fire on fire / prison break

TEN

"You alright, kid?" Marie asked as LJ sat in the backseat, changing into some clothes she brought for him. It was nighttime, approximately eleven o'clock when they decided to take a break and get something to eat. They parked behind a shopping mall where Marie took the opportunity to rummage through the donation boxes, trying to find some clothes for the boy.

"I guess so." he answered as he finally put his shirt on. Chick Magnet was written on it in big, bold letters. Marie snorted upon seeing the boy's red face. "Hey, at least it fits you." she shrugged, referring to the shirt. After a few moments of silence, Marie cleared her throat before taking a bag from the passenger's seat and handing it to him. It was a Burger King paper bag. LJ took the bag in his hands and placed it in his lap.

"I didn't know what you like so I just bought what they said it was best." she smiled as she looked at him. He just stared back at her, his face showing no emotion as she frowned. "If you don't like it, I can just go buy something else-"

"Why are you doing this?" LJ questioned, "I mean, why are you helping me? You have absolutely no reason to." he said, all in one breath as Marie sighed. "My dad-"

"Is innocent." Marie interrupted, watching as LJ opened his mouth to say something, but decided not to. "He's innocent, I know. I'm trying to help him, okay LJ? I'm trying to help you too."

"How did you find out he's innocent?" LJ asked, slowly opening the bag and getting the food out.

"I had my doubts." Marie started, lifting her feet on the seat and hugging her knees to her chest. "But when I got a phone call from Veronica Donovan, I was certain that he had been framed." she explained, stealing a few glances at LJ who eagerly bit on his burger. "There are bad people out there, LJ. People who would do anything for money, fame, power... People who would trap an innocent man into his own death."

"You seem to know a lot about those people." LJ spoke in between bites.

"Yeah." Marie laughed bitterly, "Unfortunately."

They sat in silence for a while as LJ finished his burger, the street lights were the only things that lit up the parking. Marie yawned as she looked at the time; half past twelve. "You should get some sleep, kid." she said, looking at LJ who was barely awake. "I'm not tired." he retorted, trying his best to keep his eyes wide open. Marie chuckled before ruffling his hair. "Yeah, I can tell." she joked as LJ leaned his head on the window.

"Marie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." LJ mumbled, half asleep. Marie looked at the boy before reaching into the backseat and grabbing a jacket, which she threw over him so he wasn't cold. "Don't thank me yet, kid."

*

"So, how old are you?" LJ asked as he sat in the passenger's seat, slurping on a chocolate milkshake Marie had bought for him a while ago.

"Twenty four." she simply said, turning on her blinker as she made a harsh right turn, causing LJ to hold on tight to his milkshake. "Twenty four? And you're working as a doctor?"

"Worked." Marie corrected him, a sad smile making it's way onto her face, "I'm supposed to be dead, remember?" she turned to face a frowning LJ. "So... my dad was your patient?" he asked.

"Uh.. yeah, tehnically." Marie answered, a wave of memories hitting her like a train. She sighed, "I spent three years hating a man because I believed that he killed my uncle. I, uh, refused to be his doctor up until maybe... three weeks ago? Yeah, that's about it."

"I have to call him. Tell him I'm okay." LJ looked at Marie as they stopped at a red light, "I'm afraid that's not possible at the moment, kid. At least until you're safe."

"And where are we going anyways?"

"You'll see."

*

"I'm sorry, Burrows. Both of them were dead by the time the paramedics got there." Pope sadly exclaimed as he and Lincoln stood in front of the yard, surrounded by guards.

"What about my son?" Lincoln asked, his voice low.

"He's missing." Pope started, "Police are treating him as a fugitive." he said, a look of surprise making it's way to Lincoln's face. "Fugitive?"

"They found his prints on the murder weapon."

"No, that's a false claim." Lincoln whispered, defeated. "I need to call him."

"I can't do that." Pope said, lowering his head as Lincoln began to lose his calm. "What do yo mean, you can't?! It's la-"

"Burrows! The police have instructed me that this is an ongoing investigation! And as that, any contact you make with your son could put him in even more trouble as a fugitive." Pope explained, his face softening after a few seconds. "I'm sorry." he said, before walking away.

"Warden!" Lincoln shouted after him, "Warden, please!" he tried, but Pope still walked away, ignoring his calls.

Later, at the yard, the inmates were doing their usual PI activities. Michael was carrying some bags of cement when Lincoln approached him.

"I need your help." he said as he walked up to his brother, "I need to find him."

"You will." Michael said, looking around, careful not to cause any suspicion. "Both of us. Soon."

"They're coming after my family, Michael."

"You need to trust me. We're gonna get this d-"

"-get this done. How? How, Michael, tell me." he said, but Michael stood silent. "You can't, can you?" Lincoln continued, "I gotta find him. I gotta find my son."

"This is not about you, or LJ anymore, Linc." Michael sighed, "The fuck do you mean, my son is out there." Lincoln said through clenched teeth.

"They killed Marie." Michael said, defeated as he ran a hand over his face. Lincoln's face fell as he looked at his brother. "What?" he muttered, trying to process the information. Michael sighed before pulling out a ripped peace of newspaper from his pocket and giving it to Lincoln. Lincoln's hand trembled lightly as he took the paper from his brother. It was her.

"She's dead, Linc." Michael sadly sighed. "They killed her because she-"

"Scofield!" a guard yelled out, causing Michael to shut up and look at him, "Get it going." he said, reffering to the job they were supposed to do. Michael nodded before turning towards Lincoln again. "Just stick with me." he said, before walking away to do his job.

Lincoln stood there for a minute, his head in his palms as he sighed loudly. He looked in front of himself before turning his gaze towards the infirmary. He saw nurse Katie through the window and remembered that he had another check up this week that he had been looking forward to. But now he didn't really want to go.

"You're just doing your job."

"Yeah, letting the state know you're well enough to be executed is not why I went to medical school."

He smiled bitterly.

"What are you doing here, Doc?"

"Errands, Mr Burrows. Errands."

His smile turned into a frown.

"I'm going to help you, okay? I won't let them get to you."

"I heard what you said, that day." he muttered, looking up towards the sky. "Maybe you think I didn't, but I did." he smiled.

"I just can't believe you're gone."