes I know him Ray, he's my son.”

Isabel tried to erase those thoughts from her mind. Lucas couldn't find out, otherwise she'd be stuck in this dump of an apartment forever. Or worse yet, she would be forced to move back to Mexico. In the meantime, she had to come up with a better paying job. She thought if she had to put up with that Duke creep's advances one more time, that she'd quit anyway.

Isabel grabbed the newspaper off the kitchen table and thumbed through to the job ads. She scanned through the columns and then her face lit up when she saw one ad in particular.

Garnett beamed. “Took me a week to talk him into entering the rodeo. He didn't think he could do it, but my boy's been ridin' horses since he was five and I talked him into it. I thought I'd stop by to see if he's still here, but it looks like everybody's scattered already.”

“Just about everybody. I'd like to meet Dirk sometime.”

“Sure thing, I'd love for you to meet him. He'd my pride and joy…the only thing I've got, really. We've stuck together for twenty-four years now.”

“What about his father?” Ray asked.

“Been dead for about that long,” Garnett said with a longing look in her eyes, then she paused. “He was killed on the rodeo circuit.”

“I'm sorry…” Ray shook his head.

”What?”

“I'm just surprised is all.”

“About what?”

“About you encouraging Dirk to ride in the rodeo after his daddy was killed riding in one. That takes a lot of guts. Most mothers wouldn't do that.”

“Well…” Garnett paused and then stuttered. “It…it took me a while to get over it, but there's no use in hanging onto the past. You just have to let go…right Ray?”

Ray nodded in agreement. “Eventually…hard as it may be.” He heard footsteps approaching and Ray turned around to find Donna standing there. “Donna…”

Helen sat combing her hair in front of the long mirror in the guest bedroom at Southfork. Wade entered the room, and placed her suitcase on the bed.

“Mama, why the change of heart so suddenly?”

Helen turned to look at Wade. “What do you mean, dear?”

“Amelia told me that you accepted Miss Ellie's offer to stay here with no resistance. That's not like you at all.”

“I just realized today that it's stupid to hold grudges, they're a waste of time and energies.”

“I'll make sure I do what I can to get you back on your feet and independent as soon as possible,” Wade said as he came to give his mother a kiss on the cheek.”

“Good night, Mama.”

“Good night, Wade.”

Wade closed the door behind him as Helen looked at herself in the mirror.

Helen was sitting in the living room at the house in Brighton's Bend when she read the note from her daddy:

“If you are reading this, I have probably died in battle. Always remember, Helen, that you and your brother need to do whatever you can to defend the Southworth name. Many people will try and take away what is rightfully ours, and we need to fight to keep it.”

Helen composed herself after crying. “I'll always be proud to call you my father, to defend your name.”

“And now that David died, I'm the only one left, Daddy. The Ewings have gotten too greedy. This is the opportunity I needed, to prove to them and to the world that you will finally get every last thing you deserve, and I'll be lucky enough to be the beneficiary. I'll make you proud of me yet, Daddy!”

“Just an old friend.”

“Oh? What's her name?”

“G…Greta.” Ray cringed, realizing he'd lied to Donna. But he couldn't tell her it was Garnett. She'd be so suspicious and she'd make it into something it wasn't. Ray couldn't have that.

Donna smiled. “Seemed like a nice lady. You should have introduced us. So…are you ready to head home, Cowboy?”

Manny smiled and rubbed his stomach. “I had fun too, but I think I had too much barbecue.”

In a rare bold moment, Margaret reached out and touched his stomach. “Na, I bet you have washboard abs like the guys on TV.”

Manny's face turned red and he broke eye contact with her, diverting his dark eyes to something out in the yard. “I'd better be getting back to Southfork. I've got an early morning tomorrow.”

Margaret's face fell and the disappointment she felt was obvious. “Well…okay, if you're sure you can't stay longer. I guess I need my beauty sleep anyway.”

Manny smiled. “Good night Margaret.”

“Hey…before you leave, will you do me just one favor?” Margaret asked.

“What?”

“Say goodnight to me in Spanish.”

Manny broke out into laughter. “You've got to be kidding.”

Margaret shook her head. “No, I love to hear you speak Spanish.”

“Ok…buenos noches.”

“Buenos noches to you too Manny.” Margaret waved at him and then went into the house, leaving Manny alone on the front porch.

McKay's living room was full of cigarette smoke as he coughed and took another sip of whisky. Since being removed from the barbecue, he had returned home and proceeded to get liquored up, and get back into a habit he had broken years ago: cigarette smoking.

The lights in the room flickered before going out all together. He grunted and moved to the window, to see that the lights across the street had gone out, as well. Power lines must be down… he thought to himself.

Stumbling around in the dark, he found his drink and lit up another cigarette. He continued through the house to the front foyer, grabbing his briefcase where he had left it on the front landing. He opened the door and walked out onto the porch.

The setting sun and the rising moon provided ample light for him to open his briefcase, locate his cell phone, and dial. It rang many times before an answering machine cut in. “Hi, you've reached Tracy. I'm out of the house at the moment, but if you leave a message, I'll get back to you.”

Carter rolled his eyes in frustration, but chose to leave a message anyway. “Tracy, it's your father,” he mumbled, as he took a drag on the cigarette. “I'm…I need to talk you, if you could call me back as soon as you get the chance…you know the number.” He switched his phone off and finished up his drink, before looking up to the sky. He wasn't finished in this town yet…

Once Jillian was sure Margaret was looking, she grabbed Eric Stone and pulled him into a kiss. She felt him try to pull away, but she held his face against hers and finally he gave up resisting.

After several seconds, Jillian pulled away and looked into his confused eyes, but she saw something else on his face—a slight smile.

Then her father had shown up…and blown up. Oh well, at least that made it all the more noticeable to Margaret. But for some reason, that didn't seem to matter as much as it had at the time. Not since the kiss.

Jillian threw herself onto the bed and stared out the window into the starry night sky—and then she wondered if Eric was still thinking about it. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she hoped he was.

The prairie sky was pitch dark, but the moonlight illuminating off the pool provided ample light for J.R. The guests had all gone home hours ago, the band had long packed up and left, and poor Cal Stackhouse had been found dead on the Southfork drive. The day had been exhausting, with the rodeo, the schmoozing the Africa project members, and of course, the Sue Ellen proposal.

J.R. was riding the Ferris wheel, which was one of the rides (along with a Sizzler ride, a Tilt-a-Whirl and a mini roller coaster) which Miss Ellie had ordered for this year's barbecue. God, J.R. thought, I hope I have that much energy when I'm her age…

As the Ferris wheel went around and around, another Roy Orbison song played before. He had bet his love life, indeed, his whole life, on one earlier that day, and yet this one seemed more fitting to the answer he had received from Sue Ellen...

I sat there alone up on the Ferris wheel

A pastel colored carriage in the air

I thought you'd leave me dangling for a little while

A silly twist upon a childish dare

“A relationship with Cliff Barnes?” J.R. scoffed aloud. “Is that woman out of her mind?” He thought back to Sue Ellen's answer…

Sue Ellen looked up into J.R.'s eyes. She had her answer. “I can't, J.R. I just can't.” She broke away from the dance and rushed into the house. J.R. wasn't far behind.

“Sue Ellen!” he had called. “Sue Ellen, come back here!”

She got to her bedroom, and before she could close the door, he entered. He closed the door behind him. “Didn't anything I say have any effect on you?” He asked. “I would do anything for you!”

A tear rolled down J.R.'s cheek. He had put his heart on his sleeve for that one dance; it was an all or nothing move. She had said no, and he would never ask again. The song played on…

Below I saw you whispering to another man

Who held the lever that could bring me down

He'd stop the world from turning at your command

It's always something cruel that laughter drowns

“And I would do anything for you, too!” Sue Ellen shouted back. “That's what you have never understood, that I love you just as much as you love me, but for some reason, for some terrible reason, we can't express that love properly to each other. If this world was fair, we would be blissfully happy, but we're not, and we never, ever were! Our love is too fleeting, we don't know how to be married without hurting each other!”

The Ferris wheel continued to go around, and by this time, J.R.'s face was covered in the tears which were still streaming from his eyes. “Who would've thought she was the most important part of my life?” He asked. “Who the hell would've guessed it.”

And I'm up while the dawn is breaking

Even though my heart is aching

I should be drinking a toast

To absent friends

Instead of these

comedians

John Ross hadn't been much better. He and Miss Ellie had witnessed the proposal; had seen the aftermath. Barnes had turned John Ross against him, too. He thought back…

“What did you do to Mom?” John Ross asked. “You asked her to marry you, didn't you?”

“I did. And she turned me down,” J.R. answered. “So that's that.”

“Don't you get it?” John Ross had asked. “She's not just someone you can push around; someone you can use. She's not just a pawn in the chess game you play!” He was angry. “Are you trying to start her drinking again?”

“Oh, come off it!” J.R. retorted. “I proposed to the woman, I didn't blackmail her! She's old enough to make her own decisions, and she certainly doesn't need you standing up for her!”

John Ross's eyes turned dark. “When will I be old enough for you to tell me about the paternity suit?” He asked, his tone thick with sarcasm.

I can hardly hear the music from the carousel

The wind picks up, the carriage starts to sway

As one by one the lights go out

It's closing time

I see you take his hand and walk away…

Walk away…

Then he had had to spend over an hour calming down John Ross, explaining the scandalous situation which surrounded his entry into the world. He had lost, or come close to losing, the two most important people in his life in the space of one day. A cool breeze made J.R. shiver, as the wheel suddenly stopped at the top, giving him a spectacular view of the house and the land behind it. It was so deathly quiet. He had never seen the ranch at this time of morning…or was it night?...

They say that you are always the last to know

They say that all that glitters is not gold

It's not just that you're never coming back to me

It's the bitter way that I was told

He had remembered the last time he had felt this depressed. He had lost Ewing Oil, lost Weststar, lost James and lost John Ross in less than a week. This was ten times worse. Ewing Oil was just a meaningless hobby, Sue Ellen was gone forever, and John Ross…who knows how long it would take to repair the damage. That time he had taken out Jock's gun, and he had given serious thought to his future. That time he was drunk. This time he wasn't…he opened his drawer and retrieved his father's revolver.

He checked it for bullets…it was fully loaded, but of course, it would only take one. He pulled on a sweater, buttoned it up, and quietly left his room. It was late, he wouldn't disturb anyone…

Tip-toeing downstairs, he made his way to the front door and quietly exited. The night air was chilly, and he shivered as he walked to the Ferris wheel…

Now, he gave one quick thought to what he was about to do. Was it worth it? Yes, he quickly answered to himself. He couldn't have Sue Ellen. The Ewing family, and Sue Ellen herself, would continue without him, but he couldn't-or wouldn't, continue without her. He retrieved the gun from inside his sweater and held it, for a second, to his chest. “Who shot J.R. indeed,” he asked himself, then started laughing uncontrollably. He waved the gun around in the air.

And I'm up while the dawn is breaking

Even though my heart is aching

I should be drinking a toast

To absent friends

Instead of these

comedians…

J.R. was suddenly jolted awake. “My God, what a nightmare,” he said quietly to himself. Where was he…he was in bed, he decided. In his bed, in his bedroom…in Southfork. He looked at the clock next to him…just after five. He reached over next to the body next to him, and gently squeezed her hand.

He felt her move a little, and he leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the cheek. “I love you Sue Ellen,” he said softly. He lay back down beside her. He was truly happy; she had said yes.

CREDITS ROLL