Disclaimer: I do not own Nashville or any of its music, characters, and dialogue.

A/N: So, I realize that I've pretty much kept Teddy out of my story, so I'm not going to go with the whole "Teddy got blackmailed to sign Maddie to Edgehill" storyline. I think it's best to not overcomplicate my own storylines with that, and also, I think that things very well may have worked out differently if what I'm writing about actually happened.

Anyway, I'm picking on up Season 3, episode 12 (minus the record deal stuff, of course!) and am adding in my own Rayna, Luke, and Maddie stuff. I hope you like it! Please let me know what you think!

And YAY for Nashville getting picked up by CMT/Hulu!

Ball and Chain(ed)

31.

"Attitude Adjustment" (Hank Williams Jr.)

In spite of himself, he did it. Hunched over his computer, Deacon typed in those four, dreadful words: liver cancer life expectancy. Images and clips flashed before his eyes as he clicked and browsed and filtered through all the information, but one phrase stood out: six months.

Six months. A lot could happen in six months. Deacon had gone in and out of rehab five times in six months. Rayna had gotten married and had a baby in practically six months. Maddie grew about four inches taller in six months. Six months was a lot.

Scarlet was rambling on about milk and alternative treatments, but Deacon wasn't paying attention. His mind was warping, and it was all he could do to blink when Scarlet came over and rested her chin on the top of his head, telling him to say hello to Maddie for her as his Facetime rang.

"Why's she Facetimin' me now?" he breathed aloud, feeling his heart start to race. Not now when he…. Not now

"Because you're her dad and she wants time with your face." Deacon closed his eyes, and Scarlet let out a sympathetic sound. "You can't avoid her forever."

And with that, she swooped in and clicked the "accept button," with Deacon yelling "no!" and Maddie's sweet little face filling up the screen. "Hey, sweetie."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Hey." The door shut as Luke came into the kitchen, setting a white bag down on the table.

"What's that?"

"A present for Jayden. Normally I like to have my kids open my presents themselves but, you know, he's a bit small for that."

Rayna laughed and went over to the bag, pulling out some picture frames and a gift card to a photography place.

"I just thought it'd be nice to get some pictures of him," Luke explained. He was looking at Rayna carefully, almost as if nervous of her reaction. "I've used that place before for some of my label shoots, and they do good quality stuff."

"How thoughtful of you, Luke." Rayna set everything back into the bag and then went over to him, extending an arm.

Their relationship had been strained since everything that happened at the CMTs, and this was a big step for them. She really didn't want there to be any bad blood between them, and so far, there didn't seem to be, even if Luke was still bitter and upset about everything. He accepted her hug and put his arms around her gently, cautiously, but he held on a little longer than Rayna thought was necessary.

"So, uh, is Jay sleepin'?" Luke shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked at her, his hat covering most of his eyes.

"Maddie is actually playing with him upstairs. You're more than welcome to go up there and join her."

"Thanks, Rayna. He lifted his head briefly to gaze at her, and Rayna felt a jolt of emotion. The way he was looking at her was so strange. It was a soft look, a tender look, but there was more it. But Rayna just didn't know what.

As he went up the stairs, Rayna sighed and pulled out her phone, scrolling down to Deacon's contact. He had told her that he needed his space, and when she went to go see him, she had told him that she needed time. The truth, however, was that she didn't know what she wanted. She wanted him, she wanted her family, she wanted her career… She wanted everything, and in the process of that, lines got blurred and emotions ran high.

Her finger hovered over the phone icon, but after thinking about it for a few seconds, she put her phone down, ran a finger through her hair, and then wandered off toward the stairs, wondering if Luke was still going to be awkward.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

It wasn't fair.

Backing out of Jayden's room, Maddie was staring at Luke and her mom, who were both sitting on the floor playing with their baby. Luke was holding Jayden while Rayna tickled his little feet, and they were both smiling. They both seemed so happy.

Maddie wanted to be happy, for her mom, her sister, her brother, and herself, but she just couldn't be. Deacon had been avoiding her and practically snubbed on her Facetime the other day. She was shocked he even answered her call, to be honest. She'd waited for so long to finally get to know him and spend more time with him, but after all this baby stuff happens, he and Rayna have a falling out and he doesn't want to speak to her? Not even when she's his own daughter?

"This sucks," she said out loud, rounding the corner and entering her bedroom. The tenth grade was hard enough at it was, and all this drama gave her a headache. There was no way she could focus on her algebra homework at this point, which her mom had nagged her to do but which ultimately wasn't going to happen.

Sighing again, she reached down and pulled out her guitar – the one her mother had given her. Deacon got her a couple of "better" guitars, but this one still meant so much to Maddie. Her mother's mother had given it to her to channel her energy and focus on music, and Rayna had now passed it on to Maddie with the same intentions. Maddie felt a soft sort of energy flowing through it, encouraging her to dig deep and be honest with herself.

Without really thinking too much, Maddie picked some chords and started playing them.

"This is real life," she eventually sang, strumming on her guitar, "don't let it pass you by. Laugh and cry…"