Deacon sits in a corner of the hotel lobby, frantically scribbling on a piece of paper. He needs to get his feelings out. He feels like they are eating him alive. Once again, he is writing a song about Rayna. Over the years, his songs about her have been filled with love, regret, longing, passion, and desire. This one expresses his confusion. His heart is being pulled in two directions. On one side, he feels the full force of his anger. On the other, he feels the full force of his love. Writing down his feelings in the form of a song, usually helps him to sort his emotions out. This time, the words that come to his mind don't tell him anything that he doesn't already know. He crumples the piece of paper into a ball in frustration and throws it to the side.
When he looks up he sees Rayna emerge from the elevator. He watches her as she walks over to Liam. He sees them smile at each other. He watches her kiss Liam on the cheek. He groans in frustration. He worries that he will lose her forever if he doesn't act soon but he is unsure of what his next move will be. He needs to talk to her about everything before they even think about getting back together. Watching Rayna with Liam helps Deacon to make up his mind. He will make his next move as soon as he can.
He sees Liam signaling to the bartender and knows that he is trying to order Rayna a drink. Deacon doesn't like the idea of Rayna drinking with Liam. He knows how easily she lets her guard down when she has had a few drinks. The thought encourages Deacon to take action. He is not going to waste any more time. He is not going to give Liam the chance to seduce her. He is going to talk to her right now. Deacon gets up quickly and walks over to them.
"Hey, Ray. Can I talk to you for a second?" he asks.
She turns around and looks at him. After a second, she nods her head in agreement. Deacon sees the look of disappointment on Liam's face and feels momentarily triumphant. He leads her away from the bar until they reach a semi-secluded table in the back of the room.
"What do you want to talk about?" Rayna questions him.
Deacon takes a deep breath. He needs to do this if they are going to have any chance at all. He wants to do this so that they can figure out a way to move forward.
"I want to talk about Maddie," he says.
Rayna nods in understanding. She is relieved that he is finally ready to talk but she is nervous that the talk will not go well. She hopes that she can help him to understand everything about the situation in a way that will not upset him.
"What about Maddie?" Rayna asks.
Deacon tries to gather his thoughts. He wants this to be a rational discussion. He wants to hear her out without being overcome by his emotions. He needs to know the whole story before he decides if he can forgive her.
"I guess we should start at the beginning. I don't agree with it but I understand why you didn't tell me when I was in rehab. I know that I was different back then. The thing that I really don't understand is that you never told me after I got sober. Why did you never tell me, Rayna?" he asks her, his voice remaining level.
She takes a minute to think about it. She wants to make sure that she is completely honest with him.
"When Teddy and I talked about it, we decided that it would be best for Maddie if we didn't tell you. But if I'm honest, that isn't why I didn't say anything. I never stopped loving you. I never stopped worrying about you. I was afraid that telling you the truth would send you back to that dark place. You didn't get sober until I left and I was worried that I was the reason that you had never been able to stay sober in the past. I didn't want to hurt you any more than I already had. I didn't want to get in your way. All I wanted was for you to be happy and I was willing to do anything to make sure that you weren't tempted to fall back into your old habits," she responds.
Her words wash over him. He takes them in. He can tell that she is being honest with him. Knowing her reasoning helps but he still wants to know more.
"Okay," he says calmly. "Would you have ever told me if I hadn't asked about it?"
She has thought about this a lot over the past few days and she knows her answer.
"Yes," she replies quickly. "I would have waited a little longer but I would have told you. I wanted to tell you but I wanted to wait until a better time."
Deacon is relieved by her answer. He is glad that she hadn't intended to hide it from him forever.
"Does Maddie know?" he questions curiously.
"I told her on your birthday, after your party," she tells him.
"What was her reaction?" he asks.
"She was very confused at first but after talking for a while, she really opened up to it. She wants to spend some more time with you now that she knows. She wants to get to know you as more than just her mother's old guitar player," Rayna explains.
Deacon takes in the new information. The thought of spending time with Maddie makes him happy. He wants to bond with her now that he knows that she is actually his daughter. He has always fantasized about having children with Rayna but now it is a reality. Despite his anger at being lied to, the thought of having a child with Rayna makes him happy. She is the mother of his daughter. Rayna Jaymes, the woman he loves more than anything, is the mother of his child. He lets a smile light up his face for the first time in days.
"Are you gonna let me spend time with her?" he asks her.
"Of course I will, Deacon. You're her father. You deserve it. Honestly, I would love it if you spent time with her," she replies.
Deacon is glad to hear it. He wants Rayna to be supportive of him getting to know Maddie better. Talking with Rayna is really starting to ease his mind. He feels a glimmer of hope in his heart. He finally feels like they will actually be able to fix everything between them.
"What about Teddy?" Deacon wonders aloud.
He is worried that Teddy will be an obstacle. He knows that Teddy has always hated him.
"Teddy still wants to be in her life but I have made it clear to him that you will be allowed to spend time with her if you want to. He isn't happy about the situation but he has agreed that you deserve a chance to get to know her better," Rayna answers.
Rayna is happy with how the conversation is going. She likes that Deacon really seems to be trying to understand. She can tell that he is willing to work on everything. He is being rational and approaching the conversation in a positive way. She is proud of him for how far he has come. He has become the good man that she has always known he had the potential to be.
"And what about you? How do you feel?" he asks.
She takes a deep breath and wonders how she should respond to his question.
"I feel like this can be a really good thing if we let it," she responds.
"How do you feel about me, Ray? How do you feel about us?" he clarifies.
She looks into his eyes. She doesn't want to put herself out there if he is going to reject her.
"You already know how I feel, Deacon," she says.
"I'd like to hear you say it," he tells her.
Rayna sighs. She wants to tell him but she is hesitant.
"I… uh… I want to fix things between us. I want to move forward," she replies.
Deacon nods. His facial expression is unchanging. He thinks everything over in his mind. He appreciates that she is being honest with him. He likes what he hears. He is now more confident that they can work things out. The conversation has helped a lot.
"I want that too, Ray," he says after a moment.
Rayna smiles. Relief washes over her. She feels like they are finally heading in the right direction.
"So where do we go from here?" she asks him.
He pauses. He hasn't really thought about the next step. He knows that he loves her and he knows that he wants to be with her but he wants to be sure that it will last this time before they get back together.
"Listen, Ray, there are a few things that I'm gonna need from you if we are gonna try this again," he says.
She looks at him expectantly.
"I'm gonna need you to be completely honest with me. No more lies, no more secrets. I need to be able to trust you," he tells her.
"I promise," she assures him.
Deacon nods. He sees the sincerity in her eyes. Despite everything, he knows that he can trust her.
"I also need to know that you're in this thing for real. I need to know that this is it for you. I can't take any more heart break, Ray," he says.
"I'm in it a hundred percent, Deacon. No one will ever love you like I do," she promises.
"I love you too, Ray. You're the only woman I've ever loved," he replies. "Even so, I think we should take the night to think about it. We need to make sure this time."
"Okay, Deacon. On one condition," she responds.
He looks at her curiously.
"What condition?" he asks.
"I want a good night kiss," she tells him.
He smiles at her.
"Are you trying to kill me, Rayna Jaymes?" he jokes.
"No, I just want to give you something to dream about tonight," she replies flirtatiously.
He doesn't need her to convince him. He leans across the table and captures her lips with his. She traces his lips with her tongue, begging for entrance. He opens his mouth, deepening the kiss. They kiss each other passionately, getting lost in the moment. Deacon groans when Rayna bites his lip playfully. He responds by pulling her closer to him and caressing her head with his hands. Rayna wraps her arms around his neck, trying to keep him close. A loud noise from across the room interrupts their kiss.
They look up and see Liam sulking as he walks towards the elevator. Deacon laughs happily.
"I guess he was hoping that you would spend your evening with him," he says.
Rayna smiles softly at Deacon.
"There's only one man that I want to spend my evening with," she tells him.
He kisses her softly in response.
"Let me walk you to your room," he requests, holding out his hand to her.
She takes his hand and stands up.
"Are you gonna keep me company?" she asks hopefully.
"Not tonight, Ray. We need to think about everything now that we have talked about it. We'll talk again tomorrow and decide where to go from there," he replies.
"Fine. Let's go," she says.
When Deacon drops her off at her door, he gives her one last kiss before turning to leave. She walks into her room and falls on her bed. She smiles to herself, thinking about the kisses that they had shared. Overall, the night had been extremely productive. She is happy that they are finally getting back on track. She already knows that she wants to move forward with Deacon without even thinking about it. She only hopes that Deacon feels the same way.