As I pulled up to Casey's house, flashes of memory hit me like bricks. It seemed like only yesterday that I was helping her to move into this place. Each of us carrying boxes of mix-matched dishes, empty frames ready to be filled with photos, vhs tapes (remember those?) of us as teenagers doing stupid things like performing sexy cheerleading routines that would never see the light of day. I sighed and smiled weakly, tears filling my eyes.

When she'd met Jackson, she'd been so ecstatic. After their first date she'd called me, gushing that she'd met The One. He'd been so polite, funny, and he'd actually listened to her wants, wishes and dreams. When he'd brought her violets on their second date, her favorite flowers, and then took her out for a relaxed second date of chili-topped hot dogs and a guided tour of the local zoo, she'd called me nearly swooning. When he first met me, he'd swept me up in a hug, telling me he felt like he'd known me for years because of all the stories Casey had told him about me. Needless to say, I'd agreed with Casey that he was completely perfect for her.

I took the spare key from under the pot of burgundy geraniums on the window sill and walked into the house. The air was stale-feeling with no one here. It was also a little cool, so I turned the central heating on a few degrees warmer. I walked to the back Master bedroom, opening the door and smiling as I saw the ivory-and-blue toile wallpaper and the four-poster bed topped with a quilt done in shades of blue from pale sky to deepest midnight blue in a star pattern.

I opened the doors to the closet and quickly found Casey's overnight bag. I pulled some of her most comfortable sweatshirts, loose trousers and fresh changes of underwear from her drawers and popped them into the bag. I gathered her toiletries, her perfume, body lotion and even her small bag of everyday jewelry: a pair of diamond stud earrings and a matching diamond pendant necklace that Jackson had given her.

Finally I put in a framed photograph of Casey, Jackson and myself standing and giving cheesy grins in front of the lake we'd visited last summer. Jackson's parents owned the cabin we'd spent the night in and all of us had been more than a little tipsy when we'd decided to "camp out" in the living room and roast marshmallows in the fireplace to make s'mores. The next morning we all woke up sticky from marshmallows, and smelling of vanilla vodka, chocolate and burnt wood from the fireplace. It was still one of my favorite memories of any vacation I ever had.

I checked one last time to make sure I had everything, remembered to grab Casey's toothbrush and toothpaste and grabbed the bag. The trip to the hospital seemed to take forever, but everything was still the same as I entered Casey's room. Momma E was napping in one of the hard plastic-leather recliners in the room and Casey was laying with her eyes half-closed with the television on Food Network. "Not interested in what Guy's discovering on Triple-D?" I teased in a whisper.

"Lil! Oh thank god you're here, I'm going absolutely insane. Mom's been driving me up the wall and Jackson had to go to work so he couldn't run interference anymore. PLEASE make her go home and rest or something. And besides, I've already seen this episode," she said, pointing to the tv as she whispered desperately.

I grinned and walked over to the recliner. I gently shook Momma E's shoulder and she startled for a moment before realizing where she was. "Oh, Lil! You scared me. Everything ok?"

I smiled. "Everything's fine, Momma E. Just thought that I'd let you go home for a few hours, get a shower and rest in a real bed while I spend some time with Casey. You know if anything happens, you'll be the first person I call after Jackson."

Momma E stretched, smiled and stood. She wandered over to Casey's bed to lean over and kiss her forehead. "I'll leave y'all alone for a while. I'll be at home if you need me for absolutely anything. I'll bring you some real food when I come back. Love you, baby girl."

I smiled and waved as Momma E left, and looked over to Casey. She sighed in relief. "I love her too, but I can't stand the constant hovering. I am not a satellite!" she whined at me. I laughed and she threw her pillow at me, making me laugh harder. "Oh shut up," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

I showed her the bag I'd packed for her and she literally shrieked "Yay!" and clapped like a little kid. I took the picture of us out and put it on her bedside table, making the room instantly feel a little more homey. I moved carefully around her IV drip and kissed her on the cheek. "How are you feeling, really, darling?" I asked, taking her hand in mine and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Afraid. Nervous. Angry. Anxious. Restless, mostly. I want to be up and doing something instead of being stuck in this bed like this. I'd be happy doing paperwork or anything just to take my mind off of being stuck here. I don't even have my Kindle to download books to read or play games on," she said, squeezing my hand and looking up into my eyes.

I definitely understood her restlessness. I was the same exact way when I'd been hospitalized. "Maybe I will see if Jackson can bring you your Kindle. If not, I'll stop by after work tomorrow and pick it up myself, okay, babe? Now come on, Auntie Lil is wanting tummy time!" I said, grinning and yanking her gown up above her rounded belly.

I leaned down and placed my head gently on Casey's tummy. I listened to the constant thump of her heartbeat that seemed to reverberate around her stomach. As well as the stomach and gut sounds. I started talking gibberish to her belly, telling the baby (babies) that their Auntie Lil was waiting for them, but they had to be patient and wait for it to be time for them to be born, so stop giving their Mom such a hard time. By the time I was finished, even Casey was giggling madly, quickly joined by a deep, rich laugh from the doorway. I looked up to see a smiling Jackson leaning on the door frame.

"Hey!" I said, jumping up and running over to hug him. "Thanks so much, Lil," he whispered in my ear, making me smile. "Anytime!" I replied. "I didn't even realize so much time had passed, honestly. How was work?" I asked him.

"Stressful being away from Casey. But it was a job that couldn't be put off until later, or else I'd have told them to pass it off to someone else," he said. I nodded in sympathy. I was just lucky that school was out for spring break, I would have to return soon to teaching class.

"Oh, Lillian, I was wanting to speak to you. The hospital is wanting to release Casey sometime this weekend. I'm a little leary of having her home by herself. You know how she is, she will not be content to just sit on the couch and watch tv all day. I was wondering if there was any way you would consider-" he began.

I placed a hand at his lips. "Casey is more than welcome to spend her days with me at my home, Jackson, you know that. We'll keep each other company until I have to start back teaching classes. If necessary, I can call for a substitute for a week or so as well, until she's at a safer stage. I know she's only got a few more weeks to go until she's into her second trimester. I have things at the house I can keep her occupied with, she can help me go ahead and plan out the St. Patrick's Day and Easter parties that I was going to ask her to help with anyways, and it's all work we can do from the couch."

He looked at me with relief. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lil! You are truly a life saver! I was going out of my mind worrying how I was going to manage all this!" He grabbed me into a hug and I smiled. I was both excited for Casey's visit and a bit apprehensive as how this was going to work with Aleck's presence. But I was determined to make the best of it!