A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Here's the Christmas/proposal chapter. Hope you like!

"It's Christmas! Mommy! Daddy!"

Miley's eyelids creaked open in response to her daughter's excited voice, accompanied with the pressure of the child climbing over her legs to get on the bed. She turned her head to look at the alarm clock, and suppressed a tired groan. 7:04. How was it even possible that a kid that you had to drag out of bed 364 days out of the year could be so eager to wake up on this one particular day?

Belle shook her in an insistent fashion. "Mommy, wake up! Santa came! Can we open presents? Please?"

Yeah, that would be why. She sighed, and forced her eyes to open. "Merry Christmas, baby. How long have you been up?"

Belle shrugged. "A while. Grandpa and Uncle Jackson and Cory are awake too. Grandpa said that we need to let you sleep, but you've been asleep for a long time and you can't sleep through Christmas!"

Miley couldn't help but smile. "Well, since you put it that way."

She brushed her tiredness aside, and climbed out of bed. She would drink some coffee later. There were currently two kids that were very excited to see what "Santa" brought them. Nick needed a bit more persuading to get up, but they eventually got him downstairs as well.

"Merry Christmas, darlin", her dad smiled as she walked into the living room. He was sitting on the couch while Jackson was on the floor with Cory, trying to keep him out from under the Christmas tree.

"Merry Christmas", she smiled back, hugging all of them.

"See what all Santa brought, daddy!", Belle said excitedly, pulling a still half-asleep Nick into the room.

He gave her a sleepy nod. Oh, he knew exactly what all Santa brought. Because he and Jackson had to drag it all out of the attic in the middle of the night. And that was a lot of freakin' presents. Gifts for his huge family plus Miley's, multiple ones for the kids...Not to mention Miley reminding them to dispose of the milk and cookies that Belle and Cory had set out. Like he really wanted food after all that. He had just wanted to go to sleep!

"Santa must really love you guys", he remarked as Miley slipped her arms around his waist.

"We love Santa more", she whispered in his ear.

He turned his head, and gave her a sleepy smile. "I doubt that. I think I'm about to go fix some coffee. You want some?"

"Oh, that would be amazing."

After Nick retreated into the kitchen, Miley grabbed a seat on the floor next to her brother. "This kinda feels like old times, doesn't it? Our family all being together on Christmas morning."

Jackson nodded. "That's what I was thinking. This is the best Christmas we've had in a while."

She smiled in agreement. "Yeah. The only thing that would make it better is if mom could be here with us."

"I know. I miss her too", he said quietly. "But for what it's worth, I think she'd be real proud of you. You got it all, Miles. A guy that loves you like crazy, a beautiful little girl, all of these friends that would do anything for you. And I haven't seen you this happy in a long time. You really have your life together."

Miley looked down at the floor. He was right. She did have it all. It seemed so strange to admit that to herself. But there wasn't much about her life that she would change these days.

She looked back at Jackson. "She would be proud of you too, you know."

He smiled, but she still saw doubt in his eyes. "I hope so."

As Miley frowned, the doorbell rang. She started to get up to answer it, but her dad was already taking care of it. So, she turned back to her brother.

"I know so. Listen, I know I wasn't around for you the past few years either. But I'm here now. If you ever need to talk about anything...or anyone...you can come to me. I'm not gonna judge you, Jackson. Trust me. I have no right to judge anyone."

"Thanks", Jackson said sincerely. "And that goes for you too."

Walking back into the room a few minutes later, Nick handed them both cups of coffee, and sat down next to Miley. "So, are we about ready to open presents?"

Miley nodded, taking a sip of the warm liquid. "Yeah. As soon as my dad gets back. I'm not sure what he's doing though. Somebody was at the door, and he went to answer it."

As if on cue, Robbie Ray walked back inside. His face carried a puzzled expression that troubled his daughter.

"Who was it, daddy?", she asked.

"I didn't see anybody. Probably some kids just playin' around", he said, waving his hand. "So, are we gonna see what Santa Claus brought my grandbabies or what?"

"Yeah!", the kids cheered in unison.

Miley couldn't remember the last time that opening presents on Christmas morning had been so emotional. Every gift that was exchanged brought tears to her eyes. Even the ones that had no sentimental attachment to them. Because it was who they were from and who they were for that made them special.

Her favorite was the guitar that her dad had gotten for her. She couldn't remember the last time that she played one. It wasn't that she hadn't had one around to play if she wanted. It was just that music was a part of her past. And she was reluctant to bring it back into her life. What if she wasn't satisfied with just playing it on the living room sofa? What if it made her long to be a musician again?

"Why don't you play something, Miles?", Jackson suggested.

Nick gave her an encouraging nod. "I bet you're amazing."

"Oh, I don't know...", she said, unsure.

"Please, mommy", Belle urged her. "Play something."

Miley looked around at all of them, and ultimately gave in. "Okay. But I haven't done this in a long time, so it's probably going to be awful."

She stood up in the midst of wrapping paper and gifts, holding the guitar in a way that she hadn't held it in years. Feeling the strings beneath her fingers. Listening to the gorgeous sounds that she was creating. All of a sudden, she knew what she was going to sing. It was a song that she had written for Nick, but it really applied to her whole family.

Everybody needs inspiration

Everybody needs a song

A beautiful melody

When the nights are long

Cause there is no guarantee

That this life is easy

Nick smiled as he listened to her beautiful voice. God, she was amazing. He didn't know why she didn't sing more often. And she was just as brilliant with the guitar.

Yeah when my world is falling apart

When there's no light to break up the dark

That's when I, I

I look at you

Miley's eyes switched between all of them, wanting them all to know how much they meant to her.

When the waves are flooding the shore

And I can't find my way home anymore

That's when I, I

I look at you

By the time she was finished, all of their eyes were shining with tears. Miley allowed herself to smile. It had felt amazing to sing for the people that meant the most to her in the world. Truthfully, she missed it. Sharing her voice with people. Making it mean something.

"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard", Nick said softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I just wish everyone had the chance to hear you."

She slowly drew back, a surprised look in her eyes. "You mean-"

He smiled, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I mean, if you want to sing again, you should do it. Whether it's with a wig or not. I see how happy it makes you, and I know it would make the rest of the world pretty happy too. It's up to you. I just want you to know that I'll be right there with you, even if it gets me on the cover of every damn magazine in the country."

Miley just hugged him again. Of course, she had considered getting back into singing. She missed it like crazy. But Nick wasn't the type to want his life to be public knowledge. And that was what it was like when she was famous. Or at least that was what Hannah's life was like. But what if she could pull off a double life again? Did that mean she should?

They arrived at Joe and Lilly's later on to celebrate with the rest of the family. That was as packed a house as Miley had ever seen. Her family plus Nick and Joe's, as well as Lilly's. That was a lot of people. As everyone chatted amongst themselves, Miley and Lilly found themselves alone in the kitchen. The one room nobody cared to be in until the food was ready.

"So, how's it been going?", Lilly asked, a knowing smile crossing her face. "With you and Nick, I mean."

"Great. Same as it has been", she replied.

Lilly nodded. "Uh-huh. You've been staying at his house for days now. Are you sure everything is the same?"

Miley sighed, knowing exactly what her friend was fishing for. "Lilly, you're my best friend. But I'm not going to talk to you about my sex life when my dad, brother, daughter and all of Nick's family are in the next room."

The blonde gasped. "So, there is a sex life!"

"Sshhh! God, I don't ask about you and Joe's sex life!"

"Okay, okay. Point taken. I'm really happy for you though", Lilly smiled, hugging her best friend. "If anybody deserves to be happy, it's you."

"Thank you", she said sincerely.

They heard a knock against the wall, and looked to see Nick standing up against the doorway. "Am I interrupting something?", he asked.

"Not at all", Lilly said, patting Miley on the shoulder. "I'm about to go talk to your dad and Jackson. Give you two some alone time."

Miley smiled as Nick held his hand out to her. She placed her palm in his, and he pulled her next to him.

"Hey, is that what I think it is?"

Her eyes moved upward to the spot where he was looking. She grinned when she noticed the mistletoe. "Hmmm, isn't that convenient?"

He faked a hurt look. "You don't think I would purposely get you under mistletoe, do you?"

"Oh, never", Miley replied, pulling him into a kiss.

"Hey, when did we get mistletoe in here?", Joe asked, noticing the scene a few feet away. This, of course, attracted the attention of practically everyone there. Miley, never being one for PDA, fought so as not to blush.

"Okay, I think it's time for the rest of the presents", Nick announced, prompting laughter from everyone.

Miley started to join them when she heard a rapping at the door. "Just a second", she smiled, going to answer it.

"Oliver!", she exclaimed, hugging him. "And Anthony! Hi, sweetie. What are y'all doing here?"

Oliver smiled. "Well, Jen's family isn't going to be in town for another hour or two, so me and Anthony decided to drop by. I hope that's okay."

"What, of course! Come on in!"

"Thanks. Oh, and this is for Belle", he informed her, placing a gift into her hands. "My boy's got it pretty bad."

Miley shook her head with a smile, and they joined everyone in the living room. Where, for the second time that day, more presents were exchanged. Wrapping paper flew all over the place, accompanied by "thank you's" and hugs. In between all the boxes cluttering the floor, there were toys, sweaters, tool sets, jewelry, china sets, even a kitten. Pretty much anything you could think of.

She was relieved that Nick liked, or at least pretended to like, the watch that she had finally settled on. Because she honestly couldn't decide what to get, and Lilly had said guys always liked watches.

She was too busy watching everyone else's eyes light up as they opened their gifts that she didn't realize her own were still under the tree. Until Nick pointed them out anyway. She hadn't really thought about it, considering she had already gotten some incredible gifts that morning. Now, her other gifts were pretty much the only ones unopened.

There were two addressed to her. One from Lilly and one from Nick's whole family. Everyone watched as she opened the first one. Eventually, the opened box revealed a necklace with a small compass at the end. She looked at Lilly.

"So you never get lost again", she whispered.

"Thank you", Miley said quietly, hugging her best friend tightly.

"Open the other one, Aunt Miley!", Myles said excitedly. "I got to help pick it out!"

Nick smiled. He didn't know for sure what the other gift was, but he had a pretty good idea. And if it was what he expected, it was perfect.

This time, she unwrapped the paper to reveal another box. She opened it carefully, and pulled out a blue ornament. Glittery gold letters spelled out her name. Miley. She looked around at everyone, completely speechless.

"Mommy, you got one like mine!", Belle said, holding up a hot pink one that spelled out her own name.

"Every family member gets their own ornament", Joe explained, pointing to the tree.

Miley looked at it. This was their way of welcoming her into the family. Maybe this was what Denise meant by "making it official." Everyone was wearing huge smiles, just waiting for her to say something. But she didn't know what to say.

"Thank you", she finally managed in a near-whisper. "All of you. So much. I can't tell you how much this means to me."

"Why don't you put it on?", Kevin suggested.

Slowly, Miley reached for Nick's hand. "Do it with me?"

"Always", he said softly. After leading her to the tree, he held her hand as she hung the ornament next to his. Then, they helped Belle hang hers below theirs.

"You know you're a part of the family when you have an ornament on the Christmas tree", Paul commented.

Miley smiled. "Yeah, and I'm so thankful to be a part of such an amazing family. Two amazing families, really", she said, looking at her dad and brother. "A year ago, I never imagined something like this would be possible. And now...I couldn't ask for any more. I want to thank all of you for being so wonderful to me and my little girl. For taking us into your family. I want to thank my dad and my brother for coming back into my life and making our family whole again. My best friend...Lilly, you and Joe took me into your home when I was at my weakest. You gave me all of your love and support and you made me strong again."

Lilly shook her head. "You would've done the same for me."

"I know. That's what friends do. Me, you, and Oliver...we're not the three amigos anymore. But we still have each other's backs. No matter what. I love you guys so much."

"We love you too", Oliver said softly.

Miley smiled and looked down at her daughter. "I want to thank God for giving me the most incredible little girl in the world. When my life was at its worst, she gave me the strength to keep going. To not give up. I love you so much, baby."

Lastly, she looked at Nick. "And I also want to thank God for sending this man into my life. I never dreamed that I would meet someone like you. Someone who was kind and caring and funny. Someone who accepted me and loved me for who I am. Who didn't need me to change or be something that I'm not. You looked past all of my flaws, all of my baggage, and you loved me anyway. And I love you too. More than I could ever tell you."

Nick had to fight back tears, listening to her. He had never heard a speech so heartfelt, so sincere, in his entire life. But that was Miley. That was what she did. She was as honest and as genuine a person as you would ever find.

Slowly, he took her hand and led her to the center of the room. The one place where nobody was occupying. He never thought that he would do this in front of all of their families and friends. It just felt...right.

"I love you too, baby", he said softly, holding both of her hands in his own. "I never knew what real happiness was until I met you. I remember the first time I saw you. You were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen."

"I don't see how that could've been true", Miley admitted, remembering how she looked back then.

Nick frowned. "I wish you could've seen yourself through my eyes. Then, you would know. But my life was pretty good at the time. Quiet, peaceful. No drama to deal with. But it was lonely too. I think I was just kind of waiting for the right person to come along, but I honestly didn't know if it would ever happen. And then, you came into the picture. And it was like something inside me just started screaming 'It's her. She's the one'."

Miley smiled, slightly surprised that he was saying all of this in front of all these people. Then again, he was always surprising her.

"I fell so hard for you", he continued. "And when you told me that you felt the same way, I felt like the luckiest guy on the face of the planet. Because you are so amazing. Everything about you. You're beautiful and smart and kind. You're loyal. You're strong. And you have the biggest heart of anyone that I've ever met."

"I think you might be exaggerating me a little bit", she laughed. "Because I'm not perfect. Not by a long shot."

"You're perfect to me", Nick said softly. "Miley, I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. I want to spend every Christmas, every Easter, every Thanksgiving from here on out with you. I want us to travel the world together. I want us to raise a family together. I want us to grow old together. I want to give you everything that you've ever wanted."

"You already have", Miley whispered.

She gasped along with everyone else as he hit one knee, and pulled a box from his coat pocket. When he opened it, a shiny diamond ring was revealed.

Her eyes widened as he stared up at her. "Miley Stewart, will you marry me?"

"You...you want to...marry me?", she stammered, completely in shock.

"More than anything in the world", Nick replied. "But if you aren't ready right now, that's okay too. This ring will still be here next week, next month, next-"

"Yes."

"Wait. What?"

"Yes", she repeated, giving him a huge grin. "I will marry you."

With those words, there was an eruption of cheers. It slightly surprised her because, for a moment, she had forgotten that they were in a room full of people. But she didn't mind. Not one bit.

With shaking hands, Nick slid the ring onto her finger. It was like it was made to be worn by her.

"It's perfect", Miley said in awe. "We're getting married."

"We're getting married", he repeated, the realization just beginning to sink in. "We're getting married!"

He lifted her off of the ground, and swung her around once. Like off of some cheesy romantic comedy. But she loved it.

"We're getting married!", she announced, excitedly showing her ring to everyone. This drew more cheers, more outbursts of 'congratulations' and more hugs all around.

"I can't wait to put this on Facebook", Joe grinned, obviously recording the whole thing on his phone.

"You can go ahead", Nick said. "I want everyone around to know that the most amazing girl in the world is going to be my wife."

"God, I love you", Miley smiled, brushing her lips up against his. This was the perfect end to the perfect day. And somehow, she had a feeling that the night would be pretty perfect too.

So...she said YES! Because really, who could say no to Nick? :) So, what drama do you think will be headed in the engaged couple's way now?