The hand that wasn't holding his to her tummy reached up and wiped his brow. Something she'd gotten used to doing these past couple of days, wiping the cold sweat that came with fever and doing whatever else it took to keep him comfortable. “I'll... I'll never forget that.” And she wouldn't. “I don't think I can ever love anyone as much as I love you. Well, except for...” she chuckled a little bit as she looked at their hands on her tummy, “the obvious exception.” It sounded stupid, entertaining the idea of closing herself off at the age of twenty-four, but... she was sure that she'd never love anyone like this.
She felt him hug her... not as strong as his hugs usually were, and the point hit her like a nail in the heart. “I always thought... you were too perfect for this world,” she told him in a whisper as she held him, hoping that it would be a comfort. Or that it would at least make him feel good, a little bit. She didn't want him to... didn't want the end to come while he was depressed. “I've told a couple people that, too. Sarah. My mama. Always thought that you were... way too good for a world like this. Not that I think... that... that came out wrong. I'm sorry. I can't...” she wasn't even making sense.
Their last kiss. It wasn't as powerful or deep as Rae would've wanted it to be, but she took it. Because at least she could. “It's...” she paused, realizing that arguing with him here was futile. He refused to blame her, just like he always did every time something went wrong. Because it's what you do when you love someone, she thought, another viciously painful throwback to when they first got together. “Well, a-at least let me t-take the blame for not being able to hold it together for you,” she sniffled, in lieu of a laugh at her joke.
If Rae was so good at putting a positive spin on situations, why couldn't she make this feel less like someone was tearing her heart from her chest? “I try,” she told him in a quiet voice. Her second start ended too soon, though. “Maybe it'll be something we can do together,” she said, though this time the “we” wasn't the three of them. Just... her and Little One. “He has to be a good storyteller. His daddy's the best one I've ever known.”
Rae listened as he recorded the message, the emotion in his voice bringing more tears to her eyes. Maybe it was a stupid idea. Every time he paused, she had to fight back any weepy noise she might make, and when he finished and turned the recorder off, she looked at it for a second, and flipped the tape over. She hit record again, then swallowed thickly, meeting Elliot's eyes when she spoke. “ So there were these toad people who lived in this giant pyramid made of cheese...” she started, a little smile on her face as she urged him to continue. And they told the story Elliot had told on the beach, alternating line for line.
“This way... his daddy can always help his mommy tell him a bedtime story...” she said once she'd pressed stop.
Her eyes met his again. He looked... so tired. And so weak. She closed her eyes. “I...” she paused. These would be her last words to him. She wanted them to be special. Important. “I'll never be the same, Steel. Because I met you, and because you loved me. In a good way. No, a great way. The best way. I'm... I'm a better person now, for it. You should know that. And... I'll do everything I can to raise Little One right. To make you proud of us.” It was hard to stay level, strong, but she was doing... the best she could.