"LJ, this is great!" Lincoln said enthusiastically as he stepped into the spacious living room of his son's home and looked around. "I mean…wow!"
"Yeah." LJ agreed. "It's pretty cool."
LJ crossed the room to the foot of the staircases.
"Amber! We're back!"
"Just a second! I'll be right down!" the girl's voice resonated from the upper floor.
"You want a beer or something?" LJ asked, turning his attention back to his dad.
"Yeah. Absolutely." Lincoln replied. He couldn't remember the last time he had a nice cold beer. And he could definitely use one after the afternoon he had just had.
"Come on. The kitchen is right through here." LJ said, motioning for his Dad to follow.
The kitchen was equally impressive. Granite countertops, stainless steal appliances. This house definitely beat the 500 square foot shit box Lincoln had been living in prior to his incarceration. Lincoln took a seat at the counter and ran his hand over the smooth, shining granite.
"This is sweet LJ. Really, really nice. I still can't believe you live here."
LJ laughed as he opened the fridge and grabbed two beers from the shelf.
"Dad…you've only seen two rooms."
"I know." Lincoln agreed. "I can't wait to see the rest."
"Well…the great room is right up those stairs…." LJ began, handing his father a beer and taking a swig of his own. "And we got three bedrooms upstairs. Two and half baths."
Lincoln's eyes grew wide with excitement as he listened to his son.
"It's not huge. But it's nice." LJ continued. "I mean…we could've gone bigger. But we didn't want to be…what's the word Amber used?"
"Ostentatious." Amber said, walking into the room.
Lincoln smiled and hopped up from his chair to greet her.
Lincoln had met LJ's girlfriend, Amber McCall shortly after he was recaptured and sent back to Fox River and had seen her on several occasions over the past five years. She was a beautiful girl, with long dark hair, friendly eyes and smile that could melt hearts. But more importantly, she was a sweet, caring individual who loved LJ with all her heart. And that alone was enough for Lincoln.
LJ and Amber had met in high school but it wasn't until after the whole conspiracy situation had happened and LJ was on the run that the two had become real close. It all started when LJ had sent Amber a picture he had taken on his cell phone the day that his mother and stepfather had been murdered. Most teenage girls would have deleted the photo and denied they had ever known LJ Burrows. He was after all, an accused murderer on the run from the authorities. But not Amber. She was determined to find out the truth behind the photo and clear her friends name and that almost cost her her life.
"Ostentatious!" LJ repeated, slapping his head jokingly. "That's it! Thank you baby."
"You're welcome darling." She replied jokingly, then turned to face Lincoln. "Mr. Burrows! It's so good to see you!"
She reached out to give Lincoln a hug, which he happily returned.
"Oh…it's good to see you sweetheart. But please! Stop calling me Mr. Burrows I told you…it's Lincoln."
"Sorry! Sorry!" She replied as she released him.
"I was just telling LJ how great this place is." Lincoln informed her.
"Yeah..well. We're still getting settled. We got a lot stuff in boxes yet. So you'll have to excuse the mess in your room. That's kinda where we've been throwing all the miscellaneous shit we haven't gotten around to yet."
Lincoln shook his head.
"Hey! You won't hear me complaining. As long as it has four walls and no bars…I'm a happy man."
Amber laughed as she wrapped her arms around LJ's waist.
"Well…we like it. But I know LJ would give it all back in a heartbeat if he could have his mother back." She noted sadly, resting her head on LJ's shoulder. "I would too."
"Yeah." Lincoln agreed, lowering his head. He knew that Amber was referring to the 8.5 million LJ had recently received from the Government as settlement for his mother's wrongful death suit. He'd give anything for LJ to have his mother back. He knew how much his son missed her…how much he loved her. Lincoln and Lisa hadn't been on great terms when she died, but a part of him still loved her too. A part of him always would. After all, she had given him the greatest gift in the world. She had given him LJ. How could he not love her for that? It devastated him that Lisa never had the chance to meet their granddaughter.
"Is Vee sleeping?" LJ asked.
Amber sighed and frowned.
"Yeah. I tried to keep her up as long as I could but….I didn't know when you guys were getting back."
"Yeah…that's my fault." Lincoln replied. "I insisted LJ take me to see Michael."
"How is Michael?" Amber asked.
LJ looked at his father who immediately looked away.
"Is he OK?" Amber asked, clearly concerned.
"Yeah. He's fine." LJ assured her.
"He won't be fine until he is out of that Prison and home where he belongs." Lincoln shot back.
"Dad." LJ said.
"Sorry." Lincoln replied, realizing that he was letting his emotions take control again.
It was Veronica's faint cry sounding through the baby monitor on the kitchen counter that caught everyone's attention. Lincoln's attitude immediately changed when he heard her and he smiled excitedly.
"She's up." He said.
"Certainly sounds like it." LJ said smiling.
"She's probably hungry." Amber informed them, looking at her watch. "It's just about her dinner time.
"Well by all means…Let's not keep her waiting." Lincoln replied.
Later, after Veronica had been fed and LJ and Amber were busy preparing dinner for the adults, Lincoln took advantage of some alone time with his granddaughter. Holding the tiny baby carefully in his large arms, Lincoln slowly danced around the living room happily as the Veronica stared at him with her big blues eyes.
"Who's a pretty girl. Huh? Are you grandpa's pretty girl?" he asked. Then, hoisting her above his head he quickly lowered her down, planting several kisses on the crook of her neck before raising her up in the air again. Veronica seemed to like this game and she giggled happily, flailing her arms as if trying to reach Lincoln's smiling face.
"You like that?" Lincoln asked, looking up at the child he still had hoisted in the air above him. "You want grandpa to do it again?"
He quickly lowered her down again and planted some more kisses on her cheek, eliciting more squeals of excitement from Veronica.
"Um…Dad? You might not want to do that." LJ informed him as he stood in the archway leading from the kitchen.
"Oh, don't be such a worry wart LJ." Lincoln replied, not taking his eyes off his granddaughter. "I won't drop her."
LJ laughed.
"I know. That's not what I meant. She just ate dad. You keep bouncing her around like that and she's gonna puke all over you."
"LJ how many time do I have to tell you." Amber said from the kitchen. "Babies do not "puke". They spit up."
"Same difference." LJ and Lincoln replied in unison.
"Here…." LJ said, walking over and taking Veronica from his father's arms. "I'm going to see if I can get her to go down before we sit down to dinner."
"OK." Lincoln replied, reluctantly handing the child over to her father. "Night, night baby girl." he said, kissing her forehead.
Lincoln watched as LJ carried his daughter upstairs. He was so proud of his son. LJ was a great dad. A much better father than he had ever been.
Lincoln plopped himself down on the overstuffed couch in the living and thought back to when LJ was Veronica's age. That was right around the time that Lisa had left him and his relationship with Michael started going downhill.
FLASHBACK 1991"Stop bouncing him like that Michael." Lincoln said sternly as he tried to organize his son's clothes and toys into the large overnight bag Lisa had sent him over with.
"Why? He likes it." The fifteen year old replied.
Lincoln tossed one of LJ's toys into the bag and glanced up at Michael. He was laying on the couch with LJ seated on his stomach and continued to bounce the boy despite what Lincoln said. Not that LJ wasn't enjoying it. He was giggling and slapping his tiny hands on his uncle's chest excitedly. But that wasn't the point.
"I don't care if he likes it or not. I told you to knock it off! He just ate and I don't want him puking all over his new outfit before his mother gets here. I don't want to piss her off any more than she already is."
Michael frowned and sat up, placing LJ on his lap.
"Oh right. We would want to do that. God knows I've pissed her off enough." Michael shot back angrily.
"Mike…" Lincoln began.
"What? We both know that's what you're really pissed off about. Just say it! She left because of me."
Lincoln sighed. Michael had been home only a week from the hospital and was taking Lisa's departure very badly. He thought it was his fault and no matter how much Lincoln tried to convince his otherwise, Michael wasn't buying it.
"Michael, that's not true and you know it. I told you…this has nothing to do with you."
"Yeah right." Michael replied. "That's why you've been avoiding me like the plague all week."
Lincoln didn't know what to say to that. He had been avoiding Michael. But it wasn't because he was angry with him. It was because he was angry with himself. It was his fault that Michael ended up in the hospital and it was his fault that Lisa left and took LJ away from them. He didn't know what to do to make any of it right and he didn't know what to say to Michael to make him feel better. So he just avoided him.
"Sometime I just wish…" Michael began, but abruptly stopped when LJ suddenly spit up all over himself, just as Lincoln had predicted.
"Shit Michael! I told you!" Lincoln fumed, walking over to take his son from Michael's lap.
"I'm sorry!" Michael exclaimed.
"Now I gotta change him. Fuckin' listen to me next time! Would ya?" Lincoln said as he dug through LJ's bag, trying to find him a clean outfit.
"I didn't mean it." Michael replied defensively, throwing himself back on the couch and covering his face with his arms.
Lincoln looked up at his brother from where he knelt on the floor. He immediately regretted getting angry like that. Michael had had such a rough week and Lincoln knew that his head was still bothering him. The last thing he needed was to be hollered at.
"I'm sorry. OK?" Lincoln said, standing up. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I know you didn't mean it."
Michael lowered his arms and turned his head toward his brother.
"I didn't mean it. Why would I want to make LJ puke?"
Lincoln had to laugh at that.
"Good point. Listen…I'm going to take LJ and get him cleaned up and changed. Do me a favor and pack all this shit back in his bag.
Michael groaned and rolled off the couch as Lincoln disappeared down the hallway toward the bedroom. He crawled across the floor and started neatly folding all of LJ's stuff and putting it back in the bag. Lincoln hadn't separated any of the dirty stuff from the clean stuff and since Lisa had a over packed and sent LJ with far more than he needed for his overnight stay, there were plenty of clean clothes left over. Michael briefly considered going to get a plastic bag from the kitchen to throw the soiled clothes in, but then decided against it. Lisa was so anal, she would just wash all the clothes regardless. So why bother. He had just about gotten everything back into the bag when there was a knock on the door.
"Lincoln! Lisa's here!" Michael hollered.
"So let her in stupid!" Lincoln replied back.
Michael sighed and pushed himself up off the floor. He really didn't want to answer the door. He was still pissed off at Lisa for leaving and he didn't want to see her. But Lincoln was taking his own sweet time in the bedroom and he couldn't exactly leave her standing in the hallway. Although he was tempted.
Lisa's face lit up when Michael opened the door.
"Hey cutie!"
Michael rolled his eyes and turned his back to her.
"It's Michael." He said sullenly as he walked away.
"Ooh…Excuse me." Lisa said smiling as she walked in and closed the door behind her. "You never minded when I called you "cutie" before."
"Well, now I do." Michael shot back as he sat himself down on the couch and turned on the TV.
"OK. Understood." Lisa replied. "So, is LJ ready to go?"
"He was." Michael replied, not taking his eyes off the television. "But then he puked all over himself so Lincoln's changing him."
"Well, babies tend to do that every once in a while." Lisa said, tossing her purse down on the coffee table.
"Try telling Lincoln that." Michael mumbled under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing. Would you please shut up. I'm trying to watch TV." Michael snapped at her.
"Hey." Lisa said sitting down on the couch beside Michael. "Listen…I know your upset about me and LJ moving out, but I really don't want that to ruin our relationship."
"We don't have a relationship." Michael replied tersely.
"Sure we do." Lisa insisted. "Sweety, you're like a little brother to me. I love you."
"Well I'm not your little brother!" Michael said, jumping up from the couch. "And you're not my sister. You're not anything to me! You got that?"
Lisa's jaw dropped. She knew Michael was upset but she really hadn't expected this much anger directed at her.
"You're just some stupid slut who was dumb enough to get knocked up by my brother!"
"HEY!"
Michael whipped around and came face to face with an angry Lincoln who had overheard the entire exchange from the hallway.
"You apologize to her right now!" he demanded.
Michael remained stone faced as he looked directly into Lincoln's eyes.
"No." He said calmly.
Lincoln took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. He set LJ down inside his pack and play then turned to face Michael once again.
"You apologize to her Michael." He repeated. "I mean it."
"Lincoln…it's OK." Lisa said, getting up from the couch. "He doesn't have to."
"Yes… he does." Lincoln replied. Then, turning back to Michael he added," I don't care how angry you are. Lisa is the mother of my child and you will show her some respect."
"Why the hell should I ?" Michael asked. "You never do!"
Having said that, Michael tried to push his way past his brother, but Lincoln grabbed him by his upper arm so tightly that Michael grimaced in pain.
"Lincoln! Let him go!" Lisa cried as she ran and grabbed at Lincoln's free arm. Lincoln easily jerked his arm free from her grasp and turned to grab Michael's other arm.
"What the hell is the matter with you? Huh?" he hollered, shaking Michael violently in the process. "You don't fuckin' walk away from me when I'm talking to you. And you don't speak to people that way!"
"Lincoln, stop it!" Lisa screamed again.
"Get off of me!" Michael hollered at Lincoln. Then, yanking both arms free from Lincoln's grasp, he made a mad dash for his bedroom. He made it about half way down the hall before Lincoln tackled him from behind and they both fell to floor. Michael quickly scramble to his hands and knees and tried to crawl to the safety of his bedroom, but Lincoln caught him by one leg and dragged him back.
"STOP IT!" Lisa screamed as she grabbed Lincoln by his shoulders and tried unsuccessfully to drag him off the younger boy.
Lincoln was so consumed by rage at this point that he didn't even notice Lisa. He turned Michael over and held him down with one hand while slapping him hard across the face with the other.
Michael cried out in pain and brought both arms up to protect himself from another blow. But it never came. Almost as quickly as Michael's behavior had elicited Lincoln's rage, his reaction now quickly caused it to subside.
Lincoln now looked as horrified by what he had done as Michael and Lisa did.
"Oh my god." he said, falling back against the wall, bringing his hand to his head in disbelief.
Lisa quickly stepped over Lincoln and rushed to Michael's side.
"Michael…sweety…Are you OK?"
Michael ignored her. With tears streaming down his face, the defeated boy struggled to his feet and stumbled into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
"What the hell is the matter with you?" Lisa screamed at Lincoln who was now leaning against the wall, trying to catch his breath. "He just got out of the hospital! Are you crazy!"
Lisa got to her feet and went to Michael's door. LJ was now screaming from his pack and play, but she knew he was OK. He was surely frightened by all the screaming and commotion, but she wasn't going to leave with him until she knew Michael was OK.
"Michael?" She tried the doorknob, but it was locked. "Honey…please open the door."
"Go away!" Michael hollered at her from the other side.
"I just want to know if you are alright. Please open the door and let me look at you." Lisa pleaded. "Then I promise you I will leave."
Michael said nothing. Frustrated, Lisa turned back to face Lincoln.
"Great! Now what?"
Still horrified by what he had just done, Lincoln said nothing. He simply stared at Michael's door.
"Lincoln." Lisa said. "Lincoln!"
PRESENT TIME
"Lincoln."
Lincoln opened his eyes and sat up quickly on the couch.
"Oh…I'm sorry." Amber said. "I didn't know you were asleep."
"No…that's OK." Lincoln replied, as he swung his legs off the couch and rubbed his tired eyes. "I must have just dozed off."
"Umm…Michael is on the phone." Amber informed him, holding the cordless out for him to take.
"What?" Lincoln said in a panicked tone as he jumped up from the couch. "Is he OK?"
"I…I don't know. I think so."
Lincoln grabbed the phone from her and brought it to his ear.
"Michael?"
"I'm fine." Michael said in a calm voice.
"Shit kid." Lincoln groaned, falling back onto the couch. "You scared the hell out of me."
"Well, why do you always assume the worst? You need to relax Lincoln."
"Relax?" Lincoln repeated. "You're kidding. Right?"
Michael laughed.
"No…actually I'm not. That's why I'm calling. I know that I really freaked you out this afternoon and…I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize Michael. It was my fault. I really need to learn how to control my emotions. That's always been my problem."
"Maybe." Michael conceded. "But I really need to learn not to antagonize you. That's always been my problem."
"You sure you're OK?" Lincoln asked again.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I swear to you. I'm fine. It's just…I mean…when you saw my arm…what I had done…I just couldn't talk to you about it. You know?"
"I know. I shouldn't have pushed."
"I was going to tell you…eventually. Just…not then."
"Mike, I understand. Really."
"You were so happy and I ruined it." Michael continued.
"Mike…you're doing it again." Lincoln informed him.
Michael laughed.
"Sorry."
"Scofield, wrap it up." Lincoln could hear the guard address Michael.
"Linc, I gotta go."
"Yeah. I heard him." Lincoln replied.
"Please don't worry about me any more. OK. Just enjoy your family. That's all I want."
"I will." Lincoln replied. "I'll see you next week. OK?"
"Yeah. OK."
"Maybe I'll bring Veronica by sometime. She's getting so big now. You won't believe it."
"Scofield…Time is up. Let's go."
"Yeah. I'd like that. Listen…I really gotta go."
"OK pal. I'll see you soon."
"Take care." Michael replied and hung up before Lincoln could respond.
"You too buddy." Lincoln said. "You too."
To be continued…