Dallas TNT - "Forgiveness"

[stevew]

Thank you for the information. Yes I think Rebecca was a strong person and I also think a person can be strong and live a healthy life dealing with mental illness. That’s why I thought it was an opportunity to explore such that TNT missed. I’d have to do more research on the topic but I think there’s something there which could have been epic.

Thanks for all the feed back. I agree with you 100% that John and Pamela love each other much like JR and Sue Ellen did - but it’s was complicated and there were many reasons they (both couples) didn’t trust each other’s love, going back to the start of each relationship. Though the truth is they do love each other, that was evident.

I do like the business stuff. It’s my understanding, as you note, that Barnes Global took over Ewing Energies and so Bobby, Sue Ellen (from Elena), Christopher, Pamela (from Christopher) and John Ross lost everything. So a renamed Barnes Global - Ewing Global - owns it all and in turn is owned by Cliff, Pamela (from Katherine given time her by her father) and Chris (from Pam’s supposed death). With Cliff out of the way, they take the company public and those three become minority share holders to Bobby and Sue Ellen, eventually. They never say the percentage each holds so we’re left to guess. I think a good guess (with your change in who owns what) would be:

10% Pamela (from Cliff’s death)
10% Josephine (from Katherine’s death)
10% Pam (retuned from Chris)
35% Bobby
35% Sue Ellen

I like that breakdown because Bobby and Sue Ellen control the company but if they disagree any two others could side with one of them and actually have a majority vote.

Just an idea, but if JR wasn’t really broke and he arranged for Carlos to manage his money, Carlos could have made the loan to Sue Ellen and Bobby, and Carlos could call in that loan, leaving Sue Ellen and Bobby scrabbling to pay off what they can and JR’s estate taking what they can’t - which certainly would be classic JR. Leaving the new balance of power:

10% Pamela (from Cliff)
10% Josephine (from Katherine)
10% Pam (retuned from Chris)
20% Bobby
20% Sue Ellen
30% John Ross (from JR) - with his wife and sister they’d have 50% and one day from his mother he’d have 50% on his own. Now that’s JR Ewing. Sounds like the real life Koch family as well, especially if Carlos got a piece for himself (Marshall having 16% of Koch Industries).

Wow: Ewing Global = Wentworth Industries (Wentworth Tool and Die), Barnes Wentworth Oil (Ewing Oil), Ewing Energies (Ewing Alternative) - and an assortment of other businesses. Still a very impressive privately held conglomerate. Will they get the middle eastern oil deal JR set up? Will they get Ryland Transport JR sent John Ross after? What will John Ross do with all those CIA contacts? Where does Christopher fit into a company he was squeezed out of? What’s Pamela’s role?

 

[stevew]

Thank you so much for the feedback. I really appreciate it.

@stevew you make a good point about Rebecca. We don't know all that much about her backstory. So it's possible that she could have had some sort of mental illness earlier in her life that we never knew about. Still the Rebecca Wentworth we saw on the show was a strong woman who seemed very much together.

I also agree with you that Dallas did handle Miss Ellie's breast cancer in a brilliant way. It's something that still resonates with viewers today too as so many women have gone through the same thing.
Anyway I am glad you're looking forward to read more and that you liked how I tied up the lose ends concerning JR and made Ann strong.

Then as for Ewing Global, I think you in general keep track of the business plots better than I do. Since I had forgotten about the detail that Carlos Del Sol financed Bobby and Sue Ellen's buying back the company after it went public. But yes your summary is right. Bobby and Sue Ellen runs Ewing Global and Ewing Oil and Wentworth Industries all went into that company. So you are correct when you say that Katherine had a stake in the company that Josephine does have a claim to and that Pam's share went to Christopher. But John Ross and Christopher did lose their shares as did Pamela Rebecca. So the whole situation is sticky.

One thing that you mentioned though, that has to do with Ewing Oil. It doesn't matter that Sue Ellen and Bobby got Ewing Oil back from Cliff in JR Returns since this story picks up after Dallas TNT it dismissees the reunion movies. They are not canon for this story. So only the original Dallas and Dallas TNT is canon. Therefore Cliff still owned Ewing Oil and the company got swallowed up by Barnes Global, which is now Ewing Global.

I must say that I don't like the name of "Ewing Global" as much as "Ewing Energies" though. I think they should have stuck with that name but since they didn't Ewing Global is the name being used in this story.

Then as for your analysis of John Ross and Pamela Rebecca. I am not sure who married who for business reasons really. I mean didn't John Ross want something from her when he married her?
So I think what you said about them could go both ways. So yes their relationship is complicated. But I believe they do love each other!

You will find out later on where Judith and John Ross stands now as the Rylands are a part of this story. So you will see more of Emma, Harris and Judith when the plot calls for it.

@Justine I'm glad you're looking forward to more. Yes there's a lot of drama going on right now. But it seemed fitting to me that it would all play out at Cliff's funeral considering that he tried to make a scene at JR's memorial service. Also Cliff's funeral is the logical place for Pam to reappear at.

@Pammy P I'm glad that you found it brilliant so far. I had a feeling you were gonna like Pam returning to Dallas!
Then as for what will happen, I am not gonna give it away, you will have to read it to find out!

So well time for another update.

*

Pam had felt so drained when they had returned to their car that she’d gladly let Josephine drive. As they were leaving Cliff’s funeral behind the memories from their life together kept flooding back to her. Most of them were happy memories, she remembered how Cliff had taught her to ride a bike as a child, how they had smashed the windows of the Ewing building downtown as teenagers, how she, Cliff, Afton and Mark had celebrated Cliff’s win of oil baron of the year and how Cliff had walked her down the aisle when she’d remarried Bobby. But then there was also one really horrible memory that kept resurfacing and as much as she tried to block it out of her mind she just couldn’t forget about it. It was haunting her. Maybe it was the fact that it was such a recent memory that she was unable to shut it out. It was simply too fresh in her mind. It was the memory of seeing her brother again for the first time in 27 years. It was a meeting that had taken place last fall in a Mexican prison.

Cliff had looked so old and fragile when she’d first seen him sitting there at the visitors table in the dark and cold prison cell. Walking down the stairs to see him she was almost afraid that he’d get a heart attack from the shock of seeing her. “Who’s there?” He’d yelled out to her, as he didn’t recognize his new visitor.

“It’s me Pam,” she said softly, as she walked up to give him a hug.

But instead of falling into her arm like she had expected, he backed away from her, looking suspiciously at her, “Pam?” He asked in disbelief. “Is this a trick?”

“No, no trick, it’s really me,” Pam said reassuringly, but her brother still wouldn’t believe her.

“No it can’t be, you’re dead.”

“No I’m not I’m right here,” she tried to reason with him.

“No you’re dead,” he insisted, “they sent me your death certificate from that clinic on the other side of the world.”

“I know but it was a fake one,” Pam said in a broken voice. “Katherine paid someone to have it written out and she sent it to you because she knew how much my death would hurt you.”

“No you’re not here,” Cliff put up his hands and covering his eyes, “I must be seeing things.”

“My God Cliff, what have they done to you?” Pam asked worriedly, as she gently touched his back.

“It’s this place, it’s so awful that I must have gone crazy,” Cliff spoke more to himself than to her, as the tears started to run down his face. Seeing her brother like that really scared Pam. Yet she tried her best to soothe him.

“I know Cliff, but don’t you worry, I’m gonna get you out of here,” Pam vowed before she pulled Cliff to her for a hug and he sobbed against her shoulder.

Thinking about it now Pam had to blink back the tears, as it still upset her to think about how Cliff’s own daughter had helped framing him for JR’s murder. Not to mention Bobby’s part in all of it. Pam didn’t even wanna think about that, as she still had some doubts about how true that story was. Cliff had told her about it but in her heart she didn’t want to believe that it was really true. Yet after seeing Bobby today for the first time in 28 years she’d had a bad feeling of that it could actually be true. Since the man she had met today had been a shell of his younger self and seeing how angry, cold and bitter he seemed had really rattled her.

Great update. Nice to see some one recognized that despite how horrible Cliff had been he was ill not criminal. I hope she got him help. Maybe John Ross, or someone else, explained to her that he killed Pamela’s babies, but still she’d known that only meant her brother needed help, not a horrific Mexican prison. Bobby might want to watch himself, he might just have made an enemy out of his x-wife.

 

[Pammy P]

Great update, more please! Yes, I will read it as Pammy back in it as she was the key to it all. X

 

[Karin Schill]

Thank you for the feedback. I enjoy reading your comments.

@stevew you are right, Cliff needed help not being sent to prison. Pam could definitely see that which is why she got him out of there. So he didn't die in that Mexican prison as Pamela Rebecca first thought.

I agree that there are some similarities between JR/SE and John Ross & Pamela Rebecca. I could definitely see some parallels when I wrote them. I guess Sue Ellen could see some similarities too, which is why she felt so bad when her son cheated on his wife like JR cheated on her. But yes both couples loved each other.

I know you like the business stuff. I think you are better at writing those plots than I am and that's a compliment!
I like your idea about how Carlos could have loaned out JR's money and how it would affect the company. But this story is already finished so I can't make any changes to what I've already written. I might be wrong about this, but it was my understanding that John Ross, Pamela and Chris losts their shares of Ewing Global in the end and that Bobby and Sue Ellen ended up with the whole company. So I have written it like they control 50/50 of the company with their kids not having any percentages at all at the moment. But of course John Ross is already scheming how to get it all back and get controling interest. You will see how that plot will play out and who will be on his side!

@Pammy P thank you. Yes Pam is back and you will learn soonish what really happened to her after she left Dallas.

*

Elena was sitting down trying to read a book to distract herself when Christopher came back home that afternoon. Hearing the door to her cottage opening she looked up at him. But she didn’t say anything as she was clearly upset with him.

“Hi Elena,” Christopher said as he walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Elena then put down the book she was reading and gave him a look. But when she didn’t say anything Christopher went ahead and apologized, “Look I’m sorry about my reaction before,” Christopher said. “I shouldn’t have blown my top off at you. It’s just that I want this baby to be ours so badly,” Christopher said, placing his hand on Elena’s producing stomach so that he could feel the baby kick.

His gesture made Elena soften. “I know,” Elena sighed. “I’m sorry too, I should have told you about John Ross and I from the start, it’s just that...” she looked down, as she put her hand next to his, “I guess I was afraid of losing you.”

“Never,” Christopher said, as he interlaced his fingers with hers. “Whoever’s the father of this baby I want you and I to raise him or her together.”

Elena gave him a look, “You really mean that?”

“Yeah you know that I love kids,” Christopher said. “Heather already had a son when I met her and if she hadn’t gone back to her ex-husband I wouldn’t have minded becoming that little boy’s father.”

“Oh,” Elena made a face as she pulled her hand away.

“Was it something I said?”

“No it’s just that I don’t like thinking about you and Heather,” Elena said, as the idea of the two of them together made her feel jealous.

“Well I didn’t like you seeing Nicolas Trevino either,” Christopher retorted and Elena sighed before she stood up to face him.

“Nicolas is dead.”

“And Heather’s moved away,” Christopher told her. “Believe me she is not a threat to you.”

“Good,” Elena said before they both went silent for a moment. Then Elena changed the subject, “So how was the funeral?”

She had mostly asked to be polite and she definitely hadn’t expected the answer that she got, “My mom’s alive!”

“What?” Elena dropped her chin, as she wondered if she had heard him right.

“My mom is still alive,” Christopher repeated. “She came back for the funeral.”

Elena frowned, “But what about Switzerland?” She asked him, looking confused. “I thought the couple in Zürich told you she was dead.”

“They did,” Christopher acknowledged, as he pondered that for a moment before coming to a conclusion. “They must have lied to me. I guess they wrote the letter they gave me too.”

“I guess,” Elena shrugged her shoulders, “So what really happened?”

“I don’t know,” Christopher said.

She gave him a concerned look, “You don’t know?”

“No,” Christopher shook his head. “My mother tried to tell me but I brushed her off. I guess it must have been the shock of seeing her and also everything that was going on with John Ross. I just wouldn’t hear her out.”

“But Chris you must talk to her!” Elena insisted. “You need to get some answers.”

“I know,” Christopher sighed.

“So why don’t you call her and set something up for tomorrow?”

“I don’t know where to find her,” Christopher admitted.

Elena looked surprised, “She didn’t tell you?”

“No she left without telling me,” Christopher sighed.

“Why?”

“Because I was fighting with John Ross!” Christopher said sheepishly and realizing that they must have fought about her baby Elena felt guilty.

“Oh Christopher, I’m so sorry!”

“No it’s okay, I bet John Ross knows where she is,” Christopher said.

“John Ross?”

“Yeah he knew she was alive but he kept it from me,” Christopher explained. “Turns out that my mom’s been raising his half-sister all this time!”

“What?” Elena dropped her chin, as it didn’t make any sense to her, “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Christopher said thoughtfully, “I guess I need to ask her that.”

“You really do,” Elena said, before she pulled Christopher into a hug and he relaxed in her arms. It felt good that they had made up since he hated fighting with her. Yet he couldn’t help but feeling worried about their future since regardless of what he’d just told her he knew that if the baby she was carrying turned out to be John Ross’ or Nicolas he would be terribly disappointed. He was also apprehensive about seeing his mother again. But he knew that he had to see her now when she was back since he really needed to know why she had abandoned him when he was a little boy.

 

[stevew]

Thank you for the feedback. I enjoy reading your comments.

@stevew you are right, Cliff needed help not being sent to prison. Pam could definitely see that which is why she got him out of there. So he didn't die in that Mexican prison as Pamela Rebecca first thought.

I agree that there are some similarities between JR/SE and John Ross & Pamela Rebecca. I could definitely see some parallels when I wrote them. I guess Sue Ellen could see some similarities too, which is why she felt so bad when her son cheated on his wife like JR cheated on her. But yes both couples loved each other.

I know you like the business stuff. I think you are better at writing those plots than I am and that's a compliment!
I like your idea about how Carlos could have loaned out JR's money and how it would affect the company. But this story is already finished so I can't make any changes to what I've already written. I might be wrong about this, but it was my understanding that John Ross, Pamela and Chris losts their shares of Ewing Global (post Barnes Global take over of Ewing Energy) in the end and that Bobby and Sue Ellen ended up with the whole company. So I have written it like they control 50/50 of the company with their kids not having any percentages at all at the moment. But of course John Ross is already scheming how to get it all back and get controling interest. You will see how that plot will play out and who will be on his side!

@Pammy P thank you. Yes Pam is back and you will learn soonish what really happened to her after she left Dallas.

*

Elena was sitting down trying to read a book to distract herself when Christopher came back home that afternoon. Hearing the door to her cottage opening she looked up at him. But she didn’t say anything as she was clearly upset with him.

“Hi Elena,” Christopher said as he walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Elena then put down the book she was reading and gave him a look. But when she didn’t say anything Christopher went ahead and apologized, “Look I’m sorry about my reaction before,” Christopher said. “I shouldn’t have blown my top off at you. It’s just that I want this baby to be ours so badly,” Christopher said, placing his hand on Elena’s producing stomach so that he could feel the baby kick.

His gesture made Elena soften. “I know,” Elena sighed. “I’m sorry too, I should have told you about John Ross and I from the start, it’s just that...” she looked down, as she put her hand next to his, “I guess I was afraid of losing you.”

“Never,” Christopher said, as he interlaced his fingers with hers. “Whoever’s the father of this baby I want you and I to raise him or her together.”

Elena gave him a look, “You really mean that?”

“Yeah you know that I love kids,” Christopher said. “Heather already had a son when I met her and if she hadn’t gone back to her ex-husband I wouldn’t have minded becoming that little boy’s father.”

“Oh,” Elena made a face as she pulled her hand away.

“Was it something I said?”

“No it’s just that I don’t like thinking about you and Heather,” Elena said, as the idea of the two of them together made her feel jealous.

“Well I didn’t like you seeing Nicolas Trevino either,” Christopher retorted and Elena sighed before she stood up to face him.

“Nicolas is dead.”

“And Heather’s moved away,” Christopher told her. “Believe me she is not a threat to you.”

“Good,” Elena said before they both went silent for a moment. Then Elena changed the subject, “So how was the funeral?”

She had mostly asked to be polite and she definitely hadn’t expected the answer that she got, “My mom’s alive!”

“What?” Elena dropped her chin, as she wondered if she had heard him right.

“My mom is still alive,” Christopher repeated. “She came back for the funeral.”

Elena frowned, “But what about Switzerland?” She asked him, looking confused. “I thought the couple in Zürich told you she was dead.”

“They did,” Christopher acknowledged, as he pondered that for a moment before coming to a conclusion. “They must have lied to me. I guess they wrote the letter they gave me too.”

“I guess,” Elena shrugged her shoulders, “So what really happened?”

“I don’t know,” Christopher said.

She gave him a concerned look, “You don’t know?”

“No,” Christopher shook his head. “My mother tried to tell me but I brushed her off. I guess it must have been the shock of seeing her and also everything that was going on with John Ross. I just wouldn’t hear her out.”

“But Chris you must talk to her!” Elena insisted. “You need to get some answers.”

“I know,” Christopher sighed.

“So why don’t you call her and set something up for tomorrow?”

“I don’t know where to find her,” Christopher admitted.

Elena looked surprised, “She didn’t tell you?”

“No she left without telling me,” Christopher sighed.

“Why?”

“Because I was fighting with John Ross!” Christopher said sheepishly and realizing that they must have fought about her baby Elena felt guilty.

“Oh Christopher, I’m so sorry!”

“No it’s okay, I bet John Ross knows where she is,” Christopher said.

“John Ross?”

“Yeah he knew she was alive but he kept it from me,” Christopher explained. “Turns out that my mom’s been raising his half-sister all this time!”

“What?” Elena dropped her chin, as it didn’t make any sense to her, “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Christopher said thoughtfully, “I guess I need to ask her that.”

“You really do,” Elena said, before she pulled Christopher into a hug and he relaxed in her arms. It felt good that they had made up since he hated fighting with her. Yet he couldn’t help but feeling worried about their future since regardless of what he’d just told her he knew that if the baby she was carrying turned out to be John Ross’ or Nicolas he would be terribly disappointed. He was also apprehensive about seeing his mother again. But he knew that he had to see her now when she was back since he really needed to know why she had abandoned him when he was a little boy.

I could be wrong but I doubt Pamela, Chris and Cliff would have sold all of their shares in the company when they went public. Mostly likely they’d keep a percentage when they went public, like Bill Gates did when Microsoft went public. But they did mention that they sold a majority share and thus technical control (again like Bill Gates), which Bobby and Sue Ellen, who didn’t own anything of Ewing Global (or at least probably wouldn’t have post Barnes Global’s take over due to debt, though I’m not certain of CC’s thinking, she was never as clear on this matter as the original Dallas), managed to buy (after some complications) thanks to loans from Carlos. There Steve also some dramatic and interesting ways all this can be done. In the case of Bill Gates, he immediately began to sell shares, a tiny bit, every day and has for decades putting that money into a new investment company, hence diversifying his investments until he owns little to none of Microsoft. Or Page and Sergey who kept a small percent of Alphabet (parent company of Google) but as a special class of stock where their shares all have more votes per share than the shares on the market, thus control. It gets pretty complicated and thus dramatic.

I do really appreciate the complement. You do a great job at the descriptions and relationships. I kinda go quick over that stuff for the business plots, which probably makes your stories more interesting. I’m going to try and focus on a family issue to see how it goes over business for a while, my self.

I am so enjoying this different point of view of yours. It’s not all that different but you do incorporate CC’s characters while at best I skyways mention them but write them out. And I like route of Pam you’re taking. I was never a fan, but I know many people were, and she’s had 20+ years, and some of that mental instability of Rebecca’s children. One only knows how she could change things. Could be like Alexis arriving on Dynasty - nothing will be the same.

 

[pd fan]

Brillant story keep on doing ,great as usual ,I like the fact you bring back Pamela first Bobby wife , I really enjoyed to read , next please

 

[Karin Schill]

Thank you again for the feedback Steve & Silvie. I like reading your comments and I also appreciate that you take the time to rate the posts.

@stevew I agree with you that the business plots in general were easier to keep up with on the original Dallas than on Dallas TNT.
I think the reasons why my stories are more relationship focused than business focused might be because I have a female perspective when I write. It sounds like a cliche I know.
But I think it might be true. I have always been more interested in the relationships than business aspects of the show. When I first began watching Dallas at the age of 11 I only watched it for the characters and relationships. It was like taking a peak into a grown up world and it was terribly exciting. But back then I identified with the kids, Charlie, John Ross and Christopher. I also loved the younger female characters like Lucy, April and Cally while I thought everyone else were old. I didn't understand the business plots at all. Then as I grew up I came to like the business plots too as they made more sense to me. But to this day I am still more interested in the characters and relationships when I watch a TV show. If I don't like the characters I don't like the show.

Sounds interesting that you will focus on a family issue in your new story. I will check it out over the holidays.
Also maybe you need a new name for your thread since "Could there be another continuation" doesn't sound like a story title. So let me know if you need help with changing the title of the thread, ok?

I thought Cliff lost his stock when he went to jail and that Pamela took over his share of Barnes Global which became Ewing Global.

Oh I loved it when Alexis returned on Dynasty. When Dallas TNT came on the air I always hoped that Pam would return and stir things up a little. So I am glad that you like that Pam is back even though she's not your favorite character. I also try my best to write interesting plots for the other Dallas TNT characters. I think a key is to keep them integraded to the Ewing family. I mean Elena with Nicolas could be boring. But Elena with Christopher or John Ross was more interesting. So in this story her plot is "who's the daddy" and does involve Christopher and John Ross. I also liked Elena the business woman on the show. But that's not something this story will focus on as she's at a point in her life where she wants to focus on family life rather than her career.

@pd fan thank you. I am glad that you have started to read the new story. I thought you would enjoy that Pam is back.

Okay so enough said and on to the next part.

*

Bobby was so upset that evening that he couldn’t stop pacing around their bedroom. In all the years they had been married Ann had never seen him like this before. Sure they had had their fair share of problems over the years. They could argue at times and they had kept some secrets from each other in the past. It had lead to that their trust in each other had diminished with the time they had been married instead of increased. They sometimes found it hard to talk about things. But this brooding state that Bobby was in now was new even to Ann. He was talking out loud more to himself, than to her and it was almost like if he was obsessed.

“I tell you when I get hold of that woman she has some serious explaining to do. I mean how could she just disappear again without telling us where she’s been or why she didn’t came back sooner. The way she’s hurt Christopher really pisses me off. If it was just me, I could live with it. But our son. I hate what she did to him. Did you know that he thought that his mother didn’t love him anymore because he was adopted?” Bobby ranted. “Then when Christopher found out that his mother was dead last year I could tell how much it hurt him. But I thought good. At least now we know. Pam is dead. Fine. Now we can finally put her to rest and then that damn woman shows up today at her brother’s funeral. Turns out she’s not dead after all. God help me for saying this. But a part of me wish that she really had been. It would have made our lives so much easier and...”

“Bobby would you please stop that!” Ann yelled at him.

He turned around to face her, “What?”

“The pacing around,” Ann said. “You need to calm down.”

“How could I calm down when that woman just waltz back into our lives and expects us to be okay with it?” Bobby said in an annoyed tone of voice, as he kept pacing around.

“I know you’re upset but you shouldn’t let Pam get to you like this,” Ann reasoned, as she tried to get through to him.

“I’m not letting her do anything to me,” Bobby said testily. “I’m just upset because she left without explaining herself. She didn’t even have the decency to tell us where she was staying. She just up and left again!”

“So what would you have done if she had given you the name of her hotel, would you have gone over there to see her?”

“Of course I would,” Bobby said without even blinking.

Hearing that Ann could feel the green eyed monster get the best out of her. She didn’t want to know really but she was so jealous that she still was compelled to ask in an upset tone of voice, “And if she had kissed you would you have been able to break it off?”

Her question threw him and Bobby stopped dead in his track and turned to really look at his wife. “What are you talking about?” He asked and now she finally had her husband's full attention. But the pain mixed with longing that she saw in his hazel eyes was not something she wanted to see. “Why would Pam kiss me after all these years?”

“I’m not saying that she would, I am just speaking hypothetically here,” Ann said before she sighed heavily, “and your reaction just told me everything I needed to know.”

“What’s that?”

“That I don’t want you to see her Bobby,” Ann told him seriously, as she bridged the gap between them in the room so that they could have a heart to heart conversation.

“What?” He was taken by surprise by that as he hadn’t expected her to mind, “Why not?”

“Because you’re not over her,” Ann observed.

He flinched from her words before he hurried to deny it, “Don’t be ridiculous Ann. Of course I’m over Pam!”

“No when you looked at her today you had that look in your eyes that Harris had when he told me that he still loved me,” Ann argued in an emotional voice that almost cracked up.

“Harris still loves you?” Bobby repeated, as that was news to him. Seeing Ann nod brought out the worst in him, “Are you trying to make me jealous?” He scuffled. “I mean that man is incapable of loving anyone else but himself.”

“That’s what you think, but you don’t know him like I do,” Ann argued. “I swear to you that it’s true. Harris told me after Emma’s kidnapping.”

Bobby sighed when he heard that. Letting it really sink in, he grimaced, “So Harris still loves you huh?”

“Yeah,” Ann admitted.

Bobby crossed his arms when he heard that and went into defensive mode, “And how do you feel about him?”

“I’m married to you,” she dodged his question.

“That’s not what I was asking,” he clarified as he looked into her blue eyes in the search of the truth.

“I want our marriage to work Bobby,” Ann insisted, as she reached out and put her arms around his neck.

“Good so do I,” Bobby said, before he gave her a kiss, “So I won’t see Pam.”

“Thank you,” Ann smiled, as she gave him a hug, thinking that she had done what was best for their marriage. But what she didn’t know was that Bobby had just made her a promise that would prove impossible for him to keep.

 

[stevew]

Thank you again for the feedback Steve & Silvie. I like reading your comments and I also appreciate that you take the time to rate the posts.

@stevew I agree with you that the business plots in general were easier to keep up with on the original Dallas than on Dallas TNT.
I think the reasons why my stories are more relationship focused than business focused might be because I have a female perspective when I write. It sounds like a cliche I know.
But I think it might be true. I have always been more interested in the relationships than business aspects of the show. When I first began watching Dallas at the age of 11 I only watched it for the characters and relationships. It was like taking a peak into a grown up world and it was terribly exciting. But back then I identified with the kids, Charlie, John Ross and Christopher. I also loved the younger female characters like Lucy, April and Cally while I thought everyone else were old. I didn't understand the business plots at all. Then as I grew up I came to like the business plots too as they made more sense to me. But to this day I am still more interested in the characters and relationships when I watch a TV show. If I don't like the characters I don't like the show.

Sounds interesting that you will focus on a family issue in your new story. I will check it out over the holidays.
Also maybe you need a new name for your thread since "Could there be another continuation" doesn't sound like a story title. So let me know if you need help with changing the title of the thread, ok?

I thought Cliff lost his stock when he went to jail and that Pamela took over his share of Barnes Global which became Ewing Global.

Oh I loved it when Alexis returned on Dynasty. When Dallas TNT came on the air I always hoped that Pam would return and stir things up a little. So I am glad that you like that Pam is back even though she's not your favorite character. I also try my best to write interesting plots for the other Dallas TNT characters. I think a key is to keep them integraded to the Ewing family. I mean Elena with Nicolas could be boring. But Elena with Christopher or John Ross was more interesting. So in this story her plot is "who's the daddy" and does involve Christopher and John Ross. I also liked Elena the business woman on the show. But that's not something this story will focus on as she's at a point in her life where she wants to focus on family life rather than her career.

@pd fan thank you. I am glad that you have started to read the new story. I thought you would enjoy that Pam is back.

Okay so enough said and on to the next part.

*

Bobby was so upset that evening that he couldn’t stop pacing around their bedroom. In all the years they had been married Ann had never seen him like this before. Sure they had had their fair share of problems over the years. They could argue at times and they had kept some secrets from each other in the past. It had lead to that their trust in each other had diminished with the time they had been married instead of increased. They sometimes found it hard to talk about things. But this brooding state that Bobby was in now was new even to Ann. He was talking out loud more to himself, than to her and it was almost like if he was obsessed.

“I tell you when I get hold of that woman she has some serious explaining to do. I mean how could she just disappear again without telling us where she’s been or why she didn’t came back sooner. The way she’s hurt Christopher really pisses me off. If it was just me, I could live with it. But our son. I hate what she did to him. Did you know that he thought that his mother didn’t love him anymore because he was adopted?” Bobby ranted. “Then when Christopher found out that his mother was dead last year I could tell how much it hurt him. But I thought good. At least now we know. Pam is dead. Fine. Now we can finally put her to rest and then that damn woman shows up today at her brother’s funeral. Turns out she’s not dead after all. God help me for saying this. But a part of me wish that she really had been. It would have made our lives so much easier and...”

“Bobby would you please stop that!” Ann yelled at him.

He turned around to face her, “What?”

“The pacing around,” Ann said. “You need to calm down.”

“How could I calm down when that woman just waltz back into our lives and expects us to be okay with it?” Bobby said in an annoyed tone of voice, as he kept pacing around.

“I know you’re upset but you shouldn’t let Pam get to you like this,” Ann reasoned, as she tried to get through to him.

“I’m not letting her do anything to me,” Bobby said testily. “I’m just upset because she left without explaining herself. She didn’t even have the decency to tell us where she was staying. She just up and left again!”

“So what would you have done if she had given you the name of her hotel, would you have gone over there to see her?”

“Of course I would,” Bobby said without even blinking.

Hearing that Ann could feel the green eyed monster get the best out of her. She didn’t want to know really but she was so jealous that she still was compelled to ask in an upset tone of voice, “And if she had kissed you would you have been able to break it off?”

Her question threw him and Bobby stopped dead in his track and turned to really look at his wife. “What are you talking about?” He asked and now she finally had her husband's full attention. But the pain mixed with longing that she saw in his hazel eyes was not something she wanted to see. “Why would Pam kiss me after all these years?”

“I’m not saying that she would, I am just speaking hypothetically here,” Ann said before she sighed heavily, “and your reaction just told me everything I needed to know.”

“What’s that?”

“That I don’t want you to see her Bobby,” Ann told him seriously, as she bridged the gap between them in the room so that they could have a heart to heart conversation.

“What?” He was taken by surprise by that as he hadn’t expected her to mind, “Why not?”

“Because you’re not over her,” Ann observed.

He flinched from her words before he hurried to deny it, “Don’t be ridiculous Ann. Of course I’m over Pam!”

“No when you looked at her today you had that look in your eyes that Harris had when he told me that he still loved me,” Ann argued in an emotional voice that almost cracked up.

“Harris still loves you?” Bobby repeated, as that was news to him. Seeing Ann nod brought out the worst in him, “Are you trying to make me jealous?” He scuffled. “I mean that man is incapable of loving anyone else but himself.”

“That’s what you think, but you don’t know him like I do,” Ann argued. “I swear to you that it’s true. Harris told me after Emma’s kidnapping.”

Bobby sighed when he heard that. Letting it really sink in, he grimaced, “So Harris still loves you huh?”

“Yeah,” Ann admitted.

Bobby crossed his arms when he heard that and went into defensive mode, “And how do you feel about him?”

“I’m married to you,” she dodged his question.

“That’s not what I was asking,” he clarified as he looked into her blue eyes in the search of the truth.

“I want our marriage to work Bobby,” Ann insisted, as she reached out and put her arms around his neck.

“Good so do I,” Bobby said, before he gave her a kiss, “So I won’t see Pam.”

“Thank you,” Ann smiled, as she gave him a hug, thinking that she had done what was best for their marriage. But what she didn’t know was that Bobby had just made her a promise that would prove impossible for him to keep.

Thank you. I’ll have to see if I can think of a new title. No Cliff still owned his shares in prison, Nick just represented him to the company. That’s why Elena brought him in and why he had an say at all within the business. Before he went to prison, Cliff gave Pamela her aunt Katherine’s shares. They were very fast and loose on the details. I have to assume some sort of trust was set up. Otherwise Pamela would have been stuck with a large tax bill. But she controlled 1/3, Cliff controlled 1/3 and Chris got 1/3 on the assumption Pam died. Then they went public and only a part of the company would have been sold. I’m assuming 70%.

I only watch a bit of Dynasty back in the day when my grandmother was ill. But rewatched it only a couple of years ago. Alexis was the best IMO, when she appeared everything changed. And Joan Collins nailed it. Pamela could be very similar. She could understand the business and be an even bigger thorn in everyone’s side.

I agree, the side characters to me were only interesting when they interacted with the Ewing’s. I don’t think things developed enough for me to find them if interest on their own. As for who’s the daddy - she better hope it’s Christopher’s. I don’t see John Ross or Sue Ellen just letting her raise this baby as if Chris is the daddy.

Loved the up date. I might be in the minority, but I’m really rooting for Ann. I think if they just get this hurtful people out of their lives they really can be happy with each other. Their heads are full of too many “what if’s” and none of it matters. A marriage is work to hold it together but it’s work well worth it when two people love each other and use these times to bring them closer. I do will that between the two of them.

I just wish Ann has turned out stronger than TNT had made her. I wanted her to take John Ross’s side and hold Bobby accountable for his behavior, not just siding with his son, but standing behind what is right. So then we’d hear Bobby say t Elena, “I may not be happy Sue Ellen’s involved, but she’s right, you were wrong.” And to Chris, “You keep pushing Elena in his face and you pretty much deserve what ever John Ross does to you. In fact I’ll be honest with you, what you did was wrong, soon as they break up you’re in bed with her.” All if that could have been Ann bringing him to his senses about right and wrong.

 

[Pammy P]

G8, G8 update, its exciting, so exciting, Bob m Pam will gravitate back to each other

 

[Karin Schill]

Thank you for the feedback @stevew I do appreciate it.
You are right, I had forgotten about Nicolas having Cliff's proxy in the company. I am not sure what happened after they went public though as the details towards the end was a bit confusing and too much focus was on the cartel.

I agree with you about Dynasty. Alexis was my favorite character on that show!
Joan Collins was really perfect for that part.

Of course Elena hopes that the baby is Christopher's. You do raise a good point that they would have a problem if it turns out to be John Ross' since he wouldn't just give up his paternal rights. Sue Ellen would also want to be a hands on grandma.

It's nice to hear that you are rooting for Ann. I really liked the character too. Even though I think the plot where she shot Harris and ended up on trial after finding out about Emma's kidnapping was a bit far fetched. It really didn't present her in the best light. But yes I agree that Ann tried to keep Bobby grounded and tell him when he was out of line. I also like her friendship with Sue Ellen.

@Pammy P thank you. You will see what will happen. This next update will explain a bit more about what happened to Pam after she left Dallas.

*

Chapter three


Today had been one of the worst days in Pam’s life. Not only had she buried her brother but she had also been confronted with her old life. Seeing Bobby and Christopher again had brought it all back. The memories, the emotions and struggles of her old life here in Dallas. She remembered their lives together and how they had been a family. She remembered how badly she had wanted to have a baby and how Christopher had filled a void in her life. She hadn’t given birth to him, but she couldn’t have loved him any more if she had. He had brightened her world and filled her heart with joy and contentment. She had been at peace with herself. Her marriage to Bobby had been a good one too. They had shared a love that had been really special and had stood by each other through good and bad times. Their love had remained strong and they had loved each other unconditionally. At the very beginning their love had been red hot and so passionate. With time the bond between them had deepened and the passion had started to subside a little. Their marriage had crumbled after her mother had died and yet she would never have divorced him if it hadn’t been for Katherine’s meddling. She could still remember how much it had hurt during the years when they had been divorced and how being apart had only made her love him more. There had been a time when she had loved Bobby Ewing so much that her heart had hurt. Their marriage had never made sense as their families had been in a feud with each other. To this very day she could still remember Digger’s reaction when he’d found out that she had married his sworn enemy.

She had brought Cliff along for moral support as they had gone looking for their father. Just as they had expected they had found him drunk in a bar a couple of blocks from the reunion towers where he was holding court. A bunch of drunks were listening to him going on and on about how Jock Ewing had robbed him out of the oil they had found.

“He looked at me and laughed in my face and said that I owned nothing. Nothing at all. I even owed him some money. Well I tried to kill...I’ve tried to kill Jock Ewing once or twice but I bungled it. You see I could drill but I can’t kill,” Digger had told his friends and it was the same old story that Cliff and Pamela had been fed as children. Their father had done his best to pass on a legacy of hate to them and he had succeeded whereas Cliff was concerned but Pam had gone her own way.

“There you have it Pammy. The product of Jock Ewing’s ethics,” Cliff said accusingly, as he hated what Jock had done to their father. But Pam just rolled her eyes at him, before they walked up to Digger hand in hand. The other drunks in the bar had objected when they had pulled Digger aside so that she could tell him her big news.

“Pammy,” her father had been happy to see her and had given her a hug.

“Hi daddy,” She’d kissed him on the cheek, “Are you okay?”

“Sure, sure,” he’d said as they had sat down at a table in a nice quiet corner so they could talk. Telling her father of her marriage had been the hardest thing she had to do up until that point in her life. She hadn’t known where to begin.

“Daddy I...I came...”

“Hmm...” Digger raised his chin, as he was trying to focus.

“I came to tell you,” she looked down gathering up her courage, “I came to tell you that I’ve got married,” she smiled.

“Well now what do you think of that?” Digger raised his eyebrows in surprise but then he smiled proudly and patted her on her hand.

She looked down again before she looked up throwing back her hair, “Daddy please don’t be mad or hurt.” Her father had made a face that indicated that nothing she ever did could upset him. “I love my husband daddy.”

“Sure you do,” he’d nodded and then he’d kept having that silly drunk smile on his face.

“But he’s,” she raised her eyebrows, “he’s Bobby Ewing,” She had told him but he hadn’t really been reacting to what she was trying to tell him as he’d been too intoxicated to put two and two together.

“Aha,” Digger was not making this easy for her, as the name didn’t ring any bell. Cliff looked from his father to his sister as he was anxiously expecting a reaction, “Daddy the boy I married is a Ewing,” Pam raised her voice.

“Hmm...” Digger still didn’t get it and knowing that his sister couldn’t get her point across Cliff decided to help out.

“Jock Ewing’s boy,” Cliff said harshly, the disapproval noticeable in his tone of voice.

Her father’s eyes widened in pure shock and disgust as he finally took in what she was trying to tell him. He then looked at Pam in a way he had rarely ever done before, like if she’d betrayed him and knowing that she had the tears started to well up in her eyes. Cliff looked down wanting to stay out of their upcoming confrontation. But it never came. She moved her lips as if she wanted to tell him something more, but not finding the words. Seeing how much she had hurt her father she couldn’t take it anymore. So she’d gotten up from the table and ran outdoors where she’d cried in the car. It had just hurt her so much that her father didn’t approve of her husband.

Looking back on it now it felt like it was something from another lifetime. It was as distant to her like a dream that she had dreamt a long time ago. The lines between what had been real and what she thought had happened were getting blurred. It was just so long ago.

Her memories then turned to Cliff and she remembered the last time she had seen him before she’d found him in that horrible Mexican prison. He had travelled out to California to meet her but she hadn’t been allowed to see him. Instead he’d met an actress who had impersonated her. At first when she’d heard about Katherine’s plan she had been convinced that it would never work. She and Cliff had grown up together, so surely he would realize that it was not really her he was talking to, or wouldn’t he?

Pam’s heart had taken a leap upon seeing her brother entering the room. It was so good to see Cliff again and she had wanted nothing more than to run over to him and give him a big hug. But she hadn't been able to do that since she wasn’t really in the room with him. “Pam?” Cliff had asked hopefully, as he had looked at the actress who was impersonating her.

“Hello Cliff,” the actress had replied in a voice that sounded nothing like hers. She had remained sitting, keeping her distance from him. “This is doctor David Gordon. I really don’t think I could have made it without him.”

Watching the meeting unfold from behind a two way mirror Pam had hoped that Cliff would see through her bad act. But to her disappointment he had bought it.

“I’m Cliff Barnes, Pam’s brother,” Cliff had smiled and in that moment Pam’s heart had dropped as her one hope of being rescued had been crushed.

“Pam’s told me a lot about you,” the actor they had hired to play the doctor said.

“Oh nothing good I bet,” Cliff had smiled broadly before shifting his attention to the woman with a sigh, “How are you?”

“Fine, I suppose Jordan Lee told you he saw me?” The woman had replied in a chilly tone of voice. “I was hoping he hadn’t recognized me.”

“Oh no, he recognized you. I couldn’t believe it when he told me. I just kept thinking it couldn’t...” Cliff’s voice broke and his eyes filled up with tears, watching them from behind the two way mirror Pam’s eyes filled up with tears too, “really be you but boy it is.”

“No it’s not!” Pam said upset from behind the mirror.

“He can’t hear you,” Katherine grinned gleefully, as they went on watching the actors do their job.

“So when can you travel?” Cliff had asked.

“I’m not going back Cliff,” the actress had said.

“Oh no of course you’re going back ‘cause Bobby is there and Christopher and me, everybody,” Cliff had objected.

“No I’m divorced from Bobby,” the woman said in a somber voice that sounded awfully one note to Pam. “I love Christopher with all my heart but that part of my life is over. I am staying here with David.”

Seeing Cliff drop his jaw in surprise Pam groaned, “Oh come on Cliff you know me, I wouldn’t do that!”

But to her disappointment Cliff still bought it, “Who is this guy? Some kind of Svengali or something? So he’s done plastic surgery on you but you belong in Dallas and I could get you the best doctors in the world.”

“I have the best and I have fallen in love with him. I belong here with him and we’re going to be married soon. I wish you had never found me.”

“Yeah but I did and you can’t turn your back on us, you know on me,” Cliff looked so defeated, like if he was about to cry and watching him through the two way mirror the tears ran down Pam’s face. ”You’re all I’ve got.”

“Not anymore Cliff, forget you ever had a sister. Go home. Live your own life. It’s what I’m gonna do here.”

“No Pam,” Cliff finally objected.

“Goodbye Cliff, we’re never gonna see each other again,” the woman said and Cliff then stood there for a while blinking back the tears before he turned away and walked out the door.

Pam wanted so much to go with him back to Dallas but she couldn’t. Instead she was frozen to the spot watching the stupid woman who had destroyed her one hope of being rescued. It felt like a nightmare. “I don’t believe it,” Pam shook her head in disbelief at what she had just seen.

“See I told you our brother would be dumb enough to buy it!” Katherine said gloatingly.

“You did but...” Pam swallowed. “How could he believe that woman was me?” Pam looked at Katherine with the tears rolling down her cheeks. She was visibly upset. “She’s nothing like me!”

“Maybe not like you were before the accident but plastic surgery can change a person...”

“I’m not talking about her looks, I am talking about her manners. I would never say that.”

“Well Cliff thinks you did,” Katherine laughed.

“Yes you could fool him but you’re never gonna fool Bobby. When he comes here to find me he’s gonna see right through her bad act.”

“He won’t come for you Pam. He’s stopped looking for you already and thanks to that actress Cliff will too now,” Katherine said. “Now watch this. I think I’ve really captured your feelings in this dialogue.”

“Pam, why didn’t you tell him the truth?”The actor playing David Gordon went on, moving into the next scene of their script.

“They’ve lost me once, they’ve adjusted to it. How could I really go back, knowing I only have a few months left to live. Get their hopes up and then have them stand by and watch me die. I love them all too much for that,” the woman finally showed some more emotions.

“But what about you?” the guy asked. “At least in the end you’ll be surrounded by people who loved you. You deserve that much.”

“No, I know it’s better this way. They won’t look for me anymore and if there is pain in the end, in my mind I have Cliff and Christopher and Bobby to be with me. I love them so that is all I really need,” the actress whispered as the tears ran down her cheeks.

Watching them Pam turned to Katherine, “You think that’s what I would say and do?”

But Katherine had already left the room and in the next second she walked into the doctor’s office with a huge smile on her face, “Bravo!” She applauded. “You two were even better than I had hoped.”

“Thank you and your writing was marvelous too,” the woman said. “It’s easy to put in a good performance when you have material like that to work with.”

“Yeah I really like the last scene, it’s just like something from out of an old movie,” the man said. “You should write more.”

“Well luckily I won’t have to since my dumb brother totally bought your performance,” Katherine grinned, as she picked up two checks from her purse. “Now here is your money.” Katherine handed the actors a check each and watching them greedily accept it Pam felt like her life was over. That one note performance hadn’t been anywhere near as good as Katherine had said and yet it had managed to fool their brother and that really broke her heart.

The tears streamed down Pam’s face when she thought of all the time she and her brother had spent apart because of their sister’s meddling. Katherine had always been jealous of her relationship with Cliff and she had done her best to come between them and she had really succeeded back in 1988. Pam had watched her brother leave her life and there had been nothing she could do to stop it. She had been completely helpless. Back then she had wondered if she’d ever see her brother again and thankfully she had. But it had taken 27 years until she could finally hug him and tell him what really had happened to her.

Cliff had been so confused when he’d first woken up. The last thing he remembered was that he was being transferred out of Mexico to some godforsaken country in the middle East. Cliff hadn’t really liked that idea as he had thought that he’d be transferred there because someone wanted him dead. Not that he had much left to live for these days but there was something about ending his days in the electric chair or by a lethal injection or even worse, by being stoned to death by some uncivilized people in some country still abiding to the laws of the 5th century that truly petrified him. So to find himself waking up, not on the floor in some prison cell, but in an actual bed, in a nice room with a view, had come like a total shock to him. For a moment he had thought he had already died and gone to heaven. But then he noticed the woman who was sitting by his bedside. “Nurse?

“No Cliff it’s me Pam,” she had corrected him.

He squinted his eyes to get a better look at her, “Pam?”

“Yes I’m really here,” she said.

“You mean here as in heaven?” He asked her. “Have I died and gone to heaven?”

“No we are both still alive,” Pam told him. “I never died.”

“Then it wasn’t an hallucination,” Cliff realized. “You really came to see me in that Mexican prison?”

“I did,” Pam confirmed.

“My God Pam,” Cliff began to sob, as he sat up and traced the lines of her face with his fingers, “I can’t believe it’s really you and that I’m here. All these years I thought you were dead.”

“I know, that’s what Katherine wanted you to believe,” Pam informed Cliff.

“Katherine?”

“Yes,” Pam nodded. “She kidnapped me from the hospital. I never wanted to leave you or Bobby or Christopher.”

“You didn’t?”

“No,” Pam said as a tear ran down her cheek. “It was Katherine’s doing. She wrote a letter to Bobby telling him that I’d left them for their own good and that they should not look for me. I had hoped he wouldn’t have bought it considering that Katherine already used the letter trick to break us up once before but...”

“He bought it alright,” Cliff sighed. “I was there when he read that letter. I didn’t think it sounded like you so I had a detective looking for you in secret. He didn’t find you. But then Jordan Lee told me he’d seen you at a party...”

“I know that’s when you came out to see me,” Pam said.

“Yes but you sent me away,” Cliff said.

“No I didn’t,” Pam shook her head.

“Yes I remember you told me that you were marrying that doctor...”

“I never did,” Pam said. “I saw you but you never even saw me Cliff.”

“I don’t understand,” Cliff said in a broken voice.

“It was Katherine, she had hired two actors to talk to you. The woman who played me was named Margaret Michaels, she resembled me a bit but she was not me.”

“I should have known,” Cliff sighed heavily, as the penny finally dropped.

“Yes I didn’t think her plan was going to succeed at first, after all you and I grew up together so I was sure you would have seen through it but...”

“I didn’t,” Cliff said, slumping his shoulders in defeat.

“No I watched you through a two way mirror Cliff, together with Katherine and I hoped you would call her bluff but you never did.”

“It was because of the plastic surgery. I just figured it had made you look different.”

“Not that different,” Pam said. “You mistook her for me Cliff and it broke my heart. Since Bobby wasn’t looking for me, you were my last hope of being rescued.”

“I’m sorry Pam,” Cliff apologized. “I never meant to give up on you.”

“But you did!”

“I did, I failed you, just like I’ve failed everyone else,” Cliff said with tears rolling down his cheeks. “You, Afton and my daughter...”Cliff continued sobbing and Pam put her arms around him, trying to comfort him. But he was inconsolable as he told her about his daughter’s betrayal. “She helped the Ewings frame me for JR’s murder. They left me to rot in that prison. How did you ever get me out?”

“I bribed the manager of the prison to have you transferred to Abi Dhabi.”

Cliff pulled back from Pam, taking a closer look at the room they were in, “Is that where we are?”

“Yes I live here now,” Pam said.

“But that’s where your death certificate was from,” Cliff frowned.

“Yes Katherine had me transferred here after you came to see us in LA. She figured it wasn’t safe for us to stay in the states anymore. So she moved me to the other side of the world. She had that death certificate printed out in 1989 and sent to you.”

“But you’re not dead, so why did she want me to believe that you were?”

“Because she wanted you to suffer in order to avenge our mother’s death. She blamed you for it so she wanted you to lose the one person that you loved the most.”

“Katherine hated me that much?”

“Yes,” Pam nodded. “She hated both of us much more than I could ever imagine.”

“I’m sorry Pam, I should have known you’d never abandon me,” Cliff said.

“It’s okay Cliff, at least now you know.”

“Yes but we’re both old now and I’m sick with neurofibromatosis. I don’t think I have that much time left...”

“It’s okay Cliff, I’m going to take care of you and whatever time you have left, we’ll spend it together. We’ll never be apart again,” Pam promised Cliff as she pulled him into another hug and the siblings cried against each other’s shoulders.

The tears still ran down Pam’s face when she thought of all the time she’d lost together with her brother because of Katherine’s meddling. The seven months Cliff had spent with her before he died was not enough time to make up for the 27 lost years that Katherine had caused them to miss out on. But she was still glad that she’d found Cliff before it was too late. He’d been really lost without her and it felt good to know that thanks to her he had at least met a dignified ending instead of dying all alone in some prison cell. Still it hurt her to think about how Bobby and Christopher and even Cliff’s own daughter had turned their backs to him. Yes Cliff had done some bad things, but he had been a sick man who deserved their compassion instead of their wrath. For the life of her Pam couldn’t understand why things had turned out so badly for Cliff without her in his life or why the people she had loved had deserted him. But she intended to find out why they had done that once she’d stopped crying.

 

[Pammy P]

Brilliant, you write Katherine, so good......update...

 

[stevew]

Damn!!! Pam seems a bit calmer than I’d be. I’m thinking calm before the storm. “Bobby, how could you not know that wasn’t me? How could you not know Cliff was ill? It was so easy for you to believe the worst. You’ve lived with filth so long you can’t understand decent people (or some such quote from Gone with the Wind). And you’ve dragged our son into this mess. He’s cavorting with a woman who can’t figure out the father of her child, who blackmailed you for what JR did, who gets people killed with her reckless behavior, making deals with drug dealers, almost getting him killed. You were suppose to be better than this. You were suppose to know better of people. Why aren’t you helping Joh Ross? You know what his life was like. You know what his father stuck in his head. You always wanted to excuse JR, because you understand why he was the way he was. Buy for everyone else you accept the worst. And my brother died a broken man because of it. You stole everything that was his.” Sorry just had to say it. Bobby was my biggest disappointment with TNT. He could have been the one guy that kept the family together and drew on the past. Instead he was the worst imo.

Great explanation of Katherine. She really was bat crap crazy. In a way I get being mad, Pam and Cliff stole everything which was her fathers, imo. So Bobby stealing everything which as Pam and Cliff’s is kinda fitting. But really it belongs to Josephine, Herbert Wentworth’s one grandchild. I’m not saying Rebecca didn’t have a write to leave something to Pam and Cliff, at most 2/3’s of 1/2, certainly not 2/3 of evening Herbert built. Again imo.

Looking forward to the storm.

 

[Karin Schill]

Thank you for the feedback!

@Pammy P I am glad you think I write Katherine well. I love the character and wasn't sure if I really wanted her to be behind Pam's kidnapping. But since the ground work for that was laid on the original Dallas with Katherine showing up at the hospital and Bobby intially suspecting that she was behind Pam's disappearance I thought it made sense to go down that road. Besides since Katherine's already dead on Dallas TNT I figured it wouldn't matter all that much if I made her the scapegoat in my story. It did redeem Pam's character which is more important for this story.

@stevew yeah Pam is calm for now but there's definitely a storm brewing!
I love that quote from Gone With The Wind (1939) that you threw in. It's my favorite movie.
I agree that Bobby on Dallas TNT wasn't quite the same as on original Dallas. He had grown so angry and bitter.
But then again Dallas TNT is still Dallas but it has a darker tone than the original show which was more humerous.

Yeah Katherine was crazy. If she wasn't she wouldn't have tried to kill Bobby. But at the same time she was entitled to her father's money just like Josephine now is entitled to what should have been her inheritance but that went to Cliff instead. So I think you could understand where she was coming from.

*


Going through old photo albums later that night, the reality of the situation hit Afton like a ton of bricks. Cliff was really gone and it hurt. She and Cliff had shared a complicated relationship and yet she took comfort in knowing that she had done all that she could for Cliff. She had been so young when she’d first met him and at first she hadn’t been all that interested. But then Cliff had weaseled his way into her heart and as hard as she had tried to kick him out of there, she had never really succeeded. She had loved Cliff until the day he had died. But towards the end her love for him had no longer been blind. She had known who he was and what he was capable of. He had done many things in his life that she didn’t approve of. He had been drinking too much, he had been stealing from her, he had gambled with his business and he’d even tried to take his own life once. Thinking about it now Afton was glad that he hadn’t died then, since if he had their daughter never would have existed. She might have had a better life without Cliff as he’d been a lousy boyfriend and an even worse husband. But she wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on their relationship since both she and Cliff did love their daughter, even though he hadn’t really been a good father to her. Seeing Cliff neglect their daughter and then use her for his business schemes had hurt Afton deeply. So yes she knew better than anyone that Cliff Barnes had been no angel. But she also knew that he hadn’t been the monster some people thought he was either. He had simply been a sick man who couldn’t see things straight. Yet Cliff’s vulnerability had always attracted her to him and that’s why she had been able to forgive him for all the bad things he’d done in the end. The tears ran down Afton’s cheeks as she remembered her reconciliation with Cliff.

Afton had been puzzled when she’d been invited to sing at a fundraiser in Abi Dhabi since she hadn’t thought that she knew anyone there. Once she’d finished her performance and was packing up her things backstage she had been shocked when she’d met the woman who had invited her. Because she did know her. It was at that moment Afton had learnt of Pam’s real fate. She wasn’t dead after all. Considering that the woman had been the closest thing she’d ever had to a sister Afton had been happily surprised to learn that. She had been less thrilled when she’d learnt about the real reason why Pam had invited her to Abi Dhabi. To patch things up with Cliff. Afton had been reluctant to see him at first. But when she’d found out that their daughter had left Cliff to rot in a Mexican prison a sense of guilt had made her agree to see him after all.

Cliff had been sitting up in an armchair out on the balcony, looking at the view of the bay when she’d come to see him. He had looked older and more frail than she’d ever seen him before but his face had lit up like a Christmas tree when he’d first caught sight of her.

“Afton!” He’d beamed at her. “Pam told me you were coming but I didn’t know if I dared to believe her.”

“Well here I am,” Afton said, as she shifted uncomfortably.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Cliff motioned towards the chair across the table.

“Alright,” Afton said, as she sat down in the chair. “So you wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” Cliff smiled. “You look magnificent and you were sensational last night.”

Afton closed her eyes for a moment as she let the meaning of that sink in and a thousand memories from their times together came flooding back to her. At the beginning of their marriage Cliff had still loved to hear her sing. Towards the end he just hadn’t bothered to show up for her performances anymore. So to hear that he’d been there last night was news to her. Opening her eyes she looked at him in surprise, “You were there?”

“Yes I wanted to hear you sing one last time,” he said wistfully.

“I don’t believe this, you brought me 8000 miles just to hear me sing?”

“Does that surprise you?”

“Frankly yes,” Afton said. “I knew you liked my singing but...”

“Alright so maybe I didn’t bring you here just to hear you sing,” Cliff sighed.

“Figured as much, so what do you want?”

“I want to apologize for the way our marriage ended. I was obsessed with Barnes Global and I let it go out over you and Pamela.”

“You did,” Afton nodded.

“I’m sorry for taking you for granted. I just never thought you’d leave me.”

“Neither did I, but I had had enough Cliff,” Afton said. “I couldn’t stand being second best any longer and I hated what you did to Pamela. Our daughter worshipped you but you constantly let her down.”

“I know,” Cliff said hanging his head down in shame.

“You know Pamela was crushed when you favored Frank to run Barnes Global for you over her.”

“I know,” Cliff acknowledged with a sigh, “I was wrong but I let Frank manipulate me. He made me believe that I had adopted him...”Cliff grimaced as he was not proud over how it had turned out. “You know I always wanted a son...” Cliff went silent for a moment as this was painful for him to talk about. Afton nodded since she knew too well what he was thinking of. Then Cliff shook it off and went on with his explanation. “Frank wanted a father and I needed a son. So we pretended for a while. But in the end I let him down too. He killed himself to protect me.”

Afton raised an eyebrow, “It wasn’t a suicide?”

“I don’t know,” Cliff shrugged his shoulders. “I might have said something that...”

“He killed himself for you?”

“Yes,” Cliff said, hanging his head down. “It was either him or Pamela and well Pamela’s blood so I couldn’t let any harm come to her.”

“But you still used her to get access to Christopher’s methanol project. I mean what kind of father asks his own daughter to marry her cousin for business?” Afton asked in an accusing voice. She was really furious with him for putting their daughter through that.

“I never should have done that,” Cliff sighed.

“That I agree with.”

“She blames me for losing her babies, you know?”

“Yes is that why she locked you up in jail?”

“I guess,” Cliff said, shrugging his shoulders. “Not that I can blame her. I never should have given the order to blow up that oil rig. I don’t know what I was thinking. Somebody could have been killed...”

“Someone was killed Cliff,” Afton said seriously. “Those babies were killed. Our grandbabies. We could have been grandparents Cliff but you took that away from me.”

“I’m sorry,” Cliff said, as a tear ran down his cheek. Seeing the pain in his eyes Afton could feel her heart ache.

“I believe you really are Cliff,” Afton sighed. “But sorry’s not gonna bring those babies back and that’s why you’ve lost our daughter.”

“I know she left me to rot in that Mexican prison,” Cliff said. “It was the most awful place I’ve seen in my life. If it hadn’t been for Pam I would have died in there...”

“So you really are dying?”

“Yes,” Cliff confirmed.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Afton said.

“Are you really?”

“Yes,” Afton said. “Just because I’m still bitter about the way our marriage ended it doesn’t mean that I don’t have any feelings left for you at all.”

“You you still care about me?”

“Yes,” Afton said. “If I had known what Pamela was planning to do I would have talked her out of it. I know you hurt her but she still had no right to lock you up in jail...”

“You don’t approve of what she did?”

“No,” Afton said. “Does that surprise you?”

“A little, but then again you always loved me more than I deserved.”

“I did,” Afton sighed. “But you didn’t deserve to go to prison Cliff.”

“Thanks,” Cliff said. “You might not believe this and lord knows I never treated you right. But in my own way I do love you Afton. More than any other woman I’ve ever been with.”

“More than Sue Ellen Ewing?”

“Much more,” Cliff said. “She was just a way for me to get my revenge on JR. You were my wife and you gave me a child. Nobody else did.”

“Well I’m glad to hear that, but it’s too late for us to start over Cliff.”

“I know,” Cliff said sadly. “I’m not asking you to take me back. I’m just asking you to stay on a little bit longer. I don’t have a lot of time left and I’d like to spend what little time I have left together with two of the three most important women in my life.”

“Three?”

“Yes, my sister, my wife and my daughter,” Cliff clarified. “I have my sister back and I know my daughter will never forgive me. But I was hoping that you would Afton.”

“Cliff I...”

“Afton please,” he said, reaching across the table for her hand.

Feeling his hand on her own she had to close her eyes again and no matter of how hard she tried to resist him she knew it was no use. He had her right where he wanted her and realizing it she sighed heavily, “Alright, I forgive you Cliff.”

He smiled at her and she could see a spark light in his eyes, as he now had hope, “So you’ll stay?”

“Yes for now,” Afton said. “I can’t promise I’ll be here for the end. But for a little while longer at least.”

“Thank you,” Cliff said and squeezed Afton’s hand tightly and they exchanged a smile.

Afton was brought out of her memories by their daughter’s voice, “Mom are you okay?” Pamela Rebecca asked in a concerned voice as she sat down next to her mom in the sofa.

“No,” Afton said, as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Your father and I have been divorced for years so I never expected it to hurt this much.”

“I know, I didn’t either,” Pamela said, as she gave her mother a hug.

“It’s strange as he’s only been gone for two weeks, but I really miss him,” Afton said.

“I miss the way he was before he turned into a baby killing monster,” Pamela said bitterly.

“About that, you do know that your father was very sick when he did that?”

“Yeah you’ve told me that repeatedly since he died,” Pamela nodded.

“He was,” Afton insisted again. “You should have seen him before he died, he was so weak.”

Pamela dropped her chin in surprise, “You went to see him?”

“Yeah and I’m glad that I did,” Afton said. “Since at least I got a chance to make things right with him before he died.”

Pamela’s eyes widened, as she hadn’t expected her mother to care that much about her father anymore, “You really visited him in jail?”

“No,” Afton shook her head. “I didn’t know he was in jail, somehow you forgot to mention that detail when you remarried John Ross.”

“Well I didn’t think you’d approve,” Pamela shrugged her shoulders.

“I didn’t,” Afton said. “It still makes me angry when I think of how you could just leave him there. Your father had his flaws. I know that better than anyone. But he didn’t deserve to go to jail for it.”

“But he killed my babies,” Pamela screamed. “You were there mom, you saw them die inside of me.”

“Yes and I know that was painful honey,” Afton said, “But believe me when I say that your father regretted it. He wanted your forgiveness so bad.”

“So now you’re siding with him even though he was wrong and I was right?” Pamela asked in an upset tone of voice.

“I didn’t say that, I just want you to realize that what you did was wrong too. Framing your father for a murder he didn’t commit. How could you?”

“Well at first I thought he really had killed JR,” Pamela excused himself. “You know how he always went on and on about how much he hated him. So it wasn’t that hard for me to believe he’d done it. Then when I found out the truth I wanted to release him but there was something inside of me that just couldn’t.”

“Well luckily for him, your aunt Pam didn’t have that same problem,” Afton revealed and Pamela Rebecca froze as she realized what that meant.

“Pam let him out of jail?”

“Yeah he was staying with her in Abi Dhabi when I saw him,” Afton confirmed.

“Why didn’t you tell me that before it was too late?”

“You wanted to see him?”

“Yes,” Pamela cried.

“To do what?” Afton yelled. “To send him back in jail, is that it?”

“No!” Pamela cried, as she got up from the sofa. “God mom, I can’t believe how you could think so little of me!” Pamela yelled angrily before she turned around and ran upstairs. “Pamela Rebecca wait!” Afton called out after her daughter, hoping that they could talk this through. But Pamela didn’t stop and looking after her as she disappeared upstairs, Afton sighed heavily. Today had already been one of the worst days in her life so the last thing she had wanted was to have a fight with her daughter on top of everything else.

To Be Continued...

 

[stevew]

Thank you for the feedback!

@Pammy P I am glad you think I write Katherine well. I love the character and wasn't sure if I really wanted her to be behind Pam's kidnapping. But since the ground work for that was laid on the original Dallas with Katherine showing up at the hospital and Bobby intially suspecting that she was behind Pam's disappearance I thought it made sense to go down that road. Besides since Katherine's already dead on Dallas TNT I figured it wouldn't matter all that much if I made her the scapegoat in my story. It did redeem Pam's character which is more important for this story.

@stevew yeah Pam is calm for now but there's definitely a storm brewing!
I love that quote from Gone With The Wind (1939) that you threw in. It's my favorite movie.
I agree that Bobby on Dallas TNT wasn't quite the same as on original Dallas. He had grown so angry and bitter.
But then again Dallas TNT is still Dallas but it has a darker tone than the original show which was more humerous.

Yeah Katherine was crazy. If she wasn't she wouldn't have tried to kill Bobby. But at the same time she was entitled to her father's money just like Josephine now is entitled to what should have been her inheritance but that went to Cliff instead. So I think you could understand where she was coming from.

*


Going through old photo albums later that night, the reality of the situation hit Afton like a ton of bricks. Cliff was really gone and it hurt. She and Cliff had shared a complicated relationship and yet she took comfort in knowing that she had done all that she could for Cliff. She had been so young when she’d first met him and at first she hadn’t been all that interested. But then Cliff had weaseled his way into her heart and as hard as she had tried to kick him out of there, she had never really succeeded. She had loved Cliff until the day he had died. But towards the end her love for him had no longer been blind. She had known who he was and what he was capable of. He had done many things in his life that she didn’t approve of. He had been drinking too much, he had been stealing from her, he had gambled with his business and he’d even tried to take his own life once. Thinking about it now Afton was glad that he hadn’t died then, since if he had their daughter never would have existed. She might have had a better life without Cliff as he’d been a lousy boyfriend and an even worse husband. But she wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on their relationship since both she and Cliff did love their daughter, even though he hadn’t really been a good father to her. Seeing Cliff neglect their daughter and then use her for his business schemes had hurt Afton deeply. So yes she knew better than anyone that Cliff Barnes had been no angel. But she also knew that he hadn’t been the monster some people thought he was either. He had simply been a sick man who couldn’t see things straight. Yet Cliff’s vulnerability had always attracted her to him and that’s why she had been able to forgive him for all the bad things he’d done in the end. The tears ran down Afton’s cheeks as she remembered her reconciliation with Cliff.

Afton had been puzzled when she’d been invited to sing at a fundraiser in Abi Dhabi since she hadn’t thought that she knew anyone there. Once she’d finished her performance and was packing up her things backstage she had been shocked when she’d met the woman who had invited her. Because she did know her. It was at that moment Afton had learnt of Pam’s real fate. She wasn’t dead after all. Considering that the woman had been the closest thing she’d ever had to a sister Afton had been happily surprised to learn that. She had been less thrilled when she’d learnt about the real reason why Pam had invited her to Abi Dhabi. To patch things up with Cliff. Afton had been reluctant to see him at first. But when she’d found out that their daughter had left Cliff to rot in a Mexican prison a sense of guilt had made her agree to see him after all.

Cliff had been sitting up in an armchair out on the balcony, looking at the view of the bay when she’d come to see him. He had looked older and more frail than she’d ever seen him before but his face had lit up like a Christmas tree when he’d first caught sight of her.

“Afton!” He’d beamed at her. “Pam told me you were coming but I didn’t know if I dared to believe her.”

“Well here I am,” Afton said, as she shifted uncomfortably.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Cliff motioned towards the chair across the table.

“Alright,” Afton said, as she sat down in the chair. “So you wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” Cliff smiled. “You look magnificent and you were sensational last night.”

Afton closed her eyes for a moment as she let the meaning of that sink in and a thousand memories from their times together came flooding back to her. At the beginning of their marriage Cliff had still loved to hear her sing. Towards the end he just hadn’t bothered to show up for her performances anymore. So to hear that he’d been there last night was news to her. Opening her eyes she looked at him in surprise, “You were there?”

“Yes I wanted to hear you sing one last time,” he said wistfully.

“I don’t believe this, you brought me 8000 miles just to hear me sing?”

“Does that surprise you?”

“Frankly yes,” Afton said. “I knew you liked my singing but...”

“Alright so maybe I didn’t bring you here just to hear you sing,” Cliff sighed.

“Figured as much, so what do you want?”

“I want to apologize for the way our marriage ended. I was obsessed with Barnes Global and I let it go out over you and Pamela.”

“You did,” Afton nodded.

“I’m sorry for taking you for granted. I just never thought you’d leave me.”

“Neither did I, but I had had enough Cliff,” Afton said. “I couldn’t stand being second best any longer and I hated what you did to Pamela. Our daughter worshipped you but you constantly let her down.”

“I know,” Cliff said hanging his head down in shame.

“You know Pamela was crushed when you favored Frank to run Barnes Global for you over her.”

“I know,” Cliff acknowledged with a sigh, “I was wrong but I let Frank manipulate me. He made me believe that I had adopted him...”Cliff grimaced as he was not proud over how it had turned out. “You know I always wanted a son...” Cliff went silent for a moment as this was painful for him to talk about. Afton nodded since she knew too well what he was thinking of. Then Cliff shook it off and went on with his explanation. “Frank wanted a father and I needed a son. So we pretended for a while. But in the end I let him down too. He killed himself to protect me.”

Afton raised an eyebrow, “It wasn’t a suicide?”

“I don’t know,” Cliff shrugged his shoulders. “I might have said something that...”

“He killed himself for you?”

“Yes,” Cliff said, hanging his head down. “It was either him or Pamela and well Pamela’s blood so I couldn’t let any harm come to her.”

“But you still used her to get access to Christopher’s methanol project. I mean what kind of father asks his own daughter to marry her cousin for business?” Afton asked in an accusing voice. She was really furious with him for putting their daughter through that.

“I never should have done that,” Cliff sighed.

“That I agree with.”

“She blames me for losing her babies, you know?”

“Yes is that why she locked you up in jail?”

“I guess,” Cliff said, shrugging his shoulders. “Not that I can blame her. I never should have given the order to blow up that oil rig. I don’t know what I was thinking. Somebody could have been killed...”

“Someone was killed Cliff,” Afton said seriously. “Those babies were killed. Our grandbabies. We could have been grandparents Cliff but you took that away from me.”

“I’m sorry,” Cliff said, as a tear ran down his cheek. Seeing the pain in his eyes Afton could feel her heart ache.

“I believe you really are Cliff,” Afton sighed. “But sorry’s not gonna bring those babies back and that’s why you’ve lost our daughter.”

“I know she left me to rot in that Mexican prison,” Cliff said. “It was the most awful place I’ve seen in my life. If it hadn’t been for Pam I would have died in there...”

“So you really are dying?”

“Yes,” Cliff confirmed.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Afton said.

“Are you really?”

“Yes,” Afton said. “Just because I’m still bitter about the way our marriage ended it doesn’t mean that I don’t have any feelings left for you at all.”

“You you still care about me?”

“Yes,” Afton said. “If I had known what Pamela was planning to do I would have talked her out of it. I know you hurt her but she still had no right to lock you up in jail...”

“You don’t approve of what she did?”

“No,” Afton said. “Does that surprise you?”

“A little, but then again you always loved me more than I deserved.”

“I did,” Afton sighed. “But you didn’t deserve to go to prison Cliff.”

“Thanks,” Cliff said. “You might not believe this and lord knows I never treated you right. But in my own way I do love you Afton. More than any other woman I’ve ever been with.”

“More than Sue Ellen Ewing?”

“Much more,” Cliff said. “She was just a way for me to get my revenge on JR. You were my wife and you gave me a child. Nobody else did.”

“Well I’m glad to hear that, but it’s too late for us to start over Cliff.”

“I know,” Cliff said sadly. “I’m not asking you to take me back. I’m just asking you to stay on a little bit longer. I don’t have a lot of time left and I’d like to spend what little time I have left together with two of the three most important women in my life.”

“Three?”

“Yes, my sister, my wife and my daughter,” Cliff clarified. “I have my sister back and I know my daughter will never forgive me. But I was hoping that you would Afton.”

“Cliff I...”

“Afton please,” he said, reaching across the table for her hand.

Feeling his hand on her own she had to close her eyes again and no matter of how hard she tried to resist him she knew it was no use. He had her right where he wanted her and realizing it she sighed heavily, “Alright, I forgive you Cliff.”

He smiled at her and she could see a spark light in his eyes, as he now had hope, “So you’ll stay?”

“Yes for now,” Afton said. “I can’t promise I’ll be here for the end. But for a little while longer at least.”

“Thank you,” Cliff said and squeezed Afton’s hand tightly and they exchanged a smile.

Afton was brought out of her memories by their daughter’s voice, “Mom are you okay?” Pamela Rebecca asked in a concerned voice as she sat down next to her mom in the sofa.

“No,” Afton said, as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Your father and I have been divorced for years so I never expected it to hurt this much.”

“I know, I didn’t either,” Pamela said, as she gave her mother a hug.

“It’s strange as he’s only been gone for two weeks, but I really miss him,” Afton said.

“I miss the way he was before he turned into a baby killing monster,” Pamela said bitterly.

“About that, you do know that your father was very sick when he did that?”

“Yeah you’ve told me that repeatedly since he died,” Pamela nodded.

“He was,” Afton insisted again. “You should have seen him before he died, he was so weak.”

Pamela dropped her chin in surprise, “You went to see him?”

“Yeah and I’m glad that I did,” Afton said. “Since at least I got a chance to make things right with him before he died.”

Pamela’s eyes widened, as she hadn’t expected her mother to care that much about her father anymore, “You really visited him in jail?”

“No,” Afton shook her head. “I didn’t know he was in jail, somehow you forgot to mention that detail when you remarried John Ross.”

“Well I didn’t think you’d approve,” Pamela shrugged her shoulders.

“I didn’t,” Afton said. “It still makes me angry when I think of how you could just leave him there. Your father had his flaws. I know that better than anyone. But he didn’t deserve to go to jail for it.”

“But he killed my babies,” Pamela screamed. “You were there mom, you saw them die inside of me.”

“Yes and I know that was painful honey,” Afton said, “But believe me when I say that your father regretted it. He wanted your forgiveness so bad.”

“So now you’re siding with him even though he was wrong and I was right?” Pamela asked in an upset tone of voice.

“I didn’t say that, I just want you to realize that what you did was wrong too. Framing your father for a murder he didn’t commit. How could you?”

“Well at first I thought he really had killed JR,” Pamela excused himself. “You know how he always went on and on about how much he hated him. So it wasn’t that hard for me to believe he’d done it. Then when I found out the truth I wanted to release him but there was something inside of me that just couldn’t.”

“Well luckily for him, your aunt Pam didn’t have that same problem,” Afton revealed and Pamela Rebecca froze as she realized what that meant.

“Pam let him out of jail?”

“Yeah he was staying with her in Abi Dhabi when I saw him,” Afton confirmed.

“Why didn’t you tell me that before it was too late?”

“You wanted to see him?”

“Yes,” Pamela cried.

“To do what?” Afton yelled. “To send him back in jail, is that it?”

“No!” Pamela cried, as she got up from the sofa. “God mom, I can’t believe how you could think so little of me!” Pamela yelled angrily before she turned around and ran upstairs. “Pamela Rebecca wait!” Afton called out after her daughter, hoping that they could talk this through. But Pamela didn’t stop and looking after her as she disappeared upstairs, Afton sighed heavily. Today had already been one of the worst days in her life so the last thing she had wanted was to have a fight with her daughter on top of everything else.

To Be Continued...

Very emotional. I once wrote that Cliff was having difficulty with understanding reality. Not sure if that can be a result of neurofibromatosis as well but I would imagine so. Anyway and Pamela was seeing John Ross he assumed the babies were John Ross’s and he just “knew” John Ross was his son. He felt so guilty over what happened and so terrible for these babies he hoped they die as a mercy killing being the spawn of incest. He was devastated but felt he had to protect Pamela from dealing with the guilt of sleeping with her brother and the disfigurement he was certain the babies would be born with. Anyway it was one explanation of Cliff’s behavior. I never thought the TNT story was awful, just developed poorly. If we’d had such explanation we could have believed it and felt bad for Cliff. Instead we agreed he should root in prison. The thing is, in the original, there was reason to empathize with all the main characters, even JR. In TNT I found myself not empathizing with any one except John Ross because his parents were such a huge part of the original for me. Maybe that’s some CC should take away from this, people have to care about your characters, Bernie if they’re and people overall, it’s a serial as l not a movie. In a movie they cheer when they die but when they die it’s over and the point of a serial is to go on.

Nice use of Afton by the way. Don’t know how they can get past Pam not being given the chance to fix things with her father. If you can forgive Cliff for what he did to Pamela’s children, how can you not forgive Pamela for what she did to her father?

 

[Justine]

Oh, wow - love the idea that Pam watched the whole scene when Cliff saw her for the 'last' time.

 

[Karin Schill]

Happy Easter Everyone!

@Justine Thank you, I am glad you love that idea.
I gave it quite a lot of thought, how to explain away that scene in a way that made sense for my story. Then I figured out that the best way to explain it was that she wasn't really Pam but an actress hired to fool Cliff. Poor Pam wanting to be rescued but not being able to do anything about it!

@stevew I think you just described a part of the storyline in your new fanfic. I have started to read it but haven't caught up just yet. Will leave you some feedback once I do.
Thank you for saying that the scene with Afton and Pamela was emotional. I think I am probably quite good at writing emotional scenes. She and Pamela definitely have some issues to work through. But Afton understand why Pamela did what she did, but she doesn't approve. It doesn't mean that she won't forgive her for it.

Then as for Dallas TNT. I agree that some of their plots were underdeveloped as they seemed to favor plot twists over character driven storyarcs. I hated what they did to Cliff's character and I never thought he deserved to rot in prison. I wanted him to be released and was annoyed when he wasn't.

I agree that it was easier to empathize with the characters on the original Dallas than on Dallas TNT.
So it was not a good thing for Dallas TNT since people no longer recognized the characters they had watched on Dallas for so many years and were left wondering why they had changed. No explaination was given. Also I think the key to any successful TV series or movie or book is that you have to care about the characters. If you don't there's no point in watching!

*

Chapter four


John Ross was laying in bed, trying to sleep off the booze, when he suddenly woke up from a disturbing noise coming from the glass doors leading out to the porch. John Ross’s eyes popped wide open, as he wondered for a moment if it might be a burglar. He had been out drinking until eleven last night and noticing that the time was only a little past one now he was still feeling a bit tipsy. Then he could hear her voice call out for him, “John Ross! Open up! I know you are in there!”

“Oh f**k!” John Ross cursed when he recognized his wife’s voice since that meant he had to get out of bed to let her in. So he reluctantly stood up and walked over to the slide doors and opened them, only to find his wife standing out in the rain on the other side. She was freezing cold and from the looks of things she had been standing there for quite a while before he’d noticed her. “Pamela what the hell?” He pulled her inside and hurried to close the door behind her, “It’s in the middle of the night.”

“I forgot my keys when we left for the funeral,” she said as she kicked off her shoes before she brushed past him. “And you are drunk.”

“So are you,” he said before he added with a beat, “So what happened to your mother?”

“My mother lied to me,” Pamela cried in a hurt voice, as she took off her wet suit jacket and threw it angrily in a chair. “She knew my father was out of prison and she didn’t tell me.”

“What?” John Ross exclaimed, as he was shocked to hear that. “I thought your father died in that Mexican prison.”

“He didn’t,” Pamela said. “Aunt Pam apparently let him out before he died. He’d been staying with her in Abi Dhabi for the past seven months.”

“Wow!” John Ross exclaimed, as he hadn’t seen that one coming. “I bet you must be happy to hear that.”

“Why should that make me happy?” Pamela snapped, as she stripped out of her wet skirt too. John Ross didn’t think much about it though since it was obvious that Pamela needed a hot bath after standing out in the rain so long.

“Because now you don’t have to feel guilty anymore,” John Ross said. “You were whining all the way in the car about how you felt awful for leaving your father to die in prison.”

“So?”

“Your father didn’t die in prison so now you’re off the hook,” John Ross reasoned.

“Maybe,” Pamela said, as she contemplated that. Then she sighed heavily. “I still wish mom would have told me though. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.”

“I know that it sucks,” John Ross said. “I didn’t get that with my dad either.”

“Our fathers were both messed up people,” Pamela said, as she took off her earrings and put them on the nightstand.

“Yeah,” John Ross remarked.

“But at least your mama loves you, mine doesn’t really seem to care about me,” Pamela said bitterly. “When I was little she was always off singing at some club somewhere chasing after fame and fortune that eluded her. Later on when she’d married my dad he was the one who was helping me with my homework. She just never did.”

“I guess school wasn’t all that important to her,” John Ross reasoned. “It’s not for everyone you know?”

“I know," Pam acknowledged. "Anyway as I grew older my dad just got so busy with his company that he didn’t have much time for me either. So I did everything I could to impress him," Pamela said looking vulnerable, I tried so hard to follow in his footsteps, I got the bar like he did, I started working at his company I even married Christopher because he asked me to spy on him. I would have done anything for my dad to love me and yet he always hated your family more than he ever loved me.”

“I tried to impress my father too,” John Ross said. “But JR Ewing is a hard man to live up to.”

“But you still try though?”

“Yeah and I fail every time. Sometimes I feel like his boots are just too big for me to fill,” John Ross admitted.

“You’re still upset we lost the company?” Pamela asked, as she began unbutton her blouse.

“You bet I am, but I have a plan of how to get it back,” John Ross said. “Care to join me?”

“Nah,” Pamela shook her head. “I’m done trying to impress my father. The man’s gone now so what’s the point?”

“Suit yourself,” John Ross said. “I’m still going after the company.”

“You mean you’re starting another war with your family,” Pamela sighed.

“Oh no honey, they were the ones starting it when they bought up the company from underneath me.”

“I’m still fed up with all the fighting,” Pamela said. “I feel like I don’t care about business anymore. I just want someone to love me,” she said in a broken voice.

“I love you,” John Ross said.

“Then prove it to me,” Pamela said, as she took off her wet blouse and threw it on the floor. “I need you to make love to me tonight.”

Staring at his wife, as she was standing before him in her underwear, John Ross looked taken aback by her request, since they hadn’t made love for months. In fact the last time they’d tried to have sex was when she’d overdosed on the pills and started puking in the middle of that threesome with Emma. It was not something John Ross wanted to think about as it had made him forever turned off on threesomes. But knowing his wife he suspected that had been her plan all along. So to hear that she was willing to come back to him now was surprising. Sure she had agreed to give their marriage another try this morning but after what had gone down with Christopher at the funeral, he hadn’t expected her to come back to him this soon. Not that he was complaining as he wanted to put his marriage back on track so badly. So he smiled at her, as he gently pulled back her wet hair, “Gladly,” he agreed before his lips closed hungrily over hers in a passionate kiss. They ended up making love most of the night and it felt so good to be this close again. They both knew just what to do to keep the other one satisfied in bed and they had definitely missed it.

 

[stevew]

Happy Easter Everyone!

@Justine Thank you, I am glad you love that idea.
I gave it quite a lot of thought, how to explain away that scene in a way that made sense for my story. Then I figured out that the best way to explain it was that she wasn't really Pam but an actress hired to fool Cliff. Poor Pam wanting to be rescued but not being able to do anything about it!

@stevew I think you just described a part of the storyline in your new fanfic. I have started to read it but haven't caught up just yet. Will leave you some feedback once I do.
Thank you for saying that the scene with Afton and Pamela was emotional. I think I am probably quite good at writing emotional scenes. She and Pamela definitely have some issues to work through. But Afton understand why Pamela did what she did, but she doesn't approve. It doesn't mean that she won't forgive her for it.

Then as for Dallas TNT. I agree that some of their plots were underdeveloped as they seemed to favor plot twists over character driven storyarcs. I hated what they did to Cliff's character and I never thought he deserved to rot in prison. I wanted him to be released and was annoyed when he wasn't.

I agree that it was easier to empathize with the characters on the original Dallas than on Dallas TNT.
So it was not a good thing for Dallas TNT since people no longer recognized the characters they had watched on Dallas for so many years and were left wondering why they had changed. No explaination was given. Also I think the key to any successful TV series or movie or book is that you have to care about the characters. If you don't there's no point in watching!

*

Chapter four


John Ross was laying in bed, trying to sleep off the booze, when he suddenly woke up from a disturbing noise coming from the glass doors leading out to the porch. John Ross’s eyes popped wide open, as he wondered for a moment if it might be a burglar. He had been out drinking until eleven last night and noticing that the time was only a little past one now he was still feeling a bit tipsy. Then he could hear her voice call out for him, “John Ross! Open up! I know you are in there!”

“Oh f***!” John Ross cursed when he recognized his wife’s voice since that meant he had to get out of bed to let her in. So he reluctantly stood up and walked over to the slide doors and opened them, only to find his wife standing out in the rain on the other side. She was freezing cold and from the looks of things she had been standing there for quite a while before he’d noticed her. “Pamela what the hell?” He pulled her inside and hurried to close the door behind her, “It’s in the middle of the night.”

“I forgot my keys when we left for the funeral,” she said as she kicked off her shoes before she brushed past him. “And you are drunk.”

“So are you,” he said before he added with a beat, “So what happened to your mother?”

“My mother lied to me,” Pamela cried in a hurt voice, as she took off her wet suit jacket and threw it angrily in a chair. “She knew my father was out of prison and she didn’t tell me.”

“What?” John Ross exclaimed, as he was shocked to hear that. “I thought your father died in that Mexican prison.”

“He didn’t,” Pamela said. “Aunt Pam apparently let him out before he died. He’d been staying with her in Abi Dhabi for the past seven months.”

“Wow!” John Ross exclaimed, as he hadn’t seen that one coming. “I bet you must be happy to hear that.”

“Why should that make me happy?” Pamela snapped, as she stripped out of her wet skirt too. John Ross didn’t think much about it though since it was obvious that Pamela needed a hot bath after standing out in the rain so long.

“Because now you don’t have to feel guilty anymore,” John Ross said. “You were whining all the way in the car about how you felt awful for leaving your father to die in prison.”

“So?”

“Your father didn’t die in prison so now you’re off the hook,” John Ross reasoned.

“Maybe,” Pamela said, as she contemplated that. Then she sighed heavily. “I still wish mom would have told me though. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.”

“I know that it sucks,” John Ross said. “I didn’t get that with my dad either.”

“Our fathers were both messed up people,” Pamela said, as she took off her earrings and put them on the nightstand.

“Yeah,” John Ross remarked.

“But at least your mama loves you, mine doesn’t really seem to care about me,” Pamela said bitterly. “When I was little she was always off singing at some club somewhere chasing after fame and fortune that eluded her. Later on when she’d married my dad he was the one who was helping me with my homework. She just never did.”

“I guess school wasn’t all that important to her,” John Ross reasoned. “It’s not for everyone you know?”

“I know," Pam acknowledged. "Anyway as I grew older my dad just got so busy with his company that he didn’t have much time for me either. So I did everything I could to impress him," Pamela said looking vulnerable, I tried so hard to follow in his footsteps, I got the bar like he did, I started working at his company I even married Christopher because he asked me to spy on him. I would have done anything for my dad to love me and yet he always hated your family more than he ever loved me.”

“I tried to impress my father too,” John Ross said. “But JR Ewing is a hard man to live up to.”

“But you still try though?”

“Yeah and I fail every time. Sometimes I feel like his boots are just too big for me to fill,” John Ross admitted.

“You’re still upset we lost the company?” Pamela asked, as she began unbutton her blouse.

“You bet I am, but I have a plan of how to get it back,” John Ross said. “Care to join me?”

“Nah,” Pamela shook her head. “I’m done trying to impress my father. The man’s gone now so what’s the point?”

“Suit yourself,” John Ross said. “I’m still going after the company.”

“You mean you’re starting another war with your family,” Pamela sighed.

“Oh no honey, they were the ones starting it when they bought up the company from underneath me.”

“I’m still fed up with all the fighting,” Pamela said. “I feel like I don’t care about business anymore. I just want someone to love me,” she said in a broken voice.

“I love you,” John Ross said.

“Then prove it to me,” Pamela said, as she took off her wet blouse and threw it on the floor. “I need you to make love to me tonight.”

Staring at his wife, as she was standing before him in her underwear, John Ross looked taken aback by her request, since they hadn’t made love for months. In fact the last time they’d tried to have sex was when she’d overdosed on the pills and started puking in the middle of that threesome with Emma. It was not something John Ross wanted to think about as it had made him forever turned off on threesomes. But knowing his wife he suspected that had been her plan all along. So to hear that she was willing to come back to him now was surprising. Sure she had agreed to give their marriage another try this morning but after what had gone down with Christopher at the funeral, he hadn’t expected her to come back to him this soon. Not that he was complaining as he wanted to put his marriage back on track so badly. So he smiled at her, as he gently pulled back her wet hair, “Gladly,” he agreed before his lips closed hungrily over hers in a passionate kiss. They ended up making love most of the night and it felt so good to be this close again. They both knew just what to do to keep the other one satisfied in bed and they had definitely missed it.

 

[Justine]

John Ross and Pamela are so toxic with one another she needs some advice from her aunt Pam.

 

[Karin Schill]

Thank you for the feedback.

@stevew I'm not sure what you wanted to say as your comment somehow fell out of the message.

@Justine you are right. John Ross and Pamela's realtionship is toxic. I'm not sure if Pam is the best person to give them advice but she does understand what it's like to be a Barnes and being married into the Ewing family. So maybe you are right.

But first someone else really needs to talk to her...

*

The next morning at Southfork was Pamela Rebecca sitting out on the patio having her breakfast and flipping through the morning paper when John Ross joined her at the table.

“Good morning darling,” John Ross said, before he leant down to kiss his wife but she turned her cheek to him. “Aw come on darling, don’t be like that.”

“John Ross,” she said in a chilly voice, barely acknowledging him, as she kept looking down at the paper.

“You’re still mad?” He asked her. “I mean after last night I thought we were ok.”

“Last night was good,” she admitted, before she folded the paper together and pushed it away, “but it’s gonna take more than sex to fix what’s wrong between us.”

“And what’s that?”

“Well for starters there’s Elena,” Pamela reminded him. “I asked you yesterday and I’m asking you again, is there a chance that you could be the father of her baby?”

John Ross sighed, he had the lie on the tip of his tongue, since he knew she wouldn’t like hearing the truth. But then he changed his mind, since he realized that if he lied to her now and he did turn out to be the father of Elena’s baby it would only make things worse. So he told her the truth instead, “Yes.” Pamela grimaced when she heard that, “I’m sorry, I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but it’s the truth.”

“The truth hurts,” Pamela sighed. “But I guess I can live with it.”

He gave her a surprised look, “Really?”

“Yeah you were willing to accept my babies with Christopher when the roles were reversed. So...” Pamela shrugged her shoulders, “Besides I love you and I want our marriage to work.”

“So do I,” John Ross said.

“Good and just so that we’re clear. If we’re gonna do us again, I will need a commitment,” Pamela said.

“What kind of commitment?”

“Like I don’t want you to see Emma anymore,” Pamela laid down the law. “I mean it John Ross, no other women at all.”

“Only if you keep up your end of the bargain.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that the commitment goes both ways. I don’t want any more surprises like when I found you in bed with Naser.”

“But that was for business John Ross!”

“So it didn’t mean anything is that it?”

“I swear to you that it didn’t.”

“It still hurt though,” John Ross said.

“Good then you know how it feels,” Pamela said. “I want you to remember that feeling any time a woman wants you to sleep with her to close a deal.”

“I see your point,” John Ross sighed heavily.

“And?”

“I want us to be exclusive,” John Ross told her.

“Ditto,” Pamela said, before she leant forward and gave John Ross a proper morning kiss.

Just at that moment a car drove up to Southfork and Christopher got out of it. Seeing Pamela Rebecca and John Ross kissing at the breakfast table he got an amused look on his face before he said, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

That got their attention and John Ross and Pamela Rebecca looked up, “Good morning Chris,” Pamela acknowledged him.

“What do you want?” John Ross didn’t look as happy with their visitor. “Your dad’s not home, if you’ve come to see him.”

“Actually I’m not looking for my dad,” Christopher said and added after a beat. “But my mom, I believe you know where I can find her!” John Ross and Pamela Rebecca exchanged a look wondering what Christopher was up to, as they hadn’t expected Christopher to be this eager to see his mother. But knowing that they couldn’t withhold that information from him they told him what he wanted to know and then Christopher was out of their hair again.

 

[stevew]

Thank you for the feedback.

@stevew I'm not sure what you wanted to say as your comment somehow fell out of the message.

@Justine you are right. John Ross and Pamela's realtionship is toxic. I'm not sure if Pam is the best person to give them advice but she does understand what it's like to be a Barnes and being married into the Ewing family. So maybe you are right.

But first someone else really needs to talk to her...

*

The next morning at Southfork was Pamela Rebecca sitting out on the patio having her breakfast and flipping through the morning paper when John Ross joined her at the table.

“Good morning darling,” John Ross said, before he leant down to kiss his wife but she turned her cheek to him. “Aw come on darling, don’t be like that.”

“John Ross,” she said in a chilly voice, barely acknowledging him, as she kept looking down at the paper.

“You’re still mad?” He asked her. “I mean after last night I thought we were ok.”

“Last night was good,” she admitted, before she folded the paper together and pushed it away, “but it’s gonna take more than sex to fix what’s wrong between us.”

“And what’s that?”

“Well for starters there’s Elena,” Pamela reminded him. “I asked you yesterday and I’m asking you again, is there a chance that you could be the father of her baby?”

John Ross sighed, he had the lie on the tip of his tongue, since he knew she wouldn’t like hearing the truth. But then he changed his mind, since he realized that if he lied to her now and he did turn out to be the father of Elena’s baby it would only make things worse. So he told her the truth instead, “Yes.” Pamela grimaced when she heard that, “I’m sorry, I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but it’s the truth.”

“The truth hurts,” Pamela sighed. “But I guess I can live with it.”

He gave her a surprised look, “Really?”

“Yeah you were willing to accept my babies with Christopher when the roles were reversed. So...” Pamela shrugged her shoulders, “Besides I love you and I want our marriage to work.”

“So do I,” John Ross said.

“Good and just so that we’re clear. If we’re gonna do us again, I will need a commitment,” Pamela said.

“What kind of commitment?”

“Like I don’t want you to see Emma anymore,” Pamela laid down the law. “I mean it John Ross, no other women at all.”

“Only if you keep up your end of the bargain.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that the commitment goes both ways. I don’t want any more surprises like when I found you in bed with Naser.”

“But that was for business John Ross!”

“So it didn’t mean anything is that it?”

“I swear to you that it didn’t.”

“It still hurt though,” John Ross said.

“Good then you know how it feels,” Pamela said. “I want you to remember that feeling any time a woman wants you to sleep with her to close a deal.”

“I see your point,” John Ross sighed heavily.

“And?”

“I want us to be exclusive,” John Ross told her.

“Ditto,” Pamela said, before she leant forward and gave John Ross a proper morning kiss.

Just at that moment a car drove up to Southfork and Christopher got out of it. Seeing Pamela Rebecca and John Ross kissing at the breakfast table he got an amused look on his face before he said, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

That got their attention and John Ross and Pamela Rebecca looked up, “Good morning Chris,” Pamela acknowledged him.

“What do you want?” John Ross didn’t look as happy with their visitor. “Your dad’s not home, if you’ve come to see him.”

“Actually I’m not looking for my dad,” Christopher said and added after a beat. “But my mom, I believe you know where I can find her!” John Ross and Pamela Rebecca exchanged a look wondering what Christopher was up to, as they hadn’t expected Christopher to be this eager to see his mother. But knowing that they couldn’t withhold that information from him they told him what he wanted to know and then Christopher was out of their hair again.

Sorry don’t know what happened. So, before I read the next installment I’ll just say my post wasn’t much, just loved your latest. I summarized what I see right now with Pamela and John Ross:

Pamela: though she did not inherit a piece of the company, you’re saying, I’m sure she inherited a lot with everything else Cliff must have accumulated. She’d be a very wealthy woman in her own right. Which means she can afford to take a step back and forget business and find what makes her happy - very fortunate indeed.

John Ross: though he doesn’t have a piece of the company he wants, he has 1/6 of SF’s oil leased to EG. That, from Elena’s estimates, makes him a billionaire. I tell him, he needs to take his money and walk away but I get him not wanting to let go. In reality JR left him nothing (the oil belonged to his grandmother and great grandfather and it was his idea to slant drill and 1/2 his family’s share to his mother wasn’t right if JR either, and Miss Ellie left him 1/2 of South Fork, JR and Jock passed on nothing). That can’t be easy to take after a life time of promises. I know I didn’t like this as it played out on TNT Dallas, JRs masterpiece was a joke.

Bobby and Sue Ellen: no way gas is green energy, but ok let’s say it is. The car industry is working on batteries which is green energy (depending on how it’s produced) making lithium king, not gas. Add to that Bobby and Sue Ellen better figure out how to fight JR style because John Ross is the least of their problems, with what CC wrote the extraction process would cause the price of gas to plummet and destroy the economies of many powerful nations, not the least is Russia.

Just my summary. Can’t wait to see the fight.