Climbing from the cab, Clara dragged her suitcase and satchel along with her before moving down the docks. She hummed in a low tone as the sun rose over the docks, illuminating the water and glimmering before her. She hadn't slept the previous night, too nervous about the plan to contemplate closing her eyes. Instead she had sat in the bar and then moved to the lobby once it had closed before grabbing a cab.

Saying nothing, she remained at the end of the docks, waiting to hear from Sucre when he made his appearance considering he was supposed to drive the boat. She tried not to act suspicious, her sunglasses covering her eyes as she let her hair fall around her shoulders. Looking around, she wondered where Sucre was before she felt her cell vibrate in her jacket pocket.

Tugging it out, she took Lincoln's call, her voice curt.

"He isn't here," she said.

"I know," Lincoln told her. "Listen, there's this guy whose dad knows about the plan. He's driving the getaway car, but he's going to come down to the dock and I've told him to wait for Sucre."

"And if Sucre doesn't show? I mean, where the hell is he?"

"No idea," Lincoln said. "Listen, I told the man to look for an American woman with long dark hair and a red dress."

"Well I stand out like a sore thumb," Clara responded and Lincoln breathed heavily.

"Yeah," he agreed with her. "Just make sure you're there, got it?"

"Got it."

Hanging up, Clara continued to wait nervously, tapping her foot on the floor as she continued to let out low hums of nervousness. Her eyes flittered around as she ran a hand through her hair, wondering where the man was. She continued to check her cell for the time before standing up. The man had ten minutes before they had to go.

Clara began pacing, her nerves getting the better of her before she saw a man looking around suspiciously. As soon as his eyes landed on her, she moved with haste towards him and he looked to her.

"Clara?" he asked.

"Thank God," Clara said, hand on her chest as she motioned to the dock and grabbed her bag and case. "Listen, we need to go now. I know we were supposed to wait for someone, but I don't think he is showing."

"Do you know how to drive one of these?" he wondered from her and she scoffed as she searched for someone who looked like they would be in charge. She soon found someone and explained how Sucre had yet to show but they had hired the boat together. The man didn't seem to care too much, instead finding the keys and handing them over to Clara.

"Sorry," Clara said to the man she had just met. "I didn't catch your name?"

"Alphonso Gallego," he told her, offering her his hand as she shook it.

"Clara Reynolds," she responded to him and he helped her haul her suitcase into the boat before offering her a hand to climb down into it. She looked around for a moment before moving to the control panel.

Alphonso went to stand by her side and he watched as she put the keys into the ignition. She looked confused as he placed a hand onto her arm and gave her a warm, yet tentative smile. She remained still as she let him take control and finally the boat was moving. Clara took a deep breath as they came to the open water and all she could do was start to hope that he was going to be there.

Closing her eyes, she let a small prayer come into her mind as they kept on making pace quickly, waves splashing around the boat as they went. She was quiet as she stood by the edge, peering into the distance. They were looking for a certain buoy. They had to find the right buoy and they should all be there.

Clara had no idea who would be there. She knew Alex would be there along with Michael and Lincoln, plus Whistler. Apparently there would be this man's son and Clara wondered who he was. He must be important to Michael for him to be brought along. It was either that or Michael pitied him.

"Keep a look out," Clara called over the sound of the wind and waves. "We're getting near to some buoys."

Clara felt the boat slow down as she began pointing to the buoys and reading the numbers on them. She didn't know how long it took before she peered into the distance, tugging her sunglasses from her eyes and placing them on the top of her head. She managed to let her eyes narrow before she felt a sense of elation.

She could see the figures clinging onto the buoy and she remained at the side of the boat as Alphonso slowed down. Clara let her eyes scan the men before her eyes landed on him and she let out a deep sigh of relief. At least Lincoln hadn't killed him yet. Of course, he wasn't going to so long as Clara had her way.

They started waving, grabbing the attention of the boat as Clara wondered how to help them. They all looked exhausted, drained and soaked to the bone, their clothes not doing much to keep them warm.

"Where is Sucre?" was the first question she was asked as Alphonso stopped the engine and moved over to help pull them up.

"He wasn't at the dock," Clara answered Lincoln's question as she helped a young boy into the boat once he had swam to the side of it.

It was then when Clara saw Alex moving to the boat and she reached out for his hand, grabbing hold of it as he hauled himself into the boat and the others did the same. Clara was probably more of a hindrance than help as Alex seemed more than capable of pulling himself into the vehicle. She stepped back once he was in, sopping wet as she tried to avoid getting wet herself.

"You made it," she whispered and Alex nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah," he agreed. "We did."

Nodding, Clara watched him take a step closer to her as everyone settled in the boat. She said nothing for a moment, instead choosing to keep her eyes set on Alex, struggling to look away from him before she heard Lincoln speak. She turned her head over her shoulder to look to him as his hands dropped to his hips and an entertained look sparkled in his eye.

"So you didn't have to drive this thing after all," he teased her and she moved to hit him across the arm.

"Lucky that you sent someone," she responded to him. "Didn't trust me, huh?"

"Not at all," Lincoln responded to her and she shot him a cocky smirk as Alex stood back and watched the exchange, a hand going to his wet hair as he wondered exactly what was going on between the two of them.

He kept his distance before seeing Clara move closer to Lincoln. He couldn't hear exactly what they were saying as the engine roared to life and he moved a hand around the metal pole that held up the canopy over the front of the boat.

"So what do we do now?" Clara asked of Lincoln.

"Well, once we're on land then we get the car that Alphonso drove here and I'm going to go and find my son," Lincoln told her. "We have Whistler."

Clara let her eyes go to the man for a brief second before she looked back to Lincoln. "He's what all the fuss was about?"

"Not much, huh?" Lincoln said. "But you should go your-"

"-I'm going to stop you there," Clara held a hand up. "I'm coming with you. Whatever this Gretchen knows about my parents then I want to know. She's not getting away with telling me nothing. I've had too many people keeping secrets from me in the past and she isn't getting away with it."

"It might be dangerous," Lincoln said.

"That just adds to the excitement," she said, her tone slightly sarcastic as Lincoln peered over her shoulder and caught Alex's gaze, his hands going into fists as he saw him and Clara rolled her eyes. But Alex didn't look at Lincoln for long, instead he seemed much too fascinated by the back of Clara's head.

"You're not going to touch him."

"Want a bet?" Lincoln wondered and Clara shook her head.

"I'd hate to take your money from you," she responded, stepping closer to look him in the eye as she lifted her chin. "I'm serious, Lincoln. You're going nowhere near him and that's final."

With one final warning glance, she turned back around and went to stand in front of Alex as he motioned to Lincoln with a nod of his chin. "He wants me dead."

"And I want to flog my house and move to the Costa del Sol," Clara responded, her face deadpan as she let Alex look down to her. "We don't all get what we want."

Alex felt his lips quirk at hearing that, nodding once as he spoke. "Michael told me that someone from The Company got you."

"Yeah," Clara nodded, pushing her hair behind her ear as she spoke. "She said something about my parents…about how they didn't die in some car accident. I don't really know what she meant…or was going on about…but I need to find out. She warned me to stop snooping, but…"

"You're not going to," Alex trailed off and she shrugged.

"Investigative journalist," she reminded him. "Not in my nature to back off."

It was only then when she saw that Alex was slightly shivering and she moved a hand to feel his wet arm, his shirt drenched against his body as she took a step closer to him and he felt his breathing hitch before reminding himself of the way she had just been with Burrows.

"You're freezing," she observed.

"And there was me thinking that the ocean would be warm in Panama," Alex said and Clara chuckled to him.

"Not when you're stuck in it for a while," she said. "I should have brought some blankets or something…I mean…I doubt you'd want my jacket."

Clara tried to move, clearly determined to find something to help him warm up, but Alex moved to grab her wrist, bringing his hand down to hers as she looked at the contact, wondering exactly what was happening as she dared to look to him, her gaze questioning as Alex kept his eyes on his hand as it moved to engulf hers. Nodding his head, he peered back over to her before his other hand went to her cheek and he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"This will do," he mumbled and Clara almost wanted to step closer, forgetting how soaked he was, to feel the warmth from his body. She didn't, instead she let him keep his hand in hers as she turned to look over the side of the boat. The hand that had been on her cheek went to hold onto the pole of the canopy once more as he moved so that his shoulder was brushing against hers and he watched her glance out to sea, wondering exactly what was going through her mind, just as he wondered what was going through his.

It didn't take long before they reached the shore and Alex was as courteous as ever, dragging Clara's suitcase along for her as they disembarked, his other hand helping her from the boat as she offered him a slim smile. Falling into step besides each other, Clara followed Lincoln on the way the getaway car before thanking the man who had helped him.

Clara had also given her thanks while everyone changed into dry clothes and Alex chucked Clara's suitcase in the trunk while she held onto her satchel. Climbing into the car, she saw in the middle, in between Alex and Whistler. Lincoln began to drive before he heard his phone begin to ring and Michael shot him a knowing glance.

"We ran into some trouble," Lincoln declared. "We're in downtown Panama."

"Are we?" Clara wondered, peering around Alex to look out the window.

"Shit," Lincoln suddenly said. "We've got some company."

Clara turned around in her seat in time to see a black car gaining on them.

"Might want to drive a little faster, Lincoln," she suggested to him and he hit the accelerator pedal, but the car behind them seemed to keep up. Clara barely had a chance to turn back to face the front before Lincoln called out.

"Hold on," Lincoln demanded from them.

"How do they know where we are?" Clara wondered as she felt her hand go to Alex's arm to stop her from falling into this Whistler guy. Alex moved quicker, his arm moving to bend around her waist as his other hand held the seat in front of him.

"They must have bugged the kid's dad," Alex said.

"Or the vehicle?" Lincoln suggested.

"The stopwatch," Michael called out and looked behind to see Whistler. "What did you do with the stopwatch that Gretchen gave you?"

It was then when Whistler pulled out a stopwatch and Michael snatched it from him, tossing it out the window as Clara rolled her eyes. Quite clearly it was too late now. Lincoln continued driving erratically as Clara dared to move an arm to grip hold of Alex's waist, her fingers curling around his side as he looked down to her, his grip increasing as he did his best to make sure she stayed still as the car continued to weave on the road.

As they continued moving it was then when Lincoln pulled to an abrupt stop.

"A dead end?" Alex demanded.

"Stay in the car if you want."

Clearly he didn't fancy that option as he leapt from the vehicle and followed the other three, Clara lagging behind as he moved his hand to grab hold of hers, dragging her along as she kept her satchel on her shoulder and abandoned her suitcase. As the door was pushed open to a hut in the middle of nowhere, Clara entered, Alex pushing her inside and keeping low, his body crouched over hers.

Moving to the window, Lincoln broke it with his elbow before firing shots. Shots were fired back for a moment before Lincoln moved to some kind of boombox and hit play on it, the noise of gunshots firing out as Lincoln ushered them all out of the back of the building and into another car.

Clara took her place next to Alex as Whistler sat next to her. She said nothing, instead bending over and gasping for breath as she struggled to control her breathing. Moving a hand to the small of her back, Alex ran his hand up and down, trying to soothe her.

"How long has that bought us?" Clara demanded as Lincoln shrugged.

"Enough time."

"This is madness," Whistler said and Clara refused to look at him.

"Yeah, well, we're doing this on my terms," Lincoln snarled. "We're not doing this on her terms."

"They just want the exchange," Whistler protested.

"And they'll get it," Lincoln promised in a low and harsh voice as he continued driving. "But I am doing this how I want to do it so shut up and get over it."

Whistler seemed to do as he was told then as they drove in silence. It was another minute before Clara dared to move her hand blindly towards Alex, her eyes still set on the front and where they driving to. Alex seemed to understand, moving his hand to take hold of her shaking one as he realised she hadn't been in many gunfights before. Keeping hold of her fingers inside of his, Alex let his thumb move over her knuckles as she remained on edge until Lincoln pulled up to some kind of abandoned warehouse.

"This is where it is happening?" Clara asked as they climbed from the car but she kept her grip in Alex's hand as she looked around.

"Yeah," Lincoln answered.

It was then when Clara saw how Whistler was struggling to move. She didn't like the sound of him considering how he had lied to Sofia and Sofia seemed like a pleasant enough girl. Clara motioned to him, her voice haughty as she spoke.

"What's up with him?" she wondered.

"I am here," Whistler responded.

"Yeah, and you're causing more problems than you're worthy by the sounds of it," Clara said, her glare going to him as he arched a brow and Clara nodded. "As I thought."

"He fell during the escape," Alex declared. "Think he's just got a deep cut on his foot or something."

"Right," Clara said as Alex dropped her hand from his and he moved to help Whistler limp into the warehouse and Lincoln called Gretchen, phoning her to tell her the new location and how things would happen the way he wanted them to.

As she followed Michael and Lincoln upstairs, she looked at the back of their heads. "Did she buy it?" she wondered.

"Seems like it," Lincoln was the one to answer, nodding his head at her as she bit down on her lip and shook her head.

"It just seems too easy," she commented. "I mean…does anybody believe this Whistler guy? What, he's just a fisherman?"

"No one believes him," Michael answered her as they came to the loft and Clara saw Alex tending to Whistler, helping him with his injury. "But so long as we keep an eye on him then we're doing this exchange and getting out of here. I'd suggest you do the same."

"I'm going nowhere until I get answers," Clara said, brushing by them as they went to stand by the window and keep lookout.

Clara went to Alex who was stood in the corner of the warehouse, arm over his stomach as he let his hand hold onto his chin. Clara managed to offer him a small smile, her hands going to flatten out the red dress she wore as she tugged at the tights underneath it and pull them up from where they had fallen down.

"So, we're waiting for the exchange," Clara said.

"No," Alex said with a shake of his head.

"What do you mean no?" she asked of him and he took her wrist, dragging her into a room off the warehouse. Closing the door, Alex peered through the glass, looking out of it to make sure Scofield and Burrows weren't spying on him.

"You're not going to get your answers by sitting here and being part of the exchange," Alex warned her. "This Gretchen…she's not going to tell you anything. She isn't here to dig into your family history. She's here to do a job and as soon as she has done that then she's gone."

"But she knows," Clara complained, arms flapping by her side. "She knows what happened to them and I need to find out. They were my parents and if they knew something about The Company or somebody who worked in it then I want to know."

"And I get that," Alex promised her, moving quickly to run his hand along the back of her neck, his fingers curling into her hair as he cradled her skull. "I get it, Clara, and I am going to help you, but staying here is not going to bring you any answers. We need to go…we need to be smart."

"Why?" Clara wondered from him. "What do you know that I don't?"

"I know that if I stay here then Lincoln Burrows is going to try to kill me," Alex informed her. "And no matter how close the two of you have grown, we both know he still wants me dead."

"How close we've grown?" Clara wondered and Alex shrugged. "I've been working with him, but that's it. You know that."

"Yeah," Alex said, not entirely convinced. "But we need to go, Clara. Just believe me…the answers are not with Gretchen."

"Then who are they with?"

"I don't know," Alex admitted to her, "but we're going to find out. Just trust me…we'll dig and solve this. Believe me, I want those guys gone just as much as you do after everything they did. Scofield and Burrows do not care about what happens, just that they get the exchange done. Believe me, Gretchen is not the answer."

Clara took a deep breath before she dared to reach out, her hand going around Alex's forearm as she tugged on it, her grip harsh as she looked him in the eye. "Promise me we'll get to the bottom of this."

"I promise," Alex nodded, moving to take hold of the small of her back in his palm, urging her forwards and into the warehouse.

She looked to Lincoln and Michael as Mahone spoke, Whistler looking on with intrigue.

"Listen," Alex said, "we have no reason to be here so we're just going to go…"

"No reason to be here?" Lincoln was the one to ask. "But what about Gretchen? I thought you wanted her."

"We both know Gretchen is only here for the transfer," Alex was the one to answer for Clara as she shrugged and agreed with him. "She isn't going to give Clara the answers that she wants."

"And Clara isn't going anywhere," Michael said. "She is our leverage over these people."

"No," Alex said, pointing to the room Whistler was in. "He is your leverage now. You don't need her for this anymore so we're going."

"I don't think so," Lincoln was the one to declare as Alex turned his back on the brothers, but Clara remained stood facing them as Lincoln pulled out a gun from the waistband of his trousers. Taking a deep breath, Clara shook her head.

"Turn around," Lincoln demanded of Alex. "I want to look you in the eye when I do this."

"You're doing nothing," Clara said, refusing to move from in front of Alex. "I've told you, Lincoln, I won't let you do this. Look…I like you…I really do…but I'm not going to stand aside and let you kill him."

"You're going to have no choice," Lincoln warned her. "I'm going to do this."

Alex turned around to look to Lincoln, his eyes wide as he spoke, his voice open and honest. "I made a choice," he said, "I had to pick between your family…and my family…Clara…"

"That doesn't matter," Lincoln said.

"Linc," Michael said, moving to stand behind his brother. "Don't do this."

"Have you lost your mind, Lincoln?" Clara wondered from him. "He knows what he did was wrong and you know he regrets it…but it was his family…you need to understand that."

"I understand nothing," Lincoln said. "All I know is that he killed my father and I want him dead. You'd understand that if you weren't so madly in love with him."

Shaking her head, Clara felt her cheeks tinge red. "I am not in love with him," she snapped at him. "So why don't you just-"

"-Not in love with him?" he echoed, a tone of disbelief in his voice. "Yeah, right, mind you, you probably don't remember that night because you were so out of your face…crying about how he could never want to be with someone like you…how you had no chance."

"I was drunk!" Clara defended herself, her voice high pitch as she spoke. "I didn't know what I was saying."

"Of course not," Lincoln responded and Clara shook her head while Alex looked confused for a moment, but that confusion soon disappeared as he looked down to her and she stepped forwards, the gun aimed directly at her chest.

"You'll have to shoot me to get to him."

"Clara," Alex protested.

"No," Clara said. "Enough blood has been spilt. I want this to end now."

"Let them go, Linc," Michael urged his brother. "Just let them go."

Lincoln met Clara's eyes for a moment, a gaze of tension between them. But it was then when they heard a smashing noise and they turned around to see that Whistler had thrown a chair out the window and was trying to escape. Alex moved then, grabbing hold of Clara by the hand and dragging her to the staircase.

"Mahone!" Lincoln roared, but the two of them were already going, Clara grabbing her bag that she had dumped by the staircase. She swung it onto her shoulder and kept up with Alex as they left the warehouse, running in the opposite direction to Lincoln and Michael.

Clara was out of breath by the time they had reached the main road and Alex hailed a cab after a few moments. He opened the door and bundled her in, giving an address without Clara saying anything. All she could do was hold her sides and bend over, feeling some kind of stitch in her side.

"You alright?" Alex wondered from her.

"Yeah," she nodded back. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good," Alex told her, "because I have a lot to explain to you."

"Like?"

"Like how we're going to take down The Company," Alex said and Clara's brow furrowed. "But we need to get somewhere safe first…I'll explain in a bit."

Clara waited with bated breath before the cab pulled up outside a bar and Clara tossed the money over the seat. She said nothing further as Alex held the door open for her and she stepped onto the sidewalk. She moved to follow Alex as he held the door to the bar open.

"What can I get for you?" the bartender asked and Clara looked around. It was empty, but then again, it was still early in the morning.

"Soda," Alex answered.

"Glass of white wine," Clara responded, pulling the money from her purse as Alex arched a brow.

"White wine?" he asked her. "Is that such a good idea?"

"Maybe not," Clara responded before leaning against the bar and looking to the bartender. "Can I have the bottle?"

She added some more money to the bar before taking the bottle and the glass and moving to the corner of the bar, sitting down on a chair and sipping on her wine as Alex followed with her soft drink. He perched himself down on the chair next to hers, sipping on his drink as Clara looked to him.

"Explain," she urged from him.

"If my suspicions are correct then James Whistler is going to come through that door by the end of the day with Gretchen Morgan and offer me a chance to work for The Company," Alex said and Clara let her eyes widen, her grip on the glass of wine increasing as she shook her head.

"What…how…"

"He told me something interesting," Alex admitted to her. "About how he is pretending to work for The Company…work with Gretchen…"

"But what is he actually doing?" Clara wondered.

"Working against them with Homeland Security," Alex said. "He's trying to bring them down."

"And how the hell does he do that?" Clara wondered and Alex shrugged.

"I'm not sure on that front," Alex admitted to her. "But I'm hoping to find out when he comes here."

"And then what?" Clara wondered from him. "We join him? We join her? Do you know how crazy she is? She burnt Sofia…with the butt of a cigarette. I don't want to be anywhere near her."

Offering her a sad smile, Clara remained staring at Alex as he moved his hand towards her cheek, letting his fingers run over the curve of her cheekbone, his touch tender as Clara pieced two and two together, her voice tentative as she spoke.

"I'm not going to be anywhere near her, am I?" Clara asked. "Because you have no intention of letting me come along."

"That would be correct," Alex informed her with a nod of his head. "Clara, I know you want to get to the bottom of this, but it's too dangerous. It's too dangerous to be a part of and if anything happened to you-"

"-I can take care of myself," Clara said, interrupting Alex as she leant forwards and took hold of Alex's arm that was dangling over the back of her chair. "I need to do this. So what? You walk out of here with Whistler and then what?"

"You go home," Alex told her. "You go home and you make a life for yourself. I will get you the answers that you want, Clara, but you don't need to be involved."

"No," Clara said defiantly with a shake of her head. "I am involved. I want to be involved."

"And I am telling you no," Alex said, his voice stern too as she watched him, her eyes wide as Alex let out a deep breath. "These people have ruined our lives…I'm going to put a stop to it, but you're going home."

"Why?" Clara wondered from him.

"Because if anything happened to you then I wouldn't be able to live with myself," Alex informed her and she shook her head with haste as he spoke to her. It took a moment for him to gather the courage and move to cradle her cheeks, looking her in the eye. "Because I owe you so much and this is how I am going to repay you…by keeping you safe."

"No," Clara said again. "Alex, if anything happened to you…do you not get it? Do you not see?"

It was then when he chuckled, shaking his head at her. "No, I see perfectly," he promised her, hoping that she understood what he meant as he watched her. "I see perfectly."

They didn't need anymore words, both of them silently understanding what they meant. Throughout the past few months they had been each other's rocks. Alex had been there for Clara back in Chicago. He had been there to take care of her and she had repaid the favour in Panama. Without her then Alex didn't know what would have happened.

They both sat in silence then, sipping on their drinks. Clara finished the bottle of wine but didn't order another as Alex took his drink slowly. He remained silent, the white top clinging to him with thanks to the heat as he kept his gaze on the window.

He didn't know how long it was before Whistler made his appearance known and entered the bar, looking down to Alex and Clara before taking a seat. Glancing over to Clara, he folded his arms over his chest.

"You know, for someone who teaches adults, you're pretty rude," he declared to her and Clara scoffed.

"You haven't seen anything yet," she informed him. "So what? You're a double agent?"

"You told your girlfriend about the plan?"

"I have a name," Clara responded, "and I am not his girlfriend. So what is it? You're playing The Company?"

"Perhaps," Whistler responded before looking to Alex. "So are you in?"

"And Gretchen?" Alex wondered.

"Waiting outside in the car."

"Then you better be sure she can handle what is about to happen," Alex said, eyeing Whistler with suspicion and knowing. "Because if she has done what Michael thinks she has done…to Sara…then he's going to be coming after her. She's the weak link in all of this."

Alex knew what Michael was like when he wanted to find someone. He didn't rest until he had them found and Gretchen was going to be the one on his radar now.

"Nice speech, Alex, but are you in or are you out?" Whistler demanded.

"I'm in," Alex answered and Clara shook her head.

"And I want in," she said, chin held high as she looked to Alex and he shook his head as Whistler chuckled.

"And what do you offer?" he enquired from her.

"I have a right to know what The Company are hiding from me," Clara said. "I want in. I want in and I want to come with you."

"I don't think so," Whistler responded. "Say goodbye to her and meet us outside."

Whistler stood back up and walked out as Alex made a move to stand. Clara pushed herself to her feet, grabbing her bag and holding tightly onto it as she let it dangle on her shoulder. Shaking her head back and forth, she felt Alex take hold of her hand once more, his grip tight as she looked to him.

"Don't," she urged him. "Don't do this."

"I have to," Alex whispered. "I owe it to my family…to you…"

"No, you don't," Clara responded. "You don't owe me anything, Alex. I just want you not to go or take me with you. It's that simple."

Alex chuckled then. "When it comes to you, it is never simple," he promised her, dropping her hand as he backed out of the bar. "Goodbye, Clara."

"No," Clara said with a shake of her head, following him out and catching the door before it could close. "You do not get to decide what I do…or say goodbye to me…"

"Clara," Alex complained as Whistler stood by the passenger door and Gretchen rolled the window on the driver's side down, rolling her eyes at the sight she saw.

"Get out of here, honey," Gretchen demanded and Clara glowered over to her as Alex opened the door to the backseat, but Clara grabbed hold of it, her gaze pleading as she watched him.

"This is a mistake," she promised him. "And you know that."

Shaking his head at hearing that, Alex moved quickly then, knowing exactly what he wanted to do as he dared to take her hand that was on the door, but instead of pushing her away, he pulled her to him and acted with haste, bending down until his lips were pressed against hers.

Clara startled, wondering what he was doing, but by the time she had realised that his lips were on hers, he was pulling away, the moment fleeting and enough to make Clara wonder if it had even happened. Offering her one more smile, Alex spoke in a whisper.

"I've made a lot of mistakes," Alex told her, "but meeting you wasn't one of them. Look after yourself, Clara."

Before she could do anything, Alex was climbing into the car and shutting the door. The car began to drive off and Clara had no option but to stumble into the middle of the road, peering after it as it sped off and she had no chance to go after it. Instead she could only remain stood where she was as Alex peered out the rear window and watched her disappear in the distance.

Clara remained stood where she was, her lips tingling from the feeling of Alex's lips on hers. He had gone. He had left her. But he had gone to help. Clara shook her head, knowing that Alex had been right with what he had said about Gretchen. Michael would be looking for her and if he found her then he could find Alex.

All that Clara had to do was try to find Michael. If she found him then she could find her way back to Alex again.

...

A/N: Two chapters tonight! Do let me know what you think and we move onto season four next!