Chapter 3: Do You See What I See?
Michael and Sara walk away from the restaurant's parking lot where they'd just been left stranded. They'd yet to figure out what they were going to do and frankly it didn't matter much, to be together was what they had wanted and both are more than content to spend their time in a park side by side as long as they are in the other's company.
"So you want to see the city through my eyes?" he asks her, his hand moving to hold hers, a smile instantly tugging at his lips when he feels her smooth skin against his.
"Of course." she caresses his hand in hers and smiles as she brings it to her lips and kisses it. Like two hands linked as one, so to our hearts are linked, she thinks silently to herself, her heart filling joy. "I want to see what you see, what you love."
"Ok." He smiles at her, a list of ideas running through his mind as he tries to think of his favorite places in the city. After a few minutes of quick thinking, he decides to share with her his passion for the architecture of the city. He knows it's not romance in essence, but he hopes his passion for the magnificent buildings captures her attention as much as it had him.
"I'll be back in a second babe." He tells her, untangling his hand from hers then making his way to the payphone across the street before she has the chance to ask what he's doing. She watches him as he steps in to the booth and closes the door behind him. As he picks up the receiver, his hands slides in to his pocket and he pulls out what she thinks to be change for the phone.
She waits around patiently for him to come back when she realizes that Michael never leaves home without his phone, and today was no different. She knows, then, he is planning something and smile creeps up on her face to slowly form in to a small giggle. Whatever he was doing, she knew it would be perfect.
She trains her gaze back on the phone booth and watches as he emerges from within and makes his way back across the street towards her. She doesn't question his strange behavior but waits for him to fill her in on whatever plans he had just made.
He simply smiles at her and takes hold of her hand once more. "Come on, babe." With her hand in his, he motions for a taxi. They climb in to the back seat; Michael gives the driver the address of where they're heading then settles in beside her, his hand coming to rest on her thigh.
"We're going to Sears Tower?" she asks, recognizing the address immediately.
"We are." He tells her, his hand sliding up and down her thigh slowly, caressing her inner thigh making it a struggle for her to think clearly. She puts her hand on his to still his movement and he looks at her bemusement sparkling in his eyes.
"Unless you want the cabbie to hear moan the way I moan for you, I suggest you take your hand off my thigh and hold my hand instead." Her whisper is so close to his ear, the warmth of her breath sends goose bumps all over his body. He gives her thigh one last squeeze then removes his hand and holds hers as she asked, thinking about the great big bed that would be waiting for them that night.
"So," Sara pikes up, gently caressing his hand in hers, "what's so special about Sears Tower that you decide to take me there now?"
"You'll just have to wait and see, sweetie." He smiles and she melts from the inside out. Damn him and his hypnotizing eyes she thinks to herself, unable to wipe the smile off her face.
"Fine, but it better be worth it, Scofield, or you sleep on the couch for the rest of the week." He catches on to her teasing but doesn't reply, knowing for a fact that certain threat would never be complied by both parties. He grins at her smiling face, the rest of the ride spent in silence as they hold each other's hand.
The taxi pulls up in front of Sears ten minutes later. Sara tries to pay for the taxi but Michael is quick to refuse, pulling out his own wallet and paying the cabbie before he and Sara exit the vehicle. It drives off and they are left among the sea of people, mingling around the entrance to the tower she had visited so many times as a child.
Holding her hand once more, he leads her to the entrance of the building, all the while a smile playing across his lips. She wonders what he has planned here and almost asks him, but decides against it knowing that not only would he refuse to tell her, but her own excitement she does not want to ruin by asking. So they walk together towards the elevators, both excited by the surprise he has in stall for her, Sara not realizing the slight nod and smile he gives the lady at the concierge desk.
He pushes the "Up" button on the elevator and they wait, along with the many others in the lobby, for either of the doors to open. "As a Chicago native, I take it you've been here before?" he asks her, his eyes trained on the closed door before him.
"A few times before my mom died, my dad brought us here for dinner." She nods, the memories of those days so long ago having filtered through her mind when she realized back in the taxi where they were headed. "But it's changed since then." She adds as though just realizing the granite flooring and the hanging mobiles in the lobby.
This time he does turn his head towards and nods in agreement. "My firm, my old firm," he corrects himself, "actually did the refurbishing for this back in 2002." She turns her gaze to him and finds him smiling at the memory. She is shocked to hear this as she always is when he shares random tidbits about his life pre- Fox River, or as she thought of it, pre-Sara Tancredi.
"Well you guys did a wonderful job, Mike." She tells him and she means it, gazing in awe at the lobby that looks almost like it's encased in gold.
"I think we did, too." He agrees, his eyes skimming the lobby as he remembers that day that now feels like a dream. The elevator doors ding open and they turn their gaze towards the crowd of people streaming out and in to the lobby. Once the elevator is emptied out, they step inside and Sara realizes no body follows them in.
She turns to face him as the doors close and she knows he has everything to do with the fact they are alone in there. "What have you done?" she asks him, leaning in to him and planting a deep kiss on his lips. His tongue caresses hers and his hands cup her bottom, gently caressing her. They pull out of the kiss a moment later but he does not let go of her, continuing to hold her close to his body. "You'll find out soon enough, Tancredi." His eyes twinkle and he continues to caress her bottom and hold her gaze. She doesn't question him again but waits patiently for the ding of the opening doors. She knows they are headed for the Sky Deck but she also knows there is more to it than just that. A moment later they hear the sound of the ding and the doors open.
She smiles up at him before turning and walking out of the elevator, pulling him out behind her. She doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary as she walks around the Skydeck, the murals on the wall capturing her attention much the same way they had when she was a child.
Michael's hand remains in hers and he pulls her back slightly forcing her to come to a complete stop. She turns to face but he says nothing, just smiles down at her. She notices then the quiet of the room around them and knows that somehow, Michael organized for them to be alone up here. How he managed she does not know but guesses it has something to do with the refurbishing job he did with his old firm six years ago.
"Michael," he cuts her off with another kiss mirroring the one they shared in the elevator. The difference being he takes his time with this kiss, bringing his hands to her hair and running his fingers through her silky locks. Her own hands slide down his back and she slips them beneath his shirt, stroking his bare back, lightly grazing him with her fingernails.
He pulls away from her lips and places a trail of soft kisses down to her neck, then slowly further down to place a soft kiss atop each of her heaving breasts. Her hands slide from his back down to the top of his jeans and she slips them in to caress his boxer-clad bottom. His lips travel back up her neck to find her lips once more. He takes them in his own and pushes her up against the wall, her hands sliding out of his pants to take hold of his head.
They stay against the wall, kissing like deprived teenagers until the need for air is too strong to ignore. Panting hard, he leans in towards and pecks her lips one last time then waits until both of them have regained their breath.
A moment later, he pulls her off the wall and takes her to the viewing area. They stand and look out at the city they've both called home their entire life. He takes his position behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, bringing his head to rest on her shoulder.
"Wow," the word is breathed out, barely above a whisper as she stands on the Skydeck of the Sears Tower, looking out at the city before her. Her eyes fixed on the view below staring out at the place she had known her whole life as though she had only just discovered it for the first time. "It's beautiful up here, Michael."
"It is, isn't it?" He stands behind her, turning his head so that he is now facing her, he places a kiss on her soft and inviting cheek. "Did you know the Sears Tower is the tallest tower in the whole of the US?" She nods but does not speak and he continues with the information he has burned in his mind. "For 25 years it was the tallest tower in the world until the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur were built in 1998. It's 1450 feet tall, but including the antennas the tower reaches 1725 feet."
"Wow, I didn't know it was that tall." She whispers in amazement, still mesmerized by the image before. She had come here with her family as a child but that Michael made it so they were alone gave her a whole new perspective on it.
He takes an arm from around her waist and points out the various landmarks she had seen so many times in her life but realizes she did not know their history, the history Michael had etched in his mind. While she can't see each and every landmark clearly, she sees them in her mind's eye and the picture he paints for her with his magical voice.
Pointing his hand to right, he guides her to where he knows the Buckingham Memorial Fountain to be. "And the final and my most favorite landmark is…"
"The Bucking Memorial Fountain." she finishes for him and he nods against her shoulder, "dedicated to the people of Chicago by Kate Buckingham and opened May 26, 1927."
He is impressed by her knowledge of the structure and continues with his own. "Edward H. Bennett designed the fountain to represent Lake Michigan with four sea horses, built by Marcel Loyau, to symbolize the four states that touch the lake: Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.
"Kate Buckingham wanted the fountain's lighting to mirror the soft glow of the moonlight and spent many nights working the colors of the glass until she was able to produce the right ethereal, mystical aura." His voice is low in her ear as he tells her the story of the fountain, making it all the more mystical and somewhat romantic.
She continues to stare out at the city with new eyes and knowledge he provided her. It's a whole new place she watches through with a whole new appreciation.
Michael's voice comes from beside her, low and sweet like chocolate. "But you know what the most beautiful site in the city is?" he asks her, squeezing her stomach a little tighter.
"What?" she questions, mesmerized by the fountain he had just described for her. Though she couldn't glimpse it properly from their point in the tower, she had been there before as a child with her parents.
"You, Sara," he tells her, her gazing shifting from the city to the man beside her. "You are the most beautiful site I have ever come across." His eyes are so intense, so serious, but within them, a warmth, a truth, exists and it melts her heart. Her legs feel like jelly and her breath catches in her throat. Did he know what his eyes did to her; did he realize what he did to her?
She turns in his arms and faces him, his lips once more meet hers for another kiss they just can't seem to get enough off. Pulling out of it, she looks him in the eye and smiles. "I love you, so much I love you those words are a meager comparison to the feeling you ignite in my heart."
"Oh, Sara, I love you like I never knew possible. Linc is my brother, he is always in my heart, but you Sara, you, you are something different." He places another kiss on her lips then guides her back to the elevator so they can make their way back home.
"Thank you for a wonderful day, Michael." Sara tells him as they wait for the elevator to open and he leans in to her and feels her warmth beside him more happy in that moment than he can remember being in a long time.