A/N: NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK!

(Anyway... here's chapter 27. Enjoy folks)

NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK...

Chapter 27 - There once Was a Daddy's Girl (Beautiful Rescue)

Mandy and Joe dropped them outside of the hospital that's address Mammie had reeled off to them on the phone a few hours previous to their arrival. They had made it to Jersey in record time, the car speeding to pull up outside at barely nine o'clock at night. Mandy and Joe had left Miley with Nick to go find a hotel for the night so they could all finally get a good night's sleep after the two days worth of driving that they had managed to soldier their way through. They were exhausted, stinky, revolting, gross and in dire need of some actual real food. Miley thanked God that Joe was getting up early to get the key to their old house from their Grandma, because if she'd of had to have spent the next heck knows how long in a hotel room trying to feel "at home" she didn't know what she would do. She needed some actual home-style comforting.

Nick followed silently behind her as she walked through the dim lit corridors of the hospital, hearing the wheezes and sounds of pain of some of the patients as she walked by, the nurses wandering from room to room with glasses and trays and paper cups of medication in their hands. His hands were in his pockets as he scuffed his shiny shoes along the rubber floor, two steps behind her still unsure of what was going on and whether or not it was right that he be there. He hadn't wanted to leave her, but had been weary of staying if she didn't want him to. His turmoil had been consoled by Joe and Mandy's demands that he follow her and make sure she knew where she was considering that Nick knew exactly where he was; he'd been born here. All Nick could think, as he wandered aimlessly down the corridor behind her, was that it was useless him being here with her when she obviously probably just wanted to be alone with her family until the morning.

But still he stayed behind her, following her unsure lead as she headed through the corridors, each looking the same as the last, trying to find her way. He was sure that he would always stay. He had to stay… for his own well-being than anyone else's. He had to be sure that she was going to be okay.

The pair of them came to a halt outside of what appeared to be a heavily secure corridor with bodyguards and barriers. Nick stood beside her and watched as she pushed past the apparently pointless barriers and walked silently past the guards to find her mother sitting on a chair outside of the large wooden door that lead into the private hospital room.

He stared as she tentatively wandered over to the door, glancing back at her mother, making sure she hadn't awoken. Her eyes were large and awake, sparkling blue around the room and almost making his eyes hurt at the sight of them. He could see she was hurting when she reached forward and gripped at the hard plastic handle, slowly pressing her weight down on it and pushing the door open. His head tilted to the side and he could see within slightly as she cracked the door and looked at the man she called her father.

He could see the bandages and the bruises and the machines that were whirring around his body. He saw the familiar figure of the man he had once respected and who Miley admired and loved. He looked angry; an empty a shell of the man he had once been, hate and pain eating away at him as he lay silently alone with no one beside him making him smile. He was awake, but he was staring into space. Nick heard Miley's breath hitch in her throat when Billy's eyes snapped menacingly to hers, a scowl forming over his pained face.

It was then that the screaming started.

"GET OUT! DON'T LOOK AT ME!" he screamed and within seconds she was away from the door and pressed back against the wall behind her, wide-eyed and broken. This was her father, the man who had once showed her only love and devotion. Now he looked at her like she was a stranger, "I DON'T WANT YOU ANYWHERE NEAR ME!"

Her mother was awake by this time, the bodyguards looking from Miley to Nick in awe and confusion. Tish ran to Billy's aid as he continued to struggle in his bed, the machines whirring and nurses running quickly to calm him down, drugs and syringes in their hands as his eyes sparked red with anger and betrayal.

"DID YOU HEAR ME?!" he screamed louder than the usually soft spoken father both Nick and Miley was used to and it was surreal and unusual to see him that way, "GET... OUT!!"

Her eyes flew away from him and to the floor, brimming with tears as Nick attempted to step towards her. She looked at him quickly as her feet began to move, speeding past him and running back down the corridors, her shoes clicking on the floor tiles in even rhythmical patters of rubber on rubber. He stood stationary where he was listening and watching the space she had vacated as her mother returned back to the corridor and looked at him in deep misunderstanding confusion.

He shot her a sorry smile, his mind itching into gear and spun on his expensive Italian heals running after her.

He stopped when he reached the entrance shortly after she did in just enough time to see her legs collapse from beneath her again, her body slumping hopelessly down onto her knees as she sobbed and sobbed sharing her despair and her pain with the rest of the parking lot. Her hair fell into her face and her hands reached up to hold the moistness of her cheeks in her hands, catching the tears as though attempting to save the emotion and store them for when she felt empty. Her body shook as she cried and it hurt him to see her so alone.

Without even thinking, he stepped beside her and knelt down onto the floor grabbing her by the arms and tugging her back into his chest as they both fell to sit on on the sidewalk. He shook her from side to side as she let the sobs take over her body, helping her to let go for a little while and open up just for a few moments to not be strong.

She whimpered gently when he pressed his lips to her forehead and wrapped his coat around her, his arms completely engulfing her body in his much recently larger frame and body shape.

"It's going to be okay," he said as he repeated his actions over and over again, letting her grip onto the fabric of his shirt, an arm wrapped around his back beneath his coat, "It's going to be fine."

And for a moment, she believed him.

She was unimpressed by the six stitches she required to her hairline after Nick made her get her head checked out for anything other than a huge bloody gash. She was fine apart from the stitches and walked from the hospital behind him, rearranging her hair so that it covered her wound (She failed miserably due to the large white bandage covering it) muttering that all she wanted was somewhere to sleep and something to eat, maybe a drink if she could be bothered to gather the energy to drink it.

She watched as Nick led her over to a cabby on the side of the road and handed him a wad of cash, the pair talking in low voices as the man smiled in awe. What on earth was Nick planning? It hurt too much for her to think thanks to the massive headache she was currently in possession of, that also made her in dire need of a Tylenol and a large fluffy pillow because of it. She clutched a hand to her head as Nick shook hands with the man and nodded finally standing to look at her, opening up the back door of the cab and indicating for her to get in.

"Why don't we just call Mandy and Joe?"

"They'll be sleeping."

"It's only been an hour and a half. They probably haven't even found a hotel yet," she concurred gently, "We don't even know where they are to follow them."

Nick smiled charmingly, "We're not following after Joe and Mandy. We're going back to our house in Wyckoff."

Miley stared at him shocked and confused for a moment, wondering if the knock to the head had suddenly made her forget something. She was sure that neither Nick or Joe, or even Kevin had a key to their old house because they weren't trusted to be in the house by themselves.

He laughed gently and tugged on her arm, pulling something from his pocket and waving it in front of her eyes until it was out of focus. All she could see was the key shape to it as the smell of metal wafted into her nose, "Mom gave me the key before we got in the car in LA. She said not to tell Joe yet because he'll probably end up losing it."

She smiled, "So you've had the key this whole time and you made your brother and his girlfriend go and rent a hotel room for the night instead of letting him sleep in his own bed?"

Nick let out a quick burst of laughter and shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know about you, but I sure don't want to be kept up anymore than I need to be by Joe and Mandy making out."

Disgust flashed on Miley's face and she nodded quickly with a grimace, "Good point. Lead the way."

In the years that she'd known him, he'd never brought her here, to this house, the place where he obviously grew up. She always talked about the farm in Nashville, but she'd never realised that he had his own version in a small quiet suburb in New Jersey. There wasn't much to it, but she didn't care. She suddenly, even from standing outside it in early hours of the morning, could see everything in his life before she and fame had entered it. This was his home. This was his safety.

"Wow..."

He stepped from beside her and smiled as she gawped up at the homely building, "This is where I grew up," he muttered and she could hear the exhaustion seeping from his voice again, "It's not much... but it's home when we want it to be."

"It's amazing," she whispered, a yawn escaping her, "I've never been here before..."

He blushed and it made her smile. He grabbed hold of her hand and tugged it gently, pulling her towards the house, up the lawn and over the driveway until they were at the white doorway. He put the key in the lock and had to push the door hard when it got stuck; bursting open to a house filled with everything distinctly them, his family, their unit, their life. This was more of a home than any of their other houses they had. Even though she was sure it hadn't been inhabited for months if not years, she could still smell all of them bustling around the house and singing, making music, preaching the lords good will, loving and caring about each other.

"How bout I give you the tour tomorrow?" He chuckled as she leant against the doorframe yawning, eyes fluttering closed.

She smiled thankfully and followed after him as he wandered up the small staircase faced with a hallway filled with many different closed doors.

"Wait here." he said as he wandered to the room at the end of the corridor and walked inside only to emerge minutes later carrying a pile of old clothes that had probably been left behind. He smiled and held them up, "these were brand new before we left. Mom used to store all our new clothes in the laundry room and for some reason when never thought to take these with us."

He handed her a plain white t-shirt and some boxer shorts and smiled as she gratefully took them.

"You look like you need to get out of that dress..."

She looked down at herself, blood stained, sweaty and covered in the dirt of too many unclean places they'd been over the last three days and blushed embarrassed. Nervously she reached up to push her hair away from her eyes, trying her best to continue her attempts to cover up the bandage that covered her head, even though he'd seen it anyway. He rolled his eyes at her, knowing she couldn't see and turned to the door behind him. He clutched at the handle, and just like it always did when his Grandma stayed, the door stuck in the frame and he had to force his body weight against it to open it, just like every other door in the house. This was the worst door in the house, though. It was like a prison if it stuck the wrong way, and made it impossible to get out of without help. Sometimes Nick had been sure that his Grandma's naps hadn't been so long from exhaustion, but because she was too stubborn to ask for help opening the door to get out.

"This is the guestroom," he said to her, even though it was obvious from the homely way it was decorated with the typical Denise Jonas finishing touches, "There's a shower room and a sink and everything attached to it… through that door there…" he pointed to the right of two doors and smiled, "Mom says you're welcome here as long as you like… just so you're comfortable while your Dad's sick."

Her face changed at the mention of her father, her hands clutching behind her back as she leant against the doorframe. He could see her discomfort, her pain and worry as he squeezed past her to get back outside the door. He watched the turmoil on her face as she moved across to clutch at the door handle, forcing a smile as she began to close it behind her.

She nodded, "Thanks."

He smiled at her, and put his hands in his pockets, "Goodnight, Miley."

"Goodnight," she smiled quietly to him, as he watched her close the door with a click.

He sighed worried; more for her than for her father and the rest of her family. He knew her. She hated that he did, but he knew her and he could tell when she was worried. She was terrified and she was scared, for too many opposing and different reasons that he couldn't even begin to comprehend thinking about and understanding all at once. His palms rested against either side of the guestroom door for a moment, his eyes falling closed as he leant against the door and sighed solemnly for her, and for their situation. Part of him wanted to take this opportunity to spend some time with her, to prove to her that he was different, just like he'd planned to take her to breakfast at Paty's and do. But above everything, more than even spending time with her, he wanted to make sure she was okay. He would do anything she wanted him to in order to make sure that she was okay and that she was safe. Anything.

He jumped, when the door opened quickly, the crack of the wood in the frame, making his features contort for a moment, his eyes continuing to stay closed and not look at her as she was obviously standing there before him. He blinked once and looked up at her, just in her dress, barefoot and hair curling around her face like she'd tried to remove her dress and decided against it. She smiled at him nervously and he watched the shape of her shoulders as they rose momentarily, before slumping back down calmly in explanation.

"I don't want to be alone…" she said before he could even ask her what was wrong. His heart jumped at the words, trying not to be too hopeful that she was finally letting him in… but only just. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, her face pained at her words, almost like she didn't want to even think them let alone say them to him, "I'm afraid."

He shifted on his feet and stretched his neck, trying his best not to let his internal turmoil of what to do become noticeable on his face. He watched her face, her big blue eyes glistening at him, begging him to help her, before he nodded, removed his hand from the wall and pushed the door open further. She smiled stepping backwards as he walked in, closing the door behind him, until once again, it closed, with a heavy, air punctuating click.

NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK! NILEY'S BACK!

Yayyy :)

PS. Next Chapter... is gonna be really romantic...

:)