Sara awoke and was met by darkness so opaque that she had to blink twice to make sure her eyes were actually open. In the grogginess of sleep she tried to make sense of strange memories that kept floating in and out of her mind. She saw flashes of cons jumping over fences and being chased by wailing police sirens, she saw herself being dragged along with them, she saw dismembered limbs and heated arguments, she saw a plane and bullet resistant cars, lots of running and then nothing. The details were all hazy but as she remembered them adrenaline and fear rushed through her. She took a deep breath and smiled to herself as it dawned on her that the whole thing had been a particularly strange yet somewhat thrilling dream.

"Hey. You're up."

She jumped at the sound of Michael's voice floating towards her in the darkness. Clearly not a dream then, she thought. She could barely make out his silhouette getting closer to the bed and then she heard the grating sound of a match head being scraped against the striking surface on the side of a matchbox. In the dim light she watched Michael light a candle and carefully place it on the small bedside table to the left of him. He didn't make eye contact and Sara immediately got the sense that he was ashamed. Gazing at him in the candle light she was way more attracted to him than she would like to admit so she shook her head as if to shake away her feelings and tried to make conversation. There were so many things she wanted to ask but in the end all that came out was an almost pointless question.

"What – where – what time is it?"

"About 8am"

"Really?" She asked, surprised straightening up quickly. "Why is it so dark?"

"Oh - we have boards up on all the windows."

He finally looked up at her, a silent plea in his eyes. Those eyes were like pools determined to pull her in and when she realised that she was in danger of letting herself fall back into them again she suddenly got very angry and more than a little worried.

"Oh my God Michael, what have you got me into?"

"Sara I'm - "

"Yeah I know you're sorry – you never meant for me to get involved. Well guess what ? I am involved. I'm in this thing up to my ears whether I want to be or not! So you're going to have to start giving me some answers and no more lies – no more games or manipulations. Just be straight with me Michael – for once just give me the truth."

Michael swallowed hard and put his head in his hands. He had to try to explain everything to her. He owed her that much at least but it was hard to know exactly the right way to put it so he started at the most logical place.

"My brother was framed – you saw the evidence right ? – you believed it enough to show it to your father. I couldn't - I couldn't just stand by and watch them kill him for a crime he didn't commit. I owe him too much to let it end like that."

"Yeah but Michael – there are other ways. I mean – breaking out ? You'll be hunted all your lives."

"Yes but at least we'll be alive. At least Lincoln will be alive."

"For now - but they're not going to stop until they find you and drag you right back to prison and even if your brother was innocent before – he's not any more and kidnapping me? Michael - my father may not be the best guy in the world and he may not be interested in anything I have to say or in anything I do but he is my dad and he is very protective – he'll see this as losing and he hates to lose so he will do everything - even the unthinkable to get me back."

Sara paused, sat up properly on the bed and looked Michael right in the eye before continuing.

"Maybe if you go back. Maybe if you turn yourselves in. You could get more lawyers. Ones with really great connections to cut some kind of deal - reduce your time - "

"No Sara don't you see ? In that place Lincoln doesn't have any time left. Not even two weeks before they execute him. I had to get him out of there and if I had to sacrifice the life I had before this to do it then so be it because Linc deserves better than to have his life ripped away from him like that – he deserves better."

Sara stared hard at Michael and slowly her anger started to wear away. She saw the love he had for his brother, she saw his willingness to be part of the solution and she understood why he had to do everything exactly the way he did it.

"Hey you must be starved - how about some breakfast ?" Michael said, breaking the silence.

He smiled as he got up and walked out of sight into the room that was to serve as their 'kitchen' though there were no cooking appliances to be seen and only a small sink in the far corner of the room. Still, he found the accommodation far more pleasing that his prison cell. He turned back to look at Sara and he could just about make out her profile in the dim light. He hated to admit it but he was glad that she had had to come along with them. He'd prepared the best breakfast he could under the circumstances – some berries he'd managed to pick up very early in the morning and an apple he'd found on a tree not too far from where they were hiding out. He tried to arrange it the best he could but it was difficult considering they had no plates or cutlery of any sort. As he walked back into the room he noticed that Sara had settled herself back into bed again. He approached the other side of the bed and handed her the 'meal' he'd prepared. She looked up at him a slight smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

"Wow Michael, you're really breaking out the five star treatment there."

Sara said with a small smirk.

Michael smiled, glad to hear that there was no longer any anger in her voice though he suspected that it was still there, buried somewhere beneath the surface. He knew he wasn't off the hook yet but he caught himself staring at her as she sat up in the bed. Her reddish hair bounced she moved her head slightly and he was mesmerised as her whole face glowed beautifully in the candlelight.

"So. . . are you going to give it to me or am I just supposed to watch you hold it?"

Michael smiled again snapping out of his reverie. His smile was broader this time.

"Oh sorry – and I'm sorry about there being no plates or knives or forks – this place isn't exactly the four seasons"

"I gathered as much," Sara said with a smile accepting the fruit from Michael.

After chewing on a few of the berries for a little while she looked up to see Michael still standing above the bed watching her eat.

"You know, you can sit down if you want."

Michael smiled and welcomed the invitation. As he sat down next to her on the bed his arm lightly brushed hers. They both looked down to the spot where they'd touched and then back up into each other's eyes.

"Sara - " Michael whispered before someone burst through the door. It was Lincoln, out of breath and in a state of panic. Sara had completely forgotten to ask where he'd been this whole time – him and all the others - but now was clearly not the time.

"Michael we have to go – now"

"Why – what's wrong?" Michael asked sharply, standing up immediately.

"I don't know how - but they found us"

"What ? That's impossible."

Michael raced into one of the other rooms and looked out of the only window that hadn't been boarded up. From there he had a direct view of the only road leading up to their hideout. Lincoln was right. At the far end of the road he could make out at least three police cars in the distance and he could just about hear their sirens wailing as they came barrelling down the long dirt road towards the hideout. He ran back into the room to see Lincoln attempting to remove all traces of their presence. Sara was standing in the corner looking quite worried, her apple and berries long forgotten. She glanced from Michael to Lincoln. The latter was running around gathering sheets and pillows and dumping them into a bucket that she presumed he would then incinerate. She looked to the former and noticed that his eyes were on her. Sara stared back at him her eyes widening slightly. She knew that look. She was finally starting to recognise it. She'd seen it before Michael had kissed her in the infirmary and she'd seen it before he'd asked her to help him with the escape. He wanted something from her again. It was like a never-ending cycle with him but she decided to hear him out any way.

"Sara – I can't force you to come with us this time but - I need your help. We need your help."

Lincoln looked up when he heard this.

"Michael come on man, we don't have time for this. Leave the doc here – she'll be safe. They think we took her hostage."

"We did Linc."

"Ok – so let's get out of here."

"Linc could you go prepare the way – We need the passage opened but make sure you do it - "

"- Like you showed me last night. Got it. Hey listen, don't be long ok ?"

"I won't be."

With a final nod in Sara's direction, Lincoln disappeared into the darkness leaving the bucket full of sheets in flames in one corner of the room. Michael turned to Sara once again the urgency clear in his eyes and voice as he started to speak.

"I have an idea, but first I need to know – will you come with us ? Willingly I mean – because I don't want you to have to do anything against your will – I know it's a tough choice to make but – we don't have much time. Will you come with me ?"

Sara sat down heavily on the bare mattress. He was asking her to turn into a fugitive. Hadn't she been through enough ? Michael noticed the torrent of emotions flickering through Sara's face. He knew what this decision must be doing to her so he needed to make one thing clear.

"It won't be forever. They'll always think of you as a hostage and this will always be a kidnapping in the eyes of the law. You won't be doing anything wrong."

The wailing sirens were coming closer and closer. She needed to make a decision - now. Michael stretched out his hand to her. Her eyes were locked on the floor as though she were fixated with something there that he couldn't see. He lifted her chin up lightly and searched for an answer in her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and she swallowed hard as she felt herself drowning in those powerful blue eyes once again.

"Will you come with me Sara," Michael asked softly, his hand still outstretched.

Sara slowly moved her hand into his, never breaking eye contact. Her eyes widened as she realised what she was saying. Her body seemed to have reacted before her mind could consciously make a decision. She blamed it on the adrenaline but it was done now and she couldn't take it back so she smiled slightly and said,

"I guess you never know when a hostage will come in handy, right?"

Michael smiled, relief smoothing out the lines in his forehead and then he snapped out of it as he realised that the police had almost arrived on their doorstep. He quickly ran into the same room as before and came out holding a small bag. From it he removed a rope and a knife. Sara looked from Michael to the knife he was holding and paused for a moment. He grabbed a chair from the far side of the room and beckoned Sara to it.

"We're going to make it look as though you were tied up here. But there's no better way to make it look like something happened then by actually . . . "

His voice trailed off as he stared down at the chair. The message was clear and Sara moved towards him. She sat down and closed her eyes for a moment. The sirens were much louder now but she realised that Michael wasn't moving. He was just staring at the rope in his hands.

"Michael come on – you said it yourself – we don't have time."

Her words pulled him out of his trance and his heart jumped a little at her inclusion of the word "we". He quickly got started on the task at hand. After tying her quite lightly to the chair he grabbed the knife and started rapidly cutting the rope off. There was a loud noise outside that sounded like a gunshot and Sara jumped which caused her to accidentally slice her forearm on the knife. Michael gasped. A sharp pain shot up Sara's arm but she bit down on her lip to stop herself from crying out.

"Sara – oh my God I'm so sorry – are you ok?"

"Mmn – I'm fine – don't worry about me – we should get out of here."

She was right of course and Michael hated to admit it but the small pool of blood that was falling down Sara's arm to the floor added perfectly to the effect that he was going for. He quickly finished cutting the rope and ripped off one sleeve from his shirt so that Sara could use it to try to stop the bleeding.

"Thank you."

Michael put an arm behind her back and led her forward.

"Come on, this way."

Together they ran out of the house through a side door just as three police men entered through the front door while two circled around the back, guns ready and each man alert. They spread out throughout the house each one taking a different room.

"Clear"

"Clear"

"Clear"

"All clear out back"

"We must of just missed 'em."

"Got somethin' in here, boss"

"Looks like the hostage is still alive but with a nasty cut on her."

"From the amount of blood it doesn't look like it was too deep though and the blood's still fresh so they haven't been gone long."

"Is there a blood trail?"

"No – they must have wrapped it up in something when they left."

"All right – let's secure the perimeter – make sure they're actually gone."

"Yes boss – you comin'?"

"Yeah I'll be right out – I gotta make a call first."

Sergeant O'Brien sighed as he searched for a particular number in his phone's memory. This would not be a pleasant call. He heard the person on the other end pick up and he braced himself.

"Bellick."

"Officer Bellick, its Sargent O'Brien here - I just wanted to let you know that I followed up on that lead I talked to you about a couple of hours ago – you know about them cons that escaped - "

"You found them?"

"Well yes and no sir."

"What the hell do you mean yes and no? You either found them or you're a useless piece of trash not worth the uniform you're wearing!"

"Well sir, um it seems my men and I found their hideout but by the time we got here – they were gone."

"Gone where?"

"Well, I don't know sir but I sure am gonna do my best to find out."

"What about the doctor – the hostage they took."

"Well we found signs that she'd been tied up here and there was a small amount of blood indicating that she was probably wounded as well but I don't think she was hurt too badly."

"You don't think?"

Bellick's voice suddenly took on an even more sinister edge.

"Well no sir, there wasn't a very big pool of blood – of course we don't even know it was hers yet – we're going to take a sample back to the lab for testing."

"Fine do whatever you have to do – call me when you have an update and find me those damn cons!"

There was a sharp click on the line clearly indicating that the conversation was over.

"Yes sir," Seargent O'Brien said softly before heading out to join his officers in the continued search for the escapees.