Sara and Michael moved apart and headed back into the living room. Michael remained in the archway as she headed towards the door. She opened the door to find LJ and Jessica, both looking a little worn. "Hi." She said. "Come on in." Sara took their coats and introduced them both to Matt and Vicki.

Michael came in to join them in the living room and took his seat again in the single chair. Matt and Vicki moved down on the couch to make room for the new arrivals. This was a new predicament for them. They'd never had company other than LJ, Lincoln and Jessica before, but now with the three couples there was no space for Sara. Taking a look at the situation, she went back to her earlier plan and made her way over to the chair and Michael. As soon as she appeared in front of him, he opened his lap and his arms. When she sat down, his arms wrapped around her as she settled into his warmth.

As the two couples on the couch began to interact, Sara leaned in to whisper in Michael's ear. "I'm here so just relax." She felt him tighten his grip on her for a moment and then felt a small kiss at the base of her neck. That's ok, she thought. Let him hold on to me as tight as he needs to.

"So," Vicki asked LJ and Jessica, "you two met at college?"

After a brief pause, LJ spoke up. "Jess was in my writing class first quarter." The conversation progressed from there.

Sara notice, however, Jessica was silent. She also saw the way LJ was holding tight to her hand. Knowing Jessica probably needed to talk, she kept looking for a way to get her alone without being rude to her other guests. Then LJ said something about being hungry. "We bought all the supplies to make pizzas. Thought maybe it would be more fun to make our own."

Matt jumped on the idea. "That sounds like a great idea." Looking at the two other men in the room. Smiling he said, "Well guys do you think we could mange the pizzas for our women? That is if you don't mind Sara."

Amused Sara replied, "No of course not. This could be interesting to see."

During the conversation Michael had begun to relax and had even interjected a few comments. Turning slightly to see his face, she tried to keep her tone light, "You think you can manage Scofield?"

He surprised her, "Yes Tancredi. I think I can manage." Picking her up off his lap, he stood. Giving her a swift kiss, he turned to the guys. "Are you ready? I think we have some pizzas to wrestle."

Matt gave his wife a small kiss and followed Michael into the kitchen. LJ was a little slower but eventually he left Jess's side and followed.

After the men left, there was a few minutes of silence. Vicki looked between the two other women, "Maybe I should go help the men and give you two a minute."

Jessica reached out her hand. "No. It's ok. You don't have to go."

"Are you sure? If you two need to talk, I understand."

"No really. Stay."

A few more moments of silence were endured before Sara spoke. "LJ told me what happened."

"Did he?" Jessica said, sounding more dejected than before. With a huge sigh she said, "He couldn't…because he doesn't know."

Moving to the couch to sit beside Jessica who was now sandwiched by the older women. "What happened?"

Rubbing her face, she pushed her hair back before letting her hands fall to her lap. Sitting back, she began to talk. "On Monday when I arrived home, everyone was so happy. Happy to see me. Happy I was home. We had a great dinner. Mom cooked her roast and potatoes. It felt good to be home. After dinner I excused myself and called LJ to let him know I got there all right. Mom over heard the end of the conversation and when I came back to the living room, she asked me who I'd been talking to."

Jessica looked up at her two companions, "I didn't want to lie to her and dad so I told them about LJ. They asked tons of questions. How we met, how long we'd been seeing each other. All was fine until they asked about his family. I tried to be vague. Told him he had his dad and his uncle, that his mom was dead. But that wasn't good enough. They wanted to know what they did for a living, if I'd met them, their names."

Choking back a sob, she paused before she continued. "That's when dad got up and went to his filing cabinet. He pulled out a stack of old newspapers." Looking at Sara she said, "They were papers from the search for Michael and Lincoln." Turning her face back to her hands, "Dad looked at me and said, 'Are these the two men your talking about? The father and uncle.' When I told him yes, he hit the roof."

"I've never seen dad so mad. He threw the papers down on the coffee table in front of me and…and." Jess swiped at the tears that were starting to fall. "He told me I was never to see or talk to LJ again. That he didn't want me mixed up with people like this. I was here to get an education and if I couldn't do that then I could just come home."

Both women reached out a comforting hand to Jessica. "I tried to explain. To tell them that you were good people. That I loved LJ but they wouldn't listen." Sighing Jessica said, "Mom and dad didn't talk to me again until I said goodbye to leave for the airport when dad insisted he drive me. I think that was worse. I would have rather taken a cab."

The tears were flowing full force now. "Just before we got to the airport dad said he wanted to meet the boy who was stealing his daughter from him and that if LJ didn't meet with his approval, then I wouldn't be coming back here to school next year." Turning, "Oh Sara what am I going to do? Dad wants LJ to come for spring break but…but I can't do that to him. He's been through so much with his family. I can't ask him to come and have my dad terrorize him for a week. But I don't want to lose him either and I know I will if I don't come back next year."

Sara pulled Jessica in for a hug stroking the young girls hair. "It will be ok." Looking over at Vicki, she saw the woman was overwhelmed by the situation. To her this was probably unusual. To Sara, this was just another obstacle though in the path of the Burrows men. Pulling Jessica back so she could look at her, "Jessica, you need to talk to LJ about this. Tell him how you feel and let him make his own choice. I think he might surprise you," Sara said with a little smile. Jessica swiped at her tears again and smiled back. "Now." Sara said. "Why don't you go into the bathroom and freshen up. You can use the one in our bedroom. Let's forget about mom and dad for tonight and enjoy being back with your man ok?"

Jessica nodded and then pulled Sara in for a hug. "Thank you." She whispered. Lifting herself off the couch, she made her way through the bedroom door.

As soon as Jessica disappeared, Sara spared a glance at Vicki. "You sure you want to be friends with us?"

Vicki gave her a timid smile. "Is it always like this?"

Sara sat back. "Well you were at the barbeque. You saw how everyone treated Michael."

Vicki nodded. "I see what you mean." Reaching out, Vicki took Sara's hand in hers. "Don't worry though. We don't scare that easily."

Just then the men returned. "Pizza will be done in twenty minutes ladies." Matt said taking his seat again beside his wife.

Sara moved over to sit on Michael's lap again just ask Jessica came back into the room. "Good because I'm starving." She said.

Sara was impressed. There were no signs of the pervious conversation as she came and took her seat beside LJ.
Conversation turned to sports and the football playoffs. The girls just sat and listened, each lost in their own thoughts.

~

Much later that evening, Michael crawled in bed next to Sara. It was after two in the morning and they were glad they didn't have work in the morning. Both couples just left. They'd had a lot of fun with both the pizza and the games. Michael brought out a bottle of champagne and some sparkling cider they'd bought for the occasion and at midnight everyone toasted the New Year.

Michael turned on his side to face Sara, 'You were right."

"Hmmm." She said, already getting sleepy now that the party had come to a close. "What was I right about?"

"We should have Vicki and Matt over again sometime."

This brought Sara's eyes open in a hurry. She looked at his face for a sign he was joking but couldn't find any. "Really?"

Michael shrugged. "Yea." He paused. "It wasn't so bad."

Sara smiled and moved so she could touch him. "Michael Scofield are you trying to tell me you had fun?"

This got a small laugh out of him. "It wasn't an unpleasant experience, no."

"That's all I'm going to get huh? Not unpleasant."

His smile was in full bloom now. "That's all your going to get Tancredi."

Sara moved closer to place a small kiss on his chest.
Michael rolled over on his back and brought his arm around her. Laying her head down on him, "What are you going to call me after we're married? I won't be Tancredi anymore."

"Hmmm." Michael placed a kiss in her hair as he closed his eyes. "I guess I'll just have to call you something else. I'm sure I'll think of something."

"Hmmm." She said, her eyes drifting closed. "I'm sure you will."

~

Jessica had been quite the entire ride back to the dorm. LJ walked her to her door and bent to kiss her goodnight. She wrapped her arms around his neck and wasn't letting go so he just held her.

Everyone else appeared to either be in bed, out partying, or home for the holidays so they were alone in the hallway. "Jess are you alright?"

She moved her head slightly brushing her cheek against his shirt. "Yea. It's just…"

LJ pulled back a little so he could see her face but she wouldn't look at him. "Jess what is it? You can tell me."

Tentatively she looked up. "Will you…will you stay?"

Not quite sure how to respond, "You want me to stay?"

Nodding she said, "I don't want to be alone tonight." Taking a deep breath she asked again, "Will you stay?"

"Sure Jess. If that's what you want. I'll stay."

Giving him a shy smile she backed into her room and he followed.

Once inside Jessica turned on the lamp beside her small bed and placed her coat on the chair. LJ removed his coat and put it beside hers. He watched as Jessica moved to sit on the bed, obviously nervous. Moving to sit beside her, he reached for her hand. She turned to him, leaned in and kissed him. Her lips were shaking as he kissed her back. Moving to hold her, he pulled her into his arms and felt a shiver run through her entire body. He pulled back. "Jess." He waited until he knew he had her attention. "We don't have to do anything if you don't want. I'll still stay."

Shaking her head she said, "I want to." She paused for a minute, not moving a muscle and he waited for her. Almost in a whisper, "There are a lot of things I don't know right now. But I do know I want this."

He looked into her eyes and didn't hesitate. Taking her face in his hands, he brought his mouth to hers. Her hands clutched his arms as he laid her back on the bed.

Moving his hand down to the hem of her sweater, he broke the kiss. "I love you Jess."

"I love you too LJ."