Disclaimer: I do not own Nashville or any of its music, characters, and dialogue.
A/N: Hey y'all! Here's another chapter. Thanks so much for keeping up with the story. We're nearing the end of season two's plot now, but of course some scenes are being added in there (and amended).
Please let me know what you think! I have the next couple chapters roughly outlined, but I totally gauge everyone's reactions and comments and take them into consideration as I write. So, if you don't like the way things are going, please share your thoughts on it! If you would like to see a certain kind of scene, please say so! Fan fics (like TV shows, it seems) are always works-in-progress :) Thanks again for reading!
Ball and Chain(ed)
10.
My Wish (Rascal Flatts)
"Would you like a snack, dear?" asked the flight attendant, smiling kindly at Daphne. "I have peanuts, cookies, or potato chips."
"I don't want anything," Daphne mumbled, turning around to rest her head on Rayna's shoulder. "I don't wanna go to New York and I don't wanna see Luke. I just want to go home."
"I'm sorry," Rayna signed, gently squeezing Daphne's arm and raising her eyebrows at her. She was starting to become just like Maddie with that tone. It was such an ugly tone, and Rayna did not want two Maddies mouthing off wherever they went. She made a note to nip this behavior before it got out of control. "We'll take a package of cookies, thank you. Maybe she'll change her mind."
It was hard, Rayna realized, taking the cookies and shifting her arm so that she could hold Daphne closer. It was hard being a mother and a country star and someone's girlfriend. Rayna's heart had ached when she heard that Luke had been in a serious accident, and she felt herself continuously worry and fret over how he was doing and what had happened to him. Rayna realized from this ordeal that she did have strong feelings for Luke, but as she held her daughter close against her slightly-bulging stomach, she also realized how trying this was for her family. For everyone. There was just so much going on at once.
"You really shouldn't be rude to people like that," said Rayna softly, her fingers playing with the strands of Daphne's golden-brown hair. "She was just being nice to you."
"I know," said Daphne, frowning slightly. "But I'm just tired. And... Sad."
Rayna knew that she was sad and disappointed that things had turned out this way. It was yet another special day with Mom canceled and replaced with someone else, though this time Rayna couldn't bear leaving Daphne out of her sight. Hugging Daphne closer, Rayna murmured, "I know you are, honey" before bending down to kiss her dropping eyelids. As much as Daphne needed her mother during all of this, Rayna realized that she needed her, too. And Maddie.
"Hey, you can't be tired," Rayna teased, continuing to kiss her daughter's eyelids until Daphne had to sit up and escape Rayna's reach, giggling. "You just woke up a few hours ago!"
"But I don't know what else to do, Mom." That tone was back, but Rayna could feel it ebb as she tickled Daphne's cheeks, procuring a small smile. "And I hate airplanes. They make me feel... Seasick."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Hey, you're really startin' to get the hang of that." Maddie again played the complicated sequence of G sharp, F minor, and a sliding chord ensemble, and it was even better than her last attempt. "What are you, a Claybourne or something?"
"Must be," Maddie laughed, putting her guitar down and picking up her glass of orange juice. "Mom certainly can't play the guitar."
"Yeah, we always joked that she's just instrumentally-impaired. You ever hear the story of how she tried to play bells for one of our shows and ended up dropping them all mid-song?"
It was so fun to talk to Maddie like this. It was so easy, so natural. Deacon had known Maddie for her entire life, and even though they now had to develop a new kind of relationship, they still had that tight bond that had held them together when she was growing up. It was still there, but it was just solidified now with blood.
Just as Maddie reached back for her guitar to play the start of their song again, her phone beeped. She looked at it, her brows furrowed, and then she looked over at Deacon. "Mom just texted me. Luke got injured in Afghanistan, and she and Daphne are on their way to the airport right now..."
"What?" said Deacon, sitting bolt upright. "She's goin' all the way to Afghanistan?" He didn't know why, but the thought of Rayna traveling halfway across the world for Luke made his blood start to boil. That bastard didn't deserve that kind of loyalty from Rayna, not after everything he put her through. Hell, Deacon himself didn't deserve half the things Rayna had done for him, so he definitely knew that Luke didn't, especially since they hadn't even been dating for that long. Why the hell would she go there for him?
"No, they're meeting him up at New York," Maddie continued, her fingers scrolling through more text messages as they buzzed in. "She wants me to ask you if I could stay with you tonight since they might not be back until later. Is that okay?"
"Of course it is, sweetie." It was no problem, and Deacon felt himself relax a little. New York wasn't that far of a distance. Rayna had once taken a plane from Maine to meet him over in California, which was thrice the distance. Not that it all really mattered, Deacon thought, shaking his head.
"I wonder why she brought Daphne," Maddie mused, moving to tuck her legs under her on the brown couch. "I know she's been having nightmares and stuff lately."
"Really?" Deacon didn't know that. He really didn't know much about Daphne, to be honest, which made him feel guilty. Daphne was Teddy's daughter, so he didn't want to cross that boundary. But still, she was Maddie's sister, too, so wasn't he entitled to know more about her?
"Yeah. I guess she has anxiety or something, so Mom's been giving her extra attention to try and make her feel better. But if you ask me, it's just making her spoiled, especially since there's going to be a new baby in the family soon."
Her eyes glistened after she said that, and Deacon felt awkwardness burn on his face. He could tell she was upset and he knew that he was supposed to do something about it, but he didn't really know what to do. He felt frustrated because, in all reality, he was a brand new father, even though Maddie was fourteen years old already. He didn't have much practice, but she needed him to be there for her. Frankly, Deacon had to just dive in and pray that he was doing it right, which was daunting.
"How are you doin' with all of that?" he tried, careful to gauge Maddie's reaction. He didn't want to push. "I mean, with Luke and the baby and all."
"Fine." She didn't look at him, though, and her fingernails started to pick at her thumbs. Rayna did that, too, and Deacon recognized it as a nervous habit.
"You know, Maddie, we can talk about that kinda stuff if you want." Putting his own guitar down, Deacon moved over to the couch and sat down next to her, watching her face. She didn't move away, so he took that as a good sign. "I'm your dad, and I care about your feelings and everything."
"Even if... Even if it's about my mom and Luke?"
"Yeah." Deacon smiled, hoping it came across better than it felt. "Of course."
"Even if it's about... Stuff that might make you feel uncomfortable?" She seemed to really care about his feelings, and that made Deacon feel warm inside. He knew that, as a parent, he would have to fret and worry about his daughter, but it didn't occur to him that his daughter was allowed to fret and worry about him, too. It was a sweet kind of tenderness that Deacon had never really felt before.
"Maddie, I just want youto be happy." Maddie looked up at him, her expression still unsure, and Deacon reached over to take her hand. He pushed away any unpleasant thoughts revolving around Luke and Rayna and focused solely on Maddie. She needed this. "And when you're not happy, I wanna help make you happy again. So let's air it all out and talk about what's goin' on, okay?"
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Rayna, what are you doin' here?" When Rayna rushed into the hospital room, Daphne following in her wake, she felt her breath catch in her throat. There was Luke, sprawled awkwardly on his side getting bandaged by a nurse. His skin was reddened, cut, and bruised, and just looking at him, Rayna could tell how tired and sore he was. She felt instant regret at every mean and snippy comment she had made to him over the past few weeks. What if they had been her last words to him?
"Are you okay?" She felt panic rise in her voice but tried to quell it as she went over to the side of the bed, slipping her hand into his. "They said you hit an IED..."
"No, no. The first vehicle in the convoy did. I was in the second when... we swerved to avoid it. We were all..." His voice trailed off as he looked up at her, his gaze intense. Rayna could see that he was fighting back tears. "Two people died."
"Oh my God," Rayna replied, shaking her head and giving his hand a squeeze. It was all so heavy and so raw. And that could have been Luke. He could have died.
She heard a small intake of breath behind her, and she turned to see Daphne staring at them with wide eyes. Damn it. Rayna had forgotten all about her during the fuss. What kind of mother did that? How could she possibly be so insensitive and not bother to think that Daphne might have a hard time hearing about people dying and getting into accidents?
"Hey there, little lady," Luke said, his gaze warm as he looked over at Daphne. "Thanks for comin' with your Momma to see me. Wanna hop up here for a second?"
Daphne returned his smile as she went beside Rayna and climbed up on the edge of the bed, Luke helping her up and giving her shoulder a pat. The two of them had always had a good relationship, and Rayna realized that it was only Maddie who had the problem. Poor Daphne adjusted to each person in Rayna's life and didn't really didn't complain too much. She had a big, open heart, and Luke did, too. When he felt like it.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Daphne bit down on her lip as she took in the sorry state of Luke's face, but it perked up again as Luke laughed and ruffled her hair.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, glancing over at Rayna and smiling again. He looked so happy and so comfortable with the two of them there. "I just got a couple of bruised ribs, a few cuts, and a pretty good bump on the noggin'." His smile faded a little just then. "I was lucky. Worse things can happen, Daphne, and we've just gotta be thankful that they didn't happen to me."
"You're not goin' back there," Rayna insisted. It was too dangerous. It really was dangerous to be doing any kind of publicity-stunted thing during such a sensitive time, and Rayna couldn't handle him being back there. Not after this and not with the baby coming. Though she had tried to downplay that part of the equation, Rayna realized that she really did need Luke to be there for their baby. Or at least some kind of father figure, she thought darkly, remembering how she had felt when she was pregnant with Maddie and hurried to marry Teddy. But she wasn't thinking about marriage right now; this wasn't the same thing.
"Yeah, well, I am goin' back. I just don't know when right now." He looked away from the two of them, visibly frustrated and flustered. Daphne kept looking at him, her eyes round with worry, content, and a strange sort of awe, and Luke eventually looked back over at them. "I gotta be honest with y'all. This shook me up pretty good, in ways I wouldn't expect."
"Yeah, I bet," said Rayna, thinking briefly about how she would feel in that situation. She would think of the girls, she would think of Teddy, she would think of Deacon... But would she think of Luke? Where did he fit in?
"But you know what?" said Luke, a boyish grin on his face. "Right now, I just want me some sugar."
Chuckling slightly, Rayna leaned over to kiss him, breaking quickly and moving to hug him instead. She was painfully aware of Daphne still sitting there on the bed, and she felt extremely awkward and guilty as Luke rubbed her back and buried his face in the crook of her neck. She had been trying not to show too much affection in front of Daphne, but it was hard with Luke looking so battered and with her heart just wanting to reach out and hold him. She really did care about him, despite how complicated everything had become.
"I love you," he breathed, kissing her ear. He reached out for Daphne's hand, too, and she took it, although hesitantly. "I love you and your kids, along with our baby." Rayna felt it coming, but she didn't know how to handle it. Her stomach knotted up. "This is all I want, Rayna. You and our family is all I want."