"What the hell?" Stella exclaimed before another bought of coughing was brought on by all the dust flying around. Around her she could hear murmurs from the other passengers that were growing by the second. "Okay everyone stay calm," she shouted. "NYPD. Sort of," she added under her breath.

"Mom! Mom wake up!" a little boy's voice echoed from the end of the carriage. Stella clambered through the rubble that had fallen through one of the holes in the roof of the carriage.

"You okay there sweetie?" she asked. The little boy looked a few years older than Kenzie. Leaning over him, Stella checked his mother using her cell phone as a torch, illuminating a trickle of blood form the woman's forehead. "Is there a doctor or a nurse here?"

"Yeah," a male voice replied. Through the darkness she saw a figure moving towards them. When it reached them, the light from her cell phone briefly illuminated his face before he crouched down over the woman.

"Sweetie can you step back, let the doctor see your mom?" Stella asked the boy. "What's your name?"

"Tyler."

"Hi Tyler, I'm Stella."

"What's going on?" he asked climbing into her lap. Stella held him gladly, seeking as much comfort from the contact as he did.

"I don't know Tyler," she replied, glancing around the dark subway carriage. "I don't know."

XOXOXOX

"You have got to be kidding me," Danny groaned. "This cannot be happening."

Not that he knew exactly was happening. One minute they'd been rattling along, then suddenly there was a bang, a screech on the rails, then the lights were gone, and dust was flying everywhere. Pulling his torch from his belt, Danny flicked it on. The carriage was practically empty; apart from Danny there were only three other passengers. There was also a gaping hole in the roof of the back end of the carriage.

"Anybody hurt?" he called. The other passengers murmured negatively. "Okay," he said to himself. "Let's see what's going on."

He moved through to the middle carriage, which was much more crowded than the previous one.

"NYPD, everyone okay?"

Stella looked up sharply towards the torch and the familiar voice.

"Danny?"

"Stell? You okay?"

"I'm fine, you?"

"Yeah, I'm just peachy," he replied, making his way to her. "I'm going to try and get to the driver, find out what the hell's going on and why the roof's falling in on us."

"Be careful," she said as he slipped through the door to the front carriage.

"Friend of yours?" the doctor asked.

"We used to work together," she explained. "I'm Stella."

"Rick."

"She going to be okay Rick?" Stella indicated to his patient, Tyler's mom.

"Yeah, she's coming round now. Head wound's not too deep. Hopefully she'll be fine," he said. He nodded towards Tyler, snuggled against Stella. "You're pretty good with kids."

"I should be. I have a four year old at home. Oh my God," she realised. "Kenzie. I was on my way to pick her up."

"Is there anyone else who'll look after her?" Rick asked.

"Yeah. Yeah her dad'll look after her. What about you? Do you have anyone?"

"I have a fourteen year old son who lives with his mum in Queens," he replied. "We're divorced. You?"

"I have a boyfriend. Kenzie's dad. He's my best friend."

Rick watched as her face became melancholy, her hand caressing Tyler's shoulder.

"You love him?" he asked softly.

"For fifteen years," she smiled ruefully.

XOXOXOX

As soon as he entered the front carriage, Danny knew it had taken the worst beating. The roof was virtually gone, and there was rubble and dirt everywhere.

"Anybody there?" he called. No reply. He had a feeling no one in here was alive. Sure enough, as he swung the beam of his torch around, it fell on nine, no ten, bodies. Danny checked each one, but there were no pulses. Edging his way through the carriage, he looked up through where the roof was supposed to be, but all that he could see above him was darkness. The door to the driver's compartment was jammed shut, but no reply came when he banged on the door and yelled. He had a feeling the driver, like the front carriage passengers, had died in the whatever this was.

"Anything?" Stella asked when he returned. Danny shook his head, and Stella realised what he meant. She pulled out her cell phone again. "No signal," she said.

"Yeah me neither," he replied. She looked over at Tyler, who was now sitting on his mother's knee. Danny sat down next to her, following her gaze.

"We're gonna get out of here, you know that right?" he said quietly. She tried to give him a smile. "There's no way Mac's going to let anything happen to you. He loves you and Kenzie way too much."

XOXOXOX

Mac had just put Kenzie to bed for the second time when his phone rang. Snatching it off the table he answered, "Stella?"

"No, sorry Mac, it's Lindsay."

"Lindsay, you okay?"

"Not really. Danny hasn't come home. I haven't heard from him since the call saying he was taking the subway back... Mac I think he was on the subway car that was in the collapse."