Chapter 7: Testing, 1, 2, 3

I so appreciate everyone's reviews to date. For some reason, I just have an itch about filling in the puzzle as to how Deacon and Rayna worked together for so long while she was married and how their relationship evolved during that time. Please continue to review and provide feedback!

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Deacon walked into the room to find Rayna on her cell phone and the rest of the band warming up. "Hey, Bobby!" Deacon walked over to the drummer and shook his hands.

"It's been a long time, Deacon. Good to see you back."

"Thanks, man, I appreciate that."

Bobby was the only original band member still left from the early days, since Sam was absent. Fortunately, Deacon and Bobby always got along well. He was the only one who was remotely interested in hearing from Deacon after Deacon went MIA two years ago. Sam didn't want to entertain any of Deacon's attempts to apologize. He'd always resented playing second fiddle to Deacon. What burned most was how Rayna put Deacon up on such a pedestal. Deacon messed up, Rayna forgave him, and things went back to 'normal' as if nothing had ever happened. When Deacon finally went MIA, Sam took over as lead guitar, and frankly, he was happy about that. The problem was, Sam was the only one. Despite Deacon's shortfalls, everyone but Sam knew he was second rate on Guitar compared to Deacon, and the friction between him and Rayna never quite dissipated.

Bobby looked to his left, "Deacon, this is Trevor on Bass."

"Hey, nice to meet you. Sounding great, Trevor."

"Your reputation precedes you, Deacon."

"Yep, I was afraid of that. Don't hold that against me, " Deacon and Bobby laughed. Trevor feigned a smile, but he looked more uncomfortable than anything else, which didn't go unnoticed by Deacon. Bobby then introduced Deacon to their keyboard player.

"Hey, guys, while Rayna's on the phone I just wanna say something." They all looked over.

"I don't want to step on anyone's toes here. I'm just gonna help out, fill in for Sam, and use this opportunity to get back into the game. If you have anything you want or need to say to me, please do. I'd rather hear it directly from you than find out through the grape vine. Lord knows there's enough about me out there to fill a few cases of wine, all right?" Everyone nodded and then got back to work. Deacon plugged in and started tuning up.

"Hi, guys. Sorry for the delay, that was Maddie's Nanny, so I had to take the call." Rayna looked a little flustered.

Bobby responded, enthusiastically, " I think we're ready, Rayna."

"Oh, Deacon, you already introduced yourself to everyone then I guess?"

"Yep, thanks to Bobby."

"Well, okay then, let's get going on the new one, "Standing in the Rain." Deacon, you got the notes?

"Yep."

Rayna was relieved to be past this hurdle. When she initially told the band Deacon would fill in for Sam, she got a little backlash from Trevor and their keyboardist. Bobby met with her privately and told her he'd heard how well Deacon had been doing at the Bluebird and he was hopeful it would work out, though he knew it was a big risk. He also told her that the other band members had heard a lot of trash talk about Deacon from Sam. He asked her if he could talk to them, and she agreed. He'd convinced everyone to give Deacon the benefit of the doubt- that after they heard him play, they'd probably change their tune, so to speak.

Bobby was right. It took running through about two songs for the other members to realize they'd just upped their game with Deacon on lead guitar. Since they were all serious musicians, the opportunity to work at the highest level possible was their primary goal. Trevor looked at Bobby, shook his head, and smirked. Bobby nodded back, thinking to himself, 'yeah, I told you, he is that good.'

Now she had a second hurdle to get through. About an hour and a half into rehearsal, the band was interrupted by the sound of little feet stomping. Then came the joyous screams of a little girl shouting, "Momma! " The door opened and Maddie rushed in as fast as her two tiny little feet could move. She jumped into her Momma's arms.

"Oh, I missed you!" Rayna kissed Maddie on the cheeks, then on the neck, then back on the cheeks, and Maddie giggled in delight.

"Okay, fellas, let's break for lunch. As you can see, Maddie's here." Rayna and Teddy had made other plans to introduce Maddie to Deacon, but June had a family emergency and was going to have to go home. So she told her to bring Maddie to the studio.

Rayna put Maddie down so each band member could take their standard turn greeting the little girl who'd become a pretty regular 6th band member over the past year and a half. This had become a ritual that they each enjoyed. Rayna walked over to Deacon and quietly asked," So, that went well don't you think?"

"Yeah, i've got no complaints. Bobby's always been good to me. We'll see if the others warm up."

"Deacon, don't fool yourself. They know a good player when they hear one. You won't have any trouble. Now where's Maddie? I want to introduce you to her." She turned to her left and saw Maddie moving towards Deacon's guitar. "Oh, Maddie, don't touch that guitar. Sorry, Deacon."

Deacon ran over to Maddie . She was about to poke around with the strings and tip the guitar. "Hey, there. I'm Deacon. You like guitars? Come on over here." Deacon sat down and started strumming with the guitar real low to the ground so Maddie could stand up and lean against him and pull the strings.

"Oh, she loves guitars. Isn't that something? She loves to pluck those strings," Rayna noted, grinning ear to ear.

"Well if that isn't the cutest thing," Deacon replied. Deacon leaned over and whispered to Maddie. "You know, you're Momma used to like to play with guitars, but she never quite got the hang of it."

"Hey, now, I wasn't that bad!" Rayna declared, with a smile.

Deacon gave her another look with the raised eyebrow, as to say, ' you're kidding, right?"

Maddie kept plucking, giggling and chuckling after each note.

"Yep, I think it's official. You've got a guitar player on your hands here, Rayna." Deacon kept tantalizing Maddie by picking more strings. "Try this one, Maddie." Deacon plucked a low E and Maddie clapped her hands. Deacon couldn't help but laugh at this adorable display.

Suddenly, Rayna felt a surge of adrenaline. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she might hyperventilate. "Deacon, can you watch Maddie just for a minute? I need to powder my nose.

"Sure," Deacon replied, barely taking his eyes off Maddie.

Rayna walked out to the hall and took a deep breath. She bent over, then sat down. She remembered her recent conversation with Coleman. He'd phoned her after learning she'd invited Deacon to play with the band. She remembered his exact words: "You're walking a tight rope, Rayna. Be careful with Deacon, he's still fragile." But after seeing Maddie with him now, she knew she'd done the right thing.

She couldn't believe how Maddie gravitated toward him. She'd waited over two years to see this- to see Maddie with her biological father, to believe they could have a relationship, that she wouldn't have to deprive her daughter of this, at least not completely. 'God, I hope no one else notices she has his eyes,' she thought to herself. She took another deep breath. "I can do this. Teddy and I can do this. Deacon can do this. It will be okay."

Rayna walked back into the studio. "Thanks, Deacon. " Rayna leaned over to talk to Maddie. "Hey, honey, Momma & Deacon have to get back to work." Rayna picked up Maddie gently, but Maddie kept reaching for the guitar. Suddenly the sound of other footsteps changed her tune and Maddie ran to the door as Teddy walked in. "Dadda!" Maddie yelled. Teddy picked her up and showered her with kisses. Then he kissed Rayna.

"Thanks for coming. I'm sorry to interrupt you. June had to leave, and of course Tandy's out of town. I didn't know what else to do," Rayna explained to Teddy, periodically glancing over at Deacon so he would hear and know she hadn't planned to shock him with all of this on his first day with the band.

"Don't worry about it. These things happen. I'm always happy to have an excuse to spend more time with Maddie." Teddy saw Deacon sitting on the stool and walked over to say hello.

"Long time no see."

"Yes, that's true." Deacon shook Teddy's hand. "You sure have a beautiful daughter there."

"Thank you." Teddy noticed that Rayna was right. Deacon looked much healthier than the last time they'd seen each other. In fact, Deacon looked almost ten years younger without the circles under his eyes. That made Teddy both relieved and a bit anxious.

Rayna noticed the awkwardness between them. "Are you taking Maddie home or to the Office?" Rayna interjected.

"I'll take Maddie home. I can finish up some things there."

"Okay, Babe." Rayna kissed Teddy goodbye.

"Deacon, I'll see you and the band at the Barbecue this weekend." Rayna had a tradition of gathering Bucky and the band at her place every six months or so. Usually she waited until just before taking off on tour, but she moved it ahead this time so Deacon could meet Maddie and get re-acquainted with Teddy. "Life happens when you're making plans," she reminded herself. At least this day was almost over.

As Teddy started to leave the other band members came back in from lunch.

The band members had barely picked up their instruments, when Deacon rushed in, "Let's get going, huh? Maybe we can wrap up by three if we move quickly here." Rayna sensed a new urgency in Deacon's voice and actions. She felt bad for laying all this on Deacon at one time. It couldn't be easy. On the other hand, she knew this would be the hardest day and if they could get through this, they had a chance of making it work.

Rayna moved closer to Deacon, speaking so no one else would hear, "You okay, Deacon?"

He knew exactly why she was asking. He took a deep breath and nodded, "Yep, I'm fine. Let's get back to work."