Prompt: Henry puts his life in Elizabeth's hands.
The motorcade pulled up to the familiar house, and Henry squeezed Elizabeth's hand before getting out.
"Excuse me, sir?"
Henry turned to face the strange man when he grabbed him from behind and held a gun to his temple.
"Stay back, or he dies! I want to talk to Secretary McCord."
"Ma'am, you shouldn't!"
Elizabeth slid across the backseat and against the chaos of every DS agent's orders, called "Stand down!" before stepping onto the pavement.
"What do you want?"
"Please, ma'am! My daughter was kidnapped by ISIS! They won't give her back! You have to help me!"
Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat, "we don't negotiate with terrorists" on her tongue before glancing at Henry. His hazel eyes were wide and understanding, his love for her palpable.
He was giving her the consent she needed, putting his life in her hands.
He watched her struggle under the weight of such a problem and wished more than anything that he could help her make this decision.
She bit her lip, and that's when he knew that he had to be ready. She'd made up her mind. For now, though, he wanted her to know what the only thing that mattered to him in the whole world was her and their children.
"OK."
"What?" asked the gunman, clearly surprised for this to be this easy.
"I said OK. We'll help you. Now, will you let him go?"
"How do I know you aren't lying?"
She stepped closer to them and pulled her gaze from her husband's eyes to look at the gunman directly.
"I give you my word. Now, will you let him go?"
He released Henry with a shove and Elizabeth caught him before he hit the pavement while the DS agents were tackling the question.
"Are you okay?" they asked at the same time.
"Yes."
"No."
Henry pulled away to look at her. Her eyes were always the giveaway. They were pain-filled and looked ready to break.
"Are you hurt?"
"No, but you almost were. Henry... I couldn't ... You..."
"Hey, I'm fine, Elizabeth. I'm okay."
He pulled her into another embrace to take the sting out of putting her in that position.
"You said you'd help me!" the gunman cried as the DS agents led him away,
Henry pulled her into the safety of their house and whispered "I trust you. Always." in her ear.
"I'm okay, babe." he reassured.
"How did you... You couldn't have known it would..."
"I didn't have to. I know you."