Karen looked so beautiful lying there beside him, with the morning sun shining across her face. During the past few weeks, since Christopher had taken the job at West Star, the two had rarely even been intimate with each other. Christopher now felt like they had reason to celebrate. He turned onto his side and pushed her hair back out of her face.

"You awake?"

"Yeah. I've been awake all night."

"What's wrong?"

"I've got a lot on my mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Karen sat up in bed and turned to her husband. "Christopher. I've got a confession to make."

"What?"

"Those papers you had signed, giving J.R. control of your West Star shares."

"Yeah? What about them? They were delivered today."

"No. No they weren't."

"Karen, what are you saying."

"I shredded them. J.R. never got the papers because I got to them first."

"What the hell…" Christopher sat up in bed.

"I didn't want you to give away control of your shares to J.R. Just because you missed out on that one deal doesn't mean you're not a good CEO."

"Damn it Karen! Don't you think I know what's best for me? I think for once I can make some decisions on my own without you butting in on them!"

Christopher got out of bed. "I'm sorry!" apologized Karen. "I thought I was doing what was best for you."

"Yeah? Well next time, do us both a favor and let me decide what's best for me." Christopher left her alone in the room, slamming the door behind him.

Karen got out of bed and began to pack her suitcase. "I'm sorry Christopher. I just can't stay here right now." Karen picked up the telephone in the room. "This is Karen Ewing. I need to use the Ewing jet. Yes, Christopher Ewing's wife."

She checked around the room to be sure she hadn't forgotten anything she needed and then left.

Pam pulled out her key and unlocked the door of the Wentworth Mansion. She had managed to sneak Katherine into Dallas without anyone seeing her and had arranged for a homecare nurse to stay at the mansion with Katherine.

Katherine looked up at her. "Pam, whose house is this?"

"You don't know?" said Pam, watching her carefully.

"No. How could I? I've never seen it before."

"Well, we used to live here for a short time. This is where our mother lived."

"Is she here now?"

"No Katherine. Mother died several years ago."

"Oh."

Pam rolled Katherine's wheelchair into the living room and looked around the house. She knew this was where Katherine had been living for the previous seven months while she was in Dallas. It was the place she came back to after planting the bomb at Southfork.

"Would you like anything to drink?" said Pam, "Maybe a glass of tea?"

"A glass of tea would be nice."

Katherine, you never drank tea before. "Coming right up. Oh! Where are the cups?"

"I don't know. I can't remember living here."

"That's right," said Pam with a fake laugh. She was determined to be there when Katherine slipped up.

Pam's phone rang as she was fixing the iced tea. "Hello?" she said.

"Pam, it's Bobby. Are you sure I can't convince you to forget this whole plan and turn Katherine over to the Dallas PD?"

"No Bobby. I have to know if she's faking amnesia or not. You're right about not endangering everyone at Southfork. That's why I'm living at my mother's house."

"I already miss you."

"I miss you too."

"Then come home."

"I can't."

"Fine then."

"Bobby…"

"I'll see you around Pam. Bye."

He hung up the phone and Pam was angry at him, angry because he wasn't giving her a chance at peace of mind.

"Who was that?" asked Katherine from the living room.

"Bobby."

"What did he want?"

"He just wanted to make sure we were settling in okay."

"Does he not live here too?"

"No, he lives at Southfork."

"Southfork?"

"The Ewing family ranch."

"Why don't you live with him? I thought you were married?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you sometime."

"Okay."

Bobby Ewing was frustrated. Frustrated with his wife, with his work, with life in general. Why couldn't Pam just let the past lie in the past? They both knew what Katherine was---a manipulative, deceptive predator who went out of her way to keep them apart for over 15 years. They thought she was dead. Now she's back, but can't remember who she is. Couldn't Pam just leave it at that? Lose contact with her, safely knowing that Katherine was never going to bother them again? His wife was so stubborn sometimes---when she wanted something, she went after it. There was no compromise. He remembered back to right after his father died, and his will was read. He and J.R. had been set-up against each other for control of Ewing Oil. Instead of being supportive, or even grudgingly accepting how important this was to Bobby, Pam had fought against his participation all the way. That, combined with Katherine's manipulations, had caused their first divorce. Bobby prayed that this wouldn't be the case again.

He let out a long sigh of frustration as he looked at the huge stack of papers that lay in front of him. At the time, purchasing Northstar Oil from Abby Ewing had seemed like a good idea, but now Bobby was tired of it. He needed a change.

"WHAT?" J.R. Ewing screamed into the phone.

"I'm sorry J.R.," Christopher said. He had just told J.R. that the papers they were to sign giving J.R. 21% of Christopher's West Star stock were torn up. He neglected to mention that Karen was the one that did it, but J.R. was too infuriated to care. Now Christopher was trying to explain to him that he had no desire to give J.R. that shares anymore.

"Damn it boy, I'm not in the mood for this. I've got a lot riding on getting these shares. When can we get some new contracts drawn up and sign them?" J.R. was fuming.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you J.R. We're not going to be drawing any new contracts. I've changed my mind."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Christopher had to be joking.

"You're not getting any shares. I'm keeping them. I acted too hasty. I can't give up on the oil business after one mistake." He thought of Karen's talk with him. More like her talk TO him. He was infuriated that she tore up the papers, but she had made her point. He couldn't give up this easy.

"I'm sorry if you made arrangements that assumed you were going to get the shares. I am really sorry. I'd like to talk about doing business with Ewing Oil in the future. Believe it or not J.R., I don't want to hurt the company. I'm a Ewing too."

"Than act like a damn one and get me those shares!" J.R. slammed down the phone. He knew that it was futile. Christopher was not going to get him those shares, and there was no way that J.R. could effectively get them by other means in order to make the deadline for Candela Refineries. He had promised them 3,000,000 barrels a day, and Ewing Oil alone could only provide half of those. What the hell was he going to do?

Cliff walked into the main office of the Clifford Group and thought how nice it would be to finally be able to run the company himself. No longer would he hide from J.R. From now on, everything was out in the open.

But Sue Ellen controlled the company theoretically. He knew that he could have the will declared invalid if he really wanted to. After all, he was alive. Cliff just didn't want to do that to Sue Ellen. He cared for her.

He picked up the phone and dialed her number.

"Hello?"

"Hi Sue Ellen, it's Cliff. Can you meet me for lunch today at the Oil Baron's Club?"

"Well, it's kind of short notice, but I don't see why not. I don't have anything really pressing to do today."

"Good. We have some things we need to discuss.

Todd realized that he'd have to be fast and stealthy if he were going to ruin Donna Dowling's campaign. She ran a tight ship. Her supporters were hard working and dedicated to her, believing in her 100%. Todd almost felt guilty about having to ruin everything. But he knew that his own well being was at stake, and he had come too damn far to let anything get in the way of that.

Donna came walking over to him, obviously in a rush. She had a large stack of press releases with her. "Todd, I've gotta ask a huge favor" she said, almost out of breath. "I've got to go to a charity event, and then do an interview for Texas Today, but these press releases need to go out ASAP. But they need to be reviewed and addressed to these people." She handed Todd a large list of names and addresses. "If you could do this for me, I'll owe you one."

Todd took the papers with a large smile. "No problem. I might have to have some help because I still need to finish those voter surveys that we just got back. But it will get done. Don't worry. Now go or you'll be late!" Todd was lying through his teeth.

Donna gave him a warm smile. "I knew I could trust you. You've already been a huge help." He had proven himself invaluable by coming into the office at the most chaotic moment possible, and placing his hands in every project, in an effort to make his trustworthiness known to Donna. He needed her to have a high opinion of him. As J.R. always said, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." Donna wasn't necessarily an enemy—she was a nice lady---she was just a threat to his security.

Donna left with her entourage of PR people and campaign managers. With the flurry of her exit, no eyes fell on Todd. He quickly dumped the stack of papers in the trash. Then he pulled out the trash bag, tied it up, and announced to the know-it-all at the front desk with a large grin, "I'm going to take out the trash. Back in a sec." Service with a smile.

"Back home again," said Karen to herself as she stepped out of the taxi. Her cocker spaniel, Missy, ran up to greet her as she walked up the pathway to the house. It was the picture of perfect American suburbia, totally different from Southfork.

She scratched Missy behind her ears and continued her walk up the path until she came to the door. She pulled out her key, hoping they hadn't changed the locks. They hadn't, and the door opened. Karen entered the house and stood for a second to soak in how it felt to be coming home again.

She knew her mother wouldn't be here. Her death still weighed heavily on Karen's mind, and the weight grew ever heavier whenever she returned home.

"Well, if it ain't Sis."

Karen turned around, startled. She had thought she was alone. "Scott. Don't scare me like that."

"What's the matter? Life in Dallas getting to you? Marriage maybe?"

"Please. Not now."

"Is life on the ranch not doing to suit you Karri? Must be the manure smell."

"Is Dad home?"

"Nope. He's representing another of his clients today. What brings you here?"

"None of your business. I'm going up to my room."

Scott watched as Karen went upstairs and shut her door. "It's okay Vanessa. It was just my step-sister."

A tall blonde walked into the living room, wearing almost nothing. "Then let's get back to business."

Meanwhile, back upstairs, Karen stood staring in disbelief. "Kim?"

The brunette walked up to Karen and hugged her. "Karri, It's good to see you."

Karen was in awe. "Kimberly, what are you doing here?"

"It's a long story."

"Why don't you share?"

"Okay, since you asked so nicely. I got a divorce, lost my job, and had to face the humiliation of moving back home."

"I'm sorry to hear that. What about Tiffany? Who got custody?"

"She's living with him right now, but that's just temporary until I get my life back in order."

"So you're not working?"

"Nope. I can't find a decent job."

"You should have called me. My God, we're sisters for crying out loud. I haven't heard from you since last summer."

"I've been too busy to call. This past year has been so hectic."

"Same here," said Karen.

"I didn't even know until just recently that you got married. What's his name?"

"Christopher."

"Is he a nice guy?"

"Why don't we got get something to eat, then we can catch up on everything?" said Karen, changing the subject.

"Great, let's go then."

Lucy put down her fork and smiled at Neil. She couldn't even begin to show her gratitude to him for helping her out with the deal. She would have liked to have thought she'd done it by herself, but Lucy knew she couldn't take all of the credit.

"I'm really glad you invited me to lunch today Lucy. I think maybe we can discuss the future of Ewing Oil."

"That would be good. You should have heard J.R. this morning. He was so upset that he didn't make that deal."

"That's what you wanted isn't it?"

"Right. Absolutely. If I could stay one up on J.R., I'd be doing good. But you have to get up pretty early in the morning to stay ahead of him."

"Which is what you intend to do?" said Neil.

"Damned right," said Lucy as she took a sip of wine.

The sound of a phone ringing startled Lucy. "Must be mine," said Neil. He answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey Connie. Yeah. Okay, I'll be home as soon as possible."

Neil hung up the phone.

"So what was that about?"

"That was the babysitter. My daughter seems to be breaking out in chicken pox and I need to take her to the doctor."

"Neil, I didn't know you had a daughter."

"There's a lot you don't know, but I'll make a point to tell you sometime. How about dinner later this week?"

"Great," said Lucy. "Just give me a call or stop by the office."

She waved at Neil as he left the club.

Cliff Barnes passed Neil and said hi as he walked into the club. "Hello Dora Mae."

"Well, Mr. Barnes. How are you? It's been a while since you've been in here."

"Yeah. I was dead. Is my table ready?"

Dora Mae was startled. "No, as a matter of fact it's occupied right now."

"What? Who?"

Cliff walked through the dining area and to his table. "Lucy."

Lucy turned around. "Cliff?"

"Hi Lucy. What are you doing at my table?"

"I asked Dora Mae to put me here. I didn't think you'd mind."

"That's okay. I'll find another table."

"No. I was just leaving. Use this one if you want."

Sue Ellen soon joined them near the table. "Hello Cliff, sorry I'm late. Oh, hi Lucy."

"Hi Sue Ellen," said Lucy. She knew that Cliff was here to have dinner with Sue Ellen.

"Come on Sue Ellen, we were just about to go find another table."

Dora Mae apologized for the misunderstanding and led Cliff and Sue Ellen to a table near the bar. "Well, it's not the best one in the house, but it'll do. Thanks Dora Mae."

"You're welcome Mr. Barnes. You two enjoy your meal."

Cassie walked up and took their orders for drinks. "Glad you could make if Sue Ellen," said Cliff.

"I think I know what this is about."

"It's about the Clifford Group."

"Cliff, I know that the will wasn't valid now that you're alive, so I'll gladly step out of the company…not that I've really stepped into it yet."

"No. I don't want that. Let's make a deal."

"I'm listening."

"Let's control the company together…jointly."

Sue Ellen thought of all her other commitments, but she knew that together with Cliff, they could finally put J.R. in his place. "What would J.R. think of that," she laughed.

"He'd hate it."

"Then I'm game. I'd be honored to help run a corporation the size of the Clifford Group." Sue Ellen thought about her other plan and began to laugh.

"What is it? Something on my face?"

"No," said Sue Ellen, still laughing. "Cliff, let me let you in on a little secret."

"Okay."

"I have set up J.R. with such a lucrative deal that he could not possibly refuse it."

"I don't understand."

"I had a friend of mine offer to let Ewing Oil be their new oil supplier. J.R. would have to supply 3 million barrels a day, but he couldn't do that of course."

"Of course he couldn't. Don't tell me he accepted."

"Christopher is giving control of his shares of West Star to J.R. Well, he thinks he is and J.R. thinks he is. Karen shredded the papers. Now J.R. is going to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. With West Star's help, he could have supplied the 3 million, but he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of doing it now."

"My God Sue Ellen, you're brilliant."

She smiled. "Thanks Cliff."

"J.R. will get just what he deserves. That'll throw him so far in dept that he wouldn't be able to dig himself out with a shovel."

Both laughed. "Let me propose a toast," said Sue Ellen, lifting her glass. "To the fall of J.R. Ewing."

"To the fall of J.R. Ewing," repeated Cliff. Their glasses clinked together and they both took a drink.

Karen and Kimberly sat on a bench in the park, both munching on a burger and sipping a milkshake. The day was warm, but not hot, and for Karen, it was a nice change from the scorching Texas heat.

"So you shredded the papers, then what?" said Kim.

"I told Christopher about it. He was so angry. He told me to butt out of his business and let him decide what's best for him. But I know that he shouldn't give control of his shares to J.R."

"I can see why he might be mad, but I also see your reasoning behind it. You want what's best for your husband."

"Right. He can be so damned stubborn sometimes."

"Karri?"

Karen turned around. "Zack?

"I can't believe this. Running into you like this…after all this time."

"I guess I should have expected this, returning home and all," said Karen.

"You know," said Kim, "I'm going over to the burger stand to get some more ketchup." She got up and left, without saying another word.

"It's good to see you again," said Zack.

"God, of all people, I never expected to run into you."

"You don't seem very happy to see me."

"Just surprised me, that's all."

"Karri, I don't want you to read into what I'm about to say, but will you have dinner with me tonight?"

Karen was shocked. "Why?"

"I haven't talked to you in so long. I just want to catch up and see how life has treated you. That's all."

Karen smiled. "I'd like that."

"Great. Are you staying at home?"

"Yes."

"Is eight o' clock too late?"

"No, that's fine. And by the way, no one calls me Karri anymore."

"Right. OK Karen, I'll see you around eight."

Zack waved as he continued his jog around the park.

Miss Ellie looked forward to dinner at Southfork every night. It seemed like the only time everyone could get together as a family. She was worried about Clayton, and she had to admit, a little worried about herself. Jessica was still on the loose. But Ellie tried to remain confident that she would be found eventually, and kept the love of her family as the strength to keep her going.

Most of the family was there---Pam was absent, obviously with Katherine. That upset Ellie. Katherine was not one to be trusted, amnesia or no amnesia. She hoped Pam learned this before it was too late. Christopher had gone to have dinner with a possible business partner, Karen was nowhere to be found, and Donna was off with campaign business. Bobby, Lucy, Ray, Lucas, Margaret, Clayton and Sue Ellen were all gathered around the table as J.R. entered, obviously perturbed.

Sue Ellen smiled in triumph. J.R. had found out that he would not be able to provide Candela Refineries with their needed 3,000,000 barrels daily. Due to the nature of the contract, he was now in a financial lurch---either provide the oil or pay for the value for everyday he missed a shipment. So far he missed one day. Sue Ellen had to suppress her joy because she knew exactly what J.R. would do next---she knew him too well. As she had determined before even engineering her plan, the value of about 3,000,000 barrels of oil was equal to the value of 8% of Ewing Oil. Backed into a wall, Sue Ellen knew that J.R. would have no choice to dump that 8% to get Ewing Oil out of a bigger financial lurch. After all, he would still have majority control with 52%, and would probably sell to someone that he trusted and would sell right back. That was when Sue Ellen would make her move, and snatch the 8% for herself. It was the first key in the road to getting Ewing Oil away from J.R. And J.R. would find out who was responsible. Soon enough.

As Sue Ellen reveled in her triumph, the family ignored J.R., knowing his moods. All J.R. could think about was who to sell 8% of Ewing Oil too that he could trust. Out of the silence, Bobby began speaking.

"I've been thinking about selling Northstar. The oil business really doesn't hold anymore passion for me."

"How many times have we heard that? You'll want it back in three months, Bob, tops." J.R. said snidely.

Surprisingly, Bobby was not angered but seemingly agreed with him. "It's possible. I've left the oil business before and wanted to return. I just wish there was a way for me to keep Northstar without having to really run it."

As J.R. stormily ate his food, a thought crept into his head. Bobby wanted out of the business, but with a door to get back in easily. He didn't want to run his own company, but wanted to be part of a company. J.R. grinned.

"Hey Bob, can I talk to you after dinner?"

Karen was nervous, maybe more nervous than she had ever been in her life. Thinking back, she wondered why she had even agreed to have dinner with Zack. What they had together was gone a long time ago.

"Hi," said Zack, taking a seat across from her. "I'm sorry I had to change the plans. I didn't think about your father. I didn't want another confrontation with him."

"Zack, let me say one thing first. I'm married…to a wonderful guy."

"I wouldn't have thought you would've stayed single for long. You are a beautiful woman with a wonderful personality. And…"

"I was fifteen years old," said Karen suddenly.

"Karen, don't tear yourself up over that. It was a long time ago."

"Don't you still wonder about him?"

"All the time."

"It was five years ago. He'd be five years old this October."

"I always think about how things might have been different if we hadn't given her up for adoption. You and I might be living together now, with our son…"

"In complete poverty!" said Karen suddenly. "That's the reason we had to give him up for adoption in the first place. My father refused to help pay for anything. If only Mom had been alive…things would have been different."

"If I had stayed in school and found myself a decent job, things would have been different also."

"But you didn't. I was so stupid—so naïve. After Mom died, things just started to spiral downward in my life. The drugs didn't help anything. Then, I met this wonderful guy. He promised me the world. He won me over, got me into bed, and BAM, nine months later I gave birth to a little boy."

"I wanted to be a family with you Austin, but we couldn't afford to give him the life he deserved."

"I keep telling myself we did the right thing. But, there is no use thinking about it. We'll never see Austin again. I'm coping with it. As a matter of fact, I haven't even thought about it much until I came back here."

"Strangely enough, it's the same with me. While I was working in New York, I almost never thought about him. Last month when I come back to Farris, all the memories came rushing back. Karen, we can go back."

"No…No we can't."

"Together we can. We can pretend like this never happened—pretend like we're meeting again for the first time. This time, my promises won't be empty ones. I've saved up a lot of money. This time I can give you the world." Zack stood up, extending his hand. "Come with me."

Karen stared at him, transfixed. The restaurant suddenly disappeared and she imagined herself with him on the beach, where they had first met. She stood and took his hand.

Bobby was quite amazed by J.R.'s proposal. But he was listening, and that's all J.R. needed him to do. "You're really prepared to do this J.R.?" Bobby asked.

"Absolutely. You're my brother. If I can't trust you, who can I trust?"

"J.R., we're not exactly the Hardy Boys. We've had our fair share of back-stabbing, mostly by you I may add."

"That's the past, Bob." J.R. grinned as he patted Bobby on the back. "This is an even trade. 8% of Ewing Oil for control of Northstar."

"Their net value is about the same" Bobby said, contemplating J.R.'s proposal. It was a interesting proposition indeed. J.R. had asked him to make a trade---J.R. would gain control and ownership of Northstar Oil in exchange for 8% of Ewing Oil. Bobby was a little shocked at first—J.R. would never give up any of his 60% without good reason. But he would still be majority controller with 52%. J.R.'s offer was very tempting: it allowed for Bobby to stay in the oil business without the responsibility of running the show—J.R. and Lucy would handle that. But he still could play a vital role when he wanted too. Plus, he wanted Northstar off his hands.

J.R. was hoping Bobby would agree to his proposal. By owning Northstar, J.R. would be able to use its supply to provide the 1.5 million other barrels of oil to Candela refineries. J.R. would get out of debt and come back strong. Plus, his 8% lay in trustworthy hands with Bobby. He wasn't going to do anything with it; he just wanted to feel like he COULD do something with it. Soon enough, he would get the 8% back. He would make sure of that.

Bobby gave it some thought. He never trusted J.R., but this was an even trade. He couldn't handle Northstar anymore, and what harm could J.R. do with it? Bobby could always use his 8%, combined with Gary's 7.5% and Lucy's 32.5% to outvote J.R. on something.

"You've got yourself a deal J.R." I'll have my lawyers draw up the papers. We can sign them today or tomorrow."

"Is that a fact? Bob, you are not going to regret this," J.R. said, smiling.

Christopher hung up the phone after talking to his lawyer on another issue. As soon as they found out where Pamela Rebecca was living, she'd be served with a summons to appear in court for the custody trial of Megan Eleanor. There were enough things wrong in Christopher's life and Megan's absence didn't have to be one of them.

He thought about Karen, and wondered where she was. He hoped she was safe. His anger toward her was already beginning to fade. Christopher realized she had been right—he hadn't wanted to give J.R. control of his shares of West Star. Now Christopher needed to find her and apologize.

Karen was snapped out of her dreamlike state when she found herself in Zack's apartment. "Zack, I can't do this. I'm married. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Karri, you're not married. It's 1994. You're not even pregnant yet."

"Damn it Zack, you're crazy."

Karen felt a sudden sharp pain in her wrist, and looked down to see Zack holding a syringe. "Welcome back home Karen."

"Zack! Oh God no. Don't let it be."

"It is Karen. Heroin always played such an important role in your life before. After all, you were under the influence when we met and you got pregnant. Or have you forgotten? We can do it all again."

"NO!" screamed Karen, but she could already feel the heroin taking effect—that old familiar feeling. No one in Dallas, especially Christopher, would've ever dreamed that Karen Ewing had once been a drug addict.

Lucas was always well behaved when Donna wasn't home. Ray had observed him, and he was his old self—happy, confident. When Donna walked through the door though, he completely changed. He became spiteful, and angry. Ray knew it was because he was marrying Donna, and Lucas felt he was betraying Jenna. He needed to talk to Lucas. But how?

With the sun shining brightly, Lucas was eating breakfast at the kitchen table while Ray was tidying up the kitchen. Donna was on the phone, talking to people at her office while Margaret was in the shower. Ray could hear that Donna was obviously upset based on the tone of her voice.

"Todd, how could those press releases have gotten lost? I gave them to you!" Donna was confused, scared and frustrated. Nothing seemed to be going right.

On the other end of the line, Todd quietly inhaled his cigarette. "Donna, I gave them to Cassie to do. Remember how I told you I had to finish that other project? Well that needed to be done ASAP, and so did yours so I handed off yours to Cassie. I placed it on her desk." Cassie was a young college student that was continually making mistakes, despite her genuine political interest in Donna. Donna had known Cassie was not the greatest asset to her campaign staff for a while.

"I'm sorry Todd, I didn't mean to snap. I'll talk to Cassie today. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, in any case." Todd smiled on the other end of the phone, thinking it was totally intentional.

They exchanged farewells, and Donna came into the kitchen, obviously stressed. "Ray, why is everything seeming to go wrong? It just feels like all the cards are stacked against me." Donna felt like she couldn't stand, she was so overwhelmed with stress. "Good!" Lucas shouted. "I hope you're retarded campaign flushes down the toilet!"

Both Ray and Donna were shocked. "Lucas, apologize!" Ray shouted.

"Like hell! I hate you both so much. I hope your campaign dies. Then maybe there will be some justice around here."

With that cryptic remark, Lucas stormed off, leaving Donna near tears. All the stress inside her made her want to burst. She was SO angry. She needed to let it out. "Ray, what is wrong with him?! He is disrespectful and rude! For God sakes send him to a therapist—he needs help! I can't take living here anymore if things continue like this!" Donna started to ball, but ran from the room. Upstairs, Margaret could hear the shouting and didn't know what to do. Lucas smiled. He was glad he made Donna cry. Ray wished he could be more sensitive, but all he could think of was that if Donna was not working on that damn campaign, a lot of their problems would be solved. He didn't run after her.

Sue Ellen was hoping to hear the buzz about J.R. putting up 8% of Ewing Oil any day now. She was smiling as she strode down the hall at West Star, and was unaware of her surroundings. She bumped right into Bobby. "Bobby! Hi." She smiled.

Bobby's duties at West Star were very lax. In fact, he gave most of them over to Sue Ellen. He just needed to sign things every now and then.

"Actually, it's going great. I'm part of Ewing Oil again." Bobby smiled.

"What?" Sue Ellen was confused.

"Goodbye Northstar, Hello Ewing. I just handed over Northstar Oil to J.R. for 8% of Ewing Oil."

No, Sue Ellen though. Damn! Damn J.R.! This was not the way things were supposed to work out. Why was Bobby playing along with J.R. anyway? If Bobby knew anything, he should smell that J.R. is never trustworthy and there was an ulterior motive to the deal.

"Bobby," Sue Ellen said, "This really isn't a good idea. J.R. has something up his sleeve."

"I'm sure he does, but he can't do anything to me. Northstar's not huge. What's so great about it? Maybe he needs it to pull off a deal. I just know that I have 8%, and that is very important to J.R. He's not going to risk alienating me knowing that I can sell it at anytime. Plus, if he causes trouble, Lucy, Gary and I will vote him out. Maybe Jack and Abby will even help." He gave a brief smile.

"Why? I thought you wanted out of the oil business?" Sue Ellen was praying this was some sort of bad dream.

"I do, but I still want to be part of the industry in some capacity. Y'know, high level enough to make deals. That's what I get a thrill from."

"Bobby, you can do all that at West Star. You don't need to give Northstar to J.R."

"Well, I already gave NorthStar to J.R. Papers have been signed." Sue Ellen wanted to groan. "Plus Sue Ellen, you pretty much run the show here. And I'd like to let Christopher do things on his own. You're there if he needs you. He doesn't need his dad around, maybe making him feel like some inexperienced kid. Ewing Oil just feels like home."

Home was where Sue Ellen wanted to go, because she felt like her whole world was collapsing. Her plan had failed. But she was resilient. Back to the drawing board, she thought. She'd get J.R. somehow.

Ray and Jenna Evans had been talking for hours. She was one of the best listeners Ray had ever met. Just like his Jenna. And Donna. Donna was a good listener when she wasn't running around saving the world.

"I don't know what to do about Lucas. He and Donna need to talk, but she's always so damn busy. She never has time."

"Seems like she never has time for you either." Jenna replied.

He didn't want to say it, but that's what he was feeling. Ray felt like admitting that would be too selfish and adolescent. But he missed Donna. He wanted her to miss him, and to stop that damn campaign and be with him. It made him feel weak. He hated that.

It was like Jenna read his mind. "It's OK to be jealous, Ray. You probably want her to spend more time with you. There's nothing wrong with that."

"That's scary." Ray said.

"What?"

"It's like you just read my mind."

"I would love to read your mind. It would tell me a lot more about a man that I really want to get to know better."

If Ray didn't know Jenna, he'd think that the last comment was a bit seductive in nature. But Jenna wasn't trying to hit on him. She was his friend.

"Well, we certainly will be working together for a while Jenna. I'm glad we're friends."

"Me too Ray." Jenna smiled.

Ray said he had to go, and Jenna realized that she really had better speed things up. He'd be pissed if she didn't. She gave Ray a tight hug, whispering in his ear, "I'll see you tomorrow." Then she pulled away very slowly, so that her lips passed dangerously close to his.

Ray felt himself feel a stirring of attraction to Jenna. She was SO much like his Jenna. But he was going to be married again. He wasn't going to screw things up.

He bid goodbye to Jenna, who waved back. As soon as Ray shut the door, Jenna stamped her foot in anger, mumbling "damn!" Then she remembered the meeting. It was 10:30, that only left her 15 minutes to get to the park. She locked up the Cattleman's Club and left hurriedly. Within ten minutes, she was there.

The wind blew across the park as she sat on a bench near the lake. The park was deserted, except for a few late night joggers. She glanced nervously around her as the wind picked up. "Damn it. Where are you?"

Her words were almost too loud and she looked around to make sure no one had heard her talk to herself.

You told me you would meet me here at 10:45 to discuss the final part of our deal. If you don't make it, then this deal is off.

Someone touched Jenna's shoulder and she was about to scream, but a hand covered her mouth. "Sssh, it's just me."

"Damn you! Why the hell did you have to do that!"

"Sorry. Now, let's get down to business Honey. I need to get home."

The wind picked up again as he took a seat next to her, glancing around. "Okay, hurry then," said Jenna, her heart still racing from the encounter.

"I'm going to make my move next week. That doesn't leave you much time. You have to get Ray into bed with you."

"But that's not easy. Ray is really faithful to his wife."

"Look Sugar, I'm not paying you to give me excuses. I want you in bed with Ray. Then, when that's done, I'll go to Ray and tell him. Then, we let the blackmail begin. I've got to have that PetroTech stock of his."

"What makes you so sure Ray is going to just follow your orders?"

"Oh, he won't want Donna to know about his little roll in the hay with you."

"Ray and Donna are really nice people. I don't think they deserve this."

"Well it's not your damned decision to make. And, if you choose to back out of our deal now, then you'll pay. That little daughter of yours will be back with her Daddy faster than you can say Texas."

Jenna shivered. "Okay. I'll stick with the plan. I'll have Ray into bed by the end of the week."

"Good," he laughed. "I figured you were a smart lady. No one doublecrosses J.R. Ewing and gets away with it." J.R. grinned evilly at a very fearful Jenna Evans.

Credits Roll

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