So this is the final chapter of this story. It turned out a bit longer than I intended, and went in a few directions that I hadn't foreseen, but overall, I am very happy with it. It's the first major writing project I've ever seen all the way through. I'd like to thank all the people who read this, and extend a huge thank-you to everybody who reviewed.
The first scene of this chapter takes place just after the previous one. The bold/italics represents a newspaper article in the future. After that, I know its probably a little fluffy, but I felt after all they went through, they deserved it. Enjoy!
Please review!
The darkness was complete now. The city appeared deserted, at least where they were. Michael, Lincoln, Sucre, and Sara had pulled up a block away from the Internet café. "Everyone ready?" Michael asked, glancing at each of them in turn. No one replied negatively, so they got out of the car for the last time. The four crept down the street, eventually reaching the place.
Rain was already there, at a computer. The four entered, heads ducked (oddly enough, there were a few other people there at that time of night) and made their way to his computer. Sirens rang in the distance.
"Here." Michael withdrew the computer chip and handed it to his former roommate. Rain inserted the chip into the computer, pressed a few buttons, and leaned back grinning, hands laced behind his head.
"We're good." He announced.
Michael smiled. He kissed Sara passionately in celebration. "I'm glad you're here with me." He said. Michael's head was spinning slightly from the sudden joy of this being -finally- over. Sucre and Michael hugged quickly. Michael turned to Lincoln to comment on the fact that they were in the clear now, but Lincoln was staring out the window, a blank expression on his face.
"Hey... aren't you that man?" A young man was saying, peering out from around the side of his computer. "That one what broke out of prison?"
Michael turned to him, still grinning. "Yeah. I am."
Update on the Fox River Eight
Two and a half years ago today, a moderate-sized, previously unknown town near Albuquerque, New Mexico, became famous. Two and a half years ago today, Lincoln Burrows and his brother, Michael Scofield were arrested near an Internet café there. If it was possible, their recapture was overshadowed by the exposure of a massive government conspiracy. Mere minutes before their arrest, major news broadcasting organizations worldwide broke the story of the conspiracy. Sources later conflicted over just who delivered the incriminating evidence to the media. In the ensuing weeks, amidst numerous federal investigations and emergency elections to replace the droves of resigning politicians, it became common-knowledge that the conspiracy, known as the Company, framed the infamous Burrows. Scofield also admitted to committing an armed robbery deliberately to be imprisoned with his convicted brother, but only to break them out of Fox River State Penitentiary. The brothers were eventually tried for their breakout and various other crimes.
Now three-months removed from a type-A prison, Scofield and Burrows are back in society, and are generally considered by Americans to be heroes, rather than menaces. Scofield appeared at the grand opening of a Chicago children's hospital, and Burrows threw the ceremonial first pitch at a White Sox post-season game in October. Both brothers have appeared on everything from radio talk shows to late-night television. Scofield is currently working on a book about their experiences, due out next Christmas, and Liam Boothe, the star of recent blockbuster hit "Behind the Wall", is set to play Burrows in a made-for-TV movie. Indeed, their previous crimes lie almost forgotten nowadays.
Almost forgotten.
The families of Ernie Mitus and Jim Holladay, two gas station employees from New Mexico, Ms. Stanton, a Kansas woman, and Owen Kravecki, a Chicago native, all victims of the brothers' misdeeds will never forget. Despite being cleared of charges, the brothers are suspected to have killed them, because they got in the way of the brothers. And then there is the mystery that surrounds Katelyn Curtis (29). Curtis was missing for over two weeks before stumbling into a nearby hospital with serious injuries, including gunshot wounds, the same night the brothers were arrested. Curtis suffers from severe Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, which greatly limits her recollection of the events of the two weeks she was MIA, but police reports at the time indicated she was believed to be with the escapees. "I don't remember" was her catch phrase upon her return, regardless of the question. She was quite adamant that she remembered none of what had happened.
To be perfectly honest, if you or I, or any person who had not recently proved that half the people in Washington DC were corrupt had done all the stuff they'd done, we would spend the rest of our life in jail. Scofield and his brother got off with a mere eighteen months. Granted, Burrows in particular served undue time before breaking out, but the courts were ridiculously lenient. How is it fair that the two of them, with a combined four deaths and thousands of dollars in damages, received a year and a half?
It's not. But that's democracy for you.
Fernando Sucre, another member of the infamous Fox River Eight, received a similar punishment. For his involvement in all this, Sucre got two years. His time will be up in March. Theodore Bagwell, having nothing to do with the exposure of the Company, returned to Fox River State Penitentiary to finish the rest of his life sentence. Benjamin Franklin turned himself in after the brothers and Sucre were captured, and is finishing off his two-year sentence as well.
Kate crumpled the front page of the newspaper into a ball and threw it into the conveniently placed garbage can. She massaged her forehead with one hand, thinking will it never end?
The phone rang. She glanced at it. It was probably a reporter, calling for a statement of some sort. They never seemed to leave her alone.
It rang again. Maybe it wasn't a reporter, though.
"Damn." Kate picked up the receiver"Hi."
"Hello."
"Who is this?"
"This is Michael Scofield." A pause. "How are you?"
"What do you want?"
"I'm sorry about what happened." No response. "But I think you remember everything that happened that night."
"Maybe I do. But so what, Michael? So what? I just want to live my life, without any of this. I'm a surgeon; I have plenty of stuff going on without all of this."
"I understand that. But there's something you need to know."
"What?"
Michael hesitated. "It's about Linc." Silence. "He might be coming to New York in the next little bit."
"Why do you think that?"
"I saw the plane ticket."
"Oh." A pause. "Why is he coming?"
"He hasn't been the same."
"He was in prison, Michael, on death row. Not many people would be the same."
"No, not like that. He's just been off. Quiet, listless. Unenthusiastic about everything."
"So naturally you think he's coming to me."
"Look, I don't know what the hell happened when you and him were separated from the rest of us, but it's messed with him. He's not himself." Michael said heatedly. He paused, then continued, in a calmer tone. "I just wanted to give you a heads up. He thought it would be good to surprise you, but I think that would have been disastrous." Privately, she agreed. "So here's your warning."
She sighed. "Is there a time frame?"
"No, I didn't have enough time to see that. He might not go through with it. I don't think he's decided."
"Oh. Well, thanks for the warning."
"No problem."
"So, uh, how're things with you and Sara?"
"Good." She could hear him smiling.
"I read that you two were engaged."
"Yeah. Wedding's this April."
"Congratulations."
"Thanks."
"I hear you're writing a book."
"Oh, yeah. Only because the company told me that if I didn't, they were going to write an "unofficial" sort of thing, which would undoubtedly be worse than the truth."
"Uh huh."
"It's true!" He insisted.
"Whatever. Just… keep me out of it?"
"Sure."
Neither spoke for a moment. "I have to go now." Kate said, having nothing else to say.
"Okay. Yeah. Nice talking to you again."
"You too. Take care." Kate hung up the phone, and leaned against the wall of her apartment. This was never going to end.
Almost a week later, Kate was arriving home from a relatively short shift at the hospital when she saw an all-to-familiar person sitting against the wall next to her apartment. Kate froze. He hadn't seen her yet. She could walk away, and pretend she never saw him.
But instead, Kate took a deep breath, and continued on towards her apartment door. "Um…" She said, her key in her hand now.
Lincoln jumped slightly, and looked up at her. He quickly sprang to his feet. "Hey. Uh, how've you been?"
"Fine. Why are you here?" Kate demanded.
"You look good." Lincoln said. That was an understatement; he thought she looked beautiful.
"Why the hell are you here?"
"Okay, no small talk." Lincoln remarked. "I just want to talk."
"I have never met someone in my entire life who tracked someone down and got on a plane to visit them just to talk."
"I take it you remember." He said. She stared at him for a moment, before nodding. "That's good."
She shrugged. "There are things I wish I couldn't remember."
"Fair point." Lincoln paused. "Can I come in?"
"I think it would be better if we talked somewhere more neutral."
"Like where?"
"There's a coffeehouse down the street. Let's go there." Kate suggested. He nodded. "Just let me set my stuff down…" Kate unlocked her door, and stepped inside. Lincoln followed, but stayed in the living room that also served as an entry room in the small, cramped apartment. Kate retreated into her bedroom momentarily to deposit her bag. Lincoln took the opportunity to look around.
It was a small apartment, but it seemed to suit her. Having never been in somewhere she'd lived before, he was somewhat curious. It was fairly messy, but he wrote that off to her not having the time to clean it rather than a general laziness. The furnishings were assorted; most of it matched in some way, but none of it was the same. A pile of laundry was on the couch, waiting to be folded. A familiar shirt caught Lincoln's eye; it was the shirt he'd given her when Kate couldn't find her own. He was surprised that she had kept it.
Lincoln didn't give it any more thought because just then, she came out from the back. "Ready?" She asked, pulling her blond hair up into a sloppy ponytail.
"Yeah." Lincoln replied, stepping to the door. He held it open for her, which caused her to roll her eyes.
Once outside, Kate led the way downstairs, through the lobby, and down about a block until they came to a small coffee shop, called "The Caffinator". It was bustling, but despite its name it had a relaxed atmosphere. Kate made her way to the counter and ordered two beverages while Lincoln found a table in an out of the way table. She returned a few minutes later, and handed him his coffee.
"What did you want to talk about?" Kate asked, taking a sip. Lincoln shrugged. "You came all the way to New York City and you don't know what you want to talk about? Are you kidding me?"
"Well, I wanted to apologize."
"Apologize?" She sounded doubtful.
"Apologize. I feel so bad about what happened."
"About what part?"
"Everything that happened to you because of us. I don't think I told you, before. T-Bag, the bar, Kellerman." Lincoln said. He placed his hand on the table, next to hers. She lifted her hand to tuck a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, and then placed it away from his.
"Those weren't your fault." She pointed out.
"They were a result of us." Lincoln countered.
Kate glanced down. When she looked back up, she said, "It's okay."
A silence descended upon them, as they sat and drank their coffee. "So, you left Minan-Hatford." Lincoln commented, trying to make conversation.
"Yeah."
"How's your mom?" He asked.
"She died."
"Oh god, I'm sorry."
She waved off his sympathy. "She'd been fighting for a long time."
"When?"
"About a month after I… er, got back."
"I'm so sorry." He said it softer now.
She ignored it. "I sent in my application here about a month after that. I was accepted, so I moved." Kate explained, tracing the rim of her coffee mug with one finger.
"What about Adam?" Lincoln couldn't resist asking.
"We broke up. Try not to look too thrilled." Kate replied dryly, seeing his eyes light up slightly.
"Sorry. How come?"
"He was convinced there was someone else I was seeing. He thought I looked distracted. Adam became very clingy, and didn't trust me at all, so I ended it."
"Was there?"
"Was there what?" Kate asked, confused.
"Was there someone else?" Lincoln clarified.
"Oh, you know damn well what was going on!" She snapped. Kate stood abruptly, pulled her black coat on again, and stormed out of the building. A moment later, Lincoln jogged after her.
"Kate-"
"You know exactly what the problem was!" Kate added heatedly, continuing to walk down the street. "I cared about you Lincoln, and you completely screwed me over."
"I'm sorry." Lincoln insisted, his breath coming out in quick pants and materializing in small clouds in the cold air.
"Are you? Because I really think you were just using me."
Lincoln grabbed her arm, and pulled her towards him. He kissed her softly on the lips for several seconds. She didn't pull away. When Lincoln ended the kiss, she stayed close to him. At least, she did for almost a minute before continuing to storm off down the street.
"Kate…?" He was following her again.
"This is insane." Kate determined, stopping to face him. "This is insane! I shouldn't be feeling things for you!"
"Kate-"
"No, you get to listen! I couldn't help but do anything but plan what I would say to you if I ever met you again for two and a half years, so let me say it!" She paused, almost waiting for an argument. When he gave none, Kate continued. "I shouldn't feel anything for you! You held a gun to my back so many times I lost count!"
"Excuse me?" A woman on the street was staring at them now.
"It was an expression, lady! Mind your own business!" Kate snapped at her, starting to walk away. "You kidnapped me!" She continued, in a lower, but equally as sharp tone. "You tore me away from my life, and brought so much onto me, but for some unknown reason, I love you!"
She fell silent as they both realized what she had said. "Um… that wasn't what I planned to say…." She started, but couldn't finish.
"I'm assuming you're done for now?" Lincoln asked. She nodded, mouth slightly agape. "I'm very sorry about what happened. But at the same time, I'm going to take complete advantage of what you just said." He kissed her again, wrapping his arms around her this time. "I love you too." He murmured, between kisses
After a moment, Kate found herself again and protested. Lincoln stopped, and they started walking again in silence.
"Damn it Lincoln, this isn't fair!" She snapped suddenly, as they approached her building again. "It's not fair for you to push me away, and years later, for you to be able to come back and make me lose control like this!"
"You think my life's been peaches and cream?" Lincoln questioned, beginning to lose his temper. She looked at him, utterly lost. "I've been out of jail for three months now. I've been cleared of everything! It's all in the past. But I haven't been able to enjoy any of it! I've been miserable! This should be the happiest time of my life! But nothing helps; nothing can help. Nothing except you."
"What do you want me to do, Lincoln?" Kate inquired, glancing up at him.
"I don't know, something!" He continued after a few seconds. "I love you, you love me, what's the problem?"
"The problem, Lincoln, is that you hurt me. I care about you, true, but I can't risk getting hurt that badly again." She replied softly, staring at him. They had stopped moving, gazing at each other.
"Kate, look." They started moving again. "In the car, when we talked, there was something I didn't tell you. I push the people I care about away. I'm good at it. I used to do it all the time, and I hurt almost everybody. Michael, my son. You. I think I'm protecting them, but all I'm doing is harming them. Now that this is all resolved," He waved a hand vaguely. "Now I don't feel the need to do that anymore. I don't feel like by being close to them, I'm risking them."
"Lincoln, I-"
"Look, just give me a chance. Please?" He was almost begging now.
She shook her head, tears appearing in her eyes. "Do you have any idea what you put me through?" She asked, voice a whisper. "Do you have any idea?"
Lincoln couldn't stand it anymore; he pulled her into a tight embrace as Kate broke down completely. She sobbed for several minutes. Lincoln got the sense that she'd been keeping this bottled up for a long time now. Probably the full two and a half years. He whispered calming things like "it'll be okay, I promise" and "I'm here now".
Eventually Kate remembered that they were standing on a sidewalk in the middle of a New York City street, and aware of the fact that some people were staring at them. Ah, for the days in New Mexico where you could go places where you'd have to drive a full day to see another person! "C'mon." She muttered, grabbing Lincoln's arm and guiding him into her building. Lincoln allowed her to lead, not saying anything, waiting for her to speak.
"I don't want to feel like that again, Lincoln." Kate said finally, calmer.
"I know."
"Things used to be so simple."
"I know."
"I don't know what to do." She admitted as they began to trudge up the stairs to her sixth floor apartment.
"I only know what I want." Lincoln said, one hand on the banister, the other resting on her elbow to steady her. She seemed to be in need of something to keep her up right then.
"What's that?" Kate asked.
"I want to give us another shot."
"Why?"
"I love you. You said you love me. Everything that was in the way before is gone." Lincoln explained.
"Everything except us."
"Yeah, well, you and I are kind of important to a relationship between us." He pointed out, smiling wryly.
"True." She conceded that. "I'm just…"
"Apprehensive?" Lincoln suggested. She nodded. "So give it a trial run. Give us a trial. If after a week or two, if you think I show any signs of pushing you away again, end it then, before we get too attached again."
Kate still looked doubtful. "We only had a week last time, and look what happened."
Lincoln considered this. It was true. "No sex."
"I beg your pardon?"
"No sex. We'll take it slow. This relationship stays out of the bed for two full weeks. After that, if we're still in it…."
"Are you serious?" She asked, pausing on the third floor landing.
"Dead serious." Lincoln replied.
"You really think that'll help?" Kate asked doubtfully.
Lincoln shrugged. "Worst case scenario, we give it a shot and it fails."
"I don't want us to fail."
"Neither do I."
"You'll really try to not push people-me- away?" Kate asked.
"I promise."
"How long are you in New York for?" She wanted to know.
"As long as I need to be." He replied, leaning in to kiss her.
Somehow they stumbled up the stairs to her apartment, barely breaking the contact. They couldn't keep their celibacy deal for the full two weeks, rather, caving in after four days. Lincoln had some of his stuff shipped to New York after almost three weeks. Three months after that, Kate accompanied Lincoln to Michael and Sara's wedding. Shortly thereafter, Kate transferred to a hospital in Chicago, and her and Lincoln moved back to Illinois. Sucre and Maricruz were married early in the summer, and all of the available remaining Fox River Eight were in attendance, among others (Sucre had been so thrilled about finally being able to marry Maricruz that he had extended an invitation to the general public the day he got out of prison. Maricruz had not been happy about that). Three years after the exposure of the Company and six years after Lincoln had been arrested for the murder of Terrence Steadman, on the same late summer night that Kate and Lincoln announced their engagement, Michael and Sara announced that they were expecting. For the first time in years, things were truly looking up for both of them.
If happily ever after ever happened in real life, this was theirs.
So what did you think? Please review :)