Part 5

"I'm sorry." The brunette whispered into the darkness as a batch of tears rolled down her cheeks. "Mood swings." She laughed through her tears and Nick's arm served to bring her face to his chest.

"You have nothing to apologize for... the least I can do is go through them with you..." He added the last part softly, hoping not to upset her. Just like he feared, he felt Miley's body shake with another sob. He sighed, kicking himself for saying the wrong thing like always. "Please please please don't cry... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to upset you..." He pleaded, desperately. Miley wiped her tears with the back of her hands and looked at him.

"I just... don't deserve any of this... You're so sweet even after what I did... Why aren't you angry with me? Just be angry... I know you are! Don't hold back on my account..." She said softly. Nick chuckled.

"I'm not going to waste my time being angry... there are more important things to think about..."

"Nick just please don't bottle things up like you always do... Tell me I was wrong. Yell at me. Just do something!"

"There's no point Miley... I hate saying this... But I do understand why you did it... I'm not saying you were right. But I know where you were coming from and the truth is that I would have probably done the same in your situation. We had never considered the possibility of getting pregnant so you obviously did not know how I would react to this... I understand..."

"Whoa..." She was now sitting next to him on the bed, a protective hand on her growing belly. It had become a nervous habit ever since she had found out she was carrying. "I don't deserve this..." Miley whispered.

"You're right... You deserve a lot more..." Nick said as he took her hand in his. "I just wish I had picked up on the signs... I wish I had come after you the second you came here..."

"Stop... this is not your fault... Don't even think of blaming yourself." She whispered, squeezing his hand.

"But I do Miles. I can't help but feel like I've let you down. We wanted to wait to have sex and I can't help but feel like if it wasn't for me you wouldn't be in this position, you wouldn't have to put your career on hold."

"My career can wait... My family is more important than my career... Our baby is..." She said softly, while rubbing her tummy and smiling up at him. "I know this wasn't planned and it may seem like the worst news because it wasn't exactly the best of times... And I'm not going to lie, I took it pretty badly at first. But now I'm here, the simple thought of losing my – our baby is the worst thing that could happen to me. I panicked when the simple thought crossed my mind and I can't even explain it... When the doctor said the baby was ok, it was as if I was breathing again. I was alive again." Nick smiled softly at the woman lying in his arms. When had she become so mature and grown to be such a responsible adult? He felt his heart beating faster in his chest as he fell more in love with her in that very moment.

"You already sound like a mom..." Nick chuckled. "I'm sorry, Mi, for the way I reacted. I know I should have reacted like most men would react at the news... I was so heartbroken because you had left... I wasn't thinking clearly. Hiding it from me hurt all the more because I knew you had walked away from me. The truth is I was ecstatic when I found out. I was shocked, yeah... but the feeling was amazing. We were together for 4 years... and that tiny baby is the fruit of our love... I'm really getting used to the idea of being a father and I'm loving it..." Nick looked at Miley, awaiting a reaction. He chuckled when she wrapped her arms tightly around his large frame, knocking him down onto the bed. She clung to him as she fell on top of him and he wrapped her arms around her.

"I love you soo much..." Miley whispered as she held onto him. Nick's heart literally stopped in that second. Oh how much had he longed to hear those three little words from her.

"I love you too... So so much..." He pulled her even closer if it was possible. They laid there, enjoying being in each other's arms until Miley pulled herself off of while Nick pouted.

"I don't wanna crush you!" Miley giggled. Nick sat up against the headboard and pulled her into his arms.

"You're too light to crush me!!" Nick laughed as he placed his hands around her waist. She laid her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"You won't be saying that in a few months!" Miley laughed. Nick smiled down at her.

"I wonder what you'll look like with a huge tummy!" Miley hit his arm lightly.

"Watch your mouth!"

"I'm sure you will look beautiful, as always!" Nick smiled before placing a soft kiss on her forehead. His hands trailed down her back and towards her front until they landed on her tummy. She instantly placed her hands on top of his and felt him relax, rubbing softly at the small bump.

"I'm sorry I left..." Miley whispered.

"Shhh..." Nick silenced her while he placed light kisses on her head.

"I really didn't want to leave you... It was the hardest thing I ever did..." Miley whispered again.

"We're together now..." Nick whispered while rubbing her shoulders, in an attempt to relax her.

Several months later

(Nick and Miley have been back together for a while now)

"Miles?" Nick called out as he entered their penthouse. Hearing the sound of her boyfriend's voice, Miley instantly attempted to lift herself off the bed to meet him.

"Stay right where you are!!" He stopped her as he entered the bedroom, a grin plastered across his face. Miley gave him a quizzical look and her silent questions were answered when he kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed and lied down on his side and wrapped his arms around her. She lied back down and smiled as he prop his head on his hand, his face inches away from hers.

"Hey..." She giggled as another grin appeared on Nick's handsome face.

"Hey mommy to be." He responded, a smirk spreading across his face as her eyes widened. She laughed lightly before leaning up and pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss.

"I'm as fat as a..." She was interrupted by Nick's lips on hers again, kissing her urgently. She smiled through the kiss.

"You're beautiful, baby, how many times am I going to have to repeat that?" He asked sweetly. She smiled apologetically as he let a chuckle escape his mouth. "You just want me to keep repeating you're beautiful, don't you?" He teased as he slipped his hand under the covers and onto her growing belly. She nodded sheepishly and he chuckled again.

"This little buddy isn't giving you too much grief, right?" He asked, a concerned expression replacing his playful one. His large hand rubbed circles on her bump, making her smile in response.

"I'm just tired..." She shrugged her shoulders helplessly. At nearly five months pregnant, she had completely lost faith in having any control whatsoever over her body.

"Sleep then..." Nick told her simply. She laughed softly, wrapping her arms around his broad torso and putting her head on his chest as his arm wrapped around her waist, bringing her closer to him.

"I haven't seen you all day, why the hell would I sleep now?" She asked, glaring playfully at Nick. He chuckled lightly as he pressed his lips to the top of her head.

"Good answer!" He smirked. "Now go get changed, I'm taking you out." Miley's ears perked up at the sentence and she looked at him, her eyes wide. She sat up and he helped her to her feet.

"Nick what about..." He cut her off.

"You won't have to deal with the paparazzi, I promise." He cupped her face in between his hands and pressed his lips to hers.

"Why can't we just stay in?" She groaned. As much as she loved going out with Nick, her growing belly was not easy to carry around. Not to mention she didn't have any appropriate clothes. She was in denial, not wanting to buy maternity clothes just yet. She wore large jeans that hung low on her hips and large t-shirts hoping to dissimulate her baby bump. Even though all of America, scratch that, the whole world knew she was pregnant, she was self conscious about it and liked hiding it more than showing it off. It was her way of protecting her unborn child, hiding it from all the eyes of the world. (A/N Don't ask... I'm in my little fantasy world, have no idea what I'm writing :P)

"We could always stay in instead of going out for a ride on my family's yacht and watch the setting sun..." He smirked, knowing that sentence was enough to win her over.

"I'm changing, I'm changing!" She called out as she dashed to the bathroom. Not more than 15 minutes later, Nick saw his beautiful girlfriend step inside the kitchen, all dressed and made up. His eyes widened in awe as his gaze travelled up and down her body. Her hair had been brushed out of her face and a clip held a few strands of it in the back of her head. Her curls were flowing freely over her shoulders and down her back. She was wearing a bright light blue halter top with white piping. The low neck revealed a bit of her swollen breast and it clung to her curves, exposing her round tummy. Her white shorts stopped half way down her thighs and exposed her long tanned legs. She hadn't bought any maternity clothes but who said her friends and family hadn't? Even Nick had contributed by buying the outfit she was currently wearing.

"Whoa..." Nick let out a small gasp, taking quick strides he found himself engulfing her in a tight embrace. "You look amazing..." He murmured against her skin as he gave her a chaste kiss on her collarbone. She blushed under his intense gaze and smiled lovingly at him.

"Let's go!!" She walked towards the shoe closet and pulled out her white rubber flip flops. Very comfy for swollen pregnant woman's feet!

Nick was waiting by the door when she finally made her way outside the apartment.

...........

Miley leaned against Nick as they stood on the deck of the yacht, watching the sunset, as promised.

"What's that?" Miley asked as she felt a hard object press against the back of her thigh. Nick suddenly looked nervous, cursing under his breath. Miley smiled a sneaky grin as she spun around in his arms to face him. Her curious side kicked in and she slipped her hand in his pocket, making Nick jump at the contact.

"Miles, NO!" His eyes widened as he realised she was pulling out the small jewellery box. She frowned at his sudden outburst and quickly realized why as she looked at the box she was holding between her fingers. What... No! It couldn't be... Could it...? Her heart skipped a beat and she looked up at Nick, asking permission to open it.

"Now you have it you might as well open..." He muttered nervously. This was definitely not the way he had planned it and the thought of his ruined plans bothered him but he quickly pushed all feelings aside and decided it was now or never.

"Mile..." Nick started but Miley's mind was completely blank. In between her fingers sat the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was a simple, thin white gold band with small diamonds incrusted in it.

She was pretty sure this had not been CHEAP! She finally looked up at him, asking him silent questions with her bright blue eyes and that's when Nick dived in, head first:

"I love you, Miles. You know that... I have loved you ever since I set my eyes on you... And I'm pretty sure I always will, just like I always promised." He paused, taking the time to gather his thoughts. He was a perfectionist after all and if there was one thing he wanted to be completely perfect was his proposal. "You deserve so much happiness and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy."

"Nick..." Miley's eyes were teary by now but Nick silenced her and continued.

"I made a promise to you, four years ago, that I would marry you someday... And here I am today, wanting to fulfil that promise I made you... And I want to know if you will fulfil that promise as well."

And with that he dropped onto one knee, letting the words flow freely from his mouth:

"Miley, will you marry me?"

Miley stood there, her mouth gaping not knowing what to say. His speech had been amazing... it was everything and a lot more she had ever dreamt a proposal to be like.

"Miley?" She heard his sweet voice call her name, bringing her back to reality. His eyes had glazed over, a look of dread replacing the look of hope that had been apparent on his face moments ago. And that's when it hit him... She was going to say no. And as if to confirm his thoughts, Miley shook her head slowly.

"I can't." She choked out.

"What? Why?" He asked sadly as he stood up to be at her level.

"I don't want you to marry me just because I'm pregnant! I want you to marry me because you want to! Not because of the baby!" She repeated herself and Nick shook his head lightly.

"I love you... I want to be with you for the rest of my life and I've known that since I was 16 years old, Miles!" He assured her as his hand grazed her soft cheek, wiping the falling tears.

"Don't lie to me! You would have never asked if I weren't pregnant!" She replied stubbornly, her body shaking with heart wrenching sobs. It took her a second to realise that it was the sudden pain in her lower abdomen that had caused her to sob. Grasping Nick's arms for support she yelped as another wave of pain hit her lower stomach.

"Miley, what's wrong?" Nick asked worriedly as he noticed her hand clutching her stomach.

"I-I think I'm having c-contractions!" She said in between her tears as a bit of the pain subsided.

"Omg..." Nick panicked as he realised what was going on. It was way too early for her to have the baby! She was barely 5 months along! "Come on let's get you in the cabin..." Nick did his best to appear calm when really he was freaking out. He made a move to pick up Miley but she shook her head to show him she could walk. He helped her over to the couch and put pillows under her head and shoulders. Calling Big Rob over, Nick instructed him to get back to the harbour and take them to the hospital immediately after and call their respective family members to inform them.

"Shhh it's going to be ok..." Nick whispered as Miley's sobs got worse. He made her lie against him and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. "You need to relax, Miles... Take a deep breath..." Miley did as she was told until another contraction hit her and she whimpered in pain, shutting her eyes tightly. Nick took her hands into his and squeezed them to help her focus on something else than the pain she was feeling in her lower body.

"It's too early! She's going to be too tiny to survive!" She cried out as she realised she might be in labour...

"Shhhhh..." Nick soothed as he placed kisses all over her face. "It's gonna be ok..." He whispered softly as Miley's tears slowly stopped falling. Somehow she believed him.

................

"Where is she?" Tish cried out as she burst through the rooms of the hospital.

"The doctor's in with her right now... they're trying to get her contractions under control..." Denise said softly attempting to calm down her distressed best friend.

"What happened?" Tish's heavy breathing slowed down as she sat down.

"I'm not sure... but something happened to cause her stress..."

"Can I go in there?" Tish asked, getting up.

"Nick is there with her right now and they said only one person at a time..." Denise responded, hoping the doctors would allow Tish in there along with Nick. Miley needed the both of them. Before she could say anything they heard a loud cry coming from one of the nearby rooms and Tish bounded, following the cries till she reached the room where her daughter was in premature labour.

"Ma'am you are not allowed in here..." A nurse spoke up, using her body to block the entrance.

"My daughter is about to lose her baby and you're blocking me from going in there?" Tish fired out angrily.

"Mom?" She heard a faint voice calling her and brushed past the nurse to rush to her daughter's side.

"Baby girl? Omg... are you ok sweetie?" She asked worriedly, tears fogging her vision. She wrapped her daughter into a hug and stroked her hair comfortingly.

"I-it h-hurts..." A weak Miley sobbed in her mother's shoulder as the pain of the contraction subsided gradually.

"Baby you need to take deep breaths for me ok? For me, for Nick, for your baby in there..." Tish smiled softly as she placed her hand over her daughters' round belly. Miley managed to give her a weak smile as she realised that her baby needed her to be strong and calm down... her baby needed her mother to keep her alive. She took a deep breath, imitating Tish who was helping her guide her breathing.

"That's perfect honey... go on..." Tish encouraged. She caught Nick's eye who looked completely relieved to have her there, supporting them both. She smiled warmly at him and motioned for him to step closer to the bed Miley was laying on. He complied and took Miley's free hand in his, stroking it lovingly just to remind her he was there, by her side. She turned to him and gave him a brighter smile.

"You're doing great Miley!" The doctor spoke up after watching the mother and the boyfriend calm down her patient. Never had she seen so much love in a single room and it nearly brought tears to her eyes to watch them together. The medicine was starting to kick in but the wise doctor knew it wouldn't have worked without the soothing words of Miley's love ones Miley. Lowering her blood pressure was essential for the medicine to work and somehow, Tish and Nick had managed to do that. "Looks like your contractions are subsiding... you might be having a few more but they will be a lot less painful, mark my words." She smiled sweetly at her patient.

"Did you hear that, Mile? Everything's ok... You're ok... our baby's ok..." Nick smiled reassuringly at his love as he rubbed her tummy gently. A small kick coming from Miley's womb made them both jump and once they realised it was their baby, their grins matched no other. Tish smiled at the two young adults and took a step back to give them their privacy.

"She's ok!" Happy tears ran down Miley's cheeks. Nick pulled her into his chest and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, clutching onto him.

"She's ok..." Nick repeated softly, smiling at the wonderful feeling those words gave him.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." Miley said softly, just loud enough to Nick to hear. She felt Nick shake his head and she knew she was forgiven.

"You have nothing to be sorry about... if anything I'm the one who should be apologising to you." Nick said sincerely as he pulled away to look into her eyes. The hurt he had felt when she had said "no" had dissipated and the hurt and fear of losing her and their baby had taken its place. "I should have never put you in that position... I should have known not to put you under any stress... I didn't think... I'm so sorry..." Nick let his eyes drop closed as his forehead rested against hers.

"Nick..." Miley wanted to tell him that she wanted to marry him more than anything but she was afraid of admitting that she doubted the motives behind his proposal... Her heart sunk and she hid her face in Nick's chest so that he wouldn't see how ashamed she felt for doubting his love when she knew, deep down, that he loved her just as much as she loved him. But her mind had to interfere and remind her that all guys are afraid of commitment, especially one as serious as marriage... girls were usually the ones who are ready to commit and, a lot of the time, ended up heartbroken. She had to protect herself; it was her natural instinct ever since Nick had broken her 6 years earlier.

"Oh thank god you're ok!" A worried crowd suddenly burst through the doors and Nick chuckled lightly at the sight. Joe seemed to have been dragged by Demi who was worried sick about her best friend. Joe was worried as well but not much could distract him from his sleep when he had been lacking a whole lot of it. Kevin had followed along with his mother, making his way to Miley's bedside to hug her tightly. After a few minutes of chatting, hugs and relieved smiles, the crowd was chased out of the room as the doctor demanded that Miley got her rest.

"Was any of this brought on by a certain question you "popped"?" Denise teased Nick as she sat beside him, handing him a coffee.

"How did you know?" Came a surprised answer from a sleepy Nick.

"I saw your face as soon as I got here... You looked worried sick I'll give you that... but there was also something in your eyes that told me that she had said no. Something you didn't expect?" The mother asked wisely. Nick nodded slowly to confirm his mother's conclusions. Staring out into space, he tried to remind himself that Miley and the baby being safe was all that mattered.

"She thought it was because of the baby, didn't she?" Denise asked, trying to get some information out of her silent son. He nodded again but this time he looked at her, trying to read what she thought of the situation.

"Did you tell her you had bought the ring over 8 months ago and were waiting for the right time to ask?" This time Nick shook his head. "Baby if you had told her that it would have removed all her doubts!" Denise sighed. She had raised four gentlemen whom she all thought to be very smart. This was one of those times where she felt like they were so clueless about women.

"End of discussion, mom. We're not talking about marriage for a long long time! At least not until the baby is born and we're sure everything is good with the two of them." He replied sternly, feeling guilty for being the cause of Miley's premature labour.

"This wasn't your fault, Nick."

"Mom! We could have lost the baby today!" He replied, annoyed.

"Miley has high blood pressure, Nick. Anything could have brought this on. It so happened to be your proposal... it doesn't make you the one at fault." Nick pondered her words as he remained quiet, trying hard to think straight when all his body was yearning for was sleep.

"You asked Miley to marry you?" Demi's eyes widened in realisation: "OMG!" She squealed excitedly. Denise and Nick had failed to notice her walking up to them.

"Wait..." Demi furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why do you look so glum?"

"Demi!" Joe's voice came behind her as he jogged over to his mother, brother and girlfriend.

"Oh I forgot..." She sent Joe an apologetic look before turning to Nick: "Miley's awake and asking for you."

"You couldn't have told me sooner?" Nick rolled his eyes and quickly made his way to Miley's room.

"Demi? Hello? DEMI!" Joe said louder, trying to get Demi's attention.

"What? Huh?"

"Why do you look so... surprised and confused?" Joe asked after examining her facial features.

"She said no?" Demi asked Denise, referring to Nick's proposal. Denise nodded slowly and Demi hit her head with the palm of her hand.

"I need to talk some sense into that girl!" Before Demi could leave, however, Denise put her hand over the younger one's arm and held her back.

"I don't think any of that should be brought up tonight... She needs rest and it's obviously a sore subject... Don't you think it would be better to leave it for now?" Denise asked wisely. Demi nodded reluctantly.

"What are you talking about? Who said no about what? What's a sore subject?" Joe asked, obviously confused by the interaction. Denise gave him a knowing look and his eyes widened as he realised Nick had finally made his move.

"She said NO?" Joe rolled his eyes. Demi was right, Miley needed some sense knocked into her.
"You knew?" It was Demi's turn to look at him wide eyed.

"Uh..." Joe rubbed the back of his neck nervously and Demi shot him a look. "Come on Dem, Nick made me promise not to tell anyone... he wanted it to be perfect!" Demi crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

"Dem! I wanted to tell you, believe me! But I couldn't do that to my brother, I'm sorry!" Joe's apologetic expression made both Denise and Demi laugh while Joe looked at them in utter confusion.

"It's fine, baby. I know you were just trying to be a good older brother!" Denise snickered in the background and Joe shot her a look to quiet her down.

"You were just playing me, weren't you? Acting all mad when you were only trying to get a reaction out of me!" It was Joe's turn to cross his arms over his chest while both ladies laughed. "You're so lucky I love you, both of you!" He smiled.

Yeah so... that was a crazy chapter, huh???! Lol. I'm pretty sure you guys will love the next one! I'll post sooooooooooon :)