6 months after the escape

The cold night air stung her cheeks as she made her way home. Her arms laden with groceries were aching and the biting cold was not helping her slowly waning strength. She stopped and took a deep breath closing her eyes as if it was painful to even breathe.

Across the street, within the shadows of a closed deli, a hooded man stiffened and his heart contracted painfully as he watched the frail yet stunningly beautiful woman paused before crossing the street. The urge to close the distance between them was so strong that he had to physical hold to the grilled windows of the deli. He watched her cross the street and make her way up on the fourth brownstone. His eyes never left her even the door closed as she went in.

Sara dropped her keys, switched the lights on and went directly towards the kitchen. She was glad that she left the heater on before she went out to do her shopping. Shrugging off her coat and gloves, she automatically began to put away her groceries. Afterwards, she went to the bathroom to start her bath. She lighted several candles, and crossed the hallway towards her bedroom. She slowly undressed and went back to the kitchen and took a bottle of wine and a wine glass before heading back to the bathroom. The tub was nearly full so she turned the faucet off and poured herself a glass of wine and slowly slid out of her robe and stepped into the tub. She sighed as the warm water soothed her tired body.

Michael walked purposely towards the brownstone and waited by the door. Sara's elderly neighbor just opened the door and went out not noticing the young man by the door. Michael said hello while holding the door open without letting the elderly woman see his face.

"Thank you young man." Mrs. Crawford said,

"You're welcome." Michael replied before slipping inside the building.

Sara's apartment was in the third floor. He jimmied the lock and went in. Michael smiled as he surveyed the room. She told him that she was a pack rat but her place is as neat as a pin. It was warm and comfortable, her taste was elegant and simple and suddenly a feeling came over him, Michael felt as if he finally found home.

He closed his eyes, he was so tired, for six months they have been running and they are still on the run but this time, it took them back to the city. Lincoln is with Veronica and LJ at the moment in the cabin. He snuck out late last night and headed back to the city. He knew what happened to Sara and it took Lincoln, Sucre, C-note and even Abruzzi to keep him from going back. They had to manually strap him and Michael broke down, knowing that he was again the cause of someone else's pain. Finally his mind and heart reconciled and he waited for the right time and it was now. The US Marshall and the police are looking for them somewhere in Texas and in Mexico. Michael knew that Lincoln will be exonerated from his crime but his fate is still uncertain. The time to expose the conspiracy is near and his freedom is limited. The phone rang and Michael tensed. He wasn't sure how Sara would react if she saw him.

Sara heard the phone ring and ignored it, she was luxuriating in her bath, she heard her father's voice and tried to block his voice.

"Sara? I know you are there. Listen honey, I want you to come for dinner tomorrow night. There is someone I want you to meet." Gov. Tancredi paused. "Sweetheart, I love you." He added before hanging up.

Sara sighed. Her father had been her rock, she didn't know how she could have coped with all the media frenzy, the speculations and the accusations that were thrown her way after the escape. He protected her and took care of everything. When he had asked her about her involvement, all she answered was "What do you think?"

She didn't purposely OD, all she remembered from that day was, she was sitting in her car, crying, then she blocked out. The news reported that she OD but the truth was she was drugged.

Michael heard the message and crept slowly down the hallway. The bathroom door was opened and he saw Sara as she stepped out of the tub. His body reacted instinctively at the sight of her while his heart raced. "God she's so beautiful."

He closed his eyes and reluctantly went back to the living room, careful not to make a sound. He decided to wait for her there, so he closed the lamp, settled down on the couch and patiently waited for her.

Sara rinsed off and dried herself. She smoothed on her favorite lotion before slipping back in her robe. She cleaned the tub, blew the candles out, got the wine and the glass and headed back to the kitchen. Leaving the bottle on the counter, she noticed the living room light was out.

Michael fell asleep, he didn't notice that Sara is now heading his way.

Sara though that the bulb had gone out, so she went to get a spare and headed towards the lamp, she didn't notice the figure in her couch. It was only after she screwed the lamp on and turned when she saw him.