Thank you all for your comments. I was going to post it last night but we've had a influx of new chapters (YAY!) Thanks for the continued comments and reviews!

Chapter 16

Day 15

Rayna smiled to herself as she picked up the phone with a "hey."

"Hi."

She sighed, relaxing at his voice. She could sense he felt the same way. "You have no idea how much I have missed you."

"I think I have some idea," he grinned.

The two caught up quickly. He told her about Dr Peter and the guys he'd gotten close to over the first two weeks. She told him about the progress her album was making and how amazing Scarlett and Gunner sounded on their first tracks. Well before either wanted to hang up, Deacon shared that his 20 minutes was up. Rayna wanted to say she missed him but instead she told him she missed him again. He smiled into the phone. "I love you and I miss you too."

Rayna felt her eyes fill with tears.

Day 16

Deacon admitted he didn't know the answers to Dr. Peter's questions. He didn't know exactly when Rayna decided to lie about Teddy being Maddie's father. He didn't know whose idea it was or exactly what the timeline of events was.

"and that doesn't bother you?"

Deacon shrugged, "a lot of things bother me about it. But that is why I'm here."

Day 17

Rayna smiled politely as she ignored the cameras being thrown in her face. They were asking questions about Deacon's absence from the tour as well as some new interview Matt Lawson had given.

God. Is this ever going to end?

Day 18

Deacon left small group feeling frustrated. Rayna admitted the night before that several tabloids were reporting that Juliette fired him or that he'd gone on another bender.

He could hear the strain and aggravation in Ray's voice. Is it selfish that I'm in here while everyone else is covering for me?

Day 19

Backstage

Juliette shook her head in frustration and asked Rayna what she should do. Rayna gave the blonde an odd look. "You are asking me for advice?"

Juliette shrugged. Her voice horse with worry and stress, "I'm desperate."

Rayna smiled and sighed. "What exactly did Edgehill say about the songs?"

"Well for starters they gave me a condescending speech about how it is exciting that I'm trying to spread my wings and try new things but sometimes baby birds weren't ready to fly yet. Then they gave me a demo for a song that is exactly what I was trying to get away from. It is an awful song."

"Well for starters, don't record that song. Trust me, you record it and it will be on your album with or without your permission. You need that song as a bargaining chip. Like if they let you pick the rest of them, you'll agree it can be your third single. Secondly, you need to figure out which battles you are willing to concede."

"What do you mean?"

Rayna smiled, "How about after the concert, you come to my room and we'll order room service?"

Day 20

Deacon smiled at Scarlett's postcard. It was quick and sweet.

Day 21

Rayna apologized to Bucky for snapping at him. "I'm just in a mood."

"You've been under a lot of stress lately. But we need to make some decisions about publicity for the next album. This tour is only eight more shows."

Day 22

Deacon smiled into the phone, enjoying listening to Rayna ranting.

"Are you actually defending Juliette to Marshall Evans?"

"Well you know me, I never mind a fight. And Marshall Evans is an idiot. Deacon, I swear he told me that 'Boys and Buses' was actually one of the most innovative songs on country radio in the last few years."

Deacon laughed, "Well you know to be fair before I heard the song, I didn't know that boys and buses had that much in common but ever since I heard the song I keep comparing 'em."

"You think you're being cute," laughed Rayna.

Deacon's voice got lower. "I know I'm being cute."

Day 23

Deacon strummed his fingers against the chair, feeling anxious. Dr. Peter was wrong. Rayna wasn't an addiction. It was something he'd heard other people say. It was something Rayna worried about herself. But she wasn't. She had been the best thing that ever happened to him. Why couldn't people just understand that.

Day 24

"I'm horny," she confessed into the phone.

Deacon spit out the water he just took a sip of water and asked Rayna to repeat what she said.

"We were having sex and now I'm not having sex. And now Juliette is obsessed with these lists and quizzes in the magazines and she keeps reading them out loud and it just makes me think about it."

"Wait? What? What did…."

Rayna interrupted that Tandy was calling her and said she had to go because it was probably about the girls. "I gotta go. I love you and call me tomorrow."

Deacon made a sound of frustration before he heard a dial tone.

Day 25

"I talked to Teddy and he is very unhappy about it but he has relented to letting you and Maddie spend some time together. He still is adamant that Maddie not know the truth for now."

Deacon admitted he was nervous but Rayna insisted he shouldn't be. "She knows you. She loves you already."

Day 26

"So what are your expectations when you go back on the road?" asked Dr. Peter.

"My expectations?"

"What are you expecting your relationship to entail with Rayna? Are you two planning on resuming your sexual relationship? Will you two have a monogamous relationship? Do you plan on continuing working with Juliette exclusively or are you going to go back to being Rayna's band leader. And what about where you will stand with both Maddie and Rayna's other child?"

Deacon paused. He admitted he wanted to resume his relationship with Rayna but he didn't know the rest of it.

The psychiatrist paused for a moment and gave Deacon a concerned look. "Deacon. You've been here for almost four weeks and I don't think you are any closer to figuring out how you want to deal with the betrayal than when you've found out about."

Day 27

Rayna eyed the black lace of the bra and smirked. She ran the material through her fingers, knowing it was the right style. Sexy but not trying to hard. It was the perfect lingerie for tomorrow night. She smiled thinking about seeing Deacon again. It will be tough but I know once he's back here it will be alright.

Day 28

Deacon jumped in the passenger seat and thanked Coleman for picking him up. Coleman confirmed Deacon's flight boarded at 2:30 from the airport in Dayton. The two caught up on the happenings in Nashville. None of it sounded good for Teddy. Which means none of it was good for the girls or for Rayna.

"I've made a decision about me and Ray."

Coleman let out a knowing smile, "and?"

Deacon stopped, taking a moment to look out the window at the landscape. "I want to be with her. I want to try and make it work." Coleman nodded, "alright then. Let's go."

Toronto

Rayna's Penthouse

Deacon had called fifty minutes ago from the cab. Even with the worst traffic, he should have been here by now. She threw open the door a few seconds after she heard the knock.

Rayna knew it would be better to show restraint but without thinking her arms were wrapped around his neck and her body was pressed tightly against him.

"Easy, easy," Deacon laughed as he was forced to put his bag on the ground to accommodate Rayna.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, realizing she wasn't letting. He whispered that she smelled good.

She returned the compliment with "you feel good." She groaned and pulled away but delighted in the fact that his hands stayed on her hips.

"We have to leave for the coliseum in like ten minutes."

Deacon nodded, "Yeah and then maybe afterwards we can talk?"

Rayna nodded, "Yes definitely."

Deacon grinned and Rayna smiled at him brightly.

6 Hours Later

Rayna came back from her bedroom, trying to hide how jumpy she was. They'd gotten back a few minutes ago but her dress was not the most comfortable thing to have a conversation in. Now she was in her cotton shirt and jeans. She had run a brush through her hair but hadn't bothered reapplying her makeup.

She plopped down on the couch beside Deacon. She happily said, "Okay. Let's talk."

Deacon looked into her eyes for a moment and smiled. "You are so beautiful."

She squinted her eyes, not really understanding where he was going with this. Deacon swallowed harshly and then let out a sad smile. "I need more time."

Rayna's eyes widened but showed no other expression. "I don't…I don't understand."

Deacon breathed out. "I'm sorry, I just thought I could do this. I thought because I loved you and because you wanted to be with me that I could just move forward. But tonight I just realized, I still have a lot of questions and I'm still not over it."

Rayna looked down at her hands feeling her world collapse. "I see."

Deacon reached his hand out to take hers, "Ray, I'm trying. I really am." She nodded, still unwilling to look at him. He asked her to look at him twice before her eyes met his. He apologized again and started explaining himself but she interrupted. He used the words "lies" and "trust" and "backwards".

She calmly interrupted, "I don't understand. You told Coleman like twelve hours ago that you wanted to be with me. Even at the cabin the night before you went to rehab, we were back together. Okay, I know we didn't kiss or make love but we were back together. Or almost back together. And we've talked every night on the phone and it was US talking. US talking about OUR relationship."

"You talked to Coleman?"

Rayna looked up at the ceiling trying not to cry. "No Coleman had dinner with Tandy and whatever he said to her made her call me. And Tandy called me while Juliette was on stage."

Deacon apologized.

"Was it something I did tonight?"

Deacon let out a frustrated sigh. What in the hell am I doing? Maybe I should ignore Dr. Peter's words and be fucking happy. "No it was nothing you did tonight."

Her voice cracked, "then what is it?"

"Ray I just think that, that I fell back into us again. Rayna in the last month all I was doing was trying to find a way to get over you lying to me."

Her tone was angrier, "and that is a bad thing because?"

Deacon stood up, "Because maybe I shouldn't be trying to get over it. Even tonight, I just fell back into being with you."

Rayna gave him a confused expression. "So let me get this straight. You love me. You want to forgive me. You were all set to try and make this work. And therefore, you don't want to be with me?"

The next few minutes were spent with Rayna getting louder and more upset. Deacon was getting more frustrated as nothing he said seemed to be making sense to her. Rayna wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Her voice cracked with sadness and confusion. "So how much time are we talking about?"

"I don't know Ray."

"Are you planning on seeing other people?"

"No, Ray it isn't like that."

"Am I allowed to talk to you or are we going back to when you'd just walk away from me?"

Deacon said her name in an apology twice but offered her no answers.

Ray let out a frustrated sob. "You know what? Why don't you go figure out exactly what you want from me and then get back to me whenever."

Deacon could see how upset she was getting and asked her to take a breath.

"Are you punishing me? Is that what this is?"

"No."

"I don't understand. Based on our phone calls and the cabin and earlier tonight, we were getting back together. I knew it was going to be hard and we would have issues but I don't get this."

"I don't know Ray, I've just…I just..."

She interrupted him. "You know what? I can't do this with you tonight."

"Ray…"

"No. You need to leave."

Deacon could tell she was on the verge of breaking down. He wanted to stay but knew he would only make it worse. Before he could say anything else, she was already walking towards the bedroom. As the door closed behind him, he regretted it instantly.

He knocked on the door for a few moments before Rayna answered. Her face was wet with tears and she looked defeated. He instantly wanted to make it all better.

"Please don't cry about this."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. She let a tear roll down her check. "I still don't get this. I don't get what you want."

"I need to know everything."

"Everything?"

Deacon confirmed "everything. I keep trying to forget that you lied to me. But it isn't working because I can't forget. I need to know exactly what happened."

He saw her confused face. "I need to know exactly how you went from coming to tell me about being pregnant to marrying Teddy."

"Okay." She opened the door and let him in. This was definitely not the night she had planned.