FIC: Not So Simple
I feel I need to warn everyone about a pairing I have in here, nothing graphic, it is just obvious they are together it is Jane and a 'cough' older man... This is for the prompt over at foxriver library 'What If?" and I chose what if Aldo came back for Christinas funeral and took Lincoln with him but not Micheal because he wasn't old enough? This is a bit further ahead than that. . .
GOVERNOR TANCREDI AND DAUGHTER 'COMPLETELY ESTRANGED'
A source in the Governors office has confirmed that things have become so strained between Governor Frank Tancredi and his daughter Sara that there has been no contact between them for over a year.
Governor Tancredi, best known for recently helping bring down the organisation known as 'The Company' is believed to have stopped speaking to his daughter after she started living with her boyfriend two years ago in what was then only her first year of college.
Sara, now 20, is prursuing a career in medicine at Northwestern University and has disagreed publicly with her father's extreme right wing views in the past, which is believed to be a contributing factor in the estrangement.
A official spokesman for the Governor declined to comment earlier today.
Sara lowered the newspaper and looked at her boyfriend across the table who was struggling to hide a smile "Well he will be irritated about that little leak in election year" She commented with a sigh.
She watched as a look of concern passed over his usually stoic features "What will he try to do to save himself?" Micheal asked her.
Sara shrugged "I will get a call in the next 24 hours telling me to appear in public with him or he will stop paying my college tuition"
Micheal looked shocked "Wouldn't the media notice that?" He asked.
Sara smiled "He wont cut me off entirely but he can certainly make my life a lot more difficult" She replied.
Micheal frowned "So you still have to play the dutiful daughter for a little while longer"
"As do you" Micheal looked worried as Sara continued "If we appear together with him, that at least gives the impression that he approves of us which means that article will be completely void" She smiled at him sadly "He wont like it and neither will you but it is good for him politically and like it or not he is going to have to get used to you because you are going to be in my life for a very long time"
One week later Jane Phillips smoothed down her hair as she waited for her entrance. Officially she was Governor Tancredi's date for the Policemans Charity Ball as a further sign of the Governors good faith towards the AntiCompany, unofficially however it was a further step towards voter acceptance before they announced that they were in fact a item.
Frank paced impatiently as he waited for his daughter and her boyfriend who were getting ready in a room down the hall. "What is his name again?" He asked his closest aide Bruce Bennett.
"Micheal Scofield" Bruce replied patiently as the door opened down the hall and Jane got her first look at Frank's daughter.
Sara was beautiful, she was wearing a lime green off the shoulder dress with her long red curls swept back by just a couple of clips and beside her, Sara's boyfriend looked especially handsome in a dark blue suit with a navy blue shirt and a green tie matching Sara's dress. Jane could already tell this attractive young couple were going to be the talk of the ball tonight.
When Frank realised Sara was ready he turned away without even greeting her and signalled to the Master of Ceremonies that they were ready to go as Sara rolled her eyes. Once they had all settled into the head table Micheal and Sara started chatting to Mr and Mrs Goldsmith, a lovely older couple who were big financial supporters of the Governor's campaign.
"Are you related to the Scofields from Geneva who founded the famous banks?" Mrs Goldsmith asked politely.
Micheal laughed helplessly "I have no idea! It is my mothers name and I never had a chance to ask her about our descendants"
"What about your father?" Mr Goldsmith asked.
Both Micheal and Sara winced "Not a topic you bring up in polite company" Sara told him with a smile as Micheal threw a quick look in Jane's direction.
Jane frowned as the young couple got up for the first dance, there were far too many similarities to be a coincidence, "Unusual young man" Frank commented gruffly to Bruce.
"Be nice" Jane repremanded "I think it is possible that he is Aldo Burrows younger son"
Frank was surprised "The one they have been searching for the past couple of months?"
"I think so" Jane replied "It all fits and it makes sense that we can't find him if he changed his name"
"We should be out there looking for Micheal" Lincoln said pacing "I want to be sure he is okay"
"Do you have any suggestions?" Aldo asked "Because it is like looking for a needle in a haystack at the moment"
"I know where to look" Jane said walking into the room with Bruce Bennett.
"What?!" Both Burrows men turned towards her "Where?!" "How?!" They both asked at the same time.
Jane opened the A4 envelope she was holding and pulled out a large photo from the Charity Ball the night before "Is this him?" She asked handing Lincoln the photo.
Lincoln's eyes widened "That is him alright" He replied as he handed the photo to his father "What on earth was he doing at a ball?" He asked.
"He is involved with Frank's daughter" Jane replied her eyes dancing.
"The Governor probably wouldn't like Micheal dating his daughter very much then?" Aldo asked once he got over his shock.
Jane sighed "Frank and Sara did not say one word to each other all night"
"Or Sara's whole life for that matter" Bruce cut in "They have just always worked around each other"
"Where can we find him?" Lincoln asked.
"Sara goes to Northwestern and Micheal goes to Loyola" Bruce told them "They live together in a one room apartment in a town called New Hope which is about halfway in between the two"
"There is no Burrows enrolled at Loyola" Aldo said authoritively "We checked all the local colleges"
Jane nodded "That is why you couldn't find him" She told them "Micheal changed his name from Burrows to Scofield"
Aldo's eyes widened "Christina" He whispered
Now that they knew where to find him, Aldo and Lincoln treated Micheal as they would any unknown situation. They staked out the area first before putting the apartment under constant surveillance as they argued on how to approach him. Finally two days after they had found the apartment they decided to just go and knock on the door and then just go with the flow.
Micheal and Sara lived in a apartment upstairs from a fruit and vegetable shop. Aldo and Lincoln had seen them come and go a couple of times now and had concluded that there were two entrances to the apartment, one from somewhere inside the shop and the other was a set of stairs in the back parking lot that lead to a sliding door and it was this door that Aldo and Lincoln decided to try.
They walked up the stairs and knocked on the door which was open about two inches but they couldn't see inside as there was a heavy curtain in the way. Father and son looked at each other nervously as they heard someone approaching the door, they knew it could only be Micheal as Sara was still not home.
Aldo caught his breath as the curtain opened and he saw his younger son up close for the first time. He had seen Micheal at Christina's funeral over ten years ago but had purposely kept his distance hoping that it would make it easier to walk away. He certainly couldn't take his nine year old son on the run with him as well as his fifteen year old, that had been difficult enough.
Micheal completely froze when he saw who was waiting for him, then his face hardened "Whatever you have to say, I am not interested" He said to them in a soft but firm voice "Go away both of you" He told them closing the curtain.
Linxcoln stared at the door increduously for a moment before deciding that the conversation wasn't over. He put his hand on the inside of the door and tried to push it open "Micheal! we need to t-" Lincoln cut himself off as he again tried to push the door which wouldn't budge "The door wont work" He muttered before turning to his father "What do we do now?" He asked.
Aldo sighed and looked at the door "We wait"
Lincoln raised his eyebrows "This is Micheal" He reminded his father "One of the most patient people on earth"
Aldo shrugged "Maybe he will want to talk after he has time to think"
Micheal sighed and closed his textbook, it looked like they weren't going anywhere so he was going to have to have it out with them. It might help him feel better anyway.
Micheal pressed the lever on the metal contraption that held the door in place. Then he stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Micheal looked at them both his eyes hard "Talk quickly" He commanded.
Aldo sighed "You know you were too young to come with us and we were hoping you wouldn't hold it against us"
Micheal was irritated "So why didn't you come and get me when I was old enough?" He asked.
Aldo and Lincoln looked at each other as he asked the one thing they had never really considered. "We kept trying to find you but they moved you around a lot" Lincoln defended quickly.
"I was damaged goods by that stage" Micheal explained with distaste.
"What do you mean - " Aldo started but Lincoln interrupted him "You are not damaged your life is damn well perfect" He said aggressively to his brother.
Micheal raised a eyebrow "What do you know about my 'perfect' life Lincoln?" He asked angrily.
Aldo put his hand on Lincoln's arm to stop him from digging a even deeper hole "What do you mean by damaged?" He asked Micheal calmly.
Micheal looked from one to the other and realized he knew one foolproof way to get rid of them "I mean this" He said and bent over and took his left shoe off.
Aldo and Lincoln both gasped at the sight of where his two little toes used to be "Courtesy of a foster father on Pershing Avenue when I was eleven" He told them standing up again "Go, Away, Now" Micheal emphasised each word before walking back into his apartment and locking the door behind him.
Aldo and Lincoln looked at each other for a long moment before simultaneously turning and starting down the stairs "We can still fix this" Aldo said confidently the success of fighting the Company behind them "We just need a little more time and effort"
Needless to say, it had been quite obvious to everyone that attended the ball that the Governor and his daughter were not on speaking terms and his reelection chances were looking more difficult as his opponent emphasised 'family values'.
So it was decided as a show of unity that for the first week of the summer holidays, Micheal and Sara would be staying in the Governors mansion. This worked in well for Aldo and LIncoln since they were still trying to get organised to go back out and live in the real world and so were still staying in the Mansion.
The first night started off badly when Sara discovered the sleeping arrangements "You invited Micheal and I, that denotes some form of acceptance" She told her father defiantly over dinner.
"That was not my idea" Frank replied shooting Aldo a glare "I am sure you can survive without him for one week"
"I get nightmares without him" Sara said through gritted teeth.
Frank waved that problem aside "Your teddy bear is still here, Pooky"
"It is Sooti" Micheal corrected mildly as he sipped his soup.
Frank shot him a deadly glare as he continued "I will not have a couple of schoolkids sleeping together under my roof!"
Over the next four days Aldo and Lincoln did almost anything they could to have a proper conversation with Micheal but were frustrated by lack of opportunity. Micheal had already started his summer job and was still studying continuously and any spare moment he did have was spent with Sara.
"Do you think Mom would be proud of the way you have handled this?" Lincoln asked bluntly one afternoon.
Micheal looked up from Sara's medical textbook that he was looking through "Do you think she is proud of the way you have acted all these years?" He responded without missing a beat before turning a page.
Lincoln couldn't think of a response to that as Micheal answered his question "There are things I could do better, I could rise up and be the better man but I think she would be proud of some of the things I havn't done" Micheal closed his book got up and left the room leaving Aldo and Lincoln with even more to think about.
Later that night Aldo smiled as he went past Micheal's open door, it seemed Micheal and Sara had not spent a night apart since they got here. Aldo didn't mind they seemed to be a good match for one another and they were both old enough and mature enough not to do anything stupid.
Aldo headed towards the kitchen not realizing he was going past Sara's door until he saw it was a little bit open as well. He paused when he heard their quiet voices and started to listen in hoping for a little more insight into Micheal.
"You don't talk about her much" Sara's voice said quietly.
"That is funny considering how much I think of her" Micheal responded.
"She would be proud of you"
"You think so?"
"Yes" Sara chuckled "How could she not"
"I don't know" Micheal sighed "I know I should be trying with Aldo and Lincoln but. . . the self worth and abandonment issues. . . it is just too raw"
"This is never going to be a easy fix Micheal, it may never be fixed but I know your mother would be very proud of you because only you can go through the things you have been through and still care so much about other people"
Aldo walked away from the door feeling sick. It had only just occurred to him what Micheal had really been through and he only now realised how bad their relationship really was. Maybe Sara was right maybe it could never be fixed.