Sorry it took so long, I haven't been bothered to do much.

"Oh my God..." was all I managed to utter as I stared, open-mouthed, at my best friend.

She allowed the information to sink in for a moment before she explained, "Oliver and I got a bit carried away over a month ago and we completely forgot about the condom." He's dead.

"Did you check straight away?" I asked, my voice quivering as I fought over which questions to release first, among the hundreds that were already piling up.

"No, I wanted to believe that nothing would happen, but then I missed my period and started to notice the lard growing on my gut, so I had a pregnancy test and it came up positive," she replied, a hard look carved on her face. Her lowered gaze shifted to me and the intensity lingering amidst the fear was shocking. Lilly had never appeared so serious before and I knew what she was about to say, but I waited to hear it before I acted on my joy. She took a compelling breath and sternly said, "I want to keep it." I flung myself up and gently enveloped Lilly in a hug. She was taking such a big step at the tender age of eighteen, but I was there for her, I was going to support any choice she made. And she chose to give life to something she and Oliver created. I kissed her cheek.

"I'm happy for you, Lilly. Does Oliver know?" She trembled against me, her arms going limp and dropping to her sides, but I didn't let go.

"Yeah... it was so hard telling him. He looked like he was about to crap his pants before I even said it!" That's exactly how I felt.

"Was he happy?" I wondered.

"No, he doesn't want it," Lilly said, her tears dampening my neck, and I clung to her fiercely. How the hell could that boy not want such a beautiful thing? "He's scared, but I don't care! I want to have this baby, Miley." Having a baby. Lilly was having a baby. Shit, I still couldn't get my head around it. I held her tighter.

"It's okay, Lilly. He can't force you not to have it. You do whatever you feel is right."

"Thanks Miley." I felt her struggle in my hold and I let her pull back to meet my eyes. She was smiling up at me. "You really are my best friend."

"You're mine too."

I wanted to kill Oliver. I wanted to wrap my hands around his pathetic neck and squeeze until I felt his frantic pulse die beneath my fingers. I wanted to kick him so hard up the ass that he'd choke on his own shit and - Actually, no, I didn't want to kill him. Killing him would give him the easy way out and that gutless boy deserved a horrific amount of torture after what he'd done to Lilly. He refused to let her turn one of the spare rooms in his apartment into a nursery. Her house was cramped enough as it is, so I had to offer Jackson's room to her. He didn't live with us anymore, wanting to be closer to his college and the girlfriend he had yet to bring here to let daddy and I meet. I asked about her all the time on the phone and during his occasional visits but he always evaded the questions and turned it into an interrogation about my life.

Lilly wasn't willing to move in with us, but she needed someone there to support her and take care of her and her mother was a busy woman and Oliver was a cowardly bastard, which meant it was up to me to offer her a place to stay. Don't get me wrong, I loved Lilly and wanted to do everything in my power to help her through her pregnancy, but I hate, absolutely loathe, her boyfriend right now for not allowing her into his home so they could parent this baby together. No, he had to be a complete jerk and not want anything to do with Lilly or the baby he helped make and that really pissed me off.

I knew Lilly said no to my room offering, but I was already packing up the few things Jackson left behind, stuffing his old clothes into boxes, and replacing his bed covers with the spare ones I had just in case Lilly wanted to sleep in here rather than with me. I even re-painted the walls a calming, soft blue and sponged white patches about, making it seem like I was standing on a platform in a lightly clouded sky. Once everything was dust free, I bought a white cot, a changing table, and a few toys and other necessities the clerk at the store said I'd need, being careful to get things that didn't match any specific gender. It wasn't much and I had purchased some clothes, yellows and whites, in the smallest sizes, so the baby could have something to wear when Lilly brought it home, but as soon as I knew if it was a boy or a girl, I was buying a whole wardrobe of clothes.

I hadn't told Lilly what I had done to Jackson's room yet because I figured if I surprised her, she would accept my request to stay here once she saw all the work I put into setting everything up. It was very hard to keep a secret from Lilly and she was at my house so much that I had to cut back on sleep so I could work on the nursery without her sniffing around.

Finally, when it was perfect, spotless, and smelling of baby powder, I invited Lilly over and told her I had a surprise. When she turned up at my front door with a big grin on her face, I hugged her and gave her belly a gentle rub. I then led her up the stairs, stepped behind her, and covered her eyes with my hands, knowing that she wouldn't be able to keep them closed herself. I nudged the door open with my foot and then removed my hands, cheering an excited, "Surprise!" Lilly gasped and she travelled deeper into the large room; eyeing the closet I intentionally left open so it was showing off the tiny clothes that hung within. She silently drifted around, running her fingers over the new crib and peering into it to see the stuffed animals, one of them being my childhood toy, Beary. She scanned everything over a second time and then she faced me, my heart skipping as I saw the tear stains scarring her cheeks.

"You... You did all this, f-for me?" she said through her shaking breaths.

"Yeah, I want you stay here. I want to help you through everything." Fresh tears spilled from her eyes and she charged at me, but I grabbed her shoulders before the impact, the force nearly knocking me over.

"Whoa there, Lil. You don't wanna crush the baby," I said, smiling a little as her eyes widened and her hands flew to her stomach, cradling it. I pressed a kiss to her cheek and then wound my arms around her.

"Thank you so much, Miley. You're the greatest person in the world," she cried. Her protective hands found their way to my waist, returning the hug and I decided every drop of sweat that fell as I worked on this room was worth it.

"You're welcome, Lilly. You live here now, there's no backing out." Lilly nodded against my shoulder and I heard her mumble her consent.

So much planned and yet so little motivation.