Ice cream in hand they made their way across the street to a city park. It was late and although the park had plenty of lighting, there weren't very many people out taking a stroll at this hour. They found a bench and sat down. Both had been pretty quite since leaving the restaurant. It was Sara who finally broke the silence. "You were going to tell me how your job was going?"

Michael had been deep in thought trying to figure out how to salvage what was left of their date together when Sara spoke. It was then he noticed that his ice cream was melting fast and would soon be all over him if he didn't do something fast. He took a moment to get his ice cream cone back under control and then turned his attention to Sara. "The job is going good. I'm glad to be working again. I didn't realize how much I'd missed it."

Sara noticed how Michael had relaxed when he started talking about his work. She knew how much he loved figuring out how things went together and solving problems. That's why he had been so good at breaking out of Fox River and Sona. It was also what made him a great structural engineer.

Michael continued to share details with her about the project he was working on and Sara sat back and listened as she finished her ice cream. She would jump in every now and then to ask him to clarify things but for the most part she'd just listened.

He had just started to tell her about the new project his boss, John, had shown him they would be working on next when he stopped. She waited to see if he would continue but he just sat, staring a whole in the ground. She noticed the tension in his jaw was back and quickly looked around to make sure they were still alone.

Satisfied there were no reporters around she turned her attention back to him. Sara reached out and laid her hand on his arm, "Michael?" He raised his head and looked up at her. "What's wrong?" she asked in a whisper.

He took his other hand and placed it over hers. After a brief pause, he turned to face her but didn't release her hand. "Sara," he sighed. "My boss, John, he wants to meet you."

Sara had been holding her breath up to this point. She had been afraid he was going to say something horrible but instead his boss wanted to meet her. She was so relived and she began to smile until she realized he wasn't. Obviously Michael didn't think this was a good thing. "Michael, I get the feeling you don't want me to meet him."

Michael sighed, released Sara's hand and turned back to face forward on the bench. "It's not that. It's just…" Michael put his face in his hands as was common when he was frustrated and not sure what to do next. Sara was determined to wait him out. Finally he sat back and placed his hands in his lap. "I'm not sure he wants to meet you to meet you, or if he just wants to see what kind of woman would be with an ex-con." He turned his head and looked at her as he said, "and you don't deserve that."
She should have known. Michael was trying to protect her again. "Why do you think he would want to…" She couldn't quite find a way to phrase it without it sounding funny so she decided to just repeat what he had said, "to see what kind of woman would be with an ex-con?"

He leaned forward again and this time rested his elbows on his knees, keeping his eyes forward. "I don't know. I guess I have no reason really." He turned his head back to look at her again, "I know things haven't been easy for you, that people give you a hard time about me." She had been about to speak when he continued. "The last thing I want is to be responsible for causing you more pain."

This man was amazing and not always in a good way. He had such a sense of responsibility and when it came to her it seemed to kick into high gear. Sara knew what she had to do. She took a deep breath and sat up straight. "Michael. I want you to listen to me." He had noticed the tone in her voice and had sat back up. He was now facing her. "You are a wonderful man and I love you. But you are not responsible for how people treat me and that includes how they treat me for "choosing" to be with you. I want to be with you and I know that means that sometimes people are going to think less of me and that's ok. But if we are going to be together, truly be together, then we can't hide from the world." Sara paused to see what kind of reaction she was getting. Michael's face wasn't a shining beacon of hope but at least some of the tension had left him so Sara decided to press on. "I want to meet your boss. He gave you a job when no one else would so he can't be that bad."

What happened next Sara had not been expecting. Within seconds Michael had moved next to her on the bench and wrapped his arms around her. He was holding her so tight she could barely breathe.

When he finally pulled back, his hand came up to cup her face. His finger massaged her cheek and he said, "I love you Sara Tancredi." Michael closed the short distance separating them and she felt his lips touch hers.

He kept the kiss soft, his lips barley making contact at first. Sara had moved her hands to the front of his shirt and her palms were burning wholes in his chest. He wanted more but knew this would have to be enough for now.

Sara had melted into him at the first touch of his lips on hers. She was trying to deepen the kiss and he knew he needed to pull away but he just wanted to stay close to her. A couple of late night runner's footfalls brought Michael back to where they were. He pulled back slightly and studied her face.

Sara could still feel where his lips had been on hers. More than ever she wanted to be with him tonight so her next words were more than appropriate "take me home," she whispered.