Sitting on a couch in small coffee shop, Michael's muscular, tattoo-free arm around her should, their beautiful baby boy colouring quietly in his stroller, Sara couldn't be happier. It was days like this where she truly cherished the calm that had taken over their lives, a stark contrast to what their lives used to be. Their days of running from The Company were over; now they were just a regular family.
"Hey, I'm going to grab a coffee, what do you want?" Michael asked, the weight of his arm lifting from her shoulders.
Sara gave the menu board a quick scan. "Ummm...I'll have a caramel frappuccino with-"
"Chocolate sauce."
Sara and Michael turned, surprised by the familiar voice.
"OH MY GOD!" With a squeal that was definitely uncharacteristic for her, Sara jumped from her seat and launched herself into the arms of her best friend and former colleague, Katie.
"Girl, I missed you so much!" Katie said, hugging Sara back, squeezing her painfully tight. "How the hell have you been?"
"Amazing!" Sara replied, letting go of her friend, her face lit with joy. She turned, gesturing towards her family. "Umm, you remember Michael..."
"Hey, Scofield. Looking good as always," Katie said, winking.
Sara slapped her playfully, laughing. "Back off, this one's mine."
Michael cleared his throat, smiling uncomfortably. "Nurse Katie."
Katie shook her head, smiling. "Just Katie. You're family, Michael."
"And this," Sara said, gesturing towards the stroller where their 2-year-old son was watching the stranger that his mommy hugged with a curious expression on his face, "is our son, Matthew."
"Oh my God! He's so cute!" Katie squealed, bending down so she was eye-level with the tot. "Hi sweetie, I'm your aunt Katie."
Matthew watched her calmly for a moment, scanning her face before looking at each of his parents. He then looked back at Katie and stuck his hand out, tapping lightly on her cheek, smiling.
"Well, aren't you the cutest little thing." Katie pressed a wet kiss to Matthew's face before straightening back up.
"We were about to order some drinks, do you want anything? If memory serves, you're a sucker for a vanilla latte?" Sara asked, winking at her friend.
"Wow, I can't believe you remember that." Katie said, surprised.
"Like how you remembered I like chocolate sauce of my caramel fraps? Come on, we've done enough coffee runs to know each others order till we're old and gray." Sara replied with a laugh.
"True that."
"I'll be right back with the drinks," Michael said, starting towards the counter and then turning back when their son started to whine, holding his arms out to his father. "I'm sorry, I meant our drinks and, of course, a chocolate chip cookie for my little man. Isn't that right, Matty?" Michael said, picking up the little boy and placing him on his shoulder, heading back for the counter. When they were gone, Katie settled onto the couch next to Sara.
"Okay, girl. You're officially the luckiest girl I have ever seen." Katie said, watching the barista coo at Matt on top of his father's shoulders.
"Honestly, you're so right. I really have the most amazing family." Sara replied, smiling over at her two guys. Michael turned for a brief moment, catching her eye and offering a quick smile before turning back to the barista.
"I'd just like to point out that I called this back in Fox River. You two could barely stand to be away from each other for a few minutes back then and clearly nothing's changed." Katie teased.
"He's honestly so amazing. It's like he knows exactly what I'm thinking before I think it. Honestly, he's so thoughtful and so sweet...who knew prison could be such a great place to find men," Sara said with a chuckle.'
"You're telling me. You took the only good one for yourself and left me back there with people like Avocado," Katie said with a shudder.
"Do you still work there?" Sara asked.
"Nope. I left a couple months after you. It wasn't the same." Katie said with a shrug. "I got a job as a school nurse for awhile at some high school near my house and I've been there ever since. The pay isn't as much but I have more time for my kids and the work environment is definitely an improvement.
"That's great, I'm so happy for you." Sara said, and she meant it. She'd always liked Katie. Being two of the very few females at Fox River, they had bonded in a way that most of her colleagues had not.
"Yeah well. What about you? Still a doctor?"
Sara nodded, her face lighting up. "Yeah, I actually opened up my own practice a couple months ago. It's really crazy these days but Michael took some time off from structural engineering to help out with Matt while I get things up and running so that's a big help. Hopefully, soon everything will start running smoothly and we can divide our time between the jobs that we love and our family."
"That sounds amazing and I really hope everything works out great at the practice and with the three of you." Katie said, squeezing Sara's arm.
"You know...I was actually thinking of calling you recently. I wanted to ask..." Sara looked uncertainly at her friend. "...would you maybe want to consider coming to work for me?"
Katie's eyes widened in shock. "Are you serious?"
Sara bit her lip nervously. "Yeah, I mean I've never had a nurse that worked as hard as you, and I know that the hours probably wouldn't be the same but..."
"I'd have to talk it over with my husband but honestly, that sounds great. I'd love to!" Katie replied enthusiastically.
"Really?!"
"Of course!"
The two women hugged once more, both extremely happy.
"Little help?" Michael's voice interrupted as he came back, balancing a cookie-eating toddler in one arm and a tray with three drinks in his other hand. Sara reached up and grabbed the drinks, setting them on the table before standing and taking Matt from Michael's arms and placing him on her lap.
"How you managed to carry an energetic little boy and three drinks at once is very impressive." Katie said with a laugh." I remember when my oldest son was two, I could barely keep him in my arms, let alone a cup of coffee. And here you managed to carry 3."
Michael chuckled. "Luckily, once his eyes land on a chocolate chip cookie, he's too distracted to squirm around. Otherwise, it's a struggle to get him to sit still.
"Oh, I know that struggle very well." Katie replied, sipping her drink.
"So Katie might come work for me." Sara said, grinning at her husband.
"Yeah? That's great!" Michael replied, smiling at Katie. "But I should warn you, Katie, I hear the boss is a real pain," he said, nudging Sara playfully.
"Ha-ha." Sara replied, rolling her eyes as she slapped his arm playfully.
"See, abusive too." Michael replied, laughing.
"You know, I think I like my job at the school." Katie teased.
"Scofield, you're chasing away all my employees." Sara said, pulling his arm."
Michael raised his hands in defeat. "Hey, I was just trying to warn the poor woman."
"You two are adorable." Katie said with a laugh. "But, I really should be getting home. It was amazing seeing both of you."
"Aww already?" Sara said, pouting.
Katie shrugged. "Sorry but duty calls." On cue, her cell phone start to ring. "That would be my son. It was great seeing all three of you. And Sara, I'll let you know about the job okay?"
"Sure." Sara replied, standing up and giving her friend one last hug. "I'll see you soon, okay?
"Definitely." Katie replied. "Bye Michael, bye Matthew," she said, smiling at both of them.
"Nice seeing you," Michael smiled, reaching over and lifting his son's arm in a wave.
With that, she walked away, waving over her shoulder as she left the coffee shop.
"That was nice." Michael commented, squeezing his wife's arm.
"Yeah, it was." Sara replied, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm never letting that much time go by before I see her again, that's for sure."
"Good call. Although...I have to ask...was she crushing on me back in Fox River?"
Sara laughed, "Yep, along with all the other female employees...and some male ones too.
"I'm sorry I asked." Michael said, chuckling. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah, let's go home."