Deacon was sitting at the kitchen counter when Maddie came in the house.
"Hey, honey," he said, greeting her. "How did Clay's show go tonight?"
"Good," Maddie replied as she set her purse on the counter. "I can't wait for you to get to hear him. He's really great."
"I'd love to do that. I know your mom thought he was really special the night she saw him play," Deacon replied.
"How was she tonight?" Maddie asked as she pulled a glass from the cupboard.
Deacon shrugged. "About the same. She's gettin' bored of bein' in the bed, but the doctor says at least two more weeks until we can start gettin' her up and around."
"Is she asleep?" Maddie asked as she took a sip of water from her glass. "Can I go in and say good night?"
"I gave her a pill a little while ago," Deacon replied. "She was hurtin' pretty bad again tonight. But you should go take a look. I know she'd want to say good night if she's still up."
Maddie came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Okay, and you take care of yourself, Dad. You're starting to look almost as ragged as Mom does."
A small smile crossed Deacon's face and he nodded. "I know. I'd like to say that cot is gettin' more comfortable, but it ain't."
"How about I stay with her tonight, you go up and sleep in your bed," Maddie offered. "I have the day off tomorrow, so if it's as bad as you say, I can just sleep in tomorrow."
Deacon shook his head. "I got it, honey. Your mom, she needs help with some of the personal stuff and I just don't think…"
"I can do it," Maddie replied. "You both should let us help a little bit more."
"How about another night," Deacon replied. "We can talk with your mom about it in the morning. She's...she's not sleepin' so good at night and I just think it's better to not surprise her with someone else bein' there when she wakes up."
Maddie frowned, but then nodded. "Okay, but let's talk to her tomorrow. I can help. And so can Daphne."
"Thank you, honey," Deacon replied. "Okay, go say goodnight to your mom and then you should get some sleep."
Maddie pushed open the door to her mom's room. She paused. The room was quiet.
"Maddie, is that you?" Rayna said from the bed.
"Did I wake you?" Maddie said as she walked in a few more steps.
"Not really," Rayna said as she raised the head of the hospital bed slightly. "Come here, tell me about your night."
Maddie walked over and carefully sat on the edge of the bed. "It was fun. Clay had a great set."
"He's so talented," Rayna said, her voice thick with sleep.
"He is," Maddie replied. "I don't think he really knows how good he is, he doubts himself a lot."
"Are you being careful?" Rayna asked as she reached for Maddie's hand.
"We're just friends," Maddie replied.
"I know you care about him," Rayna responded. "But he's a lot older, Maddie. I just want to make sure you're being smart."
"I am," she answered. "You don't have to worry about me."
"Good," Rayna replied, her eyes closing. "I'm sorry, baby, I'm just so groggy."
Maddie leaned forward and kissed her mom's cheek. "Go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
Deacon waited until Maddie went upstairs, then headed down to Rayna's room.
"You okay?" he asked her as he helped her adjust her position in bed.
"I just wish I could do more for them. I don't feel like I'm much of a mother, just lying here," Rayna said, sighing.
"You're getting better and that's the most important thing," Deacon replied. "You need anything before I go upstairs?"
"No," Rayna replied. "You should stay up there, get a good night's sleep. I'll be okay."
Deacon leaned down and kissed her. "I'm just gonna take a shower and then I'll be back."
"Okay," Rayna replied.
He headed into the bathroom next to her room and picked up the bottle of her painkillers. There were only two left. He made a mental note to tell the nurse in the morning, then headed upstairs for his shower.
Deacon drank his coffee while Rayna's nurse helped her get cleaned up and do some simple exercises in bed to try to keep some flexibility in the parts of her body that weren't so badly injured.
He'd finished his mug when Julie came down the hall into the kitchen.
"How's she doing this morning?" Deacon asked. He set the mug down on the counter in front of him. He asked every morning, hoping the nurse might have some more insight into what was going on with Rayna. It just felt like she wasn't getting any better.
"She's okay," the nurse replied. "I know it's hard, but it's just a long recovery."
Deacon nodded. "Hey, I noticed last night that the painkillers were almost gone. Do you refill those or do I need to call the doctor?"
Julie frowned. "That refill should have lasted until the end of the week. Have you been giving them to her more frequently?"
"A couple times," Deacon replied. "Only when she's been in a lot of pain."
"I'll talk to the doctor. Maybe we need to change her dosage. They're pretty careful with these opiates now, but it could be she's not getting as strong a prescription as she needs. These are such painful injuries."
Deacon nodded. "I know...I...uh, I've had some issues with substance abuse, so I don't want to do anything to hurt her, but she's just been in such pain."
"You're doing a good job," Julie replied. "I don't think we have anything to worry about and she's lucky to have someone looking after her so carefully."
"Thanks, Julie. I appreciate that," Deacon replied.
Deacon walked back into Rayna's room. She opened her eyes as he approached the bed. He took a seat on the chair next to her bed.
"You look serious," she said, reaching her hand out to him. He took it in his.
"Nothin' to worry you about," he replied.
"But you are," Rayna replied. "Tell me what it is."
Deacon looked at her and smiled. "I just want to take care of you, babe. Make sure you're okay."
"I'm getting better every day, Deacon. You know that," Rayna answered.
"Cause, if I was doin' anythin' that was hurtin' you, it would kill me," Deacon replied.
"What is this all about?" Rayna asked, her voice serious as she looked at him.
Deacon smiled, and leaned forward to kiss her. "Nothin' babe. You just keep gettin' better. That's all I need."
Deacon's phone buzzed in his hand as he sat watching Rayna nap after their conversation.
He stood up and walked out into the hallway.
"Hey, Zach, what's up?" he asked the Highway 65 backer.
"Deacon, hope everything is going well over there. How's Rayna doing?" Zach asked.
"She's gettin' better," Deacon replied. "But you know, it's slow."
"I know," Zach replied. "I hate to ask about this, but any chance she's going to be back in the studio soon? Maybe even just to drop a single from your album?"
Deacon sighed. "Zach, she ain't even goin' to the bathroom on her own yet. I mean, walkin' into it, I mean, no, she's still not ready." Why had he said that? Except he didn't think Zach understood just how bad Rayna was hurt.
"Yeah, I mean, I get that, but didn't you finish most of the work on My Favorite Hurricane?" Zach asked.
"I talked to Rayna about it. It's still really just scratch tracks and we don't think it's a single," Deacon replied. "Rayna would rather drop You're Mine first. And it ain't ready and it ain't gonna be until Rayna can get back in the studio and that's two weeks minimum."
"Deacon, please understand, I wouldn't push this, but we need to put something out now, let people know that Rayna's gonna be back," Zach explained.
"And I get that, Zach," Deacon replied. "But I think you gotta realize that we're not gonna be able to do anything until Rayna is able to recover a bit more. And I'm gonna let you know when that is. So, you're just gonna have to wait."
"I hope I can," Zach replied. "But this business, Deacon, it doesn't wait."
"I hear that, Zach, but I gotta tell you, right now, I don't give a shit about the business, about Highway 65, about the album, about any of it. I care about my wife, about what's happening to her. Anything other than that, it's just not important."
Zach was quiet on the other end of the line.
"And I guess, I hope that all of the things that you told Rayna before, about how much you wanted to work with her, means that you'll be there for her while she's recovin' too," Deacon added.
"I got it, Deacon," Zach replied. "Loud and clear."
Deacon ended the call, leaned against the wall and sighed. They'd get through this. No matter what. They'd make it. Somehow.