This is my take on what happens after the finale, starting with the argument in the car. I have written this from the point of view of what I think could happen. There will be multiple chapters to this story. Any feedback is welcome and appreciated.

Rayna was sitting with Marshall at The Bluebird for Juliette's memorial for her mother. It had been raining on the way over, but had stopped by the time she arrived. She had looked for Deacon, but he wasn't there. She was desperate to talk to him. He wasn't returning her calls and she was really worried about him. She kept checking the door and, as Juliette started singing, she finally saw him come in. She got up and quickly moved towards him. He saw her and walked out. She chased after him into the parking lot.

"Hey!"

"Leave me alone."

"Come here."

"Go away." He kept walking.

"No, come here, I wanna talk to you!" She caught up to him as he got into his SUV.

"Leave me alone, Rayna."

"Come on, please talk to me. Come on, babe." She reached for him.

He pulled away. "God, Rayna, please go back inside!"

Rayna quickly moved to the open door so he couldn't close it. There was the unmistakable smell of whiskey. "Are you drunk?"

Deacon leaned back in the seat. "Go back inside." He put his keys into the ignition.

Rayna got angry. "Slide over, right now! I'm not letting you drive."

Deacon's rage grew. "Damn it, Rayna, let me go!" He tried pushing her away, but she was able to move him over, with less resistance than she expected. She quickly slid into the driver's seat and then reached across him to pull down the seat belt. Then she fastened her own and started the car, backing out of the parking space. At first, she said nothing, concentrating on getting out of the parking lot and on calming her own frazzled nerves. She could feel Deacon glaring at her, but she didn't care. If this was the only way she could reach him, this would just have to do. They had to talk, even if, by the time she got him to his house, she had to call a cab to take her home.

After they were on the road, she finally spoke. "I can't believe I'm doing this again. Dragging you out of someplace drunk."

"I didn't ask you to do that, Rayna. In fact, I told you to leave me alone."

"Seriously, Deacon? You've been avoiding me since the CMA's. You can't avoid me forever."

"Sure I can."

"No, you can't." She concentrated on breathing. He concentrated on drinking from a bottle he pulled from the floor board. "Deacon, we have to talk about this. I know you're mad. I get it. But we have got to talk."

"I don't wanna talk to you, Rayna. I don't have to talk to you."

"Then don't talk. Just listen." Deacon turned away and looked out the passenger window. Rayna took a deep breath. "Look, I understand that you're angry with me. But I want a chance to explain."

Deacon turned back to look at her with an angry glare. "Explain what? Why you lied to me for 13 years? Why you let me play the fool for 13 years?"

"You weren't playing the fool, Deacon. But you know what? Looking at you right now, I don't know if I did the wrong thing. Is this what you would have done if I'd told you before? Gone out and gotten wasted instead of trying to figure this thing out?"

"Were you ever going to tell me, Rayna? Did you think you could go on pretending forever?"

Rayna quickly wiped away tears. "I hadn't really thought it out that far, to be honest. I think one day I knew the truth would have to be told." She glanced quickly at Deacon, who was staring angrily out the front window. "I was wrong. I should have told you before."

"Yes, you should have," Deacon screamed at her. "You know, I thought you loved me. And I thought we were friends. People who love and care about each other don't lie to each other! Especially about something this important!"

"I didn't lie to you, Deacon, I just didn't tell you."

Deacon leaned towards her. "What's the damn difference, Ray? You had a chance every damn day for the last 13 years to tell me Maddie was mine." He took a drink from the bottle. "And you didn't."

"You're sitting there getting wasted, telling me that I was wrong? I get that you're mad, but for you to go out and get wasted as your response? Damn, Deacon, can't you see why I made the decision I did?" Rayna was getting irritated now and she was mad at herself for not being able to control the tears as well as the emotion in her voice.

"That's just bullshit, Rayna, and you know it. You're not the victim here!"

"So what happened to 'you can tell me everything or you can tell me nothing, it doesn't matter'?"

"Damn it, Rayna, I thought it was something like you slept with Liam, not that you were hiding the fact for the past 13 years that you and I had a daughter! That all this time I was hanging around with you and your kids that one of those girls was my own flesh and blood!" He slammed his fist into the window. "Don't try to act like this isn't a big deal! It's a huge deal!"

Rayna breathed in. "And yet you're getting drunk. That's your response to this. How is that supposed to make me feel about you being a dad to Maddie? I don't want her to have a drunk for a father! That was the whole reason for doing this in the beginning! What are you going to say to her about this?" Deacon was silent. "Deacon, I need you to straighten up. I want us to work through this with Maddie together, but we can't do it if you can't stay sober." Tears threatened her again. "I love you, Deacon. Don't turn away from me. If you don't hear anything else, hear that." Suddenly she reached over to try and grab the bottle away from Deacon.

Just then she saw out of the corner of her eye a car coming across in front of them. She screamed as she swerved to miss the car and then the car started to flip.