A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers.
Chapter 5
Rayna woke up to a phone ringing. She grabbed the phone off the nightstand without bothering to see who it was. "Hello?" She answered groggily.
"Rayna? I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you." June's voice came from the other end of the line.
"June? It's fine we haven't been in bed that long. We are musicians we are used to late hours. Is everything ok?" Rayna sat up and clutched the sheet to her chest. She and Deacon were both stark naked. They hadn't so much gone to bed as they had fallen asleep after sex.
"Physically everyone is still in one piece, but I need to talk to my son. It's 'bout Beverly." June replied.
"Hold on a minute, June. I'll wake him up for you." Rayna sat the phone down and nudged Deacon. "Deacon,"
Deacon mumbled in his sleep and started snoring.
"Deacon," Rayna shoved him.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Deacon opened his eyes.
"Your momma is on the phone she needs to talk to you about your sister." Rayna handed him the phone.
"Hey, momma, what's goin' on?" Deacon spoke into the phone sleepily.
"Sweetie, I really hate to bother you with this, but your sister has had a complete mental breakdown. She locked poor Scarlett in a closet and she was just a mad woman. I had to call the police on her. I didn't know what else to do." June informed him.
"What do you need from me?" Deacon asked her.
"It would be really great if you could come here." June told him.
"Whatever you need I'm gettin' up right now. I'll be there as soon as I can." Deacon sat up on the edge of the bed.
"I love you, sweet boy, be safe." June said.
"I love you too, momma." Deacon hung up the phone.
"What's going on, babe?" Rayna asked him.
"Beverly had a breakdown and apparently she's been abusin' Scarlett. I have to go to Natchez." Deacon was already getting dressed.
"I'm coming with you." Rayna got up and started putting clothes on.
"Babe, you ain't gotta do that. I don't expect you to waltz right into the middle of my family drama." Deacon hated dragging her into the mess that his family was.
"They are my family now too. If you're going the baby and I are going too." Rayna put her foot down.
"Ok, I know I can't stop you anyway." Deacon relented.
"Good boy, baby. I'll call Buck and have him arrange for a private jet." Rayna picked up the phone and called Bucky.
Several hours later Rayna and Deacon walked into the hospital in Natchez, Mississippi. They found June standing outside a private waiting area with a police officer.
"Momma, what's happenin'? Where's Scarlett?" Deacon questioned.
June rushed to her son and hugged him before letting go and hugging her daughter-in-law. "Thank you both for comin' so quickly. Rayna, you didn't have to come at all. You and that baby both need your rest."
"June, you're family. I can't think of any other place I should be right now." Rayna gave her a smile.
"Momma, where is my niece?" Deacon asked again.
"The police are talkin' to her right now. Apparently this is far from the first time that Bev has done somethin' to her. They dug 'round in her medical records and she has a few suspicious injuries. I don't know how I missed this and I don't know how Beverly could do that after what your father did." June put her head in her hands.
"When can we see her?" Deacon went on.
"I don't know there are talks of puttin' her in a foster home. Doug as you know is gone and Bev is obviously the one who has been doin' this to her. They don't wanna leave her with me because I'm still married to your father who is barely ever home." June explained.
"That's not happening on my watch." Deacon stated firmly.
"Babe, calm down. It's not gonna help matters any if you lose your temper." Rayna rubbed his arm.
"Ray, they can't put that little girl in foster care where anythin' could happen to her." Deacon stressed.
"Deacon, I will call a lawyer and get them on this. We are not gonna lose her without a fight. Beverly and June are not the only options other than foster care. She has us. We can show that we can provide a good life for her." Rayna assured him.
"You said we." Deacon said with a goofy grin on his face.
"Yes we. She is our niece. We aren't gonna let her go into the system. My daddy has the best lawyers." Rayna reminded him.
"Thank you, babe." Deacon sounded relieved.
"Just let me go make a call." Rayna walked off to make a phone call.
"That girl gets things done don't she?" June smiled softly.
"She does. She's taken care of my ass for years that's for sure." Deacon smiled proudly.
"This is such a mess, I'm so sorry." June apologized.
"Momma, we are family that's what I'm here for. Right now you just worry 'bout takin' care of your baby and I will take care of baby girl for as long as I have to even if that means until she's an adult." Deacon swore to her.
Rayna's lawyer was able to get a custody hearing for them later in the morning.
"When at all possible we like to place minor children with a family member to keep them from going into the system. From what I've seen you two are more than capable of caring for this child and you understand what you are undertaking. I want you two to understand that this could very well end up being permanent. Is that something you're both ok with?" The judge asked them.
"Yes, Your Honor." Deacon answered.
"Your Honor, this little girl is our niece. We will gladly keep her for as long as we have to even if that means until she's in college." Rayna gave her answer.
The judge smiled at them. "In that case I order minor child Scarlett O'Connor be remanded to the custody of Rayna and Deacon Claybourne until such time as a court determines otherwise or until she reaches her eighteenth birthday. Court is adjourned." He banged his gavel.
"Ray," Deacon looked at his wife.
"Don't you dare thank me. She deserves a better life." Rayna kissed him to shut him up.
Scarlett sat outside the courtroom in a little white dress next to a social worker.
"Deacon, I'll let you explain this to her while I go get the car." Rayna told him.
"Uncle Deacon!" Scarlett exclaimed.
"Bug, let's sit on down here a minute and have a talk." Deacon sat down on the bench and pulled her onto his lap.
"Ok, Uncle Deac." Scarlett agreed.
"So, you are gonna come stay with me and Aunt Ray for a while. You're gonna go to this nice new school and make lots of new friends. Think of it as an adventure." Deacon stroked her hair gently.
"But, Uncle Deac, I need to stay with mawmaw and momma. They both need my help." Scarlett sounded distraught.
"I don't want you to worry about mawmaw and momma, sweet pea. They are gonna be just fine. They are the adults it's their job to take care of you not the other way around. I promise you that I will make sure they are always ok." Deacon swore to her. He couldn't help being a little pissed off at his mother and his sister for putting this poor girl through that. Really is wasn't on his mother she did the best she could. He knew that she was the one who raised Scarlett. Beverly was too flighty to really settle down and be a mother.
"Ok, Uncle Deac." Scarlett nodded her little head.
"Aunt Ray is waitin' out front with the car. We already picked up your favorite stuff from the house. I think Aunt Ray has a surprise for you when we get back to Nashville. You ready to go home?" Deacon asked her.
"Let's go home, Uncle Deac." Scarlett agreed.
Deacon scooped her up into his arms and rubbed her back.
The social worker stared at Deacon in awe of how good he was with Scarlett. "You're a fine man, Mr. Claybourne. There need to be more like you."
"Thank you, ma'am." Deacon blushed.
"Scarlett, I'm gonna leave you with your uncle now, but you're in good hands." She told the little girl.
"Havin' second thoughts 'bout marryin' me yet?" Deacon whispered to Rayna as he held her hand on the plane ride home.
"Not at all. This isn't the first time we've had her. The only difference is this time we don't have to give her back just because your sister decides that she's better and can handle her. This time she has to prove it to a court. Your momma does the best she can, but she can't take this all on by herself." Rayna leaned over and kissed him.
"I really love you. You're so good with her and to her and you always have been." Deacon smiled against her lips.
"She makes it easy. She's even more loveable than her uncle. And you're pretty damn loveable even when you make me want to be mad at you." Rayna teased him.
"I've given you a lot to be mad at and I really appreciate that you never gave up on me even when I made that your only option." Deacon ran his hand gently over her cheek.
"Have I told you lately how proud I am of you? This is the best that you've ever done with your sobriety." Rayna smiled at him.
"If this chaotic first month of marriage hasn't driven me to drinkin' I think I'm in the clear. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna slack off on my meetings or anythin' like that. I still have another couple weeks to go of my outpatient counselin'." Deacon reminded her.
"I know that this isn't easy for you, but it means everythin' to me that you're doin' it for us, so we can be a family." Rayna pecked his lips again.
"Ya'll are my reason for livin'. There ain't no use in me bein' alive if I can't have my family." Deacon replied. "Look at how good she's bein'." He gestured to Scarlett with his eyes.
Scarlett was sitting in her seat listening to music.
"I get the feeling that no one, but us and June has ever really given a damn about her. She's a great kid." Rayna leaned against him.
"She really is. And I think that carin' for her full time was too much to put on momma. She was doin' it, but it was takin' a toll. We're gonna make sure that she has a good life. I don't see my sister even bein' in a position to take care of her. She got the mental health problems that run in the family and I got the alcoholic gene." Deacon put his arm around her.
"If she gets better great and if not that's ok too. From here on out that little girl isn't gonna know anything, but happiness and she's gonna get to be a child." Rayna promised him.
"I like the sound of that." Deacon rested his head on top of hers.
"Hey, Bug, how was your first night with us?" Rayna greeted Scarlett the next morning.
"It was good. Are you sure that Uncle Deac didn't mind sleepin' on the couch?" Scarlett asked timidly.
"He didn't mind at all. Your Uncle Deac can sleep anywhere. A couch is better than some of the places we slept when we first started touring." Rayna assured her. Deacon was still sound asleep on the couch so he obviously didn't mind it at all.
"I just don't wanna be any trouble." Scarlett worried with her bottom lip.
"Sweetie, you're not any trouble at all. You are here because Uncle Deac and I both want you here. You never have to worry about being in the way. We love you so much." Rayna pulled her into a hug.
"I love you too, Aunt Ray." Scarlett hugged her back as best she could with her baby belly in the way.
"You should go get dressed you and I have plans today. We are gonna go to breakfast and then we are going to the mall." Rayna told her.
"What about Uncle Deac?" Scarlett asked.
"Uncle Deac has plans of his own today. I want you to be my date today he's my date every day for the rest of my life." Rayna told her.
"If you're sure." Scarlett relented.
"I'm sure. And Aunt Tandy might join us today if that's ok with you." Rayna laughed lightly.
"That fine with me." Scarlett agreed. She skipped off to go get dressed.
Rayna went over to the couch and nudged Deacon awake. "You gotta get up. You have things to do today."
"I'm up, I'm up." Deacon grumbled.
"Coffee is in the pot. You should get up and get dressed." Rayna kissed him.
Deacon stood up and stretched his muscles. "I'm workin' on it, Ray. Please pour me some coffee in the travel mug." He mumbled as he walked into the bathroom.
While Scarlett and Deacon were both getting dressed there was a knock on the door. Rayna opened the door and her smile faded a little when she saw Vince.
"Vince," There was a little bit of ice in her voice.
"Hey, Ray." Vince walked in like he owned the place.
"You and I need to talk." Rayna told him lowly.
"Sure, what do you need?" Vince asked.
"I need you to be on your best behavior around Deacon. He's doing great with his sobriety and I don't want you to do anything to derail that. We have a baby on the way he can't slip up again. I love you like the brother I never had and you know that. But if it comes down to protecting my husband or having you in our lives I'm gonna choose him. You're a worse drunk than he ever dared to be. I need to know that you can be his friend without drinking involved." Rayna laid down the law.
"Ray, I'm not gonna do anythin' to throw him off track. I wouldn't wanna mess up the good thing that he's got goin'. I stood up for ya'll at your weddin' I want to see you succeed. I want him to be happy. I know that things can't be the way they used to be." Vince replied.
"Good, I'm glad we have an understanding." Rayna hugged him. He was family to her and Deacon, but she couldn't have him leading her husband astray. "Get your act together I miss having my drummer."
"I'm doin' my best, Ray." Vince assured her.
"You should go to the rehab Deacon just got out of. It worked really well for him." Rayna suggested.
"I don't know. I don't think I'm the kinda guy that stuff works for." Vince shrugged his shoulders.
"Just think about it. I'll even send you. That offer is on the table whenever you want it. I want this baby to know their Uncle Vince." Rayna replied.
"Hey, Vinny, you're actually here on time. We should probably get goin'." Deacon walked back into the living room.
"Yeah, let's get a move on, Deac." Vince agreed with him.
"Why are you looking at me like that, Tandy?" Rayna and Tandy were waiting on Scarlett to try on some outfits.
"I don't know why I could possibly be looking at you this way." Tandy rolled her eyes.
"Is this about Scarlett?" Rayna asked her.
"No way, I don't know how you could come to that conclusion." Tandy quipped.
"She's a little girl that had nowhere else to go. I wasn't gonna let her go into the system and neither was Deacon for that matter. As a matter of fact, I know that he would have fought with everything that he had in him to keep it from happening. Believe it or not he really loves her and he just wants the best for her." Rayna replied.
"I know all of that. I just want to make sure that you're not getting in over your head. From what you've said his sister doesn't even like you all that much. But I'm sure that that won't stop you from paying for whatever type of care she needs." Tandy raised a pretty valid point.
"That's not Scarlett's fault at all. I adore that little girl and so does he. You don't like Deacon all that much, but that wouldn't stop him from doing something for you if you needed it." Rayna countered.
"Babe, I'm not trying to fight with you. It's just that being a newlywed is hard enough. You two have a baby on the way and now you have his niece to take care of. I'm worried about you being too stressed out." Tandy put her hand on her knee.
"Tandy, I'm fine this isn't too much for me. I hardly even know that Scarlett is there. She's so meek and timid. She keeps trying so hard to make sure that she's not in the way." Rayna told her.
"You know how I feel if you're happy then I'm behind you. I'm not gonna do anything to make your life any more difficult." Tandy reminded her.
"I'm very happy. There was never any question of if we were gonna take her in or not. His poor mother has her hands full with Bev and his father. I don't want her around that man any more than Deacon does." Rayna sighed a little.
"Well, look at you, pretty girl." Tandy addressed Scarlett when she came out of the dressing room in one of the outfits they had picked out to try on. She and Rayna had spent the whole day making the little girl feel special.
"How do you like that outfit?" Rayna asked her.
"I like it it's really pretty. Are you sure that it's not too much, Aunt Ray?" Scarlett didn't want to do anything to cause too much trouble.
"Sweetie, don't worry about that. I want you to be happy and have nice things." Rayna smiled at her.
"Scarlett, I want you to go pick out the prettiest most expensive thing that you can find. I want to buy it for you." Tandy chimed in.
"Really?" Scarlett's eyes got big.
"Yes, really. Now go on." Tandy smiled. This was her way of supporting her sister.
"Thank you," Rayna mouthed to her.
Deacon and Vince were putting together a canopy bed in one of the spare bedrooms for Scarlett. They had already painted the room and brought the rest of the furniture in.
"Deac, it seems like this rehab has worked really well for ya." Vince commented.
"It did and I have more of a reason to want to make it stick this time. She almost married another man and let him raise my baby as his own. I can't let anythin' like that happen ever again." Deacon shook his head and picked up another screw for the bed.
"That's rough, dude. If it makes you feel any better I don't think she could have gone through with it. She loves you too damn much." Vince tried to make him feel better about it.
"I know that. She didn't even make it that long before the guilt got to her and she had to tell me." Deacon agreed with him.
"So, how was this rehab compared to the others?" Vince asked him.
"It was way better. This one wasn't the cookie cutter kind where they tried to treat every alcoholic the same. They tailored the program to me and what I needed. I hate to admit it, but the counselin' has really helped too. It didn't feel like bein' on lockdown or like I was bein' shamed. It felt safe to finally open up." Deacon put two sections of the bed together.
"Do you think that that is somethin' that might work for me?" Vince put the other section of the bed together.
"Any rehab can work for anyone if they want it bad enough. I think it was just a combination of everythin' for me. I had nothin' left to lose and I had to try to piece my life back together. I was already committed to that when Rayna showed up and told me that I was gonna be a daddy. Since when are you thinkin' 'bout goin' to rehab?" Deacon arched his eyebrow.
"Since I've lost my job and my drinkin' partner. I figure it can't do no harm." Vince helped him put the whole bed frame together.
"If it's somethin' that you really want then yeah it'll be worth it. You have to want it though. It ain't gonna work unless you do." Deacon gave him a meaningful look.
"This is somethin' I want. I can't keep livin' this way and be a proper uncle to that baby you got on the way." Vince tried to make light of the situation.
"That's right Uncle Vinny has gotta be 'round." Deacon cleared his throat to cover up his emotions.
"Enough of that. Let's put this mattress on this bed and make sure that it ain't gonna collapse the minute that Scarlett lays on it." Vince wiped his eyes with his knuckles quickly.
"Good idea." Deacon agreed with him.
"Hey, ya'll we're home." Rayna called out a couple hours later.
"Bring her on back." Deacon called back.
Rayna guided Scarlett into the room with her hands over her eyes a moment later. "Can she open 'em yet?"
"Yeah let her open 'em." Deacon was very excited to Scarlett to see her new room.
Rayna moved her hands from her eyes.
Scarlett opened her eyes and gasped as she looked around the room. It was only one of the prettiest things she'd ever seen. "Oh my gosh. Uncle Deac did you do this for me?"
"I sure did. You needed a room and I kinda wanted my spot next to Aunt Ray back." Deacon teased her.
Scarlett wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you, Uncle Deac." She moved to Rayna and hugged her too. "Thank you, Aunt Ray, I love it."
"Hey, where's my love?" Vince asked.
Scarlett launched herself into his arms. "Thank you, Uncle Vinny."
Vince kissed her all over her face. "You're welcome, Scarlett Bug."
"Vince, why don't you make yourself useful and go get all the bags out of the car? There are a lot of them that should occupy you for a little while." Tandy told him.
Vince sat Scarlett down on the ground. "Why are you always so crabby? Someone obviously needs to tune your engine up."
"I have an ex-husband who liked to go around tuning everyone's engine, but mine. That's made me just a little bitter against men. And I never liked you all that much anyway." Tandy rolled her eyes at him.
"You didn't mind me so much when you were comin' to see me for regular tune ups." Vince arched his eyebrow.
"That never happened. You have a sick mind, Vince." Tandy glared at him.
"Do you need me to list all the times that it happened? It's ok that you felt like slummin' it. You saw baby sister there was happy doin' it so you thought you'd give it a try." Vince winked at her.
"I hope you two don't plan on letting that pig anywhere near my future niece or nephew. And I can't believe you've exposed poor Scarlett to him." Tandy pulled the little girl close to her. She was going to kill Vince when she got him alone.
"Vinny, come on, man. I can't take you anywhere. Dude, you have issues." Deacon smacked him on the back of the head.
"For the good of Scarlett I'm gonna put an end to this conversation. Just so we're clear there is no doubt in my mind that it happened the way Vince said. Anyway, darlin' husband of mine, you and your best friend need to go unload the car so we can go to dinner." Rayna changed the subject.
"Because you asked so nicely I will go do that right now." Deacon kissed her.
"I'm only doin' it 'cause you asked me too and not 'cause your sister thinks she's the boss of me." Vince finally decided to behave himself a little bit.
"You just hurry up or my sister will be the least of your worries. This baby is starvin' and so am I. These hormones make me a little crazy when I'm hungry. My sister hasn't fed me in an hour. I'm gonna need you two to be quick." Rayna gave both men a look.
"Come on, Vinny. We best go. You don't wanna see what she gets like in this state." Deacon drug his friend out of the room.
"Rayna, I can explain." Tandy offered.
"Please don't. I don't wanna hear it." Rayna just shook her head.
A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Until next time please review.