A/N: I hope I didn't make you guys wait too long for this update, but if you're still out there, without further ado, I give you chapter 9.


Chapter 9: The News

"Now what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"He's out."

Sara's blood ran cold at Michael's confession. Her heart stopped. Her hands stilled. Everything stopped. The world quit spinning on its axis. She couldn't breathe. She could see Michael's lips moving and could hear muffled sounds that were supposed to be words that she understood, but felt like she was underwater.

When she felt like she finally was able to form words, she met her husband's eyes. She could see the worry in them. As sick to her stomach as she felt, she knew everything that Michael was feeling was magnified thousands of times. Sara knew Michael's feelings on him, and every thing that he did to harm another human being, Michael felt partially responsible for.

"How?" Sara asked, finally finding her voice.

"I don't know. There is no way he could be out legally, and there is no way he had the resources to break out. I didn't ask for details. As soon as I heard he was out, I stopped listening," Michael said, rubbing his hands over his face.

"How did you find out?"

"After the dream, I know you told me not to let it mean anything, but I couldn't. I couldn't just let it go. So, I called the prison and found out what I could. They said he's been out for less than twenty-four hours, and that they are doing everything they can and are confident he will be back behind bars in no time," Michael said as he tried to keep his voice even and comfortingly rubbed Sara's arms.

"Yeah, because they were so good at getting him back in prison the first time," Sara scoffed under her breath.

Michael winced at her words. "It's different this time. He's acting alone. All of the FBI's efforts are focused on him and him alone."

"That doesn't mean anything, Michael and you know it!" Sara cried, pulling her arm away from his comforting hand. "I mean, god, how many people did he get the chance to hurt before he was finally stopped? Or have you forgotten the time that he kidnapped me and almost—"

Sara stopped, and her face ran pale.

"I'm gonna be sick," she said rushing past Michael toward their bathrooms.

Michael closed his eyes tightly and willed away the tears that threatened to fall. He hated what this man could do to their family, to their lives. He turned on his heels and headed toward Sara. Alone, they were screwed. But together, he knew that they could survive this.

He slowly walked into the bathroom, where he found Sara emptying her stomach into the toilet. His heart broke as he heard the sound of her sobs mixed in with the sound of her retches. He sat behind her, pulled her hair into his hands, and placed a soft kiss to the back of her shoulder. This sweet gesture only made her cry even more.

When she was done, she flushed the toilet and turned to face her husband with puffy, watery eyes. He smiled sadly at her.

"We've survived so much," she said hiccupping. "What if this is the thing that breaks us? What if we can't survive this?" she asked sobbing again.

He reached for her hand, and she pulled away, causing him to wince at the rejection.

"I know you're scared," Michael started cautiously. "Hell, I'm scared too," he said with a humorless laugh. "There is so much more at stake now," he added, looking down at the floor. "But we," he started again, grabbing her hand, not letting her pull away from him this time, "we are so much stronger than we ever were then."

Sara let out a shaky breath. "I can't do this again."

"You won't have to," Michael said softly. "But together? Together we can do anything. And I don't plan on leaving you any time soon."

"Okay," Sara said so softly that Michael almost didn't hear her.

"Okay," he said back, sighing in relief that she was not shutting him out, and pulling her into his arms.

And for the time being she just allowed herself to be held. She allowed herself to pretend, even for only a moment, that their world was not crumbling around them; that their life was not falling apart at the seams.


Michael and Sara made their way back to the living room together, the way that they would remain forever, no matter the obstacle.

Sara couldn't help but tense as the front door to their house flew open. Michael simply brought a hand to the small of her back to ease her. She smiled at the gesture and put on the best fake smile she could manage as she saw her brother in law and his wife walk into their home with their daughter.

"Hey, guys," Michael greeted, making his way over to greet Lincoln and Sofia. Michael had become a pro at suppressing his emotions, and his brother didn't even seem to notice the distress that was surrounding the Scofield family.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sara asked, giving Sofia a hug.

"Dropping off our daughter?" Lincoln said. "You guys agreed to watch her for the weekend while Sofia and I go to that charity banquet in Orlando."

Sara's face turned white as a sheet. She did not need any more people near them right now. She could never live with herself if Emily got hurt because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her niece was supposed to be able to come to their house and be safe, and, when the time came, free from all of her parent's drama. She wasn't supposed to be in danger because of the mess that her aunt and uncle were in.

"Of course," Michael said, breaking the tension. "It must have slipped our minds. Em is always welcome."

Sara mustered the best smile she could manage, and apparently it was enough because Lincoln dropped the issue.

"Great!" he said. "Well, here's her bag. She ate lunch about an hour ago and just woke up from a nap. We need to get going, but you guys are the best and I am forever grateful that you agreed to have three children under the same household at once," Linc said, kissing Sara's cheek and slapping Michael's shoulder. "Love you guys! Thanks again. Bye Mikey! J. Linc!" he shouted. "And goodbye, my princess," he said kissing her forehead, before handing her to Sara. "See you guys in a couple of days."

And with that, they were gone.

"Did your brother seem even more excited than normal?" Sara asked.

Michael snorted. "Yeah. It's probably because this is the first time he's been own with Sofia in months, and he's finally about to get lucky," he said with a smirk.

Sara wrinkled her nose. "That is a visual I did not need in my mind."

"Well, it popped into mine, so I figured I might as well suffer in good company," he said, loosely throwing an arm over her shoulder.

"What are we going to do, Michael?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, whether we want to admit it or not, and whether we're together or not, he will come for us. And everyone around us," Sara motioned to the baby in her arms, "is going to get caught in the crossfire."

"We don't know that. He has no idea how to find us," Michael said, trying to soothe her.

"But what if he does? I mean, come on Michael. Do you realty think that Lincoln and Sofia would be trusting us with their daughter if they knew what could be happening in a matter of days?"

"Of course they would," Michael said sternly.

Sara looked away.

"And do you know why?"

Michael pulled her chin to make her eyes meet his.

"Because they trust us. And they know that we would do everything in our power to keep our kids safe," Michael said before placing a soft kiss to Sara's lips.

"Stop assuming the worst," Michael said, kissing her again.

"I can't help it," Sara said nervously. "Everything leading up to this point has made me assume the worst. It's second nature at this point. And I can't stop it."

"Do you trust me?" Michael asked her blankly.

"With everything that is in me," Sara said.

"Then trust that everything is going to work out. We, you, me, Mikey, Jake, and our ten kids to come," he paused when Sara laughed. She was amazed that she was still able to laugh when all hell was breaking loose. "We're going to be a family for so many more years. Hell, you're probably going to get sick of me. That's how long we're going to be together; until the sun doesn't rise and the oceans dry up: forever. That's how long I am going to love you."

"I could never get sick of you," Sara said with a small smile. "You make the idea of forever sound pretty damn amazing."

Michael pulled her fully into his arms gently, still mindful of their niece in her arms. He placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Good."

"You promised me forever, Scofield," Sara said, looking up at him. "I intend to hold you to that."

"And I cannot wait to keep that promise," Michael said, leaning down to kiss her once more. And in that fleetingly perfect moment, all that mattered was that she had him and he had her. In that moment, Sara believed that everything was going to be okay.


A/N: Well there you have it! I figured you guys deserved a little bit of cheesy fluff. If you're still out there reading, let me know. Shoot me a comment! I LOVE hearing from you guys! See you soon. XOXO