I knew him before (AU PBr Mi/Sa) Ch 11 31/05/14 DEAD&BURIED

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KatnotKath
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I knew him before (AU PBr Mi/Sa) Ch 11 31/05/14 DEAD&BURIED

Post by KatnotKath »

Title: I knew him before
Author: KatnotKath
Disclaimer: I don't own Prison break or any of the characters, I'm just begging permission to play around with the characters and an idea which occured in my head.
Pairing: Michael/Sara
Summary: What if things had been different, a POV perspective.

AN: So this isn't my usal fandom I know, and I have lots going on in the main boards but this just wouldn't leave me alone. I don't know where it's going, if it is at all, it might just be a one shot, or it might grow into more, I'm not giving any promises, but if anyone wants to tell me what they think, I'd love to hear.


*Sara*

It had been over two years since I had seen him, and nothing could have prepared me for the sight as I walked into the ward. Never in a thousand years would I have expected to see him here, and it was as though the last three years had never happened... 'Michael...?' Since I started working here, I don't think I've ever crossed the length of the ward as fast as I did that day... Oh G*D Michael, it's really you...what are you doing here? I wanted to question of him as I came to a standstill at the foot of the bed was sat on.

The look in his eyes as he looked up told me that he was just as surprised as me at this meeting but he said nothing...

“Scofield...Michael, serving five years for armed robbery, he's supposed to be diabetic...” One of the prison officers provided in a monotone voice before stepping back.

I forced myself to take a deep breath as his words reminded me of where we were... Fox River Penitentiary... Armed Robbery...? I blinked and looked at him, trying to coincide the Michael I knew with this statement...

Michael looked away as my eyes begged for explanation and I felt a pang in my heart. What had happened...?

“Dr Tancredi...?”

The officer's pressing tone tore me out of my thoughts, causing me to turn and look at him. “Oh, yes Officer Bellik, I can handle him from here...I'll call someone when it's time to take him back to the wing...” I forced myself to maintain a professional manner in front of him and it wasn't until the door closed behind him, leaving only the two of us alone, that I finally spoke. “M-Michael, what's going on...?”

He looked down, refusing to meet my eyes again, and for a second, I was back in the staff room of the hospital that last time we had spoken... He wouldn't look at me then, wouldn't tell me why...?

While on that occasion he had the ability to walk away, this time he didn't though, and I wasn't prepared to let him do the same... “Michael please, tell me what happened, why are you here?”

After what seemed like an age, he finally looked up. “You heard what he said Sara, I got five years...”

The lack of emotion in his tone shocked me, and for a moment I had to wonder if I truly knew this guy... But then in the back of my mind I got a flash of his smile, his head turning as I came around the corner towards him, and I found myself unwilling to accept he could have changed that much. “Just like that? You had a good job, no, a great job, and just like that you chose to become an armed robber?” I looked at him hard. “Well you apparently didn't make a very good one...”

For a second, the merest second, I got a glimpse of the smile I knew so well. And then it was gone again... “Apparently not...”

He fell silent, and it took a while for me to speak again. “Why would you do that Michael, you had a well-paying job...isn't it bad enough Lincon i-”

“Lincon's innocent!” His sharp response took me by surprise somewhat, his rather harsh and hard tone causing me to back up slightly and, if I didn't know him from before, I have to say I would have been calling in one of the guards... As it was though, I know how close he and Linc have been over the years, and his response is sort of understandable...even if not realistic...

I tried to tell myself that exact same thing at first, that whatever Lincon was, he wasn't a murderer... I told myself I knew better, but then I heard the evidence, and now...well...I haven't seen him other than for official check-ups and even then I say the absolute minimum because to be perfectly honest, I don't know what to say... There was a time for a while there when I would have said I knew him almost as well as I did Michael...but then, that was the past...

“Sara, I didn't know you were here, honest, I-”

“And that would have changed things?” I interrupted him, shaking my head. “Michael why would you have gotten into this situation, why would you have done what he said?” Swallowing, I paused and turned away from him for a moment, trying to keep from losing it as I continued. “When I heard about Lincon, I figured that was why you had broken things off, and I respected that. You said you couldn't deal with 'us' at the moment, that you had other things you had to focus on and I tried not to take it personally, to let it get to me. I believed that you had a lot on your plate, and much as I didn't want to, I accepted what you said even when...” I broke off. It had been over two years, and I had tried to move on, but it was hard, considering, and while it still hurt, I knew I couldn't tell him...

His eyes seemed to flash as I spoke about his words that day and I bit down on my lip, swallowing, knowing that on this occasion it wasn't just him who wasn't saying something... I couldn't tell him though, he had made his choice and I had made mine, and now well, what good would it do...?

“Even when what Sara...?” Observant as ever, he hadn't missed the slip up I had made, and his dark eyes were now fixed on mine questioningly...

“E-even when I missed you...w-when I wanted to go to you...” I stammered, struggling over the words as I tried to keep from breaking down and telling all.

He nodded, giving me a thoughtful glance... “I'm sorry Sara...” His response came as little more than a whisper, as a sob rose in my throat and i fought to keep from choking on it. “I never meant to hurt you...”

“You never mean to hurt anyone Michael...so why are you here...?”

My question again caused him to turn away, and this time I didn't push anymore... If he didn't want to tell me, I couldn't make him, and right now, I didn't know how much longer I could take... “Still type two...?” I turned the subject to more professional matters as I checked on his diabetes type, reaching for a syringe as he nodded and filling it appropriately.

The remainder of the meeting passed quickly, performing his injection and then checking a couple of things in his notes before I used the phone to call for one of the guards. A few moments later, Michael exited the ward, accompanied by Bellik, and once they were gone, I dropped down onto one of the empty beds, my head spinning...

After everything that had happened, I had never even expected to see Michael again...not unless it had something to do with Lincon of course, but this was something quite different, I just didn't know what to think. Armed robbery, it just didn't mesh with everything I knew about Michael, and while many would suggest that I just didn't know him as well as I thought I did, I knew that wasn't true... I was missing something big, I just knew it, but what...?

“Dr Tancredi...Sara...?”

It was a different voice, one of a friend, Alex the nurse on the ward, who interrupted my thoughts this time, as i snapped out of my wonderings to look up, hoping it wasn't too obvious just how lost I felt right at that moment in time.. “huh, what...?”

She smiled, gesturing to the phone I now noticed she held in her hand. “I think it's Anna...”

Immediately my thoughts of Michael were put on hold for the moment, taking second place as I reached out for the phone now, taking it from her quickly and pressing to speak. “Hello, this is Sara...”

The voice on the other end spoke for a few minutes, and I listened, nodding. Finally, I smiled. “Okay, put her on for a moment please...?” There was a pause, and then a scrambling sound, before another familiar voice was heard. I smiled softly. “Hey sweetie pie...I hear you can't sleep....”

I paused a moment to listen to her response and nodded. “Okay, well you need to try again, and I'll be back shortly okay...my shift is almost over and when I get back I'll come and tuck you in Michaela, I promise, okay baby...?” I blew a few kisses into the phone, told her I loved her and then, after speaking briefly again to Anna, put the phone down with a sigh and small smile. If only Michael knew...
Last edited by KatnotKath on Thu Aug 28, 2014 12:36 pm, edited 13 times in total.
My fics:

Dreams and Reality
Reality Revealed
Family Connections
When Love and Loss Collide
When Friendship and Love Combine - New!
If Only...
The Important Thing
Home for Christmas
I Knew Him Before (PB fic)
Love Always...
The First Time Around - New!
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KatnotKath
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Re: I knew him before (AU Prison Break Mi/Sa) Chapter 2 23/01/08

Post by KatnotKath »

Hey,

I made the mistake of loosing track of this and forgot to copy over my feedback. So anyone who read and replied, thank you, I did appreciate it and I did read it at the time, I just don't remember it now.

Thanks, hope you like the new chapter too.

Kat

*Sara*

“Alright, into bed with you!” I tapped my two and a half year old daughter’s bum gently as she continued to play with her toys on the floor despite already having been told it was bedtime. Unfortunately, sleeping was not Michaela’s favourite activity at the moment. Most nights I had a fight on to get her to even get into her nightdress, and when that had passed with relatively little fuss I should have known it was too easy…

“No, not tired!” She pouted and threw a stuffed animal right in my face. I caught it neatly and brought it back to tap her nose. “Well, tired or not, it’s bed time for you young lady!” I stated firmly as I set down the toy and then captured her in my arms.

She squealed and tried to push me away, still playing, but got no response this time as I simply lifted her up and carried her over to the bed, whispering softly, “Come on, play time’s over, time to calm down now…”

Whether she realized she was in fact tired afterall, or simply accepted that she wasn’t going to change my mind and conceded defeat, as I pushed her quilt back and set her down onto the bed, she curled up with little fuss. “Night mommy....”

“Goodnight Kay, sleep well...” I whispered, pressing my lips to her forhead gently, smiling as I felt her small arms wrap around my neck once more and hugging back before laying her small frame back down in bed and pulling the covers up gently. “Night baby...”

I sat at the side of the bed a few moments, but she was probably asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow and as I turned out the lights, I couldn't help turning back to watch her even breathing for a moment longer. So sweet, so innocent, so perfect… I thought to myself with a smile before turning on the night light in the corner of the room and slipping out the door as I pulled it to softly and headed back into the main room, dropping down onto the sofa gratefully. Leaning back, I felt myself sinking deeper into the soft cushions and grabbed the blanket which hung on one side, shaking it out and pulling it up, snuggling into the warmth as I reached for the remote to mute the TV in order to think….

There were so many thoughts going through my head that night…

How many times had I thought about the possibility of seeing Michael again, of telling him…? Ever since I took that test and the blue line appeared in the window, I had longed to go to him, but I had told myself I couldn’t it wasn’t fair…

Michael had told me that he couldn’t deal with ‘us’ at the moment, that he had needed to take a break, to concentrate on other things, and I had to respect that… I had felt it was understandable after all, with Lincon being arrested. He didn’t need me to add to those troubles, and so I managed because I loved him...

My father had helped more than I could ever have expected… I had barely seen him in years before I told him the news, but that was all to change. He never made a comment about being disappointed, and he never once asked who the father was. I think he knew though, even before I named her… But whether he approved or not, he didn’t let that affect the way he acted, and he was nothing but supportive in everything…

He helped me with my rent and later childcare as I moved into my own place instead of sharing with a friend or staying at home as I had done later in my pregnancy. He bought me so much baby stuff I didn’t know what to do with it, but more importantly, he was there for me… I couldn’t have asked him to be any better and I was so grateful to him. He was wonderful with Michaela too, surprisingly enough and for the first time in a long while, I truly knew he loved me, loved us… It wasn’t about the material things, but the emotional support he had provided.

Of course with that came that he wanted me to be happy, meaning that he wanted me to move on as he had told me on a number of occasions and had happened with increasing frequency as time went on. I should get out, have some fun, maybe I would meet someone, any guy would be lucky to have me… He meant well of course I knew, but even so I wasn’t interested.

I didn’t want someone, I wanted Michael… I still hung onto the hope that one day I would be able to tell him, that one day he would meet Michaela, and that we would be together once more, that we might actually get to be a family… Because I knew that no matter what I had gone through, there was only one Michael Scofield, and he would always own my heart…

For all that time I had been certain though, after seeing him at Foxriver, I found I didn’t know what to think though… I couldn’t tell him, not now, of that I was certain… And there was a part of me that had to wonder if I still even knew him. The Michael I had known, I had loved, I could never imagine doing anything like that… But then again , nor could I see him getting caught…

There was something going on here that I didn’t know about, the more I thought about it, the more I was certain, but I didn’t know what…

There had been a time, not so long ago really when you thought about it, when we used to joke that we could read each other’s minds when we were together, but apparently no longer… How I missed those days…

Over the years I had thought about him less, I had to in order to remain sane… The first few months were pure agony, and then Michaela started moving inside me, and I found myself a new focus – our child… Somehow I continued with my internship even after Michaela was born thanks to the help from my father, and when it was over, I had gone to Foxriver because it was better hours than a hospital would be and more than anything I wanted to be around for her. There was a time when I had spoken about giving up medicine completely, of getting a completely unrelated job because I argued that I could spend more time with my baby, but my father had convinced me otherwise, and deep down I knew he was right. I had wanted to be a doctor for so long, he was right, I would never have been completely happy, and while it was sometimes hard, we got by…

I had rebuilt my life without Michael and while it wasn’t complete, Michaela went a long way to filling the void he had left in me… Our daughter - watching her grow and develop, knowing she was happy and well - that was what had brought me through so many times when I had been so close to breaking down and picking up a phone…

Which of course wouldn’t be happening now… I thought silently as my mind turned back to that unexpected meeting earlier in the day.

What had happened? Why had he done what he did, and perhaps more accurately, why had he been caught… Michael was smart, so smart, he could have done anything that he put his mind to, I thought to myself as I went over the little I knew. Unbeknown to the others at work, I had managed to sneak a peak at his file before I left that evening and it just didn’t hang right there was something which was just…wrong….

Michael was thoughtful, patient and would rarely do anything without a plan. He was meticulous when it came to details, a fanatic when it came to exploring and allowing for every possibility, yet from the way the file read it sounded as though he had simply walked into the bank in broad daylight, with no apparent getaway route. Either something had escaped their investigation, which was possible I supposed, or he had been careless, and that just didn’t fit with anything that I knew about Michael. I had known him for years, could he really have changed that much, I doubted it…

Which meant there was more to his plan than had been discovered…the question was, what? It seemed as though the bank heist had basically been a bust before it had even begun…

And that was when the realization hit me… He had wanted to be caught!
My fics:

Dreams and Reality
Reality Revealed
Family Connections
When Love and Loss Collide
When Friendship and Love Combine - New!
If Only...
The Important Thing
Home for Christmas
I Knew Him Before (PB fic)
Love Always...
The First Time Around - New!
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Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 5:54 am
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Re: I knew him before (AU PBr Mi/Sa) Ch 2 23/01/08 AN 23/03/08

Post by KatnotKath »

Hey Woman of Mystery, and anyone else who's reading, I hope you're enjoying the story.

I'm going to be honest and say I don't honestly know where this is going, but every so often I get a burst of inspiration so I'm just hoping that it will continue. Sorry for the delay, but here's a new chapter.

~Kat~


*Sara*

I don’t know how I ever got a wink of sleep that night. The questions running through my head had only multiplied as I thought more about what was going on, and I couldn’t wait to get to work so that I could try and talk to Michael.

Before I could do that though, there was Michaela to get ready and, as always when I was in a hurry, she didn’t want me to go.

“No mommy, don’t want you to go, stay here today!” She protested even as I managed to pull a clean white t-shirt over her head and then fasten her dungarees over her shoulder. Her small hands tried to push me away one moment and then grabbed my legs the next, making it perfectly clear she didn’t want me to leave her as she bobbed her brown-haired head back and forth to emphasize the point. “Mommy stay!”

“I can’t Kay, really, I’m sorry baby, but I’ll be back early afternoon so maybe then we can go to the park okay…?” I coaxed her softly as I tried to pry the deceptively strong fingers from my legs. How I hated to leave her like this, but not only did I need to get to work, I needed to see Michael, I needed to speak to him, because I needed to understand…

It was illogical I know, because I hadn’t even told him about Michaela and I know if I had he would have been there, but right at that moment in time, I guess I felt almost as though he had abandoned both of us, and I’m not going to lie, there was a part of me that was really angry. I wanted to scream and shout at him, to tell him how hard he had made the last two years for me, but I knew when it came down to it I wouldn’t…

It just wasn’t how things worked…

“Mommy, pleeeease…” My little girl looked up at me now with those beautiful brown eyes which she shares with her father. She’s got me trained well, those doe eyes can usually get me to do anything, agree to anything, but not today… “I’m sorry princess, but I can’t…not now…later okay?” I responded not without some regret as I ran a small brush through her hair carefully to get rid of any tangles.

There are some days when I wish desperately I could just stay home with her. I want to spend all my time with her, every single moment, because she’s growing up so fast it seems, but I know that’s just not possible. Yet… “Mommy’s going to get you set up with some toast and then she really has to go okay…?” I felt myself caving as she smiled her beautiful smile and held out her hands for me to pick her up. “Alright, here we go…” She settled quickly on my hip and the two of us headed into the kitchen.

Soon Michaela was seated safely in her chair and tucking into the two slices of toast and butter which I just placed in front of her. Letting out a sigh of relief, I grabbed my bag from the back of the sofa, collecting up some papers I was looking at the previous night, and slipping them into a file. I was just fastening up my bag as there came a knock on the door. “Just a minute…” I glanced over to Michaela to confirm she was still okay before heading over to answer it.

The person on the outside was no surprise of course. Anna – my childminder. “Morning Sara…”

She smiled at me and I returned it with one of my own. “Hey Anna, how are you today?”

“Not bad thanks, but you look a little tired I must say, did Michaela have a bad night…?” She questioned me subtly.

Anna wasn’t that much older than me really, but she did tend to mother me somewhat at times, and I can’t deny it was nice to know she cared…usually… “What, oh no, I just didn’t sleep too well…” I responded in a slightly awkward manner that day knowing I couldn’t tell her the truth. “Too much coffee I think perhaps…”

I knew it was a weak excuse, but although she didn’t look completely convinced she didn’t call me on it. Perhaps she could tell I didn’t want to talk, but either way, she simply noded, commenting that maybe I should ease off on it, before then walking past me to greet my daughter.

“Anna!” Despite her apparent distress at the thought of me leaving earlier, Michaela now seemed delighted to see her carer which was always a relief. I can’t tell you how grateful I feel to have found Anna you know, she wasn’t too hard on the pocket, she was pleasant, kind, caring, good at what she did, and perhaps most importantly, a certain little girl loved her.

I watched them for a few moments, even joining in the conversation they’d struck up, but all too soon the hands on the clock reminded me I had to go. “Well, I’ll leave you two to have fun, and I’ll be back around four… Have a good day baby and behave! Thanks Anna…” I leant over to kiss Michaela’s forehead and then backed away with a wave.

A few minutes later saw me on the road in my car, but it wasn’t until about half an hour later when I pulled into the staff parking lot that my day really began in earnest.

“Morning Dr Tancredi…”

I nodded with a small smile in return to the greeting. “Morning officer…” After handing in my car keys, I recieved a set which would take me through the necessary gates to get to the infirmary and anywhere else I might have wanted to go while in the prison.

Through two more gates and I reached the door but to my surprise not wasn’t only open, but I could hear people inside. I walked in to find a number of inmates, all restrained, sitting on the beds and after taking in a variety of injuries I turned to question the accompanying guards. “What happened here…?”

Apparently, as they explained, I had missed quite an evening yesterday. Not long after I left some inmates started to get raucous and things had quickly escalated into a full-blown riot. My first impulse was to question why I wasn’t called out, but as they added that things hadn’t been dealt with fully until the morning, the question vanished and I turned my attention to those who need it.

The first few prisoners just needed a few dressings on some cuts, but the next one was more serious and required some stiches.

All told, it took me about an hour to tend the five inmates who had been brought for attention and just as I had finished the last one and sent him on his way with the accompanying officer, leaving me pretty much alone for the moment, the door opened once more and in walked Michael and Belik.

“Officer Belik…Scofield…” I greeted both of them stiffly, going overboard perhaps on keeping things formal as I tried to keep the huge lump in my throat from choking me as I looked over at him…

“Dr Tancredi… This one’s just needing his insulin…” Belik provided and, considering what happened the previous night, I was hardly surprised to see that he doesn’t move from Michael’s side.

“Well you might want to leave him cuffed to the bed, because right now I have a couple more pressing things so it could be a little while before I get to him…” My response came after a few moment’s consideration, the lie rising relatively easily to my lips considering…

He seemed to think about it for a moment and, after noting that there’s someone else in the outer room so I won’t be completely alone, noded. “Okay, but if he tries to act up just press the buzzer, and when you’re done give me a call…” Whipping out a pair of cuffs, he quickly secured his prisoner and then left, probably hurrying off to take advantage of getting out quickly to grab a cigarette before heading back to duty…

Not wanting it to be completely obvious that I was lying, I pottered around for a few moments, tidying some things, collecting others, studiously avoiding his gaze at all times.

All the way over I had been thinking of what I was going to say, but now that I was there, in front of him, all the words had flown my mind. Oh Michael…

“Sara…”

He whispered it but even so I hear him and turn. “Dr Tancredi!” I corrected him a little too sharply.

The light in his eyes dulled a little more as he nodded. “Of course, sorry… Dr Tancredi…”

His voice was so bland, his response so dull, I almost wished that he would come back at me, insisting we know each other better than that, but he didn’t. In fact, he didn’t say anything more as he sat there and I proceed to bring out the things I needed.

The silence in the room was almost deafening it seemed, and, after taking a moment to search for a vein, slipping the needle in carefully, I looked back at him finally. “Why are you here…?” I asked the question of him softly, making sure to keep my voice low so as not to be overheard.

He shrugged. “You heard yesterday, I got caught…”

He gave another shrug shrug, as though to suggest that there was nothing more to it, but he couldn’t fool me. I glanced around briefly to make sure there’s no one around to hear as I responded, “Because you wanted to be…”
My fics:

Dreams and Reality
Reality Revealed
Family Connections
When Love and Loss Collide
When Friendship and Love Combine - New!
If Only...
The Important Thing
Home for Christmas
I Knew Him Before (PB fic)
Love Always...
The First Time Around - New!
User avatar
KatnotKath
Roswell Fanatic
Posts: 1130
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 5:54 am
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Re: I knew him before (AU PBr Mi/Sa) Ch 3 28/04/08

Post by KatnotKath »

Hey, two updates in less than a month, could it be the juices are actually flowing lol :wink:

Anyway, Thanks for reading, and of course showing understanding at my lack of updating Woman of Mystery. I just hope this won't disappoint you.

Hope anyone reading is enjoying the story, here's more. It's short, but I think it works...hope so anyway.

Kat


*Sara*

My whispered comment was met with a deadly silence. In fact, he refused to say anything more to me at all, a glazed look passing over his eyes as the rest of our encounter passed without conversation.

There’s so much that I wanted to ask him, so much I want to say. I wanted to look him in the eyes and plead with him to explain to me, to tell me why he was here, but somehow I couldn’t find the words. Besides, his refusal was as much a confirmation of my suspicions as anything he might have said although it still left a lot more questions unanswered.

So, instead of pressing, I simply administered his injection in silence, before signing a form on his record and then calling down for someone to come and collect him.

While we were waiting, I did try a couple of times to catch his eye, but over the years we’ve known one another I’ve learnt that Michael can be as stubborn as a mule when he wants to be – something which Michaela has definitely inherited – and it seems this was one of those times since he refused to even meet my eyes.

He was taken away a few minutes later without us having said anything else, and after checking that there’s no one else to see for the moment, I excused myself to go into the back room with his file to check out a couple of things. The file that we had in the infirmary was limited of course, none of the details were provided, but I just wanted to go over things again as far as I could…

Michael wanted to be in prison, of that much I was certain but the question was why…? He was a smart, intelligent guy with everything going for him. Why would he he want to be locked in prison? Why would he want to give up his freedom, his life? He had a great job, superb prospects, there wasn’t a company in town who wouldn’t have liked to have him on their books I was sure… Even with his brother being on death row…

That I supposed might be the one thing about all this – Michael being in Fox River might have enabled him to spend some additional time with Lincon in his last few months… Except of course that inmates on death row were kept pretty much separate, with the exception of the work crews. Maybe an exception would be made though considering…

But even as I theorised on this, I realized, there was no mention of Lincon in Michael’s file… The space about family was left strangely empty with the exception of a name I didn’t even recognise. I seemed to remember a mention of him having requested being held in a prison in the locality, for reasons of family, in his full file which I got a peek at the previous night. I guess maybe it was possible I just didn’t know this particular member, but the question still remained as to why he wouldn’t mention his own brother?

I knew that he and Lincon have had their differences at times, but I couldn’t ever see Michael refusing to acknowledge him, especially at a time when he probably needed him so much. It just didn’t seem right unless…

He didn’t want anyone to know they’re related…

As soon as I came up with the explanation, somehow I knew I was onto something. It was the only thing that makes sense, not that it did really… Because it didn’t… Then again, none of this made any sense. The only thing I knew for certain was that Michael had gotten caught deliberately. The suspicion which had risen in my mind last night had been further strengthened and Michael’s reaction had provided me with any proof I needed. Now all I had to do was work out what he was up to…

“Sara…Burrows is here for his weekly check up…” My reverie was interrupted rudely and, confronted by one of the two very people I was thinking of, it was all I could do to keep a straight face… “I’ll be right there…” I assured them as I placed the file to one side and picked myself up, straightening the stethoscope slung around my neck as I headed back into the main room.

“Hey Sara…” Lincon met me with a smile and a raise of his hand, every movement watched by the two wardens who stood one on either side of the bed. They backed up a little as I entered the room, allowing me space.

“Lincon…” I gave a slight nod as always and began to prepare the bits and pieces I needed. “How are you doing…?” Michael’s terse words yesterday made me look beyond his conviction for the first time in a long while, and I couldn’t help thinking of Michael’s caring older brother, even if he was always getting into trouble, who I used to know…

I’d never known him that well really, but it was enough that still took me a long time to accept his conviction and when I first came to Fox River these checkups were something I dreaded.

“Oh not so bad…well enough to die you know…” He offered me a wry smile, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I hated doing this! I was a doctor, yet I was expected to keep him healthy enough to be executed…it just didn’t seem right… I was sure he must have sensed my distress because one of his fingers touched mine, an ever so slight contact, nothing that would be noticed by his guard, but I was grateful non-the-less. “It’s okay…”

My eyes closed at his whispered words, wanting to say of course that it wasn’t okay, but I knew better than to do that and instead I pursed my lips, not trusting myself to speak for a few moments until I knew I have a hold of myself once more. “So, had any visitors this week…?”

He looked over in surprise. My tone was falsely cheerful, but the more surprising thing was that I’m speaking at all. I hadn’t done that much with him recently, sticking to business – it was easier that way…easier not to think about the fact that he was in effect waiting to die… “LJ came, but it’s not as though he wanted to…it’s part of his parole you know, coming to see me, to learn how not to do things…” Lincon responded after a moment, giving a shrug of his shoulders which I supposed was meant to indicate it didn’t bother him although I knew it did.

“A-and Michael…?”

There it was, a mention of the person I’d avoided speaking about to him ever since I arrived. At first he would try to get me into a conversation about him, but soon enough he picked up on the fact I wasn’t going to take him up on it and he gave up… And now I’d broken over a year of silence…

“I’m sure everything’s going well for him, but, he hasn’t been in the last month or so to be honest…” He glanced over to where the guards waited, checking whether they’d overhear before continuing in a lower tone. “Maybe you should give him a call…he still cares about you…I know he does…”

A part of me wished that he had stuck with the first comment. It gave me what I needed – Lincon didn’t know that Michael had been arrested never mind that he was there within the same four walls… As he went on though, I felt like I was drowning. He cared about me… Such simple words… How many times had I wanted to hear that, how many times had I repeated it to myself? I’d dreamt for so long of being told that, of contacting him, meeting him again… But wasn’t that simple anymore is though… “Well he has a funny way of showing it…” I responded tightly, closing back up as I busied myself with preparing his blood test.

“Sara…”

I swallowed and bit down on my lip, refusing to meet his eyes as my manner shifted to a more formal mode. “I’m sorry Lincon, I really need to get this done now, could we leave talking about this for another time…?” My request was terse and definite, and since he didn’t object the rest of it went pretty quickly.

Ten minutes later he walked out the door in chains, accompanied by his guards and I was left alone once more. Closing the door behind them, this time I pulled my wallet from my back pocket, tearing it open to retrieve two small passport-sized pictures inside. The edges of the paper were somewhat worn and one of the corners of the first was bent over but then that was to be expected, they’d been handled a lot. One was of Michaela of course, taken at her birthday the previous year, and despite everything I found I felt a little better just from seeing her beautiful smiling face. The other picture was older than the first though, the colours less vibrant and, as I traced the faces of the couple looking back at me, it was all I could do not to break down as I whispered to myself. “Oh Michael, what are you doing here…?”

His smiling face stared back at me silently and I could almost feel his arms around me once more as I close my eyes and remembered how it felt. I crossed my arms, hugging myself as I tried to imagine he was there with me and I remained like that for some time until Alex came to ask me if I was going to have lunch.

Pushing the photographs back into my wallet I nod, blinking and rubbing my eyes as though I were tired in an attempt to hide my weepiness. “I’ll be out in a minute…I’ll catch up with you…” I assured her with a smile, waiting until she closes the door behind me before I stood and headed over to the basin whch stood in one corner.

Splashing my face quickly, I took a few moments to freshen up and then checked my appearance in the mirror. My eyes still looked a bit red, but I was sure that I could pass that off as a lack of sleep. Taking a deep breath, I swallowed and nodded as I slipped out of the infirmary, glancing down the corridor which led to the main prison wing, telling myself silently. 'I’m going to find out what you’re up to Michael…'

“Sara, coming?” Alex apparently had waited for me a little way down the corridor and at the sound of her voice I forced myself to snap out of it as I hurried to join her.
My fics:

Dreams and Reality
Reality Revealed
Family Connections
When Love and Loss Collide
When Friendship and Love Combine - New!
If Only...
The Important Thing
Home for Christmas
I Knew Him Before (PB fic)
Love Always...
The First Time Around - New!
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KatnotKath
Roswell Fanatic
Posts: 1130
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 5:54 am
Location: UK
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Re: I knew him before (AU PBr Mi/Sa) Ch 4 14/05/08 AN 11/08/08

Post by KatnotKath »

Hey, I'm back...

Woman of Mystery - No, Michael wasn't very helpful was he, I don't think he's going to be much better here either... And I can't honestly promise you a happy ending, because I don't know where this is going in the slightest. This story is very much writing itself, although less willingly at the moment... I'm glad that you've enjoyed the story so far though.
Isabelle - Thanks for reading, even if you don't know the programme. Because it's AU I guess it's easier for you to read still than it would be if it was following cannon more closely. I'm glad you like Sara though, I always thought she was a very strong character, kinda like a lot of the other female characters I like too I guess.

Anyway, not sure with how good a chapter, but that's the way it goes I guess. I'm in two minds about this one. Part of me thinking that I'm moving too quickly, but that's just the way my muse keeps sending me... Tell me what you think?

Hope anyone reading will enjoy and sorry for the delay.

Kat



*Sara*

“So I saw Lincoln yesterday…” I commented under my breath to Michael as I prepared to take a bloodtest before I gave him his insulin. The previous day had left me with so much to think about, and I’d gone through this conversation in my head so many times.

If I was hoping to get a response though, I was to be sorely disappointed it seemed as he remained silent as ever.

I clenched my fist tightly as I counted to ten. Somehow this all seemed so much harder than it had been only the day before. This pretense of not knowing one another, of denying my feelings… It was so much harder after what Lincoln had said, after being told Michael felt the same way. And I wanted to believe it, more than anything, but then if it were true, I couldn’t help asking myself, why did he break it off with me, and why wouldn’t he speak to me now.

More than ever I was convinced that there was something else going on, and I felt a fresh determination to find out what as I looked down and spoke again with a carefully pointed comment. “Funny how he doesn’t seem to know you’re here…”

Again, silence so I pressed on. “In fact, he gave every impression of thinking you were still working, and I also noted there’s no mention of him in your file. You guys have a fight?”

His eyes flickered momentarily, and for a second I thought maybe I had done it but still he refused to engage with me despite best efforts to draw him out. I took a slow deep breath, reluctantly picking up the needle as I played for time now. Just a few more minutes, I told myself, if only I had a few more moments I might be able to get him to open up…

After taking a deep breath, I went on. “He’s really proud of you, you know…” I held his gaze for a moment, allowing my words to sink in before adding, in a colder tone. “I wonder what he’d think of you if he knew where you were now…”

I was openly trying to rile him, I’ll admit, and I guess he knew it because I got nothing…

“He gave up a lot so that you could have all your schooling and such you know… He always fought to try and make sure you had the best…” I continued to push him, picking on another subject which I always knew had been a sore one.

It did the trick! “You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Finally the response which I had been searching for came and the edge of my lips upturned in the beginning of a smile.

Michael’s fixed cold expression suddenly melted for a few moments into one of puzzlement, replaced quickly by understanding, and then back to the emotionless expression which I had been met with initially.

It wasn’t quick enough though, I had seen it all and I allowed myself another small smile as I shook my head silently and set the needle back down. Glancing to check that the guard was still far enough away, I then leant in closer with the cover of finding a vein in his arm and tightened the strap around his arm, my voice set low so as not to be overheard. “You forget, I know you Michael, and there’s a lot here that isn’t right…” I paused a moment and then leant over to whisper the last in his ear. “I’m going to work it out you know…”

Pulling back then, I finally reached for the needle and watched the blood slowly fill the vial.

“Sara…”

I looked down at him, waiting, and for a moment I actually believed that he might have been going to tell me.

He shook his head the mask of non emotion dropped now as he met my gaze. “There’s nothing to work out…I messed up didn’t I, I got this crazy idea in my head and I should have known from the start that it was stupid, but I didn’t…”

His voice was soft, caring, genuine, but there was this look in his eyes… If I didn’t know him so well I would have missed it I’m sure, but as it was I just knew he wasn’t telling the truth. My lips thinned, the smile on them vanishing instantly as I looked back at him my tone icy. “I don’t believe you!”

He faltered briefly but then it was back to silence and the rest of what needed to be done flew by in what seemed like a matter of moments. I didn’t try and reengage him, not completely trusting myself to speak, and as the prison officer waiting approached it was a sign that our time was at an end. “Done…?” He questioned, looking over at me.

I nodded quickly. “Yes, all done for today, thanks…” I schooled my expression carefully as I turned back to Michael and nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow Michael…”

He nodded and in a few short seconds it seemed was gone. For the moment, the infirmary was deserted. Any injuries sustained during the riot were relatively minor and there were no sick inmates either. In fact, the place was unusually quiet, which wasn’t necessasrily a good thing as it left me alone with my thoughts.

I have to admit I worked through the rest of the afternoon with only half my mind on what I was doing most of the time and as I would discover later, not without a number of mistakes in filing and writing up. Luckily I wasn’t treating anyone though.

Eventually, after rereading something for the umpteenth time, and still failing to fully register, I realized that this just wasn’t working. Instead, I pulled out Michael’s file from my drawer once more and spread the contents out over my desk, studying each piece of information in turn as I searched for something that would give me the answers I was seeking.

Of course, it came as little surprise when I came up empty handed. If there was something to find, surely the police would already have done that, and despite what he had said, I still believed that Michael was too clever for that.

No, I would have to go back to the actual scene and explore the situation for myself I realized as I noted down a couple of names of places and people.

Oh Michael…what were you doing…? I wondered silently to myself as I tried to come up with a reason as to why he would possibly want to be put in here. It certainly wasn’t to spend more time with Lincoln and other than that I failed to come up with anything which made even the slightest bit of sense.

“Sara…?” A knock on the door preceeded Alex’s appearance and I quickly shoved things back into the file before she entered. “You know it’s getting pretty late…”

I glanced over at the clock, suddenly realizing how long I had been here and nodded, smiling gratefully. “Oh wow, it really is… I have to be getting out of here, thanks” I quickly gathered my things, sticking the file I had been looking through back into my bag on impulse before heading out and locking up. Ten minutes later, I was on the road but truth be told my mind was still back at the prison.

They would be locking up the inmates around about now, and I could almost hear the sound of the closing gates as I pictured how he would look. He would hate it I was sure, and yet he had voluntarily put himself there, of that I was sure…but why…? What would make him do that, what meant so much that he would give up everything he had worked so hard to achieve…?

The question bugged me for a long time as I pulled into my parking spot in front of the apartment and made my way into the building. All the way up the stairs, and as I turned the key in the lock, I continued to think about it long and hard. Then, as I opened the door a small figure flew at me, wrapping her arms around my legs so tight and as I boosted my daughter up into my arms, swinging her around and peppering her face with kisses as we greeted one another, I realized the answer was simple.

What would make someone give up everything, what was the most important thing in most people’s lives – family… Despite the fact that he didn’t know Michael was even there, and all evidence which might point to the contrary, somehow this all related to Lincoln, it had to…but the question was how…?
My fics:

Dreams and Reality
Reality Revealed
Family Connections
When Love and Loss Collide
When Friendship and Love Combine - New!
If Only...
The Important Thing
Home for Christmas
I Knew Him Before (PB fic)
Love Always...
The First Time Around - New!
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KatnotKath
Roswell Fanatic
Posts: 1130
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 5:54 am
Location: UK
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Re: I knew him before (AU PBr Mi/Sa) Ch 5 12/10/08

Post by KatnotKath »

Isabelle - I think that they did trim the feedback yeah, and unfortunately I don't have a copy so I'll have to just say thanks to anyone who has responded, I did appreciate the feedback and hope you'll continue to enjoy the story. Glad you enojoyed the chapter though, thanks for reading.

As always, no promises about further updates to this, it's just coming out as it goes and currently I'm having some difficulty in remembering the first series, it's been a while since I saw it. But this chapter finally flowed, and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks again, love to hear your thoughts on this next chapter.

Kat


*Sara*

Why would Michael give up everything he had going for himself – Lincoln!

Now that the answer had occurred to me it seemed obvious but that didn’t get me any closer to finding out what he was doing and the subsequent questions continued to prey on my mind all throughout the evening as I fixed some dinner, bathed Michaela and even after I had put her to bed.

And my distracted mood didn’t go unnoticed. Michaela herself commented in fact. “Mommy, you k?” She questioned me as I ran my hands through her hair to make sure all the shampoo was gone. She had looked up at me with those big brown eyes which she gets from her father and it was all I could do not to burst into tears in front of her.

I made a point of correcting her grammer, adding a brief reassurance and excuse that I was just a little tired, but as small as my little girl might be she’s also quite alert and I’m not at all sure I fooled her and for the rest of the evening I did make a real effort to keep my mind away from the issue of Michael and his actions.

As soon as I was done with her bedtime story however, and my little angel was safely tucked up under her covers, the questions returned threefold.

I sat for a few moments, then rose to fix myself a coffee. Having a jolt of caffeine at this time of the evening probably wasn’t the best idea, but I doubt it would have much to do with the insomnia which was sure to follow that night.

Selecting one of a large, brightly coloured mug with ‘mommy’ emblazoned on the side (a present from Michaela curtesy of my dad), I filled it right to the top and paused briefly to enhale the energizing scent of the rich dark nectar inside. I cradelled the mug between my hands for a moment before taking a sip as I stood and considered my next move.

***

Less than a quarter of an hour saw me sat at the desk which sat at the back of my living room, my computer monitor lit up in front of me and papers scattered over every other spare space.

Lincoln’s case accounted for most of the articles I had gathered together – When he had first been arrested I had followed the case in great detail. I bought every newspaper I could think of and scoured the web pages every spare minute I had. Of course that hadn’t been much all said, but I had amassed quite a lot of material non-the-less. Over time of I had followed it less, coming to accept that maybe he wasn’t the person I had originally believed, but I had never disposed of the file I had put together and it was this which I had pulled out to take another look at.

What was I looking for? – the simple answer was I didn’t know… But if I had learnt anything from Michael in the past, it was that it was all in the details…

So whilst I didn’t know what I was looking for, I wanted to make sure I was as familiar as possible with the events I needed to consider. First Lincoln’s arrest, then his trial and subsequent conviction. It was for the latter that I used the computer, filling in the blanks which I was missing due to the declining lack of interest I had felt at the time.

Michael’s own crime was the next thing on the list as night drew in and the hour hand of the clock approached twelve and then left once more, taking with it the last few moments of the day. The level of my coffee cup fell, the dark liquid inside growing cold, but it passed unnoticed as I continued to work on into the twilight hours of the night.

A pad of lined paper sat at the side of me, the pen in my hand poised in such a manner and for such a time that one could suggest that it was a part of me. Every so often I would note something down of interest and slowly but surely I filled up first one sheet, then another, and a eventually a third.

The reported details of Michael’s attempted robbery varied little from that which had been in the official file it seemed, but I read the reports never-the-less, constantly on the look-out for something that might give a clue and my list of dutifully-taken notes continued to grow.

***

The first rays of the sun to peak through my blinds the following morning would have found a scene which was almost identical to that which they had left the previous night. A computer monitor flickered in the background, the only light in the room provided by a small lamp which was directed across the desk at which I sat with my head in one hand, wrinkles of frustration marring my brow.

That’s right, I had continued to work right through the night!

And where had it got me you might ask. The answer is nowhere!

Certainly I had a small pile of notes which lay at the side of me, and my knowledge of situation on the surface might have been unsurpassed, but it was in fact no closer than I had been previously to working out just what Michael was doing.

The realization was a crushing one and it was difficult to pretend otherwise.

“Mommy…?”

Fortunately in some ways, a scared small voice interrupted my thoughts and my focus immediately shifted to the more immediate needs of my daughter as she swiftly padded across the floor barefoot.

Rising quickly from my seat, I crossed the distance between us quickly and scooped her up with ease, asking what was wrong and adding that she should still be in bed.

It turned out she had experienced a bad dream and, having found that I wasn’t in bed as usual she was a little upset. It took a while to calm her down, and by the time she would have been likely to sleep there was little time left so instead I turned to fixing some breakfast for the two of us to enjoy together.

Most of the time when I’m working it’s a case of putting the food out and then leaving her eating it as Ana arrives and I exit so it was a nice change to be able to relax a little and listen to Michaela’s happy chattering as she waded through the porridge I put in front of her.

For myself of course a large coffee was a must, combined with a second and some egg and toast. By this time I was on caffeine-overload but I didn’t really notice and truth be told it was all that would get me through the day.

I had a slightly later start than usual, so there was time to tidy Michaela up after the food and dress her for the day. We even managed a few minutes of playtime to round things off and all things told, I was feeling a hundred times better than I had been when she woke by the time Anna arrived to look after my daughter.

“Alright my baby girl, you be good okay…I’ll be back later and you can tell me all about your day…” I gave her a kiss and then allowed her to return to her playing as I turned my attention towards my friend. “She woke a little early this morning so could probably do with a bit longer nap than usual in the afternoon…”

“I’m sure we can handle that… What time are you due back today?”

My hours could vary so that this was usually something she would check at some point before I left to make sure we were both on the same page so the question came as little surprise. I pointed towards a small schedule stuck up on the side of the fridge right next to one of Michaela’s latest pieces of artwork. “I finish around seven, so I should be back around half past. If you could get her ready for bed, sort out her bath and such, but if she doesn’t seem sleepy that’s okay. I have tomorrow off so we can both catch up and sleep late then if necessary…” I smiled at the thought.

“Okay, that’s fine, just so that I know… I’m sure we’re going to be fine so you have a good day…” Anna bent down to catch my daughter’s attention briefly. “Are you going to say bye to Mommy?”

“Bye Mommy.” The requested words were accompanied by a smile so far removed from the tears we had encountered at a similar time that I almost cried. “Bye baby…I’ll see you tonight and tomorrow we can do whatever you want so you put on your thinking cap okay?” And with these final words, I sailed out of the apartment on a high which seemed to last all the way to work.
My fics:

Dreams and Reality
Reality Revealed
Family Connections
When Love and Loss Collide
When Friendship and Love Combine - New!
If Only...
The Important Thing
Home for Christmas
I Knew Him Before (PB fic)
Love Always...
The First Time Around - New!
User avatar
KatnotKath
Roswell Fanatic
Posts: 1130
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 5:54 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: I knew him before (AU PBr Mi/Sa) Ch 6 21/09/09

Post by KatnotKath »

Hey everyone,

I don't know if anyone will still be reading this, but I finally had a bit more inspiration to write more and here's the result. Hope you enjoy it.

Kat


Chapter 8

The day passed surprisingly quickly with little to report. I had my usual few minutes with Michael as he came in for his insulin but the ward was busier than usual and there was no opportunity to speak to him alone.

What would I have said if I could? -- The truth is I don’t know…

But the simple answer is that the opportunity didn’t arise so possible actions really don’t matter.

I did try to get a little more information about him from Belik. He’d been asking to treat me for lunch for a couple of weeks now so I finally decided to accept.

Alex was amazed of course, and I did have some difficulty in shaking it off. But I felt that it would be worth all the awkward comments if only it shed some new light on the situation. Researching sterile articles could only take me so far, and if the person in the centre of it all wouldn’t talk then I had to get some information from somewhere else…

It was, I told myself a good idea… Theoretically anyway. In practice, I’ll acknowledge that it was probably a mistake.

Actually, make that definitely… Belik didn’t want to talk about Michael, any time I tried to give opportunities for him to talk about the inmates, he’d instead simply say that I didn’t need to worry, he could keep me safe from them! Had I asked him to do that?

It was a less than helpful lunch, but what could I say? I thanked him politely and went onto the rest of my shift, content in the knowledge that it wasn’t something I’d be repeating anytime soon.

One thing that I did gather was that Belik didn’t like Michael, but then he didn’t seem to like many people so I wasn’t really sure how much weight to put on that.

But I did gain one interesting bit of information through my lunchtime trip, albeit not from my dinner partner – as we came back into the prison I spotted the work crew gathering… And there was Michael AND Lincoln! So apparently his brother knew he was here now…

Filing away this bit of information, I decided to look into this further. There were plenty of reasons to call Lincoln in for a check-up, and I’ll admit, I decided to abuse my position and make one up.

***

“Dr Tancredi, you asked to see Burrows….”

I looked up from the papers I had been studying to find one of the officers with Lincoln and nodded. “That’s right, I seem to have some discrepancies in my last tests… I’d like to check a couple of things. It shouldn’t take more than an hour…”

As was usual with these check-ups, the officer cuffed Lincoln to the side of the bed, told me to call if I needed anyone, and left.

I waited a few minutes just for security and then dove right in. “So, I guess you now know why Michael’s not been visiting…”

I took him by surprise, that much was obvious from the look in his eyes. “Wh- h-“ He didn’t bother finishing and instead just nodded. His response of course confirmed what I already knew but I was pleased the hadn’t lied to me, not this time anyway…

“Did you know that yesterday?”

He shook his head. “No, I bumped into him last night at Church, I had no idea he was here!” Lincoln up at me. “Did you…?”

His question took me by surprise but I wasn’t about to lie. “Yeah, he’s been in here for his insulin.”

He nodded and swiftly moved on. “So I’m guessing my tests weren’t so unusual…?” He shifted on the bed to find a more comfortable position and the chain links between the cuffs clincked together loudly.

I looked over and set down the file I had been holding for effect. I was done pretending… “You’re in perfect health, but I needed to speak to you…” I paused to see if he would have any comment and, upon receiving only silence, continued.

“I know there’s something going on here Lincoln! Michael would never commit armed robbery, you know that and I know that!”

I paused again, running a hand through my hair and shaking my head from side to side in desperation. “It’s not like him, it’s not even in the same universe and he won’t speak to me about it.”

“You have to understand Sarah, he’s just looking out for you, trying to protect you, he-“

I interrupted him before he could finish. “Protect me from what?” I looked at him questioningly, a frown forming again on my face, soon to be replaced by a look of determination. Clearly he knew something more than he was telling me, and I was done accepting the excuses, I was done being fobbed off! There wass something very strange going on here and I wanted, no in fact I needed to get to the bottom of it!.

Lincoln looked torn. He opened his mouth as though to say something, but then closed it again swiftly as though changing his mind. Then he shook his head, his expression reluctant. “It’s nothing Sara, it’s really not important, please… You need to just-“

“What, need to walk away, need to forget about it… Forget about him…” I shook my head as I looked back at him. “Do you really think that I can do that Lincoln? Would I be talking to you like this if I could…?” As I talk I reached for my back pocket, retrieving a small slip of paper that’s been living there recently and placed it in front of him.

The picture of Michael and I, a picture of a day that was so simple, so straightforward, when things were so much less complicated and things could have turned out so different. My gaze rose to meet that of his and it was as though I was seeing a long lost friend for the first time in an age. “Lincoln, I love him! I’ve tried so hard to say that I don’t, to claim that I don’t care that he walked away, but I can’t hide the truth from myself… I miss him, I’ve missed him every day since the day he said he needed space and I’ll continue to do so every day for the rest of my life… I can try and move on, I can try to get on with my life, but the truth is that a part of me is always going to be right here…with him…”

As I look into his eyes I can see the mixed emotions which are fighting inside his mighty figure and I know it’s only a matter of time. The question, who’s going to crack first – him or me…? I’m hanging on by the slightest thread right now and I don’t know how much more I can take… I take a moment to collect myself and Lincoln takes advantage of my silence.

“Look Sara, don’t do this to yourself… Michael wouldn’t want it, you know that – he-“

“He walked away from me, he said he needed to concentrate on other things and there couldn’t be an ‘us’. So tell me Lincoln, if he didn’t want to be with me, why would he be bothered…”

“He cares about you Sara, I know right know that may seem difficult to believe but I want you to remember that...no matter what happens, no matter how things might look..."

Lincoln's voice is tight with emotion and his words puzzle me. All of a sudden all of the sneaky comments, the pressing questions and manipulative thoughts that I had intended to use fly from my mind, replaced instead by yet more questions and puzzles. I want to shoot him down, to say that he knows nothing about what he's talking about, but I can't... There's a genuine look in his eyes, a depth to his tone and an expression on his face, not to mention my previous knowledge of them... No two brothers could be closer... Despite efforts to distance themselves from one another, despite Michael's distaste of some things which Lincoln was involved in...Lincoln knew everything about Michael and I could see there was no doubt in his mind regarding this... "Wha--" I opened my mouth to query, to demand an explanation but I don't get that far...

"Dr Tancredi..."

I turned in surprise to find myself facing Officer Bellik who stood at the now open door. Whilst he addressed me, his gaze fixed quickly on Lincoln and there's no hiding the hostility in his eyes.

What had he heard..? I held my breath fearfully, waiting for any indication as to how long he had been listening...

Lincoln too had frozen and now as I risk a look in his direction I think I detect the slightest of nods. I force myself to breath and turn back to our new arrival. “Officer Bellik, I didn't see you there... An hour isn't up yet is it, I wasn't expecting you...”

“I thought it best to come and check on you, make sure everything was okay…” He nodded towards me and shot a look over at Linc. “Not causing any trouble for the Doc here are you Sink…?”

Lincoln’s eyes flickered at the use of his nickname but he’s smart enough not to react. “No Boss….”

Glancing between the two, I knew this was a limited opportunity to speak with Lincoln. Whilst there are plenty of reasons that I could give for needing to do a check-up and calling him in, there’s a limit to how often I could use them. I needed to get as much as I can from him on that occassion, and I couldn’t do that with Bellik standing right there… “Well that’s really thoughtful of you Brad” I used his first name, hoping to make him more agreeable as I continued. “But as you can see things are just fine, if running a little behind schedule…” Raising my hand I pointed to the clock in order to demonstrate a point. “I think I’m going to need him here until at least twenty past, there’s really no need for you to stay!”

“No trouble…” He smiled agreeably but made no attempt to leave so I knew I had to be firm.

“Really officer, there’s nothing you can do here right now. If anything you’re simply going to get in my way and cause an accident. It’s a waste of your time being here and I’m sure the warden wouldn’t want that… Not to mention I’m sure you have better things to be doing…” My tone was light enough to prevent ill feeling but the message got through.

“Oh, sure, of course… Well I’ll be back when you suggest to get him but if you’re ready before then okay just call okay Doc…?”

“Sure, thanks Brad, I’ll do that…”

For a moment I thought that he was going to delay leaving further, but then he nodded, turned towards the door and headed out. However, not until the door swung shut behind him did I allow myself to let out the breath I was holding. That was too close…

“Brad…?” Linc raised an eyebrow in question.

“Yeah…I figured it might help get rid of him, he’s been asking me out for ages…” I responded with a smile before picking up his folder as a cover for checking something out. I couldn’t let him distract me… “So, where were we…?”

“I guess you didn’t let on you knew us before…”

Of all the things I might have expected him to say, that wasn’t one of them and it took me by surprise once again. “Uh, no… You guess right…” I shrugged, not really sure what else to say. It wasn’t exactly a conscious decision to hide our previous contact, not really… I’m not even sure why I did it. Perhaps it was just that I felt really lost – unsure what to think – when Linc was brought in here, perhaps it was just I didn’t think it was that important – we didn’t speak that much afterall, and it wasn’t as though I was as close to him as I was Michael, not in ‘that’ way…

But that wasn’t what I had brought him here to discuss… “Linc… I need answers… I know there’s something very wrong here and I need to understand…” I refused to let him look away. “Please, help me…?”

“I can’t…” His tone was reluctant I would allow, but that stubborn look was back in his eye.

I shook my head, meeting his gaze with a matching look. “Fine, but I warned you, I gave you a chance, I’m going to find out what’s going on whether you guys like it or not.”
My fics:

Dreams and Reality
Reality Revealed
Family Connections
When Love and Loss Collide
When Friendship and Love Combine - New!
If Only...
The Important Thing
Home for Christmas
I Knew Him Before (PB fic)
Love Always...
The First Time Around - New!
User avatar
KatnotKath
Roswell Fanatic
Posts: 1130
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 5:54 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: I knew him before (AU PBr Mi/Sa) Ch 7 28/12/10 AN: 25/3/

Post by KatnotKath »

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to this, everything recently has been really crazy - although not work related for a change - my morgage and house finally came through, but now every time I turn around it seems as though there's something else that I need to be doing or money that need spending. It's not leaving much time for writing, but I am trying to MAKE time... No promises about early updates, but I'll try to keep plodding along. Apology done, I'll move along;

Isabelle - I think you posted fb previously too :( sorry to have lost it. I'm glad you're still enjoying the story though. You're right about Sara not giving much away of course, but you never know when that might change. She'd definitely be transferred if people knew about her personal involvement of course, but as we all know there's far more going on too. For now though, how about letting her enjoy some time with Michaela...in theory...

I hope anyone reading will enjoy the new chapter and as always I'd love to hear what you think.

Kat


Chapter 9

The following day, one I spent entirely with Michaela, was a nice change of pace. She insisted that we spend a good portion of the day in the park, and who was I to object… I got so little time with her in all honesty, I felt like I was missing out on so much, that I know I tended to spoil her somewhat…

“Mommy, ice cream!” She bounded away from the swings and towards the path, pointing eagerly towards the van which stood a little way off.

I shook my head at her, trying not to smile. “Ice cream what honey – that’s not a very nice way to phrase it you know… How about a certain little word…?”

“Pwettty Pwease….”

It was clear from her tone that she wasn’t being serious, but it’s too difficult to keep a stern face, she’s just so cute! “Alright then, come on…” I held out my hand towards her, clasping her small hand tightly in mine as he wandered over.

A few minutes later, Michaela was happily tucking into a chocolate ice and I allowed my mind to drift a little, it coming as little surprise as I returned to the questions which had haunted my week.

“Mommy?” A small tug on my leg brought me back to the present as I looked down with a smile. “Is that good…?”

“Yeah!” She grinned widely, displaying chocolate coated lips and teeth. I swear she used to get it everywhere…although beats me how…

“Can I pinch a little?” I offered her my best comical expression, gaining an explosion of laughter as she tightened her hold on her stick. “Mine!”

I pretended to pout. “Well that’s not very friendly, what did mommy say about sharing…?”

The look of determinatoin on her face wavered for a moment and I struggled not to laugh. “Come on, just a leetle….?”

Another giggle and then one hand droped whilst the other was stuck out quickly. I ducked my head to claim a mouthful, making a big deal of munching on it as she made quick work of the remaining ice cream. “Ummmmm, yummy! I think I might just have a bit more…” Without warning, I bent down and scooped her into my arms amidst screams of delight as I pretended to try and nibble on her ear and commented most serously. “Not bad….a little dry perhaps though…I wonder if I should add some sauce…?”

My daughter squealed, batting me away playfully before saying in a surprisingly reproachful tone. “Mommy silly!”

I raised an eyebrow in a mixture of surprise and amusement. “Oh yeah…?”

“Yeah!” She grinned and then flung herself back into my waiting arms for a moment before dashing back towards the play area. I ran after her quickly, laughing all the while as I watched her toddling around, clambering first onto the see saw and then one of the wooden animals with springs.

The middle of the day quickly seemed to fade away and all too soon it seemed I was calling Michaela to come on home. She claimed it was too early of course, objecting loudly but I remained firm as I lead her away from the area.

My resolve however, faded somewhat as we came to the exit and I noticed what was over the road… The bank! I blinked in surprise. In all that I had read through the papers and files, I had never put two and two together. I had never realised how close I was to where Michael had committed his crime, where he had put in motion his unknown plan…

“Mommy?” Kay tugged on my leg, realizing she no longer had my full attention, and I looked down instantly. “Hey babygirl… Did you have a nice time at the park…?” I question, although I have to admit it was still only half my attention I gave.

She nodded enthusiastically and I commented I was glad. After a moment’s more conversation, I bent to lift her into my arms, ignoring her protests and telling her to be good, as I moved to cross the road.

Another few minutes later, I was walking in the door of the building and looking around.

“Can I help you ma’am?” One of the tellers approached me from the side.

I blinked. “W-what, oh, no thank you, I was just…looking…” Realising that she was giving me a somewhat funny look, I shook my head mentally and forced myself to focus. “I mean, I heard a rumour that you had an armed robbery not so long ago… I had been considering opening an account but now I’m not certain…is my money going to be safe…?” The lie sprang easily to my lips without even conscious thought…

And there’s no missing the effect of my words. The teller blanched briefly and I could almost see her brain churning… “I can assure you our bank is perfectly safe ma’am… The attempted robbery was just that, attempted and the perpetrator was apprehended even before he left the building…” She paused a moment before motioning towards an older man walking around behind. “But I’m sure you could speak to my supervisor if you require any further reassurances…”

“Thank you, I think I would like that…” I nodded, putting on my best ‘rich and demanding’ front as she turned and walked away to address her boss.

Meanwhile, I had a thought and decided to take advantage of her absence. Glancing around quickly to check no one was looking my direction, I set Michaela down on the floor, complete with a warning to behave and stay close, and then surreptitiously slid my grandmother’s ring off it’s usual spot on my right hand to replace it on my left ring finger. It would be better if it actually looked like a wedding ring, but it would have to do for the purpose of my show.

“Ms…I’m sorry, I don’t believe I got your name?” The teller returned only seconds later, wide eyed and apologetic.

“It’s Mrs, Mrs Chase…” I supplied in an appropriately sharp tone, gaining another apologetic look as I dusted a pretend dust speck from my coat with my left hand, allowing her a nice glimpse of the substancial looking stone sitting there – in reality it was a cubic of zirconium, a present to my grandmother on one of her birthdays from her grandchildren – but we had chosen carefully and everyone always said it looked convincing.

Truth be told, when I thought about it later, I didn’t know why I did what I did, it just seemed…natural… It was strange, but the words just seemed to spring to my lips uncalled and as soon as I thought them they were out of my mouth. Fortunately I was wearing my best coat – my usual was at the cleaners – so I passed a little better for a spoilt rich married bitch. Still, I still wanted to make this as quick, and relatively uninvolved, as possible…

“Oh, of course Mrs Chase… Mr Matthews is a little tied up right at this moment in time, but perhaps we could arrange a meeting for tomorrow. I’m sure he can discuss your concerns and then, assuming everything is to your satisfaction we can arrange to set up your account…” The teller suggested.

From her increasingly nervous tone I gathered I was probably doing a good acting job. Even with a title of Doctor I would rarely be addressed so respectfully… Even so, tomorrow wouldn’t work for me and I decided to push it a little further if I could, “Well if you’re not interested in my money that’s just fine, I’m sure I can find plenty of other places my husband and I can use…”

The look I received almost made me rethink what I was doing; I really felt a little sorry for the poor girl. “Wh-what, oh no, I’m sure that’s not necessary Ma’am… If you’ll just let me speak to Mr Matthew’s again I’m sure we can sort something out…”

“Yes, I do hope so…” I tapped my foot in an impatient matter before gesturing towards my daughter. “I don’t have all day you know, I really should be taking my daughter back for her nap…”

“O-of course, I’ll be right back, thank you so much for your patience…”

And she was, right back that is… It seemed I really had put on a good show because the attitude of the supervisor was something between extreme graciousness and respect (no doubt because of the large amount of money he believed I had to invest) and that resent which only seems to register to anyone who can’t spend a thousand dollars in one go and not blink an eye. “Mrs Chase…?”

True to the role I was playing, I didn’t give any indication I picked up on the less than friendly side to the tone as I offered a hand as daintily as I knew how and nodded. “That’s right, you must be Mr Matthews…”

It was his turn to nod. “Yes, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting…I understand you have some concerns about the security in the bank…can we talk about this a bit, perhaps we could go into my office and I can try to clear those up…”

Lifting Michaela back into my arms, I allowed him to lead me around the back and into his office, taking the seat offered and settling my daughter on the floor at my side with a small teddy pulled from my bag before turning my attention back towards the talk at hand.

As would be expected, Mr Matthews gave me all the time I required, and only once I was ready did he address me once more. “So, Mrs Chase, would you like to tell me a little more about your concerns?”

“Well I heard you had an armed robbery a few months ago… I don’t know how you can possibly suggest the place is safe if someone can just walk in and stroll off with the money invested here…” I allowed my voice to raise in small increments as I continued. “I mean what sort of reassurance can you possibly offer me that it won’t happen again…?”

“Ma’am, please, I can assure you we have sufficient measures in place to prevent a repeat, however I’m not sure whether you are aware that even that first attempt was unsuccessful… The robber was apprehended by the police almost immediately, our alarm systems worked perfectly and our employees followed the procedures to the letter. Not a penny of our client’s money was lost, not to mention that even in the most unlikely event that something like that did happen, and the assailant was able to get out the door, there is also the fact that our insurance will cover you for any loss up to….”

I turned off briefly as he gave me a rundown on the ins and outs of the bank’s insurance scheme; taking advantage to check that Michaela was still happy. She certainly seemed quiet enough…

“…so I can assure you that any amount of money you wish to invest with us is perfectly safe Mrs Chase, perhaps we could run through some options, see if we have anything that you and your husband may be interested in…” He began to pull out some leaflets and forms, placing them in front of me hopefully. “If I could just get some initial details to help?”

Details, now that was the one thing that I couldn’t give for this imaginary wife I had created… Perhaps good sense would say that I should exit right then and there, but I wasn’t quite done with my fishing… “Oh of course Mr Matthews, it would be my pleasure…” I take the pen he is offering, hovering it right above the page as I look around. “You say that the guy didn’t even get out of the building…I imagine that is quite unusual… From the little I understand usually these kind of things are pretty quick – in and out, with a getaway right outside…” My tone was easy, almost uninterested, with enough of a smile to amost make him forget about his potential business deal…almost…

“Well with any other bank of course, but we have no waiting allowed outside which automatically makes it more difficult for that to work, not to mention highly sophisticated alarm systems and multiple surveillance cameras… We have numerous panic buttons situated around the building, not to mention the fact that each teller’s badge also has a rip cord…”

It was clear that this guy was pretty proud of the operation his company ran and I had to admit, it sounded pretty impressive. Far more so than most other banks, which was exactly why Michael should NOT have tried to rob this particular place…

“Not to mention the fact that we have full outside coverage, with automatic access for the police to check up on when necessary…”

“Mommy!” Michaela interrupted softly with a gentle tug to my leg. “Excuse me a moment…” I excused myself and turn turned towards her, hands outstretched. “Hey sweetie, you okay? Are you having fun playing with Bobo?”

She grinned and nodded, before indicating the leg of her stuffed toy. “He has booboo tho’”

I pretended to examine the leg “Oh yeah, maybe he’s just a little tired… A nap might help you know, if you just keep stroking it very gently, like ‘this’” I demonstrated on the toy in her hand before reaching out and scooping her up, bringing her to rest on my lap as I began to do the very same with my daughter too – it had been a busy day so far and it was getting way past her nap time. “That’s right, let’s all take a break okay, give him some time to recooperate…” I kept up a steady chatter in a low, comforting tone as I began to smooth her hair back gently. “It’s okay sweetie, it’s okay…”

He nodded swiftly, accepting the interruption and smiled as he watched us. Only when I was done did he continue. “As I said before Mrs Chase, this is one of the most secure facilities in the area, I can assure you that there is nowhere better to invest your money!” Turning back to the paperwork, he indicated the form once more. “If we could just take some initial details, it’ll make it a lot easier to pin down exactly which of our products would be the best for you…”

It was the end of the line. Either I could give phoney details; and from everything I had heard about the security here I had to think that, if I did that, they would be likely to turn it over to the police for further investigation; or alternatively I could try and get out of there as gracefully as possible.

Perhaps unsurprisingly I chose the latter as I pretended to just catch sight of the clock and drew my hand to my mouth. “Oh my goodness, is that really the time, I should have been home hours ago, I have a delivery of some furniture due and I simply can’t leave the help to deal with that you know… My husband insists that I oversee things like that; to make sure the right things have been delivered…” I began to look around. “Oh my, the men said they would be getting there at around three and it’s a quarter to now… Really, I must be going…”

As I pushed back my chair and began to rise, he immediately tried to stop me. “Of course I understand, but this really will only take a few moments Mrs Chase, and it will make everything else so much simpler…”

I shook my head in a slightly nervous manner, pushing back the forms firmly. “I’m really sorry Mr Matthews, you’ve been ever so patient and I will certainly come back… Perhaps there are some leaflets I could take to show my husband, I’m sure he will come in with me this weekend and we can get all this sorted out…” I paused a moment and offered him a smile. “I am really sorry to have put you to all this trouble, I can see I was wrong about the security here - you obviously run a tight ship and I apologise for having suggested anything else…

It seemed to do the trick, a moment later he was eating out of my hands once more. “Not at all, if you’re concerned of course you have to ask the questions. As to leaflets. of course, let me see what I can find…”

Mere minutes later found me outside, having made excuses once again, complete with a bag full of leaflets about high interest accounts and investment services. After glancing once up and down the road I headed around the corner to my car, disgarded the leaflets there ready for disposal and after a moment of consideration, exchanged it for a headscarf I had lying around.

“Mommy, we going home…me hungry!”

Michaela’s complaints made me rethink my original plan and I looked around, glancing up and down the road swiftly before picking out a likely spot. “Alright, how about we get some dinner okay? How does that sound baby?”

“YAY!” She grinned and immediately began to chatter about all the things that she would like. As always, a big slab of chocolate cake was right at the top of the list. I shook my head. “First you have to have something proper – maybe a sandwich, or a pie?”

“Burger and fries?”

I can’t help but chuckle although I try to remain firm. “No, I think we’re going to go for something a bit healthier today sweetie…

In the end the café I had chosen gave a nice alternative. They were doing freshly made pizza with salad and Michaela went crazy over the idea of a calzone – far too filling for her to eat all of it herself of course, but plenty for the two of us to share.

And once she had eaten her fill and finished her OJ, we went back outside for me to do a little bit more snooping.

It didn’t take long for me to gather all the information I wanted and soon enough we were heading home for the evening, a sleeping angel lying on my back-seat, my suspiscions confirmed – Michael wanted to be arrested that day…
My fics:

Dreams and Reality
Reality Revealed
Family Connections
When Love and Loss Collide
When Friendship and Love Combine - New!
If Only...
The Important Thing
Home for Christmas
I Knew Him Before (PB fic)
Love Always...
The First Time Around - New!
User avatar
KatnotKath
Roswell Fanatic
Posts: 1130
Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 5:54 am
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: I knew him before (AU PBr Mi/Sa) Ch 9 18/05/11

Post by KatnotKath »

Hey everyone,

Yet again I know it's been far longer than it should be between updates. Please believe me when I say this isn't deliberate but work has taken off again with a bang in recent months and with that, combined with parents visits to help with the house and (after one of them ended up on crutches) visits home as well, I just don't seem to have found a minute for writing. This is bad thing indeed! I have now got an actual desk however, and I'm hoping that dedicated writing space will encourage me to take advantage of it.

When I eventually did get ready to update, I found out the board was down and I have to admit that my muse took a complete holiday. However now the board is back - thanks so much Angel! - I'm happy to be able to put this up and I hope there will be more to come.

All that said, I just can't make any promises except for the fact that I haven't forgotten this or any other fic. In fact, many a day I feel really quite guilty that I haven't updated. This partcular updated started off as a single chapter and has morphed into something much bigger. Therfore, I'm going to cut it off here and post, hopefully with the next chapter to follow soon. This is really little more than filler, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. As always I'd love to hear what you think.

Kat


Isabelle - thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you're enjoing the story. I can honestly say I didn't know I was going to write that last until it came out on my page. Such is writing sometimes I guess. Oh, and the answer to your question about nickname is yes, Kay is sometimes used for MIchaela. Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Chapter 10

My plans for the evening included a little more snooping – albeit in electronic form – together with some serious consideration of the facts gathered and of course a good dose of playing with my daughter.

As it happened, none of that happened. In fact, I had barely returned home, set Michaela down on the sofa and put the kettle on when my plans for the evening took a serious hit.

Flipping on the remote on my way back to the kitchenette, I was half way towards a fast boiling kettle as the news commentary began to fill the room. I wasn’t really listening of course, it was more background noise than anything…until…

Two little words – Fox River!

Instantly my attention was caught and I headed back to get a better look. The scenes made for terrible viewing and the kettle must have been whistling for at least five minutes before I could actually tear myself away from the screen.

In fact, it was only because Micheala had woken, complaining about the noise, that I finally returned to the cooker and switched off the light. The whistle died and I drifted back through, eager to see if I had missed anything.

“Mommy, it’s burding!”

I turned in surprise and realised, much to my horror, that my daughter was paying full attention to the screen. This was not a sight for her to see! My hand was on the remote in a second, turning to the picture blank as I lifted her up and asked if she wanted a drink.

For the next hour, I busied us both with eating and playing, trying not to think about the screen which I so badly wanted to switch on.

Not until my princess was safely tucked up in bed, did I dare tune back into the news of the riot. Things had been developing fast it seemed, and the prisoners were by now on the verge of being taken down. Everything was going to be fine, I told myself… Everything was going to be fine…

Even so, I couldn’t stop myself from picking up a phone and dialing a well used number. The personnel on the other end assured me that everything was under control, even as I saw a different type of smoke burst from the barred openings. And, almost as suddenly as it had begun, it was over.

Of course there was still plenty of clean-up to be done, in more ways than one. Most prisoners would be on lockdown for the foreseeable future, at least until the ringleaders had been dealt with I was sure, but there were injuries on both sides, and many of them.

Which was how I found myself parking up at Fox River at close to midnight that evening lifting Michaela in my arms, wrapping a warm blanket around her as I headed swiftly towards the door.

Despite her tiredness, having been fast asleep before we set off, she was determined to be set down but I was just as determined not to let her go and we were at an inpass, her squirming, whilst I held tight as I passed through the gates and into the complex.

The door swung open immediately and before I even had a chance to take a step I was met on the inside by Alex. "Sara, I'm really sorry. I know it’s late and it’s even your day off bu“

"it's not exactly a normal situation..." I finished before she had a chance to and nodded. "And besides, it’s not like I didn’t offer… Like I said on the phone, it’s fine, really…” Truth be told, I had been on pins since I first saw the article, I needed to be here, I needed to see…

“Anty Lec” Michaela’s tired eyes brightened at the sight of a familiar figure and she waved a small hand towards my friend.

“Hey Kay….do you mind if I borrow your mommy a while?” Alex responded, waving back briefly and shooting me an apologetic look.

Michaela giggled and I shook my head to indicate there was no need for apology. “Seriously Alex, it’s fine! The only thing is that I’ll need to put her down first." I gestured towards my daughter who was currently clinging to my neck once more as she looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, her early want for freedom gone at least currently. For the moment she was happy enough to be there and look of course but it was only going to be a matter of time before she started to fuss and demand to be put down as usual as she fought the idea of going back to sleep.

Never let it be said that my daughter welcomed sleep in any way shape or form, especially not if she thinks there is something more interesting going on around her… And interesting was an understatement…

The very last thing I would want was for her to be running around in such situations though and it was important to me to ensure she was safely occupied before I thought about anything else.

It wasn’t the first time she had come with me of course, but the few other occasions were quite different. There was a certain tension in everyone around; quite understandable considering everything, and it only got worse the deeper down the corridor we moved.

“Alex, Sara…” An officer fell into step next to us and it was clear that he was to be our escort. An escort to the infirmary…? I looked over at Alex briefly who simply nodded.

It soon became clear that it was worse than I had ever imagined… When I picked up the phone to call and see if I could help I was worried, panicked even about what might be happening, but never had I dreamt of the sight which met me as we passed through the main door into the infirmary and I looked over at the door which led into the main bay.

Through the glass window there were more people there than I could ever remember having had before. Of course one could argue that a large number of the inmates had brought their injuries upon themselves, perhaps even that all of them have after the riot but I'm sure that a number of them were minding their own business and anyway, none of that really mattered. I was a doctor and doctors treat the injured – it’s what they did!

Alex gestured towards the second door which let off this area. "No trouble, I'm only sorry that I had to interrupt your time with her...” I smiled, even if I had offered, she wasn’t going let it lie there. As a friend as well as a colleague she was fully aware of how I usually wished I could spend more time with Michaela. I loved my work, and my father was correct – I wouldn’t be truly happy doing anything else – but that didn’t mean I didn’t wish I could spend more time with my daughter. Work was important but she was my life!

“Do you want to put her in the office, we can handle everyone out here for another few minutes..." Alex offered

“Thanks…” I nodded gratefully and moved towards the door. I knew there was a good lock on the door to keep her safe and sound and everyone would keep popping in and out to check on her too. My daughter would be in absolutely no danger… Perhaps not ideal, but it was the best option available. I boosted her up my hip, kissing her forehead gently. "Come on sweetie, let's put you down to nap."

I pushed open the door with my back to enter a reasonable sized room filled with filing cabinets, a desk and a sofa set on one side. I grabbed a sweatshirt I must have left there on a previous day from the back of the door and made my way over to the sofa to lay Michaela carefully down. Instantly she seemed to realise what was happening though and there was no missing her response.

"NO Mommy!!" Her arms tightened their hold on my neck in a way which suggested she was never going to let go. “Mommy stay! Mommy promised!”

One look at her was enough to bring tears to my eyes. Leaving her is hard enough at the best of moments and this was far from the best… “Oh baby, I know, I know…” I reached up, attempting to gently peel her arms away, pressing them down by her sides as I continued to lean over her. "I'm sorry Kay. I know I promised that we'd have the whole day together, and we did… But now it’s late and you need to sleep… Something important has come up and mommy needs to see to it…" My words seemed to make little impact and I knew to her they probably seemed unfair. So what if it were late, she was awake and I was leaving… Her cries broke my heart.

Smoothing her hair with my hand, I looked down at her, silently pleading that she not continue to fuss. Despite my previous intentions, more than anything I wanted to give in, to simply pick her up and take her out of there. Basically I had wanted to see that Michael was fine and that was as far as my brain had been working as I made the offer. Now that I was there however, I could hardly forget that a good number of the inmates currently awaiting treatment behind the wall opposite would be the same ones who were involved in the recent riot. A riot which had left at least one guard dead and lots of others injured.

Usually I try to think about the fact that we're supposed to be helping them, turning their lives around. I try to focus on what they could do as opposed to what they have done but the truth is that at this moment in time I couldn’t help but remember the thieves, murderers and rapists that many of them were. Afterall, this was Fox River, a maximum security prison, you had to do some pretty serious things to end up here...

"Sara..." Alex's voice came from the direction of the door, calling my attention back to the present. "You okay...?"

I tore my eyes away from Michaela’s small figure with some amount of reluctance and looked over apologetically. "Yeah, just distracted...sorry..." My hand continued to rest on my daughter’s head, as I stroked her in a soothing manner, whispering gentle reassurances.

Alex nodded knowingly. "Uhuh...." I could feel her eyes burning into my skull.

"Really though Alex, I'm fine..." I turned to look back at her briefly once more with a shake of my head.

She smiled softly. "You know it's natural to be concerned..."

I couldn’t help but smile at her knowing comment... "You know me well don't you...?" I gave another wry smile and shrugged in an apologetic manner... "Sorry..."

"Honestly, you don't have any reason to be. You don't need to be sorry...it's only natural, girl you wouldn't be human, never mind a mother, if knowing what happened here today didn't concern you..."

"I know, but it's not as though there won't be guards everywhere I look...” Afterall, I think I had seem more of them on my way to the infirmary that day than I had in my whole time there put together - well, perhaps that was a slight exaggeration, but only slight! I had every reason to believe I'd be completely safe... And yet…

"Yes... But guards won't make up for the fact that Kay is here..." My friend shook her head and then smiled. "She's your treasure, she means everything to you and that's the way it should be..." Her hand rested on my shoulder and, registering the fact that she had crossed the room to stand next to me, I looked up towards her.

She was right of course, but it didn’t make it any easier…

“Mommy…” Kay tugged on my hand, drawing my attention back towards her as the time continues to tick by and I looked down towards her, a reassuring smile fixed on my face.

“Hey baby, it’s okay, I’m just gonna be next door, okay? If you need me all you need to do is call, and Alex and I will come in regularly to check on you… “Come on sweetheart, it’s okay, you rest now, just sleep a little more. It’s late baby and I know you’re tired…”

I think she must have been picking up the tension which surrounded everything there because it took another few minutes for me to calm her sufficiently to leave her. Leaning over, I pulled the sweatshirt up as far as possible, covering her like one would with a blanket and dipping my head I pressed my lips to her head.

I allowed myself another few moments, drawing in a deep breath as I watched her and summoned my strength. Finally, I rose from my perch, smoothing her hair one last time before heading for the door. “Okay, ready…”

I followed Alex through into the main infirmary and instantly was assaulted by a myriad of voices and cries.
My fics:

Dreams and Reality
Reality Revealed
Family Connections
When Love and Loss Collide
When Friendship and Love Combine - New!
If Only...
The Important Thing
Home for Christmas
I Knew Him Before (PB fic)
Love Always...
The First Time Around - New!
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KatnotKath
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Joined: Wed May 21, 2003 5:54 am
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Re: I knew him before (AU PBr Mi/Sa) Ch 10 24/10/11

Post by KatnotKath »

Hey everyone,

I know I've been missing in action for some time and whilst I know you may not be interested, I feel as though I should at least try to give an explanation. The last couple of years have been difficult, in more ways than one. A unexpected death in my family last year was pretty much the straw that broke the camels back so to speak, and I went without any writing at all for over six months making previous writer's block seem like nothing.

All that said though, I'm slowly trying to get back on top of things, and writing here is a big part of that. I'm not going to promise to update every week, or anything like that, but I do hope to stay out of dead and buried! I'd love to hear what you think of the new part.

Thanks for reading :)

Kat


Chapter 11

It was chaos – there was no other way to put it!

Usually the infirmary was a place of relative peace and calm in a place that was anything but. Fox River was full of robbers, rapists and murderers (with of course a couple of lesser charges thrown in for good measure) but in the infirmary none of that mattered and there was one thing they had in common – they needed help!

That day everything that was normal was gone though. Everyone seemed to be trying to make themselves heard over the clamour and for every patient that seemed to be exhausted and nearly passed out, there were others that were straining against their cuffs, often with a warden on their arm to keep control.

Not only that, but out of the corner of my eye I could see a covered bed – no prizes for guessing why…

I had seen dead bodies before; I was a doctor, of course I had! But this wasn’t a guy who had had a heart attack, or died on the operating table and I knew it. had never seen anything so… I tried to hide the shiver which ran through my spine as Alex looked back and grabbed my arm, pulling me over to one of the occupied beds.

***

“Sara, could you help over here…?” Alex called across the room, motioning towards the bed beside her.

I took a final look at the sutures I had just finished on the hand of the inmate in front of me and nodded swiftly as I placed a pad of cushioning over the wound and then began to bandage it. “Okay, you’re done. I’ll need to check it in a couple of days but other than that don’t try anything strenuous and don’t touch the bandage…” With those words of warning, I left him to the attention of one of the wardens, stripping my bloody gloves off and discarding them into a nearby bin as I made my way over to Alex.

“Okay, what do we have here…?” I questioned swiftly as I grabbed a fresh pair of gloves from the box she offered..

“Looks like someone walked into a window…” Alex’s sarcasic tone made no effort to hide her feelings towards those who had planned and encouraged the riot. “Yowee, that looks painful man…” She fingered the cut around one particularly nasty shard of glass, prompting a scowl from the inmate in question.

“No, this red stuff tastes just like ketchup don’t you know…” He shot back and strained against his restraints causing the chains to rattle threateningly against the metal frame of the bed. I didn’t even recognise the guy, which perhaps was a good thing considering….

“Hey Chase, shut it!”

A familiar voice cut him down and I turned sharply in recognition. “Lincon!” I gasped before freezing.

“Hey Sara, are you okay?” The touch of Alex’s hand on my shoulder caused me to shift sharply as I swung back towards her. Had she heard me? Had she realised he was anything other than another inmate? The possibility filled me with terror.

I hadn’t done anything wrong, there was no reason to announce the fact that I had known him previously. Or that was what I tried to tell myself. The truth of course was far more complicated…

“SINK, keep it down!” Belik’s voice boomed across the room causing me to jump once more. The fortunate part of it was that it made Alex forget what she had been doing previously and we were soon deep into the task of extracting what seemed like hundreds of glass shards from this guy’s body.

My progress was slow but steady and soon Alex left me to deal with another of the incoming patients. “Okay, that’s it done on that arm, let’s see about the other side…” I dropped another shard into the waiting kidney dish and moved around the bed slowly.

I could tell that Chase, as I now knew his name was, was in a lot of pain. His earlier disturbance, I suspected, had been as much to distract himself as to save face in front of others he knew. He was, I now felt, pretty harmless and had probably simply been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time that day… As I moved he winced and I apologised softly for any discomfort. “I know this hurts, but it’ll be better soon…” I promised as I prepared to address the other side.

“Sara…” Lincoln spoke from behind me once more, his tone low and quiet, excluding anyone else in the room.

“I can’t talk right now…” I don’t know why, but my response came across too sharp and I checked myself quickly. Michael was the one I was angry at, not Lincon… He hadn’t known what Michael was planning, I knew that...

Nor would he have been to blame for the riot – I knew that… He was just an easy target…too easy…

“Hey Dr…do you think I could get any pain relief here…?” Chase’s voice butted into my thoughts and I could tell from looking at him he wasn’t just being a pain. His earlier smart-guy attitude was completely gone, replaced by something which I could only suggest was pain and even, possibly, fear…

I forced my attention back to my patient, assuring him that things would be fine as I administered a dose of morphine to help with the pain. “That should ease it, but let me know if it doesn’t…”

He nodded grimly and grimaced as the needle pierced his skin. “Thanks doc…”

Nodding swiftly, I turned back to the task at hand. He really had made a mess of himself, in some way or other and it was going to be a real job to make sure everything was clean and wouldn’t get infected.

“Sara…” Linc’s his reached my ears once more but was soon but any attempt to talk was prevented once again as Alex approached.

‘Later’ I turned and mouthed towards him before looking back to greet my friend and colleague. “Hey, coming to help? – You left me with one heck of a job here you know…” I teased her as she came close.

Alex responded with a bright smile and shake of her head. “Well you did say you wanted to get stuck in…” She returned in banter before turning the conversation in slightly different direction. “How about you take a rest for a few minutes…” She suggested with a smile.

Although her tone was easy and manner relaxed (or as much as it could be considering the situation), I instantly picked up on the unsaid meaning and it was almost more than I could do to finish the fragment I was currently working on. “Oh, sure, that sounds like a good idea…” My response came out more faltering than I intended, unable to ease the unnecessary worry which pressed on my mind.

“It’s okay…” Alex breathed in my ear as she reached to take the tweezers and take over the job.

I released the required implement into her hand with a silent nod as I rose from my seat. Had I thought about it then, I probably would have noticed his eyes watching me, but I was more interested in what was waiting outside the door.

One of the officers called out to me, asking a question, but my focus was tunnel-like now as I approached the door. My hand was on the handle and turning the knob before I even realised it and a moment later the door swung open to reveal the figure of my daughter, her hand held tightly by one of the other medical staff as she tried to run towards me. “MOMMY!”

She tugged once more at the hand which was holding her back and after closing the door behind me tight, I nodded to indicate that it was alright. A second later she was flying at me and into my arms. I lifted and spun as I caught her, whispering soothing reassurances as I stroked her hair back. “Hey, it’s okay, mommy’s here, mommy’s h-“

The words died in my throat as the door through which I had come opened once more and an inmate exited accompanied by an officer. My first impulse was to move to one side, getting out of their way. As I recognised who the figures were however, my next was to wish I could sink into the floor…

Standing there, looking at Michaela and I and looking appropriately stunned, was Lincon…
My fics:

Dreams and Reality
Reality Revealed
Family Connections
When Love and Loss Collide
When Friendship and Love Combine - New!
If Only...
The Important Thing
Home for Christmas
I Knew Him Before (PB fic)
Love Always...
The First Time Around - New!
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