A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.

Chapter 2

"Guys, let's run through that last one again from the top. I ain't been gone that long and already ya'll are fallin' apart. You're all pros you're better than this." Deacon admonished the rest of Rayna's band. They were doing sound check at the Ryman before their show that night. It had taken a grand total of one lunch between him and Rayna for her to ask him to come back to the band. He just got her and knew how she wanted things done better than anyone else ever could.

Rayna was currently in the bathroom for the fifth time in an hour. She was either peeing or puking with the way things were going for her lately.

The band ran through the song again and they sounded so much better than they had the first time around.

"There are you go, ya'll. That's the standard I'm used to." Deacon praised them. "Ok, a couple things before Ray gets back. I have some new rules for ya'll. No more drinkin' durin' sound check. If somethin' comes up last minute and you can't make it to rehearsal call me. We all know I ain't gonna bite your head and I'll smooth things over for you with Rayna. And this is the important one. You either show up for shows sober or you don't bother showin' up at all. I know we have all been guilty of playin' drunk a time or two and I'm the biggest sinner in that category. We ain't stupid kids anymore it's time for us all to grow the hell up. If any of ya'll have a problem with those rules or you don't wanna follow 'em you know where the door is."

Rayna walked back on stage looking impressed. "I bet ya'll don't know whether to be happy to have him back now or not."

"We are happy to have him back you can actually get through a set without having a meltdown." Eric the bass player said.

"Damn, boss man, what did they do to you in that rehab? If they are that good maybe, I should have gone there." Hayes asked. He was one of the fiddlers.

"I grew the hell up finally. That's what happened." Deacon replied.

"Ya'll, honestly I think we can call it a day. We've got the set down cold. You're used to playing with Deacon and you know that he will take care of you. I need nap, I need somethin' to settle my stomach, and I've got a baby on my bladder. I'm done for right now." Rayna told them.

"Ya'll know to be back here two hours before show time. And I was serious 'bout what I said. Show up sober or don't show up." Deacon added.

"Ray, everyone is sounding really good up there. I think all we needed was Deacon back on lead guitar." Bucky waited for Rayna on the side of the stage.

"Yeah, he's got all of us spoiled when it comes to bandleaders. There is no one else like him in the business." Rayna replied.

"That ain't true, but I'll take the compliment." Deacon reached over and touched her belly. "Did you eat somethin' that my son didn't like?" He joked.

"First of all keep your voice down. Secondly it could very well be a girl, and lastly I guess I did." Rayna listed off for him.

"I know that I'm just prayin' for healthy that's all that matters to me." Deacon replied.

"I don't know if I've said it yet so I will say it now. Welcome back, Deacon." Bucky clapped him on the back. He was glad to have him back with the band and doing so well in his sobriety, but he was also glad that he was there to take the brunt of Rayna's moods.

"I think you've mentioned that a time or two. Ray's difficult on a good day. Bein' pregnant and hormonal isn't a good day for her." Deacon teased.

"Deacon, shut up before I fire you again. You did this to me." Rayna glared at him. "Don't you have some place that you need to be this afternoon or somethin'?"

"I've already been to a meetin' today and I don't have counselin' until tomorrow. I'm pretty much free to annoy the livin' shit outta you if I want to." Deacon answered her.

"That's not what you're gonna do though. You're gonna feed me and the baby." Rayna corrected him.

"I can do that." Deacon agreed.

"I'll let you two get to that then." Bucky said. "Ray, you know what you've got going on here tonight."

"I know and I will handle it." Rayna replied. She knew what he was talking about she just didn't want Deacon to know.

"Just reminding you." Bucky waved to her.

Deacon looked curious, but he didn't ask what that was about. "What are you and Baby Claybourne cravin' today?"

"Peanut and I really, really want pizza." Rayna told him.

"Then that's what we will have." Deacon put his hand in the small of her back protectively.

They walked from the Ryman to the pizza place together it was easier than getting in the car and driving.

"So, you haven't asked why I didn't call things off with Teddy." She made conversation.

"I don't need to ask I kinda already know the answer to that one. He's safe and stable and right now you're scared to let yourself trust me again. Like I said I ain't lettin' you go without a fight. We are gonna give this baby the family that neither of us ever had. We can't do that if we ain't together." He replied.

She sighed, but she smiled inwardly. There really was something different about him this time. She had sensed it even before she'd told him about the baby. "I forgot how stubborn you can be when you get your mind set on something."

"Exactly, so don't think you're gettin' rid of me that easily." He held the door to the pizza parlor open for her.

"So, how is your treatment going?" Rayna asked him once they had their food.

"I think it's goin' good. It's different this time. That's probably 'cause this time I did it 'cause I wanted to and not 'cause someone forced me to. If I'd wanted it sooner we probably wouldn't be in this position right now. I just wasn't ready then." Deacon answered her.

"If there's anything that you need or anything that I can do to help you let me know." Rayna put her hand on top of his.

"The not drinkin' part I gotta do on my own. It's nice to have someone to talk to though. And I also need to apologize to you for everythin' that I've put you through. I know that you put up with a lot from me. You were never able to depend on me and I never kept my word to you. I was just as disappointed in myself as you were every time I let you down. Or every time that I failed at stayin' sober. Lettin' you down was worse than lettin' myself down. I've always wanted so badly to be the man that you need me to be." Deacon apologized to her.

"Deacon, I know that you tried your hardest and that you don't wanna be like your father. After we talked last week I called Cole. He suggested that it might be helpful if I were to just check out some of stuff available for families of alcoholics because no matter where we go from here you and I are always going to be family. We have this baby together and I want to see you succeed. I need to apologize to you too. I realize that I was harder on you than I should be every time that you slipped. I accused you of not really trying to get better. The fact is you did try you have a disease that is gonna be a lifelong battle. It's not just a matter of you not having the want or the willpower to get better. You did want to get better you did try to get better and I made you feel like even more of a failure than you already did." Rayna could recognize that she didn't exactly understand what he had been facing.

"Thanks, Ray, I really appreciate that. You didn't have to do all that though. I'm sure that you don't really trust that this time is gonna be different than any of the other times that I've tried and failed to get sober. As much as I wanna give this baby a real family I don't guess I would blame you much if you chose to build a life with Conrad." Deacon replied.

"Deacon, I haven't made a choice yet. And yes I did have to this. How am I supposed to understand you and raise our baby up with you if I don't understand your disease?" Rayna stared into his eyes.

"From here on out let's agree to do what's best for this baby no matter what." Deacon suggested.

"I can agree with that. Though I do have to ask you to forgive me for ever entertaining the thought of not telling you about the baby." Rayna responded.

"Course I forgive you, Ray. I know that you were just scared. Now we can be scared together." Deacon smiled at her.

Rayna turned from her vanity to look at the door of her dressing room as it opened. She smiled when she saw Teddy walk in holding a bouquet of flowers.

"These are for you. Break a leg out there tonight." Teddy told her.

"Thanks, Teddy." Rayna replied.

"I just wanted to show you how special you are to me. My parents are really excited to come tonight. I need to go meet them at our seats. Are you sure that it's not too much for you to give them a little tour after the show?" Teddy replied.

"Not at all. I'm glad that they could make it." Rayna waved off his concern.

Deacon stuck his head in the door unaware that Rayna had company. "Ray, I'm gonna get the band rounded up, so they are ready to go when it's time." The smile on his face faltered when he saw Teddy.

"Thanks, Deacon, I really appreciate that." Rayna smiled at him.

"I'll see you out there then." Deacon replied stiffly and he left quickly.

Teddy frowned and crossed his arms. "You have got to be kidding me. You let him back into your band? Knowing that he can't stay sober and he is bound to let you down yet again?"

"If he can stay sober there is nobody in this business better on guitar than Deacon. And if I can have the best I want the best. Besides that, if he has a job he doesn't have countless hours in the day that give him a bigger chance of slipping. I won't defend my choices to you when it comes to my career. I could do this without Deacon, but it wouldn't sound as good. I owe my fans more than that." Rayna informed him.

"We are going to have to lay down some ground rules for how this is gonna work once the baby gets here." Teddy didn't understand why she couldn't just stick to their agreement. Things would have been much better that way.

"Teddy, I'm not gonna do this with you right now. This is not the time or the place. We can discuss this later I have a show to do and you should get to your parents." Rayna retorted.

"Yeah, I should get out there." Teddy nodded at her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rayna walked off the stage after the show was over with a huge smile on her face. Her shows always went so much better when Deacon was on lead guitar.

"Ray, you sounded great out there tonight. I guess you were right about all those other guitar players. No one else is as good as the one you started out in this business with." Bucky smiled at her.

"Thanks, Buck." Rayna smiled back.

"Rayna, you were brilliant like always." Teddy hugged her.

"You'd say that even if I sounded horrible." Rayna hugged him back.

"That's because he's a smart man and he knows how to behave if he wants to have a good marriage." Ted Conrad chimed in.

"Don't listen to either one of them. How are you and our future grandchild doing?" Mary Conrad asked.

"We are both doin' good. The mornin' sickness has finally let up some and I'm grateful for that." Rayna fixed her stage smile on her face. She could tell that Teddy had yet to tell his parents that he was probably wasn't the father.

"If you've had a lot of morning sickness that probably means you and Teddy are giving me a granddaughter." Mary smiled excitedly.

"I'll settle for a healthy baby. It doesn't matter to me what the sex is." Rayna replied.

"Don't worry too much if this one is a girl. You can always give us a grandson on your next try." Ted beamed.

"Dad, let's get through this pregnancy and get us married before we start talking about more kids." Teddy stepped in.

"Hey, Ray, I'm takin' off. I didn't know if you wanted me and the rest of the band to stick 'round, so I thought I'd let you know." Deacon said on his way back to the dressing rooms.

"No, I don't need ya'll for anything else tonight. You can go on and tell the rest of them that they can leave." Rayna told him. She saw the pain he was trying to hide in his eyes.

"Will do, have a good night." Deacon flashed a quick smile at her.

"You too, Deacon." Rayna waved at him as he walked away. "Sorry, 'bout that. Someone always needs something from me. If ya'll wanna follow me I will give you a tour of this place." She truly wanted to do anything else in the world other than that.

"I will take it that you are speaking to me again from the fact that you agreed to meet me for lunch." Rayna sat down at a table across from Tandy.

"I was never not speaking to you. Other than daddy you're the only family that I have. I'm always going to be on speaking terms with you no matter what incredibly stupid thing you do." Tandy replied.

"Babe, it was the right thing to do and you know it was. I couldn't have lived with myself if I hadn't told him the truth. And knowin' my luck somehow he would have found out that this is his baby." Rayna pointed out to her.

"It still doesn't make it any less stupid." Tandy argued.

"Well, it didn't make my life any easier either. I've got Teddy pushing me to still marry him anyway, he can't stand the fact that there are going to be times that I have to be around Deacon, and he wants me to basically cut him out of this pregnancy completely. Then I have Deacon who I don't even know what to say about him right now." Rayna pinched the bridge of her nose. She and Teddy had had another round last night. He'd informed her that he didn't want her spending any time with Deacon and that he didn't need to be a part of her pregnancy.

"Do you want me to talk to both those jackasses?" Tandy offered.

"I thought you liked Teddy?" Rayna questioned.

"I do like Teddy, but that doesn't mean I'm on his side. You are my baby sister I'm on your side. I only want you to be happy and have a stress free pregnancy as possible. You can't do that if both your perspective baby daddies are fighting over you like some prize." Tandy quipped.

"They aren't really fighting over me per se. It's not like the two of them have gotten into a fistfight or anything. Teddy is being incredibly territorial like he owns me or something. And Deacon, well Deacon has been very understanding and I didn't expect that from him. I think that this rehab really worked well for him. He said that he would like for us to raise this baby up together as a family, but he understands if I would rather build a life with Teddy." Rayna explained.

Tandy covered her face with her hands. "Oh dear God, help me. Deacon Claybourne is gonna be my brother-in-law. I thought I had dodged that bullet, but I'm not gonna get that lucky."

"Tandy, what are you talking about?" Rayna looked at her like she was crazy.

"Rayna, we both know that you're gonna end up marrying him. You can say that you're with Teddy all you want to, but I can tell from the way you're talking that your heart is still with Deacon and it's only a matter of time until you follow it." Tandy informed her.

"Of course my heart is still with Deacon I never said that it wasn't. I just wish that I hadn't accepted Teddy's marriage proposal. I'm not saying that I'm gonna get back together with Deacon right now. I don't think he's ready for that. I think it would do him more harm than good. I'm not even sure that I have it in me to build a life with that man knowing that he's going to battle the urge to drink for the rest of his life. Teddy is nice. He is stable, a good provider, and he's sweet. But, good lord, Tandy, is that man vanilla. His idea of being adventurous is having sex with the lights on. Not that we did that that many times. I know that he's not the father, but until he sees it in black and white he won't believe it. He was ok to date, but I don't know that I can marry him." Rayna stressed.

"I know that with you in your current condition that this isn't the most ideal solution to the problem, but there's no law that says the only choices you have are Deacon and Teddy there's a third and even a fourth option if you want to take one of those." Tandy said thoughtfully.

"What did you have in mind?" Rayna sounded intrigued.

"What's he doing here?" Deacon and Teddy both said at the same time when Rayna opened the door of her apartment for them.

"Gentlemen, thank you for coming. Come on in and have a seat." Rayna ushered them into the apartment.

Teddy went right in and sat down on the couch and made himself at home.

Deacon stood up against the wall with his arms crossed. "What's goin' on here, Ray?"

"I think that we all need to talk. And by that I mean I'm gonna talk and you two are gonna listen to what I have to say." Rayna replied.

"Is that so?" Teddy asked.

"It is, Teddy." Rayna narrowed her eyes at him.

"Say what you gotta say. I got some place that I need to be." Deacon said not unkindly.

"The facts are this I'm engaged to you, Teddy. There isn't a doubt in my mind however that the baby I'm carrying is yours, Deacon. The whole situation is one big complicated mess that I don't want or need right now for that matter. This is my first pregnancy I should be enjoying it not worrying over what I'm gonna do about you two or that you're going to kill each other." Rayna laid the facts out for them.

Teddy went to open his mouth, but he thought better of it when Rayna shot him a look.

"There is something I can do to remedy that though." Rayna sat her engagement ring on the table in front of Teddy. "I'm giving that back to you. Right now I'm just not in the position to marry you."

Deacon hid a smirk behind his hand.

"Don't you go lookin' so happy just yet. Just because I'm not marrying him doesn't mean I'm gonna marry you either." Rayna told him.

Teddy bit his lip to keep his smile from showing.

"I'm not confined to just the two of you for options. There are three other options that I can take, but there are two that apply to this situation. Option one I can date both of you until I decide which one of you I really want. Or option two I choose myself. I'm taking option two. I choose myself and this baby. My main priority right now is him or her and not stroking either one of your egos." Rayna finished up.

"Ray, I told you once already. Whatever way you wanna play this I will abide by it. Whatever you need from me you got it. I just ask that you let me know when you have a doctor's appointment, because I do wanna be there for that. This is my baby too. I helped make it and I ain't gonna make you go through this alone." Deacon spoke up. It pained him to take a step back, but he was the one who had caused her to be this way.

"Deacon, I would never dream of cutting you out of this. You know me better than that." Rayna smiled softly at him. "Teddy, like I said I am positive that you aren't the father, but I understand that you want a DNA test to be sure and that you might wanna be involved too."

"Yeah, that would be nice." Teddy agreed.

Deacon reached around blindly for the ringing phone on his nightstand. "Hello?" he answered groggily. He sat up and turned his bedside lamp on. "Ray? What is it? Is somethin' wrong with the baby?" He listened to what she had to say. "Ok, I'll be right over."

Fifteen minutes later Deacon was knocking on her front door with an exasperated look on his face.

"Did you bring it?" Rayna asked him by way of greeting when she opened the door.

"Yeah, I brought it." Deacon held up a fast food bag.

"Thank you, you have no idea how horrible these cravings are." Rayna took the bag from him and left the door open to allow his entry.

"You really called me at one in the mornin' to get you food?" Deacon sounded a little amused.

"I really wanted a burger and I really didn't wanna have to get out of the house." Rayna was already eating.

"I thought that somethin' was wrong with you and the baby. You can't just be callin' me in the middle of the night like that if there isn't anythin' wrong." Deacon sat down next to her.

"Deacon, shut up and let me enjoy my food. This is your baby you get to deal with this. Did you bring my shake too?" Rayna talked with a mouth full of food.

"Yeah, here you go." Deacon sat her shake on the coffee table.

Rayna picked up her shake and took a big drink. "Oh my God, this is so good. I think that this may even be better than sex."

"If you think that burger and fries is better than sex then you're the one who had a few too many blackouts." Deacon looked at her like she was crazy.

"Since sex with you got me into this position I'm allowed to think that this burger and fries is better than sex." Rayna shot back. She couldn't deny that sex with him was life altering though. She hadn't had great sex since the last time she was with him. She had to shake those thoughts from her head quickly before she had to fight off yet another bout of being horny. Her hormones were all over the place these days.

"I prefer to think of it as our love was too great to be confined to two people so it created a third person to share that love." Deacon smirked at her sexily.

"No, do not look at me like that right now. If you look at me like that you're gonna make me want you and I have taken a vow of celibacy." Rayna frowned at him.

"You take a vow of celibacy? Now that is a joke. You may have been a virgin when we met, but as it turns out you need it just as badly as I do." Deacon snorted.

"That's your fault for being so damn good in bed and so damn hard to resist." Rayna laid the blame on him.

"You ain't gonna blame the fact that you're a hot crotch on me." Deacon put up his hands to fend off the blows that she sent his way.

"It is your fault. You're the one who showed me how good sex could be. You gave me the best sex that I ever had and then you forced me to go after partners who were less than suitable in the bedroom." Rayna stopped hitting him and went back to eating.

"So, Conrad wasn't quite up to par in the sheets." Deacon's chest puffed out with pride.

"See this right here is what I can't deal with, with you two." Rayna told him.

"What do you mean partners? You told me that you'd only ever saw Teddy." Deacon looked confused.

"Deacon, I can count my sex partners on one hand with two fingers and a thumb left over. So, yes I've only ever had sex with two men." Rayna assured him.

"Hey, you were the one that brought this subject up not me." Deacon tried to look innocent.

"I know, but you were the one who took it and ran with it." Rayna swatted him one more time for good measure.

"Hey, stop abusin' me and eat your food." Deacon shook his head at her. He sank back on the couch just content to be with her.

Rayna ate the rest of her food quickly. More like she inhaled it.

"Was that good?" Deacon asked her.

"That was better than you can imagine." Rayna gave him a satisfied smile.

"Good, I hope it was worth draggin' my ass outta bed. Now I gotta get up and drive home. I just gotta get up the gumption to get off this couch." Deacon yawned.

"It was so worth getting you out of bed so I didn't have to go get it myself." Rayna got up off the couch. She went to the hall closet and got a pillow and blanket.

"What's that?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.

"You're the father of my child, Deacon. I can't have you driving across town tired that's how accidents happen. I need you here to raise this baby with me. So, sleep on my couch." Rayna laid the pillow and blanket on the couch.

"Well, thanks for that, Ray. I appreciate it." Deacon toed his boots off.

"Deacon, I'd do any damn thing in this world for you. You have to know that by now." Rayna replied.

"I do know that. I don't doubt that for a minute." Deacon smiled at her.

Surprising both of them Rayna leaned over and kissed him on the lips. "Night, Deacon, sleep well."

"You too, Ray. If you need anythin' don't be afraid to wake me." Deacon told her with a goofy grin on his face.

Rayna hesitated for a moment and then she decided to throw caution to the wind. "I do need somethin' else, Deacon."

"What's that?" Deacon looked up at her.

"I need you. Come to bed with me." Rayna held out her hand to him.

"Now, that you ain't gotta ask me twice." Deacon took her hand and walked back to the bedroom with her.

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I've decided that the first few chapters are gonna focus on the pre season one stuff and then we will get into season one. The first couple of chapters are going to move fairly quickly and then they will go at a more steady pace. Until next time please review.