This was a phone call Deacon hadn't expected to get. It had been months since he'd given Juliette Barnes his card, and truthfully, he'd forgotten about it. He'd read about her career troubles in the press, how she'd had to cancel the rest of her tour after she'd been caught shoplifting on video and her subsequent efforts to rehabilitate her image.

She told him she didn't know what to do anymore. She'd tried to get her mom clean so many times, the help Jolene needed couldn't come from her anymore. Jolene had been a fan of Rayna and Deacon for years, and Juliette had thought maybe, maybe, she would listen to him. It was a long shot, but at this point, she was willing to try anything.

He told her he would do his best to help, but he confessed he was suprised by the timing of her call, considering the article.

"You mean that Tremolo thing? Is it true?" Juliette asked.

"Not a word."

"That's what I thought. I don't trust this kind of press," she scoffed. "God knows they write enough crap about me."

—

At ten the next morning, Deacon was standing in front of Juliette Barnes' house. The modern mansion had an entire facade of glass walls, and he watched her walk to the door before she opened it.

"Hey," she greeted him. "Come on in."

Jolene was in the living room, and she leapt from the couch as soon as she saw him.

"Mama, you know who this is," Juliette said, gesturing at Deacon. "You two talked at that Edgehill party you accompanied me to last year, but you probably don't remember."

"Yeah, honey, I remember." She held out her hand and Deacon shook it.

"Nice to see you again, Jolene."

Juliette and Deacon had discussed Jolene's current situation and how they were going to proceed. They'd decided it would be better if Deacon could talk to her alone.

"Juliette," her mom said, tying her hair up into a ponytail, "you should've told me we were having company coming over. I must look a mess. Y'all working together or something?"

"Not exactly," Deacon admitted. "Juliette's been... a little worried about you, ma'am. Says you've been having some troubles."

"What on earth? No. Um, I'm fine."

"Mama. Please."

"What's going on here?" Jolene asked, feeling ambushed all of a sudden.

Juliette took it as her cue to leave, and Deacon and Jolene found themselves alone in the entrance hall. "Would you agree we sit down and talk a little bit?" Deacon suggested.

"Yeah, but I'm fine, I swear." She was agitated, shifting back and forth on her feet. "I'm embarassed Juliette called you."

They settled in the living room, across from each other. They chatted about everything and nothing at first as Deacon didn't want her to dig her heels in and refuse to talk to him anymore.

"I've been like you, Jolene," he said, after a while, when he sensed she was feeling a bit more comfortable with him. "Truth is I've been worse than you. If there hadn't been people to help me then, I wouldn't be here today."

"I can get back on track, you know?" she claimed. She was trying to put on a good face, but her false bravado was crumbling by the minute.

"Yeah, I know. You just need a little help. Everyone needs a little help now and then, right? If you could do this on your own, don't you think you probably would've done it by now?"

"Yeah." She rubbed tears off her eyes and swiped her nose with her wrist. "Look at me. I am making a total fool of myself." She paused. "I don't mean to be like this."

"I know that. I know." How many times he'd uttered those same words to Rayna. How many times he'd apologized and sworn it would never happen again, and how many times he'd broken that promise. "I know a really good place, Jolene."

"Those places don't work for me."

"That's exactly what I said till one of them did." She looked like she was about to get up, so he laid one hand on her arm to stop her. "Listen to me, you have a daughter, and I know to you it looks like she's up on top of the world, but I tell you what... that girl needs you. I got clean because of my daughter. I had been in rehab three times already. But after Rayna told me she was pregnant, the fourth time worked. I know what we're capable of for our children."

He knew he was supposed to say he'd gotten sober for himself, but it had never been quite true. He'd gotten sober for Rayna and Maddie. He'd stayed sober for Daphne. What was keeping him sober was his family.

"I can see you love your daughter," Deacon went on, and he noticed he had her full attention. "You want what's best for her, right? What she needs is for you to get clean. You understand that?" She sniffed and nodded, and he reached for her hand. She held tight to it. "It's going to be alright, Jolene."

—

The park wasn't much crowded at this time of year. There were a few benches overlooking the river, and Deacon spotted Cole already sitting on the one at the far left.

"Sorry, traffic," Deacon apologized. "Know anyone I could complain to about that?"

Coleman laughed as they shook hands. Deacon had picked up two cups at a coffee cart on his way there, and he handed one before he sat down.

"I'm glad you called," Cole said. When he'd taken office as mayor, he'd been adamant his new function wouldn't change anything to his sponsor status, he would still make time whenever Deacon would need it. "I'm sorry we missed your birthday party."

"You should be sorry," Deacon joked, "as it was the first and last one."

"Maddie sent Talia pictures, so I guess I should keep those for posterity?"

Talia was Cole and Audrey's only child. She was a few months older than Maddie, and the two had been best friends since they were little.

"You should."

A couple jogged past them, and Cole waited until they were far enough before he asked, "So... you were quite vague on the phone earlier. Wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Someone I know asked me to help her get her mother into rehab." He'd decided not to mention Jolene's name to anyone but Rayna as he believed she deserved privacy. "Thing is... going back to that place was a hell of a lot harder than I thought it was gonna be. Walking through that door, smelling that... rehab sweat. She was bad, and I know I was a hell of a lot worse than she was, so, uh... I'm sorry for making you drag me in there."

"Best way to thank me is to never make me drag you in there again."

"I don't plan to."

Cole had noticed the change in Deacon lately; he seemed a little more pensive, sometimes almost a little morose. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's just... this mood I've been in since the Revel Kings thing and the article. I need to shake myself out it."

—

Usually, it wouldn't have bothered Deacon. He even encouraged people to ask him questions in between songs, but this guy was asking for trouble. He was making snarky comments, not insulting enough to get himself kicked out of the venue, but annoying enough that it was starting to get on Deacon's nerves.

It took considerable self-control for him to stay calm and finish his set. He didn't linger around after the show; he packed his guitar, exchanged a few words with the band, and headed for the door.

He was on the parking lot when he heard someone call out to him. "Hey, man. I'm really sorry. I had a few too many." He recognized the voice so he pondered ignoring it entirely and walking straight to his truck, but the guy insisted, "Hey! Hey, man, I was just messin' with you."

Deacon closed his eyes. He took a deep breath before he put his guitar case down and turned around.

—

"Daphne, do not stand there. That is bad for your eyes. And anyway, a watched pot never boils," Rayna admonished.

Her daughter had been staring at the popcorn bag through the mircrowave's glass door, willing it to just start popping already. "It's not a pot, Mom. And it's popping, not boiling," she retorted as Rayna retrieved a pitcher of lemonade from the fridge.

"Duh."

Rayna and the girls were getting ready for movie night, a family ritual in the Claybourne's household.

"Shouldn't Dad be home already?" Maddie asked.

"He should," Deacon confirmed, crossing the kitchen threshold.

Rayna and Maddie looked up, smiling, and Daphne ran towards him. "Daddy!" He put his guitar case down, took his jacket off before he picked her up in his arms.

"Okay, so comedy, sci-fi, action, or chick flick?" Maddie asked.

"Western?" Deacon suggested, even though he knew the answer already.

"Noooooooo," his three girls protested in unison.

Rayna took the popcorn out of the microwave and emptied the bag into a bowl. "All right, girls," she said then, "go get us set up. I just need to talk to your dad for a minute." She waited they were out of the kitchen before she asked, "How was your day?" He'd texted her to explain Jolene had agreed to enter rehab, but he hadn't given more details.

"It... was."

"That good, uh?"

He leaned down, resting his elbows on the counter. "Going back to that place brought back some... unwelcome memories."

She went to stand next to him, rubbing his back. "I'm sorry, babe."

"Nah." He shook his head as to signify it was behind him now and she shouldn't worry. "Oh, and tonight," he recalled, "there was this jerk who kept making comments during my set. He was waiting outside afterwards, and I don't know if he was looking for a fight, but I didn't take the bait."

"Sounds like a wonderful day, honey," Rayna deadpanned.

"Oh, yeah."

"Well, we're going to turn it around, starting now," she declared. "Girls," she shouted to the living room. "Western!"

—

TBC

A/N: This is a WIP, so don't hesitate to tell me what storyline(s) you'd like to see more of/less of in the coming chapters.