Author's Notes: Hey everyone. Here's the next chapter of the story ... hope you guys enjoy! And reviews make the world go around ... they make me want to get the next chapter out sooner! So keep 'em coming! And thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read the story and review so far. It's greatly appreciated!

A Recipe For Disaster

Chapter Seven

The next morning, Michael woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing. Groaning slightly, he reached over to his side table and grabbed his phone, letting out a small sigh of relief when he saw his caller ID. It was his best friend Fernando Sucre. Flipping the phone open, Michael cleared his throat.

"Hello?" he answered, rather groggily.

"Did I wake you up?" Sucre asked. Michael sat up in bed and glanced at the clock.

"It's 9am on a Saturday morning. What do you think?" Michael asked. Sucre chuckled.

"Sorry, man. I just wanted to know if you wanted to catch breakfast with me. We haven't talked in a long time, and I have some good news," he said. Michael flung the blankets off of him and got out, stretching.

"Sounds good, I have to talk to you too," he said. He and Sucre made plans to meet at a local diner at 10am and Michael hung up. He jumped in the shower and got ready to go, making it to the diner right at 10am on the dot. Glancing around, he spotted Sucre in a booth in the back and headed that way.

"Hey," Sucre said, smiling when he saw his friend. Michael smiled, giving him the 'manly hug' and sat down. The waitress came by and got their orders, then left them to themselves.

"So, what's up?" Michael asked, taking a sip of the coffee that the waitress set down in front of him. Sucre smiled.

"I proposed to Maricruz last night," he informed him. Michael's eyes widened and he smiled.

"I'm guessing by the goofy grin on your face, she accepted?" he smirked. Sucre laughed and nodded.

"She said yes!" he confirmed. Michael laughed and patted his friend on the back.

"Congrats, man. I'm happy for you," he said sincerely. Sucre had been dating Maricruz for almost two years.

"Thanks," Sucre beamed. "What about you? When are you ever going to settle down and find a woman?" he asked. Sara's face invaded Michael's thoughts and he sighed, running a hand over his head.

"There is a girl," he started. Sucre raised a brow. "But it's just not a good idea, it won't work," Michael continued.

"What makes you say that? I'd like to see you settled down and happy with someone."

Michael cleared his throat. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," he started again. "I'm attracted to Lincoln's fiancé," he admitted, glancing down at his coffee. Sucre's mouth opened for him to speak, but he closed it just as fast.

"Um … wow," he said, shaking his head. Michael nodded.

"Yeah. I don't know how it happened, and I don't want to act on anything because Lincoln is my brother, I don't want to come between them," he said. Sucre ran his hand over his head.

"Damn. That's a complicated situation. I don't know what to tell you, papi," he said. Michael nodded.

"Yeah. Complicated is a good word for it," he said, giving his friend a small smile. The waitress then brought their food over and set it in front of them, and they changed the subject, talking about happier things. Like Sucre's engagement.

-----

Outside of Chicago later that evening, Lincoln sat at a bonfire at his friend Johnny's house with a beer in his hand. Johnny decided to celebrate the arrival of his long-time friend with a big bonfire and lots of friends. Lincoln didn't know many of them, in fact he hadn't come across any of them that he knew yet.

"Lincoln Burrows … I don't believe it," came a voice behind him. He knew that voice all too well and he smiled, turning his head to confirm his suspicions. Veronica Donovan stood behind him, a beer in her hand and a smile on her face.

"Veronica … good to see you," he said, giving her a smile. He and Veronica went way back. They dated on and off starting in eighth grade and going through sophomore year of high school. They lost their virginity to each other, and when they broke up, they remained friends with benefits through the rest of their high school years. Veronica went off to college, and Lincoln never really heard from her again. There were a few phone calls when she first went away, but they dwindled and finally died.

Veronica moved closer to him and sat down in the chair next to him, tilting her head to the side. "What brings you out here?" she asked, raising a brow. Lincoln smiled.

"Woman problems," he said, shrugging. Veronica smiled, shaking her head.

"You always have woman problems," she teased. He smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, well … I guess some things never change," he said. He downed the rest of his beer and grabbed another out of the cooler next to him, staring out into the fire.

"So, come on. Fill me in on the last decade of your life. I've missed a lot," she smiled at him. Lincoln glanced over at her, giving her a small smile and then cleared his throat and began talking to her.

About an hour and too many beers to count later, Lincoln found himself up in Johnny's house in the guest room where he was staying, lying on top of Veronica and he was kissing her. She had her arms around his neck and he had his hands on her waist. His mind was foggy, he wasn't exactly sure what he was doing. But he wanted to gain some kind of control over his life again, and so he pushed Sara out of his head and focused on that moment, being there with Veronica.

He slowly undressed her, taking the time to refamiliarize himself with her body. He alternated between kissing and licking her skin with every piece of clothing he removed. She returned the favor when she undressed him, and before either of them knew it, they were tangled in the bed sheets with him inside of her. It felt familiar, it felt good. He shut off his brain, he'd think about things in the morning. Right now, he just let himself feel.

-----

Lincoln awoke the next morning before Veronica did. Glancing over at her, he felt a huge pang of guilt as he remembered what happened between them the night before. Sara was going to kill him. Getting out of bed, he grabbed his clothes and got dressed. He pulled out his duffle bag and threw things into it, he had to get out of there as soon as he could.

He heard Veronica stirring in the bed and he glanced down at her. She opened her eyes and smiled at him, then realized what he was doing. Her smile turned to a frown.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting up and holding the sheet to her chest. Lincoln rolled his lips into his mouth.

"I have to go back," he said. She looked at him like she couldn't believe him.

"You have to go back? You're just going to leave like that?" she asked incredulously. Lincoln glanced down at his duffle bag and then back at her.

"I'm engaged," he admitted. Veronica just looked at him for a few moments, then she got out of the bed and got dressed too.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me that you were engaged," she said, sounding upset. She wasn't the type to sleep with taken men, and had he told her that he was a taken man, she wouldn't have let things go anywhere the night before. Even though she was pretty inebriated.

"I don't know what's going on with things at home, Veronica. It's confusing!" he said. She shook her head.

"I don't care if things are confusing at home or not! You shouldn't be sleeping with other women when you're engaged!" she insisted, her voice rising. Lincoln sighed.

"I know this, V. I just have to go," he said, grabbing his bags and getting everything together. He glanced back at her one final time and then left the room, going down to his car.

Once inside, he started it and sat there for a minute. What was he going to tell Sara? Should he even tell her? Yes … yes, he'd tell her. He didn't want to lie to her. Glancing back up at the room where he left Veronica, he cleared his throat and then headed back home.

-----

Sitting in her living room, Sara was beginning to get a little worried. She hadn't heard from Lincoln since he left, and she wondered what he was doing. Glancing at her phone, she picked it up and dialed Lincoln's cell phone number. It went to voicemail.

"Lincoln, it's Sara. I just wanted to call to make sure that you're alright … I haven't heard from you since you left. Please call me," she left him a voicemail. Flipping through her phonebook, she came across Michael's number. Hesitating a few moments, she hit the 'send' button and called him. His phone went to voicemail, too.

"Michael, it's Sara. I'm just wondering if you've heard from Lincoln at all … I haven't heard from him and I don't know what's going on," she started. She cleared her throat. "And I just kind of wanted to talk to you. So if you want to give me a call back … yeah. That'd be great. Thanks," she said, then hung up. Putting her hand to her mouth, she sighed. She had to get over this thing she had for her fiancé's brother. She felt like she should be on an episode of Jerry Springer.

Sighing, she got up off the couch and headed into the kitchen to pour herself another cup of coffee, when she heard the door open. Glancing out into the living room, she saw that it was Lincoln. He dropped his duffle bag by the door and ran a hand over his head. She moved over to the doorway that lead to the living room from the kitchen and leaned against it.

"Did you not get my messages?" she asked softly, holding her cup of coffee between both hands as she looked at him. Lincoln glanced up at her and then shrugged.

"No, no … I got them," he said. He glanced up at her and felt immediately guilty for what he did, he didn't know how to make things right again. "Listen, Sara, we need to talk," he said, crossing his arms across his chest. Sara raised a brow at him and pushed herself off the doorway.

"Okay …" she trailed off, worried that Lincoln might have found out that she'd been thinking about his brother. But Lincoln moved to the couch and sat down, motioning for Sara to join him. She did, sitting next to him. "What's going on?" she asked, getting comfortable and taking a sip of her coffee.

"I ran into some old friends when I was at Johnny's," Lincoln started. Sara didn't say anything, so he continued. His gaze was on his hands, he couldn't look her in the eye when he confessed this to her. He was trying to find the words to say, and he couldn't find a way to really beat around the bush. "I don't know how to say this, Sara, so I'm just going to say it point blankly," he said, looking up at her.

"What's going on, Lincoln?" Sara repeated, brushing some hair out of her face. Lincoln cleared his throat and then glanced back down at his hands.

"I cheated on you," he confessed. Sara sat there for a few seconds, trying to take in that information.

"What?" she asked.

"I cheated—" Lincoln started, but Sara cut him off by holding her hand up.

"I heard you," she said. They were both silent for about a minute. Even though Sara had felt her feelings for Lincoln dwindling, she still felt betrayed that he did that. She had been having feelings for Michael, but suppressed them because she didn't want to hurt Lincoln. And here he was, telling her that he cheated on her.

"I was drunk, I wasn't thinking," Lincoln tried to explain. Sara snickered humorlessly, shaking her head.

"Oh, shut up. I don't want to hear your excuses," she said. She stood up and ran a hand through her hair, pacing in front of the couch.

"Sara," Lincoln pleaded, reaching out to try and grab her hand. Sara pulled it away.

"No. I don't want to see you right now, Lincoln. I think we need some time apart," she said. She glanced at him and he pursed his lips, nodding.

"Whatever you need, Sara," he said. Sara shook her head.

"Oh, aren't you just so fucking accommodating?" she said, her voice getting angry. She set down her cup of coffee and pulled her engagement ring off her hand, tossing it at him. "Get out," she stated simply. Lincoln didn't argue, he grabbed his stuff and left. Sara watched him go and then crossed her arms across her chest.

She wasn't sure why she was so upset … she had been thinking about another man. But that was the difference. She only i thought /i about Michael. Lincoln acted on it and did the one thing that she was trying not to do. Hurt each other. Glancing at her watch, Sara saw that it was almost 5pm … Michael would more than likely still be at work.

After sitting in her apartment for fifteen more minutes by herself. Sara didn't want to wait anymore. She grabbed her purse and her keys and headed out to her car. She knew where the company Michael worked for was located, but she'd never been inside the building. Driving in that direction, she thought a lot during the ten minutes or so it took to get there.

Parking her car, she went inside and smiled at the receptionist at the desk in the front. "I'm looking for Michael Scofield's office," she said, wondering if this lady would give her any problems. The woman glanced at the schedule in front of her, and then shook her head.

"He doesn't have an appointment," she started, glancing back up at Sara. Sara gave her a forced smile.

"I know. I'm … I'm his girlfriend, I just need to speak with him about something. It's urgent," she said. The lady raised a brow, as if unaware that Michael even had a girlfriend.

"Oh, okay. Well, I can have him paged for you. What's your name?" she asked. Sara nodded.

"Yeah, okay. I'm Sara Tancredi," she said. The woman picked up her phone and dialed Michael's extension, waiting patiently. Sara hoped that the receptionist didn't tell Michael that his girlfriend was there.

"Mr. Scofield, I have a Sara Tancredi down here to see you," the woman spoke sweetly into the phone. She glanced up at Sara and gave her a smile, hanging up the phone. "Mr. Scofield's office is up the stairs and to the left. His name is on the door, it's hard to miss," she said. Sara smiled at her and nodded.

"Thank you," she said. She headed over to the flight of stairs and began her ascent to Michael's office.

-----

Michael hung up his phone, a confused expression on his face. He hadn't been expecting a visit from Sara, but he wouldn't turn her away, either. Even though he had been trying his hardest to avoid her lately. She filled his thoughts all the time, and he tried to get her off his mind. Unsuccessfully most times, but still … he tried.

Clearing his throat, he glanced back at his computer and picked up his phone, pretending to be busy with something so that maybe she wouldn't stay long. He wasn't even sure what she was doing there. He heard a soft knock on his open door, and he glanced up at the doorway, seeing Sara standing there. He waved her in and gestured to a chair in front of his desk.

"Yeah, I'll get those blueprints to you as soon as possible," he said to the dial tone. He wondered if she could hear the dial tone and knew he was pretending. She didn't seem to notice as she sat there, glancing at her hands in her lap. Something about the look on her face bothered him. He cleared his throat. "Right. Thanks," he said, then hung up the phone. He turned to look at her and offered her a smile. "Sara, this is a surprise," he said. She glanced up at the sound of her name and gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry to barge in on you here at work like this … I had to tell the receptionist downstairs that I was your girlfriend," she said. Michael smiled, he couldn't help but wish it were true. When did he become a lovesick teenager? Clearing his throat, he shook his head.

"It's okay … you're not barging in. What's up?" he asked, straightening the papers on his desk out of somewhat of a nervous habit. She raised a hand to her forehead and wiped her bangs out of her eyes, and Michael noticed that her ring was gone. "Where's your ring?" he asked, pointing at her hand. Sara glanced down at her naked ring finger and sighed.

"Lincoln came back from his friend's," she said. She glanced up at Michael and sighed. "He cheated on me," she confided. Michael's eyes widened in disbelief.

"No way … Lincoln?" he asked. Sara nodded.

"Yeah. He said he was really drunk, and that's all that I let him get out before I told him to get out," she continued. Michael leaned back in his chair, folding his hands above his head.

"Shit … I'm so sorry, Sara," he said. Sara nodded, glancing at her hands. Michael watched her for a few moments before moving from behind his desk to sit next to her, there for comfort if she needed it.

"You know the worst part?" she asked, her eyes moving up to meet his. Michael shook his head.

"What?" he asked. Sara glanced back down at her fingers.

"I wasn't as upset as I seemed. Because, truthfully, I don't want to marry your brother," she confessed. Michael rolled his lips into his mouth, unable to find anything to say. "I have feelings for someone else, and they're feelings much stronger than anything I feel for Lincoln," she confessed, looking back up at Michael. Michael couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy for whoever this man was that she was speaking of.

"Well, Sara … I don't want you to be unhappy. If you don't want to marry my brother, you need to tell him that. And you need to tell this other guy how you feel," he said. He had always been somewhat of a bleeding heart … he would sacrifice his happiness for her to be happy. Sara nodded.

"How about if instead of telling him … I show him?" she asked. Michael shrugged.

"Whatever works for you," he stated. Sara glanced down at her hands before looking back up into Michael's eyes.

"Showing him works for me," she said, then she leaned in and pressed her lips to Michael's, raising her hand to cup his cheek.

End Chapter Seven

02.12.2007