A small chapter, sorry for the delay. The next will be up in a few hours since this is so small. Thanks for the reviews :)

Chapter Nine

Maddie couldn't take it any longer. Daphne was at soccer practice with their Dad, and wasn't due home until just before dinner. She was going to ask for the truth. She rehearsed what she was going to say, and took a deep breath as she walked down the stairs.

"Mom?" She called out when she got to the lounge, and her a muffled reply coming from the music room. "Can we talk?" she asked as she entered the room.

"Of course" Rayna replied, patting the seat next to her. Maddie sat down and smiled.

"I overheard you and Dad arguing a few weeks ago – can I ask you a question about it?" she watched as her mother paled and her eyes widened a little.

"You shouldn't have had to hear us, but yes, you can ask" Maddie watched as her mother nervously tapped her hands on her knees.

"Is Dad my biological father?"

"No" her mother replied quietly, tears coming to her eyes.

"Deacon is?" her mother nodded. "Why did you lie all these years?" There was silence while her Mom thought of how to explain.

"You know Deacon was an alcoholic. I'd started seeing your Dad when Deacon was in rehab, then Deacon begged for me back, so I went back, only to find he was still drinking, I realised that he wasn't going to commit to a proper recovery if he had me to come home to – I thought maybe losing the most important person in his life might show him that he needed to change. So I went back to your Dad, and we kept seeing each other. Then I found out I was pregnant. I wasn't sure who the father was, your Dad said he loved me, he loved you and that it didn't matter if he was biologically your father or not, he'd love you the same. And he always has." Her mom stood up and went across the room to grab a box of tissues off the shelf.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"When would be the right time to tell you Maddie?" Maddie had to agree with that. If she'd been told when she was 5, or 10, would she have understood?

"I guess. Does Deacon know?"

"No. Your Dad didn't want him to know. Tandy and Coleman thought it was for the best that he didn't know, that he would move on and be happy eventually if he saw me happily married with a family. It was a hard time Maddie. If I could go back and change it, he would have known right from the start, but I did it to protect you and to protect myself. I didn't know if Deacon would ever stay sober, and believe me, with him the way he was when he was drinking, it definitely wasn't safe for you to be around."

"He needs to know" Maddie said after a few moments, taking a tissue to wipe her tears. Rayna nodded sadly.

"I know. I'm so sorry Maddie, when your Daddy and I made this decision so long ago we'd never have expected it to get to this. We loved each other so much, we never thought there'd be a divorce and arguments and then dating again. We would have told you one day, but I hate that you've found out this way." Her mother pulled her in for a hug, and they cried together for awhile.

"I understand. Sort of. That's why I waited before I asked. I wanted to make sure I was ready for the answer." Maddie said softly, and her mother pulled back to look at her daughter.

"I mean it when I say I'm proud of you, Maddie. You've grown up to be an amazing young lady, and so mature. I love you"

"I love you too Mom." They hugged again and there was a soft knock on the door before Deacon popped his head around the side of the door

"Hey, not interupting?" he said softly, looking worried as he looked over the scene in front of him, the two of them hugging with tears running down their faces.

"No, perfect timing. Maddie, would you excuse us?" Maddie left the room, after hugging Deacon, surprising all three of them. Then she headed up to her bedroom and sat in her window seat, looking out over the driveway and the trees. It surprised her when she realised the soft toy she was holding tight for comfort was the one Deacon had given her when he'd taken her to the hospital after that Juliette Barnes concert gone wrong. She watched and watched. There was something in her that knew Deacon would storm off, and she wanted to know when he left so she could help her Mom. And sure enough, not even five minutes later, he stormed out of the house and out to his truck, spinning the wheels and sending gravel everywhere, including alll over her Mom's SUV, as he left. She waited. Last time they'd argued and he'd left, he'd barely made it out the driveway. He wasn't coming back this time. She ran down the stairs and found her Mom sitting on the floor, leaning against the front door, crying. Huge heartbreaking sobs.

"Mom?" Maddie asked quietly, kneeling down to touch her shoulder.

"I hurt him Maddie. The truth broke him" Rayna managed between sobs, and Maddie hugged her tight. Her Mom looked like she was broken as well. There was this haunting look of heartbreak in her mothers eyes that scared her a little. If Deacon didn't come back, what would happen to her? Would her Mom ever return to her normal happy self?

"He just needs some time to think, he'll come back. I promise" Maddie said, helping her mother to stand and make her way up the stairs to the master bedroom. She sat with her Mom until her sobs slowed and she noticed that her mother had fallen asleep.

She knew what she had to do. She tiptoed down the stairs, grabbed her jacket and rang for a taxi as she walked across the driveway and out the gate. When the taxi pulled up she hopped in and told the driver Deacon's address. Twenty minutes later and they pulled up, she paid and sent the driver off, hoping that Deacon was here and not at a bar somewhere. She knocked on the door.

"I'm not talking to you Rayna" Deacon yelled from inside.

"It's not Rayna!" Maddie yelled back, and the door opened a few minutes later, and he let her in. He looked like he'd run a marathon, and when she walked in, she knew why. He'd half destroyed his living room. So she just stood there, and turned to face him when she shut the door.

"I know what Mom told you" she said simply and he turned back over an armchair and gestured for her to sit down. When she did, he sat on the couch. "She doesn't know that I left the house. She's real upset. I know she's sorry."

"How long have you known? How did you even find out?" Deacon asked, and she smiled.

"I overheard Mom and Daddy arguing a few weeks ago, it took me awhile to get my head around it, and then I asked Mom about it." Maddie admitted with a blush. "I've thought about it a lot. I didn't know how to bring it up with her or you. I can't be angry at you, it's not your fault. I thought you knew, until she told me you didn't. But I can't be angry at Mom either – I read up a lot on the internet and you weren't in a good place, and I could imagine how scared she was when she found out."

"Doesn't make what she did right. She could have told either of us at any time over the last fourteen years." He said gruffly, not looking at her.

"Yes, she could have. But you need to go back and talk about it, find out why she couldn't tell us earlier. I know you love her. I know she loves you. She's a mess thinking you're done with her. And I want to get to know my real Dad better." He managed a smile then. And she smiled back shyly.

"Dad. Never thought I'd be called that. I don't know if I can go back though."

"Yes you can. I know you can. And you have to, I don't have enough money for a taxi home" she lied the last bit, knowing that he would definitely give her a ride. He laughed.

"Alright kiddo, lets roll." He said, grabbing his truck keys and following her outside. Once they were in the truck, Maddie got nervous.

"I'm glad you came back" Maddie said honestly and he nodded, watching the traffic lights they were stopped at.

"I am too. Honestly, you have no idea how close I was to going to a bar." He replied and she reached out to touch his shoulder.

"Mom loves you. When I went downstairs after you left to see if she was okay she said she hurt you, that she broke you. She's devastated. I practically had to carry her up to her room, and she cried herself to sleep. She's suffered with this for fourteen years" Maddie said and he nodded again. "When I heard Mom and Daddy arguing, she said she wanted to tell the truth, and he told her not to. I wonder how many years he's been telling her that?"

"I don't know. I'm proud of you, Maddie. You've handled this best out of all of us. I'm surprised. Ray has done so well with you." Deacon told his daughter as they pulled into the driveway of her home. They hopped out and he came around and hugged her. "I love you. Loved you even when I didn't know you were mine." he said, holding back tears.

"C'mon, lets go see Mom" she said after hugging him back. They walked in the front door and up the stairs and then she let him open the bedroom door softly, and she stood at the door and watched as he walked around the bed. He winked at her before he knelt down beside the bed and laid a hand on Rayna's shoulder.

"Ray, I'm here" he said softly, shaking her ever so slightly.

"Deacon?" She asked sleepily "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't -" Deacon silenced her with a kiss, and Maddie walked away, a smile on her face. Her Mom and her Dad deserved to be happy. And the whole world knew that nothing made them happier than each other.