Author's Note: Thank you again for all the great reviews! I also want to thank everyone who has Followed and/or Favorited this story, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Disclaimer: Again, I do not own anything from Disney's Austin & Ally.

Chapter 21

Ally was downstairs in the daycare finishing up feeding Tyler. As he nursed, his eyes drifted closed and she knew he would nap for close to 2 hours. She wondered if she should take Austin up on his suggestion of having Tyler nap upstairs in the studio.

She debated with herself, considering everything they had to accomplish. If they were going to do it, today would be the day as Austin's band would be there tomorrow. She explained what she wanted to do and the daycare staff was extremely accommodating sending a travel crib up to the correct studio as Ally shouldered the diaper bag and adjusted Tyler in her arms. He was getting heavy.

She made her way to the studio quietly, hoping that Tyler wouldn't wake up. She saw the employee who had taken the travel crib exit the studio and turn toward her. She noticed Ally and flushed slightly as she looked down at the floor, so she wouldn't have to talk to her.

Ally slowed and turned as she passed the daycare employee, who walked toward the elevator in a hurry. Ally readjusted Tyler as she drew her eyebrows together. That was weird, she thought. I wonder why she didn't want to talk to me, maybe she just had to get back to work. Ally shook herself slightly and turned to finish making her way toward the studio.

She froze just outside the door as she heard a woman's voice float out followed by Austin's. She stood there biting her lip trying to decide if she should just stay here and listen or head inside. Her body made the decision for her as her feet refused to move.

"...don't think you should keep this from her. It's stupid, Austin," the familiar voice floated out.

No, it's not," Austin argued. "And it's not like I'm lying to her, I'm just not telling her about it."

Ally's mouth dropped open and she stared in shock at the studio. She hadn't placed that voice yet, but what was Austin talking about? Was he hiding something from her?

"Look," the woman's voice came again. "I think that if you really want to make this work out in the end, you should just come out and tell her. Come clean."

"I can't do that right now," Austin argued. "It's not the right time. I just need to do this the right way, at the right time. That's just the way it needs to be."

Ally stood there with her arms full and her heart heavy. Her mind wanted to flee, her heart wanted to burst. What was going on?

"Alright," the woman's voice sighed. "Be stubborn. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Ally began backing away from the door quickly, she didn't want to get caught eavesdropping. She was halfway down the hallway when a figure appeared in the studio door. Ally reversed her footsteps again clutching Tyler to her and looking down at his peacefully sleeping face, there was a part of her which didn't want to know who Austin had been talking to, but she couldn't stop herself as she looked up. She stopped dead in the hallway faced with Kira Star, tall and exotic and gorgeous.

"Hey, Ally," Kira said softly stopping in front of Ally. She glanced down at the baby in Ally's arm and her face visibly softened. "Awww, he's beautiful."

Ally cleared her throat and glanced down as well trying to calm her racing thoughts. "Thank you, Kira," she said. "It's good to see you."

"You too," Kira answered as she looked back over her shoulder to see Austin standing in the studio's doorway. Kira frowned slightly at him as she turned back to Ally. "Well, I should get going."

Ally swallowed hard and schooled her features as she locked her gaze with Austin's, he tilted his head to the side and he tried to figure out what that look on Ally's face reminded him of.

"See you, Kira," Ally called softly as she walked slowly to the studio. She smiled up at Austin, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. She had no idea what they had been talking about, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know, so she was going to try and pretend she hadn't heard anything at all.

She didn't know if she could pull it off, but she was going to try. Ally wasn't sure if Austin would let her behavior in the hallway slide or not, but she walked past him smoothly looking for the crib to deposit Tyler in. She settled her sleeping son and touched his cheek softly before straightening and turning to face the room.

Austin was standing right behind her with a concerned look on his face. She tried to step back, but she had forgotten about the travel crib and she almost fell over. She would have if Austin hadn't reached out and wrapped his arms around her, catching her, and pulling her close.

"Hey," he said softly letting his eyes roam over Ally's face. "Are you alright?"

"I, um, I was just surprised to see you right behind me," Ally stuttered as she looked up into his face, trying to control her breathing.

"Didn't mean to scare you," he said leaning down to kiss her lightly. He pulled back slightly and looked in to Ally's eyes. What was that look she was giving him.

She smiled and the look fell away, so he let it go and followed her back to the piano.

…

The rest of the afternoon had flown by, the weird mood had been pushed aside and they finished their song. After Tyler woke up, Austin and Ally called it a day and headed back to his parent's house.

They had just gotten inside when Austin's phone rang. He walked outside to take it leaving Ally to wonder and get Tyler settled by herself.

"Hey, Als," he said casually coming back into the house. "I can't hang out tonight. I have some errands to run and I'm going to give Dez a call, maybe grab some dinner with him. I haven't been spending much time with him since I got back."

Ally looked carefully at his face, trying to determine what was really going on, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary. She forced herself to relax and took a deep breath before she answered.

"That's fine," she smiled up at him. I need to get to bed early tonight anyway, I'm kind of tired. Did you want me to meet you at the studio in the morning or do you want to pick us up?"

He considered the question for a moment as he again wondered at the look in Ally's eyes. He wondered what it meant, but still didn't have a clue. He smiled at her and said, "I'll be here tomorrow at nine to pick you guys up." He walked over to Tyler who was playing on the floor and scooped him up, cuddling him for a moment before kissing the top of his head.

"See you in the morning, little man," Austin whispered against his son's head. "You be good for Mommy tonight, she needs to get some rest."

He eyed Ally over the baby's head and smiled at her, his gaze traveling over the contours of her face. He walked over to her after placing his son back on the floor and drew her into his arms, pulling her close, until there was no space left between them. Ally felt his body radiating warmth and closed her eyes to enjoy the closeness.

Austin slid his hands up her arms to cup her head and pull her lips to his for a long, lingering kiss. When Ally opened her eyes after he released her, they were darkened by lust and Austin leaned back down and kissed her again.

She slid her arms around his shoulders to keep from collapsing under the onslaught of his kiss. Austin chuckled and pulled away, Ally turned her head and leaned it against his muscled chest, breathing heavily. "You sure you can't stay?" she asked seductively.

Austin laughed louder. "I would, but I really need to go do some stuff. And see Dez. I'll call you later if it's not too late, otherwise I'll just see you in the morning.

He kissed her briefly before turning and walking away.

…

As he drove away from his parent's house, Austin wondered if he was doing the right thing. Maybe Kira was right, maybe he should tell Ally. He debated with himself for most of the drive. Should he? Shouldn't he? Could he? Couldn't he? He just needed a little more time, then he would tell her. He would tell Ally when the time was right. He locked his car and headed back into the studio.

…

Ally hung up her phone and set it on the bed next to her. She had just been putting Tyler down for the night when it had rang and she had been happy to see it was Dez. She hadn't talked to him very much since Austin had returned.

Her mood had turned sour however when she had realized that Austin hadn't done what he said he would. He wasn't out with Dez, so that meant he had lied to her about what he was doing. Didn't it? She had tried to keep her emotions under control, but she couldn't hide them from Dez. She finally spilled everything. Overhearing the conversation between Austin and Kira. Knowing he was supposed to be out with Dez and not being there. She didn't know what was going on. She didn't like it.

Dez tried to soothe her over the phone, there was probably a good explanation why Austin had talked to Kira and hadn't told Ally about it. He probably just got caught up in his errands and didn't have a chance to call Dez yet. It wasn't that late. Don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing.

But Ally wasn't so sure. Her heart and her mind were arguing again. What was he keeping from her? That was one thing she was sure of. Austin was keeping something from her. Did she trust him enough to wait until he came to her? Would he come to her? Did she trust him?

He had told her he loved, her heart said soaring. He had told her that before, her mind said falling. He had told her he was going to stay. He had told her that before. Up, down, soaring, falling, the argument within her continued. What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to think?

She curled up on her bed in the dim twilight and thinking her swirling thoughts she finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

…

When Austin dragged his exhausted body out of the studio, dreaming of dinner and his bed, he was surprised to find Dez leaning on his car, blocking his way.

"Dez," he said tiredly, rubbing a hand through his hair, trying to wake himself up. "What are you doing here?"

"Apparently, you were supposed to call me and hang out with me tonight," Dez said without looking up.

"I was?" Austin asked in confusion, twirling his keys and cocking his head.

"According to Ally," Dez said finally raising his eyes to Austin's. Austin saw the anger, the bitterness and his shoulders slumped.

"You spoke to her?" Austin asked, looking guilty and uncomfortable.

Dez straightened from his resting place on Austin's car and took a step closer to his friend. "You want to tell me what 's going on?" Dez asked quietly. Austin knew that the quieter he got, the angrier he actually was. Dez was very quiet which meant he was very angry.

Austin debated for a moment but realized he didn't have a choice. "Yeah, man. I'll explain. You want to grab that bite to eat?"

Dez was taken off-guard, he hadn't expected Austin to cave so easily. Should he go eat with him? At least Austin wouldn't have lied to Ally about that if he did. "Sure," Dez agreed. "Let me just text Ally."

Austin nodded. "Can you not tell her that I'm here, at the studio, though. I know it's asking a lot, but I want it to be a surprise."

"Ally hates surprises," Dez responded looking at Austin, surprised that he would forget that.

"I know," Austin sighed. "But this is important to me. Please?"

Dez looked at his friend and sent a brief text to Ally. "Alright, but you better start talking."

…

Ally felt her phone buzz next to her, she groggily sat up and picked it up with trepidation. The text was from Dez and she frowned at her phone before reading the text.

Grabbing a bite with Austin. Errands took him longer than he thought. Talk to you tomorrow.

Ally huffed out a breath. She chewed the inside of her cheek as she considered what was going on. Dez wouldn't lie to her, not knowingly, so she began to relax. She went to change into something more comfortable and decided to worry about everything tomorrow.