Jessica listened to her voicemail. It was from her lawyer, just a few more days and her divorce would be finalized. She took a deep breathe after listening to it.
She loved Lincoln but she was not going to be one of those women that was going to be cheated on.
She had another message. It was a drunk message from Lincoln saying that he loved her and wanted another chance.
She deleted the message and got ready to head into the station.
She got dressed and headed out the door down to her car.
Her phone started ringing and she looked at the called ID and seen that it was her best friend Alyssa.
"Hey long time no hear from what's up?" she said into the phone.
"Hey. So guess who I seen last night." she heard Alyssa say through the phone.
Jessica rolled her eyes. Alyssa may be her best friend but she always did love to gossip.
"Who could you have possibly seen while you were in town?" Jessica asked teasingly.
"Your husband. He was pretty trashed when we showed up. Lucky for him I was off duty." she stated to Jessica.
"I don't care what Lincoln does besides in just a couple more days and he'll be my ex husband." Jessica said to Alyssa.
"I know that. Hey do you think you can meet me for lunch before I have to leave?" Alyssa asked her. Jessica smiled.
"Yeah I think I can make some time." she laughed teasingly.
"Great I'll call you later." she said before hanging up the phone.
Jessica walked into the station and headed right for her desk. She looked over and seen her new partner Jason already there working at his desk. She sat down and look him over discretely. He was attractive and he made it known that he was interested but with them being partners it was a bad idea, plus she technically was still married. She looked away and booted up her computer to check her email before her captain needed them for anything. Jason seen her and stood up from his desk and made his way over to her.
"Hey." he greeted sitting down across from him. She looked up from her computer to look at him.
"Hey by the looks of things we might have a slow day." she commented.
"Yeah maybe if we're lucky all we will have to do is patrol." he stated with a smile.
She smiled back at him.
"Yeah hopefully." she said looking back at the computer to stop herself from blushing.
"I was wondering what you're doing tonight. Maybe we can grab a bite to eat after our shift." he suggested nervously.
She looked up in surprise.
"Are you asking me out on a date?" she asked him.
Jason smiled nervously. "Yeah I am." he confirmed softly before continuing.
"I understand if you don't want to, not only are we partners but you're going through a divorce. But I think if you let yourself you will have a good time." he stated to her.
Jessica looked at him before answering.
"OK." she agreed. "But just one date. If its too awkward we forget this ever happened." she warned.
He nodded quickly.
"Agreed." he stood back up and walked back to his desk.
She smiled as she felt butterflies in her stomach she hadn't felt in a long time.
Jessica looked as she seen Alyssa wave from the table she was sitting at.
She smiled and rushed to engulf her best friend in a hug.
"I'm so glad you're here." she whispered into her ear.
She pulled back and took a seat.
"I know I wish I could be around more but they always have us on different cases like I just came back from California." she excitedly stated.
Jessica scoffed in mock jealousy.
"Lucky I would love to go to California." she commented.
They were silent before Alyssa spoke again.
"So what's really going on? The last I had heard you were happy and married then the next you file for a divorce." she said very confused.
Jessica rolled her eyes. "Yeah I thought I was happy, hell I thought he was happy but I guess I wasn't as right as I thought I was." she said to her friend.
"I refuse to be one of those girls. I seen what it did to Liz. And the worst part was it was with my own sister." she felt tears threatening to appear.
"I thought I was pregnant." she whispered to Alyssa making her eyes go wide in surprise.
"I was coming home early with tests to see if I was." she stopped and scoffed.
"I'm so glad I wasn't." she confessed with a hateful tone in her voice.
Alyssa sighed going over all the new news that she had gotten.
"I understand that you don't want to be cheated on hell I wouldn't want to be, but don't you think you should have given him a chance to explain." Alyssa asked trying to get Jessica to see reason.
"I don't want to hear anything he has to say ever." Jessica said before the waiter came over to take their orders.
Jessica stood outside the restaurant doors. She had agreed to meet Jason instead of him picking her up. She was very nervous. She hasn't been on a date with anyone since Lincoln and that scared her. With a confident stare she walked in and looked around for Jason.
She spotted him over by the bar. He didn't notice her yet so she took the opportunity and looked him over. He was dressed in a simple button down shirt and black dress pants.
She would be called a liar if she said she didn't find him attractive. He turned and spotted her smiling at her making her blush slightly.
After dinner they made their way out to the parking lot.
"I had a really good time tonight." he said smiling down at her.
"I had a good time too. I'm glad we did this." she confessed to him.
He leaned down slightly to kiss her but her phone started ringing making her jump back.
She dug into her purse and pulled out her phone and seen that it was Lincoln calling her.
She tensed up as she watched the phone ring debating whether to answer it or not.
"Are you going to answer that?" she heard Jason ask making her look up at him.
"No." she breathed out.
"He'll leave a voicemail." she informed him shoving her phone back into her purse.
***LINCOLN'S POV***
Lincoln was in a tough spot. He had the opportunity to square his debt, but he has to kill someone. He has never killed anyone before.
Yeah he's a low life who steals and sells drugs on the side but he wasn't a murderer. He needed to hear her voice. The only voice in the world that could make him feel better.
It was a long shot he knew that but he had to at least try. He pulled out his phone and dialed her house number. It rang and rang there was no answer.
He hung up and dialed her cell phone. He listened to it ring as he stood in the winter night wanting to hear her voice. He sighed sadly when he got her voicemail.
"Hey Jess, its Linc. I need your help. I'm into something really bad that I can't get out of. I need to hear your voice, you always straightened me out. My head is all messed up I need to talk to you I'm in big trouble please. Call me now." he hung up the phone and for once in his life he was really scared.
*** END POV***
Jessica looked up into Jason's eyes.
"Are you sure you didn't need to get that?" he asked as her voicemail alert dinged.
"I'm sure it was no one important." she said to her out loud but her heart was telling her to call him back.
She leaned forward this time and pressed her lips to Jason's softly at first.
He kissed her back and pulled her into him. She wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him harder.
***LINCOLN'S POV***
Lincoln stood in that same spot for about 15 minutes waiting for Jessica to call him back. He sighed sadly when he realized that she wasn't going to call him back and that she didn't care about him anymore.
He didn't blame her for hating him. He messed up really bad and he hated himself for it everyday. He took a deep breath and walked forward down the alley toward the garage where he was told the guy was going to be. He took the gun out of his pants and with a determined step he continued forward.
***END POV***
Jessica got the call in the middle of the night. She rushed out of bed and drove down to the crime scene.
"Hey. Its about time you showed up." Jason said walking toward her.
"What do we got?" she asked walking closer to the scene.
" Police got an anonymous call saying they seen some guy running from the parking lot after hearing shots fired." he informed her.
"The body has been identified as Terrance Steadman." a forensic analyst stated walking up to them.
"Steadman? Isn't he the brother of that woman running for vice president?" Jason asked curiously.
"That's the one. The guy was such a saint I don't know who would want to kill him." the analyst said before walking back to the scene.
Jessica was looking up around at the ceiling.
She slapped Jason's arm when she found what she was looking for.
"Security camera." Jessica stated to Jason.
"We need to get that tape and find out who did this." she said walking toward the garage office to get the tape off the security guard.
She finally managed to get the tape and she and Jason went to watch it. She pressed play and fast forwarded to an hour before the call was placed.
They watched as Steadman's car pulled up to the spot and stop. Her heart stopped when she seen who the shooter was.
She paused the tape without another word and rushed out of the room. Jason followed after her.
"Hey are you OK? Did you know that guy?" Jason asked her.
She tried to stop the tears of shock from coming down. She nodded at him.
"He's my husband." she quickly corrected herself seeing the look on his face.
"My ex husband any day now." she assured him. He sighed heavily.
"This is big. This is very big. We have to turn this evidence in." he warned her.
"I know we do. I just don't want to be there when they arrest him." she said to him before walking out of the room letting him do what he needed to do.
Jessica walked into the holding cell where Lincoln was being brought in.
He looked up and seen her.
"I can only give you a few minutes." the cop stated cuffing Lincoln to the bar before walking out.
Jessica stayed silent and just looked at him.
"I didn't do it Jess I swear." he pleaded with her.
"Of all the stupid things you have done this has got to be the worst of it all." she said to him angrily.
"I mean Terrance Steadman really Lincoln?!" she shouted at him.
"It was a set up. I didn't do it." he stated to her.
"You knew him." she said to him.
"What?" he asked.
"Steadman. Records say you worked for his company before getting fired a few weeks ago." she said throwing down the papers on the table.
"OK yeah I carried barrels into warehouses so what? What the hell Jessica you sound like you believe them!" he exclaimed angrily.
"I was called on the scene. I seen the video tape. I seen you pull your gun up and fire at Steadman. What other possibility is there?" she exclaimed getting upset.
"I was there I did have a gun but Jess please you have to believe me I did not shoot him." he pleaded.
She looked down at all the paper.
"Do you think I did it?" he asked her. She looked up at him.
"It doesn't matter what I think. The evidence is all there Lincoln I saw it with my own eyes!" she exclaimed raising her voice.
She sighed trying to calm down.
"I'm not here to grill you, if fact I'm not even on the case." she told him pulling out an envelope and sliding it over to him.
"The final papers came in today, it's finalized." she informed him trying not to cry.
He looked at the envelope with a heartbroken face. She stood up.
"They need me there for the trial. After that you won't see me anymore." she said her voice breaking before turning away and walking to the door.
"Jessica." she stopped in her tracks at his voice.
"I love you. I always have and I always will." she wiped the tear that rolled down her cheek and continued to walk out of the room.
Trish stood next to Paul Kellerman as they supervised the reconstruction of the video.
She smirked as she watched as the evidence was getting finished.
"Its almost done. Then my sister will be free from this poor excuse of a man." she spit out and walked out of the room.
Jessica sat in the middle row of the court room as Lincoln's final trial was coming to an end.
The more the evidence went over in her head the more it wasn't adding up.
All the evidence was perfect almost too perfect. Her mind went back to the trial as the jury was giving its verdict.
Jason was beside her holding her hand. He was supportive through this whole thing.
"In the matter of the people of the state versus Lincoln Burrows of murder in the first degree we find the defendant guilty."
Jessica seen her sister sitting with Michael and glared.
She was planning to go say goodbye but changed her mind. She stood to leave and caught his glance.
Just then flashes of when they first met flashed through her mind.
She snapped out of it when she felt a hand on her lower back.
She broke eye contact and walked out of the room with Jason.
Jessica was walking down the street on her day off when she bumped into LJ.
"Hey." she greeted giving him a big hug.
"How are you doing?" she asked as they walked into a Starbucks to get an iced coffee.
"I've been better. Everyone at school is talking about it." he said to her shamefully.
"It'll all blow over soon. You just have to hang in there. You have to be strong and just let it roll off your shoulder. People are going to be talking a lot but you can't let it affect you." she said to him as they got their drinks.
"I care about you LJ, I always have and I am always here if you need to talk." she told him before he left.
"Michael hey what are you doing here?" Jessica asked surprised to see him at her door.
"I'm sorry to interrupt anything but I was wondering if there was anyway I could get some information from you?" he asked her.
"Yeah sure come on in." she held the door open for him. She led him to the kitchen and pulled out a couple of drinks.
"What sort of info are you looking for?" she asked him.
"I need to know what you think about everything." he stated to her. She sighed.
"I'm trying to put this all behind me I don't want to to thin about it anymore." she told him.
"Please just one more time than I won't bother you anymore." he pleaded with her.
"OK. What do you want to know?" she asked him.
This was going to be a long night for her not knowing that she unknowingly helped him formulate a plan to break his brother, her ex husband out of prison.