There was a vulnerability in the moment that Eli helped her change that she hadn't felt in a long, long time. Had she been able to think of anything other than how cold she was and how she had almost died, she'd have realized exactly how much of a show of trust this was to Eli. She held onto him, changing into the not-weather-appropriate summer outfit she carried with her and ignoring the pain as best she could when she had to raise her arms or move them any particular way. Only once did she make a noise, when she'd maneuvered herself to put her arm in her sleeve and her tender arm twisted uncomfortably. She whimpered a little, and that was the end of it.
She watched, stupefied, as Miriam draped Eli's EMT jacket back over her shoulders and gave the older woman a look of gratitude. She'd have said something, or lifted her hands to sign "thank you" (Miriam had spent the past year and a half slowly teaching Rae sign language), but between the warmth of Eli's jacket and the warmth of his body she didn't want to move.
Yeah, she was a little bit warmer, but her teeth still chattered and she was still pretty cold. Rae looked up at Eli with a small half-smile that she didn't even know if he was paying attention to, nor did she care. She'd been fortunate enough never to need to see him in action yet, other than the occasional cuts, bruises and bumps that came with running out and defending the end of the world, but this was her first real taste of care-taker Eli and it made her heart swell a little bit.
"I believe you," she said softly, still not entirely comfortable with using her voice. She leaned her head against him again and chuckled softly. "We have to find your brother first. I want to help. I want to be there when you find him…"
It may have been true, what people had always told Rae about putting others before herself, and maybe that wasn't the best outlook to have, but she didn't want to change it. Especially not now. And she'd wanted to be there with Eli when he found his brother ever since the conversation came up a year ago. She'd be damned if a little cold water was going to keep her out of it now.
The rest of the ride was relatively silent, as was the walk to the Liberty Island safehouse. Rae was sure that it was because no one else knew what to say. It was an odd comparison, but all she could think of initially was a boat full of Cuban immigrants walking silently past border patrol. The main difference here was that when they got to the big, heavily guarded place, her father just sauntered up to the front door and explained the situation plainly. And just like that, they were in.