Chapter 25

Maggie's Song

Hannah came backstage and waited. She had planned on singing Maggie's Song tonight but she wasn't sure yet. Hannah wanted to sing it to Maggie before singing it in public. Then she had an idea.

"Hey, Mike," she called to the nearest dancer, "can you quickly get my dad?"

"Sure thing, Hannah."

A few seconds later, Mike came back with Robbie.

"What's up, bud?"

"Phone, Daddy."

Robbie handed the phone to her.

Hannah called Maggie's room.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sara?" Hannah yelled.

"Yes. Who's this?"

"It's me, Hannah."

"Oh, hi. Nice concert. Is it over? It's all black and the station is still broadcasting."

"That all depends on Maggie," she yelled. "Can you ask her a question?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I wanted to sing her song tonight, but I also wanted to sing it to her first. Ask her if it's okay for me to sing it for me."

"Okay. Hold on." Sara turned to Maggie who was watching the concert.

"Hannah wants to know if it's okay to sing your song on stage before she sings it to you."

Maggie nodded to her mom.

"She says yes. We'll be watching. Bye"

Hannah flipped the phone closed and gave it back to her dad.

"It's a go."

Her dancers had gathered around her waiting for the answer. On hearing it was a go, they gave her a group hug and wished her luck. By the time they were done, the stage lights had come back up. The crowd, no longer in the dark, went wild at their luck. Hannah walked back onto an empty stage with a mic in her hand. She waited for quiet. The crowd quieted.

"Tonight, a very special friend of mine is in the hospital. It's because of her that I got involved with the Leukemia Foundation. You see, before I met Maggie, I was unaware that there was something out there that I could be doing to help others out. Whether I knew that person or not. Just because I didn't know I could be helping someone was no excuse for not helping. All I had to do was ask. I first met Maggie in the mall. She had gotten lost from her parents. Maggie wanted to buy some poster board to make a sign for one of my concerts. When I saw Maggie for the first time, she was a scared little girl looking for her parents. So I asked her, can I help you? Can I help you. Everyone thinks 'I Love You' are three little words that can change your life. But I stand here today to tell you that 'Can I help you' are four words that will change your life forever. Maggie wanted to see me in concert that first time because she was afraid she was going to die before that could happen. She never made that concert. Ironically, that is the way it is today. Maggie's in the hospital watching on TV again. Hi Maggie. We'll find out in one week if she gets to leave the hospital. When I first met Maggie, she looked up to me. Now, I look up to her. This song I'm about to sing is one of her favorite songs. She asked me to rerecord the song for her. I asked how she wanted it to sound and that is the way I'll sing it. The song is titled Wind Beneath My Wings, but I'm going to call it Maggie's Song."

Hannah turned her head and pointed to her dad. The music started. Hannah closed her eyes and became one with the music. Before her pick-up, she opened her eyes, took a deep breath and sang. During the song, Miley made no attempt at holding back the tears that were running down her face freely. The overhead screen showed the emotions she was going through. Her voice carried that emotion to everyone else.

"You're my hero, Maggie." And with that she walked off stage as the lights faded. No one clapped until the house lights came back on.

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An emotional Miley came off stage into her father's arms. No one was clapping or anything. Here she stands out there and bares her heart and sings with as much emotion that she did with I Miss You and they don't even respond. But then like a space shuttle launch, a roar exploded from the stadium. Miley turned and looked back through the curtain and smiled.

-

"So Oliver, do you want to meet Hannah?" Jake asked.

"Well, we are going to spend a whole night with her and after that last song, she looked emotionally worn out, so maybe we should wait until Thursday."

"Yeah, she was crying pretty hard at the end wasn't she, and how do you know that it will be Thursday?"

"Just a guess." Good save Oliver.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

They started to make their way to the exits.

"Hey, who are you going to ask to the dance?"

"Amy. Who are you going to ask?"

"Well, normally, I would ask Miley. But since Cody is here, she will probably go with him. Hey! Maybe I'll ask Hannah."

"Well, you're going to have a hard time dancing with her then."

"I guess you have a point there."

"You know, there is one nice thing about VIP tickets."

"What's that?"

"Easy in, easy out."

"You're right about that, Oliver."

They quickly got to the limo and headed home.

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Strangely enough, Oliver wasn't the only person that thought that way that night. Only a handful of people came back stage that night. It was a good thing too, for Miley was truly drained from the last song. Plus she wanted to get to Maggie before visiting hours ended. Since time was running out, Miley stayed dressed as Hannah.

When they got to the hospital, they had about fifteen minutes left. Hannah was standing with her arms in the gloves that went through the glass wall and was holding Maggie's hand.

"So, did you like the song?"

"It was perfect, Hannah."

They both had tears in their eyes when the nurse came in to check on Maggie's vitals and saw that they where both crying.

"Hannah, would you like to come with me into Maggie's room?"

Hannah turned to Sara. She nodded. Hannah pulled her arms free and wiped at her tears as she followed the nurse. First thing Hannah had to do was to put her hair into a head cover and a facemask. Next, she had to scrub her hands and forearms down. Once she dried her hands and arms with special towels, she put on a sterile gown and sterile gloves.

"Okay, I'm ready." Hannah said.

The nurse gave her a once over and led the way into Maggie's side of the room. As soon as Hannah was in the room, she went straight to Maggie's bedside and hugged her. They both were crying again. The nurse had to break them up so she could do her job.

"How's she doing?" Hannah asked.

"Well, her fever hasn't gone up. So, I'd say she is holding her own right now. One more hug and we have to go."

Hannah and Maggie hugged one more time.

"I love you, Miley." Maggie whispered into her ear.

"I love you too, Maggie."

Once Hannah was back out, she hugged Sara.

"Thanks, Hannah."

The trip home and going to sleep that night was far easier than she thought at the start of the day. But what Jake said seemed to be holding true. That night, Miley went to sleep with a smile on her face thinking about all the things she and Maggie could do when she got out of the hospital.