She was glad to be home and everything, and she'd be even gladder to lay in her own bed with Elliot that night, but between now and then, she had one more task to complete. She had Marigold's hand in her left and Elliot's in her right, and she had to wonder, just vaguely, if this was what it would be like when Little One was that age. A weak smile spread across her face, but it faded when she looked up and saw Leah Stone looking at her. A glance back over her shoulder told her that Evan wasn't going to be coming to help them, because he was too busy escorting some of the rescued mothers from the truck. She'd heard him mentioning something about finding them all accommodations close to each other, for comfort purposes, and she'd vowed to help them feel comfortable as much as she could too.
They got closer to where Leah was standing and she turned to Elliot, that weak smile back on her face. "I think I should do this alone," she told him, before standing on her tip toes and kissing him on the cheek. Letting her hand fall from his, she stroked his cheek and pulled in a deep breath. "Stay close by, please?" she added.
Turning toward Leah, she forced herself to stand tall and swore to herself that no, Leah would not embarrass her or make her feel badly about herself in front of Marigold.
She turned to Marigold now, giving her a smile. "See that lady over there?" she asked, pointing at Leah from where they stood. "That's who we're going to meet. The pretty queen I told you about. Let's go, okay?" she nodded her head, holding her arms out.
With the little bit of strength she had in her, she lifted Marigold up and held her securely. The girl leaned into her and she finished the short trek over to Leah, biting her lip nervously and looking at the woman, trying not to focus on the fact that with one word, she could make Rae feel like the lowest life form there was. She wouldn't do it around a child, right? She wouldn't.
"Hi, Leah," she said quietly, nervously. "Um... there's someone I'd like to introduce you to."
A small part of her hoped that Leah would have one of those motherly moments where she recognized her right away, but she knew that it was more or less impossible. "She's... really important to you..." she explained.