Vince and he had been drinking steadily all afternoon by the time Rayna had found them in some dingy bar. Looking up at her through an alcoholic haze, Deacon had given her a lopsided grin before pulling her to him. She was furious at him. He had missed a practise session for the tour, not the first time mind you, but this one was important. Attending tonight would be some of the leading music journalists in the industry and she needed to impress them if her career was going to blossom. Struggling away from him, she slapped his arm as she yelled at him. He rolled his eyes at her, while smirking over at Vince. It was like waving a red flag at a bull. She grabbed the half empty bottle sitting between them and stormed out of the bar. She could hear them both scrambling to get to their feet as they realised what she had done. She was fuming. How could he do this to her, he knew how important this was. Not just for her, but for them. They would lie awake at night huddled under the threadbare blanket of whatever grimy hotel they were staying in, and whisper how they were going to make it big. How they would be able to stay in the penthouse and sleep in Egyptian cotton sheets and not have to worry about bed bug bites.

Her eyes shot daggers at Deacon as he yelled at her to stop. Standing her ground in the gravel carpark, her breathing was erratic as she struggled to calm herself down. Deacon stormed over to her, his face dangerous close to her as he made a lunge at the bottle in her hand. She stood back and yelled at him. By this stage Vince had caught up with them. He swayed on the spot as he watched them screaming at each other. Rayna poked Deacon in the chest with her free hand, her face red with anger. Deacon realising through the scotch haze that she was serious, tried to calm her down. He tried running his hands down her arms to placate her, but this just infuriated her even more. Yelling at him to get his hands off her, she rapidly swung around to walk off but in the process the bag on her shoulder swung out and slapped Deacon. He staggered backwards in shock before lunging after her. He didn't care about the bottle of scotch she was still carrying he knew that he had to make her forgive him.

Pleading with her to stop he ran after her. His voice full of fear, thinking that she was going to leave him. His greatest fear was that she would finally see sense and leave him. He reached out and made one last frantic grab at her arm. Latching his hand firmly around her bicep he got her to stop walking. Pulling her flush against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her as he nuzzled his nose into her hair. Whispering, his voice full of tears, he begged her not to leave him. His arms hugged her tightly to him, unwilling to let her go. He felt rather than saw her resolve break. She leaned back into his chest, berating herself for being so weak. She needed him so badly, he was her addiction. She hated herself slightly for needed him so much and hated that he knew just how much she needed him. Tears fell from her eyes as she listened to his words promising her the world. She had heard it all before, and just like before she would believe him. She would believe in him, that he would be able to control his drinking. Sniffing loudly, she allowed him to spin her around. Her eyes were red from crying. He wiped the tears away, kissing her face gently as he whispered, "I'm sorry Ray" over and over.

Raking her eyes over his face, she wanted to believe his promises. That this would be the last time she would find him drunk in a bar, but she knew deep inside that he needed help. Her lip trembled as she struggled to control her crying. He held her face gently in his hands as he lightly kissed her lips. His blue eyes looked deeply into her own, trying to make her understand how sorry he was. She smiled weakly at him. Pulling her into his arms he wrapped himself around her. His body shook in fear, knowing that she had the power to break him. Rayna let out a sob as she allowed her body to relax into his arms. She didn't want it to be like this between them.

Rayna felt, rather than saw Vince grab at the bottle of scotch. Screaming out "No", she pulled her arm back as he made another lunge at the bottle. Detangling herself from Deacon, she backed away from Vince. He stalked towards her imploring her to hand the bottle over. Shaking her head, she started to tip the honey coloured liquid out. Vince yelled at her before grabbing her arm. Rayna yelped in shock more than anything, and frantically tried to loosen his grip on her arm. Pulling back, she screamed at Vince to let her go. Her feet slid on the gravel surface as she tried to get leverage. Deacon was trying to prise Vince's fingers off her arm while screaming in his face for him to let her go. Finally, Deacon was able to get loosen Vince's grip on her arm, causing her to fall backwards and the bottle to smash on the ground.

Sitting on the cold ground, Rayna's face registered shock. Looking over at the smashed bottle, she stared in wonder at the blood that was beginning to flow. Blinking in disbelief, she looked up at Deacon. Her eyes widened at the look of horror on Deacon's face. She turned her face slowly towards Vince who was looking at her in astonishment. Deacon cried out her name before turning towards Vince. Roaring a guttural "You bastard" he lunged at his friend. Deacon slammed his shoulder into Vince's stomach, followed quickly with sharp right hook. Vince staggered back, shocked at the suddenness of Deacon's attack. He quickly recovered and lunged at Deacon. He managed to get a few punches in before they both ended up wrestling on the ground. Rayna screamed at them to stop, but they were oblivious to her.

Deacon finally managed to pin Vince down. He was breathing rapidly trying to catch his breath. Looking over to where Rayna was sitting, he stared in disbelief. In her hand was a wad of tissues pressed against the cut, trying to stop the bleeding. Silent tears flowed down her face. She looked at them both in shock. Stunned, he lessened his hold on Vince. Sensing his opportunity, Vince slammed his fist up into Deacon's chin sending him flying backwards. Rayna screamed as she frantically tried to get to Deacon. He was lying flat out on his back and blood was flowing freely down his chin. Cradling his head, in her lap she desperately tried to stem the flow of blood while whispering his name. His eye lids flickered as he wordlessly mouthed her name. Brushing her fingers over his face, she reassured him that she was there.

"Oh Deacon…oh man"

Rayna flicked her eyes in Vince's direction. He was pacing around, running his hands through his hair trying to understand what had happened.

"Deac, I'm sorry."

He takes a few steps in their direction, stopping when he catches the look on Rayna's face. In a halting voice, he pleaded to her.

"Rayna. I didn't mean it, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened."

He took a couple of shaky steps towards the crumpled body of his best friend, stopping abruptly as Rayna levelled an icy stare at him.

"Don't. Don't you dare touch him."

"Rayna."

"No! Get away from him"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt him"

"That's the problem Vince, you never mean to do anything. God, you drag Deacon into your shit over and over again, and its him that is left to deal with the consequences. Can't you see what you are doing to him."

Tears welled in his eyes, as he looked down at his best friend. Deacon gripped Rayna's hand as he struggled to lift himself up from the ground. Screwing his face up in pain as his various injuries made their presence known, Deacon sucked a deep breath in trying control his anger. The sight of Rayna on the ground with blood running down her arm was foremost in his mind. The pain from his injuries paled in comparison to the ache in his heart knowing that his best friend had hurt Rayna.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Deacon stared at his friend.

"Go Vince. Just go."

Slumped against Rayna, Deacon watched as his friend walk away. Rayna pressed a kiss to his temple and hugged him closer to her.

They didn't see Vince for another couple of years. The night Deacon and Vince re-established their friendship was also the same night that Vince wrapped his car around a tree after partying all day with Deacon. Deacon still carried some guilt as the result of that night, but had learnt over the years to let the majority to go. Vince made his own decisions that fateful night.

Rayna rested her head in the nook between his neck and shoulder, while softly running her fingers up and down his arm. Her fingers grazed over pale pink scar that ran from his wrist to his elbow. The scars on the inside of them both as the result of their car accident had taken longer to heal than the physical ones. Rayna had pushed him away, scared that he was heading down that destructive path of drinking again. But he had proved that he was no longer that man; the one hell bent on self-destruction. She had lost faith in him during that time as she was terrified of him reverting to his past habits. Everything she had placed her faith in was suddenly ripped away from her. Every time she turned around something new was imploding in her life; Maddie wasn't talking to her, Teddy while being outwardly supportive was also projecting a 'told you so' attitude towards her. She needed the one person in her life she could always lean on, she needed her anchor.

She was lost without Deacon in her life. For the first time in her life she was cast off alone, drifting without that security she had always depended upon. Bit by bit she steadied herself and was able to make her way back into calmer waters, but it had felt like she had taken a wrong turn. Keeping Deacon at arm's length, delegating him to the role of co-parent gave her the space to mend the raw wounds his relapse had inflicted on her. His relapse had shaken her belief in him, but just as she was able to repair the hurt within her she was also able to see how far Deacon had come. He was becoming the man she always knew he was.

Burrowing her head closer to him, her lips nuzzled his skin embracing the sweet taste of him. The various scars scattered over his body, told the history of his journey to become the man he is today. Her fingers skated softly across his chest enjoying the feel of his warm skin.

"It's against the law to molester people while they are sleeping Ray!"

Smiling against his neck, Rayna kissed his jaw before sitting up to look at him.

"Is it? Well, guess I better stop them"

Grabbing her arms Deacon flipped her onto her back and gave her a quick kiss.

"I didn't say stop"

Smiling against his lips, Rayna murmured her pleasure. Her hands trailed up his bare back, sending shivers through him. Twisting her fingers into the short hair at the base of his neck, her lips expressed her love for him. Lying next to Rayna, Deacon pulled her closer to him as he wrapped his leg across her body trapping her flush against him. They both knew that this couldn't lead to anything but their lips had other ideas. Thrusting his hands deep into her hair, he held her head still as he plundered her lips. He never got sick of kissing her. He could lose himself in the sensation of her mouth. Rayna moaned into his mouth, before breathlessly breaking the kiss. They were both breathing deeply as their eyes danced with merriment. Even after all this time, waking up next to each other was still a novelty. After being denied this small pleasure for so long, they both embraced the sensation.

Deacon ran his thumb along her swollen bottom lip as he whispered,

"What are your plans for the day?"

Rayna's eyes darkened as she watched his tongue moisten his lips,

"Um…. I have to go to catch up with Markus at the studio. But otherwise…" she kissed him softly. Her lips hovered just above his, as she whispered, "I'm all yours."

Smiling against her lips, Deacon pulled back to look at her. Tucking her hair back behind her ear, he uttered,

"Good, that's the way I like it. You completely at my mercy."

Reaching up towards him, Rayna pulled him back down onto her and kissed him deeply. Pulling back slightly, they both sighed at the sound of Maddie yelling at Daphne, announcing that the day had started.

Up next: the Markus issue!