Authors Note: Shout-out to headtrip parade who inspired me with her wonderful drabbles to try some shorter, random snippets that were floating around in my head, and an extra special thank you to KarenES for her excellent suggestions and thorough beta reading! These small pieces are unrelated, though they all take place at some point in the future. I plan on adding to them with another few installments - so stay tuned for more :)

Truth

Rayna sucked in a shaky breath, glancing down at the newspapers and gossip magazines spread out on the marble of the kitchen island. It was obvious that looking at them would only make her feel worse, but somehow she still couldn't stop herself.

Once the story had leaked online, she had known it would only be a matter of time before the endless flood of press began. Hurtful and embarrassing speculations scattered the pages, each one only slightly different than the next. Not only herself, but two of the people she loved most in the world were being dragged through the mud; completely undeserving of all the scrutiny that would continue to invade their lives until the tabloids had a bigger scandal to talk about.

Life for the past few days had been a blur. Rayna could barely leave home to get a cup of coffee without encountering a hoard of paparazzi with their flashing bulbs and provocative questions. They were hot on Deacon's trail as well, shoving cameras in his face when they caught him out in public, clearly hoping to get a rise out of him so they'd have a newsworthy outburst to add to their "exclusive" stories. Tabloid photographers camped out at Maddie and Daphne's school, determined to snap a photo of the just-discovered love child of Rayna Jaymes and Deacon Claybourne. They became so disruptive that a full security detail was now necessary to escort the girls in and out of the building.

To say this whole thing was a complete nightmare would be putting it lightly.

Yesterday, Bucky had brought in Rayna's publicist and her team to see what could be done in the way of damage control, and they had strongly advised her to give an interview, or at the very least put out a statement to the press acknowledging the situation. She knew they were right, but a frozen, paralyzed feeling consumed her. She was still in shock and disbelief that the entire world now knew about the lie, the one she had buried so deep inside of herself that after a while, it hadn't even felt like a lie anymore.

Despite Rayna's desire to crawl into a hole and hide, it quickly became clear she had to do something, if not for her own sake, for the two people who never asked to be a part of all of this: Maddie and Deacon. This morning, she'd finally agreed to do an exclusive interview with Katie Couric. It was happening via satellite from her living room in an hour.

Glancing back down at the kitchen counter, tears sprang to Rayna's eyes as they roved over the particularly harsh title the editors of US Weekly had given her.

Queen of Lies

She laughed bitterly to herself, realizing she couldn't argue it wasn't true.

Her deception might have started with the pure intention of protecting her child; going with what seemed to be her most appealing option among the other crappy or just plain risky ones she had to choose from at the time. But, the fact that it had continued long after Deacon had gotten his act together made her actions no different than her father's. Or her ex-husband's or her sister's, for that matter. They all shared a habit of avoiding the truth to squelch undesirable situations, with no concern for who they might hurt in the process.

Lost in her thoughts, Rayna startled at the sound of footsteps behind her. She turned to see Deacon lingering awkwardly at the entrance of the kitchen, holding a takeout tray with two large coffees.

She was surprised to see him. He'd understandably been keeping his distance since the news broke, with the exception of a few texts and phone calls to check in and see how Maddie was doing. She had left him a message earlier that morning telling him about the Katie Couric interview and letting him know that he was welcome to be present and participate if he wanted, but not obligated by any means. She felt terrible that he'd had to endure the embarrassing media attention and assumed that he was probably furious at her. It was an understatement to say that they needed to talk, but she honestly didn't even know where to begin.

He cocked his head toward the front door of the house. "Buck let me in, hope you don't mind."

"No, of course not," she replied quietly, giving him a weak smile. Rayna picked up one of the magazines in front of her and quickly tossed it back down with disgust. "Just reading some of this quality journalism over here."

Deacon snorted and shook his head. "I say you use that as a coaster." He walked over and gently set the tray down on the counter, pulling out a coffee and handing the cup to her. "I thought you might need this."

"Thank you," she said, accepting it gratefully. Rayna took a sip and couldn't help but feel comforted by the taste of the bittersweet beverage and the fact that Deacon still knew exactly the way she liked her coffee: Black with no less than three packets of sugar. Even though she tried to eat as cleanly as possible, this was one place she refused to sacrifice.

Deacon looked at Rayna, his eyes full of concern, watching as she grasped her cup and stared off into space.

"Ray..." He paused and ran a hand over his face. "You know you don't have to do this, right?"

"Yes I do."

He drew in a breath, exhaling loudly in frustration. "To hell with those PR people, Ray," he huffed, gesturing wildly, as he did when he was fired up about something. "And the public for that matter. You don't owe anyone an explanation for anything. It just ain't their business."

"I wish it were that easy Deacon, but we both know they're not going to leave us alone until I say something." Rayna sighed, a feeling of resignation and even relief suddenly washing over her. She put down her cup and turned to look him square in the face, the intensity of her glare startling him a little bit. "And I think it's about time I told the truth, don't you?"

Beauty

"There you go!" Maddie said, a triumphant note in her voice as she tightened the silk fabric of Deacon's black tie against the stiff white collar of his shirt.

He turned to examine his reflection in the large antique mirror on the wall of the master bedroom. Then he whirled around and smiled at his daughter, impressed.

"Where'd you learn that?"

Maddie shrugged. "I saw mom doing it once and asked her to show me how. She said it's a good skill to have, especially if I marry someone who hates to dress up."

Deacon smirked, knowing full well who Rayna had been referring to with that statement. He'd always resisted formal wear, which had never really been a problem since country music attire consisted mostly of cowboy boots and denim, even at the most prestigious awards shows.

Tonight, however, was the CMA's, and his first nomination as a solo artist. When Rayna had suggested stepping it up in the fashion department and wearing something a little more special, he'd been reluctant at first, but she'd helped him find the perfect compromise; an ensemble that didn't completely betray his signature low-key style and, according to her, made him look, "Pretty damn sexy."

On his feet were a pair of his tried-and-true black Lucchese boots, but in place of the dark jeans and sport jacket he usually wore was a dark gray tuxedo.

He had to admit, he didn't hate it.

Deacon glanced in the mirror once more, running a hand through his hair and straightening his tie. He sat down on the bench at Rayna's vanity facing Maddie, who had perched herself at the foot of her parents' neatly made king-sized bed.

"I really think you're going to win," Maddie said confidently.

Deacon bounced his knee nervously and smiled. "Yeah? You really think so?"

She nodded emphatically. "But even if you don't, it's so awesome you were even nominated."

He chuckled, touched by Maddie's sweet attempt to ease his nerves. "You give a good pep talk, you know that?"

Deacon stood up and looked at the clock. They had to get going in the next five minutes if they wanted to try and avoid getting stuck in a massive traffic jam. Rayna had disappeared into one of the guest bedrooms with her "glam squad" nearly three hours ago and he hadn't seen nor heard from her since.

"I wonder if my date is done with her beautification process yet. Hope she doesn't stand me up."

Maddie smiled widely at him as a familiar voice came from the doorway.

"I'd never do that."

The second Deacon took sight of Rayna, his breath caught in his throat. Her signature red waves cascaded over her bare shoulders and the tight, deep green strapless dress she was wearing would no doubt having him thinking all night about what he wanted to do to her once they got home. She was truly the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen, something he found to be true whether she was all glammed up in a sexy dress or sitting next to him on the couch in an old t-shirt and a pair of his boxers with no makeup, hair tossed up in a messy bun on top of her head.

"You look so beautiful, mom!" Maddie exclaimed, her eyes shining with admiration. She hopped off the bed and rushed over to her mother to get a closer look at the dress.

Deacon's eyes met Rayna's with an intense look that made her knees weaken a little.

"She sure does," he said.

Get Out of Jail Free

It was 2 a.m. when Rayna's head jerked up from where it had been nestled snugly in the crook of Deacon's arm, a strange noise from downstairs startling her awake from a peaceful sleep. Her heart pounded in her chest as she lay quietly in the dark and strained to pinpoint what it was.

The house they had purchased last year had been completely renovated with state-of-the-art everything, but it was built in the early 1900's and still had quirks like creaky floorboards. They had a top-of-the-line security system, but she'd heard a story just last week about a home in their upscale Brentwood neighborhood that had been broken into through a living room window.

She propped herself up on her elbow and waited. A second later she heard the noise again.

Rayna looked down at Deacon, who was passed out cold on his back. Unlike her, who woke at the sound of a pin dropping, he slept like the dead.

"Hey," she whispered, lightly nudging his bare chest with her finger.

"Mhmmm Ray," he murmured in his sleep, reaching for her body and tugging her gently back down toward his chest.

She squirmed out of his grasp. "Babe," she tried again, this time at a slightly louder volume.

When there was no response, Rayna shook his arm forcefully. "Deacon!" she hissed.

"What's going on?" he mumbled sleepily, his eyes fluttering open with confusion. "You okay?"

"I heard a noise. Downstairs."

He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "What kind of noise, Ray?"

"I don't know…I mean…it could be nothing…but…"

Deacon sighed, feeling around under the covers for his boxers that had been discarded in a passionate frenzy a few hours earlier and pulled them on. He threw back the sheets and reached under the bed to extract the baseball bat he stored under there. If Rayna hadn't been so freaked out, she would have taken a moment to ridicule Deacon's old-school approach to defending the family home.

"Just stay there, don't move," he told her authoritatively.

She nodded, gripping the comforter and shifting herself to a sitting position up against the headboard of the bed.

Deacon tiptoed down the staircase quietly and carefully, his eyes wide open for any sign of an intruder.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he quickly flipped on the light in the entry hall and looked around.

Nothing.

Deacon continued to creep toward the living room and had only taken a few steps when he heard it: A soft thump followed by a rustling noise.

He sped up immediately and headed straight for where the sound was coming from, gripping the bat in his hand.

He turned on the light, bracing himself, and came to a dead stop when he saw not a burglar, but Maddie. She was crouched next to the open window behind the couch, picking up a lamp that had fallen off the end table when she had presumably crawled through it to get back into the house.

He raised his eyebrows as her guilty eyes met his.

Busted.

"Hey," Maddie said in a near whisper, rising to her feet and quietly placing the lamp back in its place.

"Rearranging some furniture?" Deacon asked dryly, trying not to laugh.

She stayed silent, and he had to appreciate that she wasn't attempting to save herself by making up some bullshit story.

Deacon walked past Maddie and pushed the window shut. He twisted the lock and then he turned to face her.

"I'm assumin' if you're sneakin' back in the house, you were sneakin' out a few hours ago. Now why would you be doin' that?"

Maddie shrugged and hung her head shamefully. "A couple of my friends were going to a midnight showing of that new movie downtown. My curfew is earlier than everyone else's. I guess I just didn't want them to think I was a baby."

They had been lucky with Maddie. As far as teenagers went, she was a good kid. Aside from her constant nagging them to allow her to perform professionally, she helped out at home, was good to her little sister, did well in school and never gave them a reason to be anything but proud of her.

He took a deep breath and studied her for a moment. "Next time you want to do something like that, you ask us and we'll see if we can work something out. You don't sneak out of the house. You got me darlin'?"

"Yes," Maddie whispered in agreement, raising her eyes to meet Deacon's, trying to gauge what was going to happen next. "Are you gonna tell mom?" she asked, a desperate, pleading look on her face.

Going from being Uncle Deacon to being Maddie's father had been awkward at times especially since he and Rayna had gotten married and he was at home with her every single day. Doing the less-fun stuff like discipline was uncomfortable at first, but he was finally getting to a point where he felt she respected his authority as much as she did Rayna's and Teddy's.

Rayna was an amazing mother, but she did have a tendency to overreact. Judging from Maddie's scared, remorseful face, getting caught and thinking she was in trouble was punishment enough this time.

"One 'Get Out of Jail Free' card, Maddie." He put his finger up for emphasis. "One. I'll tell your mama you were down here watching TV because you couldn't sleep. But this is the only time I'm ever going to cover for you. Next time you won't have to worry about having an earlier curfew than everyone else because you won't be leavin' the house at all."

"I swear, it'll never happen again," Maddie promised, lunging forward to hug him. He held her close for a moment before stepping back and holding her at arm's length. "Now get on upstairs before your mama comes down here and sees you fully dressed instead of in your pajamas."

Maddie nodded. She hurriedly picked her purse up off the floor and took off toward the hallway. Suddenly she stopped, turning around and giving him that big smile he loved so much.

"Thanks Dad."