This missing scene is the time between when Rayna leaves Deacon behind The Beverly and he finds her on the pedestrian bridge. An interesting fact – The Beverly was originally called 'Third and Church', which would have represented its physical location. If this was actually where the bar was located, Rayna would have had to walk a little over a mile to get to the pedestrian bridge, so it's not quite as close as it might have seemed. As a Nashville resident, it's always interesting to me to see how they play a little fast and loose with locations. All for the drama, of course, because where else would Deacon ask Rayna to marry him?

My label's dead. You know how important this label is to me. You're gonna make me choose, because you're jealous? I can't be with you right now.

She walked away from him, without a look back. She was both on the verge of tears and angry enough to spit nails. She'd just gone from being on top of the world not even twenty-four hours earlier to feeling about as low as she'd ever felt in her life. Deacon had been right about Markus and that had embarrassed her a little. She always tried to be straight up with people and she had gone to Markus to set her boundaries, after Deacon had accused him of wanting to put moves on her. She'd had that awkward conversation with Markus, who'd told her he didn't have any interest in her that way. But it had felt strangely good to tell him Deacon was her guy and then to tell Deacon the same thing. Too bad Markus hadn't been straight up with her.

She probably should never have told Deacon about Markus trying to kiss her. She didn't want to hide things though. That was what had torn them apart all those years ago, lies and cover-ups. They'd promised each other there would be none of that, so she'd told him, all the while trying to shrug it off. She hated that he was right about Markus after all. Not because she begrudged him that, but because she hadn't seen it. He'd always been her touchstone, cutting through the crap to the truth. Even if he was passionate and quick to be jealous or angry or whatever, he could get to the heart of a situation. She had always needed that because she would want to believe the best in everyone, wanted to make things right for everyone. And she'd missed it with Markus. But Deacon hadn't.

She also felt foolish. She thought back to when she'd told Markus about Maddie, back when Deacon had buried himself at The Beverly. Markus's story had felt so true. His struggles, trying to make things happen so fast, how things had fallen apart with Boulevard. She hated that she now wondered how much was true and how much had been just a play for her. He tried to hold my hand! She'd waited one second too long before pulling hers away. She had needed someone to talk to, but in that moment she'd realized who she really needed was Deacon.

All of that realization didn't, of course, excuse Deacon acting like a child. As she walked, she thought about how often she'd have to pull him off someone who'd made a pass at her or the times he raged at people who yelled at her to 'show off your tits'. She understood he was trying to protect her then, although she hadn't really liked that side of him. She'd thought the same thing with his blustering about Markus. That he was throwing tantrums and getting his nose all out of joint, for no reason. She hated the feeling that he didn't trust her, that he didn't trust their love.

She was angry that, after telling her how proud he was of her success, he'd dismissed it out of hand because of his jealousy. That had hurt, truthfully. She knew he didn't really mean that, but she hated that he'd said it. Hated feeling so distant from him. She'd just spent hours trying to talk Markus out of leaving and abandoning everything and now she didn't even feel like she could talk about it to the one person she needed to.

She found herself at the pedestrian bridge and walked out a ways. She stopped and leaned on the railing, looking out over the river, downtown Nashville at her back. She rested her boot on the bottom rail, scraping it gently. She loved it here. This had always been the perfect place to clear her head, standing out here letting the wind blow through her hair. It had been one of the places where she and Deacon would go to talk, during those years she spent with Teddy, a neutral place where she could trust herself with him.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. They'd been apart for nearly sixteen years, in the romantic sense, anyway. They'd learned how to be friends, exist together in a space that didn't allow for kisses and touches. They'd learned how to write songs together again, dancing around all the emotions that were buried just beneath the surface. She had thought they were done, all those years ago, that she would be Teddy's wife until the day she died, and her heart had died a little every day when she'd think of it.

The music was what had kept them bound together, all those years. Whether they were writing it or playing it, the music was what had stitched them back together, and even in the shakiest of times for them, it had held. It was how they'd talked to each other, in the days when they'd felt the most distant from one another. And, after the accident, when it had gone away altogether, she'd felt adrift. These days they were both making music, but not with each other. I miss that. So much.

She'd watched him conquer his demons, putting one foot in front of the other so deliberately at first, until one day it didn't require the same effort it once had. He'd seemed to learn how to be a whole, healthy man, the man she'd always wanted him to be. But it was without her. They'd had that brief time together before he'd found out the truth about Maddie and their worlds had turned upside down, literally and figuratively, leaving her feeling they would never again bridge that divide. But they had, although not without a lot of bumps along the way. They'd changed in those sixteen years, lived lives without the other, and taken many separate paths. But as she stood there, looking out over the dark river and the sparkling city lights, she realized one thing hadn't changed, in all those years. She still needed him. She'd always needed him. And she'd always loved him. I still love him.

She heard footsteps and she turned. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at the face she'd loved nearly her whole life. "Hey," he said, contrition all over his face.


He stood there, stubbornly, listening to her walk off, the sound of her footsteps getting fainter as time went on. He didn't turn around to watch her or to stop her. He'd felt justified in his anger and his hurt. Turned out he'd been right after all about Markus Keen. And then the guy had turned out to be a chump, walking out on his deal with Rayna. He could have even gotten past the whole kiss thing, if only she hadn't chosen to go after Markus. He made a noise while punching the air, then paced around outside trying to cool down.

I loved you my whole life and I'm gonna keep doing that til I die. He rubbed his face and then breathed out. He turned then, but she was long gone. He started pacing again, wondering why he kept doing this. It had taken him a long time, back in the early days, before he'd stopped feeling like he didn't deserve her. But as his disease had taken him over and taken over their lives, he'd felt like he didn't deserve having her stay around. He knew she'd stayed long after she should have gone and he would probably never know all the reasons why she hadn't left sooner. But the one thing he did know was that she loved him and that was the biggest reason why she stayed as long as she had.

As he thought about it, he realized his anger and jealousy wasn't about her at all. He knew what they had and they'd been through much worse and come out of it together. She could have a hundred men hit on her and she'd tell them all 'Deacon's my guy'. He remembered how he'd felt in the studio, that day he'd been there when Markus had recorded his song. That was what he missed. Making music together. He was jealous of Markus getting to make music with her.

God, I'm such an idiot. Why the hell do I keep doing this? He'd stood there and listened to her tell him she thought her dream was dead, her label dead. He knew how important that was to her and he'd just dismissed it like it was nothing. No wonder she'd walked away. But that was something they should be doing together.

He let out a short laugh, looking up at the sky and shaking his head. It was the music. That's who we are. That's who we've always been. He headed for the back door of the bar.


He shrugged on his jacket, patting the pocket where the ring box was. Then he hurried over to Scarlett, who was sitting alone at a table. She looked up as he approached, a concerned look on her face. "There you are," she said. "Where'd you go off to?"

He shook his head, a contrite smile on his face. "Making an ass of myself," he said. "But I gotta go fix that now." He looked around and his eyes settled on Maddie and Daphne, sitting in the pews talking to Cash Gray. "Will you keep an eye out for Maddie and Daphne? I got some business I need to take care of."

She frowned slightly until she realized what he meant. Then she smiled. "Absolutely," she said. "Go!"

He smiled and squeezed her arm lightly, then turned and hustled out towards the back of the bar. When he was outside, he walked in the direction Rayna had headed, knowing exactly where she'd gone. He put his hand in his pocket, closing it around the ring box. He needed to explain, tell her, again, how much he supported her dreams, just like she supported his. As he got closer to the bridge, he started to jog. He just needed to get to her.

He could see her leaning against the rail a couple hundred yards out. He stood for a moment, looking at her, as she stared out over the river, her hair lifting behind her in the light breeze. His heart felt full and he breathed in, tears pricking his eyes. He walked towards her purposefully and she turned just as he approached. His heart hurt as he saw the sadness in her eyes and he cursed himself for putting it there.

"Hey," he said.


They walked up to the back door of The Beverly, hand in hand. Deacon had his hand on the door handle when Rayna stopped and he turned to look at her. "I'm not dreaming, am I?" she asked, with a smile.

He reached for her left hand, raising it up until the outside light caught the diamond and caused it to sparkle. He smiled back at her. "If it's a dream, I don't wanna wake up," he said.

She lifted her face to his and he kissed her. Then she smiled playfully. "Ready to tell the girls?" she asked.

He nodded. "Oh, yeah, I am." He pulled her to him and then, wrapping his arms around her waist, leaned down and kissed her again. She snaked her arms up and around his neck, returning his kiss hungrily. She wasn't sure she ever wanted to let him go. When he finally pulled back from her, they were both a little breathless. He smiled down at her. "I ain't never been more ready for anything in my life."

Then he released her and, taking her hand in his, led her into The Beverly.