"Deacon," Rayna whispers frantically, tapping him on his shoulder.
He is sleeping soundly and doesn't respond.
"Deacon," she tries again, raising her voice a little.
He mumbles something sleepily.
"Deacon," she says loudly.
Her voice finally pulls him from his sleep. He opens his eyes and searches the darkness for her face. When he finds her eyes, he instantly becomes worried about her. He knows that she is not waking him up for a little nighttime fun like she has done in the past. He can tell that something is wrong.
"What is it, Ray?" he asks, his eyes full of worry.
He sees her eyes begin to water and her lips begin to tremble. It kills him to see her so upset. He reaches out to her and rubs her back soothingly, pulling her into him.
"What's wrong, Ray? Tell me so I can help you," he tries.
"It's Maddie," she tells him.
Deacon feels like his heart has stopped. What could possibly be wrong with Maddie? Horrible images begin running through his mind. Rayna looks at him sadly but he can also see the sympathy in her eyes. She knows that this is his first time hearing news about Maddie, now that he knows she is his daughter. She knows the feeling of terror that he must be experiencing for the first time.
"Teddy called and said he had to take her to the hospital. Apparently, she woke him up in the middle of the night and told him she wasn't feeling well. She said she was dizzy and nauseous, so he went to go get her some medicine. When he came back, she was unconscious," Rayna explains through the tears.
Deacon feels like he has never been this worried before in his life. His daughter is in the hospital. The only other time he remembers being extremely worried like this was when he had to take Rayna to the hospital, years ago, for a concussion, after she hit her head at a show. He wouldn't let her do anything but lie in bed with the lights off for two weeks. Right now, Deacon feels like he is a million times more worried than he was on that occasion. On top of being worried about Maddie, he is also worried about Rayna. He loves them both so much that he can't imagine what he would do if anything happened to them. He knows that this is just as hard on Rayna as it is on him and it makes him wish that he could protect her from the pain.
"Oh, Ray. Do they know what's wrong with her?" Deacon asks in concern.
Rayna shakes her head slowly, her lips trembling. Deacon reaches forward and wipes the tears off of her face. He leans forward and kisses her lips gently.
"They don't know for sure," she says.
Deacon suddenly gets up and starts searching for his phone. Rayna looks at him in confusion.
"What are you doing?" she asks.
When he turns around, Rayna almost laughs at the look on his face. She probably would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. She has never seen him behave like this. She has never seen him react to something so strongly. She sees how frantic and worried he is and, if it's possible, she feels like it makes her love him even more. Even though he just found out that Maddie is his daughter, Deacon is already an amazing father.
"I'm trying to find my phone. I'm gonna get us a flight back to Nashville. We need to be there with her," he answers quickly.
Rayna feels so thankful that Deacon is taking charge in this situation. Her worried mind hadn't even thought of the need for calling to make arrangements yet.
"Thank you, Deacon," Rayna says, feeling relieved that he is there to help her.
Deacon stops his search momentarily to give Rayna a soft kiss. Rayna holds on to his head tightly, as if she is afraid that something will happen to him too if she lets go.
"It's what I'm here for, Ray," he responds.
She watches him closely as he places a call to Bucky. He arranges for the plane to be ready as soon as possible. She has never seen this side of Deacon before. She has never seen him fly into worried father mode. She thinks of Teddy and how he usually reacts. He usually lets her take charge and doesn't worry about her needs in the midst of a crisis. Deacon is doing his best to worry about her even while he worries about Maddie. He is doing his best to take the responsibilities off of Rayna's shoulders so that she doesn't have to worry any more than she already is worrying. For a moment, it makes her regret her choice to leave Deacon even more than she already did. When they were younger, Deacon had a lot of straightening up to do. Regardless of that, he has always been everything that she needs in life. He knows her better than anyone else and still loves her, despite her flaws. Rayna sees Deacon hang up the phone and walk back over to her.
"Bucky said he can have the plane ready in an hour and a half. I'll pack everything up. Why don't you try to get some rest while you still can and I'll wake you up when we need to go? I know that you won't get any sleep once we get to the hospital," Deacon suggests thoughtfully.
"Deacon, you don't have to do everything. I can help," she protests.
He moves closer to her and gives her a soft kiss. He pulls back a little so that he can look into her eyes.
"Listen, Ray, I love you and I want to do this for you. I want to make this easier for you," he tells her.
She reaches up and gives him another kiss.
"I love you too, Deacon," she replies, feeling like she has never meant anything more in her life.
He stays close to her for a moment longer and then walks off to the closet to pack up her stuff. Rayna closes her eyes. She is extremely stressed out about what is happening to Maddie but having Deacon here is making it way better for her. She is so thankful that he is letting her lean on him during this trial. She doesn't know what she would do without him here to help her through.