Chapter Three: I'm Coming To Meet You

Disclaimer: Let's see, I own my Muse, my imagination, my dreams, the fangirl in me and not a whole lot else. Fox I worship the ground you metaphorically walk on.

A/N:- For the reviewer who asked, where they dug the hole was the CO's break room but not their HQ ….. that's the image I got anyway … Thanks for the reviews guys.

"So here's how it's going to work ……. There's a manhole in the middle of the canteen that leads to a network of pipes so on the day of our escape we'll have to start a fight in there to create enough distraction for all of us to slip away. Those pipes will lead us to the CO HQ where we'll have to climb out, cross the office to another set of pipes which lead to the corridor outside of the infirmary. Then we just need to get past the guards and into the infirmary…." Michael explained, pacing his cell.

Sucre looked at him incredulously. "I can't believe you're being serious. Sure there were a number of things that could have gone wrong with the other two plans but this one takes the cake Fish!" he paused. "How are we going to create enough distraction so all of us can slip through the manhole? It'll be hard enough just for one of us to get away unnoticed, not to mention all six of us. Your brother's in solitary, how is he going to get out? How ON EARTH are we just going to be able to appear in HQ and WALK across the room as if it's the most natural thing for a group of convicts to be doing! And then there's the fact that the corridor outside the infirmary is busier than a Manhattan subway ……. There is no way in HELL this is going to work. Not if we had all the luck of the world on our side."

Michael looked at his cellmate. "Any better ideas?"

"Yeah, how about we jack another guard uniform and you get your skinny white ass back into those pipes under the psych ward." Sucre said in a hushed whisper.

Michael shook his head with a hint of a smile. "Sucre my boy you have a lot to learn."

Suddenly the gate rolled open and a guard appeared. "Scofield, time for your shot." Michael just stood there frozen for a moment wondering if the badge had just said what he thought he had just said. "What's your problem Scofield?" the guard said gruffly.

Michael quickly shook his head. "Nothing." He said trying to keep the surprise out of his voice.

Sara had her back to him when he entered the consultation room but when she turned round he saw she was carrying a loaded needle. He frowned. She knew he wasn't diabetic so why …

"Don't worry. It's just a harmless water based liquid but Nurse Katie doesn't need to know that." Sara said, tilting her head in the direction of the office where Katie was busy with paperwork.

Michael raised his eyebrows. "If I didn't know how much you loved your job I'll be scared that you're trying to poison me or something."

Sara managed a tiny smirk before her face returned to being serious. "I need to talk to you about Lincoln."

Michael's face immediately filled with concern. "What's wrong?"

"He's suffering from Post Traumatic Stress, which is nothing unusual considering what he's been through, but there seems to be something which is particularly bothering him. He told you that he saw someone he knew in the observation room?"

"Yeah he mentioned it." Michael said, looking worried. He wanted to believe Lincoln, he really did, but if he did see who he thought he saw then that opened a whole new bag of unanswered questions.

"Do you believe him?" Sara asked him curiously.

Michael scratched the back of his head. "I don't know I'm not sure." He said, looking down at the floor. "I'm not sure of anything anymore."

Sara glanced at him as she peeled off her surgical gloves. "I know Lincoln's innocent." Michael looked up at her. "I've been to see Veronica and I've seen the evidence and all the question marks for myself …. You've got to believe that Lincoln's going to be able to be freed by the courts, the lawful way." Michael gave a disbelieving chuckle. "I know how much you care for your brother …………. Just don't do anything stupid."

Michael met her gaze. She knew and she was pleading with him not to go through with it, not to put her in the difficult position where she would be forced to decide whether she was going to have to tell the Warden all about the plan. "I have no choice." He told her, standing up. "You have no idea who's behind this cover-up and it's better that you don't but what I can tell you is that your father's involved." He said walking to the door. He could see Sara was surprised by the last piece of information but she recovered herself in an instance.

"Michael, I can't let you go ahead with whatever crazy escape plan you've got going." Sara said unblinkingly. Her father. No wonder he had dismissed her so easily when she had gone to him with the request to reconsider Lincoln's execution – he had already made his final decision. Whatever he had been promised was obviously a lot better than refusing to kill some guy off the street who he didn't even know. Was she ever going to get to the truth? Certainly not by asking her father.

Michael held her gaze, determination in his eyes. "Dr Tancredi, with all due respect, you can't stop me." He said before opening the infirmary door.

………………………………………………….

"We have less than two weeks Veronica and you want to waste those two weeks by trying to hunt down some guy who Lincoln thought he saw."

"If he did see his father there then his father could be the one who slipped those papers to the judge." Veronica said, looking up from her computer to Nick Savrinn who was pacing the room.

"The last time Lincoln saw his father was thirty years ago!"

Veronica had to agree. It was a long-shot believing Lincoln. Suddenly something occurred to her. "If that guy who got the stay of execution was at the court house then he would be on tape …… we need to get hold of those tapes."

Nick looked at her, suddenly concerned. "The Agents would have already seen those tapes which means they would have been able to identify whoever it was who did manage to get a stay of execution for Lincoln."

"Which means that we need to find this person before they kill him." Veronica said shooting her partner a worried look. "I don't suppose you've got a contact who could get us a copy of that tape?"

Nick shook his head and looked thoughtful. "No, but I've got another idea………………"

……………………………………..

Michael lay down on his bed and contemplated his situation. 'You can't stop me.' Why did he have to go and say that? Of course she could stop him. She had all the power now and all the motive. In a way her biding her time about exposing the plan made it all the more worse, unsure of how much time and effort was worth putting into planning on Plan C if the whole thing was going to collapse in a few days soon. He had a lot of people relying on him and all he had to rely on was hope and sheer damn luck.

………………………………………..

"'Most embarrassing moment ever?'" Rachel read from the piece of paper she had just picked out of the jar.

"Wow Rach, you've got so many to choose from, how are you going to pick just one?" Hannah said giggling.

Sara smiled at her college friends stretched out on the floor each of them with a bottle of beer in their hands and a dozen empties behind them. "How about the incident with Ted Collins and the principal walking in on you?" She suggested.

"You're never going to let me forget that one are you Sara?" Rachel sighed shaking her head and taking a swig of her beer.

"Or the time Nicky told you her party was fairytale fancy dress themed when it really wasn't." Lisa laughed.

"I don't know, you must just attract these bad situations." Hannah giggled.

"Okay well since you guys already know all my embarrassing moments and can recite them hundreds of times without ever getting bored, it's some one else's turn." Rachel huffed.

"Sara don't think that just because you're hiding over in the corner, we're going to forget to ask you to pick." Lisa said shaking the tub of questions.

"I can always hope." Sara said reluctantly leaning forward and pulling out a piece of paper. "'Describe your ideal husband.' God guys who wrote these questions! It's like we're still in high school."

"You didn't really expect us to grow up did you!" Rachel exclaimed, shocked.

"Fine. I guess I'm going to have to say someone who appreciates me for who I am, cares about me and makes me happy." Sara sighed.

"God she's still spilling out that crap." Hannah said rolling her eyes.

"It's a sure sign she's obviously not drunk enough. Someone hand her another beer and then you've got to answer another question Sara." Lisa instructed.

"What?" Sara said defensively.

"There's a limit to how much soppiness a group of single, tipsy college girls can take and you've just crossed that line." Rachel told her, pushing the question tub back towards her.

Sara glared at her and unfolded another piece of paper. "'What's your biggest fear?'"

"Ooooh I know. Getting your results back next week and to find out you haven't got 90 or more on one of your test papers." Hannah said, opening another beer.

"I am NOT like that." Sara insisted.

"Whatever Sara. That's like saying Rachel doesn't like boys!"

"Hey!" Rachel exclaimed tossing some sweets at Hannah.

"Guys, let Sara answer." Lisa said.

Sara smiled. She knew her answer would cause her friends to explode and probably throw things at her as well but she couldn't resist it. "My greatest fear would have to be finding that guy and not realising it until it's too late."

A/N:- Okay I ended it with some mushy flashback fluff just because it's going to be awhile before we get the real thing.