1CHAPTER 4

Six days had passed since Sara's altercation with Michael in the park. Six slow, lonely, confusing, angry days, with no resolution in sight. She'd called in sick to Fox River for five of those days; the day after their meeting, though, she was determined to move on with her life and make no mention of the name Michael Scofield ever again.

That idea, however, had fallen through by the time her lunch break rolled around; she feigned ill and left the infirmary a few hours early. She promptly returned to her living room couch with a few pints of Ben and Jerry's and some Brad Pitt movies- she thought that if any men could make her forget about Michael, their names would be Ben, Jerry, and Brad. Except that idea didn't work as well as she thought it would either, and she ended up reducing herself to a few Jackie Collins novels, and the romance only made her heart ache that much more.

Sara had made it a point to ignore all phone calls, and no one except Chinese food deliverymen had come knocking at her door.

Until, on the sixth day, she had just stepped out of the shower when she heard a light rapping on her apartment door. "Who is it?" she yelled.

No answer.

"Hello?"

No answer.

Giving up, she called "Just a minute!" Sara haphazardly dressed herself, leaving her hair unbrushed, and jogged toward the door, anxious for some more fortune cookies. As she made her way to the door, she realized she hadn't ordered any food.

When she reached through the door, she stood on her tiptoes to see through the peephole. Nothing. This turned on her mental caution lights, and this made her decide to leave her chain lock attached so the door wouldn't be fully open but would be readily slammable should the need arise. Slowly, the door creaked open and she peeked into the hallway. No one. The door was shut again, and she turned to leave but heard another light knock. Spinning around, she swiftly grabbed the doorknob, opening the door. "Listen, I am not in the mood for any childish games, so..." She looked up.

Lincoln Burrows stood at her door.

"Lincoln," she said, surprised. "Uh... what- what are you doing here? Someone will see you." Unafraid, she opened her door wide to allow an alleged murderer into her home.

"Doc- Sara- I'm sorry to barge in on you like this, but we have to talk."

Sara stared up at him, forgetting just how large of a man he was. "Why would you risk your life to come here, Lincoln? Have you lost your mind?"

"No, but I feel like I've lost my brother."

She turned to walk away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"He's not the same, Sara," Lincoln said firmly. "He hasn't slept for days."

"Then why isn't he here right now instead of you?" She knew she was prying, but didn't care.

"He's afraid of you, his heart is broken. His pride is hurt. It's complicated..."

She looked away from him, and said, hurt, "Too complicated to deal with." Sara pivoted and walked into her living room to stare out the window. She heard him follow.

"You've got to see him. Please, Sara."

She turned to look him in the eyes. "Lincoln, I know if anyone would understand this, it'd be you. You know what sudden loss is, better than anyone else I can think of." Pausing, her eyes met his and then looked down and back up again nervously, not knowing how he would take her mention of his death sentence. "In life, we make plans for things, and we expect things day-to-day. We rely on certain happenings to continuously give us some sort of event... or person, in my case, to look forward to. And if that one thing disappears from life without warning, we become confused; so confused, in fact, that it's hard to carry on each day without that milestone in what would otherwise be a bleak and boring routine." His gaze didn't flinch. "Michael was that one thing for me, Lincoln. Every day, I would check my schedule to see when his appointment was, and I would literally count down the hours and the appointments until my 15 minutes with him. Fifteen minutes each day isn't a lot of time, especially when it's for less than four weeks, but it was enough for me. I had ridiculous visions for the future."

"Sara, I... this is all my fault, he did this because of me. I feel like I'm the one that should be-"

"Lincoln... he gave me something to look forward to. Michael was a reason to start liking life again. I haven't done that in a really long time." Her eyes started to tear up, and she turned her back to Lincoln so he wouldn't see how weak she'd become. "To me, it didn't matter that Michael was a prisoner and I was his doctor- I was ready to wait. I knew whatever we wanted to happen wouldn't happen right then, that I would i have /i to wait, and it took me a long time to be okay with that, but I did reach that point, Lincoln. I did. It was imagining and planning for the possibilities in my head that kept my feelings for Michael growing, not the guarantee I would get something from it. Call me a lunatic, but I truly believed it was possible." Sara paused to catch her breath, and heard Lincoln seat himself on the arm of her love seat. She turned, and was mildly surprised to see this massive man with his head dropped into his hands. Knowing he felt guilty for Michael even being in the situation he was in, she placed a caring hand on Lincoln's shoulder.

She spoke slowly and methodically, wanting him to understand. "When everything came crashing down so suddenly, I had no time to adjust to the idea that he'd no longer be around. It just... it just happened. I've resented him for it, for destroying any chance we could ever have together... but in reality, I think I may have been jealous he got out and, even though I'm not a prisoner, I'm stuck at Fox River." Removing her hand from Lincoln's broad shoulder, she took a step back from him, and stared at the floor for a minute. Lincoln raised his face from his hands, but did not look her in the eye.

"Michael is my brother, Sara, but I know he's not perfect." Finally, their eyes met. "I messed up royally with Veronica... I had to come here to let you know this so maybe I could save any chance of you two being together. I wanted to save Michael from messing up with you any more than he has. If I'm sure of anything in this world, it's that he cannot live without you," Lincoln conceded in the most sincere, heartfelt confession Sara had ever heard. She was taken aback when the air rushed from her lungs and her breath was taken from her. "See him, Sara. I'm begging you." With that, Lincoln stood, his massive frame blocking all else from her view. Without thought, she leaned in, willing this virtual stranger to wrap his arms around her. He did, holding her like she was already his sister, stroking her hair. Lincoln pushed her back gently. "Everything's going to be ok, Sara. It will." She nodded, and he turned slowly and strode determinedly out of her apartment.

She wondered where he went, and if Michael would be there too.