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Alex’s head was spinning. Or maybe it was the remnants of the room. Or his universe. He couldn’t move, paralysed not by the explosion that had blown the top of the room to bits but, because of fear. Fear of what he would see when he moved his head. He knew that people must have been screaming but he couldn’t hear them over the ringing in his ears combined with the pounding of his heart. Henry. Henry. Henry.
One of the security team members leaned over him asking if he was okay, what hurt, an ambulance would be here soon. Alex pushed them off. He had been at the back of the room while Henry and… no.
He was running through the chaos, trying his best not to look at the bodies that got more and more frequent as he got closer. It was obvious who had been the target. Who the people who had done this wanted to-- Alex couldn’t think about that, all he could do was keep going.
He knew where he’d find them, almost as if some unknown force was dragging him there. Daring him to face reality. But Alex didn't want this reality. He couldn’t face it, he wouldn’t. Blonde curls- long blonde curls? Not Henry’s. The realization of what he was seeing hit Alex like a truck, sending him to the ground with a scream. He grabbed the young child's body to his chest and started screaming.
He could Henry. As he tried to get up, carrying the small blonde girl with the lifeless eyes, someone grabbed him. He spun around to face Cash and, as he did do so, Cash saw who was behind him. Who Alex was carrying his daughter towards. Cash stepped back and let Alex go. Alex laid his daughter down next to her father. The man with curls so like hers that they could have been biologically related. Alex collapsed beside them and gave up. He couldn’t scream anymore, he couldn’t cry. The one person who could comfort him was one of the people causing the pain that was ripping through Alex and tearing him into shreds. He was oblivious to the security surrounding him, both his own and Henry’s. Today was meant to be good. Alex was supposed to watch the love of his life and his daughter make a speech about her adoption and how they had met and became a family.
He knew he should leave. But how could he leave them here? Surrounded by death and pain and destruction. They had both burned too brightly to deserve this. Ignoring the blood that was coating his husband, Alex lay down next to his husband and reached over to grab his daughter's hand. Alex looked at Henry and buried his head in Henry’s neck as he tried to block out everything around him.
“We agreed on forever, H”
The second bomb went off.