The Liberty...
Title: The Liberty
Pairing: Michael/Sara
Word Count: approx. 1930
Genre: Fluff, Family, Romance
Summary: Sometimes Sara can’t believe it all happened…
This is how I would've liked to see the last scene of Prison Break play out. (Written for the PBHiatus_fic’s Ends and Means challenge.)
**I want to thank the wonderful Lizzie (LizParker6) for being my beta. She has been so patience and helpful throughout this whole process with me. I couldn’t have done this with out her!!! She's the best!!!!
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The Liberty
Sometimes Sara can’t believe it all happened, that they were actually able to escape from not just one or two, but three maximum security prisons. The fact that her family was still safe and together amazed her at times.
Today she and little Mikey had spent the morning having fun, simply shopping and casually walking the rich and colorful streets of Lorento, a small yet vibrant town on the Baja coast. Sara loved everything about this place: the beautiful scenery, friendly locals and the feeling of home she felt wherever she went. She looked at her son, as he carelessly skipped down the road and she couldn’t help but smile for what felt like the millionth time since moving to this place.
“Mommy, I can see Uncle Linc!!” her son exclaimed as he pulled on her hand to run faster.
True enough, in the distance she could see the distinct figures of three men standing in the marina parking lot. The two of them were just on time - meeting up with Lincoln, Sucre and Alex - then going together to see Michael.
“Slow down, sweetie. Mommy can’t run very well in these flip-flops,” Sara cheerfully replied. She understood how excited he was to see his uncle, but the boy was a ball of energy and he sometimes needed to be settled down by his parents.
Mikey slowed his pace down a little, but as soon as his Uncle called out his name he ran straight into his arms; causing Sara to give up her attempts to tame her excited baby boy and letting go of her sons hand in surrender. Lincoln was easily able to catch the boy, lifting him in the air and spinning him around a couple times before bringing him against his side.
“You’ve grown so much since I’ve last seen you, Mikey! What is your mother feeding you?” Lincoln asked, as he smiled at Sara who was making her way over to join the group.
Mikey giggled and said, “Uncle Linc, you just saw me the other day! I haven’t changed at all!”
Sara smiled at the two of them as she gave Sucre and Alex warm hugs. Even though they hadn’t known each other for more than a mere five years, these people became her family and two of her closest of friends over time. Even with all the bad memories that came with the past, she was always happy to see them. Both Alex and Sucre had families and lives back in the states, but she knew that whenever she would call them, for whatever reason, they would drop what they were doing and be there.
“Did you two have a good trip? I hope the girls didn’t give you a hard time for coming and visiting.” Sara jokingly asked. She had met Maricruz and Felicia many times over the past couple of years and knew that both of her friends couldn’t have found better partners to spend the rest of their lives with.
“It was a short and smooth trip, like always,” Alex smiled. “So where’s this boat Michael can’t stop talking about?” He asked as he looked towards the harbor. He had talked to Michael many times on the phone over the last couple of months and the man seemed to mention the boat and their future sea getaways just about every time.
“I saw it once when he first bought the thing; needless to say it looked like a piece of rusted junk at the time,” Sara reported as her eyes swept over the marina, “ but I don’t see any boat that looks like that piece of scrapheap around here.”
“Hey! Don’t bad mouth the boat Michael and I have been slaving away at for months,” Lincoln defended loudly, feigning outrage at his sister-in-law. “I think it looks great!”
Sucre laughed as he took a step towards Sara, putting his arm around her, “I don’t mean to pick sides here or anything, but I’ve seen the pictures Michael has emailed me and it wasn’t looking pretty merely weeks ago. In fact, it looked like that boat couldn’t stay over water for more than a minute.”
“Whatever haters,” Lincoln said scornfully, giving them all an evil look. “Come on Mikey, let’s go see your daddy and his new boat.”
The group made their way towards a pier lying straight ahead of them, with only about ten boats parked on each side. At the end of the dock, Sara’s sight was caught by a beautiful white boat with blue trim. She couldn’t help but admire it, although there was no way it was the same boat Michael had purchased eight months ago. However, truth be told, Sara would be happy with whatever shape or size or color the boat would look, only as long as they all would get to spend some quality time together. It was simple - If it made her family happy, it made her happy too!
Suddenly, Michael’s head popped out from the cabin of exactly that beautiful boat, peacefully swaying on the end of the dock. He was dressed like a true sailor in his dark blue shorts and crisp white polo shirt. His smile was infectious and she couldn’t help but laugh when he turned to look at them. If it were possible, his smile got even bigger when he jumped off the side of the boat to welcome his family.
“Daddy!” screamed Mikey enthusiastically, waving his tiny hand towards his father.
“Hey my big boy!” Michael greeted his son just as enthusiastically, picking him up and out of Lincoln’s arms. “I’ve missed you today! What do you think of the new boat, Mikey?”
“It’s great Daddy!” Mikey replied zestfully, looking at every inch of the boat with his wide eyes.
Michael then turned to the rest of the group, asking them just as excitedly as he did Mikey, “Well…what do you think?”
“It’s stunning!!!” Sara breathed in astonishment as she walked up to Michael and gave him a kiss. “It looks completely different then when you first bought it! This must have been a lot of work for you! It’s just wonderful, Michael, wonderful!!!”
Sucre and Alex both expressed their agreements and gave him an appreciative pat on the back. Michael just smiled coyly, putting his arm around Sara and squeezing his family close to him.
“Wait a minute…what about me?” Lincoln asked with a pout. “I was here busting my butt off just as much as Michael was!”
Everyone laughed and warm-heartedly gave Lincoln the same recognition that they gave Michael. Suddenly Mikey taped on his father’s chest and waited until his attention was totally focused back on him.
“Daddy, but why does the boat say…Lib-er-ty on the side?” Mikey asked, sounding out each syllable separately. Michael and Sara looked at each other with a knowing smile, then down at their son, beaming with pride at how fast he was learning to read. For being barely four years old, he was learning very quickly and becoming more like his father everyday.
“It’s the boats name. Liberty means freedom to act without being constrained by necessity,” Michael explained patiently to the little boy, yet the grown-ups understood the deeper meaning hiding behind the simple definition.
“What’s nis-ess-itee?” the little boy asked innocently with an adorably puzzled look on his face.
“It’s not important, because there is none,” Michael responded sweetly to Mikey. “We’re free to take her out wherever we’d like and do whatever we want.” Michael looked around at his family with a big smile on his face and sighed deeply. “Now why don’t we take her out for a little excursion?”
Mikey squealed in excitement as his father took him onboard. Immediately he wanted to be put down so he could explore the deck thoroughly with his hands.
Next Lincoln climbed on board and said, “Sounds good with me…just try not to make this too much of an adventure. I’ve had enough to last me a lifetime.” Michael turned to his brother as Linc threw him a teasing smile and wink.
From the corner of his eye Michael noticed Sara was about to climb the steps of the boat and immediately walked over to assist her. He gave her his most charming smile as he held his hand out for her take his. Even though he’s only been fixing this particular boat for about eight months, he has been waiting five years to present her with the ocean getaway of their dreams.
Sara smiled when she saw Michael's hand in front of her and looked up at him with a coy smile he knew all too well. The afternoon sunlight perfectly accentuated Michael’s cheekbones and played across his forehead and nose. Everyday Sara found that Michael’s sweet gestures and beautiful smiles made her fall in love with him all over again.
“Well thank you.” Sara said in a flirty voice after being easily pulled up onto the boat and into Michael’s strong arms.
“You’re welcome.” Michael replied in a deep tone, playing along with Sara.
They both couldn’t help the wishful look that passed between them and just as Michael leaned in to give Sara a kiss they were interrupted.
“Get a room, you two! This is supposed to be a family outing not a second honeymoon!” Lincoln called from the other side of the boat.
***
30 minutes later, The Liberty was cruising towards the horizon, the Baja cost slowly sinking from their sight. Sara laid comfortably in one of the large lounge chairs on deck and quietly looked around at her favorite people in the world. She could lightly hear Lincoln and Sucre as they adamantly bantered over sports teams and sterled the boat to its unspecified location in the distance. A few feet away, she could also see Alex, Michael and Mikey while they played a quiet game of Go Fish at the table. They all seemed to be concentrating hard on the task at hand and Sara couldn’t help but smile at the fact that some things would never change.
Slowly, she turned and moved towards the back of the boat to enjoy the beautiful view. She leaned against the railing and sighed deeply. A couple minutes later, she heard someone approaching from behind her, yet she didn’t turn around to look at whom it was. Now, there was no reason to worry that someone was there to harm her or anyone of her family anymore.
“So what do you think?” Michael asked as he hugged her from behind. His hands sneaked around her waist, pressing the warmth of his body against her back protectively, his chin rest on her shoulder. “I said I’d give you the ocean as your front-yard. Now it’s the front-yard, the back-yard and everywhere in between.”
Sara chuckled lightly as Michael buried his face into Sara’s hair and kissed her from her collarbone to the nape of her neck. At this, Sara closed her eyes and immersed herself in the peaceful sensations that surrounded her. The seagulls’ croaks were melting in with the soft hum of the waves gusting against the sides of the boat. The sun was gently warming Sara’s face while the heat of Michael’s kisses warmed her heart. After a few tranquil minutes together, Michael turned her around in his arms and kissed her once again, this time passionately tasting her lips.
After a couple blissful moments, Sara pulled back from the kiss and lovingly looked into Michael's sparkling eyes. With a content smile on her face she whispered softly, “This is perfect… everything is just perfect.”
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I hope you all enjoy this story. It's my first fanfic and I'd love to hear what you though. Thanks!