"I ran away and left JT alone with Mama. Does that make me the worst girlfriend in the world?"

Rayna chuckled. "Not by a mile, honey." She grabbed her niece's arm, pulling her inside the house. "What happened?" she asked as she closed the door behind Scarlett.

"I don't know. I was in the middle of getting dinner ready for the three of us, and Mama wouldn't stop talking about how my talent is her talent, and how it could have been her if she hadn't gotten pregnant with me, and I couldn't stand it anymore. I grabbed my keys and my phone, and I just... left." Scarlett flopped down on the living room's couch. "JT has tried to call me five times while I was driving over here," she added, waving her phone at Rayna.

"Only five times?"

"Not funny."

"Well, first, you're going to text him to say you're alright and you'll be back in a while. Then, I'll make that herbal tea you love and we'll talk, okay?"

Scarlett sighed. "Okay." Her phone was still in her hand, and she started typing as her aunt left for the kitchen. When Rayna came back with two cups and a box of chocolates, Scarlett was looking less agitated. "He doesn't seem mad," she reported, "just... worried."

"He's a good guy."

This made Scarlett smile. "Yeah, he is. He knows I'm freaking out about tomorrow so he's been trying to keep my mind off it all week."

In a little more than 24 hours, Scarlett and Gunnar were going to make their Opry debut, and Rayna was going to officially announce the launch of her label, Highway 65. Scarlett had invited her mom for the occasion. Rayna knew she and Deacon should probably have offered to let Bev stay at their house instead of Scarlett and JT's place, but Rayna's relationship with her sister-in-law was... strained at best.

"What did your mama say exactly?"

"The usual stuff." Scarlett removed her boots and settled again on the couch. She reached for her cup on the coffee table. "I don't know why I thought this time would be different. I don't know why I thought she would be happy for me or proud of me."

"She is."

"It never looks like it."

"Scarlett, your mama... she has a lot of resentment over the past, over the choices she made when she was younger, and she has spent her whole life blaming everybody but herself for that."

And there was no one in the world Beverly had ever blamed more than Rayna. While in Natchez, Beverly and Deacon used sing around town and dream of a big career, but when he'd left for Nashville, she'd chosen to stay behind to marry Doug, Scarlett's father. She'd kept hoping Deacon would eventually change his mind. Once he'd met Rayna, it had become clear he would never go back, and Rayna had become the number one target of Beverly's grievances. Then Doug, claiming he wasn't ready to be a father, had left before Scarlett was even born, and Beverly had found herself alone to raise her daughter.

"You," Rayna added, "you're caught in the middle of it all, and I know it's not fair."

Scarlett looked down. "She can't help the way she is. I mean... I know how she and Deacon grew up," she said, and Rayna's stomach clenched at the thought. "And when she's good, she's trying, but a lot of the time, it's been... really hard, you know?"

—

february 2000

—

"Happy birthday, cupcake!" Rayna and Deacon shouted in unison.

Scarlett, still in her pyjamas, giggled as she sat at the kitchen counter. There were two balloons tied to her chair and floating above, a '1' and a '0'. On the plate in front of her, there was a cupcake with a striped candle stuck in it.

Deacon and Rayna were standing on the other side of the counter, and Deacon grabbed a box of matches from a drawer and lit the candle. "I hereby declare open the 10th birthday celebrations of Miss Scarlett O'Connor! Make a wish, sweetheart."

Scarlett closed her eyes, and Rayna noticed her face got serious for a moment before she blew out the little flame. Once she was done, she removed the candle and detached the bottom of the cupcake to put it on top of the frosting.

"What are you doing?" Deacon asked.

"I'm fixin' it, so I get frosting in every bite."

"That's pretty smart."

Scarlett had been living with them for two weeks, and she hadn't had enough time yet to make new friends at her temporary school. When Deacon had asked what she would like to do for her birthday, she'd only said she wanted to spend it with them and Maddie. She was putting on a brave face, but Rayna and Deacon knew she was missing home. They'd already planned to go to Natchez during winter break later that month, so Scarlett could visit her mom at the horse farm – as she called it – and she could see her best friend Zoey. It wasn't the first time she was staying with them, but the previous time she hadn't been old enough to understand was what was really happening.

"So, have you thought about what you'd like to do today?" Rayna asked. "It's Winterfest this weekend. I could ask Tandy to watch Maddie for a few hours, and we could go listen to some music, try some new food or even ride the Ferris wheel. What do you think?"

"Okay," her niece agreed without much enthusiasm.

Rayna had noticed how much more quiet and subdued Scarlett had become. She'd realized it was probably a behavior the girl had picked up in order to avoid conflict with her mom.

"Scar?"

"What?"

"Are you saying yes because you think that's what I want to hear or because that's what you really want to do?" Her niece failed to answer. "What do you really want to do?"

"I'd like to stay here," she admitted. "We could play music." Her face lit up at that. "And we could all watch a movie together?"

Rayna wondered what it was with the Claybourne side of the family and their reluctance to get out of the house on their birthdays, but she wasn't going to mention it. It was Scarlett's day, and her niece should do whatever she damn well pleased.

She walked around the counter and went to kiss the top of Scarlett's head. "That's a great plan, honey." She paused then, like she'd just remembered something. "Oh, wait." Scarlett and Deacon watched her run upstairs and come back down with a little silver tiara in her hands. "Can't believe I almost forgot about this." She put the tiara on Scarlett's head. "For the queen of the day."

"So, do you know which movie you want to watch?" Deacon asked, and Rayna stared at him. "What?"

"Don't give her any idea," she teased.

"That's not what I was going to do."

"That's exactly what you were going to do."

"Oh, no."

"Oh, yes."

The two kept on playfully bickering until the phone interrupted them. Deacon glanced at his watch and smiled. Right on time. "I think this one's for you, sweetheart."

Scarlett looked at him for a second before she understood. She jumped down the chair and rushed to the phone. "Mama?" she asked as she picked up.

—

"So, welcome Into the Circle. This one is reserved for artists making their Opry debut," Bucky announced as he lead Scarlett and Gunnar into the dressing room.

"Oh, wow," Scarlett exclaimed. She stopped so abruptly that Gunnar almost bumped into her. They both looked around, trying to let the importance of the moment sink in.

"There are people I need to go talk to," Bucky informed them, "but I'll let you two make yourselves at home, okay?"

"Of course. Thank you, Mr. Dawes," Gunnar said as he set his guitar case down.

"I've already told you to call me Bucky."

"Sorry... Bucky."

Once Scarlett and Gunnar found themselves alone in the room, they started to walk around, taking time to read the quotes and look at the pictures on the walls. Scarlett smiled when she saw one of a young Rayna and Deacon. She guessed they must have been around her age when the photo was taken.

"I don't feel like I belong here," she confessed, turning toward Gunnar.

He glanced at the group of people chatting in the hallway in front of their dressing room, and he went to close the door before he came back. "Do you think I do?" he scoffed. He got closer to her and grabbed her hands. "But you know what? I'm proud of us."

She smiled. "Me too." She thought about all that had changed in her life since the night they'd sung at the Bluebird. She didn't regret a thing.

Gunnar frowned then. "Scarlett, you're shaking."

"Well, so are you."

They stared at each other for a second before they burst out laughing.

"Oh, man," Gunnar groaned. He ran his hand over his face. "We better pull it together before we get on that stage. We can't mess this one up."

"Rayna always says, 'The only time you'll ever mess up is if you don't get up, dust yourself off, and go right back on.'"

"Well, I'm pretty sure we can only have one Opry debut, so I don't think it applies here." He paused then. "Hey, do you know if she has found her second act yet?"

"Why? So if we mess up, she'll have at least one artist remaining?"

Gunnar chuckled at that. "No, but... you remember how I kept complaining about my roomates being complete jerks?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I finally kicked them out and found a new roomate. Turns out he's a musician, too, and a really talented one. His name's Will Lexington. Do you think it would be out of line to ask your aunt if he could get an audition?"

"I think you should ask her." There was a silence as Gunnar kept staring at her. "Would you rather I ask her?"

"Yes, please," Gunnar was all too quick to answer.

"Alright." Scarlett shook her head, amused. She wasn't sure why Gunnar was still intimidated around Rayna.

There was a knock on the door then, and when Scarlett went to open it, she found JT waiting there with flowers in one hand and a box in the other. She smiled and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. "Hey, baby."

"For you," he said, handing her the flowers.

"Thanks," she giggled. She kissed him again before she grabbed his lapel to pull him inside. He and Gunnar aknowledged each other with a head nod. "Where's everyone?" Scarlett asked.

"Deacon tasked Maddie and Daphne to keep your mother occupied so you could have some quiet before the show," JT explained. Scarlett let out a sigh of relief and felt immediate guilt about it. "Oh, and," JT went on, "Rayna asked me to give you this." He handed her the box.

"What is it?"

"No idea."

Scarlett opened the lid and peaked inside. She laughed out loud as soon as she saw the little tiara. There was a note in Rayna's handwriting with it, and Scarlett took it out of the box. She smiled when she read it.

'It's YOUR night. Don't let anyone take it away from you.'

—

TBC

A/N: Happy new year, everyone. (It's January, so we're still allowed to wish a happy new year, right?)