Prompt: Henry does something that terrifies him, because he knows it's what Elizabeth needs.
Henry hesitated, standing before the closed door with his hands shaking. He curled his fingers around the small velvet box in his pocket, which he knew held the heirloom engagement ring his mother had given him to give to Elizabeth. She'd tried to give it to Shane when he proposed to his wife, but Shane hadn't really wanted it, and that had been okay with their mother. She'd always somehow imagined it going to Henry, and when she met Elizabeth, she had known. Whereas her husband and oldest child Maureen hadn't been fond of Henry's girlfriend, his mother had loved her from day one. So when Henry had come to her to tell her that he was thinking of proposing to Elizabeth, she'd been glad she had the ring to give him.
He hesitated, not sure he was quite ready to knock. It seemed a little ridiculous, really. Elizabeth was not exactly a traditional kind of woman, so when she'd casually mentioned very early on in their courtship that she loved the idea that her future husband might clear it with her brother first, he'd admittedly been surprised. He'd asked her why, of course, and true to form, she'd had a very reasonable explanation. Henry wasn't sure why he was so nervous; he'd met Will plenty of times and they had a good rapport. Yet, even to the Marine, that door looked incredibly daunting.
He took a moment, drawing in a deep breath, and knocked. Will opened the door, grinning easily at Henry.
"Henry," he greeted him, reaching out to shake his hand. "What's up?"
"Hey, Will," Henry replied. "I just have something I wanted to discuss with you. Mind if I come in?"
"Yeah, sure," Will agreed, and soon after Henry was facing Will in the little living room of his apartment, trying desperately not to think about the ring he'd been carrying around for two days.
"So what's up, Henry?" Will asked.
"Well," Henry began, clearing his throat. "Will, I'm going to cut right to the chase. I'm here because I'm planning to ask Elizabeth to marry me."
There was silence, and then Will leaned forward from his place in a chair.
"Why on earth would anyone ask my permission to marry my sister?" he asked, and Henry had to choke back laughter.
"I thought the same thing," he admitted. "But Elizabeth told me when we first started dating that she would like for whomever married her to have asked you first. She told me that, um, after your parents died, she always felt like it was just the two of you, and how much that meant to her. She said that you were the most important person in her life, and that she would want you to be a part of it all."
Will shook his head slightly.
"Well, I guess my big sister does have a heart," he joked, and Henry smiled in response. Will grinned at him.
"So, you got a ring?" he asked, and Henry nodded, reaching into his pocket to pull out the blue box. He pulled it open and held it out to Will, who whistled at the sight.
"Very tasteful, McCord," he said approvingly, and Henry laughed as he snapped it shut and stored it safely back in his pocket.
"It was my mother's," he admitted.
"Nice touch; Elizabeth is a sucker for sentimentality," Will said. "She's got a hard exterior, but really she's all goop in the center."
Henry laughed at Will's assessment of his sister, watching as Will leaned back.
"Well, I still say it's not my place to give anyone away, especially not my sister," he began, "but for whatever it's worth, I think if anybody deserves her, it's probably you."
Henry couldn't help but smile at him.
"Thanks, Will," he said.
"Alright," Will laughed. "I think you've got a proposal to get to. Give Elizabeth my best, yeah?"
"I will," Henry replied as he stood to shake hands with his hopefully future brother-in-law. Henry set out and waited until he was in the stairwell to pause and reflect on his good fortune.
"Yes," he whispered to himself as he pumped his fist.
He didn't know why he'd been so nervous in the first place.