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<blockquote data-quote="CeeCee72" data-source="post: 215596" data-attributes="member: 5055">I don&#039;t own any of the characters in this story and no copyright infringement is intended.This is a &quot;What if?&quot; fanfic. What if in the season eleven episode &quot;Top Gun&quot; Sue Ellen had changed her mind at the last possible moment and instead of teaming up with Kimberly and Wendell to beat JR she voted her Weststar shares to make him CEO?***What IfPart 27***&quot;You shouldn&#039;t be here, young lady,&quot; Clayton growled.Mandy raised her chin and looked him squarely in the eye. &quot;JR would want me here.&quot;&quot;They hell he would,&quot; Ray snapped. &quot;I don&#039;t care if you believe me or not,&quot; Mandy said defiantly. &quot;JR loves me and would want to see me. I&#039;m not leaving.&quot;&quot;We&#039;ll just see about that,&quot; Ray threatened, &quot;I&#039;ll throw you out of here on that pretty little behind of yours myself.&quot;&quot;Ray.&quot;All eyes turned to Sue Ellen, who had spoken up for the first time. &quot;It&#039;s fine. If she wants to stay, let her stay. JR is a grown man. He can decide for himself whether or not he wants to see her.&quot;&quot;Sue Ellen…&quot; Ray started to protest.&quot;I mean it Ray,&quot; Sue Ellen said firmly. &quot;Let&#039;s not make a scene. Leave her alone.&quot;&quot;Fine,&quot; Ray grumbled, &quot;whatever you say.&quot;&quot;Come on, Clayton,&quot; Miss Ellie sighed. &quot;Let&#039;s go get that food and make those calls. Maybe Lucy will be ready for visitors when we get back.&quot;&quot;I&#039;ll stay with Sue Ellen,&quot; Ray volunteered.Miss Ellie nodded and took Clayton&#039;s arm and let him lead her down the hall.Ray turned his attention back to Mandy. &quot;Go wait somewhere else. I can&#039;t stand the sight of you and I won&#039;t have you upsetting my sister-in-law.&quot;&quot;Fine,&quot; Mandy replied. &quot;You just make sure JR knows I&#039;m here.&quot;&quot;Don&#039;t worry, Mandy,&quot; Sue Ellen said softly. &quot;I&#039;ll tell him as soon as I see him. You have my word.&quot;Mandy nodded silently and walked down the corridor to a separate waiting area.&quot;You okay?&quot; Ray asked, sitting down beside Sue Ellen and taking her hand in his.&quot;Yes,&quot; Sue Ellen answered. &quot;JR is going to be alright. That&#039;s really the only thing I care about.&quot;&quot;You should have let me throw her out.&quot;&quot;No, Ray. That&#039;s JR&#039;s decision. He has to make it for himself.&quot;***&quot;That was Mama,&quot; Bobby told April, hanging up the phone on the kitchen wall. &quot;JR is going to be fine.&quot;&quot;Oh, that&#039;s wonderful news!&quot; April gushed. &quot;I know Sue Ellen must be so happy and relieved!&quot;&quot;I doubt that. Mandy Winger showed up at the hospital declaring her love for JR and refusing to leave.&quot;&quot;Mandy Winger?&quot;&quot;One of JR&#039;s old girlfriends. Ray was going to throw her out but Sue Ellen insisted she stay.&quot;&quot;Really?&quot; April asked, surprised.&quot;Yes, I don&#039;t understand it.&quot;&quot;Well, I&#039;m sure Sue Ellen knows what she&#039;s doing,&quot; April shrugged. &quot;I hope so,&quot; Bobby sighed. &quot;I swear, if JR could just keep his pants zipped up and stay away from husband stealing floozies...&quot;April put down her coffee cup and stared at the counter.&quot;I&#039;m sorry, April. I didn&#039;t mean you.&quot;&quot;I didn&#039;t think you did,&quot; April said. &quot;I&#039;m not a husband stealing floozie. You know, Sue Ellen and JR weren&#039;t really together when I slept with him. She&#039;s forgiven us both. It&#039;s a shame you can&#039;t.&quot;&quot;Sue Ellen knows about you and JR?&quot; &quot;Yes,&quot; April shrugged. &quot;She guessed a long time ago. JR didn&#039;t deny it because he was trying to reconcile with her and didn&#039;t want to lie. And I would have told her if she hadn&#039;t known. Can&#039;t have a real friendship with those kinds of secrets.&quot;&quot;I had no idea she knew. The two of you have become so close…&quot;&quot;Like I said, Bobby, she forgave us. And her forgiveness is the only forgiveness I&#039;m interested in, since she&#039;s the only one who got hurt.&quot;&quot;April…&quot; Bobby&#039;s words were interrupted by a ringing telephone. He turned and picked up the receiver. &quot;Bobby Ewing here.&quot;April stirred her coffee absently as she listened to Bobby&#039;s side of the conversation.&quot;Oh, Hi Harv. Listen, I was going to call you and ask you to move our appointment with the publisher until tomorrow. Uh huh. No, I can&#039;t come to the office today. Can&#039;t it wait? No, everyone is going to be fine, but Mama and Clayton are still at the hospital and I have the boys. Well, can you come out to Southfork? Fine. See you in a bit.&quot;&quot;Company coming?&quot; She asked him.&quot;Yes. Harv Smithfield. He said it was urgent.&quot;&quot;I&#039;ll get the boys up and make sure they have breakfast,&quot; April told him. &quot;Then maybe I&#039;ll take them out to the pool. Sue Ellen probably won&#039;t mind if I borrow a bathing suit.&quot;&quot;No, she won&#039;t mind,&quot; Bobby said thoughtfully. &quot;But you probably should borrow one from Lucy instead. It would fit better.&quot;&quot;What?&quot; April looked up at him and blushed when she realized he was looking at her chest. &quot;You know what? You&#039;re probably right,&quot; April laughed. ***&quot;Ray,&quot; Sue Ellen whispered. &quot;Please stop staring at her.&quot;&quot;I can&#039;t help it,&quot; he sighed. &quot;I wasn&#039;t kidding when I said the sight of her made me sick. She had to know coming here wouldn&#039;t accomplish anything but to hurt and embarrass you. What a bitch.&quot;&quot;I don&#039;t know, Ray,&quot; Sue Ellen said quietly, finishing her sandwich and closing the plastic container it had come in. &quot;She might be right. JR may want to see her.&quot;&quot;The hell you say,&quot; Ray laughed. &quot;He&#039;ll want to strangle her. Hey, listen Sue Ellen, I know JR&#039;s not been the best husband. But living with you guys and seeing the two of you up close and personal, he loves you. Hell, when he finds out she&#039;s here he might climb out of his hospital bed and throw her out himself.&quot;&quot;Excuse me,&quot; a nurse interrupted them. &quot;Mrs. Ewing, you can see your husband now.&quot;&quot;Thank you,&quot; Sue Ellen told the nurse. &quot;I guess we&#039;ll soon see if you&#039;re right, Ray. But thank you. You&#039;re very sweet to say so. Wish me luck.&quot;&quot;You don&#039;t need luck, Sue Ellen,&quot; Ray winked at her. &quot;You already have his heart.&quot;***&quot;I love you too, Daddy,&quot; Lucy smiled and handed the phone back to her grandmother. &quot;He said to tell JR he was sending him good thoughts.&quot;&quot;He&#039;s so relieved you&#039;re alright, Lucy,&quot; Ellie told her. &quot;We all are.&quot;&quot;Thanks, Grandma. I&#039;m just glad that awful woman is dead,&quot; Lucy looked up and realized who she was talking to. &quot;Sorry, Clayton.&quot;&quot;There&#039;s no need for you to be sorry,&quot; Clayton told her. &quot;I&#039;m glad she&#039;s dead too.&quot;&quot;The Sheriff sure didn&#039;t seem glad,&quot; Lucy sighed. &quot;He kept asking me questions. Like he didn&#039;t believe it was self defense.&quot;&quot;He&#039;s just doing his job, Lucy,&quot; Clayton told her. &quot;It&#039;ll all be wrapped up in a couple of days.&quot;&quot;He said I hit her straight in the head with all three shots. I guess all that target practice with Bobby and JR paid off. Hey...speaking of JR, when can I see him? I need to thank him for saving my life.&quot;&quot;It will be a while,&quot;&nbsp; Ellie said. &quot;Right now they won&#039;t let anyone see him except Sue Ellen. Lucy, I need to tell you something.&quot;&quot;What is it Grandma&quot;&quot;Well, don&#039;t be angry, but I called Mitch.&quot;&quot;Why?&quot; Lucy asked, flabbergasted.&quot;I thought he had a right to know that you&#039;d been shot.&quot;&quot;Well, what did he say&quot;&quot;He was very happy to know you were okay and said that you should call him when you felt up to it.&quot;&quot;Really?&quot; Lucy asked, surprised. &quot;He said for me to call him?&quot;&quot;Yes,&quot; Ellie smiled. &quot;And he seemed quite anxious to hear from you.&quot;&quot;Huh,&quot; Lucy smiled. &quot;Well, wonders never cease.&quot;***&quot;I told you to get away from me,&quot; JR growled at the nurse menacingly. &quot;Where the hell is my wife!&quot;&quot;Stop it, JR,&quot; Sue Ellen said from the doorway. &quot;I&#039;m right here. You let that poor girl do whatever she needs to do.&quot;&quot;Sue Ellen,&quot; JR said softly. &quot;Come here, honey.&quot;Sue Ellen came into the room and walked over to his bed. &quot;How are you feeling, my love?&quot;JR&#039;s eyes narrowed. &quot;Give us a minute, would you?&quot; he said to the nurse.&quot;Mr. Ewing, I have to draw some blood…&quot;&quot;Give me a few minutes alone with my wife and you can have all the blood you want,&quot; JR barked. &quot;Otherwise, I&#039;ll fight you for every drop.&quot;&quot;Oh, fine,&quot; the nurse threw up her hands in defeat. &quot;I&#039;ll be back in five minutes.&quot;&quot;You should be nicer to your nurses,&quot; Sue Ellen told him.&quot;Come here,&quot; he held out his hand to her. &quot;What is it honey?&quot; he asked when she didn&#039;t take it.&quot;I… I don&#039;t want to hurt you, JR,&quot; she said softly.&quot;Darlin&#039;, the only way you can hurt me is by not letting me feel you and make sure you&#039;re okay. Now, come here, woman.&quot;Sue Ellen gave in, took his hand and let him pull her down to sit on the bed beside him.&quot;Oh, God, honey,&quot; JR moaned, &quot;I saw you go down. I thought Jessica had shot you.&quot;&quot;Oh. No, JR!&quot; Sue Ellen assured him, &quot;Jessica was the one who got shot. She fell on top of me.&quot;&quot;Yes. They told me. But I had to see for myself,&quot; he reached up and gently stroked her cheek. &quot;I was so scared I&#039;d lost you.&quot;&quot;I was scared, too, JR,&quot; Sue Ellen confessed. &quot;I was scared you were going to leave me…&quot;&quot;I&#039;m fine, Sue Ellen,&quot; JR brushed a tear from her cheek. &quot;And I won&#039;t ever leave you.&quot;Sue Ellen bent down and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. &quot;I love you so much, JR.&quot;&quot;And I love you, darlin&#039;. So, now tell me,honey. Why are you mad at me?&quot;&quot;Mad?&quot; Sue Ellen blinked. &quot;Why do you think I&#039;m mad at you?&quot;&quot;Come on, Miss Texas,&quot; JR&#039;s voice was low and teasing, &quot;Don&#039;t forget how well I know you. You called me &#039;my love.&#039; You only call me that when you want to strangle me.&quot;Sue Ellen dropped her eyes to the bed. &quot;I&#039;m sorry, JR. It&#039;s not even your fault.&quot;&quot;What&#039;s not my fault?&quot; he prodded.Sue Ellen raised her eyes to meet his, &quot;Mandy came to the hospital to see you. She&#039;s in the waiting room now.&quot;&quot;Mandy?&quot; JR&#039;s eyes darkened. &quot;Why didn&#039;t you have her thrown out?&quot;&quot;Ray wanted to,&quot; Sue Ellen told him. &quot;I made him let her stay.&quot;&quot;Why on Earth would you do that?&quot;&quot;She said...she said you&#039;d want to see her and I just felt you should be the one to make that decision.&quot;&quot;Oh, don&#039;t tell me, honey,&quot; JR chuckled, &quot;you thought that maybe my brush with death knocked loose some deep, buried feelings for my true love?&quot;&quot;It crossed my mind,&quot; Sue Ellen said stiffly.&quot;Well, I won&#039;t lie to you honey,&quot; JR sighed. &quot;You&#039;re right in a way.&quot;&quot;Oh,&quot; Sue Ellen muttered and dropped her eyes again.&quot;I thought I might die,&quot; JR said softly. &quot;I thought you were hurt. All I could think about was how many years I&#039;d wasted, how I could have spent my whole life loving you the way you deserved. All I wanted was you - to see you. Touch you. Make sure you were alright. Get to you and tell you I love you and that my only wish is to be allowed to spend the rest of my life showing you how much. Sue Ellen, I was consumed with thoughts about my true love. But that&#039;s you, honey. Only you.&quot;&quot;Oh, JR,&quot; Sue Ellen reached out and cupped his face in her hands. &quot;That makes me so very happy.&quot;&quot;I always want to make you happy Sue Ellen. I know you&#039;re going to have doubts, but I&#039;m going to prove to you that you never have to doubt me again.&quot;Sue Ellen wiped a happy tear from her cheek and bent her head to give him a quick kiss. His hand shot up to her head and he tangled then in her hair, holding her lips to his. He kissed her thoroughly, causing her breath to catch in her throat. She moaned softly and kissed him back, surrendering to all the emotions that had been swirling through her.&quot;Um, excuse me…&quot;Sue Ellen sat up straight and blushed deeply. &quot;Sorry,&quot; she murmured to the nurse standing in the doorway.&quot;No worries,&quot; the nurse laughed. &quot;Mr. Ewing&#039;s heart rate spiked. I thought I&#039;d better come in and check on him. Will it be alright if I draw blood now?&quot;&quot;Yes, come on in,&quot; JR laughed. &quot;And when you&#039;re done, I need you to do something for me.&quot;&quot;What&#039;s that, Mr. Ewing?&quot; the nurse asked, putting on rubber gloves.&quot;There&#039;s a woman out in the waiting room bothering my family. Get rid of her. Call security if you have to.&quot;***&quot;You didn&#039;t know?&quot; Harv asked.&quot;No. I had no idea,&quot; Bobby sighed sadly. &quot;It makes more sense now though. She didn&#039;t want me and Christopher to have to watch her suffer and die.&quot;&quot;Do you have any questions for me?&quot;&quot;No,&quot; Bobby told him. &quot;The will is pretty cut and dried.&quot;&quot;The letter from the law firm said there were no arrangements to make. They buried her in Zurich last week.&quot;&quot;That&#039;s what Katherine was doing, wasn&#039;t it? She wasn&#039;t moving money around for Pam. She was making funeral arrangements and making the money available to be dispersed to Pam&#039;s heirs.&quot;&quot;Seems so. The letter from the lawyers said that Pam had left strict instructions that you not be contacted until all of her affairs were settled.&quot;&quot;Yes,&quot; Bobby nodded. &quot;I don&#039;t know how I&#039;m going to tell Christopher...and Cliff. Oh, God, I&#039;m going to have to tell Cliff.&quot;&quot;Is there anything I can do to help you?&quot; &quot;No. Thank you, Harv. Just keep this quiet for a few days. We&#039;ve all been through a lot. I want to take my time to think about how I&#039;m going to handle all this.&quot;&quot;Understood, Bobby,&quot; Harv said, standing up. &quot;Call me at the office if you think of anything I can do for you.&quot;&quot;Will do,&quot; Bobby said, standing up to shake his hand. &quot;Thanks, Harv.&quot;Bobby watched the other man walk away, then turned his attention back to the papers on the counter in front of him. &quot;Oh, Pam. Why? Why didn&#039;t you stay and let me help you?&quot;***&quot;The news just said that Mr. JR Ewing is out of surgery and recovering well,&quot; Kimberly sighed. &quot;We just can&#039;t catch a break.&quot;&quot;Oh, I&#039;m glad he&#039;s doing better,&quot; Wendell informed her. &quot;I&#039;d hate for JR to ruin all of my carefully laid plans to destroy him by up and dying on me.&quot;Kimberly rolled her eyes and started to respond, but was interrupted by the doorbell.&quot;Excuse me,&quot; Wendell got up and moved to the door. His eyebrows shot up in annoyance when she saw who was standing on the other side. &quot;What are you doing here? You should know better than to show up at my house.&quot;&quot;Sorry, Mr. Wendell,&quot; Crystal apologized. &quot;I have something important to show you and I didn&#039;t want to wait to arrange a meeting.&quot; She handed him an envelope and smiled.Wendell took the envelope and studied the papers. &quot;Well,&quot; he finally said, &quot;this is certainly unexpected good news.&quot;&quot;I thought you&#039;d be pleased,&quot; Crystal said.&quot;Yes. Now get to work. We can&#039;t have you fired for being late.&quot;&quot;But… but I thought…&quot;&quot;You thought what?&quot; Wendell demanded. &quot;Please don&#039;t tell me you thought this little delivery would let you off the hook? This is only the first of what I expect to be many returns on my significant investment in you.&quot;&quot;I have to keep spying?&quot; Crystal asked, disappointed.&quot;That&#039;s what I&#039;m paying you for, dear. You run along to work now.&quot;He didn&#039;t give her a chance to reply before shutting the door and moving back into the living room.&quot;Who was that?&quot; Kimberly asked.&quot;That,&quot; Wendell smiled, handing her the envelope, &quot;was the best investment I ever made.&quot;***&quot;Excuse me,&quot; the nurse approached the Ewings. &quot;Mr. Ewing wanted me to let you all know that he&#039;s fine and resting. The doctor said you could see him this evening. Mr. Ewing has asked that someone bring Mrs. Ewing some fresh clothes and toiletries. She&#039;ll be staying here with him.&quot;&quot;Thank you,&quot; Miss Ellie stood up. &quot;We should get back to the ranch. I&#039;m exhausted.&quot;&quot;I understand there&#039;s a Miss Winger here to see Mr. Ewing? He asked me to give her a message from him.&quot;&quot;She&#039;s over there,&quot; Clayton told her, pointing at Mandy.The nurse nodded and walked toward Mandy.&quot;Hang on a second,&quot; Ray told Ellie and Clayton, following the nurse, &quot;I want to see this.&quot;&quot;Miss Winger?&quot; The nurse asked.Mandy looked up from the magazine she&#039;d been reading. &quot;Yes?&quot;&quot;I have a message for you from Mr. Ewing,&quot; the nurse told her.&quot;Wonderful!&quot; Mandy smiled brightly. &quot;What is it?&quot;&quot;He said you are to leave. He doesn&#039;t want to see you or talk to you and he doesn&#039;t want you bothering his family and especially his wife. He said if you didn&#039;t leave voluntarily, I am to call security.&quot;&quot;You won&#039;t need security,&quot; Ray said, &quot;I&#039;ll be more than happy to escort Miss Winger out of here.&quot;&quot;Sue Ellen is making him send me away,&quot; Mandy told Ray, her voice dripping with defiance.&quot;If you know JR at all, you know damn well Sue Ellen can&#039;t MAKE him do anything. Now, are you going to walk out of here with a little dignity, or am I going to have to drag you out of here, kicking and screaming?&quot;&quot;I&#039;ll go,&quot; Mandy answered, standing up, &quot;but I&#039;ll be back. You&#039;d all better get used to having me around. JR loves me, and I won&#039;t let Sue Ellen and her schemes keep us apart much longer.&quot;&quot;Why, you little….&quot;&quot;No, Ray,&quot; Ellie stopped him, putting her hand on his arm, &quot;just let her go. &quot;Mandy squared her shoulders and walked past them with as much grace as she could muster.&quot;What a piece of work,&quot; Ray grumbled.&quot;I feel sorry for her,&quot; Ellie said. &quot;She clearly can&#039;t face reality. Let&#039;s get back to the ranch. The boys will be happy to see us.&quot;***&quot;I love you too, son,&quot; JR said into the phone. &quot;I&#039;ll see you when I get home in a few days.&quot;He handed the phone back to Sue Ellen, who lifted it to her ear. &quot;John Ross, I&#039;ll be staying with Daddy at the hospital. You and Christopher be good and mind your uncles and your grandparents until I get back, okay? I love you.&quot;JR watched her hang up the phone then return to her chair beside his bed and absently rub her temples.&quot;Headache?&quot; he asked.&quot;Yes,&quot; Sue Ellen told him. &quot;Probably just the after effect from all the adrenaline.&quot;&quot;You look tired, honey. What don&#039;t you ask them to bring a cot in for you so you can stretch out and get some rest?&quot;&quot;No, I&#039;m fine, JR. Really,&quot; she reached out and took his hand. &quot;I&#039;m glad April is there helping with the boys. They both seem to like her very much.&quot;&quot;Yes,&quot; JR agreed. &quot;I suppose it would be too much to hope that my brain dead brother would take advantage of the opportunity to get closer to her.&quot;&quot;So there is something going on between those two!&quot; Sue Ellen exclaimed. &quot;I knew it!&quot;&quot;Don&#039;t get excited, honey,&quot; JR warned her. &quot;Bobby turned her down.&quot;&quot;Why?&quot; Sue Ellen asked. &quot;Because of Pam?&quot;&quot;No,&quot; JR admitted, &quot;because of me.&quot;&quot;Oh. I see. Well, that&#039;s just silly.&quot;&quot;You think so?&quot; JR was curious. &quot;Honestly, Sue Ellen, I&#039;m surprised you&#039;re so accepting of her. Usually you don&#039;t have anything good to say about any woman I&#039;ve been with.&quot;&quot;April is different,&quot; Sue Ellen shrugged. &quot;You and I were living separate lives at the time. It&#039;s not like she tried to win you away from me. She&#039;s always been so open and honest about the whole thing. She&#039;s a wonderful person, JR.&quot;&quot;Yes, she is,&quot; JR said softly.&nbsp; &quot;Bobby could do a lot worse. Sue Ellen?&quot;&quot;Yes?&quot; She asked, squeezing his hand.&quot;No woman could ever win me away from you.&quot;Sue Ellen smiled and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. &quot;I&#039;m going to hold you to that, Mr. Ewing.&quot;***</blockquote>

[QUOTE="CeeCee72, post: 215596, member: 5055"] I don't own any of the characters in this story and no copyright infringement is intended. This is a "What if?" fanfic. What if in the season eleven episode "Top Gun" Sue Ellen had changed her mind at the last possible moment and instead of teaming up with Kimberly and Wendell to beat JR she voted her Weststar shares to make him CEO? *** What If Part 27 *** "You shouldn't be here, young lady," Clayton growled. Mandy raised her chin and looked him squarely in the eye. "JR would want me here." "They hell he would," Ray snapped. "I don't care if you believe me or not," Mandy said defiantly. "JR loves me and would want to see me. I'm not leaving." "We'll just see about that," Ray threatened, "I'll throw you out of here on that pretty little behind of yours myself." "Ray." All eyes turned to Sue Ellen, who had spoken up for the first time. "It's fine. If she wants to stay, let her stay. JR is a grown man. He can decide for himself whether or not he wants to see her." "Sue Ellen…" Ray started to protest. "I mean it Ray," Sue Ellen said firmly. "Let's not make a scene. Leave her alone." "Fine," Ray grumbled, "whatever you say." "Come on, Clayton," Miss Ellie sighed. "Let's go get that food and make those calls. Maybe Lucy will be ready for visitors when we get back." "I'll stay with Sue Ellen," Ray volunteered. Miss Ellie nodded and took Clayton's arm and let him lead her down the hall. Ray turned his attention back to Mandy. "Go wait somewhere else. I can't stand the sight of you and I won't have you upsetting my sister-in-law." "Fine," Mandy replied. "You just make sure JR knows I'm here." "Don't worry, Mandy," Sue Ellen said softly. "I'll tell him as soon as I see him. You have my word." Mandy nodded silently and walked down the corridor to a separate waiting area. "You okay?" Ray asked, sitting down beside Sue Ellen and taking her hand in his. "Yes," Sue Ellen answered. "JR is going to be alright. That's really the only thing I care about." "You should have let me throw her out." "No, Ray. That's JR's decision. He has to make it for himself." *** "That was Mama," Bobby told April, hanging up the phone on the kitchen wall. "JR is going to be fine." "Oh, that's wonderful news!" April gushed. "I know Sue Ellen must be so happy and relieved!" "I doubt that. Mandy Winger showed up at the hospital declaring her love for JR and refusing to leave." "Mandy Winger?" "One of JR's old girlfriends. Ray was going to throw her out but Sue Ellen insisted she stay." "Really?" April asked, surprised. "Yes, I don't understand it." "Well, I'm sure Sue Ellen knows what she's doing," April shrugged. "I hope so," Bobby sighed. "I swear, if JR could just keep his pants zipped up and stay away from husband stealing floozies..." April put down her coffee cup and stared at the counter. "I'm sorry, April. I didn't mean you." "I didn't think you did," April said. "I'm not a husband stealing floozie. You know, Sue Ellen and JR weren't really together when I slept with him. She's forgiven us both. It's a shame you can't." "Sue Ellen knows about you and JR?" "Yes," April shrugged. "She guessed a long time ago. JR didn't deny it because he was trying to reconcile with her and didn't want to lie. And I would have told her if she hadn't known. Can't have a real friendship with those kinds of secrets." "I had no idea she knew. The two of you have become so close…" "Like I said, Bobby, she forgave us. And her forgiveness is the only forgiveness I'm interested in, since she's the only one who got hurt." "April…" Bobby's words were interrupted by a ringing telephone. He turned and picked up the receiver. "Bobby Ewing here." April stirred her coffee absently as she listened to Bobby's side of the conversation. "Oh, Hi Harv. Listen, I was going to call you and ask you to move our appointment with the publisher until tomorrow. Uh huh. No, I can't come to the office today. Can't it wait? No, everyone is going to be fine, but Mama and Clayton are still at the hospital and I have the boys. Well, can you come out to Southfork? Fine. See you in a bit." "Company coming?" She asked him. "Yes. Harv Smithfield. He said it was urgent." "I'll get the boys up and make sure they have breakfast," April told him. "Then maybe I'll take them out to the pool. Sue Ellen probably won't mind if I borrow a bathing suit." "No, she won't mind," Bobby said thoughtfully. "But you probably should borrow one from Lucy instead. It would fit better." "What?" April looked up at him and blushed when she realized he was looking at her chest. "You know what? You're probably right," April laughed. *** "Ray," Sue Ellen whispered. "Please stop staring at her." "I can't help it," he sighed. "I wasn't kidding when I said the sight of her made me sick. She had to know coming here wouldn't accomplish anything but to hurt and embarrass you. What a bitch." "I don't know, Ray," Sue Ellen said quietly, finishing her sandwich and closing the plastic container it had come in. "She might be right. JR may want to see her." "The hell you say," Ray laughed. "He'll want to strangle her. Hey, listen Sue Ellen, I know JR's not been the best husband. But living with you guys and seeing the two of you up close and personal, he loves you. Hell, when he finds out she's here he might climb out of his hospital bed and throw her out himself." "Excuse me," a nurse interrupted them. "Mrs. Ewing, you can see your husband now." "Thank you," Sue Ellen told the nurse. "I guess we'll soon see if you're right, Ray. But thank you. You're very sweet to say so. Wish me luck." "You don't need luck, Sue Ellen," Ray winked at her. "You already have his heart." *** "I love you too, Daddy," Lucy smiled and handed the phone back to her grandmother. "He said to tell JR he was sending him good thoughts." "He's so relieved you're alright, Lucy," Ellie told her. "We all are." "Thanks, Grandma. I'm just glad that awful woman is dead," Lucy looked up and realized who she was talking to. "Sorry, Clayton." "There's no need for you to be sorry," Clayton told her. "I'm glad she's dead too." "The Sheriff sure didn't seem glad," Lucy sighed. "He kept asking me questions. Like he didn't believe it was self defense." "He's just doing his job, Lucy," Clayton told her. "It'll all be wrapped up in a couple of days." "He said I hit her straight in the head with all three shots. I guess all that target practice with Bobby and JR paid off. Hey...speaking of JR, when can I see him? I need to thank him for saving my life." "It will be a while," Ellie said. "Right now they won't let anyone see him except Sue Ellen. Lucy, I need to tell you something." "What is it Grandma" "Well, don't be angry, but I called Mitch." "Why?" Lucy asked, flabbergasted. "I thought he had a right to know that you'd been shot." "Well, what did he say" "He was very happy to know you were okay and said that you should call him when you felt up to it." "Really?" Lucy asked, surprised. "He said for me to call him?" "Yes," Ellie smiled. "And he seemed quite anxious to hear from you." "Huh," Lucy smiled. "Well, wonders never cease." *** "I told you to get away from me," JR growled at the nurse menacingly. "Where the hell is my wife!" "Stop it, JR," Sue Ellen said from the doorway. "I'm right here. You let that poor girl do whatever she needs to do." "Sue Ellen," JR said softly. "Come here, honey." Sue Ellen came into the room and walked over to his bed. "How are you feeling, my love?" JR's eyes narrowed. "Give us a minute, would you?" he said to the nurse. "Mr. Ewing, I have to draw some blood…" "Give me a few minutes alone with my wife and you can have all the blood you want," JR barked. "Otherwise, I'll fight you for every drop." "Oh, fine," the nurse threw up her hands in defeat. "I'll be back in five minutes." "You should be nicer to your nurses," Sue Ellen told him. "Come here," he held out his hand to her. "What is it honey?" he asked when she didn't take it. "I… I don't want to hurt you, JR," she said softly. "Darlin', the only way you can hurt me is by not letting me feel you and make sure you're okay. Now, come here, woman." Sue Ellen gave in, took his hand and let him pull her down to sit on the bed beside him. "Oh, God, honey," JR moaned, "I saw you go down. I thought Jessica had shot you." "Oh. No, JR!" Sue Ellen assured him, "Jessica was the one who got shot. She fell on top of me." "Yes. They told me. But I had to see for myself," he reached up and gently stroked her cheek. "I was so scared I'd lost you." "I was scared, too, JR," Sue Ellen confessed. "I was scared you were going to leave me…" "I'm fine, Sue Ellen," JR brushed a tear from her cheek. "And I won't ever leave you." Sue Ellen bent down and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "I love you so much, JR." "And I love you, darlin'. So, now tell me,honey. Why are you mad at me?" "Mad?" Sue Ellen blinked. "Why do you think I'm mad at you?" "Come on, Miss Texas," JR's voice was low and teasing, "Don't forget how well I know you. You called me 'my love.' You only call me that when you want to strangle me." Sue Ellen dropped her eyes to the bed. "I'm sorry, JR. It's not even your fault." "What's not my fault?" he prodded. Sue Ellen raised her eyes to meet his, "Mandy came to the hospital to see you. She's in the waiting room now." "Mandy?" JR's eyes darkened. "Why didn't you have her thrown out?" "Ray wanted to," Sue Ellen told him. "I made him let her stay." "Why on Earth would you do that?" "She said...she said you'd want to see her and I just felt you should be the one to make that decision." "Oh, don't tell me, honey," JR chuckled, "you thought that maybe my brush with death knocked loose some deep, buried feelings for my true love?" "It crossed my mind," Sue Ellen said stiffly. "Well, I won't lie to you honey," JR sighed. "You're right in a way." "Oh," Sue Ellen muttered and dropped her eyes again. "I thought I might die," JR said softly. "I thought you were hurt. All I could think about was how many years I'd wasted, how I could have spent my whole life loving you the way you deserved. All I wanted was you - to see you. Touch you. Make sure you were alright. Get to you and tell you I love you and that my only wish is to be allowed to spend the rest of my life showing you how much. Sue Ellen, I was consumed with thoughts about my true love. But that's you, honey. Only you." "Oh, JR," Sue Ellen reached out and cupped his face in her hands. "That makes me so very happy." "I always want to make you happy Sue Ellen. I know you're going to have doubts, but I'm going to prove to you that you never have to doubt me again." Sue Ellen wiped a happy tear from her cheek and bent her head to give him a quick kiss. His hand shot up to her head and he tangled then in her hair, holding her lips to his. He kissed her thoroughly, causing her breath to catch in her throat. She moaned softly and kissed him back, surrendering to all the emotions that had been swirling through her. "Um, excuse me…" Sue Ellen sat up straight and blushed deeply. "Sorry," she murmured to the nurse standing in the doorway. "No worries," the nurse laughed. "Mr. Ewing's heart rate spiked. I thought I'd better come in and check on him. Will it be alright if I draw blood now?" "Yes, come on in," JR laughed. "And when you're done, I need you to do something for me." "What's that, Mr. Ewing?" the nurse asked, putting on rubber gloves. "There's a woman out in the waiting room bothering my family. Get rid of her. Call security if you have to." *** "You didn't know?" Harv asked. "No. I had no idea," Bobby sighed sadly. "It makes more sense now though. She didn't want me and Christopher to have to watch her suffer and die." "Do you have any questions for me?" "No," Bobby told him. "The will is pretty cut and dried." "The letter from the law firm said there were no arrangements to make. They buried her in Zurich last week." "That's what Katherine was doing, wasn't it? She wasn't moving money around for Pam. She was making funeral arrangements and making the money available to be dispersed to Pam's heirs." "Seems so. The letter from the lawyers said that Pam had left strict instructions that you not be contacted until all of her affairs were settled." "Yes," Bobby nodded. "I don't know how I'm going to tell Christopher...and Cliff. Oh, God, I'm going to have to tell Cliff." "Is there anything I can do to help you?" "No. Thank you, Harv. Just keep this quiet for a few days. We've all been through a lot. I want to take my time to think about how I'm going to handle all this." "Understood, Bobby," Harv said, standing up. "Call me at the office if you think of anything I can do for you." "Will do," Bobby said, standing up to shake his hand. "Thanks, Harv." Bobby watched the other man walk away, then turned his attention back to the papers on the counter in front of him. "Oh, Pam. Why? Why didn't you stay and let me help you?" *** "The news just said that Mr. JR Ewing is out of surgery and recovering well," Kimberly sighed. "We just can't catch a break." "Oh, I'm glad he's doing better," Wendell informed her. "I'd hate for JR to ruin all of my carefully laid plans to destroy him by up and dying on me." Kimberly rolled her eyes and started to respond, but was interrupted by the doorbell. "Excuse me," Wendell got up and moved to the door. His eyebrows shot up in annoyance when she saw who was standing on the other side. "What are you doing here? You should know better than to show up at my house." "Sorry, Mr. Wendell," Crystal apologized. "I have something important to show you and I didn't want to wait to arrange a meeting." She handed him an envelope and smiled. Wendell took the envelope and studied the papers. "Well," he finally said, "this is certainly unexpected good news." "I thought you'd be pleased," Crystal said. "Yes. Now get to work. We can't have you fired for being late." "But… but I thought…" "You thought what?" Wendell demanded. "Please don't tell me you thought this little delivery would let you off the hook? This is only the first of what I expect to be many returns on my significant investment in you." "I have to keep spying?" Crystal asked, disappointed. "That's what I'm paying you for, dear. You run along to work now." He didn't give her a chance to reply before shutting the door and moving back into the living room. "Who was that?" Kimberly asked. "That," Wendell smiled, handing her the envelope, "was the best investment I ever made." *** "Excuse me," the nurse approached the Ewings. "Mr. Ewing wanted me to let you all know that he's fine and resting. The doctor said you could see him this evening. Mr. Ewing has asked that someone bring Mrs. Ewing some fresh clothes and toiletries. She'll be staying here with him." "Thank you," Miss Ellie stood up. "We should get back to the ranch. I'm exhausted." "I understand there's a Miss Winger here to see Mr. Ewing? He asked me to give her a message from him." "She's over there," Clayton told her, pointing at Mandy. The nurse nodded and walked toward Mandy. "Hang on a second," Ray told Ellie and Clayton, following the nurse, "I want to see this." "Miss Winger?" The nurse asked. Mandy looked up from the magazine she'd been reading. "Yes?" "I have a message for you from Mr. Ewing," the nurse told her. "Wonderful!" Mandy smiled brightly. "What is it?" "He said you are to leave. He doesn't want to see you or talk to you and he doesn't want you bothering his family and especially his wife. He said if you didn't leave voluntarily, I am to call security." "You won't need security," Ray said, "I'll be more than happy to escort Miss Winger out of here." "Sue Ellen is making him send me away," Mandy told Ray, her voice dripping with defiance. "If you know JR at all, you know damn well Sue Ellen can't MAKE him do anything. Now, are you going to walk out of here with a little dignity, or am I going to have to drag you out of here, kicking and screaming?" "I'll go," Mandy answered, standing up, "but I'll be back. You'd all better get used to having me around. JR loves me, and I won't let Sue Ellen and her schemes keep us apart much longer." "Why, you little…." "No, Ray," Ellie stopped him, putting her hand on his arm, "just let her go. " Mandy squared her shoulders and walked past them with as much grace as she could muster. "What a piece of work," Ray grumbled. "I feel sorry for her," Ellie said. "She clearly can't face reality. Let's get back to the ranch. The boys will be happy to see us." *** "I love you too, son," JR said into the phone. "I'll see you when I get home in a few days." He handed the phone back to Sue Ellen, who lifted it to her ear. "John Ross, I'll be staying with Daddy at the hospital. You and Christopher be good and mind your uncles and your grandparents until I get back, okay? I love you." JR watched her hang up the phone then return to her chair beside his bed and absently rub her temples. "Headache?" he asked. "Yes," Sue Ellen told him. "Probably just the after effect from all the adrenaline." "You look tired, honey. What don't you ask them to bring a cot in for you so you can stretch out and get some rest?" "No, I'm fine, JR. Really," she reached out and took his hand. "I'm glad April is there helping with the boys. They both seem to like her very much." "Yes," JR agreed. "I suppose it would be too much to hope that my brain dead brother would take advantage of the opportunity to get closer to her." "So there is something going on between those two!" Sue Ellen exclaimed. "I knew it!" "Don't get excited, honey," JR warned her. "Bobby turned her down." "Why?" Sue Ellen asked. "Because of Pam?" "No," JR admitted, "because of me." "Oh. I see. Well, that's just silly." "You think so?" JR was curious. "Honestly, Sue Ellen, I'm surprised you're so accepting of her. Usually you don't have anything good to say about any woman I've been with." "April is different," Sue Ellen shrugged. "You and I were living separate lives at the time. It's not like she tried to win you away from me. She's always been so open and honest about the whole thing. She's a wonderful person, JR." "Yes, she is," JR said softly. "Bobby could do a lot worse. Sue Ellen?" "Yes?" She asked, squeezing his hand. "No woman could ever win me away from you." Sue Ellen smiled and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I'm going to hold you to that, Mr. Ewing." *** [/QUOTE]

Verification

What month follows July?