Rae turned her head away from Leah, looking at the girl leaning against her shoulder and pushing some blond hair from her face. She felt very, very awkward, but pulled in a slow, deep breath to calm her nerves. She turned her attention back to Leah, the look on her face, and she felt even worse. Like an intruder into a moment Leah had wanted for ages.
Generally, she was better at wording things, but her recent trauma mixed with the fact that she never, in a million years, thought she'd be seeing Leah like this had her skill with words failing her. She gave Marigold a reassuring smile as she walked toward Leah, trying to tell the girl with her expression that it was okay. That Leah could be trusted. But she understood, now on a deeper level, how hard it was to trust people you weren't familiar with. "It's okay," she reassured her gently. "She's a nice lady, I promise."
With both arms free, Rae smoothed a hand through her hair and cast her eyes downward, still a little bit nervous about Leah's inevitable snap. It always came. They couldn't have a reasonable conversation for more than ten seconds without a snap, and she feared it this time around. She looked up again, trying to look as confident as she didn't feel, and gave a smile. "It'll be okay, sweetie," she reassured Marigold once again, with a nod.
"Of course she's okay with it," Rae nodded with a smile. "I told her you were a nice lady and that you were as important to her as she was to you. No more than that, though," she explained, casting her eyes downward in embarrassment, worried that maybe she'd said too much. She caught the looks that Marigold was giving her and looked down, feeling guilty all of a sudden. Like she was too helpful. She considered apologizing, but decided not to. She was glad to have reunited them, and that was all there was to it.
She nodded once. "R-right," she stuttered. "Yeah. I'll... I'll get them, then." She chewed on her lip.
Before she turned to walk away, though, she was taken completely by surprise when Leah looked her straight in the eye and told her that she was glad she'd made it back. "I... thank you." Only because I have Marigold with me, I'm sure, she thought. "I'm glad too."