"They can hear you," Annie teased, but her smile widened and lost a bit of its nervousness. "But you're right, they will be. And I can't wait to meet them, I just -- I wanted to give you an out. After everything last month."

And, truthfully, Annie was both very sure about this, still, but also...she'd just gotten a really good look at what kind of pain you could go through as a parent, too. It had all gotten pretty real, all of a sudden.