"Let's wait a second, first," he answered, alarmed. His first impulse was to grab her arms to steady her, maybe to keep her in place if she still insisted on rushing, but that wasn't— He kept his arms at his sides.

"The sky won't go anywhere." That went for him, too. He could bear this for as long as necessary (only a few hours, at most). So he should at least try. It was too soon for him to be able to smile, but he could take her bag. He could make this as normal as possible for her sake.