AN: SPOILER WARNING - This is a future fic and it's a little bit spoilery for some bits of S5. I've been sitting on this one for a while because it's a little different. I'd love to know what you think!

"God, Avery." Juliette giggled as her husband kissed the top of her shoulder. "You are insatiable this morning."

"You started it," he whispered in her ear. She acknowledged the truth of that statement as he caressed her stomach with his fingers. "And I didn't hear you complaining a half an hour ago. Although your mouth was busy doing other things."

She rolled over to face him. The early morning light gave their bedroom a soft glow and formed a halo behind his head as he leaned over her. She pushed his hair out of his face and pulled him in for a kiss. "I'm not complaining, baby. Far from it. But our daughter's gonna be at that door in a minute and I'd rather not have her traumatized by the sound of her parents going for round three."

"I'm not the loud one." He squeezed her thigh, pulling her close and she could feel him hardening against her stomach. "Maybe we should soundproof that door," he muttered, lowering his head to trail his lips on her collarbone.

"Babe, you're not listening."

"I hear you. I just don't understand why you're even talking right now."

"Avery." She couldn't help moaning as he began kissing her neck but she moved her hands to push him away and wiggled out of his grasp, rolling out of bed even as he reached for her. "We don't have time."

"Wait. Don't - Ju-"

The knock on the door was almost too quiet to hear but there was no mistaking the small voice on the other side. "It's me. Cadence."

Avery groaned, flopping back on the pillows.

"Sorry, baby," she said, pulling his t-shirt over her head. "Hate to say I told you so." She found her underwear and pajama shorts on the floor and slid them on. "Aww," she said, noticing the pout on his face. "Rain check?"

"Yeah," he said, his eyes on the ceiling. "Rain check."

Juliette walked away from the bed and opened the door to greet their daughter. "Morning, baby girl." She smoothed her hand over Cadence's hair, which was wild and frizzy from sleep.

"Good morning, Mama. Is Daddy sleeping?"

"You know, baby, Daddy's having a real hard time getting up this morning. Let's let him have a few more minutes." She turned around and winked at him before closing the door behind her.

Juliette spooned the last of the cereal in her mouth and turned around in the chair, watching as Avery slid a legal pad into his messenger bag. "You leaving?"

"Yeah," he said, glancing up at her and then back down to his bag. "I told Gunnar I would help him work out the kinks on a song he's been working on." His eyebrows furrowed as he looked around the living room. "I'm actually running late," he said absently.

She pushed her bowl away, got down from the chair at the island and picked up the notebook lying on the counter, then walked across the room to hand it to him. "I thought you'd be home today. I was hoping we could get some writing done."

"Thanks," he thumbed through the notebook before putting it in the bag. "Yeah, I meant to mention it to you yesterday but it must have slipped my mind. I'm sorry, babe. But I'll be all yours this weekend."

He smiled at her but she couldn't help feeling annoyed at the unexpected change in plans. "Scarlett can't help him with the song? Isn't that kind of what she does?"

"Well, the song's a gift so no, she can't help this time."

"Avery," Juliette glanced at Cadence, still in her pajamas and sprawled across the couch as she watched television. "Did you forget about tonight? This was your idea."

"I did not forget family date night and I won't be late." He reached for her hand, pulling her towards him. "I promise."

His hands drifted to her hips and Juliette felt her irritation slipping away with his proximity. "You better not be," she said but there was no real threat in her tone. She flattened her hands on his chest and stood on her toes to kiss him goodbye, then watched as he leaned over the couch and tickled their daughter's stomach.

"Daddy's leaving but I'll see you later, Princess."

"Bye-bye, Daddy," she said through her laughter.

Juliette's eyes followed her husband's back until he turned the corner into the hallway. She heard the door close a second later and sighed. There went her plans of working. It would have just been a few hours in the afternoon and she'd already asked Emily to babysit so they could have the time. She'd been looking forward to it since she'd only just decided to start an album and so far, she'd been writing by herself. They weren't the first songs she'd written since the plane crash and everything that came after. She'd sold some, finished a few and tucked them away but she hadn't felt like starting a new album in a very long time. After everything, she'd wanted a break and had taken one, though it had lasted years, perhaps longer than anyone anticipated.

The few songs she'd completed were different than anything she'd written in quite a while and she wanted her husband's help in moving forward. However, Avery had recently committed to producing two full-length albums after having just finished one earlier that week. He was in demand and his schedule was sometimes erratic, often depending on the availability of the artists he was working with. Juliette didn't begrudge his well-deserved success, but he had been increasingly busy and now with him running off to help Gunnar, she couldn't help but feel as though she might have to book time with her own husband in order to get him to write with her.

Cadence patted her forearm. "Will you watch cartoons with me?"

Juliette turned her attention to her daughter and her annoyance dissolved when she saw the hope in Cadence's eyes. She probably wouldn't get any work done, but she would get to spend the day with her daughter. "Sure thing, baby. What are we watching?"

"Mama, I'm bored." Cadence put her crayon down on the table and then put her elbows on the play table and propped her head up on her fists.

"Baby girl," Juliette continued coloring the puppy that was on her side of the coloring book they had been sharing. "I think you are the most easily bored 4-year-old I ever met. You're bored of cartoons, your toys, practicing your letters and now you're bored of coloring too?"

Cadence nodded. "All the way bored."

"All the way and it's only lunchtime." Juliette looked up at her, noticing that Cadence didn't move but her eyes followed her mother's hand as she put down the brown crayon and reached for the yellow. She had her father's expressive baby blues and just like him there was always a whirlwind of emotion held just beneath the surface, even as she was claiming utter boredom. "Mama's gotta figure out something for us to do, huh?"

Cadence nodded again and Juliette took note of her yawn, hoping she might be able to convince the little girl to squeeze in a rare afternoon nap.

"Okay, my angel. First let's get some food in our bellies and then we'll see what else we can get into." She put down the crayon and held her hand out for Cadence as she stood up from the uncomfortably small chair she'd been sitting on.

"Can we have bologna?" Her daughter trailed her fingers on the wall as they walked towards the kitchen. "It's my favorite."

"Of course we can." When they got to the kitchen she lifted Cadence up onto the island. "Here's what we'll do." Juliette handed her a bowl of grapes and put two plates next to her. "You sit here and count out ten grapes for both of us. Can you do that for Mama?"

"Yes, 'cause I can count to ten."

"Okay, good. You do that and I'll fix the sandwiches." Juliette warmed the skillet and melted a pat of butter in it. As she got the bologna out of the refrigerator, she was once again struck by the irony of making her daughter a sandwich that she used to be ashamed of eating. When she'd been a kid it was cheap white bread and mayonnaise packets that Jolene had stolen from some fast food joint. Sometimes they'd have the bologna but no bread and Juliette would eat the deli meat cold, straight from the package. Other times they'd had bread and no meat and it'd just be a mayonnaise sandwich.

She cut a slit in two slices of the bologna so they would fry flat and turned so she could watch the stove while making sure Cadence was okay up on the island. Her daughter held the bowl of grapes in her lap and pinched one at a time off the bunch, counting as she dropped them on a plate. "Good job, baby," Juliette said as she reached ten. Cadence looked up at her and Juliette was reminded of Jolene in her crooked little smile and in the way she tilted her head. There were times when she saw hints of Jolene in Cadence. In the way she frowned if she was puzzled and her love of all things pink, even her fondness for bologna sandwiches.

There was a time when Juliette hated her mother and hated everything that reminded her of Jolene. But there were other times when she missed her incredibly. Her mother's birthday had passed a few months ago and she'd wanted to visit Jolene's grave, maybe even take Cadence with her, but found that she just couldn't. It would hurt too much to stand at the marker and wish her mother a happy birthday while fielding the many, many questions she knew her daughter would have. In the end she'd gone through the small box of her mother's things that she had kept and pulled out a sweater that she'd given Jolene for Christmas. Juliette had held the sweater in her lap for a while, thinking of how her mother had worn it often during the winter even though it was a little bit too tight. That evening, she made a small casserole of pink macaroni with a dollop of cream cheese and sprinkled on plenty of black pepper. She served herself a portion from the corner, just like Jolene would have wanted.

"Happy Birthday, Mama," Juliette said. Tears came to her eyes and the food blurred until she could only see a mess of red on the plate. Avery found her at the table, sobbing so hard she couldn't lift the fork. He'd sat down and held her hand as she cried it out and then ate the cold macaroni with her as she talked. "There's so much I want to say to her that she'll never hear. I wish she could see me being a mama to Cadence. I wish they could have met each other."

"She'd be proud of you, baby," he said. "You should tell her whatever it is that you want to say. It might make you feel better to get it all out."

She started working on the song that night, staying up to play with words and melodies even after Avery had fallen asleep beside her. Juliette usually named a song after she finished composing it, but this time she started with the title. What I want you to know. It was an apology, a lamentation and a love letter. It came so easy it scared her. She was finished drafting it before her husband had been asleep an hour. Then the next day she found that she had more to say and two songs later, more still. At first she kept them to herself because she wasn't sure if she was still writing songs or if it was just a jumble of nonsense set to music. When she finally showed them to Avery he encouraged her to keep going.

"Are these - am I crazy?" She'd asked. "Are these any good at all?"

"You're not crazy," he'd assured her. "You've really got something here."

Juliette wrote about things she didn't think she would have been able to say to Jolene if she was still alive. They hadn't had that kind of relationship, especially after Juliette hit her teenage years and her sole focus was getting the hell out of Alabama and as far away from her mother as she could.

But now, five years after her mother's death, she would have liked for Jolene to know she regretted the years they'd missed and that she mourned the things her mother would never get to do. Jolene would never tuck her grandchild in at night or read to her or know the sound of her laughter. Now that she had a child of her own, Juliette truly understood her mother's sacrifice. She'd give her life for her daughter without question and without a second's hesitation.

Her own childhood had been a mess and she was absolutely determined that Cadence would never feel as she had when she was growing up. Being with her daughter was one reason why her self-imposed break had lasted as long as it had. She'd wanted to make up for some of the time she'd missed when Cadence was a baby. Her priorities had shifted, majorly, and she had chosen to be a mama instead of a superstar.

Juliette didn't make the sandwich the way she used to have them. For Cadence it was thick-cut bologna and real cheese and actual, name brand mayonnaise that hadn't been pilfered and brought home in the bottom of a raggedy purse. She spread mayo and mustard on wheat bread, cut the crusts off and sliced it into four perfect triangles, which was the only way Cadence would eat sandwiches. They had chips along with the grapes and ate at the table.

"What are we gonna do now, Mama?"

"Take a nap?" Juliette said hopefully.

Cadence shook her head immediately. "Naps are for babies."

Juliette sighed. "I figured you'd say that." She popped her last grape in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Cadence swung her legs under the chair, wiggling her toes and it gave her mother an idea. "Mama can paint your nails. How about that?"

Cadence's eyes brightened. "Can I have pink?"

"You can have whatever color you like." Juliette said, then reconsidered. "Except black. Don't think your Daddy would like that." She gathered up the plates and took them to the kitchen, then picked up her phone after noticing there was a message notification on the screen. Emily had texted to cancel on her, saying something came up. Juliette supposed it was convenient because she'd forgotten to call her assistant and tell her not to come. It was a little strange because Emily had never waited until the last minute to cancel on her. She texted back, It's fine, Em. U ok? A few seconds later she got a response. Great! Just busy! Busy doing what, Juliette was tempted to ask. But she had a hint. Months ago, Emily had started dating Tim, a sound engineer that Gunnar, of all people, had introduced her to and their relationship was getting serious. Juliette knew Tim a little as he'd worked with Avery before. She knew he was a bit impulsive and liked to surprise Emily with unplanned day trips.

Maybe he'd come up with something fun for them to do, Juliette thought. She set her phone back on the counter and tried to squelch the small bit of jealousy that burned through her. Avery had been so busy lately; they surely hadn't had an opportunity to sneak away somewhere. Family date night had been his idea, although why he wanted to spend it getting all dressed up and sitting in a fancy restaurant was beyond her. She didn't question it though, because he had promised that after wrapping up this latest project, he'd be free…for the weekend at least.

"All right, Cadence." Juliette turned around and called her daughter. "Are you ready for your mani-pedi?"

"Yes!" Her daughter jumped down from her chair and followed her mother to the master bathroom where Juliette opened the drawer where she kept her fingernail polish.

"Whoa," Cadence said. "That's a big, big lot of fingernail polish." She spread her arms wide to emphasize.

"Yes, it is." Juliette thought about her mother saying similar words to her after she'd stolen polish from the grocery store. All that seemed like such a long time ago. "Mama will pick five and then you can choose from those." She set five different shades of pink on the counter. "But pink is only for your toes, okay? Daddy says no color on your fingers until you get a little bit older. I think we can get away with some sparkle though." She rummaged through the small bottles until she found a clear coat with flecks of glitter in it. She shook it in her hand and watched as the bits of color swirled around. "I don't think Daddy will object to this one."

Cadence chose a bright, pretty pink and Juliette gathered everything else they needed. They sat on the edge of the bathtub and soaked their feet in a bit of warm water. She washed her daughter's feet, tickling her soles and laughing when she started giggling. Then it was her turn, and Cadence crouched in the tub and patted at her mother's feet with the washcloth. Juliette had turned around to reach for the bath towel behind her when she felt her daughter's touch. Cadence traced the scar on her left leg with a finger, gently pressing against the smooth, flat line of skin as she followed it up her mother's shin.

"Mama," she said. "Does this hurt?"

"No, baby," she answered. It didn't hurt, but Juliette hated it. It reminded her of one of the worst years of her life. Everything that had happened from the time her daughter was born until her plane crashed. She'd broken her leg and badly injured her back and there were several uncertain weeks when she didn't know if she'd ever be able to walk again. She'd been stuck in a wheelchair, helpless and frustrated, and had suffered through months of grueling physical therapy. That was all she saw when she looked at that scar and she usually kept it covered. Cadence didn't know about the plane crash. Her daughter only knew that her mother had been hurt in an accident but that she was okay now. She and Avery had decided to wait until she was older to tell her anything else. Juliette knew that one day Cadence would have questions and she'd have to face them. One day she'd have to tell her daughter about everything, including the stupid fingernail polish that she used to steal. She dreaded it, but knew it was inevitable.

They sat on the bathroom floor and Juliette massaged Cadence's hands with lotion before painting her nails. "Be still, baby girl," she said for the third time.

"I'm trying, Mama."

"I know you are." Juliette dunked the brush in the bottle of polish again. "I know it's hard to sit still and you're doing so good but you have teeny little nails and I don't want to mess up."

Cadence momentarily stopped wiggling. "You should have pink toes and sparkle nails too."

"You want me to have the same as you?" Juliette carefully brushed another coat of the glitter polish on her daughter's pinkie. "That's a great idea. Then we'll match." She finished with Cadence, cautioning her to try and be still for just a little longer so her nails could dry. Thank God for fast-drying polish, she thought as she started on her own nails.

"I know a joke," Cadence said. She blew on her fingers, imitating her mother. "Wanna hear it?"

"Mm-hm." Juliette glanced up at her and then back down at her thumb. "Tell me."

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Chicken." Cadence didn't quite understand the concept of knock knock jokes. That was as far as she got before bursting into giggles. And even though she'd already heard the joke twice that morning, Juliette couldn't help smiling. She didn't know what it was about the word chicken that was so hilarious to her 4-year-old, but she watched as Cadence fell back on the tiled floor and rolled on her side, her little body shaking with laughter. Juliette didn't mind the chicken joke or how many times her daughter repeated it. Every single time, Cadence laughed as if it were the funniest thing ever and it was the sweetest music to her mother's ears. And every single time Juliette heard that laugh, she thanked God for the silly little girl who was the heart of the Barkley household.