Disclaimer: I do not own Nashville or any of its music, characters, and dialogue.

A/N: Hey y'all! Here's the next installment, taking us right to the season 2 finale (with an added scene, of course). Thanks so much for reading! Please let me know what you think of the story! I wonder what Rayna's gonna do here? ;)


Ball and Chain(ed)

11.

"She Ain't Right" (Lee Brice)

It had come later than originally anticipated, but Rayna finally had Deacon and Scarlet over for that family dinner she had suggested. Things had been hectic over the past month. Rayna's album was getting ready to launch, she was out at events to promote it, she was meeting with prospective artists, she was trying to spend some quality time with the girls – it definitely added up, but Rayna was doing her best to strike a balance.

And, to top it all off, her bump had become more pronounced and she could now barely fit into any of her performance clothes, which meant that Sally had to re-fit her and buy her new, "looser" dresses. Just in time for all the interviews and television specials, too. Contrary to what Rayna had once said, she really did hate this in addition to sunburns and hangovers.

"That's them!" Daphne squealed, peaking out the window as the doorbell rang. Rayna was still looking at herself in the mirror of her studio, wondering if there was any possible way to hide her bump with her loose-fitting flannel. "Can I go greet them, Mom? Please?"

Daphne had reclaimed her ten year-old social phobia and had again outgrown calling Rayna "Mommy." Though it's what Rayna had wanted since it was more normal and less regressive, it still made her slightly sad. She liked being called "Mommy." What kind of mother didn't? At least I'll have the new baby to call me Mommy.

That afterthought made Rayna feel guilty. If she had to be honest with herself, Rayna was actually getting excited about having the baby. In the beginning, Rayna had originally feared that she would be publically slut-shamed, but after she and Luke had made their statement and had made positive public appearances together, the pregnancy was actually shaping up to be a career boost for Rayna. Apparently the country music world admired middle-aged women sticking by their men, careers, and unborn babies, so her overall appeal as an artist and a public figure only went up. The baby wasn't interrupting her in the public sector, so shouldn't she be able to fully enjoy it in the private sector? Didn't she deserve that much?

"Hey there, munchkin'." Rayna heard Maddie laugh and Daphie shout as Deacon entered the room. There was some shuffling of footsteps, so Rayna could only imagine that Deacon had picked Daphne up or at least tried to ruffle her feathers. When she went out to the living room, pulling self-consciously at her shirt, she indeed found Deacon in mid bear hug.

"Hey, Ray," he said, kissing Daphne's head before setting her down. Daphne absolutely beamed as she shook her head and looked up at him, and her pure joy made Rayna happy, too.

"Hey, y'all," Rayna responded, smiling both at him and at Scarlet, who was wearing a lovely pink dress. "Thanks so much for comin'. I've got artichoke dip heating in the oven. How about we get out the chips?"

It was a lovely meal, Rayna thought (she'd made everyone's favorite – upside-down turkey casserole with fresh green beans, sugar-coated pears, and fresh French bread), and when Maddie and Daphne cleared the table while Rayna pulled out the cherry pie and vanilla ice cream, everything was going great.

"Well, what's all this?" Until Luke walked in, of course. Just as Rayna set down the pie in the middle of the table, she looked up to see Luke standing by the door, his hands in his pockets and his mouth frowning.

"Luke, what are you doin' here?" That hadn't exactly spent that much time together since he was released from the hospital in New York. Rayna had been busy with her album, Highway 65, and her girls, and it hadn't really occurred to her that he might get jealous over something like this. To her, it was just dinner with the family, but she realized at that moment how off-putting it could appear to him.

"Is it not alright for me to just drop by? Though you can in New York?" Oh God. He was playing that angle. Deacon laughed just then, that smug, boyish look plastered across his face, and Scarlet sank in her seat a little bit, clearly uncomfortable.

"Go on ahead, y'all," said Rayna, handing the knife to Scarlet and setting down her towel. "Luke and I are just gonna go talk for a second."

"Luke," she said quietly once they were over in her studio, "I don't understand what you're –"

"You're having a family dinner with him, Rayna. With your family and his family. That hurts, to be honest."

"But, Luke," Rayna insisted, not understating, "Deacon is family. He's always been family. He's been Uncle Deacon or, now to Maddie, her dad. He's just –"

"What about me, Rayna?" When Rayna looked at him, he saw the hurt clearly nestled in the pit of his blue eyes. He wasn't angry, jealous, or possessive – he was hurt. "Do you know how this feels, watching y'all get together as a family when it's clear you don't want anything to do with mine?"

"That's not true, Luke," said Rayna, but she knew her inflection wasn't convincing. "I went over to the ranch last week to meet Colt and Sage. We played Monopoly together."

"It's not the same and you know it. I would really appreciate it if you stopped pretending, Rayna. I would really appreciate it if you just came out and said that you don't wanna take our relationship seriously."

"That's not true, Luke," Rayna repeated, but this time, there was no doubt that she meant it. She did want to take their relationship seriously, she really wanted to, but she just couldn't. Not at that was happening so fast and the entire ordeal was bringing back painful memories, and it was just too much for her.

"Look," Rayna said, closing her eyes and shaking off her feelings, "This isn't the time to discuss this, babe. I've got company right now and I'm being terribly rude, so will you please just put on a smile and join us for some cherry pie?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Knock, knock."

"Hey," said Rayna, smiling as Luke walked in. She was in her dressing room getting ready for her show at LP Field, and she was right in the midst of that nervous excitement that always rushed over her before a show. She was excited to see Luke since she hadn't seen him since he crashed that dinner. They had talked on the phone since then and had made up, of course, but looking at him now, she could see first-hand that there weren't any lingering hard feelings between them. He was gawking at her like a teenager, and her makeup team quickly left the room, smirking.

"You are a vision," he finally said, continuing to gaze appreciatively at her before moving closer. He pulled out a red rose and set it down on her vanity, much to her delight. She loved roses.

"You're not so bad yourself," she said, for, truly, he looked good in his tucked-in flannel that showed just the right amount of muscle of his biceps.

"I know – lips," he said, putting his arms around her waist and moving to assault her neck. He touched her most sensitive spot, and she shuddered. "I won't mess you up."

"Oh, I hope you mess me up later." She was feeling particularly horny at the moment, probably from the pregnancy. The past few nights had been particularly awful, and as he held her there like that, Rayna spread her legs slightly and leaned toward him. She heard him laugh against her skin.

"Oh, I got nothin' but surprises in store for you," he teased, his eyes twinkling. He was such a flirt, she knew. He leaned forward slightly so that his knee brushed against her inner thigh.

"Ooh," Rayna cooed. She felt her thigh throb slightly at his touch. She wanted it now.

"Oh, girl, I am so proud of you." His voice was soft and tender now as he took her hands in his. "You are the most amazing, most beautiful –"

There was knocking at the door as Bucky stuck his head in the room. "Sorry, guys. Time to suit up, Ray."

"Thank you," Rayna drawled, her lip pouting as she turned back to Luke. She wanted him so bad. She wanted to just close the door and throw herself on him.

"I will finish this later," he said.

"You promise?" She took his hands in hers and kissed them, letting her lips linger around his knuckles, sucking gently. She sensed his body jolt.

"You still wanna close with "Ball and Chain"?"

"You bet."

"Alright. Well, I'm gonna go put on my rig and, uh, powder my nose." He finally released her and stepped away, and Rayna looked down at his jeans to see a small bulge.

"As long as you let me rig you later, babe," Rayna called out to him, her face flushing slightly as Bucky awkwardly waited at the door for Luke to leave.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Hold on a sec, hold on a sec!" Luke shouted, waving his arms to silence the crowd. They had just finished a fantastic rendition of "Ball and Chain," and, still trying to catch her breath, Rayna looked over at him, smiling. He was so handsome, and she really just wanted to get him off that stage and tear his clothes off. Oh, those goddamn hormones.

"How about Ms. Rayna Jaymes!" The field erupted into cheers; it looked like every single person in the audience was up on their feet, shouting and screaming. "She's somethin' else, isn't she?"

"Thank y'all," she said, waving and smiling out to the crowd. How sweet of him, Rayna thought, to give her publicity like that. This was her show to promote her album and, consequently, her label, and he was so supportive. He knew how much she needed the recognition at a time like this. Absolutely beaming, Luke came over to her and embraced her, letting his hands linger on the bulge of her stomach. The crowd completely lost it.

"Well she's somethin' real special to me and I'll tell ya, sharin' this stage with her makes me feel like the luckiest man in the world." The wild cheers continued, if not heightened. He really knew how to get that crowd going. Perhaps Rayna had been shallow when she thought that he put his career before hers. Even though he had his own album coming out soon, he was standing there promoting hers and giving the world the good old Luke Wheeler band of approval. He definitely deserved a reward for that performance.

"And I don't mind telling y'all since we're allllll such good friends here," he carried on, his voice booming throughout the field. Rayna smiled, looking from him to the crowd. Where was he going with this? Hadn't he hyped the crowd enough? She didn't know if she had another song in her after the show she just put on. She continued to smile at him, though, hoping he'd read her face and give it a rest. "I truly, truly love her," he then added, pointing at her with each "truly." The crowd went nuts.

"What are you doin'?" she asked him, her smile still plastered on her face while still wishing he'd wrap it up already. It was cute, though, she had to admit, but it was getting to be a bit too much. And she needed to leave, with him.

"I really love you, Rayna." He smiled again, his eyes pouring into hers. "And our baby."

"I love you too, Luke," she said into the mic, laughing and smiling wide and feeling the energy come alive in the stadium around her. She didn't quite know where this was going, but the reception was worth it – the crowd could absolutely not get enough of it, and Rayna knew that could only help her album sales that night at midnight, which was what mattered the most, really.

"And I was hopin'," he continued, his gaze shifting from her to the crowd, which was cheering and shouting for him to go on. "And I was hopin'," he repeated, shaking his head slightly, causing the crowd to die down, "that you would do me the great honor –" He took off his hat, and several girls in the audience screamed.

Rayna looked from the hat in his hand to his face, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He then went down on his knee, and a bellowing buzz exploded throughout the field. "—and allow me," he continued, holding up a sparkling diamond ring, "to be your ball and chain."