I am so bad about updating these things but I actually have a few chapters in my back pocket that just need to be edited a little bit for this one... Enjoy!

Rayna nervously shook trying to sip some of the hot coffee Teddy had retrieved for her out of the vending machine down the hall. The small waiting room inside the hospital held no clock on the wall making it seem like time hadn't moved in forever.

Balancing the coffee in one hand, she pulled out her cell phone to check it one more time. No calls, no texts. Nothing. Her mind was in two places at once. Where was he?

She excused herself, stepping out into the hallway where the buzz of the hospital consumed her. Doctors and nurses briskly walk passed her. A distance away were families carrying get well flowers and balloons to their loved ones. She could hear the sound of the elevator ding a few feet away as a petite blonde stepped off and headed towards the main exit. Her eyes took in it all and she blinked twice when they stopped at the elevator. Once her brain had made the connection, she picked up her pace as she rushed over to catch the blonde before she got out the door.

"Scarlett!" Rayna yelled after her.

Scarlett turned around, clearly shocked to see Rayna there. "Rayna, what are yo-" She paused, her eyes growing wide with concern as she focused on Rayna's hand suddenly gripping her arm tightly.

"Have you heard from Deacon? I've been trying to get a hold of him all day. He's not returning my calls or texts. Do you know where he is?" Rayna asked breathlessly as she started to go into panic mode.

She could see Rayna trying to read her inner thoughts and cursed herself for being the worse liar in the world knowing it was probably written all over her face. How did she not know he was here? How did she not know Deacon was fighting for his life just three floors above their heads? Scarlett wondered.

"I haven't seen him. Why? What's going on?"

Rayna let out a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves before she spilled her coffee everywhere. "It's Maddie. She got into a fight at school and hit her head. They're running a cat scan right now."

"Is she alright?"

Rayna shrugged. "She seemed pretty out of it but they say that's typical the first few hours of a head injury. The brain needs time to recover from the shock." Scarlett watched as Rayna bit down on her lip, contemplating asking for a favor. She knew Rayna was very independent and hated asking for anything. "Do you-do you think you could try calling him? He might answer if it's you. I think he's avoiding me since well-." Rayna's trailed off and the expression on her face turned to a sad smile.

Scarlett's heart ached for Rayna. God, she had no idea how her Uncle who loved this woman could lie to her. Probably why he'd been avoiding."Yeah, I'll give him a call. I'm sure he just doesn't have his phone on is all. You know how he hates those things."

Rayna nodded. "Thanks Scarlett. Oh and I heard about your friend, Will's wife. Is she okay?" Rayna asked her eyes darting towards the elevator assuming that's why Scarlett was there.

Scarlett frowned for a moment until it finally clicked. "Yeah." Scarlett nodded. "Yeah!" She said a little bit more convincing this time. Scarlett took a few steps back, she had already told enough lies she needed to get away before anymore came out. "Give Maddie a hug from me." Scarlett disappeared down the hallway as quick as she could.

##############

Once Rayna was out of site Scarlett hopped back on the elevator and headed straight for Deacon's room. She peaked inside where he laid sleeping. When she stepped inside, she found one of the nurses checking on him. "How is he?" She asked cautiously, bracing herself for the bad news.

"He's doing a lot better than he was when he first came in. We finally have his vitals where they should be."

Scarlett nodded. "Is he going to have to stay the night because his daughter was just admitted downstairs and-" Scarlett abruptly stopped midsentence when she heard Deacon stirring.

"We'll keep a close eye on him and see how he's feeling later this afternoon. It was probably just a side effect from his medication but we just want to be sure." The nurse explained as she glanced over at Deacon. "I'll be back to check on him in a little while." Scarlett nodded as the nurse left the room.

She walked around to the other side of the bed. Deacon's eyes were now opened. "What happened?" He groaned, loosening his stiff neck he'd been sleeping on.

"You collapsed again and I brought you to the hospital to get chec-"

"I mean with Maddie. Is she okay?" Deacon interrupted, concern filling his voice.

"Uncle Deacon, you need to focus on getting yourself better first. How are you feeling?"

He stared at her with those dark eyes she knew too well. "I'm fine Scar. I don't need to be here! You heard the nurse it was probably just a side effect!"

"But they don't know that for a fact." She argued, knowing it was useless at this point.

"Just tell me what happened to her!" Deacon begged.

Scarlett sighed, taking a seat next to the bed. "She hit her head. They're running a cat scan right now."

Before she could finish explaining, Deacon grabbed the blood pressure cuff that was around his arm and started to unvelcro it. The sight startled her knowing he was planning to escape. She sat up straight, her hands flying wildly in the air as they shook. "Stop! Deacon! You're going to hurt yourself if you get out of bed." She warned.

Ignoring her cries, he slid the blood pressure cuff off his arm and chucked it onto the bed. He reached his hand under the hospital gown and began to unsnap the heart monitor they had him hooked up to. The machines started to beep loudly. "Deacon, wait, please." Scarlett begged standing up to try to stop him but he continued unsnapping all the cords from his body and tossed them onto the bed.

He sat up, scooching himself to the side of the bed and getting his feet on the floor. "Get me my clothes." He demanded.

Scarlett stared at him with fear in her eyes. She didn't move. She was too afraid of what would happen if she did. "Get the clothes, Scarlett!" Deacon hollered. Scarlett nervously nodded with tears in her eyes as she walked over to retrieve the pile of clothes sitting in the corner.

She held them close to her body, shaking her head. "This isn't a good idea. You shouldn't be out of bed until the doctor releases you, Uncle Deacon. Please." She begged.

The machine continued to beep when the nurse walked in. "What is going on in here?" She asked pressing buttons on the machine to stop the beeping. "Sir, we need to get you back in bed." The nurse said unsuccessfully grabbing his feet to swing them back into the bed.

Deacon shook his head, not moving a muscle. "My daughter is right downstairs. She's been admitted here. I need to see her!"

"Well you're going to have to wait for the doctor to make that decision." The nurse explain trying again to swing his feet.

"Page him."

"Mr. Claybourne, we need to get you back into bed."

"Page the damn doctor! I'm not staying here any longer!"

"Uncle Deacon, you're not doing anyone any good by leaving. They're running tests on her anyways. They wouldn't even let Rayna in. All you would be doing is waiting down there." Scarlett said trying to calm him down.

Deacon shook his head. "I need to see Rayna. She's probably a wreck." Deacon said attempting to stand up but the nurse pushed him back down.

"I will get ahold of the doctor to see about releasing you early. In the meantime, the doctor's orders still stand."

Deacon's lip quivered trying to fight back tears. "But my little girl-"

The nurse nodded sympathetically. "I'll make a call to her doctor downstairs to see how she's doing and report back to you."

Deacon huffed. "Don't tell them I'm here."

"Patient confidentiality." The nurse said with a wink.

Deacon reluctantly slid back into bed and the nurse hooked him back up to the machines and left the room.

#########

He laid there staring at the ceiling, thinking about how worried Rayna must be right now. He wondered if she was alone. "Can you bring me my phone please?" Deacon asked calmly.

Scarlett nodded standing up and handing it to him. He scrolled through all the missed calls and text messages. As he read each text about their daughter his heart sank to his stomach, not being there for the two of them. He unlocked his phone, hovering his finger over Rayna's name. What was he supposed to tell her?

Eventually, Deacon hit the call button and heard Rayna's voice pick up on the other end. "Hey!" She said relieved to finally hear his voice.

"How is she?"

"She's still pretty out of it. We're waiting for the results from her cat scan."

He closed his eyes. Not knowing was the worse part. "I'm so sorry I didn't answer before."

"It's okay. Are you on your way now?"

Yes, I'm already here. He felt like saying. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Alright I'll see you then."

Deacon pulled the phone away from his ear and clutched it tightly in his fist. He turned to Scarlett with a worried look on his face. "We have to get me out of here soon."

I thought if would be interesting to see how long Deacon could tip toe around before Rayna found out. Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are always welcomed and I promise I already have a few chapters wrote out for this story. I'll try not to leave you hanging this time!