THANK YOU
This is a SPOILER HEAVY one shot, so if you aren't spoiled don't read any further! You've been warned!
This is a one shot that came to me in about an hour, after reading the most recent spoilers (and boy ... are they major spoilers! Whoa!) and having this song come up randomly in my playlist. It was, ahem, the perfect marriage of song and plot. So I went with it. The song is called "Thank You" by Keith Urban. Awesome song he wrote for his wife (you might have heard of her).
I own nothing, as per the usual. ABC and Callie Khouri own it all.
Please let me know your thoughts in the reviews...
He couldn't sleep. He knew he should be exhausted after the emotion and intensity over the past 24 hours. But sleep wouldn't come, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't stop the lyrics that were racing through his mind. He had spent the last three hours watching her snore softly, curled up into a ball beside him. Her blonde curls spilled gently over her bare shoulders, the moonlight illuminating the glittering strands against the crisp white sheets beneath her. As he stared at her sleeping form, he was still amazed at the turn his life had taken.
A little more than a year ago, he had ruined his blossoming solo career by burning the masters of his recording sessions. He'd been busking on the streets, desperate for something to change. For some kind of success. Having to grudgingly take a roadie job should have been the end of it. Instead it had been the beginning. It wasn't the first time they'd met, but it had been the time that had changed him. That moment that had somehow sent his life spinning into some unrecognizable place.
Their friendship had been everything they'd both needed, both ships lost at sea needing something, someone to cling to. The truth was that she had saved him. To many it would look the opposite. But he knew the truth. They saved each other. They had found solace in each other, making a connection that he had never felt before. He was more than certain the same was true for her. But even the sturdiest of ships run into a hurricane occasionally. It was a storm that blew them apart, and had nearly sunk him.
He knew that constantly trying to alleviate his pain with alcohol and women who weren't her wouldn't lead to anything good. He had watched Deacon Claybourne long enough to know that. Having to call her for bail had been the low point. He could still remember the feeling of his heart shattering even further as he watched her crying at his words on the sidewalk outside of the Nashville Police Department. He hated saying those things to her. But even more he hated the lying and the fact that he hadn't been enough for her.
But everything changed with a single text.
Four words that changed his trajectory yet again. "I'm pregnant. It's yours." He'd been furious at the time and for a while following. Such a heartless way to tell a man he was going to be a father. His first thought had been to go on a bender, drinking everything in sight. But he hadn't. Something stopped him. Someone, rather. Knowing that she was carrying his child, a little piece of both of them, made him stop and put the bottle down. Could he really just walk away and pretend that the baby didn't exist?
His answer came like a lightning bolt when he received yet another text, this time from Zoey. "Juliette collapsed at sound check. They're taking her to the hospital." He knew at that moment that, try as he might, he was in this and in it deep. He wouldn't be walking away, wouldn't be a father who barely acknowledged his kid. He couldn't be like his own father who had never supported him or his dreams. He would be there. He told her as much when she'd posed the question of how involved he wanted to be, from her hospital bed. It was the same day they received word that the song they'd written was nominated for a CMA award.
It had been a struggle to get comfortable with each other again, but somehow it had happened. She'd allowed herself to be happy and he had opened up to her and things were as they always were with the two of them: all or nothing. By the time they walked the red carpet together, forgiveness and friendship had taken the place of bitterness and anger. They were happy. But as he watched her stand there in the gorgeous designer gown, his child resting just below the silk of the skirt, and accept the award in front of the whole of the country music industry, he knew that he was done. He loved her and there was nothing he could do to fight it. And he didn't want to. He showed her just how much he loved her later that night. And they never looked back.
The ring had been an impulse buy, something he found in a trendy jewelry store in East Nashville, and purchased with most of his royalties from the song. He wasn't planning to give it to her yet. It just looked like something that would suit her. Delicate and unique, the square cut diamond didn't cost nearly what she deserved, but it just seemed perfect. He was intending to hold on to it until after the baby arrived.
And then yesterday happened.
They'd argued. Not about anything major, in fact he couldn't even remember what the point of contention was. Something about the nursery. But the details got lost as soon as she had blurted out the fact that she wanted to be his wife somewhere in the midst of their shouting match. She'd frozen at the sound of her own words, something resembling shock appearing in her blue eyes. He didn't say a word, but calmly walked out of the baby's room and into their bedroom.
She waddled after him, begging him not to leave. Taking it back with tears in her eyes. He pulled the small box from the drawer where he'd hidden it for the weeks before. He turned to face her and his heart broke at the tears streaming down her face. Stepping close to her, he reached up and wiped the tears from her cheek. Then he took her hand, opened the palm and placed the box where she could see it. She looked back up at him after a moment of taking in the sight of the ring.
Two hours later, they were at city hall pledging forever to each other, neither one of them doubting the other for a second.
Now, barely more than twelve hours later, in the early dawn, he watched her stir slightly knowing that she was nowhere close to waking up. For a minute longer he let his eyes linger on her belly, as their baby, their little girl, noticeably shifted inside her mother. He wanted to reach out, to touch the tiny person they'd created, to let her know that daddy was there and he wasn't going anywhere. But he also knew to never wake a sleeping pregnant woman. Especially a sleeping, pregnant Juliette Barnes.
Slipping out of bed quietly, he pulled on the pair of jeans that he'd left on the floor of the mountain cottage. Juliette had called in a last minute favor of a friend who built the log cabin as a musicians retreat just outside Smoky Mountains National Park. It was beautiful, completely secluded and they knew they'd be left to honeymoon in private.
He descended the stairs, lyrics still pulsing through him. He finally gave in to them, sitting at the piano. He played the melody in his head softly, so as not to wake her.
There were nights where I was sure
I wouldn't see the morning sun
And there were days that seemed so dark
I couldn't wait for night to come
I couldn't stand to think about how
My life used to be
And how without a single warning
It all slipped away from me
Like a fool I thought I could fight
The shadows on my own
To the dark I was no stranger
But this was stronger than I'd known
By the time I knew that I was in too deep
I'd gone too far
And the light that used to guide me
Had faded from my heart
And I found myself in places I thought I'd never go
Surrounded by strangers, I was so far away from home
And I don't know how you found me
All I know is I owe you everything
Yes I do
He didn't hear her tiptoe down the stairs, nor did he notice as she stood there watching, listening, taking in the words he was singing. He didn't see the tears forming in her eyes or the way she stared down at the ring that adorned her left hand.
And I thank you for my heart
I thank you for my life
And I thank God for grace and mercy
And that you became my wife
I'm seeing for the first time
The stars, the sun and moon
But they've got nothing on the power
Of this love I have for you
And I thank you, I thank you
Now people say they'll stand beside you
They swear they'll never leave
But when the rain started falling
You know it only fell on me
And it was hard to keep believing in myself
When all I felt was so much pain and guilt and shame
I couldn't even ask for help
I don't know if I believe in other lives
But when you came
There was something so familiar
About the way you said my name
And the whole world started turning
And I swear that I'd been born again brand new
And it's all because of you
He didn't notice her until she gently ran her hands across his shoulders and joined him on the piano bench, facing away from the instrument. He glanced over, pausing slightly, but her eyes urged him to continue.
And so I thank you for my heart
I thank you for my life
And I thank God for grace and mercy
And that you became my wife
I'm seeing for the first time
The stars, the sun and moon
But they've got nothing on the power
Of this love I have for you
And I thank you, I thank you
And I've seen so many things
I just can't explain
But the miracle of miracles is how
With your love I was saved
She placed both hands over her satin robe-clad belly, knowing that this child was their miracle. This child saved them both and that made her smile as she leaned closer to him as he finished the song, placing her cheek on his shoulder.
And I thank you
I thank you for my life
And I thank God for grace and mercy
And that you became my wife
I'm seeing for the first time
The stars, the sun and moon
But they've got nothing on the power
Of this love I give to you
And I thank you for my heart
I thank you for my life
I thank God for grace and mercy
And that you became my wife
The day I started breathing
Was the day you took my hand
And 'til the day I die
Baby, I'll forever be your man
And I thank you, I thank you
For a moment, they just sat in the silence as the sun finally broke through over the nearby mountaintops and filtered into the large living area. She wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning back slightly so that she could look into his eyes.
"I feel like I should be singing that to you. I should be the one saying thank you," she said softly.
He shook his head. "Every word was for you."
"I love you," she said as she kissed him lightly.
And as the sun moved more fully into the Tennessee sky, it was clear that the battles, the storms, everything they'd been through was worth it. They'd come out stronger than before. And for that they would both be forever grateful.
What did you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the reviews!