Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews, I really appreciate it. This chapter took on a life of its own, hence why it took so long for me to finish it. What I love so much about Deacon and Rayna, other than the depth of their love for each other, is the angst that is always bubbling below the surface. After all who doesn't love angst? But don't worry, some more 'intimate' moments are on the horizon for our favourite couple.

Deacon glance at the old clock hanging on the wall for the fifth time in the last minute. It was getting close for him to go on stage and officially announce that The Beverley was open. Sighing with a combination of disappointment and frustration, he pulled the small navy-blue velvet box out of his jacket pocket. He had bought it three weeks ago and has been carrying around ever since. Opening it up, the soft light of the tiny backstage room hit the ring, making the central diamond sparkle. He had chosen this ring for Rayna, because it represented his love for her; singular and strong. For him there was no one else but her. Never has been and never would be. She had branded herself on his heart and he willingly gave it to her. He had it slightly altered to include two smaller diamonds that sat snug against the central one, representing his love for the girls. He loved them the moment he had met them, because they were her daughters. The fact that Daphne wasn't his biological child made no difference to the depth of love he felt for her. He knew the moment he met Rayna he would give up everything he was for her, he felt the same for both the girls. Rayna, Maddie and Daphne were his life.

Closing the box, he glanced once again at the clock and sighed sadly. He knew that she wasn't going to make it. Conflicting emotions raced through him knowing exactly why Rayna wasn't by his side on this important night. She knew how much this meant to him, and how much it had cost him emotionally. He had struggled with guilt after his sister died after giving him the liver transplant he needed. The guilt surprisingly didn't manifest itself through the alcoholic demons he had fought with for over half his life, rather he found himself shutting in on his self and lashing out at those who tried to get him out of his depression. Thinking about how he had treated Scarlett still gave him flashes of guilt. But Rayna had been by his side, regardless of his mood. She had comforted him when he broke down and sobbed in her arms, screaming at whomever would listen that he wasn't worthy of such a powerful sacrifice. She had yelled back at him when he was stubbornly demanding that she let him go, that she deserved better and that he would only hurt her and the girls.

Thinking about that dark period of his life, he knew he should have asked her to marry him when he stepped out of the darkness of depression. But life never seemed to give them any time to breath. No sooner had he recovered from both the transplant and Beverley's death than Highway 65 was on the verge of collapsing. Deacon had always admired Rayna for her grasp of the business side of the music industry, but he was concerned as he watched the price it cost her as she attempted to juggle not only her own career but that of the artists on the books of Highway 65. He could see the flame of passion for music slowly fading as the pressure grew greater on her. Signing Markus to the label ignited that flame, along with igniting the seeds of jealousy from him. Logically he knew that she would never cheat on him, but slowly his certainty had been chipped away. Every magazine lately seemed to be publishing photos of Markus with his arms around Rayna. The ease they had with each other in the studio, plus the familiarity in their exchanges caused his jealousy to flare.

Thinking back to their argument this morning, he clenched his jaw as he cupped his head in his hands.

Shutting the door quietly behind him, he walked slowly over to her side of the bed. Her hair was sprayed out around her, like a strawberry blonde halo. Smothering a smile, he placed the breakfast tray gently on the bed. Running a finger lightly down her nose, he lent in and whispered in her ear.

"Time to wake up"

Groaning as she nuzzled her face into the pillow, Deacon watched as she fought against waking. He loved this side of her; unguarded and vulnerable. He knew how lucky he was to be able to see her like this, he was only one of a few who ever had this privilege. He had always wondered if she had let her guard down with Teddy and Luke, or whether she reserved her complete trust for him only. He could tell by her breathing that she had slipped back into a light sleep. Smiling to himself, he placed a soft kiss on her lips while caressing her cheek. Pulling back, he watched with amusement as she rubbed her face against his palm, like a cat. Her gentle kiss in the middle of his palm, caused him to bite down on his lip to stifle a groan. His thumb caressed her bottom lip while he tried to wake her once again.

"Come on Ray, time to wake up", he whispered against her ear, punctuating each word with a butterfly kiss against her forehead.

Her eyes fluttered as she slowly became accustomed to the soft morning light. Watching her rub her eyes, he was reminded of Daphne as a child when she would wake after falling asleep in his arms. They both were slow to wake and weighed up the scene before them before either of them would acknowledge that they were awake.

Rayna smiled up at him. Extending an arm up to him, he allowed her to wrap her fingers around his neck and pull him down for a morning kiss. Releasing her lips, he rubbed his nose against hers, before giving it a gentle kiss. Giggling at him, Rayna huskily croaked out a good morning to him. In that moment, he knew he was the luckiest SOB who had ever lived. If he died tomorrow, he would die happy. Pulling herself up to a sitting position, she took in the sight before her.

"What in the world?"

"Somebody has earned a little breakfast in bed today."

"Thank you. What's the occasion?"

"Are you kidding me? After last night my dear, you are officially Nashville's hottest label head, slash producer, slash love of my life. I'm so proud of you."

Leaning in he gives her a gentle kiss. Wrapping her arms around him, Rayna pulled him down onto her. Sighing at the feel of his body weight on her, she proceeded to give him a series of kisses before smiling against his lips.

Whispering against his lips, "Oh my gosh. Thank you"

Rolling off her, Deacon slid up the bed until he was sitting next to her. Taking one of her hands in his, his fingers tangled with hers. Raising it to his lips, he kissed her hand. Rayna snuggled up against him, her head resting on his shoulder while her free hand traced patterns across his t-shirt.

"Did it really happen? I didn't dream it?"

Nodding, he chuckled at her disbelief.

"Honey, it was such a great night, I mean what a victory after all that hard work"

"I gotta say, you were right, that Markus ain't that bad afterall"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far, but..."

Chewing on her lip, Rayna momentarily considered not telling him what has occurred after the concert. She knew that he would react badly and wanted to spare him the hurt. But she knew she had to tell him. The time for keeping secrets from him was in the past. They had both grown over the years, through the ups and downs of maintaining their relationship. While she felt the need to keep Maddie a secret at the beginning, she struggled with that choice as she saw how well he was doing. It was especially heartbreaking as she watched him dotting on her while they were on the road. Some nights after she had put Maddie to bed, she would cry herself to sleep at the injustice of it all. All she had wanted from the moment she first saw him, was to spend the rest of her life by his side, but his dark demons had made it impossible for her to do so.

Releasing her lip, she sighed slightly before looking over at him. The slight frown on his face showed that he could already tell that something was off.

He could sense that she was keeping some from him. It was the same look on her face when she had struggled with her decision to keep the knowledge that he was Maddie's father from him. He thought they had moved past keeping secrets from one another.

Rayna suddenly felt trapped under the covers. Hopping out of the bed she began pacing along the side of the bed. Running her hands through her hair, she frantically searched for words to lessen what she was about to tell him. Planting her feet firmly on the ground, hoping that would give her the courage she needed, she looked up into Deacon's blue eyes and decided to just tell him the unadulterated truth. She knew he would see straight through any attempts she made to soften the truth, he always could read her and consequently could tell when she was holding something back or flat out lying to him.

Glancing at his face, she could see him struggling to control his fear. The man before her was a thousand miles different from the young man when they first started dating. That man was always so quick to jump to conclusions and consequently anger whenever he perceived that any man slighted her. Even when she assured him that the other guy had done nothing, Deacon wouldn't listen. She had lost count of the amount of times she had to physically restrain him to prevent him from punching some innocent guy. While he always made her feel so safe and protected, but at times, especially when he gave into anger, she resented his intense jealously.

No matter how many times she told him she loved him and would always love him, it seemed like he had to prove that he was worthy of her love. When they were young and in love, she didn't understand that dark side of him, but as their relationship grew and he slowly revealed to her how bad his childhood was, she came to understand that the darkness in him was a result of that childhood. Both his parents had used Deacon and Beverley as pawns to inflict pain on each other. They would shower their kids with love when it suited them, and then neglect them horribly when it wasn't convenient to have them around. Rayna was always amazed by Deacon's ability to love so deeply, after being hurt over and over by his parents. Knowing that she had also added to his hurt filled her with so much guilt that it sometimes became overwhelming, especially while she was married to Teddy.

When it became too much for her, she would find herself a small dark spot and curl up into a ball while hugging an old t-shirt of Deacon's she had stolen, and sob. Luckily Teddy had never walked in on her in that condition, Tandy was usually the one who witnessed this depth of despair. While she always fought and pushed back against these feelings, struggling to control until it was safe for her to collapse back in Nashville, she can still remember the one time when she could no longer fight it while on tour. It was after she returned to touring, shortly after Daphne had turned one. Looking back on it, it was the lethal combination of missing the girls, the pressure of the tour and the constant reminder of what she had thrown away with Deacon which resulted in one of her worse breakdowns ever.

*** continues next chapter