Thank you for the lovely reviews and follows...you inspired me to write more. It's been a LONG time since I've written anything, so it's very appreciated. Special thanks to piratewench78 for her encouragement. So, I think this will actually be a few chapters...everyone seems to have a story to tell.
Scarlett stood in the hallway outside Rayna's room in the ICU. She could hear the girls' crying, the sound of the alarm. She stepped back as the medical personnel came rushing past her, pushing into the room. Her feet felt rooted to the floor, only moving when Deacon appeared in front of her, his face white, his arms holding the girls up on either side of him.
"Deacon?" she asked, not sure what else there even was to say.
He didn't respond, his face crumpling in a way she hadn't seen, even when her momma died.
She moved forward toward him, pulling Deacon and girls into her arms. The pain was unimaginable as she felt them begin to collapse to the floor. She pulled Daphne and Maddie closer as suddenly she saw Gunnar was there, his arms supporting Deacon. They moved awkwardly back to the couch where they had been waiting as Rayna slipped away.
Juliette took Maddie from her arms, sitting next to her, trying to soothe her as the girl continued to weep. She followed, bringing Daphne to the couch next to her sister. Scarlett looked over at Gunnar, his arms still around Deacon, supporting him as they leaned against the wall.
It felt like it went on forever and then the doctor came out and asked Deacon to come back into the room. It wasn't until he had gone inside the door that Scarlett realized suddenly just how quiet it had gotten.
She stood waiting, not sure if she should check on Deacon. After a few minutes, the doctor walked back out, closing the door to Rayna's room behind him. He turned and walked down the hall away from the group huddled outside the ICU. Scarlett sat for a moment, her hand resting on Daphne's back as the young girl heaved and cried.
"You should go check on him," Juliette said. Scarlett nodded and stood. She paused for a moment, then headed for the closed door.
She pushed the door open and walked in. Rayna was still on the bed. She went over and touched her-her skin was still warm, like when her own mother had died. She leaned down and kissed her gently on the temple. Rayna had been a sister, a mother, a mentor...she had looked after Scarlett and loved her.
Deacon sat on a chair a few feet away, his head down. She crossed over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
"You okay?" she asked.
He raised his head, his face stained with tears. "I don't think so."
"You need a few minutes here?" she asked, rubbing her hand across his back, trying to express any kind of comfort.
Deacon nodded silently.
"Juliette's with the girls. I'm gonna...I'm just gonna step out, but you come get me if you need me, okay?"
Deacon nodded. She looked at him again as his shoulders began to shake and his head dropped down again. How was the world so cruel to do this to this man...this man who didn't deserve any of this.
Scarlett stepped back into the hall. She looked to make sure the girls were okay, then stepped over where Gunnar was waiting.
"He okay?" Gunnar asked.
Scarlett shook her head. "No, but I don't know how he could be...how any of us will be."
"I talked to Will-Zach's gonna arrange for a plane to fly Tandy out here. There weren't any regular flights that could get her here tonight."
"Has anyone talked to her?" Scarlett asked. She had called Tandy earlier, when things first started to go downhill, but that had been several hours ago.
"I...I called her," Gunnar said. "When I knew what the arrangements would be. I called and told her while you were in there with Deacon. I hope that was okay."
"Thank you," Scarlett said, putting her hand on his arm. "That must have been incredibly hard."
Gunnar looked at her, his eyes filled with sadness. "There's nothin' that feels like losing a brother or a sister."
"Miss O'Connor?"
Scarlett turned at the sound of her name to find the nurse she'd seen earlier. There were two orderlies standing behind the nurse.
"Yes?"
"I...I don't want to rush anyone, but they're here...from the morgue…" The nurse stumbled slightly over her words.
Scarlett looked over at the closed door. "Can we give him a few more minutes? Then I'll go in and you can do what you need to do."
The nurse nodded and they stepped away from the door. Scarlett hated to make them wait, but she just couldn't go in and make Deacon leave Rayna. Not just yet.
The third time the nurse came around the corner to check on them, she knew it had been long enough.
"Let me go in, please," she said to the woman. "Then I'll let you folks do what you need to do."
She signaled Gunnar to come with her, then asked him to wait while she went in alone.
She pushed the door open. Deacon hadn't moved. This time she didn't go over to the bed, but instead went over and knelt in front of her uncle,
"Deacon...we need to go. They need to...they need to come take her," she said quietly.
He looked up at her, he was a broken man. "I don't know if I can."
"I'm so sorry, but, we need to let them take her," Scarlett said again. "And we need to take the girls home. Can you come with me?"
She waited as he took in a deep breath. "I can't go back there," he said quietly. "I can't go back to her house, not if she ain't there."
"It's okay...we don't need to," Scarlett replied. She looked over her shoulder and nodded. Gunnar slipped into the room.
"C'mon, Deacon," Gunnar said quietly, as he helped Deacon up from the chair. Deacon leaned heavily on him and she wasn't sure that either of them would be able to move. She slid under Deacon's other arm and slowly they headed back into the hall, leaving Rayna behind, alone in the room.
"You doing okay?" Gunnar asked as he paused at a red light. He reached over and took her hand in his.
"I don't know if there is any way to be okay with this," she replied. "I just feel like I gotta get Deacon somewhere where maybe he can close his eyes, somewhere quiet for the girls, for just a minute."
"Probably a good idea not to take them home," Gunnar replied.
Scarlett didn't respond. It had been a media circus since the first news of Rayna's accident had come over the police scanner. The crowd of TV trucks and reporters had only grown as news leaked out of her condition worsening. The folks from the security company had come to ask what they might do, but Deacon wouldn't even talk to them.
Gunnar turned onto Deacon's street. Thankfully it was dark-no sign of the media. Juliette had called Bo to pick up Deacon and the girls while she and Gunnar went ahead to get things ready.
"Scarlett…" Gunnar started as he parked in front of the house.
"I just need to get them through tonight," Scarlett said, her voice clipped. "Get them in the house, try to get them to sleep. Everything else can wait until tomorrow."
"I was just gonna say that I'll go pick Tandy up," Gunnar said, quietly.
She looked over at him. He'd been there since she got to the hospital. Just there, being there for her, for Deacon, for the girls.
"Thank you...that's...that's a lot of help right now," she said quietly.
He opened the door and got out, standing outside waiting for her to join him. He'd been there. The whole time.
Scarlett walked back to the bedroom she'd lived in on and off for the past few years. This night felt like a million years. The girls were so broken and Deacon...Deacon seemed destroyed. She'd gotten them settled, taken care of for now. Gunnar left for the airport and the house...it was finally quiet as everyone was asleep.
Everyone except her.
She laid down on her bed, not taking off her clothes, toeing off her shoes as she brought her legs up on the soft coverlet.
She thought that losing her momma, having to make that decision was the worst thing that would ever happen to her, but in some ways, this felt worse. Because she knew how those girls felt, how lost they were, how long and how hard it would hurt.
Finally she cried.