A/N: This story is a collaboration between Babyjamo and myself. This story is very loosely based on Homeland (and to some degree on Criminal Minds). I'd like to thank Babyjamo for the late-night planning sessions and discussions about the story. I truly enjoyed it and hope we can do it again sometime!
The characters belong to Shondaland. Any references to historical events, people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors' imaginations, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
We truly hope you enjoy reading this story as much as we enjoyed writing it!
Prologue
Westfield mall, Culver City, CA, USA
1 year ago
16-year-old Gabriella Yang was having the best Saturday in a long time. Last week, her boyfriend Kyle had asked her to go to prom with him. He had gone all out with a goofy Promposal that had her slightly embarrassed, but the effort he had put into it had made her feel so special. Today, she was at the mall with her two best friends, all three of them in search of the perfect prom dress.
"Gabby! Look at this one," Rachel said as she held up a beautiful navy blue, strapless dress. "This would totally suit you, blue is your color."
Gabriella's eyes lit up and she quickly walked over to Rachel. "Wow, I really like this one."
"Try it on!" Rachel said excitedly. "Maddie, look at this! Gabby is going to try this one," she added as she called over their other friend.
Madeline and Rachel both took seats while they waited for Gabriella to try on the dress. The fairly shy Asian girl took her sweet time. She gazed at herself in the mirror, turning sideways to get a good look. The dress looked like it was made just for her. It made her feel extremely special and beautiful and she knew this was going to be the one. She tried to imagine how Kyle would look at her wearing this dress, making her heart flutter and butterflies spread through her stomach. Her palms were getting a little sweaty when she realized Rachel and Madeline were waiting for her to show off the dress.
She sighed and bit her lip while slowly opening the curtain of her dressing room. Both her friends gasped and Rachel, the most outgoing of the three, started squealing.
"Oh my God, Gabby, this is the one!"
"You look so beautiful, Kyle is gonna pass out," Maddie added with a big grin on her face.
"You guys really like it?" Gabriella said as she twirled around in front of the bigger mirror.
"Oh yeah," Maddie replied. "In all seriousness, it looks amazing on you!"
"I get the credit though, it was my find," Rachel added.
Just when the store clerk walked over to the three girls, a big blast outside of the store caught everyone's attention. It was quickly followed by a loud roar and the sound of windows shattering. Debris and scrap metal was flying around everywhere.
Gabriella heard screams and saw people falling down and running around in panic. And then all of a sudden, everything was quiet. The teenager had fallen to the floor and was completely lost for a moment, the whole world slowly fading out before everything went black.
She had completely lost any sense of direction or time and when she came to, the silence she had taken solace in earlier had been replaced by her ears ringing. The sound was piercing through her as if it went directly into her brain, making her feel dazed and confused. She tried to get up to familiarize herself with her surroundings, but only managed to lift her head a little bit. She looked down at her own body and saw the beautiful blue dress was covered in blood. Her whole body was covered in shrapnel wounds.
The shock of seeing herself wounded kicked her survival instinct into gear. She groaned while she pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Rach? Maddie?" She called out. She could not hear her own voice over the ringing in her ears and she had no idea if she was whispering or shouting.
Gabrielle blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes back into focus. The whole store was covered in a dusty mist and the air smelled funny. She wetted her lips and noticed the taste of metal in her mouth. That was probably blood. What the hell had just happened?
"Rachel! Madeline!" She tried again. If only she could turn this ringing off, that would help her think.
"Rach!"
There was nothing. Her friends had been right there mere minutes ago. At least, it felt like minutes. But right now, she felt alone in the world. Alone, scared and….Jesus, where did that pain come from? Gabriella winced as a salty tear had landed on a cut in her cheek. She furiously wiped the tear away to prevent any further stinging.
All of a sudden, everything hit her and something started to boil in the pit of her stomach. Something that quickly changed in blinding panic, making Gabrielle burst into cries. She screamed at the top of her lungs. Not being able to hear her own screams only made her panic more. She could feel her screams though, the sounds reverberating through her body, causing more pain.
Her mind was woozy and she had completely lost her sense of time. And she was exhausted. So, so tired. Gabriella slowly laid back down and stared at the ceiling. Or well, what was left of the ceiling. The longer she looked at it, the more her brain managed to process, making her realize that she was looking at hole where the ceiling used to be. Whatever had blown a hole in the ceiling had ruptured the power cables and the water pipes. She did not know much right now, but she did know that water and electricity together was not a good thing.
After what felt like forever, especially with the constant high-pitched ringing in her ear, she finally saw someone appear in her peripheral vision. The EMT hovered over her and she could see the woman's lips moving, but she could not hear her. Gabriella told her that she could not hear her, but this time she did not feel the sound reverberating in her chest. She tried again, but still, she felt nothing. Was she even speaking? Was the lady hearing her?
Her eyes went wide in panic as the woman seemed to lean back and looked elsewhere. With all her power she lifted her hand and put it on the woman's arm, begging for her attention. She did not want to be alone anymore. She wanted to say 'please don't leave me', but the words were not coming out. She was so tired and so cold and everything was hurting. And that annoying ringing clouded her mind so much, she could barely think. Her dark brown eyes spoke for her though, pleading with the EMT to not leave her side.
The woman spoke again and Gabriella focused on her lips in the hopes she could understand her words. But she could not make out anything. She did feel the woman's warm hand on hers and it made her feel slightly better.
She desperately wanted to communicate with the EMT. Her mouth had gone dry and the hint of metal taste she noticed earlier felt more like a metal flood. She wetted her lips, tasting even more blood. A slight groan left her constricted throat, but no noise came out. The EMT leaned forward, almost putting her ear against Gabriella's lips. The young girl took it as a hint to try again and she did. This time she did manage to make a sound.
"I don't wanna die."
The EMT looked away from her while still holding her hand. The woman then turned back to her and spoke again. Gabriella had no idea what she was saying, but it felt like something important. She just shook her head, trying to indicate she still could not hear a thing.
What the hell had happened to them? Why could she not hear anything? Why could she not move her legs? Why could she not speak? Her anxiety levels were through the roof and she could feel her whole body raging, but at the same time, everything seemed calm. It was the weirdest and most confusing feeling she ever experienced.
Suddenly, she was being lifted in the air and it startled her. She wanted to scream, but before her body caught up, a board was shoved underneath her and someone from behind her put a collar around her neck. Before she could properly get used to the offending item, she was being lifted up on a stretcher. She realized she was being rescued. A sense of relief washed over her. All she could think of was getting out of here. Away from this awful place.
The EMT was still holding on to her hand and Gabriella held on with all her might, focusing on the contact she felt with the woman. She did not want to be alone. When she felt the woman's grip loosen, she held on tighter. She looked at her, begging her not to let go.
"It's okay," the EMT said and somehow Gabriella managed to understand her words.
The woman let go of her hand but stayed by her side while she was being wheeled to an ambulance. When Gabriella was situated, the EMT sat down on the bench next to her and got a writing pad, and started writing. She held the pad up above Gabriella's eyes, patiently waiting for her to read it.
My name is Annie. We are taking you to a hospital.
Gabriella nodded, for as much as she could with the collar on.
Do you have an ID on you?
This time Gabriella slowly shook her head. Her ID was in her purse, that was not on her right now.
Annie bit her lip and put the pad on the stretched under Gabriella's hand. She then gently placed a pen in the girl's hand.
Gabriella tried to write her name, but when Annie showed her the notepad, she could see it wasn't more than a few scribbles. The fatigue was starting to take over and Gabriella felt herself starting to shiver because she was so cold.
She noticed that Annie's eyes shifted between a monitor and herself and all of a sudden, the EMT jumped up and moved over to her. Gabriella did not know what was happening though and she slowly felt the world fade away as darkness took over.
####
Cristina Yang was pacing around her office in Washington, DC. It was her first week as President-elect and there was so much to do.
"Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"You ah….you might want to watch this," the intern said in a shaky tone of voice while he handed her an iPad.
Cristina took the device from the intern and looked at the screen.
This is Kendra Wilson and we are live at the Westfield Mall in Culver City, California. Thirty minutes ago an explosion, most likely caused by a bomb, occurred in this mall, victims are being pulled out of the debris as we speak. The attack has not yet been claimed, but there are rumors that this was in fact a terrorist attack…..
Cristina's mouth fell open. Culver City was her hometown, she had grown up there and the Westfield Mall had been her hangout spot, as well as her place of employment before she headed off to college. The news and the images caused her to feel sick to her stomach. Her family was still there.
Just then her phone started ringing. And so did a bunch of other phones in the office. She took her phone out of her pocket and saw it was her sister calling.
"Hey sis, is everything ok?" She tried to sound casual, but in reality, her anxiety was through the roof.
"Are you watching the news? Gabby was at the mall, Cristina. I haven't heard from her, you need to come home."
Her breath caught in her throat and she closed her eyes. "I…I can't, I have to be here."
"Cristina!"
"Vera….I'm sorry. I'll come as soon as I can, I just need to get ahead of this right now. I'll fly out tonight, ok?"
As soon as she hung up, after profoundly apologizing to her sister once more, she got her ass in gear. She was experienced and she had gotten in front of a lot of things in her day, but this was a first. Fortunately, she had collected a stellar team around her that was going to help her deal with this.
####
It was not until late that night that Cristina made it to the airport. She had to get home, she knew that much. Vera had not returned her calls and it had her worried. She needed to know if her niece was okay.
When she finally arrived at Brotman Medical Center, it was complete chaos. Her security team had a rough time keeping up with Cristina as she barged in. She knew she had to be professional, but deep down she wanted to yell at everyone.
Her phone rang again and she immediately picked up. "Vera?"
"It's Gabby….." Her sister did not even get to finish her sentence before she broke down in tears.
Cristina bit her lip to bite back her own tears. The last thing she needed was to be overly emotional, that would only prove the point of so many haters. "Where are you?"
"Brotman."
"I'm here, Vera. Where are you? I'll come right now."
Ten minutes later, Vera and Cristina Yang were shown into a private room, where the lifeless body of Gabriella was displayed. Upon seeing her daughter, Vera broke down, hurling herself at her younger sister, wrapping her arms around her tightly. Cristina just stood there, her arms stiff at her sides, gazing at her niece.
This was not happening.
Cristina nodded at the doctor, who pulled the white sheet over Gabriella's head. Her niece was gone. Killed by a bomb while shopping for a prom dress. She was supposed to be safe. America was supposed to be safe. A single tear escaped and rolled down Cristina's cheek. She bit her lip and wiped it off while she still held on to her older sister.
She had work to do. A country to lead. But right now, right there and then she was an aunt who had just lost her niece. And a sister to a devastated mother. Right now, she needed to be there for Vera.
