When Elliot confirmed that it was actually him sitting there beside her, Rae's reaction was... multiple things. She still wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't going crazy. "Eli..." she whispered, tears springing to her eyes again at the visage of her boyfriend. "It's... it's really..." she whispered meekly, "It's really you."
There were so many things she could have said in that moment. So many questions she could have asked him, even. But she was so relieved to see his face. She was so worried that she'd never see it again, and seeing him then, having him looking at her and being able to look back at him was a relief. At least for a moment.
She reached out to touch him, and while her fingers made contact with his arm, he wasn't as warm as he was supposed to be; as warm as she remembered him being. The lack of comforting warmth was a vicious, if necessary, reminder that he wasn't alive anymore. That this wasn't the real Elliot; or it was the real Elliot, but not the corporeal Elliot. Still, she didn't withdraw her hand. If this was the most she'd be able to have, she would take it. White-hot tears burned in her eyes, and she felt a pair slide down her cheeks, but she didn't care right then. Maybe she should have been surprised that she could touch him. But she was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he was there at all, so being able to touch him was something that she'd deal with later.
It occurred to her, at least vaguely, that she needed to say something.
But what could she say? This man that she loved, this man that she would have done anything in the world for; this man that, from the very first time they'd met, she'd made an internal promise to protect, and she'd let him down so terribly... what could she possibly say? Well, "I'm... I'm so sorry..." was a start. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't... that I didn't..." She stopped and tried to compose herself before she started sobbing again. The words were caught in her throat, wrenching her heart. "I should've protected you..." she finally said. "I should've been able to save you..."
She heard David strangling another sob, and she felt even worse. She wasn't the only one suffering because of this. I should've let them take me, she considered saying, but she knew Elliot wouldn't agree to that.