Relentless

Summary: They were supposed to be on the ship, escaping to Panama. But sometimes things don't work according to plan. When their plan fails, Michael and Sara once again face a life on the run and struggle to maintain the belief that one day, this relentless battle will end.

(Spoilers: seasons one and two)

Chapter One - Change of Plans

Author's Notes: Here's the first chapter of a Michael/Sara (Prison Break) fic I am working on. Having previously only written Prison Break oneshots, I have for quite some time wanted to write a multi-chaptered fic. And so I am ignoring season three canon and writing this MiSa fic beginning in late season two. Hope you guys like it. I really hope for the Michael/Sara community and fandom to continue to be active despite recent events, and so I suppose this is my little contribution. Feedback would be muchly appreciated. Thanks to my sister for all her help and suggesting the starting point for the fic.

x x x

To say Michael Scofield liked plans would be an understatement, but to say that he was naïve enough to believe that everything in life could be planned would be a lie. He had always easily grasped the knowledge that the future was difficult to predict, but had an undying belief that it was not beyond one's power to alter or shape it. And thus he liked to organise things, to make the arrangements that would allow for the future to – as much as possible – follow as he planned it. He had been one of those kids who had memorised their high school timetable, one of those college students who knew exactly how many drinks they would have at the party that night. It was in his nature to plan things, and combined with an extraordinary IQ, perhaps it was not entirely unexpected that he could devise an elaborate plan to break his brother out of prison. But the fact that he had actually done it was another thing all together. Today should have been the day that they would begin again. That simple words uttered by the right person would grant them the sacred state of freedom that they would never again take for granted. But instead, it had become another day of running.

The strong wind so typical of Chicago was cold, and as Michael looked down on the docks from his position on the deck of the freighter, he saw them glisten with the remnants of the early morning rain. Lincoln stood beside him, a trace of a smile on his face. But Michael couldn't feel the same joy. Not only because they were still on the run, but also because someone was missing. Sara should've been there by now, and although Michael knew traffic could be bad and she could just be running late, her absence unsettled him. "I'll be there." Her words repeated themselves in his head. There was no thought in his mind that she had changed her mind. Not this time. She hadn't hesitated when she had told him she would be there, and although her answer still seemed a little surreal, he knew she had meant it.

"She's not here…" he spoke quietly to himself. But when Lincoln looked up, he knew he had heard him. "Linc, I'm going to go and check if she's downstairs," he said while moving away from the railing.

"Okay," Lincoln responded. Adding a "Be careful."

Michael nodded and pulled his hat a little lower, hiding his eyes. Lincoln watched him disappear around the corner and make his way down the stairs to the lower level of the ship.

x x x

Michael moved quickly around the lower deck and not seeing Sara, he pulled out his cell phone and dialled her number. His fingers drummed anxiously on the back of the phone as he waited for her to answer.

After a moment, he heard her voice. "Michael," she answered with his name.

"Sara," he spoke her name with relief, but knew it was far from long-lasting. "What's happened?"

"I think…" she trailed off, as if nervous or unsure.

"What? Has someone got you?" The demanding tone of his voice was simply one of concern, fear for her safety.

"I think someone's following me."

Michael heard the anxious tone in her voice and combined with her words, he had to remind himself not to panic. Without thinking twice, he ran towards the stairs which connected the ship to the docks.

"Where are you?" he asked breathlessly as he hurried off the boat and onto the docks.

"Leadwell. A minute or so away from the shipyard."

"Okay. Just stay calm and keep driving," he said as he ran through a puddle on the docks and made his way towards the street adjoining them.

"Michael." She said his name with a slight panic, not even sure what she was going to say.

"I'm coming. Just hang on."

Michael stopped running and stressfully ran a hand over his head as he tried to figure out what to do. He couldn't let Sara get caught. After everything she had done for him and Lincoln, he would not let her freedom be sacrificed for their own.

x x x

Mahone sped the car up as he followed Sara Tancredi's vehicle. Agent Lang was closer to Sara, but he wanted to follow as well, especially if – as he hoped – Sara would lead them to Scofield. Both he and Lang might be needed to catch Sara anyway, for he knew she was intelligent and definitely unwilling to surrender. His cell phone rang, and he immediately picked it up, expecting it to be Lang again.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Alex, this is Michael Scofield."

"Scofield. What do you want?" Mahone demanded.

Michael responded immediately. "I want you to stop following Sara Tancredi."

"Scofield, if you think I'm just going to stop because you tell me to you are seriously mistaken," Mahone said with a chuckle.

"I'm prepared to tell you my location. Sara doesn't know it so there is no use in pursuing her. But if you stop following her, I will make it worth your while."

"How heroic, protecting Miss Tancredi?" Mahone scoffed. "How do I know this is not a trap, Scofield?"

"You don't," Michael admitted. "But how would you feel if you let an opportunity to catch me slip through your fingers?"

Mahone sighed. His instincts were telling him this was a bad idea. Michael sacrificing himself was all too easy, but at the same time, Mahone knew to the measures Michael would go to to protect those he loved. That was how this whole thing had begun in the first place.

x x x

Sara's breathing was becoming rapid and she could feel her heart rate speeding up. Michael had told her to keep driving, so she was. He had said he was coming. She wasn't sure exactly what that had meant, but it was a response so typical of Michael; reassuring yet enigmatic. Yet she didn't want him to come for her, she wanted him to be free, he was deserving of that. And she certainly didn't want him to get caught because of her. "I shouldn't have told him I was being followed," she thought to herself. But when she had heard Michael's beautiful voice, so concerned with her safety, she hadn't wanted to lie to him. Not in the face of such pure care for her, especially when she had never experienced that before.

When Sara looked in her rear-vision mirror for what must have been the twentieth time in the past few minutes, she had to blink to make sure she wasn't seeing things. The car following her had stopped a little way back. Why had they stopped? Was this part of their plan, to get Sara to stop and then catch her? Or had Michael… "Michael," Sara thought. "What did you do?"