So sorry that I didn't update for so long. The explanation is at the end of the chapter. Hopefully this will make up for everything. This chapter is dedicated to HannahMiley1fan.

The next morning, Lilly woke up to find Miley wrapped around her and carefully extracted herself from the brunette's grip. She smiled and gently kissed her forehead, slipping her feet in her slippers and grabbing a blanket from the end of the bed to wrap around Miley. The brunette smiled in her sleep and shifted slightly, but didn't wake up.

"I love you," Lilly whispered before leaving the room quietly, softly shutting the door behind her. She didn't want to wake Miley up because she had been so stressed out the day before and had gotten very little sleep that night because she kept having nightmares and waking up. It was the first time the whole night that she hadn't woken up every hour.

"Hey, how're you doing?" Aislinn asked as Lilly walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"Just worried about Miley," Lilly sighed, leaning her elbows on the table and putting her head in her hands. "She kept waking up last night crying and…I just hate seeing her like this. I never knew that loving someone could hurt this much; I just wish that she would feel better. It's frustrating, not being able to do anything to make her feel better."

"She's just stressed out," Aislinn said, setting a cup of coffee down in front of Lilly and sitting down across from her. "I think she's worried that this experience has ruined this whole place for you, sort of made it a place where all your bad memories will come back, and she doesn't want that to happen because this is her favorite place in the world. This is where she grew up and where her mom died and…she doesn't want to let go of this place. And she would do that for you. She would do anything for you."

Aislinn's tone sounded accusatory and Lilly looked up to see brown eyes staring into her. "What, are you saying that I wouldn't give up everything for Miley?" Lilly whispered. "In case you didn't know, my mom kicked me out of the house because I'm with her, and I didn't dump Miley and go running back home. I love her and I'm going to stay by her side no matter what."

"I just want to make sure that you won't hurt her, and you seem to be doing enough of that by just being with her," Aislinn said. "I don't even want to know how much it would hurt her if you left her. But if you do anything to upset her or hurt her or even make her cry and I find out about it, we're going to have problems. She's been hurt enough in her life…"

"By who?" Lilly shot at her. "Who's the one who went off, got pregnant, and then got an abortion, which split up her family? Not only split up her family, but right after her mom died? Hmm, who was that, Aislinn?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Aislinn growled.

"I think I do," Lilly said, leaning forward. "Look, I would never, ever hurt Miley intentionally. Do you really think that I wanted Alex to try to rape me last night? Miley is…she's my life, and if she isn't happy, then I'm not happy. And I know that I have a lot of depressing stuff going on in my life right now, but I would never, ever do anything that I would think in any way would hurt her. You, on the other hand, have done things to hurt her, and you've done them without even thinking about the effects that they might have on other people, so you really shouldn't be talking."

"What about telling her that you wouldn't be comfortable with her telling everyone that she was Hannah?" Aislinn asked. "She was incredibly hurt by that."

"And how much more hurt do you think she would be if the press started printing out articles saying that she was dating a lesbian slut?" Lilly asked angrily, standing up so fast that she knocked her chair back on the floor. She was no longer trying to keep her voice down. "I think I know a little better what the press would say if she came out about being Hannah Montana, and our relationship is no secret, so it would be the exact same thing as Hannah coming out of the closet, as well. Not everyone thinks about themselves as much as you do, Aislinn. You just want a perfect family, don't you? You can't stand having a weird family with a father who refuses to see you, a little brother who is disappointed in you, and a younger sister who is dating a pregnant girl, can you?"

"No, I can't, but is it so wrong for me to want my family to be happy?" Aislinn asked, also standing up.

"And who's to say that Miley isn't happy with me right now?" Lilly asked. "I love her more than life itself and I would die for her if I had to. I can honestly say that if someone held a gun to Miley and threatened to shoot her, I would throw myself in front of her. She. Is. My. Life. And that's not going to change."

There was a scream from upstairs and Lilly raced up the stairs and towards the bedroom where she had left Miley, barging in to find the brunette sitting up with tears streaming down her face. She immediately sat down on the bed and wrapped the brunette into a hug, pulling her closer.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," she whispered, rocking her back and forth. "Everything is okay, it was just a dream."

"He…he hurt you," Miley sobbed into Lilly's shoulder. "I tried…I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't stop. He said that he was going to hurt me by hurting you, and then he was going to kill you."

"No, no, it's okay," Lilly whispered. "It was just a dream, I'm okay. I'm right here, Miley, no one is hurt and no one is going to get hurt. I promise. Here, dry your tears and try to calm down a little bit. Trust me, you'll feel better. Do you want me to go get you a glass of water?"

Miley took in a deep, shuttering breath, calming herself down as she slowly pulled away from Lilly. "No, I'm fine," she whispered. "It's just…I can't imagine that something like that could have happened here. I love this place, and to think…it's probably ruined the whole experience for you…"

"Look at me Miley," Lilly said sternly, lifting her chin so they were looking straight into each other's eyes. "I love it here. And do you know why I love it here? Because you do. I don't think I've ever seen you this happy before, well, obviously not now, but yesterday, I could see that you love this place just by looking at you. And what happened yesterday with Alex didn't ruin anything for me. Nothing happened because you came and you saved me. And I love you even more for that. I don't think anything could ever ruin this place for me and even if it did, I would want to come here with you because it makes you happy. And what makes you happy makes me happy."

"How can you not be affected by what happened last night?" Miley whispered.

Lilly shrugged. "It'll hit me eventually, I suppose," she said quietly, looking away from Miley and toward the window. "I just…it feels like…like it wasn't me in the bedroom with Alex, but someone else. Sometimes I feel like I'm not me anymore because my life has been so…different. I don't see my mom anymore, I have to have regular doctor's appointments to check on the baby, and I'm living with the best girlfriend in the world. It's not normal for me to be doing all this stuff."

"Of course you're still you," Miley whispered.

"I know, it's just…I'm the most messed up person you could have chosen to be your girlfriend," Lilly said, smiling wryly. "You're Hannah Montana and you could have gotten anyone in the world, and you chose me, who probably has the most problems in the world…"

"No, no, you're the most amazing girl in the world," Miley said softly.

"Isn't it weird how we can go from me comforting you in one moment and then switch it all around in the next?" Lilly asked, laughing.

Miley looked at her with a confused expression on her face, not understanding where this sudden change of topic was coming from. Then her mouth stretched out into a smile and she started laughing with Lilly, her laughs ringing out of the room. Lilly stopped laughing and grinned at Miley, watching her lovingly as she laughed. This was the Miley that she loved, the Miley who smiled and laughed and joked , and she would do anything to keep the beautiful brunette like this for the rest of her life.

For the rest of her life. The smile faded from Lilly's face when she realized what this meant. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with Miley, which meant…meant that she wanted to marry her. That if, right now, Miley got down on one knee and proposed to her, she wouldn't hesitate to accept her proposal.

"Lilly, is something wrong?" Miley asked worriedly, her laughter fading.

"No, I…I just realized something," Lilly whispered, tears in her eyes. "I…I want to spend the rest of my life with you." She started to cry and Miley leaned forward, pulling her into a hug.

"Here, can I show you something?" Miley whispered.

"Yeah," Lilly said quietly, wiping her tears away with the sleeve of her shirt as Miley bounded off the bed towards their closet. She quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a button-down plaid shirt, throwing Lilly a pair of jeans and another button-down plaid shirt that she dug out of the bottom of the closet.

"Now you look like a real Southern girl," Miley laughed, emphasizing her accent purposely. She pulled on a pair of boots and helped Lilly put on a pair as well.

"I'll braid your hair really quick," Miley said, sliding on to the bed behind Lilly and quickly running a brush through her hair before braiding it neatly. She hopped off the bed and gently pulled Lilly into a gentle but lingering kiss, smiling down at her and brushing a piece of hair out of her face that she missed. "Come on," she whispered, and Lilly followed her down the stairs into the kitchen.

"Grandma, where are the hats?" Miley asked when she saw her grandma at the kitchen sink.

"There're hats in the barn," Ruthie said distractedly.

"No, Grandma, the hats," Miley said, making Ruthie turn around to face her with wide eyes. "You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Oh, yes, um, are you sure you want those particular hats?" Ruthie asked.

"I'm positive," Miley said, nodding.

"It's only been a month…" Ruthie said quietly.

"But we've known each other for years," Miley said confidently. "I know her better than she knows herself, and she knows me better than I know myself."

Ruthie looked at them, tilting her head slightly. "I see it," she whispered, then she bustled into the next room.

"What are you two talking about?" Lilly asked.

"I'll tell you when we get to where I'm taking you," Miley whispered, kissing her ear lightly. "I promise that you'll like it."

"Okay, fine, keep your secrets," Lilly said, smiling at Miley to let her know that she was joking.

"Here they are," Ruthie said in an excited tone of voice, coming back into the kitchen with two ordinary-looking cowboy hats in her hands. One was as black as midnight and the other was a pure white. She handed them to Miley almost reverently, who proceeded to put the black hat on her own head and the white hat on Lilly's head.

"We're ready," she said, then she hugged her grandma and took Lilly's hand, leading her out to the barn. She proceeded to saddle a chestnut horse and helped Lilly onto it's back before swinging up in front of her. "Are you ready?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"I'm ready when you are," Lilly whispered.

And then they were off, galloping out of the barn and into the plains of Tennessee. Time seemed to stand still as Lilly grasped Miley tightly around her stomach, enjoying the wind rushing past her face, the feel of her girlfriend's back against her front, both of their laughter combined, the grass swaying in the morning breeze.

The horse started to slow as they approached an imposing line of trees that signaled the start to the woods. Gradually, it started to get steeper and steeper and Miley let the horse go slower and slower until it was walking. Finally, Miley stopped the horse and dismounted, helping Lilly down. She tied the horse's reins to sturdy tree branch and smiled reassuringly at Lilly as she took her hand, gently leading her farther up.

"Here we are," Miley said as they emerged from the woods. They were at the top of a mountain, looking down at a valley. Lilly's eyes widened as she looked down at the scenic view before them, realizing that she could barely see the house in the distance.

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

"Lilly, I…" Miley hesitated.

"What?" Lilly asked quietly, turning to face Miley with curious eyes.

"Lilly, we've been best friends for three and a half years, and girlfriends for the past month," Miley said quietly, looking calmly into Lilly's eyes. "And the time that I've spent with you has been absolutely amazing. I couldn't wish for a better best friend or girlfriend. You helped me when I just moved here, you stuck with me even when I was being an idiot, and you've always been there for me."

She took a deep breath. "We've been through a lot in the past two months," she said, taking Lilly's hands in her own, gulping nervously. "And I've been trying to do my best to show you that I'm going to be there for you no matter what happens. Before you came into my life, I was lost, searching for someone to complete me, and when I found you, I was blind, because I couldn't see that you were the perfect person for me. Like the puzzle piece that I've been looking for to finish myself. And now that I've realized that you're the one, I'll never be able to live without you."

Lilly's eyes widened when she realized where this was going. "Miley…" she started quietly.

"No, just let me finish," Miley said, letting go of one of Lilly's hands and stroking her cheek softly with the tips of her fingers. "I…when you weren't here with me, it was like I was in the dark, and when you came into my life, it was like the sun rose, illuminating everything, showing me the path. You're my sun, Lilly. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

She let go of Lilly's other hand and pulled her hand away from her cheek, starting to get down on one knee. "I promise that I'll love you and cherish you and take care of you for the rest of your life," she said, pulling a small black box out of her pocket and opening it to reveal a slim, elegant silver band. "Lilly, will you marry me?"

Okay, I'm really sorry for not updating for so long. I moved and I didn't have internet access until today. I promise that if I did have internet access, I would have updated as soon as I had this written. The next chapter is on its way, maybe tomorrow or Monday. I'll see what I get for reviews. And please, please, PLEASE tell me what you think by reviewing. What do you think Lilly should say?

And thank you to my reviewers: AshleyAlien1408, Lovergirl242, and CaseyBug14. Special thanks goes to HannahMiley1fan.

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