A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! I really appreciate them! Here's the next chapter, and I hope you guys like it.

The next few days passed with relative ease for Miley. She and Belle had now been living with Lilly and her family for a week. It was unusual for her to feel so safe and comfortable as she was starting to. For the first time in years, she felt like she was part of a real family. She hadn't heard from Jake since the day that she officially broke things off. She was keeping her fingers crossed that it would stay that way. She had already begun searching for a job, as she knew that she couldn't keep staying with Lilly and Joe without helping with bills and such. There had been no luck so far.

She was surfing the Web looking for potential employers when Lilly sat down on the sofa beside her. "Nothing yet?", she asked.

Miley shook her head. "Maybe I should just give my story to the tabloids. I mean, I know people have pretty much forgotten about Hannah, but that's got to bring in some money. Right?"

"Miley, it's okay", Lilly assured her. "We're not poor. When you find a job, you find one. We'll be okay until then."

She closed the laptop in frustration. "I just don't want you guys to feel like I'm taking advantage of you. You took me and my daughter in, Lilly. That means so much to me."

"Hey, that's what friends do. I know, if the situation was reversed, you would be happy to do the same for me."

"Maybe I should go after the house", Miley mused. "There has to be a million dollars of Hannah money tied into it. Especially when you add the cars and the pool..."

"We both know it would be a bad idea to do that", Lilly warned. "You've got Jake off your back, at least for now. No amount of money is worth what you could go through if he gets angry enough."

"You're probably right", she conceded as Myles and Belle came running into the room with Nick following behind them.

"Hey, did you guys have fun?", Lilly wondered, making her way to them. She noted the giant stain on Myles' new shirt, and gave Nick a disapproving look. "A little too much fun?"

Nick shrugged innocently. "They wanted ice cream."

"You are such a pushover", Lilly said in a joking manner. She grabbed her son's hand. "Come on, baby. Lets get you a clean shirt."

Miley stood up, and smiled at Nick. "Well, I think it was sweet. Hold on a second. I'll pay you back for Belle's", she said, turning to go get her purse.

"Hey, don't even worry about it", Nick said, waving his hand. "I got to spend the afternoon with two awesome kids. That's pay enough."

She didn't know what to say. Guys weren't supposed to be this nice. At least, not in her experience. "Well, I appreciate it", she said sincerely.

"Mommy, we had so much fun!", Belle excitedly informed her. "We went to the zoo, and I got to see a zebra!"

"That sounds fun, baby. I'm glad you had a good time."

"Can I go play with Bessie?", she asked, eyeing the back door.

"I guess so." With her mother's permission, the little girl bolted to the back door. "Don't stay out too long! I don't want you to get sunburned!", Miley called after her.

She turned to Nick, smiling a bit. "Well, at least, she'll be ready to go to sleep tonight. I uh...I should thank you for spending time with her and everything. It really does mean a lot to her...and me."

"You don't have to thank me for that", Nick replied.

"Actually, I kind of do. You and Joe have shown her more attention in the last week than Jake has shown her in months. I guess I don't exactly have the best taste in guys", she sighed.

He wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault that her ex was a first-class jerk. That she did not do a single thing wrong. That she deserved so much better. And God knows he would love to be the one who showed her that she was worthy of being loved. But she was still healing. And honestly, he didn't know if she would ever be interested in being in another relationship. No matter how attracted to her he was.

"You know what I think?", he uttered. She looked at him attentively. "I think that you're being too hard on yourself. You were in an impossible situation, Miley."

She could feel her eyes becoming wet, tears threatening to fall. "I hated it", she said quietly. "I hated feeling trapped, like I didn't have any way to get out. I hated him for everything that he did to me. But I think I hated myself the most because I wasn't strong enough to walk away."

Nick looked a bit stunned that Miley opened up to him like that. She almost wished that she hadn't. She hadn't even really opened up to Lilly about some of this stuff. Lilly knew the basics, but not really how she was feeling through it all. It felt good to let it out.

"There's a lot to you, isn't there?", he said softly, desperately wanting to see her pain go away.

"My life has always been pretty complicated", she responded, wiping the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to burden you or anything."

"Hey, you can burden me anytime you want. And if you want, I would really like to be there for you. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on or just somebody to talk to, I want you to know that I'm available."

She gave him a grateful smile. He seemed entirely too good to be true. Kind, caring...the polar opposite of what she was used to. "How exactly are you single?", she asked, half-joking. "You're pretty much the perfect guy."

"Maybe I just haven't met the right girl yet."

"Mommy!" The sound of her daughter's upset voice sent Miley running to the back door, where Belle had just came in.

"What is it, baby?", she asked with concern.

"I hurt my knee", the little girl replied, pointing to the cut.

"Aw, let's see if we can't find a Band-Aid", she said, disappearing into the kitchen. "We'll get you fixed up in no time."

Nick smiled thoughtfully to himself. "Or maybe I have. Maybe she could be the one."

He wound up staying over for dinner that night. The small oak table sat six, just big enough for all of them. Of course, Myles and Belle both wanted to sit by him, so he was positioned in between them, and directly across from Miley, who was at the other end. Most of the conversation consisted of Joe and Nick discussing work-related stuff. Then, the topic shifted to where they wanted to go on vacation next smmer. Apparently, this summer's vacation had already been planned. A week at Disney World.

Belle seemed very excited by the idea of going to Disney World, making Miley uncomfortable. They hadn't asked her to go, after all. Belle, being a little kid, just kind of assumed that they were included in these plans. But everyone was acting like they were included, which confused Miley. Disney World wasn't cheap, and two extras could really inflate the price tag. Lilly and Joe assured her that it would be fine.

"It's not like we're staying in a five-star hotel or anything", Lilly pointed out. "And we were going to pay for two rooms anyway. But this way, we can split it up to where it's the guys in one room and the girls in the other. It works out good."

"Still...", Miley protested. "Guys, that's really too much. I mean, I don't know when I'll be able to pay you back for all of this. I can just stay here. Somebody needs to watch the house anyway, right?"

"My mom's doing that", Lilly countered. "Miley, we're not leaving you and Belle here by yourself for a whole week."

"Besides, we want you to come", Nick pointed out.

"Can we please go to Disney World, mommy? Please!", Belle begged.

She looked around at everyone, each person's expression urging her to say yes. "I...I guess so", she relented. She still wasn't comfortable with the idea, but she would pay them back...eventually. "So, when is this vacation?"

"Two weeks", Lilly smiled. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't wait."

"Me either!", Myles chimed in.

Joe laughed, wiping his hands on a paper towel. He looked at Lilly. "Well, that was great, babe."

She gave him a playful smirk. "And you said I couldn't cook."

"Oh, mommy can cook good pizza", Myles stated. "She just doesn't know how to cook much else."

Nick and Miley laughed simultaneously at the little boy's bluntness. "You gotta give me a high-five for that one, dude", Nick grinned.

"Haha, you're all so funny", Lilly remarked as she stood up to pick up everyone's plates.

"Wait, Lilly, let me do the dishes tonight", Miley implored, standing up also. "You made dinner, so it's the least I can do."

Lilly looked a bit surprised. "Um, okay."

"Here, I'll help you", Nick offered, grabbing the kids' plates and his own. He followed Miley into the kitchen.

Lilly watched the kids scamper off to the living room, and then turned to Joe. "I think your brother has a thing for my best friend."

Joe looked a bit caught off guard. "What makes you say that?"

She pointed to the next room. "He offered to do dishes. Guys never do that. You never did that."

"Hey!", he exclaimed, a bit offended. "I pay the bills, mow the grass, and I cook more than the majority of husbands do. I think it's a fair trade."

"Joe, you're missing the point, babe", Lilly sighed. "This is about Nick and Miley. I wasn't complaining about you not doing the dishes."

"Come on, Lilly. Nick's a nice guy. Just because he offered to help her do the dishes doesn't mean that he likes her."

She rolled her eyes knowingly. "If you say so..."

Sooo? Did you like it? Please let me know what you think!