Summary: Missing scene at the end of "Dream Busters". Ray takes care of Henry after he wakes up.

Warning: mentions of child neglect

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"Do you know how to play Mahjong?" Ray asked and bit his lip. He winced slightly when Charlotte gave him a deadpan look.

"I hate you," she said before disconnecting the call. Ray slowly turned to face Schwoz.

"I'll go get that new transmipular tube," he said and hurriedly left the room. Ray sighed and glanced at Charlotte's sleeping form.

"So, she'll- she'll be okay?" Henry asked from where he had stood up from his seat on the couch. Ray look up at him with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah. Don't worry," he said and walked around Charlotte's cot. The kid released a relieved sigh and reached for the couch behind him with his hand, but missed it by inches, making him tilt sideways. Ray's heart skipped a beat when he saw his sidekick crumble to the ground, gasping in pain when his hip and subsequently his elbow collided with the hard flooring.

Ray reached Henry's side in under a second.

"Kid?" he asked frantically as he knelt down next to him. Henry groaned as he attempted to sit up, but without Ray's helping hands he would've slid back down onto the floor.

"I'm kinda dizzy," he said as Ray propped him up against the side of the couch. He placed one hand on Henry's knee and kept the other on his upper arm. He felt slight tremors coming from Henry and he couldn't help but look pitifully at the kid's scrunched up face.

"I don't think being Dreambeam-ed and having extreme coffee in your body make for a healthy combination. It really did a number on you, huh?" he mumbled and rubbed Henry's arm. The kid looked up at him with a confused expression. He looked so lost, so vulnerable, that Ray's heart clenched.

At least he's awake now.

"Extreme coffee?" Henry asked. Ray nodded and grimaced.

"Our first try to wake you. It didn't really work out."

"How d'you- how did- did I drink it?" Henry asked, struggling to even form a coherent sentence. After just waking up from being in such a deep dream state for hours and with the extreme coffee still in his system, his brain must be a pretty jumbled mess right now.

"No," Ray said as he moved his hand up to Henry's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "We used intra-feet-us injection."

"So that's why my- why my- my feet feel so- so- so... weird."

"Yeah. Sorry about that," Ray said with a slight wince.

"S'okay," Henry said softly and blinked a few times. "My brain feels like... like it's... I can't think of- of an- an analogy. Yeah. It's just... super weird. I hate being Dreambeam-ed."

"Yeah, it wasn't fun on this side either," Ray said with a huff. "We had no idea when- or if you'd wake up."

Henry raised his head slightly to look him straight in the eyes. His expression was so full of guilt and made him look so small that Ray had to resist the urge to pull the kid into his arms and hold him tight. His befuddled brain probably caused this display of such raw emotion.

"I'm sorry," Henry whispered and lowered his head to look back down at his hands, which were curled up in his lap. Ray knew he wasn't just apologising for worrying Charlotte, Schwoz and him, but also for getting hit by the Dreambeam in the first place. Which had not been Henry's fault, not in any way.

"Hey," Ray said and gently lifted Henry's chin, making him look him in the eyes. "None of this was your fault, you hear me? Neither of us could've known that Minyak had a Dreambeam. Or did you know?"

Henry shook his head minutely.

"See? Not your fault. So stop blaming yourself."

If it's anyone's fault, it's yours. You shouldn't have brought Henry along. You known just how dangerous Minyak is.

Ray tried to ignore his thoughts.

"Okay," Henry said and nodded slowly. He still looked pretty much out of it.

"Hey," Ray said, getting Henry's attention. "We should get you off the floor. Couch or guest room?"

"Couch is okay. I think," he answered with a slight frown. To be honest, Henry looked adorable when he was confused.

"Alright," Ray said and planted one of his feet on the floor, the other leg still resting on his knee. He laced one of Henry's arms around his shoulders and wrapped his own arm around his sidekick's back to support him. As he stood up, he practically held up Henry's entire weight.

He whispered small reassurances as he walked the few feet around the back of the couch to the front, Henry barely moving his legs enough to call it "walking". Ray lowered Henry onto the couch with him as he sat down, Henry pulling his arms against his chest. Ray moved the arm around the kid's back up so it was wrapped around his shoulders. He was a bit surprised when Henry pulled his legs up to his chest and snuggled up against Ray's side, his head coming to rest on his chest. Ray instinctively tightened his hold on the curled up ball that was Henry and pulled him closer.

"You okay? You wanna try sleeping?" he asked. Henry shook his head against Ray's chest.

"I don't think I can sleep," he mumbled.

"You sure sound tired."

"I don't- I'm not- my brain's just messed- it's a mess- it's- ugh, I can't talk. Or think," Henry said frustratedly. He clenched one of his hands around the fabric of Ray's T-shirt. Ray rubbed his shoulder in sympathy.

"It's okay, you don't have to sleep. I'd actually prefer you staying awake for a while," he said with a dry chuckle. "We can just sit on the couch till you're feeling better, if that's what you want."

"Mhm," Henry said and exhaled deeply. They fell into a comfortable silence, Henry curled up next to him, head resting on his chest and fingers loosely curled around his T-shirt. Ray pulled his sidekick even closer against him. Henry was in an incredibly vulnerable state right now, he was not letting go of him until he knew for sure he was okay.

"This is nice," Henry said suddenly, making Ray glance down at the top of his head, fluffy blond hair tickling his chin. He smiled.

"I haven't-" Henry continued, "I don't- this doesn't happen... often. My par-parents... they're always- always away. Always g-gone. Hugs are nice. I don't- I don't get many hugs."

Ray closed his eyes and rubbed Henry's back.

He'd known about the kid's home situation for a while now. But hearing him say it out loud, hearing him admit that he craved physical affection because he didn't get any from his parents, it made Ray's heart clench for his sidekick. The kid deserved so much. Hugs shouldn't be a rarity for him. They shouldn't be a rarity for anyone.

Ray was actually a bit glad that Henry was not exactly of sound mind right now, otherwise he never would've told him this.

"If you ever need a hug, you can come to me. You know that, right?" Ray said. There was a pause. Just before he was going to ask again, Henry nodded his head against his chest and hummed softly.

"Thanks, Ray."

"Anytime, kid."

- - - - -

About two weeks later, Henry came into the Man Cave and wordlessly walked up to Ray, suddenly wrapping his arms around him and burying his head in his chest. Ray was surprised for about a second before remembering the conversation he'd had with his sidekick two weeks prior. He hugged Henry back tightly, one arm wrapped around his thin frame, the other hand resting on the back of his head. They simply stood there for a minute or two, no talking, Ray just being there for his sidekick.

He decided then and there that whenever his kid needed a hug, he'd always be there to give him one.