This deals in depth and description with the tragedies of September 11th 2001, so please be warned :/

Kendall's story is based on a collection of survivor stories I found online. I tried my best to research most of the events I put in here, but some of them I couldn't find much info on, so it's all subjective and may/may not be true. Rated M of course, and I don't own anything, including the song title.

This is dedicated to all of those who have in anyway been touched by the tragedies of September 11th, 2001.

WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS

7:09 AM

It was a beautiful fall day in New York City, the sun beaming through the windows of Jo and Kendall Knight's walkup on Park Avenue, the fling of summer ending with the cool temperature, and the promise of fall with the colors of leaves changing on the sidewalk in front of them. Kendall and Jo had moved here just a year and a half ago when Kendall had undergone his transfer from his job office to the headquarters in New York City in the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It was a substantial promotion for Kendall, with an unmistakable pay raise and a promise of a set future for him, Jo, and the little one they had on the way. Jo was nearly eight months pregnant when they had moved from Minnesota to New York, and now their small family was happier than ever in their beautiful apartment.

Jo stood at the sink, holding a small white stick in her hands, looking at the pregnant reading, biting her smile down with excitement. Her heart fluttered into her chest and she looked up in the mirror, closing her eyes content and sighing out with pure bliss, only to open them again to see her glowing face, and beautiful white smile.

"Babe, have you seen my tie?"

Jo, hearing Kendall's footsteps come down the hallway instantly hit the test into the garbage can, trying her best to hide her excitement and act as normal as she could. She had suspected she might be pregnant due to being late as well as the morning sickness she had been feeling the past few days, but was hesitant on telling Kendall, knowing that while he would be thrilled, that he had a big presentation at work he had been stressing about, and that this would just distract him. She planned on telling him tonight, when he got home from work. She pretended to be looking for something, as Kendall entered the bathroom, looking incredibly sharp in a sports coat with a light blue button down, and slacks with dress shoes. Kendall was an executive for a very relaxed, creative music company, so it wasn't exactly the everyday suit and tie combo type of job, however today he needed to be more neat than usual. His blonde hair was slightly gelled back, his bangs pushed back a bit, his worried green eyes and thick black eyebrows drawn up into an expression of pure anxiousness.

"Babe?" he asked again nervously, tapping his fingers nervously against the door frame as he and Jo locked eyes. He shrugged his shoulders, wondering if she could even hear him and Jo sighed with a smile.

"You asked me to iron it for you, it's on the kitchen counter," she told him. Kendall sighed in relief and looked at his watch, biting his lower lip and running his hands through his hair again as he went to turn out of the bathroom. "Kendall," Jo said to him softly. Kendall turned back around and looked at Jo, moving his fingers against his thigh anxiously, not being able to stop moving them from his nerves. "I've never seen you so nervous, baby," she told him, looking up at his worried green eyes. Kendall sighed and shrugged a bit embarrassed that he was getting nervous, usually being the one to be the most collected when it came to things.

"I'm fine, it's just a big presentation," he told her unsure. Jo smiled and leaned into Kendall, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him towards her with a smile.

"You're gonna be...amazing," she told him with a smile, leaning up to peck his lips gently. Kendall and Jo parted and he smiled at her, his hands going to her hips and giving them a small squeeze.

"Thanks, I needed that," he told her. She smiled and leaned up to peck his lips once more, giving him a small smile.

"And I have a surprise for you when you get home from work tonight," Jo told him, holding back her mile wide smile again, watching as Kendall's unknowing hands went to her hips, just inches away from the life growing inside of her. He raised a thick black eyebrow and chuckled, wondering what his wife had up her sleeve.

"Do you?" he asked her. Jo nodded and shimmied out of Kendall's grasp, shutting the light off in the bathroom. "Tell me what it is," he asked her, turning around on one foot and following her out into the kitchen and living room, where their daughter Taylor sat in her playpen, aimlessly playing with her toys, her head of blonde hair and striking green eyes both shining against the light of the sun.

"I can't tell you, that ruins the surprise, silly," Jo told her husband, picking up his tie and bringing it over to him where he stood, leaning against the hardwood cabinets with a smirk on his face. Jo began to tie the black tie around her husbands neck with a smile, so tempted to tell him, but not wanting it to affect his presentation. "I promise, it'll be worth it, sweetheart," she told him, making the windsor knot and pulling it tight, and giving him a pat on the chest. Jo turned around to look at the clock on the oven and saw that it was nearly 7:15, and Kendall had to be at work at 8:00. His commute was a rather long one as well, so he had better get moving if he wanted to be well prepared for his 9:30 presentation. "But you better get out the door to work, or else you won't be making that presentation," Jo joked out as Kendall rolled his eyes and sighed, straightening his tie. He walked around the counter to the island and picked up his backpack, throwing it over his shoulder, and picking up his "World's Greatest Dad" travel coffee cup in his other with a sigh.

Jo walked over the playpen and picked up Taylor with a sigh, hoisting her up so she could kiss her daddy good-bye. Jo and Kendall walked to front of the apartment, as he opened the door and looked back at his beautiful wife and daughter. Taylor looked up at Kendall's eyes and smiled, letting out a giggle.

"Dada," she said, stretching her arms out to him as Kendall smiled, instantly putting his coffee on the table next to him and outstretching his arms to his beautiful baby girl. He took Taylor in his arms and nuzzled her nose with his, planting a small little kiss on her cheek and forehead as Jo looked on at the intimate moment, realizing just how great a father Kendall really was.

"I'm sorry I gotta go to work, love bug, but I'll see you later, okay?" he said to her, as if she could totally understand him. Taylor let out another giggle as he gave her one final kiss to her hair, and handed her back to Jo, picking back up his coffee and smiling. "I should be home around 5, 6 if the traffic s bad," he told her, detesting his evening commute. Jo nodded.

"Dinner will be ready at 5:30," Jo told him. Kendall nodded and leaned in, giving her one, final passionate kiss on the lips before walking out of the apartment. "Good luck, Kendall," she said with a smile, "I love you."

"I love you too," he told her with a smile. He fastened his backpack on his shoulder and then began to walk towards the elevator at the end of the hallway, as Jo closed the door behind him, locking it with a sigh, an excited smile on her face. She walked over to the playpen, plopping a sleepy Taylor down and sat on the white couch with a chuckle, the news of her pregnancy alighting her face and heart as she flipped on the television.

"It's a sunny September 11th, 65 degrees and it's 7:16 AM."

8:47 AM

"What the fuck was that?"

"What's going on?"

"Was that an earthquake?"

Kendall Knight sat at his desk, going through his notes for his presentation he was about to give in an hour or so. He sat in his chair, nervously tapping his pen against the wood of his desk, his eyes getting caught by all the wonderful pictures on his desk. He pushed the papers for the presentation aside, giving the numbers and creative sales for music a rest as he leaned forward with a smile on his face, looking at the four pictures on his desk. The smallest one, in a black and gold frame on the side of his desk was a picture of he and Jo the night he had proposed. The next one was in a simple silver frame, and was a picture of Kendall, Katie and their mother, standing out in front of their house in Minnesota when Kendall was a teenager. The one on the far right was in another silver frame, and was a picture of Kendall, Jo and Taylor, just days after she had come home from the hospital, and in the center, in a beautiful crystal frame was Kendall and Jo's wedding picture, from four years ago. Kendall smiled at all the pictures, but his wonderful thoughts were interrupted when he heard a very strange and loud sound, and he felt his desk move a bit.

His door being open, he instantly got up from his chair, and went out into the main lobby of the office, where it seemed everyone else had the same idea as he did.

"What's going on?" Kendall asked the people of his office, as all the other workers gave him the same, confused look as they gave each other. All the workers stood there for a few minutes, some of them going back into their offices to finish their work, but Kendall stood at his doorframe, knocking his hands against it as he had done early this morning. Not even five minutes later, the CEO of Kendall's company called all the workers out into the middle of the office, his voice weary and his usually stone face expressive with regret and worry.

"I need everyone of you to go into your offices, gather up your things, and begin to evacuate the building," Mr. Givens told them, as the workers gasped confused and began to ask questions, their faces knitted with worry. "A plane flew into the 99th floor. I don't want to cause a panic, but we need to get out...and fast."

As if on cue, everyone in the office began to hurry back to their offices, and the 74th floor became a panic. A million and five things went through Kendall's mind as he hurriedly went back to his desk and began to gather his things, his throat dry and legs weak. His hands began to shake as he dipped them into his backpack, and leafed through his worthless junk. He hurriedly grabbed his leather wallet from the front pouch, as well as his cell phone, which was near dead. He swallowed hard and felt another strong shock move him, hearing screams and shouts from people as he took a look out the window. He saw crowds of people on the street, and messes of fire trucks and ambulances pulling up, a sea of red sirens and lights as his heart dropped down into his stomach.

"Fuck," Kendall muttered under his breath nervously, as he took his keys from his pocket, and shakily began to open his desk drawers. He bit his lower lip as he quickly shuffled through random papers, letters and other worthless things. He quickly took the few hundred dollars he kept in his desk drawer for emergencies and shoved it into his pocket, along with his cell phone and wallet. Kendall surveyed his small office once more, wondering if there was anything else he should take with him just in case. He looked down at the four pictures strewn across his desk, and bit his lip running his fingers through his gelled hair. There was no way he could take all of them. The picture he had of him and Jo from their engagement night wasn't even the best picture of them, and was almost six years old. The picture of him, Katie and his mother was one of many failed christmas card attempts he was sure he could get his hands on, and he and Jo's wedding picture he had tons of copies of. Kendall's eyes than sat on the picture of him, Jo and Taylor which he knew he only had one copy of. He quickly, with fumbling hands took the picture frame and got it open, taking the picture and shoving it into his breast pocket, making it sure it was close to his heart. He then quickly walked to the doorway, his eyes setting on the mess of people who were filing down the two staircases. He took one last look back in his office, and looked up to the sky, praying that everything was going to be alright.

8:56 AM

With Taylor sleeping soundly in her room, Jo quickly busied herself around the kitchen, beginning to prepare things for the dinner she was going to make for Kendall tonight. She had decided on his favorite meal, Chicken Parmesan with a fresh garden salad, and toasted garlic bread. Feeling absolutely wonderful and amazing on this fine fall day, she had even decided to take Taylor out to the market with her to gather some fresh cucumbers, lettuce and mozzarella to make her wonderful meal. She stood at the kitchen sink, washing her hands off with a smile, every so often looking down at her stomach, feeling enlightened that there was a baby growing inside of her. Suddenly the phone rang, and Jo sighed, figuring it was Kendall calling, either asking what the surprise was or telling her he was nervous about his presentation. Jo grabbed the phone with a chuckle and dried off her hands.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Jo, it's Rhonda. Have you heard from Kendall or Greg? I can't reach him," she said panicky about her husband, her voice nervy and full of tears. Jo crinkled her nose confused, wondering why Rhonda was calling her so early. Greg was one of Kendall's closest friends at his job, and they worked very closely with each other at the office. The two couples had been out many times together, and could easily be considered one of Kendall and Jo's best friends.

"What are you talking about Rhonda?" Jo asked confused, turning around and leaning on the counter, one hand on her stomach gleefully.

"The plane, Jo. Have you turned on the news?" Rhonda asked her a bit violently, Jo's entire face dropping with concern as she stood up straight in the kitchen.

"The plane? What are you talking about?" Jo asked her confused, walking fastly over to the shut off TV and clicking it on. As soon as Jo turned the TV on her heart dropped. Jo sat down on the couch, her eyes glued on the screen as she saw the North Tower of the World Trade Center burning up with smoke, and the headline at the bottom "World Trade Center Disaster". "Jesus Christ," Jo whispered under her breath, her hand going to her face as she looked at the horrible fires, and the people running in the streets. "I-I haven't heard, I-I have to call Kendall, I'll let you know if I get him," she told Rhonda, as her hands shook intensely, trying to dial Kendall's cell phone number. Her hand instantly went to her stomach, and tears came to her eyes as Kendall's voicemail picked up, and she closed her eyes, praying to God that everything would be okay.

9:24 AM

"America's under fuckin' attack."

"This is fucking ridiculous."

"Another plane hit the South Tower."

"People are jumping to their deaths."

Kendall Knight had gone down twenty flights of stairs in a rush of people, doing his best to keep calm, and keep his head on straight. He was now on the 25th floor, and things were beginning to get very crowded and complicated. Water was beginning to seep into the building from fire hoses and it was slowing down the path of the evacuee's heavily, as well as firefighters and severe burn victims. Kendall's heart was beating out of his chest, as people around him frenzied and panicked, praying to God and crying, shouting to the heavens. A few tears had fallen down Kendall's face as he dug in his pocket for his cell phone, being stuck behind a rush of evacuees, thick black smoke covering his lungs. He saw that he had ten missed phone calls, and eleven texts from mostly Jo, but his mother as well, Katie, and Rhonda, his friend Greg's wife. Kendall sighed heavily and bit his lower lip, knowing that there was a chance that things could go wrong, and that this...this could be his last day on Earth. The thought scared him, but it could definitely be true, as his heart beat faster. The North Tower was getting weaker and weaker by the second, and it could collapse at any second. Kendall whipped out his cell phone with not even 5% battery and dialed Jo's number. He held onto the railings of the stairwell as firefighters screaming out orders passed him, doing his best to stay focused.

"Kendall," Jo cried into the phone.

"I'm fine, baby. I'm fine," Kendall told her, his own voice starting to get a bit weary. He wanted to keep it all in, but he didn't know if he could at this point. This could be the last time he was talking to Jo forever. His hand went to the breast pocket of his dusty and wet jacket, his hair a bit wet from the water and matted to his face. Smoke had begun to rise even more, and Kendall was beginning to be blinded as he coughed racously, Jo crying on the other end of the phone.

"Are you out of the building? Please tell me you are out, Kendall," Jo cried to him, her voice weak and desperate. Kendall began to move down the stairs with a mob of other workers, trying his best to hold on to the railing for some sort of balance, his shoes beginning to get wet as well as his socks, the crowds pushing him making him all the more hard to talk.

"Listen to me," Kendall told her, trying his best to move himself with the dusty, dirty crowds, "Josephine..." he told her, making sure Jo was silent, "I will call you when I get out, alright? I will call you when I am safe," he said, his voice beginning to break in a frenzy and panic, "tell Taylor I love her, okay? Can you do that for me?" he told her, the screams, sirens and distant cries giving him a migraine.

"Of course," Jo cried out in tears, biting her lower lip to keep from breaking down into nothing. "Kendall," Jo began to cry out, her voice shaky as could be, "I'm pregnant." Kendall's entire body did a once over with a burst of happiness, but reality set in. Jo was telling him now, just in case. This was the surprise that he had been waiting for. Kendall choked back a sob, biting his lower lip and letting out a small cry, his hands quivering.

"I love you, Josephine," Kendall told her, his voice beginning to break. Not even having another moment to spare, Kendall's cell phone battery died, and he stuffed it down into his pocket, coughing from a black cloud of smoke, the shouts and screams and moans of burn victims, firefighters and jumpers ringing in his ear drums.

9:38 AM

Kendall successfully reached the lobby of the North Tower, surprised at all the damage that had been done, seeing as there was no damage on his floor when he had left it. While a bit less crowded than the staircases, Kendall saw hoards of evacuees that were clueless unto where to go. Always being one to help, Kendall couldn't fight it in his heart to help a few older workers who were confused where to go. The Port Authority Police were handling the grunt of the evacuees, but Kendall and a few others directed people back up to street level.

All that ran through Kendall's mind was the fact that Jo was at home, with their daughter and another on the way, not knowing if he was okay, or if he was even still alive. Their phone call had been more than twenty minutes ago, and Kendall knew what could happen in twenty minutes. He wanted to smile so bad, and tell everyone that he was going to be a father again, but he couldn't, because right now, Kendall Knight was fighting for his life.

As less and less evacuee's began to come out, Kendall ran out of the doors, following some of the Port Authority Police and firefighters, to where they had been. Kendall felt better following them, rather than the people he had directed, also wondering if he could help in anyway since he was out of the North Tower. His heart was pumping, his clothes west and dusty, his sport jacket torn a bit and a thick sheen of sweat and dirt covered his face from a light debris. He breathed heavily up and down as he looked out and saw the absolute terror which had formed in the greatest city in the world.

10:22 AM

Moaning and groaning in pain, Kendall Knight lay beneath a heavy pile of debris, his arm crushed by a huge chunk of cement. Covered from head to toe with thick dust, Kendall looked like a sandman. His hair matted to his dirty face, his green eyes bright as could be, and a trail of scarlet leading from his cheek, Kendall cried out for help the best he could, his voice weak and dry as people screamed and cried around him. He had been too close to the South Tower, and it had collapsed near him, sending debris, dirt and glass in every which direction possible. It was now Kendall regretted not going the other way, as he lay crushed by a piece of cement.

Suddenly, the throbbing pain in Kendall's arm began to cease, as he looked up with blurry, almost blinded eyes and faintly saw the shadow of a firefighter and a cop, helping him out of the debris.

"What's your name, son?" one asked, with a thick Irish accent. Kendall closed his eyes and let out a load, agonizing moan, half crying as he bit his lower lip.

"Kendall Knight," he cried out, feeling the warm blood and broken bones in his arm, it hurting to the touch. Kendall heard the sirens, and screams, but couldn't see anything all that well. He felt trapped, and scared.

"Okay, Kendall. We gotcha," the other man said with a straight English dialect.

Kendall breathed in and coughed manically, the feeling of his chest tight, and unable to breathe. He gasped for air under the thick layers of dirt and grime, feeling sharp glass pricking him in every which way possible as he was helped up to stand, the hot sun blazing his eyes.

"We're gonna put this over your mouth, kid," the Irish man said worriedly, putting one of those hospital, surgical masks over Kendall's dusty face, his green eyes opening again as the excruciating pain in his left arm was aided by a makeshift sling, the pain still intense though. As Kendall walked through the dirt and debris, blood dripping down the side of his face, he saw the crowds of people sobbing, the debris that covered the streets like grey snow, the hoards of people running towards the burning building that was still standing. Kendall looked up, his eyes sensitive from the sun as he saw the fire engulfing what used to be his office. Kendall was walked through the debris filled streets for about ten minutes, brought to one of hundreds of ambulances that were lined up with emergency personnel, ready to take people to nearby hospitals. He was sat down on a stretcher, as an EMT began to dust him off with shaking hands, trying his best to keep his eyes open.

"What's your name, sir?" the young EMT asked. Kendall groaned and sighed, coughing a fit of debris back into the air, his hands shaking as he gasped for breath under his surgical mask.

"Kendall," he said, coughing horribly, "Knight." The EMT took the mask off his face and loaded Kendall onto the ambulance, closing the doors behind him as he began to cut away at his expensive sport coat, needing to get it off so the hospital could easily access his arm if emergency surgery was needed. Kendall immediately thought about the picture he kept in his pocket as the ambulance began to speed away, the small windows in the back fogged with bits of debris.

"Wait, please...take the picture out of my sport coat first," Kendall told the EMT in pain, aiding his head back, cuts and bruises all over his face. The EMT quickly dug into Kendall's breast pocket and took out the crinkled, ruined but still intact picture of Kendall, Jo and Taylor. "My wife," he said coughing horribly, "and daughter. I need to tell them I'm alright," he cried out, his arm beginning to throb again.

"First we gotta make sure you're alright, okay?" the EMT said, doing his best to pre-prep Kendall for anything he would need, giving him the picture to hold in his right hand. Kendall's green eyes were locked on it as the ambulance sped as fast as it could through the streets of Manhattan, praying that Jo was alright.

2:08 PM

"Reports have stated Osama Bin Laden as a possible suspect."

"Both towers are now collapsed, hundreds if not thousands are dead."

"Is war emminent after the 9/11 Attacks?"

Kendall lay near comatose in his hospital bed, in his right hand still, the crinkled, wet, partly burned picture of him, Jo and Taylor, tears cascading down his cheeks as he lay there in shock and vain. How could someone do something so horrible? Thousands were killed, innocent people and firefighters and policemen, CEOs of major corporations. So many people...gone...in the blink of an eye. Kendall hadn't been able to talk to Jo, but he knew that she had been notified of his hospital admittance and was on her way now. His eyes shifted from the picture in his hand to the doorway every five seconds, just wanting nothing more than to hold Jo in his arms, and kiss her until he was blue in the face. Almost every channel the hospital had was covering the attacks, and Kendall couldn't escape them.

His injuries had been serious, but stable. He had gotten a pretty bad break in his arm, but it didn't require any surgery, and the cuts from the glass were all stitched up in no time. He'd be released tomorrow early in the morning, and he was a bit scared to venture back into the real world after this. It was then Kendall chuckled a bit, thinking about his presentation and how it was the absolute furthest thing from his mind.

And then, she appeared. Her face looked aged ten years, but totally lit up with relief and love when she saw Kendall, as if she hadn't believed he was really alive.

"Kendall," Jo cried out between heavy breaths, running over to his hospital bed in a mess of tears. Kendall sat up straight, and extended his arm out to Jo as she forcefully met him in a hug and broke down hysterically in his arms, holding him tighter than she ever had before. He nestled his nose and face into her blonde locks and let out a few soft cries of joy, so thankful that he had been lucky enough to make it out alive, the sound of her voice and the smell of her hair the best thing Kendall had ever heard or smelt before. Flashbacks of rushing out of the buildings and being trapped beneath the rubble haunted Kendall's mind as he shuddered. The picture of Jo, Kendall and Taylor dropped to the floor beside them as Kendall held his crying wife with a shaking hand wrapped around her back. "I was so scared, I was so scared I was gonna lose you, Kendall," Jo sobbed into him, her hands going through his mussy, dirty, sweaty hair. He nodded against her hair, and did his best to stop his tears as he rubbed her back soothingly, kissing the side of her face lovingly.

"I know, I know, but I'm okay, I'm okay," Kendall told her, as the two parted. Kendall moved to the side, allowing Jo to curl up onto the hospital bed next to him, her red, bloodshot brown eyes looking up at him innocently and joyfully, her hand touching his bruised, cut up face gently.

"Are you sure?" she asked him. Kendall nodded and leaned his forehead against hers, kissing her lips lightly, savoring every single second their lips touched. They parted slowly, and Jo ran her fingers through Kendall's hair again, looking into his green eyes and letting more tears out. "I'm-I'm so glad you're okay, Kendall, I'm-I love you so much," she said to him, kissing his lips again as their foreheads leaned against each other for a second time.

"I love you too," Kendall said to her in a gentle voice, feeling Jo's body violently trembling beneath his dirty fingers, "but calm down, baby girl," he whispered to her, "stop shaking, it's okay. We're okay," he told her. She cleared her tears one more time as she stared into her husband's green eyes, full of love, pain and sorrow. She didn't want to know what he had gone through today, and she didn't know how or if it would effect him later. All she knew now was that he was here, in her arms, and that even though everything was far from right in the world, everything was okay with them. She cuddled up to him, taking his cut, dirty, calloused hand in hers. She lifted up the hem of her shirt shakily and resting it on her stomach with a small, relieved, happy smile. "We're all okay." Kendall smiled at her, his cold, broken hands touching the warm, pale skin of his wife's abdomen, feeling the beginnings of his son or daughter, who he hoped would be born into a world of love, peace and innocence.