After a mini break, the drama picked up where we last left it on Nashville season 3, episode 16, “I Can’t Keep Away From You.” Read on below for the full recap.

With so much that went on last night we are going to go down the character line and see what happened. Let’s begin!

Rayna and Deacon: It was the slap heard around the world, or at least anyone who watches the show. The last episode ended with Deacon telling Rayna he basically had terminal cancer and she just let him have it. The show picked up immediately following the slap, and Rayna flings herself into his arms and apologizes. The two then spend 75% of the episode fighting over the fact that Deke wants to go through this battle alone and not hurt Ray or the kids anymore unless he makes it through this.

She smashes a guitar and he stands by and watches. She storms out of the house and he eventually follows. She eventually convinces him that if this is all the time they have left together, she wants to spend it with him so that if he does die she can have these memories to look back on. “What about Maddie” he counters, and Ray tells him that she is stronger than he gives her credit for. They make sweet, long-overdue love and then go home and tell the girls that A) they are together together and B) he’s very very sick. Daphne is a bit left out in this talk so hopefully she gets a minor storyline of her own soon.

Avery, Gunnar, and Scarlett: Is there any better trio right now than these three? Their voices blend together so perfectly that even when they “write” a song the day of a concert you believe it! But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. On the way to Chicago with Rascal Flatts, Scarlett is thinking about the last time she was there and how she had a meltdown. Gunnar and Avery are supportive as always but when some Twitter followers start to bully her she has a mini-setback.

But fear not because your ex-boyfriends are amazing together and get you out of your funk Scar! The trio kills the performance and Gunnar’s sad puppy eyes towards her are just too much. They get even worse when Scarlett’s new beau Caleb shows up and she eventually goes to his hotel room. Meanwhile, Avery is handling being away from his pregnant wife the way you would expect: facetiming her every hour. She protests but JuJu actually loves it and Avery’s lovely song he later sings to their unborn daughter.

Teddy: If there is one character that this show doesn’t need it’s Teddy. Teddy gets blackmailed by his hooker Natasha when he finds out that the FBI is doing an investigation on prostitution rings. Oh Teddy. He ends up using Lamar’s old contact to do some digging and he ends up attempting to blackmail the man who does the city’s finances. Good idea!

Jeff and Layla: Ugh, sad news guys. It doesn’t look like Jeff and Layla are going to be the next great love story on this show. After Jeff sets up a meeting with an attractive blogger that he of course has slept with Layla gets angry and walks off. Layla ends up having a heart-to-heart with Will of all people about being in love and Jeff gets some strong words about his character from Teddy. Jeff comes back to the house and tells Layla he wants to really give being in an intimate relationship a try. After a roll in the sack, Layla decides that she is done trying to turn guys she likes into the people she wants them to be and says that they are only business partners now. You go Layla!

Will Oh, Will. You just finished writing one of the best songs on this show and when the openly gay song writer puts his arm around you, you FREAK out. Not a good move. Kevin ends up telling Will he can’t work with him when he feels that way. Will tries to write a love song on his own but it’s futile. His talk with Layla reveals that he has never been in love and she wisely tells him he shouldn’t write about something he doesn’t know about. He then turns around and tells Kevin to not give up on him yet, as he might know some of the things he is going through. Did he just out himself to Kevin?! If not, Kevin isn’t stupid so this is good news!

Luke and Sadie If you didn’t see this pairing coming back at the awards episode, you are blind and should probably not watch the show anymore. Too harsh? These two can’t stop “running” into each other and making sad longing eyes at one another. Sadie even sings the female vocals on Luke’s super emotional song and it’s a great tune. Nashville killed it tonight with the music FYI. When he asks her to lay the vocals down, she sheepishly says she can’t, rival labels and all, so the two get coffee. She later tells him that it’s not a good idea to walk her to her car and this will prove to be a big mistake as her ex-husband shows up. He starts menacingly towards her, she pulls her gun, and of course a struggle ensues. A shot rings out and he slumps to the ground. Luke pulls up in his truck as Sadie stands there holding the gun. Ohhh boy.

What did you think of ‘Nashville’ season 3, episode 16?

Next week is Juliette’s shower and thank goodness we are getting our favorite diva back! Just in time too! Check back later for more Nashville news!