It had been another hot Texas day and now as the sun was setting the evening promised to be no cooler. It was nearing the 'cocktail' hour at Southfork; Bobby walked into the living room and headed for the bar. Just as he was pouring himself a drink, Pamela appeared in the doorway. She quietly walked up behind him, “Hey, how about one of those for me?”

Bobby turned, just the sight of her made him smile; she looked fresh and pretty, quite a contrast to the sweltering heat outside. “Hi there.” He put his arm around her waist and kissed her lightly on the lips before drawing back and tapping her on the nose with his finger. “Only club soda for you, I'm afraid your wild days are over!” He said patting her tummy.

Pamela played along and feigned despair. “Oh no, don't say that! Does that mean no more of the wild parties either?!”

“I'm afraid so.” Bobby handed her a club soda and they sat together on the sofa.

“So, you never told me how your visit with Todd went...?”

“It was fine.” Pam noticed some hesitation in his voice.

“Is something wrong?”

“I'm not sure. I got the distinct feeling that something was bothering Todd, but I couldn't tell what it was.”

“Don't you think he would tell you if there were something wrong?”

“I don't know. He just seemed a little depressed.”

“Maybe Janice's leaving affected him more than we thought.”

Bobby shrugged, “I don't want to talk about Todd anymore.” He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “What did you do today?” He took a sip of his drink.

“Oh, I just went shopping.”

“Oh boy, you keep this up and I'm going to have to go back to work!” Bobby teased.

Pam's eyes sparkled, “I'll be happy to go back to work.”

“Oh no you don't, not again. I've got you right where I want you. You're staying home where you can concentrate on taking care of the most important thing in your life.” Pam looked at him quizzically. Bobby smiled with satisfaction and said, “Me! By the way, what did you buy me?”

Pam smiled and shook her head in amusement, “Bobby Ewing, you're nothing but a big baby! There's no doubt that you need looking after, but actually, I went shopping for Austin. He needed a few things.”

In the hallway, Christopher was just coming in. He was tired from another long day in court. As he was passing by, the phone rang; he picked it up on the second ring. “Hello.”

“May I speak to Mr. or Mrs. Ewing?”

“This is Mr. Ewing.”

“Mr. Ewing, this is Dr. Bader's office, I am calling to confirm the appointment for you and your wife tomorrow morning at 10am.”

“What? I think you have the wrong Mr. Ewing, just a minute.” But before Christopher could finish his sentence, she had already hung up.

Christopher hung up the phone and walked into the living room, where he heard his parents quietly talking. The call was obviously meant for them. They were the only other set of Mr. and Mrs. Ewing's in the house now.

As he entered the room they looked up. Bobby said “Hi son, how did things go in court today?”

Christopher sat down heavily in a chair across from them. “The same as every day… the lawyers fight, the judge sleeps and who can tell what the jury is thinking…” He didn't really want to talk about the trial right now. He gestured toward the telephone in the hallway, “Hey, some doctor's office just called. They thought I was you, dad, they said they were confirming an appointment for Mr. and Mrs. Ewing at 10 am tomorrow… what's that about? You're not sick are you?”

Pam and Bobby exchanged glances; they had meant to tell Christopher about Pam's pregnancy, now seemed like as good a time as any. Pam said “No… nothing's wrong.” She looked at Bobby, who was happy to speak up.

“You and Grace are going to have a little brother or sister.”

Christopher was speechless and it took him almost a minute before he could speak. “Really? That's great!” All three stood and Christopher was giving his parents congratulatory hugs when JR and Miss Ellie entered the room.

“Well, what's going on here? Karen escape from jail?” Bobby quickly reached out and put a hand on Christopher's arm to quietly restrain him. Not that JR didn't deserve a fat lip for that remark, but he didn't what to upset his mother.

“No JR, as a matter of fact, we have some good news for everyone.”

Miss Ellie looked tired, “Well, tell us Bobby, I for one, could use some good news right now.”

Bobby smiled as he put his arm around Pam's waist and said, “There's going to be another baby at Southfork, Pam's pregnant!”

“Oh, Bobby, Pam, that's wonderful!” There were tears in Miss Ellie's eyes as she hugged both of them. “That's one thing this house can never have enough of, babies!”

“Congratulations Bobby, Pam,” was all J.R. said before he headed for the bar.

“Come on in to dinner now before everything gets cold. Christopher, I just had Theresa tell Austin to come down, but could you go up and get him?”

“Sure Grandma.” Christopher kissed her on the cheek as he walked by. It was great to see her smile again.

As for Miss Ellie, she knew that she had to tell them all about Laurel's visit and the horrible things she had revealed about Clayton's death, but that could wait until after dinner when everyone else was there too. Besides, she wanted to hold on to the happiness that the news of Bobby and Pam's new baby had brought. Happiness seemed to be so fleeting these days.

Southfork Ranch

From the feel of the weather, summer in Texas was already in full swing and Ellie was thankful she'd be able to spend the day inside. As she thought about the cowhands and about how they had to work out in the heat, cold, rain, and virtually every other weather condition; Ellie decided they all deserved a raise in pay and she intended to get to that right away.

Ellie stood at the kitchen counter and sipped her coffee. She was still trying to process all that Laurel had said. She had tried to make sense of it until her brain felt like it was spinning, finally coming to the conclusion that there was no way to make sense of such a senseless act. Instead, she tried to think about all that she had to be thankful for—Bobby and Pam's baby, Cally was out of jail, Sue Ellen and Jack seemed to be getting along again.

“Hey mama,” J.R. said as he walked through the door.

“J.R.,” Miss Ellie acknowledged.

“How're you doing?”

Miss Ellie took another sip of her coffee before responding. “I'm not really sure, hurt, angry,” she said with a sigh. It was the truth.

“Well I don't blame you,” J.R. responded. He was personally disturbed by the news that Ellie had shared with the whole family the night before, about Clayton's demise. She had explained, as best she could, what happened with Laurel and her ex-lover. The police had come and spoken about their theory as to Klaus Urbanski and Cliff's gun. J.R. had been alarmed----what had Klaus Urbanski been doing there? If there were two men there that night with gun's, and one was there to kill Clayton, who had sent Klaus? It seemed pretty obvious that they were there gunning for J.R. Frankly, it scared him. He didn't want to show any concern to his mother. She had gone through enough.

“I want them to pay.”

“Who?”

“The killers. I want them to pay for what they did.”

“Mama,” J.R. replied. “These people sound like they travel in some very dangerous circles. I don't think it's possible.”

“You know the police aren't going to be able to do anything.”

“No, you're probably right, I don't think they can. They can try, but they're not going to get anywhere. Didn't you tell me that Laurel said he was one of the biggest mobsters in Chicago?”

Ellie looked at her son. “Isn't there something you can do? Someone you know?”

J.R. was shocked at his mother's request. It took him a moment to respond. “Mama, I'm sorry.”

Ellie looked back out her window, and continued to sip her coffee.

Southfork Ranch

Laughter abruptly rang through the living room and Ellie put down her papers and turned to see Pam and Bobby walking arm-in-arm down the staircase. Upon seeing her, they greeted Ellie good morning.

Ellie smiled—something that wasn't difficult to do, now that Bobby was back and happy with Pam. Plus, the prospect of them having another baby was very exciting and Ellie was happy that Grace would have a younger brother or sister to grow up with.

“Well, you two seem awfully happy this morning. What do you have planned for the day?”

“Just a routine doctor's appointment and then we're heading to the mall to pick up a few things for the baby.”

Bobby looked from his mother to Pam. “Honey, why don't you go on out to the car and crank her up so she can be cooling off. I'll be right out in a second.”

Sensing that Bobby needed time alone with his mother, Pam obliged. “Sure, but don't be long. I don't want to be late for my appointment.”

Bobby watched his wife until the door shut and then he turned back to his mother. “Momma, I just heard about Hank. Why'd you fire him? You know I can take care of the ranch.”

“Nonsense Bobby. You've got a life to live with Pam. Then there's Christopher, Grace, and another baby on the way. You don't have time to waste here in the affairs of the ranch. Me on the other hand…there's not much else for me to do. I enjoy it. I didn't realize how much I missed taking a hand in the running of Southfork.”

Bobby looked worried and deep inside, he wondered if this was some strange way of coping with Clayton's death. “I think I can understand that, but what's with Hank? He's always been a good foreman.”

“After Clayton died, he became a good-for-nothing slacker and we don't have room here for people like that,” Ellie answered firmly.

Bobby was momentarily quiet, but soon spoke up again. “Okay Momma, I trust your judgment. You know what's best and if running the ranch is what you want, then that's what you'll get. Just promise me that if you need anything, that you'll come to me. I'll be glad to help.”

Ellie smiled and patted her son on the shoulder. “Thank you. I ran a notice about the vacant foreman position in the paper today. So far, no one has been interested, but I'm sure that won't be the case for long.”

“Sounds good. But now I really need to get going before we're late.”

“Goodbye Bobby.”

“Bye Momma.”

Melissa McSween's Apartment

Melissa swung open the door to find John Ross standing outside and her face quickly went solemn. “Hi. Thanks for coming.”

“Can I come in?”

Melissa nodded, but said nothing. John Ross walked into the living area and took a seat on the sofa while Melissa closed the door. Seconds later she was sitting next to him. John Ross wondered why she'd called and invited him over to her apartment. Was it possible that J.R. had already kicked his plan into action?

After a few moments, it was obvious that Melissa wasn't going to start things off, so John Ross decided he would. “So…why did you invite me over?”

Melissa licked her lip and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. “I have something that I need to tell you.”

“Go on…”

“I should be happy to tell you this, considering how you treated me during my pregnancy…not to mention the fact that you almost married Pamela Rebecca…”

“Tell me what?”

“But still, I'm not. I'm not happy. A few weeks ago, before T.J. was born, I stopped by the Barnes house to see if you were there. You weren't, but I overheard a conversation between Pamela Rebecca and Eric Stone.”

“What did they say?”

“She said…she said that Megan is not your daughter, John Ross. It was all part of her scheme to win you over. She screwed around with the paternity results or something. Megan is really Christopher's.”

John Ross was dumbfounded, but soon his surprise turned to anger. “You are lying. This is totally unbelievable! I can't believe that you would stoop so low as to lie about something like this just to hurt me. No…you know what? I can believe it. Especially since you're not letting me have anything to do with our son!”

There was a lump in Melissa's throat that made it hard for her to speak, though she wasn't sure exactly why it was there. “It's the truth. You know Pamela Rebecca. She's done this kind of thing before.”

“And so have you!” John Ross stood up. “I don't know why I ever wasted my time with you, because it's obvious that you never gave a damn about me. I really don't care if I never see you again. As a matter of fact, that's what I want. Get the hell out of my life and stay out!” John Ross ran over to the door and clenched the knob, but he soon stopped and turned around. “And don't think for a minute that I'm just going to hand T.J. over. Hell would have to be covered in ice before I ever let you raise my son.”

“You don't mean that.”

“Like hell I don't. And don't forget who I am…and who my dad is. We always get what we want. In this case, what I want is my son.”

The door slammed and Melissa stared at the spot where John Ross had stood. What was she going to do now? Unbeknownst to Melissa, Angela McSween had overheard the entire conversation from the kitchen.

Southfork Ranch

Ellie had almost dozed off in the living room, but the sound of the doorbell jolted her back to the land of the living and she quickly stood up. The doorbell sounded again and she made her way through the house and opened it.

A tall man stood on the front steps. When he saw Ellie, he quickly removed his cowboy hat. “Are you Mrs. Farlow?”

“Yes I am.”

“Well, howdy Mrs. Farlow. It's good to meet you. My name's Wade…Wade Sawyer. I'm here to find…inquire…heck, I'm good with my hands, not with words.”

Ellie smiled. “You're here about the foreman's position?”

Wade nodded his head. “Yes ma'am.”

Ellie found herself smiling again and she invited him inside, where they both took seats in the living room. "So Wade, tell me about yourself?"

"Not much to tell I'm afraid. I'm just a man lookin' to make an honest buck, doin' what I enjoy. I love the land and I love workin' out there on it."

There was something about the man that made Ellie like him almost instantly. His accent suggested that he was born and raised in Texas and his tanned skin and calloused hands let Ellie know that he was no stranger to hard work. But most of all, he was respectful to her. She knew she didn't need to talk to anyone else—Wade Sawyer was the man for the job.

Dallas Memorial Hospital

J.R. stood next to the man in the wheelchair and gazed through the glass at his grandson. He'd learned that T.J. would be released soon and that didn't give him much time—not much time at all. But, if he was ever going to get John Ross back on his side, J.R. knew he had to make sure that T.J. was part of his son's life.

Trevor McSween turned to J.R., but didn't recognize him. “Which one are you here to see?”

“What? Oh…” J.R. looked through the glass. “The third one from the left on the front row. He's a mighty fine looking baby isn't he? Takes after my son…and me too I suppose.”

Trevor's eyes widened when he realized he was talking to J.R. Ewing. “God, I hope not.”

J.R. turned back to him. “Now just what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I'm Trevor McSween. Melissa's father. My brother Harry has told me quite a bit about you…most of it very interesting.”

J.R. grew uneasy as he thought about everything that Harry knew. He just hoped he'd kept the worst of it to himself. A nurse walked out of the room and approached Trevor. “Mr. McSween, I've checked the list and you are authorized to visit the baby. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Trevor smiled. “No problem at all.” He ignored J.R. and wheeled his chair into NICU as the nurse held the door open for him. J.R. tried to follow, but the nurse stopped him. “I'm sorry Mr. Ewing, but you don't have permission to visit the baby. Melissa left specific instructions to keep you out.”

“Like hell I don't have permission. I don't need permission, nobody's gonna tell me when I can and can't see my grandson…especially not Melissa McSween.”

Trevor turned around in his chair. “J.R., I suggest you leave before someone calls security.”

As the nurse shut the door, J.R. was more determined than ever to make sure T.J. went home with John Ross—to Southfork.

Southfork Ranch

Ellie watched in amusement as Bobby and Pam struggled to haul several shopping bags, boxes, and other miscellaneous items into the house. She walked over to the door and held it open to make their task easier. “I thought you said you just had a little shopping to do.”

“You know my wife…this is her definition of a little shopping.”

Pam smiled in amusement, “Oh, and I suppose I'm the one who insisted on the football and the baby baseball outfit!?”

“My son is going to need something to wear. Everything you got for him is frilly and pink!”

Ellie smiled and said, “Well, whichever my new grandchild is, it's obvious he or she is going to be well clothed!”

Bobby stretched across the numerous bags to kiss his wife and then he dropped them all. He decided to leave them there for the moment. “Momma, Pam and I need to talk to you about something.”

“Oh?”

“I've been thinking a lot about what you said this morning and believe me, I had plenty of time to think while we were in the waiting room. You say you want to run Southfork and I think that right now, that just might be the best thing for you. Pam agrees with me about this…”

Pam nodded in affirmation.

“Agrees with you on what?”

“That you should be the owner of Southfork again. I want to transfer ownership back over to you.”

Ellie looked surprised. “Bobby, you don't have to do that. I can handle the ranch without actually owning it. Southfork is yours now.”

"Momma, you only gave it to me when you and Clayton left Dallas for Europe and now you've made it clear that you're back at Southfork to stay.”

“He's right Miss Ellie. It just wouldn't be right for you not to be the owner of Southfork.”

“Bobby…Pam…I don't know what to say.”

Bobby took his mother by the hands. “Just say yes. Nothing would make Pam and me happier.”

Ellie nodded. “Very well then, but only if you're sure it's what you two want.”

As he gathered Pam and Bobby's shopping bags, Raoul the butler listened intently to their conversation.

Southfork Ranch

Pam sat on the floor of the room they intended to turn into another nursery. She was busily sorting the new baby things she and Bobby had bought on their shopping trip. Grace sat next to her happily unfolding everything faster than Pam could fold it.

“No, no, no, Gracie! Stop that! Mommy just folded those.”

Grace looked up at her mommy, shook her own little finger and said, “Na, na, na!” Then she burst into giggles as she grabbed another neatly folded little sleeper. Pam groaned, “What am I going to do with you!” They both laughed as she tickled Grace's tummy.

Lucy had been standing in the open doorway watching them. “What do you know, the Ewing in her is coming out already!”

“Lucy?” Pam got up and gave her niece a hug. “I didn't know you were coming over.”

“Well, it was a last minute kind of thing.” She stepped around Pam and sat in the floor next to Grace. Pam could see that something was bothering Lucy, but she also knew her well enough to know that if she wanted to talk about it, she would; and if she didn't, there would be no getting it out of her. Lucy picked up a rattle lying nearby and handed it to Grace. “She's so cute Pam, and she's grown so much. It's been so long since I've seen her.”

Pam smiled and sat down with them. “I know, too long. Hey, since you're here to occupy her, do you mind if I finish this?” she said, pointing to the now unfolded clothes.

“No, sure.” Lucy said absently. Pam got up to put the things in drawers. Lucy sat staring at Grace; she wondered if she would ever have a baby of her own. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“I think we're going to put the crib over there, and then…” Pam glanced at Lucy and stopped mid sentence. “Lucy?”

“Oh Pam, I just don't know what to do!” Lucy wiped at the tears that were now streaming down her cheeks.

Pam sat next to her. “You could start by telling me what's wrong.” She said gently.

“Well, it's just… it's so complicated. I don't even think I understand it.” Pam put her hand on Lucy's shoulder and encouraged her to go on.

Lucy wiped at her eyes again, and took a deep breath to still the tears. “Neil and I used to be so happy. Then all of the sudden, it seemed like, things just changed. He's edgy and nervous all the time. He's hiding something; I know he is. And when we try to talk we just end up screaming at each other.” She looked up at Pam, “and last night he didn't come home.”

Pam hugged her and then sat back. She said gently, “Do you think there could be some one else?”

Lucy sniffled, “no, I don't think so.” But at the mention of 'some one else' Lucy's own guilt over Todd hit her hard. “But there is something else that makes it worse.” Pam sat quietly waiting for her to continue. Lucy bit her lip. She hadn't told anyone about Todd, but if there was anyone she could tell, it was Pam. “I did something I shouldn't have done.” Pam just nodded, so Lucy continued. “There's this guy and I really like him. He's a good friend and we get along great.” Lucy shook her head, “anyway, a couple of nights ago when Neil was out of town, we got drunk and… well, some things happened that shouldn't have.”

“Did you sleep with him?”

“No. But I feel so guilty; it's almost as bad as if I had slept with him. Oh Pam, what am I going to do?”

Pam sighed. “Lucy, do you love Neil?”

Lucy answered immediately. “Yes, I do. I really do and that's what makes it all so horrible!”

“Then you have to tell him.”

“What?”

“You have to be honest with him. How can you expect him to be honest with you if you're lying to him? Look Lucy, a long time ago something kind of similar happened to me.” Lucy looked up, surprised.

“But you and Uncle Bobby have always seemed so happy together.”

Pam smiled, “Except when we were divorced.”

“I'm sorry Pam, I didn't mean…”

Pam patted her on the back, “No Lucy, that 's okay. But your right, we are happy most of the time, but that doesn't mean we've never had problems, it just means that we love each other enough to work them out. Now you and Neil need to decide if you love each other that much too.”

Lucy nodded, she felt better. Pam was right; she had to talk to Neil. As she got up to go Pam said, “One last piece of advice, whoever the other guy is, stay away from him. If you want to fix your marriage, he's dangerous.” Lucy nodded and left. She had a lot to think about.

Dallas Jail, The next day

Cally breathed in the fresh Dallas air and smiled. She was free! Miss Ellie had called the police and all charges against Cally had been dropped. The police were surprised--Cally was surprised. She had tried to remain still and listen intently to their explanation after they told her that she was being released, but it was hard.

Apparently, another party had shot Clayton, but they would not say whom. The dead body that had been found at Southfork—Cally couldn't remember the name for the life of her--was there for some unknown reason, but had Cliff's gun. The police had evidence connecting the man to Cliff's house. The police theorized that at some point, the person that killed Clayton killed the other man with their gun, then used Cliff's gun to shoot Clayton before throwing it in the woods. It was all in an effort to divert suspicion.

Cally was shaken by the fact that Clayton was the intended target, at least of something. She knew she should be feeling badly for Claytons family, but right now, all she could feel was relief. She was free. She would deal with explaining to Justin what happened later. But she had to tell him, because if she didn't, eventually he would find out, from school friends or whoever. But for right now, she just wanted to run and smile, and she did just let, letting her troubles float away, if only for a short time.

Lucy and Neil's

Neil came in in a huff, and hung over. Lucy was waiting for him at the kitchen table, her arms crossed. “Where the hell have you been?”

“I had to work late at the office. I fell asleep on my couch.”

“Bull,” Lucy shot back.

“I really don't care if you believe me. That's where I was.” Neil started to remove his tie and walk towards the door.

“Neil, wait,” Lucy said, her tone significantly less hostile. “What is going on? Please tell me.”

“Nothing is wrong. Now can I please take a shower?”

“Are you being completely honest with me?” Lucy pleaded. Neil couldn't stand to look in her eyes. He was lying. But he couldn't tell her. It would crush her. “Yes.”

Lucy's mind split in a million different directions. She demanded to know what Neil was hiding from her, because she knew he was hiding something. It was killing her. But was he scared? She needed to know. But another part of her felt tremendous guilt. She wanted honesty, yet she wasn't being honest with him. Could she really expect him to be completely upfront with her if she didn't even display that with him?

“I kissed Todd,” she said. She couldn't believe that she had blurted it out.

Neil was blown away. “What?”

“It was after I had received the call. I was scared, and I was pissed. Todd lent me an ear.”

“And he kissed you!” Neil's face had turned a hateful shade of red.

“We both kissed. We were drunk.”

“I can't believe this. You accuse me of being dishonest!”

“I told you because I wanted to be honest with you. It was nothing.”

“It was a kiss.”

“A kiss that meant nothing.” Lucy fibbed a little. She liked Todd, but Neil was the most important thing to her.

“I don't care! You still lied to me, and you still kissed him even though you denied that there was anything going on between you two!”

“There never was anything, until I got upset because of that phone call—“

“Which was nothing,” Neil cut her off.

“Which was something, because you insist on lying to me and not telling me what's wrong. And I know there's something wrong!”

“Even if there was, you think I'm going to tell you now? Might upset you and you'll have to go run and sleep with Todd.”

“I can't believe you.”

“No, I can't believe you!” Neil threw back at her.

“It was a mistake, and it meant nothing. I love you. That's why I'm so concerned.”

“I don't want to talk about this. End of discussion.” Neil stormed away.

“Neil…” Lucy ran after him, but it was too late. She heard the bathroom door shut a minute later and the shower water start to run. Lucy resigned herself to the kitchen table and began to cry. A moment later, the phone rang. She picked it up as she wiped away her tears.

“Hello?” She sniffled.

“Lucy?” It was Afton.

“Afton?” Lucy had to admit, she was shocked. This was the last person she expected to hear from. But she wasn't in the mood to speak to anyone, least of all Afton.

“What do you want?” Her old resentment was kicking in.

“God, calm down. I want to meet you. For dinner—my treat.”

“I'd rather stuff my face with tender vittles. No.”

“It's about Neil.”

Lucy was silent for a moment. “What is this all about?”

“Neil. I saw him last night. He was…I don't want to get into it. Not over the phone.”

“Afton, what?”

“I told you, not over the phone. Meet me for dinner tomorrow night.”

“Like hell. Tell me now.”

“Do I have to resort to blackmail? Meet me for dinner tomorrow night. The Oil Baron's Club, let's say around eight or so.”

“I'm not meeting you for dinner.”

“Are we ever going to make peace?” Afton said, trying to act as sincere as possible.

“I don't see why we should.”

“Lucy, just humor me, alright? If you don't like what you hear, you can leave.”

At this point, Lucy wasn't taking her seriously or even really listening. She might show up if she felt like it. She doubted Afton had anything to say about Neil---had they ever really met, she tried to think---so she just shrugged it off. She told Afton she would try to make it, but only planned on doing so if she had nothing better to do. As usual, Afton was trying to cause trouble, and Lucy was not about to listen.

Dallas Courthouse

Karen sat at the defense table waiting for the trial to resume. It seemed like that was all she did now… wait. But today was worse. She hadn't slept all night and she couldn't stop crying – but she knew she had too. She had to be strong when she saw Austin. Every time she thought about her little boy up there on the witness stand with that prosecutor asking him questions she felt nauseous. She had to keep reminding herself that she had done the right thing. She had had no choice, her son was being hurt! But now she wondered if he was going to be hurt again – emotionally – and this time it would be her fault. Tears were threatening to fall again and she shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

In a few moments she opened them and scanned the courtroom again for Christopher. Why wasn't he here!? Of all the days for him to be late! Just before the bailiff called the courtroom to order, she saw him come through the door and head for his usual seat just behind her.

He sat and leaned forward, “Sorry I'm late.”

Karen didn't turn around, “Christopher, you picked an awful day to be late, I wanted to talk to you before this began.”

Christopher was irritated by her response. He had been here for her everyday for weeks! And he was doing his best trying to take care of Austin without her. In fact, he had been late because he wanted to stay with Austin as long as he could. They had had to tell him to leave. And now she had an attitude! He started to respond, but thought better of it. He knew she was under tremendous stress and was scared for Austin, but then so was he. Of course the difference was that he wasn't the one in jail. He leaned forward again and simply whispered, “Karen, I love you.”

Karen wanted to turn around and tell him she was sorry and that she loved him too, but the bailiff told them all to rise. Judge Moore was taking the bench.

Judge Moore was more annoyed than usual with the press today. They were everywhere. He supposed it was because the little boy was testifying today and it disgusted him. The press was all too willing to show some one else's pain. He wasted no time getting started. “Mr. Marshall, call your first witness.”

Clark Marshall stood. “Your Honor, the prosecution calls Austin Anders to the stand.”

There was a hush in the courtroom as Austin entered, escorted by one of the court clerks. He was dressed in a new suit that Pam had bought for him and he had a curious look on his face. His eyes scanned the courtroom until he found what he was looking for. “Mommy!!” Before the clerk could catch him, the five year old was off running across the room, headed straight for Karen.

It was all Karen could do to stay in her seat. She waited for him to reach her and she hugged him tight. Austin said, “I miss you.” Karen was about to reply when the clerk reached down and took Austin by the hand.

Adam sneaked a look at the jury, all were looking at the scene before them with compassion, even juror number five.

The clerk said, “Come on now, Austin, you know you're here to do an important job. You have to go now.”

Austin looked up at her. “Can I come back?”

The lady-clerk smiled sweetly, “we'll see.”

Karen was angry with the woman for lying to him, she knew they wouldn't let him come back to see her. “Austin, I want you to go with the lady. I'll be sitting right here.”

Austin reluctantly let go of Karen and walked with the clerk to the witness stand.

Adam had to suppress a smile; whatever a jury saw always had more of an impact on them than what they heard. Adam knew now that as the jury listened to whatever Austin had to say, they would be replaying what they had just seen in their heads. That little scene couldn't have gone better if he had planned it himself.

Rex Wentworth's Penthouse

“I want you to look into J.R. Ewing,” Rex told Gregor. “I want to know everything about the man--specifically his financial interests. Every last detail.”

“When do you need this by?” Gregor asked.

“I need it now, but do a thorough job, and get me the information by the end of the week.” He hung up the phone.

If Todd Foster wouldn't help him, he'd ensure J.R. Ewing paid by himself.

Dallas Courthouse

Austin was sworn in and sat down in the big chair. He sat up on his knees and leaned forward into the microphone, “Testing 1, 2, 3, testing, 1, 2, 3…” The courtroom erupted in laughter and even Judge Moore joined in. The clerk quickly ran over to put a phone book in the seat for Austin to sit on and ask him not to play with the microphone.

Karen truly smiled for the first time in weeks. Austin looked to be taking everything in stride.

But the playtime ended when Mr. Marshall stood and spoke to Austin. “Hello there, do you remember me?”

Austin said, “Yeah, you're the man I talked to out in the hall.”

“That's right and my name is Mr. Marshall. Would you please tell all of these people in the courtroom your name?”

“Austin.”

“Austin. That's a nice name, do you know your last name?”

Austin rolled his eyes, “Of course, I'm not a baby, you know. Anders.”

Clark smiled and hoped it looked sincere.

“I'm sorry Austin, of course you're a big boy. And I'll bet you even know the difference between the truth and a lie, don't you?”

“Sure.” Austin was beginning not to like this man; he was still talking to him like he was only 4 instead of 5!

“Great! Can you tell me something that would be the truth?”

Austin thought for a moment. “My suit is blue.”

“Right. That's good, that's true. Now, can you tell me something that would be a lie?”

Austin smiled, “You have a lot of hair.”

Clark instinctively touched the bald spot on the top of his head as the courtroom burst into laughter again.

Clark gritted his teeth. “Fine, that's good Austin. Now do you know what an oath is?”

Austin looked confused now. “Is that like, a really big clumsy person?” More laughter.

“No, an oath is a promise. As we talk here, I want you to remember that you just made a promise that you would tell the truth.”

Austin shrugged “Okay. Everyone knows you shouldn't lie anyway.”

“Austin, do you know Karen Ewing and Eric Stone?”

“Yeah, of course I do she's…” Clark was careful to cut him off before he could finish the sentence.

“Why don't you tell me how you met them, the very first time you ever saw them.”

“Hmmm, I was in my bedroom in my old house. They came to look at it.”

“At the house?”

“I guess, when I saw them they were looking at my room. It was really messy. I was watching TV”

“Did you talk to either of them then?”

“I think I said 'hi'.”

“Do you know why they were at your house?”

“My old house, I don't live there anymore… I think Jan said they were looking at it to buy.”

“Jan? Who is that?”

“Oh, that was my old mommy. She went away. Karen's my mommy now.”

Clark was getting frustrated, this kid's answers were all over the place; he tried to refocus Austin. “Okay, so your mommy told you that Karen and Eric were there to look at the house, is that right?”

Stan passed Adam a note that said, “Object to that, he's leading the witness.” Adam wrote back, “Relax Stan.” Adam knew better than to constantly object when a little kid was on the stand. You only objected in these cases when it was absolutely necessary.

“Yes, I think so.”

“And after that, when did you see Karen and Eric again?”

“Well, I saw Karen when she came back to my house. My mommy was gone and I was there by myself. I wasn't supposed to open the door, but I remembered her and I was scared to be alone.”

“Okay, so you let Karen in the house. What happened then?”

“Then I showed her my cars.”

“Did you go anywhere with her?”

“Oh, yeah, we went in her car.”

“Did Karen tell you why you had to go with her?”

“Yeah.”

“What did she say?”

“She said that she was a friend of my old mommy – Jan. And that Jan had gone to Florida and told her to come and bring me to Florida too.”

“So you went with Karen?”

“Yeah.”

“Where did you go?”

“I don't know.”

Clark sighed, a dead end. “Alright Austin, now you're doing just fine. Tell me the next thing you remember.”

“I got to hide under a blanket in the car and we played cops and robbers.”

“How do you play that?”

Austin rolled his eyes again, didn't this guy know anything?“Well, you have to be sure that the cops don't catch you.”

“Okay, so you were in the car playing 'cops and robbers.' What did you do next?”

Austin thought for a minute. Then he sat up straight and said with pride, “We pushed a car over a BIG cliff!”

“Wow, why did you do that?”

“I don't know, but it was fun!”

“When the car was gone, what did you do?”

“We went 'exploring' in the woods and we found a cabin to stay in.”

“What did you do next?”

Austin had to stop and think, “Eric left and we had to go find him.”

“And did you find him?”

“Oh yeah. We did.”

“What happened when you found him?”

Austin just looked confused.

Clark tried again, “What was Eric doing when you found him?”

“We were still playing 'cops and robbers'. Eric lost.”

“Why do you say he lost?”

“Because a police caught him.”

“What happened then?”

Austin fidgeted in his seat. He didn't want to answer this question. He had been hit enough times to know that it wasn't good. He didn't want to get his new-mommy in trouble, then they might not let her come home.

At the defense table Karen cringed. She could see Austin's dilemma, but she didn't want him to lie.

“Austin, What happened after you found Eric?” Clark continued to ask the question.

Austin looked around the room, finally his eyes met Karen's and with the slightest nod that would have been almost imperceptible to anyone else in the courtroom, she told him to tell.

“Well, the police had handcuffs on Eric and it looked like they hurt. Mommy helped him get them off.”

“And how did she do that.”

“With a key from the police's pocket.”

“What happened to the po.. the officer?”

“He fell down.”

Clark was getting irritated; this kid was smarter than he had given him credit for. “Why did he fall?”

Austin paused; he didn't see a way out of this one. “He got hit on the head with a rock.”

Finally, thought Clark. “And did you see who hit him with the rock?”

“Yeah, Mommy did it.”

“After that where did you go?”

“We stayed at some hotel. I got to go and play in a park though!”

“Why did you leave the hotel?”

“So we wouldn't lose the game.”

“Cops and Robbers again? So are you saying that the police found you?”

“Yeah, but we sneaked out the back door and went to a big barn. It had animals in it, but it was dark.”

“What happened to the barn?”

Austin looked down at the floor, “It accidentally caught on fire.” Much to Austin's relief, Clark didn't ask how it caught fire.

“Then where did you go?”

“We came here.”

“Austin, what color was your mo.., I mean, Karen's hair when she took you from your old-house?”

“I think it was yellow.”

“Okay, so it was blond. What color was it when you came back to Dallas?”

He looked at Karen; her hair was sort of reddish. “Just like it is now.”

“Did she tell you why she changed the color?”

“No.”

“One more question, did Karen and Eric ever take you to your mother like they said they would?”

“No – But…”

Clark interrupted him; “The State has no more questions for this witness, Your Honor.”

Karen breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as Mr. Marshall turned around to walk back to the prosecution table, Austin smiled and waved at Karen and Chris. Karen smiled at him and from behind her Christopher smiled and waved. Then Austin looked over at Eric. Eric was lost in his own thoughts so Austin waved and yelled, “Hi Eric!”

Eric smiled and nodded at him. Eric liked Austin, but the kid looked like he was doing okay. He was more worried about Karen. She had hardly looked at him since the trial had begun. He hoped that was because her attorney advised her not to appear too friendly with him because of the conspiracy charges.

When they had been together hiding out, he thought they had grown really close. It had felt like it was the two of them against the world; and in a way that had been true. He hoped she hadn't forgotten. Sitting there at the defense table day after day and seeing Karen and Chris walk in together, or see him come in and kiss her was sometimes unbearable. He couldn't really tell, but he thought it looked like they had grown closer. Eric knew that Karen loved Chris, but he had secretly hoped that when they came back Chris would be so angry with her that he would end their marriage. But that hadn't happened – yet. Today when Chris came in, Karen looked angry. That gave Eric a little hope. Maybe Christopher was just staying with her until the trial was over. Eric was sure of one thing, when this mess was all over if Karen needed a place to go and a shoulder to cry on, he planned to be ready.

Southfork Ranch

The phone rang before Ellie got back inside the house. She closed the door and walked over to it, where she answered.

“Hello?”

A voice, thick with a Spanish accent came across the lines, speaking in broken English. “Si, I need…to speak…to Theresa.”

Ellie immediately thought back to the day before when Theresa had received another phone call that she'd sworn had been from telemarketers. Afterwards, she'd acted very cryptic and agitated. Theresa quickly appeared in the living room and sprinted over to the phone, taking it from Ellie.

“Yes…no…I told you that was not possible…it would never work…I'm sorry…adios.” Theresa hung up the phone and began to walk away from Ellie, but Ellie stopped her.

“Ok Theresa. This has gone on long enough. Tell me who that was on the phone and why are you so upset? And this time you are not going to lie to me.”

“It was nothing Miss Ellie.”

“I know better. That's the same woman that called you yesterday, isn't it?”

Theresa reluctantly nodded.

“Who is she?”

“My sister, Ramona.”

“Ah, I didn't know you had a sister. You've never spoken much about your family, other than your parents. What did she say to upset you?”

“It is her daughter—my niece. She is in trouble again in Mexico and this time she has gotten herself involved with a very bad group of people and Ramona fears for her life if she stays there.”

“That's terrible…how old is she?”

“She is seventeen.”

“I see. Well, what were you saying about 'it wasn't possible' and 'it would never work'? What was that about? What isn't possible?”

“Oh Miss Ellie, forgive me for asking this, but Ramona begged me to ask you.”

Ellie was confused. “Ask me what?”

“If you have a vacant position at Southfork. Do we have room for another maid?”

“You mean your sister wants her daughter to come work at Southfork?”

Theresa quickly nodded her head. “I would understand if that was not possible. Isabel can be a very troublesome girl, but Ramona thinks that once she gets away from her friends in Mexico, that she will settle down.”

In all honesty, Ellie realized deep inside that she might be making a mistake. A troublemaker at Southfork was the last thing everyone needed. But they were only talking about a teenage girl. How much trouble could she be? After making it through Lucy's teen years, she figured she could handle anything this girl could do. But what really helped her decide was Theresa, she had always been loyal to the Ewings and had been with them for so long she was almost one of the family. Yet she had never asked a favor before. Ellie knew this must be very important to her. “Theresa, you know we can always use another hand here at Southfork…especially now that we have so many people living here.”

“Oh Miss Ellie! Gracias! Muchos Gracias!” Theresa hugged Miss Ellie tightly and quickly ran over to the phone to call back her sister to share the good news.

Cliff's House

“Good God Jamie, I still can't believe what you did to Afton.”

“Believe me. She got everything she deserved and more. It never fails that every time I get around her, she does something to provoke me.” Jamie dropped Cliff's plate in front of him and took a seat opposite the table from him. “Thanks for coming home for lunch.”

“Yeah, well, we were having a slow day at the office. I think I'm gonna cut our lunch short though.”

Jamie's face fell and she tried to hide her disappointment. “Why?”

“I wanna stop by the courthouse to see my son and be there for him during the trial today.”

“Your son?”

“Yeah, Eric.”

“Oh! I'd forgotten, I'm sorry.”

“Well, soon you won't have to worry about forgetting, 'cause Eric will be coming home for good…once the jury realizes he's innocent.”

“Is the situation with Eric what's bothering you Cliff?”

Cliff turned to her. “What do you mean? Nothing's bothering me.”

“Yes. Something is…I can tell and I honestly don't think it's your son.”

“I'm fine, really.” Cliff hated to lie, but there was no use in alarming her right now. Besides, how could he admit to her that he still carried a torch for Afton? How could he tell her that the spark he'd felt for Jamie when he'd found her in Mexico, was now almost gone?

Dallas Courthouse

Judge Moore looked up at Adam, “Your witness Mr. Demerest.”

Adam patted Karen's hand in reassurance and then stood. He smiled at Austin. “Hello Austin.”

“Hi.”

“My name is Mr. Demerest. Before we get started, I want to know what you want to call Karen so that we don't get confused.”

“She's my mommy. That's what I want to call her.”

“Okay, and what do you want to call Jan Anders?”

Austin thought for a moment. He put his finger on his chin… “Hmmm, I think I'll call her Jan.” Austin smiled at Adam. He liked this man; he was letting him make his own decisions!

“Okay, that's fine with me. Now Austin, just before I walked up here, Mr. Marshall over there asked you a question and you didn't get to finish your answer. I'd like to hear what you wanted to say. Do you remember the question?”

At the prosecutor's table, Mr. Marshall sprung to his feet. “Objection! Your Honor.”

Judge Moore looked up, surprised, “On what grounds counselor?”

“It's irrelevant.”

Adam protested. “That's ridiculous, all I'm doing is letting him answer the question that Mr. Marshall asked!”

“Mr. Marshall, I'm afraid you did open the door on this one. Over ruled.” He looked down at Austin, “You may answer the question.”

“Yeah, he asked me if Karen and Eric ever took me to see Jan.”

“And what was it that you wanted to say about that?”

“I didn't want to go see her.”

“Did you tell Karen that?”

“Yeah, I told her that I didn't want to go back to see Jan because she didn't love me.”

“And why do you think that, Austin?

Austin's voice got very small, “Because she hurt me, she hit me. A lot.” A gasp was heard throughout the courtroom. Adam knew it was time to back off of that subject for a few minutes.

Austin, you said that the first day you met Karen, that she came back to your house later that night… was Eric with her when she came back?”

“No.”

“And you said that you were alone in the house?”

“Yes.”

“Was it dark outside?”

“Yeah.”

“Where did Jan say she was going?”

“She said she was going to the store, I wanted to go too, but she said I was too much trouble at the store.”

“How old are you Austin?”

“Five.” Adam walked back to the table to get a sip of water and let that information sink in with the jury. In a moment he turned back to Austin.

“When your mommy, Karen, came to the house, what did you talk about?”

“Well, she asked me about my toys and school – I'm in Kindergarten! And we talked about Jan.”

“What did you say about Jan?”

“I told her that Jan left me alone a lot.”

“Alright, so your mommy, Karen, took you with her. Did you want to go with her?”

“Yeah.”

“But you just said a few minutes ago that you didn't want to go back to Jan, why did you go with your mommy, Karen, when she said she was going to take you to her?”

Austin paused and wrinkled his brow. It was a good question. He answered it honestly. “I don't know, I didn't have any other family. I thought Jan was the only person there was to take care of me. Besides, I didn't want to stay in that big old house by myself forever. And… I did love her, Jan, I mean.”

“How did you meet Eric?”

“Well, I hid in mommy's car under a blanket and I guess I fell asleep. When I woke up I heard mommy talking to some one and I sat up and met Eric! I like Eric, he's funny.”

“Okay Austin, that's fine. How did you find out that Karen was your biological mommy?”

“What?”

“Biological… the mother who gave birth to you.” He could tell Austin still didn't understand, “Your real mother.”

“Oh, okay. I was sad and I told Karen that I wished that I knew who my real mommy was.”

“Why did you wish that?”

“Because Jan didn't love me and I thought maybe if I could find my real mommy, she would love me.”

“And did you tell your mommy, Karen, that?”

“Yeah. I told her that I knew that Jan didn't love me because she told me she didn't, and she hit me. That's when Mommy told me that my real mommy did love me very much and that she wanted me, and she knew because she was my real mommy!”

“How did you feel when she told you that?”

Austin smiled big. “Happy!”

Adam couldn't help smiling too. “Austin, when you and your mommy found Eric in the woods with the police man, was Eric hurt?”

“Yeah, his arm looked bad. I was scared. But Mommy doctored it and it got better.”

“Why do you think that your mommy hit the officer?”

“So that Eric could be fixed. She was really sad that she hurt the police, she cried.”

“Okay, Austin, you said that you were playing 'cops and robbers'. Do you know why you were running away from the police?”

“I think they wanted to take me away from my Mommy and Eric.”

“And did you want that to happen?”

Austin shook his head forcefully. “No!! I wanted to stay with my Mommy.”

“Austin, where are you living right now?”

Mr. Marshall jumped up, “Your Honor, I object, that is irrelevant.”

Adam quickly replied, “Your Honor, Mr. Marshall opened the door to this question when he asked the witness extensive questions about his 'old house' where he used to live.”

“I'm not sure about the relevancy here, but I will give you some latitude as I don't see anything prejudicial – yet. But I get to your point quickly Mr. Demerest.”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Austin, where do you live now?”

“I live at Southfork with Christopher. It's really cool! I get to ride horses and swim in a big pool and I have a lot of neat toys.”

“Who is Christopher?”

“Oh, he's married to my Mommy. I hope we can all live there together someday – and Eric too.” There was laughter in the courtroom again. But Eric didn't laugh, and neither did Christopher.

“Austin, while you were on your 'adventure' with your Mommy and Eric, did she take good care of you? I mean, did she feed you, keep you safe, you know, all those things?”

“Oh yeah. She promised me she would always take care of me.”

“Austin, I only have a couple more questions, when you were living with Jan, if you could only use one word to describe how you felt, what would it be?”

Austin sat in silence. He looked down at the floor. “It's okay Austin, take as long as you need to think about it.” Adam hated asking this question, but it was important and, unfortunately, necessary.

Before Austin looked up, he wiped a tear from his eyes. But when he sat up, he looked straight at Adam. “Scared.” Was the only word he said.

Adam gently asked, “And when you were with your Mommy, Karen, what word would you use to describe how you felt then?”

Austin had no trouble answering that question, he immediately said, “Safe.” There was complete silence in the courtroom and Adam Demerest said very quietly, “Thank you Austin,” and then to the Judge, “I have no further questions, Your Honor.”

Judge Moore looked down at Austin, “Thank you young man, you may step down now.”

Austin started to get up but then he plopped back down. “Your Majesty?”

It took the Judge a minute to realize Austin was speaking to him. He looked at Austin in amusement, “You can just call me Judge Moore, although I like Your Majesty too!”

Austin swallowed, he had done so well during his testimony, but now the tears started slowly streaming down his cheeks. “Judge, please let me have my Mommy back. I really miss her. She needs me.” Austin sniffled. The clerk was quickly making her way to Austin to try and prevent the jury from hearing anything else like that. She finally got to him and started to take him away. Judge Moore stopped her.

“You are quite an extraordinary little boy Austin. You did a good job here today. I think that I can promise you that whatever happens, your Mommy will always love you and will always be in your life.” Judge Moore knew he wasn't really answering Austin's question. He felt awful; this little boy deserved more. But he couldn't say anything else without running the risk of prejudicing the jury. He nodded to the clerk who took him firmly by the hand and led him out of the courtroom.

As Austin was led past Karen he said, “Bye Mommy, I love you, please come home soon.” Karen just nodded her head. She just barely managed to contain her tears until Austin was out of sight, then she broke down. She didn't care what anyone thought; she buried her head in her arms on the table and sobbed. Every eye in the jury box was glued to her.

Adam Demerest stood, “Your Honor, on behalf of my client, I would ask that we recess for the day.” Judge Moore saw the wisdom in that and nodded his head in agreement.

“Court Adjourned.”

Karen continued to cry, Christopher rubbed her back from behind, wanting to do more to console her, but at the same time knowing there was nothing he could do. Austin had been right; she needed him.

Southfork Ranch

Sue Ellen sat on the couch and sipped her water. She couldn't stop thinking about what Miss Ellie had told them, about what truly happened to Clayton. It made her nauseated as much as it pained her. Clayton didn't deserve that fate. It made her sick to think about, but she couldn't seem to think about anything else. She felt so powerless.

Jack came down and sat next to her. “What do you say we grab some dinner? In town?”

“Sounds good,” Sue Ellen smiled and patted him on the knee. Things were good between them. She was beginning to let down the guard that she had built up with him. He gave her a kiss on the lips, to which she responded.

“Well, I see you two are properly mourning,” J.R. said as he walked into the living room.

Jack and Sue Ellen pulled away from their kiss. “Go away” was all Sue Ellen said, and ignored her ex-husband.

“I thought you had left this loser, honey. What'd you do? Start drinking again?”

“Can I punch him?” Jack asked of Sue Ellen.

“I would beg you too, but he'll just fall down and break the furniture. Not worth it.” They were both completely ignoring J.R.

He could see that it wasn't worth pursuing anything. “Just don't say I didn't warn you, Sue Ellen. You struck out before, and you sure as hell aren't going to hit a homer this time.” He put the Stetson that he was holding on his head. “Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go pick Justin up from the airport.”

“Please, go.” Sue Ellen motioned for him to leave.

J.R. left for the office, while Jack and Sue Ellen resumed their kissing.

Cliff's Guesthouse

“Mama!” Justin ran and gave his mother a hug. Cally squeezed her son with all her might. It felt so good to have him home.

“How are you?” She asked, pulling away from him and holding his shoulders at arm's length away from her.

“Awesome! Dad and I stopped at the mall on the way back and I got this great video game. You gotta see it!”

“Well go set it up. I'll be in in just a minute. I want to talk to your father.”

Justin ran into the other room, and Cally turned her attention to J.R., who was standing in the doorway. “I figured he deserved a present.”

Cally's face was emotionless. “Thank you for bringing him back from the airport.” She grabbed the door and started to make the motion to close it. J.R. put his foot in the door to stop her. “Leave,” she ordered.

“I don't want Justin to know anymore than he needs to about what happened.”

“Do you think I'm about to tell him? Do you know how much that would upset him?”

“I don't know, woman. You're certainly crazy.”

“Not as crazy as you, J.R. Not as evil either.”

“Just make sure my boy doesn't find anything out.” J.R. turned around and waked away. Cally wanted to slap him.

She walked into Justin's room and sat down on his bed. They talked for twenty minutes, recounting the trip and his adventures with his older brother James. “Oh, and Mom, I found out the coolest thing!”

“What's that?”

“There's this program where kids my age can do this thing where you go to school on a ship and it goes around the world!”

“Wow. How did you hear about that?”

“The people that live next door to James. They have a boy that's my age, and he told me.”

“Well, that sounds like a mighty fun thing.”

“I know. I signed up!”

Cally's eyes widened. “What?”

“All I had to do was answer some questions and write an essay. James helped me.”

“Oh my Gosh. I'm really proud of you Justin.” Cally didn't expect anything to come of this. Her son was constantly moving from one whim to another.

“Thanks.” He turned his attention back to the game.

Cally just smiled. It felt good to be free.

Ewing Oil

J.R. sat hunched over his desk, wracking his brain for an idea to help John Ross, but all of his leads went dry and he kept coming back to one idea that he hoped he wouldn't have to resort to—though he knew he would if it came down to it. His confrontation with Trevor earlier had just left him angrier…and more determined to get what he and John Ross wanted.

Sly's voice crackled over the intercom. “J.R., Iris Wentworth is here to see you.”

Iris. J.R. hadn't heard from her in quite a while. “Send her in.”

Seconds later, Iris walked in and J.R. greeted her. “Hello Iris, it's good to see you again.”

Iris strode across the room and took a seat on J.R.'s desk, crossing her legs. “Is it?”

“What do you mean? Of course I'm glad to see you.”

“Well then…if that's the case, why haven't I heard from you in what? Two weeks now?”

“You know me. I'm always busy with something.”

“Right. And the J.R. I knew always found time to be with the woman he cares for. I thought you'd call or something, once you heard about the divorce.”

“To tell you the truth, I wanted to, but I thought I'd wait until that crackpot ex-husband of yours cooled down. That man's off his rocker.”

“Afton Cooper is living with him now, or so I've heard. He's moved on and it's time I did too.” Iris leaned forward and caressed J.R.'s cheek before moving to his ear and whispering, “and it's time you moved on too. We need each other.”

“You got that right. I need you…and want you.”

Iris pulled away. “Good. Then I want a commitment. Either we're together or we're not. I'm sick of not knowing.”

“Relax Iris. You know you're the woman I want to be with. Now that Rex is out of the way, we can both move on and be together, like we've wanted to since we met in Europe years ago.” Even as J.R. spoke the words, he wasn't sure if he was saying what he wanted to say…or only telling Iris what she wanted to hear.

Rex Wentworth's Penthouse

Rex was gathering some documents for his meeting. He looked at his watch. He needed to hurry, or he would be late---punctuality was something he prided himself on. Afton standing in the doorway, in what was obviously an attempt at a seductive pose, was not a welcome sight.

“Rex?” She asked innocently.

“Yes?”

“Can I ask you a favor?”

“What?” He was a little bit short with her.

“I feel horrible asking this….”

“Afton, please, I'm late for a meeting.”

“Can I borrow some money?”

Rex wanted to roll his eyes. This was not the first time that she had asked for money since moving in. A hundred dollars here and there was nothing, and still remained nothing. It was her constant badgering that was getting on his nerves. “Fine.”

Rex pulled out a hundred dollars and handed it to her. Afton looked at the bill for a moment, moving it between her fingers. “Is it possible to get a little more?”

Rex handed her another hundred. The look in her eyes was one of obvious dissatisfaction, masked behind false gratitude. “How much more?” Rex asked impatiently.

“Two thousand,” Afton responded.

“What?”

“I saw this gorgeous Versace dress. We're doing a big show in a few weeks that's all about the fashion scene in Dallas. Rex, it would be so perfect. We could shoot promos in the dress---it would get attention and boost ratings.”

“So have the show buy it! Or better yet, you buy it. They pay you down there.”

“My financial situation is a little bit gray because of this whole mess with Cliff. And the show….forget it. They complain about having to pay for coffee.”

“I don't have time to discuss this now,” Rex said snapping his briefcase shut. He headed for the door. Afton followed him.

“I'm seeing Pamela Rebecca today. I'm going over to the house. I'll probably see Cliff.”

“Wonderful,” Rex said unenthusiastically.

“I'm sure that Pamela Rebecca can tell me some things that have been going on there. I can even do some snooping around. I know where Cliff keeps all his files.”

Rex stopped in the doorway. “Business files?”

“Yes. All kinds of stuff. He's such a packrat, he doesn't throw anything away.”

“Good. Look into that.”

“I could really use that dress,” Afton bounced back, smiling.

Rex knew the game she was playing. She didn't need to say anything else. “Call my secretary and get the company credit card. Charge it to that.” He turned away from Afton, missing her triumphant smile. Quickly, he turned back around. Her expression turned grateful again. “And Afton. I expect results. You better have some valuable information for me very soon, or this arrangement that we've set up might just end.”

Rex Wentworth turned around and headed toward the elevator. He'd amuse Afton for now. He could see that she was a woman that needed incentive to get things done for other people---fine. He wanted Cliff Barnes to go down, and she presented a realistic and potentially damaging way to do that. He'd continued to placate her as long as she provided him with information. If not, then Rex would have to deal with her as well.

Credits Roll