A/N: It's finally here! Chapter 24! There was about a month and a half time jump, so now it's mid-January in our story. This chapter was all about filling in the gaps and catching you guys up with everything that you missed. It's kind of a filler chapter, but I hope you like it!
Ch. 24: Happy Birthday
"Happy birthday, dear Mikey. Happy birthday to you!" they sang.
"Can you blow out your candles buddy?" Michael encouraged his son.
Mikey looked at his parents and smiled before blowing out the single candle on his birthday cake.
"Oh good job my big boy," Sara cooed, kissing him on his cheek. Mikey squealed in response.
"Yeah way to go champ!" Lincoln added from behind the video camera.
It had been a month since Michael rose from the dead (literally) and their little family had been enjoying every moment of it—truly breathing it all in. Since Michael's miraculous return, Lincoln and Sara had taken to documenting every major moment on film. That video camera became their lifeline. Sara insisted that they weren't documenting these memories out of fear, but instead out of joy. She wanted to always be able to remember how happy they were—how happy they could be.
Michael at first felt uneasy about making what he called a "death video," but let it go as soon as he saw how happy it made Sara.
Michael looked around the room at his small family and couldn't believe how much had changed in just two years.
Lincoln went from death row to being engaged to the woman of his dreams in a complete 180. They had finally set a wedding date. In June, a short five months away, Sophia Lugo would become Sophia Burrows, surrounded by her closest friends in a destination wedding to Tahiti. LJ also made a surprise appearance at Mikey's (or MJ's) birthday celebration. He was in his second year of college and loving every minute of it. He hated being away from his family, but was thankful to be able to spend time away from the insanity that seemed to follow his father and uncle everywhere.
Then there was Sucre. Sucre truly turned his life around after escaping from Fox River. He, a pregnant Maricruz, and Lila were still living in Chicago, but made a point to come and visit the Scofield/Burrows families at least once a month. Lila and Mikey had developed such a strong friendship, and Sara and Maricruz often joked of one day becoming in laws because of it.
Mahone stuck around because as it turned out he really liked the company of Michael, Lincoln, Sara, and Sophia when they weren't fighting to stay alive or chasing each other to the ends of the earth. Pam was able to return to her normal life in LA, leaving on good terms with Mahone and Felicia. Mahone and Felicia got back together and are living in Florida together a few miles from Michael and Sara. With the help and persuasion of Agent Felicia Lang, Mahone was able to get his job back at the bureau and is happy as ever to be back where he feels he belongs.
No one has heard much from Gretchen. Michael took this pretty hard, as he thought they had started to build a friendship after they destroyed the Company. They still keep in touch sometimes via postcards. Gretchen tried to reconnect with her sister and daughter, but her sister refused to let her back into their lives. While Sara was never able to look past Gretchen's flaws and take part in Michael's newfound compassion for her, she never protested their friendship or tried to convince him to remove her from their lives.
"Alright you two," Sophia motioned to Michael and Sara with her phone. "Get behind that birthday boy for a picture."
"1, 2, 3, cheese," Sophia said as she captured the moment.
She captured it just in time too, as moments later Mikey smashed his face into his cake. At first, nobody moved out of fear of Mikey's reaction. But when he lifted up his face and revealed a big, mostly toothless smile, every broke into laughter.
"You made a mess, my crazy boy," Sara said laughing as she moved to wipe the cake from his cheeks. Mikey, being too quick and sneaky for his mother, instead smashed his hands into the cake and smeared it on Sara's cheeks as well. Michael fell to the ground in fits of laughter and watched Sara's reaction.
At first her face scrunched up as if anticipating the worst. And then, she broke into the biggest smile he had ever seen in his life. Michael looked at his wife—his beautiful, perfect wife—and smiled right along with her. As he watched the scene unfold in front of him (a massively intense cake fight beginning after Lincoln high fived Mikey for giving Sara a face-full of cake causing Sara to retaliate with a handful of cake in Lincoln's face) Michael couldn't help but smile. This is what life was all about. He never imagined that it could be so perfect.
Michael grabbed Sophia's phone off a nearby counter and took some pictures of the legendary cake fight. He wanted to document this for sure. He wanted his family to be able to look back and see what fools they made of themselves. He couldn't believe they were throwing around cake like children. Thankfully, he was above all of that.
Well he was above all of that "nonsense" until he received a face full of cake from none other than his once loyal cellmate.
"I'm afraid you've just started a war, amigo," he threatened.
"Sorry papi. You looked a little too clean for my liking."
"Too clean for your liking, huh?" Maricruz said as she approached Sucre from behind. "Is there something that you need to tell me, Fernando? Do you have a new type?" she joked.
"No!" Sucre answered defensively. "You know my heart belongs with you baby," he added with a smirk and a wink directed at Maricruz.
Sara made her way over to her husband and friends, saw the cake on Michael's face, and immediately broke into a huge grin. She masked this grin and enjoyment of Michael's "misery" with fake sympathy.
"Aw, who got cake on my husband?" she asked.
"I did!" Sucre said proudly raising his hand.
Michael smiled and prepared himself for the tongue lashing Sara was about to give Sucre.
"Nice!" she said high fiving Sucre.
"Hey!" Michael cried out. "Babe, I thought you were on my team!" he said with a fake pout.
"Oh of course I am. I always am," Sara said as she reached up to kiss Michael. She also took this opportunity to smear some more cake on his closely shaven head. Michael pulled away with a devilish gleam in his eye.
"Oh it is so on." Michael said as he began chasing Sara around the house.
Sucre stood back with his hand on Maricruz's extended belly and smiled. He had never seen Michael, or Sara for that matter, so happy—so at ease. It was a nice change. He was so thankful for his life now and he owed it all to Michael. If it weren't for him, Sucre could have lost Maricruz to his cousin. He owed Michael so much.
Sucre leaned over to kiss Maricruz.
"I love you, you know that?" he said smiling.
She kissed him back.
"And I love you."
Meanwhile, Michael continued chasing Sara around the house with a fistful of cake. He would have his revenge. Sara found Mikey, who was playing with Lila and LJ in the corner of the living room. How ironic was it that the children were acting like the adults, while the adults were acting like children. She ran to the corner and picked Mikey up out of his play pen and used him as a human shield. Michael came to a halt when he saw his wife cowering behind their one year old son.
"Real brave Tancredi. Real brave. Hiding behind a child. Using our precious baby as a shield," Michael scolded.
"Mommy's crazy, isn't she?" he asked Mikey who giggled and clapped in response.
Michael motioned for LJ to take Mikey from Sara's arms, which he did.
"Hey! Who's side are you on, dude?!" Sara asked.
"Sorry Sara. Uncle Mike kinda saved my dad from death row. I owe him," LJ joked. Who knew that one day they would be able to joke about the countless near-death experiences they had encountered over the past few years?
"Truce, truce!" Sara cried out covering her face as Michael approached her with cake-covered hands.
"Why would I stop now? I need my revenge!" Michael cried out.
"Because I'll make it worth your while," she whispered in his ear.
Michael smiled and proceeded to smear cake along Sara's cheeks.
"Oh please," Michael began, "we both know you couldn't withhold sex even in you wanted to," he finished with a wink before walking away.
Sara opened her mouth to reply, but instead realized that he was totally right. But who could blame her? Her husband was hot and so what if she liked the let him know it every once in a while (or every night, but who's counting?). She smirked to herself. Her husband did in fact know her pretty well.
"Are you two done yet?" LJ asked covering his eyes with one hand and Mikey's eyes with the other.
"Yeah you're in the clear," Sara laughed. "I'll take this one off your hands. He looks like he needs a bath and a change as much as I do."
A few hours later, everyone had washed up and helped clean the kitchen and living room. Mikey and Lila were on the floor playing with Mikey's new toys. Sucre and Maricruz were sitting together on the couch. Lincoln and Sophia were in the kitchen making dinner. Mahone and Felicia had gone home because the cake fight had been "too much excitement for one day." LJ had gone out with some friends that were in town. And Sara was lying in Michael's arms in an arm chair meant for one, but holding them both. Michael would whisper in her ear every now and then or kiss her cheek, and Sara would smile and nuzzle further into his arms.
"Well would you look at that!" Lincoln cried out from the kitchen.
"What?" Michael called back.
"The video camera...it's been on all day! It got the whole cake fight, or at least all of the good parts."
Sara laughed. "Mikey will definitely enjoy that some day."
The rest of the night was uneventful; peaceful, but uneventful. And after the year that they had had, Michael and Lincoln were thankful for some uneventful nights. After dinner, the couples settled down to watch some TV and have some wine (except for Maricruz of course). The boys talked about the basketball game that was on, and the girls talked about Maricruz's pregnancy and Sophia's wedding. This is what Sara always hoped her life would be: calm, quiet—but not too quiet, and easy. She loved her life like this. She loved her family.
As it got later and Lila began to fall asleep, Sucre and Maricruz headed out followed by Lincoln and Sophia shortly after. Hugs, kisses, and warm wishes were exchanged and the couples headed out, leaving Sara, Michael, and a tired Mikey alone.
"Are you tired, birthday boy?" Sara asked as she picked up her son off the floor.
"Ready for bed, big man?" Michael asked.
"I'll go put him down," Sara said. "You need to shower still, and maybe if you're lucky I'll join you," she added with a wink.
"Oh I like the way you think, Mrs. Scofield," he said huskily before leaning down to kiss her.
"Goodnight, bud," Michael said kissing his son on the forehead. "Sweet dreams."
Sara took Mikey upstairs to his room, changed him into his pajamas, and put him down in his crib.
"Goodnight, my angel," she said before kissing him on the forehead and quietly leaving the room.
Sara walked into her bedroom and heard the shower running still. She slipped out of her clothes and into the shower with Michael. He smiled when he saw his wife in all of her naked glory.
"You're beautiful, you know that?" he said in awe the beauty that was his wife.
"Stop that," she said looking at the floor. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks.
"What?" he asked lifting her chin so her eyes would meet his. "I mean it."
Sara was overcome with emotions as their eyes met and reached up to kiss Michael.
"I love you," she said fiercely.
"I love you," he returned.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed chapter 24 and hope you had the happiest of holidays. The next chapter will also include a time jump as it centers around Lincoln and Sophia's wedding, and Mikey's first plane ride! After the wedding, we'll be headed toward a sequel! Review this chapter to let me know how I did! I'll try to update soon. Have a happy new year! XOXO