A/N: This is my first Hannah Montana fic, I hope you like it... just something that popped into my head :) The story takes place when Miley & Lilly are approaching their 40's, and Miley finally decides its time for Hannah Montana to retire. It begins just after her final concert...

HANNAH MONTANA

"WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD"

I see trees of green

Red roses, too

I see them bloom

For me and you

And I think to myself,

What a wonderful world…

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Mobbed by fans and flashing cameras as she walked away from her final concert, Hannah Montana (aka Miley Stewart) quickly ducked into a nearby limousine. She waved to them one more time, knowing it would be the last they would ever see of her, and then the car door closed in front of her and the limo slowly pulled away.

Staring out the window into the night as the arena disappeared behind them, Miley brushed away an unexpected tear.

"You okay, Miles?" Lilly asked. Sitting beside her in the back seat, dressed as 'Lola Luftnagle', Lilly Truscott reached out to gently take her best friend's hand in her own.

"Yeah," Miley answered slowly, turning to face her best friend. "Just didn't think it'd bother me this much."

"Well, Hannah's been a part of you for a long time," Lilly said gently. "Giving up something you love that much isn't supposed to be easy." Miley smiled sadly and squeezed Lilly's hand.

"I know; but as long as Lola's still me with, I'll be fine." It was Lilly's turn to smile.

"She's right here, and she's not going anywhere," she replied, squeezing Miley's hand back.

"Been a heckuva ride, hasn't it?" she asked after a moment, smiling fondly. Miley nodded.

"It sure has. So many memories…" A big grin spread across her face. "Remember when I first told Oliver I was Hannah?" Lilly giggled.

"How could I forget? The big doughnut fainted!" Miley laughed out loud.

"Then there was that time Oliver handcuffed us together, so we'd stop fighting." Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Don't remind me," she said playfully. "His heart was in the right place, though."

"How about the time you met the Jonas Brothers?" Lilly asked. "You were so jealous of them and your dad!"

"Crazy lady say what?!"

"You were jealous!" Lilly laughed. "Don't try to deny it!" Miley fought to hide her smile, but Lilly was persistent.

"Okay, okay… maybe a little; but that's my daddy you're talking about!" Lilly laughed again, then grew suddenly serious.

"He's really proud of you, you know," she said softly. Miley blushed.

"She would be too." She didn't have to say who she meant, Miley already knew.

"I really wish she could've seen everything," Miley whispered, looking away. Lilly squeezed her hand again.

"She did," she told her best friend gently. She carefully brushed another tear from Miley's cheek.

"Did I ever tell you I saw her in my dreams once?" Miley asked. She looked back at Lilly.

"She even… talked to me. She told me everything was going to be all right."

"Really?" Lilly asked quietly. "You never told me that."

"Well… it wasn't exactly a fun dream at first, y'know? You and Oliver were really mean to me, and…" She made a face.

"I had to eat trout skin." Lilly choked back at laugh.

"Trout skin?" she managed.

"Yeah… little bits burned into the oven. I was supposed to be cleaning it, but my dad caught me sneaking these little bits of trout skin to eat." Lilly's eyes began to water from the effort of holding in her laughter.

"I'm sorry, it's just… why would you dream something like that?"

"It was the night before I had to have throat surgery," Miley replied, swallowing. "I was so afraid I was never gonna be able to be Hannah Montana again. I thought people wouldn't want or need me around anymore, as just plain old Miley."

"Hey." Lilly gazed intently at Miley. "I happen to like 'plain old Miley', okay? Don't get me wrong, I like Hannah too, but when all is said and done, Miley's the friend I want for the rest of my life." Miley smiled at that and reached out to hug Lilly warmly.

"Thanks, Lilly… I needed that. I love you."

"I love you too, Miley. I always will." She grinned.

"So… no more dreams about trout skin?" Miley laughed.

"I'll try," she replied with a chuckle. One look at Lilly and she found herself suddenly giggling again. Soon the two friends were howling with hysterical laughter. It was several minutes before they could finally calm down.

"I don't usually dream about that kind of stuff, you know," Miley wheezed.

"Oh?" Lilly smiled, looking suddenly interested. "What do you usually dream about?" Miley looked down at the silver rings she & Lilly were both wearing.

"What do you think?" she said shyly.

"The future?" Lilly teased her.

"Something like that," Miley replied, smiling. "Like, where do Miley & Lilly go now, without Hannah & Lola?"

"Anywhere we want," Lilly said happily, taking Miley's hand again. Still smiling, she leaned back in the seat to stare out at the starry night sky through the limo's sunroof.

"Got anywhere special in mind?" Miley asked with a grin.

"I hear Malibu's nice this time of year," Lilly quipped. "I bet we could find a nice beach house to stay in…" Miley grinned.

"You could work on your writing," she added. "I could lay out on the beach and get a nice tan…"

"Oh sure, make me do all the work," Lilly teased. "You know what the best thing will be though?"

"What's that?"

"We can finally just be ourselves; no more hiding from the world." Lilly grinned happily.

"Anyway, you know it's not really an ending, Miles."

"What do you mean?"

"I know the world will miss Hannah, but even though that part of your life may be over, you've got a whole new beginning to look forward to know." At a loss for words, Miley could do nothing but stare in amazement at her best friend.

Don't know how I got so lucky, she thought to herself, but I wouldn't trade one minute of my life with Lilly… not for anything!

"Sweet nibblets…" she whispered. Lilly laughed. She hadn't heard Miley say that in quite a while.

"What?"

"I have the best friend in the whole wide world," Miley said happily. She leaned back against Lilly to stare up at the night sky with her, resting her cheek against Lilly's shoulder.

"You trying to make me cry now?" Lilly asked teasingly.

"I want you to know how much it's meant to me, to have you with me all these years. Hannah needed her Lola… and I need my Lilly." Lilly blinked back tears.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing for you that she's always going to be here," she said a smile, "because Lilly needs her Miley too."

"C'mere you," Miley whispered, feeling more tears of her own. She wrapped her arms around Lilly and gave her a quick, gentle kiss. Then they lay there together, in each other's arms, looking up at the night sky and towards their future together

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The colors of the rainbow

So pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces

Of people going by

I see friends shaking hands

Saying how do you do

They're really saying

I love you

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I hear babies cry

I watch them grow

They'll learn much more

Than I'll ever know

And I think to myself

What a wonderful world…