Hello again! These chapters won't necessarily have any direct sequence to one another, they're just all sort of revolving around our new guy and his impact on everyone around him. Since I prefer to build on canon and missed moments, I'm not usually one for introducing new characters but this kid has been nagging at me for the longest. :) I still tried to stay as canon as possible.
A huge shout out to Shiny Jewel and much thanks for her awesome words of wisdom, suggestions, and her careful beta-ing. Enjoy your "baby bliss," my friend. :)
Deacon Claybourne was hardly a heavy sleeper. He woke up for thunderstorms, trains, the next door neighbor's dog barking, and sometimes even his daughter's alarm clock a good three rooms down the hall. Hell, he caught himself wakened by the buzzer on the toaster downstairs once.
Rayna had always called him a hopeless case when it came to shut eye and in most fashions he was inclined to agree with her. He certainly did wake up for just about everything, so it was not surprising to him that he felt uneasy when he rolled over and her spot was cold.
He was also quick to notice that the Pack 'n Play at the edge of their bed was vacant, with the exception of one lone receiving blanket.
He moved his head from side to side, adjusting his eyes to the darkness but also inquiring to himself how he'd managed to sleep through not only their son's cries, but Rayna's subsequent tending to him and apparently leaving the room.
He stood and stretched, catching a glance at the clock as his flannel pants drug beneath his feet.
3:18 AM.
He opened the door and peered out quietly, noticing the cracked door next to the lone night light in the hallway.
He crossed the hall and opened the door gently, grinning sleepily at the sight before him: Rayna lounging in the glider that she had pulled closer to the crib, looking over the railing and humming the melodies of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."
Her face was illuminated only by some sort of revolving lamp contraption she obsessively shopped for a mere two days before she gave birth. Deacon didn't quite understand what was wrong with a regular lamp or night light and why it was so important that it went around in circles, but he was in little position to argue with her in that state.
"You know," he began quietly, edging just a tad closer and shutting the door softly behind him, "I've always said you were the only one better at that song than Johnny Cash."
She smirked, not once taking her eyes off the tiny infant in the crib.
"You mean I'm better than the man you just had to name this little guy after?"
Deacon grinned, softly running his hand over the top of her head and following her gaze toward the baby.
Jasper Cash Claybourne had been quite the surprise for everyone.
He'd first made his presence known no more than ten minutes before Rayna was leaving to take the stage at the Opry. Some may have called it an inopportune time to take a test, but she wasn't sure she could perform without knowing for sure. On the contrary, finding out did nothing to settle her nerves.
She somehow made it through her set without vomiting, which she later figured was because Deacon would do enough vomiting for them both when she got home that evening and informed him of her discovery.
"Why are you sick?" she asked, standing against the bathroom door frame as he hovered over the toilet.
"I'm still figuring out how to take care of one big enough to take care of herself and now you want me to take care of one that's completely helpless?"
"Deacon." She rolled her eyes. "I told you we needed to be more careful."
"And I told you to go back on the pill!"
"I was on the pill for twenty years. It was starting to make me cranky."
She grinned at the memory, laughing a bit to herself as she remembered the look on Deacon's face before he muttered something to the effect of, "God help me," and let his dinner go again.
He hadn't gotten all of his nerves out that day, and to be honest she wasn't sure when he finally did, but she wasn't surprised at all when on the day their little man came into the world, Deacon was so completely ready. She'd never doubted that he would be, even though he obviously spent a ton of time doubting himself.
"He's so tiny," he whispered, slowly reaching his hand towards the infant's face. Rayna quickly grabbed his wrist. "What's that for?"
"He sleeps about as heavy as you do," she smiled. "Except he's a lot louder when you wake him up and a hell of a lot harder to put back down."
Deacon chuckled and brought his hand back to Rayna's shoulders, kissing the top of her head.
"Come back to bed, darlin'. You gotta be exhausted."
She nodded.
"I am, babe, but I just wanna sit here and watch him forever. He's the last one I'll ever have and I promise we'll wake up tomorrow and he'll be going into high school."
Deacon winced. The idea of his other child growing up so lightning fast that he missed it all was slightly unsettling.
"He won't tomorrow, Ray. Now come on."
She didn't say anything, just pulled his neck down to her level and placed her lips on his with a specific energy that he hadn't encountered in weeks. As she broke away, she continued to place small pecks all the way up his cheek until she reached his ear.
"Thank you," she whispered. He almost shivered.
"For what?"
"For the two best surprises of my life."
He smirked, running his fingers tightly over the top of her head. She closed her eyes at the massage-like contact.
"What about Daphne?"
Rayna smiled.
"Honey, she was planned down to the time of day." Deacon nodded, gazing up to the ceiling as if in deep thought. "What, babe?"
"I think we've been going about this the wrong way."
"Nah." She stood slowly, and gingerly wrapped her arms around his neck, wincing slightly at the soreness that still plagued her two weeks after the delivery. "We just need to hope our kids aren't as spontaneous as we are."