Forgiveness

Michael quietly slipped into the doorway of the apartment. It had taken a lot for him to get here. After his break out, Susan B. Anthony had gone into hiding, being guarded by various murderous company agents who shoot first and ask questions later.

But he didn't care; he had taken them all out one by one until he had finally reached her hideout. He could see her now, propped up on the couch, reading her book.

A floor board creaked from the weight of his foot on the ground. The sound made Susan jump up and back into the coffee table.

"Scofield!" she said with shock laced with a hint of fear. "What are you doing here?"

"Is this what it was like?" Michael asked grimly. "When you killed Sara, did she have that same look of fear on her face? I've thought about it a lot actually, what the last few moments were like for her. I've had countless nightmares about what you did to her."

"I know this is hard for you, it was hard for me too. You're not the only one that's suffered, I had to..."

"Bull!" Michael yelled. "You didn't have to do anything! Do really expect me to believe that you have any ounce of humanity in you after what you did to her? You killed her! You killed her like she was some kind of animal and then sent the trophy to my brother."

"Michael, you don't want to do this." Susan said backing up.

"Do you have any idea what it feels like? How it feels to find the love of your life only to have her taken away from you? Imagine finding the one person you know you were meant to spend the rest of your life with but only getting to spend a few precious months together, most of which were spent in separation." Michael pulled out his knife as he advanced toward her.

"You don't want to do this."

"Actually I think I do." Michael said lunging at her and putting the knife at her throat. "I've dreamed about this moment for a long time."

Susan closed her eyes tight as she waited for the knife to cut into her skin. She was surprised however when she felt the knife being released as Michael slid away from her.

She opened her eyes and looked at him questioningly "What are you waiting for?"

"That's the difference between you and Sara, Susan. Sara was a great person; she dedicated her life to helping others and saving lives. Even though you are a heartless murderer, if Sara were here she wouldn't want this." Michael said as he dropped the knife.

He turned around and took in a deep breath to compose himself.

"If she were here she would um," Michael stammered as he fought the tears back. "She would want me to forgive you because this isn't how she would want me to live my life, getting my hands dirty for someone who isn't worth it."

"So what, you're not going to finish the job." she smirked.

"No, because you're not worth it." and with that Michael walked out of the door.

-------------------------

An hour later Michael found himself at the cemetery staring at the small monument they had set up in memory of Sara.

He knelt on the ground and placed his hand on the statue of the origami rose, his fingers tracing over the letters of her name.

"So I finally found Susan today." he began speaking. "I went there with every intention of killing her, making her feel the same amount of pain she had caused you, the same pain I feel every time I think about all the time we'll never have together." Michael stopped to wipe away the tears that were streaming down his face. "But as I held the knife to her throat it was like suddenly you were there with me, reminding me that taking another person's life, no matter how right it may feel, is never the answer." Michael let out a deep breath as he leaned his back against the statue.

He closed his eyes trying to get his emotions under control when he felt her sit down next to him. He opened his eyes to find her staring back at him.

"Hi." he said with a smile.

"Hey." she returned his smile as she wiped away his tears with the pad of her thumb.

"So I take it you just heard everything?"

"Yeah, I'm proud of you Michael, I know how much you wanted to hurt that woman."

"I don't think you should. I came so close Sara..."

"But you didn't..." Sara interrupted. "And that's what matters. You're a good man Michael Scofield; don't ever let anyone tell you differently."

He nodded in return as he looked around them. "So you like it?" he asked pointing to the statue they were leaning against.

Sara smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I love it, it's absolutely perfect."

"I thought you would." Michael said softly as he rested his head on top of hers.

They sat there for a moment just enjoying their time together, knowing it couldn't last forever but still wanting to savor every moment.

"I'm so sorry Sara." Michael's voice finally broke through.

Sara sat up and looked him in the eye confused "What for? You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I just can't help but feel like this whole thing is my fault. If I had never involved you in all of this then you would still be alive and living a happy life. If I had just been able to keep my emotions in check and not fall in love with you then none of this would have ever had happened."

"Michael, listen to me." Sara said sitting up straighter. "Before I met you I wasn't living a life at all. I was on auto pilot going through the motions everyday but you changed that for me. I know we never had a lot of time together but falling in love with you was the best thing that ever happened to me. For those few months I felt more loved than I ever thought possible. And if I had to do it all over again I would because I wouldn't trade the time we spent together for anything in the world. So don't ever feel sorry for anything that happened because none of it was your fault, because loving you isn't what killed me, if anything it saved my life, you got that?"

"Yeah," Michael responded.
"Good." Sara smiled as she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

Michael pulled her closer as she snuggled herself up in crook of his neck.

"How much time do we have left?" he asked.

"A couple of minutes," Sara mumbled into his neck.

"I love you Sara." Michael whispered as he rested his head on hers.

"I love you too, Michael." Sara smiled "Nothing will every change that, not even death."

And it was true not even death could stop these two, because while they may not be together now, one day they would be reunited once again. Many think it's a tragic thing, only being able to a few months with your soul mate. But what Michael would remember everyday with the rest of his life, as Sara had with hers, it doesn't matter how much time they had spent together because Michael and Sara had both experienced more love than most people know in a lifetime. Just because Sara wasn't around anymore doesn't mean that that love is gone forever. It's still there, along with Sara, alive and well in Michael's heart.