"Alone" - PRISON BREAK (Mahone)

[Sophie<3]

I wrote this fic for beatlelover22, because she's awesome and my Prison Break buddy! I really hope you'll like this story! Yours was awesome!

Of course, other people are welcome to read and comment, too, if they like!

Title: Alone

Fandom: Prison Break <3

Spoilers: This story is basically an alternative version of Season 4, episode 3: "Shut Down". So spoilers for that episode and some of the stuff that happened in seasons 1-3.

Now... let's get to it. This is only the first part. There'll be more!

Alone - Part 1

Alexander Mahone had never really been particularly good at taking care of himself. His years as a constantly overworked bureau agent with a drug addiction served as evidence for this fact.

Back then, other things had always seemed more important than his own health. Often, he had been so engaged in his current case that he'd forgotten to eat. Pam was the one who had been there, then, to make sure he was okay.

Now, however, Alex Mahone was no longer with the CIA. And Pam was in protective custody. Mahone was alone, once again, with much more important things on his mind than his own health, such as his son. Ever since he'd found out that Cameron had been murdered by the Company, he'd seen everything through a blur. The fact that he hadn't been there to protect his own child was tormenting and made his heart twist in his chest. When he had first heard about his son's death, it had hit him like a bullet in the head. Now, the pain was more of a dull throbbing somewhere behind his temples, a constant reminder that he had failed, and like bonfire that starts slowly, with a few, licking flames, the urge to get revenge had started to grow inside of him.

All of these thoughts of self-hatred and a need for revenge were consuming him. Therefore, it wasn't really surprising that Mahone didn't even notice the first symptoms of getting sick. At some point, he had started sniffling a lot, but he did it automatically, just like wiping his nose with the back of his hand. It was only a small spot of bother, vanishingly low in comparison to his other problems. When he first started sneezing, he didn't think much of it, either. Pam might have been concerned, but Pam wasn't here with him. The headache he did notice, but he attributed it to the fact that he had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before and it didn't really worry him.

“Hehh'NGK! Huhh'TCHNKK!” Mahone stifled two quick sneezes against the back of his hand, barely even aware enough to bring up his arm. Mostly, he did it automatically, like rubbing his nose. The stifling was also a habit.

Sucre turned around and mumbled a “Bless you” and Mahone nodded his thanks, lost in thought. The others were either too busy to notice or simply didn't care.

Mahone knew that getting Scylla should be his primary concern at the moment, especially if he wanted to stay out of prison and protect Pam, but it was so hard to take his mind off of his son. The images just kept coming. Cameron's school photo was in his pocket and he had to fight down the urge to take it out and stare at it every other minute.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Bellick yell at Michael. Something about Self and doing the break in already...? Bellick was in idiot. Mahone knew that if Self said they needed to find five more cards first, they had to do it, even though it sucked. Agent Self was the only person who could help them at this point.

“Huhhh...” Suddenly, another sneeze started to build up. For the first time, it made Mahone wonder what was going on with him. He covered his face with his elbow this time, out of politeness, and noticed that the sneezes were getting stronger. “Huhh'ETCHNK! Huh'tchhng! Hhhh...ETChh'ehhng!”

When he looked up, he saw Sucre turn his head and frown slightly. And then there was Michael, staring at him. Of course. It was impossible to slip things by Michael Scofield, a man so drawn to details who also happened to have a brilliant, analytical mind.

Mahone knew that the only way to get out of this was by contributing something to the case and direct Michael's thought back towards their mission.

“When the government gets scared”, he said quickly, “they... tend to cut the cord. Did Self talk about shutting us down?”

Unforunately, this was an actual possibility, and Mahone was far more concerned about it than he was about himself.

Michael looked at him for a moment, then said: “Let's just concentrate on finding Scylla, alright?”

Either, Mahone thought, Michael was really just trying to focus on their mission, or, far more likely, he was hiding something from them. He might be able to fool Bellick and Sucre and his idiot brother, too, but not Mahone, a former FBI agent. Mahone knew that there was something else that Self had said to Michael, something that Michael didn't want to share, and that wasn't a good sign. Neither, however, was the sniffling.

Mahone noticed it for the first time when he felt his nose starting to run and accidently sniffled so loudly that Lincoln shot him an annoyed look across the room. Embarrassed, he brought up his hand to wipe his nose, but it didn't really help.

For a brief moment, Mahone allowed himself to not think about his son, and that was when he noticed how horrible he truly felt, not just emotionally, but also physically. The headache had increased and made it extremely hard to focus. He felt cold and was shivering slightly, but when he brought his hand up to his face, his skin felt warm to the touch and Mahone even noticed a thin layer of sweat. On top of everything, his nose was still running and he felt like he was going to sneeze again any second now.

He needed to get out of this place. Michael and Sucre had already given him weird looks after five sneezes, any more would really make them suspicious. Without saying a word, Mahone got up and walked out of the room. Somebody asked where he was going and he heard Lincoln say: “Who cares”, so he walked right through the door.

The air outside, although it was July and they were in one of the warmest states of the US, made Mahone feel chilled. He wrapped his arms around himself and leaned against the wall of the warehouse. Then, as his nose began to itch and his blue eyes started to water, he quickly covered his face with both hands. “Huhhh'ETCHh! HITCH'nnkkk! Itchh'NKKG!”

He sniffled wetly and then just leaned back against the wall with a sigh. Suddenly, he remembered Pam, looking at him piercingly and saying: “Alex, you know those sneezes are the beginning of a bad cold, right?”

Of course, that had been a long time ago, back when he still had his badge and a family.

Now, he was just leaning against the wall of some abandoned warehouse; a criminal in the eyes of the world and, much worse, a man who had failed at protecting his son in his own.

Suddenly, the door behind him flew open.

“Hey!” He recognized the angry voice as Lincoln's immediately.

When Mahone turned his head, slowly, because it hurt, he saw that Sucre was there, too.

Linc was glaring at him, the way he usually did. “Are you coming back inside or what? Thought you were part of the team.”

“I am”, Mahone said sternly, hoping that his voice wouldn't give him away. Linc, still glaring, nodded, but apparently Sucre had picked up on the slight huskiness in Mahone's voice.

He scrutinized him, frowning. “You alright there, Mahone? What's wrong?”

Without thinking about it, Mahone sniffled again. Sucre raised his eyebrows at that. He was still looking at him inquisitively and for a second, Mahone wanted to pour out his heart to Sucre. But, of course, there was still Linc giving him the evil eye and waiting for him to come back inside. And also, there was Scylla and their mission, which was much more important than anything else at the moment.

So, Mahone simply cleared his throat and said: “I'm fine.”

“Great”, Lincoln said sarcastically. “I'm glad we talked about it. Now can we get back inside? Michael thinks you could be helpful, Mahone.”

“Really?”, he asked and walked through the door that Linc was holding open for him pointedly.

“Yeah!”, Linc groaned. “And just in case you need a reminder, our asses are on the line, Mahone! We need to find five more cards and then Scylla, or we'll all end up back behind bars.”

“I know”, Mahone said calmly. “I'm aware of that.”

“Good”, Linc groaned and walked back towards Michael and the others.

Sucre, who was next to Mahone, whispered: “You sure you're okay?” and Mahone just nodded, because Linc was right and he had already wasted enough of their time.

Their mission was all that mattered now and there was nobody there to take care of him. He was alone in this and, even though his head hurt and he was cold and his nose was runny and he felt weak and tired, he needed to stay strong.

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

Oh god the feels in this gave me shivers.

Edited September 19, 2014 by fang815

[beatlelover22]

“Hehh'NGK! Huhh'TCHNKK!” Mahone stifled two quick sneezes against the back of his hand, barely even aware enough to bring up his arm. Mostly, he did it automatically, like rubbing his nose. The stifling was also a habit.

Sucre turned around and mumbled a “Bless you” and Mahone nodded his thanks, lost in thought. The others were either too busy to notice or simply didn't care.

Awww poor baby, of course Sucre would!!

He sniffled wetly and then just leaned back against the wall with a sigh. Suddenly, he remembered Pam, looking at him piercingly and saying: “Alex, you know those sneezes are the beginning of a bad cold, right?”

Ughh the feels! This makes me really feel bad for Mahone awh

So, Mahone simply cleared his throat and said: “I'm fine.”

“Great”, Lincoln said sarcastically. “I'm glad we talked about it. Now can we get back inside? Michael thinks you could be helpful, Mahone.”

Haha, I can so picture Linc saying this!! He and Mahone never really got along great

Sucre, who was next to Mahone, whispered: “You sure you're okay?” and Mahone just nodded, because Linc was right and he had already wasted enough of their time.

AWWW poor Alex!! I feel for him, I really do; he just seems so miserable! God, this was SO adorable, thank you SO SO much Sophie<3 !! I literally CANNOT wait for the next part! AUUUUGH <3

[AnteatersOnParade]

Ooh, I like this! I really like the part when his memories overlap and he inwardly remembers Pam's warnings when he sneezes. So good! I'm enjoying it.

[Sophie<3]

Oh god the feels in this gave me shivers.

Well, I feel flattered that my story was able to induce some feels in you! Thank you!

“Hehh'NGK! Huhh'TCHNKK!” Mahone stifled two quick sneezes against the back of his hand, barely even aware enough to bring up his arm. Mostly, he did it automatically, like rubbing his nose. The stifling was also a habit.

Sucre turned around and mumbled a “Bless you” and Mahone nodded his thanks, lost in thought. The others were either too busy to notice or simply didn't care.

Awww poor baby, of course Sucre would!!

He sniffled wetly and then just leaned back against the wall with a sigh. Suddenly, he remembered Pam, looking at him piercingly and saying: “Alex, you know those sneezes are the beginning of a bad cold, right?”

Ughh the feels! This makes me really feel bad for Mahone awh

So, Mahone simply cleared his throat and said: “I'm fine.”

“Great”, Lincoln said sarcastically. “I'm glad we talked about it. Now can we get back inside? Michael thinks you could be helpful, Mahone.”

Haha, I can so picture Linc saying this!! He and Mahone never really got along great

Sucre, who was next to Mahone, whispered: “You sure you're okay?” and Mahone just nodded, because Linc was right and he had already wasted enough of their time.

AWWW poor Alex!! I feel for him, I really do; he just seems so miserable! God, this was SO adorable, thank you SO SO much Sophie<3 !! I literally CANNOT wait for the next part! AUUUUGH <3

Awww... thanks for the lovely comment, sweetie! It put a smile on my face! I love doing this for you and I'm really glad you're enjoying it! Oh, so you literally cannot wait, huh? Well, good thing I got the next part ready for you right now! Have fun!

Ooh, I like this! I really like the part when his memories overlap and he inwardly remembers Pam's warnings when he sneezes. So good! I'm enjoying it.

Oh my gosh, another Prison Break fan on here?? Wow, that makes me so happy!! Thanks so much for reading and commenting! I hope you stick around for the next parts!

A/N: I think that after this, there will be one more part. And I already know what I want to write, so hopefully, it won't take too long!

Alone - Part 2

“Oh, good, you're back”, Michael said when they stepped back inside. “Sit down and take a look at this.”

Mahone followed Sucre and Linc back to the table and took a seat. Honestly, he didn't feel like solving any puzzles at the moment. More like lying down to take a 12-hour nap. But Michael was better at these things anyway, so hopefully, his help wouldn't really be required.

“Sir: Changed Your Late London Arrival... Now 7/16 at 4pm”, Michael read out loud.

Mahone looked up at the white board and stared at the words that Michael had written down. So far, this didn't seem like much of a mystery. Somebody had rescheduled a flight for their boss. Big deal.

Michael went on: “Today's the 16^th, but there's nothing about London in his calendar, is there?”

“Not that we've seen, no”, confirmed Sucre.

“Nothing about travel to or from the UK?” Michael was pacing in front of the whiteboard now.

“No, nothing”, Sara chimed in.

Sucre looked at Michael. “Now, why would he get an email about an arrival in London when he has no business scheduled there?”

Obviously, Michael didn't have an answer to this, because he simply shrugged and everybody fell silent. It was an uncomfortable silence, for everybody, because they needed to find out what this meant and urgently needed to find the next cardholder, and for Mahone especially, because his constant sniffling became painfully loud now that everyone around him was so quiet.

He raised his hand to wipe his nose, but it was still runny afterwards, so he kept on sniffling every other second. When he looked up, Michael's bright eyes were piercing him questioningly, but only for a second. Then, he turned back to the whiteboard.

Mahone sniffled again. Then, suddenly, his head jerked forward and he brought up his arm in the last second. “Huhh'EKSHH'eh!! HNN'CHhheeh! Hhhhh.... Hhheh'EKKTCH!”

Linc spun around to glare at him. “Would you shut up?!”

“Sorry”, Mahone murmured, embarrassed, while wiping his nose on his sleeve quickly.

“People are trying to think here”, Linc added, a little less aggressively, while looking at Michael, who was rubbing his temples as if he had a headache. Mahone could relate.

His head felt all stuffy and clogged, plus random images of Cameron and Pam kept popping up before his mind's eye. On top of everything, the sound of his sneezes echoing in the empty warehouse had made him blush and he was still well aware of the noise his constant sniffling was making. He wished people would just start talking again to break this awkward silence. All in all, focussing on something had never been harder.

Nevertheless, he forced himself to stare at the words on the whiteboard and not think about Cameron and not think about Pam and not think about his runny nose and suddenly... he realized something.

Excidently, he spoke up: “Michael! I think it's a code. Look closely at the words. It says...”

Of course, he didn't need to finish. Michael took one look at the whiteboard and starting underlining the first letter of every word immediately. It was amazing how fast his mind worked.

“Of course”, he said with a half-smile. “S-C-Y-L-L-A. Scylla. The meeting today at 4 is about Scylla. I think that we can assume that Tuxhorn did not schedule a meeting with himself, so that is where we're gonna find our next cardholder.”

Sara nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, so 4pm is our when. We need a where.”

At this, Mahone spoke up again, glad that he could be of assistance instead of just wasting everybody's time and annoying the others with his sniffling. “If you were having a secret meeting, you wouldn't send all the information together. You'd send the where and the when seperatedly as a precaution.”

Michael looked at him and smiled a little. “Alex”, he said warmly. “I'm so glad you joined us.”

Mahone noticed how strange and yet good it felt to be addressed by his first name and in such a friendly tone for the first time in such a long while. On the other hand, it made him miss Pam even more.

Of course, Michael went straight back to business, asking: “Were there any other emails sent to Tuxhorn around the same time as the first one?”

Mahone had trouble following the subsequent discussion, not only because he didn't know a lot about technology and wasn't entirely sure what a 'shadowfile' was, but also because his nose was suddenly itching again. He fought down the urge to sneeze by biting his lip and pinching his nose shut for a few seconds, but then, suddenly, a cloud moved and bright sunlight came in through the warehouse windows, causing Mahone to suck in his breath sharply. He realized that it was to late to fight the sneeze, so he just turned to the side and tried to stifle the sound, because he didn't want to interrupt the discussion.

“Hhhh'NNnxGK!”

Again, Sucre turned to him and blessed him, but this time he also gave him a wary look.

“Thanks”, Mahone mumbled in response. Sucre just nodded and said “Sure”, sounding a little suspicious.

That was when Michael said: “Okay, if the main server is in Anaheim, then that's where we're going.”

“Wait, wait, wait”, Roland said, putting up his hands. “That's insane. There'll be security and - “

“I have a plan”, Michael said.

“Well, good luck with that, but I don't think - “

“Shut up!”, Linc interrupted, impatiently.

“And you're coming with us”, Michael added.

A short fight broke out between Roland, Michael and Linc about whether he was coming with them to Anaheim or staying at the warehouse. Their raised voices made Mahone's headache worse. He wanted to be alone, in a quiet, warm place to just sleep for a few hours and escape the reality of a dead son and the constant threat of going back to prison.

Finally, everything was settled (of course, Michael and Linc had won the fight... seeing as they were superior to Roland Glenn in both intelligence and volume) and Michael announced: “Sara, Linc, and Roland, you're coming with me. Actually Mahone, too. Sucre, Bellick, you can stay at the warehouse and be our backup. We don't have a lot of time. We need to get the next cardholder by the end of the day. So I'll explain the plan on the way to Anaheim, alright?”

“Okay.” Mahone got up with a shiver. It was ridiculous that he was so cold and it made no sense, because it was at least 85 degrees out, more like 90. He wondered what was wrong with him.

In fact, as he got up, he suddenly got dizzy, the room started spinning, black dots clouded his vision and he had to lean on to the table to steady himself. This wasn't good. In all honesty, Mahone noticed, he was feeling terrible. The dull throbbing pain behind his temples had grown so much worse, his nose was all stuffed up and it hurt to even move his eyes. He couldn't remember a time when he had deteriorated so quickly, within minutes, really. It was shocking. Yet, he wasn't in the position to complain. There were no sick days for people on the Scylla team and he was well aware of that. There were exactly two tasks ahead of him: The first was completing Self's mission for them and the second was finding his son's killer for revenge. This was definitely not the time to slack.

Slowly, his vision cleared and he looked around, hoping desperately that nobody had noticed how he'd almost passed out on the spot, only to find Sucre's gaze fixed on him.

“What's wrong?”, he asked again, more concerned this time.

Mahone shrugged. “N... nothing. It's nothing. I'm fine.”

“I'm sure”, Sucre mumbled sarcastically, but luckily he didn't press the subject.

Mahone took a deep breath, thinking that he was off the hook for now as Sucre turned to Bellick, who had orders from Michael to stay in the warehouse, too.

Mahone straightened his shoulders and quickly began walking towards Michael, Linc, Sara, and Roland, who were waiting for him by the door.

Just then, it happened again. He stopped and turned to the side, but there was no hiding it.

Six people were staring at him and witnessed every single one of his painfully loud sneezes that were so strong, they were impossible to stifle. “Huhh'EKKSH'ahh! Etchhh'ooOOo! Hhhh...hehhh...heh'EShh'EewwW! Hahhh'ITChh'eww!”

“Bless you”, said both Sucre and Sara. Linc groaned in annoyance and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. Michael, however, frowned and walked right up to him, piercing him with those bright eyes once again.

“What's wrong?”, he asked in a quiet yet urgent voice.

Mahone, who hated all this attention directed towards him, simply shook his head. Without looking at Michael, he said: “It's nothing, really. I'm okay.”

“Doesn't sound like nothing to me”, Michael objected.

“It... um... it was just the sun”, Mahone lied quickly. “I always sneeze when the light's too bright. It's really annoying. Sorry.”

Michael was still scrutinizing him. “A photic sneeze reflex normally doesn't produce fits like that. And you don't seem to be doing so well in general, Alex.”

“It's... nothing, I swear. I'm just... a little tired. That's all.” Mahone tried to push Michael aside, but the other man wouldn't budge. “Well, are you getting sick?”

“No! It was just the sun, seriously. I feel fine.”

“If you're getting sick, you shouldn't come to Anaheim with us. Sara could stay here with you until you feel...”

“I feel perfectly fine!”, Mahone interrupted, annoyed. While he appreciated Michael's concern, he didn't want to waste their precious time with his stupid ailments. It was in his blood to put the job before his own health and this day was no exception. In fact, this job was probably the most important one he'd ever had. If they failed, they were all going back to prison. His stupid little cold really didn't matter at a time like this.

“Alex, I really don't think-”, Michael said sceptically, but this time, Mahone got some unexpected help when Linc interrupted his younger brother.

“God, Michael, he said he was fine! Can we please get going? You said yourself, we don't have a lot of time!”

“Thank you”, Alex muttered and sniffled right afterwards without even noticing it. Michael shot him one last concerned look, then nodded.

“Alright, let's go, then.”

[ID2006]

So glad there was/is more to this.

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

The poor dear...I just wanna snuggle him.

This is really well written. I love it!

[beatlelover22]

“Huhh'EKSHH'eh!! HNN'CHhheeh! Hhhhh.... Hhheh'EKKTCH!”

Linc spun around to glare at him. “Would you shut up?!”

Although it's heart-breaking, I had to crack up laughing at this line. Of course Lincoln would be annoyed at Mahone's copious sneezing... poor guy!

Again, Sucre turned to him and blessed him, but this time he also gave him a wary look.

“Thanks”, Mahone mumbled in response. Sucre just nodded and said “Sure”, sounding a little suspicious.

I really liked how you used Sucre's character in this way, so caring and honest. It's a nice touch!

He stopped and turned to the side, but there was no hiding it.

Six people were staring at him and witnessed every single one of his painfully loud sneezes that were so strong, they were impossible to stifle. “Huhh'EKKSH'ahh! Etchhh'ooOOo! Hhhh...hehhh...heh'EShh'EewwW! Hahhh'ITChh'eww!”

“Bless you”, said both Sucre and Sara. Linc groaned in annoyance and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. Michael, however, frowned and walked right up to him, piercing him with those bright eyes once again.

This was by far my favourite quote. It was so descriptive and WONDERFUL with all the characters. I especially liked Michael finally taking initiative and approaching him on the subject!

“It... um... it was just the sun”, Mahone lied quickly. “I always sneeze when the light's too bright. It's really annoying. Sorry.”

Michael was still scrutinizing him. “A photic sneeze reflex normally doesn't produce fits like that. And you don't seem to be doing so well in general, Alex.”

Aww, of course Michael would know this (maybe he's a photic sneezer ) GAH I LOVED IT! Thanks for updating so quicklyyyy EEEP! Looking forward to the next part!!

[party_girl077]

I like this! Especially how Michael caught him out so quickly. And true to character always putting his work etc first. I also laughed a little bit at Lincoln.

[Sophie<3]

So glad there was/is more to this.

And here's even more now! Hope you'll enjoy it!

The poor dear...I just wanna snuggle him.

This is really well written. I love it!

Aww... fang! You're great! Hope you'll like the next part!

“Huhh'EKSHH'eh!! HNN'CHhheeh! Hhhhh.... Hhheh'EKKTCH!”

Linc spun around to glare at him. “Would you shut up?!”

Although it's heart-breaking, I had to crack up laughing at this line. Of course Lincoln would be annoyed at Mahone's copious sneezing... poor guy!

Again, Sucre turned to him and blessed him, but this time he also gave him a wary look.

“Thanks”, Mahone mumbled in response. Sucre just nodded and said “Sure”, sounding a little suspicious.

I really liked how you used Sucre's character in this way, so caring and honest. It's a nice touch!

He stopped and turned to the side, but there was no hiding it.

Six people were staring at him and witnessed every single one of his painfully loud sneezes that were so strong, they were impossible to stifle. “Huhh'EKKSH'ahh! Etchhh'ooOOo! Hhhh...hehhh...heh'EShh'EewwW! Hahhh'ITChh'eww!”

“Bless you”, said both Sucre and Sara. Linc groaned in annoyance and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. Michael, however, frowned and walked right up to him, piercing him with those bright eyes once again.

This was by far my favourite quote. It was so descriptive and WONDERFUL with all the characters. I especially liked Michael finally taking initiative and approaching him on the subject!

“It... um... it was just the sun”, Mahone lied quickly. “I always sneeze when the light's too bright. It's really annoying. Sorry.”

Michael was still scrutinizing him. “A photic sneeze reflex normally doesn't produce fits like that. And you don't seem to be doing so well in general, Alex.”

Aww, of course Michael would know this (maybe he's a photic sneezer ) GAH I LOVED IT! Thanks for updating so quicklyyyy EEEP! Looking forward to the next part!!

Thanks so much for your sweet reply and detailed feedback! You know I love doing this for you, and I'm always looking forward to your comments! I really hope you'll like Part 3! Enjoy! ~

I like this! Especially how Michael caught him out so quickly. And true to character always putting his work etc first. I also laughed a little bit at Lincoln.

Thank you, party_girl! Yeah, nobody can slip things by Michael, he notices everything! Haha! And Linc.. well, at this point he isn't really over the fact that Mahone killed his dad, so...!

A/N: I'm sorry this took so long. I'm going through a really rough phase in my life right now. Recently, things between me and the boy I've been in love with for 3 1/2 years ended...! :'( That's why it was hard to focus on writing, sorry...!

Also, I know I said there would be three parts, but now I'll write a Part 4, even though it may be shorter than the ones before.

Part 3

“So”, Michael said, first looking to Linc, who was driving, and Roland, who was riding shot-gun, then to Sara, right next to him, and Mahone, on her right. “Are there any questions about the plan?”

Lincoln shook his head without taking his eyes off the road, and Roland said “Nope”. Then, when Michael turned to Sara, she smiled and said: “No, I got it.”

Mahone hesitated. As a matter of fact, he still had many questions about the plan. He was sure that Michael had explained everything, but honestly he'd had a hard time listening.

Whatever had made him so dizzy and caused him to almost pass out in the warehouse had not improved during the car ride. Whenever he moved his head, the world started spinning and he needed to take deep breaths. Also, he was still ridiculously cold and was trying desperately to avoid shivering. And on top of all that, there was his runny nose, which he needed to wipe every few seconds without Michael or anybody noticing.

When he didn't answer right away, Michael turned to him and said: “Alex?”

Right then, Mahone could feel his eyes start to water and his nostrils flare. It was probably the worst moment for another sneezing fit, but what was he supposed to do. He tried holding his breath, but instead he sucked it in completely involuntarily and his head snapped back, then forwards again. He covered his face with his elbow, but couldn't muffle the sound of the forceful sneezes entirely. “Huhhh'ESHHH'ahh!! IKK'chhhew! Hahh.... hahhh'ETCHH!”

There was a brief moment of peace and he took a deep breath, thinking it was over. Roland, Michael and Sara were staring at him and he could feel himself blush, but right that second, things got even worse, when his breath hitched again. He heard Linc mumble “Hell, not again...!”, shortly before his head jerked forwards again. It took four more violent sneezes to relieve the tickle in his nose and bring the fit to an end.

When he was sure that it was over, he brought down his elbow and stared down at his hands, while the feeling of embarrassement brought even more color to his cheeks.

“That's it”, Michael said. “That was a total of seven sneezes, Alex.”

“It's nothing... just...”, Mahone mumbled weakly in his defense.

“What, the sun again?”, Michael asked with a smirk.

Mahone didn't really have a good reply, so he just quickly wiped his nose with the back of his hand and stared out the window.

“Sara”, Michael said gently. “Will you check on Alex, please?”

Mahone spun around, which sent another wave of dizziness through his body and caused his vision to blur for a moment.

“Check on me...”, he repeated. “What do you mean, check on me?”

Michael looked him deep in the eye and said: “Alex, you're obviously sick. And Sara's a doctor. So just let her have a look at you, okay?”

“That's... really not necessary”, Mahone tried, but it was pointless.

Michael just smiled at Sara and said: “Sara? Please.”

She nodded and before Mahone had time to realize what was happening, her cold, small hand was resting on his forehead. “Oh”, she said and put her other hand to her own forehead for comparison. “That feels really warm.”

Mahone tried to shake her hand off, but she simply moved it to his cheek, then his neck.

Then, she looked over her shoulder at Michael and said: “I'm pretty sure he has a fever.”

“I don't think...”, Mahone started desperately, but Sara silenced him with a gentle, yet firm “Shhh!”

She turned back to him and suddenly there were two fingers on a spot under his ear. She put a little bit of pressure on the spot, and Mahone flinched.

“Lymph nodes are a bit swollen”, Sara said. “That means his body is fighting an infection.”

She looked at him sympathetically. “Do you have any symptoms besides the congestion and the sneezing? Sore throat? Headache? Dizziness?”

He shook his head. Which hurt. “Nothing.”

Sara cocked her head and laughed a little. “Alex. I'm a doctor. And I've had patients lie to me before. I know that you have a bad headache. I see the way you flinch every time you move your head too quickly.”

Mahone just sighed. He should have known that there was no way he was going to fool Sara, and there was really nothing for him to say at this point. Also... “Heh'ESHH! IKK'SHh!”

“Bless you”, Sara said softly.

“That's it”, Michael stated. “Linc, turn around.”

“What?”, Linc demanded.

Michael stayed calm. “You heard me.”

“Hell yeah, I heard you! But I don't get it! Okay, so Mahone's sick. So what?”

Michael shook his head at his brother and sighed. “Linc, if one team member isn't well, it puts us all at risk. And I won't allow that. This operation cannot fail.”

Sara nodded in agreement. “Also, Alex needs rest.”

“Okay, fine”, Linc said, annoyed. “He can sleep on the back seat when you guys go in. Whatever.”

“Then who will be there as our backup?”, said Michael.

“I will be there!”

“We need two people, Linc. Now, turn the car around.”

“The hell I will!”, Lincoln yelled. “You said we need to get the next cardholder by the end of the day.”

“Is that true?”, Roland, who had kept quiet until now, asked, panic in his voice.

“Yes”, Michael said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, well, thanks a lot for letting us know! Glad you don't keep secrets from us!”, Roland yelled.

Mahone leaned against the window and closed his eyes, trying to tune the loud voices that made the throbbing pain behind his temples so much worse.

“I didn't want you to freak out”, Michael said quietly. “I had a plan. Now Mahone's sick, but we can just drive to the warehouse and get Sucre to replace him. It'll be fine.”

“That's great. Fucking great”, Linc said, but he turned the car around.

“I can't believe you kept this from us!”, Roland yelled and a groan escaped Mahone. Next, there was a hand on his shoulder and Sara said: “Quiet. This isn't helping Alex.”

“Sara's right”, said Michael. “Everybody just shut up for now. We need to get Alex back to the warehouse.”

“It's okay”, Mahone said feebly. “I'll be fine... I'll be... hehhh....Heh'EKT'shhH!”

“Shhh”, Sara said soothingly, while rubbing circles on his shoulder.

Mahone wanted to thank her, but he was interrupted yet again. “Tha... Hhhh'EKSHH! ESHH'oohhhHh!”

“Bless you”, Michael said warmly. “Just try to relax for now.”

“And just try to shut up, too. Please”, Linc muttered under his breath.

For a few minutes, they drove in silence. Mahone rested his head against the window, sniffled occasionally and was shivering openly now, figuring there was no longer a point in trying to hide his illness, especially with Sara and Michael right next to him.

“I'd ask Linc to turn up the heat”, Sara whispered close to his ear. “But you just have these chills because of your fever, when actually your body is really warm.”

“'s okay”, Mahone replied with chattering teeth.

“I'm sorry”, Sara whispered. “I know this isn't comfortable, but at the warehouse there'll be a nice bed for you. Just hang on.”

Mahone was pretty out of it at that point, but he still heard Michael whisper: “Hey, Sara. Too bad I was never really your patient at Fox River. You seem to be good at taking care of people who are actually sick.”

“I know. I'm a ministering angel”, she replied jokingly.

And that was the last thing Mahone heard before falling asleep.

xx, Sophie

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

Awwwwwwwwww :heart:

Mahone is seriously stealing my heart

[party_girl077]

Enjoying this! Great story.

He must be very contagious ...

[beatlelover22]

OH my GOD. A little late on the review, but ah, well! First off, this situation is perfect. Being in a cramped car with annoyed Lincoln as the driver? Of course! I love how caring Sara is in this one and how uncaring Linc is (I know that sounds bad!). The sneezes are spelled out so wonderfully! I just cannot thank you enough for writing this awesome story! Thanks so much!!

[Sophie<3]

Awwwwwwwwww

Mahone is seriously stealing my heart

Hehe... you're so sweet, fang! I'm glad you're enjoying this story!

Enjoying this! Great story.

He must be very contagious ...

Thank you! And yes, I suppose, but the story ends here. Sorry. (I might write more Prison Break in the future, though. Any particular character/ scenario you would like? )

OH my GOD. A little late on the review, but ah, well! First off, this situation is perfect. Being in a cramped car with annoyed Lincoln as the driver? Of course! I love how caring Sara is in this one and how uncaring Linc is (I know that sounds bad!). The sneezes are spelled out so wonderfully! I just cannot thank you enough for writing this awesome story! Thanks so much!!

Thanks, hon! You're certainly welcome and... here's the last part now. I'm sorry if I got into this story too much. I just felt like it needed one more part and I wanted to make it super short, but I guess... I got a bit carried away. Haha! Anyway, I hope you're in for just one more part and that you'll enjoy this one. It's been a pleasure writing this for you!

A/N: This part got sort of angsty... Sorry... But maybe some of you like that?

Part 4

Somebody was gently touching his shoulder and a friendly voice said: “Alex, wake up.”

Mahone blinked, feeling dazed. He realized that they were still in the car and that Linc was staring at him from the driver's seat.

“Dude. You're really out of it, huh?”

Mahone couldn't reply, because his nose decided to act up then, as if to make up for the minutes it hadn't bothered him, because he'd been asleep.

“Huhhh'iiit'chew! Hatt'CHooo! Heh'EKt'ch!”

“Bless you. Come on, let's get you inside”, Sara said gently. Next, Michael and Sara steadied him on both sides on the way to the warehouse, and even though Mahone felt embarrassed, he was thankful for the help, because he felt strangely shaky and light-headed.

“Back so soon?”, Sucre called out when they entered the warehouse.

“Wait, what's wrong with Mahone?”, Bellick asked as soon as they came closer.

“He's sick”, Michael explained.

“With what?”, Sucre wanted to know.

“Probably the flu”, Sara said. “I'm pretty sure he's running a fever.”

“And now what?”, Bellick said with no sign of sympathy for Mahone.

“Sara will take care of him for a little while. Then, he stays here and we leave for Anaheim again, with Sucre this time”, Michael explained.

Mahone didn't want to interrupt and draw more attention towards himself, but he couldn't help it. “Heh'EK'shhh! Hehhh.... EeeE'shhoooh!”

“Bless you”, Sucre said sympathetically and Sara gave him a worried look. Then, she took hold of his arm and started guiding him to the back of the warehouse with gentle force. Mahone was shivering forcefully now. His illness, the fever and all the horrible things that had happened lately were suddenly too much. He missed Pam and Cameron so much, it was like a physical pain.

In times like this, when he was feeling like hell, Pam had always been there. He needed her now, needed her so much, but she couldn't be with him, because of the things that he had done, and even worse, he knew that in this very moment, she was in a lot of pain, too, because she, too, had just lost her only son.

“Shh”, Sara said soothingly, as if she had heard his thoughts. Or maybe a sob had escaped his mouth, Mahone didn't know for sure.

“It's going to be okay.”

She guided him to a small bed and carefully pushed him into a sitting position. Mahone wanted to remain silent and keep his dignity, but somehow he couldn't. Maybe it was the fever that made the words spill out, or maybe it was Sara's gentleness that reminded him of Pam so much...

“Sara...”, he gasped and his voice sounded hoarse. “I... it's too much. It hurts so much...! I... I can't take it anymore...”

“What? What hurts?”, she said in her doctor voice. “Your head? Or your throat?”

“No, no...”, he tried, desperatedly. “You don't understand. My son... I...”

He tried choking back his tears, but it hurt.

“Your... son?”, Sara repeated, confused. She had no idea. Nobody around him knew about Cameron's death.

“He... I... Huhhh'Eshhh'eh!! Hehh... Aaa'tchh!” Mahone tried to explain, but he couldn't. The sneezes kept interrupting him. “Listen, Sara. He... Hehhh'EKK'sshhh!”

“Bless you, Alex. Just try to relax for now, okay?”

“No, there's something I want to tell y.... Hehh'ESHH! Heh'IKK'choo!”

“Shhh... it's fine. It's not important right now. Just calm down, okay?”

“But... but... Heh'ESHHH'eww! Hehh... heh... I'tshhHhhH!”

“Shhhh...”

Sara touched his shoulder comfortingly and Mahone decided to let it go for now.

“I'll be right back”, Sara said and left the room. When she returned, the sneezing fit was over and Mahone felt completely worn out and extremely tired.

“I know you want to sleep”, Sara said when she saw him. “But I need to take your temperature first, so open your mouth, please.”

Too weak to resist direct orders, Mahone opened his mouth right away and shivered when the cold metal tip of the thermometer touched his tongue.

“Just hold on for a moment, so I can get a good reading.”

So Mahone sat still until the thermometer started emitting a high-pitched beeping noise and Sara pulled the thing out of his mouth.

She didn't tell him what his temperature was, she just raised her eyebrows once and then told him to lie down.

“I want you to go to sleep now, okay? We'll check on you later and if your temperature hasn't gone down, we'll give you some medicine. For now, I just want you to rest, okay?”

“Okay.” Mahone nodded feebly, then closed his eyes. He was asleep ten seconds later.

But it wasn't a peaceful sleep... far from it. It was filled with painful nightmares about Cameron dying in a fire, in a car crash, in a plane crash... and the one thing they all had in common was that Mahone always came too late to safe him and when he arrived the only thing that he could do was cry out his name and cradle his dead boy's body.

The last dream was the worst, because it came closest to what had actually happened. He dreamed that Cameron was shot and when he arrived, blood was draining from his body, too fast for anybody to save him and once again Mahone could only hold him tightly and tell him it would be okay as he slowly passed away in his arms.

He woke up from this last dream with burning eyes and his damp t-shirt sticking to his body, because he was all sweaty and feverish. For a moment, he just lay there, panting and trying to get a grip on himself. Then, he realized that he wasn't alone.

“Sara?”, he croaked, but a man's voice replied: “No. It's Michael.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Alex. How are you feeling?”

Mahone tried to sit up, but fell back immediately. He sniffled. He was really congested again. “Mbichael, why are you here?”

“We're already back.”

“Back frobb... Adaheib...?”

“Yes.”

“Did everythigg... go according to our pladd?”

“Well... sort of. We got what we needed. Don't worry about it.”

“Okay, Good.”

“I came in here to check on you. Sara asked me to take your temperature.”

Mahone felt himself blush, but it probably didn't matter, because he was already flushed from the fever. “Are you sure that's decessary...?”

“Honestly... yes. No offense, but you look and sound horrible.”

Mahone preferred not to respond and Michael took out the thermometer.

“Let's just do this quickly”, he said and Mahone opened his mouth obediently.

He sighed, when he got the reading and immediately took out a bottle with pills. “Sara told me to give you one of these if your temperature is over 104°. It's 104.2°. Sorry.”

“'s okay”, Mahone mumbled and swallowed the pill that Michael handed him with some water. It reminded him of the many times Pam had forced some Tylenol down his throat, even though he had insisted that he was fine. She'd always seen right through that. She'd known him better than he had known himself...

“Michael”, he suddenly said, before he could stop himself. “They killed my son. They killed my little boy!”

Michael only stared at him for a moment. Then, he closed his eyes, very slowly, and very sadly.

“Alex”, he whispered. “I'm so sorry.”

Mahone was breathing heavily now, almost unable to hold back his tears at this point.

Michael looked him deep in the eye, touched his shoulder and said: “You listen to me, Alex. It's not your fault. Do you hear me? It's not your fault! The man who killed your son is responsible for his death, not you. And, if that's what you want, I will help you find his killer and I will help you get revenge. When I was in Sona, I thought that Sara was dead, so I know exactly how you feel. But please remember, you're not alone in this. Alex. You're not alone.”

THE END

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

Holy sweet Muppets! 104? Jesus!

Someone needs to take this boy to a Hospital! D:

Love the update

[Sophie<3]

Holy sweet Muppets! 104? Jesus!

Someone needs to take this boy to a Hospital! D:

Love the update

Haha... I guess that is pretty high?! I just wanted to explain the nightmares and confusion and stuff, you know?

Probably went a bit too far. lol

And thanks!

[Pyrus_Fangmon]

Holy sweet Muppets! 104? Jesus!

Someone needs to take this boy to a Hospital! D:

Love the update

Haha... I guess that is pretty high?! I just wanted to explain the nightmares and confusion and stuff, you know?

Probably went a bit too far. lol

And thanks!

That's a lil high, but I can't say it's extremely bad. My fevers run high and I've been okay. But I like how you did it

And you're very welcome