Rayna stood at her kitchen counter chopping onions for the dinner. She told herself the tears were just from the pungent vegetable, but inside she knew better. Maddie and Daphne blew in the door, home from their after school activities. "What's for dinner?" Maddie asked.

"I'm making a stir fry. Your father's coming over." She watched as Maddie lit up.

"Really? I can't remember the last time we had him over for dinner."

"I think it was last year before the CMAs when you guys were still dating," Daphne chimed in.

Rayna swallowed hard at the memory of that happy time, and how it all just seemed to slip away so effortlessly.

"Well get washed up cause he should be here any minute."

Just on cue the doorbell rang and Daphne ran to answer it. "I'll get it!"

She opened the door and there he stood in that damn red flannel that he wore last time the four of them had dinner together. "Hey little one," he said giving Daphne a hug. She pulled him into the kitchen where the other women were preparing dinner. If Rayna had blinked her eyes it could have been a year ago, only something was different, Deacon was different. The joy that had been there a year ago was nowhere to be seen. Sure he was smiling, but Rayna could tell that something was off. It felt off all through the dinner, it felt off while he and Maddie played the guitar and Daphne harmonized, and it felt off as they were saying goodbye at the back door.

"Babe, what's wrong?"

"Nothing Ray, I'm fine. I thought it was a nice night, wasn't it."

"Uh huh. Really nice, you just don't seem like yourself. Is this about what we talked about earlier? Did I push things too far, too fast? Are you still mad at me about all that stuff with Rolling Stone?"

Deacon shook his head. "No Ray, I'm telling you, it's fine, I'm fine. Things are good with us and I had a nice time tonight. It's great to be over here and not have to worry about Wheeler eyeing me the whole time as if I was going to steal the China."

Rayna smiled. "I think he was more worried about you stealing me."

The smile faded away from Deacon's face. "Well he's gone, so it really doesn't matter anymore does it?"

Rayna shook her head, then leaned in and kissed Deacon on the cheek.

"Night Rayna," he said.

"Night." She watched him as he got into his truck and drove down the driveway. She hated it every time he did that. She hoped that all it would take was time before there was no need for him to leave at all. A girl could hope couldn't she?

##

Rayna sat in her office going over some paperwork that needed handling for Highway 65. She was trying to get through the contract, but all she could think about was Deacon. Something was off, and she wasn't sure what. She couldn't quite place it, but he just hadn't seemed like himself last night at dinner. And him not wanting to work on them, that surprised her too. If there was one thing she was sure of it was that Deacon Claybourne loved her, loved her without care for consequence or for how much pain he could cause himself. It had always been that way. So why the sudden shift, especially when she was putting herself out there, telling him she was wanting to make it work with them.

Maybe he had changed. Maybe he was wanting her to work for it, work for him, for them. It had to be that, right? There was no way that Deacon would ever want to settle for them just being friends. He just wanted her to show him how much she wanted him, to reassure him that she wasn't going to hurt him this time. Rayna grabbed her purse and her keys and headed towards East Nashville.

##

When she reached his house she was riled up far past what she probably should have been going into this conversation, but she couldn't help it. When Rayna got an idea in her mind she was like a dog with a bone. She knocked on the door and when he didn't answer right away she knocked again. "Deacon, open up. It's me."

A minute later he came to the door pulling it open revealing her standing on the porch. "Calm down Ray, I was in the back room. It only took me a minute. What are you in such a huff about anyway?"

Rayna pushed past him and into his living room pacing back and forth so quickly that you could almost see the dust that she was kicking up with her boots. "I was thinking about that conversation we had yesterday about us just being friends, and I don't accept that."

Deacon laughed a little with amusement. "I don't think it's 100% your decision Ray. Being involved with someone romantically has to be a two way street."

"I know it does, but I don't believe you for one goddamn second Deacon Claybourne when you tell me that's not what you want."

Deacon sighed. "Rayna, can't you just accept that things have changed, I've changed. I've finally grown up and realized that maybe the things I've wanted in the past aren't what I want anymore."

"Bullshit!" Rayna was really getting into her fighting stance now.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, I said bullshit." By this point Rayna was yelling, and Deacon was yelling back. "We belong together Deacon. I know I haven't always been the best at admitting that, but it's never not been true. Deep down we both know that, and you more than either of us have never denied that."

"Rayna, why can't you just let it go? Why do you have to keep pushing on this. There are plenty of men out there that would die to be with Rayna Jaymes."

"I don't want plenty of men Deacon, I want you."

"You want a former drunk with self-destructive tendencies, who nearly got you killed in a car accident? Why would you want that Rayna, Why?"

"You said it Deacon, because we love each other, because we're in love with each other, because we deserve to grow old together, to sit on our porch at the lake house and watch our grandkids run in the yard, to have Christmas dinners, and family concerts, and lazy Sundays by the fire. After everything we've been through we deserve that Deacon."

"We're not going to have that Rayna!"

"Why not?!"

"Because we're not!"

"Why?!"

She was pleading with him to give her a straight answer, and he could see it. He just didn't have the strength to lie to her anymore, and he just let go.

"Because I'm dying!"

This stopped Rayna in her tracks. She froze unsure she heard what she heard. When she was able to speak again her voice was barely a whisper. "What?"

Deacon ran his hand through is hair. "I found out a couple of weeks ago. It's my liver. You always said all those years of drinking was going to kill me, well you were right."

Rayna's breath was coming quickly now. She could barely process what he was telling her. "The doctors are giving me about six months before my liver craps out for good. A year if I'm lucky, and we both know I ain't the lucky type."

Rayna looked around the room as if she'd find the answer to this nightmare in the vase on the mantle, or the basket by the back wall. "There's transplants for livers right? Isn't that one of the organs you can replace?"

"Yeah, but I'm kind of far down on the list. You don't shoot to the top of the transplant list if you're a former alchie who did this to himself."

Rayna was unsure what to do, when she was finally able to move from the spot where she seemed bolted to for the last 30 seconds she flung herself at Deacon wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close.

Deacon snaked one arm around her back and the other into her fiery main of hair as he heard her begin to whimper. "It's okay Ray."

Rayna finally managed to collect herself. "What about a living donor? They have those right?"

"No Ray, I'm not going to let anyone put themselves in danger for me."

Rayna pulled away from him. "Well maybe that's not your choice. It's not just about you Deacon. There's me, and there's Maddie, and maybe we don't want to live without you. We're going to get tested, hell, I don't care if I have to buy a fucking liver on the black market, we're going to get you that transplant."

Deacon loved it when she was sassy like that. She was always so strong when he couldn't be and vice versa. They'd always fit so well together. "Come on," she said. "Pack a bag."

"Where are we going?"

"My place. You're going to move in with Maddie and Daphne and I so we can take care of you." She could see him start to protest and she cut him off. "Don't even start to fight with me on this cause you know I'm going to win."

She was right, he did know in the end she'd end up getting what she wanted, so instead he just walked into his bedroom and packed a bag.

##

On the car ride over to Rayna's Deacon turned to watch her as she drove. He could see her mind reeling, determination shining through. "What are we going to tell the girls?" he asked.

Rayna softened a bit. "I think we just need to tell them the truth. It'll be worse if we keep it from them. They'll just feel betrayed later on."

Deacon nodded his head. "Hey Ray…"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I love you."

He could see that Rayna was starting to cry and he reached over and grabbed her hand. "I love you too," she said.

##

They tried to keep it as optimistic as possible for the girls, but Maddie started crying as soon as they got to the word transplant, and Daphne followed suit. Maddie stood up and walked over to where Deacon was sitting wrapping her arms around him and holding him tight. Daphne came over and did the same on the other side of him. Tears streamed down the faces of the whole family as Deacon stroked the girls' hair. "It's going to be okay, but even if it's not, I just want you to know I love you." This made the girls cry even harder.

"It's not fair," Maddie said between sobs. "I just got you, I can't lose you."

"I know sweet girl, but life isn't always fair. I know it might get tough. There might come a time when I'm real sick and it won't be easy for anyone, but I just want you to remember that having you in my life has made everything worthwhile, even if it's going to be for just a short time.

##

It took hours and three rounds of ice cream for Rayna to get the girls to sleep. She walked into her own room and looked at her tear streaked face. She wiped it off with a washcloth then changed into a t-shirt and shorts for bed. Deacon was in the guest bedroom down the hall.

She was about to climb into bed, but then let the covers drop and went out into the hallway. Rayna knocked on Deacon's door and walked into the room. He was already in bed and the lights were out. "Sorry to bother you. I just wanted to check and make sure you didn't need anything?"

"I'm fine Ray, you've got to stop treating me with kid gloves. I can still take care of myself you know."

"I know."

Deacon lay back in bed pulling the covers over him. "Night Ray."

"Night." Rayna turned to leave, but she stopped for a second and turned back to face him. Deacon looked at her with questioning eyes. He could see the tears starting to form, and her fighting not to release them. When she spoke it was quiet and filled with emotion. "Will you hold me?" She asked with shaky breath.

Deacon breathed in deep and pulled back the covers. "Of course."

Rayna ran to him slipping into bed beside him and wrapping herself around his body. She ran her fingers up over his bare chest and then into his hair. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent trying to calm her shaking body. Deacon wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer. The warmth and security she felt as he enveloped her was too much to bear and she let the flood gates open as tears once again fell from her eyes with reckless abandon.

Deacon held her tight as he felt his own tears slowly roll down his cheeks. They lay like that, entwined for what seemed like hours. Finally Rayna slid her hands down to his face and lifted her head to look at him. She pulled his face close to hers as she took his bottom lip between hers sucking at him as if she'd just crossed a desert and he was the first water she'd seen in days.

Their kisses became deeper and more frantic, each longing for the intimacy they both desperately needed. Rayna pulled back a moment resting her forehead against his. "Make love to me babe. I need to feel you inside of me." Deacon answered by taking her mouth with his own and rolling her onto her back so the weight of his body was fully covering hers. Rayna moaned at the feeling of him on top of her. It had been so long, and he felt so damn good.

Deacon tore off her t-shirt and slid off her shorts as he removed his own. It was mere seconds before he pulled her towards him entering her in one deep thrust. "Oh baby," he sighed as he felt the heat of her body surround him. Rayna took in the feel of him inside of her, running her hands over his face, holding him close as she looked into his eyes. They were both crying again, their tears mingling together in shimmering pools that landed on the sheets below their writhing bodies.

They were desperate to be closer, to become one with each other in every sense of the word, and it was overwhelming. The first time they had sex after a long break was always intense and frenzied, but this, this was like nothing either of them had ever experienced before.

Rayna wondered if it would always be like this from now on. This passionate, this emotional. Would there never again be the fun fuck in the broom closet at the Ryman, or the lazy morning romp where he'd play with every inch of her body as if it was his own personal playground? Would every future caress be imbued with all the emotion of a last goodbye?

All she knew was that at this moment the only thing she wanted was to be as close to him as possible for as long as possible. The thought of him not being here six months from now was too much to handle. She couldn't accept that. She was a Wyatt, and Wyatt's never stopped fighting. Her mind kicked into over drive just as her orgasm hit her and her primal scream of pleasure and pain took control.