Author's Note: Hey y'all. Haven't written in a while as life has been absolutely crazy, but this idea came to mind a few weeks ago after watching the Season 3 finale again and I thought I'd toy with it and see where it goes. I know there's already a handful of post-transplant fics going around—and they're awesome, by the way—and so I thought I'd throw my take in as well. Basically the premise is that Deacon's in a coma following the liver transplant surgery and although he's not physically conscious, he's mentally aware of everything. Expect a lot of POV content and DEYNA flashbacks. This will be a multi-chapter fic. Let me know what y'all think in the reviews! Happy Reading! Thanks in advance! xo MESSIEJo

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Rights and characters are reserved and belong to ABC and its affiliates...no copyright infringement intended**

CHAPTER ONE:

-DEACON POV-

She was back again.

He could hear her. Hell, he could just sense her there.

His lover. His soul mate. His other half. The woman that had been at the forefront of his mind for the past 20 something years, even though she'd spent 14 of those years married to someone else.

Rayna.

He could hear her…could hear the sadness in her voice when she spoke. When she talked to him about her label and the problems she'd been having with Juliette. When she told him about Maddie and Daphne. How they'd started back to school. How Maddie had been spending most of her time with Colt Wheeler and that she hadn't played a note on her guitar in weeks—how she feared Maddie had given up on music. How Daphne was heartbroken over Teddy having been arrested and put in jail on corruption charges. When she pleaded with him to open his eyes and to come back to her. He could hear the sadness. The desperation.

And he wanted to. God, how he wanted to open his eyes for her. To wipe the tears he didn't have to see to know were slipping down that beautiful face of hers. To hold her in his arms and tell her it would be alright.

He wanted to, but he couldn't. His eyes just wouldn't listen to him. As much as he willed them to, they just wouldn't.

And it was killing him that he wasn't strong enough to do that for her…slowly, but surely.

It was killing him.

-RAYNA POV-

It was killing her.

Seeing him lying there in that hospital bed, eyes closed. Lord, how she'd begged and prayed for him to wake up. To just open those gorgeous blue eyes of his and look at her. To see those crinkles in the corners of them when he smiled that smile of his that somehow never failed to make her feel weak in her knees or have that fluttering feeling in her stomach. After more than two decades, that smile of his still got her every time.

Every time.

But it'd been weeks since she'd seen it. 3 weeks and two days, to be exact. 23 long days since he'd had the transplant and his heart had stopped on the table for 4 minutes and 20 seconds. Since then, all the tests they could possibly run had been run. And nothing. There was no medical reason for why Deacon had yet to regain consciousness. It happens sometimes. That was the vague explanation Dr. Rand—along with the team of specialists Rayna had had brought in to consult on Deacon's case—had given both her and Scarlett multiple times over the past 23 days.

We just have to wait, they'd said.

Well, if there was one thing Rayna Jaymes didn't do well…it was waiting.

Damn it, Deacon, she pleaded silently.

Wake up.

Please.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, just wanted to get the premise out there. Next chapter is longer and nearly finished and will (hopefully) be up this weekend. Thanks for reading! -MJ