A/N: Alright this was my hardest chapter to write so far but definitely my favorite. I'm sure you all know why when you finish it. So heres chapter 4:

Later that day Lilly and Jackson returned to visit their son. His breathing had been great so far so they decided to see how he took to a bottle and get rid of the feeding tube as well. So for the first time Lilly got to feed her son as the nurse instructed her. He only drank a couple of ounces of formula, but he took to it fairly well. She tried to get him to burp but that wasn't happening.

"Here let me try." Jackson took him, holding him up to his shoulder carefully and gently patted his back. It was only a matter of minutes before they both heard a very quiet but very distinct burp. "Must be a guy thing."

They both laughed at that. Smiling at each other they both knew what the other was thinking. They were one step closer to taking him home. Getting up from her seat, Lilly put a hand on RJ's back and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she turned to Jackson and gave him a small but passionate kiss.

The doctor chose that moment to come and check on RJ while making his rounds. "He seems to be doing well. If everything goes well tonight we'll be able to move him out of the NICU into the nursery. After that it'll only be a matter of time before you can take him home."

The doctor smiled at the young couple. He'd seen more teenagers than he'd care to count come through here, but he'd never seen any of them handle it the way these two have. They were mature beyond their years and they obviously had a deep love for their baby. He knew they'd be okay.

That night Lilly lay awake in bed. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about her parents. Even after all these months she was no closer to having any answers as to why they acted the way they did. In fact she was even more confused now that she had RJ and feeling the love she did for him.

It seemed like they didn't even care. They hadn't visited once in all this time. No call, email or letter even. They had no idea of everything their daughter had gone through in the past few months. How can a parent not want to know anything? It just didn't seem right.

Her restlessness must have awoken Jackson because suddenly she felt him pull her close. "What's the matter?"

She turned to face his silhouetted figure. "I'm just thinking about my parents. I don't get it. I could never see myself cutting off RJ the way they so easily cut me off."

"Maybe it's time you tried to talk to them, make amends."

"I don't know, maybe. I'll think about it." Snuggling closer to him, "I'm just glad I have you and your family. You all are my family now." He chose that moment to connect their mouths in a searing kiss, trying to take her mind off of her present train of thought. He hated it when she was upset.

Finally he pulled back wishing they could do more, but knowing that now wasn't the time. He just held her close until he could hear the small sounds signally that she had finally fallen asleep.

"RJ here is ready to be moved down to the nursery. He's exceeded our expectations. He's breathing just fine on his own and he's taken to drinking from a bottle like a pro. I want to make sure he continues to progress. If no complications arrive from here on out, you'll be able to take him home in a couple of days."

Lilly and Jackson both had identical smiles on their faces as they heard what the doctor had to say. He had called them early this morning asking to speak with them and both of them had feared the worst. Instead they got the best news.

Lilly stepped up to the doctor and gave him the biggest hug. "Thank you so much."

"Nothing to thank me for, it's your son that's doing the hard stuff." Saying so wouldn't deter Lilly from believing this doctor had something to do with it. He had been so good to them.

After the doctor left a nurse took over, supervising as Lilly tried for the first time to change his diaper. Once she accomplished that, she tried ever so carefully to put a light blue onesie on him. She was so afraid she was going to hurt him, it took a good five minutes to get it on him.

Picking him up and holding him in the crook of her arm she smiled down at him. "Look at you, I did it, you're dressed. You look adorable."

Jackson started bouncing around like he had too much sugar. "It's my turn. Let me hold him. Please."

"Fine." Whispering to her son, "Your daddy is a nutcase, but I still love him anyway." Handing him over she watched Jackson hold his son. It was a sweet scene really, father and son. Jackson was a completely different person when he held his son. He was calm and gentle, talking to him in baby talk.

They spent the rest of the day down in the nursery with RJ, getting to know the staff there. They both enjoyed the extra freedom that came from no longer having the baby on all those machines. They took him for walks around the building and just felt content to be together.

Lilly fed him his last bottle before bed and handed him to Jackson who had become proficient in getting him to burp. After that task was complete he gave him a kiss on the forehead, whispering "goodnight buddy." He handed the boy back to Lilly who tightened his blanket back around him and rocked him to sleep. Kissing him goodnight she gently placed him in his bed.

The couple excitedly chatted on the way home about their favorite parts of the day. Quietly entering the house they quickly made their way to their bedroom and got ready for bed. Once they'd lain down next to each other they continued their conversation until they both were too tired to stay awake.

Two days later the whole family filed into the hospital and made their way towards the nursery. They doctor was scheduled to meet them there and exam RJ to give him the all clear to go home hopefully. After the exam was over he handed the baby to Lilly and stated he could go home.

The stayed there listening to him as he explained things to watch for so that if something did happen to go wrong they'd know to bring him back. He finished by handing Jackson the release forms, who filled them out quickly and took them to the nurses station.

Lilly held on tightly to her son and made a hasty exit towards the door, afraid they'd change their mind and say he had to stay. Hearing the doors close behind her, she took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled down at the sleeping infant. "You're going home, finally."

The rest of the family caught up with her and waited while Jackson went to pull his car up. It took them several minutes to figure out how to secure him into the car seat but soon they were their way with Lilly on one side of the car seat and Miley on the other. Both just staring at the beautiful boy, they sat in silence, not daring to break the excitement they all felt.

Pulling into the drive way, Jackson hoped out and opened Lilly's door. Releasing the top part of the car seat from the bottom she handed the baby, car seat and all, to Jackson. Holding the hand that wasn't holding the baby she stepped out of the car and made their way inside just as Robbie's car pulled in with the rest of the clan.

Robbie Ray made everyone an early lunch while they all sat around the living room passing the baby back and forth, talking quietly so as not to disturb his sleep. When Robbie Ray announced that lunch was ready Lilly sat him in the bassinet that Robbie Ray had put in their earlier.

About half way through lunch RJ awoke with a cry stating his hunger. Lilly quickly got up and prepared a bottle the way they taught her to at the hospital and walked with the baby back to the table. Holding him close she gave him the bottle watching everyone finish their lunch.

The shock at the table was evident. Apparently maternal instincts won out, diminishing Lilly's usual zest for food. While no one thought she'd put food over her child, it was just nothing any of them had ever seen before. When he was finished, she handed him to Jackson, who had finished his lunch by then, to burp. Getting up she put her food in the microwave and sat back down to finish it.