Thanks for all the reviews guys. Glad everyone liked the last chapter. I really enjoyed this week's episode. The Deacon/Maddie/Rayna family scene at The Bluebird made me swoon.

##

A couple of days after the accident Deacon was practicing a song on his slide guitar when Megan appeared at his door. She stood in the doorway hovering a bit until he noticed her there.

"Hey," she said gingerly.

"Hey, didn't see you there, come in."

Megan pushed through the screen door and walked in positioning herself by the edge of the piano.

"I thought you were going to call me on Sunday to let me know everything was ok?"

"Yeah, I'm real sorry Megan it was just a crazy couple of days. We brought Maddie home on Sunday afternoon, then we sat up with her Sunday night just watching to make sure that she was ok. It was a mad house at Ray's with me and Ray and Tandy and Teddy and Peggy."

"Well, I could have been there too. I mean, I would have liked to have been there."

Deacon gave her a half smile, "Why don't you come sit down."

Deacon moved the slide guitar to the side as Megan joined him on the couch.

"Listen, I've been thinking about that. I know that you wanted to be there, and I appreciate that, I really do, but I just didn't think that was such a good idea."

"Why not? Peggy was there wasn't she?"

"Yeah, but Peggy is Teddy's wife, and he's not a newly acquired parent who she's trying to build a relationship with. I've really been thinking about what's important to me lately, what I should be focusing my life on, and there's nothing more important than building a relationship with my daughter."

"I know that Deacon, and I'm fully supportive of that. Whatever you need to do." Megan placed her hand on top of Deacons and felt a slight sickening in her stomach when he pulled it away."

"I adore you Megan, I really do. Without you I'd probably still be sitting in a jail cell with my arm in a cast."

"That's not true, you know that."

"Well, maybe not, but you definitely have helped me get to the place where I can be a father, and be the father that Maddie deserves, not a drunken loser feeling sorry for himself. I feel really good about where I'm heading these days, and you've helped me get there in a big way…"

"But…"

"But I think our relationship is a distraction from the time I need to be spending with Maddie. I just can't be involved with you right now. I hope you understand that?"

Megan deflated a bit. "I do, I can't say that I'm not disappointed Deacon. I thought this was going well?"

"It was, it is, but just cause something is going well doesn't mean it's the right thing for me at this point in my life. If there's anything I've ever learned about relationships is it's all about timing. Maybe if we'd met 5 years ago when I had less ties things would have been different, but…"

"Yeah, I get it." Megan stood up and moved towards the bedroom. "I'll grab my stuff."

Deacon turned to her as she was collecting her things. "Megan…thanks for understanding."

She looked back at him with a sad smile, "no problem."

##

Rayna was sitting by the piano humming a new tune she was writing when Deacon walked in through the back door.

"Hey Ray."

"Hey Babe."

She started to get up to greet him, but he held up his hand, "Don't get up, I don't want to interrupt your creative process."

Deacon walked over to the piano and sat down on the bench next to Rayna. She reached up cupping his face with her hands and gave him a kiss that said why haven't you been in my arms the last 24 hours.

"Mmm, I've missed you."

"Yeah?" Deacon asked in his soft and sexy voice.

"Yeah." Rayna cooed in return.

"Is Maddie here?"

"Nope, she finally went back to school today. She couldn't wait, now she's got this great story about how she almost died. She's the most popular girl in school."

"Let's hope that's a one time experience. We need to teach her there are easier ways to become popular."

"How was your day?"

"Alright I guess. I broke up with Megan."

"How'd she take it?"

"Not bad, she's a tough woman."

"I bet she's hating my guts right now?"

"Actually Ray, I didn't tell her about us."

"Really? Why not? I mean, she's going to find out soon enough, we're both public figures."

"Yeah, about that. "

A look of worry crossed Rayna's face, "Uh, oh, I don't like the sound of that."

"I told Megan that I was breaking up with her because I wanted to concentrate on my relationship with Maddie, that Maddie needed to come first right now."

"Well, that's fine. I mean, Maddie and Daph always come first with me."

"I know, which is why we really have to give this some thought before we jump into anything."

"What are you saying? Are you saying that you don't think we should be together?"

"No, I'm not saying that at all," Rayna breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm just saying that this is different this time. We're not the people we were the first time we were together, or even the second time. We share a daughter, a daughter who had to already watch her parents split up when you and Teddy divorced. I want to make sure that never happens again. That she never has to suffer through seeing her parents' relationship fall apart."

"So you're saying you think we'd split up if we get back together?"

"No, I'm saying the opposite. If we get back together we have to be sure that it's for good. No running when things get tough, no splitting up. If we do this Rayna it's me and you till the end, cause there ain't any way I'm busting up our family. I wouldn't do that to Maddie, and I wouldn't do it to Daphne either. There'll be no taking it slow, no seeing how things go. If we're going to do this we're all in and we're all in forever."

Rayna swallowed hard, then got quiet. She knew she loved Deacon more than anything, but she also knew that their relationship had always been tumultuous. She wanted to commit to spending the rest of her life with him no matter what, but could she do it that second without a moment's hesitation? She wasn't so sure about that. "I love you Deacon, and of course I want to spend my life with you, but don't you think we have some issues to work out first before we can say forever? Plus forever is never certain. I thought I was going to be forever with Teddy and look how that ended."

Deacon gave her a look that said he didn't believe her for a second. "Seriously Ray? There is no way you thought you were going to be with Teddy forever. I mean, hell, you kept my engagement ring the whole time you were married to him. If that doesn't say I'm not in this for the long hall I don't know what does."

Rayna laughed a little. "I guess you're right. I think I spent so many years lying to myself that I don't know what's the truth anymore when it comes to that marriage. But I am right about nothing being 100% certain."

"I know that Ray, but we need to go into it thinking we're 100% certain. I love you, but you have a tendency to bail when things get rough."

"Now that's not fair. You were a real mess back then."

Deacon cut her off, "And this last time?"

Rayna wasn't sure what to say, she knew she hadn't reacted well when she got out of the coma. She'd come to terms with the mistakes that she'd made, that they'd both made. She loved him and she didn't want to lose him, but she wasn't sure what the right thing to say here would be. She reached up and started playing with the fabric of his collar, running the soft cotton back and forth between her thumb and forefinger. Then she looked up into his eyes. "I love you Deacon, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make us work if you are too. That's a promise."

Deacon placed his hands on her face. "I love you too and I'm ready to say forever right here, right now, but if you're not at that point yet I think we should wait." He placed a soft kiss on her lips. Rayna hungered for more, but she knew if she deepened their physical connection she'd lose all sense of what was logical. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we should wait. I think maybe we need to spend a little more time learning to trust each other again."

Deacon nodded his head, "I can do that."

"So does that mean no making love?"

"Yep, no making love, no kissing, no nothing."

Rayna tugged playfully at his belt buckle and gave him a sly smile, "I don't know if I can handle that. Maybe if you gave me something to remember you by?"

Deacon gave her his most charming smile back in return. "Like a last feast before the famine?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"We could do that."

Deacon slipped his hands from her face and tangled them in her hair, then he pulled her face close pressing his lips against hers. When he felt her mouth part he slipped his tongue in quickly searching for hers. The electricity between them was palpable and both wondered how they were ever going to deny themselves this for any amount of time. He shifted her body so she was sitting on the keys of the piano, then slowly removed her panties from beneath her skirt as he left kisses along her inner thighs. Rayna let out a moan when his mouth made contact with her core. She reached down running her fingers through his hair throwing her head back in ecstasy until she almost couldn't take it anymore. Just when she was reaching her peak Deacon pulled back unbuttoning his jeans, releasing himself from the confines of his boxers, then he pushed her back against the keys making a musical cacophony that contrasted with the beautiful music they were making together.

"We're going to ruin this piano," Rayna said breathlessly, desperately pulling him into her as far as he could go.

"I'll buy you another one," Deacon growled into her ear.

"Take me to the bedroom," Rayna got out between kisses.

Deacon obliged skillfully lifting her off of the piano, legs still wrapped tightly around his waist and carried her to the bedroom where for the next two hours he showed her just what she'd be missing.