A man walked into the airport and approached Valene. "Mrs. Valene Ewing?"

Startled, Val replied, "yes, that's me."

"Mrs. Dowling has asked that I escort you to the plane. She'd like to meet with you on board as she doesn't have much time."

Val agreed and followed the man to the tarmac and out to the plane. Donna was standing outside, waiting to greet her. "Hello, Val. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, both in the capacity that we both belonged to the same family and given that I've admired your writing for quite some time."

Val blushed with embarrassment. "I've felt the very same way about you, Mrs. Dowling."

"Please, it's Donna, for heaven's sake."

"Donna."

"Shall we?" Donna motioned toward the plane door and the two women climbed aboard. The interview and visit went very well. Val could tell that she and Donna might be good friends if ever presented with the opportunity. They spoke for about an hour and a half, then Donna looked at her watch and told Val that she'd have to leave now for Galveston.

"I've got a helicopter to catch."

"That sounds so exciting, Donna. Do you mind if I ask where you're going?"

"Well, I've been asked to make a special announcement at a private party. The rest is a secret, I am sorry."

"Oh, no, no, no. I understand completely, Donna. I know you're involved in all that government stuff."

"Yes." Donna smiled and shook Val's hand. "I hope we have the opportunity to meet again, Val. I've never met a Ewing quite like you."

"I'd like that. Have a safe trip."

"Thank you."

Val was escorted back inside the airport and Donna's plane promptly took off for Galveston.

Val looked at her watch and realized she was due at the studio shortly and remembered that she still had to stop back at the hotel before hand.

Pamela Rebecca walked in and stood to herself near the bar.

"Hi, Pamela."

"Oh, hi Eric, what's up?"

"He's not the daddy, is he?"

"What? What do you mean? Who?"

"Christopher. He's not the father of your child."

"No, as a matter of fact he is not, but how did you know?"

"I could tell by the way you two acted toward each other. I could also tell that you two aren't in love."

"Eric…"

"I'm sorry if I'm being nosey or anything, but I would have never had dinner with you if I thought, for a second, that you and Christopher were married or together."

"You're right. Christopher and I are just friends. To be honest, I don't even know if you could say that much."

"No, I wouldn't say that much," said Karen walking up to them.

"Karen, what do you want? I have nothing to say to you," said Pamela Rebecca.

"Excuse me," said Eric, walking away.

"You tend to have that effect on men, Karen. They see you and they scatter."

"I just love your sense of humor, Pamela. Where do you ever think of all of those intelligent remarks?"

"I have to admit, I picked up quite a few of them from you."

"Well, I thought you might like to be the first to know…"

"Know what?"

Karen showed Pamela the ring on her finger.

"Oh! I've seen those before. They come out of a little machine in a bubble."

"Look again. Christopher asked me to marry him."

"I see, well that's really nice Karen, but I honestly don't see why you're telling me."

"My my, it kills you to know that I've beaten you into the Ewing family, doesn't it? You would have taken anyone, whether it have been Christopher, John Ross, JR, or the Ewing dog to marry into that family. See, your motives are so predictable. You just wanted John Ross for the Ewing name—and probably the clout and money, as well."

"That's not true. Though, I'm sure your motives aren't too far from the same thing."

"See? That's where you're wrong. I'm marrying Christopher because I LOVE him. It doesn't matter if his last name is Ewing, Smith, or even Mud. And, one more thing, just because Chris and I are getting married doesn't mean you'll get John Ross. I'll make sure he never wants to have anything to do with you, again."

"And you call me a bitch?

"The evidence speaks for itself, Pamela. Goodnight."

Ray and Jenna continued to dance, "Oh my God," said Ray suddenly.

"What is it, Ray? What?"

"Excuse me Jenna, I've got to go check something out." Ray almost ran across the room, leaving Jenna alone in a crowd of dancing couples.

"Well…"

Ray brushed past a potted palm tree and arrived at the point where he had seen her. No one was there. He wandered back into a hallway and found himself outside the ladies' room. After ten minutes of waiting, he gave up. It was obviously his mind playing tricks on him. That was all. Within a few minutes, he was again dancing with Jenna.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"Nothing, I just thought I saw someone I know, that's all."

"Oh, well, let's try to enjoy ourselves."

Abby Fairgate was exhausted. She had been to Montana and back in just several hours, not to mention everything that had happened while she was there. She entered her suite at the Fairview to find Cutter sitting on the sofa, waiting for her.

"Oh, good, Cutter. I'm glad you're here. We need to talk."

"Yes, I thought you'd want to discuss our next move. That's why I came over here to meet you." Cutter approached Abby to embrace her.

Abby avoided the embrace and sat down on the sofa to remove her shoes. "There isn't going to be a next move for us, Cutter. Your part in this little plan is over."

Cutter rushed over to sit next to her. "What are you talking about, Abby? We're in this together!"

Abby stood and looked back down at him. "Not anymore, we're not. Did you really think that I would share Ewing Oil with you… a child?"

Cutter's emotions were growing stronger. "You can't do this to me, you bitch!"

Abby got that ferocious look about her. "Can't I? Do you realize how many illegal things you've done over the last few weeks? Things that I cannot be connected to. Now, I wouldn't want the authorities to stumble across that information. Would you?"

Cutter lowered his head and realized what a fool he'd been. "No."

"I didn't think so. Now, why don't you get out of here and go find some college co-ed to play around with. You can't handle a woman like me."

Cutter quietly got up and went toward the door. As he opened it to leave, he turned to Abby and said, "you'll pay for this, baby."

Abby quickly and sharply replied. "I already have, Cutter. I had to suffer you in bed, didn't I?"

With that, Cutter slammed the door and stormed out of the hotel.

Abby decided to rest for a while before she went over to Ewing Oil to claim her prize.

Val walked through the lobby of her hotel and was stopped by the desk clerk. "Mrs. Ewing, I have an urgent message for you."

Val, instantly, worried for her family. "What?! What is it?!"

"A Cutter Marcus would like for you to call him at this number in Dallas."

"Oh, my God, Gary!" She turned back to the clerk. "Where is the nearest phone?"

Val was directed to a nearby house phone and hurriedly dialed the number Cutter had left for her.

Cutter answered the phone in an obviously drunken state and told Val the whole story of Abby's plan, including the movie studio plot to keep her occupied outside of Dallas. Cutter ranted on about how evil Abby was and Val begged him to call Gary and warn him of what was to come. Cutter agreed, hung up the phone and passed out, leaving Gary clueless as to what was about to happen.

Val stormed out of the hotel and drove like a mad woman back to the airport she had just come from. There, she found the quickest way to get back to Dallas, a small, chartered plane. Val would arrive back in about an hour and would go straight to Gary at Ewing Oil to put a stop to this! Abby Fairgate would not get away with it, not this time!

Punk stood on the stage and welcomed the guests to the ball, he told the group that the oil baron would be announced shortly, and urged everyone to take their seats.

"To start the night off on a high note, I am very pleased to introduce to you all a very famous lady, who got her start singing in Dallas. Here to sing Celine Dion's theme song from Titanic, Ladies and Gentlemen....Afton Cooper.

Lucy looked at Cliff...."Oh my God, did you bring any cotton balls."

"Lucy she's not that bad"

Afton rose and headed towards the stage, as she walked past Lucy, she heard the young Ewing mutter something about hoping they hit an ice burg.

Afton belted out the song, almost hitting the high notes. The audience cringed in unison as she butchered the Oscar winning song. When Afton finished there was a rush of applause, mostly because the torture was finally over. When Punk rose to take the mike from Afton she signaled for him to sit.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to dedicate the song I just sang, 'My Heart will go on' to my Husband Cliff Barnes." Afton's fake tears began to roll down her face. "Recently we have been going through a few difficulties, and many of you know I have been charged with shooting my husband. I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you, since most of you have worked at one time or another with my husband, that the former Oil baron of the Year likes to hit his ladies, and this is why I shot him."

Cliff rose in his seat, Lucy tried to pull him back down. "Afton, you shut the hell up!!!"

"Cliff I am sorry to do this to you, but I am tired of feeling threatened by you, I need the world to know what I have been through."

"It's is not true and you know it!"

"As well on the years of abuse, Cliff has also had countless affairs behind my back, the most recent being with that blond stump sitting beside him."

Lucy let go of Cliff's arm. "Do what you have to do!"

Cliff barged to the stage and grabbed his wife by the arms. "What the hell do you think your doing Afton!"

Afton smiled and whispered to her husband."Keep it up Cliff, your only helping to prove my point."

Cliff let her go, and stormed out of the room

Afton picked up her purse, and again picked up the microphone. "If any of you have any doubts, I recently came across a series of photo's of my husband and Miss Ewing doing the nasty, several weeks before I shot him, one of many time."

There was a flurry of chatter throughout the ballroom, Lucy sank in her seat, Pam ran after Cliff, and Ellie just shook her head.

After the crowd finally hushed down, Punk Anderson's voice once again boomed over the sound system.

"Now, I know everyone was a little surprised to find that the Oil Baron's Ball would be held on a cruise ship this year, but we felt like it was time for a change," drawled Punk. "I would have to say that this is the biggest Ball we've had in years…and now, back for the first time in eight years to present the Jock Ewing Memorial Scholarships is Ellie Ewing Farlow."

Miss Ellie stepped onstage as the attendants clapped.

"As Punk said, it has been a while since I've been here and I'm very happy to be back. It's been a great honor for me, both now and each year I've done it, to present these prestigious scholarships. This year, the scholarships have grown in value and two more will be awarded. Now, for the five students who will receive the Jock Ewing Scholarships for the year of 1998: Elizabeth Grant, Justin Matheson, Jennifer Jackson, Mary Ann Hilton, and Scott Armando." The five students shook Ellie's hand and received their scholarship certificates.

"Thank you, Miss Ellie. Now, before the big award of the night, Oil Baron of the Year, we've got a special visitor with a special announcement. Would everybody please welcome… Donna Dowling," said Punk.

"Oh my God, it was her that I saw," said Ray.

The crowd clapped as Donna took the stage. She looked more beautiful than ever as she took the microphone. "Good evening. I flew today, via helicopter from Galveston, out to this ship to make a very special announcement. I'm sure there are more than a few people who are surprised to see me here tonight, but I know they'll be happy enough to hear what I have to say and I wanted to make this a surprise. Next week, after the cruise is over, there is going to be a ceremony that will take place near the Fowler Building in West Dallas. This ceremony will be a ribbon cutting. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have renamed a twenty mile section of the Dallas North Tollway as the Jock Ewing Parkway, in honor of his very well-known contributions to the prosperity of the state of Texas and the city of Dallas."

There was thunderous applause from all of the family of Jock Ewing as well as his friends and his former business partners.

"Well, I can't believe this!" smiled JR as he clapped. "Donna always was my best sister-in-law."

"Thank you everyone and congratulations to the Ewing family," smiled Donna. "You can get more information about the ribbon-cutting ceremony after tonight's ball. Now, to present the award of the night, once again, I give you Punk Anderson."

"Thank you, Donna. I know I'll be there for the ribbon cutting. Jock Ewing was a great man and I'm most grateful that he's being remembered, both through the scholarships and now the Jock Ewing Parkway. Now, on to the business at hand. Right here in my hand, I've got the name of this year's Oil Baron of the Year. This year, all nominees have been kept secret, so who ever wins should be surprised…The Oil Baron of the Year for 1998 is…" Punk opened the envelope and pulled out the manila card. "…Sue Ellen Ewing."

Once again, the crowd clapped and cheered. "Oh my God!" said Sue Ellen, "I can't believe this!"

"Well get up there, Sue Ellen," said Pam, "before they give the award to someone else."

Sue Ellen walked onto the stage and took her award from Punk. "You were right, Punk. The winner of this year's award is shocked. I had no idea that I could even be in the running and I am truly grateful. First of all, I'd just like to thank Bobby Ewing for inviting me to join him in partnership at Ewing Oil. If it hadn't been for him, then I wouldn't be up here tonight. I'd also like to thank the rest of the Ewings, and Farlows, for supporting me. But, the person who really deserves this award, the young man whose spirit and love have carried me through the events of my life, can't be here with us tonight. I'd like to dedicate this award to my son, John Ross Ewing, III. He's always supported and encouraged me and I'm just sick that a very unfortunate and unfair circumstance keeps him from sharing this with me this evening." Sue Ellen wiped a tear, said a few more words, and rejoined the Ewings at the table.

"Thank you, Sue Ellen and congratulations. Well, if no one has anything else to say, then I'm going to officially end tonight's ceremonies."

"Wait, just a minute," said Pam, standing up. "I have something to say and I think that now is the perfect time to say it…" Pam put her hand to her head and stopped for a moment. She collapsed to the floor. Bobby ran over to where she stood and helped her up.

"Come on Pam, we're getting you to bed."

"No, please…I…"

Bobby picked Pam up and carried her out of the ballroom.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen. We'll just hope that Pamela Ewing is all right, but I'm going to go ahead and declare the 1998 Oil Baron's Ball officially over."

The crowd began to move about and Ray made his way to the stage where Donna stood. "Donna, it's been so long."

"I know Ray, it has."

"I just want to thank you for naming that highway after Jock."

"You're welcome, Ray," said Donna, kissing his cheek. "I couldn't wait to see your face. I knew that it would mean more to you than anyone else, besides Miss Ellie, maybe."

"Donna, how are things in Washington? How is Margaret?"

"She's doing great, growing like a weed."

"I bet she is. How is Senator Dowling?"

Donna developed a grave look on her face for a moment. "Ray, he's sick, it's very serious."

"I'm sorry to hear that. What's wrong?"

"He's got Huntington's Disease, Ray. He's only got a few months left." Ray took Donna into his arms.

"I know it's got to be painful for you. Does Margaret know?"

"Yes, she does. I thought she had a right to know," said Donna, "It's going to be very hard for her, they are very close."

Ray looked saddened. "That's understandable."

"How are Jenna and Lucas?" asked Donna.

"Lucas is doing great. I wish I could say the same for Jenna. She's been acting strange, lately."

"I hope it's nothing serious."

"No, I don't think it is."

"Well, I need to get back to my room, maybe we'll see each other before the ceremony next week. Oh, Ray… it's just wonderful to see you again. I've missed you."

"Goodnight Donna," said Ray, kissing her.

"Goodnight, Ray."

"Now wait just a minute here!" said JR. "I'd like to take a minute to thank you, myself."

"Hello, JR."

"Donna, that was a real nice thing you did in my Daddy's memory. I want you to know that I appreciate it!"

"It's nice to see you too, JR," smiled Donna.

"I'm sure Bobby will thank you, too, but he seems to have his hands full with Pam, right now. Look, there come Momma and Clayton."

"Hello, Donna," said Ellie warmly.

"Hi, Donna," said Clayton, equally as nice.

"Miss Ellie, Clayton, it's been too long," she smiled.

"Yes, it has. I want to invite you to dinner at Southfork when we get back. Please don't say no, because I won't give up until you do."

"Well, I know how stubborn you can be Miss Ellie, so I'm going to say yes."

"Good," smiled Ellie.

"I was glad to see Pam and Bobby together again tonight. Seeing her alive caught me off-guard, I have to admit. I hope she's okay, though."

"I'm sure she's fine. This dinner will give us all a chance to catch up on old times. Thank you so much for naming that highway after Jock. I'm sure he'll be with us when we cut that ribbon."

"I'm sure he will be, Miss Ellie. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my room to make a few phone calls. I'll see you at Southfork!"

"Goodbye, Donna."

Gary had been unable to locate Cutter all day long. Nothing could proceed without him as Gary had come to rely on him to handle just about everything.

Gary was also worried that he hadn't heard from Val. He had called Abberation Studios and they had informed him that she never showed for her meeting with them that afternoon.

He stood in the reception area of Ewing Oil and wondered what the hell was going on. Suddenly, he began to feel very alone and overwhelmed.

The elevator door opened and Val stormed toward him. "Oh, Gary, I hope I'm not too late! That evil woman, she never stops! She's trying to destroy us again, Gary!"

Gary shook Val and tried to bring her back to a sensible state. "What woman, Val? What are you doing back here?"

"I think she's talking about me, Gary. Cutter must've called and tipped her off to my activities in Dallas." A voice spoke from behind Gary.

Gary turned to see who was speaking to him, though he was certain that he recognized that voice. He was suddenly frozen with fear. "Abby?"

Anita Smithfield sat locked in the room, wearing the dress that Stockton had ordered her to put on. The door opened and he walked in, but failed to lock it back.

"Hello, Rob," she said with her hands behind her back.

"Well, Miss Smithfield, are you happy to see me?" he said, brandishing a gun.

"In a way."

Stockton turned around and Anita saw her chance. She pulled the 2 x 4 from behind her back that she had found in a storage closet and reared it back over her head. Stockton turned around just as it hit him, knocking him to the ground.

"Damnit," said Anita, realizing that he was still conscious. This was, possibly, her last chance. If she didn't escape, she would die. She stepped over him and ran from the room.

Pam sipped a cup of water, shaking a bit. The excitement had gotten to her. "Bobby, I'm alright, you don't have to watch over me like this," she said nervously. "I'm going for a swim."

"What? In this condition?"

"The water would do me good."

"Ok, but only if I can join you. But I need to make a phone call, so you go ahead, just be careful."

"I will Bobby, don't be too long." Pam hastily left the room, shutting the door behind her. Soon after, she ran into Karen.

"Hi, Mrs. Ewing," said Karen congenially.

"Hello, Karen. What brings you out this late?"

"Oh, just taking a late night walk."

"I was going for a swim, so I'll talk to you later."

"Ok, Mrs. Ewing. I've got some business to take care of myself. I'll see you in the morning."

Lucy walked into the bathroom, expecting to surprise Cliff, but he was not there. She looked around the stateroom but Cliff was nowhere to be found.

"That's strange," she said to herself. "Where could he be?"

The ship was dark except for the exterior lights that peeked through the blackness. JR got dressed for bed. It had been an extremely long day and the night's excitement had gotten to him.

At precisely the moment that he was going to turn off the lamp over his bed, the phone rang.

"Yeah, JR Ewing here."

"JR, it's taken me forever to track you down. This is Abby Fairgate."

Smiling, he said to her, "well, well, Abby honey, to what do I owe this honor? How long has it been? Since nineteen-eighty…"

Interrupting, she said, "A long time. Why don't we leave it at that."

They both enjoyed a laugh.

"Oh, Abby. It's so good to speak to a person I can understand for a change. We always have had so much in common. Where have you been keeping yourself, honey?"

"Actually, right now I'm in Dallas."

"Oh, Lord. You're not there stealing Southfork out from under us, are you, honey?"

They both laughed again.

"No, no, nothing like that. I've spread my business interests all over the world. I just had a few things to take care of here, that's all. I was hoping we could meet while I'm in town, when will you be returning?"

"Well, we'll be home tomorrow morning. Would you like to meet at lunchtime?"

"Perfect. You know, I never have gotten to see the view from your office at Ewing Oil. Could we meet over there?"

"Well, sure, honey. I'll see you there tomorrow at 1."

"Very good, JR. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Abby."

JR hung up and realized just how exhausted he was from the night's events. Within a few minutes, he was asleep. Later, his door slowly opened. A dark figure walked into the dark room and stood beside JR's bed, taking out a bottle of chloroform and soaking a cloth with it. The person put it near JR's nose and he never resisted, just went into a deeper sleep. After setting the bottle on the nightstand, they grabbed the can of gasoline that had been left by the door and scattered the contents around the large stateroom. A match lit up the room dimly and the match was tossed carelessly on the floor. The room was soon bright with a roaring blaze, as JR lay on the bed, unaware of the fire. The person left the room, shutting the door behind them.

Anita Smithfield ran down a long corridor of the ship, aware that Stockton was somewhere behind her, but she was unsure how close he really was. Her only hope was to find JR's room—he would protect her from Stockton. Anita found it, room number thirty-seven. She grabbed the doorknob. Strangely enough, the door was cracked. Anita flung open the door and ran into the room. She was greeted by an intense, searing heat. There was a fire--the room was aglow with the blaze. A smoke detector blared and soon the screeching sound of the ship's fire alarms started. Anita attempted to turn around and leave, but the flames had blocked the door—and Stockton stood in her way. He seemed impervious to the flames.

"JR! Wake up JR!" she screamed. "We've got to get out of here."

"Well, Miss Smithfield, so nice to find you here," said Stockton, laughing a laugh that could only come from the mouth of a deranged man. There was another sound, a crackling sound as a flaming piece of wood fell across Anita's back, knocking her to the ground.

Moments later, the whole room was consumed with blazing orange flames and all hope of anyone surviving went up in smoke.

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