A short chapter that attempts to fill in the blanks from the episode.

Taking a deep breath, Rayna straightened her shoulders as she gathered her strength. Rayna knew that she and Deacon were unbreakable but she also realised that this level of happiness was new to Deacon, so maybe he was overreacting but she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and make sure that Markus was on the same page as her.

Rayna gave Markus a tight smile as he opened the door, that was quickly replaced by a slight frown at the sight of him in a bathrobe,

"Hey"

"Hey, I just got out of the shower"

"I can see that"

"Want to come in?"

As he stepped back to let her pass, Rayna noticed that he had two glasses of scotch in his hand. Clearly, he was expecting company, she just hoped that this elaborate scene wasn't for her benefit. She felt uncomfortable standing in his hotel room knowing the conversation she was about to have. Her eyes warily watched him as he put the glasses down, he clearly wasn't bothered by the fact that he was wearing nothing but a thin bathrobe.

"Deacon kind of freaked out today, didn't he? Would have thought after so many years in the business he'd be a little more professional."

"Well… that's what l want to talk to you about. Wanted to clarify a few things since we've been working so closely together."

"Yeh, of course"

"I just wanted to make sure there hasn't been any confusion about our relationship or I haven't lead you to believe…cause you know Deacon is my guy and I love working with you and collaborating with you as producer and label head…"

"Rayna, Rayna…you thought I thought…"

Markus' eyes roamed over her, taking in her slight discomfort. He could tell this was something she wasn't happy about, Markus was sure if he had to guess Deacon had put her up to this. He smothered the grin that was threatening to escape. The fact that Deacon was jealous gave him hope. Markus knew that there was chemistry between him and Rayna, just as he knew that Rayna and Deacon had problems. He just had to be patient and wait for the perfect opportunity, when Rayna would be ready to admit what was obvious to him.

Shrugging Rayna gave him a lopsided smile. She felt awkward having this talk with him. She could tell that it was not any more comfortable for him either.

"No…no"

"Okay, good no misunderstanding?" Rayna could feel the awkward tension pulsating in the room. Once more she silently cursed Deacon and his insecurity, forcing her to have this conversation with Markus.

"No, no misunderstanding."

Rayna played with her car keys and she sent a pray upwards, praying for the floor to open and swallow her so that she could escape from the look Markus was giving her. He was looking at her with a mixture of sympathy and disbelief that she had even asked the question. Rolling her eyes internally, she wondered if this would put a strain on their working relationship.

"Alright, guess see you tomorrow at the studio? Good work today"

"You too"

"Bye"

Markus smiled as he leaned against the door. Rayna wouldn't have come over here to try and convince him that there was nothing between them unless she had been forced to. No, he was convinced that she had only come over because Deacon had put her up to it. Markus felt his smile growing as he realised that even Deacon had noticed the chemistry between himself and Rayna. Pushing off the door, Markus grabbed the abandoned drinks and made himself comfortable on the bed. Opening his internet browser, he typed in Rayna's and Deacon's names and was immediately rewarded with images of them together. Skimming through the more recent ones, he noted that they seemed to show the strain between them. Deacon seemed to constantly have a scowl on his face, Rayna often had a matching frown. Sipping his drink, Markus was convinced that things were not as merry between the couple as Rayna lead on. He wondered if he had something to do with that. Shrugging he admitted it didn't matter what the cause behind their tension, he knew that by the end of this foray into country music he would not only end up with a brilliant album but he would also end up with the girl.

The drive home from Markus' had given Rayna some time to not only calm down but to consider Deacon's point of view. She reluctantly admitted to herself that she had added fuel to the fire, dismissing his feelings outright. For so many years she had denied the feelings she had for him, and now that she could openly express her love that she took it for granted that Deacon knew how she felt. The entire time that she was married she had hidden her feelings about Deacon so deeply, and quashed any attempt at intimacy Deacon had shown towards her that it was easy to forget that he wasn't used to having her in his life romantically. For over ten years she had given him such mixed messages about her feelings for him. On stage was the only time she allowed her true feelings to surface, she would flirt along the edge of that line she had drawn. Seducing Deacon into a false hope only to shut him out once things crossed into reality.

She needed him in her life but at the same time to relieve the strain in her marriage she pushed him away. She could see it from his perspective, it was a pull push relationship. She basked in the warmth of his closeness, justifying to anyone who would listen that they were family. Only when Teddy put his foot down would she pull back from Deacon, leaving him stranded in the cold without her to shoulder some of the blame for their closeness.

Pulling into their driveway, she was relieved to see Deacon's truck. She had to fix this between them, assure him that while his assertion about Markus was misguided, he never had to worry about her feeling towards him. Now that they were finally able to be together, she was never going to let him go again. This was it for her. He was her past, present and future. Tossing her bag onto the kitchen bench she followed the tender notes coming from the music room. Now that Deacon lived her, she was amazed how quickly she had gotten used to having music playing at all times of the day. With Teddy, she felt like she had to isolate her music to the appropriate section of the house. Once she had shut the music room door, Teddy had subtly encouraged her to leave it locked away there. He had implied that music played no part in their lives. He never could grasp the idea that music was part of her and forcing her to deny it was never going to end well.