He smirked at that. “I doubt that. You’re a lot smarter than most people around here.” If he’d been aware that it bothered Rae when he didn’t joke about her days of being a stripper, Elliot would’ve tried to ease her mind. Thinking about all the guys she’d been with did bother him on occasion, but all he had to do was remind himself that she was his, that she was in love with him, and those past sexual encounters were nothing. The avoidance of stripper jokes mainly stemmed from the lingering aftermath of Rodeo’s publicized comments on the intranet, as well as the continued harassment from a few loud and obnoxious people around Sing Sing.
“I’ve no doubt that Little One’s hazel eyes — just like it’s Mom’s, of course — will melt my heart into goo and make me want to take the blame for every mess in the world.” He snorted at the mental image of his younger brother enjoying diaper duty. “Given his enthusiasm for uncledom, he might actually win any potential battle for Little One.”
“It was weird calling myself Zimm,” he smirked, shaking his head. “The nickname fit perfectly in high school, but never sounded quite right when I came to New York. And then you started calling me Eli and that sort of made me start liking my actual name again.” His smile only grew as she spoke of those first few months they’d spent together.
Elliot echoed Rae’s laughter. “Or the planet-they-say-isn’t-a-planet-but-actually-is,” he added, grinning. He rolled his eyes at the mention of Cheese Man. “Man, that guy reeked. I wonder if he’s still stalking around Grand Central looking for us.” He smirked when she mentioned chocolate being a sexier body-spread. “For reasons, huh? I think we can manage that.”
He shook his head when she told him that he was the reason she was strong and smart. “You do that on your own, babe. You were strong and smart before we even met and it’s only gone uphill from there. That’s got nothing to do with me.”
“I’m one of the cleanest guys working in the infirmary,” Elliot said, mock pouting as he fiddled with the ultrasound machine, taking a photo of the image on the screen so that they’d have something to keep for memory’s sake.
“Definitely an Andrew David. I’ve got a strong gut feeling that it’s a boy.” He winked at her, before handing over the printed photo and beginning to help clean her up. “We’ll know in a few weeks which one of us is right.”