The site was a little wonky earlier this week...so if you didn't get a chance to read Chapter 7 yet, please take a minute to go back and give it a read. Thanks so much for all of the follows, favorites and reviews...it's been really wonderful to hear what you think of the story. - RW
"I wish we could go up to the cabin this weekend," Deacon said as he and Rayna lay in her bed the next morning, his arm pulling her close to him.
"I can probably make that work," she replied. "The girls both have plans on Saturday night or maybe we should take them up there...you said Maddie loves fishing now and I'm sure Daphne would enjoy being there."
Deacon sighed and rolled onto his back. "Actually, I shouldn't have even gone up there the night of the Opry show. The cell service is so spotty and it's further than I'm supposed to be away from the hospital in case they find a donor."
Rayna rolled on her side, propped up on her elbow facing him. "Then why'd you go up there?"
Deacon shrugged. "I wasn't completely in my right mind at that point. Remember."
She nodded. "Yes, I do. So, if we can't get away to the cabin, then we need to plan something here."
"Actually, I do have something I'd like to do," Deacon replied as he trailed his finger down her arm. "Something I've been thinking about."
"What's that?" Rayna asked.
"I've got some songs I'd like to record, ones I was playing on Luke's tour, things I've written that I didn't include at the Bluebird show."
Rayna smiled. "Well, I do happen to own a record label, so I might be able to find you some studio space."
"Too bad you haven't gotten that little home studio built yet," Deacon said, smiling. "It'd be pretty awesome to just be able to go downstairs and work on a record."
"Sounds like maybe you're getting used to this high falutin' Belle Meade lifestyle," she teased him.
He turned back on his side, facing her. "Maybe I am."
"Big plans for this weekend?" Deacon asked Maddie as he flipped a pancake on the griddle on the kitchen island.
"Not really," she replied as she kept her eyes focused on her phone. "Just a birthday party."
"I've got some plans," Deacon offered. "Decided I should get in the studio and work on some of the stuff I've been writing, get some of it recorded. I'm thinking about recording 'Believing'. Think you'd come sing with me on it?"
Maddie kept looking at her phone and didn't reply.
"Hey," Deacon said.
She looked up at him. "What?"
He stood there for a moment. "Nothin'. Well, I'd be happy to have you singin' with me if you have the time."
"I'll sing with you," Daphne offered as she came into the kitchen.
"Well, that is an excellent offer," Deacon replied. "You want some pancakes?"
"Definitely," Daphne replied as Maddie remained silent, again.
"Okay, so you do you have everything you need?" Rayna asked as she pulled up in front of the girls' school. "Y'all have a busy agenda this weekend."
"Got it," Daphne replied as she reached for her backpack and duffel bag.
"Deacon and I are going to be recording this weekend, but we're in town and have our phones if you need anything. You've got your sleepover tonight, then your Dad will pick you up and he'll get you to the birthday party tomorrow. I'll be there to pick you up on Sunday.
"Maddie?" Rayna said, turning to her older daughter.
"Yeah," she replied.
"Call me if you need anything, okay?" Rayna said as she reached over to touch her arm.
Maddie responded by opening the car door and getting out. "Bye, Mom."
Rayna sat watching as the girls walked away from the car. She felt a little bit of relief at the thought of being able to focus solely on Deacon for the next couple of days, but at the same time, it pained her so much to see Maddie struggling this way. She needed to figure out how to help her daughter. Trouble was, Maddie was about as forth-coming with her feelings as her father. In the argument of nature vs. nurture, nature definitely won out on this one.
Deacon stuck the key in the lock in his front door and pushed it open. He dropped his bag on the floor and headed straight to the bathroom off his bedroom. He stood there, leaning against the sink when he heard a tap on the door.
"Deacon?" Scarlett said. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, just give me a…" his voice trailed off as he turned and was sick.
"I'm coming in, okay?" Scarlett asked. She waited a moment and came in to find Deacon sitting on the tile floor.
"Not feeling so great?" she asked as she filled a cup with water and handed it to him.
He nodded and took the cup from her.
"Sip it slowly," she instructed as she stood next to him.
Deacon took a couple of small sips and handed it back to her. "Let's not tell Rayna about this, okay?"
"You sure?" Scarlett asked. "I thought you were being open with her about all of this." She sat down next to him on the floor. "She'd want to know what's going on with you."
"And she's already worrying too much as it is. I'm gonna take it easy today, lay low here, see if I can't get to feelin' a little bit better."
"Do you want me to call Caleb? See if there's anything they can do to settle your stomach?" Scarlett asked.
Deacon shook his head. "Nah, it's really not that bad, just hit me when I was gettin' off the highway. Glad I didn't puke in the truck, I guess."
"How about you get cleaned up and I'll go put some fresh sheets on your bed," Scarlett suggested. "Lay down and I'll check back in with you in a few hours and if it's not better then, I'll call and see if they have any recommendations."
"Sounds good," Deacon replied. He started to get up, then sank down again. Scarlett stuck her hand out. He looked at it for a moment, then took it and let her help him up.
"Okay, then," Scarlett said as she backed out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She headed down the hall to the linen closet for clean sheets and pillowcases. She opened the closet, paused, then pulled her phone out and scrolled to Caleb's name in her contact list. Her finger hovered, then she connected the call.
"Hey, nice surprise," he said as he answered the phone. "You're still coming over for lunch, right?"
"I'm not sure," Scarlett answered. "Deacon got sick when he got home from Rayna's this morning. He's taking a shower now but I want to stick around and make sure everything's okay."
"Nauseous or something else?" Caleb asked. "And just this morning?"
"He was sick first thing when he got back, but just that once and from what he said, just this morning. Should we be worried?"
"Some rest is probably in order. His body is working pretty hard right now with his liver not functioning as it should be. Try to get him to drink something, eat something light and let me know if he's sick again."
"Okay," Scarlett replied. "Can I take a raincheck on lunch?"
"I have a better idea," Caleb replied. "I'll make a housecall-two birds, one stone."
"Thank you," Scarlett said and she ended the call. She gathered up the linens and headed back toward Deacon's bedroom. She quickly stripped the sheets and remade the bed. She pulled the blinds, darkening the room and then headed to the kitchen to fill a glass with ginger ale.
The door was closed when she returned, so she tapped on it and after Deacon's acknowledgement, pushed it open.
"I brought you this," she said, handing him the ginger ale. "You're supposed to make sure you keep some fluids in you and maybe try to eat something a little bit later."
"Doctor's orders?" Deacon asked, smiling at her. "You didn't need to call him over a little puking."
Scarlett sat down at the edge of the bed. "I called him because we have plans later and while I'm not going to hover over you, I wasn't going to go running off, not knowing if you were a little bit sick or a lot. So there."
"Okay," Deacon replied. He pulled the covers back up over him. "Thanks for the fresh sheets. I'm just gonna rest here for a while, okay?"
"I'll just be out here working on some stuff, if you need me," she responded, got up and headed back out into the living room, closing the door behind her.
Rayna checked her phone again to see if Deacon had responded to her text about meeting for lunch. No response. For as long as he'd resisted texting, he had been much better about responding in the past year or so.
She started to call him, but decided instead to turn the car away from the office and head toward East Nashville to his house.
Rayna parked in front of Deacon's bungalow and walked up to the door. She was about to knock when she noticed Scarlett was sitting on the couch, so she turned the knob and eased the door open.
"Hey, didn't think I'd find you here," Rayna said as she walked in. "How you been, girl?"
Scarlett got up from the couch and walked over to give Rayna a hug. "I'm good...trying to get a few things done before we head back out on the road at the end of the month."
"How was it being on stage again?" Rayna asked.
Scarlett smiled and sighed. "Wonderful, frightening...it was good to do it with people I trust and love like Gunnar and Avery."
"Speaking of which, how's that going?" Rayna said, smiling back at her. "That's a lot of history on the stage together."
"Good," Scarlett replied. "I'm...I'm kinda seeing someone now."
"Oh, really," Rayna replied. "Tell me more?"
"Uh…" Scarlett stammered.
"It's fine," Rayna responded. "So, where's your uncle? I texted him to see if he wanted to meet for lunch, but no response."
Scarlett walked back to the couch and sat down. "He's in his room, resting."
Rayna followed her into the living room and sat down across from her. "Is everything okay? He seemed fine when he left this morning."
Scarlett looked wistfully at Rayna and sighed. "He didn't want you to know he was sick this morning, asked me not to tell you."
"Sick how," Rayna responded, her voice laced with concern. "Did you call Dr. Rand?"
Scarlett nodded. "I did speak to him this morning. He said we should make sure Deacon was drinking fluids and eating something. He was nauseous, got sick when he got home. I checked on him a while ago and he was asleep."
There was a knock at the door. Scarlett and Rayna both looked over to see Deacon's doctor standing on the porch.
"Oh, that's him now," Scarlett said, her voice sounding nervous. She got up and went over to the door.
Caleb walked in with a bag from Mitchell Delicatessen. "How's the patient?" he asked as he set the bag down on the table.
"Uh, Rayna, this is Dr. Caleb Rand, Deacon's doctor," Scarlett stammered.
"We've met, at his office," Rayna said as she shook the doctor's name. "I'm impressed, house calls are one thing, but I don't think I know any doctors who bring lunch with them."
Scarlett blushed. "Uh, so we were supposed to be going out for lunch, but Deacon was sick, so Caleb, I mean, Dr. Rand…"
"Oh," Rayna interjected. She looked at Scarlett and the doctor. "Oh...well, you two should go off and have your lunch. There's a couple of nice parks right around here, or go down to the bridge or...I'll stay here and wait until Deacon wakes up."
Scarlett smiled. "Are you sure?"
"Let's do that," Caleb replied. "And when I drop you off, I can check in on Deacon and make sure everything's okay."
"Okay, you two get going now," Rayna said, holding the door open. She stood there as Scarlett and Caleb headed to the doctor's car.
After closing the door, she stood in the living room for a moment, then headed down the hallway and eased the door open to Deacon's room.
The room was dark with the shades pulled, but she could see his sleeping form in the bed. She crossed over to the bed, slid her shoes off and laid down on the bed next to him on top of the covers.
She could hear him breathing evenly, so she rolled on her side and curled around him, her arm slung over his body.
And then they both slept.
TBC