So…now to find out what Sarah's idea was…

Disclaimer: If I owned the characters I would probably be vacationing on some island with tikki huts and really cute cabana boys. Damn….i'm still here at my computer….get the picture?

Jake's POV

Jake was in his room staring up at the ceiling again. He hadn't bothered changing out of the boxers and tee shirt that he had worn to bed the night before….he knew he wouldn't be going anywhere tonight. There was no reason to. He was just counting down the minutes until they would leave, not that it would make anything better. It was just the next thing he would do.

He heard the front door burst open.

He jumped up. Adrenaline and terror had shaken him out of his stupor. Had his father come back a few days early? Was he already in a rage?

His heart beat slowed as he realized that it was Sarah's voice that was shouting his name from the floor below.

"JAKE!" She screamed.

He ran out of the room and down the stairs and found her in the living room.

"Are you alright?" He said anxiously. He had never seen Sarah this worked up about anything.

Sarah was bent over with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath she had obviously run home.

"I think I've figured it out." She said in between breaths.

"Figured what out?" He said calming down now that it was obvious that she wasn't dying or running from a madman.

"You and Miley." She managed still trying to catch her breath.

"What about me and Miley?" He asked with his full attention on his sister.

"How you guys can be together." She said finally smiling and with her breathing steady.

"What do you mean?" Jake said not even trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.

Sarah looked at him excitedly "Actually it was Jackson's idea." "I've wanted to move off campus for awhile now but mom and dad won't pay for anything above what the dorms cost and my job just won't cover it….but if I had a roommate…."

Jake's eyes saddened and he interrupted his sister. "Sarah…we've been over this. I don't have any control over my money until I turn 18. It's the whole reason that we couldn't get a place together earlier when dad started freaking out, remember?"

"Of course I remember….it's the whole reason that I went on my crusade to find mom. But things have changed since then Jake."

"And what exactly has changed?" He looked at her skeptically. "My legal guardian still has control over my money and since mom just got custody that means it's her now." Jake said trying not to get too upset about Sarah getting his hopes up.

"Yeah but when that happened mom had dad removed as your business manager….and in the agreement it says that you get to name your new manager!" Sarah spat out nearly bursting with excitement.

"So?" Jake asked his arms crossed in front of him looking as clueless as ever.

"So….Hire ME!" She said getting excited.

"Listen I have absolutely no qualifications or anything but neither did dad and you still did 3 movies last year basically on your own." "PLUS with the money you were paying dad we could afford an actual apartment and you wouldn't have to live with mom if you didn't want to!"

"WE could BOTH stay here! You could be with MILEY Jake!"

The wheels had started turning in his head. He understood what she was saying. If he named her as his manager he could pay her enough money to support them both. Excitement started to work its way through Jake's body. The thought was just too wonderful to believe. He stood in the living room in complete shock.

The excitement that was in his eyes suddenly faded. He looked back at Sarah.

"There's only one problem….mom will never go for it and she would have to give me permission to live here with you even if we did have the money for everything."

Sarah's mood had changed from bubbling with excitement to one of confrontational anger.

"Jake Ryan! Please don't tell me that after EVERYTHING that you've gone through you're just going to give up just like that! Mom might not be thrilled with the idea of us living together but she OWE'S us after what she did. And besides as long as you can still sign contracts with just you and your manager you can take work WHEREVER you want to so even if she were against it you could just take roles here and she wouldn't be able to do ANYTHING about it."

Sarah had been pacing around the living room as if the motion was helping her work out the implications of what they were going to do. She stopped in front of Jake sufficiently worked up.

"So if you care about this girl HALF as much as you think you do get off your BUTT and FIGHT FOR HER!" Sarah yelled handing him her cell phone.

What Sarah had said was true. He had been using roles to get him out of LA for over a year now. If his mom wasn't thrilled about them living together he and Sarah could always use that to get him back here. His breathing had started to quicken along with his heartbeat. It could work! He wouldn't have to go and live with him mom who had left him and some guy that he hadn't even met yet.

He could stay here…he could be with Miley! Seeing her the last week had been great but they weren't fooling anyone with their "just friends" act. Neither one of them really wanted to be friends AT ALL. Maybe this way they could move past that.

Images of her started flashing through his mind. Miley in her Christmas costume laughing while they took pictures, her sitting out on the porch with tears in her eyes, the way she smiled that lit up a room, the look in her eyes before he had kissed her. He WOULD make this work. He had to.

Jake took the cell phone and the excitement returned to his eyes. The thought of being with Miley outweighed everything else at the moment.

Suddenly Jake turned and grabbed his sister spinning her around the room. "You're amazing! You know that! Absolutely amazing!"

"You know I'll be your slave for life after this right?" Jake said lifting her off the ground again and happily dancing around the room from a sheer overdose of excitement and joy.

Sarah was smiling nearly as largely as Jake was.

"Well…there had to be something in it for me now didn't there?" She said jokingly.

Jake's expression sobered and he stopped spinning her around. It had finally hit him how much Sarah was doing for HIM.

"Wait…..Are YOU sure you're ok with this?" He asked her knowing full well that most college students wouldn't be too thrilled about the prospect of living with their younger brothers.

Sarah just looked at him and smiled.

"Jake you're my brother and I love you. And to be honest the idea of dropping you off on mom's doorstep with a new step father and family to deal with has been torturing me. This way we'll get to work things out with mom on our own terms."

She turned and put her hands on his forearms. "Plus…you'd have to be pretty blind not to see how much you and Miley care about each other. I just hope someday I find someone who makes me half as happy as she makes you." She said smiling goodnaturedly at Jake.

Jake was overcome by everything his sister was doing for him. He might have been let down by both of his parents in the last few years but the one thing that he would NEVER regret about it all was how close he had become with his sister. He loved her unfailingly.

He stood up and hugged her tightly. They had both been through a lot these past few years. Neither one would have gotten through it without the other. Now they would start living their lives again…together.

Sarah looked at Jake with tiny tears in her eyes.

As a way to break the emotional silence she joked with him. "Plus if you HATE living with me you can always move out to New York."

Jake smiled broadly again and gave her a sarcastic look. "You have SEEN Miley haven't you?" He asked her with a huge smile on his face.

He let go of his sister and took a deep breath preparing himself for the confrontation he knew was coming when he called his mom to tell her about moving in with Sarah. "Well….Here goes nothing!" He said as he dialed the phone.

He he. I TOLD you not to give up hope….I wonder what Miley's been doing during all this time??? READ AND REVIEW!!!!! You heard me I said REVIEW! PLEASE????