“You guys are sweet,” I told them. “Don’t worry, Jenny, it’s okay,” I assured her when she looked embarrassed by her slip up. “I just hope it goes well.”

I think they could tell I was fretting over the whole scenario. I hadn’t been able to sleep the previous night. I’d been far too worried. I knew that Alice was worried too, but she was being rather quiet about it, which was unlike her. In fact, she was being pretty quiet in general, and I was concerned when she left the living room that night with a vague excuse to the rest of us.

“It’s all right; she’s probably just worried about tomorrow. But it’ll be fine,” Helena assured me as I nervously watched Alice walk down the hall to her office.

“Will it really?” I asked her, not even caring that there was no way she could know the answer. “Because I think it might kill her if it doesn’t go well tomorrow. Shit. I should never have gone through with this.”

Helena glanced at Shane worriedly before she came to sit next to me on the couch. “Dana, please don’t worry so much. I looked over your paperwork myself before I faxed it, and everything looked fine. Your interview with Rebecca went wonderfully; she’s rather fond of you both and thinks this will be a good home for the baby. You’ve made a nursery and made the house ready for her to come home to. There’s no reason you’d be denied.”

“And if we are, for whatever reason?” I asked, barely able to say the words even in a whisper.

“Then we figure something out,” Shane replied.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to deal with that. I think it’ll hurt too much. And Alice will be destroyed; she’s barely over all the other stuff. I don’t know if she can take a letdown like that…” I’d have continued if Jenny hadn’t put her hand on my arm.

“Don’t think about that until the second it happens. You’ll just worry for no reason, because there’s no reason to be worried yet. Everything looks fine, so just wait and see.”

I was going to refute her, but even I couldn’t deny that she was making sense. Driving myself insane over the whole thing wouldn’t do any good, and it would probably be for nothing. Still, Alice was obviously hurting and I didn’t want her to be alone with her pain. I cast an apologetic glance at Shane, and she stood up immediately and told Jenny they needed to be getting home. Helena agreed that she had to go too, and before two minutes had passed I was alone in the living room and grateful that my friends took hints.