Prison Break : The Infirmary part 2
Dr. Sara Tancredi stood in the hallway of her apartment building, the key to her apartment in her hand. She had already tried twice to get the damn thing in the lock, but her hands were shaking so badly, the key kept missing the lock. Thoughts of the day rattled around in her head, giving her a doozy of a headache.
When the guard had awakened, all hell had broken loose. She had been questioned by at least a dozen FBI and even her own father. Over and over she had told them MOST of what had happened. Never once had she mentioned what had happened between her and Michael, not even to her father. By now, the answers came automatically, all true except for one...
"Yes, the men went out the infirmary window."
"No, she did not know how they had managed to get there."
"No, no one hurt her."
"I don't know why they left T-Bag."
"No, I don't know who the leader was."
But she did know. Michael had planned the whole thing, he was a genius.
Sara's head bent, her shaky fingers massaging her forehead as her mind re-played Michael's words, her lips tingling as if he were still kissing her. "He did not factor me in"... Sara almost laughed at the thought. She had never been called a "factor" before and she was not really sure how she felt about that.
'"Oh God," Sara breathed, that was not true. Her brain ached from thinking about it...
Taking a deep breath and resolutely shoving all thoughts of Michael out of her head, Sara managed to fit the key into the lock and open her front door.
The room was dark, very dark. Sara reached to turn on the light, but her hand was caught in what felt like a vise and another hand pressed down on her mouth, a scream stilled in her throat.
"Dr. Tancredi, DON"T scream," a deep voice spoke so close to her ear, she could feel his breath on her cheek. "We need your help, there's no one else to turn to." As the man spoke, he eased the pressure on her wrist and mouth, allowing Sara to turn...It was Linc.
Linc faced her as his hand slid the dead bolt lock on her door shut.
"Why are you here?" Sara asked
Linc did not answer, instead he inclined his head towards the sliding glass doors that led to her balcony. Michael leaned against the cool glass. His face whiter than the new sheets on her bed, a bloody shirt wrapped tightly around his bicep. He was slightly slumped as if the effort of standing was almost too much for him. The normal sparkle in his eyes was not there.
She saw another change in those eyes, they darkened to almost black. She saw the last bit of color leave Michael's face as his body did a half turn and he started to crumple. Sara moved towards him, but Linc moved faster.
Linc caught his brother before he hit the floor, the catch jarring Michael's whole body, but not a sound came from his pale lips.
"Bring him in here," Sara ordered in her best doctor's voice. Inside she felt like an intern again, facing the first ER rotation, and someone had just yelled "incoming". Sara knew she was the only person available who could save Michael ...he was quickly bleeding to death.
Sara grabbed her medical bag and reached inside for her bandage scissors and stethoscope, her hands now quick and professional, she took only seconds to cut away the tattered remains of Michael's prison shirt. She took another few seconds to stare at the tats that covered Michael's entire upper torso. A hand touched her shoulder gently and she looked up into Linc's worried eyes.
"He's in shock," Sara started, slapping her stethoscope on Michael's chest, listening to heart and lung sounds.
"He needs IV fluids and I have to suture that cut closed." As she talked, Sara removed the tightly pulled piece of shirt from around Michael's wound and wrapped the bicep in a full roll of Kerlix dressing. Taping the temporary dressing in place, Sara turned and started towards the front door, picking her car keys up off the floor as she went.. A firm grip on her elbow stopped her.
"Where ya going, Doctor?" Linc asked, his face impassive but his eyes questioning as if he were weighing a huge decision in his head.
"I have to get supplies." Sara pulled her arm away from Linc and breathed a slow breath when he did not stop her.
"Doc…can we trust you?" Linc asked as her hand turned the doorknob.
Looking back over her shoulder, Sara looked Linc in the eye. "You already knew the answer to that question before you brought him here," Sara answered.
She was right, Linc acknowledged as he nodded his head in affirmation. Sara sent a nod of her own back towards Linc then she walked quickly out of the door.
Linc walked to the sliding doors, stepping over a puddle of his brother's blood on the hardwood floor. He watched as Sara went to her car, his gaze shifting from the storage shed to her right and the Honda SUV she was stepping into. A sigh of relief slipped through his lips as Sara started the car and drove away. He trusted Sara more than he did the others who were hiding in the shed...well except for Westmoreland. Linc glanced past the bedroom doorway, his eyes seeking the slow rise and fall of Michael's chest... then he resumed his post at the sliding glass doors. Sara would return, she just HAD to, then he would get his brother out of here and get him to safety. Linc saw Westmoreland move out of the shadows of the shed. Linc gave him the "thumbs up" sign and prayed Westmoreland could keep the others in line. Linc was not a murderer, he had not killed. But if any of those men jeopardized his brother, Linc knew he would kill them without blinking.
Sara walked back into the prison infirmary, her walk steady, but inside she felt like a quivering bowl of Jell-O.
"Whatcha doin' back here tonight, Doctor?" Sara gave the on duty RN a quick smile and walked quickly across the room towards her.
There was only one patient in the infirmary and that was the guard Michael had tranked. He had used a short acting animal tranquilizer to knock the guard unconscious. And as Michael had predicted, the poor guy had a hell of a headache. Trying to look as normal as possible, Sara scanned the latest notes on the patient's chart, then did a quick re-assessment.
Straightening, she smiled again at the nurse and finally answered her question.
"I wanted to check him one more time." A quick turn of Sara's head indicating the guard lying on the cart. " And I think I left my cell on my desk in all the madness today."
Sara turned and headed as casually as possible towards her office, glancing behind her as she walked. The RN was bent over the guard, taking his blood pressure. He was still groggy, his eyes closed, his breathing even and deep. As she passed the supply cart, Sara grabbed 2 liters of Normal Saline, IV tubing, a 20 gauge needle and a small disposable suture kit off of the shelves. Moving into her office she stuffed the items in her medical bag and took her small cell phone out of her pants pocket.
"Found it," Sara said, smiling as she flashed the cell in her hands towards the nurse. "See you Monday."
Sara barely breathed until she was in her car, headed back towards her apartment. If her father ever found out about this, he would kill her, worse yet, she would lose her medical license and maybe even go to jail herself. But none of that seemed to matter.
"I did not 'factor' you in either, Michael," she whispered as the lights from her apartment complex came into view
Linc watched from the dark apartment as Sara parked the car and ran towards the square brick building that held her apartment. She had NOT notified the police... Linc took a few seconds to lean on his arms that were braced on the sturdy glass. He had been right to bring Michael here. Sara would save him. He turned and walked across the room, opening the door just as Sara was reaching for the lock with her key. Linc noticed that her hands were steady, her demeanor different, as if she had made some big decision. She barely spared him a glance as she rushed past him and on into the bedroom. Linc stared after her in amazement.
'That's why Michael said we could trust her," Linc mused as he followed Sara into the bedroom. "They love each other."
The enormity of what Michael had sacrificed for him hit Linc almost as hard as a sledgehammer to the gut. He stopped walking, his back resting against the frame of the doorway, his breath coming in gulps. Glancing into the bedroom, Linc saw Sara reach a hesitant hand to Michael's face, her fingers stroking his cheek before she wiggled his chin in a attempt to wake him.
Linc returned to the living area after watching Sara start setting up the things she would need to treat Michael. He felt humble clear down to the depths of his soul. His brother had been willing to give up so much of his own life in order to save his worthless ass. As his ears picked up the sounds of paper opening and the soft deep tones of Michael's sleepy voice, Linc made a vow...
"I will save my son. I will find out who really killed that son of a bitch, then I will give you your life back, Michael. It is my turn to save YOU."