"It's not going to explode…. it's not going to explode…. it's not going to explode…."
A woman holds her knees as tight as she is able to on the spotless floor, her back to the cold hard drywall. The room is lit up by naught but the occasional swing of red light from an emergency siren. The woman mutters to herself a single phrase, over and over and over and over, as she had done for the past 5 minutes. She repeats the phrase in whispered tones, only for herself to hear, as it's drowned out by the sounds of a radio she lays next to her. The voices from the radio consist of either screaming that shortly stops after it starts or incessant weeping, with the occasional plea for help or request for directions interrupting the normal transmissions.
"Detonation is in 15 minutes."
A robotic transmission forces the rest to silence as it plays, the woman's breathing becomes more ragged and uneven, she struggles to repeat the phrase as she weeps. She tries to hide her head in her knees, but it soon jolts back out at the sound of screeching as the steel door to the room she hides in begins to open. As a figure begins to come into view, she feels a shock ripple through her chest. Her body instinctively jolts up in fear as she tries to push herself further against the wall, she lets out a scream, but she stops when the figure enters the room.
It's a man she recognizes, one she works with closely. He sees her face, wet from all the tears, her eyes swelling up threatening to let out even more. He breathes a sigh of relief and pushes the button on a panel next to him, the door shuts, this time steel bolts seal it shut.
The red light of the siren passes the man, she realizes her mind wasn't playing tricks on her this time. As soon as the light reaches her, she pushes herself off the wall to get up and embrace the man. Before she's able to, she notices one glaring difference.
"John… your arm…"
The man's left arm is torn off, blood splattered over the left side of his lab coat. He looks straight into her eyes and with a soft smile; he simply says:
"I'm glad you're alright."
The two sit down. Once again the woman sits in the same position against the wall, the man sits to the left of her. The two huddle close, side by side. The radio is still on, transmitting the pleas for help from across the station; the man reaches for it, and with a flick of a switch it lets out a last bit of static until they are left in silence.
"Shouldn't we keep it on in case something happens?"
"It's fine, it's best we don't worry ourselves too much."
The two spend a moment huddled close together in silence, the woman once again hides her head in her knees and begins to cry.
"Nancy, do you remember when I told you I used to be in a band? You wanted me to play something for you?"
She turns her head slightly, no longer hiding it, she looks to the man sitting next to her. She wipes away her tears and barely manages to let out an "mhm…".
The man pulls out his phone from his pocket, with a few taps, he opens a music player. He shows her the phone.
"Hit play for me."

With a touch of her finger, the light jazz envelops the otherwise silent room. The light once again passes the two of them, and she once again clearly sees his warm smile. It passes them several times until she sniffles and returns the smile, she begins wiping away her tears. She lets go of her knees and begins to relax, she rests her head on the man's shoulder as she takes in the music.
"I thought you wanted to save it for Friday?"
"I think we can reschedule to today."
The man puts his arm around her.
"You didn't seal the door, and you kept the radio open."
"I was hoping…"
"It's fine. I came here straight away too."
The man pauses.
"I don't think I would've had it in me to work on what they had us work on without you. I don't know how you kept your head up for so long, but you made it feel like everything was alright even considering what we've had to do."
The man rests his head on hers. He notices her tap her fingers on his knee to the tune of the song as the light passes them by again. This time, she speaks up.
"I kept going because of you too. You were always so patient with me. I messed up so many times at first, but every time I was going to be reassigned you vouched for me. It meant so much."
"Considering the current circumstances, maybe it'd have been best if I let them reassign you. I'm sorry."
Her hand reaches up to stroke his cheek, she tilts his head to face her.
"Don't be, I'm sorry if it's too soon but, I really wouldn't rather be anywhere else in the world."
She leans in closer, as does he. The light shines on them one last time, as they share their first kiss between them.