Mike Scofield held his mother's hand as they left the University, his Uncle Linc right beside them. Mike could see a gun tucked in his uncle's belt as they walked briskly away but, for once that day, it made him feel safe, not afraid. Uncle Lincoln would never hurt him. He had just saved him from that computer guy who worked for Jacob.
"Mommy, where are we going?" he asked, tugging on his mom's hand that held his tight.
"To your daddy," Sara replied, running a quick hand through her hair with her free hand.
He stopped. "Jacob?...or that man?"
"Not Jacob, your real father."
Mike's eyes widened. "Mom, no! He's not my dad! Jacob told me, he's a bad guy. He just looks like dad."
Something flashed in his mother's eyes very briefly. Anger? It was quickly gone and she reached for his hand again but Mike shrinked back. "Mike, we have to go. I'll explain everything, okay? But right now people are looking for us, bad people, and they're going to try to hurt us if we don't hurry up."
She reached for his hand once more and he hesitated. Bending down to eye level with her son, she asked, "Do you trust me?"
He nodded immediately. She smiled. "Good, then come on." She grabbed his hand and they started running.
"Hey Mike."
"Yes, Uncle Linc?"
"You hungry?" Lincoln asked, holding out a Rice Krispies treat.
Mike looked to his mother, expecting her to say no to the sugary treat but surprisingly, she nodded. "You've had a long day, you deserve a treat.
Mike smiled and Sara took the treat from Lincoln's outstretched hand, giving it to her son in the backseat of the dark blue Sedan. They had been driving for at least a half hour now and, despite their attempts to hide their anxiety, Mike noticed both adults constantly looking over their shoulder, making sure nobody was following them.
He unwrapped the Rice Krispies treat and tapped his mother, holding it out to her. "Want a bite?"
She smiled and ruffled his hair. "No, thank you, sweetie." Mike shrugged and took a bite of the marshmallow-covered cereal bar, savouring the flavour.
"Mom?"
"Yes, baby?" Sara asked, still looking through the back window, her hand subconsciously caressing her son's arm.
"How...How do you know that that man is my dad?"
Sara smiled. "I know your father. And that man that you met, that's him. And he loves you very much. There's just...a lot you don't know right now."
"Like what?"
Sara sighed. "Well...Jacob, he's...not who we thought he was."
Mike's eyes filled with tears. "He lied to me. He told me you were...dead."
"Oh, honey." Sara reached around and pulled him into a hug. "I'm not going anywhere, okay? I promise. I'm going to be right here with you, okay?"
Mike nodded, his head buried in his mother's chest as he quietly sniffled. "I love you, mommy."
"I love you too, sweetie." Sara continued to rub his back soothingly, trying to mask her fury at the man she once thought she loved.
"Mommy? How do you know that this man, my...Michael...isn't lying too? What if he's not good either?"
Sara looked her son in the eye, a small smile on her lips. "Because if there's one thing I know about Michael it's that he loves us. He's risked his own life for me more than once. For you too."
"He has?"
"He has. In fact, he wasn't here for so many years because he was trying to keep us safe. He knew that bad people would come if he tried to get to us."
"Why?"
Sara hesitated. "It's...complicated. But what you need to know is that he loves you very, very much. You know how I went to Greece last week? To help your father?"
Mikey nodded.
"The first thing he asked me when he was fully awake was for a picture of you. Because he missed you so much and he wanted to know all about you."
Mike smiled. "Really?"
Sara nodded, a single tear sliding down her cheek. "And before you were born, he bought a whole shelf of parenting books so he could be ready when you came. He read all of them, cover to cover, before he found out he had to leave. But the entire time he was gone, he was thinking of ways to get back to us."
Mike's lip quivered and he wrapped his arms around his mother, hiding his tears is his mom's dark green hoodie. "Mommy? I did something bad."
"What, Mikey?"
"I-I think I hurt Daddy's feelings. J-J-Jacob told m-me that he was b-bad and I y-yelled at Daddy on the phone."
Sara rubbed his arm soothingly. "Don't worry, he knows what was happening. He's not upset with you."
"He's not?"
"No, he's not. In fact, you can go talk to him right now. Look." She pointed out the window to a dock up ahead where a lone figure stood, watching them. As soon as the car pulled to a stop, Mike jumped out and ran to his father, tackling him in a hug. With an quiet "oof" on impact, Michael caught his son and held him close, both of them squeezing as tight as they could. When they finally pulled apart, Michael smiled and held out his hand.
"Hi, Mike. You already know this but...I'm your father. And I have to say, I have been waiting a very, very long time to finally meet you."
Mike grinned and pushed his father's outstretched hand away and wrapped him in another hug, his small arms not fully able to go around his father's broad frame.
"I love you, daddy," he said in his father's ear.
"I love you too, son." Michael picked up his son, and walked over to Sara and Linc, who were standing just a few steps away, tears in both of their eyes, although Lincoln probably wouldn't ever admit it.
"Come on, we've got to go," Michael said, his voice cracking a little bit as he reveled in the feeling of his son's tiny frame in his arms.
Lincoln nodded and went to start the car again but Sara lingered for a moment. She ran a hand through Mike's soft brown hair, and then placed a hand on Michael's cheek. She kissed his cheek, a few of her tears falling onto his face too. He smiled back at her and grasped her hand, squeezing it tight as he led her and their son back to the car.
