A/N: This is a Rayna and Deacon fic that I just had to write because the plot wouldn't leave me alone until I did. It starts out before season 1.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement.

Chapter 1

The bright light streaming in through Rayna's apartment window caused her to wake up with a groan. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the diamond engagement ring on her left hand. A feeling like lead settled in the pit of her stomach and it had nothing to do with morning sickness. The side of the bed next to her was rumpled, but empty. That meant that Teddy was already up and hopefully out the door.

She didn't think that she had it in her to deal with him this morning. She'd spent another night crying herself to sleep. Even though he pretended not to notice she was sure that he did and she didn't want to have to explain that to him. It really didn't bode well for her impending marriage that she was already keeping things from him. It also didn't help that the man she was marrying wasn't the man she wanted to marry and in all likelihood wasn't the father of her child.

She would be more surprised if Teddy turned out to be the father than if he didn't. The man that she wanted and the man that had put this baby inside of her was unavailable to her. Or at least she'd made herself think that she would be better off without him in her and her child's lives. That heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach had to do with the fact that she was one day closer to her impending nuptials.

The thought of getting married should fill her with joy instead of the sense of dread that intensified a little bit more every day. She knew why that was. She was doing the wrong thing. It felt wrong to her and she couldn't live with herself for the rest of her life if she had to feel this way.

The only way to correct that was to tell the truth like she should have to begin with. Now that she'd had time to think about it she could handle this. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for. If she told this lie now even if it were for the right reason it would never sit right with her. The only thing was she hadn't quite worked up the courage to tell the truth yet.

She got out of bed and got dressed. She was supposed to be down at Sound Check to rehearse with her band for a show they had coming up anyway. She might as well surprise them by showing up early for a change.

She checked her reflection in the mirror. At twelve weeks pregnant she wasn't showing yet. That was one thing to be thankful for anyway.

"Ray, you're here earlier than I expected you. The band hasn't been here for that long." Her manager Bucky Dawes greeted her.

"Sleep is not something that's really happening for me right now. So, you've got me early for a change." Rayna shrugged her shoulders.

"You feeling ok, Ray?" Bucky's eyes traveled to her stomach.

"I'm fine you don't have to check up on me even though I know that my sister has threatened you with death if you don't." Rayna laughed it off.

"When are you going to figure out that being all in your business is her business?" Bucky laughed with her.

"That's just what she thinks. What do you think of the new guitar player? Will he be ready to go by next week?" Rayna talked business with him.

"He's a quick study and he will do for now. You'll need someone a little more experienced when you go back out on tour. You have a while before you have to worry about that though." Bucky replied.

"Alright, I will give him a shot then." Rayna smiled at him. "Thanks, for showing up today, guys. I wanna do a few run through the set list a few times. It shouldn't take us long and hopefully we can have an early day." She addressed her band.

They gathered their instruments and got up on the stage.

"Stop! It's not right. It doesn't sound right. I can't do this right now." Rayna pulled her monitors out of her ears an hour later. She'd really tried to like the new guitar player, but she just didn't mesh with him.

Truthfully there was nothing wrong with the guitar player and it had everything to do with the man that was on her mind.

She got down off the stage and went back to one of the dressing rooms. She threw herself down in a chair and grabbed a bottle of water. She would give anything to be able to have a good stiff drink right now, but that wouldn't be an option for another six months.

"What's wrong with this one, Ray?" Bucky had dutifully followed after her.

"He can't get the right timin' down. I can't perform with a lead guitar player that misses his cue." Rayna spit back at him.

Bucky took that in stride he was used to her taking her moods out on him. "This is the third guitar player that we've tried since you know and none of them have been right."

"Bucky, did I hire you because you'll tell me what I want to hear or because you'll call me on my bullshit?" Rayna asked him bluntly.

"You hired me because I will always tell you the truth no matter how ugly it is." Bucky replied.

"Then say what it is that you're not saying." Rayna told him.

"Ok, there hasn't been anything wrong with any of the guitar players that we've hired except for one thing that they all have in common. They aren't Deacon. It's not the guitar players that are the problem it's you. I don't understand why this isn't the first time you've had to replace Deacon." Bucky had given her the ugly truth just like he'd promised he would.

"I guess I hired you to be my confidant and keep all my secrets too." Rayna mused.

"What you say to me stays between us no matter how much your sister pries." Bucky assured her.

"This isn't Teddy's baby it's Deacon's baby. Both Tandy and Teddy talked me into not telling him. There's a slim possibility that Teddy is the father, but it's very unlikely. I don't need a DNA test to tell me that this is Deacon's baby. I know as sure as I know my own name. That both thrills and scares me at the same time." Rayna admitted. It felt good to get that off her chest. She needed to talk to someone other than her sister about this.

"Oh, wow, I don't know what to say." Bucky's jaw hung open. He couldn't say that it surprised him all that much.

"You're supposed to give me the unvarnished, ugly truth. Tell me what you think I should do. No one else seems to have a problem with it." Rayna retorted.

"If you're so sure that this is Deacon's baby then you have to tell him. I'm not saying that you get back together with him or even let him anywhere near this baby alone until you're sure he can be trusted. If you go through with marrying Teddy and you tell the lie that this baby is his then you will have to tell it for the rest of your life. You have to ask yourself if you can live with that. Ray, I know you and I know how much you love Deacon. You may build a happy life with Teddy and he'll be everything that Deacon isn't, but you will never truly be happy. You build your marriage on a lie even if you're both in on it, it will eventually destroy everything good in your relationship. You can't live with this secret, Ray. I know it and you know it in the end it'll only end up tearing you up inside. You'll spend every day wondering if this is the day that Deacon or your child finds out the truth. Here is what you have to do forget what everyone else says you should do and what they want. This is your child not, Tandy's or Teddy's or mine. None of else can tell you what to do. This is a decision you have to make yourself." Bucky told her what he thought.

"I tried telling myself all of those things and they didn't sound as good as they do coming from you. I know what I have to do, I'm just terrified. There are so many what ifs. What if he can't stay sober? What if he's a constant disappointment as a father?" Rayna reasoned with him.

"You can't use those what ifs to justify something you know is wrong. The wrong thing done with good intentions is still the wrong thing. I think you'll end up hating yourself if you don't do what your heart is telling you to do. Furthermore, it wouldn't be fair to you, the baby, or Deacon to live a lie. I don't want to see you go through pain if it can be avoided. I think we both know that there's no way you can ever truly love Teddy and be satisfied with that. Not after what you had with Deacon." Bucky added.

"You're right, Buck. I just have to do it." Rayna nodded her head in agreement.

"Knock, knock," Tandy said as she opened the door. "The band said that you two would be in here. That Rayna is having a diva dip AKA a mood swing. Buck, do you mind if I have a minute alone with my sister to discuss some wedding stuff with her?"

"Sure, she's all yours." Bucky replied.

"Tandy, I can't not right now. I just have to get out of here for a little while. I'm sorry." Rayna jumped to her feet and brushed past her sister on her way out the door.

"What's with her?" Tandy asked her sister's manager.

Bucky made a face and shrugged his shoulders. "Hell if I know. It's probably just hormones or something." He wasn't about to betray Rayna's confidence in him.

"You're not saying anything that I don't know. I think she will get better once she and Teddy are married. Of course for that to happen I'm gonna need to go over with her what daddy arranged." Tandy shook her head.

Deacon pushed the bar up one last time and sat it on the rack. He moved his arms around to work out the kinks in his muscles. He grabbed a towel and stepped in front of the mirror that was in the gym. He wiped the sweat from his face and threw the towel in the laundry hamper. All the time he'd been spending in the gym really showed in his chest and biceps. Today was day eighty-seven of sobriety take five. He'd made it this far before only to backslide.

This time was going to be the time that stuck though. It had to be. He'd already lost everything that mattered to him in the world. Sure, he could rebuild his reputation and his career, but he could never replace Rayna. He studied himself in the mirror. His eyes were clear and bright for the first time in a long time. He looked healthy forget healthy he looked damn good and not just for a man in his thirties for a man of any age. He'd always been a good looking man anyway.

He grabbed a pair of fifty pound dumbbells off the rack and started doing bicep curls. When he wasn't in a group session he spent most of his time in the gym or in his room writing. He couldn't give himself too much down time to think. If he really sat and thought about things he would only get depressed. So, he'd set about turning his body into a finely tuned machine. He pushed himself harder every day. Just as he was finishing up with his reps one of the counselors stuck his head into the room.

"Claybourne, you have a visitor." He informed him.

"Who is it?" Deacon put the weights he'd been using up.

"You'll just have to go out to the common room and see." The counselor replied.

"Alright," Deacon replied. He searched his mind for who could be visiting him. It could be his mother or his sister, but that seemed unlikely. His sister never answered his calls from rehab. It was probably just Cole coming to check up on him for Rayna. She'd washed her hands of him, but she still checked up on him and paid for rehab.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rayna paced back and forth in the common room while she waited for Deacon. She'd had no intention of coming up here when she left Sound Check it had just happened. Her instincts had guided her there. Either she just told him the truth now or she would never tell him. Bucky had been right she wouldn't be able to live with lying to everyone for the rest of her life. It was better this way. If she told him the truth now he wouldn't see it as such a big betrayal than if she waited longer to share the news with him.

"Ray! What are you doin' here?" Deacon spotted her as soon as he walked into the room. He would always be able to pick her out of a crowd. Despite being a little pissed at her he was still excited to see her.

Rayna turned at the sound of her name coming from his lips. The man that she saw didn't line up with the Deacon she knew. His voice and face were the same, but inside something about him was different and that was a good thing. As far as she could tell he hadn't changed fundamentally he just seemed less haunted. He'd never looked like way after a stay in rehab before. Not only did he look healthy if it were possible he'd gotten even better looking. She admired the muscle he had put on and her body tingled.

"Hey, Deacon," She gave him a smile and hoped that her voice didn't betray her lust for him. She pulled him into a quick hug. She had taken her engagement ring off and put it in her purse. There was no sense in waving a red flag in front of his face.

"It's good to see you." He brushed his knuckles across her cheek gently.

"It's good to see you too. It's even better to see you looking this good." She ran her hands up and down his biceps.

"Thanks. It feels good to have it all this together for a change." He gave her a small smile.

"I think this will be the time that sticks." She had to believe that with every part of who she was if she were going to at least parent with him.

"I think so too." He nodded his head. "What are you doin' here, Rayna? You were done with me for good."

"Is there some place that we can talk that's more private?" She asked him.

"Yeah, come on, follow me." He took her by the hand and led her outside. He took her down by a little pond that was situated away from the facility. "Since it started gettin' colder hardly anyone, but me comes out here so we should have the place to ourselves."

"We should sit down for this." She sat down on a stone bench and pulled his hand so he would sit beside her.

"I don't think I'm gonna like the direction that this conversation is gonna take." He just didn't like the look of anguish on her face.

"I won't beat around the bush I will just come out and say it. Deacon, you're gonna be a daddy, I'm pregnant." She rushed the words out of her mouth and she felt so much better. She'd left out the part about Teddy for the time being.

"What? How is that possible?" Deacon looked very confused. As far as he knew he and Rayna hadn't seen each other in months.

"The fact that you don't remember is how it's possible. I won't go into details, but we've been together a lot more recently than you think." Rayna told him.

"Are you sure that it's mine? It could be Teddy fuckin' Conrad's kid." He spit the name out bitterly. He didn't for one second mean that as an accusation of infidelity.

Well there was one part of what she had to tell him out of the way. "There's a very remote chance that he's the father, but, Deacon, babe, that man is so careful that public safety officers take advice from him. You and I on the other hand don't always pause to use protection. I know for a fact that we didn't on the night in question." She told him.

He scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed loudly. "I'm gonna be a daddy. I have no clue how to be a daddy given the rotten son of a bitch I had for a daddy. This is all I've ever wanted with you."

"Just stop don't panic. We have plenty of time to figure things out. The important thing right now is gettin' you better so you can be around this baby. Deacon, this is your absolute last chance. Do you understand me? I won't put a baby through what I went through with you. I will not let you anywhere near this child unsupervised if I even think that you've slipped." She gave him a word of warning.

"I understand, Ray." He reached over tentatively and put his hand on her stomach. "Hey kiddo, I'm your daddy."

Rayna closed her eyes and several tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Hey, don't cry. You said it yourself one day at a time. We will figure things out together." Deacon took her into his arms and held her tightly.

The pair sat that way for a long time not speaking. They didn't have to talk they never had.

She felt so safe in his arms. The burden that she had been carrying around was finally lifted off of her and she could enjoy this pregnancy. She smiled genuinely for the first time in weeks. Everything was going to be ok and work out the way that it should. Of course she still had to go deal with Tandy and Teddy, but for the moment she let herself be content.

Rayna got back to her apartment a little after six. She put her hand on the door handle and groaned when it twisted that meant she had company. She was going to have to deal with the situation she'd just created sooner rather than later.

"There you are, Rayna. Tandy said that you left rehearsal hours ago and no one has heard from you since. You weren't answering your phone and we were starting to get worried." Teddy greeted her with a smile and a kiss.

"I just needed to get out of there." Rayna told him. She didn't want to get into it as soon as she walked in the door.

"You won't dodge me twice in one day. Where you been, Babe?" Tandy asked her.

"I needed some time to myself the last time I checked that wasn't a crime." Rayna snapped at her.

"It's not a crime. The only thing that's a crime is how hopeless Teddy is with this wedding stuff. You are going to have to go over it with me." Tandy replied.

"About that…" Rayna pursed her lips.

"Rayna, tell me that you didn't." Tandy could tell just by the look on her face that she'd done exactly what she was afraid she'd done.

"I can't do that, Tandy." Rayna crossed her arms over her chest.

"What are you two talking about?" Teddy looked between the two sisters.

"I'll let her tell you, but it should be evident from the look on her face what she did." Tandy snorted.

"I went be the rehab today and I told Deacon that I was pregnant. This is my baby and I'm the one who was gonna have to live with that secret and still look myself in the mirror every day. So, I did what I knew was right thing like I should have done months ago." Rayna said firmly.

"Let me remind you that that could be my baby too." Teddy pointed out to her.

"You never learn when it comes to him. You keep going back to him no matter how many times he hurts you." Tandy grumbled.

"Tandy, I didn't say I was going to go running back to him. I just said that I told him. Also you can tell daddy that there isn't going to be a wedding any time soon." Rayna glared at her. She turned to Teddy. "Teddy, I told you from the beginning that there is virtually no chance that this is your baby."

"So, that's just it? We're over?" Teddy asked her.

"I didn't say that, Teddy." Rayna corrected him. She didn't know why she was hanging on to a relationship she really didn't want to be in. He was nice enough he just wasn't what she wanted. Part of her felt obligated to at least try. After all he was willing to raise a child that wasn't his as his own.

"No, her and Deacon will do the dance that they do. First they will posture and be mad at each other and eventually one of them will catch the other in a moment of weakness and they will be back together." Tandy stated bitterly.

"I don't know what's gonna happen. I don't have a crystal ball." Rayna said helplessly.

"You could have decided that you were going to do this before I told my mother about the baby." Teddy spit out.

"I did what I needed to do to have a clear conscience. I couldn't build a marriage based on a lie. If either of you don't want to talk to me right now that's fine too. You both know where the door is and you can walk out as easily as you walked in." Rayna would be damned if she let them bully her for finally doing the right thing.

"If that's the way you want it, Babe, I'm gone." Tandy grabbed her purse and left.

"I don't even know what to say to you right now. I don't know how to look at you. I'm gonna go too." Teddy put his jacket on and walked out.

Rayna sighed and sank down on the couch after they had left. She thought she'd cried herself out with Deacon earlier, but it turned out she still had more tears left to cry. She put her hands on her stomach and rubbed it. "Everything is gonna be ok, Peanut. No matter what happens you are always gonna have your momma." She spoke softly to her unborn child.

Three nights later Rayna answered a knock on her door. It couldn't have come at a more inopportune time. She and Teddy had just worked things out between them.

"You're not expecting anyone are you?" Teddy asked her from the kitchen.

"No, not that I know of." Rayna replied. She opened the door and her eyes went wide when she saw who was on the other side.

"Hey, Ray," Deacon spoke in his drawl.

"What are you doing here?" Rayna questioned him. He was still supposed to be at the rehab center. She only had the door open a crack to keep him from seeing Teddy.

"Can I come in and explain?" Deacon asked her hopefully.

"Hey, babe, who is it?" Teddy asked.

"What's he doin' here, Ray?" Deacon's smile faltered and his eyes turned cold.

"I'm her fiancé that's the only reason I need to give as to why I'm here." Teddy stared him down.

"Deacon, why don't you just come in so we can talk?" Rayna groaned inwardly.

"No, I don't wanna come in and talk. I can see what's goin' on here. You agreed to marry him and told him 'bout the baby before you told me. Hell, you probably had no intention of tellin' me. I don't know what I thought was gonna happen when I showed up here." Deacon clenched his hands into fists.

"That baby would be a lot better off with me as it's father whether I really am or not. The best thing you could do would be to walk away. Shouldn't you still be in rehab anyway?" Teddy told him.

"That's none of your damn business I ain't gotta answer to you. The only person I gotta make things right with is the mother of my child." Deacon retorted.

"Right this wouldn't be the first time that you left rehab early. A drunk has to want to change and I guess by her going to see you, you thought that you could keep up with your antics and she'd still be there. The truth is that you don't deserve either of them." Teddy spouted off.

"Teddy, that is enough. Knock it off right now." Rayna called him down.

"I'm just gonna go. Ray, you know where to find me if you wanna talk 'bout our child." Deacon bent down and picked two things up off the ground. "These are for you." He handed her bouquet of roses. "And this is for the baby." He handed her a teddy bear wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a guitar on it.

" Thank you, Deacon, that was really sweet of you. Listen before you go I have an appointment for the baby tomorrow. Teddy will be at work. Come with me. It would be really nice to see the baby together." Rayna spoke to him gently. She was afraid of Teddy causing him to wreck his sobriety on his first day out.

"Ok, I'll be there. Just let me know what time. You know where I'll be and you know how to get ahold of me." Deacon turned and walked away.

Deacon was by Rayna's side the next day when she went to her OBGYN appointment. He stared in awe at the tiny little bean that had created there on the screen. Tears came to his eyes when he heard the whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of his baby's heartbeat for the first time. The doctor assured them that everything was as it should be and they had a perfectly healthy baby.

He left the room so she could change back into her clothes. Something that he wouldn't have dreamed of doing before. But apparently she wasn't his anymore. That sure wasn't the signal she had sent him the other day at the rehab center.

"Deacon, do you have time for a cup of coffee or something? I think you and I have a lot to talk 'bout." Rayna asked him. She was hoping that they could be as civil as possible.

"Yeah, I don't have anythin' on my schedule for ever with the way things are goin' right now. So, I'm free any time you need me." Deacon quipped as they started walking to the car.

"You don't have a meeting to get to?" Rayna was referring to his AA meetings.

"I can go to a meetin' any time of day. There's always one going somewhere. And if I can't find a meetin' I can always call Cole." Deacon assured her.

"Speaking of that, what are you doin' out of rehab already? I paid for you to stay longer than ninety days." Rayna asked him.

Deacon pointed at her stomach. "This is my first baby, Rayna. I'm not gonna miss bein' here for all the milestones in your pregnancy. At the same time though I know that everything is at stake now not just you or bein' in your band. I am not gonna be to this baby what my daddy was to me. I'd rather crawl shirtless over broken glass than ever take a drink again. His demons got no claim on me and I ain't gonna let them take the first shot I have at havin' a family away from me. Anyway though, I signed out for outpatient counselin' and stuff."

"Good, I'm glad to hear you talk like that. Now I know I did the right thing tellin' you about the baby." Rayna replied.

Deacon dug in his pocket and pulled something out. He handed it to her. "This is for you or the baby or both of you if you want." It was his ninety-day sobriety chip.

"Your ninety-day chip. The baby and I both accept this. We are very proud of you." Rayna smiled at him warmly.

"The first ninety days of the rest of my life." Deacon smiled back. "Oh and, Ray. I ain't just lettin' Conrad think he's gettin' my love and my child. I'm gonna fight for you. I'm just lettin' you know that right now."

"One day at a time." Rayna reminded him before he got too far ahead of himself. "Deacon, don't, ok? The Teddy thing is complicated. I tried to give back the ring and he wouldn't take it. He wants to wait to see the results of the DNA test before he calls off the engagement." She sighed.

"I'm just sayin' you know that I don't give up without a fight." Deacon told her.

"I know you don't. It's good to see you back in fightin' shape. Come on, feed me and our baby we are both hungry." Rayna looped her arm through his and walked down the sidewalk with him. A little exercise would be good for her and the baby. His words set her on fire inside and she could tell that they were all in for one hell of a ride.

A/N: Here is the first chapter. I hope you guys liked it. I'm putting a new twist on the established Nashville story line. I will update as often as the mood strikes me and time allows. I'm not giving up on After the Fire is Gone or This Time Around. I have enough ideas in my head to continue on with all of them. Until next time please review.