“The most I could promise, and thankfully roles aren’t reversed here, would be to strive for happiness again. Eventually. As long as I know you’ll at least try to find some kind of happiness, that’s enough for me. I couldn’t stand knowing you’d be miserable for the rest of your life.” And that was all he would say on the matter. He couldn’t force her to move on if she didn’t want to. And she was right. If roles were reversed, he probably wouldn’t care about moving on at all, and if that was the case for Rae… then he was sincerely glad their baby existed. His son would probably be the only incentive keeping her going.
He half-smiled at her joke. It was strange to joke about any kind of afterlife when he was on his way to find out. “You’ve got yourself a promise there, babe. I’ll raise all kinds of hell on the other side.”
“I know you will. You already have.” Elliot’s smile warmed. “I know I’ve told you before, but I want you to actually believe me this time: You’ll be an amazing mother. I know this for a fact.” He put his hand on her tummy again. One last time. Little One didn’t kick this time, but that was okay. Knowing he was in there and safe was enough.
Another kiss that he reciprocated, however weak his protest was. He didn’t know if the virus could be spread through means other than the bloodstream, so it was a huge risk Rae was taking on their child, whose immune status was unknown. That still didn’t make him want to deny her (or himself) another kiss. His arm went around her again when she hugged him. He knew this would be hard, knew that Rae would have an even tougher time letting go. “I love you, too,” he whispered.
Over Rae’s shoulder, Elliot watched as his brother turned to leave, watched the exchange of looks between Evan and Leah, and watched Leah’s cautious approach. At that moment, Elliot couldn’t have properly expressed how grateful he was that she was there. There was no other person — not even Rory, Rae’s best friend — more suited to the task of getting Rae to leave the room. Leah was sensitive to the situation. He wondered how much of a comfort she’d be to Rae once he was gone. Or if she’d revert back to her old contrary ways.
“Rae,” Leah’s voice was barely audible over the sound of Rae’s sobs. She cleared her throat and tried again, a little louder, but no less gentle. “Rae, it’s… it’s time to go. You have to leave now.” She put her hand on Rae’s shoulder, gently but firmly trying to dislodge the smaller woman from her grip on her dying boyfriend.