boar_expert | [RP] The road that leads to you...

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[RP] The road that leads to you...

Kate hated that the rest stop reminded her of the damn cafe back in Kansas...had the same gingham tablecloths, and the waitress had the same damn hairdo, only this one was a redhead. It was more of the same...reminders she couldn't shake, wasn't sure she wanted to, but scared her so badly she couldn't help but run from them.

But tomorrow it would end...tomorrow, she'd be in Barstow, and from there, she'd be in LA within two days...and from there to LAX, and LAX to Sydney. The plan was pretty simple...get out of the country. Do what she could to pull some cash together in Oz, then head for Europe. If nothing else, her trail should go cold enough to give her enough of a breather to buy a new identity overseas...change her hair to blonde for good this time.

She wondered if *he* liked blondes.

Shaking off the thought, she signaled the waitress for a refill on her too-strong coffee and a second helping of her tasteless hashed browns while on a shelf above the dining counter, the morning news played in the background.

"...looking forward to cooler temperatures this weekend, that's for sure. In other news, suspected teen killer Lincoln "LJ" Burrows, Jr., has been released from a local detention facility after the disappearance of evidence critical to his conviction. Burrows, son of Lincoln Burrows, Sr., one of the now infamous Fox River Eight, was being held for the double homicide of Lisa and Adrian Rix, his mother and stepfather, as well as the attempted murder of local Illinos businessman Owen Kravecki..."

The rest of the report was lost on Kate for the most part with the exception of a few facts, including that his release had been the day before.

The day before...shit. Linc was probably already here, looking for him, and if they ran into each other...

//Jesus, Kate, what the hell are you thinking?// she snapped inwardly, rubbing a hand over her features as she took a hasty swallow of coffee, welcoming the burn of the too-hot liquid, the bite of too large a sip stinging her tongue and her eyes. //You don't have a clue if he's here or not...you don't have a clue about anything.// What the hell made her think he'd be here just because his kid was?

Because he'd given a one-night stand his car. Because he'd *let* her run. Because he'd looked a little harder and a little deeper than anyone else ever had and didn't mind the darkness he saw.

Jesus Christ, it had been a week and a half at *least* since she'd slept with him. And he hadn't been the only one she'd ever taken to bed...just the only one that had ever gotten under her skin. Lincoln Burrows was in her head, under her skin...even in her dreams at night, dreams that were so intense she usually woke up twisted in the cheap sheets of whatever motel room she was staying in, skin still flushed and tingling after she had them.

She missed him...and Kate didn't miss anyone. Not anymore.

The only thing she was sure of was that if Linc's kid was out of jail, he'd be here...for whatever reason. After the way he'd treated her, she knew he couldn't detatch himself from anything easily, and his own kid?...

She had to get out of here.

Finishing her coffee fast enough to make her cough, Kate dropped a twenty on the counter for her meal and rose from her stool, shouldering her bag and shoving a hand inside to touch her plane ticket...the one that would get her to Sydney. She could be in California by tomorrow if she traveled hard...

Shoving her sunglasses on her face, Kate shoved the door of the rest stop's diner open, stalking out into the light...

...and freezing as she saw them climb out of the car across the street.

Broad and tall, lean and furtive...yeah, it was them.

And as she stood there, frozen in shock and something else as her body automatically reacted just to *seeing* Lincoln in person again, the only thing she could really give any serious thought to, in her dumbstruck haze, was that he seemed to have a predisposition towards *not* buttoning his shirt all the way up...

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It was such a simple request...such a simple, tiny little thing he wanted from her...why couldn't she give it to him?

He turned and left before she could answer him, leaving her to stand there with her bag, her plane ticket, and her plan.

And the taste of his kiss still on her lips...the heat of his body still fresh in her mind.

"Don't do it."

Kate glanced sharply to the side as Michael approached...his brother, the man she'd met only in passing. "Don't do what?"

"Don't take off. We can help you...and you can help him. I'm telling you...don't do it."

"You don't know anything about me."

"I know what I just saw...and I know what I've seen from my brother since the night you left, Kate. He lost something when he let you go...I don't know what happened between you two, but it's dragging at him. And as bad as you look? I'd say it's been dragging at you, too. You're right...I don't know you...but I know Lincoln. I'm telling you...don't do it."

Kate just glared at Michael...and contiued glaring.

And standing.

And wasting precious moments she could have spent slipping away until the moment she felt Lincoln's return...like a warmth, an itch between her shoulderblades, and when she turned she found him there, walking towards them.

She felt the old familiar urge...the panic, the urge to flee. But this time, something had her tethered down, a chain only he could unlock.

She needed him to let her go.

"I can't stay." she declared when he reached her, her voice quiet and urgent. "Linc...I *can't* stay..."

Lincoln washed his hands and splashed cool water on his face and the back of his neck. The water rolled down his back a bit as he dried his face and hands off, most of it ending up being wiped onto his jeans. He didn't want to return too late, or miss her leaving. He knew she wanted to, he could see it in her eyes. Still when he exited the building she was still standing there looking back at him.

His pace quickened to a slight jog up toward Kate, and as soon as he was in front of her again she spoke those words he knew she wanted to tell him. He just nodded, because he knew it was true, he just didn't want to accept it. His hand gripped to her shoulder lightly, "Kate..."

Saying her name again, just hearing it from his mouth almost sent a slight shiver through him. It had been a while since a woman had affected him like this, and he knew Michael had seen it, picked up on it. Michael had in fact taken leave of the two of them heading back toward the building giving them whatever space he thought they needed. The truth was that they didn't need more space, they needed less of a world around them.

They had the money from Utah, they had their route into Mexico with a detour to put LJ somewhere safe until they had settled. He glanced toward the car where the money was stowed in the trunk where the spare was supposed to be. He leaned in toward her pressing his forehead to hers, closing his eyes and moving into her more. His hand slipped from her arm snaking across her back and pressing into the small of her back. The tips of his fingertips brushed against a hint of skin causing him to inhale sharply. His forehead lifted from hers lips pressing to her forehead.

"Kate..." he breathed it more than said it, low and against her skin. He didn't know what to say to make her stay, he just knew he wanted her to never leave. "I need you to stay... I can keep you safe, let me try."

Pulling away from her his hand still pressed to her skin slid down a bit into the back of her jeans, feeling the slight curve of her against his fingers. A free hand laced up to her jawline tucking behind her ear, laced in strands of brunette bringing her chin up, and her lips to his once more. He kissed her fully and deep, trying to have something to remember her by in case she still wanted to leave.

Breaking from her mouth he looked into her eyes trying to see the woman he was trying to keep with him, trying to look beyond the fear, and the distrust of herself, "Stay."

The sound of her name on his lips, the brush of his fingers against her skin...it all made her head feel spinny and her knees weak, and it was such a feminine cliche, but *fuck*, he made her feel like such a helpless female...

But it was when he kissed her that she knew she was screwed...that feral, hungry press of lips that made her blood burn in her veins...that quieted that constant need for escape and totally made her lose control.

When the kiss broke, her hands moved of their own accord, one curling around the back of his neck as the other slid to the bare skin above his half-buttoned shirt, fingers tracing the planes of his chest as she shook her head. "I can't stay...I can't..." But the words were nothing more than a breathless whisper of passion as her eyes shut. Maybe if she didn't look at him...maybe she could walk away.

But how could she walk away when he was holding onto her, when he was *touching* her like the most precious thing he'd ever held onto...

"I can't..." It was the only thing she could say...because even though she couldn't say yes...for the first time in her life, she couldn't say no.

The words were being pushed out of her, forced into him like a wall she was trying to desperately build back up. Fingers still tucked into her jeans kneaded against skin, slipping beneath the snug elastic resting low against her hips. He was looking into her eyes watching her look away, at anything but him. Her fingers lightly touching his skin, sending small shockwaves through him, echoing in his ears with her saying she couldn't stay.

He didn't believe her that she wanted to leave, but he knew she needed to. Still with all that in his head, and all the doubt in her heart he didn't want to let her go. "Neither can I Kate, I can't let you leave... I don't know how I managed to get so entangled into you, but I can't just let you go."

His hand still laced against her jaw, lifting her chin up his mouth moved along her neck, breathing against her skin nipping sharply against her, brushing his lips along the slope of her neck soothing any of the sting. All he could do was hold onto her, press her against his body and try to work out the words, "I don't have the words Kate, I don't have the will to let you leave... I don't have the answers, or anything but an offer to take care of you. You have to let me try..."

He was moving into her slowly inching her back up against the side of the car, he didn't even care where Michael was, or what the rest of the world thought. He had this woman in his arms and he didn't want her to leave his side. There wasn't anything that was going to force his hand away from her skin, and if he could change her mind he was going to do it.

He felt the car bump up against her his knuckles pressed to metal through the denim of her jeans. His knee pressed between her legs on instinct, slipping her thigh above his knee as it pressed into the car door. His own arousal pressing hard against her as evident to her as it was to him now. "Kate... I don't want you to leave... I just want you. I want you to stay, I want to wake up beside you and I can't even explain why it's so important to me..." All his words were breathed hot against her skin between kisses and slight growls of his own pleasure just in being this close to her.

Kate could hardly believe this was happening...he had her pinned to the car, knee between her legs, making her hips shift reflexively to get closer and get more pressure where her body was suddenly screaming for it...out here in plain sight, and the feel of him, hard against her...

Fisting her hands in his shirt, with a soft sound almost like a whimper she kissed him hard, teeth clicking and lips burning almost painfully with the pressure of it as she gave in...just for a second, she let herself melt against him, let her body remember how it felt to fit against his again...every curve, every plane, sliding into place like puzzle pieces locking.

"Damn it, you don't fight fair, do you?" she joked weakly when the kiss finally broke, relishing the small, humored snort that she got out of him. Sighing heavily, her head fell forward, forehead resting against his neck for a moment as she breathed him in...warm and heady and more than just perfect, it was the smell of heaven...and God forgive her, she wanted it to be the smell of home.

"I missed you." she admitted softly, turning her head to press a kiss to his skin. "I can't stop thinking about you..."

"Fair? Me? Nope." His laughter was inhaled quickly stirring in his chest more than he let it hit the air. Her head rested to his chest and he tucked his chin atop her hair, trying to relax everything about himself as she stood there in his arms. Lincoln's hand slipped along her back until it crossed to her shoulder, pulling her into him.

"I like the sound of that. Hate to think that I'm the only one in over my head here." Placing a kiss to the top of her head he sighed, this was one of those choices that he knew he couldn't force on her, no matter how much he wanted to just drag her with caveman style.

A smirk crossed his features as he quickly shifted while leaning against Kate, his arousal still present but not as apparent as earlier. Both hands slipped beneath her thighs picking her up and pinning her to the car, "You can't run now. I'll just be taking you with me," he was teasing, but he waited for her to look at him. Meeting her eyes he smiled, "Kate, just stay."

Kate couldn't help but feel that sense of safety again as he enfolded her in his arms...just held her close, wrapped her up tight against him. It frightened her, to feel that safe....to feel that wanted.

Then all of a sudden his hands were on her legs, hoisting her up to half-pin her to the car, half leave her perched on the edge of the hood, supported less by the car behind her and more by the strength of his grip. The swift action made her supress a squeal of surprise, then laugh as she hid her face against him for a moment. He was going to end up drawing attention to them...but God help her, she didn't care.

For a moment she just held onto him, then drew back to meet his gaze again, losing herself in his eyes.

"Kate, just stay."

Just the word made her want to run...but it hurt, just feeling it. She *wanted* to stay...but just staying this long, seeing Lincoln a second time and holding him this way...she could hear the sirens, feel the blood on her hands...she could see Tom's dead, waxy skin again.

She was poison and she knew it...but Kate didn't think she could survive running again.

"Damn you." she sighed, wrapping her arms around him neck and burying her head against his chest, just holding him close. "Damn you, damn you, *damn* you..."

After a moment, she drew back to look up at him, a small smile tugging at her mouth as she sighed heavily, shutting her eyes as she forced herself to lay her hands against his chest in a gesture to push him away, though she didn't actually push him. "If you don't take a step back, Linc, you're either going to have to finish what you started, or find us a hotel." she finally managed to quip, meeting his gaze.

She couldn't say yes...she couldn't promise him anything...but Kate knew in her heart that she wasn't going anywhere.

It wasn't a yes, and it wasn't really an answer in so many words, but he was going to take every indication that she wasn't running from him as a good sign. Her palms warm against his chest, not pushing him away but more of a temptation to be allowed even closer stirred a smirk to his features that was undeniably up to no good at all.

"Hmmm... finish what I started... it's tempting." There was a quick eyebrow raise that accompanied his own remark, but instead of leaning into her to begin once more he slid her off the car and onto his hips, picking her up and cupping his hands to her rear to carry her toward the car. Still with her in his arms he leaned back against the rear driver side door smiling up at her waiting for Michael to return. This was going to be a bit difficult to explain.

"We need to talk to Michael though, and we shouldn't hang around here much longer as it is. There's a cool five mill' in the trunk, and sticking around here isn't really part of our plan."

Kate couldn't silence a giggle as he shifted her into his arms, instinctively wrapping her legs around his waist as he lifted her off the back of the car and pinned her against the driver's side door.

It felt...good. Right.

Bending down, she kissed him, slow and deep, taking just a moment to enjoy being there...be with him, be in this place at this moment. She couldn't stop the urge, the voice in her head whispering under her thoughts...run run run run...but she wanted to silence it. She wanted to learn...to figure this out...

She wanted to deserve the chance to stay.

Finally breaking the kiss, Kate rested her forehead against his, allowing them a moment to linger safely. With her hanging on him this way, heads bowed to obscure their faces and give the illusion of necking, they didn't look like anything more than any other overly amorous young couple on the street. She tried to ignore the way the thought of them as a couple warmed her deep down, in a place she didn't remember ever being cold.

"So your son...LJ...are you going after him?" she asked, settling her arms comfortably around his neck.

Feeling Kate settled in his grip was comforting, and gave him a small sense of clarity that he hadn't realized he was lacking. Everything hadn't been exactly clear cut, but it was still on the right track. Kate had through a wrench into most of it, and for some reason it made more sense than the rest of the plan had.

He inhaled a bit at the mention of his son. It was the one thing he knew most of all out of all of this, was that LJ deserved better than what he was being given. He deserved a real chance, at a life that he never had. Lincoln shifted Kate in his grip smiling back at her not ready to let go of her just yet.

"Yeah... I have to, I mean he's my son. He got tangled up in this... and he deserves to be free of all of it. He can be safe with us... or at least we can put him somewhere safe. Meet up with him further along. Something... anything will be better then him just out there. I know they'll be waiting for me to get him, so we've got to sort something out before we even get tehre." Lincoln turned his head pressing his mouth to the inside of Kate's forearm, the coolness of her skin pressed to his lips as he kissed the softness of her. It wasn't even something he noticed he was doing, it just felt right. "We'll get to him... before they do."

Lincoln saw Michael heading back to them sipping at a bottle of water with another in his jacket pocket, and a third in his hand. Dom just smirked at his brother, because as always he seemed one step ahead of him.

"So I take it you knew already?"

Michael wore a broad smile as he approached the pair. "More wishful thinking than anything."

"He point-blank told me I had to stay." Kate corrected bluntly, grinning as Lincoln kissed her forearm.

"We have to figure out what to do about LJ." Michael replied, ignoring Kate's wisecrack with a grin. "We can't go after him outright, the authorities will expect it."

Kate was quiet for a moment, nibbling on her lower lip as she turned her head towards Michael, resting her temple against Lincoln's forehead. "They won't expect me."

Michael blinked, quirking an eyebrow.

"The police, the Feds...they don't KNOW I'm with you guys. They've been chasing us separately for the last week and a half." Kate repeated. "I mean...if you guys can find him, I can get to him."

Lincoln was only slightly distracted the second Kate started to tug on her lower lip with her teeth. She stopped letting her head rest to his, and he just held her there listening to her talk to Michael. They were the thinkers apparently, and he had no problem with that. The other point was that she actually had a good thought to it all.

"She's right Michael... we just need to get him away from wherever they think he's going to go. He's getting released this afternoon, and they'll try to set him up with something. He's not stupid... he's not going to trust anyone."

Which also meant he might not know to trust Kate either, but there were easy ways around that, and they could sort out the details on the rest of the way, "So... it's a start at least right? I mean Kate could slip in... even with her current status, in Arizona they're gonna be looking for us... not her."

Michael frowned hard, brow creasing in thought. He tried to work out any possible way that a quick move by Kate could be picked up...but he was coming up with nothing.

"You know I'm right." Kate insisted, lifting her head away from Lincoln's and unwrapping her legs from around his waist as he let her slide to her feet. Continuing to hide her face, without really minding, she laid her head against Lincoln's chest after a cursory glance around to make sure they weren't being watched. "If you can track him down, I can go after him myself...you just have to give me some way of letting him know that I'm with you guys or he'll think I'm a Fed or something."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out, but we won't sort anything standing around here. Drop point is an hour off still, and we're not making it any closer in the parking lot." Lincoln was starting to focus onto LJ now that he knew he had Kate with him for a bit longer. He knew she wasn't going to stay forever, and even if she did he'd be shocked himself, but he had her now. He wasn't likely to let her go right now even if she begged him.

He kissed the top of her head gently and then turned to the side with Kate still pressed to him. Glancing to Michael with a bit of a deviousness in his smile, "You know you're driving right?"

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[RP] The road that leads to you...

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