Hey y'all! I'm back at it with a longer fic. I was rewatching the end of season 2 and I thought, what if Luke had died in that accident. This goes into Rayna's reactions and how she copes. Thanks to RClaybourne for all the help and suggestons!

Disclaimer: I don't own it... But if I did, who knows….

A few days later, Rayna sat in her room drinking most of the morning and early afternoon, and realized she needed to get her girls. She managed to make it to the school hiding the fact that she'd been drinking. She was quiet as Maddie and Daphne talked in the back seat, thankful she was able to get them home safely. She made dinner for them and they started to think that she was doing okay.

Things like this continued, Rayna would forget about things, she'd drink entire bottles of wine before being able to even think about sleeping, and she lashed out at people for no apparent reason. It was beginning to scare her girls, but they kept quiet because they just thought she was really sad still.

As the month continued Maddie began to notice that her mom often complained of headaches, and wore her dark sunglasses a lot more. She brushed it off at first, knowing she was still sad about Luke. But she worried when it didn't start to go away, instead it just got worse.

Rayna went back to work, and pulled off her show at LP without a hitch. Bucky smiled, "great show Rayna"

She sighed, immediately grabbing the champagne that was on a tray nearby, "you think?"

He nodded, "you did good, I'm proud of you… Luke would be proud of you too. He'd want you to do this"

She grabbed her second champagne and started drinking. Bucky was concerned, he knew too well what Deacon looked and acted like when he showed up drunk and she was starting to show the same signs. She'd come to meetings with headaches, and struggle to keep herself together. He decided to keep an eye on her for a while, just to be sure.

Her drinking continued, and Maddie got scared, she knew her dad was an alcoholic but she never even though it would happen to her mom. She decided that her mom needed somebody, even if it was just their uncle Bucky, who wasn't really their uncle, but he let them call him that anyways.

Rayna continued to act like she was okay, even though she definitely wasn't. She didn't want her girls to know she was drinking, but unbeknownst to her, her teenage daughter could see right through her.

Maddie could hear her crying at night, digging in their refrigerator for a new bottle of wine, throwing things around when she got angry, and she didn't think she could ask her mom what was wrong.

Several weeks later after Rayna didn't seem to get any better, Maddie seemed quiet and a little shy at her guitar lesson with Deacon. He put his guitar down, "everything okay Maddie?"

She nodded, "yeah"

He tried to get eye contact with his daughter and finally won, "you sure? You can talk to me"

Maddie sighed biting back tears, "it's my mom..."

He nodded, "okay. What about her?"

Maddie bit her lip, "she's still sad. She forgets things. She won't talk to us. She cries a lot. I can hear her at night… she yells at people for no reason…"

Deacon nodded, "I'm glad you told me honey. What else is your momma doin?"

Maddie nodded, "she yelled at Bucky on the phone the other day... And cried"

He sighed, noticing how scared his daughter was. "does this happen a lot?"

Maddie nodded, sighing. "she throws things… not at anybody though. She screams. She tries to hide from us at night…"

Deacon nodded, becoming increasingly worried about the singer, "alright… I'm gonna come check on her… okay, I'll bring you home"

Maddie shrugged, "I had to call aunt Tandy to get us food yesterday"

Deacon shook his head, worried that Rayna was drinking, and shutting people out, including her two daughters that he knew she adored. "It's gonna be okay. don't you worry"

Maddie nodded, hugging him. He held her close and kissed the top of her head. He helped her in the car and drove to the Belle Meade mansion. He helped Maddie into her house and noticed it was quiet, except for Rayna's tears. He walked upstairs and tapped on her door. "Ray"

"GO AWAY!" She cried.

He sighed, "come on now Ray"

She cried and he heard glass shattering. He got the door open and stepped into the room, she was throwing things around and ran her hand across the vanity top, breaking expensive perfume bottles and glass picture frames. She sipped from a glass bottle that he immediately recognized. The golden liquid that made him act this same way years before, was in her hands.

He was glad Maddie told him, the girls didn't need to see her like this. "Rayna"

She sank to the floor, crying, and sipping on her whiskey. He gently approached her and took the whiskey. "Ray"

"Leave!"

"No" he countered, the girls were scared and he didn't want them to be alone with her drunk.

He poured the rest of the whiskey down the drain, something he was sure she did for him multiple times.

He helped her clean up and she kicked him out, but he made sure the girls were fed first. He told them to call him if she got worse, no matter how late.

About a month later Rayna stumbled into a radio interview. Bucky sighed, "Rayna look at me"

She did but her eyes wandered. He tried to snap her back into focus but it didn't work. She slurred her way through the interview, and Bucky sighed, apologizing for her behavior. He sat her down in a private office, "what's goin on with you?"

"I'm fine Bucky dammit!"

He sighed, "you were distracted and slurring your words all morning"

"Dammit Buck! Stop. I'm fine" she groaned, slamming her hand on the table.

She stormed off and walked down the street to a nearby bar. The older bartender smiled, "what can I get for you, Ms. Jaymes?"

"Whiskey" she sighed.

He nodded and gave her the tumbler. She stayed there nursing a few glasses before paying, and giving him a good tip.

A few days later she did the same thing. She looked at Bucky, "where's my whiskey?"

He sighed, "it's gone Rayna"

"What do you mean GONE?" She screamed, throwing open cabinets. "Bucky where is it?"

"It's gone Rayna"

"That's not good enough!" She screamed, throwing the demos and the CD player off the table.

He sighed, watching as she terrorized the room, screaming as she threw things around. He quickly texted Tandy who rushed to the office. They let her in the room as she watched Rayna search cabinets for the whiskey she'd hidden. He looked to Tandy, "she's drunk"

Tandy nodded, approaching her baby sister, "sweetheart"

Rayna looked at Tandy, "get out!"

Tandy sighed, "no. Rayna honey what's wrong?"

"Who called my sister?! Get her out of here!" Rayna screamed.

"Ray"

Rayna pouted and stared at Tandy, "leave!"

"Rayna. Look at me" Tandy tried, her sister was hurting, and she wanted to help.

Rayna sighed angrily, "I'm FINE. Get the hell out!"

Tandy backed away and looked at Bucky, feeling helpless, "what do we do now? She's ignored Deacon, the girls are scared, I know it's Luke she wants... But we can't give her that"

Bucky sighed, "I'm gonna try. You just stay here and I'm gonna talk go her"

Bucky stepped in and Rayna was still digging through a cabinet, "Rayna"

She cried and ignored him, "where is it Bucky?"

He sat by her, "let's stop. Breathe. Look at me."

She felt a rush of raw emotions come to her and she took the shaky deep breath. The floodgates opened and Bucky held her hands, "sweetie"

She cried, "I just want Luke"

He nodded, "I know, if I could, he'd be right here with you"

Rayna cried, "he left me Bucky. He died and he left me..."

He squeezed her hands tight, "shhh honey. Let's get you home, calm down, and we can talk all you want"

Rayna pouted but agreed. Bucky got her into the car and looked at Tandy, "I promise I'll call. Can you get the girls today?"

Tandy nodded, "they can stay with me while you help her"

Bucky smiled, quickly hugging her as she left. He got in the car and Rayna was crying. He offered his hand which she took.

Bucky sighed when she just pulled away a few minutes later. His phone rang, and Corey explained to him that they were doing a concert at the Ryman for Luke. He really wanted Rayna there, and it was up to her if she sang. Bucky agreed, promising he'd tell Rayna.

He got her home and she sat on the couch. He sat on the coffee table, "Corey called. They're doing a memorial concert for Luke next week..."

Rayna sighed, "I should probably go. It would be weird if I didn't"

Bucky nodded, "he said you could sing if you wanted"

She shrugged, "I said I'd go. That's it"

"Okay. If you change your mind, the offer is there"

A/N: Hey y'all! I'm back with an update! The last two weeks were busy for me. Summer school finals, I had to move… and yeah. But now that's over with so I can write more! Hope you guys like this one.