Chapter 9: Back to the Normal Life?
"So Jurell, it appears like your son finally snitched." The man talks to Jurell behind the glass in the jail Jurell was held in.
"That son of a bitch kept coming late for the past few days Lionel. I have no idea what he's doing."
"You do know what we have to do, do you? There's already been a hearing set for you, three weeks from now. Jake will testify against you, and if he does, there's a chance he'll reveal our schemes."
"Just do it. The sooner, the better."
*---*
It was early morning Sunday. Jake had slept on the sofa bed that night. He dreamt of nothing but pure happiness of what was happening. He absolutely loved being with the Burrows and Scofield family. Waking up early in the morning, he woke up smelling something cooking. He groans and tries to get up, feeling a slight pain in his back.
"Good morning Jake." Lincoln's tone of voice was slightly happier as if he loved waking up in the morning, whereas others would groan at the brightness of the morning sun.
"Morning." Jake rubs his eyes. "What are you cooking?"
"Blueberry pancakes." Lincoln flips the pancake in the pan with a spatula.
"That smells good."
"It should be since I made these a few days ago for everyone."
"It's his specialty." LJ walks into the lounge room and sits on the sofa bed. "Dad cooked them for me every weekend for as long as I can remember. Always loved them."
"Well I guess it's something I look forward to tasting now." Jake smiles. He hints LJ to help him get his crutches and LJ fetches them for him. Jake slides off the bed and puts his arms under the crutches. He walks over to the breakfast table and sits down.
"So we can head over to your place and take all your belongings since the police called last night and said that your father was arrested and jailed. I'm pretty sure it's safe now." Lincoln takes the pancake out of the pan and stacks it on the rest of the pancakes.
"There's not much. I can pretty much fit it all into my bag."
"So that's pretty much it then?" LJ asks. "I mean that's all we have planned for today?"
Michael, Sara, and Veronica all wake up and walk into the dining room after smelling the blueberry pancakes Lincoln was preparing.
"Mmm… Pancakes again?" Veronica asks. Everyone else sits at the table as Lincoln brings the food.
"And if you don't want pancakes, we have cereal in the cupboard as well as the occasional oatmeal."
"All of it sounds good…" Jake grabs a pancake and pours maple syrup on it. He chows it down so unbelievably fast that everyone was just staring again. "What?" Jake still had pancake in his mouth.
LJ laughed and soon after, everyone else joined in. "Man, you really have missed the good life. At least you'll have a breakfast favorite now."
"I do have a breakfast favorite now!" Jake finishes off his pancake. "That was delicious."
"Well there's a lot so if you're still hungry you can…" Michael trails off as everyone grabs a pancake while Jake grabs another. There was just one left on the table. "Well, there was a lot."
"Here, you can take half of my pancake Michael." Sara offers.
"Why thank you Sara!" The two of them cut the pancake in half together and put the halves on their plate. Everyone else finishes their pancake and stares at the last one. Next thing they're doing is staring at each other, all getting an evil grin.
"Well I'm not grabbing another pancake. I already ate two." Jake said, putting his fork and knife down.
"I think Sara and I deserve it since we split our pancake." Michael started to hint signs of complaint.
"No one said you had to share the pancake Mikey." Lincoln defended as he licked his lips.
"Well it looks like we have a war for the pancake gentlemen!" Veronica started.
"We have team Burrows vs. team Scofield. Who will win the war for the pancake?" Jake put the spoon in front of his mouth and acted like an announcer with a deep voice.
"I'm out." LJ said. He joins Jake on the other end of the table and put a spoon in front of his mouth. "I don't know Jake." He also imitates a deep voiced announcer. "We shall see. Will it be Lincoln and Veronica, or the hungry Sara and Michael? My bet goes to the brute, Lincoln Burrows and his love, Veronica Donovan."
"Well I guess my bet would go to the intelligent Michael Scofield and doctor Sara Tancredi. And here we go." Watching Lincoln and Michael immediately rush for the pancake; Veronica and Sara just pull back and let the two brothers duke it out.
"You're not getting the last pancake bro!" Lincoln quickly puts his fork on the pancake.
"We'll see about that Linc!" Michael intercepts Lincoln and puts his fork inside the spaces between Lincoln's fork. They pull back but the forks get stuck. After a few seconds, the forks pull apart, leaving Michael and Lincoln falling back on their seats and the chairs flipping backwards. Both Michael and Lincoln fall back and hit the floor. The other four start laughing as Lincoln and Michael quickly get up and start grabbing the pancake with their hands. Michael quickly manages to grab the whole pancake and splits half of it with Sara. Lincoln sits there in a mess and looks disappointed that his little brother beat him.
They finish the pancakes and take the plates to the sink. Sara and Veronica wash the plates as Lincoln and Michael wash up from the fight over the pancake.
"Hey Linc. I ran into Sucre yesterday. You remember him right?" Michael takes a towel and wipes his face as he walks out.
"Of course." Lincoln goes into the bathroom and then drains the sink and fills it again. "So?"
"Well I sort of invited him and his fiancé over for dinner if you and the others don't mind."
"I don't mind man. But we're going out for dinner because this is going to be Jake's first time going out for dinner."
"You really want to make memories for him, don't you?"
"His father deprived him of childhood memories. I want him to experience things he should have when he was a child. I mean we sort of did with the foster families we were shipped to off frequently. Dragging you through trouble was one experience." Lincoln goes to wash his face.
"At least when I remembered how you dragged me through trouble, it was when we were together." Michael takes his towel and hangs it on the shower rod. "Look, let's forget about all the times you've caused me trouble in the past and look to what's about to happen. You have a kid here that's going to need your help now and he wants it." Michael leaves after that and Lincoln wipes his face dry with the other towel; his mind not straying too far from what his brother had said. He finally realizes that Michael was right. He goes out of the bathroom and turns off the lights in there.
Sara gets to work on changing the dressing on Jake's back as he lies down on the sofa bed. She checks bruises and the cuts on his back to make sure he's alright as well. Looking at the stitches however sends a chill down her spine as she thinks about his cruel father. She finishes changing the dressing and Jake sits straight up.
"Thanks again Sara. I probably wouldn't know what to do if you weren't here."
"Think nothing of it." She smiles and helps Jake stand up. "I think by the end of the next two weeks, you can get the stitches removed."
"That's going to be a fun trip." Jake sarcastically said. Sara smiles and she goes to wash up. Veronica does the same thing and LJ follow soon after. Jake decides to sit in the tub after LJ gets out and clean himself because standing straight was more of a pain than he thought. He laughs as he thinks about himself when he walks. He gives himself a nickname, "The Hunchback of Chicago." Soon after, he struggles to get out of the tub but eventually does and changes into his old, smelly clothes. He walks out the bathroom and sees that Lincoln, Veronica, and LJ were waiting for him.
Jake looks around and sees that Michael and Sara have disappeared again. "Where did Michael and Sara go?"
"Their realtor called and said that there are people bidding for the houses they saw yesterday." Veronica answered while she sat next to Lincoln on the couch. They were watching Law and Order on TV.
"Oh so they need to hurry and buy the house that they want before someone else takes it?"
"Yeah." LJ replied. He looks at Jake's clothes and sees that it's the same ones from yesterday and the day before yesterday. "Don't you have a change of clothes?"
"All my clothes are in the trailer. I only have a week's worth of clothes because of you know who."
"Well we can't have that now, can we?" Lincoln says and he gets up. "Let's go to your trailer and get all your things."
Lincoln grabs the keys and Veronica grabs her purse. The two of them walk out the door and LJ holds the door for Jake as he walks through with his crutches. When they go to the elevator, it opens and another couple walks out. They walk in and hit for the first floor.
"Uh, just for safety reasons, can you guys scout it out for me before I head into the trailer? My father probably has his cronies searching for me and I don't want to get grabbed by them."
"Yeah that's fine." Veronica said. She puts her hands on both LJ and Jake's shoulders.
The elevator hits the lobby floor and everyone walks out. They head for the car and get in. Lincoln drives for the trailer. As they drive, they pass by the pizza restaurant, Pizzaria Uno. Lincoln takes a look at that and figures that maybe Jake never ate pizza before and they haven't had pizza in a long time. He remembers the place and then continues to drive off towards the trailer park.
Arriving at the trailer park, Lincoln parks the car and he and Veronica get out and scout the place out to make sure none of the Kyubor Mafia cronies were nearby.
"You know, this place isn't half bad. It's kind of weird seeing how Jake actually lived here with that snake of dad." Veronica said as she checks out her surroundings. The trailer park was actually a green place in the middle of two big buildings. Trailers were lined up nicely as well as the small green grass surrounding it. Some of the people actually had taken care of their yard carefully. It was more of a majestic sight than she could've ever imagined between two tall buildings.
Lincoln holds Veronica's hand. "Want to move here?" He smiles at her.
"No. You're crazy Linc." She and Linc kiss lightly on the lips. Then Lincoln's phone rings.
"Hello?"
"Yeah… just because we're in the car doesn't mean we can't see you." LJ says into the phone. Lincoln could hear Jake laughing in the background. "Anyways, is the coast clear?"
"Yeah. It's fine. You two can come out now." Lincoln hangs up the phone. He shrugs and chuckles. "Kids." Veronica laughs and they kiss again.
As LJ and Jake walk towards them, they watch Veronica and Lincoln from afar.
"I really hope they don't do that all the time." LJ says as he walks slowly beside Jake.
"At least they're in love and not trying to kill each other."
"Well that's true. They're better than Uncle Mike and Sara I guess."
"How so?"
"Well…"
"Hey, hurry up you two! I want to get home before Michael does!" Lincoln yells at Jake and LJ.
"Coming dad!" LJ and Jake both move faster and Jake leads them to the trailer. The weird thing was that as they walked for the trailer, the area began to turn brown and it almost looked like there was a war that was fought on the way there. What was once beautiful became the most dreadful sight.
"This is it." Jake shows them the run-down trailer. There was rust on the outside and a lot of beer cans all over the area. There was even rotten food.
"I can't believe you lived in this place." Veronica was disgusted by the area around the trailer. A rat pops out from the trash and she screeches. Veronica then jumps into Lincoln's arms.
"You know, I thought they only did that on Scooby Doo." LJ chuckles. Lincoln puts Veronica back on her feet.
Jake treads slowly into the trailer and everyone follows.
"God, what died in here?" Veronica asks. The trailer smelt like beer and rotting food. Everyone splits off to find all of Jake's belongings and then they toss it into a big plastic bag. Jake was standing around, staring at the place. He finally sees the place for what it is. And it terrified him.
Every memory came back to haunt him. The insane number of beatings, the insanity of his father, and the tools he used on him. Everything he used on him. It was all there in the bright light.
"You dare disobey me, boy?!" Jake's father's harsh and rugged voice was ringing in his ear. In his eyes, he could see what his father did to him as a kid. It was like a virtual 3D tape of his memories, all playing before his eyes. The numerous beatings with the bat, the branding, and the knife slash; all of it was right there in front of his eyes. He kneels down and puts his hands on his ears. He closes his eyes starts screaming and yelling. Tears were flooding out of his eyes. Everyone heard him screaming and rushed into the area to see what was going on. Lincoln drops the bag and rushes down in front of Jake. LJ drops all of the clothes as well and does the same thing. Veronica kneels next to Lincoln.
"Jake! Snap out of it man!" LJ started shaking Jake but he wouldn't snap out of his trance.
"Linc, we need to get him out of here."
Lincoln picks him up and gets him out of the trailer and into the car. He runs him into the car and sets him in the backseat and he tries to comfort him. Jake eventually snapped out and then leaned into Lincoln's arms. He was in tears.
"What happened in there?"
"Every memory… every painful memory… it all came back." Jake said as he cried.
"It's alright." He holds Jake in the car. "It's alright. He's not going to hurt you anymore."
Veronica and LJ pick up everything else that belonged to Jake and start bringing it back to the car.
"Veronica, is he going to be alright?"
"He'll be fine LJ." Veronica puts the stuff back in the trunk. "I sure hope he is." She mutters to herself.
LJ brings the crutches into the car and he sees that Jake had snapped himself out of the trance.
"He's fine LJ. He just needs some time to set his mind straight. For the time being, let's leave him alone; this is something he needs to get through himself."
LJ gets in the car and so does Veronica. Lincoln starts the car and drives back for the apartment.
"So, what happened?" Veronica asked.
"When I was in the trailer, when I saw the bat, the branding tool… all of it came back. My father's voice, it came back to haunt me." Jake said staring at the window, watching buildings pass by.
"Oh, that's it?" LJ asks. "Well… in this case, there's only one way to fix that."
"How?"
LJ punches Jake in the shoulder.
"Ow! What was that for?!" Jake yelled at LJ.
"See, now you're angry at me and you've completely forgot about what you were dealing about." LJ smiles.
"You suck LJ." Jake sarcastically says, knowing that he was right. He had to forget his past, or at least no longer be afraid of it, and look forward to what's happening now. He has people who care about him, and he cares about them. There was no need to keep looking at the past.
"It's 4 o'clock in the afternoon right now. Shouldn't Michael and Sara be back by now?" Veronica asks as they're still driving in the car.
"He should."
"I hope Uncle Mike isn't doing what I think he's doing with Sara."
Back at the apartment, Michael and Sara were making out on the sofa as they watched an unknown romantic movie that Michael had watched before. They pull away from each other to watch the movie.
"Well at least we know we're getting the house." Sara said as she tried to catch her breath. She smiled.
"Yeah." Michael smiled back. "You have a smile that always wants to make me smile, Sara."
The door flies open. "We're back!" Lincoln yelled into the apartment. Everyone walks into the living room to see lipstick all over Michael's face.
"Uh…"
"No need to tell us." Lincoln said. "I'm pretty sure the lipstick and that old romance movie pretty much says it all."
Veronica takes a look at the movie. "What the? That movie? Are you kidding me Michael? You actually watched it after I recommended you did? You always said romance movies were stupid."
"Well, uh…"
Everyone was laughing at Michael because this was the first time he really didn't have anything to say. "Well, Jake and I will put his stuff over there in that corner and you guys can start talking, making out, doing whatever it is you do." LJ said. As they walk towards the area LJ whispers "sucks to be you man. They just made out on that couch and you have to sleep there."
Jake looks at LJ and glares. "Yeah thanks for reminding me." LJ grins evilly.
As they put the stuff away, Michael turns off the movie and the rest of them head over to the dining table to talk.
"So when is Sucre coming?" Lincoln asks.
"Well he should be here right about…" The doorbell rings. "Now." Lincoln goes and opens the door.
"Hey Sucre." Lincoln greeted his guest.
"Hey Linc. Can we come in?"
"Of course." He steps aside and holds the door while both Sucre and Maricruz walk into the apartment. They both take a look around and the first thing they see is Michael with lipstick all over his face.
"Well, you sure make use of time." Sucre says to his old pal.
Michael laughs. "Hey Sucre." The two of them hug. Michael looks at the woman standing next to him. "You must be Maricruz Delgado." Michael shakes her hand. "Sucre's told me a lot about you."
"He never did shut up about me, did he?" Maricruz asks.
"Nope." Michael chuckles. "Well, this technically isn't our home, but it's a temporary arrangement for me and Sara until we get the house we want."
Maricruz looks around and sees two boys approaching the table, wondering what's going on.
"Oh I almost forgot." Lincoln said. "Those two are my, well that one is my son LJ." He points to LJ. "And the other is my soon-to-be adopted son, Jake." He points at Jake, who was still using his crutches to walk around. "Uh, I'm not sure if he'll tell his story over dinner at Pizzaria Uno, but I think he might. And this here." He brings Veronica to his side and kisses her on the forehead. "This here is the love of my life, Veronica Donovan." He smiles proudly as if he was shouting to the entire universe.
"And this here, is Sara Tancredi, the love of my life." Michael introduced.
"Oh, Fernando told me everything about what happened on the run and about you." Maricruz said. "I feel like I need to thank you for breaking him out because he managed to ruin the marriage before it even happened."
"Yeah I'm pretty sure that would've been a lovely scene to watch." Jake sarcastically said. "I mean it would be pretty nice to see him fight with who it was you were marrying."
"I knocked him out after he tried to call the police on me."
"He was pretty much pissed during the whole wedding. Although that black eye was a new look for him." Maricruz joked around and Sucre laughed. The two of them kiss lightly on the lips.
"Well, maybe it's about time we head for Pizzaria Uno. The earlier we get there, the better chance we don't have to wait for a table." Veronica said as she checked her watch.
"Yeah sure. I just need to change the dressing on Jake's back really fast and then we're good to go." Sara said. She takes Jake quickly and brings him to the sofa bed that they pulled out again. She takes a look at the wound and sees that it's healing fine as long as he does nothing to aggravate it. Quickly, but professionally, she changes the dressing. "Well your wound is healing fine right now. I wouldn't be surprised if you stopped feeling pain by tomorrow."
"I barely feel it right now." He smiles.
"Okay well let's go. Everyone is waiting." She helps Jake get up again and he grabs his crutches and starts walking out together with everyone.
Michael and Sucre start bantering about the past and their time in Fox River while Maricruz gets to know both Sara and Veronica. Lincoln talks with both LJ and Jake as they head down the elevator. It was almost as if they were having a ball with what was happening. Getting in the car, Lincoln drives everyone to Pizzaria Uno, where they immediately get seated as they were the only big party of people there. It was loud like every other restaurant that was busy during the night, during dinner. When they get their order, everyone stops talking for the moment and begin to chow down the deep dish pizzas. Jake never ate pizza before and he loved the taste of it, although he felt bad that he wasn't eating as healthy as he should be. But he didn't care as long as he spent time with the ones he loved, he was happy.
After they finish eating, they spend time talking again before leaving. Jake spills the story to both Sucre and Maricruz. But what he didn't know was that the waitress was also listening onto the story. That piqued everyone else's curiosity in the restaurant so they became quiet as they hear his story at the restaurant. He could hear gasps and comments but didn't care about everyone eavesdropping. It was finally his turn to tell his story.
Chapter 10: Ghost From the Past
Jake yawned as the sun streamed through the window, the golden streaks settling on his face and waking him instantly. He stretched out his tired muscles and checked his watch in the process. It was just past six and he knew there was a good half hour before the rest of the family would be up and about.
He lay on the sofa bed a moment, happiness spreading through his body as a tired smile lit up his face. He hadn't felt so cheerful in as long as he could remember and he knew it all had to do with his new living arrangements. He'd found himself a family that accepted him and loved him as much as he did them and the joy he felt just thinking about that was overwhelming in the best possible way.
He said a silent prayer, thanking God for the family he now had, then moved himself off the sofa bed he had been sleeping on. He stretched out again as he stood and then set about returning the bed to its sofa state, folding the blankets, and taking them, along with the pillows, to the linen cupboard. He pulled the bed back inside the sofa and replaced its cushions, then quietly made his way to LJ's bedroom to collect his clothes.
He slowly pushed the door open, the usually soft squeak like a billowing monster in the silence of the house. He stopped, holding his breath to listen for movement or a sign that anyone had woken. After a beat, the silence still unbroken by the others, he pushed the door open a little faster, expelling the squeak as he did. He tiptoed across the room; LJ's light snoring telling him the boy was still dozing heavily away. Grabbing the clothes he'd be wearing, he turned and made his way just as quietly out of the room and slipped the door closed as quietly as he could.
Ten minutes later, he was finished with the bathroom and dressed for the day. He slipped back inside LJ's room to out his pajamas away, and was surprised to find LJ sitting up in his bed, yawning and stretching out his sleep.
"Morning, LJ." Jake stepped in to the room and set his pajamas aside, then took a seat on the chair by the desk.
"Morning." LJ responded as he came out of his yawn. "You're up early, anything the matter?"
"Nope, I always wake up the moment the sun hits my face. Anyway," he gets up off the chair and heads back towards the door. "I'm gonna go get some breakfast. You want me to throw in some toast for you too?"
"Don't bother," LJ tells him, getting off the bed and heading to the closet for his clothes, "I can hear dad's up and he'll be making pancakes today." He pulls his clothes from his closet and steps out of his room behind Jake. He heads towards the bathroom as Jake makes his way to the kitchen.
He finds Veronica and Lincoln cluttering about the small kitchen, while Michael and Sara are setting the plates on the table. "Good morning everyone." He greets them, and they return the greeting in unison, like a well rehearsed choir.
"How's your back today?" Sara asks, making her way to him to check his still healing wound.
"It's not as painful anymore, but it's starting to itch a little around the edges and it's irritating me." He tells her as she lifts his shirt, pulling back the dressing to check his wound.
"Well, that's definitely a good sign," she places the dressing back on the wound and lets him pull his shirt back down. "It's healing nicely and the itching will subside. I'll change the dressing for you again tonight. How about the rest of you, any of your other injuries giving you trouble?" He shakes his head as they take a seat on the table. LJ walks in and another round morning greetings are said as he to takes a seat on the table.
A few minutes later Lincoln and Veronica join them, bringing over the plate of pancakes Lincoln had just cooked. While the adults pour themselves the much needed caffeine they so deeply rely on, Jake and LJ fill their glasses with the juice. They eat in anything but silence as Michael and Sara explain more of the house they had found and Veronica filled them in on the progress she'd made with the case the day before.
"We gotta get going if we don't want to be late." LJ spoke up as he shoveled in the last of his breakfast. He and Jake leave the table, calling out their goodbyes as they made their way to the door. Walking ahead of LJ, Jake pulled the door open and almost collided in to a woman he'd never seen before, standing outside, hand poised as though she were about to knock on the door.
"Ah, hi." LJ spoke from behind him, confusion evident in his voice as he took in the blonde haired woman, standing nervously before them. There was something about her that looked familiar, be he couldn't put his finger on what it could be and didn't have the time to think about it. "Did you need help with anything?"
Her bright blue eyes had focused on Jake from the moment they'd opened the door, but she pulled them away to take in the sight of the young boy who'd spoken to her. Um, I was, ah, looking for a Veronica Donovan." She flicked her gaze between the two boys before her, hoping she'd come to the right address. "I, I'm an old College friend of hers."
For some reason, LJ found himself doubting what the woman was saying, not knowing why but suddenly feeling the urge to protect his family. He was about to question her again when he heard Lincoln's voice behind him. "Boys what are you guys still doing he…" he stopped mid-sentence, taking notice of the blonde haired woman at the front door.
"We opened the door and she was standing outside." LJ told his father. "She said she was an old friend of Veronica's." Lincoln continued to stare back at the woman, trying to figure out what it was about her that seemed so familiar to him, though he was sure they'd never met before in their lives.
"Ok, you boys get to school or you're going to be late." He watched as the woman stepped aside, making room for the boys to step past her. He noticed, as she did this, her eyes followed Jake, and in them he could see a deep sense of sadness. He didn't know what it was about this woman, but he had a feeling in his gut that she wasn't a friend of Veronica's, nor was she there to stir trouble.
"So you say you know Veronica?" He questioned her and she heard the doubt in his voice. She knew he knew her story wasn't the truth but she was afraid what he would do if she told him who she really was. Realizing she'd taken too long to answer, she decided the only option she had was to tell him the truth about what she was doing here.
"I, I did say that, yes, but the truth is, I don't know Veronica, not personally anyway." She waited for him to slam the door shut in her face, but when she realized he wasn't going to do such a thing, and that he was waiting for her to explain herself, she released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "I don't know Veronica but I know of her."
"Who are you?" His question wasn't cold nor was it welcoming, it was simply curious. He wanted to know who she was and what she wanted there but he didn't want to freak her out as he noted how nervous she already was.
She took in a deep breath and swallowed the lump that had forged itself in her throat. "My name's Samantha Keeley. We've never met, but, uh, I um, you have." She takes another breath to calm her suddenly nervous self and closes her eyes to quash the tears that threatened to fall. "I'm Jake Sienel's mother."
Chapter 11: A Series of Unfortunate Events
Lincoln stood, open mouthed, staring back in shock at the blonde haired woman before him. She was fidgeting nervously with her the black bag she held in her hands, twiddling the zipper between her fingers as she waited for him to move past his shock.
Her words, and Jake's account of her death, were playing back on a loop in his mind. She was supposed to be dead; he'd told them the Kyubor Mafia had "taken care of her" once she'd learned the truth about them. Yet here was this woman, claiming she was Jake's mother. And the craziest thing of all was that Lincoln believed her.
He had felt there was something about her he'd recognized when he'd first seen her but knew they'd not met before in their lives. When she'd told him who she was, it hit him, like a harsh slap in his face, what it was that made this woman so familiar to him. The bright blue eyes that looked back at him were Jake's eyes; so uncanny was the resemblance it was as though they'd been taken from the boy's very face and placed in hers. And it wasn't just the eyes that bore resemblance to her son; it was the face that looked back at him with a sadness he'd seen too many times on Jake's own. There was no denying the woman was who she claimed to be, and because of this, within him, Lincoln's emotions were raging war against one another.
While there was no questioning he felt a certain happiness that Jake at least had a mother out there that no doubt wanted to be in his life, he couldn't help but feel suddenly threatened by her presence. He loved Jake like he was his own child and had no idea how he would react to seeing his mother alive when he'd thought her dead all this time. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but would the boy really choose them over her once he was given the choice? It was this that worried Lincoln the most. He would never deny Jake his mother, but the thought of losing him was one he could fathom.
"I'm sorry, Lincoln." her voice brought him out of his reverie and he realized it had been a while since either of them had spoken.
"How do you know my name?" He asked her, remembering he had yet to offer it to her nor had neither or LJ said it when he'd some to see them at the door.
She swallowed, nervous and afraid that she was losing her chance to explain her story; her only chance to see Jake again. "I know this is a shock but please, if you'll let me explain, you'll understand better." She looked at him with hopeful eyes still so full of that same sadness that possessed them as she'd watched Jake leaving for school moments earlier.
He couldn't deny her the right to explain herself and truth be told he was itching to learn where she'd been for the past twelve years. He stepped aside, holding the door open for her. She hesitated on the landing, suddenly nervous about what she was about to do. She had waited twelve years to find her son, and after laying eyes on him earlier, she wanted nothing more than to scoop him in her arms and never let him go again. But she knew that was something she'd be doing any time soon and so, taking in a deep breath, she stepped past Lincoln through the door.
He closed it behind her and turned toward her. It unsettled him, still, how much Jake resembled his mother and how alike the two were in actions and facial expressions as much as in their features. "Come through," he told her as he stepped past her and led the way to the lounge where he knew the others would be. "There are a few people you should meet, I guess."
She followed him and stopped when they came to the lounge. Three pairs of eyes were turned to her, watching her with apparent confusion masking their faces. They'd been watching the morning news, she noted, but their attention had since been diverted from whatever it was the reporter was broadcasting and focused solely on her.
"This is Samantha Keeley…"
"Sammie." She interrupted him, unable to stop the habit of offering that name, no matter how badly she wanted to. "You can call me Sammie." They looked at her, still with confusion on their faces but then she saw it, on the only other male's face she saw what she had seen in Lincoln's eyes. He recognized her but was having a hard time placing it. She noticed as he creased his forehead, trying to think where they'd met before, and if this were any other situation, she knows she'd have laughed at the sight. But she stood still as Lincoln simply nodded at her and continued his introduction as though he'd not been interrupted.
"This is Sammie," he started again, the next words almost painful for him to speak. "She's Jake's mother." He heard the simultaneous gasps emitted from the three on the couches; watched as their mouths, too, fell open in a silent o and their eyes grew wide in astonishment.
Sammie watched as they continued to gape at her much the same way Lincoln had, and she saw a level of understanding cross the man's face. She understood the precise moment when the pieces begun to fall in to place, saw it as though she was in his mind when it happened.
"Jake's mother?" The auburn haired woman, who she assumed was Sara Tancredi, asked, and she saw, from the corner of her eye, Lincoln nodding his head at her confirming the truth she too found so hard to believe. She knew then that the only explanation given surrounding her disappearance had to be that of death and suddenly the anger swelled within her. "But, but it can't be." Even as Sara spoke the words, Sammie could see that she too believed; that she too had seen the resemblance and couldn't deny the fact as it stood staring back at them.
"But Jake said you were killed." This came from the brunette woman she knew to be Veronica Donovan, seated on the single sofa, but her words clearly conveyed the lie she knew to surround that statement.
"How did you find us?" The infamous Michael Scofield had finally been pulled from his silence to speak to her his first words. She already knew he believed that she was Jake's mother, but she saw he spoke to her as though trying to protect his family and in much the same tone LJ had spoken to her earlier.
She looked back at him a moment, the nerves still running rampage in her body, before she answered him in the strongest voice she could possibly muster. "I hired a private investigator."
He nodded his head at her, but his defenses were still up and his demeanor guarded. He didn't ask her anything more but he didn't avert his gaze from hers either. They continued to watch her, the four adults that had taken care of Jake and pulled him from the near clutches of death at his own father's hands. After a moment, she could no longer take the silence and knew she needed to tell them her story as much as they needed to hear it.
She was about to suggest just that when the red haired woman rose from her seat and walked towards her. Though shock still shadowed her features, Sammie could tell the woman was trying her best to be welcoming, and her efforts were heartwarming; they melted away some of the icy fear she felt deep within her.
"I'm sorry about all this," she told her as she came to stand before her. "It's just that Jake told us you were killed after you learned the truth about the Kyubor Mafia and for you to come here and tell us that you're Jake's mom, well to say it was really a shock to us all would be an understatement." Sara placed her hand on the Sammie's shoulder, squeezing lightly by way of support. "I suppose you already who we are," Sammie nodded and Sara smiled as she received confirmation. "I guess then it's time for us to learn who you are and what exactly happened to you."
Nodding her head again at Sara, she followed her to take a seat on the only other sofa in the lounge room. She didn't notice Veronica had disappeared until she saw her come back carrying a tray of cups, the strong, yet refreshing aroma of coffee wafting through the room with her. Once they'd all taken their mugs, and Sara had resumed her position beside Michael, and Lincoln and Veronica too had taken their seats, she took a small sip from the steaming cup in her hands then begun the story she at times had trouble believing.
"Well," she started, suddenly realizing her hands were shaking slightly. She gripped the mug slightly tighter to still them, and when she was satisfied they were as still as she'd get them, she continued. "I guess the best place to start is the beginning, and by that I mean when we first met." They nodded in agreement and she sipped at her coffee again.
"I met Jurell when I was seventeen, in my final year of high school. He was the new kid in town and I guess I related so well to him as I always thought of myself as somewhat of an outsider, and he being the new kid, well I guess we found we had a bit in common.
"We started dating six months after he arrived, but I knew I had fallen for him long before that and I knew he would be the man I would marry. He told me he'd felt the same way as I did and I guess our relationship was fast tracked from then on. We got married straight out of high school, two eighteen year olds head over heels for one another we thought we were invincible, unbreakable in every way.
"Anyway, that six month period before we started dating was the "get to know you" period. I told him everything there was to know about me, which wasn't much for a small town girl, and he turn sated my curious mind with his life, which was much more interesting than mine. But despite our honesty with one another, there was always a barrier that shot up between us when the subject of family was brought up.
"He hated discussing them, the most I learned in that time was, that like me, he was an only child, but unlike me, his mother had died of cancer when he was only two years old, so he knew basically nothing about her." She paused here a moment, the irony of the situation amazing her yet again. "I guess it's some sick cycle they had going on, ridding the family of a mother when the single child wasn't yet old enough to remember anything about her."
"So the Mafia got rid of Jurell's mother too?" Lincoln was disgusted at the revelation; the worst part was he understood how easy it was to get of people no longer deemed important to the cause.
"I learned later that she was "taken care of" and I'm certain Jurell knew, to some extent at least, the truth behind his mother's death." Her sad eyes landed on Lincoln's incensed ones a moment before she tore her gaze away to stare at the empty spot in the wall she had been watching throughout her story.
"Anyway, he never told anything about his father except that he had owned an insurance company, and that he was expected to take control when he finished his studies. He told me that because of his work, they moved around a lot He didn't even introduce me to his father until the day he proposed to me.
"You're probably thinking why that didn't bother me at the time, but truth be told, it did, so much. I begged him over and over again to let me meet him, especially when things started getting serious, but every time he promised, his father conveniently was out of town on business. After about three months of this I gave up, I could see that every time I'd mention the meeting he'd tense and he wasn't the Jurell I'd fallen in love with. I didn't want to create friction between us; I hated when we fought, he'd become more important to me than life itself and I just let that slide.
"A month out of high school we were married and living in the house his father had put the deposit on for us. He'd wanted to buy it, but Jurell had refused and told him he wanted to pay it off himself. I remember their argument went on for the first month of our marriage until finally his father relented.
"I was studying to become a nurse, night school four days of the week and working as a waitress in the day. Jurell worked with his father and life was good, no, it was great. We were doing well financially and the future looked so bright for us sometimes I had to remind myself that this was my reality and not some extended dream I'd fallen in to.
"Three years in to our marriage I discovered I was pregnant and it felt like everything was just falling in to place. I put my studies on hold for a year and had Jake the week after my twenty-second birthday." Her eyes glazed over with tears as the memory of her new born son in her arms flushed through her mind. "He was so tiny when he was born, and had the thickest head of hair on him. I couldn't imagine ever leaving this precious little boy for anything and so the one year became an indefinite amount of time. We were happy and in love, and Jake completed us.
"But of course, our happiness and bliss came to an end. That cloud nine we were on evaporated the day Jurell's father died in a car accident. I learnt later it was Mafia related, another clique had been pursuing him for a few years and they finally got him, staged the whole thing to look like a freak car accident on an extremely rainy day in the middle of winter. Jake was about eighteen months when his grandfather died.
"Jurell had to step up to the plate, he became boss of the company and the change in him was instant. He suddenly became moodier, he could barely hold his temper, and he almost completely stopped talking to me. I feared the man he had become and longed for the man I had fallen in love with.
"This one night, he'd come home in an extremely foul mood. I tried to get him to talk to me, to let me understand but he wouldn't tell me anything. I was getting sick of him and his mood swings and was ready to confront him, demand he tell me what it was that turned him in to a ghost of the man I'd fallen for. But then Jake woke up and I left him with his dinner to get my son.
"He must have had a horrible nightmare or something because try as I might to soothe his crying and get him back to sleep, his screaming only escalated. I'd been with him for about twenty minutes before I saw Jurell storm in to the room, screaming at me to shut him up, all kinds of obscenities he was throwing my way. I was scared, more scared than I'd ever been in my life. In the whole time I'd known him, this was first time he'd ever screamed at me or been so infuriated with me.
"His fury did nothing to help Jake's crying and it just got worse. I didn't see it coming but the next thing I knew, Jurell had had slapped me so hard across my face I lost my balance and fell. It was the first time he'd ever raised a hand against me but what I feared most was that he'd done it while I had the baby in my hands. I'd somehow managed to stave off injury on Jake as I fell.
"He told to me to shut him the hell up then stalked out of the room. I managed to get Jake to sleep then locked myself in the nursery and cried myself to sleep that night. I didn't see him again until the next evening and he wasn't acknowledging what had happened so I had stopped talking to him.
"I learned soon after that situation about the Kyubor Mafia. He was at work and I was at home, venting all my anger out on the dishes. I wanted so desperately to know what his problem was but had been stumped, until that morning, on what I could do. I finished my work quickly then went to his study. He had a habit of locking it every morning before he'd leave and I knew he'd locked it again that day but I was on a mission and I was going to find out what was going on with him.
"I found the door to his study unlocked and for the first time in the five months since the death, I felt a shred of hope. I thought, so foolishly, that once I understood what the problem with Jurell was, I'd be able to help him and we could go back to the way we were.
"I attacked that study, I didn't care in the least about the mess I was making. Had I known then, how serious my rummaging would be, I would have been so much more careful. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Jurell was involved in the Mafia.
"I found memos in his drawers, newspaper clippings that dated as far back as the early seventies and came from a collection of states all over the country, and a stack of Polaroid's that all had the word Gorring scrawled across them. I'd never heard of that before, but as I leafed through the articles, I learnt that "Gorring" was the surname of the most wanted Mafia family in the seventies.
"I didn't understand what this meant until I came across the very last newspaper article in the collection, and that one only dated back to nineteen eighty-seven, a year and a half before Jurell came in to my life. It was in that I learnt that the apparently notorious Jurell Sienel Snr, Jurell's father, was seemingly linked to the Bourky Mafia however there wasn't enough evidence for the authorities to be certain of his involvement."
"Bourky Mafia?" Michael interrupted her, his apologetic eyes boring in to hers. "I thought they were the Kyubor Mafia."
She smiled at him but before she had the chance to go on and explain, she saw his face light up with understanding and he beat her to it. "'Kyubor' is an anagram of 'Bourky.'" He was amazed by the simplicity of it all. "They changed the name around to shift the level of interest the media had with their Mafia. When did this happen?"
"I knew you'd get it, Michael," she smiled at him and in turn received a smile back. "The Bourky Mafia ceased to exist in ninety-five. Kyubor Insurance was born a year later after they decided to keep it on the down low and go in hiding for a while. Sienel and Son continued to operate until the name change."
"So no one realized the change." It was more of a statement than anything but she nodded her head then picked up where she'd left off.
"So the article went on to explain the rift that existed between the two mafia groups and things started to fall in to place. I knew Sienel and Son was an insurance company as a cover for the mafia, but I had trouble getting my head around it. I didn't want it to be true but the more I searched, the more the evidence began stacking up in favor
"I found files and bank statements that showed hundreds and thousands of dollars being laundered in to off shore accounts that were supposedly insurance claims from clients. There were funds reserved for the interstate offices that eventually closed down.
"I don't know what exactly possessed me to, but I found myself writing everything I had learned that day in my journal. I guess it was out of habit more than anything else.
"It was only half past three by the time I'd finished my search. I didn't want to confront Jurell about this whole mess for fear he'd lose his temper with me, but I wasn't given a choice in the matter. He came home that afternoon at four and found me in his study trying to tidy up the mess I'd made during my search." Her voice dropped and her eyes again glazed over with tears.
"I had never seen him so angry before, even that time he'd come in to Jake's room and hit was nothing compared to this. He watched me in silence for a beat then closed the doors and locked it from the outside. I didn't have the key and it was impossible to open without it. The windows had bars on them and so I was a caged rat. I was so scared, I remember the fear I felt just waiting for him to come back.
"I decided to stop clearing away everything I'd messed up. He knew and there was no backing down, we had to have the discussion. When the door opened though, it wasn't Jurell that I saw. It was some guy I'd never met before.
"The next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital bed and being told that it had been two weeks since I was admitted and I'd fallen in to a coma." She hadn't realized the tears had started to slip down her cheeks as she spoke, the pain of that dreadful time still so hard for her to bear after so many years.
"The doctors told me I was brought in by an old couple who said they found me in the dumpster behind their unit block. I was put there deliberately so that I could be found, but no trace of who did this could be found on me. He'd stripped me off my clothes and had worn gloves when he disposed of me.
"Anyway, I was so badly beaten they didn't expect me to survive. When I woke up, I didn't remember a thing about what happened and we soon learnt I was suffering from memory loss brought on by the beating he'd given me. They told me it was a miracle I wasn't brain damaged and that my memory should start coming back to me.
"They posted my picture on the news and asked if there was anyone who recognized me, but no one came forward. I waited for so long for a memory to tell me who I was and what happened to me, but it was six months before I got my first flash of a memory. I saw myself holding Jake in my arms and so the first thing I learnt about myself was that somewhere out there I had a son named Jake.
"It was three years before I remembered enough to start trying to fit my life back together again. I hired Archie Ryan, a private investigator, to help me find my son and I've been working alongside him for the last nine years. He told me a month ago he found Jake but it was a false lead. Two weeks ago he came to me and told me that this time, he truly had found him so we hopped on the next plane out to Chicago, without really a plan of what I was going to say or do.
"We decided we'd watch him for the two weeks, and the best place to see him was at school. I never followed him home. I was scared that if Jurell saw me he'd recognize me in an instant and I'd lose Jake again and I couldn't bear that thought. So I kept my distance and waited until Archie brought back the relevant information concerning Jake at the present time.
"I cried for hours on end when I read Jurell had been physically abusing him for some time and that he was hospitalized at the time because of his father's behavior. I know he's been out of hospital since Friday but I wanted him to be settled in before I contacted you."
"You've been looking for Jake for the last nine years." It's not a question Sara posed but a statement of abject disbelief and she can't stem the flow of tears that suddenly produced from her eyes. "Was anyone ever arrested for the bashing?"
"No." She choked out the single word through her tears. She had told them her story and she wanted nothing more than to see her son. Noting it was already a quarter past midday, she wondered if luck would be on her side again today.
"Does Jake come home for lunch?" Her question was met with a moment of silence before Lincoln slowly nodded his head at her.
"Yeah, lunch is from half past twelve so the boys will be home at twenty to one." She noted, for the first time, the expression on his face and knew instantly what caused the troubled look to grace his features.
"Lincoln," she spoke softly to him, wiping away the last of her tears. "I can see how much Jake means to you and I know you've all gone to such lengths to get him away from that monster of a father of his. I'll forever be indebted to you for saving my son. But I want you to know, as much as it kills me to admit this, I have no right to claim him or to call him my son in anything more than name. You've been more a part of his life than I have…"
"But you can't blame yourself for that, it wasn't your fault." Veronica interrupted her; shocked that she was accepting responsibility for something she couldn't help.
"Not entirely, but I was foolish enough to get caught snooping. I was being selfish at the time, trying to fix my marriage and get things back to the way they were when I should have just accepted the change and either learned to live with it or taken my son and gotten has far away as I could possibly go. I chose to fight and I lost my family as a result.
"I meant what I said, you've been a larger part of his life than I have and you've saved him from what was surely going to be his early death. I know about the custody hearing you're working on Veronica, and I want you all to know I'm not going to get in the way of that. I want Jake to be happy and safe and I see he has that here. I would never do anything to inflict on him any more pain than he's already been dealt in life. All I ask, is that you give me the chance to get to know him."
Lincoln was moved by her words. He hated to admit it made him feel so much better knowing she wouldn't contest his case for Jake's custody, but he couldn't help feeling that way. "None of us are going to stand in your way of getting to know Jake. But in the end it's completely up to him and whatever he decides we'll respect that."
As Veronica collected the cups and took them back to the kitchen, the front door opened and Jake and LJ walked in. They stopped in lounge room, noting the woman that had been at the door this morning was seated in their lounge.
"Hey dad," LJ greeted cautiously, "What's going on here?"
"Take a seat guys, please." They moved in to the lounge, LJ sitting down on Veronica's couch while Jake settled himself on the arm of the same couch. No one spoke for a moment as they all contemplated the best way to tell Jake the news. They had no idea what his reaction would be but they were clearly aware of the time ticking away before them.
"Guys, this is Samantha, Sammie, Keeley." They looked on at Lincoln with confusion. He still had no idea what to say to them so decided he'd come right out and just say it. "Jake, Sammie's your mom."
They saw as Jake gripped the back of the chair to steady himself; watched as his eyes widened in horror and his mouth fell open to form a silent o. They watched as he went from total shock and surprise, to anger in the space of twenty seconds, and the emotion Sammie had feared he'd feel reared its hideous head.
"My mother died twelve years ago." He stated through gritted teeth before pulling himself up off the arm of the couch and moving toward the door. Sammie wouldn't let him leave without first hearing her out and so she too leapt from her chair and followed him as he stormed through the door and out in to the hallway.
"Jake wait, please." She begged him and to her surprise he stopped. He didn't turn to face her and she didn't dare approach him for fear he may run off again. "Please, let me explain what happened."
He didn't answer her immediately but she took it as a good thing he didn't just bolt on her again. Without turning to face her, he spoke four single words to her in a low, almost inaudible whisper. "You have five minutes."
She didn't waste her time as she leapt right in to the story of the day she had learned the truth about the mafia. She spoke quickly and prayed that he'd understand, that he'd believe her when she told him she was sorry she couldn't protect him from the unfortunate excuse he had for a father. But most of all she hoped he'd give her the chance to get to know him, and that he'd want to get to know her, too.
Chapter 12: Chemistry 101 with the Kyubor Mafia
Sammie leaves the apartment, feeling proud of herself for confronting her son. She smiles and knows that Jake is doing okay and that he let her explain herself to him. Walking down the sidewalk, Lionel spies on her after following Jake to the house. He calls up Jurell on his phone and he picks up.
"This is going to escalate further, sir."
"What the hell is going on?"
"Your ex-wife. She walked out of the place where Jake was. Now if she testifies fully against you-"
"Take care of it. Do not KILL her. Just take care of it."
"You got it boss." Lionel hangs up the phone and starts the van. He drives up behind Sammie and gets out the car to grab her.
"Get your hands off of me!" She yells and struggles to get out of his grip. Lionel manages to get a hold on her and ties her up. He gags her and then shoves her into the back of the van. Quickly closing the doors, he drives off and waits until later in early morning to meet up with his crew.
*---*
It was 2 o'clock in the morning and something was stirring in the midst up at Wentworthville High. A group of men were breaking into the school and were in the basement.
"Here's the plan guys." Lionel said to grab the attention of his men. "We need to find the room where Jake will have Chemistry Class." He explains the rest of the plan to the crew. "Make sure that the timing is just about right because if it isn't, then this plan is a complete bust and someone will know that someone else has been planning attacks."
*---*
It was Tuesday, the day where everyone has pretty much gotten back to their regular schedules in work and in life. Lincoln and Sara had both woken up at 6:30 in the morning and were already dressed at home. Lincoln was wearing shorts and a white T-Shirt while Sara was wearing a simple blouse and small shorts.
Sara takes a look at Jake from over the counter in the kitchen while Lincoln was cooking.
Sara sighs and that grabs Lincoln's attention as he cooks the same breakfast he did yesterday. But instead of putting eggs in the pan and using ham, he switches it up and makes scrambled eggs and Portuguese sausage cut up into smaller, cylindrical pieces.
"Something on your mind?" He asks Sara as he flips the eggs in the pan.
"Jake really didn't take well to seeing his mother yesterday." Sara turns around to face Lincoln.
"Well there were a lot of things stacking up to what happened yesterday."
"Yeah I know. He didn't know his mother was alive and she was missing for over 12 years. But I thought he might've been at least slightly happy that he has a mom."
"Well when our dad disappeared on me and Mike and we saw him again, we acted the same way. We were mad that he vanished on us because we kept getting shifted off to foster families." Lincoln takes the scrambled eggs out of the pan and then puts another set in. He goes into the oven and takes out the sausage pieces and puts it on the plate.
"I guess I understand. But I've always wondered about something." She waits for Lincoln to finish so she has his full attention. "Michael told me what happened in the past as you were growing up. He said that you started messing up in life when you were growing up as teenagers."
"I don't know what I was thinking in the past. I can't even understand why I did the things I did."
"Well, it probably was because you were mad at your father and you were using it as an excuse of some sort."
"Maybe." It was silent after that.
"Michael also told me that you were the one who paid for his college and you did the things you did because you thought that he deserved it."
Lincoln couldn't say anything. He was waiting to see what else she would say.
"I can't believe you would do that for Michael. Especially knowing you may never be able to pay it back. And to be honest… I really admire you for doing that for him."
Lincoln smiles as he felt that he and Sara were on a better understanding, a better friendship. He and Sara never really had much of a conversation since the whole conspiracy the Company had created.
Jake wakes up and yawns as loud as a lion's roar. He rubs his eyes.
"Just wake up the neighborhood with your yawn Jake." Lincoln sarcastically said.
Jake looks in Lincoln's direction and sees both him and Sara smiling. He smiles back and says "good morning."
"Good morning." They both replied back.
Lincoln takes a look at the time and sees its 6:40 AM. "You better wash your face and get dressed or you'll be late for class."
Jake takes a look at his watch. He was surprised he slept an extra 40 minutes. "Shit." He thought. He hurriedly gets off the sofa bed and rushes as fast as he can with his crutches into LJ's room. He grabs his clothes, slams LJ's door behind him, and heads into the bathroom.
Lincoln and Sara take a look at each other and then laugh. "I think he's been so comfortable living here without worrying about his father that he actually slept in." Sara said as she moves towards the cupboard to take the plates and cups out.
"Yeah I think so too. Did you see how fast he took off?"
Sara chuckles. "Yeah. Never thought anyone could do that on crutches."
LJ opens his door and walks outside. "What the hell did he slam my door for?"
"Did you even take a look at the time?" Lincoln asks him.
LJ takes a look at the clock and sees that it's 6:45 AM now. His eyes widen with the surprise of how late he slept in and he yells "oh shit!" LJ starts slamming on the bathroom door. "Hurry up Jake! I need to get dressed as well!"
"Shut up! I'm moving as quickly as I can. I'm on my damn crutches!" Jake shouted from the other end of the door.
"You can move faster than that!" LJ continues to slam the door. Jake finally opens it and gets out, all dressed up. "Thank god!" LJ rushes inside and quickly fills the sink with water.
Lincoln and Sara fix the table while Veronica and Michael walk out of their rooms to wonder what was going on. Jake fixes the sofa bed and quickly puts it away. He sits down on the table and starts to eat his breakfast.
"What's with all the yelling?" Michael asks.
"I know. I was sleeping and then I heard the boys yelling." Veronica rubs her eyes.
"They're going to be late for school." Lincoln said.
"Well why didn't you wake them up?" Veronica asks.
"Well, Sara and I were engaged in a pretty nice conversation and we both lost track of time as I was cooking and talking with her at the same time."
Michael sits down at the table along with Veronica and starts eating breakfast as well. LJ storms out of the bathroom and back into his room. He opens his drawers and his closet and starts putting on his clothes.
"Oh my god! Where the hell is my shirt!? This isn't even mine!" LJ was yelling in his room while everyone listened and ate. They took at look at Jake and then Jake looks at his shirt. He also notices that the shirt he was wearing wasn't his.
"Aren't you going to go tell him that you're wearing his shirt?" Michael asks after he swallows down the egg in his mouth.
Jake grins evilly. "Nah. I'll let him go crazy for a couple of minutes because he drove me crazy while I was in the bathroom." Lincoln laughs at the thought of what he was doing. Everyone began to laugh soon after because they loved that LJ and Jake were really acting like brothers.
LJ comes out and wears Jake's shirt. He looks at Jake and sees that he's wearing his shirt. "You son of a." Lincoln's clearing of the throat cuts LJ off just before he said that word. "Why the hell are you wearing my shirt?"
"I guess in the rush that I woke up late this morning, I might've grabbed your shirt when I grabbing my clothes. I'm surprised it was just your shirt though. Because I didn't know what the hell I was grabbing when I was rushing around."
"LJ, sit down and eat. Better do it fast too because you're going to be late for school." Veronica said. LJ sat down in his seat and started eating. After five minutes, he was done as well as Jake. They put their plates in the sink and hurry into the bathroom to brush their teeth.
"Hey, I want my shirt back."
"Yeah, sure." Jake takes off LJ's shirt and LJ takes Jake's off. They trade the shirts and put their own shirts back on. They walk out of the bathroom after brushing their teeth and grab their bags.
"Bye dad! Bye Veronica! Bye Uncle Mike! Bye Sara!" LJ and Jake yelled in unison as they run out the door, shutting it.
"Those two are going to be inseparable brothers like you two." Veronica remarked.
"I agree. They even gave each other back their shirts." Sara said. The rest of them continue to finish their food and then they sit down, discussing about what they'll do at the hearing and Jake's mother.
LJ and Jake walk to school, discussing about Jake's mother as well.
"I can hardly believe she's been alive this whole time. I mean I'm glad she's back and all, but she was missing for 12 years and all the torture I went through; it just frustrates me." Jake pushes the button for the crosswalk.
"Well I honestly would've been happy that I still have my mom. I mean she was killed during that whole conspiracy and she was trying to protect me."
"At least you lived with her for 16 years. I don't even know mine." The crosswalk sign says walk and he and LJ walk across the street.
LJ sighs. "Well, at least she's alive. Anyways, don't we have to do an experiment for Chemistry today?"
"Shit. You're right. And sadly, Chemistry is my worst class on the list. Mr. Conway is strict about everything."
"Well did you even study what you're supposed to do?" Jake blushes and does nothing but smile out of the embarrassment. "Guess not."
"Science isn't my forte to be precise. I'm just lucky I managed to skip two grades to begin with."
"Well there's no way in hell I'm letting you touch the chemicals today."
"Just tell me what to do, boss."
After about five minutes of walking, they make it to the front doors of the school. LJ helps Jake walk up the steps and they head inside for their lockers. They have about 15 minutes before the first bell rings to head for 1st period.
*---*
Sitting in the van with Lionel, Sammie calms down but was nervous from what could happen to her.
"What do you want with me?" She asks.
"Nothing really except to keep you from testifying at the hearing."
"Just because you have me doesn't mean that my son won't testify."
"Oh he's not going to be a problem. As a matter of fact, we're taking care of it and it'll be done very soon."
Sammie sat there, dreading those very words that came out of his mouth. What would happen to Jake? She started to worry and felt useless because she couldn't do anything.
*---*
To both LJ and Jake's surprise, the first two periods went by swiftly. But considering that LJ had History 2nd period and Jake had it 1st period, they both probably fell asleep. The two of them found listening to lectures longer than 15 minutes boring. But now was the class they had together, Chemistry with Mr. Conway. Sitting down at the same table as partners, as brothers, they paid attention to the rules Mr. Conway had set up for their experiment today.
"Damn is he always this boring and specific?" LJ whispers to Jake.
"Well a couple of juniors last year were talking about how much of a bastard he was. Of course I didn't believe them, until today." Jake whispers back.
Mr. Conway gets the meter stick and hits Jake and LJ's table, bringing everyone's attention to them. "Pay attention unless you want me to give you a month's detention." His voice was low and nearly inaudible which made it even more terrifying. He walks away from them and towards the white board in front of the class. "As I was saying…"
"You're right. He is a bastard." LJ remarked. Jake resisted the temptation to chuckle as a single disturbance in his class would get him detention for tomorrow's lunch.
Back outside of the school, Lionel starts messaging his cronies.
"Are they doing the experiment yet?"
"Not yet sir."
"What could possibly take them to do a fucking experiment?"
"Well, from our position, it appears that the teacher is a bastard. A strict bastard."
"Well you know what to do when the experiment starts. Over and out!"
"What the hell are you going to do to my son?!" Sammie yells.
"Oh nothing much. Just cause an explosion that could kill him and if it doesn't, then we will." Lionel puts the gag back on her and he couldn't hear anything except a muffled voice.
"Damn teacher. Hurry up and let them start the stupid experiment. I want to get this stupid job done so I can get out of here." The man that Lionel was talking on the other walkie talkie mutters silently to himself. Watching from the behind the bush in front of the window, he observes carefully to see when their mixing the chemicals for the experiment. He finally sees that Jake and LJ were finally mixing chemicals. "Bingo." He pulls the trigger and the C-4 goes off, causing a huge explosion, pandemonium, and a fire.