A/N: Thanks for the comments, guys! So it might take me a little longer to get the next chapter up because I have finals next week and I'm going to be SUPER busy. Just letting you know in case I update later than usual. Anyways, hope you enjoy!

Miley sighed. She wasn't sure exactly what reaction she expected when she told her fiance that she was pregnant. She had expected him to be shocked, sure. What she hadn't expected was for him to pass out on their living room floor.

Maybe she should have eased him into the news a little bit instead of just blurting it out like that. But God, she was still in shock herself! She wasn't thinking clearly! Her thoughts were a jumble of emotions that she would never be able to fully sort through. And what if she was wrong about Nick's reaction? What if he wasn't going to be happy about this?

A piercing scream startled her from her thoughts while simultaneously scaring her to death. She turned to see Belle standing in front of her, looking completely terrified.

"Daddy!", she cried, rushing to shake him. "Daddy, wake up!"

"Honey, he's okay", Miley tried to tell her. "He's just-"

"What happened?", Nick muttered as his eyes opened in response to his body being shaken like crazy.

"Daddy, you're okay!" Belle hugged him tightly, and Miley was just wondering if he remembered what she had just told him a few minutes earlier.

"Yeah, I'm okay", he said slowly, sitting up.

"But why were you on the floor?" His eyes widened as he realized what had happened prior to everything going dark.

"Oh my God", he breathed as Miley helped him stand up.

Belle still looked confused, and Miley took the child into her arms. "Everything's okay, baby. Daddy was just surprised by something I told him. That's all."

"What did you tell him?", the little girl asked, pulling back.

Miley looked at Nick who had a look of pure shock on his face, then back at Belle. "It's nothing you need to worry about, okay? Look, do you think you could go play in your room for a few minutes so me and daddy can talk?"

Belle thought about protesting, figuring she had every right to know what her mother wasn't saying. But ultimately, she obeyed and headed upstairs.

"Are-Are you sure?", Nick asked, turning to her after a moment. "You're really...pregnant? You're absolutely positive?"

Miley nodded, noting how freaked out he looked. "I mean, I still have to go to a doctor to get it confirmed. But the test was positive. And I've never been more than a week late unless it was because I was pregnant. Believe me, I was as shocked as you are."

He raked his hands through his hair. "But how? We always used protection!"

"I don't know", she said simply. "Maybe it was just meant to be."

Nick was fairly certain he had never been so caught off guard by anything in his whole life. A baby. They were having a baby.

"We're having a baby", he said aloud, the realization still not sinking in. He felt like he was going to wake up any minute to find out this whole thing was a dream.

Miley watched him closely, trying to judge his feelings. "I know this wasn't planned. But I am happy about it", she told him, careful to keep the anxiety out of her voice. "I hope you are too."

He just stared at her, his eyes moving from her beautiful face to her flat abdomen. There was a baby growing in there. Their baby. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. He had hoped they would have more kids in the future, sure. But that wasn't supposed to come this early. He needed time to get ready. He didn't know the first thing about how to take care of a baby! He had spent a lot of time with his nephew when he was a baby, but that hardly counted considering he would always hand the kid to Joe or Lilly when he started crying or something.

He didn't even realize that he was lost in his terrified thoughts until Miley waved her hands in front of his face. "Nick? Are you okay? Please don't faint on me again."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine", he finally replied, taking a long deep breath. "You're pregnant. And you're happy about it."

"Yes and yes. I know you never saw this coming, okay. Neither did I. I didn't even know if I would be able to get pregnant again. And after everything we've been through...I just can't look at this as anything besides a miracle. But I need to know how you feel about this."

Nick let out a sigh, not knowing that himself. "To be honest, my head is still spinning", he said as he sat down on the couch.

Miley nodded and sat down beside him. "That's understandable. How do you think you'll feel when it stops?"

He looked at her with a small smile. "I think I'll be the happiest guy on the face of the planet."

She let herself smile back. "Really?"

"Yeah", he answered, gently squeezing her hand with his own. "I'd be lying if I said the idea of us having a baby around here in a few months doesn't scare the hell out of me. I mean, I'm still pretty new at this whole 'daddy' thing. But I love it. And I'm going to try really hard to be ready by the time our new son or daughter gets here."

"What are you talking about? You're pretty much the perfect dad already", Miley assured him.

Nick chuckled softly. "Wait until you see me try to change a diaper for the first time."

She smiled. "It's not that hard. You'll catch on fast."

"I guess. So, what are we gonna do about Hannah?", he wondered. This situation wasn't just as simple as them having a baby. They had to consider Miley's career too.

"I don't really know yet", she admitted. "Probably just hide it as long as I can and hope for the best. I want to keep singing, but I want you to know that our family will always come first to me. If you guys need me to stop for awhile, then I will."

He put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. "Baby, you don't have to prove anything to me. I know how much our family means to you. I also know how much singing means to you. So, we'll just have to find a way to make it all work."

Miley smiled, snuggling into his embrace. "I love you."

"I love you", Nick said softly. He put his hand over her toned abdomen. "And I love you too."

She grinned. "We both do. And we can't wait to meet you."

They went to the hospital the next day to have the news confirmed. Which it was. But there was one issue that Nick and Miley couldn't seem to agree on. When to tell everyone.

"I just don't want to put it out there too soon", Miley pointed out to him. She was excited to tell their families too, but she wanted to at least wait until her first trimester was over. As optimistic as she was trying to be, she knew that so many things could still go wrong at this stage.

"But Lilly already knows", Nick countered. "Which means Joe knows. Do you really think they're going to be able to keep it quiet for that long?"

"Why wouldn't they? They've kept the Hannah secret quiet."

"Miley, you can only ask so much of those two", he replied. "And Myles could know too for all we know. Which means Belle could find out before we even have the chance to tell her."

She really didn't want to tell their daughter at this point. God, she would be ecstatic. But Miley just couldn't take the chance of Belle getting attached to the idea of a baby brother or sister and then something going wrong. She wanted to believe that everything would go smoothly for the next eight months, but she was staying as cautious as she could. If Nick had gone through her first pregnancy with her, she was certain he would understand where she was coming from.

"I just think we should wait for awhile", she said, not changing her stance. "We'll talk to Lilly and Joe and make sure they don't say anything. This needs to be just between us until I'm farther along."

Nick sighed. "Okay. If you think this is best, we'll do it your way. Mum's the word."

Miley cracked a smile. "Thank you."

"-and that's why you can't tell anybody about this", Miley finished after explaining her decision to her best friend.

"You have my word. I won't say a thing", Lilly replied, not even looking up as she continued to toss maternity clothes into a box.

Miley rolled her eyes, wondering if the blonde had retained any of what she just said. "Seriously, Lilly. I'm not ready for anyone to know yet."

Lilly looked up at her. "I know. Because you're worried that something will happen. Miley, I promise I'm capable of keeping my mouth shut for a little while. How long have I kept the Hannah secret? I didn't even tell my husband about that until you gave me the okay."

She sighed, sitting down at the foot of the bed. "I know. You're a good friend." She almost laughed, noticing how much crap Lilly had stuffed into that box. "I really can buy my own maternity clothes though."

"I know. And you don't have to wear them if you don't want to. Give em' to charity or something because I certainly won't be needing them."

Miley smiled. "How can you be so sure about that? You might want to have another baby in a few years."

"Not gonna happen", Lilly said firmly. "Two is more than enough, thank you. And I got one of each. I am done."

"Two is a good number", she said thoughtfully. "I'm kind of hoping for a boy this time. Not that I wouldn't love another girl. I just think a boy would be more like Nick."

"Not necessarily."

"Come on. Both of our girls are like our clones. And Myles is like Joe's clone. Anthony looks just like Oliver-"

"Okay, point made", Lilly said, cutting off her friend's examples. "But you know how set Belle is on having a little sister."

"She would love a little brother just the same", Miley pointed out. "You remember how much Myles wanted Ana to be a boy? Joe too for that matter."

Her friend laughed. "True. Well whatever it is you're having, I'm really happy for you. You deserve this, Miley. You guys have went through so much to get to this point."

She stood up. "Yeah, we have. But we got here because of you. If it wasn't for you, there would be no me and Nick. There would be no new baby. There would be no Hannah. I wouldn't be on speaking terms with my family again. And I wouldn't have my best friend in the whole world back."

Lilly wiped at the edges of her eyes and pulled Miley into a hug. "I love you."

"I love you too", Miley said, a tear falling down her own cheek as she held on to her best friend. The more she thought about it, she really owed every bit of her happiness to her.

"Fish aren't biting today", Nick remarked as he sat on the edge of the lake with a fishing pole in his hand and his brother by his side.

"Nope", Joe said, continuing to look out at the still body of water. "I took Myles here the other day and they were biting like crazy."

"Must be cool", he thought aloud. "Having a son to take fishing. And get out and throw the football with. Guy stuff."

Joe looked at his brother with a smile. "Hey, you could have your own son to do that stuff with pretty soon."

Nick smiled a bit at the thought. "Yeah."

"And if not, you can take mine."

He chuckled at the offer. "That works too."

"I'm happy for you, bro", Joe said, slapping him playfully on the back. "Babies are great. As soon as you get past getting peed on when you're trying to change their diaper. And them waking you up at all hours of the night. And when they start randomly crying for no reason and you want to pull your hair out because you have no idea what to do. Then, your wife comes in and gets them to be quiet within thirty seconds."

Nick smiled. Joe was such a drama queen. "I don't recall either of your kids at any point being difficult babies."

"Ha! That's because they act sweet and innocent for you. You just wait till this baby gets here. It's gonna be a whole new ballgame, bro. You'll be running on coffee everyday because you won't get any sleep. And when you get home in the afternoon and try to catch up on your sleep, Miley's going to yell at you and tell you that you're not doing your fair share of the work. Your perfect little girl is gonna start wanting your attention all the time because she's going to feel like she isn't important anymore. Dude, I went through all this. Trust me, I know."

Nick really didn't need to hear all of that. He was terrified enough about this whole situation without his brother pointing out every negative that came with having a baby. Whether he was ready or not, there was one on the way and he just had to get ready. Nope, he wasn't going to let Joe scare him.

"Bro, I wouldn't believe you for a second if you told me you didn't love your life", he remarked.

Joe smiled. "Of course I love it. I wouldn't change a damn thing about my life. Just wanted to let you know what you're gonna be in for. Two kids and a wife- it's harder than it looks, you know."

"It's not rocket science", he said with a grin, remembering a conversation they had ages ago. "If it was, you would never be able to pull it off."

With that, both brothers burst into laughter.

Miley and Nick went over to Joe and Lilly's a few days later for a movie night. The Blind Side was playing. This was really the best compromise movie they had ever came up with. Nick and Joe got to see a football movie. Miley and Lilly got to see a tearjerker. Everybody's happy.

"Awww, I love this movie", Lilly said, wiping at the edges of her eyes during an emotional part. There were lots of those.

"Me too", Miley agreed.

"When's the part where he knocks the guy over the fence?", Joe chimed in, prompting a laugh from his brother.

All of a sudden, a high-pitched scream made it's way into the room. Lilly looked at the baby monitor with a groan. "Be right back, guys."

"Actually, me and Nick can take care of it", Miley offered, looking at her fiance.

The blonde laughed. "Practicing already? Okay."

Nick followed Miley upstairs to the baby's room, hoping that they'd be able to get back downstairs before his favorite part came on. The kid was probably just hungry or something. It shouldn't take that long.

After entering the pink nursery, Miley turned the light on and walked over to the crib. "Ohhh, is somebody awake?"

She went to pick the baby up, but then thought better of it as she looked at Nick. "I think you're the one that needs the practice here."

Damn. "That's not fair. This wasn't supposed to start before the baby even gets here!", he protested.

"But you need to know what to do before the baby gets here. And luckily for you, we have a little niece to practice with."

Nick looked down at the baby girl who was staring up at him with shiny brown eyes. He could tell by the look on her face she was about to start wailing again at any moment.

"Come on, Nick. It's not like you haven't held her before", Miley pointed out, crossing her arms expectantly.

"You think I'm being a baby."

"Yeah, a little bit."

With a sigh, he reached down into the crib and picked up the baby. Who promptly began full-on crying at that point. Oh God. He patted her gently on the back, trying not to panic.

"Hey, Ani. It's okay. Uncle Nick's here." That didn't help, so he turned to Miley. "She probably just wants her mom."

Miley gave him a look. "Is that what you're going to do when our baby starts crying? Just say that it needs me? Without even trying to get him or her to stop crying by yourself. What about when I can't be there? There will be times-"

"Okay, okay", Nick said loudly so she could hear him over Ana's crying. "So what do I do? What's she crying for?"

"It could be a number of things. Does she need a diaper change?"

Oh, please God no. "She doesn't stink", he replied.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, she could be hungry too. Which is doubtful because Lilly fed her not too long ago. She might not be feeling good is another option. But more than likely, she just wants to be held."

"Well, I'm holding her and she's still crying."

Miley sighed and pried the baby from his arms. "Just this once." Then, she smiled at the baby. "Hi, pretty girl."

Nick's eyes widened as Ana's cries began to subside. What the hell? Miley wasn't doing anything that he hadn't done! What if babies just didn't like him? That's just wonderful.

Twinkle, twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky

Twinkle, twinkle little star

How I wonder what you are

By the time Miley had stopped singing, Ana had completely stopped crying. She smiled at Nick, satisfied. "See. Not that hard."

She placed the baby back in his arms. "You put her down. I'm going back downstairs."

After she left, he looked at the baby, who seeemed perfectly fine now. "What do you think?", he wondered, as if a three-month-old could really answer him. "You think I can do this whole baby thing? I mean, if your daddy can do it- anybody can, right? Plus, I've got your Aunt Miley to help me. And she always seems to know just what to do. She's definitely way better at this than me. I mean, I think I'm a pretty good dad. But Belle came into my life walking and talking and potty-trained. A baby's just so...different. You guys can't do anything for yourselves. And it's completely up to your parents to teach you everything about the world."

The baby made a gurgling sound and gave him a big smile that made his heart melt. "But I guess you make it worth it, huh?", he said, kissing her dark hair. "Well, I guess we should get you back to bed. Thanks for the talk, kid."

He got her settled back into her crib and then smiled. Somehow, he felt just a little bit better about having a baby now.

Please let me know what you think! :)