Fan-fic: Interference chapter 8/?
Author: leikvin
Category: AU
Characters: Michael Scofield, Sara Tancredi, Lincoln Burrows, Veronica Donovan, Nika Volek, Nurse Katie, Charles Westmoreland, Paul Kellerman, Frank Tancredi
Genres: Romance, drama, angst
Pairing: Michael/Sara
Warnings: Work in progress
Word count: 3072
Summary: Michael is in the airport on his way to Colorado on a business trip. A business trip he's not too happy about. When he gets into a sticky situation in the departure lounge, he's rescued by Sara, and the two are immediately attracted to each other. But things get complicated once they arrive at the destination. Will they have a chance?
"OK, Jen. This will be the last one today. Tell me what's going through your mind right now."
It was Saturday morning, and Sara was standing with her first pupil of the day at the top of the beginner’s run. The slope wasn't very steep, but it was obvious that it appeared impossibly dangerous for the blond woman trying to find the courage to plunge forward.
"I'll fall. I can't do it".
"OK...On a scale from 0 to 100 - how sure are you about it this time?"
The pupil was a psychologist from Ohio who'd never gotten over her fear of skiing. When she had met up with Sara this morning, she'd flat-out admitted that she was simply too scared to enjoy the sport and that she would much prefer to go swimming while the rest of her family skied. But since they were getting sick of her always chickening out, she finally had agreed to take a few lessons with Sara, to try to overcome her fear.
They had spent the first hour on the bunny hill, practicing the turns from higher and higher starting points on the slope, and Sara had soon realized that Jen’s stumbling block was more about anxiety than about technical skills. Jen was a quick learner, and actually had quite good control of her skis. Sara had found it rather amusing - and a bit paradoxical - that she was teaching a psychologist about fear and anxiety.
Fortunately the psychologist had very good insight into her own limitations, and the two women had agreed to approach the matter as a skiing phobia. So they had continued with the exposure training, systematically increasing the challenges, while simultaneously registering Jen's thoughts, emotions and physical reactions all along the way. Jen had done really well, and Sara was thrilled to be able to make use of the psychotherapeutic skills she had learned during her psychiatric rotation. They had now, finally, taken the huge step to mount the lift to the top of the beginners run, which was located quite a bit higher in the hilly country compared to the children's bunny hill.
"Hmm...about 60…I guess."
"That's good, Jen!! Compared to the 90 percent you felt when we started today, that's a great improvement."
"Yeah...I suppose it is." Jen was slowly nodding her head, not appearing completely convinced about the so called "improvement".
The two women were standing next to each other, facing the valley, staring down the long, slick slope. Jen was wearing a stylish red ski jacket with matching pants, while Sara was dressed in her usual green and black Instructor outfit. They both looked great, and more than a few of the male skiers had been checking them out when passing by. Jen was much too preoccupied to notice, though.
"And what are you feeling in your body?"
"Oh....I still got it all: palpitations - dizziness - sweating - trembling." Despite her massive fear, Jen couldn't help but smile at herself. She was very well aware that these were all classical symptoms of anxiety. "I'm so pathetic," she moaned, rolling her eyes at herself.
"No, you're not. You're doing just fine, Jen." Sara switched her focus back on the slope in front of them. "OK....So we'll do what we did down in the children's run: We'll take it easy, and chop up the slope into little segments - one piece at a time."
Jen only replied with a groan. Sara put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're doing great, Jen! And remember - this is the last one today!"
The pupil responded with a snort. "I can't believe I'm actually paying for this torture!"
Sara laughed out loud. "Well...now that you mention it...." she retorted, with a smile. "It is weird what people pay for these days!" Trying once more, Sara continued; "OK...I have a feeling you're stalling here, missy. You see the group of people standing down there by the trees?" Jen nodded.
"That's the first part. That's not too bad, is it?"
"No... But I can still see all the way down to bottom, and that totally freaks me out!" Fortunately she didn't look as panicked as she tried to portray.
"Well, don't look further down. You just need to focus on that spot first. We take this step by step, and right now I only want you to think about getting down to that spot. You think you can do that?"
"Hmm..." Even though she kept up a humorous facade, it was evident that the shrink was fighting an inner battle with herself. "Just to that spot...? What if I can't get any further than there? Will you call for a chopper to come pick me up?"
Sara couldn't suppress another chuckle. She just had to love the straightforward woman, who - even though she was almost scared to death - still managed to muster some self-irony about her own helplessness. "Well... maybe not a chopper. But I promise that I'll call for a snowmobile if you need it!"
Jen sent Sara a mischievous glance. "How come I get the feeling that you have no intention of calling anyone?"
"I will if you need it, Jen. Cross my heart. But just take it nice and slow, with big snowplow turns, then you'll be just fine," she reminded her, referring to the turning technique which all the beginners had to learn as the first step.
"Hmph...." Jen scoffed with a little smile. She looked back over her shoulder, once again establishing that it would be too long and too exhausting to go back to the lift again. She simply had to ski down. "Seems there's no way back. OK...let's get it over with," she replied, inhaled a deep breath, and to Sara's relief, finally took off. Sara was pleased that it didn't take more convincing this time. Jen was sliding downwards, slow and steady, still maintaining very good control. She did well. Sara stood still for a while, watching her pupil, before she took off herself.
It happened every time. No matter how tired or uninspired she felt. No matter how many worries she'd managed to pick up during one of her busy days at the clinic. As soon as she got out onto the slopes, plunging out from the top of the hill, feeling the rush of the cool air hitting her as she floated downhill - it always made her feel like she could leave everything else behind, at least for a few hours. Skiing was such a kick, allowing her to finally just live in the present moment, reveling in the amazing feeling of freedom and pure happiness.
She could be exhausted before she began her instructor duties, wanting to stay home in bed under her duvet, or maybe curling up on the couch with a book. Sometimes it even felt like she had to force herself out of the house, overriding all of her own good excuses for staying home. But after two years of trial and error, she'd learned that nothing could make her relax and lighten her mood like a day on the mountain. So even if she didn't feel anything like skiing and just wanted to hide away, she'd eventually realized that this was the one thing that could make her feel better. Charles actually had been the one pointing it out to her. Not that he went skiing himself with her, but he had very quickly noticed what miracles a day of skiing could do to Sara.
Today was no exception. Sara felt alive again, and was thrilled that the magic of skiing was evidently rubbing off even onto Jen. Bit by bit, the two women slowly made their way down the slope. By the end of the lesson Sara had been ecstatic to see the charming psychologist sliding down the slope, with a new-found proficiency and confidence. "You did so good, Jen. I'm proud of you!"
"You know, Sara. I'm proud of me too." Jen was beaming. "I'd never thought that I would get this far in just a few hours. Thank you!"
"My pleasure! I'll see you in a week then?"
"Hmm, do I want to torture myself with another lesson?” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Well, if my phobia patients can do it, then I guess I can too. See you then!" she cried exuberantly, before striding off.
After having said goodbye to her pupil, Sara slowly made her way over to the meeting point, next to the ski lift, where she usually met up with her clients. She had only one more lesson on the program for the day. The place was swarming with people - most of them in line to get on the lift, while others were just hanging around or waiting for someone coming down one of the slopes. It was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures just above the freezing point, so the cafes and restaurants had opened their outside areas. Lots of people were sitting at the tables enjoying the sun while drinking a beer or warming up with some hot chocolate.
After having taken off her skis, she picked up the note showing her schedule for the day to check out the name of her last client.
"Mr....." her heart dropped the second she read the name. No way! He hadn't signed up for a lesson! What an ambush! She instantly felt the panic starting to rise, before she'd even called out his name.
"...Scofield?" she finally called out, quickly scanning the crowd of skiers, who were all waiting patiently for their instructor to come pick them up.
"Over here." She recognized the deep, velvet voice from somewhere behind her.
Now it was Sara's turn to experience the anxiety symptoms she'd just reviewed with Jen; her heart seemed to have lost all control, beating away like she'd just run a 100 meter sprint, and her hands became moist and trembling within just a few seconds. Attempting to create some control, she tried to recall some of the anxiety reduction techniques she'd just covered with Jen, but her mind seemed to have gone blank.
Calm down, Sara! You can do this! One step at a time. But it didn't help much; the palpitations, sweating and trembling just seemed to increase.
Feeling caught completely off guard, she finally found the courage to turn around to face him. After her little chat with Katie the other day, she'd definitely softened up on the possibility of meeting up with him again. But this was too soon. Much too soon! And it shouldn't have been like this! She'd planned for her to be in charge this time. Prepared - on top of the situation - knowing what to say and do. But once again he was the one in control by sneaking up on her like this.
Before she had come to her senses, Michael was striding up to her, seeking eye contact with her. Very aware of the crowd surrounding them, he quickly gestured for her to follow him. And since she still hadn't figured out how to react to the situation, she - to her own annoyance - found herself passively following him. Despite her anxiety-induced trance she still couldn't help notice how perfect - too perfect! - he looked in his deep blue windbreaker and matching pair of bib trousers.
He guided her over to a quiet spot, a few yards away, where he finally turned around and looked at her earnestly. He desperately tried to read her facial expression to get an idea of her reaction to his presence, but so far he could only see shock...and maybe some panic…or was it anger?
"Erh....hi," he finally mumbled, to her great surprise sounding rather insecure.
She braced herself and looked into his eyes, finding his steel blue pools studying her pleadingly. Once again she was struck by the intensity of his gaze, being drawn into some kind of magic eye lock - taking control of her. What is it with this man? Focus Sara! Pulling up all of her strength she managed to break the spell.
"Hi," she eventually replied, and sent him skeptical glance.
"So this is were you hide out?!" he tentatively said. The tension was palpable.
"Erm....yeah...." Apparently not well enough! She cleared her throat before she went on. "Correct me if I'm wrong, - but I don't recall me agreeing to that 'deal' of yours about skiing and dinner." She still couldn't believe he was actually here.
He swallowed hard. "I know.... And I'm sorry to intrude on you like this." For some reason Michael was looking even more uncomfortable than herself. Maybe he wasn't so much in charge after all?
"So what are we doing here?" she hesitantly replied, anxious to find out what he was up to.
"Erm...I'm not really sure," he replied with a disarming, nervous smile. "Listen...Sara...I'm not going to push you about the ski lesson if you're not OK with it, but I was hoping that you would at least give me a chance to talk to you....just for a few minutes..?" Michael's eyes were entreating her to hear him out.
Considering all the trouble he'd made to come here, she figured that this was the least she could do. But every fiber in her body was screaming a big fat NOOO. To her own surprise she finally heard herself reply; "OK....I'm listening." Where did that come from? She defensively crossed her arms over her chest, sending him an aloof glance.
"You see... I didn't explain myself very well the other day, and I'm afraid you might have gotten the wrong impression of me."
Oh, I got a pretty clear impression! she silently thought - her instincts still telling herself to get the hell away from him. But something seemed to hold her back.
Relieved that she hadn't left already, he quickly went on; "After the incident in the airport, I have no problems understanding how you thought that I was together with that woman - that I was some kind of fraud.” He looked down guiltily before his piercing blue gaze met hers once again. “And unfortunately it seemed like the scene in the coffee shop only verified that impression. But it's not like that, Sara. Not at all." Their eyes once again locked for a few seconds, and in the depths of his steel blue pools she could read nothing but honesty and an earnest plea to be believed. Mesmerized by the sincerity in his voice, she had to muster all of her strength to tear her eyes away from his riveting gaze.
"I really wasn't lying when I told you that I'm not with her." He was not at all sure that he would be able to make her believe him, but having gone through the situation multiple times in his head during the last couple of days, he'd decided to put all his cards out on the table. Before he went on he cleared his voice, obviously searching for the right words.
"I..erh... met this woman three months ago at a private dinner party and ended up going out on a couple of dates with her." It felt weird to be talking to Sara about his dating life, but there was no other way. "What she didn't tell me is that she was married."
Sara's eyes quickly shot back to him. He hadn't known about Charles? Knowing Nika it could definitely be true...
"So when after a couple of weeks a friend of mine told me about her husband, I immediately broke it off. I was actually quite angry with her for lying to me. I cut it off and thought that would be the end of it."
OK, Scofield...one point for you! She had to admit that it pleased her to hear that Nika had been dumped.
"But two weeks ago my firm got an offer for a huge building project. I don't know how much I can say about this, but the bottom line is that she's the client, and she insists on having me as the manager of the project. I tried to sign it over to one of my colleagues, but she's been very clear that we'll lose the contract if I refuse." He hesitated a moment before he went on, biting his lip. "And since it's a really big project, I simply cannot do that to my firm. So I'm sort of stuck in this situation, which I'm not very happy about."
Sara inspected him thoroughly as he spoke - still not saying anything herself. But her mind was in high gear. Like a few days ago he sounded both tired and troubled, and she actually found herself starting to feel sorry for him. It was indeed a sticky situation and it seemed that he had relentlessly become trapped in Mrs. Volek's sharp polished claws.
Michael went on: "To be honest; I'm not really sure what she's up to. I suspect that she wants us to be together again, but that is not going to happen. So I'm still trying to find a way to handle it. And then I met you in the airport, and I would really like to get to know you some more. And then you witnessed Nika kissing me, and now I'm afraid that I've lost my chances with you...And I know that this must sound like a total cock-and-bull story, but I swear it's the truth...And it kills me to know that you might never believe me..... I know you must think I'm rather pathetic by now, since here I am, rambling away like this, but I really needed to at least try clear this up before giving up on you....And now I'll stop the rambling..." He sent her a rather sheepish smile.
Sara stared at him wordlessly for several moments, taking it all in. "So you're saying that she might be offering your firm this contract…in order to get into your pants....?" It was a preposterous story, but her dealings with Nika up to this point sadly made it rather feasible.
"Maybe...probably...I don't know." There was a slight hint of desperation in his voice by now.
Studying him thoroughly she went on; "So how do you expect me to respond to this?"
"Don't say anything. Just tell me if you'll still do the ski lesson with me..?" he replied, eyeing a faint glimpse of hope.
"OK...." Taking a deep breath she finally replied; "You'd better go get your skies then, Scofield." She was rewarded with a breathtaking smile, but before he had time to move, she raised her hand to stop him.
"We'll do the ski lesson. And then we'll take it from there. No promises."
His eyes sparkled in the sunlight. "Deal."
tbc...
So..... looks like we're going skiing in the next chapter. :)
But I need some love first, chicas! So please write a few words in the little box down below. Writing is so much more fun, when I know you're with me!!