[IF RP] And I'm so very guilty for no reason or rhyme...

[human_blueprint]

"Okay, you've got to be cheating." Kate laughed as LJ laid down his hand, beating her at cards for the third time in a row. "That, or I forgot just how badly I suck at gin."

Michael watched from the opposite side of the room as LJ smiled at Kate's crack. She was wearing one of Lincoln's shirts now, having taken advantage of their hotel room's shower, and he noted the way she kept burrowing into it...drawing her arms into the sleeves, hunching her shoulders to feel the material slide over her skin. He'd even noticed her smelling it at one point...and he didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know why she'd asked for the change of clothes when her own bag was sitting right in the corner.

Making a mental note, Michael turned his attention back to the file spread out on the table, paging through it while Lincoln sat in a nearby chair, where he knew he was watching her play cards with his son...in his shirt.

"This whole thing is incredible." he finally sighed, lifting another page from the folder. "The information this woman's compiled...Linc, she's got about as many answers as we do, but there's things in here we didn't have before, stuff she got to with...a government level of clearance I've never even seen." Glancing up, he saw Lincoln still distracted and thumped the table with his index finger. Fortunately, he was, in fact, listening, as he immediately turned to face Michael.

Handing Lincoln the page, he leaned over and pointed to a name. "According to these documents, a top audio-visual specialist was hired by a subsidiary of Steadman's company. Steadman dealt in alternative energy...why would he need an A/V expert?" Michael paused, holding Lincoln's gaze pointedly. "And what's more...if you were going to fake someone's death, and needed help in doing it...how would you go about covering your own tracks? Simple: cut through the dead man's garden...the one place no one would think to look."

Comments

[id-mademypeace.livejournal.com]

"Trust me Michael, I'm doing a lot of thinking." His hand rubbed at his shoulder a bit shifting his shirt against his upper arm, "Not all of it makes sense mind you, but still... thinking."

They continued walking getting close to the soda machine, LJ's request still present in his mind, and Kate as well. The fact that she had helped, and that she seemed to get along with LJ, it made Lincoln think a bit further than he knew he should. Meeting Michael's glance for a moment he recognized that smirk from growing up and knew he was in for something.

Sure enough Michael ribbed him about his admiration of Kate in his shirt. Lincoln laughed a bit and sent a playful punch toward his brother's shoulder, "Right... what was her name? Amanda Petrov- Petrovski? Something like that. Got her in that fuzzy pink sweater... *very* healthy look in my eyes from that."

[human-blueprint.livejournal.com]

Michael rose his arms in a halfhearted defense against the playful punch, laughing softly. "Samantha Petrovski, actually...and I don't think it was the fuzzy pink sweater you were interested in. More like what was inside. Barely, anyway." he chuckled. "Probably the only time in my life I've been afraid angora might tear under the strain of containing something."

When they reached the soda machine, Michael fed in a few bills, dispensing a few cans, including LJ's Dr. Pepper. When he straightened, he took a can of Coke and handed it to Lincoln.

"Give it to her when we get back. Something tells me she'll appreciate the gesture." he replied, shrugging with a lopsided smile. "If you want to try and keep her around, couldn't hurt, right?" He paused, playfully shoving the can against Lincoln's chest. "Least it'll keep your head on straight, longer she stays."

[id-mademypeace.livejournal.com]

He shook his head laughing at the normalcy of the conversation they were having. He couldn't help but wonder how he hadn't been able to keep this kind of relationship with his brother before. As horrible as everything was, as dangerous as the past few months had been, Lincoln almost wouldn't trade it for the relationship he had gotten back.

Lincoln leaned against the building as Michael vended a few sodas from the machine, and handed one to him. The arch of eyebrow got the response of trying to impress the girl with a can of Coke, "Better than roses right?"

Laughing it off they headed back toward the room, "So you're cool with her coming with? I mean... I know," he shook his head for a minute before looking at Michael again, "I know it's going to make things a bit harder, especially if she sticks through to the border... but I just need to make sure you're okay with it. You've done all this work, and risked so much... I don't want to risk it on a girl. No matter the girl." Lincoln looked at his brother and he meant it. Kate was something, something he couldn't explain but four on the run, even if they settled LJ in somewhere for the time being, three wanted fugatives were always a bigger challenge, than just two.

[human-blueprint.livejournal.com]

Michael snorted softly, nodding good-naturedly. "Better than roses." he agreed with a lopsided grin as they started back towards the room.

At Lincoln's remark, he sobered. "Well...that's one of the reasons I was bringing this up, Linc. We have a day or so before we get to that point of no return...but when we get there..."

He trailed off, sighing heavily. "I made arrangements for two of us...but I prepared for contingencies. If Abruzzi demanded more, if I had to bring another party on for any reason...bottom line is that I'm prepared to work around extra baggage, so to speak. But if I do...there's no running, Lincoln. If Kate goes with us, she's going to be stuck with us...with you for a while, and there's not going to be an out. We *can* risk it...if you think she'll go for it." He paused, leveling his gaze at Lincoln. "If you think you want her to stay that badly."

[id-mademypeace.livejournal.com]

Lincoln nodded he knew they were reaching a certain point in the whole thing, and that it could end up hurting him... or Kate in the end. That just because they seemed to have something right in this moment, didn't mean that they'd have something down the line.

When they stopped just outside the door to the room, Lincoln closed his eyes for a moment really thinking about the choice he wanted to make, and why he was making that exact choice. He had to make sure it was for the right reasons, that it wasn't just his libido making up his mind for him. He thought through the talks that he had with Kate in the diner, and in the woods, the way she made him feel... and he weighed it all against the risk.

"If she'll stay with me... with us, I want her to, I'll take that risk Michael."

[human-blueprint.livejournal.com]

Michael looked his brother in the eye, studying his expression...the hard, determined look he always got when he was sure of something. More than just sure...but dead sure.

With a deep sigh, Michael nodded. "Okay. If that's the case...the truth...then okay."

With a small smile, Michael fished out his key and opened the door, leading the way into the room. "We're back!"

Kate looked up from the hand of cards she had, grinning as she laid them down on the bed, playfully narrowing her eyes at LJ. "You peek, you die."

Earing only a laugh for her trouble, Kate rose from her spot and ambled over to Lincoln, having donned a pair of jeans under the shirt of his she was still wearing. She wanted to reach for him...kiss him, *something*, but was unsure of what to do...especially in front of his kid.

"So...soda retrieval go without incident?" she teased with a smile, hooking her thumbs in the pockets of her jeans.

[id-mademypeace.livejournal.com]

Lincoln nodded again, reassuring Michael that he knew what he was getting himself into, and knew exactly how insane it might have been. It just felt right, and maybe that was actually wrong... but he just couldn't let her stay behind if he had a chance to bring her with.

The door opened and he moved inside the room with his brother, watching LJ reach for the Dr. Pepper in Michael's hand as Kate stood up from the bed, tossing his son a half hearted threat about looking at her cards. Lincoln could see the hesitation in Kate, in her steps in the way she was standing in front of him, and he had a feeling it was because it wasn't just them anymore, it was everyone.

Her smile still showed a lot more of her though, and Linc smiled back down at her easing his arm across her shoulders pulling her close to his body. Not quite an embrace, but just something to let her know that it was going to be fine. Kate beside him, his brother with them, and now his son, for the first time in a long time Lincoln actually felt like something good was going to happen, but he didn't dare say it out loud.

Pulling Kate in a bit closer to his body he kissed the top of her head, letting his hand rub across her back. "You up for a walk?" Lincoln asked against the top of her head, "I mean if you're winning at cards, we can go later."