Maddie put her seat belt on, then turned back to Deacon and smiled, as he put the truck in gear and headed out of the parking lot. "I had a really good day," she said. "I got my math test back and I got an A. I don't have too much homework. And I found out I made the soccer team again." She laughed. "But everyone makes the soccer team that tries out, so…"

Deacon raised his eyebrows. "That sounds like a very good day to me. Congratulations on making the soccer team. Even if everyone does make it." He grinned. "I'm sure you're good."

Maddie shook her head and laughed. "No, I'm not. Mom says I got my athletic talent from her."

Deacon laughed too, a twinkle in his eye. "Yeah, as I recall, your mama wasn't much into that kind of thing. She was more into dressing up and stuff like that."

Maddie nodded. "And singing," she added.

Deacon nodded back. "Yeah, and singing. She is very, very good at that. Which you got from her."

Maddie beamed. "And you. And the guitar playing from you."

Deacon laughed. "Had to be, because that surely wasn't from your mama." Maddie laughed with him. Then he turned serious. "So what was this paper you were working on?"

Maddie looked out the front window. Why didn't he say anything? "Oh, you know, Alexander the Great. He's the one that ruled practically the whole known world back in 300-something B.C. You remember him, right? He was so young and so fierce. And he died really young too."

Deacon nodded. "Yeah, yeah, right." Where did she get this, these smarts? She was so smart, she blew him away. This was definitely not something she got from him. It was kind of amazing to him to think that he and Rayna had created this beautiful, smart girl. He looked at her sheepishly and shook his head. "Actually, I don't remember him at all."

Maddie smiled. "That's okay. It's not really all that interesting." She tilted her head to the side and gave him a playful look. "I'd rather write and play music anyway. With you."

Deacon smiled. "Well, thanks. I have fun writing and playing with you too."

They were silent for a few minutes. Maddie looked down at her purse, laying in her lap. He hadn't really said anything when she'd called him 'Dad'. She wondered if it made him uncomfortable. Or maybe he didn't like it. But she had decided to take some control over what was happening to her and around her, so she decided she needed to ask. She looked up and over at Deacon. "Do you mind?" she asked quietly. "I mean, if I call you Dad?"

Deacon took a deep breath. She'd caught him off guard with that and he hadn't been sure what to say. He worked his lip for a moment. Then he glanced over at her. "I'm really honored that you want to. But what about Teddy? Don't you think he'll mind?"

Maddie rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he'll hate it. But you're my dad. My real dad. I don't see why I can't call both of you 'Dad'." She paused. "Unless you don't want me to."

Deacon shook his head. "No, I'm not saying that at all." He smiled at her. "I think that would be great."

She smiled that smile that lit up her whole face. "Thanks. It just, you know, feels right. Now."

He reached out and squeezed her hand. "Yeah, it does." He couldn't stop smiling. He'd never really expected this. Hoped for it, but didn't expect it. He still thought that when Teddy found out, he'd be furious, but Maddie was right. She was his daughter, not Teddy's. Even though he hadn't known about her until now, she'd come from him. He had a warm feeling in his chest and he felt his eyes get a little moist. He rubbed his face, then looked back at her, still smiling. "Now this is a very good day for me too," he said.

"I'm glad," Maddie said, still smiling. Then she looked thoughtful. "You know, I might forget sometimes at first. You know, still call you Deacon. Just because it's new."

Deacon nodded. "Why don't we do this – maybe you can call me 'Dad' when we're together, and when there are other people around, if it's easier to call me Deacon for a while, that's ok."

Maddie nodded. "That sounds good." She scrunched her face up a little. "So I was wondering…." Her voice trailed off.

"Wondering what?"

"Well, maybe I could meet your girlfriend sometime?" She looked at him questioningly. She felt like she needed to meet her. She really wanted to see what they were like together. So she could see if there was any hope of one day having her family together.

"Oh." Deacon swallowed hard. He really hadn't thought about introducing her to Megan yet. It hadn't really come up, plus he had thought he and Maddie really needed their own time to get to know each other. For some reason, it felt awkward for him to be introducing his daughter to a girlfriend. "Um, yeah, sure, we can do that."

Maddie took a deep breath. "Everything is so weird right now," she said quietly. "There's so much to get used to and nothing really feels, you know, normal to me." She looked at Deacon. "You're the only one who's really just been honest with me."

Deacon wasn't sure how to respond at first. After he thought about it for a minute, he said, "I think it just all happened so fast that nobody had time to think about what to do. And then your mama was in the hospital…." He thought about how he'd probably disappointed her at first and he was glad to have gotten this chance with her.

Maddie looked down. "Yeah, it was hard at first. But things are a lot better now." She turned and smiled shyly at him. "I really like spending time with you."

Deacon smiled back. "I feel the same way. It's been good getting to know you better. Differently."

Maddie nodded. Just then, they reached Rayna's house and Deacon turned in the driveway. He parked, but didn't turn off the truck. Maddie picked at her skirt, then looked up at him. She'd been wanting to bring something up to him but had been afraid he would not want to do it. But it was what she felt was a logical next step for them. She really wanted to know more about him and become part of his life, not just part of a couple of afternoons every two weeks. She felt like it was the only way she could influence what was going on in her life. Please don't say no. "I was wondering if, maybe, I could, um, maybe I could stay with you for a couple nights during the week I'm with…my other dad."

Deacon was stunned. She was definitely full of surprises today. "Well, if you want to do that, I would like that, but I think you need to talk to your mama and your, uh, Teddy about that."

Maddie looked serious, with a firm look to her face. "I think it should be my decision. I'm old enough to decide now. And that's what I decide."

Deacon rubbed his face. "I still think we should talk to your mama about it."

Maddie shrugged and gave a nonchalant nod. "Sure. But that's what I want. I mean, I have to spend time with…him and he's not really my dad. So I should be able to spend time with my real dad." She looked at Deacon with a conviction he wondered if she truly felt. "Don't you think so?"

He gave her a slight smile. "Actually, Maddie, I do." He noticed Rayna walking towards them, a question on her face. When she got to the truck, he let the window down. She smiled, her face instantly pleasant.

"I saw y'all just sitting out here. Is something wrong?" she asked.

Deacon raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "No, not at all. Nothing's wrong at all."

Maddie leaned forward and looked at her mom. "I was just telling Deacon, um, Dad, that I want to take a few days of my week when I'm not here and stay with him."

Rayna looked surprised, both at Maddie's request and the fact that she had called Deacon 'Dad.' "Well, that's something we should talk about. I think that your…other…dad might have something to say too."

Maddie frowned. "Mom, I'm fourteen. I can make decisions about that myself."

Rayna looked at Deacon, but his face gave away nothing. They would have to talk about this, but not now. She looked back at Maddie. "Well, look, dinner's almost ready, so let's eat and then you and I can talk some more about this." Maddie sighed with annoyance. Rayna held up her hand. "I'm not saying no, I'm just saying let's talk about it. Okay?"

Maddie shrugged. "I guess." She turned to gather her things and Rayna looked at Deacon and mouthed "we have to talk". Deacon nodded but still didn't give any indication of his feelings. Maddie walked around to Deacon's window. "Thanks for picking me up," she said with a shy smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

He winked at her and smiled. "Absolutely. See you then."

She held her hand up. "Bye, Dad."

"Bye, Maddie." He watched her turn and walk back to Rayna, who had watched their exchange with a thoughtful look on her face. They started to walk towards the house, Rayna's arm around her daughter's shoulders and Maddie's arm around Rayna's waist. Deacon waited until they had gotten to the back door and then he drove off.