An hour passed. Lincoln, Sucre and Michael had gotten themselves cleaned up and now Lincoln and Sucre were asleep. Michael couldn't sleep. This place, the TARDIS they had called it, was so amazing. He had never seen anything more complex. He stood in the counsel room just staring at the alien machinery. He thought he had long ago managed to control his LLI, only to have all that thrown out the window the moment he stepped into the strange blue box. Stranger still, he kept feeling an itch in the back of his mind, like the feeling you get when someone is reading over your shoulder.
He let his thoughts wonder to Sara and he couldn't help wonder how she was doing. He strongly suspected that he had broken her heart, and no doubt her little stunt of "forgetting" to lock the infirmary door had cost made her lose her job. He was surprised by how incredibly guilty he felt about that, but who could blame him? He had fallen in love.
He didn't hear the Doctor step up behind him, and he jumped when he heard him say his name. Michael whirled around quickly, but relaxed when he saw who it was. He silently cursed Fox River for making him so jumpy.
"Something on your mind?" the Doctor asked, nonchalant.
Michael shrugged. "Lots of things, I guess."
The Doctor nodded, looking very thoughtful. "Can I ask you something? Who's Sara?"
Michael's eyes widened. "Who told you about her?"
"The TARDIS. She gets into your mind. You can probably feel it, like a little tickle. Anyways, you've been thinking about her a lot. I was just wondering who she was."
Michael looked very uncomfortable by the notion of an alien ship entering his mind, but he forced himself to answer the Doctor's question. "She was the doctor at Fox River…at the prison."
"And you got very close to her?" the Doctor assumed.
Michael nodded. "A bit closer then I intended. I all but forced her to help us escape. I probably broke her heart and made her lose her job." He lowered his eyes sadly.
The Doctor knew all too much about breaking hearts. He felt a pang of sympathy for Michael.
"I know you said you couldn't grantee that Sucre would be able to see Maricruz, but is there something you can do for me?" Michael asked. "I just want to know if she's okay. I don't even have to talk to her."
The Doctor nodded. "Yeah, I think there's something I can do." He moved to the counsel and began pressing a few buttons. He focused on the TARDIS screen and clacked away at a small keyboard. "What is her full name?" he asked.
"Sara Tancredi," Michael responded instantly. He watched the Doctor working intensely.
Rose walked into the room and approached the Doctor. "What are you doing?" she inquired.
"Looking for someone," the Doctor told her. He finished typing and stood back. "There. Now the TARDIS will do a search of the near future and find out what she's doing. If there's anything wrong. We'll go have a peek."
"Who?" Rose asked.
"Oh, this girl Michael knows. Sara. Prison doctor. He's smitten, but broke her heart and got her fired when he escaped and now he just wants to know if she's okay."
Rose quirked an eyebrow at Michael, but said nothing.
There was silence for a few seconds. The Doctor smiled. "Guess she's all right then." Then the TARDIS gave an almost panicked beep. The Doctor's smile fell. "Or not…" He scanned the screen, a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"What's wrong?" Michael asked, alarmed.
The Doctor hit a small button and a man's voice came in over a speaker. It was from a police radio, and they were only able to catch a few clear snip-bits of what was being said, but what they did manage to hear chilled them.
"Dispatch, this is...Davis on scene...to 1660 found on drive. Apartment 236. Possible overdose. Likely DOA. Copy?"
"Oh my God!" Michael exclaimed. He grabbed the Doctor's arm desperately. "We have to do something!"
"Yep, okay." The Doctor was already piloting the TARDIS towards Sara's apartment.
Michael fidgeted slightly, running a finger up one of the lines that twisted around his lower forearm. He caught the Doctor's curious eye and forced a smile.
"Sorry, habit." He murmured. The TARDIS came to a stop with a jolt and he pushed the TARDIS doors open slightly, ducking his head around to look outside.
"Can I ask when we are?" He closed the doors quietly and turned around. The Doctor nodded.
"The TARDIS can be temperamental, and sometimes she gets things a bit off. I was aiming for about twenty minutes before they found her, but unfortunately you only have about five minutes to get in and either help her or get her out of there."
Michael nodded and took a deep breath before turning around and opening the doors.
The apartment was bare as he entered it. There were no signs of movement but there was a single light on in the living room, where Sara lay. Her skin was an unhealthy tinge of grey and her arm was outstretched to a bottle of morphine.A trickle of white trailed down her face. As he approached he noticed a small amount of vomit on the floor. He groaned inwardly.This was not a good sign
"Oh Sara, I'm so, so sorry." Michael said quietly. He gently shook her shoulder. "Sara?"
She stirred slightly, her eyelids flickering gently as she breathed out gently.
"Oh thank God," he murmured, a breath he didn't know he'd been holding escaping from his lungs. She blinked an eye open.
"What the hell? Michael?" She lifted one of her arms and shook her head slightly, then winced. "My head." She groaned softly. He smiled slightly and tried to help her up.
"Sara, you need some help. You took too much morphine." He glanced down at the bottle on the table near the couch. "And the alcohol mustn't have helped much either."
She shook her head and leant on his chest as she stood. "I'm fine," she mumbled and with a tiny smile, she fainted.
He caught her as she fell onto his chest and tried to help her upright again.
"This isn't going to work," he muttered softly, trying to find a way to carry her back to the TARDIS. There was a tap at the door and Michael jumped, his eyes casting around wildly to find the source.
"Sara Tancredi, this is the Police..."
Michael groaned and tucked his hands under her arms so he could lift her. With a deep breath he started to drag her back to the kitchen where the TARDIS had landed.
"...we have a warrant to come in. It's easier if you just open the door otherwise we're gonna come right in."
There was a splintering sound as the door cracked open at the hinges, and Michael started to speed up, crossing the last inches between him and the TARDIS. Peeking through the door he tried to motion for help.
"We've got trouble."