PHRONESIS | michael scofield

06.

06. ♞ THE RANKS OF THE EMPLOYED

"MOVE IT ALONG, SWEETHEART." The guard Phoebe had learned to be named Bradley Bellick said as he roughly pushed her along and into the courtyard after her shower. As soon as she stepped out into the yard, she could hear a group of inmates shouting and cheering loudly as two inmates fought in the center of the chaos. Curious, Phoebe cautiously approached the group and squeezed through, gasping when she saw Michael hunched over and other inmates hitting at him with thick metal pipes.

"Hey! Get away from him!" Phoebe pleaded loudly and pushed the inmates aside, running towards Michael and jumping onto one of the men attacking him. Phoebe and the man both collapsed as she put all her weight into knocking him over, more inmates hitting at Michael before Phoebe stood up and stood in front of Michael protectively. I wanna see them hit a girl, she thought. She didn't know what kind of adrenaline rush had given her the kind of confidence and bravery to stand up to dangerous men in a prison, but she was thankful for it. "Back off!" Phoebe shouted, arms open wide as if to protect Michael. The men bounced around her but didn't dare to touch Phoebe, specially after she had leaned down next to Michael, "Mike? Michael." Phoebe held the bloody and bruised Michael in her arms, trying to keep him steady and safe until a group of guards rushed over.

"Step away from him, Baldwin." A guard demanded. Phoebe slowly released her grip on Michael, who hadn't said a word to her at all, and watched as the guards picked him up and carried him away.

__

"When was your last period?" Sara Tancredi questioned and jotted down some notes in her folder as Phoebe swallowed a handful of vitamins with a cocked brow.

"I just started this morning." Phoebe admitted and sighed. "You do keep girl products in here, right?" She asked. Sara nodded.

"Just please try to not be sexually active, specially not during your fertile days. Prison is no place for a pregnant woman. You have two males as your cell mates, correct?" Sara asked, to which Phoebe cringed at the thought.

"Yep. Fernando Sucre and Michael Scofield. Don't worry, I won't woohoo with anyone, much less my cell mates." Phoebe joked. Sara cocked a brow, chuckling at her comment.

"You seem pretty close with Michael." Sara pointed out. It was now Phoebe's turn to lift a brow.

"So? He's like a brother to me. He's my best friend. I've never thought about dating him." Phoebe lied, although Sara would never know that. Sara scoffed slightly.

"It's a bit obvious you've got feelings for him and him for you." Sara said. "I see the way you care for him, stick around him. Don't think I don't notice the way that you two look at each other." Sara stated with a raised brow and a small smirk. Phoebe sighed.

"I don't like him. Really. We don't look at each other any special way. I just care about him like a brother. He has his eyes on someone else." Phoebe voiced suggestively and cocked a brow, smirking towards Sara, but really on the inside she was burning with jealousy. Stick to the plan, Bee.

"Yeah, whatever you say, Baldwin." Sara said with a scoff and a smile, a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she turned around and smiled at the thought.

—

PHOEBE SAT IN THE CELL WITH Michael and Sucre, laying on the floor as violent cramps were kicking in and the pain killers she had taken earlier did nothing at all to soothe them.

"Scofield, Baldwin," A guard called out as he stood outside the trio's cell. This caught said trio's attention. "I don't know what you did, but Abruzzi wants you two. You just joined the ranks of the employed." The guard said, handing Michael two ID cards. Phoebe cocked an eyebrow as she softly massaged her stomach.

"Yeah, what did you do, Scofield? I didn't know about this." Phoebe said and slowly sat up, holding in a moan that threatened to come out at her painful cramps.

"Fibonacci." Michael simply said with a smirk, not wanting to give too much information away yet as to what he'd done. Phoebe smirked, nodding slowly.

"I see. Nice move." Phoebe said as she clicked her tongue, sitting back down against the cold floor and groaning in pain as a cramp hit her like a bus.

"You good, mami?" Sucre asked worriedly. Phoebe smiled at Sucre's cute nickname for her but blushed at the embarrassment of accidentally moaning in pain in front of her best friend and her sort-of friend slash cellmate.

"Yep, I'm good." Phoebe stressed as she clutched onto her stomach. Michael looked down at her with knowing eyes.

"Are you—" Michael began with a smirk. Phoebe was quick to cut Michael off.

"Yes, I am. Now please, shut the hell up."