Between the Lines: If I Only Knew

Chapter 1

So, here is the thing... When I was writing "If I Only Knew Then" I kind of made the mistake of falling in love with Little Evie. From the reviews and PMs I got the impression that you readers did too, so I decided that a sequel of sorts was necessary. I re-read the last chapter of that story and realized that there are some blanks that could be filled in. What came from that thought process was a series of vignettes, just short scenes that take place within the context of the last chapter of "IIOKT." I have the first two mostly written, and few more almost complete. The first two both take place between Avery's release from the hospital and Evie's birth. What the rest will be, I'm not 100% sure. They may or may not be in order, but I will make it clear in each installment where they fall into the story. And yes, there will be some more super cute moments with Evie as this progresses, I promise.

So let me know what you think in the review section.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Avery leaned against the soundboard and watched nervously as Rayna listened intently to the song for the first time. She sat in the leather office chair, no expression on her face. He glanced up and met Juliette's stare as she perched on the edge of the sofa behind her label head. He could tell she was as tense as he was. Both took a deep breath as the song ended.

For a few seconds, there was silence. Then Rayna spun the chair around and looked at Juliette as a grin spread across her face. "That is the best work you've ever done." Both Avery and Juliette breathed an audible sigh of relief. "The emotion, the lyrics, the production. I've never heard anything like it. It's fresh and unique ... you're going to turn Nashville and country radio on its ear with this record if you keep churning out things like this."

Juliette smiled and looked over at Avery, pride in her eyes. "Glad you think so."

"I know so," Rayna said as she stood and grabbed her purse from the floor at her feet. "I can't wait to hear more."

Avery nodded. "We'll have a few more songs ready by the beginning of next week."

She turned her attention to the producer with surprise. "You know there's no rush. It's only been a week since you got out of the hospital." Both Juliette and Avery had appreciated Rayna's concern during the ordeal, despite dealing with her own struggles at the same time. She and Luke had split and the media had been hounding her tirelessly. But Rayna kept it all in perspective, constantly checking in with Juliette and asking how Avery was recovering. "You should be taking things easy."

Avery looked over at Juliette. She had been planning to tell Rayna about the baby, but the opportunity hadn't presented itself until that moment. Taking a deep breath she finally spoke up. "Actually, there ... uh ... kind of is. A rush, I mean."

The older woman's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Um ... well, with a record comes photoshoots and appearances ... and I don't think you want me doing that," Juliette paused as she glanced over to Avery, who was suddenly very interested in a spot on the ground near his feet, "with a big belly and stretch marks."

Rayna's eyes grew to the size of saucers as Juliette's words sank in. She looked over at Avery, then back to Juliette. "You're pregnant?!"

The blonde bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Yeah. The other option would be to wait another six months until afterwards and I don't think my career can take that." She paused, meeting Rayna's shocked stare, willing her to understand her request. "So if it's okay with you, I'd like to set a release date for a single at least within the next month or two. We could save the album release for after the baby comes, but I really feel like we need to get a single out sooner rather than later."

Rayna took in a deep breath and sat back down, motioning for Avery to join Juliette on the sofa. It was clear to both of them that the wheels in her mind were spinning at that moment and they weren't exactly sure what to expect. "Okay, you do realize that the media is going to be all over this, right?"

An exasperated sigh made its way from Juliette's lips. "I know. But Rayna ... what else can they say about me that they haven't already said?"

It was a sad reality of how far Juliette had fallen, and Rayna knew that. It wasn't a secret to anyone that Juliette wasn't some virginal innocent. And really, her reputation couldn't get much worse than it already had, with the shoplifting and the broken engagement, her status as a homewrecker and the ridiculous atheism claim, not to mention the scandalous circumstances surrounding her mother's death. This would cause a stir, but probably not to the level that it would have in the past. Unless ... Rayna took in a deep breath, hating the words that she was about to say. "I hate to ask, but you know I have to..."

Before she could continue, Juliette held up a hand, halting her boss' questioning. "You don't have to ask," she said, looking over at the man sitting quietly beside her. "The baby is Avery's. I'm about 10 weeks along. I was already pregnant the night of the BMI party."

Rayna couldn't help the relief she felt and knew that it was obvious on her face. "Okay. So that is one issue that we can avoid. Thank God. What are y'all going to do? Personally, I mean."

Juliette glanced back over at Avery, who smiled at her reassuringly. The interaction was not lost on Rayna. "We're going to raise this baby together. That much we know. The rest of it ... we're just going to figure out as we go along."

"You know what the PR team is going to say when I tell them. Especially when I tell them that you want to launch a single about the time you would really start showing," Rayna said, eyebrows raised expectantly.

"Yes, and we aren't getting married just to please the media," she said, rolling her eyes. "That wouldn't be fair to us or the baby. Look, Rayna, I've thought about this a lot. We both have, and we've talked about it. It's a private issue and we don't want the entire world knowing our business. Especially once the baby gets here. I don't want a media storm."

The country legend smiled, thinking back fourteen years into the past, remembering all those same emotions. Except she had gotten married, which ultimately probably hadn't been the best decision she had ever made, at least in the way she went about it. She didn't wish that kind of heartache on anyone, Juliette and Avery included. She smiled at the young pair and placed a hand gently on Juliette's knee. "We've got some time to figure this out. Why don't you guys come over to the house tomorrow night. Bring Glenn and I'll have Bucky and Tandy there, and some of the folks from marketing and public relations and we'll hash all of this out."

"Um, sure. Sounds good." They both nodded their response.

Rayna once again stood to leave as a smile appeared. "I probably should have said this first, but congratulations. To both of you." She turned and headed out of the studio leaving Avery and Juliette in her wake.

"That could have been worse," Avery finally said as he released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Yep," she said nodding as she stood to her feet, knowing they had another few hours of work left to do before they were done for the day. She paused, hesitant about mentioning it to him, but she realized that wasn't really fair. "By the way, before I forget, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow with my obstetrician. They're going to check the baby's heartbeat. You, um, are welcome to come if you'd like." He stared back at her and she couldn't help but feel a little let down as she saw a moment of fear and pause in his eyes. She quickly looked away, trying to hide the hurt she suddenly felt. "I mean you don't have to ..."

"Hey," he said softly as she felt his hand on her shoulder. "I'll be there. I wouldn't miss it."

She couldn't stop the word from flying out of her mouth, emotions getting the better of her. "Then what the hell was that reaction? You looked like you'd rather walk on glass than be there."

He took a breath, choosing his words carefully as he moved around to meet her stare. "This is new for me too," he said softly. "And it's scary, Juliette. Hearing the heartbeat will make it that much more real. I told you I wasn't going anywhere, and I'm not. I'm right here and I will be next to you in that doctor's office tomorrow. But you've had a lot longer to get used to the idea of having a baby than I have. I can't help but wonder if I'm even cut out to be a father, all things considered. But I'm going to do my best."

Juliette felt ashamed, disappointed in herself for not trusting him. She should have learned her lesson about that, considering what happen last time she didn't have enough faith in him. "I'm sorry. I know you're trying. I haven't made this easy for you. I'll do better."

"You're doing fine. We are doing fine. We'll get through this, but you have to trust me." She nodded, a smile slowly making it's way back to her face, as he continued. "So, what do you say we get some more vocals down? We'll deal with tomorrow when it happens."

"Okay.