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days.”
    “Da-ad.” Jana’s southern drawl always made two syllables out of the word. This time, she said it with such exaggerated rebuke that it was almost three.
    He held up his left hand in surrender. “Yes, I’ve got everything on that list you gave me.”
    “That’s what I like to hear.” Jana looked at me and shook her head. “Honestly, I’m glad you’re here. I’m tired of being the nagger.”
    “I’m tired of that, too.” Rob kissed the top of Jana’s head as he said it. “One more reason Hannah and I are glad that her favorite auntie is here.”
    “Well, too bad for you. Since Grace will be taking over Dad-nagging duty for a couple of weeks, I’ll have extra nagging saved up for you.” She stuck out her tongue in a playful way. I could only hope my being here was good for their marriage in some way.
    “Great, just great.” Rob looked down at his daughter, who was resting in the crook of his arm. “Did you hear that, Hannah? Things are going to get pretty bad for us.” He lifted her up and blew raspberries against her stomach.
    She squealed in delight. “Da-da.”
    “That’s right, I’m your Da-da, yes I am.” He blew against her stomach again, resulting in an all-out chuckle.
    “Hannah Rose, you’re funny.” Dylan made his own razzing sound.
    I put a restraining hand on his shoulder. “Remember, honey, don’t get too close.”
    “Oh, Mama, I feel much better now.” This statement confirmed to me that he must truly have been a bit warm. The Tylenol had kicked in, and he was more or less back to his old self.
    “Are you not feeling well, darling?” Jana looked toward Dylan with concern.
    I ruffled his hair. “Nothing terrible. He woke up with a little cough and runny nose this morning, maybe a tad warm. I told him to keep a safe distance from Hannah just in case.”
    Dylan’s chin began to quiver. “I feel better, honest. I want to play with Hannah Rose.”
    Rob leaned forward so he and Dylan were face-to-face. “You’ve been such a good cousin to Hannah ever since you got here. Jana was just telling me about how good you were with the kids in the nursery yesterday, and now you’re being so responsible about not making Hannah sick. I’m thinking we might have to hire you as a nanny once you get all better.”
    “What’s a nanny?” Dylan asked.
    “Someone that helps take care of kids, just like you’ve been doing since you’ve been here. If you stayed at our house all the time, Hannah would be well taken care of, and Jana and I might even be able to have a conversation from time to time, without being interrupted by this noisemaker.” He touched Hannah’s nose.
    “I’ll do it. Can I, Mom?” He looked at me, his brown hair hanging a little too low over his eyes.
    “Honey, I think we live a bit too far away for that. But you can be her special helper while we’re in Shoal Creek—at least after we’re sure you’re feeling better. How about that?”
    “Aww, okay.”
    Jana took hold of my father’s left arm. “It’s time to get Daddy back into pre-op. Rob, you’ll take the kids into the waiting room. Right?”
    “Aye, aye, mon capitaine .” He saluted Jana, then looked toward Dylan. “All right, Sergeant Master Dylan, we have our marching orders. We are to assemble the troops—well, the troop—and remove her from behind these enemy lines.”
    “Yes, sir. Let’s get this space ranger safely into her home galaxy and away from the forces of the evil emperor Zurg.” Dylan offered back his best Buzz Lightyear salute.
    Rob looked a bit confused at the cosmic talk but didn’t let it stop him. “Right. You must be the advanced scouting ranger who leads us forward. See that sign right there? The one that says surgery waiting area and the arrow?”
    Dylan nodded. “The blue one that starts with the letter S ?” Dylan was proud of the fact that he knew his letters already. So was I.
    “That’s right. You’ve got to look for signs exactly like that and