A/N: This is the end of this little Christmas story. I wanted to say a huge thank you to the always amazing OnceUponASomeday for the challenge.
Without thinking, Rayna closes the curtains. She feels like a child who's wondering whether if she keeps her eyes shut long enough, the broccoli on her plate might magically disappear.
It's ridiculous.
Get a grip, Rayna.
She takes a deep breath before she pulls the curtains open again, and sure enough, the woman is still there.
She doubts there's a way to escape this, so she heads to the door, puts her parka and boots on, and steps outside. Noelle hasn't moved, she's standing there, silent, and Rayna isn't sure what she's supposed to do, what she's supposed to say.
"You are the one who did... this," she begins, gesturing around as she has no idea how to define this. She can already tell it's going be the weirdest conversation she has ever had.
Noelle smiles, but somehow Rayna doesn't find it comforting. "I didn't do anything. You did. You wished for it."
"Does that mean... it's my life now?"
"Oh, no," the woman says, dismissing it like it's some crazy idea. "It's a glimpse of what could have been, of what you wish would have been." There's a pause. "A temporary glimpse."
Rayna feels her heart drop. Temporary? No. No, no, no. NO.
"Aren't you happy to get your life back?" Noelle asks, obviously knowing the answer to that question already.
Who is this woman who appears out of nowhere to give her everything she has always wanted only to take it back a day later? It sounds so incredibly unfair. So unnecessarily cruel.
"What's the point of..." Rayna starts, but the words get stuck in her throat.
For the first time, Noelle shows something ressembling sympathy. "While the past is the past, it's always time to make decisions that will influence your future. And sometimes, in order to do that, one needs to be reminded of what they really want."
This is a load of crap. She has always known what she wanted. Does this woman think she renounced this life back then because she wanted to? No, she didn't have a choice.
There are a million questions Rayna should ask, but there's only one thing she wants to know. Only one thing that matters now. "How longer... I mean, how much time..."
"Not much."
At that, Rayna rushes inside. By the time she reaches Deacon, she's sobbing already.
She can't bear to wake him up. He won't understand, and it will only make it even more difficult for her, so she sits down on the floor next to the couch, and she cries.
"I'll make things right," she whispers to a sleeping Deacon.
There are so many things she can't fix, and her heart sinks when she thinks about Vince. But there are things she can fix. And she won't waste any more time. No, she won't.
"I'll make things right, I'll make things right, I'll make things right," she promises him again and again, like a mantra, until everything fades to black.
—
When she wakes up again, she doesn't have to open her eyes, she just knows; she's back. She's lying on the couch where she woke up a moment ago, except she's alone this time. She sits up and looks at the empty space where Deacon was sleeping. She's cold, and nauseous, and she has to make a gigantic effort not to burst into tears.
She drags herself upstairs. As she passes through the hallway, she glances inside the girls' rooms. Both her daughters are still sleeping, looking peaceful and oblivious of what happened these last 24 hours. When she reaches the main bedroom, the door is open. She notices the bed is empty, and she can hear water run. Teddy must be in the shower.
She'll wait until after Christmas, for the girls' sake, but she knows what she has to do. She's more resolute than ever. She won't back down, even if it means there are some very painful times ahead.
There's something, though, she needs to do now. She needs to go see him, she needs to let him know, to let the real Deacon know that she's going to make things right. Whatever it will take.
She's in her PJs, but she doesn't care. She runs downstairs, grabs her car keys, and she puts her parka and boots on.
When she opens the door, though, she finds herself face to face with a man dressed up as Santa. Caught off guard, she lets out a little shriek of surprise and takes a step backwards. Because of the costume and the thick fake beard, it's a couple of seconds before she recognizes who it is.
It's... Vince.
Oh, my God.
It's Vince.
"I was going to use my key," he explains, keeping his voice low. "Didn't want to knock and risk waking the girls up. They're still asleep, right?"
And all of a sudden, it hits her. When she looked into Daphne's room, her daughter had her headband on. The reindeer antlers. Does that mean... Could that mean... But how? The woman said... Rayna doesn't dare to hope.
"Ray?" Vince asks.
"I... yes."
"Good," he says, stepping past her and letting himself in the house. "I know we planned I would wait outside and enter through the main door, but what about I hide in the music room instead? I'm going to freeze my ass off out there." He notices she's wearing her boots and parka. "You were going somewhere?"
"No, I..." She pauses, trying to come up with an excuse as she closes the door and undresses again. "I wanted to go check if you were there."
Vinces puts the Santa's gift bag he's carrying on the floor and hops on a kitchen stool. "You guys need to relax. Deac already texted me four times to be sure I was on my way. Just so you know, I'm taking my Santa duty very seriously."
Rayna hears someone coming down the stairs, and she sees Deacon appear in the kitchen, his hair still damp from the shower.
"What are you doing here?" he asks Vince.
"What do you mean? You texted me four times to be sure I was on my way."
"No, I mean, what are you doing inside. You're supposed to wait outside! We can't risk the girls seeing you here."
"For crying out loud," Vince mumbles under his breath, and Rayna catches Deacon grinning as his best friend jumps down the stool. Deacon is clearly having too much fun with this.
"We'll text you in a bit when it's time to come in."
"Alright, alright." Vince picks the bag up before he heads outside again.
As soon as the door closes, Rayna all but throws herself at Deacon, almost making him lose his balance. She kisses him, trying to convey all she wishes she could tell him but will never be able to. It doesn't matter. If she's allowed to keep this life, she'll find a way to show him, every day, how grateful she is for it.
When they break off, he's chuckling. "Good morning to you too." He pauses. "You're okay?"
"I am now." For the first time, it's the complete truth.
"What about I go wake the girls up while you go change so Vince won't freeze his butt out there for too long?"
She smiles. "Sounds perfect."
Before they have time to head upstairs, the door opens again.
"I know, I know," Vince tells Deacon, "but I forgot, I found this on the doormat earlier," he announces, handing Rayna a small envelope with her first name scribbled on it.
She frowns, turning the envelope over in her hands a few times to examine it. She finally opens it to find a blank card with a single handwritten line.
You never know, sometimes wishes do come true.