A/N: After listening to this song I couldn't resist. So I'm granting y'all with a Valentines Day gift! A second installment. Rayna writes a song. I don't own Nashville or the song. Song credit goes to Jennifer Nettles.
Rayna sat awake in her music room after tossing and turning for several hours. She'd enjoyed her weekend away with Luke, but Deacon kept creeping up in her mind. She was thankful her girls were with their father, and she grabbed a guitar, strumming some simple chords. She was never that great, but it seemed to come together better than she'd expected.
She smiled as she alternated between scribbling chords, and lyrics on the page, scratching them out, and rewriting them. she smiled again when she re wrote the completed song on a clean sheet of paper.
She took the last few sips of her chamomile tea and sighed, her mind seemed to have calmed down, and she was able to drift off into a decent sleep.
Luke was planning on surprising Rayna, he'd gotten into the city for his Nashville show a day earlier than planned. He bought her flowers, and sent her a text making sure she was home. Rayna answered the knock on her door and smiled at the daisies he held in his hand. "hey" she smiled, and stifled a yawn.
He was concerned, but walked into the woman's house, "Ray?"
She shrugged, and put the fresh flowers in a vase. He closed the door behind him and helped Rayna with her flowers. He held out his arms for her and she fell into his hug. He squeezed her tight and sighed, something was bothering her. He kissed the top of her head, "okay pretty girl, talk to me"
She sighed, "I'm just tired"
He nodded and rubbed her back, "do you have the girls this weekend?"
She shook her head and he knew that he could help her relax, and let her have a romantic, peaceful night. He kept rubbing her back, and she nestled into him. he held her in silence for a few minutes before lifting her chin up to see the dark circles under her eyes, and the small, but sad smile on her face.
"I couldn't sleep last night, sorry…." She sighed, yawning again.
He hugged her again, rocking a little. "it's okay, it happens. We can stay in tonight, takeout, a movie, wine…"
She smiled, nodding into his shoulder, "yeah…"
He smiled, and planted a kiss on the top of her head. She sighed, but relaxed. He lead her to the couch and she leaned back on him without hesitation. He gently kissed her once more, "what kept you up last night darlin?"
She shrugged, "I dunno, but I wrote a song…."
He smiled, she never ceased to amaze him, he'd written her a simple song that'd skyrocketed the charts, and she was surprised to learn it was for her after Maddie heard it on the radio and told her that Luke had told them about why he wrote it. "well let's hear it" he suggested.
She sighed, and gave him a wary smile, "it was three in the morning… I have no clue what I wrote… it's on the guitar.."
He chuckled, "well then we have to hear this"
She sighed, and they went to her music room. She grabbed the same guitar she'd used to write the song earlier in the morning, and hadn't touched since. he sat on her piano bench and she sat down on the couch, flipping the pages in a ratty notebook. She settled on a set of pages, and cradled the guitar. She took a shaky deep breath, "it's probably nothing…."
He gave her an encouraging smile, "I still want to hear it"
She nodded, and strummed a few chords, before diving in to the first note,
A little kiss of freedom,
I've forgotten how that tasted.
A little room for breathing,
then you're on your way.
There's a million little reasons
for this smile on my face.
Without those tears in my eyes
I bet you'd hardly recognize me.
Without you, well you left the cage door open
and your pretty bird just flew.
And I never knew, that I could fly so high
and the sky could be this blue.
I can't believe it's real,
so this is how it feels,
me without you.
Now I wake up early,
whole world feels new.
Seems so strange to ask myself
what do I want to do.
Now I don't know this road I'm on
or where it's leading to,
but I know I'm gonna be alright.
The more I see, the more I like me.
Without you, well you left the cage door open
and your pretty bird just flew.
And I never knew that I could fly so high
or the sky could be this blue.
I can't believe it's real,
so this is how it feels,
me without you.
Oh you had me believing I didn't have the strength for leaving.
But any fool can see I'm better off, just look at me.
Without you, well you left the cage door open
and your pretty bird just flew.
And I never knew that I could fly so high
and the sky could be this blue.
I can't believe it's real,
so this is how it feels.
I can't believe it's real, oh,
so this is how it feels,
me without you, me without you.
She took another shaky deep breath and ran a hand through her messy hair. she avoided making eye contact with the man sitting across from her, hoping he wouldn't think the song was about him, but more her father, and Deacon. She finally stole a glance at the man, who was sitting there smiling, showing no signs of anger. "that was beautiful Ray"
She put the guitar back and sighed, "you liked it?"
He nodded, and guided his girlfriend back to the couch. "that was one of the most beautiful songs I've heard babe, we need to do something with that"
She smiled, and nestled into him, letting him wrap an arm around her, "thanks…"
He smiled, "if I know you like I think I do, there was something goin on in your pretty little head while you wrote that"
She just nodded and rested her head deeper into his shoulder. He sighed, and pulled her into a hug.
"tired…" she sighed, and before long she was asleep in his arms. He sighed, he wanted to get her to talk about the lyrics that seemed to tell a story of being set free from something. She was resting in his arms, and he decided that their dinner, and a movie would have to wait until she woke up from her nap, or another night.
A/N: this wasn't going to be a multi-chapter. Or even a two shot. But this song just spoke to me, and it screamed Rayna/Deacon, and even her father. Happy Valentines.