Maddie sat on her bed at Deacon's. She ran her hand over the new blue bedspread and smiled. After she'd finished her lesson, Deacon had nervously shown her the newly purchased bedspread in the color she said was her favorite. That, along with other accessories, had been picked out by Scarlett. He looked relieved when she told him they were perfect. He had also proudly showed her the record player he'd found, contrary to Scarlett's contention they weren't made anymore. It made her feel warm inside to know that he'd thought of her and tried so hard to please her.

When Rayna had brought her over, Maddie had begged her to come in. "Can you come in for just a little bit, Mom? I'd really like you to hear the song Deacon and I have been working on." Rayna had looked hesitant. "Please, Mom?" she'd pleaded.

Rayna had smiled. "Of course. I'd love to hear your music," she said, and got out of the car and walked up to the door with Maddie. When Deacon answered the door, he'd look surprised to see Rayna hovering behind their daughter, looking a little unsure. "Maddie invited me," she'd said quickly. "She wanted me to hear your latest song."

Deacon had smiled. "That's great, Ray. I think you'll really be impressed. It's mostly Maddie's song though."

Maddie had been excited for her mom to hear her again. The last time she and Deacon had played for her, when they'd done 'Believing', she had thought she'd seen a spark of connection between the two of them. She'd been hopeful when her mom had asked her dad to help her write a song, that had turned into 'This Time', but it hadn't progressed beyond that. She was going to keep trying though. She and Deacon sat next to each other with their guitars, Rayna sitting across from them, looking on encouragingly. Maddie looked up at her and smiled. "We just finished this one. I told Dad that I really liked 'This Time' and how upbeat it was, so this one is kind of like that."

They started to play and then Maddie began singing. I'm pretty sure we almost broke up last night / I threw my phone across the room at you / I was expecting some dramatic turn away / But you stayed. / This morning I said we should talk about it / 'Cause I read you should never leave a fight unresolved / That's when you came in wearing a football helmet / And said "okay, let's talk. / And I said stay, stay, stay / I've been lovin' you for quite some time, time, time / You think that it's funny when I'm mad, mad, mad / But I think that it's best if we both stay.

Maddie was pleased to see that Rayna look happily surprised. More than anything, she wanted her mom to be proud of her. She so much wanted to follow in Rayna's footsteps and she hoped her mom could see how dedicated she was. When they finished the song, Rayna sat back and clapped enthusiastically with a genuinely gleeful smile on her face. "Maddie, that was wonderful!" she cried. "I really loved it."

Maddie had beamed. "I'm glad you liked it. I was working on something else that was more serious and I got stuck, so I tried this and it worked."

Deacon had smiled at her and then looked over at Rayna. "She's really something, Ray. I think one day she's going to outshine us both."

Rayna gave them a coy look. "Well, I always want to be on top, but you know what? I'd take a backseat for you, sweet girl." Then she gave her a teasingly stern look. "After you graduate, of course."

Maddie had rolled her eyes, but was still smiling anyway. "Someday I'd like to sing with you and Dad," she said shyly.

Rayna had raised her eyebrows and then looked over at Deacon. "You never know," she said quietly. She stood up then. "I need to get going, y'all," she said. "Thank you for playing your song for me, Maddie. That was so good. I'm so proud of you."

Maddie had smiled. Deacon had gotten up and walked her mom out, closing the door and not coming back for a few minutes. She wondered what they'd talked about. She was happy they were talking more. She found herself wondering, not for the first time, how two people who had so obviously loved each other so much moved so far apart. She knew there was a strain between the two of them because of the accident, but she had sensed in both of them, when she asked questions, that something was still there. At least she thought so.

As Rayna drove home, she thought about what had just happened. This was the second time she'd listened to Maddie and Deacon play together and it overwhelmed her as much this time as it had the first. She'd known Maddie was talented as a singer, but her songwriting skills were more than she had anticipated. She remembered giving Maddie the guitar that her mom had given her all those years ago, and telling Maddie to use it to work out her feelings, in the aftermath of her separation from Teddy. She'd had no idea then that Maddie would find out about Deacon being her father and then start to develop this connection with him. Clearly Maddie was Deacon's daughter; her songwriting skills proved that. She, more than anyone, knew that Deacon could make anyone sound better, but she knew this wasn't just Deacon. This was her amazingly talented daughter, who had inherited her talent from both parents. She would fight to keep Maddie away from the music business until she had at least finished high school, but she was afraid that Deacon would be more encouraging. It made her heart ache to see how proud he was of her, though, after she'd kept her from him all these years.

When Deacon had walked her out, he'd told her how grateful he was that she was letting him get to know Maddie better. He had promised to always put her wellbeing first, something he knew Rayna had been concerned about in the beginning. She had acknowledged to him that could see that he was trying and that she felt more comfortable about their relationship. She couldn't help but think about what could have been. She found herself thinking about that more often these days, as her world collided more often with Deacon's, in ways she hadn't expected. In many respects, she still felt that they needed to move on separately. She still worried that Deacon's demons could resurface. What she had told Maddie about her life with Deacon was true – there had been some amazing times, but it had also been the most painful and tumultuous time of her life and she wasn't at all sure she could risk that again, or that she wanted to.

When she got home, she smiled to herself as she heard Luke whistling in her bedroom. She walked in and he was combing his wet hair, a towel loosely wrapped around his waist. She went over and kissed him. "Sorry I'm late, babe. My errands took longer than I thought they would. I'll hurry up and get ready."

"Take your time. I'm the last one on, so we're good." Luke was the top-billed act for a special Thursday night Opry show and she was going with him to cheer him on. She'd told him that she was only there as his supportive girlfriend, not to sing. He'd playfully tried to convince her to do a duet with him, but she'd been firm that it was his night, not hers.

As she showered, she considered the fact that she had not told him what she'd been doing that afternoon. That she had not told him anything about Deacon being Maddie's father. Up to this point, she had not felt that it was something she'd wanted to share outside the immediate circle. She had been displeased that Maddie had told Juliette and, despite her promise to keep her lips sealed, Rayna knew that Juliette could be a loaded gun. She was treading carefully with her now as her newest Highway 65 act because she was aware that if she pissed Juliette off too much, she might leak the secret. Rayna knew she would have to tell Luke about Deacon and Maddie before she went public, but she had no idea how he might react. It made her nervous. As it all did.

After her lesson that day, Deacon and Maddie had talked about what her aspirations were. "You know, I really want to be a musician. To sing and play on stage, like you and Mom," she said. "I just wish Mom was more interested in helping me. She wasn't a whole lot older than me when she started."

Deacon was thoughtful. "That is true. I think it's just that it can be a really hard life. I know that you look at your mom up on stage and think that it's all glamorous and exciting, but she went through a lot of years of playing in dives and not making much money and having to perform almost every night for a lot of people who didn't appreciate her. And even when you do get a record deal, it's no guarantee."

"What do you have to do?"

"First of all, there's a lot of interviews and radio shows you have to be on to promote your record. And lots of times, the DJ's aren't nice, or, if you're a woman, they try to take advantage of you. And they still may not play your record much. Then you still do a lot of honky tonk shows."

Maddie looked at him. "Is that what you're doing now?"

Deacon nodded. "Yeah. Minus the radio shows. But if I play enough, that will come, hopefully. And someone will think my songs are good and start playing them on the radio. That's really the only way to make it big in country music, is to get on the radio. You can have a good career playing clubs and stuff, though, and lots of people do that their whole career. Nothing wrong with that. You're doing it for the love of the music, not for the fame."

Maddie nodded. "And some people mostly write for other people, right?"

"That is true. I don't know if you know Gunnar, that used to write with Scarlett, but he's one of those people. He plays around town, but he's probably going to be a lot better known for the songs he writes."

Maddie smiled. "He wrote 'Ball and Chain', right?"

"Yeah, he did."

"Do you write songs for other people?"

"Not usually. I like to play the stuff I write. But you know I did help your mama write 'This Time' for her new album."

Maddie smiled. "But y'all wrote together for a long time before."

"Yes, we did."

Maddie sat up. "And you've written some songs with Juliette."

Deacon smiled. "Yes, I did that too. So I do write with other people, just not a lot. And I haven't really written songs that other people sing. But a lot of artists that come here to be a star end up doing that." It felt good talking to his daughter about his passion. Their shared passion. "So, there's a lot of things you could do."

Maddie smiled shyly. "I think I'd like to do what you do. Write songs and play them and not worry about being famous."

"You know, Maddie, I think you really could do that. The songs you've brought me so far have been amazing, especially for someone so young. You have great instincts and good lyrical talent. And your melodies are incredible. I think you could really do it all, if you set your mind to it. You could be better than us all." He smiled proudly at her.

Maddie beamed. "Thanks, Dad. That means a lot coming from you." She ran her fingers over the strings of her guitar, then looked back up at Deacon. "Did Mom ever think about giving up?"

Deacon looked thoughtful. "You'd have to ask her to be sure, but I don't think she ever did. She was very determined." He chuckled. "I think some of that was because she was trying to prove to your grandfather that she could do it. But it was a lot of hard work and there definitely were times when she felt like it would never happen. Every time she got disappointed, I'd try to cheer her up. We hardly made any money back then, barely enough to rent a one bedroom apartment and keep the fridge half stocked. But we'd go walk along the bridge over the river and stand and look at downtown Nashville. I would tell her she was going to be the queen of country music one day and all of that would be laid out at her feet. She would laugh, but I think it gave her the courage to keep fighting. And then finally it all worked out."

"How did it happen?"

Deacon smiled as he thought back to that morning. "Bucky came by – he was her manager back then, too – and woke us up." He laughed. "I remember being ticked off, but he was about to bust he was so excited. When your mama finally came out of the bedroom, he waved some papers in her face and told her she was opening for George Strait. She thought he was kidding, but then he put the papers down on the table and it was a real contract to open for George Strait." He leaned back and smiled, thinking about that morning. "Watty was always trying to get people to listen to her and George did and he liked what he heard. And he turned out to be the one who really opened doors for her. George was the number one country artist then and if he liked you, you were gold. Your mama has never forgotten that." He sat up and leaned forward, raising his eyebrows. "Remember that. When someone opens the door for you, and it will happen, never let it take you over. Always be grateful and be ready to help someone else behind you."

Maddie was enchanted by what Deacon was telling her. She wanted that life. She didn't care if she was famous, she just wanted to be able to do what she loved. "Will you help me?" she asked.

Deacon felt like his heart would burst. He didn't want to step on Rayna's toes, but he didn't want to hold Maddie back either. He knew that Rayna wanted to protect Maddie, but the girl was amazingly talented and deserved to be heard. "I'll do whatever I can, Maddie. I promise," he said.

Actually I do have a cool dad. He's the only one who understands me, supports me being a musician. That's what she'd told Talia, when she'd called to tell her about her day. It was like a dream come true. She thought back to when she'd first found out Deacon was her dad. It had been incredibly unsettling and then there had been the accident. Finding out Deacon was an alcoholic and thinking he had caused the accident that nearly killed her mom had made her not want to know him, had been embarrassing. But as time went on, there was a pull she'd felt to get to know him, and now she was glad that she had. Everything seemed to be coming together. Well, almost everything.

Rayna was giggling when Luke helped her into the house. It had been a long time since she'd gotten drunk like this. Even though she'd told him she didn't want to sing that night, he'd pulled her out on stage with him anyway and she had pretended to be reluctant. But being in front of an audience was what she lived for and she always enjoyed singing at the Opry. They'd gone to an after party and she'd let herself go a little, knowing that Luke would get her home safely, that she didn't have to be the responsible one anymore.

She'd felt less inhibited that night and had playfully pulled him back to her bedroom and done an awkward strip tease for him, tripping over her feet and getting tangled in her blouse until he'd helped her out of it, as they both laughed. It had been a really long time since she'd let loose like this and more than once he'd teasingly asked her what she'd done with the real Rayna Jaymes. She had giggled some more, wrapping herself up in the sheets, telling him he couldn't have the covers. He'd looked a little perplexed and then she'd rolled over and fallen asleep.

She wasn't sure if she was awake or dreaming. Everything felt a little fuzzy, slightly out of focus. What she was conscious of, whether it was real or a dream, was the man spooning her from behind. She smiled to herself and pressed her ass firmly against him. She loved when Deacon woke her up in the middle of the night and they had lazy, half-conscious sex. She was ready for him. She moaned softly, waiting for Deacon's hand to slide between her legs.

When she felt a hand cup her ass and then slide down, and she heard the whispered, "mmm, baby" in her ear, she was instantly wide awake. This wasn't Deacon, it was Luke. Her eyes were wide open and her lips formed a silent O as she realized what she'd been thinking. She let her body respond to what Luke was doing to her, but her mind was racing. And when it was over, a tear slid down her face as she acknowledged to herself that she did miss him. Still.

When Rayna got up the next morning, Luke was making pancakes for her. He'd even made his own buttermilk, he proudly told her. She smiled a little and told him that she really wasn't that hungry. Coffee was what she needed. She remembered that she had thought she was making love with Deacon the night before and she could hardly look at Luke now.

Seeing him in the kitchen like that had reminded her of Deacon. Not Teddy, who'd also made breakfast for her, but Deacon. She turned away. All of Maddie's questions were stirring up memories and old emotions. She knew that. But she'd started to miss him. And she didn't want to.

She really wanted this relationship with Luke. He was someone who truly was her equal, who had the same power she did. Someone she never had to worry about. Someone she'd never have to pull out of a motel or find passed out in a bar, someone she'd never have to sit in an ER waiting room for, wondering if he was dead or alive.

This was stable. This was solid. It was what she'd told Maddie she'd been looking for when she'd married Teddy. And look how that turned out.

She told herself this was different. Luke understood her in a way Teddy never had and never wanted to. And he was lovely in bed. He did all the right things and she enjoyed being with him. But she was finding herself missing the primal intimacy she'd had with Deacon. While Luke understood her, he didn't know her the way Deacon did. But in the cold light of day, she focused on getting back her resolve.

Stop, she told herself. That's over. I can't go back there. There's been too much damage.

When Maddie got home to Deacon's after school on Friday, she was happy spring break was coming up and she had a week off from school. "I'm just tired of studying," she told Deacon, as she sat at the kitchen counter and he got her a root beer from the fridge. "It just gets in the way of doing what I really want to do. Music."

Deacon gave her a stern look. "School is important, Maddie. I know all the songwriting and playing is fun, but you need to stay focused on school."

Maddie sighed exaggeratedly. "My other dad thinks it's just a hobby, but it's not. Music is my life!"

Deacon wondered if there was something he could do to help her put it all into perspective. If music was where her passion was, he wanted to support it, but she was still pretty young and needed a little more time. He looked at her thoughtfully. "I was thinking maybe you and me could go to this place down in Columbia called 'Puckett's Grocery' tomorrow night. It's kind of a hole-in-the-wall place, a Southern food joint, but there's always someone playing there. Some of those folks that are just starting out, like I told you about. Would you like to do that?"

Maddie's face lit up. "I would love that!" she cried excitedly. "Is it someplace you and Mom played?"

He shook his head. "Not your mom and me, but I've played there a time or two. Back when I first got to Nashville, so a really long time ago." He smiled. "Maybe Scarlett can go with us. She'll be leaving for the tour Sunday, so it'll give us some time with her."

Maddie smiled. "That would be great." She took a sip of her root beer. "Did you know that Mom is taking Daphne and me out to Seattle to see the first show? Juliette is sending her plane back and everything."

Deacon grinned. "Ah, so you're going in style then. That's a nice plane."

"Yeah. Since it's spring break, we can go. We're flying out on Monday and we'll see the show that night. I'm so excited to see Scarlett perform." She smiled playfully. "And Juliette, of course."

Friday night was pizza night, Maddie and Deacon decided. It would be their ritual. Since Deacon had picked out the movie the last time, this time it was Maddie's turn. She picked 'Don't Say a Word', which she told Deacon was one of her favorite scary movies. When it was over, he didn't think it was very scary, but he understood why she liked it. They talked for a while about their favorite movies and then she turned the conversation back to more personal things.

"When did you see me for the first time?" she asked, looking at him carefully.

Deacon took a deep breath. It had been so long ago, when his sobriety was still so new and so fragile, and when seeing Rayna with her new baby had been so painful and heartbreaking. "Well, I guess you were maybe six months old. Watty had called me and when I got there your mama was there. With you." He looked at Maddie and smiled. "You were sound asleep in a little car seat thing. You were a pretty little thing, even then." He reached out and squeezed her hand and she smiled. "Your mama wanted to ask me to come back and play in her band. So I did."

"What was it like all those years? Playing in her band?"

"Not always easy, I have to be honest. I still had a lot of feelings about your mama. Not all of them were good. I was still really hurt that she'd married your dad. But we worked through it and she was my best friend."

Maddie smiled shyly. "What was I like back then?"

Deacon laughed. "You were a really good baby, I remember. You didn't cry much, which I think your mama was thankful for. She really didn't want anyone to be sorry she brought you along, but she couldn't bear to be away from you then." He looked at Maddie closely. "She always loved you so much, Maddie. You were the most important person in her life. Always."

Maddie looked down and then back up at Deacon. "What was I like when I got older?"

"You were always curious. And quiet." Deacon grinned. "And you always loved music. You tried to play my guitars almost from the time you could stand up. And you were always smart as a whip."

"And Mom never minded me spending time with you?"

Deacon shook his head. "I guess now, when I think about it, I realize she wanted us to have a relationship. And even though I never really thought about being a dad or thought I was good with kids, you were always easy to be with." He looked at her a little wistfully. "I always loved you, Maddie."

Maddie nodded. "I know." She sighed. "Are you still mad at Mom?"

He thought about what to say. This was kind of the crux of it all. He and Rayna had carefully forged a relationship that was mostly about being parents to Maddie. They still had small moments where old memories surged forward, but they had both carefully, and quickly, pushed them down. He thought that Rayna was trying to keep him at arms' length, even while she made small overtures in his direction. He couldn't help but think of what he'd missed. He knew Rayna wanted him to "protect" Maddie, whatever that meant exactly, but he wanted to be honest with her. They had so much to catch up on and he didn't want to play games with her. And so he nodded hesitantly. "Yeah," he said. "Not like I was when I first found out, but I'm still mad that I didn't know about you. And that we lost all that time together. But, after the accident, I understood why she did what she did. I don't like it and it still hurts when I think about it. But I know she didn't mean to hurt me. Or you. She thought she was doing the right thing for you."

Maddie thought about that for a moment. "I still get mad about it. It makes me mad that we spent all that time together and I never knew you were my father." She sighed. "It's hard for me to understand why she thought it was the right thing to do. How she could have gone all those years pretending."

Deacon's heart broke for his daughter. He felt a lot of what she was feeling, but she didn't have the benefit of being a grown up and understanding why people made hard choices sometimes. "I don't think it was easy for her, Maddie. I think she was doing the best she could. I wish she'd found a way to tell us before, but she didn't, and we just have to go on from here."

Maddie's eyes flashed with anger. "But it's still not right," she declared.

"No, it's not. It hurt you and it hurt me. But it hurt her too. We have to give her a chance to make it right, Maddie. I'm not saying it will be easy, because it's not, but we need to try." The sadness in her eyes cut through him and suddenly she threw herself at him, hugging him hard. He grabbed her up and held her tightly, trying to help them both move forward.

When Scarlett got home from the studio, she found her uncle slumped down on the couch, looking wrung out. She sat down across from him. "Deacon, what's wrong?" she asked quietly.

Deacon rubbed his face and turned towards her, his eyes full of pain and anguish. "Maddie asked me tonight if I was still mad at Rayna," he said.

Scarlett raised her eyebrows. "What did you say to her?" she asked quietly.

He choked out a bitter laugh. "I told her I was. And then I told her that Rayna had done the best she could. That we needed to let her try to make things right." He shook his head and then he looked at his niece with steely determination. "But I'm mad as hell, Scar."

Scarlett took a deep breath. "I thought things were better between y'all."

Deacon shrugged. "Sort of. In that we talk now. About Maddie. But we still haven't talked about what really happened." He sat up and buried his face in his hands. "At first, I thought I could get through it. But the more time I spend with Maddie, the more I realize how much I missed with her. And it pisses me off."

Scarlett sighed. "You might not want to hear this, but what's done is done. I know you're hurt, and Maddie's hurt, but it's not like you can change what's already happened."

"No, we can't." Deacon gave her a bitter smile. "But she could have told me. I was sober for all those years. And I was around Maddie all that time. And never knew she was my daughter." He made a growling noise and stood up, clenching his fists. "I gotta get out of here," he said.

Scarlett felt a shiver of fear run up her spine. "Wh…where are you going?" she asked, her voice small.

"Don't worry," his voice sounding both defiant and bitter. "I'm going to a meeting." He walked over to the door, grabbed his keys, and left.

When he came home later that night, Scarlett was in her room, still awake. She knew an alcoholic could find a meeting almost any time of day or night, but she still worried. She listened carefully as he came in the house and walked into his bedroom. His footsteps were steady, nothing sounded out of the ordinary. She let out the breath she was holding and tried to fall asleep.

Two notes: The song Maddie sings is "Stay, Stay, Stay" by Taylor Swift. And yes, I added another Luke moment, but only to advance the story. I'm sorry! I hate it too!