Author's Note:

Well I'm assuming everyone watched the last episode last night. All I have to say is...I like my ending better. :)

Saturday morning Michael sat at the kitchen table eating his cereal and reading the paper. When he glanced across at Sara, he noticed her breakfast consisted of dry toast and water. The same thing she'd eaten yesterday. "Every thing alright?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine." She said giving him a little smile. When he gave her a skeptical look she added, "My stomach's just bothering me a little, but it's nothing. I think I might be fighting a bug or something."

Michael just nodded and let it go. She'd been tired lately so maybe she was coming down with something.

That afternoon both Lincoln and LJ buzzed around their house cleaning like mad men. Jessica's parents were coming over to join them for family night and everything needed to be perfect. Well as perfect as an evening at the Burrow's could be. So far the feedback from Jessica's parents to Jessica had been…well…vague. It didn't appear they'd found any major objections to Jessica's life here as of yet, but it wasn't like they were jumping for joy either.

Tonight would be the first time Lincoln was to meet them and it may sound silly but he almost felt like he was the teenage boy and he was meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time. He wanted this to go well for his son. Jessica made LJ happy and he knew his son loved her. Her not being able to come back in the fall would break his son's heart and he was going to do what he could to see that didn't happen. LJ had had way too much heartache in his short life already.

At five, Sara and Michael arrived early by request. Lincoln new if he'd missed anything in his preparation his detail obsessed brother would be able to find it. It was almost amusing to watch as Michael stood in each room and went over it piece by piece. The things he'd found were minor; a little dust missed on a table, a picture not quite level. Minor but Lincoln was grateful all the same.

Just before six, Lincoln left to get Sam so he'd be back when Jessica and her parents arrived at six-thirty. Left to wait, Sara pulled the two men into the kitchen to see what types of snacks maybe hidden to compliment the pizza. LJ took the chips they'd found out to the table leaving Sara and Michael alone.

Michael had been watching Sara since she'd told him this morning she wasn't feeling well. At the moment she appeared to be feeling fine although she still showed some signs of being tired.

Sara noticed Michael had a deep look of concentration on his face. "You ok Michael?"

His head snapped up to meet her eyes. "Yea."

"You sure? You look a little distracted? Your not worried about tonight are you?"

Michael didn't want her knowing he was worrying about her so he just addressed what she was asking and told the truth. "A little. But I'm ok Sara. You don't have to worry about me." He said as he walked over and put his arms around her waist.

"I worry about you all the time Scofield. It's part of the job." She smiled.

"Is it now?" He asked with a smile of his own.

Sliding her hands up his arms she gently rested them on the back of his neck. "It is." She said as she pulled him in for a kiss.

LJ re-entered the kitchen to find Michael and Sara kissing. He tried to cough discreetly to get their attention. The couple reluctantly broke their kiss. "Sorry guys but dad and Sam are here." LJ said and then turned and left the kitchen.

"I guess that's our queue huh." Sara said. Michael reached down to lace his fingers through hers as they made their way back out into the living room.

Tom Rice pulled his car in front of a decent sized ranch house with white siding. "This is it?" he asked.

"Yes dad." Jessica said.

Tom wasn't quite sure what he'd been expecting but this wasn't it. This family kept surprising him and he wasn't sure he liked it. First their dinner on Wednesday night had seemed…for lack of a better word, normal. Too normal. It didn't fit with anything he'd read in the papers about this family. He knew the one brother, LJ's father Lincoln Burrows, had been falsely accused of murder but he also knew that the man had had a checkered past to say the least before that.

Michael on the other hand had led a near perfect life before going to prison, according to what he'd read, but had robbed a bank at gun point supposedly to get thrown into prison with his brother so he could break him out. That didn't sound logical to him. Who did something like that?

And then there was Dr. Sara Tancredi. The former governor's daughter who, again according to the papers, in all likely hood helped with the escape of eight maximum-security fugitives. Somehow she'd managed to not only avoid being convicted but had also managed to keep her doctors license.

Now looking at this house. This perfectly normal house, Tom was presented with yet another piece of the puzzle that just didn't add up. Was he missing something or had he just been wrong?

Megan and Jessica had already gotten out of the car and appeared to be waiting for him. Slowly he got out and joined his family. Here goes nothing he thought.

Before they could knock LJ answered the door and Jessica went immediately into her boyfriend's arms. Tom wasn't quite sure how he felt about LJ yet. From what he observed, the boy clearly cared about his daughter but this was his little girl. He knew some of what he was feeling was general parental protectiveness at seeing his daughter with a boy she so clearly cared deeply about in return. But there was another part of him that kept saying he had honest reasons for being protective of his little girl around this family.

They came inside. Jessica introduced them to Lincoln, LJ's father, whom it was easy for Tom to picture in the right setting as a thug. But the surprises just kept coming; the woman standing beside Lincoln was apparently the man's girlfriend. She was completely opposite to the brash man standing beside her and into the evening he'd asked her how long she'd known Lincoln and had been surprised when she'd answered two and a half months with a huge smile on her face.

Jessica had told them ahead of time that dinner tonight would be pizza but he was surprised when eight boxes showed up shortly after their arrival. What surprised him more was the fact that only two pieces remained when it was all said and done. After dinner they played scrabble. Michael and Sam, Lincoln's girlfriend, dominated the game.

Sitting around a kitchen table playing scrabble again felt so normal to him. Which DIDN'T seem normal. He and Megan had promised Jessica they'd give this family a chance and he wanted to, for her, really he did but… And there in lay the problem. What was his but? LJ seemed to live in a nice home with his father, whom he appeared to have a good relationship with. Michael and Sara, who had apparently taken an active interest in his daughter's education, lived in a nice apartment together and we getting married in a month. The enigma to him was Sam.

Sam was the outsider of the group. She currently sat next to Lincoln. Her laugh was open and honest. Clearly she was relaxed. Again the question nagged at him…was he wrong?

Tom turned his attention back to his daughter. Shoulder to shoulder, she and LJ sat sharing their tiles. The hands closest to each other were not visible above the table and it was obvious they were intertwined below. LJ whispered something in her ear and she giggled. He'd never seen his daughter happier.

Was he wrong?

LJ walked Jessica and her family out to their car to say goodnight. Aware of her parents' presence he said his goodnights to them and then pulled Jessica in for a quick hug. "Good night." He whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too." She whispered back.

He began to pull back, but she held on. Finding his mouth she placed a soft kiss on his lips. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said stepping back and getting into the car.

LJ stood on the curb and watched as they drove away.

Chapter End Notes:

Ok folks...only 5 more chapters to go, lets here your thoughts. :)