Rayna felt a little nervous, a little giddy as she walked out to Deacon's car with him, holding hands. She hadn't been to his house since before the CMA's, before everything blew up. Since she'd been home from the hospital, he would come by her house to spend time with Maddie. They had "dated", giving them time alone together. But he hadn't invited her to his house. Their house.

It had been their house before it was his house. They had bought it after her third gold record and her first CMA award. She had loved living there with him and had hated leaving it that last time. And even though it had been a long time since she had lived there and Deacon had done a lot of updating to it since she'd been gone, it still felt like their house. She still felt at home there. More than she had felt at home anywhere else in her life.

They didn't talk much on the drive. It was actually the first time they had been in a car together since the accident and the air was pungent with the memories of the last time they had been in Deacon's car. Different car, obviously, since the other one was totaled, but it was as though they had silently agreed that there would be no conversation, or very little, no distractions this time. No ending like the last time they had been in a vehicle together.

When they got to the house, she started to open the door. "Wait," Deacon said and he got out, came around and opened her door. She smiled as he took her hand and helped her out. He kept hold of her hand and she walked a step or two behind him up to the back door. He unlocked it and then she followed him inside to the kitchen. The light over the stove was on, giving the room a soft glow. He turned to her, gently took her in his arms and kissed her lips lightly. "Hey," he said against her mouth.

"Hey," she said with a smile. He ran his hands over her back and down to cup her bottom, pulling her closer. She tangled her hands in his hair. "Mmmm," she murmured. "I think I know what you have in mind." He kissed her deeply, then pulled away. Taking her hand, he led her back to his bedroom.

###

He slowly unbuttoned her blouse. She caught her breath. This would be the first time he saw her scars. She hoped he didn't let them bother him. But when he saw her, he took his breath in sharply and looked in her eyes with sadness. She smiled at him encouragingly. "It's ok. I'm all healed. They're just scars."

He reached out and traced them gently. "I don't want to hurt you." As though he hadn't already. As though they hadn't hurt each other. They were finally past that, he knew. But this was the first time he'd really been faced with her physical hurt.

Rayna shook her head. "You won't. I'm not going to break." She reached out and unbuttoned his shirt and moved it open so she could run her hands down his chest. "I want you to love me, Deacon. The way you always do," she whispered hoarsely.

Deacon reached again for her blouse, pulling it out of her slacks. He pushed it off her shoulders and it drifted to the floor. He leaned in and nuzzled her neck, then let his tongue draw a line to her mouth. As he kissed her, drawing her tongue into his mouth, he ran his hands down her back to unfasten her bra, then dragged it off her so that he could run his hands over her breasts, rubbing his thumbs over her nipples, making Rayna draw her breath in as waves of desire swept through her body.

She reached between them and unbuckled his belt, then unzipped his jeans. She could feel him hard against her stomach and she slid her hands inside the waist of his boxers. She ran her hands over the length of him, until he moaned in her mouth. He pulled away from the kiss and moved his hands to her waist, unfastening her belt and sliding the zipper down slowly. He slid his hands around and down inside her pants to caress her bottom as she continued to stroke him until he nearly exploded. He quickly reached for her hands and kissed her lightly, gently biting her bottom lip. "Easy," he said gruffly.

Rayna laughed softly and then gasped as he slid her pants down and ran his thumb between her legs. She was already wet and he moaned as he felt how ready she was. He gently pushed her back towards the bed and she sat on the edge while he pulled off her boots and slid her pants the rest of the way off, all the while staring into her eyes. She took her breath in shakily, every nerve in her body screaming for his touch.

Deacon stood and quickly removed his own boots and jeans and then bent over and balanced himself with his hands on either side of her hips, leaning in to kiss her. She again reached for him, pulling gently, sliding her hand up and down until he put his knee on the bed. She released him so she could move slightly backward and laid on her back. He ran his hand over her thigh and then slid two fingers inside her, smiling down at her as she closed her eyes and parted her lips and made little moaning sounds.

"You're so beautiful, Ray," he murmured, watching her push against his hand. Then he pulled out and her eyes flew open.

"Don't stop," she said throatily.

He shook his head. "Oh, no, I want all of you, Ray. I want to feel you all around me."

She sat up, reaching for his face, pulling him towards her and kissing him deeply. She moved a little and he moved with her, lowering himself on top of her so she could feel him hard against her leg. She moved her legs to wrap them around his, inviting him to enter her. When he did, she let out a satisfied sigh, as he filled her and started moving inside her. She lifted her legs higher so that she could wrap them around his waist, allowing him to go deeper. This was what she had missed, this lovemaking that was so familiar to her and yet excited her beyond measure. She loved how he filled her up, how he knew just how to send her over the edge.

Deacon moaned against Rayna's neck and he moved his mouth to hers, kissing her with a passion that had built up over these past six months to a crescendo. He wanted to make it last, but he couldn't this time. This time. There would be many more times to build up slowly. As he lost control, he could feel her tighten up and then she threw back her head, calling his name out over and over.

###

Rayna felt her adrenaline start pumping as the car turned over. She could feel herself hitting the side of the car, the steering wheel, her arm flailing out and hitting Deacon beside her, screaming. Then it was quiet. She could feel for a moment incredible pain. She sensed a black fog coming over her and just as it closed over her, she looked to see Deacon. His eyes were closed, blood covering his face and dripping down towards the ceiling of the car.

Suddenly she awoke with a start. It was dark and she wasn't exactly sure where she was and her heart was pounding. She took in a deep breath as she tried to sort out what just happened.

"Ray?" She immediately turned towards the voice quietly saying her name and relief flooded her as she saw Deacon's face in the dark. "Are you ok?" He reached for her and she realized that she was lying in Deacon's bed in Deacon's house.

Rayna nodded. "Yeah, I'm ok."

"Are you sure? It seemed like maybe you were having a bad dream."

Rayna curled herself into him. "I was. The accident."

Deacon pulled her close and wrapped his arm around her. "God, girl, you're shaking." He kissed the top of her head. "You're ok now."

Her heart was still thudding in her chest. Tears sprang to her eyes and ran down her face. "It was so real," she whispered.

Deacon reached out and rubbed his thumb across her face, wiping away the tears he saw. His face was a mask of concern as he realized this probably wasn't the first time she'd had that dream. All he wanted to do was protect her, take the pain away, erase the memories.

Rayna pulled back to look in his face. "I wonder when I'll stop having that dream."

Deacon leaned in and kissed her lightly. "When you realize that it's over. That you're here, where you belong."

"I don't ever want to leave."

"You don't have to. Ever again. There's nothing that can take you away from me again."

Rayna reached up and stroked his face, running her thumb over his lips. "I love you so much."

As he rolled over on top of her, he whispered against her lips, "I know. I've always known that. And I love you too." She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her, letting him erase her pain and replace it with his love.

And in the end - it's just Deacon and Rayna, together again.

Special thanks to KarenES for beta-reading the sex scene for me. It really did seem like it needed that. To all of you who've read this, I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed writing it. Now I can't wait to see how the show addresses all of this!