A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Chapter 7

Deacon knocked on Rayna's door early the next morning she had said that they needed to talk and he showed up like he always did. He didn't know what they had to talk about before their appointment, but he had learned long ago not to try to understand her.

Rayna opened the door. "Come on in," She led him into the sitting room where Teddy and Peggy sat waiting.

Deacon eased himself down into one of the two free chairs in the room. Incidentally it was across from Rayna's. "What's this 'bout?"

"Thank you all for coming." Rayna's accent noticeably disappeared when she was around people from her father's world. "I'll get right to the point. This whatever it is between the two of you has to stop. After what happened yesterday Maddie has said maybe it would be for the best if she didn't have a relationship with either of you."

"Rayna, you can't seriously be considering letting her go through with that. Teddy is the only dad she has ever known." Peggy was quick to jump to Teddy's defense.

"I'm sorry, but what the hell is she even doin' here? As far as I'm concerned the only person I have to answer to when it comes to our daughter is you, Ray." Deacon set his jaw in a hard line.

"Rayna, she is our daughter. You can't let her cut me out." Teddy spoke up.

"That's right, our daughter. She is mine too." Deacon argued.

Rayna held her hand up in a sign for them all to stop talking. "Teddy, Peggy, I can and will do whatever I think is best for Maddie. If she doesn't want to see Teddy, I won't force her and by law I'm not obligated to if I have his parental rights severed since she is Deacon's biological daughter. Deacon, we are all in Maddie's life and it's for the best if we can all get on the same page."

"That sounds like a great plan." Peggy said.

"Agreed," Teddy nodded his head.

"Rayna, I am very sorry, but I ain't gonna go along with that. I will not just allow myself to be pushed back into the background of my daughter's life like this extra throw away parent who doesn't matter. I will be as civil as I can, but I will not sit back and defer to you or him. What I have to say and what I want for my daughter matters too. I should get to spend time with her and if she asks me for things I should be able to give them to her. The days of you both bein' able to call the shots went out the window the minute she found that test and I found out I'm a father." Deacon did his best to keep his composure, but he was firm.

"Deacon, even you have to admit that given your past you're not the best role model now nor have you ever been. It would be the best for Maddie for things to continue the way that they always have. We can give her the home life that you can't. Rayna is her mother and Teddy and I are together. We can give her that tight family unit you can't do that. You're a single father by yourself. For the sake of things running smoothly and for the sake of all the kids it would probably be for the best for Teddy to be listed as this baby's father too that way the three of them always get to be together on the same schedule and there's not a whole week they aren't together. You could have weekly visits." Peggy proposed a plan of action.

Deacon's face turned bright red and his hands clenched into fists. He stood up from his chair so fast it looked like he'd been shot. "Excuse the fuck outta you, lady. You don't get a say when it comes to my daughter and you damn sure don't get a fuckin' say when it comes to my son. I can't do nothin' 'bout the fact that I lost time with Maddie, but I can make damn sure that I don't lose a second with my baby boy. I ain't gonna let no one else step in and play daddy to him. Anyone who even thinks 'bout tryin' is gonna get hellfire and brimstone rained down on 'em. I honestly can't believe that you just fuckin' said that you nutty fuckin' bitch." He didn't raise his voice, but it was apparent to everyone how angry he was.

"Deacon, that is enough. You will not speak to my wife that way." Teddy called him down.

"You would do well to tell your wife to keep her fuckin' big mouth shut. She had no right to say a damn thing 'bout my son. That baby is Rayna's and mine just like Maddie is. Don't none of you get a say in how much time I get to spend with 'em. Not even Rayna really gets a say in that. I'm their father and I have rights. I will go to court and get those rights enforced if this type of behavior continues. I ain't some stupid, drunk, backwoods hick who don't any better." Deacon could feel his ire rising higher by the moment.

Rayna stood up now too. "Peggy, that is way out of line. You don't bring my unborn son into this. No one, but Deacon is his daddy. It is going to stay that way. He is going to be proud to be his father's son. You or no one else is going to make him ashamed of that. This is about Maddie. Who also is not to be made to feel shame that she's Deacon's daughter. And whether anyone in this room likes it or not that is who daughter she is. Y'all better find a way to play nice with him. It's up to him if things stay the way they are now." She laid down the law.

"Deacon," Teddy extended his hand to him.

Deacon shook his hand. "Teddy," He stooped down in front of Rayna and kissed her belly. "Bubba, daddy loves you very much and he will talk to you later, but he has to go now." He straightened up. "Rayna, I am very sorry, but I have to go now. If I don't I'm gonna say or do somethin' that I regret. I ain't forgotten that two nights ago you were in the hospital from the stress of this situation and I ain't gonna put that on you or our child again. If I gotta continue to deal with that woman my famous Claybourne temper will make an appearance." He left before anything else could be said.

"Peggy, provoking him like that was very stupid. What you say to him doesn't effect you. It effects my relationship with my children. What Teddy and I did with Maddie amounts to kidnapping, fraud, and alienation of parental affection. If he took that to court he would not only get full custody of Maddie, he would get full custody of our unborn baby given what I did to him with Maddie. You need to stay in your lane from now on." Rayna seethed. She gave Teddy a look.

"Peggy, I appreciate what you were trying to do, but that was out of line." Teddy said out of obligation.

Rayna grabbed her stomach she was feeling similar pains to the ones from the other night. She took a deep breath in her nose and let it out her mouth. "Thank you,"

"Rayna, are you ok?" Teddy asked concerned.

"I'm fine. The baby just doesn't like stress. He prefers that his momma stays calm." Rayna felt the pain subside.

"We should get out of here and let you rest." Teddy grabbed Peggy's hand and led her out.

Deacon was sitting in a private waiting room when Rayna showed up.

"Hey, I'm not late am I?' Rayna sat down next to him.

"No, I haven't been here long myself." Deacon replied. He put his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands.

"Hey, listen I am so sorry 'bout earlier. I promise you that no one will ever take your place in your son's eyes. I always want you to be the most important man in the world to him." Rayna too his hand and squeezed it.

Deacon laced their fingers together. "That's all I want. I've been called Freakin' Deacon, a damn drunk, and a loser. What I'm lookin' most forward to is bein' called daddy for the first time."

Rayna looked at him and she saw the raw sadness in his eyes. "Oh, babe, this is really eatin' you up isn't it? You need to be called daddy and you need to have your child have your last name?"

"Why are we even here if you can see that?" Deacon's eyes pooled with tears.

"We are here 'cause you are hell bent on doin' what's best for our kids. We're here 'cause like you I want us to find a way to put this hurt behind us and find our way forward together. I can't imagine doin' this anyway, but together." Rayna kissed his cheek.

"Does that mean you're gonna leave Luke?" Deacon asked her.

"That means I will leave Luke eventually if things work out here." Rayna replied.

"Why are you so hell bent on stayin' in a relationship with him?" Deacon asked her.

"I told you before he's easy and uncomplicated. I don't have the history with him that I do with you." Rayna answered.

"You don't have one child with him and another one on the way either. I ain't sittin' here and sayin' that us havin' another baby together is reason enough for us to give our relationship another try. If we did it for that reason it wouldn't be fair to either one of us. I think that we have to give it another try 'cause neither one of us is done with the other by a long shot. We've both made mistakes and done things to ruin this thing between us, but the way we ended the first time and last time ain't the note we are supposed to end on. I know that I messed up with you every chance I've had the opportunity to. I'm very sorry for that, but you've messed up too and then blamed it on my behavior. I hate to break it to you, baby, but I'm responsible for my actions and my actions only." Deacon retorted.

"Is there anyway that you findin' out 'bout Maddie woulda ended with you not gettin' wasted? I know you and I don't think that woulda happened. You were destined to get drunk no matter when you found out you were a father." Rayna tried to assuage some of the guilt she felt by laying the blame on him.

"Yeah, there was one way and only one way. If I'd heard from you that Maddie was my daughter then no I wouldn't have gone out and got drunk. I wouldn't have felt the need to hurt you back. I know I'm a damn drunk and I lay waste to everythin' in my path, but I didn't get drunk that night and the next day 'cause havin' a daughter is so horrible. I got drunk to hurt you back for the pain you'd caused me." He admitted.

"We both agree that I shoulda been the one to tell you 'bout Maddie. Neither one of you deserved to find out the way you did. It should have come from me. It would have been painful, but we could have worked through it. Deep down I know that you got drunk to hurt me back. When you get hurt you lash out. I lied to you and I shouldn't have. I know that I was the only person in your life that you loved that hadn't let you down or done my best to hurt you. So, you did the one thing that you knew would hurt me and that would bring you comfort in that moment. It doesn't change that fact that I almost died though. Our son could have died. I know that you weren't drivin' and the blame for that rests more on the other driver than it does either one of us. I think it spooked me. In my heart I know that you would never do anythin' that would hurt me or keep me away from our girls. I can't get my head on board with that though." She poured her heart out to him.

"I know that I did wrong and you know I like to punish myself, but even I didn't deserve to miss out on my daughter's whole life. I didn't deserve havin' to fight for a place in her life. As a matter of fact you and Teddy both make it seem like I should be grateful to y'all for doin' somethin' without my consent. If I'd chose not to be there it would be different, but I didn't get a choice. Y'all made the choice for me. Rayna, I told you once that I'd never forgive you and I won't." Deacon stated bluntly.

Rayna didn't say anything her face just fell.

"If I forgave you that would mean you did somethin' wrong. You were just protectin' our little girl. I don't agree with your methods, but I agree with the general idea. At least I'm tryin' to tell myself I do. You didn't have to let her be alone with me as long as I was drinkin', but you did have an obligation to tell me I had a daughter. You damn sure didn't have the right to give her to another man and cut me outta her life completely. You know I was so proud of her yesterday, but I was hit right in the chest with a pang of what can only be described as grief when she was introduced as Maddie Conrad. Her last name should be Claybourne and you damn well know it as well as I do. I won't have to hide bein' the Squirrel's daddy, but I have to pretend like I ain't Maddie's daddy and that fuckin' kills me. It ain't right, Ray, and you know it." He kept talking.

She took a deep breath. "Deacon, I wanted to tell you about her. There was nothin' in this world I wanted more than that. I just couldn't. when I first found out I was pregnant you were in no positon to be a father. And then after, it was just too hard. There was no good time to blow our daughter's life apart and tell her that the man she called daddy wasn't really her dad. I should have just told both of you from the get go and we wouldn't be in this mess right now." She replied.

"So, why are you so set on repeatin' the same damn mistake with our son? The only difference is this time I know 'bout him. But, you are settin' it up where Luke Wheeler will be his daddy most of the time and not me." He countered.

"I get why you would think that, but nothin' could be further from the truth. I will never let him call Luke daddy or let Luke call him his son. This is your son just the same as Maddie is your daughter." She assured him.

"That's what I'm afraid of. Him bein' my son the same way Maddie is my daughter. Meanin' I'll be on the sidelines while you and some other man get to make all the decisions for my child." He arched his eyebrow.

"I promise you that I won't let that happen. That was the last thing I wanted to do with Maddie and it is the last thing that I will let happen with our son." She swore.

He took her hand again. "That's all I want from you. That's all I need from you. I need to be his daddy and I need us to find a way for me to be Maddie's daddy publicly. I want her to be able to ask me for things and I wanna be able to give 'em to her. I want us to be able to spend time together without Teddy throwin' a fit 'bout it."

"I can make all that happen. I think Maddie needs to stay the night with you a couple days a week. I think from there we need to get your paternal rights established. It's just gonna take a minute. I don't wanna change her life that drastically that fast." She told him.

"I can live with that." He nodded his head.

The receptionist came out. "The doctor is ready for you now."

Rayna and Deacon looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"We aren't gonna need to keep that appointment after all. We were able to work the problem out for ourselves. If there's a fee to be paid I will pay it." Rayna took charge of the situation. She was glad that they were able to come to an agreement without having to drag someone from the outside into their business.

"We are sorry to have wasted your time." Deacon added.

"Don't worry about it." The receptionist gave them a smile.

"Come on, let's get outta here." Rayna took him by the hand and led him out of the office.

"I ain't gonna argue with that." Deacon replied.

"I didn't think you would." Rayna led him back to the truck.

"So, what now?" Deacon asked as he helped her up into his truck.

"Now, we go back to your place and we spend some time together before you and Maddie have to spend some time together." Rayna answered him.

"I ain't gonna argue with that either." Deacon leaned over the bench seat and kissed her deeply. They both knew that they weren't going back to his place to talk.

Rayna leaned against Deacon's side as they both sat on the couch. She was wearing nothing, but one of his flannel shirts. "That was a much more fun way to spend my afternoon than on a couch in therapy."

"I have to agree with you there. What are you gonna tell Wheeler?" Deacon questioned her.

"I'm not gonna tell him a damn thing. What went on here today is none of his damn business. I'm only datin' him and it's nothin' serious. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but he's my fail safe. What I truly want is for things to work out with you and for us to raise this baby boy up together the way we should have with Maddie. If things go the way I want them to he ain't gonna be nothin', but a rebound from Teddy. The way I feel today as far as I'm concerned you're the one I'm supposed to end up with and be a family with. You will always be my family no matter what anyway. I rather the family we make be with you by my side." Rayna answered him.

Deacon took a deep shuddering breath. "That's all I want, but I just don't know why you're holdin' on to Luke so tightly. He ain't never gonna give you what you want or what you need. I'm the only man who has ever been able to do that."

"Darlin', I don't know what to say to you. You have to understand that I'm scared of all the pain we've caused each other and that's why I'm so hesitant 'bout movin' forward together as a family. I can't take a chance that you'll fail our children the way that you've failed me. In my heart I know that you would never do that to them, but in my head I'm not so sure. I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's the way things stand right now." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess, there ain't much I can say to that." Deacon shrugged to. He didn't know what to say to her to magically make things better.

"Hey, mom," Maddie walked into the kitchen while her mother was searching for a late night snack.

"What do you need, sweet girl? This baby boy has my starvin' and I'm gonna have to order out to get what he wants." Rayna turned to face her daughter.

"So, there's this father-daughter dance at the country club that is affiliated with school and I was hoping that Deacon would be able to take me. I mentioned it to him and he said that I needed to ask you."

Rayna scrubbed her hands over her face. "Maddie, I know that you want to be with your daddy and get to know him. I also know that you have really found yourself around your family from Mississippi, but that would present a lot of problems if he took you to that dance. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but you need to go to that dance with Teddy if you wanna go so badly."

"Mom, that's not fair. Deacon is my dad and I shouldn't have to hide that from the world. I'm sick of pretending that Teddy is my real dad and nothing has changed." Maddie groaned.

"Honey, I know that it's not fair, but that's the way things are right now. I know that there is nothin' that Deacon would love more than gettin' to take you to that dance, but it just can't be right now. You both need to give me more time to figure out how this is all gonna work out. Believe me there is nothin' I want more than for him to be able to take you. I want him to be intensely involved with both his children, but that's gonna invite scrutiny into our lives that none of us want." Rayna did her best to explain the situation to her daughter.

Maddie crossed her arms over her chest and frowned deeply. "It's not fair. I find out that he's my father and then I'm not allowed to get to know him or want to be a part of his life. If I can't go to that dance with him then I'm not gonna go at all. You can't make me and I don't want Teddy to try to pressure me into it. I want to go with my father, mom."

Rayna shook her head. "I hate that term real father. Teddy has been there your whole life and he loves you deeply. There is no difference in how he feels 'bout you and how he feels 'bout Daphne. I just don't want you to shut him out. Yeah, he agreed to go along with the situation, but it's not fair that he has to lose you, 'cause you found out the truth. It was never a game to him."

"Rayna, don't you try to tell her how she should feel or guilt her into somethin'. She gets to feel however she wants or needs to feel without either of us tellin' her it's right or wrong." Deacon walked in the side door. He had brought her food, because he knew her pregnancy cravings were out of control.

Maddie arched her eyebrow at her mother. The look on her face was defiant. "Deacon, there's a father-daughter dance at the country club and I want you to take me. I don't care what anyone else thinks."

Deacon bit his lip and looked between the woman he loved and his daughter. "Maddie, more than anythin' I want to take you, but I can't. I can't, however find somethin' for us to do together that night. If that's somethin' you would be interested in you let me know. I'm here to do whatever makes you feel better." He sat Rayna's food down on the counter.

"You mean it? We can really do something special to us the night of the dance?" Maddie asked him.

"I'm as serious as a heart attack." Deacon reassured her.

"Ok, if you mean it then I will let you arrange something for us." Maddie agreed.

"That sounds like a great compromise." Rayna looked between the two of them and smiled.

A/N: Here's the next chapter. I hope y'all enjoyed it. Until next time please review.