Sara looks around her. She is walking along the river, the sun warming her bare shoulders. When she reaches the spot where she had made up her mind so long ago, she stops. Her eyes close as a gentle breeze tickles her neck.

Suddenly, she is back in the dark, breathing heavily as he trails a line of soft, airy kisses across her throat. His hand skims over the smooth skin of her inner thigh, leaving goose bumps in its wake. She arches her back, pressing her bare chest to his, and her name tumbles from his lips.

Beside the water, Sara smiles. Even in her memory, his voice makes her melt.

He hovers over her, perfectly still except for his eyes, which are searching hers. She smiles up at him and traces his eyebrow with the tip of her finger. As he slides into her, his name escapes her lips in a reverent whisper, "Michael."

The memory of their night together is as fresh in her mind as if it had happened yesterday. As she looks out over the water, she finds herself wondering - as she often does - what would have happened if he hadn't shown up at her door that night.

"Oh my god."

"Sara-"

"You can't be here, Michael. They're looking for you. Why aren't you halfway to Mexico?"

"Lincoln. He's been shot."

"What? How?"

"When we…and then…it doesn't matter! What matters is that he is shot. Please. You have to help him."

Sara hesitates for a second before asking, "Where is he?"

Michael disappears around the side of her house without a word. A few seconds later, he reappears again, this time supporting Lincoln, who's limping and bleeding pretty badly. Sara opens the door wider, and ushers them inside.

"Where…?" Michael looks at her and the desperation that she sees in his eyes scares her.

"The kitchen. Right over there."

Michael drags Lincoln into the kitchen and sits him down on one of the chairs. Lincoln's pale and trembling.

Sara closes her bedroom door as quietly as possible and makes her way to the kitchen. Lincoln is asleep in her bed. The bullet went all the way through his thigh, but it didn't cause too much damage so she was able to patch him up fairly well. He really should go to the hospital to get it checked out properly, but she knows that's impossible.

Michael has already cleaned the kitchen - it looks exactly the way it did before they showed up. She finds him in the living room, peeking through the curtains.

"He's asleep. He should rest for awhile before trying to travel with that leg."

Michael turns towards her, away from the window. He looks nervous. "I know, but we really should get…I saw a motel a few blocks away."

"I'm sure you did, but you're not going anywhere. You're staying here, at least for tonight."

"We can't, Sara, you're already way too involved."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Sara, I-"

"No, Michael. You're not going to shut me out this time. Why did you come here?"

Michael hesitates. He looks around the room, then jams his hands in his pockets, and looks her straight in the eye.

"Because I trust you."

Sara looks surprised.

"You left the door unlocked. You let us in tonight. You've saved Lincoln's life twice, Sara. I'm incredibly grateful for that."

"I…I still don't know why I did it. Left the door unlocked, I mean."

"You did it because you're a good person. Lincoln's innocent. It was the right thing to do."

"Actually, Michael, it was the illegal thing to do. I committed a crime. If anyone finds out I'll be a lot more than fired."

Sara begins pacing angrily.

"I know. I wish there had been another way."

"Arg! You are so selfish Michael! And completely selfless. How do you do that?"

"I…don't know?"

"I mean, you're very smart so you obviously knew the repercussions that I'd have to face. But you asked me to leave the door unlocked anyway. You weighed the consequences and decided that they didn't matter. And the thing that makes me angriest is that you did it to save your brother's life. You did an incredibly stupid, noble thing. Which is why I can't hate you for it. I want to. But I can't."

"Sara," Michael says, but then pauses. "I wish I was as noble as you think I am. The truth is I'm not. Yes, Lincoln is innocent. And yes, I couldn't let him die knowing that. But I did what I did partially out of guilt."

"Guilt?"

Michael nods. "The night that Linc supposedly killed Terrence Steadman he called me. But I didn't feel like dealing with him, so I didn't answer. He was there for me so many times when I was a kid and I wasn't there for him the one time he needed me most. I didn't help him that night, but I found a way to help him before it was too late."

Sara looks confused for a second, but then she suddenly realizes what he is implying. "You got arrested on purpose."

Michael nods again.

"That's insane!"

"Maybe a little. But it worked."

Sara can't believe what she's hearing. "Maybe a little," she says, imitating his voice. "Most people would have hired the best, most expensive lawyers to relieve their guilt, Michael, they wouldn't have gotten themselves locked up!"

"Lawyers couldn't save him. I could."

"But now you're on the run Michael. You both are. You've ruined your life."

"But I've saved his. That's all that matters."

Sara just shakes her head, and goes to check on Lincoln. She needs a few seconds to calm herself down so that she doesn't start screaming at Michael. She thinks that staying calm will probably produce better results.

Lincoln's still sleeping. Quietly, she checks his pulse and feels his forehead. He seems okay, so she leaves him and goes back to the living room. Michael doesn't appear to have moved an inch, except that he's looking down - he seems to suddenly find his shoes very interesting.

"Is he alright?"

"He seems to be."

Michael nods. A few seconds go by before he finally looks up at her. "So. Do you hate me now?"

"No. And that pisses me off."

Michael gives her a small smile. She almost smiles back, but stops herself.

"You used me Michael. You lied to me."

"Yes. But Sara, you have to understand, I went into Fox River with a goal. And I wasn't going to let anything stop me from achieving it. Then I met you. I knew all about you before it got there, but I didn't know you. As I spent more time with you, it became harder and harder to lie. I wanted to be honest with you about everything but I had to make a decision. It was either save Lincoln or be honest with you. It couldn't be both. So I sacrificed your feelings for my brother's life. And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry that I hurt you, and that I did anything to lose your trust. I care about you Sara, but your life wasn't in danger."