Title: Protection
Characters: Sara Tancredi, LJ Burrows, Gretchen Morgan, (mentions of Michael Scofield)
Pairing: Sara/Michael
Genre: angst, drama, romance
Rating: R (for strong language and some graphic violence)
Word Count: approx. 2350 words
Summary: A question that's been teasing my mind: How did Sara's rose got to be left behind in their cell? Just playing with this idea a little.
Also, it's my look on Sara's time and relationship with LJ as well as Gretchen during their captivity in S3.
Spoilers: speculations for happenings during S3.

Protection

Gretchen thinks about her scruffy malodorous female captive, wondering what on earth could possibly bring a supposedly brilliant man like Michael Scofield fall for such a plain woman.

Of course that Sara has temperament, Gretchen can't deny her that. The black-haired woman can still feel her cheek tingling, the little grazes Sara's nails left there a good reminder of how dangerous this seemingly feeble woman can be. But other than that, there is nothing specialor extraordinary about Sara Tancredi.

She is a doctor, a politician's daughter, and a well educated woman; but otherwise an obviously very stupid person. For she keeps being cheeky although already very well knowing that if there is something that Gretchen absolutely won't tolerate, it's sauciness and disrespect by her captive collateral.

Sara Tancredi surely must be aware of that by now, since every time she attempts to raise as much as a protesting voice against anything Gretchen says or demands, she gets slapped, punched or otherwise physically punished. Even a street dog would have learned by now that Gretchen's patience wears thin and unnecessary provocation brings the perpetrator only pain and problems. And yet, Sara Tancredi keeps speaking up every time Gretchen enters her prisoner's cell. Gretchen doesn't understand the reasons for such obviously stupid behavior. But the again, maybe the girl just isn't as bright as anyone thought.

It's late in the afternoon when Gretchen walks into the dirty, smelly room where the boy and the doctor are held. She crosses the space quickly, wriggling her nose shortly in disgust at Sara's direction, before she abruptly stops right in front of LJ, tied to a chair right at the far end at the window.

"So, kid." She proclaims dramatically and sits down, looking straight into LJ's frightened face. "Spoke to your dad today. He obviously likes to create unnecessary problems. See this?" She extracts a little paperback book from her pocket, a small blue bird on its cover. "This," she says, "your father tried to hide from me."

"I don't know what that is." answers the scared boy confusion, shaking his head in denial.

"I know you don't." Gretchen says, nodding in mock understanding. "But only so you know LJ…" she continues in a badly pretended kind voice, her features serene, "…I promised your dad that the next time he pulled a shit like that on me again, I would send him some body part of yours. So let's hope you father doesn't play a fucking hero again, shall we? Because otherwise, there will be…consequences."

The terror in the young boys face is almost palpable. Gretchen raises her hand, grazing her fingers over LJ's scared face, stopping at his ear. "But just in case he manages to piss me off again…" she says trying to look contemplative,"…what do you suggest, LJ? What body part shall we present your dad with?"

The boy shivers in fear, which only encourages Gretchen to taunt him cruelly further.

"Your ear?" She suggests, tugging at his earlobe hard, making the boy wince in pain. "Or maybe one of your fingers, huh? How would that work for you?" She continues more angrily and roughly grabs one of LJ's hands bound behind his back, causing him to cry out in pain when the cuffs cut deep into his wrists.

"Why won't you just shut up?" A loud strong voice comes from the other part of the room and Gretchen turns quickly in anger and annoyance of being interrupted in her favorite part. Her expression quickly transforms into pretended niceness and calm once again, spotting the source of the inconvenience. Here we go again.

"Sara, sweetie, nobody is talking to you, so why don't you return to what you were doing before? Like…lets say, trying to stay alive."

Sara merely snorts, a quiet scorning laughter escaping her lips. Gretchen eyes blaze with anger as she crosses the room in two quick strides, hitting Sara hard with a half-closed fist. The prisoner groans in pain and Gretchen feels a great deal of satisfaction. She straightens anew, marveling in the sight of Sara's blood trickling onto the dirty floor.

"You simply never learn, do you Sara?" asks Gretchen, returning to her slow, disgustingly sweet voice again. She crouches in front of Sara, lowering herself to the eye-level of the sitting woman.

"You must either be really stupid…" she says while bringing her carefully nail-polished hand to gently stroke Sara's messy hair, "…or you truly don't care to see Michael again."

Her words must trigger something inside of the woman slumped before her in a chair, because her shoulders jerk a little at the mention of Scofield's first name. Sara's face is still facing the floor, the dark, dirty hair falling over the sides of her face. She can't wipe away the blood that's still trickling down her face, for her fists are bound together behind her back, and Gretchen feels on her high horse again.

"Aah, I see." She continues sweetly with a little chuckle, a predatory smile dancing over her lips. "Not that cheeky when talking about your boyfriend, are we?"

Sara's mind and mouth itch to say something rude in return, but her throbbing jaw stays clenched tight. She raises her head at last, looking into Gretchen's eyes, trying to show all the hate and contempt for her captor through her eyes rather than her hurting mouth. Gretchen's smirk merely grows.

"I looked up Michael, by the way. He's rather a looker." She says and smiles even wider when she sees the anger in Sara's eyes rise, causing them to narrow into thin slits.

"You have no idea who you are messing with." Sara hisses in a deep, unfamiliar voice right into Gretchen face. The dark-haired woman grabs her chin roughly in return, slowly observing the dark bruising and blood stains on Sara's face and cheek with obvious pleasure.

"No honey. You have no idea who you are messing with." With that, she pats Sara's cheek so hard it's more like a slap and with a huge predatory smile leaves the room.

The door closes and Sara sniffs, trying the stop the blood flowing from her nose. Her whole jaw is on fire, her vision blurring with the involuntary tears that sprung to her eyes after Gretchen's fist collided with her jaw.

"Are you alright?" LJ asks quietly, uncertainly.

"Yeah." Sara lies, but knows it would hurt her far more if having to witness Gretchen abusing of LJ any longer without interfering.

"Thank you for your help." LJ utters softly and Sara once again notes the boy being way smarter than most boys his age. She merely nods, flashing him a smile that ends in a grimace as her face contorts in pain.

"You are welcome." She squeezed through her lips painfully, running her tongue across her teeth, relieved to find them all still in place.

"You don't have to do that though." LJ quips.

"Do what?"

"Protect me." The boy answers shyly.

"I am not…" Sara starts but he cuts her off.

"You always do that. When she…" he mentions to the door with his head, "...comes, you always draw her attention to yourself."

Sara has no answer for that. It's the truth and she doesn't want to lie to him, so she merely shrugs.

"I am sure Uncle Mike is ok and will help us soon." LJ utters quietly, trying to sound reassuringly, and Sara's chest constricts painfully with longing, an actual smile forming at her lips at the sound of the unfamiliar title for Michael. She remembers the tiny, now surely flattened and crumpled paper rose hidden in her jeans pocket, and a dull, bittersweet ache grasps her heart.

You have sacrificed everything for me once, now it's time to say 'thank you'.

Had she only known then, she would probably have slapped him hard, right across his handsome face. Not because the outcome of this whole mess, no, he had as little to do with this as any of them. But because there is this heavy burden now sitting heavily in the pit of her stomach, gnawing at her insights; worry for him, his brother and his nephew – and God yes, even herself - chewing at her conscience.

God only knows where Michael is right now, but from the snippets the dark haired woman drops occasionally - like little crumbles leading a path - Sara can put two and two together to know that Michael isn't in a place much better then she and LJ are right now, burdened with a task which when he fails to accomplish will cost them all their lives. She won't lie to herself, she is scared beyond herself. She knows what these people are capable of doing, she has already felt it once before, and she knows as well that death is a very much possible outcome. Yet she has to stay focused and alert, if not for herself, that at least for his nephew's sake. And it's a much harder task she would ever dream of, since the unknowingness of Michael's whereabouts and state of flesh and mind only increase her uncertainty and fright ten-fold.

XXX

A few days later, their situation significantly worsens. Their unsuccessful attempt to escape will cause heads to roll, Sara is sure of that.

The door flies open with a horrible crash into the wall and a livid Gretchen walks in, beginning her speech even before the door slams back behind her with a terrible sound.

"As you two surely noticed, there was a little disruption. You two therefore must understand that I have to make some steps to secure that something like that won't happen again."

She crosses the room quickly, grasping LJ by the hair and making him rise from his chair crying out in pain, causing Sara to wince.

"One of you has to serve as an example. Since it was your fucking father who pulled that stupid stunt, it's you who has to pay." Gretchen shrugs her shoulders at LJ. "Sorry kiddo, but someone's gotta go." She finishes ruthlessly, prepared to drag a terrified LJ out of the room.

Sara panics. "Wait, don't! I told them where to find us, I kicked that damned shoe out of the window!" She is begging now, but she doesn't care anymore. "He is just a kid." Sara pleads in despair and Gretchen hesitates in the door, turning to her at last.

"Yes you sneaky little bitch, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about your little act. You are going to pay your price for that one, I assure you!" Gretchen hisses venomously. "But this one -" she turns to LJ, still grasping a handful of the teenager's hair in her hand, "…-and I don't want to hurt your feelings here sweetie - will send a more eloquent message to both brothers." Gretchen finishes, the fury literally radiating from her body.

"Exactly." Sara says in her last attempt to change Gretchen's mind. "You hurt his son and Lincoln will stop cooperating with you whatsoever!"

"Your point being?" presses Gretchen impatiently, obviously not yet seeing a satisfyingly significant point to make her change her mind about her scape-goat.

"If you take me, their motivation won't lessen. LJ is highly valuable for both of them. I am…expendable." Sara gulps with a heavy pain in her chest, but one look at LJ's face is enough to convince her she is doing the right thing.

Gretchen smirks. "Nicely put Sara. You actually aren't as stupid as you look." She releases and brutally shoves LJ back into the room, crossing it harshly to grab at Sara's hair instead. She rises to her feet before Gretchen gets the chance to pull her up by it, sparing herself the unnecessary pain.

"I am sure a hot and brilliant guy like Scofield won't mourn an average bimbo like you for too long." Gretchen says before she starts dragging Sara into the direction of the door. Sara knows Gretchen words are only meant to hit and hurt, and the fact that her captor fully succeeded makes a small amount of bitter bile rise up her throat into her mouth.

The thought that all of this would come to an end like this almost makes her gag, the knowledge she will never see Michael again causing her heart to lurch in pain. At least, if they succeed, his nephew will hopefully live.

In a moment when Gretchen shouts at one of her man, Sara contorts and wrenches her bound hands, squeezing her fingers into the pocket of her jeans and groping for the rose she knows must be hidden somewhere inside. She finds the soft paper and extracts the origami masterpiece with one swift motion, letting it fall to the ground.

She doesn't know exactly why she does it, maybe she simply wants to leave something behind; something that will demonstrate that she actually existed in this world. And although there is no real way she can feel the rose missing from her pocket, she immediately feels a chill running down her spine, like she just lost something very essential to her.

As Gretchen grabs her anew and starts to drag her outside the door, Sara can hear LJ's screams of panic and fear. She squeezes her eyes in despair, tears of regret and pain starting to push themselves into her eyes as she hears Michael's nephew cry her name over and over again until they start to slowly die away. She forces her mind to think of something more pleasant. She forces her mind to think of Michael.

If she had a last wish, it would be to tell Michael she didn't regret a thing. She knows there is no way her wish will be granted to her in this life, however.

But maybe – just maybe - if the rose somehow miraculously reached Michael in the end, there would be a chance he understood what she wanted so desperate to say to him but couldn't.

Maybe he would simply understand how very much she loved him.

END

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