John woke up to hear hushed whispering coming from above him, followed by the shuffling of bedsheets and two figures leaving the cell. He fluttered his eyes open and suddenly it was hushed down into an eery silence.
"Good morning!" Alex grinned as he swung upside down from the bunk above him. John gasped a little in shock before catching his breath with a weak laugh. He quickly shut himself up when he realised he was still meant to be 'angry' at Alex. Honestly, he was over it, but he was in the mood to be stubborn, considering it was his birthday today. John hated his birthday.

"Morning Alex," John mumbled, sinking back down into his pillow. Alex's smile fell and he swung back into his own bed before jumping down and sitting down on John's bed. John sighed and closed his eyes, praying he would just go away and leave him to reminisce over his shitty birthday memories in peace. Alex did not go away. Instead he pulled back John's bedsheets and grabbed his hand, tugging on it excitedly.
"Come get breakfast with me," Alex grinned gently. John groaned a little and pulled his hand away.
"Not hungry," John muttered as he rolled over to face the wall, away from Alex.

The cell fell silent until Alex fell on top of John, slumping over him limply. John yelped at the sudden weight thrown onto his body and tried to shove Alex off, but he wasn't going anywhere.
"Pleeeeaaase," Alex drawled childishly with a little pout. John groaned in exaggeration and threw his head back.
"Fine!" John shot, Alex instantly sitting up with a wide grin stretched across his lips. John sluggishly sat up, grabbing his jacket off the end of the bed and slipping it on. Alex stood beside the door expectantly while John walked over. He gestured for John to go first, John rolling his eyes as Alex ushered him out.

As soon as he walked out toilet paper streamers flew high into the sky of the cell block.
"SURPRISE!" A select group of inmates shouted with big grins from under the balcony, including Laf, Herc, Paine, Seabury, Lee, and a few other stragglers. Lafayette held up a stack of pancakes with an unlit candle stabbed sloppily in the side proudly. John's heart froze in his chest and his breath hitched in his throat. Alex's arms wrapped around him from behind and he rest his chin on John's shoulder.
"Happy Birthday," he smiled sweetly, pressing a small kiss to John's jaw. John still hadn't moved, letting go of a breath he didn't even realise he was holding. "John?" Alex asked nervously, releasing his grip a little.

John felt tears prickle his eyes and a small sob rise in his throat. Alex quickly noticed and walked around to stand in front of him, the boys underneath realising something was up and hurriedly making their way up the stairs. Alex opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when John surged forward and pulled him into a desperate hug, burying his face in the crook of Alex's neck but blinking back his tears. Alex was shocked for a moment but was quick to wrap his arms around John, rubbing his back soothingly and tangling the other hand in his hair.
"I'm sorry, I thought you'd want-" Alex began before John shut him up by interrupting him.
"Thank you," he whispered weakly. Alex hesitated before replying, the others finally reaching them on the balcony.
"Y-you're welcome," he chuckled nervously, making a mental note for later to find out what was so triggering for John about his birthday. John pulled away and sucked in a sharp breath, chuckling when Lafayette held out the stack of pancakes with a pout. John leaned forward and pretended to blow out the candle, earning a triumphant cheer from the rest of the group.

They moved down stairs and all sat around a table together, digging into John's birthday pancakes, the toilet paper streamers looped around the rails up on the balcony. Every now and then a random few inmates would wish John a happy birthday, which did make him tense at first, but soon he grew accustomed to the phrase. Memories of eating pancakes back at King's with Alex swirled in his mind, filling his body with a loving warmth.

Suddenly, the loud clicks of the main door unlocking echoed through the cell block and an officer threw it open, taser held high. Everyone's heads darted towards the door, the laughter and chatter dying down.
"John Laurens?" He called out, eyes scanning the room for any reaction. John stood up nervously, Alex standing with him after a moment. "You have a phone call," the officer informed him in a monotone voice. He shared a confused glance with Alex before looking back at the officer.
"Who from?" John asked suspiciously.
"A Henry Laurens," The officer responded nonchalantly.

John shook his head, Alex watching him in confusion.
"What's wrong, isn't that your Dad?" Alex questioned, his eyes darting between John and the officer.
"It can't be, I killed my Dad,"

---

Thomas slammed the payphone cubicle door shut and squished in beside James, both of them panting frantically, sweat glazing their bodies like syrup-coated donuts. He shoved his iphone into Madison's chest while he grabbed the payphone.
"Find the number for Columbia," He ordered breathily, digging into his pocket desperately for coins.
"Why Columbia?" Madison asked cocking one brow, taking the iphone and unlocking it anyway.
"It was King's first backup facility," Jefferson muttered with a bitter sigh.
Madison nodded firmly and opened safari, typing in the Prison name and going to their website, looking for contact details.

"Here, Prisoner communications," Madison muttered, showing Jefferson the screen. Jefferson grabbed the iphone, his breath still shaky as he reached over to the payphone dialling board and began to punch in the numbers. He held the payphone to his ear while swiping into the notes app now.
The cubicle fell into silence with the exception of the faint dial tone of the phone and both boys' uneven, rattling breaths.

Madison leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Jefferson, burying his face in his chest. Jefferson heaved a deep sigh, relaxing into James' embrace. Finally the other end picked up and he straightened his posture.

"Hello this is Columbia County Jail Prisoner Relations support, how may I help you?" A chipper voice spoke from the other end. Jefferson's eyes darted to his notes and he read them into the phone in a stiff but powerful tone.
"Good day, this is Henry Laurens, I wish to speak with my son, John Laurens." He spoke into the phone with immaculate dictation.
"May I please have your prisoner communications code?" The voice requested. Jefferson's eyes scanned through his notes hastily.
"1782 1804," Jefferson relayed into the payphone, clicking his phone off once he had finished with it.
"Thank you, please be patient while we connect your call to your son," she audibly smiled.

Jefferson sighed and Madison looked up at him, reaching up to brush away a few stray strands of hair that clung to his sweat-glazed forehead.
"What if we're too late?" Jefferson hissed under his breath fearfully.
"It's going to be fine Tommy," Madison hummed, not believing himself for one second.
"James this is all my fault." Jefferson spoke on the verge of tears.
"I know." Madison admitted bluntly.

Jefferson shot him a glance of disapproval and desperation.
"What? It is! This is all your fault. But you're doing your best to fix things, so it doesn't phase me. The past is in the past, you were blinded by money and power, but now you are going to fix things, yes?" Madison lectured, swallowing his nerves and speaking formally to reassure Jefferson.
Thomas closed his eyes nodded, swallowing hard. Finally a voice picked up on the other end.

"You're not my dad."

"Hello to you too, John," Jefferson tried to refrain from snickering at the awfully kind greeting.
"Wha- Jefferson?" He hissed from the other end, recognising his annoying voice in an instant.
"Yes." He spoke shortly, cringing a little.
"I don't want to talk to you. You've done enough damage, I'm reporting this call," John spat, preparing to hang up on the other end.
"Nononono wait John please! It's Conway! Listen to me!" Jefferson quickly gasped, throwing his hand up in panic, but Madison quickly grabbed it and brought it back down, rubbing his thumb over his knuckles soothingly.

"Conway?" John questioned into the phone. Jefferson heaved a sigh of relief.
"Yes, John, I'm sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me for everything I did at King's, but I'm sorry. I want you to know I did try to stop Levi but by then it was too late." Thomas spoke quietly, his voice shaky. John groaned on the other end.
"Is that all you called for?" He deadpanned.
"No, no listen, John, Conway escaped that night, h-he's not done. The entire time he was working for Levi, not me." Thomas began to explain. The line was dead silent on the other end, so he continued. "We've ha-"
"We?" John questioned accusingly.
"Myself and Madison," Thomas quickly assured him. More silence. "We've had more than enough run ins with him," Thomas muttered, reaching around to hold James close to him, his fingers tracing over the bandages around James' waist under his shirt. "But we have reason to believe he's coming t-to you,"

More silence.
"Conway is coming to Columbia?" John finally spoke up, fear fairly evident in his voice. Jefferson nodded before realising John couldn't see him.
"Yes. He's coming, and he has men on the inside, I don't know what he'll do to you, I don't know what he wants, but it's nothing pretty." His voice lowered dangerously. "You need to get out of there,"

More silence.
"John, are you still there?" Jefferson questioned nervously, his eyes darting around the payphone cubicle.
"You want us to escape?" John hissed ever so quietly. "Prison phone calls are recorded staff are going to hear this,"
"No, not at Columbia, King's was an independent prison, Columbia isn't they aren't as careful." Jefferson explained. "That's not the point, just- listen, figure it out, John." He muttered into the phone, holding Madison like his life depended on it.

"How long until he gets here?" John questioned nervously.
"You have maybe 2 days?" Jefferson cringed a little.
"Two- what? Two days to escape a prison we've been in for one?" John spat, shock dripping from his voice. "H-how do I even know you aren't screwing with us?"
Jefferson looked down at Madison with sad eyes and Madison grabbed the phone off of Thomas.
"John, it's James, Conway is ruthless and dangerous and right now Thomas is trying to fix what he did, please just take in our warning, we'll call back as soon as we get the chance to hear your answer. Please consider it, we're both trying to help."

John bit his lip and sighed.
"Alright, thank you, I'll talk to the others about it, but Thomas, you still aren't forgiven. I can forgive you for a lot of things, but hurting my friends and Peggy is not one of them." John spoke stiffly, clenching his fists tight on the other end.
"John I-"
"She died that night, did you know that?" John spoke into the phone accusingly, squinting his eyes at the wall be stood in front of. The line fell silent and John sighed in frustration. "Think about that then call us when you can, good bye." He finished, not in the mood for talking to the macaroni fucker anymore.

Thomas still held the phone limply when the line died, staring off into the distance. Madison sighed and grabbed the phone from his hand, clicking it back into it's slot.
"Thomas, the past is in the past, you're doing the right thing now." James reminded him, cupping his face in his hands. Thomas looked down at James and nodded slowly. "I love you," Thomas whispered, his eyes glossy with tears but none falling.
"I love you too,"