DISCLAIMER: I own none of the DWP characters.

AN: I would just like to take this author's note to thank everyone who has read and reviewed Without Summer. Thank you. Your reviews have given me encouragement to continue writing when I wanted to stop.

CHAPTER SIX

It was long-term survival that was the goal. Short-term survival, after J-Day, was all about luck. You were lucky not to be within blast range of one of the explosions. You were lucky to avoid a toxic overdose of radiation exposure. You were lucky not to be killed in the destruction that befell the population centers in the weeks and months that followed the strike. You were really just lucky to survive.

Long-term survival, of the individual and the group, was dependent upon three main attributes: useable skill, loyalty, and acceptance. The first two attributes could be either be learned or earned. The first attribute: how to fight or trade, how to scavenge or steal, how to hunt or gather; these were useable skills that could be learned over time and adapted to any given situation. The second attribute, loyalty, was one that could be earned over time. There was a certain amount of safety in numbers, if you had the right people surrounding you. Loyalty allowed for the survival of the group, and increased the survival of the individuals within the group.

The third attribute was the most important. Acceptance, was an innate attribute. Of all the skills a person could learn, and all the loyalty a person could garner, acceptance was the difference betweensurviving and living. As many found out, it was the optimist who died first. Those that believed that the world would return to the way it was before J-Day, were never able to embrace the reality of the new status quo. They died of a broken heart, allowing their hope to escape, or wear away beneath the hardship of their uncertain circumstances. Those who accepted their situation, were better able to overcome the challenges that came their way. Like Pandora's Box, they kept their hope from escaping.

-The Years Without Summer: A History by Unknown

J-Day:

"I don't see how," Emily started, plaintively, "I get dragged across the carpet when that dodgy location scout is at fault for this cock up." She crossed her arms, bracelets jangling, and leaned against the car window staring petulantly at the passing scenery.

The mid-day sun was a bright yellow ball in a pale washed-out blue sky. The traffic lights presiding over midtown traffic sparkled brightly like ruby, emerald, and citrine gemstones as if playing a game of red rover with the passing cars.

Emily sighed heavily. "If they had just had the bloody permits or whatever, -like they were supposed to- then the photoshoot would not have gone all to pot."

"Emily-" Serena tried to interject.

"Or at minimum," Emily continued as if she had not heard the blond sitting beside her, "the shoot could have gone at all. Then, at least, we'd have something to present to Miranda!"

"Emily, I don't think this is helping," Serena said, leaning over to speak into her ear. Emily shivered slightly but otherwise ignored the warm, mint scented breath that feathered across her cheek.

"No," Nigel stated dryly having heard the soft rebuke, "It's not." He brushed his hand over his head, the usually smooth-shaven dome sported obvious signs of hair growth. "I need a shave," he muttered to himself. Emily rolled her eyes at his comment. He ignored her. "But don't worry," he continued nonchalantly, "I'm sure there's plenty of blame to spread around."

"That's probably not helping either," Serena chastised, smirking at him. She shifted in her seat and the loose, short sleeve of her navy and white striped lace top scratched against Emily's bare arm where they touched.

"And just why, might I ask," he shifted uncomfortably closer to his side of the backseat, tugging his cream lined Chinese violet sports coat, "Are you tagging along?" He looked in askance at the statuesque blonde with a raised eyebrow. It was a tight fit with the three of them back there but she looked comfortable sitting pressed up against her girlfriend.

"Schadenfreude," Emily said laconically with a straight face, teasing. She could feel Serena look at her and glanced over briefly. Serena gave her an admonishing slap on the arm for her comment which Emily ignored, returning to her view out the window.

"I came for moral support," Serena corrected. Emily could feel Serena glare playfully at her before the blonde turned her attention to Nigel again. "That and Emily is taking me to lunch afterwards."

"Hmm," Nigel nodded, "well bon appetite. Hopefully, this meeting won't ruin your appetite." Serena grinned softly and made a little sound of thanks. She pulled Emily's hand down onto her lap lacing their fingers together.

Emily looked at her incredulously for a second before rolling her eyes again and squeezing the hand holding hers slightly. The blonde understood her want to keep their displays of affection in public to a minimum, but every now and then Emily did not mind the affection. She felt a small, pleased smile grace her lips before covering over the emotion with a bored expression.

A short while later, Roy pulled up in front of Miranda's townhouse; its linen colored, stone facade and neo-classical architecture always reminded Emily of a modern temple. 'With Miranda presiding as its goddess of fashion in need of a sacrifice,' Emily mused. Roy held open the door for her and Serena. 'See Exhibit A, B, and C,' Emily thought as Nigel stepped out of the car on his own to stand beside them. Emily and Serena waited while Nigel gave instructions to Roy for their return after their meeting.

"This shouldn't take long," Nigel said, turning to Emily. "Miranda's concise when giving constructive criticism."

'She'll hand the lot of us our heads,' Emily translated silently, following Nigel through the townhouse door.

Miranda had informed the department heads that she would be working from home today. Dalton, the school her twins attended, had a teacher institute day and the twins were home. Miranda had previously informed them that she planned to spend the day with the twins. She would not be pleased at having her time with her girls interrupted due to their 'incompetence'.

They found Miranda waiting for them in her study. It was decorated in cool blues and warm earth tones. The latest mediocre offering from one of Runway's competitors was bookmarked and put aside as they trooped into the room.

Miranda looked them over briefly from head to toe while Emily tried to avoid fidgeting during the casual inspection. She hoped that the tulip-styled, Freesia yellow skirt she had selected from The Closet would not remind Miranda too much of the flower that she detested. When Miranda sat back further into the Louis Vuitton chair, Emily breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She did not need Miranda to find her lacking in something else today.

"Well?" The word was spoken with such icy disdain that Emily imagined that Miranda could have frozen the Sahara with it. That and the accompanying raised eyebrow was probably the only sign Miranda would give that she was less than pleased with their presence in her home.

"Miranda," Emily started, haltingly, "I- I am. What I mean to say is…"

"DO get on with it, Emily." Miranda crossed her legs, nonchalantly swinging the four inch heel of her right foot. Emily had this weird thought about whether or not Miranda wore heels all the time even when she was at home or if Miranda had been about to go somewhere. Miranda continued, "You've wasted enough of my day."

"Yes, well. The photo..." Emily trailed off abruptly, distracted by the low rumble of thunder that grew steadily stronger even as the windows showed clear skies.

Suddenly, the building shook violently.

Emily found herself in a tangle of limbs with Serena on the floor, dazed at having knocked her head hard against the wood floor. Serena was calling her name loudly over the noise of the bookcases crashing over, spilling their accouterments of books and decorative knickknacks. Emily finally realized that the blonde was reaching out to her and allowed Serena to pull Emily to her. Serena managed to wedge them between the heavy coffee table and the loveseat.

Emily frantically looked around to find Miranda grasping onto the arms of the heavy chair tightly, both feet planted squarely against the floor. Her face was pinched and pale beneath her tasteful makeup. Nigel had tumbled haphazardly over another Louis Vuitton chair before grabbing at the sturdy piece of furniture and steadying himself. All around them the building continued to shake.

The groan of wooden joists twisting in their brackets terrified Emily. An abrupt scream pierced the room rising above the clamoring din before it was bitten off. A large crack split across the ceiling as ceiling beams inched further apart under the unrelenting jarring motion. Sections of plaster crashed down from the ceiling and pipes shrieked behind drywall panels. Glass shattered and splintered from the twisting motion in high pitch bursts of sound. Electrical sparks popped and crackled out of electrical outlets and devices unnoticed in the chaotic upheaval of the shaking. It seemed to go on forever.

Finally, it stopped.

Almost immediately, Miranda sprung up and raced out the open doorway, calling out loudly for her daughters. Emily had never heard Miranda speak so stridently nor had she ever seen such an expression of terror on her face. Emily heard the girls' voices and the thumping of feet running down the stairs and breathed an internal sigh of relief. That relief was mirrored, she saw, by Miranda as she grabbed and held the two young teens tightly to her chest.

"Is everyone alright?" Nigel asked, climbing to his feet. He helped Serena up before they both pulled Emily up to sit in a chair. Emily touched the throbbing point on her skull where she'd hit her head and winced noticeably. Nigel asked, "Are you okay?"

"Emily, you're bleeding," Serena exclaimed as Emily drew back her hand and it was spotted with red. "Let me see."

"Ow," she fussed but allowed Serena to peruse the injury. "Ow, ow, ow."

"Do you have any dizziness or loss of vision?"

Emily drew back with a scowl. She hated being babied. "No. And last time I checked you weren't a doctor."

"No, but I could have played one on TV," Serena quipped light-heartedly causing her girlfriend to snort in amusement. "Seriously Emily. Are you okay?"

"Nothing a handful of aspirins couldn't fix."

"Well, ladies," Nigel said, "it appears that we might have just experienced an earthquake." He motioned over towards the TV. "Serena, if you wouldn't mind. The television."

Twisting a bit, Serena noticed that the TV remote was closest to her on the floor. She moved away from Emily just long enough to grab it and point it towards the darkened screen. Thankfully, the security cables had kept the device fastened sturdily to the wall throughout the shaking.

"It's not working," she announced after a moment before tossing the remote onto the couch.

Nigel's shoulders sagged in disappointment. "The power must be out." He collapsed onto the nearest chair.

In the foyer, Miranda reluctantly released her daughters after reassuring herself once more that they were safe. She told the twins to wait for her in the study before heading to the kitchen. She returned with a substantial first aid kit. One could never say that Miranda Priestly was unprepared.

Miranda pulled an ottoman up to the chair Emily sat in and took out a pair of disposable latex-free gloves from the open kit. The twins still shaken moved closer to their mother. With a glancing nod from Miranda that went unnoticed by the girls, Serena pulled the two to either side of her and settled a comforting arm around their shoulders. This way they could still be near their mom but not in the way of what she was doing for Emily.

Emily appeared to be, even now, a little dazed from her fall. She gazed in wonder at Miranda as she proceeded to expertly snap the blue vinyl over her hands while looking her over for other injuries. Not seeing any, Miranda selected a roll of gauze, a tube of antiseptic gel, and a pair of scissors from the kit, then she gently but firmly turned Emily so that she could inspect and dress the wound.

"Now… look at me," Miranda said firmly once she had tied off the bandage. Emily turned towards the older woman and flinched, nearly blinded by the glare of a penlight being waved in front of her eyes. "Sorry," Miranda muttered before she began moving the light from one eye to the other methodically. She moved the light again and then put it away.

"Well, it doesn't look like you have a concussion," Miranda pronounced. "Both pupils are responding to light the same. You said you didn't have any dizziness or nausea." She looked considering at everybody before focusing on Serena, "But we should probably get her to an emergency room to be on the safe side." She smirked playfully, looking around the room. "I could have played a doctor on television, too."

Serena responded with an answering grin, while Emily turned her head to look back and forth between the two like they had lost their minds. Nigel snorted, then announced, "Well, not to interrupt this doctor's conference, but are we going to drive there? Because I can't get 9-1-1. My cell's dead."

"Mom, my cell's not working either," Cassidy said.

"Ditto," Caroline chimed in.

Serena and Emily both pulled out their cellphones to check them. "Nothing," Serena concurred. Emily remained silent as Miranda took her phone to check for herself.

"Maybe the towers are down," Nigel suggested. "The quake could have shook something loose." Caroline scrunched up her face in confusion, but it was Cassidy that asked the question.

"Towers?"

"The cell towers," Miranda answered. "If the power is down and the cell towers are out, there's no way that we're going to be able to get an ambulance over here. The emergency services will probably be flooded with other problems. We'll have to go-"

"Is everyone okay in here?" Roy called out. Miranda looked up sharply at his shout from the foyer.

"We're in the study." Nigel replied as Roy entered the study looking a little worse for wear. "Good lord, man, are you okay?" Nigel asked, concerned. "I'm sorry. I totally forgot that you were out there waiting for us."

"Yeah, no problem," Roy waved off Nigel's worry. "I'm sure everybody had other things to worry about. Although, it's a good thing I didn't decide to drive around the block."

"Do you know what's happening, Roy?" Miranda asked, once she gave him a quick look over to assure herself that he was sound.

"Well, I don't know what's going on but it's crazy out there!" Roy began. "The quake or whatever hit, and the car went dead. My cellphone died, and people are just wondering around the street. And I think a building went down nearby! I saw this plume of dust or smoke or something go up about a couple of streets over!" He shrugged his shoulders, "Could be a fire. I haven't seen any ambulances or cops or anything yet, though. And that's unusual. Someone around here should have called the police or 9-1-1 by now."

"Our cellphones aren't working either," Caroline helpfully supplied.

"Did you say the car wasn't working?" Miranda asked urgently. Her tone of voice drew the others' attention. Roy's eyes went from Miranda to Emily's bandaged head back to Miranda.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, explaining. His eyes kept glancing from her back to Emily's bandaged head. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with it. I checked. Kinda looks like it might be either the battery or the alternator. There's no power."

Miranda paled, "Damn."

"Mom?" Cassidy asked, worried. Her mother was not one to curse casually, "What's wrong?"

Miranda turned to look at her girls. "Okay, Bobbseys. I need you both to get your GO bags and bring them downstairs."

"What!" Cassidy exclaimed.

"Really?" Caroline asked at the same time.

"Yes. Really," Miranda nodded. "Let's go!" she emphasized, "This is not a drill!"

The twins raced out of the room. Nigel watched them leave, then watched as Miranda got Emily to her feet with Serena's help. Then quickly began tossing the first aid kit back together. "Miranda?" Nigel queried.

"Nigel." She acknowledged, distracted with putting away the first aid supplies.

"What's going on?" He persisted, demanding answers. She sighed and sealed the kit before standing and tossing the box down onto the vacated ottoman. She turned to face her audience with a grimace.

"A Go bag?" Emily asked, "Haven't I heard about that somewhere?"

"I think Samantha in Wardrobe mentioned it once," Serena murmured to her quietly.

"I think that we might have suffered an EMP," Miranda began, "an electromagnetic pulse. I think it could be the result of a terrorist attack of some sort. I'm going to take the girls away from the city for a while."

"You think there's been a bombing?" Serena asked frowning.

"Yes." Miranda explained, "An EMP, if that is what has occurred, is rarely accidental. And if it is from a bombing of some sort, to knock out the electronics in the area, it had to have been a large explosion. I was here during 9/11 and I would rather not be here for this. Especially, without knowing the target."

"So you have GO bags and you're leaving the city?" Nigel summarized. At her nod, "You have somewhere to go?"

"Yes." Miranda paused, looking to each of them, "Do all of you? I have room…" Miranda trailed off awkwardly.

"Thank you," Nigel said solemnly.

"Thank you? What- This is ridiculous!" Emily exclaimed suddenly breaking the poignant moment, her frustration compounded by a growing headache. "This isn't an attack!" She could feel a swell of confused panic grow in her chest at the weight of tension that was in the room. "No. It can't be?"

"Miranda thinks something terrible has happened," Serena stated calmly, seeing the redhead's terror and looking to sooth her. Emily turned to look at her girlfriend at hearing Serena's soft reproaching tone. "She has offered us shelter outside of the city until things calm down." Emily began to shake her head in denial. Finally, the blonde reached up to grasp Emily behind her neck. She pulled her into her arms, tucking her face into her shoulder. Serena just held Emily for a moment until the younger woman calmed. "It would only be for a short time liebe," Serena spoke softly, "And it's just in case. Chances are this is just some… temporary inconvenience."

Emily nodded into Serena's shoulder, then turned to face Miranda after a moment. She held a guarded look but Miranda did not see any censor in her blue eyes. "Thank you, Miranda." Emily offered, lowering her eyes.

Miranda's shoulders slumped from where they had tensed. "You're welcome, Emily," she said understandingly. "And Serena's right. It's probably just a temporary inconvenience. It might be just that one of the large power transformers blew because of the quake."

The twins trooped back into the room each with a heavy day camper bag on their shoulders. They carried the weight of another larger bag between them. She gave them a reassuring smile then turned towards the others, "Now I don't have many supplies for you here. But I have a place upstate New York; it has supplies to last for a while. Hopefully, this will all be over in a couple of weeks."

"How do you plan on getting there?" Roy asked. Miranda nodded at his practical approach to the situation. "If it was an EMP and not a power transformer blowing out, all the electronics in range would be fried."

"I have two vehicles not too far from here. I had the garage retrofitted into a Faraday cage." Miranda moved over to her daughters.

"A what?" Emily asked.

"It protects electronic devices from electronic and magnetic surges," Nigel explained. At their surprised and assessing looks he replied, "What? I grew up with four older brothers. I had to pick up something."

"You're an onion, Nigel," Emily stated. "A man of many layers."

"Well, thank you," Nigel replied gesturing towards Miranda, "but I think that title goes to our esteemed leader. Well at least the onion part, I'm pretty sure she's a woman." He paused, looking her up and down comically, "Unless there's something else you're not telling us." Miranda rolled her eyes at his antics, and then ignored his and the others snickering knowing that they just needed to release some of the tension.

"Roy, does your sister Aida still work at that Deli?" Miranda asked, adding up the numbers quickly in her head.

"Yeah," he replied, nodding. "Kieran is nearby, too."

"Good," Miranda walked over to him. "Hurry and bring her back here if she wants to come with us. She's a good woman to have in a tough situation and I have the room for her and her son."

"Thank you, Miranda," Roy said sincerely, reaching out to grasp her arm.

She patted him on the shoulder and he ran out of the house. She turned to her other employees. No. Her friends. "Do you have anyone? Any family nearby?" Serena and Emily both shook their heads in the negative.

"With as busy as you keep us?" Nigel asked, rhetorically. "No. My closest relative lives in Topeka. And to be honest with you, she's of the mindset to assume that I was 'Chicken Little' telling her that the sky was falling."

"That actually makes it easier," Miranda said, nodding in acceptance. "We'll wait for Roy and the others before heading over to the garage. I want to do this in one trip. I don't want to announce that we have a running vehicle."

She looked over the group taking them in. They were really going to do this. Put into effect the emergency plan that Miranda had spent years setting up. She never thought that it would be need, but she was relieved that it was there. "Okay there are a few things that we can do to prepare a little before we leave…"

Miranda had a firm grasp of the possibilities that lay ahead of them. Not one, of which, was pleasant. Like the song said, it was the end of the world as they knew it. But only time would tell if everything was going to be fine.

Miranda had not considered that quite so many companions would make the journey with her to the shelter she had commissioned twenty-five years ago. She had only considered her girls, the girls' father, and a few years later, Marcus. But, like any good leader, although Miranda lived on hope, she knew that no plan survived unchanged in the field. She made sure that there were provisions for triple the original number of people, and that those provisions would last for five years instead of the initial thirty-six months.

Watching as the group jumped to her directions, Miranda could not help but be grateful that the photoshoot had been a disaster. She followed the group out the study door and helped them locate spare bags to pack some essentials. She would probably never say it out loud, but Miranda was relieved that Nigel, Emily, and Serena, hell, Roy and his family, too, were coming with the girls and her upstate. Miranda knew they were safer with her. And with them nearby, Miranda knew she would not lose hope.