A/N: Thanks sooo much for the reviews, guys! Here's the next chapter!

It was early. Too early. The sun hadn't even risen yet. Miley was helping Joe and Lilly stuff luggage into the back of their SUV. They had a plane to catch in two hours. They had considered making it a road trip, but the thought of two restless kids who would want to stop at every gas station every five minutes changed their minds. They had woken up the kids fifteen minutes ago, but they had both zonked back out on the sofa.

Nick pulled up in the driveway, and got out of the car carrying a white box. "Who wants breakfast?", he called playfully.

"Thank God. I'm starving!", Lilly said, taking the box from him. "Please tell me these are donuts."

"Of course", he replied. He heard the trunk of the SUV shut, and looked that way. Miley gave him a warm smile. He made his way to her. She looked absolutely stunning. She was wearing denim cutoffs just like Lilly, and a loose, white top that hung off one of her shoulders. There wasn't a single remnant of purple or that dull blue left on her skin. She was perfect.

"Miley...you look beautiful", he breathed.

"You really think so?", she asked nervously. "I mean, I can't remember the last time I wore something like this. It makes me kind of nervous."

And it did. She was excited to get to be able to wear this kind of thing again, now that her bruises had faded away. But it made her feel exposed at the same time. Vulnerable, even. She had considered changing, but Lilly had convinced her that there was no need to. It did make her feel good that Nick thought that she was beautiful. Especially when she knew he was being sincere.

"Well, you have absolutely no reason to be", Nick said softly.

"I uh...I should probably wake the kids up...again", she remarked, looking back at the house. "They're both hard to wake up. I could use some help."

"Yeah, definitely."

After a few minutes of prodding, they were able to get Myles up and to his feet long enough to get to the car. No such luck with Belle. Nick ended up carrying her to the car. And after they boarded the plane, Miley decided to rest her own eyes.

The plane touched down in Florida several hours later. At this point, the kids were wide awake, and hyper as ever. But all the adults felt like they could use some coffee. They wasted no time checking into the hotel. Miley liked it. It was nice. Not like the hotels she used to stay at as Hannah, but it certainly wasn't shabby. They had gotten two rooms that were right across the hall from each other. The plan was to take a short nap, and then go explore. The kids were having none of it, so they settled with some coffee from the hotel lobby.

As they sat at the little table drinking their coffee, Joe held up a giant map in front of him, trying to figure out where they were going. He had been looking at it for the past ten minutes. Lilly eventually got annoyed, and snatched it from him.

"Hey!"

"Babe, we're never going to get out of here with you in charge of directions", she pointed out. She stared at it for a few seconds, and then pointed to a street on the map. "Okay, we're going to make a left here, and then keep going straight until..."

"No way!", Joe protested. "You're just trying to make me look bad!"

Lilly sighed, and put her hand on her husband's shoulder. "Yes, honey. That's what it is."

"Mommy, when can we go?", Myles asked impatiently. He and Belle were getting restless sitting in the lobby with nothing to do.

"Yeah, I guess we're ready."

"Alright, kids", Joe uttered, taking the hands of the two kids. "Lets go have some fun."

The wind blew gently through Miley's hair. It felt good. Lilly had her head tilted backwards, laughing at something that Joe had said. The kids were obviously having the best time, throwing their hands up in the air as the ride turned. Miley smiled at their overjoyed faces, such innocence in their eyes. They were having the time of their lives. She remembered her first trip to Disney World as a kid. It had been absolutely amazing. She was glad Belle was getting this experience too.

She felt a bit woozy as they got off the ride. In the crowd of people, her foot got tangled with someone else's, causing her to lose her balance. Just as she began to brace herself for the concrete, she felt a pair of arms grab her around her waist, allowing her to catch her balance. "Whoa. You okay?"

She recognized the voice instantly as Nick's, and smiled as she turned to face him. "Yeah. I'm just a clutz", she said, waving her hand. "But thanks for not letting me embarrass myself in front of all these people."

He smiled back. "Don't mention it."

They just stared at each other for a moment until the others circled in around them. "Guys, I don't know about you, but I'm starving", Joe remarked.

"Me too", Nick agreed, his eyes not leaving Miley's. "Maybe we should go eat."

"Okay", Miley said softly.

They decided to leave the rides alone for the rest of the day, and found a cute little restaurant to dine at. It was one of those kid-themed places that Myles and Belle absolutely loved. Bright and colorful. But to the adults, it seemed more like a glorified Chuck E. Cheese's.

"This...this is disgusting", Lilly remarked, putting down her piece of pizza. "Why did we come here again?"

"Because the kids wanted to", Joe reminded her, motioning to the little arcade area that was keeping them entertained as they had finished eating within five minutes of getting their food.

She shook her head. "I can't believe we're letting a couple of six-year-olds boss us around. We are NOT coming here again."

Miley giggled. "I would agree with that."

"Hey, why don't we go play some games?", Nick suggested. "It's not like we're going to eat any more of this sorry excuse for pizza."

Joe shrugged. "Yeah, why not? I haven't gotten to beat my wife at air hockey in a while."

Lilly gave him a playful shove. "Oh, you are so on!"

As they ran off like little kids to the air hockey table, Miley and Nick wandered to the Skee Ball game. She quickly figured out that Nick knew what he was doing as he killed her score every time.

"You're really good", she said in admiration as he hit the top center target again.

He smiled. "Well, this used to be my favorite game when I was a kid. I can show you my secret if you want."

Miley laughed. "You have a secret? Yes, please show me."

Nick took the next white ball out of the slot, and held it up. "Okay, watch the master carefully", he said in a joking manner.

"Oh, of course."

He released it, and once again, it landed in the 5,000 point slot. He handed the next one to her. "Now, you try."

She tried to copy his motion, and released the ball. It barely made it into the lowest hole. "Ah, I give up", she uttered. "I should just stick to Pinball."

"Oh, come on. One more try", he implored. "Here, I'll help you."

Slowly, Nick held his arm behind hers. She was stunned to realize that her heart was beating faster with him so close to her. It made her nervous. But at the same time, it made her feel...happy? His arm moved with hers, and she released the ball. It landed in the top slot.

After they arrived back at the hotel, Lilly sat on the bed Indian-style watcing the local news. She was exhausted. The next day would probably be even more tiring. She looked over to the other bed where Belle was fast asleep, already rolled up in the covers. She was beginning to think all kids did that. She giggled a bit to herself. If Belle was anything like Myles, Miley might as well call down to the desk for some more blankets now.

And you throw your head back laughin' like a little kid

I think it's strange that you think I'm funny cuz he never did

Now that the water in the shower wasn't running, she could hear Miley's voice singing even louder than before when it was more muffled. Her voice was as amazing as ever.

I've been spending the last eight months thinking all love ever does

Is break, and burn, and end

But on a Wednesday in a cafe, I watched it begin again

Miley was still humming when she walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair out with a towel. She noticed Lilly giving her a weird look. "What?"

Lilly shook her head. "Nothing. You just sound really...I don't know...happy."

"Maybe I'm close to getting there." She looked at Belle, who was fast asleep already. "I'm never going to get her out of those sheets."

"Nope, probably not", Lilly agreed as Miley sat down on the bed next to her. There was a brief silence before Lilly turned to her. "Miley, I'm really glad you're here. I really missed you."

Miley gave her a soft smile. "I really missed you too, Lilly."

As the best friends shared a hug, Miley almost felt like they were kids again. Still so youthful and full of life. The future, all of a sudden, began to look brighter to her than ever before. And for the first time in as long as she could remember, she found herself looking forward to the next day.

"Your son is out like a light", Nick announced as his brother walked out of the bathroom.

"Oh, I'm sure he is", Joe laughed. "As soon as my head hits that pillow, I'll be out like a light too. It was a fun day though."

Nick nodded. "Yeah." He paused for a moment before looking up at his brother. "Joe, can I ask your opinion on something?"

"Uh...sure", his brother replied with a hint of caution in his voice. Nick sounded pretty serious, and Joe wasn't sure he would like where this was going.

"What do you think about Miley?"

And there it was. That was just great. Nick did have a thing for Miley. And he was going to have to listen to Lilly say I-told-you-so for the next week.

"Man, you like her, don't you?"

"I think so", Nick answered honestly. His brother didn't respond, so he continued. "I mean, she's an amazing person, right? I know that she's still dealing with stuff, and she wouldn't want to just jump into anything. I totally get that, and I respect that. But at the same time, I feel like I'm really going to regret it if I don't give this a chance."

Joe sighed, and sat down beside his brother. "Wow, I had no idea. Yeah, I mean, I think she's an awesome person too, but she's been hurt a lot. If you were to tell her how you feel, you got to know there's a chance that she'll go running for the hills."

"I know, and I don't want to hurt her or confuse her. But I like her, man. She's caring, and smart, and the most beautiful girl that I've ever met. And lately, I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. So, yeah, it might be harder with her than other girls. But I think she's worth it."

Joe was stunned by everything that he was hearing. He hadn't even thought that Nick had a thing for Miley. But he obviously was really starting to care about her. This was his brother. Why didn't he notice this stuff?

"I think we should talk to Lilly about this", he said, grabbing his phone. "She would know what you need to do. I mean, she kind of already thinks you like Miley anyway."

Nick snatched the phone away from him. "No way! If we tell Lilly about this, she'll run straight to Miley with it!"

"I thought you wanted Miley to know you like her!"

"Daddy?"

Joe and Nick looked at Myles, who was staring at them with a sleepy look on his face. Joe sighed. "Yeah, buddy?"

"Can you and Uncle Nick please go to sleep?", he asked, snuggling into the covers. "You can tell Aunt Miley that Uncle Nick likes her tomorrow."

Nick's jaw dropped. He rushed over to his nephew, and shook him gently so he couldn't go back to sleep.

"Uncle Nick...", the little boy whined.

"Hey, buddy, you're not gonna tell Miley about any of this, right?" The last thing he needed was for Myles to just blurt it out in front of her. And the kid was certainly prone to doing stuff like that.

Myles rolled his eyes in a very Lilly-like fashion. "Sure..."