July 10, 2009 to January 8, 2010;July 29, 2010 to January 30, 2012 [on The Young and the Restless];

May 24, 2012 to June 27, 2012; September 17, 2012 to October 11, 2012 [recurring, on The Bold and the Beautiful];

June 13, 2014 to August 10, 2016 [contract, on The Bold and the Beautiful];

June 15, 2017 to June 16, 2017 [guest appearance, on The Bold and the Beautiful];

October 14, 2021 to present [contract, on The Bold and the Beautiful]

Deacon Sharpe was brought to Los Angeles by Rick Forrester, whose ex-wife, Amber Moore, was set to marry longtime friend C.J. Garrison. Rick and Amber had been raising Eric Forrester III, a child Deacon fathered with Amber's deceased cousin, Becky Moore; Rick paid Deacon $100,000 in exchange for full custody of Little Eric, hoping it would convince Amber to come back to him. But the slimy Deacon saw that both Rick's family, the Forresters, and C.J.'s family, the Spectras, wanted Little Eric, so Deacon held out and sparked a bidding war between the rich fashion dynasties. In the meantime, Deacon's girlfriend, Carmen Arena, was angry that Little Eric was living with them and jealous of Deacon's growing attraction to Amber, so Carmen threatened to throw the baby off the roof of their apartment building. Deacon and Amber rescued Little Eric, but in the struggle, Carmen fell to her death.

Deacon had been raised by the abusive Daryl, who again beat his son when he came for a visit. Deacon swore to be a better father to Little Eric, and persuaded Amber, who had broken up with C.J., to live with him for four months, after which Deacon promised he would sign over his parental rights to Amber. Although Amber began to bond with the very much in love Deacon, she still had feelings for Rick, and accepted Rick's proposal of marriage. Hurt by Amber's rejection, and angry with the Forresters for demanding that he stay away from her, Deacon took full advantage when he met Rick's sister, the virginal Bridget Forrester. Deacon crashed Amber's wedding and told the Forresters that if he couldn't have Amber, he would take Bridget; her father, Eric Forrester, and her brothers, Ridge and Thorne Forrester, responded by beating Deacon up and throwing him out.

But Deacon turned the tables on the Forresters by whisking the smitten Bridget off to Las Vegas to get married. When the Forresters called demanding that Deacon let Bridget come home, Deacon put the telephone's earpiece in a glass of water and forced Bridget's family to listen in as he deflowered her. Furious, Eric hit Deacon with his car, which only made Bridget more devoted -- until she heard Deacon tell Amber that their marriage was a sham: Deacon really wanted to raise Little Eric (now called "Little D") with Amber. Deacon realized he really did have feelings for Bridget after she ran off and got into a car accident, and agreed to a real marriage with her.

Bridget's mother, Brooke Logan, begged Deacon to divorce Bridget; Deacon gave in, knowing his lingering feelings for Amber were unfair to his wife. But Brooke and Deacon's emotionally charged conversation led to lovemaking. Deacon was surprised when Bridget responded to his admission of infidelity by giving him another chance, and more so when Brooke gave Deacon a job as the head of Forrester Creations' public relations department. However, Brooke soon took an extended leave from Forrester; Deacon tracked Brooke to a spa, where she admitted she was carrying his child. Deacon and Brooke continued their affair behind Bridget's back, but when Brooke's longtime nemesis, Stephanie Forrester, exposed Brooke's baby bump at a press conference, Forrester employee Whip Jones took responsibility to save her reputation. Deacon enjoyed taunting Whip and sleeping with Brooke on the sly, but ultimately, Brooke became Whip's husband.

Stephanie overheard Deacon and Brooke talking about their affair and demanded that Deacon leave Forrester for Bridget's sake. Believing her mother was carrying Whip's child, Bridget attended Brooke's baby shower; Brooke received a baby monitor, over which Bridget heard how her husband had impregnated her mother. Deacon was stunned when Bridget later revealed that she had helped deliver his love child, Hope, and understood when Bridget threw him out and burned his clothes. Deacon agreed with Brooke that Hope's paternity should remain secret, so Deacon left town for a while to keep the truth from being exposed. A few months later, however, a darker Deacon returned, incensed that Brooke was reuniting with her on-again-off-again love, Ridge Forrester; Deacon didn't want Ridge raising Hope.

Deacon blackmailed Brooke into financially supporting him by threatening to expose their affair to Ridge and the Forresters, eventually following Brooke to Portofino, Italy, where Forrester Creations was holding an important fashion show. Ridge punched Deacon when he found him with Brooke, while Eric, who had learned of the affair, convinced Deacon to put some distance between himself and Brooke. But Ridge's biological father, Massimo Marone, didn't want Ridge back with Brooke and talked Deacon into confronting Ridge. Deacon was disappointed when Ridge left Brooke, who wasn't interested in resuming her relationship with Deacon.

An ex-boyfriend of Amber's exploited her newfound fame as a Forrester and released a private videotape of their lovemaking, but Amber's twin sister, April Knight, came forward and claimed she was its star. April wanted to be a rock singer, so Deacon decided to become her manager and helped kick off April's career. For the sake of his baby daughter, Deacon also gave up drinking and joined Alcoholics Anonymous, where he met Macy Alexander. Macy had been presumed dead and wanted to get her own singing career back on track, so Deacon offered his assistance, while Macy encouraged Deacon to pursue his rights regarding his children, Little D and Hope. Deacon and Macy fell in love and married, but, the night of her big comeback at a club owned by Oscar Marone, gangsters that Oscar owed money to rigged a chandelier to fall on Macy, who lapsed into a coma and was taken off life support off-screen.

Deacon hoped to reunite with Bridget and start a fashion house with her, but when Eric found out, he confronted Deacon; the men struggled over a gun, and Deacon was shot. After he nearly lost the use of his legs, Deacon told Eric he would clear him of all charges connected to the shooting if Eric would make Deacon's new fashion house a subsidiary of Forrester. While digging up dirt on Eric on Massimo's behalf, Deacon became enamored of Massimo's wife, Jackie Marone. Meanwhile, Brooke was set to marry Jackie's son, Nick Marone; Nick asked Deacon if he could adopt Hope, adding that, in exchange, Deacon could see his daughter whenever he wanted. Deacon agreed to Nick's proposal.

The powerful Massimo suspected his wife of cheating and threatened Deacon; after coming to believe in Deacon's innocence, Massimo hired him to learn the identity of the interloper. But it was Deacon himself who was planning a future with Jackie, and, when Massimo found out, he had a stroke that appeared to leave him catatonic. Deacon taunted Massimo, flaunting his affair with Jackie and even drugging her in front of him -- but, though Massimo couldn't move or speak, he was aware of his surroundings and vowed revenge on Deacon. Eventually, Massimo confronted Deacon and Jackie with a gun, but Deacon and Jackie had fallen in love, and she asked for a separation, the condition of which was to install Deacon as vice president of her new fashion house, Jackie M.

Massimo learned that Deacon was a recovering alcoholic, and arranged for Deacon to be tempted so he'd fall off the wagon. Deacon indeed began drinking again, and tried to fight his addiction for Jackie's sake, but when the struggle became too much, he pushed Jackie out of his life and left Los Angeles, checking himself into rehab.

Amber had since moved to Genoa City, Wisconsin, and was involved with Daniel Romalotti, an artist. Daniel had been asked to forge a painting on behalf of the FBI, but it was really a ruse by Deacon, who wanted to have Daniel imprisoned so he could have Amber for himself. Deacon told Amber he would make sure Daniel was freed if she slept with him, but after she did, Daniel wanted nothing to do with her. Amber didn't know that Deacon, who was passing himself off as an art entrepreneur, was in town looking for a valuable painting that had been in the possession of Ray Elkins, the one-time cellmate of child abuser Tom Fisher. Deacon was working with Tom's son, Ryder Fisher, to find the artwork; when Elkins was violent toward Ryder the way Tom had been, Ryder killed him. During his search for the painting, Deacon also dallied with art expert Victoria Newman, who slept with Deacon after a fight with her husband.

Daniel became a suspect in the murder of Elkins; Deacon kidnapped Amber and told her he had evidence that would clear Daniel of the charges, which he would turn over if she married him. Amber agreed, but Daniel found out about Ryder's involvement in Elkins' death, and stopped Deacon from marrying Amber by offering to help find the painting. With assistance from his friends, Daniel located the artwork but returned it to the museum from which it was stolen, and Deacon was jailed for kidnapping Amber and being an accessory to the murder of Elkins. Deacon told Amber that his son, Little D, was living with Amber's mother, Tawny Moore, in Furnace Creek, California -- but not that Deacon had been put up to the whole attempted art heist by Ryder's aunt, Sarah Smythe, the supposed sister of nefarious villain Sheila Carter, who had threatened Little D's safety if Deacon didn't go along with her.

After serving his sentence, Deacon planned to return to California, but met Daniel's mother, Phyllis Summers. Phyllis wanted to make her on-again-off-again love, Nick Newman, jealous, so she kissed Deacon, who had taken a job as a bartender at Genoa City's new bar, Gloworm. Deacon noticed that Nick's mother, Nikki Newman, whom he had met in Alcoholics Anonymous, was a frequent customer and encouraged her to become sober again. However, Meggie McClain wanted Nikki's longtime paramour, the very rich Victor Newman, for herself, and was spiking Nikki's non-alcoholic drinks in an attempt to push her off the wagon. In exchange for a large sum of money, Deacon agreed to help Meggie in her quest to secure Victor and became Nikki's "drinking buddy," even though he wasn't actually drinking himself.

After Meggie arranged for Victor to find Nikki passed out in Deacon's bed, Victor sent Nikki to rehab, but Meggie made sure Deacon was admitted there, too. Victor confronted Deacon and raged at Nikki for turning to Deacon, after which Deacon realized he had developed real feelings for Nikki. Deacon told Meggie he didn't want to be part of their con anymore, but Meggie drugged Victor, her plan being to marry him, then murder him and inherit his wealth. Victor turned the tables on Meggie, and she was promptly arrested, yet all Nikki had been told was that Victor was marrying another woman, so Nikki found comfort in bed with Deacon. Victor caught them together, told them the marriage was a ruse to entrap Meggie, and turned his back on Nikki.

Deacon and Nikki grew closer, but Meggie called Deacon from jail and threatened to tell Nikki he was part of her scheme if he didn't get her out of jail. Deacon brought Meggie clothes for an escape, but secretly tipped off a prison guard so that she would be caught before she could break free. Meggie summoned Nikki to her cell and told her that Deacon had been involved in her plot; Deacon couldn't convince Nikki that he had actually fallen in love with her in the process. But, after Victor moved on with Diane Jenkins, Nikki began drinking heavily, and Deacon implored Victor, Nick, and Victoria to help Nikki. Victor soon took Nikki out of town and admitted her into another rehab.

Before long, Diane's body was found in a local park, her head having been bludgeoned. Deacon had seen many Genoa City residents arguing with Diane just before the murder, but the police spotted Deacon at the crime scene the next day. Nikki returned from rehab but was still drinking, and had woken up bloodied next to Diane's body. Deacon admitted that he had witnessed Victoria killing Diane, pointing out that Nikki had been trying to save her, and told Nikki that he wouldn't report Victoria to the cops if Nikki would marry him. Deacon took the drunken Nikki to Las Vegas for the ceremony, then leaked the nuptials to the tabloids. Nikki's billionaire best friend, Katherine Chancellor, offered Deacon a fortune to annul the marriage, and Nick attacked Deacon for taking advantage of his mother. Meanwhile, Nikki was stunned when Victoria insisted she hadn't killed Diane, contrary to Deacon's story.

After Nikki told Victor that she had killed Diane, Victor confessed to protect Nikki and was sent to jail, but, when Victor was about to be handed a 25-year sentence, Nikki barged into the courtroom, admitting her guilt, and was jailed for contempt. Deacon visited Nikki in prison, where she railed at him for coercing her into marriage; he quit his job and went on a spending spree using her money. But soon, Deacon revealed that he really cared for Nikki, who cozied up to him in an attempt to find out more about Diane's murder. Deacon spied Nikki looking through files on his laptop and was about to strangle her before they were interrupted; Nikki had been watching a video of Deacon having sex with Diane.

When Nikki caught Deacon hiding Super 8 film on which the sex video had been shot, he kidnapped her and took her to a warehouse to show her other videos: he had footage of Nikki hitting Diane in the head with a rock. But the footage also revealed that Diane was trying to inject Nikki with a syringe -- Nikki had acted in self-defense, and Deacon was only trying to protect her. Deacon was arrested for kidnapping, but the video helped exonerate Victor. Questioned by the district attorney, Deacon confessed that Diane had come to him for help: she had run afoul of Victor and wanted to frame him for her "murder," after which she would leave the country alive and well; Deacon was to film the faked killing. But then, a very drunk Nikki had stumbled into the park and fended off Diane's attack with the rock, so Deacon further bludgeoned Diane to make it look like someone bigger and stronger had killed her. Deacon had taken the park's security camera, and other items, to keep anyone from finding out about Nikki's involvement. In addition to serving time for kidnapping, Deacon now faced seven years in prison for obstructing justice.

Deacon helped clear everyone else of charges when he recognized a woman who had helped him clean up after Diane's murder: the notoriously insane Patty Williams, who had actually killed Diane for trying to seduce Jack Abbott, the object of Patty's decades-long obsession.

While Deacon served out his sentence, he was visited by Los Angeles-based publishing magnate Bill Spencer. Bill objected to his son, Liam Spencer, marrying Deacon's daughter, Hope Logan, and promised to pull strings to get Deacon out of jail if Deacon would go to Italy and stop the ceremony. Deacon, who had undergone beatings in jail and desperately wanted to see his daughter, agreed, and Bill blackmailed the prison's warden into setting Deacon free. As per his arrangement with Bill, Deacon showed up at his estranged daughter's hotel room the day of her wedding; while Hope was shocked to see her long-absent biological father (she had been raised by Nick Marone and Ridge Forrester), she forgave him for not being there for her. Deacon was so moved by his daughter's compassion that he almost couldn't go through with Bill's orders, but he forced himself to steal Hope's cell phone and forge a note telling Liam she'd changed her mind about marrying him.

While Bill and Deacon's interference nearly did split Hope and Liam up, the young couple reunited; Bill paid Deacon off anyway and told him never to return to Los Angeles. Deacon texted Brooke, wanting to see Hope; Brooke kept the text a secret, which caused Ridge to leave Brooke during their honeymoon. Undeterred, Deacon confronted Bill in his office and said that if Bill didn't give him a job, he would tell everyone how Bill used him to stop Hope's wedding. Bill threatened to have Deacon killed if he didn't leave town, but Bill's pregnant wife, Katie Logan, walked in during this exchange; the news of Bill's illegal activities regarding Deacon caused Katie to go into premature labor and nearly die because of the strain on her transplanted heart.

After nearly two years, Deacon resurfaced in Los Angeles and met Quinn Fuller in a bar. Hope had been torn between Quinn's son, Wyatt Fuller, and Liam; when Quinn learned Deacon was Hope's father, she offered him a place to stay if he would help push Hope toward Wyatt. Deacon visited Hope, who forgave him for what happened in Italy and agreed to foster a father-daughter relationship with him. Deacon then introduced himself to Wyatt and bonded with him over a bottle of Scotch.

Deacon thought Quinn was kidding when she said she wanted to kill Liam, but Deacon told Wyatt about a sword Quinn was making, allowing Wyatt to prevent Liam's murder. While Quinn was reportedly away at a psychiatric hospital, Deacon spent time with Brooke, who had nearly married Bill in Abu Dhabi; Ridge had stopped the wedding but suffered brain damage after falling out of Bill's helicopter into the Persian Gulf. Following Ridge's hunch that Bill was responsible, Deacon helped Katie find evidence of that fact. While Brooke reexamined her relationship with Bill, Deacon asked Brooke for another chance and kissed her.

Deacon learned that Ricardo Montemayor, the man who bequeathed a priceless blue diamond to Wyatt, had been murdered. Deacon found a video Ricardo made for Wyatt that hinted at Quinn's involvement; when Deacon confronted Quinn, she claimed innocence but held Deacon at gunpoint. Deacon and Quinn worked to keep Brooke and Bill apart, and Deacon bonded with Brooke over their daughter, Hope. Just as Deacon proposed to Brooke, Bill interrupted with his own proposal, but Brooke rejected both men and moved to Milan to get herself together. Deacon fell into bed with Quinn, who wasn't looking for any kind of commitment, so the two enjoyed a casual, flirtatious relationship.

Deacon was ready to give Quinn up when Hope refused to accept them as a couple, but he allowed himself to be seduced back into Quinn's bed. Later, seeing how Quinn was fixating on Hope, who was expecting a baby with Wyatt, Deacon asked Quinn to respect Hope's request for privacy. Though Deacon was devastated when Hope fell down a flight of stairs and miscarried after arguing with Quinn, Deacon talked Quinn out of jumping off a building and stood by her.

Deacon became concerned for Brooke when he found her drunk at a restaurant; despite insisting he was committed to Quinn, Deacon kissed Brooke, then beat a hasty retreat. Wyatt, who was aware of Deacon's history with Brooke, held Deacon's feet to the fire. After the jealous Quinn slapped Brooke to the ground, Deacon proposed to Quinn and ignored Brooke's warnings about her. Deacon admitted to Quinn that he was an alcoholic and planned to get back to his Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, where he ran into Brooke. When Brooke was tempted to drink, Deacon threw out her liquor and expressed gratitude when Brooke apologized for treating him horribly over the years. Deacon and Brooke agreed this could be their time if he wasn't engaged to Quinn; Wyatt overheard and went to Quinn, who demanded that Deacon stop supporting Brooke. Deacon assured Quinn she wasn't his second choice.

No one attended Deacon's wedding to Quinn except Wyatt, though Brooke brought Hope in on a video call to talk Deacon out of going through with it. After Hope threatened to sever their father-daughter relationship, Deacon married Quinn anyway, honeymooning quietly at home. Months later, Deacon ran into Brooke at a Forrester fashion show, happy she was maintaining her sobriety. Then, Deacon and Quinn put in appearances at Forrester's Halloween party and at Thanksgiving dinner. Off-screen, Deacon and Quinn separated, and Deacon was said to be visiting Hope in Europe.

When Deacon returned home, he visited Quinn to sign annulment papers and discovered that Quinn was harboring an amnesiac Liam so Wyatt would have a chance with Liam's estranged fiancée, Steffy Forrester. Deacon agreed to keep Quinn's secret but worried for Quinn, who seemed to be falling for Liam. Needing money, Deacon agreed to fake photos of Liam and Quinn's supposed marriage, but Deacon balked when Quinn suggested she'd have to kill Liam. Deacon had no desire to hurt his former son-in-law; Deacon swore he'd go to Bill with everything, but reluctantly worked with Quinn to position Liam on a cliff overlooking the ocean. When Liam ran off, the confused Deacon found himself plunging into the ocean after Quinn pushed Deacon off the cliff instead.

Weeks later, having survived, Deacon returned to discover that Liam had escaped and locked Quinn in a closet; Deacon threatened Quinn with an axe and seemingly refused her offer to support him if he ran off with her. But when an out-for-blood Bill summoned Deacon to grill him about the fugitive Quinn's whereabouts, Deacon kept mum, then insisted to Quinn that they had to leave Los Angeles, feeling that Quinn's lingering feelings for Liam would land her in jail. Deacon continually tried to talk Quinn out of becoming involved with Eric.

Almost a year later, Deacon appeared on the scene just as Quinn was being shot at by an unknown assailant. Deacon called the cops, but it soon became clear he had fallen off the wagon and faked the call; Deacon drunkenly revealed he was the shooter and pulled a gun on Quinn as revenge for trying to kill him, and for ignoring his heretofore unknown pleas for monetary help. After Ridge stopped Deacon by punching him out, Deacon was arrested and found himself in jail once again. Off-screen, Deacon contacted Bill about posting bail but was turned down.

In 2021, Deacon was released from jail, and it was revealed that he had been receiving letters from Hope the entire time he was incarcerated. At Hope's request, Deacon arrived at her home, only to be kicked out by Liam, Ridge, and Brooke. Recovering alcoholic Deacon fell off the wagon and drank heavily at a bar, where he met the notorious Sheila Carter, who had committed any number of crimes against the Forrester family. Like Deacon, Sheila was being kept away from her child, John "Finn" Finnegan; Deacon was dubious when Sheila suggested they work together to gain access to their kids. Deacon balked that he couldn't be seen associating with the likes of Sheila, but, as he had no home to call his own, Deacon reluctantly accepted Sheila's offer of a place to stay.

Deacon initially went along with Sheila's ruse that he and Sheila were involved, but when Deacon learned that Sheila wanted to cause trouble in Hope's marriage, Deacon moved out of Sheila's hotel room. Deacon got nowhere with Ridge in regard to building a relationship with Hope; however, Brooke warming up to him reignited Deacon's feelings for Brooke. Finding fellow alcoholic Brooke alone and drinking on New Year's Eve, Deacon joined her for a drink and was surprised to fall into a kiss with her. Waking up next to Brooke, Deacon promised Brooke that nothing had happened beyond the one kiss, but Deacon was disappointed to hear Brooke banning him from her life. Deacon wanted to be a family with Brooke and Hope and took a job mopping floors at high-scale restaurant Il Giardino to prove himself, all while refusing to answer Sheila's questions about how things were going between him and Brooke.

Deacon had to defend himself when Ridge found out about Deacon's kiss with Brooke and started a fistfight with him. At Hope's urging, Deacon appealed to Ridge to take Brooke back; when his words fell on deaf ears, Deacon tried more than once to convince Brooke that he was the man Brooke should be with, only to hear Brooke affirm that she wanted Ridge. Deacon received the shock of his life when he took out the trash in Il Giardino's back alley and found Finn and his wife, Steffy Forrester, shot, unconscious, and bleeding. Deacon got help for them and alerted Ridge but was gutted when Finn was pronounced dead at the scene. Deacon did his best to comfort Sheila, who fell into a very dark place in the aftermath of her son's death. But Deacon chastised himself for supporting Sheila when he learned that Sheila had been responsible for shooting Steffy and Finn.

Meanwhile, in Genoa City, Diane Jenkins turned up alive after years in Los Angeles and revealed that Deacon had helped her fake her death by stealing a corpse from a morgue, casting doubt on whether Deacon wrongly served jail time for obstructing justice in said "death". Deacon received a visit from ex-wife Nikki Newman and, as a gesture toward making up for deceiving her, gave Nikki a photo of the supposedly middle class Diane in a luxury car with a man, which indicated that Diane had been lying about her years away from Wisconsin.

Deacon refused to harbor Sheila, who had escaped from jail, and later been reported dead by bear mauling. But the night before a visit from his parole officer, Deacon got drunk and was seduced by a red-headed stranger, who hadn't said a word during their night together. The next morning, Deacon received a shock when the stranger pulled off an elaborate face mask and revealed herself to be Sheila, who had severed her own toe to make the cops believe she had died. Deacon panicked when his parole officer knocked on the door and Sheila begged him not to blow her cover. Deacon ultimately let Sheila stay with him as his lover, vacillating back and forth as to whether he should allow it. Deacon kept the disguised Sheila from confronting Steffy, but when Steffy and Finn figured out that Sheila was alive and interrogated him, Deacon advised Sheila to make a run for it. As a last favor, Deacon erased security footage that had caught Sheila on camera to help her escape.

Deacon then flew overseas to meet with investors, after which he was able to take ownership of Il Giardino. Despite having fun revamping its menu, Deacon nursed feelings for Sheila, especially once he learned she had become involved with Bill, who had kept her from going to jail. Deacon wanted Sheila to leave Bill for him, but he ached after Sheila called him a loser and said she never wanted to see him again. Deacon later learned that Sheila had only been trying to keep her distance since Bill held the key to her freedom; Deacon was surprised when Sheila complained about how boring Bill was in bed and started an affair with her, though Sheila worried about Bill finding out about it. Deacon was later approached by Bill and Ridge, who were working with the FBI to nail Sheila for a long-ago murder; Deacon agreed to help them in exchange for their keeping his own involvement with Sheila a secret. Deacon felt bad after Sheila was arrested and visited her in jail, where he received Sheila's forgiveness for his part in things.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Deacon convinced Sheila's trial judge, a friend of his, to release Sheila from prison on the basis of Bill having entrapped Sheila using improper methods. Deacon wanted to revive his relationship with Sheila but was initially reluctant because of the risk of losing the restaurant and Hope. Before long, Deacon realized he was in love with Sheila and proposed to her, fending off the disapproval of both Hope and Finn. Deacon and Hope argued when Deacon wouldn't endorse Hope's relationship with Thomas Forrester, who had once tormented Hope and let her believe her baby was dead, while Hope wouldn't accept Deacon's relationship with Sheila; Deacon felt hurt when Hope refused to let him see his grandchildren as long as he was involved with Sheila.

Continuing to champion Sheila to her detractors, Deacon privately questioned Sheila's increasing disappearances, during which Sheila said she was meeting with a long lost friend. Deacon had given Sheila a job at Il Giardino; after Sheila served Steffy's young daughter, Kelly, Deacon broke up Steffy's assault on Sheila and desperately tried to keep Sheila from slipping back into her old ways. Deacon mourned Sheila when Steffy stabbed her to death defending herself from Sheila's attack and paid his respects to Sheila at the morgue. After Deacon held a memorial for Sheila at his restaurant, which only Finn and Hope attended, Deacon attended Sheila's cremation, only to see seconds before its incineration that the corpse had ten toes. Knowing Sheila had only had nine toes, Deacon became convinced that Sheila was alive, though no one, especially Finn, would listen to him.

Deacon did some investigating and learned that, before Sheila's "death", she had been receiving menacing texts from someone named "Sugar". When Sheila's greatest nemesis, Genoa City's Lauren Fenmore, came to Los Angeles, Deacon learned from Lauren that Sugar was an accomplice of Sheila's who had tricked Sugar into having plastic surgery to look just like Sheila, so that Sugar could take Sheila's place in a mental institution while Sheila roamed free. With Finn coming over to Deacon's side, Deacon tracked a credit card charge of Sheila's to a convenience store in a seedy area; thanks to the recollections of a homeless man, Deacon and Finn found Sheila chained to a wall in an abandoned building. Deacon took Sheila home to recuperate after learning that Sugar had kidnapped Sheila and planned to kill Steffy, and Steffy's kids, as Sheila so that Sheila would be blamed. Deacon was overjoyed when Sheila accepted his renewed marriage proposal. Deacon desired to have both Hope and Finn stand up for him and Sheila; Deacon married Sheila with Hope as Sheila's maid of honor, Finn as an unintentional guest, and the homeless man, Tom Starr, officiating the ceremony.

Deacon took Tom off the streets and hired him at the restaurant, reassuring Tom after Tom read about Sheila's criminal past online. Learning that Tom had once been a musician on the festival circuit, Deacon staged a comeback concert for Tom but watched in horror as Tom collapsed and died after his set. It confused Deacon to learn that the recovering Tom had died of a drug overdose, and, when his other employee, Paul "Hollis" Hollister, fell over dead from the same overdose, Deacon began to suspect foul play. However, as the police arrested Sheila, Deacon maintained her innocence despite her not having a full alibi.