DALLAS The Legacy

“She's just a little girl, Ellie, but she knows how people feel about her. She needs more than just a wardrobe of nice clothes, a place to sleep and hot meals on the table. She needs love.”

"I know," Ellie said. "I know." She was ashamed that she could deny love to a child. Any child.

The next day things were really tense at Southfork. Jock decided to take the boys to do some cattle ranching much to JR's disgust.

“Can't we go the office instead?” JR pleaded, “It's so cold out there.”

“You need to toughen up son, get them boots on and never mind the office and Ewing Oil for today.”

As JR bent over to pull on his outdoor boots Bobby and Gary came charging through and in their youthful exuberance accidentally knocked JR face first onto the floor, his ass sticking in the air.

The boys giggled hysterically as their Daddy pulled up their elder brother and told him to quit his complaining. After several more minutes, Jock and the boys finally left the Ranch.

The house was suddenly silent as Ellie and Cassie were left alone. Cassandra seemed to sense the tension in the air as she began to fidget and slowly retreat fro the kitchen. As the girl walked out of the kitchen Ellie was consumed with guilt.

For a moment Cassandra stood as still as a statue and then turned around and nodded solemnly. Ellie put on the gramophone and the sounds of Christmas suddenly filled the house. Ellie returned to the table where she was kneading bread, suddenly Cassandra spoke.

They had always sat around the tree, the twelve nights leading up to Christmas other years and sang carols, but not this year.

"We had Christmas once and my mother told me about the story and sang me a pretty song about the quiet nights," Cassandra said. "I wish I could remember it."

She said nothing more and Ellie continued making the bread with tears in her eyes, still unable to reach out to the girl. Ellie began to again dwell on how things had gone so wrong and paid little attention to Cassandra's exit as she crept form the kitchen. After over an hour, Ellie finished what she was doing. She looked out the window and noticed the snow had started to fall. She immediate began to worry about Jock and the boys.

After another hour or so and the snow showing no sign of stopping Ellie was in a real panic. It was no good, she would have to go and get help, see if she could find one of the ranch hands to go look for Jock and the boys. As Ellie pulled her coat and began to leave the house she suddenly remembered Cassie, She hesitated for a moment and then continued on her path. The girl would have to look after herself for a while.

As Ellie began to walk towards the stable she saw there was a light inside. Opening the door softly, she peered within. Cassandra had lit the barn lantern, and within its glow she knelt in the straw. Her impulse was to rush in and grab the child and chastised her for coming out alone with out telling her first, but she stopped, because the scene was strangely beautiful in the soft light from the lantern. Cassandra had made what look liked a make shift crib out of some sticks and had placed her rag doll inside and she seemed to be addressing her words towards the animals.

"The shepherds came following the star," she was saying. "And they found the baby Jesus who had been born in a stable." She paused for a moment, and then went on. "And his mother loved him."

Ellie felt suddenly that she couldn't breathe. Another mother, the only mother this little girl had ever known must have once shown her love, had told her the beautiful story of the Christ Child with such love that she hadn't forgotten it, even as young as she must have been. The story had stuck with her because it must have been one of the isolated times in her young life when she had felt wanted and loved. She had been cheated of the love of her birth mother, let down by the drunken substitute and now, she, Ellie, had failed her as well.

In the silence Ellie began to sing. "Silent night," she sang. "Holy night."

Cassandra didn't move until the song was finished. Then she turned with that quick, heart-melting smile.

"That's the one," she whispered. "That's the song that my mother used to sing to me."

Ellie ran forward and gathered the girl into her arms. She responded immediately, clasping her arms tightly around her.

"Cassie," Ellie said, "it's beautiful. Your cradle and little scene here."

"You never called me Cassie before," she murmured, her head against Ellie's neck.

"I didn't do a lot of things," Ellie said. As she held her close, all the hurt and pride that Ellie had kept enclosing in her heart seemed to release and vanish.

Gradually, the noise of horses hooves could be heard and moments later Jock and the boys appeared in the doorway.

“Oh nothing really, just us girls getting into the Christmas spirit,” Ellie replied.

Jock held Ellie's stare for a moment and the smile he had missed so much began to spread across his beautiful wife's face. Ellie began to gather the boys towards her and sat them down next to her.

Lifting Cassie on to her knee she stroked the girl's hair and slowly Cassie looked into the faces of her three brothers and then began to retell the story of Christmas to them….

Ellie awoke as Tom pulled the car up at a service station to fill up with petrol.

“Almost home then.” Ellie said as she looked into the distance and wondered what was awaiting her back at Southfork…

Join us at the forum to discuss this episode and look out for Part 2 of our Christmas episode coming soon!