Prompt: After a close shave, it's time for Henry & Elizabeth to sit down and draw up their wills, and really talk about what they want for a funeral/burial.
AND
Elizabeth asks Henry to make her promise.
Daisy sat gripping her hand, hard. Elizabeth might have complained if she hadn't been squeezing the younger woman's hand just as tightly. The plane was going down, and it was going to be Marsh all over again. Without the intrigue. The engine cut out completely, and all was silent.
They hurtled toward the ground with the speed of a bomb, but just at the final moments, the engines cut back on suddenly, and they landed safely.
Her phone rang. "Are you okay?"
A beat. A quick glance at Daisy. "Has it hit the news yet?"
A shake of the head. "No, ma'am. I've spoken to the gaggle. They just want to go home."
"Henry, I'm fine. Why?"
"I just had to hear it from you. I had an awful feeling a few minutes ago. I just..."
"I'm fine. Really. But we do need to have a conversation when I get home. Okay?"
"Anything wrong?"
"No, not really. I'm just... I'll explain later, okay?"
"I love you."
"I love you too."
At home, her walls came crumbling down as she watched her children laugh and argue. As she watched her husband tend to them and fix breakfast. She could've missed this. And they wouldn't have known. She wiped her eyes, but not before Henry noticed, of course.
The kids left, passing her by with a quick hug and out the door. The dam broke. The tears fell, and all of a sudden Henry was in front of her. "Babe? What happened?"
The story told in gasps made its way to Henry's ears and broke his heart. He wouldn't... He couldn't... She'd never... How could he have gone on without her?
He wrapped his arms around her, and drew soothing circles on her back, smelling her hair, reassuring himself that she was still right there in front of him.
She calmed down after a while, but her eyes were still glassy and her face still splotchy. "We have something we need to discuss."
Henry led her into the office and settled down in the chair while she sat on her desk.
"Okay."
"Our wills and funerals."
Henry grimaced, but one look at the earnest determination in his wife's eyes, and he knew he'd lose this fight.
They spent hours planning every detail and writing down every last wish, but it did little to soothe Elizabeth's fears. She was terrified, and she knew why, but it didn't make any sense. She was fine. She was safe. She was home. And Henry was fine. And safe. And home.
She sniffled, tears resuming their course down her cheeks. Henry in front of her gripping her arms. "Babe?"
Suddenly she looked up. "I want you to promise me something. Okay?"
"What is it?"
"I want to go first."
Henry blanched, and she saw the color drain out of him slowly. "What?" he asked with a voice that held no air.
"I can't... Henry... I just can't live without you. Don't make me."
"I'm sorry Elizabeth. But I can't make that promise. I can't... I can't live without you either."
"Then we have a problem."
Henry placed an arm on her shoulder.
"Together?"
She looked up at him with a grin on her face. "Together."
