Rayna wakes from a deep and sated sleep to find Deacon putting a tray on the nightstand with breakfast and coffee.

"Oh, so this wasn't a dream," she says with a sleepy smile.

"Mornin," he sits on the edge of the bed next to her. "How you feelin?"

"Like I never want to see another glass of wine again," she admits, putting a hand to her forehead.

"Not surprised."

She leans up on her elbows and presses a kiss to his mouth. "Thank you for taking such good care of me."

"This is the way it should be," Deacon says somberly. "Me takin care of you. Always."

A bit of sadness shows in her eyes, worry over their conversation at the bridge yesterday, over the realization of what it means. He knows it's probably reflected in his own eyes, and tries his damnest not to let it show. But at least she knows now, and there's no secrets between them.

"Don't look like that," he whispers. "Don't think about any of it right now, okay? Just one day at a time."

"Okay," she forces a tiny smile, and pulls him in closer.

"You got anywhere to be today?" He murmurs between kisses.

"Picking up the girls later. But not for hours," she says breathlessly as they roll back onto the bed together.

"Good," he says, with a satisfied smile. "Me neither."

###########################################

"You know, we really should get moving," Rayna says with a contented sigh quite awhile later when they are still in her bed, all wrapped up in her mountains of blankets and tangled in each other.

"We should…."

"You first."

Neither one of them moves, though.

It is the most amazing thing, she thinks, secretly marveling. She has almost forgotten how love can do that to you, make you forget everything else. Time just slips away, and you can care less about anything except that warm fuzzy feeling of melting into each other.

She watches him, intently, tracing the lines of his handsome face with her thumb.

"Whatcha thinkin?"

"I think you should come and stay with us," she says softly.

His eyes are hesitant.

"I know what you're gonna say," she whispers. "And this has nothing to do with me taking care of you. It's completely selfish reasons, like….I want to spend every minute of every day with you," her voice catches a little. "And the girls. I want the girls to get to spend time with you."

"I'll think about it," he says quietly, leaning forward to kiss her again.

"Wouldn't it be nice to wake up like this every morning?"

Yeah, he thinks. It sure as hell would. For the rest of their lives.

########################################

After a good-bye that lingers far too long, Deacon leaves Rayna and drives across town to the mayor's house to pick up Maddie for a few hours as previously arranged.

Maddie is watching for him, comes out of the house immediately and hops into the front seat of his truck, but she's more quiet than usual as they drive.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah. It's good."

"So you still want to go over to that holiday festival you mentioned?"

Maddie shakes her head slowly. "Can we just hang out at your house for the afternoon? Just practice, maybe? Or watch some tv?"

"Sure," he said, his eyebrows furrowing. "If that's what you want to do?"

"Yeah. I'm just…not much in the mood for crowds."

"You sure you're okay?"

"Sure," she says, but it clearly is not.

"If something is bothering you, you know you can tell me. I'm not much good at guessing like your mom is," he adds as he turns the opposite direction back towards his own house.

He's not too good at all this yet, figuring out teenage mood swings and all, but he's been trying like hell.

"Well I've just been thinking, you know….with my mom not getting married to Luke and all…"

Maddie looks like she's trying to find the right words. "Are you and Mom gonna be….together now?"

Well that was the question he was least prepared for.

He can see she's waiting for him to answer, and as hard as she tries to hide it, there's hope in Maddie's eyes that he's going to say yes and everything will be fine.

"Uh…well, what makes you ask that?" he asks carefully.

"I don't know," she shrugs and stares out the window. "I guess I just…still wish we were a family. When we were at the cabin and all together….it was really nice."

It makes his heart hurt. "It was, huh?"

"Yeah,"…. she sighs heavily.

"Maddie," he says. "We are a family. Even if it don't look like everyone else's. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Okay?"

"Okay." She seems a little more relaxed after that.

"Tell you what," he says, reaching over to tug the braid in her hair playfully. "Your mom said she and Daphne were going ice skating this afternoon. Maybe we can catch up with them. You wanna do that instead?"

Maddie looks doubtful. "Do you know how to skate?"

"I think I can manage," he fibs, knowing he's probably going to make a complete idiot of himself. He'd do anything to keep that smile on her face, though, for as long as he can.

"Sure," she says. "That would be fun."

"Good," he says, pleased. "Let's go back to my house for a bit then, and round up some skates. I think Scarlett's got some in the garage that'll fit you."

He shoots Rayna a message and they make plans to meet at the ice rink downtown in a few hours.

Maddie seems happier now, chattering on and on about an open mic she is planning on playing next week, her friends, school…. Thank god, Deacon thinks to himself not for the first time, that she's not one of those teenage girls who spends all her time hanging out at the mall and is not too cool to hang out with her dad. Not yet, at least.

He smiles, listening to her complain about her mom trying to keep her "a little girl", even though her fifteenth birthday is coming up in a few months.

"Aw, give her a little slack," he says, grinning. "It's hard for mamas, watching their babies grow up. Dads too."

"Right." Maddie grins too, and it cuts into him a little, thinking about not being there. He hadn't been there for the first 13 years, and now, what if this was all they had? This little slice of time in the middle to cram in a lifetime full of memories. It's so unbalanced and so unfair.

She'll always be his little girl.

"Can I tell you something?" Deacon says before they get out of the truck at the outdoor ice rink. He can see Daphne and Rayna waiting, Daphne clinging excitedly to her mom's hand and jumping up and down waving a mittened hand.

"What?"

"That question you asked me before….We're tryin' real hard to figure out how to be. Is that enough of an answer for now?"

"Yeah," Maddie says, looking over to where her mom and sister are waiting. He can see a little smile on the edges of her mouth. "That's enough."

#######################################

"I can't believe Maddie convinced you to do this," Rayna says, sitting on the bench next to him and watching him lace up the ancient hockey skates he'd found in his garage. "I didn't even know you knew how to skate."

"I don't," he confesses, tying off the other skate. "Don't tell her. I just didn't want her to be disappointed."

In the middle of the ice in front of them, the girls are already expertly turning circles and swinging each other around by the arms playing "crack the whip" with a few friends and laughing.

"Well I don't either," Rayna says, double checking her laces and wobbling as she gets to her feet. "I never was exactly the most athletic person."

"We all know that," he smirks.

She reaches over and smacks him on the knee. "You watch it, mister. If I fall, I'm taking you down with me."

They make it around the rink one whole time before ending up as a heap on the ice, which has the girls doubled over in laughter.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this," Rayna says confidently an hour later as she passes him taking a break on the bench.

Deacon hates to tell her she isn't getting the hang of it at all, she's just being held up by the girls, but he gives her a thumbs up and snaps another picture with his phone of the three of them.

"Come on," Maddie holds out her hand to him. "One more round with us?"

"Think I'm hanging up my skates, sweetheart," he says shaking his head with a smile. "How bout some hot chocolate?"

"Yes!" Daphne cheers.

"You keep dragging your mama in a few more circles," he says, laughing. "I'll get it."

"Hey!" Rayna protests. "I'm doin' just fine."

The girls look at each other, and roll their eyes.

He's standing in line to get the girls the hot chocolate they'd requested, when the person in front of him with two little girls turns around to leave, and it's Megan.

She is clearly surprised to see him as well, considering the last time they'd seen each other it hadn't been under very good circumstances.

"Uh…hey. How are you?"

"I'm good," he says, forcing a smile. "Real good." Never mind mentioning that whole terminal illness part.

"Funny running into you here. I brought my nieces," she gestured to the two small girls in front of her, and handing them their cups.

"Yeah, we brought the girls…" he points to Maddie and Daphne still circling the ice.

"I saw you were on tour with Luke Wheeler. Congrats."

"He was a real pain in the ass, to be honest," Deacon says, not mincing words. "But it's good. Things are…good."

Megan smiles. "Good. That's good."

He didn't think this could be any more awkward if they tried as he places his order with the girl in the booth and waits, and then Rayna appears at his elbow, skates removed and safely back on booted feet.

Her expression is clearly one of surprise also. "Oh hey," she says politely when she sees Megan standing next to him. "Nice to see you again."

"You too."

Deacon hands her the steaming cups, and she kisses his cheek. "I'll take this to the girls," and excuses herself.

Megan watches her go, a slightly amused expression on her face.

"So you two are together, huh?"

"Uh…yeah," Deacon says casually. "Workin on it, I guess you could say."

"Not surprised," she says. "I'm happy for you, Deacon. I always knew."

He relaxes a little, and he can see that she means it. "Yeah, well...I better get back over there."

"Good to see you."

"You too."

###############################

"Well that was awkward." Rayna couldn't help but comment when he slipped onto the bench next to her where she watched the girls and gestured for them to come in.

"Just an old friend, Ray."

"Old girlfriend. Who slept with my ex-husband," she reminds dryly.

He winces. "I was tryin not to think about that part."

Rayna gets real quiet for a second. "Can I ask you something?"

He raises his eyebrows and looks at her. It makes him realize how much they still have not discussed, how much there is to talk about. And who knows how much time.

"Did you love her?"

He'd thought about that way too much in those first few weeks, after him and Megan's relationship had ended in such a disastrous way. "I cared about her," he says. "I was grateful to her for being there for me. I guess I thought I did but….it was never like this. You know?"

"Yeah," she says, leaning over to kiss him sweetly. "I know."

"I could ask you the same question."

About Luke, she knows he is asking.

"I guess I could give you the same answer," she says slowly. "I thought I did, but….I think I just loved everything I thought he meant…I thought I was looking for something, and it turns out I had it all along. You know?"

"Yeah," he says with a little smile, reaching over to squeeze her hand. "I know."

The girls approach then, their cheeks and noses red, both of them laughing.

Rayna smiles, handing over the steaming cups. "Drink up," she says. "And we should get going."

"I'm starving," Daphne declares. "Can we get pizza?"

"You're always hungry," Maddie says, shaking her head.

"Well I'm hungry too," Deacon adds. "I vote for pizza. Delivery."

"Yes!" Daphne puts her fist in the air.

"Pizza it is," Rayna says as the girls walk ahead of them. She looks over at Deacon, the way he watches them, and she cherishes the sweetness of this entire day they've had together. This is the way it should be, she thinks. Always. This is what it's like to be a family.

He doesn't know it, but she's having that blood test in a few days, to see if she's a match to be a donor. She'd scheduled it immediately after talking to Scarlett yesterday. Scarlett's already had hers, although the results haven't come back yet. She knows Deacon will be pissed as all get-out if he finds out either one of them was tested, but that's too bad. If she has her way, she'll have every person in this whole damn town tested until they get a match.

Watching him with the girls today, it's just reinforced what she already knows.

She wants to spend the rest of her life with this man.

And she'll do whatever necessary to make sure that's a good long many years yet.

"Meet you at home?" she says to him quietly.

He kinda likes the sound of that.

"Yeah," he says. "Meet you at home."

###############################

Over takeout pizza boxes on the living room coffee table, and a few movies on the tv, Rayna watches him. He looks tired, though trying to act for the sake of the girls that he's fine.

She thinks of his words yesterday. I'm not fine, Rayna.

It hits her, like a cold fist to the heart, thinking about how worn out he'd looked at the cabin already. He isn't fine. This is really happening, and it's happening fast.

"Hey," she says as soon as the girls hug him goodnight and head up to bed. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he says, lifting his arm for her to sit down next to him.

Rayna grimaces as she settles against his shoulder and leans into him. That skating adventure had taken a lot out of her too. "Not gonna lie," she says. "I'm gonna have bruises tomorrow where there should not be bruises from all that fallin' down."

"Me too. It was fun though," he says with a tired smile, leaning his head back against the couch. "Think maybe I can just crash on the couch here tonight? I don't want to give the girls the wrong idea, but I'm beat to be driving, and I kinda got a headache."

"Of course," she says, concerned. "I told you, Deacon. I want you here. Every night and every morning."

He gives her a little smile, and his eyes close. "Don't tempt me, Ray."

The next morning, when she wakes up early to make coffee, she walks into the living room and he's asleep on the sofa, still with his boots on, much in the same position she left him when she reluctantly went upstairs to sleep alone.

"Good morning," she says softly, leaning over to kiss him.

His eyes drift open, but barely. "Hey," he says, his throat dry.

She frowns, touching his face in alarm. "You're really hot, are you feeling okay?"

"Not really," Deacon admits, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Something's wrong. Think you might need to take me to the hospital, Ray."

He looks pale, his face clammy.

Panic grips her. "I'm calling 911."

"No don't," he says, reaching for her hand weakly. "Don't scare the girls. Just drive me in, okay?"

"Deacon…."

"Please, Ray."

"Okay," she says, trying not to show how scared to death she is. "Will you be okay for a few minutes? I just need to throw on some clothes and grab my purse."

"The girls…."

"The girls are still asleep," she says softly. "Just lay here, okay? And I'll be back in a few."

He closes his eyes and doesn't say anything else.

Not knowing what else to do, Rayna calls her sister. She hadn't talked to Tandy since she'd asked her to leave after their argument last night. But now, she needs her.

She bites her lip, dialing.

"Listen," she says quickly. "I need to take Deacon to the hospital. There's something…well, I'm not sure what's wrong, but he's burning up with fever. Can you come stay with the girls? They're still asleep. I don't want to have them wake up and no one is here."

No hesitation, no questions.

"I'll be right over," Tandy says, and true to her word, she's walking in the front door in ten minutes.

Rayna can hardly look at her, but it needs to be said.

"I'm sorry," she says as they stand outside her car after struggling to help Deacon get in the front seat. "I was…upset, and scared, and…."

"Forget it," Tandy says firmly, reaching out and hugging her tight. "Just get going, okay? And let me know how he is. I'll take care of the girls."

"Thank you," she says gratefully.

######################################

They admit Deacon through the E.R. and run a bunch of tests before determining he's just got a nasty virus, made worse by his weakened immune system. Dehydration isn't helping either, and he gets a lecture from the doctor when she finds out he's lost 10 lbs in the last couple weeks.

He doesn't want to say it in front of Rayna, but the pain in his side makes eating anything pretty much impossible some days, and even eating pizza with the girls tonight had ended up with him quietly throwing up in the bathroom an hour later.

They spend all day in the hospital before deciding to admit him overnight, and medication they put in his veins has him looking and feeling better by the end of the day, and sleeping restfully.

Rayna sits next to his bed, and holds his hand and tries not to cry, and silently prays to god that this isn't what their life is going to turn into. She isn't ready to lose him like this yet, not when she just got him back.

She's done this before. Sat by his bed and held his hand while they pumped booze and pills out of his stomach. But this is different.

This isn't a choice. No matter what he says, she refuses to believe that this is some kind of punishment for his younger years. It's nothing but bad luck and awful circumstances, and she swears if God lets her keep him, she will do whatever she can to help him fight this.

The doctor comes later that night to read his charts, and then she calls Rayna out in the hallway.

"That test you wanted to do?" she says. "We could do it right now if you'd like. It's a five minute blood panel."

"Really?" Rayna looks back at Deacon through the open door. Asleep peacefully.

"Yes," the doctor nods. "Just go right down to the lab in 135 and they'll do it."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"I won't mince words with you," Dr. Abbott says with a serious expression. "We need to find him a match. Soon. He's not going to get any better. You understand that, right?"

She swallows hard. Amazing how in 48 hours your entire world could be turned upside down. "Yes," she said quietly. "I understand."

"Good," Dr. Abbott nods, satisfied. "Now let me walk you down to the lab."

True to her word, the test takes a mere five minutes, and Rayna is back in his room, next to his bed holding his hand before he ever wakes.

####################################

Tandy

She doesn't know what to tell the girls, and they are clearly surprised Saturday morning to wake up and find Mom and Deacon replaced by Aunt Tandy.

"They just went off to do something today," Tandy says carefully as she pours bowls of cereal. "So I told your mom I'd take you back over to your dad's house for her. That okay?"

Daphne's eyes widen excitedly. "They're on a date, aren't they?"

Maddie nudges her. "Don't be dumb. Where would they go on a date at 10 am?"

But she wonders too.

"Maybe it's a breakfast date," Daphne argues.

"Now don't you worry about it," Tandy says cheerfully. "Just eat your cereal."

She waits until the girls have retreated to their rooms to get dressed before calling Rayna for an update.

Rayna runs over the details of what she knows, and then she says without hesitation. "I am having that test, Tandy. On Monday, if I can't get it done sooner."

Tandy sighs. "I supposed you're not going to tell him."

"Not until I know if I'm a match or not. No use starting an argument if there's no need."

"So anyone can be a potential match?" Tandy asks carefully.

"Yes," Rayna says, clearly distracted. "It's mostly about blood type, I think. I'm sorry, Tandy. I have to go back in. I'll keep you updated."

The test, Tandy knows, was to check if Rayna would be a good candidate for being a living donor. Scarlett had told her she'd been tested as well, but her mother Beverly was out of the question, with all the psychiatric meds she was on.

Tandy knows there is no way in hell if Rayna is a match, Deacon would ever let her risk her own health by doing it anyway, and her heart hurts for her sister, for him, for the girls. She wishes there was some way to do something to help.

Anyone can be a match, Rayna's words echo in her mind.

With shaky hands, she glances at the stairs to make sure the girls are not within hearing distance, and then she dials Scarlett's number.