Laughter and cheers were heard at Southfork the night that Sue Ellen returned home. The family gathered in the dining room, drinks in hand.

“What a beautiful evening,” Miss Ellie smiled, sitting on the sofa next to Jock. Sue Ellen and J.R. were cozy in one of the large burgundy armchairs, stealing secret kisses and private moments. Lucy was seated on the piano bench, carefully thumbing her small glass of diluted vodka. The only two members missing were Bobby and Pam, who were on their way.

“What time did Pam and Bobby say they were coming?” Lucy asked excitedly. “They said they had big news.”

“Patience, Lucy,” Jock said. “They’ll be here.”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t miss Sue Ellen’s homecoming,” J.R. smiled, placing a kiss on Sue Ellen’s neck.

“J.R.,” Sue Ellen laughed, J.R.’s breath tickling her neck.

“This is more than just Sue Ellen’s return to Southfork,” Miss Ellie said. “This family is finally coming together.”

“Truer words were never spoken,” Jock agreed, taking a sip of his soda water. Miss Ellie kept a very watchful eye over what Jock drank during cocktails, the memory of his heart attack a few years ago still fresh in her mind. The last thing Miss Ellie wanted was to lose her husband.

“I hope everyone waited for us,” Bobby said, leading Pam by the arm.

“We waited, Bobby,” Miss Ellie assured.

“We have wonderful news, Miss Ellie,” Pam said, beaming from ear to ear.

“J.R. and I have news of our own,” Sue Ellen smiled, barely containing her excitement over the pending events. Her nightmarish goodbye to Clint was finally out of her mind. Sue Ellen was ready to get on with her life and begin a new adventure.

“Well someone better say something!” Lucy cried, exasperated. “The excitement is tearing me apart!”

The family laughed at Lucy’s dramatics; she had not lost her role as family drama queen.

“Before we hear any good news,” J.R. began, snuggling up to Sue Ellen, “I would like to propose a toast to a certain someone who has finally come back where she belongs.” J.R. smiled raising a glass.

“I would like to second that,” Pam smiled, as Bobby handed her a glass of wine.

J.R. looked adoringly at his wife, “Sue Ellen, I’ve been so blessed to have you in my life these past ten years, I could never imagine spending my life with anyone else, or loving anyone else, and now that you’ve come back, I’ll never let you go again.” J.R. planted a sweet kiss on Sue Ellen’s mouth.

“To J.R. and Sue Ellen!” Jock declared as the Ewings raised a glass to the occupied couple.

“If you two could cut that out long enough, someone else has something to say,” Bobby joked. Sue Ellen blushed a scarlet red, part from embarrassment, and part from the intensity of J.R.’s welcoming mouth. Still unaccustomed to J.R.’s public displays of affection, Sue Ellen felt a rush of excitement each time he touched her, a welcome feeling from the loneliness of the past few years. J.R. laughed as he squeezed her shoulders, letting her know that the night was not over for them.

“I would like to say something first, Bobby,” Miss Ellie interjected, taking center stage. “It’s been a very long time since this family has all come together like this.” Miss Ellie silently reflected on J.R. and Sue Ellen’s previous problems and Pam’s depression. “It was my daddy’s wish that this house be filled with joy and happiness, and now it has finally come true. This family has finally come together, making the Ewing name better than ever. We have three generations all living under one roof, which is no small accomplishment. After all of this time, the Ewings have finally come together as one whole instead of eight parts.”

“You better make that nine, Mamma,” J.R. interrupted, unable to keep the secret any longer.

“Oh, J.R.,” Miss Ellie clapped her hands in happiness.

“Sue Ellen and I are having another baby.”

Sue Ellen smiled her classic beautiful smile, happy that she would be able to have another child, something that she had never considered after having John Ross. Sue Ellen loved how excited Miss Ellie and especially Jock were getting over the news, remembering looks of disappointment when they wrote her off as being unable to have children.

“That’s wonderful,” Pam cried, truly happy for her in-laws, her old feelings of resentment long gone.

“I’ll have to set up another nursery,” Miss Ellie smiled, already thinking of the proper décor.

“I had no idea that you two were trying, J.R.,” Bobby commented, astounded by the news. He knew that J.R. and Sue Ellen had never been very close in the past, and he assumed that they would not be having any more children after John Ross.

“This one crept up on us,” Sue Ellen admitted bashfully.

“Another grandson,” Jock beamed.

“Or granddaughter,” Lucy countered.

“Just as long as the child is healthy,” Sue Ellen concluded, gently rubbing her stomach.

“Pam, didn’t you say you had good news,” Lucy asked.

“Bobby and I have wonderful news,” Pam said.

“Don’t tell me you’re pregnant too?” J.R. joked.

“Close, J.R.,” Bobby said.

“We’re adopting,” Pam finished proudly.

“Adopting,” Miss Ellie exclaimed, “congratulations.”

“How did you get on the list?” Sue Ellen asked.

“Bobby has friends on the board at the adoption agency; they’ve put our file on the priority list.”

“We should be getting a little boy or girl within the year,” Bobby said.

“Two more grandkids,” Lucy muttered, “that’s a whole lot more Ewing.”

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way, Lucy,” Miss Ellie said, overcome with joy.

The Ewing party continued far into the night, as Miss Ellie had noted, it had been a very long time since the entire family was happy together. Miss Ellie looked at the picture of her daddy, Aaron Southworth, which hung on the wall. He would have loved to see the family right now, Miss Ellie said silently, as she watched Jock and Lucy playing chess on the table, Pam and Bobby talking excitedly about the new baby, and J.R. and Sue Ellen in their own private world, oblivious to anyone else. They deserve to be happy together; I always knew they were meant for one another Miss Ellie nodded, glad that her suspicions were correct. She never really doubted Sue Ellen’s devotion to J.R., she had always been there for him when he needed her. It was J.R. that made her wonder, especially during her pregnancy. Ellie was thrilled to see that her son was finally ready to step up and be a good husband for Sue Ellen, who never stopped loving him.

“What are you thinking about, Miss Ellie?” Jock asked, hugging his wife.

“I was thinking, that I must be the luckiest woman in the world to be a member of this family,” she sighed, closing her eyes. “We must have done something right Jock, look at everything that we have.”

“We’ve got a good family, Miss Ellie,” Jock agreed. “Two more grandkids.”

J.R. pecked Sue Ellen’s neck. “Why don’t you and I head on upstairs, and have a little party of our own?”

“J.R.,” Sue Ellen whispered, turning her head towards her husband, “don’t you think you’re family will mind.”

J.R. smiled, “I have to take special care of you now, Honey. I don’t want you tiring yourself out in your condition.”

Sue Ellen had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. “Come to think of it, I am getting rather sleepy.”

J.R. frowned, thinking Sue Ellen was serious.

Sue Ellen turned to her husband, laughing at his confused expression. “Don’t worry, J.R., I have enough energy left for you.”

“Well then let’s not waste any time.” J.R. and Sue Ellen politely excused themselves from the family gathering, anxious to be with one another.

“J.R.?” Sue Ellen asked, pulling on her cream-colored nightgown.

“Hmm,” J.R. called from the bathroom as he came out to greet her.

“Would you be terribly disappointed if our child were a girl?”

J.R. took her hand and pulled her into their bed, a look of concern crossing his face. “What makes you ask that, Darlin’?”

“Well,” Sue Ellen began nervously, “I know much you value the Ewing legacy, you want someone to follow in your daddy’s footsteps.”

J.R. sighed. Years of mental cruelty and punishment towards Sue Ellen for not producing a Ewing heir had taken a toll on the beautiful bride. “Sue Ellen – I am so sorry for putting so much pressure on you about having a child. I never realized how much it was hurting you, how badly you wanted us to have a baby.”

Sue Ellen leaned her body against J.R.’s, inhaling the scent of his cologne. “I felt the same pain you did, J.R. I began to wonder if we were ever going to have a child. And when Pam came to Southfork and got pregnant right away… I almost lost all hope of having a child with you.”

“There relationship was very different from ours.”

“I wanted what Pam had so badly, that was why it took so long for me to accept her. The jealousy in me was raging inside of me. I kept asking myself why I couldn’t have the happiness that she did, I started thinking I was unworthy.”

J.R. raised his hand, caressing Sue Ellen’s cheek. “Sue Ellen, you are the most wonderful woman in all of Texas, I don’t know why you didn’t think you were worthy of love. I was a fool to neglect you the way I did, and I will never hurt you again. You are the love of my life, and the only person I want to be with.”

Sue Ellen smiled, “And if the child is a girl?”

J.R. tickled Sue Ellen’s stomach, prompting her to giggle. “If that baby is a girl,” J.R. began, turning Sue Ellen onto his stomach, “then she will be the most loved daughter in Braddock County.”

Sue Ellen smiled as she kissed her husband’s mouth, turning back to her side of the bed. “Promise me that we’ll be together forever,” she whispered into his ear as she nuzzled his neck.

“There is no power in the entire universe strong enough to keep us apart from each other. We’ve gone to hell and back together, all that’s left is to be happy.”

Sue Ellen hungrily kissed her husband’s mouth, “Do you really believe that it’s that simple?”

J.R. smiled, “I believe that I love you more than anything else in the world, and nothing can take your place in my heart. Any problems that we may have, we’ll go through them together.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that, because I want to be a part of every area of your life, J.R. No more secrets.”

“No more secrets,” he vowed, lowering his head to Sue Ellen’s stomach.

“What are you doing?” Sue Ellen laughed, massaging her husband’s head.

J.R. looked up at his wife. “I was saying hello to the baby, Sue Ellen.” She gave him a puzzled look. “There is so much that I missed out on when you were carrying John Ross – I never felt the baby kick, or went to your doctor appointments with you – and I don’t want to make that mistake again.”

Sue Ellen smiled at J.R., squeezing his hand. “Don’t dwell on the past, J.R. We’ll make wonderful new memories with this pregnancy.”

J.R. kissed Sue Ellen’s stomach. “I want to be there for every step of the way.”

“To think that it took us ten years to make this marriage work. If I hadn’t of loved you as much as I did, I think I would have given up.”

J.R. kissed Sue Ellen’s nose. “I couldn’t blame you if you had, Sugar. It took me ten years to realize what a wonderful wife I had. I promise to never take you for granted again.”

“I love you,” Sue Ellen purred as she snuggled up to her husband, breathing on his neck.

“I love you too, Darlin’.”

With those final words, J.R. turned off the light and fell asleep with his Yellow Rose of Texas in his arms, knowing that after ten years, he was finally going to give her the happily ever after she had been longing for.

See the continuation of this story with Family Legacy.