See Me Cry

"Sara." Michael said in greeting, but she couldn't bring herself to spin around on the barstool to look into his steely blue eyes. If she looked into his eyes, she was afraid she might just fall into his arms and profess her undying devotion. She knew she wouldn't be able to pretend that she wasn't in love with him. Her coming here was a blatant illustration of that fact. God, this was a bad idea. The consequences of the visit seemed to hit her like a smack in the head. Sara squeezed her glass bottle tighter and her breathing became quick and shallow.

Lincoln gave Michael an encouraging pat on the back as he left, taking LJ to a table not too far away. He slid onto the stool next to Sara, and was content to study the profile of her face for a while. She had thrown her auburn hair into a level ponytail, and the hipster jeans and purple camisole she wore under her light jacket was a vast contrast to the professional attire Michael had become accustomed to.

She almost looked like she was on vacation. Except for that almost untraceable sense of agitation that charged the air around her. Anxiety creased her features as she slowly unwrapped her white fingers from the beer bottle.

"Sara?" He whispered gently, and she bit her bottom lip before turning to look at him.

His hair was a little longer, and he was wearing a white T shirt and jeans. But he was still the same Michael. Still had that same enigmatic expression and the same inquisitive eyes. When her mind had refreshed its image of him, something came flashing back to her.

The dream that had woken her the night before played vividly in her imagination. She was running down the docks, knowing she had to get somewhere, only she wasn't sure exactly where. If she didn't make it in time, her life would somehow grind to a painful halt. Her lungs burned, but she pumped her legs even harder, because she heard a boat's horn blowing. She reached the end of the dock just as a large cruise ship departed. Michael stood on the prow, looking back at her, yelling something that sounded like, "Hurry, Sara, come with me." But it was lost in the chugging of the engines, and churning of the water. He was already gone, and she collapsed onto the dock in a sobbing, blubbering mess, a feeling of utmost horror and misery overwhelming her.

Sara swallowed hard as she looked into his face. He seemed lighter now. The darkness that prison cast over the both of them was gone. He was free of everything, and it suited him.

"Hey." She responded, because she'd almost forgotten he'd whispered her name pleading her to say something…anything.

Michael smiled, "I'm glad you came."

"I'm not sure it was such a good idea."

He furrowed his brow, "Why not?"

I may not want to leave, she wanted to say. But she took another sip of her beer and said lamely, "This place is beautiful."

She knew Michael saw through her façade, but he didn't say anything except, "It absolutely is." He ordered a beer, and they sat in silence for a while, not quite sure what to say. What could be said, after what he did to her, after what they'd both gone through?

"I should be mad at you." Sara said suddenly, surprising even herself for voicing her thoughts. She was usually one to keep her personal feelings personal. But it was true that she hadn't been the same since Michael left. She had undergone something unidentifiable…some change in character.

"You have every right to be."

"I should be mad." She repeated. "If I was mad it would be easy to push you away. But I'm not. I can't be, no matter how much I want to."

"Don't push me away, Sara." He begged calmly, his eyes were the only thing to give away his desperation. Which was strange; at Fox River Sara could never have read him like she was able to now. Maybe he felt like he didn't need to hide anything anymore. Maybe he wanted her to see inside him.

"Give me one reason not to." Sara stated coldly. She could refute any reason he gave her. Except for one. Except for the only one she wanted to hear. But he didn't give it to her. Not yet.

"You just got here. You need to enjoy the rest of your vacation."

"And I can't do that without you?"

"No." He stated with a smirk, glad the tension had left their conversation in favor of a playful flirting. Tilting his head up a bit in mock importance, "If you really want to have fun, you need to know the locals."

"Is that so?" Sara grinned.

"Oh yeah. This place is just full of hip things to do." The sarcasm dripped off his words.

"So what have you been doing, Michael?" Sara's tone changed bitterly, and Michael was taken aback. He guessed he had it coming.

"Putting my life back together."

She scoffed, "I never even had a chance to put my life back together after you left. When you touched me, Michael, my life just came together." Sara ground out through clenched teeth, tears filling her eyes. "When you left, it tore me apart. I hated myself for missing you, because I just wanted to be angry at you for finally making me happy and then taking it all away…"

She would've gone off on him, but he interrupted.

"I know you have every right to be mad at me and you're hurt and thinking that I used you and lied to you…and well, I did sort of. Because I just…I had to get him out of there, I would've done anything in the world to save him. But I didn't think I'd have to do anything as hard as leaving you."

Sara had turned toward him, and after a moment of deciding if he was telling the truth, she gently lowered her forehead to rest on his shoulder. Her thighs were warm where his hands rested, though she was fidgeting with her fingers in her lap.

A heavy tear dropped onto his arm, and he placed his hands on Sara's face, so she would look up at him. He wanted to see her cry. You can never tell more about a person than you can when they cry. He rubbed the tears away with his thumbs, and pulled her into an embrace. Her body quivered a little harder, and she tangled her hands in his shirt, pulling him closer.

He held her for a long time, until she stopped shaking, and he pulled away.

"Alright, now?"

She nodded, because she still didn't have the strength to speak. Michael slid off his barstool and took her hands.

"Come with me."

"Where?" Sara breathed.

"Where you're supposed to go on vacation; the beach."

Michael never released her hand as they reached the beach. The moon was all the light they had, and its reflection bounced off the frothy ocean as they meandered through the soft sand.

"The whole time you were in Fox River, I racked my brain to put my finger on what exactly was different about you. When you left I realized you never should have been there at all. It made me feel a little better about my feelings for you. A relationship with a convict is scary, but a relationship with a devoted brother…that's perfect." Sara glanced quickly over at Michael, who was intently watching her struggle for words. "Then it made me angry that I let you slip away, that we had to meet in prison."

"But we're here now." Michael grinned.

"What about when I leave, Michael? We have a little over a week, what then?"

He stopped walking, and pulled her by the hand quickly to him. Sara giggled at the sudden embrace, her arms wrapping around his waist, his hands in her hair. Michael dipped his head down to place a sweet kiss on her lips, then whispered in her ear, "Don't leave."

Sara swallowed hard and slid her hands under his T shirt to run along the warm, smooth skin of his back.

She whispered, "Michael, you can't ask me to do that."

His head was still bent next to her ear, and his breath moved her hair and tickled her neck, "I thought about you every day, Sara. Every day it killed me to be away from you. It killed you too, didn't it?" She was silent. "I don't want to have to go through that again. All I want is you."

"It's not exactly a simple request."

"Do you want to stay?" He leaned back to see her face. Sara was quiet for a while, and Michael was afraid she'd say no.

"Forever." A lump rose in her throat, and her chin trembled. Michael swiftly pulled her to him, pressing kisses down her cheek.

They clung to each other desperately, afraid to let go. Afraid to make one wrong step and have this feeling ripped away from them.

"But I can't, Michael." Her voice was strangled, and she pushed away from him. "I have a job and...and you broke out of prison! You're a wanted criminal...I can't live my life constantly looking over my shoulder, worried about getting caught!" Sara pulled in a ragged breath. "There just aren't enough reasons to stay."

"I love you." He stated, his brow drawn together in an expression she'd never seen. Michael Scofieldwas actually terrified of something. Of losing her. "Isn't that reason enough?"

A sob escaped her, and she covered her face with her hands. Michael gently slid his arms around her again, kissing the top of her head. She reached her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him. The taste of him sent her back to that day in the infirmary, the last time she saw him before he escaped. The desperation in his eyes made sense to her now. I've never felt anything like this before, Sara, you have to believe me. He was trying to make her understand that loving her was an unexpected glitch in the plan. No matter what happens, remember this.

Sara reluctantly pulled away from his delicious lips, and smiled at him.

"This place is beautiful."

A look of relief flooded them both as Michael smiled and kissed her again, lifting her up in his arms. And Sara laughed, because she was finally free.

There. No more. End of story. I can't believe you guys conned me into writing two more chapters. I loved it. Thanks so much for the reviews, I hope my scenes flowed together better this time. It kills me that the show won't have new episodes until March! PM orEmail me if you want to chat.

Aleks