These are mostly Deacon and Rayna history one-shots, starting and ending with a story around "No One Will Every Love You". They won't necessarily be in any kind of order and my plan is to make them fun and fluffy without a lot of drama.

Rayna drove up the long driveway to Riverside. It was hard to believe she hadn't even crossed the county line. This place was out in the country west of Nashville and was peaceful and calm. Just the right place for people who were overcoming their addictions. Thirty days ago she had brought Deacon here. It had taken her a long time to work up the courage to tell him she thought he had a problem and that she wanted him to work on it, to get better. Their lives had gotten so much better in the last year or so on the professional front. She'd gone from opening for George Strait to opening for Vince Gill and she was getting a lot of traction on her first album. She was getting good radio play and, if she wasn't on stage, she was meeting DJ's in cities around the country. She'd also been nominated for a CMA Horizon Award, her first.

Deacon's alcohol problem had cast an unfortunate shadow over all the good things going on. At first, she didn't think too much about it, but as time went on he seemed to not be able to control it. He'd had a drunk driving arrest. He'd been thrown in jail after hitting someone at a show that had come on to Rayna. He was drunk more nights than he wasn't and he'd missed a show or two. She didn't want things to get out of hand, so she'd convinced him to go to Riverside. Actually, it hadn't taken a lot of convincing. He'd been very contrite and apologetic and pleaded with her not to lose faith in him.

She had arranged for him to go to rehab when she had some down time from touring. She was making more money now and she could afford to pay for him to go, so she did. She'd missed him horribly and had spent most of her time writing sad poems and notes in her journal about how much she loved him. She'd hardly slept the night before she was so excited about picking him up. She had gotten dressed carefully, wearing a white sundress that he loved and her favorite red boots that he liked teasing her about. She'd carefully done her makeup, even though she thought she'd ruin it with tears.

She parked the car and waited. She was a little early, but that was okay. She watched the front door like a hawk and felt her heart surge every time it opened, only to be disappointed that it was someone else. Then she saw him. He walked out under the portico and looked around. She opened the door and jumped out of the car. Slamming the door shut, she ran towards him. "Deacon!" she shouted.

He turned and his face lit up when he saw her. He started to run towards her and when she got to him, he threw his arms around her and lifted her up, twirling her around. "Oh, baby, I've missed you so much," he said. He put her down on her feet and pulled her close, kissing her deeply.

She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, pressing herself as close to him as she could. "I've missed you too, babe," she said breathlessly, when he finally pulled away from her mouth. She smiled up at him and put her hands on his face, bringing him back down to her for another deep kiss. "How are you feeling?" she asked finally.

He clung to her as though for dear life. "Amazing. This was great. I feel better than I have in years."

She smiled happily. "I'm so glad." She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Let's go home," she whispered.


Much, much later, Deacon was holding Rayna in his arms as they lay in bed together. He kissed her softly. "I missed you, Ray," he said.

"I missed you too." She smiled shyly. "I dreamed about you every night. And wrote about you every day."

Deacon raised his eyebrows. "Will you show me what you wrote?"

Rayna looked away. "Oh, I don't know. I don't think any of it's really any good."

"Let me see. I'll bet it's better than you think."

Rayna hesitated, then finally reached into the drawer in the bedside table and pulled out her notebook. She handed it to Deacon and sat watching him read through what she'd written, flipping through the pages slowly. When he stopped on one, she knew he must have seen something he liked. She never felt confident writing on her own. She told anyone who would listen that Deacon was the real writer, that she just added a line here or there.

He looked up at her, a serious look on his face. "This is really good, Ray," he said.

She got a hopeful look on her face and leaned over to take a look at what he was talking about. Don't you try to tell me someone's waiting / No one's waiting for you / Oh and don't you try to tell me that you're wanted / That you're needed, cause it's not true. "You really like it?" she asked.

Deacon nodded. "It's beautiful," he whispered.

Rayna blushed. "I wrote it for you."

Deacon took a deep breath and turned back to the words on the page. "No one will ever love you, like I do." He squeezed her hand. "Is this all you have so far?"

"It's all I have. It's as far as I got." She sighed. "I kind of got stuck after this."

Deacon looked at her. Her hair was all tangled, she had a slight pout on her lips. He'd missed her so much it had hurt. He'd hated that he was in such bad shape that rehab was the only answer. He'd hated losing thirty days of his life with her. He had dreamed about her every night. Her cute reddish-gold bob that she was finally starting to grow out. Her saucy, dancing blue eyes. The little sprinkle of freckles across her nose that, when she was being playful and wrinkled her nose, made her look like a little girl. And yet sexy at the same time. Her smile, the one that lit up her eyes and usually ended up turning into a kiss for him. Her body, her skin, all her curves and edges, how they fit so absolutely perfectly together, as though they were made for it. He growled deep in his throat and tossed the notebook to the floor, reaching out for her.


In the days leading up to his departure for Riverside, Deacon had been despondent. He had felt like a failure and had told Rayna over and over that he wasn't good enough for her, that she deserved so much better than him. He had offered to set her free, let her find someone more appropriate, someone she wouldn't have to prop up like she did him. She had told him over and over that this was just a bump in the road, just a resting spot before they picked up where they left off. That she wasn't leaving him, wasn't interested in a life without him. He'd been sure that thirty days without him would show her the benefits of a drama-free life. He'd held his breath the entire walk down the hall and out the door, in case she wasn't there. Even though they'd given him her letters after the first two weeks, filled with love and yearning, he was sure she'd come to her senses. He'd told her that if she wasn't there when he got out that he would understand, would find someone else.

So when he'd seen her words on the page, he'd realized that she had listened to everything he'd said and she was telling him that he'd been wrong all along. That their love would overcome anything. He had kept coming back to them over the next several days as they got back into the swing of their regular lives, rehearsing for the next leg of the Garth Brooks tour, and working on Rayna's next album. He wanted to complete that song she'd written, because he had a feeling about it, that it could be something very special. He also wanted to do something for her that would show her how much he loved and appreciated her. How glad he was that she was in his life and that she believed in him.

It was at a rehearsal a few days later later that inspiration hit him. They were doing a dress rehearsal and Rayna was in her sparkly dress and high heels. He loved watching her and always was amazed at how she could prance across the stage so effortlessly on those sky-high heels. When they were finished, she had walked over to him and he'd pushed his guitar around on his back and had pulled her in. "Why don't you get down off those high heels, baby?" he whispered in her ear. She had giggled and whispered something dirty in his ear and he had grabbed her hand and pulled her off stage, as she laughed happily.

Later that night, with Rayna wrapped up in the sheet beside him, snoring lightly, Deacon had reached for the notebook that was still lying on the floor next to his side of the bed. The full moon outside the window was almost as bright as a bedside lamp and he hastily scribbled down another verse and a bridge to her song. He read it over a couple times, made a handful of minor changes, and then put the notebook down. He rolled on his side and put his arm around Rayna's waist, drawing her close against him. She made a little murmuring noise and he nuzzled her neck, then closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.


When Rayna came home from lunch with Tandy, Deacon was sitting on the couch with his guitar. She put down her purse and curled up next to him. "Something new you're working on?" she asked.

He turned towards her and gave her a quick kiss. "Yeah. Remember what you showed me the night I got home?" She nodded. "Well, I came up with another verse and a little bridge at the end," he went on. "And I thought, maybe, it could be a duet."

"Really? Can we try it?" He handed her the notebook and she quickly read through the words. She looked up at him and smiled. "I like what you added. And you have the music?"

He nodded and smiled. "I do."

"Well, why don't you sing it for me first and then we can work it out together." She sat back and listened as Deacon sang the song all the way through. When he finished she had tears in her eyes. "Oh, babe, that's amazing," she said. "I love it."

"Would you want to record it?"

Rayna nodded. "I would. We could introduce it on the tour."

"Actually, Erika called and asked if we could play tonight. We could do it there, if you thought you could learn it by then."

She frowned a little. "You really want to do the Bluebird tonight when we have to leave in the morning?"

He shrugged. "Why not?" He nudged her shoulder and winked. "We can sleep on the bus."

She smiled and blushed. "Yeah, we could, I guess." She leaned in and kissed him. "Well, let's practice this then."


That night, they sang "No One Will Ever Love You" for the very first time at The Bluebird Café.

Don't you try to tell me someone's waiting / They're not waiting for you

Oh and don't you try to tell me that you're wanted / That you're needed

Cause it's not true

I know why you're lonely / It's time you knew it too

No one will ever love you

No one will ever love you

No one will ever love you / Like I do

Why you always looking for the limelight? / Ain't you satisfied with me?

Oh for once why don't you get down off your high heels? / You're no big deal

Can't you see?

I know why you're lonely / It's time you knew it too

No one will ever love you

No one will ever love you

No one will ever love you / Like I do

I'm all you got

I'm all you'll ever need

I'm all you'll ever have

No one will ever love you

No one will ever love you

No one will ever love you / Like I do / Like I do / Like I do

When they finished the song, there was a long moment of silence. Rayna held her breath. She and Deacon had poured their hearts out in that song and she realized it would crush her if the audience didn't like it. Then all at once there was a massive cheer and wild applause and she breathed out, smiling. Deacon grabbed her hand and when she looked in his eyes, she saw the glint of unshed tears.

It turned out to be the song that put her on the map for good and it was the one that every audience clamored to hear. For years it was the last song of their set and every time they sang it, Rayna and Deacon were transported to their own little bubble, oblivious to anyone around them as they sang their love letter to each other. It was always the song Rayna held most dear and, even when times were bad, it held her up and helped her get through.