serafina20 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
serafina20) wrote2007-07-02 06:17 pm
serafina20) wrote2007-07-02 06:17 pm
Entry tags:
Fic: Cellie
Title: Cellie
Author: serafina20
Rating: Mature
Pairing: Michael/Mahone
Summary: Four months into his sentence for the murder of Oscar Shales, Alexander Mahone gets a new cellie.
"No!" Cameron shrieked. "No bath!"
LJ looked up from his book to see a half-naked blur streak out of the hall and into the living room. Without stopping, it beelined for the front closet, where it slammed itself in.
Pam came out of the hall, Cameron's pants in one hand. "Why is he doing this? School starts tomorrow, he needs to take a bath. He never throws a fit about taking a bath. He loves baths."
"Why not offer to let him take a shower?" LJ suggested. "The other day when we got home from the pool, he wanted to shower with me and was all proud of himself for being a big boy and everything."
"Worth a try." She crossed the room to the closet. "Cameron? Do you want to take a shower instead of a bath?"
"No! I don't wanna bath or a shower!"
"But you have school tomorrow. Your first day. You need to be clean."
"I am clean. Don't need a bath." He sounded like he was crying.
Pam opened the door. "This isn't funny, young man." She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out. "This is not a choice. You are going to go to the bathroom right now and get into that bathtub right now. Do you understand?"
His head dropped back and he shook his head. "No! I can't. It'll wash off."
"What will wash off?"
"The picture. It'll wash off!"
"Oh no," LJ groaned. He pushed himself to his feet and went to them. "Cameron. You didn't." Once on his knees, LJ pushed Cameron's shirt up.
"Cameron," Pam said, a giggle breaking out despite herself. She bent over and pulled the shirt the rest of the way off.
From his neck to the top of his underwear, Cameron was covered in blue marker. Stick figures and swirls and lines and what looked like blobs with wings. It was all up and down his arms, too, which explained why he'd been wearing long sleeves since lunch.
When Cameron had closed himself in his room after lunch, LJ hadn't thought too much about it. He had a book to get through for school (assigned before school even began, how messed up was that?) and Cameron was always fine playing on his own. It'd been a peaceful afternoon.
"I'm so sorry, Pam," he said, running both hands through his hair. "I had no idea."
"It's okay. Cameron, honey. Why did you do this?"
He sniffed. "It's for Uncle Mike. I wanted to have a picture on me like him. I've been practicing."
"Practicing?"
Cameron nodded and darted out of the room.
"What do you think he means by that?" Pam asked as she and LJ followed at a more sedate pace.
LJ shrugged. "I have no idea."
Cameron was pulling a box out of his closet when they got there. "See?" he said. He opened the top. "First, I practiced drawing pictures." He handed his mother stack of papers, all with blue figures and lines drawn on them. "And then, I used these." Dolls came next, all decorated with blue.
"Why today, sweetie? Why couldn't you wait until Friday night to do this?"
"It's a map to the school. I don't want to get lost."
LJ snorted. Tried to bite back laughter, but couldn't quite contain it. Pam shot him a look before turning back to Cameron and pulling him onto her lap.
"Cameron, you can't go like this to school. It's going to be hot tomorrow, and you need to wear short sleeves. Everyone will see your tattoo."
"That's okay. People see Uncle Mike's tattoo."
"But he's a grown-up. It's okay for grown-ups to have tattoos. Little boys have to wait until they're older to have one."
Cameron's lower lip stuck out. "But why? I like it. It's pretty." He rubbed his stomach.
"It is pretty. But maybe instead of drawing it on you, we'll take one of the dolls so Uncle Mike can see it."
"But I want him to see my picture," he whined.
"He may get to," LJ said. He picked up the pen underneath the bed and held it up.
Pam sighed. "He used a permanent marker. Of course." She stood, taking Cameron with her. "Okay, babe. Listen up. You need to take a bath. The pen looks like it'll stay on, whether we want it to or not."
"Yay!"
LJ sat on Cameron's bed while Pam took him into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came back.
"I need to get his pajamas," she said.
"Pam? I was thinking," LJ said. He was twirling the pen in his hands.
"About what?"
He licked his lips. "You know that, uh, when everyone asks him about the pen, he's going to tell them about Uncle Mike. Probably everything. Like how he's in prison and everything. And he, uh, might say how Uncle Mike's going to marry his dad."
Pam sighed. She sat next to him. "I know. And I know I need to talk to him about that. Not because I think... I don't want to introduce him to the idea of homophobia, especially not so young. Of course, if I don't explain, he'll just experience it firsthand."
"What do we do?"
"I should have gotten a book or something."
"You've got a cake."
"That says 'Congratulations Alex and Mike.' It doesn't help the current situation."
"It would it we ate it." He rubbed his stomach. "I could use cake."
"That cake is for when we visit the prison."
"Yeah, but because Uncle Mike's sick, we can't visit until next week. The cake's going to go bad."
"It's in the freezer. It should be fine."
LJ batted his eyelashes at her and said, "Do you really want to take that chance?"
Pam laughed and hit him lightly on the shoulder. "We have brownies for dessert. And we can eat them, if your father ever gets home with dinner."
As if on cue, the front door sounded. "I'm home!" Lincoln shouted.
"We're in Cameron's room!" Pam called back.
A few seconds later, Lincoln poked his head into the room. "Hey. What's going on?" he asked. He walked to the bed, sat down, and kissed Pam.
"We're trying to figure out what to tell Cameron about people's possible reaction when he talks about Alex and Uncle Mike."
"Speaking of," added Pam, "go say hi to Cameron. He's in the bath."
Lincoln frowned, but obediently did as she said. "Hey, buddy. I... What's on your stomach?"
"I drawed a map of the school," Cameron answered. "Like Uncle Mike."
"It doesn't seem to be coming off." There was a light splashing sound. "You scrubbing hard enough?"
"No! I don't want it off."
"It's permanent marker," Pam called.
Lincoln snorted a laugh. "Well it's, uh, nice. Good job."
"Thank you."
"Hurry up. Dinner's ready."
"Okay, Lincoln."
He came back a few seconds later. "Wow."
Pam nodded. "Yeah. So. He's covered in a map, first day of school is tomorrow. I have a horrible feeling he's setting himself up for another difficult year." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "And things were so much better when we moved."
He sat back next to her and put an arm around her waist. "It'll be okay. Remember that you're not alone now."
LJ rested his head on Pam's shoulder. "Yeah. We're here."
Lincoln kissed her forehead. "We could tell Cameron that he shouldn't talk about Michael. Or his father."
"No, because that's just telling him that there's something wrong with it. I don't want him to feel that way."
"It might be better..."
"No," LJ interrupted heatedly.
His father sighed. "Cameron's not going to commit suicide, LJ. He..."
"No."
"He's right, Lincoln. We need to teach Cameron that just because other people think it's strange or wrong, doesn't mean it is. I just need to figure out what to say."
"Mom! I'm done!"
"Did you wash your neck?"
"Yes!"
"You're ears?"
"Yes, Mom!"
"What about your bottom?"
There was a loud splash. "Yes! I'm done, Mom!"
"I guess he's done. We'll meet you downstairs." Pam stood and left the room. "Cameron, you didn't rinse your hair."
Lincoln clapped his hand on LJ's shoulder. "Come on. Let's get dinner set up, okay?"
"Ow!" Cameron shouted suddenly.
"It's tear free shampoo, Cameron. Just blink your eyes."
"It hurts!"
"You and I used to have that argument," Lincoln said. His hand was still on LJ's shoulder as they walked to the kitchen.
"Yeah, but it really did hurt."
He shook his head. "Just the first time you stayed over. Michael set me straight after that, and I got the baby shampoo. I may not know everything, but I learn."
LJ smiled and bumped shoulders with him. "Yeah, you do." Then he frowned. "Dad, why couldn't we got visit Uncle Mike today?"
"He's sick. He said he has a fever. And he needs to rest. You know that. Besides, you saw him just last week."
"Yeah, but, if he's sick, isn't it better if we go see him? Help make him feel better?"
"What's wrong, LJ?"
He shrugged. "Nothing."
"LJ."
They were in the kitchen now. LJ broke away and went to the bag of food in the middle of the table. Without looking at his dad, he began to pull out the items. "I don't know if I'm ready to go back to school, that's all."
"You seemed excited when you went to orientation."
He nodded. "I know. I just... I've kind of been thinking about Ryan. And how it was his senior year. Mine, too, I know, but..." He sighed.
Lincoln sighed to and came over. He put his hand on LJ's arm and squeezed. "Kid, have you talked about any of this with your shrink?"
"I haven't seen him yet. He's on vacation."
"Right." He squeezed again. "I wish I knew what to say. To make it better."
"You can't make it better, Dad. A friend is dead. Or maybe, he could have been a friend. Or maybe he might have been more."
He could feel rather than see his father frown. "What does that mean, LJ?"
He shrugged.
"What? Are you trying to tell me that you're gay?"
LJ turned, holding the carton of mashed potatoes in his hands. "What if I was? Do you have a problem with it?"
Lincoln looked kind of wide-eyed. Shocked. Unsure. "Um. I don't know... I can't.... I'm used to it with Mike."
"Yeah, but I'm not Uncle Mike. I'm your son. Maybe I'm a failure."
"No," he said right away. "Never. I'm not upset and I don't think you're a failure. It's just that this is new. That's all." Lincoln frowned. "You're gay?"
"I don't know."
"Is there a guy you like at school?"
"No. Not really."
"Did you like Ryan or something?"
Feeling incredibly stupid, LJ shook his head.
"So, what? You just feel gay?"
"I don't know! I just... I don't know." He slammed the potatoes on the kitchen table. The container broke apart and potatoes spilled over his hand. "Ah, man!"
"Don't worry about it. I'll get it. You just wash your hand."
He nodded and went to the sink. Once the potatoes were off his hand, he turned. Lincoln was mopping up the table with a paper towel. He looked mad.
"I'm sorry, Dad."
"For what?"
"I don't know. For being me."
Lincoln looked at him. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know. Just... fucked up."
"LJ." He dropped the paper towel and crossed the kitchen to him. "You are not fucked up. And you haven't done anything to make me upset or angry or that you should be apologizing for. You're confused. It's natural. Your life the past couple years has been confusing." He put his arms around LJ and pulled him into a hard hug, something he hadn't done in awhile.
"What if everyone hates me?"
"Why would they do that?" Lincoln rested his chin on the top of his head. "You have friends from drama. You ended the year with a few friends. You're smart. It'll be fine."
"What if I can't find a date for prom or something? What if I have to miss every important senior year thing because I don't have any friends and no one finds me attractive and I turn out to be a total loser?"
"You already do have friends in your acting group. You got your uncle's good looks, so you'll have no problem finding a date. And, even if you don't, you'll do all those senior year things with your friends."
"What if I don't have any?"
"You will. And, if you don't, you'll do it all alone."
"Like a loser."
"That won't happen. It'll be fine. You're worried about nothing."
LJ sighed and pulled back. He could feel tears pressing behind his eyes. "I do this every year. And I normally talk to Uncle Mike. He calms me down, you know?"
Lincoln sighed. He leaned forward and knocked foreheads with his son. "These things you need to tell me. I would have taken you out. We could still go if you want."
"I don't know. Maybe."
"Look, we'll eat dinner here and then you and I will go out for dessert. And we'll talk. Okay?"
He nodded. "Okay." Sniffed and wiped his nose on his shirt collar. "So. What do you think of Cameron's tattoo?"
Lincoln broke into a grin. "At least he didn't cut his hair."
LJ's face went up in flames. "It was just that one time."
"One time is all you need to make a story. In fact, I think I'll tell it to Pam later."
"Dad!"
Author: serafina20
Rating: Mature
Pairing: Michael/Mahone
Summary: Four months into his sentence for the murder of Oscar Shales, Alexander Mahone gets a new cellie.
"No!" Cameron shrieked. "No bath!"
LJ looked up from his book to see a half-naked blur streak out of the hall and into the living room. Without stopping, it beelined for the front closet, where it slammed itself in.
Pam came out of the hall, Cameron's pants in one hand. "Why is he doing this? School starts tomorrow, he needs to take a bath. He never throws a fit about taking a bath. He loves baths."
"Why not offer to let him take a shower?" LJ suggested. "The other day when we got home from the pool, he wanted to shower with me and was all proud of himself for being a big boy and everything."
"Worth a try." She crossed the room to the closet. "Cameron? Do you want to take a shower instead of a bath?"
"No! I don't wanna bath or a shower!"
"But you have school tomorrow. Your first day. You need to be clean."
"I am clean. Don't need a bath." He sounded like he was crying.
Pam opened the door. "This isn't funny, young man." She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out. "This is not a choice. You are going to go to the bathroom right now and get into that bathtub right now. Do you understand?"
His head dropped back and he shook his head. "No! I can't. It'll wash off."
"What will wash off?"
"The picture. It'll wash off!"
"Oh no," LJ groaned. He pushed himself to his feet and went to them. "Cameron. You didn't." Once on his knees, LJ pushed Cameron's shirt up.
"Cameron," Pam said, a giggle breaking out despite herself. She bent over and pulled the shirt the rest of the way off.
From his neck to the top of his underwear, Cameron was covered in blue marker. Stick figures and swirls and lines and what looked like blobs with wings. It was all up and down his arms, too, which explained why he'd been wearing long sleeves since lunch.
When Cameron had closed himself in his room after lunch, LJ hadn't thought too much about it. He had a book to get through for school (assigned before school even began, how messed up was that?) and Cameron was always fine playing on his own. It'd been a peaceful afternoon.
"I'm so sorry, Pam," he said, running both hands through his hair. "I had no idea."
"It's okay. Cameron, honey. Why did you do this?"
He sniffed. "It's for Uncle Mike. I wanted to have a picture on me like him. I've been practicing."
"Practicing?"
Cameron nodded and darted out of the room.
"What do you think he means by that?" Pam asked as she and LJ followed at a more sedate pace.
LJ shrugged. "I have no idea."
Cameron was pulling a box out of his closet when they got there. "See?" he said. He opened the top. "First, I practiced drawing pictures." He handed his mother stack of papers, all with blue figures and lines drawn on them. "And then, I used these." Dolls came next, all decorated with blue.
"Why today, sweetie? Why couldn't you wait until Friday night to do this?"
"It's a map to the school. I don't want to get lost."
LJ snorted. Tried to bite back laughter, but couldn't quite contain it. Pam shot him a look before turning back to Cameron and pulling him onto her lap.
"Cameron, you can't go like this to school. It's going to be hot tomorrow, and you need to wear short sleeves. Everyone will see your tattoo."
"That's okay. People see Uncle Mike's tattoo."
"But he's a grown-up. It's okay for grown-ups to have tattoos. Little boys have to wait until they're older to have one."
Cameron's lower lip stuck out. "But why? I like it. It's pretty." He rubbed his stomach.
"It is pretty. But maybe instead of drawing it on you, we'll take one of the dolls so Uncle Mike can see it."
"But I want him to see my picture," he whined.
"He may get to," LJ said. He picked up the pen underneath the bed and held it up.
Pam sighed. "He used a permanent marker. Of course." She stood, taking Cameron with her. "Okay, babe. Listen up. You need to take a bath. The pen looks like it'll stay on, whether we want it to or not."
"Yay!"
LJ sat on Cameron's bed while Pam took him into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came back.
"I need to get his pajamas," she said.
"Pam? I was thinking," LJ said. He was twirling the pen in his hands.
"About what?"
He licked his lips. "You know that, uh, when everyone asks him about the pen, he's going to tell them about Uncle Mike. Probably everything. Like how he's in prison and everything. And he, uh, might say how Uncle Mike's going to marry his dad."
Pam sighed. She sat next to him. "I know. And I know I need to talk to him about that. Not because I think... I don't want to introduce him to the idea of homophobia, especially not so young. Of course, if I don't explain, he'll just experience it firsthand."
"What do we do?"
"I should have gotten a book or something."
"You've got a cake."
"That says 'Congratulations Alex and Mike.' It doesn't help the current situation."
"It would it we ate it." He rubbed his stomach. "I could use cake."
"That cake is for when we visit the prison."
"Yeah, but because Uncle Mike's sick, we can't visit until next week. The cake's going to go bad."
"It's in the freezer. It should be fine."
LJ batted his eyelashes at her and said, "Do you really want to take that chance?"
Pam laughed and hit him lightly on the shoulder. "We have brownies for dessert. And we can eat them, if your father ever gets home with dinner."
As if on cue, the front door sounded. "I'm home!" Lincoln shouted.
"We're in Cameron's room!" Pam called back.
A few seconds later, Lincoln poked his head into the room. "Hey. What's going on?" he asked. He walked to the bed, sat down, and kissed Pam.
"We're trying to figure out what to tell Cameron about people's possible reaction when he talks about Alex and Uncle Mike."
"Speaking of," added Pam, "go say hi to Cameron. He's in the bath."
Lincoln frowned, but obediently did as she said. "Hey, buddy. I... What's on your stomach?"
"I drawed a map of the school," Cameron answered. "Like Uncle Mike."
"It doesn't seem to be coming off." There was a light splashing sound. "You scrubbing hard enough?"
"No! I don't want it off."
"It's permanent marker," Pam called.
Lincoln snorted a laugh. "Well it's, uh, nice. Good job."
"Thank you."
"Hurry up. Dinner's ready."
"Okay, Lincoln."
He came back a few seconds later. "Wow."
Pam nodded. "Yeah. So. He's covered in a map, first day of school is tomorrow. I have a horrible feeling he's setting himself up for another difficult year." She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "And things were so much better when we moved."
He sat back next to her and put an arm around her waist. "It'll be okay. Remember that you're not alone now."
LJ rested his head on Pam's shoulder. "Yeah. We're here."
Lincoln kissed her forehead. "We could tell Cameron that he shouldn't talk about Michael. Or his father."
"No, because that's just telling him that there's something wrong with it. I don't want him to feel that way."
"It might be better..."
"No," LJ interrupted heatedly.
His father sighed. "Cameron's not going to commit suicide, LJ. He..."
"No."
"He's right, Lincoln. We need to teach Cameron that just because other people think it's strange or wrong, doesn't mean it is. I just need to figure out what to say."
"Mom! I'm done!"
"Did you wash your neck?"
"Yes!"
"You're ears?"
"Yes, Mom!"
"What about your bottom?"
There was a loud splash. "Yes! I'm done, Mom!"
"I guess he's done. We'll meet you downstairs." Pam stood and left the room. "Cameron, you didn't rinse your hair."
Lincoln clapped his hand on LJ's shoulder. "Come on. Let's get dinner set up, okay?"
"Ow!" Cameron shouted suddenly.
"It's tear free shampoo, Cameron. Just blink your eyes."
"It hurts!"
"You and I used to have that argument," Lincoln said. His hand was still on LJ's shoulder as they walked to the kitchen.
"Yeah, but it really did hurt."
He shook his head. "Just the first time you stayed over. Michael set me straight after that, and I got the baby shampoo. I may not know everything, but I learn."
LJ smiled and bumped shoulders with him. "Yeah, you do." Then he frowned. "Dad, why couldn't we got visit Uncle Mike today?"
"He's sick. He said he has a fever. And he needs to rest. You know that. Besides, you saw him just last week."
"Yeah, but, if he's sick, isn't it better if we go see him? Help make him feel better?"
"What's wrong, LJ?"
He shrugged. "Nothing."
"LJ."
They were in the kitchen now. LJ broke away and went to the bag of food in the middle of the table. Without looking at his dad, he began to pull out the items. "I don't know if I'm ready to go back to school, that's all."
"You seemed excited when you went to orientation."
He nodded. "I know. I just... I've kind of been thinking about Ryan. And how it was his senior year. Mine, too, I know, but..." He sighed.
Lincoln sighed to and came over. He put his hand on LJ's arm and squeezed. "Kid, have you talked about any of this with your shrink?"
"I haven't seen him yet. He's on vacation."
"Right." He squeezed again. "I wish I knew what to say. To make it better."
"You can't make it better, Dad. A friend is dead. Or maybe, he could have been a friend. Or maybe he might have been more."
He could feel rather than see his father frown. "What does that mean, LJ?"
He shrugged.
"What? Are you trying to tell me that you're gay?"
LJ turned, holding the carton of mashed potatoes in his hands. "What if I was? Do you have a problem with it?"
Lincoln looked kind of wide-eyed. Shocked. Unsure. "Um. I don't know... I can't.... I'm used to it with Mike."
"Yeah, but I'm not Uncle Mike. I'm your son. Maybe I'm a failure."
"No," he said right away. "Never. I'm not upset and I don't think you're a failure. It's just that this is new. That's all." Lincoln frowned. "You're gay?"
"I don't know."
"Is there a guy you like at school?"
"No. Not really."
"Did you like Ryan or something?"
Feeling incredibly stupid, LJ shook his head.
"So, what? You just feel gay?"
"I don't know! I just... I don't know." He slammed the potatoes on the kitchen table. The container broke apart and potatoes spilled over his hand. "Ah, man!"
"Don't worry about it. I'll get it. You just wash your hand."
He nodded and went to the sink. Once the potatoes were off his hand, he turned. Lincoln was mopping up the table with a paper towel. He looked mad.
"I'm sorry, Dad."
"For what?"
"I don't know. For being me."
Lincoln looked at him. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know. Just... fucked up."
"LJ." He dropped the paper towel and crossed the kitchen to him. "You are not fucked up. And you haven't done anything to make me upset or angry or that you should be apologizing for. You're confused. It's natural. Your life the past couple years has been confusing." He put his arms around LJ and pulled him into a hard hug, something he hadn't done in awhile.
"What if everyone hates me?"
"Why would they do that?" Lincoln rested his chin on the top of his head. "You have friends from drama. You ended the year with a few friends. You're smart. It'll be fine."
"What if I can't find a date for prom or something? What if I have to miss every important senior year thing because I don't have any friends and no one finds me attractive and I turn out to be a total loser?"
"You already do have friends in your acting group. You got your uncle's good looks, so you'll have no problem finding a date. And, even if you don't, you'll do all those senior year things with your friends."
"What if I don't have any?"
"You will. And, if you don't, you'll do it all alone."
"Like a loser."
"That won't happen. It'll be fine. You're worried about nothing."
LJ sighed and pulled back. He could feel tears pressing behind his eyes. "I do this every year. And I normally talk to Uncle Mike. He calms me down, you know?"
Lincoln sighed. He leaned forward and knocked foreheads with his son. "These things you need to tell me. I would have taken you out. We could still go if you want."
"I don't know. Maybe."
"Look, we'll eat dinner here and then you and I will go out for dessert. And we'll talk. Okay?"
He nodded. "Okay." Sniffed and wiped his nose on his shirt collar. "So. What do you think of Cameron's tattoo?"
Lincoln broke into a grin. "At least he didn't cut his hair."
LJ's face went up in flames. "It was just that one time."
"One time is all you need to make a story. In fact, I think I'll tell it to Pam later."
"Dad!"
no subject
no subject
Thank you. :)
no subject
Linc and LJ having some father-son talk is great too, and -
Bwahahahaha! School map tattoo! That just takes the cake. Too good. :D
no subject
Oh my god, Cameron drawing on himself a map of the school just like Uncle Mike is hilarious and heartwarming and just plain awesome.
He wants to be just like his Uncle Mike. :) He's got a plan just in case he needs to bust out of school.
Thank you!
no subject
I adore Cam and his school map tattoo and Linc and Lj are wonderful together in this chapter. And I sighed when Linc told Pam she wasn't on her own. Love it.
no subject
Thank you!
no subject
LJ is lovely too of course :) Everyone is!!! *wiiiiiii fuzziness*
no subject
Don't you just want to squish him? :)
Thank you.
no subject
That has to be one of the cutest things EVER!! Cameron is just the sweetest boy in the world!!
Though there was no M/A interaction in this chapter, it is still one of my favourites! I love the relationship between them all and I'm sure I had a dopey grin on my face as I read it!! ♥
Thanks, sweetheart. You make me love this story more with each passing chapter!
*hugs*
no subject
Just a wonderful story, each chapter a delight.
no subject