One of my reviewers suggested that I go beyond the missing scenes from the season 4 finale and write about what happens when the Claybourne/Jaymes/Conrad family gets home from NYC. So this is that story.

Rayna opened her eyes. It was still dark. Even as high up as they were, she could still hear the traffic noise far below them. It was true what they said – New York never slept. Seemed like she wouldn't either on this night. She smiled to herself as she thought of Maddie sleeping across the hall and then she felt her emotions sweep over her again, knowing that. When she had looked up to see Maddie with Deacon, she'd felt like she was in a parallel universe. But it had been real. He had brought their girl home.

She stretched a little and felt the pleasant soreness between her legs that spoke to too much time having gone by since they'd been together, as well as the roughness of the lovemaking. It was as though they couldn't get close enough, that so much tension had to be relieved. She couldn't get close enough, couldn't get him inside her enough, didn't want to let him go. She smiled again and turned over. But he wasn't there, and a chill ran down her spine.

She pushed herself up on the bed, the sheets sliding down her body to pool around her waist. "Deacon?" she called out. "Babe, where are you?" She felt anxious. She glanced at the couch but didn't see him. The room was gray, not quite pitch dark because of all the building lights beyond their hotel windows and the fact that the curtains didn't quite close it off.

Then she caught the sound of movement, a foot sliding on carpet, and he appeared at the half wall that gave partial privacy to the sleeping area. A sigh of relief ran through her. "I'm right here," he said. He walked around to her side of the bed and sat next to her. "Just couldn't sleep."

She peered at his face, shadowed in the darkness. She couldn't read his expression and she screwed up her face. "What's the matter?" she asked.

He shook his head and ran his knuckles down over her bare arm. "Just hard to turn everything off, you know?" he said.

She nodded. "I do know," she said. She ran her fingers over his face. "Thank you seems so inadequate, you know? But I'll never stop saying it."

A ghost of a smile crossed his face and he took a deep breath. "I'm thinking getting her back might be the easy part," he said. "The rest might not be." He leaned in then and brushed his lips against hers, then slid his hand over to cup her bare breast, running his thumb over the nipple. She caught her breath as she looked into his eyes, locked on to her own, feeling that swirl of desire coil through her at his touch.

She slid her hand down from his face to his shoulder and then to his upper arm and gently pulled him towards her as she leaned back against the pillows. As they lay back together, he moved his hand from her breast down between her legs, touching her in the way she loved, and she forgot everything else as she moaned her pleasure.

When she opened her eyes again, the sun was starting to lighten up the room. And Deacon was lying next to her, his eyes closed and his chest rhythmically rising and falling. His hair was down across his forehead and his hand was laying on his chest. She raised herself up slightly and looked across him at the bedside clock. It was barely six-thirty. Today they would go back to Nashville, but they would do it as a family.

####

Deacon sat at the back of the plane, watching Rayna and the girls. Maddie was sitting next to Rayna, who periodically would reach over and touch her on the hand or the arm, as though to reassure herself that their daughter was still there. He just saw the back of Daphne's head periodically, but he could hear her rapid-fire chatter and her happy, carefree laughter, sounds that warmed his heart. Every now and then Rayna would look up and over at him, her eyes filled with love and gratitude, and he'd smile at her, then go back to his musings.

Maddie would cast furtive looks his way, every now and then, as though she were still a little afraid. He wasn't sure if she was still afraid of him or just afraid of what they'd have to deal with when they got home. Maybe it was just uncertainty or regret. Truthfully, he wasn't sure what he was feeling either, at least in regards to her. Rayna and Daphne were happy and he was truly grateful for that. The few weeks they'd had to live without Maddie had been hard, for so many reasons. But living with their sadness had crushed him, in many ways. He hadn't felt like he could deal with all of his own complicated feelings, because he was trying to prop up Daphne and he was spending so much energy walking on eggshells around Rayna.

He turned to look out the window of the plane, staring almost unseeing at the bright blue sky as they raced home from New York City. For a moment, his thoughts turned to the news Bucky had shared with him before they left, the news he hadn't shared yet with Rayna or the girls. Right now, they were joyful and happy and he didn't want to spoil that for them. There would be time enough, when they got to Nashville, to share the news of Juliette's plane crash.

It was a lot to carry in his heart, that her life was hanging in the balance, along with everything else in front of him. He knew Juliette was a fighter and that she had Avery with her. She'd fought back from a lot of adversity and he had a sense of peace, believing she'd make it in the end. He was hopeful that by the time they landed in Nashville there would be more hopeful news to share on that front.

He didn't think Rayna had noticed he'd sat on the sidelines the night before. She couldn't take her hands off Maddie, alternating between grabbing her hands and hugging her. It had been late anyway, and he'd let her go with the girls to Daphne's room, while he waited in his and Rayna's room. He had thought about when Maddie had looked at him in the cab and told him she was sorry. He'd brushed it aside then, mainly because he wanted to focus on reuniting her with Rayna, but also because he wasn't exactly sure what was next.

One of the things he'd talked about with Dr. Voris was his tendency to take on guilt, even when it wasn't his to take on. It was part of the pattern of his life with Rayna – he was the drunk and was usually at the root of the pain they'd dealt with – and he found himself saying 'I'm sorry' more times than he could count. Even after he'd gotten sober, though, he'd still taken on the guilt.

He'd surely taken on the guilt after the accident that had almost killed Rayna, even though it had started with the revelation that she'd hidden Maddie's paternity from him. She'd blamed him for the fact that she'd done that at all, let him know in no uncertain terms that her resentment was greater than his, and he'd taken on the guilt for that. He'd sat there in that courtroom and had to answer to all his misdeeds over the years, even as out of context as some had been, and he'd felt guilty for them losing Maddie, something Rayna had allowed him to feel.

He glanced over at her, as she was laughing with the girls. He took a deep breath. It wasn't that he blamed her. Or that he was angry with her. He'd let her do that. He'd laid down, prostate at her feet, and let her blame him, over and over again. That was on him. I done the best I could to be a good man, he thought. All I can do is that.

Reconnecting with her, the night before, had been amazing. But he also didn't feel like everything they'd been dealing with in therapy was just wiped away by Maddie coming back and a night of lovemaking. It was a start, but all those things would still have to be dealt with. It was reassuring, however, to know the love was still there.

Rayna caught his eye then. She frowned just slightly, her smile fading just a bit. He turned away and looked out the window. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her get up and walk over to sit in the seat opposite him. He forced himself to keep looking out the window, until she put her hand gently on his knee. He turned and looked at her, her eyes filled with concern.

"Are you okay, babe?" she asked, her voice soft.

He nodded. "Yeah," he said, not elaborating.

"You seem distracted," she pressed. She leaned a little more towards him. "What's going on?"

He took a deep breath. "Just thinking about what happens when we get home," he said.

She smiled at him. "Well, we get to be a family again," she said.

He frowned. "It ain't that simple, Rayna, you know that," he said, trying to keep his voice low.

She sat back, looking out the window. "I know," she said. "But can't that all wait until we're back in Nashville? Can't we just enjoy it for now?"

He started to tell her he couldn't just yet, but decided against it. "Yeah. We can." He swallowed. He didn't really want to get into this yet, not here. But he knew her and he knew she'd keep pressing. He needed to give her something. "I guess I should tell you this before we get back, so you're prepared."

She looked confused. "Tell me what? Something about Maddie?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Bucky told me before we left that Juliette was in a plane crash last night."

Her eyes opened wide. "What? I thought she was at the Oscars. Are you sure?"

He nodded and sat forward, taking her hand. "All I know is she was coming home and her plane crashed. She was hurt pretty bad and was in surgery all night."

Her hand flew to her mouth and tears filled her eyes. "Oh, no." She looked quickly over her shoulder at Maddie and Daphne. "I'm not going to tell them just yet." He nodded. "Oh, babe, this is awful. Is she going to be okay?"

He shrugged. "They don't know."

She gripped his hand tightly. "We'll have to pray that she does," she whispered. She took a deep breath, seeming to center herself. "I know we have a lot to deal with," she said. "And we will. I know there are a lot of questions we need answers to."

He leaned forward, his eyes searching hers. "It just ain't simple, Ray," he said.

She looked back at him for a moment and then she nodded. "I know," she said, with a sigh. "I understand."

He sat back. He hoped she did understand.

####

Maddie glanced quickly over at her parents. She couldn't see her mom's face, but she could tell she was gripping her dad's hand tightly. His face looked solemn and sad. She wondered if they were talking about her. It wouldn't surprise her. She felt a knot in her stomach. She'd made such a terrible mistake and she was afraid her dad would never forgive her.

She looked back at Daphne. Her sister finally seemed to have run out of things to say and she smiled just a little. Daphne had put her ear buds in and was listening to music. They'd slept in the same bed the night before. Daphne had been reluctant to let her go and she figured she could share a bed for one night. She knew she'd really hurt her sister's feelings, although she had not meant to. She'd told Daphne the truth, that she hadn't been emancipating from her, but the reality was that there was going to be no real way she could have had a relationship with her sister and not with her parents.

She sat back in her seat and sighed. In the cold light of day, she knew this wasn't going to be easy. A lot had changed and some of it couldn't be undone. She suddenly felt tears in her eyes as she wished she'd never ever met Cash Gray.

So what do y'all think? Would love to hear your thoughts. #BringBackNashville