What You're Missing

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Henry asked.

"No." Henry placed his fingers to his temples in distress.

"Hey." Charlotte placed a comforting hand over his shoulder, and he glanced down at her.

"Whatever happens, I'm here for you." She smiled up at him, and she spoke so confidently he couldn't help but smile back. What he didn't know was that Charlotte too was not sure if their plan would work. Heck, she barely had a plan besides providing an ultimatum to Ray. But she knew Henry needed a constant right now, and she decided that it would be her.

Henry took a deep breath as he gazed up at the Junk 'N Stuff store sign above them. They were just about to enter the store when he was hit with a wave of worry. But now as he stood outside with Charlotte in front of him, he realized that even if he didn't get his job back, he would be okay.

He felt a tug on his hand and looked down to see Charlotte holding his. He smiled when she gave his fingers a reassuring squeeze, then stepped through the door.

He immediately started heading towards the elevator when Gooch stopped him at the register.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked Henry.

"I need to talk to Ray, Gooch," Henry replied. Gooch? His name is Gooch? Charlotte thought.

"With her?" Gooch gestured to Charlotte.

"Yes." Henry laced his fingers with Charlotte's. "With her." Charlotte tried to ignore the quickening of her heart rate when he said those words so surely.

Gooch narrowed his eyes at the two for a moment that felt like eternity to Henry and Charlotte, then lifted his newspaper. "Ray won't be happy," he pointed without looking up. But when he didn't ask any more questions, Henry decided to pass through.

He pressed the button to the elevator, and it opened after a few moments. They were about to step in when Henry held her back.

"Just a warning," he started, facing the girl beside him. "This is kind of a rocky ride."

Charlotte cocked an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

"The elevator literally plummets down to the Man Cave." Charlotte widened her eyes at him as Henry dragged her inside.

"And you're sure this is safe?" she asked him.

"Uh," Henry dragged. "It's a short ride." The elevator doors closed.

"That's not what I asked-!" Charlotte barely finished her sentence when they began free-falling down the elevator. She screamed as she tried to reach towards Henry, and he managed to reach his arms out and pull her to him. They held onto each other tightly the rest of the way down, and soon enough they hit the bottom with a jolt. The pair fell to the floor and groaned at the harsh impact.

"Are you alright?" Henry asked her, seeing her rubbing her head in pain. He stood up and held a hand out for Charlotte, then gently covered the spot she was rubbing with his hand.

"No, I'm not alright!" she exclaimed. "What kind of elevator is this?!"

"I warned you!" Henry told her, then placed his hands on either of her cheeks. "Seriously, are you okay? Did you hit your head? Are you bruised?" He playfully moved her head around, checking for bruising, and she couldn't help but laugh.