A/N: How 2x22 should have ended.


Rayna can't believe he did that. She can't believe he—

Scratch that.

She should have seen it coming. She is the one who feels uncomfortable making a show of her private life, not Luke. She should know what to expect from the man she's going to marry. Marry. She said yes. She can't believe she said yes. She can't believe she—

Scratch that.

How could she have said no? She wasn't going to turn him down in front of thousands of people. He didn't ask her, he put her in a position where all she could do was say yes. It wasn't a proposal, it was an ambush. She should be mad.

She is mad.

What a jackass.

– – –

She has retreated to her dressing room and has locked the door behind her. She needs a moment alone to devise her next move. Twenty-four hours ago, she was holding Juliette's hair. Now, she's the one who feels like throwing up.

She jumps when a knock interrupts her thoughts. She hasn't calmed down yet; if it's Luke, it's not going to be pretty.

"Ray?" She lets Bucky in, and locks the door again. "Well, congratula—"

"Did you know he was going to do that?" she cuts him off, harsher than she intended. She composes herself, taking a deep breath. "Sorry, Buck."

"It's okay. And of course I didn't know. I guess you didn't know either."

She walks to the makeup chair and slumps in. When she was sitting here, a few hours ago, thanking God for this wonderful man, it's not what she had in mind. Be careful what you pray for.

"It's my fault, Buck. A couple weeks ago, I told him I was all-in in this relationship. He had just gotten out of the hospital, and he'd bared his heart to me, and I just... I didn't want to hurt him. But I didn't think he was going to do that."

The girls were in the audience. Deacon was in the audience. Thousands of people – who by now have probably posted hundreds of videos – were in the audience. She hides her face in her hands.

"So, it's safe to say that, in different circumstances, you wouldn't have said yes?"

"No, I wouldn't have."

"And is it a not now or a not ever?"

Bucky, always the one to ask the tough questions.

It scares Rayna how quick she is to answer. "Not ever." Deep down, she's just always known it was not where this relationship was going. Marrying Luke would mean making the same mistakes all over again.

Bucky walks towards her, puts a hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be fine, Ray. But the first thing you need to do is talk to Luke."

"I know." There's a long pause. "Buck, the afterparty will now be a room full of journalists expecting to get a close-up of the ring and asking for all kinds of juicy details about the wedding."

It was supposed to be her big night. Her label's big night. The only thing the press will write about tomorrow is the proposal. This infuriates her.

"Talk to Luke, and we'll decide what we do then."

She groans. "I should have had the guts to say no on stage."

"As your manager, I'm glad you didn't."

It would have been a PR nightmare. Engagements, on the other hand, get broken. It happens. They don't have to announce it... right now.

She looks at him. "Never a dull moment, eh?"

– – –

She hadn't expected Luke to take things well, but she hadn't expected him to leave without a word. She is now left to deal with the aftermath of this mess all by herself.

She texts Teddy to ask him to drop Maddie and Daphne home, she will be there as soon as she can. He texts back to announce the girls won't leave without seeing her first. The three of them show up in her dressing room a few minutes later. Teddy offers polite congratulations, Daphne stays mostly quiet, and Maddie is sulking.

"You're going to marry him?" she asks, without preamble.

"No, honey, I'm not going to marry him."

The occasions are rare these days to render teenage Maddie speechless, so Rayna should probably savor the moment. They all look at her, waiting for an explanation. The atmosphere in the room seems to have lighten up, and if she had any doubt about her decision, this would achieve to convince her.

"I wasn't going to say no on stage," she explains. "We'll just wait a while to announce it. So... not a word until then."

Maddie pulls her into a hug. "I'm sorry, Mom." Her daughter isn't the slightest bit sorry, but Rayna appreciates the gesture.

"Dad will drive you home, and I'll be there as soon as I can." She sighs. "I have an afterparty from hell to attend first."

– – –

She has spent the last hour showing off a ring she'll never wear, make up fake excuses for a fiancé she'll never marry, and banter about a list of possible guests which she'll never send invitations to. She's pretty sure hell looks something like this.

She should be driving home now.

She should be.

She's not sure when she made the conscious choice not to, if it has been in her mind all evening and she'd just refused to aknowledge it until now, but there's someone she needs to go see first. Someone she'll keep pretending has nothing to do with her recent decision.

Because it's not like everything she does always has, in one way or another, something to do with him. It's not like since that day on the cabin's porch when they talked – really talked – about Maddie, she's been feeling it was only a matter of time until they would find their way back to each other.

It's not like she's loved him since the first time she ever laid eyes on him, first time she ever heard him play a note on the guitar, first time she ever heard him laugh. And even through all the hell they put each other through, she stills loves him now.

She parks the car in a hurry, and runs the stairs to his porch. Deacon isn't surprised to see her when he opens the door.

"Hey."

"Hey."