The picture outside her window looked like any other day in Los Angles. The sun was shining and the weather was a decent degree. It was strange to her. It didn't feel like Christmas without the bone chilling cold and the snow. That was the one thing she missed about living in Chicago. Sara loved the snow.

On any other Christmas Eve she would be curled up next to a fire with a cup of hot chocolate watching Miracle on 34th Street. This year she substituted the hot chocolate for takeout and skipped the fire. Most of her day was spent treating Christmas related injuries and she wasn't really in the Christmas Spirit.

To be fair the cause of a lot of her anti-Christmas feelings was a certain tattooed ex-con. Sara couldn't believe she agreed to Christmas dinner with Michael. She had a feeling it was a disaster waiting to happen. As much as she dreaded the next day Sara couldn't stop the way her heart fluttered when she thought about seeing Michael again. Thinking about Michael and their relationship confused her so Sara tried to concentrate on other things, but he was never far from her thoughts.

Another reason she turned into the Grinch was the expected absence from her father. She hadn't received a phone call, card, or the usual flowers. Not that she expected anything. Her father hadn't spoken to her since her overdose. She had received a phone call and a card from Henry Pope. The warden still kept in contact and Sara was grateful. He was a good man and in the past few years he was more of a father to her than her real one.

There was a soft knock at her door and Sara stood up to get it.

"Are you Miss Tancredi?" a teenage boy asked holding a bouquet of flowers. Sara smiled and shook her head. Michael Scofield is quite the charmer. "Sign here." She did and the boy handed her the flowers.

Sara set them down on her table and reached for the card. Her smile quickly faded as she read the inscription. They weren't from Michael. The flowers were a gift from Dr. Perry. Sara had noticed his flirty advances towards her, but she never thought anything of it. Once again she was torn inside. Not because of her new revelation of Dr. Perry, these feelings were connected to a different man. Sara couldn't figure out if she was disappointed that the flowers had not been a gift from Michael or if she was happy that he remembered she hated bouquets of flowers and what they stood for. Sara just crumpled up the card and tossed it in the trash beside the table. No doubt that the flowers would end up there eventually.

The next morning when her doorbell rand Sara knew exactly who it was. "Merry Christmas!" Michael said when she opened the door.

She couldn't help but smile when she returned his greeting. "Come in," she moved aside to let him enter. "Let me just grab something from the other room."

Michael nodded and noticed flower tips poking up from the top of her trash can. "Another gift from your father?" he asked when she came back into the room.

"No. Actually they're from a co-worker."

"Should I be jealous?"

"Of Dr. Perry?" she chuckled and shook her head. "No."

He smiled and nodded. "What are these?" he asked after she handed him a bag of neatly wrapped packages.

"They're Christmas gifts. There's one for everybody. I remember you mentioning Lincoln had a teenage son and I wasn't sure if he would be there or not so I bought him one anyway."

"This is very thoughtful, but you didn't have to buy us anything."

"Really, it's the least I could do."

Michael nodded. He could not believe he was lucky enough to be spending Christmas with such a wonderful person. "Ready to go?"

The ride to Lincoln's house was filled with easy conversation. Sara didn't have many fond Christmas memories and she loved hearing about Michael and Lincoln's Christmas traditions.

"Did he really almost burn the house down?"

"Yeah. The fire department came and everything. I don't think he's tried to cook a turkey since."

"Wow, that's something I wish I could have seen. Lincoln isn't cooking dinner is he?"

"No," Michael laughed. "Veronica is a much better cook than either of us."

They were silent for a moment. Each enjoying the company of the other. "Here we are," Michael said five minutes later. Michael grabbed the presents from his trunk and opened the door for Sara.

"Hello?" he called when they entered the house.

"Michael," Lincoln came in from the kitchen and enveloped his brother in a hug. "Doc!" he said equally enthusiastic reaching down to hug her too.

"Sara, it's good to see you again," Veronica said joining them.

"Where should I put these?" Michael asked lifting up the presents. Lincoln ushered him into the family room while Sara was left with Veronica.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"You can help Michael set the table. He's horrible at it, but we make him do it every year," Veronica chuckled.

Sara nodded and headed for the table. She set the plates down and moved to the kitchen to help Michael with the silverware, but he was one step ahead of her and met her in the hallway. They smiled at each other and were about to continue to the dining room when Lincoln stopped them.

"You don't get off that easy you two. You know the rules."

Sara and Michael looked at him confused then followed his gaze to the ceiling. Hanging above them was a small bundle of mistletoe.