A/N: I pretend season 4 never happened. For my purposes, Michael stays with Lincoln and LJ after the end of season 3.
Chapter 1
After Michael escaped from Sona, Lincoln promised that he would keep him and LJ safe. They found a small house and assumed new identities and tried to keep to themselves. Lincoln was doing all he could to make it work, but Michael could think of nothing but revenge. He swore to Lincoln over and over that he wasn't planning anything drastic, that he just needed his alone time, but his brother knows him too well. He knows that Michael has been lying to him, staying up late into the night in front of his computer, scribbling in his notebooks that he keeps hidden throughout his room.
At first it didn't bother Lincoln that his brother didn't want to work. Michael had done so much for him the previous months that Lincoln was more than glad to support the three of them. Eventually, LJ had had started working part time washing dishes to help pay the bills, but Michael stayed in his room all day and night avoiding his family as much as he could.
LJ had been taking classes at a local collage, determined to get his GED, even if it was under a fake name. His car is older than he is and can barely make it the twenty one miles back and forth to the old college.
Inevitably, his car breaks down on a particularly hot day in August. He was left stranded by the side of the road without enough money for a tow and unable to get a hold of his uncle to come to his rescue. After the fifth time LJ gets Michael's voice mail, he resigns himself to call his father, who really doesn't like to be bothered at work. When Lincoln answers the phone, he assumes the worst.
"LJ, whats wrong?" Lincoln asks, bracing himself for bad news. He'd done everything he could to keep his family safe and hidden from the company after they finally escaped from Panama, but the threat was always in the back of his mind.
"Dad, hey. My car broke down about half way home. I'm fine, but I don't know what to do" LJ said, trying to sound calm, but he didn't like being stranded in the middle of nowhere.
"Why didn't you call Michael?"Lincoln asks, frustration evident in his voice.
"Um, he's not answering his phone" LJ says tentatively. He could hear his father cursing under his breath.
"I could walk home" LJ offered, trying to diffuse the situation, knowing that his father and uncle have been arguing a lot lately. He didn't want to cause any more tension between the two, but he didn't want to walk fifteen miles home, either.
"No, LJ. Stay where you are. I'll be there as soon as I can" Lincoln hung up and resisted the urge to throw his phone. He still had four hours of work left at his construction job, and leaving early meant no pay for the day. Getting paid under the table was just one of the sacrifices they had to make to stay under the radar.
Lincoln tried to get a hold of Michael the whole drive over to LJ, but he still wasn't answering the phone. But the time Lincoln and LJ arrived home to their small three bedroom home, Lincoln wasn't sure if he was more angry at Michael, or more worried that something happened to him.
"Michael?" Lincoln yelled as soon as he was through the door. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, and Michael's car was out front. When Michael didn't answer the first time, Lincoln's heart skips a beat.
"Michael!" He yelled again. When he opens the door to Michael's room, he nearly knocked the younger man over. Michael was standing on the other side, looking confused.
"Why the hell aren't you answering your phone?" Lincoln demanded, seeing that there is nothing wrong with Michael.
Michael checked his pockets and absently looked around his room.
"Oh... I don't know where it is" Michael says. Lincoln was growing more and more irritated.
"You don't know where it is? Christ, Michael! LJ and I have been calling you for the last two hours!"
"Oh. Why? Is LJ okay?" Michael asked.
"Yeah, he's fine. His car broke down so I had to leave work to get him because you wouldn't answer the damn phone" Lincoln was trying to remain somewhat calm, but Michael was standing there not seeming sorry at all.
"Sorry" Michael said half heartedly, his eyes scanning the papers tacked above his computer.
"Sorry? That's all you have to say, Mike? I just lost a whole day's pay, and LJ was stranded on the side of the road!" Lincoln yelled, getting in Michael's face.
"What else do you want me to say? I'm in the middle of something" Michael said. Lincoln couldn't believe that Michael had the nerve to sound annoyed. He pushed past his brother and snatched a notebook off his bed.
"This is more important than your nephew?" Lincoln asked, shaking the said object at Michael.
"Give it back" Michael said, grabbing for the notebook. Lincoln easily blocked Michael and flipped though the pages. It was filled with names and dates and locations and jumbled words Lincoln didn't quite understand. He suspected that Michael was looking for Gretchen, he just didn't want to believe it. He'd asked his brother several times what he was doing on his computer all the time, and Michael promised that he was just making sure no one could find them or looking for a job or reading, or some other excuse.
"So you've been lying to me?" Lincoln was furious at that point. He absolutely hated when Michael lied to him.
"Linc, it's not like that" Micheal tried. True, he hadn't told Lincoln what he was doing because he knew it wasn't right, but he was also trying to protect him. The less Linc and LJ knew about his plans, the better off they all were.
"I asked you if you were looking for her, and you lied to my face" Lincoln all but growled at his brother.
"I didn't want you involved!" Michael yelled, trying to grab the notebook again. Lincoln threw it back on the desk.
"How can I not be involved, Michael! You spend all your time in here while I'm out working and you're not even there when LJ needed you!"
"I said I was sorry!" Michael reminded. He really did feel bad he left LJ stranded, but he had a lot of work to get back to.
"That's not good enough Michael. You're done with this" Lincoln grabbed Michael's laptop off the desk. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going from there, but at least it would get Michael out of his room.
"She killed Sarah, Lincoln! You think I can just let that go?" Micheal yelled as he followed Lincoln out of his room. Lincoln unceremoniously threw the computer onto the couch next to a confused LJ.
"LJ, go to your room" Lincoln said, more harshly than he meant to. LJ looked from his dad to his uncle, unsure if he should stay and mediate between the two.
"LJ, please" Lincoln said, less harshly this time. LJ slowly got off the couch and disappeared into his room. Lincoln waited until he heard the door close before he addressed Michael again.
"You know what, Micheal? You're going to have to let it go. You think hunting Gretchen down is going to do you any good?" Lincoln was trying to keep his voice down for LJ's sake.
"She has to pay for what she did" Micheal yells, his voice faltering. Revenge was all he could think about.
"You're not a killer, Mike" Lincoln said, still trying to keep his voice down.
"You don't know what I am" Micheal breathes, angry that he can feel tears in his eyes. He wished that Lincoln would just leave him alone and let him let him get back to his research, but he had a feeling that Linc wasn't going to let this go. For the last two months he had been focusing all of his energy on tracking down the person that killed the woman he loved. He was so close to finding her, he couldn't just stop. She didn't deserve to live.
"Yeah, I do. I know this revenge shit isn't you. I know you're not that selfish to put your family in danger. Sara's gone Michael, she's not coming back. We're all you have now" Lincoln didn't like being so harsh with Michael, but he had to realize the situation they were in.
Michael didn't know how to respond to that. He just wanted to get back to his work. He reached for his computer, but Lincoln stopped him.
"I said you were done with that" Lincoln warned, but it only made Michael angrier.
"Yeah, well you can't exactly tell me what to do" Michael spat back, grabbing for his computer again, but Lincoln grabbed him by his arms and held Michael in front of him.
"I will tell you exactly what to do, Michael. I'm not letting you put my son in danger and I'm not letting you get yourself killed. You understand me?" Lincoln shook Michael, emphasizing his words.
"Get off of me!"Michael tried to pull away from his brother's grip, but Lincoln's construction job and Michael's lack of physical activity had only widened the gap between their strength's. Lincoln easily kept Michael in place and he couldn't help but think of all the times when Michael was younger and living with him and the many arguments they had.
"You can't stop me, Lincoln!" Michael was struggling wildly and Lincoln was starting to rethink his plan. He knew if he let Michael go, he'd just leave and go after Gretchen when he located her, but he couldn't restrain him until he changed his mind, either.
"Michael, stop it!" Lincoln was losing his hold on his brother and he wished he could deal with Michael like he did when he was younger. There had been more than a few times when Lincoln had spanked Michael in the years he had lived with him, and Lincoln was beginning to think that spanking Michael now was his only option. He knew that his little brother wasn't thinking rationally so there was no point in trying to talk to him in his current state.
"Let me go!" Michael screamed as he continued to try and get away from his brother. He tried to kick at Lincoln, but the larger man pulled him onto the couch with him. Michael, having been in his current position before, knew exactly what Lincoln was planning on.
"No! No! No!" Michael was hysterical, flailing his legs and desperately trying to free himself from his brother's grip, but Lincoln managed to hook Michael's legs with one of his own and pin his wrists to his back. He was trapped between Lincoln's legs, his bare feet barely touching the floor. When Michael felt Lincoln pull his sweatpants down, he yelled loud enough that LJ could no longer try to ignore the noise coming from the living room.
"Dad?" LJ questioned as he opened his bedroom door, worried about his uncle. But when he saw Michael over his father's knee, he figured he best leave them alone. He'd been in that position a few too many times himself. He hoped that his father would get to the bottom of whatever was troubling his Uncle.
"It's fine, LJ!" Lincoln yelled, and LJ went back into his room.
Michael kept yelling and struggling, now embarrassed that his teenage nephew had seen him in such a compromising position. He desperately hoped that Lincoln would at least leave his boxers up. When LJ closed his door, Lincoln tightened his grip on Michael and brought his hand down hard on his ass. The first smack was more surprising than painful, causing Michael to jerk.
Lincoln continued to land hard swats on Michael's backside, harder than he used to, but Michael was older and Lincoln wanted this to go as quickly as possible.
Lincoln kept a steady pace and moved to Michaels thighs. Michael hadn't stopped struggling to get away, but he was getting tired and it was getting harder for him to ignore the pain Lincoln was inflicting.
When Lincoln's hand started to sting, he pulled Michael's boxers down to inspect the damage. Michael's skin was already red. He hoped that Michael would let go of his anger and it would be over soon. He didn't want to seriously hurt his brother and Michael had a tendency to act stoically when he was being punished, refusing for as long as he could, to submit.
Lincoln left Michael's boxers down and resumed the spanking, peppering the skin on the smaller man's upper thighs and butt with hard smacks.
"Lincoln!" Michael moaned after almost a full two minutes. The spanking was starting to get too painful and he could feel the tears in his eyes. Lincoln hardly needed to lecture his brother when spanking him. Michael always worked things out himself without Lincoln having to explain in detail why he was being punished.
Michael thought it was impossible, but Lincoln swatted him even harder, forcing him to choke out a small sob. After several more swats of the same force, he finally gave up and pressed his face into the thin sheet covering the couch. He started sobbing uncontrollably, no longer caring if LJ heard him. He just wanted Lincoln to stop. The pain was forcing him to accept what Lincoln had told him earlier and the physical discomfort combined with the emotional pain was overwhelming.
Lincoln stopped soon after Michael started sobbing. He pulled his boxers and sweatpants back up and released his hold on the smaller man. Michael slid to the floor on his knees, resting his head on Lincoln's leg and gripping the fabric of his jeans tight in his hands. Lincoln rubbed Michael's back, trying to calm the younger man, but Michael seemed to be getting more upset, nearly hyperventilating.
"Alright, alright. Come on" Lincoln pulled Michael off the floor to sit next to him, but Michael threw himself into Lincoln's arms, taking the older man by surprise.
"Hey, Mikey, you're alright. You're alright" Lincoln assured, holding his brother tightly to his chest.
"God, she's gone!" Michael cried, and Lincoln had never heard his brother sound so miserable. He felt a weight in his stomach, a dull ache caused by the pain his brother was in that he couldn't make go away.
"I didn't—you and—and LJ—I didn't mean to—to hurt you" Michale was struggling to get the words out between his short breaths.
"Shh, Mikey, It's alright" Lincoln tired to sooth as he held his brother so tight it was almost painful.
"No! It's not. I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Michael kept mumbling, his voice mumbled against Lincoln. Michale could feel his brother's calloused hand on the back of his neck, pressing his face against his chest.
"Why'd she die Linc! She never hurt anybody. It's all my fault" Michale sobbed, looking at his brother with wild, confused, tear soaked eyes.
"Shhh, stop. Calm down" Please, please stop crying. Lincoln thought. It was heartbreaking watching his brother suffer and he couldn't take much more of it.
"I can't stay here. I'm just going to hurt you and LJ!" Michael tried to get up then, but Lincoln pulled him back to his chest, and the smaller man ended up practically sitting in his brother's lap.
"Listen to me, Michael!" Lincoln had his brother's face in his hands, forcing him to look up. Michael's eyes were puffy and his nose was running. His whole face was covered in snot and tears. He was a mess, but it was nothing compared to the desolate look in his eyes.
"It's not your fault. All you've ever tried to do was help your family. You didn't do this. You understand me?" Lincoln said, trying to sound stern, but gentle at the same time.
"She left the door unlocked because I asked her to! How is that not my fault?" Michael questioned.
"You can't do this. You can't keep asking 'what if'. It's over. She's gone and it sucks, bad. I understand that, but you have to think about you and LJ and me now" Lincoln said.
Michael didn't respond. He didn't want to hear those words. He wasn't ready to let Sara go. He couldn't. He buried his face in Lincoln's chest again and weeped. Lincoln closed his eyes, and tightened his grip on his brother.