"I'm a difficult man to love."

Once upon a time

…

Sara only realized she had caught some sleep after she opened her eyes. Her head was still resting on Kellerman's knees, and he was staring at the road with a half serious air.

"How much longer till we get to Sunnydale?" She asked.

"Fifteen minutes, give or take."

"Are you sure you don't want to make that U-Turn?"

"No." He answered, and glanced at her with a smile. "But we have to go back."

She sighed. "I know that. Gee, when did you become the responsible one?"

"I haven't." He joked. "I'm just giving you a break because you've been under a lot of stress, tomorrow I'll make you hate me more than you used to."

"Really?" She arched a brow, acting intrigued. "How will you pull that?"

"Well, for starters I'll brag. I'll be confident, annoying, sexy as hell. Oh, and if you thought I was a tease before, trust that you haven't met me when it comes to –"

"Okay." She interrupted with a smile. "I get the picture."

For a moment, they said nothing and things seemed fine. Then she watched him grown serious, and he suggested. "Maybe you should sit up straight now. We're going to be here in a few minutes, so unless you want Michael to find out about us with your head on my knees…"

"Right." She nodded, and sat back into her seat with an odd awkwardness. She glanced at Kellerman, staring at the road, and swallowed without understanding why. It wasn't really that she couldn't bear not to touch him, but sometimes he grew so cold and harsh – maybe it just felt like, as long as she was in his arms, he wouldn't change his ways without a warning.

When they pulled in the garage, Kellerman got out and opened the door for her before she could do so. And before they opened the door, he stroked a finger across her unarmed shoulder to give her some courage – maybe he just did it because now, he could.

She spotted Michael on the couch right away, and when she walked in his face took on an apologetic air. He got up immediately and gathered her in his arms, and Sara tensed in his hold. Just seeing him act as though their love was still the most logical thing in the word was confusing – holding him after enduring a particularly gruesome abduction hadn't stopped making sense to her. Michael was still the man she had fallen in love with, and his embrace felt natural and comforting. She closed her eyes, and caught herself enjoying it. There were strong odds that he would hate her by the end of the day, and Michael's hate was something she didn't yet know how to handle.

"My god, Sara." He whispered, and locked a hand around the back of her head to hold tighter. "I thought I might never see you again."

"So did I." She said, and her sadness came as an odd surprise – as though she hadn't expected that she would grieve Michael Scofield's love.

Kellerman's hands tightened into fists. He had expected that after what had happened in the car, maybe he wouldn't be so jealous and worried that despite everything he and Sara had gone through, she was still going to deny.

"I'm so sorry I left you there on your own." Michael went on.

"I'm all right."

This led him to pull away almost immediately, concern pervading his blue eyes. He assessed her physical state for less than ten seconds before letting out. "Oh god."

Buffy Summers, who Sara had spotted sitting on the couch as well next to Michael, got up to join them by the door. "Hi, Sara. I'm so glad we got to you and I'm sorry to kill the celebration, but you don't look so good."

"Her shoulder and wrists are injured." Kellerman said with such impassivity you'd have to know to tell that he cared. "She's got a nasty cut on her collarbone, and you're going to want to take a look at her head, she hit it pretty badly."

Sara blinked, almost startled at the lack of emotion in his tone.

"All right." Buffy nodded. "We'll get you back to your old room, okay Sara? We'll take care of you."

Sara clenched her teeth at the sudden attention on her – only a few more people had entered the room and already she felt crowded, but she tried her best to calm down. She was probably suffering from a little PTSD, which wouldn't be ridiculous considering what had happened. Nevertheless, the thought of being left some privacy with Michael so soon was too scary for her not to protest.

"If it's okay with you I'd rather take the couch."

"Sure." Buffy agreed. "Just lay down then. Can you take off your coat?"

Michael's eyes immediately set on the black jacket and he frowned. It was Kellerman's. He looked at the man immediately, even though he knew it wasn't the right time to be jealous. And anyway, it was pulled out of his mind when the coat was removed and her injuries were in the open. Rage made him dig his nails into his palms when he saw the scar that went down to her cleavage, reading T.

"T-Bag was there?"

"He's been taken care of." Kellerman said evasively.

"Wow." Buffy let out, and her nervousness felt oddly reassuring to Sara – it reminded her that she was the doctor here, when Buffy had probably never done this before.

"It's okay." Sara assured. "I'll just need bandaging, no stitches, and no strong painkillers. I'm – allergic." She lied after a brief hesitation. It was better than getting into the whole addiction thing.

"Aren't doctors the worst patients?" Paul teased, and there was something comforting about the way he said it. Something affectionate and close, and a reminder that he was right. She could rest and recover, and nothing would have changed tomorrow.

…

She did sleep a lot more than she was first expecting. For hours, all she did was slumber and open her eyes from time to time, finding that the setting was changing around her, but she was too tired to care why. When she did wake up for good, a bright sun was lightening the whole room, despite the curtains that had been drawn to cover it up. It was morning, and she was in her bedroom. And she wasn't sure who she would find at her side.

"Don't think about getting up yet." She recognized Michael's voice and a twinge of guilt overcame her. She opened her eyes, and spotted him on a chair by the window. He got up to sit down next to her and went on. "You need rest."

"Well, I got some."

"Buffy told me you'd say that," he smiled, "and she also told me to be very firm. Look," he continued more seriously, "I don't know what you've been through yesterday and I can't imagine, but I think it'll be better for you to rest for a few days."

Sara said nothing at that. She knew it was probably more reassuring for him, to imagine that she wouldn't be back training on the field right away, even if she was fine. Maybe it would make him feel less guilty.

Before she could reply, she saw Michael sigh and shake his head with worry. "Listen, I know T-Bag was there with you and I don't want to force you to talk about what happened, but I have to know –"

"He didn't rape me." She interrupted right away – the least she owed him was to put an end to his misery, but it wasn't the reason why she did it. She honestly wanted to assuage his guilt. She might be in love with Kellerman, Michael was still a man she had been willing to die for. He was still the convict who had stolen her heart in Fox River.

"Thank god." Michael let out.

"Actually, you ought to thank Paul." She corrected without thinking, and felt sorry for it a second later. She didn't want to be cruel to him, and lord knew she didn't want to hurt him. Breaking his heart would probably break her own, and this made her think she couldn't endure this for one more moment. "Look," she went on before he could reply, "I wanted to say –"

"Please, Sara." He interrupted. "Before you say anything, you must let me apologize. I've left you alone at the house when those bastards took you –"

"Michael, it's fine."

"No it isn't, I didn't even want to go! I didn't care about the damned assignment, but I'm good with people, Buffy thought I could help and I wanted to help – I always want to help and I ended up leaving you." He shook his head. "I love you more than I've ever loved anyone, Sara, and somehow I've never put you first."

He covered her cheek with his hand, and his sudden proximity felt so familiar Sara thought she might cry.

"But this ends right now, okay? All the selfishness I've been showing, the righteousness – the only people who need me and can't replace me are you and Linc, so from now on I'll tell the rest of them to find somebody else. I won't ever leave you again."

"God, Michael." She lowered her eyes and bit her lip – she had been unable to hold back the words. If he hadn't stopped right away, she figured she would have screamed, maybe just out of sheer pain.

She met his eyes again before she continued. She owed him at least to look him in the eye while she did it. "Look, I need some time."

"Of course you do. You've been through hell –"

"I mean some alone time, Mike. I just – I think it might be better if we took a break for a while."

"Oh." He looked baffled, but not yet concerned. "Well, of course, whatever you need. Wait, Kellerman doesn't have anything to do with this, does he?"

"No." She lied before she could help it – it sounded like the best thing to do, right now. To do this step by step. "I just mostly need some time alone."

Guiltiness surged in right away. Michael didn't deserved to be pushed around, and he didn't deserve to hang on and think that she would go back to him in the end.

"Sara, of course I understand." He said softly. "You need time, so I'll wait. You've waited for me, now I'll wait for you. I don't care whether it takes a week or a month, or a year."

"No." She shook her head and closed her eyes – damn it, this was a difficult thing to do. Probably the hardest. Part of her didn't want to say this and she knew it. Part of her wanted to grow old with Michael and love him devotedly, but that wasn't fair to either of them and she knew it. She met his eyes again when she finished. "I don't want you to wait for me, Michael."

He looked at her calmly – calmer than she had expected. "Why not? Don't you love me anymore?"

"Of course I love you."

"Then what is it?"

It was the right time to come clean. She knew it, but something held her back. There was probably nothing more difficult in this world than to tell somebody you loved that you loved someone else more.

"Is it because of yesterday?" He asked. "I know I shouldn't have left you, it was all my fault. The company wanted me, and T-Bag just wanted to get back at me –"

"Michael, stop." She interrupted pleadingly. "I don't blame you, I've never blamed you and I never will. It's not because I've been hurt or because we don't love each other, it's just – there's so much that's happened between us, so much misery."

"It wasn't all misery."

She knew it was unfair for her to play this card, especially because what had happened between her and Michael did not compare to what Paul had put her through – it would never compare.

"Don't you remember our first day inside this house?" He went on. "You told me you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me. Was that misery?"

"Don't do this, please."

"I'm the one who should be begging. You need to tell me if things have changed Sara, or if you still want that, if you still want me."

"I do, I just –" She clenched her teeth and forced herself to calm down. "I can't anymore. I'm sorry, Michael, I'll always love you, but this isn't because of you –"

"Then it's Kellerman."

"No."

"Now is a good time to be honest, Sara. Did you never love me enough? Did the time we spend together in Fox River and in Sunnydale mean anything?"

"I can't believe you're asking me that." She shook her head. "I gave up everything for you, Michael. I gave up my job, my life, and when the company came for me I protected you and your brother, I took the tape that my father left me even if it meant I would never be left alone! I loved you all right. I think I loved you more than you've ever loved me, for what it's worth. But this can't work anymore. I just need time to think about what happened to me without being reminded why."

He was silent a second, then he nodded. "All right. Then we'll take a break."

"I don't want us to avoid each other in the field, Michael, this can't possibly become some petty separation. You matter so much to me –"

"You do too." He assured, and for a moment he sounded so understanding that Sara had the feeling this was all going to be okay. "We can be friends for a while if that's what you need, Sara, I'll always be here for you. I'll be whatever you need me to be."

He smiled, and she smiled too. The thought that she might get to keep both Paul and Michael in her life was wonderful and she let it play for some time.

"I'll miss you." She said – couldn't help it.

"I'll miss you too." He said naturally. "If you need to be alone, Sara, then I guess I'll go." He got up with a smile, so gentle and understanding she couldn't help but smile back. "It's going to be okay." He said comfortingly. "We'll be okay, Sara, don't worry. I mean, it's not like we're going to see other people or something."

She opened her mouth, but no words got out. When Michael walked out the door, her mouth was still ajar. This was undoubtedly the worst breakup to ever be.

…

Although Sara figured she was probably excused from training for the day, she wanted to go. She figured that it was better than being left alone to think of Michael, or Paul, or what she had gone through in that abandoned house.

She was just about to go out when she heard someone knock. And although it sounded ridiculous, she recognized his way of knocking. The thought made her stifle a smile.

"Paul?"

"Can I come in?" He replied.

"It's probably not a good idea."

"Is that a no?"

She rolled her eyes and let him through. She couldn't help but feel relaxed immediately.

"How did it go?" He wondered before saying anything else.

"Horribly." He smirked despite his will, and she glared daggers at him with her eyes as a consequence. "You could at least pretend to show sympathy."

"I'm sorry, I just –" He shook his head. He just couldn't really believe that he had gotten this lucky. "Sorry." He repeated. "So, I assume it's too soon for me to kiss you or hold you in public. Do you think we should start by holding hands so that your ex doesn't suffer from a heart attack?"

"You know what, Paul? Now is probably the worst of all times to tease."

"Why?" He gave her a knowing look. "You didn't tell him about us, did you?"

"I couldn't." She sighed. "It all happened so fast, Paul. A week ago only I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with him and so did he. It was too soon for the both of us."

"So you didn't break up with Michael."

"I did. Sort of." She shrugged. "But he doesn't know that you had anything to do with it and I'd like it to stay that way for a while."

"I see." He nodded, and although he looked serious she knew he was teasing – he had given her a warning. "Well, then what's the plan, honey? I get out of this room now before your angry husband finds me in the closet again?"

"Well, for starters we'll have to have a conversation about pet names, and there is no plan. The idea is that Michael and I stay friends, so we don't have to lose each other's affection, and I'll wait for the right time to suggest that we see other people."

"And you don't think that for you to be seeing me, of all people, is going to put a brutal ending to your friendship?"

"You've got a better idea maybe? Look, we just have to wait until us being together is right. In a few months –"

"A few months? That's a few months without kissing in public or – something tragically worse than that?"

Sara let out a sigh. "It's not just for Michael. It wouldn't feel right to me to be with you when I've only just ended one of the most serious relationships in my life."

"Okay." He nodded immediately, trying to improvise. "So we'll remain private, I'm okay with that. I'm okay with just knowing that we'll be together in the end."

"Thank you."

"So, it's a bit like secret dating?"

"Well," she shrugged, "in a way. Without late sneaking out at night, I suppose."

"Why not?" He chuckled. "I mean, if I don't sneak out of your room every night, people will notice something is going on, won't they?"

"No they won't. You're not sleeping here, Paul."

She sounded so serious he found he wasn't in the mood to smirk. "Come again?"

"I've just said it, it's way too soon! How could I live with myself if you're here in the bed that Michael was occupying up till last week?"

"Well, sleeping with your very sexy secret boyfriend every night would be a way to get it off your mind." He waited a second to assert. "I won't get away with this, will I?"

"I'm sorry. I don't want to feel guilty for our first time, at the risk of sounding like an inexperienced schoolgirl, I want it to be perfect. Don't you care that we would be having sex when last week I was kicking you out of my bed?"

"At the risk of sounding like a horny jerk, not really."

"Well, I do. So you better behave."

But his grin didn't indicate good behavior. Not at all.

"Well," he feigned to agree, "can I still share your bed?"

"Not if you're going to try and seduce me."

"What? Afraid you'll give in?"

"No." She lied. "But we need some ground rules, and the first is that if you want to sleep in this bed, you'll keep your hands to yourself."

"Do your rules allow kissing?"

"Hum –"

"Can I nibble your earlobe?"

"Most definitely not." He laughed, and she gave him a glare. "Wow, you think you're so in control right now, that you don't really have to listen to any of this."

"Well, I don't mean to offend you, honey, but you were already incapable of behaving yourself when you were dating Michael."

She shook her head with a mirthless chuckle. "My, aren't you full of yourself. So what am I, your conquered land?"

"Don't be like that."

"You're in for a big surprise, Kellerman. I'm sticking to those rules."

"Sure you are." He nodded, but he must have been unable to contain a smile because she was still glaring.

"Fine. Get out of my room."

"Please, honey –"

"Out." She repeated. "Buffy gave me this room to allow me privacy and rest, I intend to enjoy both and apparently, it's not going to be possible with you around."

"Oh Sara, darling," he teased, "will you really let me sleep all by myself on a harsh cold floor when this bed is way too big for you?"

"I will if you keep calling me stupid pet names."

"What will it be then?" He said, low but serious. "Angel? Little dove? My sweet, sweet lamb?"

Sara swallowed. "Honestly, you should go. I'm just going to rest."

"Really? Weren't you just about to go out when I stepped in?"

"Yes, hum… I'm feeling tired now."

"Wonderful. I would like to catch some sleep myself, would you leave me some room? I promise to behave."

Sara assessed his behavior. Ultimately, she caved in with an eye-roll and lay on the bed. She closed her eyes, and although she was aware she had just had just asked Kellerman to go, part of her hoped he had stayed.

Her eyes opened wide when she felt his hands on her feet. "What are you doing?"

"What? You intended to sleep with your shoes on? Come on, it's not as though I'm removing your shirt."

He kicked off his own shoes and joined her in bed, above the covers for good measure. "Relax." He said, closing his eyes. "Like I said, at worst I'll hide in the closet."

"Why am I letting you stay here?" She sighed.

"It feels empty without me."

She shook her head, but snuggled against him still. "It does feel empty without you." She admitted.

She felt the urge to kiss him, but she felt exhausted and besides a kiss with Kellerman would never stop at one kiss the way it sometimes did with Michael. Sometimes, it occurred to her that this love was going to consume them both until nothing but cinders was left.

He seemed to read her mind and behaved, relatively, pressing kisses to her forehead and her uninjured shoulder, then both of her cheeks and her jaw line, anywhere but her lips. He was basically on top of her now but his kisses were innocent, and she didn't have the will to retort. Finally he kissed the top of her head and straightened into a more decent posture, wrapping his arms around her. "If you want to rest you should." He said innocently.

Well, now of course she wasn't so much in the mood for it, but she said nothing of that and closed her eyes. Then without much of a warning, she felt Kellerman's weight overhang her body and his lips crushed against hers, softly. Too softly for her to fight it. She could never resist him when he was gentle. He snaked a hand beneath the nape of her neck to draw her closer and deepen the kiss, and soon he was lying above her completely with one leg on each side of her, and she forgot everything about the reasons why this was wrong.

She slid her fingers under his shirt, eager to discover the same chest that had made her blush two days ago, when she had seen him half naked in the field. She opened a few buttons randomly and kissed the inches of skin discovered – his abdomen, then his belly button, until he gripped her wrists wildly and pinned her to the bed.

"You're going to drive me crazy, you know." He breathed hoarsely, and kissed her before she had time to reply.

Summoning the strength to resist, Sara brought his hands down to an appropriate level and tore from his lips. "I meant what I said earlier. We really can't do this, Paul."

"Come on, honey. I swear I won't tease you about how your rules lasted less than ten minutes."

He slivered a hand up her thigh and her eyes shut despite her will, so she could only hear him pull down the zipper of her jeans. She could feel him smirk against her neck, but right now she didn't care that he was being an arrogant ass. She would be mad at him later. She arched her back to help him rid her of her pants, and he smiled at her compliance. His hand travelled up skillfully across her panties until he met the right place, and he removed it just as she jerked her hips forward against him.

She should have known that he would be a tease about this. After all, she had gotten a fair warning. He kissed her before she could complain and moved his fingers upwards again.

"You know," he said, and although he wasn't smirking, his tone was low and sensual and he might as well be, "you never technically made a rule against this."

She suddenly wanted to yell at him, but she was getting more and more aroused and she was afraid she wouldn't yell the right words.

"Well," he cocked his head to the side in consideration, "I suppose breaking the rules never harmed anyone, once in a while." He buried his face in her neck without another word and closed his lips around her lobe, until she was sighing in frustration and excitement, but not quite fighting him off.

She could have said no at any point and she knew it.

Before she had much time to ponder on this though, knocks were pounded on the door and she let out a loud gasp. Paul didn't stand up still or freeze the way she did, and she needed to chase him away by hammering her fingers against his chest.

"Relax, Sara." He said calmly. "It's probably just Buffy."

"Closet." She ordered.

"I'm telling you –"

"No negotiating. Get in that closet, now."

He complied, but smirked all the way through, and just as he locked himself in, the knocking pursued. "Sara?" She recognized Buffy's voice and sighed. Paul was going to be unlivable after this. "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Buffy stepped in and briefly looked around her. "Hey." She said once she looked at the young woman. "I was just checking up on you, I wanted to make sure you were okay and tell you that you don't need to go back to the field until you're ready."

"Thanks. That's very kind, but I'm fine, really."

"You're sure?" The young woman insisted with a slight smile. "Then are you going to let out the man who is hiding in your closet or will I have to?"

Sara held back from choking. Was that a slayer instinct or something? "I don't see what you're talking about."

Buffy shook her head. "Never mind, it's not my business."

Kellerman stepped out of the closet before Sara could say a word. "Paul!" She admonished.

"What? She already knew about it, and I was smothering in there."

Sara shook her head, humiliated. "Look, this really isn't what it looks like."

"Please, Sara. You've just been abducted ant tortured, I'm not going to blame you. I'm going to blame Paul. Are you aware that you're taking advantage of a traumatized woman?"

"He's not." Sara insisted. "I broke up with Michael, I just haven't told him about Paul yet because I want to take it easy on him. Look, there won't be any more fighting I swear."

"And if anything," Paul went on, "she's the one who is taking advantage of me, not the other way around. She invited me in her bed and basically jumped on me. She's an injured woman, how could I not indulge her?"

"Just please, don't tell Michael." Sara said. "He's really not ready to hear it yet."

"It's none of my business, of course I won't tell him." She said. "This being said, the two of you aren't being as discreet as you think you are. I mean, what if Michael had stepped in right now and not me?"

"Point taken." Sara said.

"Fine. Well, I really hadn't planned to lecture either of you so I'm going to go, just – be good kids, all right?" Then she left, and closed the door behind her.

Paul let out an audible sigh. "So. Should we pick up where we left off? What?" He said when she glared at him. She got up to open the door and he rolled his eyes. "Come on, Sara, don't leave."

"I'm not leaving, you are."

"Wait. Are you mad at me?"

"Of course I am! You broke all of my rules."

"Right, I'm the only one to blame."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, all I did was kiss you, which was totally fine according to your rules. You're the one who started undressing me." Sara opened her mouth but didn't manage to retort. She hated that he was right. "Actually," he added with a grin, "I think you're the one who can't behave when we're together."

"Wait, you're the one who –"

"Who let you undress me? Well," he shrugged, "I fail to see what kind of man would say no to you, honey."

She shut her mouth without knowing what to retort. "Just shut up, Paul."

"I could fill a book with all the times you've said that."

"Will you quit acting like this is funny? I broke up with Michael an hour ago."

He nodded, serious again. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you. So, rule number three, there can't be any more kissing."

"Now come on, that's exaggerated."

"We're not discussing this. Whenever you kiss me I lose the will to fight you, so no kissing."

"And if I promise to behave?"

"You'll break that promise and we both know it."

He flashed a smirk, way too handsome to be harmless. "Do you know how much I love you right now?" He leaned in to kiss her, and gripped at her hands to anticipate any struggle.

"No." She protested before he could reach her lips, deflecting her face from him. "There's no way I'm letting you."

"You want to bet?" He let go of her hands to grab her face, both firm and sensual, a mix he knew she could never resist. He managed to steal a kiss, and although her hands were now free to hammer against his chest in defense, he hardly noticed it.

He let the kiss deepen until she was responding, then he pulled away and kissed her again once, just enough to get her riled up again. Then he met her eyes and grinned at her visible arousal, charming enough to fool the devil.

"You're despicable." She declared, but it hardly sounded like an accusation.

He nodded at her comment and said for a reply. "Well, I could leave you. But you won't let me."

…

In the end, they both stayed in Sara's room all afternoon and around seven p.m., he went downstairs to get them something to eat.

"You're sure no one saw you get there?" Sara asked cautiously, and he gave her an affectionate eye-roll.

"I was a professional spy for fifteen years, Sara. I think I'm okay."

They ate noodles in carton boxes, and it brought both of them back to the past, eating Chinese food in her apartment. It didn't just feel nostalgic, and Sara's throat knotted slightly – once again, she wondered if any of this was going to work out in the end, if things could even work out at all, when there was such a complicated past behind them.

Then she remembered how it used to feel to fight her feelings for Paul, how difficult and vain, and she realized it didn't matter. She would try. It was the only thing left to do for them both, at this stage.

"Did you lock the door?" She asked to enroll conversation – also, hoping that she might relax.

"Yes." He answered, calmly.

Too calmly. She knew that if she was feeling sad now then he was probably feeling guilty, and it reassured her somehow. It made her want to reassure him, as she did in the beginning. For a moment, she thought that this love really didn't make sense. Then she thought that if she couldn't escape it anyhow, it really didn't matter whether it made sense anyway.

Kellerman cleared his throat, and went on as an attempt to joke. "Though it isn't really necessary, given we're not doing anything forbidden."

She smiled, and entered his game. "There's nothing wrong with being careful, and that's just what we're doing."

"Using condoms is being careful." He argued. "This is paranoid behavior."

They both chuckled, and for a moment things lightened up again and Sara managed to smile. "Well, we both know that if we start on that road we're not going to want to stop."

"You weren't complaining this afternoon."

She gave him a kick in the ribs instead of a reply, and he smiled back. "You know, those rules of yours are never going to work. You'll never be able to hold back from kissing me for a few months. You'll manage a day, maybe two, but by then the tension between us will be unbearable and something is very likely to – snap. The best would really be that we practice kissing and touching without losing control."

Sara swallowed. She knew she was making this easy on him and on the other hand, she couldn't see the harm in what he was suggesting – it actually did sound logical, in a way.

…

Twenty minutes later, she thought it was an even better idea. They weren't touching apart from their lips, and the slight brushing of their legs against each other's.

"See?" Kellerman said smugly. "All we need is a little practice." He pressed his palm against her cheek to kiss her again, the contact both tender and passionate.

When it became so intense that she forgot to breathe, Sara knew they needed to stop and she pulled away. Desire was jamming her willpower, but she managed to get a grip. She stared into Paul's blue eyes, who was looking at her with a half pleased surprise. He was always taken aback when she pulled away. Never thought she'd have it in her.

She kissed him back before he could smirk or say something overly confident, and she drew back again when he slid a finger up her thigh.

"I don't think so, Paul." She said, and knew she shouldn't have sounded so smug herself but couldn't help it.

"But you want to."

"There are more important things than what I want."

"Like what I want?"

"Cute. Did you ever hear of the expression 'the ink's not even dry yet'?"

A few moments later, knocks were pounded on the door and Sara tried not to panic – but she was no longer in the mood to tease and she couldn't deny it.

"Should I hide in the closet?" Kellerman asked.

"No." She tried to reason with herself. "No, we're just friends having a talk, it's okay."

He was slightly startled at her reaction but said nothing of it, and he remained sitting next to her on the bed when the door opened. Michael stepped inside, and Sara swallowed coyly. She saw the young man's expression distort with surprise, and his eyes set on the empty carton boxes at the foot of the bed.

"Michael." Sara said, the greeting lightly awkward. "Paul was just keeping me company."

"Of course, I just – I was going to ask you if you wanted to have dinner but apparently –"

"Yes, I…" She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Paul stopped by and we just –"

"I get it." He nodded. "I mainly just wanted to see if you were okay."

"I am." She assured, and thought of getting up, but ultimately decided it would feel even more awkward. "Is there anything you wanted to tell me?" She regretted the words immediately because it felt as though she was chasing him away, but Michael spoke before she could apologize.

"Actually, could I borrow Kellerman for a while?"

She arched her brows in complete startle and Paul tilted his head to the side. "Of course." He said before she could speak against it. "How about the field? It should be deserted by now."

"Why not?" Michael agreed, and he gave Sara a glance and smiled reassuringly. "I'll see you soon."

"Sure." She said, unable to mask her anxiety.

Both men walked downstairs and reached the field, which was indeed empty. "Well," Kellerman said. "Now we're here. What is there to talk about?"

Michael shrugged, with an honest air. "For starters, I wanted to thank you. For saving Sara. I also wanted to yell at you for cutting short our conversation when I thought she was dead, but that's – it's forgotten."

Paul nodded, still invisibly cautious. "All right."

"I don't know if she's talking to you about it, if it's maybe easier for her to talk to you, but she isn't talking to me. That worries me. I don't think she's fully facing what happened to her yesterday."

Kellerman remained impassive, but felt oddly guilty for a moment. Maybe Buffy was right and he had taken advantage of her, a little bit. He felt suddenly relieved that Buffy had interrupted them earlier.

"Anyway," Michael went on, "I was hoping to talk to her but maybe you already have. Maybe you think this is the ideal timing to take care of her, Kellerman."

Paul noted the accusation. He would be ready to fight Michael at any time, but it would only be something that Sara would be mad about.

"I get that you're the one who saved her," he went on, "you were there for her that night, I get that it brings her to feel safe around you and that it gets you to think that maybe, things are different now."

Kellerman smiled, humorless. "I suppose you think that you know it better than I do, this being said she is safe with me. And she will be for as long as she cares to."

"I know what kind of person you are, Kellerman. What kind of man." Michael shook his head. "Sara sees the best in people, of course, she ended up working in a penitentiary, but I'm scarcely wrong about them. You're a snake."

Kellerman clenched his teeth.

"You let people believe that you care for them and you make them feel like they're your whole world, but men like you – men like you never truly feel anything. And even if you do love her Paul, even if she's an exception to that iced heart of yours somehow, you'll hurt her anyway."

"I suggest you shut your mouth."

"You're a violent man, Paul. It's in your bones. All snakes bite in the end, even if they could feel pity or remorse."

"What's your point?"

"My point is that I won't let you push Sara around and rough her up when you feel like it. What, are you going to deny?" He said at the rage in Kellerman's gaze. "Didn't you do it already? From what I understood, you hurt her far worse than Bagwell did."

Paul grabbed him before he could add a word and pushed him against the wall. "You ever compare me to him again and I'll –"

"What, you'll kill me? Go ahead, you bastard! You still want to try and deny that you're a violent man? You've hurt her, Paul. And you know that you could do it again, if she gets you upset enough."

"I'll never raise a hand on her again. I'm not that man anymore."

"Who are you trying to convince here?" He was silent for a second, then he reiterated. "What did you do to her, Paul? That one night, after she admitted she had let you kiss her, she came to me crying and said she never wanted to see you again. What did you do to her then?"

"What did I do?" Kellerman repressed the anger that the boy's words stirred in him. "What did you do? Who's fault was it this time if Sara was tortured by a sadistic rapist?"

"Shut up."

"They came after you! Caroline gave the order to kill her, by the time I got there she could have been dead. She would have been dead, if Bagwell hadn't decided to have fun with her first. So which is worst, Michael? That you owe her life to him, or to me?"

Michael pushed him away brutally and shoved him into the wall.

"Well." Kellerman commented. "Look who is losing his temper now."

"Let's get one thing clear. I love Sara and she loves me, and I'm not going to let you take advantage of what happened to prey on her furthermore. She needs time to heal. It's no opportunity for you to take."

"I'll be there for her." He said. "Don't think I won't."

"No, sure you will. Just keep in mind that if you abuse her in the state she's in, you'll go to an extremely special stage of hell."

"Yeah, that is starting to sink in."

"Good." Michael said, then a silence settled in and the young man appraised Kellerman's face. It had to be the confidence with which he had spoken, or maybe just something about his smile – something knowing.

It was pointless to feed this argument and Kellerman knew it, Sara would kill him if he hurt her ex, and so he tried to think of something to say to cut short the conversation, but Michael was faster.

"Are you sleeping with her?" He asked with sudden suspicion – and a lot of seriousness.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Michael said, his voice icy cold. "Are you fucking my girlfriend?"