Thanks for all the comments! I seriously can't wait to Wed.'s show!

Rayna's Dressing Room

Silence filled the air as Rayna turned a light shade of pink. She wanted to be mad and yell at him for eavesdropping but she couldn't seem to say anything or do anything. She just looked at him and he just stared back at her.

When he spoke he said one syllable, the name he always called her, "Ray."

She felt her eyes fill with tears as she dropped to the couch in the middle of the room. A few seconds later, Deacon went to sit on the coffee table, took her hands in his and asked what was going on. When she didn't respond, he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.

She shook her head gently trying to convey she couldn't talk about it right now. She tried to turn her head away but Deacon wouldn't let her. He wiped that was rolling down her cheek as his finger massaged her cheek. Her voice cracked when she asked how they got here.

"Got where? In a dressing room after a concert? Darlin' we've been here a lot over the years."

"You know what I mean."

Deacon tried to lighten the mood, "No I don't. But if it has anything to do with fantasizing about me, I'd be interested in hearing the details."

Instead of making her laugh, it made Rayna cry harder. Deacon moved from the table to the seat beside her on the couch. He let her cry for a few minutes, her head tucked in shoulder. He ran his hand down the spine of her back, making soothing circles as he let her cry.

He whispered a few things to her, none of which she acknowledged. Finally he told her he went to an AA meeting a few blocks from the hotel. "I saw this Chinese place, one of those late night buffet places about two blocks from the hotel." She muttered something and he kissed the top of her head. "You know it could be your birthday dinner."

She extracted herself from Deacon and wiped her face. "I hate my birthday."

He let out a relieved laugh. "You don't hate your birthday, you just hate the date. Remember how you wouldn't let me acknowledge it on the day. Instead we had to wait a few days before you'd even let me take you out or give you your present."

She nodded and wiped her nose with her sleeve. "I just hate I have to share my birthday with Daddy. He would always use my party to wheel and deal or make it about him."

Deacon, "So do we have a date?"

Rayna knew she sounded like a child when she asked, "do they have frozen yogurt from the machine thing too?"

Hong Kong Restaurant

2 hours later

Rayna laughed hysterically and clapped as the servers finished Happy Birthday. She blew out the candles stuck in the sushi on her plate. Deacon had bought the candles from the drug store across street and a three dollar pink crown with the words "Birthday Princess" scrolled on the front. She'd worn it proudly since he placed it on her head in the middle of the street.

They were only the people in the restaurant, save a few drunken college students in the front room.

"Thank you," she said seriously as he dug into rice.

"For what?"

"Everything….My life is a mess right now and in the last few hours, you've made me actually not miserable."

Deacon smiled and reached his hand out and clasped her on top of the table. "You gonna tell me what's going on?"

She shrugged, taking a sip of diet coke before asking where he wanted to start. He let his smile spread across his face. "So was I any good in these fantasies?"

Rayna chocked on her drink, laughing and turning red. "It was pretty realistic."

Deacon's eyes lit up. "Hmmm. That good, huh?"

She balled up her paper napkin and threw it at him. He picked up his napkin and returned the favor. They both laughed as the continued throwing the papers back and forth.

The Penthouse Hallway

Rayna yawned as Deacon walked her to her room. She slipped out of Deacon's jacket and gave it back to him. "Thank you for tonight."

Deacon sheepishly smiled, admitting he'd enjoyed it too.

"But I never actually told you the truth about everything's that been happening."

"Didn't want to push."

Rayna pressed her lips together, getting ready to say something when the elevator dinged loudly. The pair watched as Juliette walked off the elevator and rolled her eyes. "Oh look who it is. The greatest guitar player in Nashville and the one who holds him back." Deacon rolled his eyes while Rayna just put her hands in her pocket.

Juliette asked where they'd been, "afterall you and I need to go over the set changes I talked to you about on the plane."

Rayna quickly excused herself into her room with a goodnight to both of them. Deacon sighed heavily before turning to Juliette and asking "what the hell that was?"

Juliette held up a hand, "That was saving you. You can thank me later."