AN: Thanks to lisa89 for her help with this. I enjoyed writing this. I think I'll also try writing the poem, we'll see.

Penname: ericastwilight

Original or Derivative (fanfiction): derivative

Rating/Warning(s)/Note(s): T

Disclaimer: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.

Prompt: Pride

I watched the lights dim around us, but the stage was lit with a warm glow. I smiled over at my lovely new wife, Bella. Her answering smile was radiant as she took my hand in hers.

I knew she had to be nervous. This was the first time her daughter… I mean…our daughter would perform in front of an audience.

Bella had raised her daughter all on her own, after her first husband had left them when Maddie was born. I had met Bella and Maddie two years ago in the emergency room. Maddie had been brought in when Bella couldn't get her fever down. At first, it had looked like a mild case of the flu, but over the course of the evening, Bella's daughter hadn't gotten any better.

After a multitude of tests, Maddie had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Bella had been living pay check to pay check and working for a company that didn't offer to pay for insurance. I had managed to pull a few strings and gotten Maddie admitted to a children's hospital in northern California that would waive most of the medical expenses. The catch was that they'd have to move to California. Together, Bella and I had poured over apartment and job ads to make the move easier.

I had turned in an application with the low-income housing near the hospital, but the waiting list was long and the chances were slim. I hadn't wanted to get Bella's hopes up while she cared for Maddie the best way she could as we waited. I'd even waived my own fees so that Maddie would get the upmost care during her stay in my hospital.

Then the application had been approved. Bella and Maddie were moving to California to await a heart three months after I had first laid eyes on them. When they were gone, I'd felt empty, and for quite some time, I hadn't been able to understand why.

A kick in the ass by my father and a lecture later, I had understood. Sometimes you didn't know what you had until it was gone. I'd wanted Bella and Maddie in my life for good. Through email, texts and phone calls, Bella had kept me up to date on Maddie's health. But it hadn't been enough, and from the sadness in Bella's voice I'd thought she might have felt the same way.

Then I had gotten the call, the call from Bella that had led me to where I was now. She had called to tell me that she needed me. I had flown out that same night and hadn't left Maddie and Bella's side since.

After Maddie had received the heart that we'd been hoping and praying for, I'd knelt on one knee and asked Bella to marry me. I had also had asked Maddie if she'd allow me to adopt her. They had both answered with a wonderful yes, tears filling their eyes.

The heavy curtain opened onstage as music flowed from the outdated stereo system, and someone announced the opening act for the talent show. The stage props rattled as proud parents clapped happily for their children. My heart beat heavily in my chest as the music came to a close and a figure came from the right.

Bella squeezed my hand harder, her lip between her teeth as tears started to fill her eyes. I wrapped my arm around her, and together we watched as Maddie took center stage. A spotlight from above made her look radiant as she curtsied.

"My poem is called 'Heart,'" Maddie said sweetly.

I watched Bella for a moment; the expression on her face was filled with love, a little fear, and pride. We watched and listened to our little girl pour her heart out. My heart swelled in my chest as Maddie recited the last line. "This heart," Maddie said, laying a hand over her chest, "still loves the same."

Most of the parents here knew what Maddie had had to overcome to be here tonight, and when everyone in the audience stood up, I could see the same look on my daughter's face as her mother's – love and pride.

That was my little girl.

AN: Please review.