Chapter 2
Pancakes and New faces
Sara
"Sara?" Lincoln gently nudged her awake from her position on the couch.
"Yeah." she mumbled groggily sitting up letting the text book that was lying on her stomach fall to the ground.
"What time did you go to bed last night?" Lincoln asked with a hint of concern.
"Um... 4:00." she answered rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes "What time is it?"
"A little after eight. Why were up so late?"
"I was brushing up on amnesia and trying to figure out the best way to get Michael's memory back."
"Anything good?"
Sara looked down at her hands "No."
"Oh...well I'm sure you'll figure something out." Lincoln reassured her "In the meantime how about some famous Burrows' blue berry pancakes?"
Sara gave him a small smile "Sounds great."
Michael
Michael stumbled into the living room with half lidded eyes.
"Morning Mikey!" Emily greeted cheerfully.
"OW." he yelled out in pain as his foot collided with the coffee table.
"You okay?" Emily asked as he walked up to sit at the kitchen breakfast bar.
"Fine. Every morning I hit that thing and you would think after 3 years living in this place I would learn."
"Just give yourself some time to readjust. I bet some coffee is just what you need." she said placing the cup in front of him.
"Thanks." he mumbled while taking a sip "What are you doing here so early?"
"Figured I would come over and make you some breakfast. I made your favorite, French toast."
"Actually, for some reason I feel like blue berry pancakes."
"Oh, alright pancakes it is." Emily said turning back to the stove "That's probably best. We have a big day today; you'll need your strength."
"Big day?"
"Yeah, there's someone really special I want you to meet."
Sara
"Now tell me the truth Sara." Lincoln said sitting across from her at the table "Are those not the best pancakes you've had in your entire life."
"Alright I admit it. They are pretty good." Sara said with a smile taking another bite.
"Pretty good? Are you kidding me? They're fantastic."
"Okay Lincoln, these are the most fantastic pancakes in the world."
"Just fantastic uh." Lincoln smirked as he took a sip of his coffee.
Sara shook her head "You're unbelievable, you know that?"
Lincoln perked up at that, "Yeah I am pretty great aren't I?"
Just then LJ walked into the kitchen. He was wearing boxers and a t-shirt and his hair was ruffled and sticking up from the tossing and turning he had done over the course of the night.
"Nice hair man." Lincoln joked when he saw his son.
"Shut up." LJ replied crankily as he plopped into one of the chairs. He looked over and spotted the stack of pancakes on the counter "Ooh pancakes. I forgot it was Saturday."
"Take notes Sara: the way to always turn your teenager's frown upside down is to present them with blue berry pancakes." Lincoln stated making Sara laugh.
"So Sara, I take it you've already heard Dad's 'I make the world's best pancakes' speech?" LJ asked sitting back down at the table.
"Pretty much." Sara laughed. "Is this something you do every Saturday?"
"Yeah, when Uncle Mike and Dad were kids they used to have pancakes every Saturday. Dad and I did it when I was a kid too; I guess it just kinda stuck." LJ said taking a huge bite.
The room suddenly got quiet over the mention of the one member of the family that seemed to be missing. Sara pushed back her plate and picked up her coffee in silent thought.
"So anyways..." Lincoln said trying to break the silent tension hanging in the air. "Why did you sleep on the couch last night Sara? I told you you could sleep in Michael's room."
"I couldn't sleep in there." Sara said drawing circles on the table "Smells too much like him."
Lincoln stayed quiet not quite knowing what to say to reassure her.
"Seriously though if it's too much trouble I could just get a hotel room..."
Lincoln held up his hand to stop her "It's no trouble at all Sara; you're family, that's what family does. Besides Mike would kill me if I let you out of my sight."
"Yeah." Sara smiled a bit.
Sara had never had a real family. All her life while growing up it was just her, her dad, and her mom. Dad worked all the time and was never home while her mother just drank herself to death. Now for the first time she felt like she had a real family. She was only missing one thing for her family to be complete.
Michael
The doorbell to Michael's apartment rang throughout the flat.
"I'll get it." he heard Emily yell from outside his bedroom door while he finished getting dressed.
He pulled his shirt over his head and went to join them in the living room.
Emily had her back turned to him and was talking to the young man who had just arrived.
Michael cleared his throat and Emily snapped around to face him. A smile spread across her face as she stepped to the side, giving Michael a clear view of the man who had just arrived.
"Michael, this is my brother Robert." she introduced them.
"Nice to meet you." Michael greeted awkwardly, extending his hand.
"Man put that away." Robert smiled pushing away his hand and hugging Michael. "Is that anyway to greet your best friend?"
"I guess not." Michael replied shyly.
"I know your confused right now, but I promise buddy I'm gonna help you remember everything."
"Michael, why don't you go grab us some sodas." Emily butted in.
"Sure." he replied, quickly exiting the room.
As soon as she was sure he was out of earshot Emily turned back around to her brother.
"So we're clear on everything?" she asked.
"Yeah, but I'm still not sure why you need me to do this." Robert replied.
"Because I know what's best for Michael, whether he thinks so or not, and to make sure nothing goes wrong and that he doesn't stray, I need you to be there to stop him if he does. If he tells you anything that suggests he might start remembering something he shouldn't, you tell me and I'll fix everything. Got it."
"Got it."
