Author's Note: Time for another chapter! It's been three weeks between the end of the last chapter and the beginning of this one, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert is fast approaching. As for this chapter's music, I just had to go with Emily Osment's new song, because... it's pretty good, actually. Nice job, Ms. Osment.

Now, I do have one little pet peeve that's been growing over the last few weeks. What's up with all these people selecting Miley/Hannah and Lilly/Lola as the pairings for their story in the dropdown menus but then writing a story that's absolutely NOT Miley/Lilly? Come on, people! Now, if you're reading this far into one of my stories, then I expect you're not one of the offenders, so this probably isn't going to change anything, but it does make me feel a bit better to vent on that issue. Thanks for listening. Oh, and if you do happen to be one of the afore-mentioned offenders, please take a moment to go to your stories and fix the dropdowns so they illustrate the correct pairing for your stories. Thanks.

Here are my standard disclaimers: I make no claims on any of Disney's, Miley Cyrus', Emily Osment's or Hannah Montana's trademarks or copyrights, and no infringement is intended on them or those of any other artist or publication mentioned. Be forewarned that this story most certainly will contain femslash. If love and affection between two consenting young adults of the same sex bothers you, I suggest you turn right around and find something else to read. Keep any flames to yourself and remember that what our world needs now is more love and acceptance, not more hate. Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated!

We Got Nerve

by Jo K.

Chapter 21: Storm Clouds

I like to go out walking in the pouring rain

I want my rock and roll to make the windows shake

I wait 'til 3 a.m. to call everyone I know

I'm gonna bring the noise, I'm ready, here we go

All the way up, all the way down

Never look back, it's time to break out

I want it my way, I do what I do

I know what I like, and baby, it's you (that's right)

-Emily Osment, "All the Way Up"

Miley Truscott stopped on her back porch, bending over in an attempt to catch her breath. She and Lilly had just finished a two mile run on the beach, and she was trying unsuccessfully to get her heart rate to slow down to something approaching normal before she followed her wife inside. She stood and leaned her head back, breathing in slow, deep breaths. As she heard the back door open, she opened her eyes and looked forward to see Lilly handing her a bottle of Gatorade with a proud smile on her face.

"Orange," Lilly said. "I already popped the lid for you."

Miley smiled as she took the cold drink and twisted off the cap easily. "Thanks," she said, placing a quick kiss on Lilly's lips before she took a long drink. "Mm, that's good!" she said, stopping to again take some deep breaths after downing half the bottle.

"You're getting faster," Lilly said, her voice both encouraging and pleased at once.

"Yeah, but you still run off and leave me the last little bit," Miley replied, still breathing much harder than her wife.

"But not as bad as it used to be. And if I don't run off and leave you, you keep staring at my butt."

"What's wrong with starin' at my wife's cute butt?" Miley replied quickly.

"Nothing, until you trip and fall. Then I have to come back and help you up, and things tend to happen then."

"Oh, I only pulled your top off that one time," Miley said dismissively.

"In front of those guys jogging!" Lilly shot back, placing her hands on her hips.

"I covered your boobs up—"

"With your hands!" Lilly paused, smiling despite her best efforts to restrain her amusement. "Although that did make the walk back to the house sort of nice."

Miley batted her thick eyelashes at her best friend and lover. "Told you," she said smugly. "And you liked it."

Now Lilly let her smile show clearly. "Yes, I did," she said softly. "Just like I like you, crazy woman."

Miley stepped closer to Lilly, reaching her arms around her wife to pull her close to her chest. "You're sweaty," said Miley playfully.

"Because you make me that way," retorted Lilly. "All the darn time, too."

"We got time for a shower before headin' over to your parents' place? I mean, not like they're gonna want to give their granddaughter back up just yet."

"That's true," Lilly said thoughtfully. "You know, they've been really great about watching her for us while you're getting back into shape." Lilly kicked off her shoes as they opened the back door, placing them on the shoe rack just inside the back door. "Oh, and they said that they'd be happy to watch her for us tonight while we went out with Oliver and Ashley."

"Your parents are just awesome," Miley said as she closed the glass door behind them, adding her own shoes to the rack beside Lilly's. "But then, I already knew that, since they made you."

Lilly stopped a third of the way up the stairs and turned around to look back down at her best friend. "Why, Miley Truscott, are you trying to charm me or something?" she asked with a knowing look on her face.

Miley gazed back up at her wife, her best poker face in place. "Why? Is it workin'?"

"Come get in the shower with me," Lilly replied, slowly resuming her walk back up the stairs, "and I'll tell you, Miss Sassy Pants!"

"That's Mrs. Sassy Pants!" Miley countered as she bounded up the steps, quickly gaining ground on Lilly, who happily shrieked and took off at a run for their bedroom and its private bathroom. "And that makes you Mrs. Sassy Pants, too!"

Lilly bounded across their bedroom, Miley hot on her heels. She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door closed, only to feel and hear a loud whump of impact against the door, followed by another loud thud on the floor. "Oh shit," she whispered, her face turning white as she pictured her best friend running into the bathroom door at full speed, then toppling to the floor. She turned and turned the knob, yanking the door open as she yelled, "Miley, I am so—mmmph!"

Miley's lips were on hers before Lilly's brain could process that Miley was standing just on the other side of the door, grinning instead of lying on the floor unconscious. Lilly pulled her head back enough to ask, "But—how—you—"

"Hit the door with my hand," Miley replied with a supremely proud grin as she continued to hold Lilly securely. "Then I stomped the floor hard, to make it sound like I fell."

"It worked!" was all Lilly could get out before Miley's lips were once again atop hers, the passion dancing between them enough to set both young women's hearts afire again. As they continued to kiss in the door to their bathroom, Miley moved to press Lilly's back against the doorframe. Lilly tipped her head back to let her wife kiss her across her neck, purring softly as her body tingled wherever Miley touched her. "Mmmm, I like this," Lilly said aloud, closing her eyes to savor the sensations carried in Miley's touch.

"I like it too," Miley murmured against Lilly's hot skin, pausing to talk but not pulling her lips away from her Lilly. "But there's somethin' that I've been missin' these last few weeks."

Lilly nodded slightly, being careful not to hit Miley's head. "Yeah, I miss it too, sweetheart," she sighed. "But just a few more days, Miles. That's all." Lilly seriously understated how much she missed being able to touch Miley in that way she loved more than anything else, at being able to taste her sweet Miley in the way that only she would ever experience. And as badly as not being able to make love to her wife in that way was affecting Lilly, she knew it had to be even more agonizing for Miley herself.

Miley pulled her mouth away from Lilly's neck, making Lilly lift her head enough to look Miley in her amazing eyes, glowing an intense blueish gray at the moment, the desire in them readily evident as it strained to burst forth. "Screw a few more days," Miley said in a low voice. "I'm healed, honey. I know it. There's no more pain, no soreness, no bleeding, and no funky... stuff," with both young women shivering slightly at the last word. "I'm back to normal, Lilly," Miley continued, placing a light kiss on Lilly's lips but pulling back almost immediately, leaving Lilly's lips pursed and slightly opened, a silent invitation for Miley to dive deeper. "It's been over five weeks, and I need you, honey, I need you to make love to me the way we've both been missing these last two months. Everything that we've done these last few weeks has been great, baby, but I need to feel you—" Miley swallowed as she could see the tears forming in Lilly's brilliant cobalt eyes, full of desire that matched her own, as she continued, "I need to see you down there, Lilly, knowing exactly what you're gonna do to me, baby. I need that, and even with everything else we've done since Brooke was born, there's still been something missing these last few weeks."

Lilly nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with every word Miley said. They had done many things they both loved as well as a few new things that they had also enjoyed, but like Miley said, something had been missing. Lilly smiled as she stared deeply into the eyes of her best friend, her partner, her wife. "Let's get in the shower," she said, "and then, if you'll let me, I want to make love to you, Miley."

Miley smiled broadly. "Oh, I want you to, Lilly Bear. Believe me, I really want you to."

"Then what are we doing standing here, when we could be getting you all clean?" Lilly asked, allowing a smirk to crawl across her lips.

The next thirty minutes were among the most magical of Miley's life. Even with the two of them restraining themselves in the shower, the knowledge of what was to come imparted an electric charge to the air that both Miley and Lilly could easily feel. Simple touches as hand slid across hand when reaching for soap or shampoo, brief glances followed by anxious yet knowing smiles, body brushing against body as they changed position beneath the warm water's spray, all of these fleeting contacts left them both tingling with anticipation as they stepped out of the shower and hastily dried off. As their gazes connected, they both dropped their towels and ran to their bed, laughing as they did so.

As they reached their bed, Lilly turned down the covers before Miley grabbed her arms and turned her around for a burning kiss. Miley could feel her heart fluttering as Lilly's fingers ran across her bare back, her short nails tracing lines and circles of love as they trailed across Miley's skin. Miley broke the kiss and pulled the covers almost completely off the bed, leaving them tossed about at the foot of the bed. She smiled at Lilly as she crawled onto the bed, slowly making her way up the pillows as she made sure Lilly got a long look at her body. The sessions with a personal trainer had definitely paid off for Miley, but truthfully Lilly had already been doing a fine job with helping her get back into shape. Not having classes or business for the last few weeks had given Miley much more free time than she was used to, and she had been happy to add in walks on the beach with Lilly and Brooke when they found themselves with free time in the evenings. The result had been Miley's body not only returning to its pre-pregnancy state but becoming even healthier in appearance. It had been many days of working out three, four, even five hours a day at intervals spaced throughout each day, but Miley was pleased with the result. She had no lingering stretch marks because she had been careful to watch her weight gain during pregnancy, and she finally felt like her body was back in "Hannah form," as she put it to Lilly. And now that body was being showcased for her sweet, sweet Lilly, letting her see how hard Miley had worked to get back into shape not only for Hannah's career, but for her. For Lilly.

Miley smiled as Lilly's blue eyes took in all of her long, lean body. She rolled over, crossing her legs at the ankles at the knees to tease Lilly just a bit longer. Poor Lilly. She's gonna go crazy when she finally gets a taste of me.

"Are you trying to drive me crazy, Miles?" asked Lilly with a contented smile as she herself crawled onto the bed. She was on her knees at Miley's feet when she slowly stretched her upper body toward the ceiling, doing her own version of show-and-tell for her wife's benefit. She tucked her arms behind her head as she tucked her dark gold hair behind her, using a soft hairband to secure it so it wouldn't be in her face, blocking her view of or attentions to Miley.

Miley looked at her best friend for a few seconds before she replied, "Maybe." Any other words were forestalled by Lilly gently grasping Miley's ankles. Miley raised an eyebrow at her wife, holding it briefly as Lilly returned her gaze.

"Are you ready, baby?" Lilly asked, flexing her grip on her lover's ankles. Her own heart was pounding fiercely, and knowing that Miley could feel her excitement too made her shiver even more. The moment she had been anticipating, had been dreaming of for weeks, was finally here. It took every iota of willpower she possessed to not fling Miley's legs apart, but Lilly managed to slowly part her wife's legs, savoring every second of contact between them. She kept her intense gaze fixed firmly on Miley's sparkling blue eyes as she reverently repositioned Miley's legs, but she couldn't help but notice the way Miley's lips curled with anticipation at her deliberate actions.

"Lilly..." Miley breathed out, only slightly louder than a whisper as her chest rose and fell.

"Yes, Miley?" Lilly replied, her own voice cut short as her throat tightened with emotion.

Miley stared down at Lilly, moisture evident in her sea blue eyes as she fought to control herself. "Make love to me, Lilly," she said carefully. "I need you so bad, honey."

Lilly reached up the bed and gripped Miley's thighs, using them to slide herself farther up and between her best friend's legs. She knew, and Miley knew, that there wasn't going to be any more foreplay. Not when they both needed this missing ritual of their love for their hearts, their souls, to be complete once more. Lilly leaned down, her lips opened in anticipation of touching her Miley this way once again, pausing just long enough to look up at the only person she would ever—could ever—feel this way about and say, "I love you, Miley," with a voice gentle and sincere.

As Miley felt Lilly's tongue and lips begin to touch her in exactly the way she wanted, the way she needed, her eyes closed tightly as she dug her fingers into the bedsheets on each side of her. She gasped but was unable to get enough air in her lungs to tell Lilly how good what she was doing felt, how brilliant colors flashed and intense songs played with every second of her lover's touch on her body. Her right hand released the sheets and instantly buried itself deep in Lilly's blonde hair, pulling her lover's head against her with a force both insistent and pleading as Miley tried to wordlessly convey to her Lilly to go faster, go deeper, to fill her completely until there was no more Miley or Lilly but instead just one heart, one soul formed of nothing but pure, sweet love.

Miley wasn't sure how long it took for her mind to melt down into a buzzing surge of ecstasy. It could have been hours, minutes, days, seconds, years, she couldn't be sure. But as her body convulsed with the bliss of sexual release, she could feel a warmth surround her, a warmth that she knew came from Lilly and their powerful love for each other. Even as the rest of her world faded away in the blistering heat of her intense orgasm, she could feel Lilly beside her, touching her, holding her, kissing her, speaking to her, swearing her eternal love to Miley again and again.

"I love you, Miley."

Miley could hear those words ring throughout her mind, and without any conscious effort her lips spoke that phrase's mate.

"I love you, Lilly."

Miley felt wet lips kiss her forehead, bringing her out of her waking dream. She opened her eyes to see glistening pink lips move down and away, replaced with the most adorable nose she had ever seen. The nose was in turn replaced by two blue eyes shot through with tiny hints of both gray and green, the wide blackness of Lilly's pupils searching Miley's own eyes for the matching love they reflected.

"Did you like that, Miles?" Lilly asked, and the gentle words rushed through Miley's ears like a roar.

Miley couldn't see Lilly's lips move as she spoke those words, but her eyes could see the question in Lilly's gaze as she spoke. She nodded her head at first, finally gaining enough control of her body to slowly say to her concerned wife, "It was okay," with a deliberately understated voice.

Lilly's eyes danced in confusion for several seconds before a grin split her lips as she realized she was being teased. "Just okay, huh?" she asked, waiting for Miley's reply.

Miley smiled and leaned her head forward to kiss Lilly's lips delicately. "Lilly, that might have been the single most amazing experience of my life," she said as she wrapped her arms around her wife's neck. "And the only things that could even come close would be giving birth to our daughter, marrying you, and the first night we ever made love."

Lilly grinned and nuzzled her face against Miley's sweaty neck. "Good," she said simply. She held her lips against Miley's warm skin as she said, "Mmmm, you tasted like heaven, Miley. It had been way too long."

Miley twirled a long strand of her dark brown hair as she and Lilly lay quietly on the bed, holding each other as they enjoyed the newly restored intimacy between them, once again whole and complete. Miley sighed happily. Things were once again right in their world. "You think your parents are gonna know what we did?" she asked Lilly, the corner of her mouth curling up in a slight smile as she pondered her own question.

Lilly lifted her head enough to look over Miley's thick chestnut hair and at her best friend's face. "Are you kidding? With that huge smile on your face? Miles, everybody's gonna know that you got off big!"

"Let 'em know," Miley said pulling Lilly even closer. "For the first time in weeks I feel like things are right again with our sex life."

"Gee, thanks," said Lilly, her voice notably ambivalent. "OW!" she yelled as Miley pinched her butt, making her jump. "What was that for?"

"For jumpin' to conclusions that aren't true," replied Miley smartly. She lightly rubbed Lilly's butt where she had just pinched her, trying to negate the pain. "Lil, you have been so good these last few weeks with controllin' yourself, and I know that there've been times when you just wanted to cut loose but held back so you wouldn't hurt me."

Lilly looked away briefly then back at Miley, her face tilted down slightly. "Was it that obvious?" she muttered guiltily.

Miley smiled. "Honey, to me?" she asked, pointing a thumb at her own chest. "Yeah, it was. I know about every facial expression you've got, Lil. And they're all cute, by the way. But I felt bad, because I could see how you'd have to hold yourself back, and I knew that it was because my body was still healin'."

"But Miley, you couldn't help that! Don't you blame yourself for—"

Miley pressed her fingertips to Lilly's lips to halt her talking. "Lilly, my body had to heal. That's not anybody's fault as much as it is God's own truth, and I'm not blaming myself for what had to happen. But it was still making us miss something when we made love. You were great at making me feel good even without that, but it was still something that we both wanted but couldn't have. Right?"

Lilly nodded knowingly. "Right," she agreed. She hugged Miley, pushing her backwards on the bed before she wrapped her legs around Miley's thighs, holding her tightly.

"Umf, Lilly..." Miley said, trying to wriggle out of her best friend's rather intimate embrace but not having any success. "Lil, honey, we have... to go get... Brooke... from your parents..."

Lilly planted a kiss on Miley's lips, holding it a second or two before pulling back. She grinned and then released Miley from her whole-body embrace. "Sorry, I just couldn't resist!" she said, running her left hand through Miley's hair, being careful to not snag any possible tangles. "Okay, now we go get our little pork chop?"

Miley laughed, something that always sent a tingle through Lilly's body. "Yeah, we can go get our little pork chop," she replied. She shook her head as they stood. "I swear, you come up with some good ones, Lilly."

Lilly tossed Miley the shirt they had laid out before going on their run earlier that morning. "Oh, you're one to talk, Mrs. Truscott. Who was it that called our precious baby girl a screech owl the other day?"

"Hey, that was a good comparison! It was two in the mornin'!" Miley smiled as she turned her back to Lilly to hide her grin. "She gets that screechy voice from you, anyway," she said softly.

Instead of another protest, Miley felt Lilly wrap her arms around her protectively. Nothing more needed to be said to convey their feelings as Miley closed her eyes and leaned back into Lilly's strong grip, reveling in the unspoken pledge of love and security from her wife as the two of them simply stood there for long moments, slowly swaying, smiles prominent on both girls' faces.

The ringing of the doorbell startled the two of them, causing Lilly to release Miley from her long hug. She started to walk to the door only to have Miley kiss her on the lips. "Love you, Lilly Bear," Miley said. "I'll get it. You finish gettin' dressed." She hurried out of their bedroom and down the hall, carefully making her way down the stairs. She checked the clock as she crossed the living room. Still fifteen minutes before we're supposed to pick up Brooke. She called back up the stairs, "Hey honey, did your parents need us to get Brooke early or something?" Lilly yelled something, but Miley couldn't make it out. Shoot, hope they're not too mad if we were supposed to pick her up early. Miley opened the door, already saying, "Sorry, I didn't realize we were supposed to pick up—WHOA!!"

Miley froze holding the door open, her mind simultaneously telling her that there was no way this was actually happening while also spouting forth all the potential trouble that this person standing at their door represented. All the while, the person responsible for such abrupt mental chaos stood still, hands clasped in front of her and a look of matching shock on her face.

"Uh... Miley?" asked Mikayla. She forced a smile onto her face as she quietly asked, "Remember me?"

Damnation! How did she figure it out? Miley's thoughts were racing as she tried to maintain her composure. "Um, yeah, I wouldn't think I'd've forgotten who you were this fast," she replied coolly, trying to decide on the best course of action. Well, no point making this too big a scene... if it could be helped now. "Come on in," she said, stepping aside to let Mikayla walk inside. "So," she slowly asked as she turned around to face her nemesis—who was acting surprisingly calm, not her usual smug self—"why are you here?"

Mikayla turned around. "Well, I know it's been several years since I last saw you, but I was wondering if we could just talk for a bit. About, you know, someone from both our pasts."

As Miley realized what Mikayla wanted, she began to jump for joy internally. She doesn't know! She's not here because she figured out that Lilly and I are Lola and Hannah, she's here to talk about somebody else, probably Jerk Ryan. YES! "Uh, yeah, I guess we could do that," she said, allowing a small friendly smile to emerge on her face. This could still work out smoothly, she thought until she heard the thumping of running footsteps upstairs, going down the hallway to the steps. Uh oh. She felt how scared I just was, and now—

"Miley! Are you okay down there?"

Okay, scratch that thought of this working out smoothly. I wonder how hard it is to get bloodstains out of furniture upholstery?

As Lilly's footsteps pounded down the stairs, Miley tried to move, but she could only get around the couch before Lilly jumped onto the landing at the bottom of the stairs. "Miley, I'm sorry, I was in the bathroom!" Lilly sputtered out as she focused on Miley. "What's wrong?" She took three steps across the living room toward her best friend before she registered the presence of their surprise guest.

"Lilly, guess who dropped by very unexpectedly!" Miley said, trying to use her face, her emotions to tell Lilly not to explode when she registered this was a visit from—

"MIKAYLA!" Lilly screamed, only to find herself nearly tackled by her wife. Miley wrapped her arms around Lilly and braced her legs, pulling with all her strength and still only barely holding her furious wife back from inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mikayla.

"Lilly! LILLY!" Miley yelled at her wife, who was kicking and trying to pull herself away from Miley's grip. "Lilly, calm down!" She felt her grip slip just slightly, so she shifted tactics. "Lillian Truscott, please don't pull away from me," she said directly into Lilly's ear with a voice slightly above a whisper. "Please, honey."

Lilly stopped her twisting, but she wouldn't take her eyes off of this intruder in their home, someone who was most definitely not welcome here. She turned to look at Miley. "Miley, you'd better have a good reason for keeping me—"

"She doesn't know," Miley whispered quietly into Lilly's ear. "She stopped by to see us," she continued with a whisper, emphasizing the last word as she spoke. "She said she wanted to talk about something, so don't kill her." Seeing the look of doubt on Lilly's face, Miley smiled and sweetly said, "Please?"

Lilly glared at Mikayla for several seconds before she finally, grudgingly said, "Okay. But you're asking a lot, Miles." She turned to look into Miley's eyes to convey how hard it was to restrain herself, but Miley could already feel Lilly's pulsating fury in her own chest.

"I know, hon," Miley said in a soft voice, smiling to try and lessen the tension in the room.

"Okay, did I piss in your Corn Flakes or something, blondie?" Mikayla said hotly, returning Lilly's glare.

Miley tensed, expecting Lilly to attempt another charge at the smart-mouthed brunette, but Lilly stood fast. Miley looked back into Lilly's face, but now she saw calm resolve instead of anger. "Thank you," she said, then she opened her arms and stepped forward, hugging Lilly to her chest tightly.

Lilly immediately returned the hug, closing her eyes and tamping down her internal turmoil as best as she could. "No, but you've been a total rampaging bitch to two of our good friends," Lilly said coldly to Mikayla. "Hannah and Lola Montana? You might have heard of them."

"Oh," said Mikayla, looking unperturbed. "Yeah, if you're friends with them, I can see why you're pissed at me. No big, then." She looked a bit more closely at Lilly and asked, "Hey, you were Miley's friend, right? The one that came to the set of the movie with her that time, when she tried to get Jake to break up with me?"

Lilly nodded. "If we'd known then what we know now, we'd have wished you two well and walked away," she said. "Going to all that trouble for an asshole like him was a total waste of time."

Surprisingly, Mikayla nodded her head. "You're right," she said. She turned to Miley and asked, "Is that why you started cheating on him when he went back to you after that?"

"WHAT!?" both Miley and Lilly exclaimed as one, turning to look at Mikayla.

"Me?" said Miley.

"Cheating?" yelled Lilly.

"ON HIM?!" they finished together.

Mikayla looked back and forth at Miley and Lilly. "Okay, that was funny. Do you two practice that or something?"

"No, we don't practice it, it just happens," Miley quickly said. "Go back to the part where you said I was cheating on... him."

"After we broke up, he went back to you," Mikayla said, her tone of voice suggesting that Miley had either gone crazy or was teasing her. "He said you two were together for a little over a year, then he caught you screwing some other guy in his bed, so he dumped you and came crawling back to me then."

Miley gagged for a moment, covering her mouth with her hand as her brain battled her stomach for control. She looked over at Lilly, who looked not only nauseous but also more than a bit disgusted. After several seconds, Miley was fairly sure her brain was winning, so she slowly lowered her hand from her mouth. "Okay, that is SO not the truth that it's not even funny," she said, shaking her head. "When did this supposedly happen?"

Mikayla thought for a bit, then she said, "He broke up with me about nine years ago, so I guess it would have been right after that. He said he was going to go find you, because you were the one he had always wanted to be with, and that I was just a good fuck."

"Nine years ago..." Miley said, thinking. "So we were fifteen then."

"When he came back to Seaview!" Lilly said suddenly. "When he tried to force you to—" She stopped before she finished saying, make Hannah become his girlfriend again, thankfully. "To go out with him again," she said quickly.

"Lucky for me I had someone watching my back," Miley said proudly.

"Two someones," Lilly clarified. "Oliver was a lifesaver for us." Miley nodded at the truth of Lilly's words.

"Wait, wait, wait," said Mikayla, her voice showing signs of irritation. "You mean, you didn't start sleeping with him again?"

"Hell no!" yelled Miley, loud enough to make Lilly's ears ring. "I never so much as did anything more than kiss him a few times, and that was before he took off the first time! I sure as hell didn't ever fool around with him, and there's no way on God's green planet that I ever would have slept with him!"

"Miley has better taste than that," Lilly said, flashing Mikayla another angry glare.

Miley turned to look at her wife, gently gripping Lilly's chin as she looked into her burning blue eyes and said, "I have much better taste than that." She and Lilly both grinned, then touched noses before kissing softly.

"What the fuck!" Mikayla nearly shouted. "You two are lesbians?"

Miley rolled her eyes, making Lilly giggle. "Mikayla, it's not about being gay or being straight, it's just that we just fell in love with each other," Miley explained. "That kinda went beyond who we were attracted to to begin with."

"And it was nine years ago that Jerk Ryan came back to Seaview and tried to take Miley away from me," said Lilly.

Miley grinned. "Fat chance of that. Nothin' could've pulled me away from you, honey." She turned back to Mikayla and added, "When Jake saw that Lilly and I were in love and that he had no chance with me, he tried to threaten me if I wouldn't go out with him again. So Lilly kicked his ass. He transferred out of the school, and we never saw him again. End of story."

"So when you pulled that shit on me at the movie set with him..."

"Was right before I got the nerve to tell Lilly that I loved her," Miley finished, nodding in agreement. "Seeing that she was willing to put up with another one of my goofy plans just because I thought it'd make me happy, well, that just made me appreciate how special she was even more." She looked back at Lilly and felt her smile grow once again. "It takes a special kind of love to put up with my crazy schemes," she said, kissing Lilly on the forehead.

"Got that right," agreed Lilly as Miley pulled her lips away from her skin.

"So you never went back to Jake after that stunt on the movie set?" asked Mikayla, taking it upon herself to sit down on the chair beside her.

"No," said Miley, shaking her head firmly. "A while after that he came back to Seaview, tried to get me back, Lilly and I told him about us, he got mad, Lilly stomped him, then another friend of ours broke his arm when he jumped us from behind."

"He sent us a note after that," Lilly said, "saying that he had gotten into drugs and that he was sorry and going into rehab somewhere. That was the last we've heard of him, and that's how we like it. He was nothing but trouble for my Miley." Lilly caught a glimpse of the wall clock. "Miles, we need to go get Brooke," she said. "It's twelve."

"Okay, hon," replied Miley. "Mikayla, we kinda need to go get our daughter. If you want to leave your number, maybe we could talk later?"

Mikayla nodded her head, "Sure, sure," she said. "Hey, you two have a daughter?" she asked as she walked to the door, Miley and Lilly right behind her.

"Yeah," Lilly said. "Hannah and Lola told us about what they were doing, about getting pregnant, and we thought that was just the coolest thing ever." Now the smile on her face was genuine, thinking about their daughter. They had practiced this cover story several times, and Lilly was extremely glad they had planned ahead for a situation like this. "Miles and I talked about it, and we decided we wanted to do it, too. Have a child together, from the two of us, I mean. So they got us in with their doctor, and we wound up pregnant at the same time they were."

"So how did you two meet them?" Mikayla asked, and now Miley could see a faint gleam in her dark eyes.

"They did a concert at our high school when we were still in school," said Miley, seeing a need to wrap this up soon. "We met them there." Miley didn't offer any other details; no need to give Mikayla any more chances to see through their disguises than absolutely necessary. "Now we really do need to go."

As Miley and Lilly began walking down the street to Lilly's parents' house, Mikayla called out, "I'll stop by later so we can talk more about Jake. I mean, since you wanted to be friends with me back then."

Miley stopped in her tracks. She slowly turned, releasing Lilly's hand she had been holding as she did so. She slowly walked back to Mikayla, stopping just two steps away from her. "That was nine years ago," she said as she looked into Mikayla's eyes. "And that was the last I ever heard from you until now, when you just happen to need somethin'. Plus you've given our real friends nothin' but mean, hurtful remarks and tried to stir up as much trouble for them as you could. So why on earth would we even consider bein' your friends now?"

"Lots of perks come with being friends with someone famous," said Mikayla, not backing down. "I could help you move out of this dumpy neighborhood, maybe even get you two a much nicer place to live, if you'd want to hang out with me some."

"Oh, and give you all sorts of dirt on Hannah and Lola?" replied Miley, her voice rising. "Fat chance!"

"Obviously they're not helping you out!" said Mikayla, waving her hand at their house. "I mean, you're living out in some run-of-the-mill Malibu beach community, which is probably high class for you two, but you could be doing a lot better than this place!"

Miley stared at Mikayla for long seconds, long enough for Lilly to walk back over to her wife and take her arm. "I cannot believe how low you really are," Miley finally said in a soft but dangerous voice. "This house is special to Lilly and me. It's where we grew up as friends, where we made love for the first time, and it's where we're gonna raise our family." Miley leaned in closer, anger boiling inside her. "How... fucking... DARE you insult it!" she said right before she drew back and punched Mikayla in the jaw, sending her stumbling backwards to fall on her butt.

Miley noted that Lilly didn't make any move to further restrain her. She turned to look at Lilly, but Lilly just gave her an expectant look. "You not gonna try and hold me back, Lilly Bear?" Miley asked, now more than a bit amused.

Lilly shrugged her shoulders. "Why?" she said with a serious face. "Bitch had it coming."

Miley sputtered with laughter, getting Lilly to grin herself. Miley turned back to Mikayla, who was still sitting on the ground, apparently in shock. "If you want to talk about loser boy any more, Mikayla, I suggest you find some manners. Otherwise, don't bother to stop by." She turned around, smiling at Lilly as they resumed their walk down the sidewalk to retrieve their baby daughter.

"Nice punch," said Lilly approvingly.

"Why, thank you," Miley said happily, unable to restrain her smile.

Just a few minutes later they stepped up onto the front porch of Phil and Meredith Truscott. Lilly rang the doorbell, then she opened the door for Miley, following her wife inside. "Hey Mom, Dad!" Lilly called out as she closed the door behind them.

Down and across the street, a gunmetal gray Aston Martin Vanquish sat, its massive engine currently silent as Mikayla watched from behind an oversized pair of sunglasses. Several minutes later, Miley and Lilly came out of the house with Lilly holding a baby and Miley pushing a large stroller. Mikayla watched Miley carry the stroller down the few steps off the porch, setting it down and slowly pushing it as Lilly held and apparently talked to the baby she was carrying. "Well, damn. They really did have a baby," Mikayla muttered to herself.

As the trio approached her car's position, Mikayla tried to make herself as small as possible, hoping that neither of them would look across the street and notice her observing them. Fortunately, they appeared to be too engrossed in their child to pay attention to any exotic British sports cars that just happened to be in their vicinity. Mikayla turned discreetly to watch them continue on down the sidewalk back to their house, and now the sounds of their voices carried along the wind to where Mikayla was sitting. As she heard the happy sounds of mothers talking to and doting on their baby, Mikayla felt a heavy lump of ice in her chest, matched by a gnawing pit of nausea in her belly. As she heard the baby's happy laughs, she quickly started her car and rolled up her window, pulling away before the first tear made its way down her cheek.

Author's Afterword: So how many of you foresaw Mikayla paying a visit to Miley and Lilly? Well, if there are any of you who did so, I'm impressed, because I really didn't see it coming myself. It does add an interesting dynamic to things, and that dynamic isn't over just yet. In fact, it's only going to grow over the next few chapters. Mikayla really do have some serious issues, and while I've seen some excellent deductions, nobody has really gotten all of her past puzzled out just yet. (That's her therapist's job, anyway.) I keep trying to talk Mikayla out of her car, but she's not interested in parting with it, which ticks me off. I've never been big on fancy cars or sports cars, but I'd sure as hell drive a Vanquish if I had the $300,000 lying around with nothing better to do. Or whatever they cost now. It's more than I'd be willing to spend on a car, whatever it is.

Next chapter will bring us the hard rock showdown, where we'll see if Mikayla's scheming can finally push Hannah out of her spotlight. See you then!

Jo