Elliot nodded insistently, but still didn’t move to close the distance between them. Rae was still on the verge of returning to panic and he didn’t want to risk setting her off again. Did she fight this hard when they’d first taken her from Sing Sing? Of course she had. He couldn’t believe otherwise. Rae may not have been the physically strongest woman he knew, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Rae stepped into the circle of his arms and without further invitation he enveloped her in his own, holding her tightly as she cried. Elliot tried to be the strong one, he really did, for her sake, but he was just so relieved to have her back, to have her in his arms right now, that he couldn’t hold back his own tears. They were more subdued than Rae’s, but the tears were no less obvious to anyone watching the scene unfold.
“I could never forget about you, Sunshine,” he whispered against her hair. For the time being, he said nothing of the threat against his life, again for the sake of keeping Rae’s fragile state of mind intact. Elliot sniffed and blinked the wetness from his eyes. He needed to try to be the strong one here. His hand stroked her back soothingly, feet planted squarely on the ground to support her. “Everything they said to you was a lie. Everything. I wouldn’t have left you here.”
Rae met his gaze and kissed him, and Elliot had to pause a moment to reign in his own tears again. Once he had, he opened his eyes and rested his hand on Rae’s cheek, smoothing his thumb under one of her eyes to wipe away some of the wetness. His nerves jolted when she mentioned their child. Hope. There was hope there now. “So they didn’t hurt… They didn’t take…” He wasn’t quite sure how to phrase that question, but he needed confirmation that the baby was okay.
He shook his head when she began apologizing. “It doesn’t matter now. You’re safe, and we’re getting you out of here. That’s all I care about.” Voices over the loudspeakers in the building alerted everyone to the presence of intruders, and Elliot snapped back to attention. “We can talk about this more later, but right now we have to go, okay? Can you walk or do you want me to carry you?”