A/N: I'm not too happy with this chapter, but I hope you guys like it. Happy Reading

When Zac and Vanessa got off the plane at LAX a week later, they were thankful to see that there was minimal paparazzi around due to the fact that it was nearly one am. The newly engaged couple had just spent the best week of their lives in Hawaii and was on top of the world.

Vanessa kept her left hand in the pocket of Zac's hoodie she was wearing, hiding the ring from the paparazzi outside, as he kept a protective arm around her.

They had agreed to try to keep the engagement a secret until they could tell their family and friends. They reached Zac's car that was waiting on them, courtesy of Ashley and Zac opened the passenger door for her, letting her climb in before he made his way to the driver's seat. He made his way through LA before pulling up to Vanessa's Studio City home. They got out and they made their way inside.

The next couple of days were spent with Zac and Vanessa moving all of Zac's things to Vanessa's house.

Vanessa threw the last empty box into the recycling bin and looked around at their living room that now had pictures of both their families. She stepped into the media/ theater room to see the entertainment center that held both of their awards now. She walked downstairs to try to find him.

"Baby?"

"Damn clothes," she heard him mumble. She walked into the laundry room downstairs to see him looking at the buttons on the washing machine with a confused look on his face.

"What are you doing, baby?" she asked, seeing the floor covered in different piles of dirty clothes.

He turned around with a cute pout on his face. "I was trying to surprise you and do some laundry, but I don't exactly know how to work this one."

She giggled softly at him and walked over, pressing a button and the machine started going. She turned around to see him looking at her in astonishment.

She leaned on her tip toes and kissed him softly. "Thank you for helping."

He smiled and picked her up, sitting her on top of the washing machine. She giggled and wrapped her legs around his waist. "What are you doing?" she asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"This," he replied, leaning in and kissing her.

"mmm," she replied, pulling away. "We can't baby. Our parents and everyone will be here soon. I have to get ready."

He kissed her neck softly. "But I just can't get enough of you," he whined, kissing her sweet spot.

She gasped, "Hey daddy!" Zac froze and instantly let go of her, stepping away from her. She giggled loudly seeing the scared look on his face. She jumped off of the washing machine and ran out of the laundry room.

He scoffed loudly and went after her. "Vanessa Anne, that was not nice!" he quickly caught up with her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and spinning her around as she giggled like crazy. He carefully laid her down on the couch and started tickling her.

"Zac! No! Please! Baby stopppp!" she begged between giggles as she squirmed all over the couch.

"Nope. Need kisses first." he said, smiling.

"Okay! Okay!" she leaned up, kissing him passionately. He pulled back and smiled. "Thank you. You are free to go." He said with a mock serious face and walked off towards the kitchen.

She smacked his butt as she walked by, winking at him as she climbed the stairs. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on the couch as Shadow jumped into his lap.

Twenty minutes later, Vanessa came downstairs with a cute mid-thigh length sundress, sandals, and her hair in their natural curls.

"How does this look?" she asked.

He looked away from the baseball game that was on tv and smiled at her. "You look gorgeous, baby. Should I be dressed up more?"

She looked at him in his dark wash skinny jeans and black v-neck tshirt. "No baby, you look sexy." She leaned down and kissed him. She took off her engagement ring and handed it to Zac.

He looked at her with a confused and hurt look on his face. "What are you doing?"

"Calm down, baby. They can't see the ring until we announce it. Will you hold it for me until then?" she asked, handing it to him. He nodded, smiling in relief and slid it into his front pocket.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. She opened the door to see Gina and Starla standing there with David and Greg behind them.

"Hey guys! Come on in!" she let them all in and closed the door. They followed her to the kitchen. Gina hugged her tightly, "How was Hawaii, sweet heart?"

"It was amazing, Mama. We had a blast." Zac walked in and smiled, seeing their parents. He hugged Gina next as she gushed about how good it was to see him. Starla hugged Vanessa, "Hey there my sweet girl, it's go good to see you."

Vanessa smiled, hugging her back. "You too, Mom. I missed you guys," she said, hugging David.

Zac then hugged Starla, "Hey mama," he said happily, kissing her cheek before hugging David.

"Hey daddy!" Vanessa said, hugging him before he hugged Zac. "Hello Baby V, hello Zac. Good to see you."

"You too, Greg," Zac smiled. "Where are Dyl and Stell?" he asked, not seeing them.

"They ran to the store. We forgot to grab the beer so he had to go buy some," David explained.

Zac and Vanessa nodded in understanding. Zac walked to the sliding doors that separated the patio outside from the spacious living room. He pushed the doors open, making it a big open space. They all moved outside and chatted as music played through outside stereo system.

A few minutes later, they all looked inside the house as they heard Stella screaming, "I'm going to kill you, Dylan Efron!"

She said hello to everyone before sitting down. "What happened, Stella?" Vanessa asked.

"This really cute guy was flirting with me at the store and asked if me and Dylan were dating. Of course I said no so then when he asked for my phone number, Dylan pulled the big brother card and scared him away!"

Greg and Zac high fived each other, jokingly and cheered while the woman gave them joking glares.

Dylan came out and received a bunch of amused looks. "Stella, don't be mad at me! He was a prick and I was just protecting you!"

She rolled her eyes at him. He hugged Zac before pulling Vanessa to her feet and hugging her tightly.

He sat down and before long Ashley and Chris Reinacher, Zac's best friend since first grade, had arrived. They all hung out, eating pizza, and catching up.

Vanessa and Zac were talking in the kitchen quietly, when everyone was still outside.

"You ready?" Zac asked, kissing her softly.

She nodded, smiling big as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring. He slid it back on her finger and they walked outside, Zac had his arm around her shoulder and she had her left hand resting in his back pocket of his jeans.

Zac cleared his throat, "Dear family and friends of ours, we have something to tell you guys."

He looked down at Vanessa as she smiled up at him.

Everyone looked at them with waiting looks on their faces.

"Come on guys, spill! You're killing us here!" Ashley said.

"Oh my god, you're aliens. That's what it is, isn't it?" Dylan joked, earning a slap on the back of the head by Starla.

They all chuckled before Zac and Vanessa both said excitedly, "We're engaged!"

Ashley and Stella both started squealing as Starla instantly teared up, as did Gina. Dylan cheered excitedly as David and Greg just smiled.

Dylan instantly hugged Vanessa tightly, picking her tiny frame off the ground. "SISTER IN LAW!" he said, making everyone laugh loudly. He then hugged Zac, "Congrats, Zman. This is AWESOME!"

Stella then hugged Vanessa and then Zac, clearly excited. Ashley pulled them both in for a hug at the same time. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, that ring is AMAZING!"

Their parents then hugged them while Vanessa eyes Greg suspiciously. "You don't seem surprised….." she said, looking at him questioningly.

He just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "You don't think he would propose without asking me and your mother for permission do you? We knew he was going to, we just didn't know when."

Vanessa looked up at Zac. "You asked for permission? But last time you were home was like a month ago…when did you ask?"

He blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "The first time was three years ago before I flew out to Hawaii to meet you for Thanksgiving. Obviously, life screwed that plan up for me. But I had their blessing then for the future. So when the time came for me to buy a ring a few days before Christmas, I took them out to breakfast and asked for permission again."

She smiled with tears in her eyes and kissed him lovingly. The families continued celebrating the engagement well into the night before everyone began to leave. Zac's parents were staying at his old house that he had furnished for them for visits.

Zac fell back onto the couch and closed his eyes, yawning. Vanessa closed the doors of the patio and cleaned up the kitchen before walking into the living room. She turned on the tv and sat down on the couch.

He opened one eye, looking at her. "Why are you alllllll the way over there? I want some snuggles," he said in a baby voice. She giggled at him and opened her arms, smiling at him. He scooted over to her and rested his head against her chest as she rested back against the pillows.

She ran her hands through his hair and noticed he was warm. "Baby, are you feeling okay? You're forehead is burning up."

He shook his head and buried his face in her chest, between her breasts. She kissed the top of his head, knowing he wasn't doing it in a sexual manner, but that it was because he truly didn't feel good.

When Zac was working and got sick, he refused to take down time. He was always very hard working and professional and just worked through it. However, when he wasn't working and got sick, he was like a little kid all over again. Vanessa always thought it was the cutest thing ever.

"What hurts baby?" she asked, rubbing his back softly.

"My head feels like it's about to explode and my stomach feels all funky and everything just aches." He said cutely, not moving his head off her chest.

"What can I do to make it better?"

"Snuggles."

"How about we go snuggle in bed since it's getting late?" she asked, as he looked up at her. She could tell by the redness of his ears and nose and the dullness of his blue eyes that he wasn't feeling good. He nodded and got off of her, standing up. She turned off the tv as he locked the doors and turned off the lights.

They walked upstairs as Shadow followed closely behind them. Shadow laid in her dog bed in the corner of the room as Vanessa began washing her face.

Zac pulled off his shirt before he ran into the bathroom, making it just in time as he threw up, hovering over the toilet.

Vanessa looked at him with sympathy and rubbed his muscular back comfortingly.

When he was done, he flushed and sighed before brushing his teeth. "Baby, you look pale," she told him, moving some of his hair out of his eyes. "Go lay down and I'll be right there for snuggles, okay?" she said, rubbing his cheek.

He nodded and smiled weakly, kissing her forehead before walking into the bedroom. She brushed her teeth as well and walked into the room. She saw him moving the decorative pillows off the bed and pulling the covers back.

She pulled off her dress and threw it into the clothes bin, followed by her strapless bra as she pulled one of his t-shirts over on, which fell just below her waistline. He turned off the TV and laid down before realizing he still had his jeans on.

"Fuck," he mumbled. She walked over to his side and motioned for him to stay still. She unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them down his muscular legs, tossing them in the clothes bin as well.

"Thanks baby," he smiled. She turned off the lights before climbing in bed beside him and pulling the covers up to their waists. She opened her arms and he instantly cuddled up to her, resting his head on her shoulder and burying his face into the crook of her neck.

He placed a soft kiss on her neck before nuzzling his nose against her soft skin. She rubbed his back soothingly as she watched the movie.

"You give the best snuggles," he said cutely, lifting his head slightly.

She giggled and placed kisses all over his face, except on his lips because they didn't want her to get sick.

"Go to sleep baby, I promise I will keep giving you snuggles."

He smiled and kissed her cheek before laying his head back down. She turned off the tv as she felt his breath even out a few minutes later, meaning he was asleep. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as she fell asleep, still sharing snuggles.

Zac woke up the next morning when his phone started ringing loudly. He groaned, not moving from the position he fell asleep in. Vanessa reached over and picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked, sleepily.

"Hey sweetie, it's me." Starla said on the other end.

Vanessa yawned as she responded, "Hey mom."

"Are you okay? You sound tired. It's nearly noon. You aren't sick, are you?"

"Yeah. Zac wasn't feeling well when we fell asleep and apparently I've caught whatever he has because we have been rotating throwing up every hour through out the night."

Vanessa missed whatever came out of Starla's mouth next as she jumped up and ran to the bathroom. Zac grabbed the phone that was dropped on the pillow.

"Mom?" he croaked out.

"Yeah, it's me, sweetheart. Do you want me to come over?"

"I'm sick," he whined as he cuddled back up to Vanessa when she returned to bed.

"I will be right there okay?" she said calmly.

"Love you mama," he said before hanging up the phone and wrapping his arms around Vanessa. "Snuggles made my baby V sick. I'm sowy," he said cutely.

She giggled weakly and buried her head in his chest as he raked his fingers through her hair.

"You sound funny," she said, through her own stuffy nose.

"Hey meanie head, you sound funny too!" he said, kissing the top of her head.

They fell back asleep, cuddled up to each other.

Starla used her spare key to unlock the front door. Closing it back quietly, she called out for them.

"Zachary? Vanessa?" she said, looking around.

Zac walked out of the bathroom after hearing his mom call his name. He mustered up all his strength and walked to the top of the stairs. "Up here, mom."

Seeing his weak and pale body, she walked up the stairs. She kissed his forehead, "Back to bed you go, you are burning up!" she said, motioning for him to walk into the bedroom.

He followed her orders and walked back into the bedroom, crawling into bed. Feeling the bed shift, Vanessa woke up and looked around.

"Hey mom," she smiled softly at her as Zac pulled her to his chest once again.

"Hey there sweetheart, how ya feeling?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, feeling her forehead.

"Like your son got me sick," she said, poking Zac's chest jokingly.

"I'm stopped by the store on the way over and got some medicine for you both and things to make some homemade chicken noodle soup. How does that sound?" Starla asked, rubbing Vanessa's back softly.

"Heavenly," Vanessa smiled, weakly. "Do you want some help?"

"Absolutely not. You two stay in bed, rest up, and I will wake you both when it is ready. Understand?"

Zac and Vanessa both nodded, already almost back to sleep. Starla kissed both of their foreheads and closed their bedroom door, taking Shadow downstairs with her.

Zac and Vanessa fell asleep as Mama Efron went downstairs and began to make her famous chicken noodle soup.