How the Discovery Communications Hostages Escaped

Once outside the building, Chris realized that he'd left his cell phone on the lobby floor. He wanted to let friends and family know he was okay, but he couldn't remember anyone's phone number. "I finally remembered my mother's, and I called her," he says.

Jim says his reunion with his family later that evening was emotional. "The kids were taking a bath with an aunt, and I just picked them up and I just held them tight. My daughter's like, 'Daddy, let go.' I'm, like, 'Uh-uh,'" he says. "You hate that it's something like this that really makes you appreciate what you really have. And I have not wasted a moment with them since."

In the weeks since the incident, Chris and Jim have been back in the Discovery headquarters just one time. Jim says being back in the lobby was an overwhelming experience. "It was like somebody came up to me and shoved me, the emotions hit me so hard," he says. "I basically collapsed into my wife's arms. My legs gave out and I just started sobbing, and they got me a chair. It was the most powerful emotion I've ever felt."