Prompt: Jason gets hurt at the Montreal bombing and Elizabeth has to call Henry and tell him.

I have other prompts in my inbox but this one struck my creativity so here you go.

Elizabeth's hands were shaking. She could still smell the smoke on her hair, and feel the panic within her chest as she had broken away from her security in search of her son. And then she'd found him- lying on the ground, not moving, Piper kneeling at his side, looking from a distance so still that he might have been-

Even now, she physically shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of that thought. She couldn't go there- she hadn't been able to then, and she wasn't able to now. It was terrifying, far too much so. Now, she leaned against the wall in the hospital waiting room and listened as the phone rang once, then twice, and then three times before Henry picked up with a simple greeting and Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat.

"Henry."

Her voice was as shaky as her hands, and henry caught it immediately.

"Elizabeth? What's wrong?" he asked.

"There was- there was a bomb," she managed to say.

"What?" Henry's voice was sharp. "A bomb? Are you okay?"

"It's not- the bomb was at the protest."

There was a ringing kind of silence that followed her words as the reality of what that meant set in on Henry. Visions of Jason in all kinds of positions that he had never, ever wanted to imagine swam before Henry in those moments, and he felt suddenly sick.

"Oh god, Elizabeth, tell me he's okay."

"He's- he's in surgery right now."

Henry fought back a wave of nausea at that.

"Henry," she whimpered. "This is all my fault."

And just like that, his instincts were back and kicking in full-force in spite of his fear for their youngest child.

"Elizabeth," he said gently. "That's not true. It's not your fault, and you can't blame yourself." As he spoke, Henry was rushing around their home office in search of his passport. He forced himself to steady his thoughts for a moment and then the image of it tucked away in his desk drawer sprang to mind and he immediately turned to grab it.

"I brought him here," Elizabeth said.

"You couldn't have known, babe," Henry said. "Listen to me, okay?"

"Okay."

"I know you're scared," he said. "I get it. I'm scared, too. But you've gotta be strong for Jason- and for Piper; is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Elizabeth answered.

"Okay. I'm on my way out the door as we speak, and I'm going to be there as soon as I can but in the meantime, you can't blame yourself because Jason needs you. And you're not going to be able to be there for him now if you keep convincing yourself that you were the cause of this. You couldn't have known or prevented this, Elizabeth, but what you can do is be there for Jason now. Alright?"

There was something undeniably steadying about Henry's words, spoken to her so evenly and with such steadiness that she couldn't help but see past her own emotion and recognize the truth to his words.

"Yeah," she said shakily. "Yeah, okay."

"Elizabeth?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

She could have fallen apart right then and there, hearing the layers of fear in her husband's voice that were mirrored within her own heart.

"I love you, too," she replied, and then quickly hung up. She'd have her security detail let Henry know where to go- just then, she knew that if she stayed on the line with him for another moment, every ounce of the strength which which he'd imbued her would fade with alarming rapidity.

She clutched her phone and leaned her head back against the wall. She couldn't imagine what her life would look like without her son. Jason was her baby, and she could no sooner imagine what it would be like to lose him than she could imagine willing her own heart to cease its beating- that, however, was exactly what she felt might happen if she had to say goodbye to Jason. She didn't want to think about it- couldn't think about it, not then. And yet, it was all she could think about as she stood there and waited.

She could feel eyes on her and looked up and to the right, finding Piper hovering nearby, watching her. The young girl looked away quickly when Elizabeth looked up and Elizabeth sighed, pushing off the wall to approach her, finding her son's girlfriend with tears in her eyes.

"Piper," Elizabeth said softly. "Have you spoken with your parents?"

"Yes," Piper whispered. "They're on their way here now."

"Okay, good. You doing okay?" Elizabeth asked. Henry was right, after all- she had to be strong for Piper as well as Jason, and if nothing else it gave her a welcome distraction from thinking herself in circles. She sat on a nearby chair and gestured for a hesitant Piper to join her.

"It's my fault," Piper whispered, looking down at her hands. She turned her shining, fearful dark eyes on Elizabeth. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"Oh, Piper, it's not your fault," Elizabeth answered immediately.

"But I'm the one who wanted to come here in the first place and if I hadn't then he wouldn't have gotten hurt."

Suddenly, Elizabeth understood Henry's insistence that it wasn't her fault. Being on the other side of that equation, she found, was healing in a certain way.

"You can't live your life that way," she said gently. "Blaming yourself for the things that happen. You're only going to make yourself miserable."

Piper looked over at her cautiously.

"So you're not angry with me?" she asked in a small voice. Elizabeth managed a small smile as she offered her hand to the young girl.

"No," she replied. "I'm angry at the people who hurt Jason. But not at you."

And the two of them sat there in silence for the intervening hours, the solidarity enough.

Piper's parents had arrived shortly before Henry, but by the time he got there, they had already convinced Piper to go back to the hotel with them, with Elizabeth assuring them they would be updated on Jason later in the day. She'd barely settled back into her seat for even more waiting when familiar footsteps approached. Elizabeth looked up, feeling a rush of relief at the sight of her husband. She was on her feet instantly and in Henry's arms the next second. The two of them clung to one another there in the cool, sterile hospital hallway.

"Henry," Elizabeth breathed. Henry just silently drew her in closer to him and closed his eyes briefly. He'd stared out the window of the plane and thought endlessly of Jason; their third child, the baby they'd been unsure whether they had wanted to have, the baby who had completed their family. Their only bright spot in a very dark time for the whole country, the hilarious child who delighted in everything and made them all laugh at a time when laughter was few and far between. Now, the idea that they could lose Jason from their lives was more than either of them could bear. Elizabeth leaned into Henry, blinking back tears.

"Have you heard anything?" Henry asked softly. Elizabeth just shook her head, and Henry held her more tightly.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered, but neither of them were sure whether it was more for her benefit or for his. The two of them sat in silence for nearly another hour, hands clasped tightly together as they each processed- together, but apart. Henry prayed as he had on the plane ride to Canada, and Elizabeth thought of Jason and all that he had brought to her life: how deeply fulfilling it had been so far to be his mother, to teach him and love him and stand by him. To watch him grow and see him stand up for her or for his sisters. She found herself hoping that whatever force of the universe her husband believed in would take mercy on them and keep Jason safe.

And then the doctor was there, standing before them, and Elizabeth's heart was racing as she tightened her hold on Henry's hand.

"Secretary McCord," the doctor began. She wanted to correct him- it's Elizabeth- but she found that she couldn't speak.

"And Dr. McCord," he added with a nod to Henry, who stayed silent as well. "I'm happy to tell you that Jason is going to be just fine."

The doctor went on to explain the whole thing, but neither Henry nor Elizabeth heard him. There would be time for information later; right now, all that mattered was that Jason was safe and their world had begun to turn again.