A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.


Chapter 11

"Ow!" Rayna heard as she made her way down the stairs to the kitchen. That couldn't be good at all. It certainly wasn't how she wanted to start her morning anyway. She was way too fuzzy to deal with a crisis first thing. She wandered into the kitchen in her t-shirt and pajama pants to find Maddie closing the oven door and Daphne clutching her hand. "What in the world is going on in here?"

"Daphne and I were making cookies and she must have forgotten that the pan was hot." Maddie answered.

Rayna took Daphne over to the sink and started running cold water on her hand. "Maddie, get me some ice. Why were you making cookies this early in the morning?"

"Because we wanted to surprise you and we thought you forgot." Daphne admitted.

"You've just been really busy and we wanted to help out." Maddie handed Rayna the ice she'd asked for.

"Your momma might have a little bit of pregnancy brain right now, but I didn't forget about making cookies and getting all of our decorations out. Actually Deacon is going to get those out because I'm too pregnant to handle that. I know that we are going through a lot of changes right now and it has to be hard on you. I want to keep things as normal as possible and I want you to come to me if you start to feel overwhelmed." Rayna put the ice on Daphne's hand.

"We aren't overwhelmed it just seems like you and dad have been really preoccupied lately." Maddie shrugged.

"We have been there were some things that we needed to take care of and they are taken care of now. I didn't mean for you girls to get lost in the shuffle that's the main thing that I didn't want to happen. I'll tell you what we can bake cookies and stay in our pajamas and just hang out today. We can also eat all of the cookies before Deacon gets home and make some more with him. How's that sound? Do you like that idea?" Rayna suggested.

"Yeah," Daphne nodded enthusiastically.

"Sure, mom," Maddie agreed.

"Now let's look at this hand." Rayna took the ice off of Daphne's hand and examined her hand. "Well, it looks like I'm gonna need to amputate. You think so?" She teased.

"I think so." Maddie agreed.

"Maddie, just go get me a knife. I'll take care of this right here." Rayna ordered playfully.

"No, don't." Daphne giggled.

"I'm just kidding. You're gonna be fine." Rayna kissed the top of her head.

"Where is dad anyway?" Maddie inquired.

"He's in Mississippi. He's got a radio interview that he's doing in Jackson this morning. He will be back later in the day." Rayna answered.

"Why didn't you go with him?" Daphne asked. It was rare for Rayna and Deacon to do anything separate these days.

"I offered, but he said that we could all use a girls' day without him hanging around. He's very sweet to think about us like that." Rayna smiled.

"Wait isn't dad from Mississippi?" Maddie asked brightly.

"He is you should ask him about it sometime. I can see that you have questions, but that's his story to tell you and I'm not gonna take that away from him." Rayna wasn't going to disclose anything about Deacon's past to the girls that he didn't want them to know. She knew what a touchy subject that was with him. They had been together for eleven years and it had taken her the first three to get his story out of him. "Now, who wants to contribute to their momma's increasingly bad diet and feed the twins cookies for breakfast?"

"Deacon says that the twins need real food and we aren't supposed to give into your every craving without getting you to eat something good first." Daphne informed her mother seriously.

"If you won't tell Deacon I won't tell Deacon. Besides you're their big sister it's your job to give them things they aren't supposed to have." Rayna winked at her. She appealed to her as a big sister because she knew that Deacon had pounded it into her what a special job that was.

"Ok," Daphne readily agreed.

"Way to work the system, mom." Maddie chuckled.

"Hush, you, or I will tell your dads that you have been milking them both for double allowance every week. I admire your tenacity, but I caught on when you started buying all this extra stuff for your guitars." Rayna laughed at the indignant look that crossed her daughter's face.

"If you tell dad then I will tell him where you hide your not so secret stash of raw cookie dough." Maddie countered.

"Don't be so rash. I'm sure that you and I can come to an understanding about this." Rayna bargained. She was allowing herself to be extorted by her fifteen-year-old it was probably a hereditary trait she'd picked up from Lamar.


The unchanging scenery of the Mississippi landscape passed by the windows of Deacon's rented truck as he traveled I-55 south from Jackson to Natchez. He couldn't be in Mississippi without stopping by to see his family. Natchez was only a two-hour drive from Jackson and he suspected that Rayna had known what his true intentions were when he'd told her that she didn't have to come with him for his radio interview. This was something that he needed to do alone. He had to come to terms with his past or it would forever threaten his future.

Natchez was a historic port city located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River. It boasted a population of about 15,000. The small town atmosphere mingled a little with the big city vibe. The memories started to wash over him the moment he rolled into town. He passed by Natchez High School and spotted the empty football field where he had spent many Friday nights playing under the lights.

A shiver ran down his spine when he passed the county jail. He had many bad memories associated with that place and his father. He drove until he reached a fork in the road and he had a choice to make much like he did the day he'd left for good. He could turn right and head back into town or he could turn left and go back to the past he'd spent so long running from.

After taking a deep breath he flipped his left turn signal. He wasn't sure that he wanted to do this, but he was sure that he needed to do it if not for him than for the sake of the life he was trying to build with Rayna. Soon enough the paved road turned into gravel. He'd left behind the houses of the suburbs and now both sides of the road of lined with mobile homes. He drove until he reached a double wide with lime green siding on it. The mailbox was marked 250 D and someone had written Claybourne on the side in black spray paint that had long ago started to fade.

He pulled into the driveway and turned the truck off. His reflection in the rearview mirror was haunted. He ran his hands over his face and sighed loudly. He looked at his phone to check for messages and he was greeted with the sight of Maddie and Daphne's smiling faces. They had obviously stolen his phone and made their picture his screensaver. After warring with himself for five minutes he finally got out of the truck.

The yard in front of the trailer was overgrown with weeds. In some spots the grass was brown because it had been long neglected. The front steps were still as rickety as he remembered them being and he was careful to tread lightly to avoid falling through them. He opened the screen door and tried the door handle for the inner door. It was locked, no surprise there.

He took his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled a key out of it. The key fit perfectly in the deadbolt just like he knew it would. He'd kept that key even when he and Rayna had finally made it to the big show. It was a reminder of where he'd come from and where he never wanted to go back to if he had anything to say about it. Every time he felt like he wanted to take a drink he would take it out and just stare at it. Most of the time the unpleasant memories he associated with the key were enough to keep him from ever taking a drink again.

The inside of the mobile home still looked and smelled the way it did the day he'd left. The linoleum in the kitchen had started to crack and peel from the sun that spilled in through the small window. The air was musty from the trailer being closed up for so long. He stood at the kitchen sink for a moment and he could almost see his father in the other room beating his mother for dinner not being up to his rigid standards. Of course he managed to beat her within an inch of her life without spilling a drop of the beer he held in his other hand.

Deacon shook the thought from his head and walked back to what had once been his bedroom. Posters of Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams and Roy Acuff still hung on the walls. On one of the walls there was a darker spot where his first guitar had once hung. He'd lay on his modest twin size bed and play for hours in hopes of drowning out the sounds of his parents' loud fights. He'd gotten out the minute he graduated high school and he'd never looked back.

When the memories became too much for him he turned to go. He hesitated for a moment and then he carefully took the posters off the wall. He carried them back into the kitchen and opened up the junk drawer in search of a rubber band to hold them together. His breath hitched in his throat when his eyes fell on a flyer from one of the first shows he'd played with Rayna. He picked it up reverently. The paper was yellow with age, but other than that it was easy to make out. It was from a show they had played at a bar in Jackson. He put a rubber band around that and his posters and he walked out making sure to lock the door behind him.

It took him a moment to get the truck started once he got back behind the wheel because his hands were shaking so badly. What had he been thinking coming here like this? What had it solved in the long run? This was just the first of many things that he had run from and he'd repeated that behavior over and over to the point he'd almost turned into the one person he despised the most in the world anyway. He was still running from this it just seemed that he couldn't run far enough or fast enough to escape it. It always managed to catch up with him sooner or later.

He pointed the truck back towards town. Sitting there and taking a trip down not-so-happy-memory-lane wasn't going to do him any good. Actually that was an understatement that trailer and all the memories it held was more like a Nightmare on Elm Street. The closer he got to town the more the shaking stopped. As a matter of fact he started to feel pretty good about the fact that he'd faced his demons without needing any liquid courage or feeling the urge to drink.

He navigated the truck into the parking lot of a diner named The Pit Stop. It was a Waffle House type establishment that catered to over the road truckers and musicians passing through town on the way to their next gig. He looked up something on his phone to make sure this was the right place. Of course it was the right place he couldn't be lucky enough for this not to be the right place. If he went in there it would make everything real.

Going to the trailer had been one thing, but he'd been alone and he'd been able to go through it at his on pace. This was going to be something else entirely and he wasn't sure he was ready for it. Then again this was something that he would probably never be ready for it was something he just had to do. To follow his own advice there was thinking about doing something and then there was doing something. There was thinking about the man he wanted to be for his children in theory and then there was putting those plans into action.

Inside the diner looked like a time warp from the 1950s. The waitresses wore yellow dresses with white aprons over them. The juke box still played records rather than MP3s like modern juke boxes. Deacon reached into his pocket and dropped a couple of quarters in the jukebox. He punched in his selection and sat down at the counter with a smirk on his face as Hound Dog began to play. It had been one of the first songs he learned to play on the guitar.

A waitress whose nametag read Dee walked over to him. "Hey, sweetie, what can I get for you?"

"Just coffee would be great for now." Deacon smiled politely.

Dee got his coffee and returned a moment later. "Just let me know if there is anything else I can do for you." She sat the mug down in front of him.

"Actually, you can tell me if June is in." He took a sip of his coffee. That hit the spot it wasn't exactly as good a double Jack on the rocks, but it would have to do.

"She's in back let me get her for you." Dee walked into the kitchen.

A moment later a thin woman in her sixties with blonde hair walked out of the kitchen. She gasped loudly when she saw Deacon. "Deacon John, what are you doing here?" She walked out from behind the counter.

Deacon stood up and allowed her to look him all over before she threw her arms around him. "Hi, momma," He hugged her back.

"Oh, look at you. If you aren't a sight for sore eyes I don't know who is." June Claybourne looked at her only son with tears in her eyes. It had been at least five years since she'd seen him in person. They talked occasionally and he sent her money every month, but that was the extent of their relationship.

"It's good to see you too." He gave her a half smile.

"Now, you sit yourself right down and let me get you some breakfast. Bev is gonna be so excited to see you. I've been hearing them play your song on the radio and we saw you on that big awards show." She sat him back down on his stool and went behind the counter.

"I don't think Beverly is gonna be very happy to see me. We had some words the last time we saw each other. And I don't think she's gonna be thrilled about some of the recent choices that I've made with my life. I actually have a reason for coming here." He took an envelope out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her.

"Nonsense, you're her baby brother and she adores you she always has." She opened up the envelope that he had handed her it was a wedding invitation that read. The honor of your presence is requested at the wedding of Ms. Rayna Alisia Jaymes to Mr. Deacon John Claybourne on December 31, 2014.

"Well, she isn't gonna be very happy about that. You know how she feels about Ray." He shrugged his shoulders.

"You know how much I like Rayna and that I've always thought that she's good for you. Thank you for bringing this to me in person. I know that you're busy being a big country star these days." She put the invitation into her apron.

"Did you want to see a picture of your granddaughter?" His eyes lit up every time he talked about his children.

"Of course I do." She smiled.

He pulled up a picture on his phone of Maddie, Scarlett, and Daphne. "That's my Maddie right there and that one there is Daphne that's my other girl." He pointed to each of the girls as he spoke.

"Deacon, she looks just like you and you look just like your granddaddy. You are happier than I have ever seen you." She put her hand on top of his.

"I am very happy." He pulled up the twins' ultrasound photo on his phone and showed it to her. "Momma, these are your two newest grandbabies. They are still under construction right now."

"You have been a very busy boy haven't you?" She teased him.

"I have been, but in a good way." He smiled.

"Oh my goodness! There's my baby brother!" A voice squealed behind Deacon.

He turned around only to come face to face with his sister. "Hey, Beverly," He stood up and pulled her into a hug.

"You're so busy these days I didn't think you'd have time for us anymore. I would have thought princess would have been keeping you on a tight leash." Beverly hugged him tightly.

"Come on, Bev, don't do that. Any and all of the choices I made are on me not Ray. If you want to dislike someone for something dislike me. I made the choice to leave and to stay gone. I made the choice to just be her band leader she didn't force that on me." He told her patiently.

"Did you also make the choice not to be a father to your daughter for thirteen years?" Beverly questioned hotly.

"Bev, look I know that you don't like Ray anymore than her sister likes me, but here's the thing. If you want to be part of the family, you have to at least learn to be civil to her. That is something we are working through together neither of us are innocent in that situation. I would hate to think that my sister can't get over herself long enough to come be Aunt Bev." He leveled with her.

"If that's the price I have to pay to see my baby brother more than once every few years I suppose I'm gonna have to pay it." Beverly relented.


"Girls! I'm home." Deacon called out when he walked into the house. He walked into the living room carrying his guitar case and he set it down. He chuckled when he found that Rayna and both the girls were still in their pajamas despite the fact that it was two in the afternoon. They were too engrossed in whatever chick flick they were watching to notice his presence.

Elvis climbed up on his leg and wagged his tail happily. He reached down and scratched his ears. "Hey, boy, it's good to see that at least one of you missed me."

"Shh," All three of them shushed him in unison.

"Seriously?" He laughed and shook his head. "I can't wait for those two boys to get here so I'm not outnumbered anymore."

"You still have quite a few years before they are any help to you in the movie department." Rayna paused the movie. "Aren't you even gonna kiss your pregnant fiancé after you ditched her to play rock star all morning?" She pouted.

"The same fiancé that just shushed me for talking during her chick flick? I think not." He leaned down and kissed her.

"Mmm, I missed you. What kept you so long?" Rayna asked.

"I had to go to Natchez and let's leave it at that." He gestured with his eyes to the girls hoping that she would get the hint that he didn't want to talk about it at the moment. "Though I will ask what you three are still doing in your pajamas this time of day?"

"We were having a movie marathon and waiting for you to get back." Daphne supplied helpfully.

"Yeah, dad, we are going to make cookies and sing Christmas carols and get the decorations out." Maddie told him.

"Well, let me go change since the attire around here seems to be informal today. I'll be right back and then one of you can show me where the decorations are." He picked up his guitar case and carried it up to the bedroom with him. He traded his signature jeans and flannel shirt for pajama pants and a t-shirt.

He sat on the bed, opened up his guitar case, and took the posters out that he had taken from his old bedroom. He walked into the room that they were going to use for the nursery and started looking for a good place to put them.

"Hey, what do you got there?" Rayna asked him from the doorway.

He looked up and craned his neck to look at her. "I went by the old place today and about the only thing that time hadn't touched was the posters that were on my wall. I thought we could put them up in here for the boys."

She walked up and wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Are you ok? I know how hard that had to be on you."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was hard, but it wasn't if that even makes any sense." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"If makes perfect sense to me, babe. It's like going back to my daddy's house will always be that way to me. On one hand I have great memories of my momma there, but on the other hand I will always remember him throwing me out at sixteen." She rested her chin on his shoulder.

"I went by to see my momma while I was in town and I invited her to the wedding. I've got to start sending her more money a month. A woman her age doesn't need to still be slaving away in that diner." He was mostly thinking out loud.

"How is she doing?" She had always been fond of his mother.

"She seems to be doing alright. She was so excited to see me. I have to be the most horrible son on the face of the earth. I can't even really say for sure the last time I saw her before today. She was so damn proud, Ray. She had to show me off to all of her friends. That's what took me so long. It looked like she was gonna cry when I finally had to leave." He sighed.

"I know all about difficult relationships with your parents. I'm barely on speaking terms with my father most of the time, but I know with you it goes deeper than that. I think Maddie is starting to have questions about where you come from and I told her that she'd have to ask you. So, don't be surprised if she starts hurling questions at you." She warned him.

"I can barely deal with my past most of the time. I don't know how to tell someone as pure and innocent as her about all the ugly things I have hiding in my closet. I don't know that I want to tell her." His shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Take it from me you don't want to lie to her. Just tell her everything that you can stand to tell her and save the rest for when she is older. We've discussed how much like you she is. That means she's tough she can take it." She ran her hands up and down his abs.

"Ray, I never wanna be anything like that man. He's so bad that I'm still running from the memory of him long after I left home." He bowed his head.

"You're not your father and I'm not mine. It's a damn good thing or our kids would be in sad shape. We love each other unconditionally and we love these kids to the point we would die for them. I think we are gonna be ok." She hugged him a little tighter to comfort him.

"I don't deserve to be loved as well as you love me." He turned around and pulled her into his arms.

"That's tough shit, mister. Because I love you so damn much that it isn't funny." She reached up and kissed him.

"I love you too, woman. I don't know what I would do without you." Without him meaning for them to his hands wandered to her belly.

"Come on I'll show you where the decorations are and I'll offer moral support while you do all the heavy lifting." She grasped his hand.

"That sounds like a good deal for someone." He grinned and let her lead him off.


"Well, I'll see this. This tree looks a hell of a lot better than the ones I normally have at my place." Deacon commented once they had the tree up.

"And that's saying something we had some really sad looking Christmas trees in those early days. Without fail you and Vince would get into a wrestling match and break at least six of the ornaments every Christmas." Rayna smiled fondly.

"You should be made a saint for putting up with me and Vince. We were quite the pair." He chuckled at the mention of his best friend.

"Don't I know it?" She held a sprig of mistletoe over his head and stole a kiss from him.

He picked the angel for the top of the tree up. "Come here, Squirt." He handed the angel to Daphne and picked her up so she could put it on top of the tree.

"All done," Daphne announced. She giggled when Deacon spun her around before setting her back on her feet.

"Dad, we got you something." Maddie handed him a stocking with his name on it.

"Thank you, ladies, I love this." He took the stocking and hung it on the mantle next to theirs.

"Look, Deacon, we even got Elvis a stocking." Daphne showed him a stocking with the dog's name on it.

"I'm sure he appreciates it as much as I do." He chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Now that that's done what do you ya'll say we go into the kitchen and make some cookies?" Rayna suggested.

"I'd say that depends on how much of that raw cookie dough you've fed those boys today that I'm not supposed to know about." He winked at her.

"I of course have no idea what you're talking about." Rayna pretended to be offended.

"Sure you don't. Maybe you should try not hiding it in the ice cream carton when I'm the one you have getting you ice cream in the middle of the night." He called her out.

"On the advice of my lawyer I'm going to plead the fifth." Rayna joked.

"I see is this the same team of lawyers that can't take care of a simple problem?" He arched his eyebrow.

"Deacon, if I were you I would stop talking before I make you sleep on the couch." Rayna advised him.

"We both know that that threat has never held much water. You'd just end up on the couch with me or you'd call me in the room to get you whatever weird food you're craving at the moment." He countered.

Rayna kissed him to shut him up. "You're lucky I love you."

"Don't I know it?" He pulled her close to him.


A/N: Here is the next chapter I hope you guys enjoyed it. I thought that the show missed out on a golden opportunity when they said that Deacon's mom was dead so I resurrected to her for this story. I think that it will be a good way to explore his back story and help give a better understanding of his character. Until next time please review.