Here it is.

Lilly stared with wide eyes down at the silver band Miley was offering to her. But this was much more than just a silver band. It was a commitment. A commitment that she wasn't sure she and Miley were ready to make yet. And it was all up to her to be the responsible, to step back, separate herself from her emotions and look at the situation like a person from the outside. She hated that she had to do that.

"Miley," she whispered with tears in her eyes. She took hold of Miley's free hand and pulled her to her feet. "Please, please, please don't do this to me. Don't force me to make this decision so soon."

"We've known each other for so long…" Miley whispered.

"But are we ready to make a commitment like this?" Lilly asked. "Think about it, Miley. We're sophomores in high school, sixteen-year-olds. Most couples our age aren't even considering marriage at this point. Don't get me wrong, I love you more than I love anyone else in the world, but…I don't want to push this too far."

"Getting engaged would be pushing our relationship too far?" Miley asked, a hurt expression flashing over her face. She stood up quickly, snapping the box closed, and stuffed it in her pocket. "Well, then, I realize that we're at completely different levels, here. If I had known…well, there I go making a complete fool out of myself."

"No, Miley…" Lilly started.

"Come on, we should be getting back," Miley said, motioning for Lilly to follow her. The blonde sighed as Miley walked away from her, tears pricking her eyes when she realized that she missed the warmth of Miley's hand in her own.

"Here, you know the way back to the house, right?" Miley said, helping Lilly up onto the back of her horse, retracting her hands as soon as the blonde was in the saddle. Lilly nodded uncertainly. "Well, if you forget, just let the reins go and the horse will head straight back to the barn. When you get there, tell my grandma that I'm taking a walk and I'll be back late tonight."

"Miley…"

The brunette clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and Lilly jolted in surprise when the chestnut started forward at a brisk pace. She turned in the saddle to see Miley watching her sadly, taking the cowboy hat off her head and turning it in her hands. Just as Miley was about to disappear from sight, she saw the brunette turn her back. That was when Lilly started to cry.

"What's going on?" Luanne asked when Lilly galloped up to the barn, tears streaming down her face.

"She…Miley…" Lilly sobbed as Luanne helped her down from the horse. She leaned into the brunette, who wrapped her arms around her and stroked her hair softly.

"Shhh, it's going to be okay," Luanne whispered. "Come on, let's get you inside and we can send Aislinn out to look for Miley."

Luanne led Lilly into the house and sat her down at the kitchen table, rubbing her back comfortingly as the blonde continued to sob. A few minutes later, Ruthie walked into the kitchen.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Lilly, what happened?"

"She…she proposed to me," Lilly sobbed.

"Oh my God," Luanne whispered.

"Luanne, how about you go get Aislinn and the two of you go look for Miley," Ruthie said gently. Lilly heard the scrape of chair legs against the floor and receding footsteps. She looked up to see Ruthie sit down next to her and felt her put an arm around her shoulders.

"You said no, didn't you?" Ruthie asked softly. Lilly nodded. "Don't worry, she'll get over it. All the Stewarts get over it."

"W-what?" Lilly stuttered, her eyes wide as she looked at Ruthie.

Ruthie nodded wisely. "Yes, every single Stewart who has ever proposed has gotten turned down at least once," she said with a knowing smile. "Miley's father, included. He always leaves that part out, though. I think he just makes up a story. But it's always the girl or, in this case, you, Lilly, who has to think about the consequences of any rash or quick decisions and make the right choice. I'm proud of you, Lilly. When Miley asked me for the hats, I wasn't sure whether I should give them to her."

"What do the hats have to do with anything?" Lilly asked.

"Those hats are generations old," Ruthie said, taking the white hat from Lilly's head. "Miley's great-great grandfather proposed to her great-great grandmother while they were wearing these hats. And it's been a tradition to wear them ever since. I'm thinking, though, that it might be time to break that tradition."

"Why?"

"Because these hats not only represent the love shared between many people, but the heartbreak and the loss that has occurred between them, as well," Ruthie said sadly. "Susan, Miley's mother, died while wearing this hat. And I think…I think I want to give these hats to the two of you. To show that while there is heartbreak in a relationship, love conquers all."

"But…"

"Don't 'but' me, young lady. I know exactly what I'm doing," Ruthie said. "Now how about you dry those tears and hop on up to bed? You look like you could use a nap. I'll send Miley up when she gets back."

Lilly nodded and stood up. "Can I…can I take the hat with me?" she asked.

"Of course," Ruthie said with a small smile, handing the hat over to her.

Taking the hat from Ruthie, Lilly turned and climbed up the stairs, going into her and Miley's bedroom. Slipping her boots off, she crawled under the covers and let the tears run down her face. It was okay to cry here, to the lets the sobs escape her mouth, shake her body, take her over. Because no one could hear. No one could ask her what was wrong or tell her that everything was going to be okay. For a moment, for a single moment, maybe an hour or two, Lilly needed to have someone not lie to her. To tell her that everything had gone horribly wrong and it wasn't going to get any better. But Lilly did that for herself. The darkness enveloped her as her tears subsided.

Three hours later, Lilly woke up to a quick, sharp pain in her lower abdomen. Her hand immediately flew to her stomach and her eyes widened when she realized that something was wrong. Drastically wrong.

Another stab of pain hit her and she cried out, swinging her legs out of the bed as she stumbled towards the door, towards people. People who could help her. Who could tell her what was happening. They could get rid of this pain. Another cry of pain flew past her lips as the pain hit her again, harder and longer, and she knew that it was getting worse. Something was wrong. With the baby.

"Help," she whimpered as she struggled to get the door open, stumbled into the hallway and hit the wall with a force that would have knocked over a football player. She slid to the ground, tears streaming down her face as wave after wave of pain hit her. Whispered words left her mouth as she prayed for God to just take her there, to spare her the torture, to just kill her.

"Lilly, what's wrong?"

The voice of an angel. She managed to see the blurry picture of someone's face hovering in front of her. A pale face and brown hair. Green eyes. The face of an angel? A gentle hand touched her on the shoulder, shaking her slightly. A worried voice reached her ears, but she couldn't make out what was being said. The pain had overtaken her. She could no longer control what she did. Her body shook and trembled as the pain took over, controlled her.

"Lilly…Lilly…Lilly…"

And the darkness overtook her.

Okay, I know it's a HORRIBLE Christmas present, but this is the second-to-last chapter. I'm not saying the chapter was horrible, which hopefully it wasn't, but the fact that the next chapter I put up is going to be the last of this story. And I'm putting it up as soon as I get it formatted and as soon as I get this put up. I'm sorry. But maybe there will be a little New Year's surprise at the end???? Hmmm, it all depends on reviews… (hint, hint, hint)

Speaking of reviews, thank you to JustAnotherSlowGoodbye, AshleyAlien1408, Lovergirl242, CaseyBug14, and Azula's Flame 1415 for reviewing. I really appreciate your guys' feedback. I love you all and right now I'm going to put up the next chapter since I've been so lazy and haven't been updating.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!

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