Author's note: I own nothing except the plot.

Please read and review :) I would appreciate it heaps!


PREVIOUSLY:

"I need you to be there."

"Be where?"

"You need to wake up. That's what you told me isn't it? Well, now I'm asking you to."

"What?"

"Please, listen to me. Just like I listened to you."

"No!" yelled Miley, pushing Nick away from her. "No, you didn't. Otherwise this would be real!"

"I did Miley, please trust me. Wake up now, and you'll see."

CHAPTER 3:

Miley forced her eyes open, groggily taking in the room around her. It looked exactly the same, only she was back next to the bed, and there was only one Nick in the room. Joe was still fast asleep. She eagerly watched Nick, waiting for some sign that he was waking up. She stared until her eyes started to hurt from focusing so intently. Miley squeezed his hand, hoping to stimulate a response from him.

"I can't lose him," she quietly said to no one in particular.

Suddenly there was a loud thud, and Miley quickly threw her head around to see Joe lying in a heap on the floor. He glanced around in a daze, confused as to how he had ended up there.

"Ouch," he grumbled, trying to untangle his arms and legs so he could stand up.

"Did you just fall off the chair?"

"Apparently," Joe answered casually, as if Miley's surprise was unnecessary.

Miley sniggered, shaking her head at him. She was too distracted by Joe to notice the elevation of Nick's heart rate.

Joe placed himself back in the chair, and stretched his arms out to the side.

"What do you think would suck more?" he asked Miley. "Falling out of bed only to discover you had been relocated to the middle of a lake during the night, or falling out of bed only to discover you had been relocated to the middle of an ocean during the night?"

Miley laughed.

"I would say lake," Joe continued thoughtfully, his brow furrowing together in concentration. "You could be in Scotland for all you know. What if the lake you were in was the home of the Loch Ness Monster?"

"Do you want me to answer that seriously?" Miley scoffed.

"Of course," replied Joe, gesturing his hands to wave off her sarcasm.

"Well I'm not going to."

"Miley…" he warned, looking at her expectantly.

Miley shook her head in defiance, chuckling softly.

Joe cocked his head, keeping a straight face as he waited for her response.

"Fine!" she gave in, exasperated. "Maybe you're in the middle or the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean. Maybe you're bobbing up and down in 50 foot waves, waiting for sharks to make a meal of you. Maybe you're floating in a massive body of water that is undrinkable so you're going to slowly die of dehydration. Maybe a foreign fishing trawler finds you and you're suffering from amnesia so you create a new life from scratch in an Eastern European country where you have to sell your organs on the black market for money."

"That's spirit!" grinned Joe childishly. "Maybe…"

Miley's heart stopped and the world froze around her, as Joe's voice became distant and incoherent. She looked down to her hand, still wrapped around Nick's as it had been the entire time. Miley frantically searched the room for a sign that she was in another dream. Joe was still sitting in the same spot, oblivious to Miley's complete lack of attention to him. A flash of blue sailed past the doorway, and Miley saw two police officers come to a stop at the window to Nick's room. The police officers, Miley thought dejectedly, this is a dream. She waited for the second Nick to appear, but he didn't. Miley letting out a deep breath that she didn't realise she had been holding. Then it happened again. Nick's hand moved. Please don't let this be a dream, she prayed.

"…and maybe the tidal wave was caused by the full moon that made the werewolves phase. And maybe-"

"And maybe Nick's hand just moved," Miley interjected.

"And maybe Nick's hand just moved," Joe agreed, not concentrating on what Miley had said.

"Joe?"

"And maybe…" he continued. "And maybe the wave- wait, what?"

Joe had finally caught on to what Miley had said and he had mindlessly repeated. He leapt to his feet, knocking over the plastic chair in the process. The police officers came flying into the room at Joe's sudden action.

"I think he's waking up," Miley said in a hushed voice. "Get a doctor."

One of the officers gave a curt nod, and she walked back out the door.

"What do we do?" panicked Joe, hovering very close to the bed.

"I don't know!" Miley exclaimed.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"What? I don't know. Who the hell cares right now, Joe?"

"Well people are going to ask later, and I just want to have the details right!" retorted Joe, angrily.

"2.27am," supplied the remaining police officer, in the highest pitched voice that either of them had ever heard come from a male. "You've both been asleep for just under an hour and a half. We were waiting to question you, the nurses suggested we leave you be for a while. We were just coming back to check on you."

Joe snorted, and then tried miserably to cover it up by turning it into a cough. But he was still laughing, so it became a very awkward coughing fit.

"Ignore him," Miley said apologetically, trying to stifle her own giggles.

The police officer frowned, as his cheeks turned a bright crimson.

"The patient is waking up?" asked a nurse that had just entered the room, who immediately started fiddling with the machines attached to Nick.

"His hand moved," Joe stated bluntly.

The second police officer slipped silently into the room.

"Can you hear me, honey?" the nurse asked Nick. "If you can, squeeze my hand."

Miley held her breath, as Joe moved to stand next to her. She clutched as his arm, her fingers digging into his skin.

"I need you to open your eyes slowly. It's going to be pretty bright. You're in hospital," informed the nurse, giving Miley and Joe an encouraging nod.

A small groan escaped Nick's lips.

"Easy does it. Nice and slow, you've been asleep for a while."

"Nick," Miley breathed, tears of joy now freely rolling down her face as she saw his eyes flutter open.

"That's it. Well done, honey. Are you in any pain?"

Nick swallowed a few times, and licked his lips. He squinted his eyes almost shut, trying to give them a chance to adjust. He gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head.

The nurse wrote a few things down on his chart, checking his vitals and pressing buttons on the monitors attached to Nick. Nick eyes were still a little unfocused, and so far he hadn't moved his head enough to be able to see Miley and Joe next to his bed.

"Alright, everything looks good. I'm going to let you guys have a few minutes with him, while I go call his parents and the on call GP. Officers, maybe you can wait outside until they've had their visit?" the nurse suggested.

The first police officer murmured an agreement, and followed her partner to wait in the hallway.

"Nick, dude. We;come to the land of living!" grinned Joe, taking a step forward and sitting on the end of the bed.

"Joe," he laughed weakly, grimacing in pain. He turned his head, and his face lit up as he saw Miley.

Miley stayed still, still convinced this was another cruel prank her imagination was playing on her.

"Hey, trouble."

And then Miley lost it. The tears now poured over uncontrollably, her chest heaving in uneven sobs. She buried her face in her hands.

"Miley?" Joe looked at her concerned.

"I'm sorry," she managed between sobs. "This just really sucks."

"It sucks that I'm awake?" Nick rasped out, his voice husky.

"No, it sucks that I'm not," she tried to explain. "Coz I'm going to have to wake up and this will all go away."

Joe barked out a loud laugh.

"Miley, come here," Nick requested, turning his hand over to offer it to her.

"You're not asleep, you loser," Joe said, still laughing.

"I'm not?" Miley sniffed, trying to wipe away her tears with her hands. "Are you sure?"

"Miley," Nick said softly, finally catching her eye.

Miley stared into his deep brown eyes, and relief washed over her.

"Oh god, so I'm really crying in front of you both?" Miley said, suddenly mortified.

"Yeah, Oliver wasn't kidding. Being a girl with weirdo emotions and shit really doesn't suit you," joked Joe.

"Now will you get over here?" Nick gave Miley a small smile.

Miley quickly closed the gap between them, placing a gentle kiss on Nick's lips.

"You scared me," Miley pretended to scold him, before kissing him again.

"All I remember is Mikayla, and that room. And she went crazy. After that, it's all kind of a blur."

"I'll explain later."

"Miles, we should let the doctors do their thing," said Joe, gesturing to the waiting man with the nurse.

"Right," accepted Miley.

She leant back down and let her mouth cover his again. He lifted up his hand and cupped her face, softly rubbing his thumb against her cheek.

When they exited the room, Joe nudged Miley with his elbow.

"You guys are so in love, it's gross."

"Can you not say that?"

"Say what?"

"Just shut up, Joe," Miley shook her head at him. "What are you? 12 years old?"

"Oh," Joe teased. "Are you scared of the 'L' word?"

Miley opened her mouth to defend herself, when the police officers approached them.

"Sorry guys, but we're really going to need to get your statements now," the female cop said.

"No worries," Miley answered. "Can we just do it here?"

"That's fine, we've called it in, and we were told about your previous statements from the first incident. My boss said as long as you come down to the station in the next day or two to formally sign it, we can just do a draft now, while all the details are still fresh in your minds."

"It's not really something you could forget."

"I know, it still has to be done," she sympathised. "There's a small office just through here I've got permission to use. Follow me."

Miley and Joe trailed behind the officers. Joe prodded Miley in the ribs.

"Stop it."

"Sorry. Do you not love it when I do that?"

"Shut up," Miley growled.

"You love Oliver. You tell him you do."

"Ew, I don't love him like that and you know it," she said in a hushed voice, because the male cop had turned around and given her a quizzical look. "Anyway, be quiet already!"

"I think you love Nick. You write him love songs."

"I think I'm going to have to hurt you."

"Lack of denial! I win. Plus, there was an edge of defensiveness to that threat. Classic sign," Joe laughed.

"I'm not in love with Nick," Miley said unconvincingly. "We haven't been together that long, anyway. It's too early."

"People get married in less time than you guys have known each other, and gone through a hell of a lot less. Anyway, you guys are perfect for each other. It's sickening to watch really. So who cares about society and its stupid expectations? We shouldn't have to live by their rules!"

"What are you on about?"

"That you're in love with Nick!" Joe sing-songed.

"No, I'm not," she argued.

They rounded a corner and the male officer held a door open for them. They entered a room with a table and a few chairs, and the female cop gestured for them to sit down.

"Well, in my experienced opinion, being his best friend and all; I think that he's in love with you," hissed Joe.

Miley felt the corners of her mouth turn up involuntarily, as she felt her stomach knot in excitement at Joe's revelation.

"See," Joe teased, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. "You're smiling. You know I'm right."

"There's always a first time for everything."

Joe just scowled at Miley, before turning his attention back to the police.

I love Nick, Miley thought, testing out how it sounded. I'm in love with Nick. It sounded good.

Miley sighed.

"Well, shit."