Wow...you are blowing me away with your amazing reviews. Thanks to everyone who is reading-you're making my day!

Deacon turned the page and there was Maddie lying on Rayna's chest, Teddy leaning in, a smile crossed his face like Deacon had never seen.

"Uh, she was born on May 4th," Deacon started. "Honestly, I don't know too much about her birth. She was healthy and so were you."

"Did you see us when she was born?" Rayna asked as she ran her fingers over the photo.

Deacon shook his head. "No, I didn't see her or you until she was about six months. I, uh...I wasn't around when she was born. I, uh, I was in rehab, again."

Rayna looked over at him. "Again?"

Deacon nodded again. "Uh, yeah. I've been to rehab five times. You did that for me, Ray. You kept believin' in me, even when I didn't and that last time, when Maddie was born, that's when I kicked it."

"Until our fight?" she replied, looking over at him.

"Yeah," he responded. "But that's on me, not you." He flipped the page. "Oh, I remember this one."

It was a studio photo of Maddie, wearing a cute little dress with strawberries on it. She must have been about six months old.

"Why do you remember it?" Rayna asked.

"Uh, I think Maddie was about six months old when you headed back out on the road. You were supposed to go earlier, but then she was sick with an infection, gave you a bit of a scare, so the dates got pushed back. I was back in town and you showed up at the Bluebird on a Thursday night looking for me, askin' me if I'd come back out with you cause your guy had taken another gig while he was waiting for you to be ready to leave home."

"And you went?" she asked.

Deacon let out a quiet laugh and shook his head. "Shit, Rayna, I've never been able to tell you no-not for nothin'. Anyway, you were a proud, proud mama and you handed these photos out to everyone in the band and the crew." He leaned forward and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and flipped it open. "Still have it right here," he said as he showed her the worn photo of Maddie in his wallet.

They looked through the next couple of pages, with the lists of Maddie's "firsts" and her vaccinations.

Rayna turned the next page and laughed. "Oh, that's cute, not a gift from my father, I'm assuming," she said as she pointed to a photo of Maddie in a cowgirl outfit wearing little cowboy boots.

"No, not her father," Deacon replied, touching the photo. "I, uh...I gave her that for her third birthday."

Rayna looked over at him. "It was perfect. So, you were a part of her life?"

"Her uncle Deacon," he answered. "She had been begging for boots like mine every time she came to the studio or one of our shows. She wore them until she couldn't cram her little feet into them anymore."

"You loved her," Rayna replied.

Deacon nodded. "I did. She was you and I loved you, even though we weren't together anymore."

Rayna turned the page and there was another photo of a slightly older Maddie, but this time she was holding a baby.

"Deacon?" Rayna asked.

"That's Daphne," he replied.

Rayna closed the book and set it down. "How can't I remember them? How can I not remember my babies?" she cried.

Deacon took her in his arms and held her while she cried. "It'll come to you, Rayna. Let's...let's stop for tonight. You need to rest."

She let him help her up from the couch and lead her back to the bedroom. He helped her out of her clothes and into the nightgown she'd worn each night. He pulled the blankets back and watched while she crawled into the bed, her tears slowing, but not stopping.

"Deacon," she started. "Don't leave."

"I won't," he answered as he slid off his boots and jeans and slid into bed next to her. He turned on his side and she moved next to him, alongside his body.

"I remember this," she finally said. "I remember never feeling more safe than when I was with you."

Deacon woke up the next morning to find the sun shining in the window and the bed empty next to him. He got up and pulled on his jeans and headed out to the kitchen.

The coffee was brewed and a mug sat next to it for him to fill. There was no sign of Rayna. He poured a cup and opened the door to the refrigerator.

"Cream's on the counter," Rayna said as he leaned over looking into the fridge.

He stood up and smiled at her. "See, you remember I take cream in my coffee."

"You've put cream in your coffee every morning we've been here," she replied. "It's my long-term memory that's an issue, not my short-term."

Deacon put the cream back in the fridge, closed the door and lifted the cup up to his mouth to take a sip. "Didn't forget how to make good coffee, either."

Rayna gave him a light punch on the arm.

"Hey, careful, I'm injured here," Deacon replied, his face crinkling with a smile as he laughed.

"I love hearing that laugh," Rayna replied. "I just...being here, with you feels so right, but it shouldn't be, should it? You said I have a husband, the girls...how am I here, with you, and not with them?"

"Yeah," Deacon started, then took another sip of his coffee. "You want me to tell you this stuff?"

"Yeah," Rayna echoed, quietly. "I think I'm gonna need some help filling in the blanks. Plus, I think I remembered something else last night, or at least it seemed so real in my dream."

"You wanna talk about it?" Deacon asked.

She nodded as he set down his mug and held out his hand to her.

"C'mon, you can tell me anything, Rayna."

A confused look crossed her face. "You said that," she said as she took his hand.

"What?"

"You said that to me in the dream. You told me that I could tell you anything, or nothing at all."

"C'mon, let's go sit down," he replied as he led her back out into the living room and they sat down on the couch.

"I did say that to you, last week," Deacon said. "We...we were havin' kind of a fight. I knew you were holdin' somethin' back and I told you it didn't matter. That you could tell me anything or nothing at all, just like you remembered."

"Why were we talking about that?" Rayna asked.

Deacon laughed and shook his head. "Cause you and Teddy decided to get divorced, maybe about a month ago and you and I...well, we found our way back to each other."

"After how long?" she asked.

Deacon shrugged. "Maddie's 13, but we weren't together then, either."

"So, how did...when did that happen? When did we...when were we together before she was born?" she asked him.

Deacon's face grew serious and he rubbed his hand over the stubble on his chin. He didn't say anything for a moment, then looked over at her. "I don't know, Ray. I think...I think now that I'm over the shock of it, that's the thing that's been killin' me. And I'm thinkin' that maybe that's why you never told me. Cause if things were so bad with me that I can't remember the moment when we created that beautiful girl, then I wasn't in any kind of a place to be her father."

Rayna leaned in and kissed him, softly on the lips.

"I don't think we," Deacon started.

"Hush," Rayna replied and kissed him again. She pulled back and looked at him. "I remember this. I remember how this feels, how it feels now. I remember loving you, Deacon."

Deacon, ran his fingers down the side of her face, then leaned forward and picked up the baby book. "Mind if we look at a little more of this?"

Rayna nodded and opened the book again.

TBC

PS - Special thank to piratewench78 for the suggestion about the cowgirl outfit.