“Mostly,” Rae repeated, her own grin matching his and listening when he explained what kind of trouble he'd gotten into. “That's okay, I like you a little troublesome.” That was when most of their fun ideas happened, anyway. She chuckled and half-smiled, raising a shoulder in a shrug. “Normal kid traits. Though now we'll know who to blame if Little One is a messy beast, hm?” she teased him. As if they wouldn't have already known that.
“That... would be a battle for the ages...” she mused of the thought of Elliot's mom fighting with Mimi. His answer sort of placated her, even if she did have a little suspicion that there was more to it than he was saying. “If my mom was alive, she would be hovering over us like crazy right now. Making sure we knew everything we needed to know and never letting me leave the apartment other than to get some air now and then,” she chuckled a little. Her father would probably threaten Elliot a couple of times, then do more or less the same thing her mother would've done.
She nodded her head. “The best sleep I get is Steel-Snuggle-Sleep, though,” she gave him a little smirk, bringing the hand she was holding to her lips for a kiss. “I'm glad I've done as well as I have, getting better I mean, though.”
With a laugh, she nodded her agreement. “That probably means they're going to get some ridiculous degree of Godfatherly protection, doesn't it?” she asked. Especially if it was a girl. She loved the way he smiled when she said something that made him feel really happy. “I've missed that smile,” she told him seriously. “No one's got a smile quite so gorgeous.”
Another laugh. “Oh, I fully realize, Steel.” She raised her eyebrows quickly and playfully. “Definitely don't have any objections to that. You can hog my attention all you want, especially since it means that I'll be hogging all of yours right in return. I don't think there would be too much suffering. Maybe Rory'd miss me, but Mimi's kicking some serious butt in the kitchen, so...” she quirked a half-smile and shrugged a shoulder. “All my attention are belong to you, Steel.” She paused, thinking about kitchen-work and then looking at him again. “I just... want to feel helpful is all, you know? And I'm not the strongest and I can't go out and raid for supplies anymore, so... this is all I've got.” She hadn't even realized that she'd more or less mirrored feelings he'd had before he became her protector.
She turned her head to try and see the screen, then glanced at him when he finally spoke with a huge smile. Her head turned back toward the screen when he turned it toward her and she found herself struck speechless, other than to say, “It may only be a black and white pixelated image, but... it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.” She felt her eyes welling up, as much as she tried to fight it. Maybe it was the fact that this was something good, after many, many bads that they'd been through recently, but she couldn't keep it back. “That's our baby...” she spoke, more for her own sake than anything else. “It's okay in there...”