Settling down on the sofa, Clara leant forwards towards the coffee table, plucking up the wine glass and holding it in her fingertips. She settled her eyes on the TV screen, watching some reality show she had no interest in. She had gone back to work after going to meet Alex. She'd lectured for a couple of hours in the afternoon on the ethics of investigative journalism before gathering her things and returning home.

She'd managed to cook some pasta in a tomato sauce before settling in for the evening, thankful that she had the following day away from lecturing. She pushed a hand through her hair and closed her eyes, wondering if it would ever end. Would the feeling of worry ever leave her or did she deserve to feel this way forever? Shaking her head, she tried not to think about it too much, instead choosing to sip her wine and watch the TV.

She didn't know how long had gone by before she heard a knock on the door. It was still quite light outside, the sun slowly setting in the distance. Standing up, she put the wine down and pulled her dress down her body from where it had ridden up, the blue material clinging to her figure.

Pushing the screen door open, Clara had to admit her surprise at the sight of Alex stood on her porch. His sunglasses were covering his eyes and his hands were shaking. Pulling the door open, Clara was about to open her mouth before she felt his hand clamp down on her mouth, stopping her from speaking. Fear rose in her body as his hand wrapped around her wrist and he pulled her outside.

"Alex…what the-" she managed to snap some words out as she pushed his hand from her mouth, but he pressed a finger to his lips as he kept his fingers wrapped around her wrist, dragging her down the steps of her porch and towards a black SUV.

"Get in," Alex demanded from her, holding the passenger door open and she had no other option but to agree as he slammed the door shut on her and rushed to the driver's side.

"Do you mind telling me what the hell is going on?" Clara demanded from him as she turned in her seat and he started the car, pressing his foot to the gas as the vehicle moved with haste away from her house. "Alex!"

"It's a long story," Alex told her. "I just need you to keep quiet and do as I say…just do as I say and it will all be fine."

"I don't understand-"

"-Didn't I just tell you to keep quiet?" he snarled at her and she bit down on her tongue as he pulled his sunglasses from his eyes, tossing them into the backseat before pinching the bridge of his nose.

Clara did keep silent then, huffing loudly before turning to look out the window. Shaking her head, she slowly began to imagine scenarios in her mind, but she only came up with one. She could only think of one thing.

"Who knows, Alex?" she asked him, turning to look at him, but he had his eyes focused on the road ahead, clearly having no interest in answering her. But she wasn't about to give up. She bit down on her lip and shook her head slowly before moving to hit him across the arm, grabbing his attention then. "I said: who knows?"

"People you don't want to know," Alex responded.

"The police?"

"Worse."

She laughed then, the sound a solitary shriek as she rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Who the hell is worse than the police? Why don't you just pull over and explain all of this? You cannot come to my house and…what…kidnap me?"

Alex shook his head slowly, but he did as she had said, pulling over in the middle of the residential area she lived in. He moved his head, pressing his forehead against the steering wheel as he kept a tight grip of it, wondering why he was doing this. He could just let them kill her. They told him that it would just be his secret then. He wouldn't have the threat of someone going to the press about him and what he had done. There would be no threat.

"This is serious, Clara," Alex informed her.

"I can tell," she said. "I haven't seen you since that night and now I see you twice in a day. Do you care to explain why?"

"I can't tell you," Alex whispered. That much was true. He couldn't tell her what he had been tasked with. If he told her then they would certainly kill her. They would consider her even more of a liability.

"Are you kidding me?" Clara demanded, but this time there was no hint of lightness to her tone. She was harsh. "Take me back home now. Take me back home and forget-"

"-Forget?" he asked her, gasping out the word with a dry smirk. "Forget…yes…wouldn't that be nice."

Clara had no idea what more to say to him as he began to let his fists pound against the steering wheel. The motions were harsh and erratic; enough to make Clara recoil in her seat at the sight of him lose control, his fists pounding relentlessly against the wheel. Placing her hands to her mouth, Clara wanted nothing more than to get out the car.

Her hands frantically moved to grip hold of the handle, pushing the door open until she stumbled out. She didn't care that she wore no shoes as her feet hit the tarmac. She moved with haste, sensing that something was wrong. Something was gravely wrong. She wanted to get away from Alex.

But she should have known he was quick. He was on her heels in a matter of moments, which was even easier for him considering her lack of shoes. She started to scream as she felt his arm grip around her waist, pulling her back flush against his chest as his other hand went to cover her mouth once more. She tried to scream over it, but it was impossible.

Dragging her backwards, Alex was shocked at the amount of strength inside of her as he finally got her back to the car, pushing her against the vehicle and winding her slightly with the force as he moved his hands to her cheeks, bending down to look her in the eye.

"Listen to me," he whispered, his voice soft and desperate as she gasped for breath. "Clara, I need you to listen to me…please…"

"You're scaring me," she admitted and he saw the fear in her eyes as he dropped his hands from her cheeks, keeping them either side of her and flat against the car as he bowed his head.

"I don't want to," Alex informed her. "You need to believe me, okay? Yes…there are some people who know what we have done…but they…they're not the police."

"Then who are they?" Clara asked of him and he looked around, making sure no one was watching. He didn't know what to tell her. The truth was impossible.

"People you don't want to be involved with."

"Cut the crap, Alex," she hissed, her voice demanding as she looked at him and he watched her back. "Either tell me the truth or I'm going to call the police myself."

Alex chuckled then. "That would do nothing," he said, his voice back to its serious tone. "Listen to me, Clara, these people don't care about the police. Shales…he…there were other people looking for him…people he owed money to."

Frowning, Clara rolled her eyes, clearly not taking this seriously as Alex continued to lie to her. "Is that it? And how did they find out what we did?"

"Not what we did," Alex said with a shake of his head. "They suspect it was just you. They've been doing some digging…watching me…and then today you came to my office. It looks suspicious and these people don't like suspicion."

The disbelief on her face fell slightly. "Then why can I not go to the police?"

"Because you have no evidence…the police cannot protect you."

"And this money he owed?"

"Helped him change his identity and keep moving," Mahone told her, worrying about how easy he was lying to her as she stood still and looked around, wondering what the hell had just happened. Knowing he had to convince her further, he moved his hand to her chin, lifting her gaze back to his. "Why did you think I came for you?"

"No idea," Clara said. "It seems to me like you have lost the plot a bit."

"Yeah…well hiding a man in your back yard can do that to you," he admitted and Clara looked pitifully to him as he motioned to the car once again. "Listen, just get in the car and I'll get you somewhere safe. I'm an agent with the FBI, Clara. I can protect you until this goes away."

"But should we not tell the police too?"

"And have them look into the case again?" Alex asked. "No…I can handle this…I just need you to trust me."

"Alex," Clara complained, looking away again.

Shaking his head, he didn't give her a chance to air her concerns. "Clara, come on, you've said it yourself, we're in this together. If there's anyone who is going to come after you then I can deal with them. I just need to get you somewhere safe."

"And where would that be?"

"I haven't worked it out yet," he admitted. "Look, this all happened quickly."

"I'll say," Clara scoffed. "And how do you know about these people?"

"I spotted them in the parking lot earlier and had one of my agents trace them back to Shales," he said, not stuttering once as Clara closed her eyes, her head leaning back and hitting the car as she peered to the sky, the sun now having disappeared and leaving them in darkness.

"I'd prefer to go to the police."

"I know," Alex told her.

Murmuring an expletive under her breath, Clara nodded her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"So how do we deal with these people while covering our backs?" she asked from him. "Besides, if they're just after me then won't it look suspicious if they find out about you?"

"Not really," Alex responded. "I was the agent on the case. If I suspect something is wrong then it makes sense for me to be involved. Just trust me, Clara."

"You've been saying that a lot recently," she muttered and Mahone motioned to the open car door for her.

"And have I ever been wrong?" he asked of her.

He had his answer when she climbed into the vehicle and he shut the door behind her.

…

"How long do you intend to keep me locked away for? I do have a job and things that need to be done," Clara was continuously complaining as Mahone drove them through the streets of Chicago, constantly on the lookout as he listened to the woman besides him.

"I will take you to the college in the morning and then pick you up in the evening," he grunted and Clara shook her head.

"I don't get it," she informed him. "Why do you care so much? It's not like we were ever best friends after what happened. We agreed to part ways, so if anything did happen to me then-"

"-Because, contrary to what most people believe, I'm not entirely a cold-hearted bastard," he interrupted, tired with listening to her and wondering if it would be easier for them to finish her off and get her away from him and out of the picture.

He had agreed to kill those men on the run. He had agreed to do that without a second thought to protect his back. What should stop him from shooting the woman next to him and eliminating another problem? She had no family left. She had no one who would question her death. It would be too easy.

But every time his mind wandered to that scenario, he remembered. He remembered her walking into his office. He remembered the look of despair on her face. He had told plenty of people that their families had been murdered. It was the unfortunate nature of being part of the FBI. He knew that. But there had been no one like Shales. The things he had done to Theresa Reynolds were despicable.

And then he would remember the night when he found Clara. He remembered the sight of her with the gun, her body trembling and eyes full of despair. He remembered the sight of her as she yelled at Shales and he laughed in her face as Alex tried to calm her. Shales thought he could get away again, but Alex was never going to let that happen.

"I know," Clara whispered, looking down to her lap as her hands entwined together. "I remember…well…let's just say you made me feel slightly better when I found about Theresa…that I could trust you when you said you wouldn't stop until you had him."

Alex grunted something back and went silent, letting the hum of the engine echo through the large SUV he had borrowed from the office. He had contemplated where to take Clara, knowing full well that his house was off limits. She would have a fit sleeping so close to where his body was buried. He struggled and he considered himself to be stronger.

"I've booked us into a hotel for a while," he spoke. "Separate rooms but adjoining…just in case."

"And have you told your wife you're going away?"

There was an uncomfortable silence then as Clara watched him focus harder on the road, his breathing slightly heavier and his nostrils flaring slightly. Nodding in understanding, Clara released a bitter chuckle as she looked out the window.

"Got it," she said, knowing nothing more needed to be said. "So he did ruin us both."

"I'm trying to make it better," Alex simply offered her.

"Then keep trying," she urged him, but she didn't sound too convinced that he should.

There was silence between both of them as Alex continued down the streets before parking outside a swanky looking hotel that towered into the sky. He climbed out first, followed by Clara who picked her holdall from the foot well. Alex grabbed hold of some brown folders from the backseat and tucked them neatly underneath his arm alongside a fresh suit in a zipped up bag that he tossed over his shoulder.

He checked them in while Clara looked around the large lobby with its marble floors and plush leather sofas. There was some form of water feature against one wall that then led into the restaurant. Clara was about to wander off when she heard Alex speak from behind her shoulder.

"Here's your key."

She took the key card from him, balancing the holdall on her shoulder as she followed him towards the elevator, stepping into it besides him. They were both quiet and Clara rested against the wall of the elevator, Alex raising his brows at the sight of her.

"You okay?" he asked and she shot him a condescending stare and he went back to looking at the doors in front of him, nodding as he did so. "Being hunted down by people who want you dead…so maybe not…got it."

"In one," she clarified as the doors opened and they were greeted with a corridor of plush red carpet.

"They said that breakfast is included if you get hungry in the morning," Alex told her as they came to the first door that happened to be hers.

"I doubt I'll be eating," she scoffed, "but thanks anyway…so…I'll see you in the morning then?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded, moving off to the next door and slipping into the room without another word.

He closed the door and looked around the room, tossing his suit on the bed along with the folders. He looked to the dark oak door on the wall opposite his bed that led to Clara's room. He heard her shuffling around in there, no doubt unpacking and preparing for bed. Alex knew there was no point in trying to get any sleep. He doubted it would help.

He grabbed hold of the folders and took a seat at the desk underneath the window, closing the curtains as he did so. Slipping his hand into his suit pocket, he pulled out his glasses and picked up the photos of Scofield's tattoos, examining them and trying to decode them.

After half an hour, he felt the familiar buzzing of his phone in his pocket. Groaning to himself, he picked it up and opened it, pressing it to his ear.

"Yeah?"

"You've taken her into hiding, Alex? Really? Did you not trust us?"

Alex stood up and moved into the en-suite, not wanting Clara to have any chance of eavesdropping from the next room. He shut the door and took a seat on the edge of the bathtub.

"I couldn't trust you after what you said," Alex declared. "It's just me you want to blackmail. She would never have gone and blabbed about what happened…I'd still be your pawn."

"You almost make me feel sorry for you."

"I don't want your pity," Alex sniped. "I want my life back again."

"And you can have it," he was promised and he looked to the ceiling in despair. "But she could be a threat…it doesn't matter how much of a threat…but she is still a threat. We don't like threats."

"She's no threat," Alex spoke. "If she was going to blab then don't you think she would have done that already? Besides, why would she incriminate herself?"

"You know how normal people can be, Alex, they get that feeling of guilt. Odd that, isn't it? And from what we heard of her in your office, she has those exact feelings."

"Weird," Alex said, his voice dry. "How dare someone feel any guilt for their actions?"

"You're sounding tense."

"Only because you keep forcing these problems onto me!" Alex snapped, standing up and tugging a hand through his hair. "Listen to me, leave her be and I will do what you want."

"And why are you protecting her? Why is she so special? We know your record, Alex. You've killed before."

"She's not special," Alex said. "But she got wrapped up in my mess and I'm not going to see her suffer for that…not for Shales…so just promise me that you will leave her be and I can forget she exists and do what you want."

"And how long do you think you can protect her for if we don't agree?"

"As long as necessary," Alex responded. "I'm serious about this. Just leave her be."

"I'll see what the consensus is."

The line went dead then and Mahone slammed his phone against the sink, his hands clenched around the sides of the sink and he lowered his head, his mind a whirl as he moved a shaking hand into his pocket, pulling a pill out from the pen he hid them in. He swallowed it without the need of water and shook his head. Depositing his phone back in his pocket, he splashed his face with cold water and left the bathroom.

Sitting back at the desk, he loosened his tie and picked his glasses up, sniffing loudly once before peering back to the photos. Throughout his fourteen years with the bureau, he had never experienced anything like this. He had never felt so helpless in all of his time. He didn't know what was so important with the Fox River Eight, but he knew that they were not worth his life or his family.

Alex didn't know how long he had been working for until he heard the scream. Pushing himself from his desk and knocking his chair over, his hand automatically reached for his gun, pulling it from its cradle against his side. He pushed the door to Clara's room open, his eyes momentarily put off due to the darkness. Moving into the room, he focused for a moment, but he soon lowered his gun when he heard the scream again. She was in the bed. She was sleeping, clearly not soundly. Alex pushed his gun away and moved towards the bed, hands on his hips as he searched for the bedside light. He illuminated the room with a dim glow, looking down to Clara as she continued to sweat, tossing and turning in the thick white duvet.

Moving a hand outwards, his fingers wrapped around her shoulder and he shook her harshly as she continued to mutter incomprehensible words. Saying nothing, Alex simply continued to shake her until her eyes fluttered open and she gasped for a deep breath. His hand retracted to his side and he took a step back.

"You'd have attracted attention if you kept on screaming," Alex grunted and Clara moved a hand to her forehead, pushing the sweat from it.

Alex watched as she sat up, still in a haze as she calmed her breathing and rolled up the sleeves to the black pyjamas she wore. She closed her eyes for a second, her hands covering her mouth as a shaky breath escaped her. Alex was about to turn and leave her be, but she spoke before he had a chance to go.

"I don't usually get the nightmares this bad," Clara muttered and swung her legs over the bed, her feet hitting the plush floor as she wandered into the bathroom, her long silk pyjamas slightly askew on her body as she went.

"Yeah," Alex spoke. "I guess it's all come back to the surface."

"Tom wondered what the hell was happening for the first few weeks," Clara said, continuing to babble as she stood in the bathroom, running cold water and rinsing her face off. "I'd wake up every night screaming and crying. He thought it was because of Theresa…said he understood…said they would pass with time. They never did. I ended up going onto sleeping tablets…still have them."

Alex looked around the room, noticing the tablets sat on the desk as Clara came back out and peered to them, her eyes set on them as she felt herself well with sorrow, but not for herself. It was sorrow for what she had lost. She had pushed Tom away. She had not protected her sister.

"I used to think about overdosing," Clara admitted, meeting Alex's stare as he watched her, his face stoic and showing no emotion. "When Tom told me he was going…I thought about taking the whole bottle."

"What stopped you?" Alex wondered.

"I don't know," Clara replied. "I wanted to do it…but I guess I was too scared to go through with it. I ended up going to see…well…a professional."

"A psychiatrist?"

"Yeah," Clara said, perching at the end of the bed, pulling her legs up to her chin as Alex remained stood up. "But I was doing fine…well…I was coping. It's easier if you just work, isn't it? If you do something to take your mind off of things."

Chuckling, Alex moved his hand to the back of his neck, scratching it as he nodded in agreement with her. He took another deep breath before his hands fell to his hips and he spoke in a low voice.

"All I did was work," Alex told her. "After what happened…pushing Pam away…you're right about that."

"Sorry," Clara mumbled. "I didn't mean to go on about my problems. You have them of your own."

"Yeah," Alex scoffed. If only she knew the half of it. He motioned back to his room with his head. "And there's one big problem in there involving some convicts that I need to work on."

"What are you trying to discover?" Clara wondered from him. "I heard about each of them in turn…but that Scofield…those tattoos seem pretty intense. Is it true he had them done before he was sent to jail?"

"True," Mahone said, not bothering to hide it from her. "And you would be right about him. I think those tattoos are clues to something."

"Any idea what?"

"Not yet," Mahone admitted to her. "Well, I mean I had a breakthrough today before I met you, but I'm still trying to crack the others."

"Fascinating," Clara said, but she didn't say it with any sarcasm. She sounded genuinely intrigued by what she was hearing. "So…how does it work then? I mean…are they codes to something."

"I shouldn't really discuss this," Alex told her and she nodded.

"Got it," she said. "Don't worry about it."

"I should get back though…look…if you try to sleep again-"

"-That won't happen," she promised him, picking up the alarm clock on the side and reading the time. It was two a.m. "I'd rather just stay awake now. I have some papers I could mark anyway."

"Right," Alex said. "Well…I mean I can always leave that door open if it would make you feel any better?"

"Maybe," she weakly agreed with a nod. "Thanks, Alex."

"Don't mention it," he shrugged, indeed hoping that she would not mention it.

Slipping out of her room, he settled himself back at the desk, listening to Clara's ruffling of papers as she pulled them from her holdall. Judging from the sound of a creaking mattress, she had settled herself on the bed and was marking them there. He picked up the photo he had been observing, wondering what would have happened if he had not found out about the cemetery.

Would he have known that the tattoos were clues? He didn't know. Instead he studied them with intrigue. He would go and speak to Lincoln's son tomorrow, hoping that the kid would be scared enough to give up any information he knew. Of course, he might not know anything and that would be useless. Nevertheless, Mahone could be persuasive in a nice or nasty way. It depended on how the kid wanted the conversation to go.

"Hey."

Snapping away from his thoughts, Mahone looked to the door where Clara was stood, a paper held in her fingertips as she had a pen in her other hand. She wore thick rimmed glasses on her face and Mahone wondered if she had always needed them. He had never seen her wearing glasses before. Peeling his from his eyes, he held them in his hand as she spoke.

"Do you have a blue pen? I think I left mine on my desk."

"Blue?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I hate marking in red. It feels too harsh…don't know why."

"I only have black," Mahone responded.

"No problems," Clara said. "I'll just write in a different manner…maybe all capitals…or that might be too shouty."

"Does the paper warrant all capitals?"

"Oh yeah," Clara chuckled. "Trying to teach some of these kids the ethics of journalism can be difficult. Some of them have no morals."

A small smile pulled his lips upwards and Clara went back into her room, Mahone watched her go as she disappeared from his sight and he went back to his own work. He didn't know about her students having no morals. He was pretty low on those himself recently.

...

A/N: So I have no idea if anyone is reading this but if you are then a little comment would be lovely! Thanks!