Chapter Text
What started off as a normal day quickly flipped into an inescapable nightmare.
Morgan and Karadec sprinted through the hall of the building, Karadec dragging Morgan by the hand toward the elevator at the end of the corridor.
A man carrying a bomb was following them closely behind.
They rounded the corner, and Karadec frantically jabbed the elevator button over and over. “Come on, come on. Go, go, go,” he muttered, his voice tight with panic.
His hand was tightly wrapped around Morgan’s. He could feel it trembling beneath his grip, her eyes wide with fear. “Karadec, he’s coming!” she screamed.
He whipped his head toward the hallway they had just run through. The man with the bomb was only seconds behind them when the elevator doors slid open with a soft ding.
Karadec practically yanked Morgan into the elevator and repeatedly slammed the Close Door button.
He watched as the man sprinted towards them, reaching for the closing doors, but he was a second too late.
Karadec immediately hit the red emergency stop button, preventing the elevator from continuing upward while the building was still on fire.
Not too late, though.
At the very last second, the man hurled a small explosive device through the narrowing gap. It skipped across the elevator floor three times with a metallic clink.
Morgan immediately grabbed into the front of Karadec’s jacket with both hands, clutching the fabric so tightly her knuckles started to turn white. Both of them were breathing hard.
Karadec instinctively grabbed her by the arms, holding onto her just as tightly.
Then they heard it.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
The tiny device displayed 0:15, the numbers counting down with a terrifying speed.
Horrified, Karadec pulled Morgan against him, one hand cradling the back of her head while the other wrapped securely around her waist.
Morgan buried her face against his chest, still gripping his dress shirt under his unzipped jacket.
Karadec squeezed his eyes shut, holding her as tightly as he could.
“It’s okay… it’s okay, Morgan,” he whispered into her hair over and over, even though he wasn’t sure he believed the words himself.
Then, the timer reached its final second. They braced for impact.
BOOM!
The sound exploded through the tiny elevator… but nothing happened.
There wasn’t a blast or any pain. Karadec slowly opened his eyes. For one impossible second, he genuinely thought he was dead.
His hand was still protectively cupping the back of Morgan’s head.
He looked down. The device sat harmlessly on the elevator floor. It was a fake.
Somehow, the man hired to kill them hadn’t realized the bomb he’d thrown wasn’t real. Karadec let out a shaky breath of relief. They were alive.
He looked away from the fake bomb and back down at Morgan. She was alive, but she was far from okay.
Her chest rose and fell in frantic breaths. She couldn’t stop panting. She wasn’t sure if she was alive, she wasn’t even sure any of this was real.
After watching her for a moment, Karadec carefully slid his hand from the back of her head to her cheek. Her eyes were still squeezed shut.
“Morgan,” his voice was barely above a whisper. “Morgan, it’s okay. We’re okay. You’re okay.” He repeated the words until finally, she cautiously cracked her eyes open.
She looked down at the device on the floor. A fake. She let out a shaky breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Slowly, she turned her head back toward Karadec.
He was looking down at her with his brows drawn together, one hand still gently cupping her cheek.
His expression was unreadable. A mix between concern, relief, and disbelief.
Morgan lowered her gaze again, trying desperately to steady her breathing.
“Hey, look at me.” He gently tilted her chin back up. Fresh tears welled in her eyes as she met his gaze.
“You’re not dead,” he said softly. “It was fake. It was a fake, okay?” He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I need you to focus on me, Morgan.”
She nodded weakly.
“Just breathe.”
She slowly loosened her grip on his jacket and instead wrapped her hands around his sturdy forearms, grounding herself in the solid warmth beneath her fingertips.
“You don’t have to do anything else right now except breathe,” he continued whispering reassurance to her.
She nodded again.
“In…”
She inhaled shakily.
“And out,” he finished.
She slowly exhaled.
“There you go,” he whispered. “That’s it. Just like that. In… and out.”
His thumb gently brushed across her cheek, grounding her as much as it was grounding himself. “You’re okay.”
With every slow breath, the crushing weight on her chest eases little by little. She closed her eyes and let out another long breath. They were alive. Everything was okay.
When she opened her eyes again, Karadec was still watching her. His expression had softened, but his concern was still evident on his face.
His rhumb continued its slow, reassuring rhythm across her cheek. “How do you feel?”
Morgan looked at him for another moment before answering.
“Like we should be dead,” she admitted quietly.
Karadec nodded.
“I don’t know how or why, but we aren’t.” His voice remained calm. “We’re okay.”
He hesitated before asking, “Are you okay to go?”
Morgan swallowed hard and glanced around the elevator. Her eyes briefly landed on the fake bomb before she looked back at him.
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “Let’s go.”
Karadec slowly began lowering one hand from her arm towards the control panel.
The instant she felt him move away, her hands immediately tightened around his forearms, keeping them exactly where they were.
He looked back at her, concern flashing across his face.
“I’m just reaching for the button,” he said softly. “I’m not going anywhere, okay?”
Morgan hesitated before finally giving him a small nod.
Only then did he carefully let go of one of her arms, keeping his other hand resting reassuringly on the other as he silenced the emergency alarm and pressed the Door Open button.
The elevator doors slid apart. Bright lights flooded into the elevator, forcing both of them to squint after standing in the dark elevator for so long.
The cool air drifted inside. Karadec looked back at Morgan before gently taking her hand in his once again. He gave it a small squeeze. “Come on.”
She nodded. Together, they stepped out of the elevator, neither of them letting go of each other. Morgan’s grip was still tight enough to make it impossible for him to pull away. Not that he wanted to.
They hurried out of the building, the cool air outside washing over them like a wave of relief. Once they reached his car Karadec finally pulled his phone from his pocket. Keeping one hand intertwined with Morgan’s, he used the other to call Selena.
She answered after one ring. “We’re okay,” he said, finally allowing himself to breathe. “We made it out,” he said while glancing towards Morgan.
————————————————————————————
After a quiet drive back to the precinct, Soto left them with little choice.
She directed them into her office and pointed toward the couch. “Sit.” Neither of them argued with her.
While she stepped out to coordinate security measures with the rest of the squad, Morgan and Karadec sat side by side in silence. Morgan’s hand was still wrapped tightly around his.
She sat stiffly, her shoulders tense, her eyes cast down at the floor. She hadn’t said much since leaving the building, and that worried him more than anything.
His thumb hadn’t stopped its slow, rhythmic movement across the back of her hand, a silent attempt to steady her.
Although her thoughts were racing a mile a minute, the gesture didn’t go unnoticed, it helped. Even if only a little.
Karadec glanced over at her, she hadn’t looked up once. He tilted his head slightly, trying to catch her eye.
“Morgan.”
She slowly turned toward him. He offered her a small, reassuring smile. “You holding up okay?”
She tried to return the smile, but it barely lifted into a flat line. “Trying to,” she mumbled, her voice quiet. She swallowed hard before continuing. “I just… I can’t stop thinking about what would’ve happened if that bomb had been real.” Her eyes drifted toward the floor again. “My kids wouldn’t have a mom…” her voice cracked. “I can’t imagine what they would’ve-“ She couldn’t finish, the words caught in her throat as tears spilled over despite her efforts to hold them back.
Karadec didn’t hesitate to lift his free arm and gently wrap it around her shoulders, pulling her against his side.
She moved closer willingly. He rested his chin lightly against the top of her head, he slowly smoothed her hair with his fingers. “You can’t think like that, Morgan,” he murmured.
His voice remainded calm and steady. “We’re alive” he paused. “You’re alive.” Another gentle stroke through her hair. “And that’s all that matters right now.”
His eyes met hers. “And tonight, you get to go home and see your kids.” A small smile touched his face. Morgan closed her eyes as another tear slipped down her cheek.
The image of Ava flashed through her mind. She’d already grown up without her father being present, what would’ve happened if she was gone too? It made her chest tighten all over again. She let out a shaky breath.
Morgan slowly shifted closer until she was resting fully against his side. Karadec tightened his arm around her without thinking, his thumb continued tracing slow circles over the back of her hand.
She felt safe.
Morgan sighed softly. She rested her head a little more comfortably against him, and closed her eyes.