Disclaimer: I don't own Nashville and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Rayna Jaymes eagerly anticipated her (second) wedding day in a few days because she was so excited to marry the love of her life. She and Deacon had finally gotten their shit together and truthfully, life was a whole lot happier for them both now. Her heart still skipped a beat every time she saw him. Deacon was also pretty good with the girls, and he and Maddie's relationship was no longer in rough waters. That had been an exhausting and tense few months after she, Teddy, and Deacon sat her down to explain the truth about her paternity. But that was past them now and Rayna was only looking forward to the future and what it would bring (a new tour, but that was par for the course, and now she'd be with her husband). She wasn't nervous about remarrying at all because she knew it was the right thing to do.
Deacon was a little nervous about marrying Rayna, but like her, he was mostly just excited. He was marrying the love of his life (finally), and his life was stable for the first time in a long time. He couldn't wait to spend the rest of their lives together. She was all he had ever wanted and he adored Daphne, always had. He loved Maddie, too, of course, but their relationship was different than his and Daphne's. He didn't want to fuck things up with any of his girls, a longstanding fear of his, but Rayna had assured him he wouldn't. He believed her and hoped she was right.
Deacon beamed widely when the door opened and his fiancée stepped through the door. "The girls are with Teddy and we're free for the next days." Rayna smiled back at him and waited for him to approach.
He did so and brushed her hair out of her face before leaning in to kiss her. "Love you, Ray."
She pulled away and wished she could stop smiling, but couldn't help it. She was just so happy. "Love you back. So much." Rayna was glad that this wasn't only a dream of hers anymore.
After ordering dinner from their favorite restaurant, Rayna and Deacon sat down to watch television. She set her legs down on his lap and sighed in happiness when he began to massage her feet. "You like that, don't you?"
Rayna nodded. "It's really, really nice. Keep at it, please." She was thankful for how much Deacon seemed to care about her. Teddy had loved her and she would always be grateful to him for Daphne, but he hadn't loved her as much as Deacon did. And she hadn't ever felt this way about her ex-husband. It wasn't fair to him, but it was the truth.
Over the next two days, Rayna and Deacon enjoyed their final hours as an unmarried couple together. They didn't want to be apart the night of the wedding, but Scarlett, Juliette, Maddie, and Daphne had insisted on sticking to tradition. And since both wanted to do this right, they had agreed. Plus, Deacon could never say no to his niece, daughter, and Daphne (Juliette was another story).
But first, they had to have the rehearsal dinner. Teddy dropped the girls off and quickly exited because he didn't want to see this. He was still bitter that Rayna and Deacon had gotten back together and were marrying, but Rayna didn't care. All she cared about was that the girls liked Deacon (which they did, of course).
"Mom, I can't wait to see the look on Papa Deacon's face when he sees you in your dress tomorrow." Daphne (a bridesmaid) was pretty excited for the wedding herself, having only been to one when she was younger.
"I can't either." Rayna had hunted high and low for her wedding dress before she finally found the perfect one. She also knew that Deacon would love it too, and she was eagerly awaiting the look on his face when she walked down the aisle.
"Are you going to change your last name?" Maddie had been curious about that all this time, but until now, she kept forgetting to ask her mother.
Rayna nodded. "Jaymes is my stage name – and your grandma's maiden name – but I did use Conrad in my personal life when I was married to Daddy." Rayna Conrad had never sounded right to her, but Rayna Claybourne did. It just fit together like a puzzle piece. Always had.
Deacon slid up to them and pulled Rayna in for a hug that Maddie and Daphne joined in on. "What are you three talking about?"
"About how beautiful Mom's going to look tomorrow, Papa Deacon." Maddie was glad that they were getting along now. She had been so angry at her parents (all three of them) for the longest time, but she had forgiven them for lying now. She had a mother and two fathers who loved her very much and she appreciated it. Not many people could say that. She was lucky. She had first started referring to him as Papa Deacon after he proposed, which shocked him, but he loved it. Daphne had ended up picking the habit up from her, and he lit up every time they said it.
Deacon couldn't stop smiling. "She's going to look beautiful no matter what."
"I'm glad you think so." Rayna grabbed his hand and squeezed it before leaving to go mingle with their guests. After making sure Maddie and Daphne were with their friends (the few they were allowed to invite), he went off to join her.
Both Rayna and Deacon went to bed around midnight (in separate rooms), but she was up around six. She was still extremely excited about marrying him, but now that the day of the wedding had arrived, she was a little nervous. Honestly, she was surprised that the calm was overtaking her nerves because Rayna had felt the opposite when marrying Teddy (Then again, she had married him before he was safe and stable, and she needed that for her and her unborn baby). She took comfort in that fact.
Deacon woke up around eight and his nerves sent him straight to the bathroom to throw up. He was fine after that, but he couldn't help the brief panic that had flared up when he awoke. He couldn't wait until he and Rayna were finally married. This had definitely been a long time coming.
The wedding was due to start around two that afternoon. Rayna waited to get into her dress until noon because she didn't want anything to happen to it. "I'm so happy for you both, Mom." Maddie impulsively hugged her mother and then wiped away the tears that had formed. She was determined not to cry today. Besides, she and Daphne were dealing with nerves about performing at the reception. It was a little stressful to be performing at their mother's wedding because they didn't want to disappoint her and Deacon, but both had assured them already that they would be fine. Besides, Juliette, Scarlett, and Gunnar, and Rayna and Deacon's band were also performing at the reception, so they wouldn't be alone.
At five minutes to two, Deacon was waiting at the front of the room the ceremony was being held in and trying to deal with the worry that had popped up. He was handling it fine, though. However, all of his worries faded away the instant the music started and Rayna began to walk down the aisle. Nobody was giving her away and that's the way she wanted it.
After a minor mistake on Deacon's part because of nerves, the rest of the vows went well. Rayna couldn't keep her eyes off him and as much as she tried not to cry, she failed horribly. It was okay, though, because Deacon still thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
After they exchanged the rings, Rayna and Deacon kissed and the minister announced they were now husband and wife. "Finally!" he murmured (or at least he thought he did) when they pulled apart. Laughter erupted throughout the room after they heard that declaration because a lot of them were thinking that themselves.
Rayna sniffled at her new husband and then decided to kiss him again. Deacon didn't mind very much and happily kissed her back. They walked down the aisle as a married couple a few minutes later, and the reception soon got underway outside.
"You're my wife now." Deacon was in awe he could say those words and that they were actually true.
"And you're my husband." Rayna's face hurt from smiling so much and she was so happy about the thrill those words sent through her. She was finally married to the man she had spent so much of her time with.
"Time for your first dance!" Daphne ran up to her mother and stepfather and tried to push them onto the makeshift dance floor. Juliette was waiting impatiently on the stage, clearly ready for them to dance.
"Well, we wouldn't want to disappoint anyone." Deacon ruffled his stepdaughter's hair and then led Rayna to the dance floor.
It had taken Deacon and Rayna a long time to get to this point, but that didn't matter as long as they were finally together. Both of them were also pretty excited to see what the future would bring.