Chapter 8:
Two hours later….
Maddie sat upstairs in her room playing her guitar and trying to write a new song for when her mom wakes up, she had come home early rather than staying at Teddy and Peggy. The two of them were trying a bit too hard being the perfect couple and they were not her parents. She smiled as the sound of Deacon voice flouted up the stairs to her room, he must have come home to shower or get something before returning to the hospital. Her mother had been in surgery for just under two hours now and they still haven't heard anything yet. Putting her guitar as side she thought of going to check on her father when she heard the worry and anger in his voice while he was talking to someone. She slowly walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to see what was going on down there.
As she turned the corner she couldn't help but smile at who was seated at the kitchen counter drinking a cup of tea she was sure. "Juliette" said Maddie running to give the country singer a hug. The two of them texted nearly every day but it had been a while since they saw one anther face to face. "Nice Juliette get a hug and a smile, all I get these days is Hi dad" said Deacon smiling over the rim of his coffee mug. "Dad, you know I love you" said Maddie giving him a small hug. "I love you to darling, would you like something to drink" asked Deacon as she sat down next to Juliette. "A glass of water, please" answered Maddie. "So I hear my future lead guitarist has some flu these days, and doesn't like staying with her step mother" said Juliette. "Something like that, but what brings you to our lovely home" asked Maddie looking at Juliette. Something was different about the country star, she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, cloths that was only worn at home. "Well, Juliette will be moving into the loft on top of the garages as she has sold her home" answered Deacon. "So you are stuck with me Kid" said Juliette with a smile. "So we are going to be housemates" asked Maddie. The two adults could hear the joy in her voice something they haven't heard in a while. "I guess we are" answered Juliette leaning over to give her a hug. Deacon placed the glass in front of Maddie before he spoke again. "Maddie, you need to go back to Teddy house" said Deacon. "Why, I am happy here and besides I want to be around when news comes about mom" said Maddie. "Honey, he is saying that it would be best if you were with your sister and that she needs you right now" said Deacon trying to support this. He truly didn't want either of the girls to stay with Teddy, but he knew that it wasn't that easy to keep them away from the man that had raised them for the last 14yrs. "I tell you what, you go pack your bag and get some more things for Daphne, then I will drive you over to Teddy but we will stop for ice cream on the way" said Juliette trying to convince the girl to go. "Fine, I will be down in a bit" said Maddie walking up the stairs. Her good mood gone for the rest of the day, she couldn't understand why Teddy had to mess everything up the way he did.
The two grownups watched her walk up the stairs wondering when things would go back to normal again. Before either of them could say a word or give it more thought, the back door opened. Both turned to look who it was and saw an angry looking Bucky walk through the back door. "Hallo Buck" said Deacon not moving from where he stood. "Hi guys, Juliette could you please switch on the TV" asked Bucky pointing at the flat screen that hanged on the wall in the kitchen. "Sure" said Juliette switching it on and wondering what is going on. It was just in time for ENews to come on and suddenly Juliette knew why Bucky was so angry, she would also be. "In other news today, we are sad to inform you that the rumors seem to be true, that the Queen of Country Ms Rayna James have been diagnosed with cancer as well as with an unknown virus in her lungs that might just affect her singing career in nearby future, we have yet to have received any news from her family or management team" said the reporter. Juliette switched off the TV when it went to something about a new upcoming pop star. "How the hell did the news get out" asked Deacon anger clear in his voice. "We don't know, it could have been someone in the labs or a nurse at the hospital" answered Bucky. "What are we going to do, because I get the feeling this isn't the first news report" said Juliette sitting down once more. "They have been calling both me and Tandy since this morning, and the phone at the label office also hasn't stopped" said Bucky. "This is the scoop of the year for them" said Deacon. He didn't know how to handle this one, he just hoped they kept the girls out of the story. "Are the girls still with Teddy" asked Bucky sitting down at the counter. "Daphne is still there, Maddie is upstairs packing to leave for Teddy as well" answered Juliette. "Good, we need to figure out how we going to handle this cause we need to kill it before it gets worse" said Bucky. "I am up for any suggestions" said Deacon. "We issue a press statement telling the media that the rumors are true and that Rayna is in surgery at the moment, we also request them to give the family sometime and that we will inform them shortly with more news" said Tandy walking through the back door. The look on her face told the three in the kitchen that there was a small circus gathering outside on the lawn and that they had just questioned Tandy. "Who will be the family spokesperson, cause there is no way I am talking to the media" said Deacon. Both Tandy and Bucky were also not in the state of mind to do this, as they were to emotionally drained from everything that was going on. "I will do it, as I know how to deal with the media after the last few weeks" said Juliette. All three looked at her with shock, she was not a big fan of the media as they nearly made an end to her career a few weeks ago with the whole Charlie thing. "Ok, thank you Juliette" said Bucky with a small smile. Soon all four of them were working on a statement to be given to the media about Rayna and her condition.
The stars had come out to play and the moon was keeping a motherly eye over her children, when Juliette sat down in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs in the private family waiting room. Deacon turned to look at her and saw she was starting to feel the strain of the day that just past. "Thank you, for handling the media and the girls" said Deacon closing his eyes and resting his head against the wall. "It's the leased I could do, no news yet" asked Juliette. "Nothing, they said it might be a long one" answered Deacon. Juliette looked at Tandy and Bucky who was seated across from them, and then her eyes landed on the one person she never thought would be here not now. Maddie sat in the corner of the room reading a book about guitars and listen to her IPod. "Have you guys had dinner yet" asked Juliette looking at the three grownups. "We had some sandwiches this afternoon" answered Bucky looking up from his seat. "Ok, I guess none of you are hungry then" said Juliette. "Nope" said Deacon in a matter of fact tone. " Has anyone gone to pick Gunner and Scarlett up from the airport as their flight will be landing in the next hour" asked Juliette. The look on Tandy face made it clear that she had not made the arrangements at all. "I totally forgot they were coming back today" said Tandy going into full panic mode by the looks of it. "I will sent my driver to the airport and then bring them to our house" said Juliette. "Thank you, you are my hero" said Tandy taking a breath. "Is there anything ells that you guys need, before I head home with Maddie" asked Juliette. "Nothing, we will phone if there is news" said Bucky. Juliette turned to go and get Maddie, when the girl appeared next to her. "Let go home, you will call with news if there is any" said Maddie looking at her father. "I promise as soon as we know you will know" said Deacon giving his daughter a hug. Juliette took her hand and turned to walk out the door, when Lexie walked in looking like she had just gone to hell and back.
The whole room looked at the young doctor wondering if she was the bare of good or bad news, cause they really didn't know what to take. "The surgery went all good, we removed all of the cancer and stones that formed in her lungs, however she will not be able to sing anytime in the nearby future but that will only be determent when she wakes up" said Lexie putting on her lab coat that was hanging over her arm. "Did you need to remove anything ells" asked Deacon hoping that Lexie understood what he meant. "No, we didn't need to remove anything ells she will still be able to have children" answered Lexie. She knew that it was importuned for Deacon to know that his fiancée was fine. "When will you started with treatment" asked Bucky. "We will start within the next week or two" answered Lexie.
"When will she wake up" asked Juliette wondering if it would be a long night of waiting. "In the morning, we have placed her in a medical coma but will start waking her up during the night" answered Lexie. "Could we go see her" asked Maddie wanting to see her mother before she went home for the night. Lexie looked at them and wonder if they were ready to see Rayna in the way she was now again. "You may go see her, but only for a short while" answered Lexie. "Thank you" said Maddie as she followed the nurse to her mother's room with Juliette next to her. The other three grownups followed swiftly behind them, leaving Lexie standing in the waiting room wondering if they knew the long road that laid in front of them still.
