Lilly broke away. "You're not mean, you know. After all, you brought Miley back," she claimed in a small voice.
The doctor smiled. "I'm glad."
Lilly smiled back, and turned to Miley. "Miley!"
Miley gave a weak smile. "Hey Lilly," she mumbled.
"Miley, you don't know how glad I am to have you back," she said, an air of sadness sagging her eyes down.
Miley smiled again weakly. "I know. I heard everything."
Lilly's eyes widened. "You did? You mean...everything I said...?"
"Yeah. And also everything Oliver said," she muttered, a suggestive glint playing in her eyes.
Lilly's eyes bulged. "So...you know...about our..." she looked back tentatively at Oliver, who kept his eyes down.
Miley nodded. "Unfortunately, yeah. I was subconsciously listening to all you said."
"So why didn't you open your eyes, or move ?" Oliver asked, making Jackson and Mr Stewart start. They had not realised he was there.
"I couldn't. I didn't have the strength, I guess. By the way, hey Oliver."
"Hey."
Lilly bit her lip. "Well...you...y-you should talk to your dad...and Jackson...I should go...," she stuttered uncertainly and beckoned Mr Stewart and Jackson forward, backing out of the room with Oliver and the doctor following her.
The door shut behind the father and son, leaving a ringing silence.
"Miley," Mr Stewart whispered after a while, still unable to believe he had got his daughter back.
"Daddy," she whispered back, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
"I've got my daughter back," he said softly.
Tears streamed down her face. "Yes you have, Daddy. I love you, I'll never leave you," she murmured.
"Neither will I, bud!"
There was a thoughtful pause.
"Daddy?" she asked after a while, in a small voice. "What would Mommy say, if she were here?"
A grin unfurled on Mr Stewart's lips. "She'll say that all you need is a good dose of rain!"
The tears continued flowing, but Miley's smile never faltered. "Daddy, I miss her."
"So do we, bud. So do we."
"All right now, will you stop this lovey-dovey stuff and save it for later?" Jackson cut in chirpily.
Miley chuckled in spite of her tears. "Stupid old Jackson."
"Love you too, sis," he smirked.
With as much strength as she could muster, she reached out a hand towards Jackson and pressed it on his stomach, meaning to punch him.
"That hurt!" he complained sarcastically.
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Meanwhile, Oliver followed the doctor and Lilly out of the ward in a relatively lighter mood than which he had entered with.
The doctor grinned. "You know, you really are a very good friend," she told Lilly.
Lilly blushed. "Thanks. So are you," she blurted. The doctor raised her eyebrows at her skeptically. She corrected herself, "I mean, you're a good doctor."
The doctor nodded. "Figured," she replied and stalked off.
Lilly turned to Oliver with a defeated look, biting her lip again. "Mind if I give you a hug?" she asked, half-afraid Oliver was going to sneer.
To her relief, he broke into a smile. "Finally came around, huh?" he queried, relief overcoming him. The tension they shared previously was getting a bit frustrating.
"Donut," she muttered and threw her arms around him. "You sure you didn't mean what you told Miley?" she asked, her voice muffled.
Breaking away, he replied, "Not a thing."
Lilly grinned. "Good. Because I was kind of afraid that you might find me really annoying, and if Miley sided with you, I'd have no one."
"Right. Good thinking."
She shoved her hands in the pockets of her cargos. "So...why do you think Jake came?"
"Well...obviously, he wanted to check on Miley."
"That's right, Oliver," came Jake's voice from behind.
Both of them jumped. "Jake!" Lilly exclaimed. "We...we thought you left!"
Jake cocked an eyebrow up. "Really? Must be strange, huh, me standing in front of you when I'm supposed to be gone..."
Jake was not as stupid as he looked, Oliver reasoned. Sarcasm needed more than good looks to be carried off.
"Er...what are you doing here?" he asked in a tentative manner.
"How's Miley?" Jake asked abruptly, ignoring his question.
"She's woken up."
Jake's expression lightened considerably. "Really?" he asked eagerly, half-expecting them to be pulling his leg. Receiving an amused nod from Lilly, he shoved them aside and bounded into the ward.
Lilly stared after him in wonder. "Wow," she commented. "He must really like her a lot."
"Uh-huh."
Suddenly, Oliver noticed a mischievous glimmer in her eye. She grinned toothily at him. "Wanna spy?" she asked slyly.
He gave a lopsided grin. "Sure."
"C'mon," Lilly dragged him next to the door, which was thankfully not soundproof. They leaned against the door and, with bated breath, strained their ears to listen.
"...so I told him, quite frankly, I wanted my heroine. And he..." came Jake's commanding voice. Lilly shot Oliver a doubtful glance.
"...but then I told him I'll quit. So he agreed, 'coz, of course, look at me. Losing me will give a big blow to him and all..."
Oliver made a disgusted face to which Lilly giggled.
"That is so like him! The big airhead!" she muttered.
"...well, what's the verdict?" Jake finished expectantly. Oliver strained his ears further. There seemed to be a faint murmur coming from a male.
Finally, Mr Stewart's voice sounded through, "Well, if you're sure you'll take care of her...I'm all set."
"What?!" Lilly hissed, her features tense.
Miley's weak, yet delighted reply came, and the duo found themselves straining their ears even more to listen. "Thank you, Daddy!"
"That's all set then. Meet you tomorrow, Miles," said Jake, and promptly walked out of the ward, with Lilly and Oliver staring after him in wonder.
She glanced at Oliver in anger. "What just happened?!"
Oliver shrugged dubiously. "I think Jake just asked her out."
Lilly scowled. "Donut! Why did Mr Stewart say all that 'Take care of her' thing then?!"
"I don't know, I just told you what I thought!"
"Maybe...maybe Jake wants to marry her or something..." she suggested, a hint of sarcasm playing in her voice.
Oliver's eyes widened in horror. "She wouldn't! She's underage!"
Lilly laughed. "Donut! Think practically! He-llo!" she waved her hand in front of his face.
"Oh," he said sheepishly. "It seemed to me as though Jake wants to take Miley somewhere...and Mr Stewart asked him to take care of her..."
"Mmm..." Lilly scrunched up her brows thoughtfully.
"But wait. What did he mean by 'I want my heroine'?"
Lilly rolled her eyes as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, obviously Jake thinks of Miley as his heroine...like...the heroine of his life...or something..." she ended doubtfully, eyebrows scrunched in disgust. "Ew. That sounded corny, didn't it?"
"No, it sounded adorable," Oliver snorted sardonically.
"Well, let's go in and find out, then, Mr Smarty-Pants!" Lilly dragged him inside, where a rather unconvinced Mr Stewart, and an excited Miley were.
"Alright now, why did Jake just come?" Lilly demanded, hands on hips.
Miley grinned excitedly. "Lilly! You'll never guess what he just said!" she tried to squeal, but ended up choking, with the words coming in sputters. Jackson thumped her on her back.
"Oh beloved Miley, would you be the heroine of my life?" Oliver muttered in an undertone to Lilly, who suppressed a giggle.
"He asked her if she could act in the movie he's currently shooting for...which means she's gonna be famous...which means I'm gonna be famous too...see how that works?!" Jackson said eagerly.
Oliver rolled his eyes. "Jackson, she's already famous!" he pointed out, not registering what he had actually heard.
"Yeah but Hannah's just a singer! A star in a movie fetches more fame than you can imagine," he replied smugly.
"She's what?!" Lilly yelped.
Miley grinned, having recovered from her choking fit. "I know! Jake actually asked the director to cast me, Miley, opposite him! Not Hannah Montana, but me! Miley!"
"Wow!! Miley, you're gonna act!" Lilly squealed in delight.
"I know!"
"This is just too cool! Can I accompany you?"
"Um...sure if your parents allow you to go to Romania!"
"Wait - you're going where?" Lilly asked in disbelief.
Miley sighed. "Romania," she repeated in a lower voice. "But I'll be back in six months," she added. "Or more. It depends."
"Six months?" Lilly repeated, horrified. "Six whole months?"
Miley nodded, almost in a sympathetic way. "Six solid months. You'll be okay, won't you?"
"Sure," Lilly replied in a strangled voice. "Sure. I'll...I'll be okay. L-let's go, Oliver..." Tugging at Oliver's shirt, she backed out of the ward, with the remaining three staring at them in a sorry way.
Upon reaching outside, she looked at Oliver in a doleful way. "Well...it seems like she has her future planned out," she said in a small voice.
"No...it's just six months, right? It's okay, we'll be fine," he assured in the most consoling voice he could manage.
"Sure, we'll be fine. Just fine," she repeated, a little cagey.
"Come on, let's go to my house," Oliver offered.
"Okay. Your house," she repeated again, not moving.
Oliver pulled at her arm. "Er...you can't expect to reach there by today if you just stand here!" He pulled her out of the hospital and into the sultry noon air blowing over them.
A/N: Come on, it wouldn't kill you to review!!! Please:)