A/N: Sorry about another super long delay, I promise I haven't abandoned this story! I have every intention of keeping it going ;) This is shorter, but hopefully I'll have more ready to publish soon. Let me know your thoughts! :)
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"You're not gonna believe this," Mahone set down his coffee mug, addressing both Sara and Michael the next morning in their kitchen.
"What?" Michael asked, looking up from the mug he was pouring for himself.
"Panama," he laughed, "the bastard actually chose Panama, of all places."
Sara, pulling her sweater tighter, "That's where Jacob is heading?"
Nodding, "According to a few of Emily's searches I was able to find, that's the only possible conclusion. She was looking up houses for sale, plane tickets, the whole nine yards."
Michael scoffed, "I feel like I should be amused by the irony, but with Mike's life at stake…"
"I know this isn't really an answer," Mahone continued, "it doesn't tell us what he's planning now, but it does give us a hint about his next move."
Sara leaned her back against the counter, "So what do we do now? We can't tell airports to watch out for him because he'll definitely have a different I.D by then."
"We could try using his picture," Mahone explained, "but that still has a few glaring issues, the first being we don't know when he'll make his escape. I can't just tell every airport in the country to watch out for a man who may escape…and who will have an I.D with a name and state unknown. That's the definition of a needle in a haystack."
"He still has to get out for any of this to be useful," Michael chimed in, setting his mug, coffee untouched, down on the counter. Realizing his observation might've come across as rude, he added, "But this…this is still good. Thank you."
"Wish I could do more," Mahone admitted, "but at least we have a general idea of his plan after he gets out."
"If he gets out," Sara added, finding the idea rather unpleasant.
"Well, if he doesn't…we don't know what…" Michael paused, not wanting to continue that sentence.
"I know," Sara continued reluctantly, "God only knows what he'd do to Mike."
Michael, "One way or another, in a few weeks he isn't going to be in Fox River anymore."
Mahone added, "And he'll be on his way to Panama to start a new life."
"Unless this whole thing is a mis-direct," Sara pointed out.
Mahone shook his head, "I highly doubt Emily is expecting anyone to be looking into her search history right now. The F.B.I wouldn't investigate someone like her before she assisted someone with a crime."
"You're F.B.I," Michael retorted.
Mahone smirked, "But this is a friends and family discount-type situation. I'm only doing this because I know you and wanna help. It's not official procedure to investigate people before they might commit a crime," he picked up his mug, "not enough manpower in the world to do that."
They all thought in silence for a moment, Michael taking a sip of his coffee before lowering his head again and whispering under his breath in disbelief, "Panama."
Mahone scoffed in agreement and tucked his laptop under his arm, "I'm gonna head into town to get a few things done for work," he paused, "I hate to say it, but I feel like my usefulness here is running low. I'm not sure if I can be more help at this point."
Michael nodded, understanding, "Don't feel like you have to stay, you've already done more than enough."
"When Jacob makes his move, I'm just a phone call away. I can still assist you both from another state, we'll just have to be careful how we communicate."
Michael and Sara both nodded.
"I'll get some work done today and see if I have any grand ideas about Jacob but otherwise, I think I'll look into flights out tomorrow morning."
"Thank you, Alex," Michael nodded, "we appreciate it."
XXXXXXXXX
Veronica was exhausted; she didn't know why. The past couple of days she'd been in a funk- she'd wake up feeling fine and putter around the house, doing her usual morning routine of getting everyone ready for work and daycare. The first few hours behind her desk were normal but in the afternoon? Torture. Her eyelids felt so heavy, a mild yet annoying headache pricked the edges of her vision, making it nearly impossible to stare at her computer screen or do paperwork. She thought she might be sick, but her symptoms weren't specific or severe enough to warrant even a self-diagnosis.
She considered leaving early today- just by an hour or two. Anything she could do here she could also do at home, curled up on the couch with a laptop instead of wearing heels and sitting upright at her desk like a professional. The work itself was the same, but the circumstances could be much more comfortable and pleasant. She closed her eyes and could practically feel the softness of her sweatpants…a warm mug of tea between her hands.
She set her sights on leaving at four o'clock. It was a little after one now, but somehow the thought of only three more hours seemed bearable compared to the four or five that it normally would be.
Just as she committed to opening another file, her desk phone rang. She made a habit of looking at the caller I.D and saw that it was Lincoln's cell phone number. Her eyes narrowed; he never called her work phone, always her cell.
Her hand darted to grab it, "Hello?"
"Veronica?" And unfamiliar voice replied.
"Yes, who is this?" And why do you have Lincoln's phone? She added in her mind.
"This is Frank, Lincoln's supervisor."
She gulped, remembering Lincoln mentioning the guy's name a time or two; he always seemed to like and respect him, but that didn't explain why he was calling.
Already knowing the answer, she asked, "Is everything ok?"
"He's stable, and on his way to the hospital."
Her heart sank, waiting for more words to follow.
"A piece of metal fell on his leg and cut it pretty bad. The EMTs are sure he'll need surgery as soon as he gets there."
"He's on the way now?" She was already grabbing her keys. Damn this corded phone keeping her from dashing out instantly.
"Yup we're in route, I'm riding with him in the back. They said we should be there in five or ten minutes, and they're prepping the room for surgery now."
Weakly, "Can I talk to him?"
With empathy, "He's in and out of it…mostly out of it."
"I'll go get Charlotte and be on my way over, just call my cell if you need to get ahold of me."
"Yes ma'am, will do."
"Thank you," she hung up and raced out of her office, driving to daycare like a mad woman, and pulling into the parking lot of the hospital.
She wanted to call Michael, and knew that she should, but she had to see for herself first that Lincoln was really gonna be okay. It felt like too private of a moment to share; she knew the brothers were close, but this was her husband they were talking about and it felt like that gave her some kind of right to talk to him before anyone else.
She barged through the Emergency room door with Charlotte's hand firmly in hers, dragging her along in full, adult-sized steps.
"I'm looking for Lincoln Burrows," she told the woman behind the first desk she came to.
"You're his wife?" She asked, clearly having been expecting her.
"Yes."
Nodding, "He's just about to go into surgery, let me page them to see if you can go in before to see him."
Veronica nodded and her mind blurred as the nurse made a few phone calls or pages or whatever she was doing. Veronica couldn't bring herself to pay attention to that as her eyes wandered around the room, her body vaguely aware that Charlotte's hand was in fact still in hers, and that she hadn't run off yet.
"Ma' am?" Then louder, "Ma'am?"
"Huh? Sorry," Veronica replied, her eyes returning to the woman before her.
"He'll take you to see him," she gestured to a young man in scrubs that had appeared next to her.
"Ok, yea. Thanks," she managed and followed the young man down the hallway.
He had an easy way about him and a calm smile, despite his words of, "You'll have to make it quick, they're ready to wheel him in."
"Hey," she was already rushing to Lincoln's side, her hand resting on his cheek. His face was pale, his eyes struggling to flutter open.
His only response was a slight groan, a brief moment where his eyes opened enough to see her. She knew he was in pain, knew that his body was shutting his mind off for his own good.
"We'll be right here when you get out, okay?" She kissed his forehead and then lifted Charlotte up, her tiny hands landing on his shoulder to stabilize herself.
"Give daddy a kiss for good luck," Veronica prompted, not wanting her to be afraid, but also wanting her to know the truth of what was going on.
Her messy-haired girl kissed his cheek, and offered a, "Good luck daddy," before the team came and wheeled him away.
"Where is he going?" Charlotte asked as they started walking back towards the lobby to wait.
"Daddy got hurt at work, and they're going to help him."
Charlotte contemplated this silently as Veronica lifted her up into one of the seats. They had a few toys with them that Charlotte had with her at daycare, so Veronica grabbed one and handed it to her, "I'm gonna call you're uncle and let him know what's going on, so if you can sit here and play with this, that would be a big help. You think you can do that for me?"
Her eyes lit up at the possibility of being a good helper, "Ok!"
Veronica wasn't sure how long her obedience would last, but it would certainly be long enough to make a phone call.
Michael answered, "Hey Vee, what's up?"
She sighed, "Hey."
XXXXXXXX
"Wait, so what happened?" Sara asked Veronica as she and Michael sat down next to her in the waiting room. Sara slung her bag off her shoulder and tossed it on the floor, her eyes locking onto Veronica's intently.
Veronica blinked, realizing that she still never got the full details, "Uh, he uh…they just said something about a piece of metal falling on his leg. Or maybe clamping it between…" she blew out a breath, "I don't really know. His leg got cut by a piece of metal."
Sara put a hand on her forearm, a calming gesture, "Did they say what part of his leg?"
Shaking her head, "They didn't say, but his left calf was the part all wrapped up when we saw him."
"Well that's…good," Sara offered.
"How so?"
She shrugged, "Less blood loss there than if it had hit the femoral artery. Plus if…" her voice faded.
"What?" Veronica demanded, not wanting to be sugar-coated.
Sara sighed, looking down for a moment, "If they can't repair it and have to amputate, it would just be below the knee and not his whole leg."
Veronica's chest flattened as she exhaled, "Jesus, could it really be that bad?"
Sara shook her head, "I haven't seen it, I really can't say," she lowered her head, starting to back-pedal, "I'm sorry-"
"-no don't be sorry, God you've told me more than they have and he's not even your patient."
Sara smiled softly, "I doubt it'll come to that, but if it did…the lower leg is preferrable."
"Makes sense."
Veronica looked around and realized for the first time that Michael was sitting on the floor across from Charlotte, aiding her with a puzzle that was in the waiting room. It was a relief to have them both here, and to not be the only adult in the room.
"We've all just been getting hammered lately, haven't we?" Sara observed with a dark laugh.
"One thing after another," Veronica agreed.
After a moment, "Did they give you any guess of how long the surgery will take?"
Shaking her head, "Not yet."
"Want us to order something for dinner? We can have it delivered here or one of us can go get it."
Veronica hadn't even considered eating, but Charlotte at the very least would need something. It was still early yet, but she knew they'd be here long past dinner time, if they went home at all. Personally, she'd want to curl up next to Lincoln while he recovered, but expecting Charlotte to sleep here overnight would be a bit taxing for her.
"Yea, yea…ordering something would be good."
"Any preference?" Sara asked.
She shook her head, "I'm not really hungry, so whatever sounds good to you guys, I'll just have some."
Sara met her Veroinca's eyes, her brown ones full of concern. Veronica was normally a happy eater, always with an appetite despite her petite figure. The fact that she was less than thrilled about the possibility of dinner signaled to Sara that she was really hurting. The reason for her suffering was clear and obvious, but still…didn't make it any less concerning.
Veronica's eyes rested again on Michael and Charlotte, watching him interact with her. She could only imagine how hard it had been for both of them lately, losing Mike. Sara was right about one thing, between their two little families, they couldn't seem to catch a break.
"Want me to see if I can find anything out?" Sara asked, nodding towards the front desk.
Veronica smirked, "Gonna pull the "I'm a doctor, let me know things," card?"
She nodded, unashamed, "Yup."
Veronica grinned, "Sure. I'm not in the mood to be demanding or persistent."
Sara stood up, "Well, you're in luck, because I'm in the mood to be both."
XXXXXXX
Michael woke up in their bed around nine. They'd been at the hospital for most of the night, opting to wait it out until Lincoln was out of surgery and in recovery. It had been a little after two when they'd finally made it home.
Charlotte had fallen asleep in his lap in the waiting room; he didn't know his niece well…too many years of not being around, but she was a little spit-fire who seemed to love everyone. As soon as she found out that he was her uncle, she took to him instantly and they'd been friends ever since. It amazed him how trusting kids were; Veronica and Lincoln basically told her, "Hey, this guy is family. You're safe with him," and that's how Charlotte had acted around Michael ever since. If a trusted adult tells you something as a child, you're inclined to believe it. He couldn't help but apply this same observation to Mike, wondering what kind of damage was done by having Jacob in his life…a "trusted adult" who ended up being anything but trustworthy, and all of the confusion that came out of that.
Sara sighed heavily next to him, starting to stretch and roll over, working up the strength to sit up but neither one of them speaking yet, unwilling to break the night time silence and admit that it really was time to get out of bed.
Rather than say anything, Sara reached over and tapped her phone screen, waking it up and no doubt checking for messages from Vee. She sat up and rested her back against the wall, running a hand through her hair as she read.
"Everything ok?" He asked.
Nodding, "Yea, Veronica said they left shortly after we did and made it home safe. She's heading back first thing…might already be there, I'm not sure."
"She want company today?" Michael asked. They didn't have anywhere specific that they needed to be. He still had to figure out his Jacob predicament but he could do that from anywhere.
"I can ask," Sara nodded and began typing, "oh, and Alex left early this morning. He called my cell last night and left a message saying he had a flight out at six, but to call him if we need anything."
Michael nodded, "Okay."
A faint buzzing sound caught his attention, "That yours?"
Sara shook her head, indicating that the phone in her hand wasn't causing the sound.
He turned and rolled over towards his side again and found his phone ringing. Confused, "Speak of the devil."
"Hello?" he answered it.
Alex replied, "Hey, sorry to call again so soon, but I think I have an idea."
"Didn't your flight already leave?"
"Just landed, I thought of it on the plane. Do you have time to talk?"
"Sure," Michael stood up out of bed and pointed downstairs, indicating that he'd take the call elsewhere so she could communicate with Vee in peace. She nodded her awareness and he padded down the steps, the morning bleariness evaporating quickly as Alex began to explain his thoughts.
