GH Fanworks/Fanfic/Fanart: We Do It Better

[cmahorror]

Chapter 26

“You okay dear?”

Robin groaned and tried to ignore Pete. He had let her be in the bathroom by herself for longer than two minutes this morning and she was trying to take advantage of it to see if there was anything she could use against him. So far she had not come up with anything. “No, just a little sick. My medicines sometimes do that to me.”

“Oh, do you need to bring you anything?”

“No, I’m fine. I’ll be right out.” She flushed the toilet and washed her hands. He had to make a mistake sometime and she would exploit it as soon as he did.

“Well, if you’re sure – I have a big surprise for you!” Robin did not like the way Pete sounded, he was way too happy. She took a deep breath and left the bathroom. She was scared of what Pete was planning.

“Have a seat.” Pete patted the bed and she sat down on it. He was practically giddy. “I realize that we have made a lot of progress over the past few days. If you think about it, most dates last about 4 hours and we’ve been together for 4 days so we have been together for a total of at least 24 dates.” Robin really wasn’t following Pete’s logic. “That is long enough to know if we are meant to be together.”

“Pete…”

“Just let me finish. This is so hard for me to say.” Robin’s heart jumped into her throat. She was scared about what Pete was going to say next. “You’re the one. I never believed in love and you have changed that.” Robin’s head began to spin. “My life without you in it would mean nothing. Robin, will you marry me?”

Robin passed out.

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Landscape Trust. – No

Lepedus Enterprises – No

It had been two hours and Patrick had not seen anything that clicked with him. He was beginning to think this was all a waste of time.

Lupine Veterinary Hospital – No

Manderley Industries. Wait – Manderley. Something caught in Patrick’s head. Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. Rebecca.

“Jason! This is it.” Patrick was so excited he was yelling. ”When we were in college Pete and I took a course in the films of Hitchcock. My favorite film was Notorious.”

Jason let out a little laugh. “Robin loves that movie. I must have watched it with her 20 times when we were together.”

Patrick smiled at him. “I know, it was one of the first movies we watched together. Anyway, I loved Notorious but Pete fell in love with Rebecca. He immediately found the book and read it 10 times in a row. The estate in the book was called Manderley.”

“Are you sure?” Jason didn't want to waste time on a false lead.

“I am going to finish looking at the list but I am almost positive this is it. It’s his favorite book and movie.”

“Okay, the address listed is a PO Box but Spinelli will be able to track down a physical address.” Jason started walking to the door and signaled for Spinelli to follow. “You keep going through that list and let me know if anything else pops out while we follow this lead.”

Patrick stopped him. “Jason, I want to go with you when we track them down.”

Jason smiled. Patrick was everything he couldn’t be for Robin. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. I’ll let you know what we find out.”

Jason and Spinelli left and Patrick began feeling something he hadn’t felt in days – hope.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 27

Robin woke up to a cool washcloth on her forehead and a hand stroking her cheek.

She smiled. “Patrick.”

The hand stopped stroking her face. She felt herself raise up as Pete jumped off the bed. He went over and shoved the dresser into the wall. Robin sat up and scooted against the headboard. “I’m sorry Pete. The last time I was sick Patrick took care of me, that’s all.”

She was doing her best to cover remembering the only other time she had mentioned Patrick’s name in the last 5 days.

Flashback

They were eating breakfast and Robin was again handcuffed to the chair, eating a banana and a blueberry muffin. “Thank you for breakfast.”

“You are welcome.” Pete smiled at her. She was so sweet to him.

“I was wondering, Pete, if you could find out how Patrick is doing?” It was like a flip had switched in Pete. His eyes went dark and he flipped the table over. He placed both hands on the arms of Robin’s chair and stared her straight in the eyes. “That is the last time you will say his name again. As far as we are concerned Patrick is dead. And if you ever say his name again, he will be dead. Do you understand me?”

Robin nodded her head, agreeing with Pete. She would do anything to protect Patrick. Pete undid the handcuff and picked her up. He carried her into the bedroom and locked her in.

End Flashback

“Pete, I am so sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Pete took a few deep breaths and forced himself to calm down. “I know. Right now I’m more concerned about you. Are you feeling better? I know it was overwhelming, my proposing, but I certainly didn’t expect that reception.” He smiled at her.

“Yeah, I guess just too much excitement and a side effect of my medications.”

Pete relaxed. “Well, how about you have lunch in here and then you get a little rest before you get ready for tonight.”

Robin was confused. “What’s tonight?”

Pete kept smiling at her. “Our wedding, of course. I had originally wanted to have a long engagement but I cannot wait to be your husband. You will find everything you need for tonight in the closet. I will unlock it after your nap.”

Robin felt sick to her stomach. Pete came over and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll be back later with lunch.”

Robin watched Pete leave the room. She had lied to Pete. Her medicines didn’t make her sick unless there was an adjustment to her protocol and she certainly wasn’t overwhelmed with excitement over Pete’s proposal. Revolted yes but not to the point of passing out.

She was counting back weeks in her head and realized she was a week late. Robin started rubbing her stomach. She couldn’t be, could she?

She had to escape – tonight.

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Patrick stayed up half the night and finished studying the list – nothing else stood out as a possible front for Pete. Now he could only hope that Spinelli could find the physical address for Manderley Industries and they could get to Robin in time to stop whatever Pete had planned for her.

He slept fitfully on the couch, plagued by nightmares of Pete and Robin. In the nightmares he couldn’t save her. No matter what he did, she was always just out of his reach. No matter what he did, he couldn’t save her. He was screaming out in his sleep, “Robin!”

He was woken up by a persistent pounding on his door. “Patrick! Patrick!” Jason was getting worried, Patrick was screaming and not answering the door. Relief washed over him when Patrick threw open the door. “What? Did you find her?”

Jason entered the apartment, shaking his head. “Not yet. He hid it well but Spinelli is a genius. He should have the information within the next couple of hours. I just wanted to come over and check on you and I’m thinking I was right to do so.”

“I thought the bed head look was in.” Patrick’s attempt at humor didn’t even get Jason to crack a smile.

“Look, we are going to bring Robin home and when we do I don’t want her killing us because you are in bad shape. Patrick, you were beaten pretty badly less than a week ago. Your face still looks like it hurts and I know you haven’t been sleeping like you should.”

Patrick interrupted him. “How the hell am I supposed to sleep when Robin is missing!”

Jason tried to calm him down. “I know and I understand what you are going through, better than anyone. I just need you to trust me. I am going to stay here so that as soon as I find out where Pete took her we can hit the road together. Until then, I want you to lay down and get some rest.” Patrick began to protest but Jason stopped him. “Come on man, do you really want a lecture about not taking care of yourself right after we get her back?”

Patrick smiled. He and Morgan may never get along again but today he would consider him almost a friend. “You know what, right now I would love nothing more than to get a lecture from her. But you’re right so I will lay down for a little bit as long as you wake me as soon as you hear from Spinelli.”

“I will. I promise.” Patrick laid back down on the couch and closed his eyes. Soon Robin would be home, he could feel it.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 28

“Patrick, hey wake up. We found them.” Jason shook Patrick on his way to the door.

Patrick jumped off the couch. “Where is she?”

“About 2 hours south of here. It’s a warehouse out in the middle of nowhere. Spinelli is calling Sonny to get some men out there.” Walking to the elevator Jason decided to level with Patrick. “Patrick, we aren’t going to call Mac until we are almost there. This bastard doesn’t deserve to go to trial, to get a chance to try get out of the charges. But I don’t want you to get your hands dirty. I know you will, for Robin, so I am going to show you my gun and tell you not to call the police.”

Patrick just nodded his head. He didn’t have the strength to argue and, quite frankly, he didn’t care. All that mattered was saving Robin, to hell with anything else.

The car ride was silent for the first 20 minutes until Jason finally broke the silence. “She loves you more than she ever loved me you know.”

Patrick was shocked at the admission. “What makes you say that?”

“It’s the way she looks at you. She never looked at me like that.” Jason smiled at Patrick. “Sam looks at me that way but Robin never did.”

“She’s the only woman I have ever loved. I cannot lose her Jason, I don’t think I could survive it.”

“I know, which is why we are going to make sure you don’t lose her. You two have been through too much to give up now.” Jason looked at Patrick. “Patrick, I promise you that by tonight you will be holding Robin in your arms.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pete looked around the room. He had it all set up for the wedding. He had drugged Robin again so she wouldn’t hear all the set up he was doing. The candles were everywhere and he would light them right before the ceremony. He had thought of everything, he hoped.

These past 5 days have been the best of his life. Robin was everything he had hoped. She was brilliant and he enjoyed talking to her about the books after she got done reading them. She had a viewpoint that both countered and complemented his thoughts. She was a challenge and a thrill. She had shown him so much in such a short time.

Her calling for Patrick when she was waking up had brought him a moment of clarity. Her heart still belonged to the unworthy Dr. Drake. The man didn’t understand how truly special Robin was and she deserved much better. She deserved to be treated like a queen and worshipped. Pete was willing to do that for her but she didn’t want him.

As much as he loved Robin, he realized she would never be completely his - at least not in this lifetime.

Looking around the room he smiled at what he had accomplished. “Til death do us part Robin.”

[cmahorror]

Chapter 29

Robin woke up and realized Pete had drugged her, again. On the bed next to her were a key and a note.

Robin,
Here is the key to the closet. In there you will find everything you need to get ready for our wedding. Just knock on the door when you are done getting ready and I will come to walk you down the aisle.
Love, Pete

Robin took the key and went to the closet. Unlocking it she found a white wedding dress, a veil, a bouquet of roses and a pair of white flats. Robin looked for anything she could use in the closet but she didn’t see anything, even the shoes were worthless. She pulled the dress out and noticed that it was on a wire hanger. Robin smiled – that she could work with.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pete was getting anxious, she should have been up by now. Did he use too much of the sleeping pill? No, it was a very small dose. So then why wasn’t she ready yet? He decided to light the candles. If she wasn’t ready by the time he was done, he would go see what was going on.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“How much further Jason?” They had been driving for almost 2 hours and Patrick was a nervous wreck.

“We’ll be there in a few minutes.” His phone rang. “Yeah, ok, we’ll see you in a few minutes.” He hung up. “Max and Milo are already there. They are looking for a way in right now.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Robin heard Pete coming down the hallway and she laid back down on the bed and pretended to be sleeping. Pete knocked and called her name but she didn’t answer. He unlocked the door and walked over to the bed.

“Robin, sweetheart it’s time to get up.”

Robin waited until he was close. She took a deep breath and pulled the straightened hanger out from under her back and jabbed it at Pete, hitting him in his left eye. He jumped back and she ran towards the door. She tried to pull the keys out of the door but Pete was recovering faster than she thought he would and he lunged for her.

Desperate to get away from him she ran down the hall, praying she could make enough noise to get someone’s attention. She made it down the hallway and into the main room and stopped short. The whole place was lit up with candles but that wasn’t what stopped her. What stopped her was the smell that filled the room. The room reeked of kerosene.

“Til death do us part Robin.” Pete came up behind her and grabbed her but she elbowed him in the stomach and ran to the opposite side of the room.

“Til death do us part.” Robin watched in horror as Pete smiled and knocked over one of the candles.

The room immediately filled with flames as Robin began screaming.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Patrick and Jason got out of the car just in time to hear Robin’s scream. Max ran over to them.

“Milo found a door. It’s locked but we are trying to bust it open.” They followed Max around to the back side of the building to Milo who was getting frustrated trying to get the door open. Frustration filled the men as they tried to pick the lock and get inside the building to Robin.

It was Patrick who smelled the smoke and realized the urgency of the situation.“Oh my God! The building’s on fire!”

That was all Jason needed to take control. He looked at Max and Milo, pulled out his gun and waited until the other two followed suit before shooting. As a group, all three fired at the lock on the door until it fell away in a heap. Jason then kicked the open door and the four men rushed into the burning building to save Robin.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 30

Robin could barely breathe. Pete had collapsed after setting the place on fire but he was slowly crawling towards her, determined to die with her. She tried to scream again but her lungs were burning and she couldn’t seem to gather up enough oxygen to even speak, let alone scream. She was going to die here. Pete was going to win.

Robin passed out just as she felt a sudden rush of air behind her.

Patrick ran in and saw Robin lying on the floor. Without hesitating, he ran to her and picked her up in his arms. Running quickly, he headed out the door and into the fresh air with her, desperate to get her to safety. He laid her down on the ground and checked her pulse. It was there, weak but there. He gave a sigh of relief. “Come on baby, hang in there for me.”

Robin thought she was dreaming. “Patrick, I am so sorry.”

Patrick laughed. “That’s it - let me hear that beautiful voice of yours.” He stroked her face. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for - you haven’t done anything wrong.”

“I’m sorry.” Robin managed to whisper out one last time before passed out once more.

“Robin? Robin? Come on sunshine, open those beautiful brown eyes and look at me.” He began to panic but her pulse was still steady. He monitored her vitals as he waited for the other men to come out of the burning building. Her breathing was steady and her pulse remained good.

It took a few minutes but he finally saw Jason, Max and Milo come out of the burning building. They rushed over to Patrick and Robin and Jason knelt down next to the couple. “Patrick, how is she?”

Patrick kept his focus on Robin. “She’s alive. Her pulse is steady but until I can get her to a hospital I can’t be sure if she has any major injuries. Where’s Pete?”

Jason's voice betrayed nothing as he answered him. “He won’t be bothering you anymore and that’s all you need to know. Let’s get her out of here.”

Patrick knew he should ask more questions but all he cared about now was getting Robin to a hospital. He nodded to Jason before picked her up and carried her to the car. Climbing in the back seat, he held her as Jason drove them to the hospital.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It had only taken five minutes to get to the little clinic Patrick had found on their way up to rescue Robin. As soon as Jason stopped the car Patrick had the door open and carried Robin inside. He ran up to the front desk, carefully cradling her in his arms . “We need help here – my girlfriend was in a fire.”

Jason had called GH on their way there and already arranged for an ambulance to come and pick up Robin there after they got her stabilized. The front desk nurse led Patrick into an exam room and hooked Robin up to oxygen after taking her vitals. All her stats were good: pulse 86, blood pressure 140/82, no fever. Her pulse ox was low though, only 89% so she was put on high flow oxygen for the time being in an attempt to raise it.

While Patrick was in the room with Robin, Jason called Mac. “We found her. She’s getting checked out at a clinic and I have an ambulance from GH on its way to get her and bring her home.

Mac relaxed for the first time in days, relieved that his little girl was free from that madman. “Is she going to be okay?”

“I think so." Jason stepped over the door and smiled at the scene before him. Patrick was holding Robin's hand as she slept, refusing to move for the nurse who was checking on Robin's machines. He had no doubts that Patrick would take care of her. "We’ll give you details when we get to GH. It should be no more than 5 hours and she will be home in Port Charles.”

“And Marquez?” Mac was certain he knew the answer but he needed to ask the question anyway.

Jason sighed. “Not an issue anymore.”

Mac understood exactly what Jason was saying immediately - Pete was dead. He would never advocate the death of another human being but Pete had been a madman intent on keeping Robin away from ones she loved. If killing him was the only way to save her then he was glad that Jason was the one to do it and not Patrick. Patrick would never forgive himself for taking a man's life, no matter who that man was or who he had hurt. Feeling better now that Robin was safe, he went off on Jason. “Good – now I can let you have it. How dare you take off after him without me? What the hell were you thinking?”

Jason knew this was coming and had prepared his answer. “Mac, you are the police commissioner. I needed to keep you out of this to protect you. It would upset Robin if you got in trouble because of her. I know that you and I don’t see it that way, but Robin would. The way it is now, you know nothing about what happened to Marquez and you can’t be accused of doing anything since you were sitting in the PCPD when he died.”

Mac hated it but he knew Jason was right. “I assume Patrick is there?”

Jason smiled. “I kidnapped him so he wouldn’t tell you where we were going.”

Mac laughed for the first time in a long time. He didn't believe that for one second. “I’m sure you did. Call me when you are headed to GH and I will meet you there.”

“Okay Mac.”

Mac sat back in his chair and before he said the words he never thought he would say. “And one last thing Jason, thank you. Thank you for bringing my girl home.”

[ulkis]

Dedicating this one to @HeatLifer and @TeeVee329

(and just in case an intern finds it . . . this is a parody, I'm not claiming any of this happened.)

FRANK: Mo, heads-up. We've recast Morgan.

MAURICE: Don't you think it's a bit soon? Honestly, I don't know if Bryan should be replaced at all. He had such depth for an actor his age.

FRANK: Trust me, this actor can match Bryan's depth. (calls to someone off-set) Come out on the set!

MICHEAL EASTON appears.

FRANK: Well Mo? Got any criticisms? Go ahead. By all means.

MAURICE: Ahh . . . no just criticisms, some comments and concerns . . . just . . . doesn't he already play someone else on the show?

FRANK: He had 3 others roles.

MAURICE: Not at the same time though.

FRANK: Oh, Mo. Don't you remember he played Stephen Clay and John McBain at the same time?

MAURICE is silent.

FRANK: You do, don't you. (warning) Don't you?

MAURICE: . . . yeah. That was a great storyline.

FRANK: I thought you remembered.

MAURICE: I don't know how Laura is gonna feel about Michael playing her son though.

FRANK: What would she have a problem with? The part where she gave birth to this gorgeous hunk? Yeah, women hate having beautiful children!

MAURICE: But . . . the age . . .

FRANK: Oh, like that matters. Don't you remember how the audience embraced Connie and Trey, and those actors were the same age! Besides, as Victor Hugo once said, 'a woman approaching her forties is the equivalent to a man of fifty.' Any other concerns? Feel free to air them Mo. Feel free.

MAURICE: I guess . . . if Laura is fine with it . . .

FRANK: (laughs) Oh, Mo, you prankster, you. Alright, in this scene, Sonny has an opium addiction. Morgan's come back to help him.

MAURICE: Wait, what?

FRANK: (calls from off-set) It turns out that's what the Corinthos Organization does business in, and Sonny couldn't help but indulge! It was a slippery slope!

MAURICE: Fr- Frank! Nobody's done opium in, like, 200 years!

FRANK: Oh sure, you had no problem with the show portraying the mob like it was the 1940s, but the 1840s is too much of a time warp?! Just play the fuckin' scene like the fucking amazing actor you are! Go! Go! Just hurry up and go!

MAURICE: (reads his script) Oh. If only Morgan were here. Then I would have never been . . . addicted . . . to . . . OPIUM!

MICHAEL EASTON (playing Morgan): I am here dad. I'm back to save you.

MAURICE: Morgan! Is it really you? (looks at script, reads the directions outloud) "Sonny brushes his hand tenderly along Morgan's cheek". Do I really have to do that?

FRANK: (off screen) yes!

MAURICE: (sighs, runs his hand along EASTON's cheek)

FRANK: Cut! Mo! Slower! This is your son! Back from the dead! Remember how Tony acted around that kid who played his non-Lucky son? Play it like that!

MAURICE: okay . . . (reading the script again, very slowly brushes his hand against Easton's cheek, stops character again) But Frank, this is creeping me out! I think I feel his bones underneath!

FRANK: Morgan has been scavenging! He's supposed to feel that way!

MAURICE: Okay. (reads script) Morgan! Is it really you? (very slowly, once again, brushes his hand along EASTON's cheek)

EASTON: (pats Sonny's shoulder) Yes dad. Maybe if you weren't in an opium haze, you'd be able to recognize me right away.

MAURICE: No, it's more than just the opium. You've been . . . transformed. Your trials and tribulations have given you an unearthly glow. Your struggles have matured you, but in a way that you look good, son. You look real good.

EASTON: I know. All my self-doubts are cast away now. I've conquered bi-polar in a way you never could, because I'm strong and beautiful, and you're a weak sad opium addicted little man.

FRANK: Cut! That was beautiful! Now, look, Mo, it may seem like Sonny is really sad and pathetic right now, but this story about Morgan helping him is gonna be so beautiful. Really, people are gonna compare it to the Stone story.

(LAURA WRIGHT walks in)

MAURICE: Yeah. I just gotta tell Laura that Michael Easton is playing Morgan. She's gonna be so excited. Laura! Guess who's playing Morgan now! Michael Easton!

(FRANK gives her a thumbs up.)

LAURA says nothing for a few moments, then takes a selfie of her and MICHAEL EASTON. She starts typing on her cell phone.

FRANK: (reads over her shoulder) "New Morgan! best recast! hashtag- best team in town." Nice! I'm going to have to finally get a look at your instagram one of these days.

LAURA sighs, but takes another selfie with MICHAEL EASTON and MAURICE

[HeatLifer]

4 minutes ago, ulkis said:

LAURA says nothing for a few moments, then takes a selfie of her and MICHAEL EASTON. She starts typing on her cell phone.

FRANK: (reads over her shoulder) "New Morgan! best recast! hashtag- best team in town." Nice! I'm going to have to finally get a look at your instagram one of these days.

LAURA sighs, but takes another selfie with MICHAEL EASTON and MAURICE

Ahahahahahaha. I'm done.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 31

Patrick sat by Robin’s bed holding her hand. She was still unconscious but her vitals had remained stable and her pulse ox was up to 96%. Because of the smoke inhalation and her compromised immune system they were keeping her on an oxygen mask with high flow oxygen. Patrick heard the door open behind him but he didn’t look away from Robin as he spoke to the person entering the room. “Is the ambulance here yet Jason?”

“Yes, it's here Sport.” Patrick was shocked to hear his father’s voice.

Patrick jumped up from his chair and hugged his father. “I don’t understand, when did you get back?”

Noah walked over to the bed to check Robin’s vitals as he spoke to his son. “Jason had someone track me down as soon as Robin went missing. Because of where I was it took them a few days to find me but I flew back as soon as I heard the news. I just got in 3 hours ago and Sonny called me and told me to stand by at the hospital. When Jason called in to request the ambulance he also paged me so I could come and monitor her on the ride back.”

After doing a quick exam and reviewing her chart, Noah continued. “Son, I am so sorry I wasn’t here for you and her. If I had any idea…”

Patrick stopped his dad right there. “Dad, you weren’t off on some bender. You were in Africa helping people who needed you.” Patrick smiled at his father. “You are here now and I can’t think of anyone else I trust to take care of her more than you. Well, except for me.”

Noah looked at his son in amazement. Two years ago, they were not even speaking. Patrick was an arrogant womanizer and Noah was a drunk dying of cirrhosis of the liver. Then Robin came barging into their lives and turned both of their worlds upside down or rather right side up. She pushed, lectured and stubbornly refused to give up on either one of them or their relationship. They both owed her more than they could ever repay.

Noah wasn’t sure how to broach the subject, so he just pushed ahead. “So, Pete?” Noah was still having a hard time believing that the very man who seemed to detest Robin so completely had in fact been obsessed with her.

“I know – I still can’t quite wrap my head around it myself. I don’t know when or why this obsession started but it doesn’t matter now. He’s dead and Robin’s safe.” He walked back over to the bed and began stroking Robin’s hair. “That’s all that matters now.”

Noah nodded and headed for the door. “You’re right. Let me get the paramedics in here. I’m going to call Monica and give her an update on Robin and they’ll have a room ready for her when we get there.”

Noah took one last look at Patrick and smiled. “Let’s take her home.”

He left and Patrick sat back down and took Robin’s hand in his again. “Did you hear that babe? We’re going home.”

[cmahorror]

Chapter 33

Patrick spent the entire ambulance ride holding Robin’s hand and watching her vitals. All her preliminary tests looked good and her vitals were holding steady but until they could get her to the hospital for a CT of her head and a full battery of tests Patrick could not relax. She also needed her viral load checked and he wanted her on broad spectrum antibiotics – between the smoke inhalation and her compromised immune system he was worried about her developing pneumonia.

They arrived at GH and Robin was immediately admitted to a room on the 10th floor. They had just gotten her settled in when Robin began to wake up. “Patrick?”

Patrick grasped her hand and sat down on the bed. “Hey beautiful, welcome back.”

Robin looked at him with tears in her eyes. “Is this real? Are you really here?”

Patrick stroked her face. “Yes, it’s real. You’re safe now Robin, you’re home.” He shook his head. “Well maybe not home home, but at least you are back in Port Charles and away from Pete.”

Robin tensed up at the mention of Pete’s name. She began looking around the room, scared out of her mind. He took her face in his hands. “Robin, please look at me. He is dead. He will never hurt you again.”

Robin relaxed and sank back into the bed. Patrick slid up beside her as Robin turned toward him. She laid her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. “He’s dead, he can’t hurt me again. Patrick, he was crazy.” Tears started coming as she thought about Pete’s plans for her.

“I know but it’s over now. Epiphany is going to be in here in a minute to draw your blood and my dad is arranging your CT and a chest x-ray.”

“Your dad?” Robin was confused, his dad was in Africa.

He smiled at her. “Jason found him and brought him home. In fact, he is your doctor now.”

Robin was surprised. “I thought you would insist on being my doctor. Sure your ego can handle it?”

“I am taking some time off so I can spend it with my girlfriend.” Robin looked at him curiously. “Right now the only place I want to be is with you. That son of a bitch took time from us and we will never get it back and I will be damned if work will do the same thing. No, you are stuck with me Scorpio.”

“Sounds perfect to me Drake, but there is something I need to talk to you about…” Robin was interrupted by the door opening. Epiphany stepped into the room.

“Excuse me doctors but I need to draw some blood and radiology will be here in just a minute to take you down for your CT and x-ray.”

“Alright Epiphany.” Robin was about to say something to Patrick when Mac popped his head in the door.

He rushed to his niece’s side and kissed her on the forehead. “Thank God you’re home. Are you ok? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m fine Uncle Mac, all things considered." Robin took her uncle's hand and squeezed it, attempting to reassure him. "Epiphany is going to draw my blood and then I need to get a CT and some x-rays. Right now I am just happy to be home.”

“Good.” Mac felt better now that he had seen her. “Since you are getting some tests done, is it okay if I borrow your boyfriend for a few minutes? We have a couple of things to discuss regarding your rescue.”

Robin looked at Mac curiously and then at Patrick. “What do you mean? Weren’t you there?”

Patrick answered. “No, I’ll explain everything in a little while. You be good for the tests and maybe I can sneak you in a Kelly’s cheeseburger when I get back.”

Robin giggled. “You have no idea how good that sounds. Deal. I love you.”

“And I love you.” Patrick kissed her one last time and turned to Mac. "Let's go."

Epiphany waited until the men had left before she went over to the bed and began the blood draw. “You have no idea how happy we all are that you are back, safe and sound. I don’t know what that boy would have done if anything had happened to you.”

Robin looked at her and nodded her head. “The feeling is mutual." She bit her lip and sighed. "Epiphany, could you please page Dr. Drake. I have something I need to discuss with him before I go down to radiology.”

[cmahorror]

Chapter 33

Mac sat down in the doctor’s lounge with Patrick and Jason. All three men had been through hell over the past week but Mac needed answers and they were the only ones who give them to him.

“Now this is completely off the record. I want, no, I need to know what happened at that warehouse. Patrick, you want to start?”

Patrick sighed and looked at Jason. “Ok. Where should I start?”

“Well I’ve already been told how you figured out where Robin was so why don’t we start at the warehouse.”

“We got there. Max and Milo were already there and looking for a way in. Max ran up to us and said they had found a door but couldn’t get in. We followed Max and that’s when I smelled the smoke.” Patrick eyes started to tear up remembering the pure fear that he felt at that moment. “Jason, Max and Milo shot out the lock on the door and we ran down the hallway to the only door there. Max kicked it in and Robin was lying there, unconscious. I grabbed her and took her out of the building. I stayed by her side and made sure she was okay.”

Jason spoke up. “Mac, how about you let Patrick go back to Robin? He really can’t tell you anything else about what happened after he got Robin out of there.”

Mac knew that Jason didn’t want Patrick to hear what he was going to say. He nodded his head and Patrick practically ran out the door to get back to Robin.

“He really doesn’t know what happened to Pete?”

“No, and I want to keep it that way. This stays between us – Robin and Patrick don’t need to know what happened to him, just that he will never hurt her again.”

Mac thought about it for only a second. “Agreed. What happened after Patrick got Robin out of there?”


Flashback

Jason saw Patrick spirit Robin out the door. That’s when he heard a noise below him.

“No! Robin!”

Jason looked down and saw Pete Marquez near his feet, blood pouring from one of his eyes. Jason actually smiled, Robin had hurt him – good for her.

“Max, Milo – grab him!” Max and Milo picked up Pete and pulled him from the burning room and into the hallway.

“Thank you.” Pete began to get up but Max threw him back to the ground. “I have to get to her! I have to make sure she’s okay.”

Jason looked at Pete in disbelief. This man just tried to kill Robin and now he wants to check on her health – he was insane. Jason stared the man down.

“You will never see her again. I didn’t bring you out here to save you Professor Marquez.” Pete looked confused. “I brought you out here to make sure you never hurt her again.” Jason pulled out his gun and shot Pete, incapacitating the man but not killing him.

“Max, Milo – please return the professor to his home.” Realizing what Jason intended to do, Pete began to scream but Max punched him in the throat to quiet him. Both men then dragged Pete back into the burning room and threw him in it. Slamming the door behind them, they walked outside and joined Patrick and Robin.

End Flashback


“Max and Milo stayed by the door to make sure he didn’t come out. By the time the fire department came the building was fully engulfed. There was no way he survived that Mac.”

Mac was shocked at how pleased he was that Marquez had suffered. Mac had sworn to uphold the law but this man had tried to stalked, tortured and tried to kill Robin. He would not have left Robin alone ever, she was his obsession. No, Pete Marquez needed to die if Robin was to ever be safe.

“The fire department confirmed that a male body was found in the fire. Dental records matched Marquez. He’s gone and now Robin can sleep at night.”

“So what now?”

“This case is closed as far as I am concerned. No charges are going to be filed. Pete bought the kerosene that was used to start the fire that killed him and he died in the process of committing a crime. You simply stumbled upon a crime in progress and saved the life of the woman he had kidnapped.”

Jason looked at Mac and smiled. For once, they agreed on something.

“Now, let’s go check on my niece.” The two men got up and left the doctor’s lounge together to go see Robin.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 34

Patrick opened the door to Robin’s room and was surprised to see his dad and Robin deep in conversation. He couldn’t hear what they were saying but Robin was crying and that was all he needed to see to go rushing to her side.

“What the hell did you do to her?”

Robin quickly dried her tears while Noah looked at his son in shock. Realizing how things looked, he shook his head and tried to calm his son down. “Patrick, it’s not what you think. I didn’t do anything to her.”

Patrick began to panic. “What’s wrong?” He turned to Robin. “Are you okay?”

Robin smiled and reassured Patrick. “I’m fine. Pete made sure I had my protocol so my viral load is still undetectable. I’m a little tired but I should be okay.”

“She’s right son. There is no sign of infection and her vitals are all stable. I see no reason why she shouldn’t be able to be released tomorrow morning.”

Patrick calmed down and hugged Robin. “Really?” She nodded at him. “That is great news, so why were you crying?”

Robin looked at Noah who nodded and smiled at her. “I am going to go ahead and give you two a little time to yourselves. Patrick, why don’t you come see me after you and Robin talk? I want to give you a check up as well.” Patrick began to complain but Noah stopped him. “You were in the fire too, maybe not for long, but you were in it. I’ll see you both later.” He exited the room.

Patrick turned around and looked at Robin. “So, you want to tell me what’s really going on?”

Robin sat up in bed and took his hand. “When Pete took me…”

“Robin, you don’t have to talk about this right now.”

“Yes, I do. Anyway, when Pete took me, I have never been so scared in my life. It was different than when I was shot. At the Metro Court, I was half out of it and couldn’t comprehend everything that was going on, not really. But this, I knew exactly what was going on and it became apparent very fast that Pete was insane.”

“Robin, I am so sorry. If I had a clue about how dangerous he was…”

Robin put a hand over his mouth. “This is not your fault. Pete was insane and if it wasn’t me, it would’ve been someone else. The good news is that except for some bumps and bruises and few nightmares I am sure we both will have, we have come out of this alive. No one we love was hurt or, worse yet, killed so I am going to focus on that and I want you to do the same thing.”

Patrick heard what she was saying but couldn’t help but blame himself. He had brought Pete into their lives and nothing Robin said or did would change that.

“Patrick, please just let me talk and then you can tell me how guilty you feel to your heart’s content. For now, just listen. Pete was convinced that I was meant to be his. Not with him but actually his. I was a prize to be won. He fed me, made sure I had my medications, and tried to make me believe it was all for my own good. If I mentioned you, he flew off the handle. At one point he threatened to kill you if I said your name again.”

Robin took a deep breath. It was hard to talk about but she needed to get it out. “I tried to escape right away. He made the mistake of leaving my purse in the room with me and you know I keep my lock picking kit in there. I made it to the front door before he caught me and took away my kit. I realized I had to rethink my strategy. He kept me handcuffed and drugged for the first day or so and then he started trusting me more. He brought in books for me to read, including Jaws.”

Patrick smiled, remembering talking to her about it when he had strep throat.

“Everything was fine until today. I wasn’t feeling well and hiding out in the bathroom to try and avoid him, still trying to find a way out. I came out of the bathroom and he said he wanted to talk to me.” Robin stopped for a moment, then continued on. “He proposed to me and I passed out. When I came to, I called out for you. I think this is what set him off.”

Patrick had been quiet but now he had to say something. “Oh my God Robin, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I told you. Please, just let me finish. Pete drugged me again and when I woke up there was a wedding dress waiting for me but Pete finally made a mistake. The dress was hanging on a wire hanger. I straightened the wire and then laid back on the bed and waited for him to come in. I stabbed him in the eye and then headed out into the main room and that’s when I noticed the smell filling the room. Once that smell hit me I knew I was in big trouble – it was kerosene. The next thing I knew Pete was behind me. I elbowed him but he didn’t care. He just smiled at me and knocked over a candle. Patrick, he was going to kill both of us – he wanted us to die together.” Robin’s tears flowed freely by this point and Patrick’s heart broke for her.

“And then the most wonderful thing happened – I heard you. Then I felt you, carrying me to safety. You are my hero Patrick Drake and don’t you ever forget it.” Patrick opened his mouth to speak but Robin wasn’t done yet. “When I was locked up, you kept me sane. The thought of seeing you again gave me hope. Remembering us kept me from losing sight of what was important. I was fighting to get back to you. I realized today that I had more to fight for than I thought.”

“There is something I need to tell you.” Robin took a deep breath. “Patrick, I’m pregnant.”

[cmahorror]

Chapter 35

Patrick sat there, stunned.

“Patrick, did you hear me?” Robin was a little worried. She had expected maybe disbelief or even anger but he was just sitting there, staring. “Patrick?”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry – what did you say?”

“I said I’m pregnant.” Robin wasn’t quite sure what was going on with him at the moment.

“Ok, so I did hear you correctly. You’re pregnant.” A small smile came to his face. “Are you happy about it?”

She glared at him. “Why would you even ask that? Of course I am. I have always wanted to be a mother, you know that, and to share this with you is more than I could have ever hoped for.”

“Then why were you crying when I came in?” Patrick was confused.

“Because I may have infected you.” Tears filled Robin’s eyes as understanding washed over him.

“Oh.” Patrick took Robin’s hands in his. “Look at me. It is going to be fine; I’m going to be fine. I’ll meet up with my dad to get my HIV test but no matter what it says, it will be fine because we are together.”

Robin gave him a smile. “How do you feel about this?” She patted her still smooth belly.

“You told your story, I get to tell mine. When I realized that Pete was your stalker and that I had just handed you over to him, I have never felt worse in my life. I felt, no I still feel so damn guilty, he’s was a goddamn wolf in sheep’s clothing and I brought him into your life.” Patrick couldn’t look at Robin. She gently lifted his chin and stroked his face.

“You’re right, this was worse than the Metro Court because at least then I knew where you were and that people who cared about you were with you. But Pete was unstable and had hidden you well. We searched everywhere we could think of for any clue as to where you were being held.” He shuddered remembering the room full of pictures they had discovered at Pete’s apartment.

“Patrick, what is it?”

“Nothing.” He didn’t want her to know that Pete had seen them in their most intimate moments. “It was Jason who came up with the idea of a shell company that might lead us to your location. He and Spinelli brought me the names and I spent an entire night just looking through the list. It was killing me, not knowing where you were or how you were. I barely ate or slept.”

“You look like it.” Robin couldn’t resist a little dig. She had missed this. “What was the name?”

“Manderley.”

“From Rebecca?” Robin looked at Patrick and smiled. “Notorious is better.”

“Agreed, now stop interrupting." He jokingly admonished her before continuing his story. "When Jason got the location of where you were, I jumped into the car without a second thought. That had to be two of the longest hours in my life. I sat there in the passenger seat of Jason’s car running through every scenario I could think of in my head. It was the not knowing that was torturing me.”

“When we got there, Max told us they couldn’t get in and took us to the door. That’s when I smelled the smoke and told Jason the building was on fire. He, Max and Milo shot the lock off and got us into the building and then broke in the door to the room you were in.” He sounded almost detached while reciting this part of the story. In reality, he was just bracing himself for the next part of the story.

“I pushed past them and into the room. When I saw you lying there, my heart dropped into my stomach. I didn’t think, just ran into that room and grabbed you and got you out.” His tears fell like rivers down his cheeks. “I didn’t care about anything but making sure you were okay. When I actually felt your pulse, weak but there, and heard you speak – it was the most wonderful feeling in the world.”

He squeezed Robin’s hands. “I am a so grateful that you are back here with me. I cannot imagine my life without you. You want to know how I feel about the baby?” Robin nodded. “I’m thrilled.”

Robin was shocked and her face showed it. “I know that may surprise you because I have always said that I didn’t want to be a father but this past week has made it clear to me that what I wanted before I met you and what I want now are two very different things. You have shown me that I can do much more than I ever imagined with you by my side. So, yes, I am thrilled about becoming a parent but only because I get to do it with you.” He leaned over and kissed her.

Patrick scooted up on her bed and put his arm around her. She leaned into him and placed her hands on her belly. He put his hand over hers and smiled. Relaxed and happy for the first time in a long time, they fell asleep together.

[ulkis]

parody. blame @magnolia11 for this. :)

GRAND FINALE

BRYAN 

So when I got my third emmy I knew I had to leave
Had to start working on the things I wanted to achieve
But I decided to wait a bit
Before I told Frank I was going to quit

FLASHBACK TO EMMY NIGHT

FRANK: Congratulations Bryan! We're really proud of you. Now, about the rest of your storyline - 

BRYAN: one . . .two . . three . . . four . . . five

FRANK: Yes yes Bryan we know you can count. You don't have to actually do it outloud to prove it. But why are you counting?

BRYAN: That was me giving you time to adjust
Because we've worked up so much trust
I thought that you deserved it
But I've done my time on the show, served it
And it's time for you to know
I have decided to go

FRANK
Go where?

BRYAN:
To try my hand at other things
This Emmy girl's wings
are telling me to spread mine
telling me to shine
now that I've won
It's time to be done

FRANK

Now that you've won? And if you hadn't won?

BRYAN: 

Then I would have stayed
But I wanted to get paid
In shiny gold
if truth be told

FRANK:

So after we wrote all that story for you, and went on twitter to talk about how amazing you are and how criminal it would be if you didn't win an emmy, you've decided to drop us like a hot potato?

BRYAN

What's with the we
Cause from what I see
Only one man did the most important part
The acting that came from the heart

FRANK 

Oh Bryan. You're definitely not the only one that's been acting around here.

MAURICE:

Hey what's going on? Congratulations Bryan! I'm so proud to have turned you into an emmy-winning actor

BRYAN

You're the best

MAURICE

You're almost the best

BRYAN

I've learned so much from you

MAURICE

Yes, I've taught you a thing or two

BRYAN

And now that I've surpassed you

MAURICE

But I still have one or two things to task to you

BRYAN/MAURICE

Wait, what did you say?
Nevermind, it doesn't matter anyway

BRYAN

I've leaving the show

MAURICE 

(loud and melodramatic, lots of guitar riffs)

No!!

FRANK

(sarcastically)

Yes, it's so.

Yes, our dear Bryan has decided be free
Apparently, he thinks certain things grow on trees

MAURICE

But we can't let him

FRANK

Who am I to stop a whim?

MAURICE

There's no one so good

FRANK

Quite understood

MAURICE

No one his age even comes close

FRANK

No one else his age needs to count with his toes

MAURICE

to have the skills needed to play my son

FRANK

Or needs to be told with advils, maybe just have one

MAURICE 

So Morgan should now be done, in the past

FRANK

It's sad but we'll have to recast

MAURICE

Frank are you crazy?
Or is my hearing getting hazy

FRANK

No no you're right
you need an emmy reel with might
And since Bryan needs to be going
The story seeds have started sowing
Yes I think Morgan needs to die
After all why should another actor even try
To step in Bryan's shoes
They would only lose

(getting into it, growing more passionate with every line)

Morgan will die in a glorious explosion
It'll happen when he's chosen
Julian's Jerome's car
It will light up brighter than a star
Morgan's clothes will float like confetti
It'll be so hot everyone will be sweaty
It'll be amazing!
beautiful and dazing!

(beat)

Or it would if we could afford it
So get Julian's jacket from where we stored it
And get someone to say boom boom
From somewhere across the room
And then we'll throw the jacket
And make a big racket
And it'll look like Morgan fell off the side
The scene already fills me with pride

BRYAN

Sounds kinda extreme

FRANK 

Only the best for this team

END FLASHBACK

BRYAN

So finally it was time to tell the cast
We tried not to break it to them too fast

FRANK (on a bullhorn)

Everyone Bryan has chosen to say goodbye

CAST: No it can't be true it's a lie!

FRANK

Yes it's true

It's hard to think what will we do?

CAST MEMBER

Not have to tweet 

About his every so-called feat?

CAST MEMBER # 2:

Not have to listen

To him and his girlfriend kissin'?

FRANK 

Yes I know there will be trials
Several great big piles

CAST MEMBER # 3

Can one of us get his dressing room?
Mine is in the dark and the gloom

FRANK

No that will be enshrined forever
For who could endeavor
To replace our emmy winner
Besides in there I'd like to eat dinner

CAST MEMBER # 3

Can't you use your office for meals?

FRANK:

I need two rooms, I'm a big deal

BRYAN 

Okay, can we change the topic
to how I'm going to rock it
How I gotta go can't stay
gotta follow my dreams motherfuckers yippee ki yay
And how my girl said in I just must jump
speaking of meals, even if I'll eat in a dump
So give me a goodbye wave
Cause even though I'm leaving you in this cave
I've saved the show 
with my erotic glow!

EVERYONE WAVES GOOD BYE TO BRYAN AS HE LEAVES, READY TO FACE HIS DESTINY.

End of book show.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 36

Patrick knocked on his dad’s office door 4 hours later. He had woken up before Robin and knew she would be upset if he didn’t get his test done.

“Come in.” Noah was reading a file and it took him a second to realize who had come in the door. “Sport! Great to see you. How’s Robin doing?”

“Great, she’s sleeping right now so I thought I’d come and get my test done.” Noah nodded in understanding. He knew this visit was coming.

“How are you doing? I know kids are something you never really planned on.” Noah was concerned. It had been a stressful year for Patrick and Robin individually and as a couple and he was hoping that this wasn’t the last straw for Patrick.

“Honestly Dad, I’m doing great.” Noah gave Patrick a look full of doubt. “Really I am. Kids were not in my plans in the past but Robin has changed that.”

He sat down in a chair across the desk from his father. “I have had a lot of time to think over the past week while Robin was missing. You know what I discovered?” Noah shook his head. “I discovered that I can separate my life into 3 distinct phases. The first phase was from the time I was born until the moment Mom died - our life together as a family.”

“The second phase started the next moment – I guess it was my selfish phase. I decided to not care about anyone, not to get too close so I couldn’t get hurt. All I cared about was my career and I decided that was all I would ever care about. And I was happy or at least I had convinced myself I was until phase three came barging into the OR and demanded I give her a miracle.” Patrick smiled remembering the day he first met Robin.

“She changed everything Dad. She pushed me to do the surgery on her ex-boyfriend and Manny Ruiz. She pushed me to reconcile with you. She pushed me every day and I let her.” He laughed. “I tried to fight it but Robin was unrelenting. Even when she was running from me, she was still there showing me a future I never thought I wanted. But I don’t think I realized how much I wanted it until Pete took her, and it, from me.”

“Night after night I had the same nightmare during my brief bouts of sleep. He wasn’t just taking away Robin, he was taking my life, my future and my child.” Noah looked at Patrick strangely. “I didn’t know she was pregnant but there was always a baby with Robin in my nightmare. Strange how the subconscious works.”

“You can say that again.” Noah was amazed and awed by what Patrick was telling him.

“Anyway, in the nightmare I couldn’t get to them, no matter how fast I ran or how hard I tried couldn’t save them.” Patrick felt the tears coming but he didn’t even try to stop them. “It was horrible and then I would wake up and she was still gone. I just felt so empty and useless.”

“But then we found her and brought her home. She’s safe and healthy and pregnant with my child and I can’t imagine anything I want more than to spend the rest of my life with her and our child.” Patrick wiped his eyes. “Of course, I would have preferred to tell you myself.”

Noah laughed. “Hey, you insisted on me being her doctor.”

“That I did – and it was the best decision I could have made for both Robin and our child.” Patrick smiled at his father. “So, let’s get this test done because I need your help with something else.”

“What’s that?”

“Convincing Robin to marry me.”

[ulkis]

@Oracle42, you mentioned Sonny and Carly and reminded me of this. I had written this because the

"Carly and Sonny reunite"

spoiler made me snap. This show has made me right fic because I can't stand how lame they've made Sonny and Carly. This is what they drove me to, damn it.        

*

"He didn't do it," said Jason.

 

Carly shook her head. "I'm relieved, for his sake I suppose."

 

"But it doesn't change anything for you?" asked Jason.

 

"It doesn't make a difference," said Carly. 

 

"Because . . . it could have been him, anyway," said Jason slowly, trying to figure out Carly's meaning. "It was just chance he didn't."

 

"No Jason, I mean Sonny and I killed Morgan just by being who we are," said Carly.

 

"Come on Carly, you know that's not true," said Jason.

 

"You don't think that any kid of ours would be messed up, no matter what we did? Even if Sonny hadn't been in the business, would Morgan have been any happier?"

 

"You can't ask yourself that question, you'll drive yourself crazy."

 

"I'm not asking myself Jason. I'm asking you. I know the answer," said Carly.

 

"Carly, I don't know," said Jason. 

 

"No, and why would you? You didn't know Morgan." Carly cut off Jason before he could get a chance to answer. "And no, I'm not blaming you. It's just a fact." She sighed. "I wish I had sent him to you sooner."

 

"Carly, I couldn't have done anything."

 

"Maybe, maybe not." Carly stood up. "Well, I think I'll see Sonny."

 

"Carly, don't let me pressure you into anything. I only want you to go to Sonny for your sake, not his. I mean, I care about him too of course but if you don't think it's the right choice for you, don't do it."

 

Carly put her hand on his arm. "No Jason, it's okay, you didn't pressure me into anything. I'm going to go to him because I want to."

 

 

*

 

Carly walked unceremoniously through the door of Sonny's house and flung herself on the couch without saying anything. She had been there maybe for half an hour when Sonny came down.

 

"Carly?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming over?"

 

"Do I need to tell you whenever I walked in here? I never did that even when we weren't married."

 

Sonny nodded his head slightly. "True." He paused. "Does . . . does this mean you're back?"

 

Carly shrugged. "I guess so."

 

"That . . . doesn't sound like you want to."

 

Carly closed her eyes, a sad look on her face. "I don't want anything right now. Not anything I can have, anyway."

 

"I don't want you to come back here just because there's nothing else for you though, Carly! That's not gonna be good for either us!" 

 

Carly opened her eyes and stared starkly at him. "Has it ever occurred to you, Sonny, that what's good for us doesn't matter?"

 

"Of course it has," Sonny snapped. "At least, it has for me. You didn't do anything. Don't punish yourself."

 

Carly smiled sarcastically. "You're such a liar Sonny. There were plenty of times you weren't so chivalric."

 

"Oh come on Carly! You're gonna throw old stuff in my face - "

 

Carly held up a hand. "No, no Sonny, I'm throwing anything. Just saying."

 

"Well, what about Josslyn? It's not gonna do her any good if her mom's miserable."

 

"I'm sending her to live with Jax," said Carly. 

 

"Are you sure you should do that?" Sonny asked. "Look what happened with Morgan. He resented us cause you sent him away to school."

 

"I'm not sending Joss away to school, I'm sending her to live with her father," Carly said. "If she resents me, she resents me. I resent me too. It doesn't make a difference. I'm staying here."

 

"I feel like - I feel . . . " Sonny rubbed his face. "Like you want to punish me by moving back in."

 

"I have to say, Sonny, I haven't thought that deeply about it," Carly said. "Does that matter to you?"

 

"I feel like this is a trick question," Sonny complained.

 

"I'm all out of tricks Sonny," said Carly. "This is what's left of me. You, this house."

 

"Nothing I can say can convince you to go, can it?" asked Sonny.

 

"I don't think so," she replied.

 

Both had sat in silence for a while after that. "Do you want a drink?" Sonny asked, getting up to get himself one.

 

Carly shrugged. "Sure."

 

He handed her a glass of cognac and sat back down. "Look, Carly, there's something you should know."

 

"Hmm?"

 

"The girl. Your assistant. Nelle."

 

"Yeah, I'm clear on who she is, Sonny."

 

Sonny put his hand to his temple. "Carly, I don't remember how the hell it happened, but . . . "

 

Carly looked confused, but just for a moment, and started laughing. "Oh God, Sonny. Oh God." She put her head in her hands. "The baby-sitter? Could you have tried to be a little less cliche?" She sat back and crossed her arms. "Well, I suppose my mother was right. Well, it doesn't matter."

 

"Come on Carly, would you stop saying that? Of course it matters!" Sonny said angrily. 

 

Carly shot straight up and pointed her finger at him accusingly, eyes hard. "No, it doesn't god damn matter Sonny! It doesn't! I don't give a damn who you slept with! After everything, do you really think I'd give a damn?" Then the surge of anger left her and she slumped back down. "I suppose I should just get rid of Nelle."

 

"I'm sure it wasn't her fault Carly," Sonny said.

 

"Of course not," Carly scoffed. "The girl just couldn't resist your 50 year old dick."

 

Sonny looked a bit hurt. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant, maybe she felt intimidated or something."

 

"Maybe she did," Carly explained. "But then why didn't she tell me if she felt scared?"

 

"Maybe she was afraid," said Sonny.

 

"Maybe," said Carly. "Well, we won't find out unless I keep her around." She tapped her fingers on the couch in contemplation. "I'm going to insist she move in here to be close to Avery full time. You, me, and Nelle all together, Sonny." She smiled grimly. "Won't that be fun?"

[Oracle42]

Holy crap, ulkis! That would be amazing. i wants it  

[ulkis]

thanks!

[cmahorror]

Chapter 37

Robin woke up alone. She was confused at first and then remembered she was at GH, as a patient again. But at least she was safe. Pete was dead and her and Patrick were having a baby. She gently rubbed her stomach. She was starving and was about to push the call button when Patrick came in the room holding a bag of food.

“Bacon cheeseburger and fries, for you.” He put the bag on Robin’s tray table and pulled out two containers. “And a BLT for me.”

Robin giggled at him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been fantasizing about a Kelly’s bacon cheeseburger for days.”

“Seriously, this” he held up the container containing her supper “is what you have been fantasizing about? Not,” pointing at himself and give her his best smolder, “this?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry, the baby wants a bacon cheeseburger more than you.”

“You wound me Scorpio and blaming our child, that’s just low.” He smiled at her, enjoying their banter. He had missed this almost as much as he had missed lying next to her at night.

She laughed and reached for the food. “Do not come between a pregnant woman and her cravings. It will not be pretty.” He handed her the container and then proceeded to gently tuck a napkin down the neck of her gown. She looked at him confused.

“Well, I would hate to get that nice gown you have on dirty.” She rolled her eyes. “Or maybe I just want to take care of you and our child.” She looked at him and tears came unbidden at his words. “Hey Robin, what’s wrong - I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“No, it’s just you’re being so sweet and when you said our child, those are words I never thought I’d hear you say and sound happy about.” She was rambling and embarrassed by how emotional she was.

Patrick was surprised but then remembered that mood swings were a big part of pregnancy. He sat down on the bed and held her, gently wiping away her tears. “I never thought I would say them but I am so happy every time I do. I love you and I love that you are carrying our child.” Wanting to bring a smile to her face he changed the subject. “Now, how about we give him what he is demanding and you eat your burger.”

“Him, huh? So you think we’re having a boy?” Robin took a big bite of her burger and groaned in ecstasy. “This is so good. I need to bribe Mike to make sure I can get him to make me one whenever I want. Anyway, what if it’s a girl – you know, karmic justice for the former ladies man?”

Patrick went pale. He hadn’t even considered that it could be a girl. “Oh God Robin, she won’t leave the house until college. We will home school her and she won’t come near a boy until she is 18!”

Robin choked on her burger she was laughing so hard. “Robin, are you okay?”

“Sorry, it’s just…” she took a moment to finishing her bite, “Patrick, we can’t lock her up until she’s 18.”

“But Robin I know what boys are like – what if she falls for someone like me?” Patrick looked absolutely panicked and Robin took pity on him.

“Then she would be lucky. You are kind, a brilliant surgeon, caring, not to mention handsome, and when you love someone, you give them all of you.” Robin smiled at him and gently ran her fingers up and down his cheek. “Our child, whether we have a boy or a girl, will be blessed because they have you as a father. You are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with and raise this child with. I have always only seen one man as the father of my children and that is you.”

Patrick kissed her, gently. Then he smiled at her and took her hands in his. “And you are the only woman I see as the mother of my children.” He got up and went back to his food. “Now eat up, boy or girl, they want that bacon cheeseburger and my child will not be deprived of what they want.”

Robin laughed and nodded her head. “Yes sir.”

With that, Patrick, Robin and their unborn child shared the first of many family dinners together.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 39

“How long until Kelly gets here?” Patrick was pacing the hospital room. He was getting anxious waiting for Dr. Lee to come in and examine Robin and the baby.

Robin laughed at him. “What’s the rush?”

“You can’t be released until Kelly gives you and Baby Drake…”

Robin interrupted him. “Scorpio-Drake.”

“That is a discussion for another time.” Robin rolled her eyes at him. “Anyway, you can’t be released until Kelly gives you the all clear and I cannot wait to get you home.”

Robin gave him a smile. “Oh, I get it – can’t wait to get me all alone so you can have your way with me.”

“You bet your very cute little ass – plus I miss just being with you.” He sat down next to her on the bed and wrapped his arms around her. “Right now I would settle for you and me sitting on the couch eating Chinese.”

“Oh, I could go for some pot stickers from Mr. Changs!” Robin was suddenly very hungry at the mention of Chinese food.

Patrick laughed. “That can definitely be arranged.” He tightened his hold on her. “Anyway, my point is that all I want is to be with you. It doesn’t matter what we are doing as long as we are at home together.”

Robin snuggled in even closer to him. “Like this.”

“Well, clothing will be optional once we get home. “

“Of course it will be.” Robin couldn’t recall being happier than she was at that moment. She had Patrick, she was healthy and they had their baby, a baby they both wanted and already loved. She sighed in contentment and closed her eyes, just relishing this moment.

“Okay love birds, save it for when you get home.” Dr. Lee came in with the ultrasound to examine Robin. “Which you can’t do until I give her and the baby the all clear so Patrick, could you please step out of the room for a few minutes while I do her exam?”

Robin could feel Patrick’s apprehension at the thought of leaving her while Kelly did the exam. She knew he wanted to be there for everything with the baby but this she preferred to do alone. “It’s ok. As soon as Kelly is done with the exam you can come back in for the ultrasound. You won’t miss anything.”

“Promise?” She nodded yes so Patrick let go and started to get off the bed. “I am going to be right outside.”

She smiled at him and then shook her head as he left the room. Kelly watched him with surprised eyes. “So I take it that he didn’t completely freak out at the thought of becoming a father?”

“The opposite actually, I think he took it better than I did.”

“Really?” Kelly knew that Patrick had been adamant about never having a child. “What changed?”

Robin spoke quietly. “Pete. Patrick said that when he took me it made him realize how much he had to lose and that what he wanted before and what he wants now are two very different things. The baby and I are everything he never knew he wanted.”

Kelly smiled at Robin. After everything she had been through, Robin deserved to have her happy ending.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 minutes later Kelly called Patrick into the room. “Everything looks good. You ready to see your baby?”

Patrick sat by Robin’s side and took her hand. Kelly put the cold gel on Robin’s belly and began to rub the wand over it. They sat there with bated breath until they heard it – their baby’s heartbeat.

Tears filled Patrick’s eyes. He looked at Kelly. “Is that?” She nodded. “It’s so fast.”

“It’s supposed to be. It’s 110, perfectly normal.” Kelly reassured him. “Now Robin and I talked and she thought she had her regular period last month but it is not unheard of to have some bleeding in the first trimester. I think that is what happened because you are at 7 weeks right now. So, you ready to see your baby?”

They both nodded enthusiastically. Kelly turned on the screen and they watched in awe as their baby, no bigger than a blueberry, appeared onscreen.

“Everything looks great. The baby is the size it should be at this point in the pregnancy and I don’t see any issues at all. I am going to talk to your specialist to look at what adjustments we need to make to your cocktail but I don’t see anything here but a perfectly normal pregnancy. I’ll leave you two alone for a minute and guys,” they both looked at her, “congratulations.”

Kelly printed out several pictures for them and left the room.

Robin smiled through her tears. She looked over at Patrick, who was smiling at her. “Look at what we did.”

Patrick didn’t say a word. Holding one of the pictures, he climbed onto the bed with her and, after taking her in his arms, gave her a kiss. Only then did he speak.

“Thank you Robin.” He smiled at the first picture of their child. “Thank you.”

[cmahorror]

Chapter 40

“Welcome home Dr. Scorpio.” Patrick carried Robin into their apartment, while she carried the Chinese food.

“Who knew you were such a romantic?” She giggled happily as he set her down on their couch and she placed the bag on the ottoman.

“What can I say – you bring it out in me.” He began to pull out the food. “Chopsticks or do you want a fork?”

She scowled at him. “Please - chopsticks of course.”

He shook his head at her and laughed. “Oh, of course.”

The settled on the couch, each sitting on the opposite end with their legs intertwined. It was quiet dinner but a comfortable one. He kept staring at her, watching her eat her Schezuan Beef piece by piece with expertise. “You make it look so easy.”

“What?”

“Using those chopsticks.”

“Why thank you – it really is a gift.” She teased him with false sincerity. She thought it was cute that he was trying to find some small way to compliment her. “It’s all in the wrist.”

“I had no idea.” He put down his food and slid over the couch to her. “I think I need to study this technique up close.” He sat right next to her. “Maybe you could demonstrate while sharing a little of your food with me?”

She smiled at him. “I think that could be arranged.” She expertly dug into the box and dug out a piece of beef and broccoli. “Notice the ability to grab more than just one piece of food.” She picked it up and carefully moved it over to him. “Follow the steady hands as they carry the food over to you without dropping anything.”

He leaned over a little further and she carefully held it up to his lips. He opened up and ate the bite she offered. “As I said, you make it look easy. But I can think of a better use for those talented hands.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “Oh, really?”

He gave her a full smile, dimple dancing at her. “Yes, really.” Leaning over he kissed her and took the carton of Chinese food from her, placing it back on the ottoman. He then took her hands and placed them around his waist. “See, much better use of your hands.”

“Well when you’re right, you’re right.” She kissed him and pulled him closer. They leaned back on the couch, his body covering hers protectively.

He stopped for a moment, gently running his hands through her hair. “We need to celebrate – how about I make you whatever you want tomorrow night for dinner?”

Robin giggled as she nodded her head. “Well, since you only know how to make a couple of things I guess I’ll go with either pancakes or French toast.”

Patrick glared at her. “Hey, I can make other things.”

“Yeah, but I want something hot for supper, not peanut butter and jelly.” She smiled at him. “You make the best pancakes I have ever had and it has been way too long since we have had them." She rubbed her belly. "I think our baby would love to have them too.”

He nodded his head in agreement. “Pancakes it is. Now where were we?”

Robin pulled him into her again. “I think right about here.”

“Fantastic.” Patrick kissed her once more as they reacquainted themselves with the couch's seven points of comfort.

Edited January 14, 2017 by cmahorror

[cmahorror]

Chapter 41

“Patrick!” Robin woke up screaming and Patrick quickly wrapped his arms around her, talking to her gently.

“Robin, Robin, it’s okay.” He gently rubbed her arms as held her against him. “It’s okay. It’s over – Pete’s dead and we are at home together.”

She calmed down and slowed down her breathing. She was home with Patrick. She was home with him and they were having a baby.

“You want to tell me what your nightmare was about?” He didn’t want to push her but he knew it was better for her to get it out.

She took a deep breath and leaned into him. He laid back against the headboard so she was lying with her left cheek against his chest as his arms held her close. “I was back in that warehouse. He dropped the candle and smiled at me. I was trying to get away, trying to get back to you.” A tear fell from her eye. “It was so real – I could smell the smoke and kerosene. I swear I could feel the heat.”

She looked up at him. “You know what – I could feel you the other day. I don’t know how but before I lost consciousness, I knew you were there. Somehow, I knew you were going to get me out of there in time.”

He smiled at her and stroked her cheek. “I will always be there for you.” His hand dropped down to her belly. “You and our child.”

They were laying in complete serenity when Robin’s phone rang, breaking the moment. She looked down at the caller ID. “Uncle Mac.” She answered the phone.

“Hi!” Patrick listened to her half of the conversation as he got out of bed to get dressed.

“Yes, actually I am feeling great.”

“You, Georgie and Maxie are going to what me today! Yes, kidnapping me was a bad way to put it.” She looked at Patrick who rolled his eyes but then nodded his head and did a waving motion with his hands.

“Go.”

Robin looked at him strangely. “Uh, okay, give me about 20 minutes and I will meet you at your place.” She hung up the phone. “Are you sure you want me to go?”

“Want, no. But your family loves you and they were just as scared as I was while you were missing." He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "They love you and if they want to spend the day with you, who I am to stop them.” He went into the bathroom and started the shower. “Besides, this will give me time to plan the perfect celebration pancake dinner for us.”

Robin started to get ready. “Should I be scared? You can go a little overboard with the romantic gestures.”

“Hey, not feeling the love here.” He came back in the room and hugged her. “Now go, have fun with your Uncle and your cousins and I will see you tonight.” He kissed her one more time and went to get into the shower. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Robin got dressed and headed out the door to meet up with her family.

After hearing her leave Patrick came out of the bathroom and made a phone call.

“Hey Mac, thanks – I appreciate your getting her out of here for the day.”

“Don't make me regret this Drake." Mac shook his head. "I hope I’m doing the right thing.” Mac was surprised that Patrick wanted Robin out of the apartment so soon after getting her home.

“You are Mac, trust me." He hung up the phone and smiled. "Hopefully tonight will be a night Robin and I will never forget.”

[cmahorror]

Chapter 42

Patrick looked around the apartment, trying to make sure that everything was just right. The table was set and a carafe of orange juice was chilling in a bucket normally reserved for wine. Folic acid was good for the baby and went well with the pancakes he was making. He had briefly considered candles and then decided against it. Pete had tried to kill Robin with a room full of candles and kerosene and the last thing he wanted was to remind her of Pete and what happened the other day. It was hard to believe that only 2 days ago Robin was nearly killed by that bastard.

He shook with anger at the memory of Pete. One of the first things he had done today after Robin had left was to get rid of anything that had any connection to the bastard. Pictures, books, their college yearbooks, any presents that Pete may have given him, all gone. He was dead and Patrick wanted to make sure that any ties to the man were gone too. Also, he needed to make sure that Robin didn’t stumble across them accidently. That was in the past and Patrick was determined to keep it there.

He felt for the velvet box in his pocket. He was nervous as hell but also excited beyond belief. 2 years ago, hell, 2 months ago if someone had told him he would be getting ready to propose to Robin he would have told them they were insane. Patrick Drake would never settle down, right?

What a joke – he had been such a coward, hiding from the future but almost losing Robin had forced him to be brave and embrace it. His future was forever linked with hers now. Maybe it always had been. He couldn’t really remember her not being in his life. The life he had led before she had come into it had been uncomplicated, unchallenging and empty. It still amazed him that 7 words had completely changed his life.

“I need a miracle and you’re it.” He smiled, remembering her barging into the OR. It didn’t even phase her that he was having sex with a nurse on the operating table. And that was what it was, sex, because he had never made love with anyone else. She was his first.

And with that, his entire life changed forever. She dragged him kicking and screaming into adulthood. She fought with him, refused to be taken in by his charm, good looks or even that devastating Drake smile. She was challenging, complicated, passionate and brought out emotions in him that he didn’t think he had.

The truth was that she was his first love and he knew she would be his last.

Robin texted him to tell him she was on her way so he began making the pancakes. He was flipping over the last pancake when he heard the door open. He looked up to see Robin standing there looking at the table set up for their dinner, well breakfast.

He put the pancake on the plate and walked over to her. After helping her off with her coat he kissed her and then smiled at her warmly. “Welcome home.”

“I could get use to that kind of welcome.” She was a little tired but starving. “Please tell me supper is ready?”

“Pancakes, sausage and fresh squeezed orange juice all ready for you babe," He gently touched her belly "and baby.” He led her over to the table and pulled out her chair for her. She sat down and he joined her at the table, taking time to fill both their plates with food and glasses with the orange juice.

She smiled over the table at him as she drank her juice. “Fresh squeezed huh?”

“Only the best for you and our child. Now tell me about your day with Mac and the girls.”

Robin began recounting the day, shopping with the girls, lunch with Mac and fighting the urge to tell them about the baby. They had agreed to wait until after the first trimester to tell everyone to be on the safe side.

“So what did you do today? Besides making an amazing supper for us of course.” She laughed and he just stared her. She was so beautiful when she laughed.

“Oh, a little of this and a little of that. Are you done or do you want me to make some more for you?” He quickly changed the subject and hoped she wouldn’t notice.

It didn’t work, she noticed. “Smooth Drake. Is there something you want to tell me?”

“No. I just cleaned a few things up and did a little shopping, no big deal. Now, are you still hungry? I really can make you so more pancakes.”

“Nope, I’m good. Now, you want to tell me what’s got you so nervous?”

“What makes you think I’m nervous?” There were times he hated how well she knew him.

“Well, for starters, your knees were shaking so bad that the table shook all through dinner.” She put her elbows on the table and set her chin on her hands. “So what is it Drake, are you having second thoughts about the baby?”

“God no Robin, I couldn’t be more excited about it.” He couldn’t even believe she asked him that.

“Ok, then what is it? What has got you so scared?”

“You.” Robin looked at him in shock. “Let me explain.”

He scooted his chair around so he was close enough to touch her. She leaned back in her chair and he took her hands in his. “Robin, I love you so much. These past few months have been crazy to say the least but you have been my constant through all of it. We have been through so much in such a short time and yet here we are, still in love, stronger than ever and creating a family. It is more than I could have ever hoped or dreamed of having.”

“The truth is that I never had any dreams or plans for the future until you. I thought I was happy living day to day, by myself, but it was a lie. I didn’t know what true happiness was until you came barreling into my life, all full of fire and fury, determined to prove that there was more to me than the shallow, arrogant bastard you first met. And you were right, sure he was buried deep inside but that was because there was only one person who could bring him out - you.”

Robin could feel the tears filling her eyes. “Patrick…”

“Let me finish. You are the most amazing, frustrating, beautiful, kind, patient, and loving woman I have ever known. You challenge me to be a better doctor and a better man. You force me to face my fears and overcome them. You are the reason I am no longer a playboy, I am a man. A man who loves you completely, beyond reason.”

Robin was silently crying, lovingly looking at this amazing man. Her look turned to confusion then shock when Patrick slid off his chair and got down on one knee. He pulled a velvet box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a beautiful diamond ring.

“Robin, will you marry me?”

[rose marie]

I pretty much stick to lurking on these forums, but I posted a fic on AO3, so I thought I'd self promote! It's a what-if story about Robin and Jason way back in 1997. Here's the link:

http://archiveofourown.org/works/7153712/chapters/16241792

[cmahorror]

Chapter 43

“What the hell just happened?” Patrick sat by himself in their apartment in disbelief.


Flashback

“Robin, will you marry me?” Patrick was down on one knee in front of her with an engagement ring sitting in his hand, nestled in a velvet box.

“Patrick, I…” Robin suddenly jumped up and ran into the bathroom. He heard her getting sick and cringed.

Walking over to the closed door, he knocked on it. “Robin, are you okay? Is there anything I can do?”

“No, I’m fine. Morning sickness, it isn’t just for mornings you know.” Robin attempted to make a joke but she knew she had failed big time. She walked over to the sink and brushed her teeth and washed her face before going back in to face Patrick.

Patrick was pacing in front of the door when she came out. He hugged her tight. “Robin, are you ok?” He led her over to the couch. “Sit down, put your feet up.”

“Patrick, please calm down.” If this was how he was going to be for the rest of the pregnancy, it was going to be a very long 7 months.

“I just want to make sure you’re ok.”

“I’m fine. I’m just sorry I ruined your lovely dinner.” She was avoiding mentioning the proposal.

“Just the dinner?” Patrick wasn’t fooled for a moment. “Robin, this wasn’t exactly the response I was hoping for. You want to tell me what is going here?”

Robin closed her eyes and shook her head. “Look Patrick, I know you want to do the right thing by me and the baby but we don’t have to get married just because I am pregnant. I didn’t do this on purpose and I was certainly not trying to trap you. I know how you feel about marriage and I’m fine with it.”

Patrick couldn’t believe it – she was turning him down! “Robin, I used to feel that way about marriage. Now I can’t imagine anything better than spending the next 40 years with you by my side as my wife.”

Robin really wanted to believe him but she knew in her heart he was only proposing because she was pregnant, not because he honestly wanted to marry her. “Patrick, be honest with me. Would you be sitting here with a ring in your pocket right now if I weren’t pregnant?”

“Well, maybe not right now, but…”

“Exactly, you are only proposing because I am pregnant!” She took his hands in hers. “I love you and if there were no baby, I would say yes without hesitation but I don’t think you really want to get married, I think you are doing it because you think you have to.”

Patrick was exasperated. “That is not what is happening.”

She stood up and put her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “Did you or did you not just admit that you would not be proposing tonight if I weren’t pregnant.”

“Yes but…” He had not meant it the way it came out.

“Then there is nothing else left to say.” She grabbed her jacket, near tears, and headed to the door. Robin’s insecurities had just popped back up in full force and the walls he had broken down over the past two years were back up and seemed to be stronger than ever.

Keeping her emotions in check, Robin opened the door. “I am going to take a walk so we can both forget that this entire conversation happened. I love you, but you and I both know that marriage just isn’t in the cards for us - ever.”

He watched speechless as she walked out the door.

End Flashback


He had meant that he might have waited a couple of months but the truth was that he wanted to marry Robin with or without the baby.

He picked up his phone and made the call he knew he needed to make. “Dad, time to implement Plan B.”

[cmahorror]

Chapter 44

Robin stared out at the water. She was at the docks, the place she came to think and gain perspective, something she sorely needed at this moment.

How could she do it – how could she tell Patrick no? She wanted to marry him more than anything and yet she let her fear take hold and make the decision for her. It was fear talking when she accused Patrick of only wanting to marry her because of the baby. The truth was that marrying Patrick scared the hell out of her.

She had never seen a long lasting, happy marriage. Her parents were only briefly married and fought constantly. Uncle Mac had given Felicia everything and she had left him flat, leaving him to raise Maxie and Georgie by himself. Monica and Alan had been a constant back and forth, same with Tony and Bobbie. Even Edward had cheated on Lila - why should she have any hope that she and Patrick would turn out any different?

“Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself?” Jason was surprised that Patrick had let Robin out of the house alone.

She didn't look at him as she spoke, just kept her focus on the water. “Hello, yeah, I guess I just needed a little time to think.”

Jason looked at her carefully – something was weighing on her mind. “You want to tell me what happened? You know I’m not going to judge and I have a strong shoulder to lean on.” He stepped in front of her so she couldn’t ignore him. “Did Patrick do something to hurt you?” He honestly didn’t believe that but decided to cut to the chase.

Robin felt the tears welling up in her eyes. “God no, if anything I have hurt him.” She looked at Jason, tears finally spilling out. Jason quickly put his arms around her and held her for a minute, then gently moved her over to the bench to sit down. She looked back out at the water. “Patrick asked me to marry him tonight.”

Jason took in what she had just said. He wasn’t surprised, he could see that was where they were headed months ago, he just didn’t understand why Robin was so upset. “I’m guessing you didn’t say yes.” She shook her head. “Why Robin?”

“Because the only reason he asked is because I’m pregnant!” She blurted out without thinking. “I’m sorry, we aren’t telling anyone yet.”

Jason stared her straight in the eyes. “Are you happy about it?”

“The happiest moment of my life was when I found out that I was carrying Patrick’s child.” A smile broke out over her face of pure joy. He couldn't help but grimace a little inside - he had never made her that happy.

Swallowing his pride, he continued to gently question her. “And I take it Patrick is happy about this as well?”

“Over the moon about it. Already planning the next 18 years of his or hers life.” Robin laughed remembering their talk in the hospital.

“Robin, did you know about the baby before Pete took you?” She shook her head no. “Then I guarantee you that he is not proposing just because you are pregnant.”

She looked at him curiously. “How can you be so sure?”

He took a deep breath and decided to tell her a story. “Did Patrick ever tell you that I was the one who told him about your being shot?” Robin raised her eyebrows at him. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. I was trying to get the information about the briefcase out of Skye while Alcazar was in surgery. Patrick came in to explain why they had to take a break, something about more scans and shrapnel, when Spinelli called with the news. Robin, I have never seen that man shaken by anything but he was ready to leave a patient on the table to get to you that day. I had to talk him down and back into the operating room and it wasn’t easy.”

Jason gave Robin a moment to think about what he had said before making his point. “I have spent a lot of time with Patrick over these past few months. He has been consumed with you and your protection, keeping you safe. When Pete took you, I saw a man who had just lost his entire world. While we were driving to Pete's place we had plenty of time to talk and he told me that he would never let you go once he got you home. I knew in that moment that he had every intention of marrying you as soon as possible. Baby or no baby Robin, he would have asked you to marry him.”

Robin began crying. “Well it doesn’t matter now. Patrick and I had a chance and I just blew it. He trusted me with his heart and I stomped all over it.”

Jason shook his head at her. “Trust me Robin, Patrick isn’t the kind of man to just give up. It may not be tonight but I guarantee you that he will propose again and when he does, I know that you are going to say yes because he loves you more than anything and you love him more than anything. Am I right?”

Robin smiled and nodded her head. “I do.” Just then her phone rang. It was Kelly. “Hey, what’s going on?”

Kelly spoke quickly. “Yeah Robin, I need your help with something – could you come by the loft in about an hour?”

Robin wasn’t sure what Kelly needed help with but she wanted to delay going home for a little bit longer so she readily agreed. “Of course I will. I could use a little girl talk tonight anyway.”

“Great! See you in a little bit.” She hung up the phone before Robin could change her mind.

Robin shut her phone and turned her attention back to Jason. “Well, I think I am going to get some hot chocolate from Kelly’s and head over there.” She hugged Jason. “Thank you for everything. I am so grateful for your help and how you have been there for Patrick and me over these past few months. We both appreciate it.”

He winked at her. “Well you can pay me back by making sure I get an invite to the wedding.”

She laughed. “I think that can be arranged.”

They turned away from each other to go their separate ways but Jason had to say one more thing. “Oh and Robin, congratulations. You were a wonderful mother to Michael and I know you are going to be a wonderful mother to this child.”

Robin was honestly touched by his words. “Thank you, Jason.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"She's on her way." Kelly looked at Patrick.

Patrick smiled at the doctor. "Great! My dad will be here in a few minutes with the supplies and I just need you and Lainey to keep her busy until everything is ready."

"No problem." Kelly would do anything to help out Patrick and Robin. She had never believed in true love until she met these two crazy doctors.

"And you know the signal?" He needed to make sure everyone was on the same page - it was the only way he would be able to pull this off.

"Yep. Don't worry, I'm sure that everything is going to turn out exactly the way it should." She smiled at him. "Now go and get everything set up."

He left the loft and went to meet his dad. In less than an hour, Plan B would be put in motion.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 45

Robin anxiously knocked on the door to the loft, unsure of what was waiting for her in there. What exactly did Kelly need her help with?

The door opened and Kelly smiled at her friend. “Hey Robs, come on in.”

Robin walked in and saw Lainey sitting on the couch with a glass of wine in her hand. Lainey jumped up to hug her old roommate. “Robin, it is so good to see you. Do you want a glass of wine?" She wasn't supposed to know Robin was pregnant, but Patrick had let it slip out earlier. He made Lainey promise she wouldn't let on that she knew.

Robin shook her head. "No thank you."

Lainey smiled at her. "We were so scared for you.”

Kelly closed the door and hugged Robin as well, nodding her head in agreement. “We are both thrilled that you are home, safe and sound.” She gestured to the couch. “Sit down, you look exhausted.”

Robin sat down and looked around at her old place. The truth was she really didn’t spend a lot of time here. She moved in August but it wasn’t long until she was spending all her time at Patrick’s. Patrick and her moved in together, the first time, a few months later but she had some great memories of the place. One of her favorite memories helped her survive her time with Pete.This was where Patrick had recuperated from strep throat on the very couch she was sitting on now. He had ate up the attention he was getting from Kelly and Lainey and then told her the story about his mom.

She laughed at the memory at first. Then she began to cry.

Lainey immediately put her arms around Robin. “Robin, what is it?”

“I blew it, I destroyed any chance I had at having a future with Patrick.” Kelly and Lainey looked at each other behind Robin’s back. Kelly mouthed “hormones” and Lainey decided to venture forth with the conversation carefully.

“Robin, I am sure you didn’t.” Robin looked at her but didn’t look like she believed her. “Seriously, I have heard this from you before. Remember when Patrick told you he loved you and you didn’t respond in, let’s say, the way he had hoped.” Robin laughed softly. “Did he give up on you then? No, he made a grand romantic gesture. He made it his mission to prove to you he meant what he had said.”

Kelly decided it was time to jump in to the conversation. “Lainey’s right. We have been watching the love story of Patrick and Robin since it started and let me tell you, there is only one way it will end – with the two of you married and raising baby Scorpio-Drakes.”

Robin smiled at what her friends were saying. They were always one of the couple’s biggest supporters and she really needed to hear this right now. She knew Jason was right but he hadn’t been around for everything the way these ladies had been. Their words of comfort gave her a little more hope that it was all going to be alright.

They sat there in silence for a moment until they heard music coming from outside. Robin got tears in her eyes. “This was the song Patrick played the night for me the night he told me he loved me.”

Kelly walked over to the window. “Robin, I think you need to see this.”

Robin walked over to her friend and looked out the window. There in the courtyard stood Patrick, once again playing their song and surrounded by candles but this time instead of a bouquet of flowers, he was holding the box with her engagement ring in his hand.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 46

Robin ran down the stairs in record time to where Patrick was. “Hi.” She spoke softly, shyly, still embarrassed by her earlier reaction.

Patrick smile at her. “Will you please listen to me?” She nodded her head. “Good. I love you Robin and I want to be with you. I want to go to bed with you every night and know when I wake up you will still be there in the morning.” He took one of her hands in his. “I want to fight with you over what color to paint the kitchen and where to put knick knacks. I want to spend Sundays with you sitting around in our pajamas doing the New York Times crossword puzzle while watching old movies.”

Robin started to interrupt him but he was on a roll. “Most of all, I want to share my life, my home and my name with you. I don’t want to marry you because you are pregnant, I want to marry you because I love you and, even if there were no baby, I would still want to marry you. I know you are scared and I understand why but I know that you are, without any doubt the love of my life. I said it before and I will keep saying it until you actually believe it – you are the first woman I have ever loved and I know you will be that last woman I will ever love.”

Robin took a deep breath. “I really don’t know what I did to deserve you. You’re right, I am scared. All my life I have seen marriage after marriage fail. My parents, my dad and Holly, Uncle Mac and Felicia, Sonny and Carly, the list goes on and on. Hell, even Edward cheated on Lila! Some of them, like Edward and Lila and Monica and Alan, were able to move past it and build an amazing life together but those examples are few and far between.”

“You had your parents and you saw a marriage and a love so strong that it nearly destroyed your father when she died. I don’t want to do that to you Patrick and the reality is that I will probably die before you.”

“Whether we are married or not Robin, it will still have an affect on me. There are no guarantees in life. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow or, given that we live in Port Charles, a stray bullet. Losing you someday doesn’t scare me. Living without you now does.”

Robin’s tears started dropping from her eyes. “I know you’re right but it’s just so hard to admit it.” She squeezed his hand. “You have given me so much that I feel like I am tempting fate to want more and yet I want more. I want to be with you and raise our child together. What I don’t want is to be afraid anymore. So, will you ask me again?”

Patrick smiled and slowly got down on one knee. “Robin Scorpio, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

She put her hand over her heart. “With all my heart, yes.”

Patrick slipped the ring on her finger, wrapped her up in his arms and joyfully kissed his fiancee.

[cmahorror]

Epilogue

“Come on Robin, push.”

Robin glared at her husband. “What the hell do you think I have been doing?!”

Patrick held on to her hand tightly and smiled. “Good, get angry at me and use it to push our little boy into this world.” He knew this had been a long and hard labor but it was almost over and soon their son would be here. He had wanted Robin to have a c-section but Kelly had agreed that a natural birth was the safest and most logical choice. It was killing him to see her in such pain and he was praying it was almost over.

“You are doing great Robin, he’s crowning. A couple of more pushes and he should be here.” Kelly, like Patrick, had been a source of comfort and encouragement throughout the entire delivery.

“Ugh,” she glared at Patrick, “I need to push again.” She grunted and then, screaming and squeezing Patrick’s hand to the point he thought she would break it, pushed as hard as she could.

“Here’s his head.” Kelly carefully cradled the baby’s head as Robin pushed again. The baby’s shoulders came through and the rest of him quickly followed. Robin panted and finally relaxed as Patrick looked down at Kelly. Suddenly the sound of their son screaming filled the room. Robin began crying as Patrick held her. They watched as Liz grabbed their little boy to clean him up and get his measurements.

“He’s here. Patrick, our son is here.” Robin was crying but they were tears of joy. She looked over at Patrick who also had the same tears running down his face.

Liz wrapped him up and brought him over to her friends. “He’s beautiful guys.” She handed the little boy, safely swaddled in a blue blanket, over to his mother. He had his mother’s dark brown hair and his eyes were open enough that they could see his they were the same shade of chocolate as his father’s. He also had his father’s dimples.

“He’s perfect.” Patrick leaned over and kissed his wife. “Robin, you have never looked more beautiful.”

She laughed. “Really? I am sweaty, drugged and recovering from 30 hours of labor. I am anything but beautiful.”

Patrick looked at her sincerely. “You have spent the last day and a half showing me how strong you are. Your strength and love are what makes you beautiful. Add to it the fact that you are holding our son and Robin, you are the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen.”

Robin’s tears kept coming. How did she ever get so lucky as to end up with such a man? “I love you so much. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

Patrick laughed. “I love you too but I think I can forgive you; you certainly had reason to yell at me.”

“I hate to interrupt but we need to get Robin moved into her room.” Liz was thrilled for her friends. “Patrick, you can meet us there. Dr. Lee will be in with the test results soon.”

The baby was being tested for HIV. Patrick was negative and the chance of their baby boy contracting HIV from Robin was less than 2% but there was still a chance and Robin couldn’t completely relax until she knew.

A half hour later they were settled into the room. Their baby boy was lying on Robin’s chest as Patrick sat by her side on the bed. Mac, Georgie, Maxie and Noah had been anxiously waiting to be let in to meet the newest member of the family. Mac poked his head in the door.

“Can we come in now, please?”

Patrick smiled. “Please do. I’m surprised you waited this long.”

Robin smiled at Mac. “Do you want to hold your grandson?” Robin and Patrick considered Mac like a father and to them he would always be this little boy’s grandpa.

“What do you think? Of course I do.” Mac expertly picked up the sleeping baby from Robin and cradled him gently in his arms. Maxie and Georgie happily cooed at the little boy while Noah patiently waited his turn.

“Does he have a name or are we just calling him Baby Drake?” Noah asked, only half joking.

Patrick looked at Robin and smiled. Smiling she told them the baby’s name. “Everyone, I would like you to meet Mackenzie Noah Scorpio-Drake.” Both men’s eyes began tearing up when it hit them that this little boy carried their names.

Kelly came in at that moment. “A good, strong name for a good, strong boy. Little Mac here is 7 lbs, 9 oz, 22 inches long and HIV negative.”

Robin cried with relief as Patrick held her.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Patrick watched Robin sleep after everyone had left. Mac had woken up starving a little while ago and he had given his little boy a bottle and was now walking him around the room, trying to get him to burp.

“Stubborn little thing, aren’t you? You get that from your mother.”

“Hey, your father’s just as bad.” Patrick smiled as he walked over to Robin. 6 months ago they had walked down the aisle in Mac’s backyard and it had been the happiest day of his life, until today.

“He’s refuses to burp.”

“Give him to me, maybe he just wants his mommy.” Patrick handed Mac over to her and he immediately burped. Robin laughed.

“Hey, stop making Daddy look bad buddy. I’m trying to impress your mommy.”

“Too late, I am already impressed.” She smiled at him.

Patrick leaned over and kissed Robin. “I love you and our son, so much.”

“And I love you and our son, so much.” She kissed him back and smiled at their sleeping boy. “Patrick, we’re a family now.”

He smiled back at her. “Yes we are and I have never been happier. Get some sleep Dr. Scorpio-Drake, it’s been a long day and you need your rest. Doctor’s orders.”

She gave a tired laugh. “Of course Dr. Drake. On one condition, you sleep with me.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Patrick laid down on the bed and, putting his arm around Robin, rubbing his little boy’s back as Robin held him. This was what it was all about, everything he hadn’t known he was missing – their family and the life they were starting together. Happier than he had ever imagined he could be, Patrick fell asleep with his wife and son.

The End

[cmahorror]

Just a little one based on Robin's current visit lol

 

Patrick came rushing off the elevator and ran straight to his wife's room. He needed to see her, needed to make sure that she and their baby were alright after their latest run in with a blast from her parents past. He opened the door to find Robin standing by the bed and quickly ran to her. "Thank God." He wrapped her up in his arms and hugged her close. "I was so scared when I heard what happened."

Robin leaned into him and allowed him to rock her in his arms. "We're fine - I promise."

"You need to be sitting down." He helped her onto the bed and sat down next to her. "What the hell happened? I mean, you just came here to be with your mom for a few days and you ended up kidnapped again?"

She shook her head. "Apparently this woman, Olivia Jerome, we thought was dead wasn't."

"Not surprising given it's Port Charles." Patrick knew better than anyone that the dead didn't stay dead in this town. "Olivia Jerome?"

"She's Julian's sister. Years ago, she was obsessed with Duke." Patrick had slid back on the bed so Robin laid down next to him and curled up by his side, her head resting right over his heart. "They slept together and, when he decided to be with my mom, she did everything she could to tear them apart."

"Like Lisa did with us?"

Robin cringed at the mention of the woman who almost killed her. "Yes although I didn't make the connection until you said that. Anyway, she went so far as to rig an elevator to crash with my mom on it. My mom was pregnant and she lost the baby."

"Oh." His hand to her belly where their second child lay. He knew that they were both okay, Epiphany had assured him of that when she called him and told him what had happened, but this Olivia woman could have easily killed both Robin and the baby.

"I'm just glad that she is back in jail where she belongs and can never hurt anyone again." Robin closed her eyes. "Is Emma with your dad?"

"Grandpa Noah and her are on their way to Disneyland as we speak." Patrick shut his eyes and pulled her a little closer. "Robin, can I ask you a favor?"

"Of course." She felt safer in his arms then any place else.

"I think we need to stop visiting Port Charles." Patrick felt her tense up but he didn't stop talking. He had something to say and he was going to say it. "Robin, please hear me out."

"But my mom and Uncle Mac..."

"Can come to Berkeley and visit us there." He gently ran his hand up and down her back. "Robin, you have been kidnapped from Port Charles numerous times, shot twice and held hostage. You were here for less than a day and some madwoman from your parents past held you hostage at General Hospital. This town is bad for you, for us, and I think it is time we admit it and, for all of our sakes, stay as far away from it as possible."

Tears filled Robin's eyes. "But we met here, we fell in love here and got married here..."

"And we will carry those memories with us always but we cannot forget the events that surrounded our falling in love and getting married. Jerry Jax, Helena Cassadine and now, Olivia Jerome." His hand moved from her back and began stroking her hair. "Think about our lives in Berkeley - no mobsters or spies or international criminals, just us and our family enjoying a nice, normal life. We have had more peace and happiness in one year at Berkeley than we did in ten years here."

Robin couldn't help but nod her head in agreement. Everything he was saying was true, she knew it in her heart, and they were safer and happier in Berkeley than she could have ever dreamed. All the pain, the years she had spent away from her family, the threats made against the people she loved, it all started here in Port Charles. It was time to finally leave the town behind for good. "You're right." She sat up. "So Dr. Drake, I think it's time that you take me and our child home."

"That is the best idea you have had in a long time." Patrick stood up before helping his wife off the bed. He kissed her before taking her hand and leading her out the door. "Let's go home Dr. Scorpio-Drake."

Edited March 9, 2017 by cmahorror

[cmahorror]

Since no one is stopping me, might as well keep on going lol. This is a work in progress and combines some new ideas with old storylines.

 

 

What if Patrick and Robin had been college friends who meet again years later?
 

Chapter 1

“I was thinking about dinner out at the Metro Court tonight.” Sabrina Santiago batted her eyelashes at Patrick Drake as he reviewed a chart. “What do you think?”

“Have fun.” Patrick made some more notes, barely acknowledging the young nurse.

“I meant for us silly.” Sabrina and Patrick had been dating casually for a few months now and she was hoping to finally get him to commit tonight. “A nice, romantic dinner…”

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Patrick had recently come to the conclusion that he needed to stop dating around and focus on creating just one relationship. The pretty young nurse had seemed like a good idea at first but the woman was simply too complacent for him. She had an almost hero-like worship of him that was ego boosting in the beginning but quickly got old. He needed someone who challenged him and wasn’t afraid to disagree with him. He had let this Sabrina thing go on way too long as it was and he needed to end it.

Patrick gave Sabrina his trademark Drake smile. “I appreciate the offer but Alan really wants me to meet the new doctor in a little bit and who knows how long that is going to take.”

Sabrina frowned. “But Patrick…”

He decided it was time to finally come clean. “Sabrina, you are a very nice girl but I really think it is best if we stick to a professional relationship at this time.”

This was not happening. She shook her head in disbelief. “But I thought…”

“I have never promised you anything Sabrina.” Patrick had been very careful to not give her any hope that he would commit to her. “We have had a great time but I think you need more than I can give you.”

Her lower lip trembled as the reality of his words hit her. “So it’s over – just like that?”

“You deserve someone who can give you a future with children and a family, someone who wants to get married and settle down.” The words flowed easily from his mouth. “I am not that man – my career will always come first.”

“But…”

“Please Sabrina, let me do this for you.” He took her hand in his. “Let me give you the freedom to find the future you deserve.”

She wiped away a tear but nodded her head. “Okay Patrick.” She looked at the clock. “I need to head home now but I will see you here tomorrow.”

“Of course and Sabrina,” Patrick waited for her to look at him one last time, “I hope you find what you are looking for.”

She just nodded her head sadly. “Me too Patrick.”

He watched her walk away and then turned his attention back to his chart. He had barely started making notes when he heard a voice behind him. “That was smooth Patrick.”

Patrick turned around to see his old friend, Liz Spencer, standing behind him. “What?”

“Please, I could have told you months ago that it would never work between you and Sabrina.” Liz began organizing her charts as she spoke. “You can only stand that hero-worship thing for so long before you get bored.”

Patrick smirked at the pretty nurse. Liz and her husband Lucky had been two of his first friends when he had come to Port Charles. He had initially come here to help his father, Dr. Noah Drake, sober up but had stayed on to help with an extremely difficult patient named Jason Morgan. Jason had been a friend of Liz’s and Patrick’s father had pushed him to perform the surgery after a drug protocol created by another doctor had failed. Before he knew it, Patrick was on staff at General Hospital working with his newly sober father.

It had taken time but the two men had eventually been able to co-exist peacefully until a doctor by the name of Matt Hunter appeared on the scene and revealed that he was Noah’s son from an affair Noah had while married to Patrick’s mother. Patrick had rejected Noah for what he had done to Matt, abandoning the boy at birth, and the brothers had begun building a relationship. Noah had left town for a little while to do some work with Doctors Without Borders but had recently returned, intent on being the father both men needed.

It was Matt who had Patrick rethinking his plan to remain single. Matt had begun dating a hospital volunteer by the name of Maxie Jones last year and the two of them were great together. Seeing Matt happy with a woman who was his equal and gave just as good as she got had given Patrick hope that he might find the same thing someday. Sabrina was his first attempt at doing something other than a one night stand. “She’s a sweet kid but I am definitely not the right man for her and it was only right to give her a chance to find the right one.” Patrick finished making his notes. “I want his vitals checked every four hours.”

“Certainly doctor.” Liz took the chart from him. “Have you ever thought of searching for her on the internet?”

“Searching for who?”

“You know who.” Years ago, after a night out at Jake’s, Liz had managed to get Patrick to admit to loving one woman in his life while they were in college together. Unfortunately, she had been engaged to a good friend of his and Patrick had never had the courage to tell her. He watched her marry the man and, after she was accepted into medical school abroad, they had lost touch. “Maybe her situation has changed in the past 15 years.”

Patrick shook his head and sighed. “Let it go Liz, I have.”

Liz just laughed at him. “You just keep telling yourself that Patrick.” She filed away the chart. “You need to get going – Alan is expecting you to welcome Dr. Soltini to the hospital in ten minutes.”

“Whatever – I don’t get why Alan is so hyped on this doctor.” Patrick had been ordered by Alan to greet the newest addition to the GH staff and show them around the hospital. Apparently this researcher was a genius with drug protocols but Patrick was a surgeon and had no use for drug protocols – all he needed was a scalpel and an OR.

“I don’t either but you don’t want to get on Alan’s bad side.” Liz winked at her old friend. “So go and play nice with the new doctor.”

Patrick shook his head. “Fine but I expect you to get a sitter so I can have drinks with you and Lucky after. Text me when it’s all set up.”

“Be nice and we’ll even buy the first round.” Liz went back to her work. “See you in a little bit.”

Patrick stalked off down the hallway, ready to get this meeting over with as soon as possible so he could go and have a few drinks with his friends.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 2

“As you can see,” Alan handed his newest hire all their paperwork, “we have everything you need in place.”

“And the security team?” This was the doctor’s greatest concern.

“Well aware of your special circumstances and more than willing to do what is needed.” He smiled at the young doctor. “I promise, everything will be okay.”

Patrick knocked on the door before opening it up. “Alan, you wanted to see me?”

“Yes Dr. Drake, please come in.” Alan stood up and indicated that the person in the chair should do the same. “Patrick Drake I would like to meet…”

Patrick couldn’t believe his eyes as the doctor turned around and smiled at him. “Robin?”

“Patrick.” Robin shook her head and smiled. “You’re the head of neurology?”

“You’re the new researcher?” He took two steps forward and picked her up in a tight hug. “This is great!”

Alan watched the two curiously. “You two know each other?”

Robin giggled as Patrick finally set her down. “Yes, we went to college together. Patrick was a groomsman at Roger and mine’s wedding.”

Patrick smiled at her. “Is he here?”

Robin's good mood instantly vanished. “I thought you knew – Roger died six years ago.”

Patrick felt like he had been punched in the stomach. “Oh God Robin, I am so sorry. I didn’t know.” He looked at Alan. “If you are done with Robin I would like to take her for a walk and catch up.”

Alan had been watching the two doctors very carefully – there was a certain spark between the two of them that he couldn’t help but notice. He nodded his head. “Of course.” Alan gave Robin a big hug. “I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to have you back in Port Charles.”

“It’s wonderful to be back. I will talk to you later.” Turning to Patrick, Robin smiled at him once more. “Shall we Dr. Drake?”

Patrick opened up the office door and allowed Robin to walk through it before gently taking her arm and turning her in the direction he wanted to go. “Let’s head to your office – it’s just down the hall from mine.”

“That would be great.” Robin matched him stride for stride as they walked down the hall. “How did you end up at General Hospital?”

“Well, you always spoke so highly of Port Charles.”

Robin laughed as she remembered telling him about Jason and how Port Charles had more mobsters per capita than most big cities. “Plenty of chances to operate, right?”

“Actually, that was how I ended up staying in Port Charles.” He opened up his office door and let her enter before him. She sat down on the couch and he joined her. “I came out here to help my dad – he had joined AA and wanted to make amends with me. I wanted to be there to help him however I could. While I was here Jason Morgan needed brain surgery and I was the only one who would do it.”

“My ex, Jason?” Robin couldn’t believe what a small world it truly was. One of her oldest friends ended up doing life saving brain surgery on her ex-boyfriend.

“Yes, that Jason.” Patrick had almost turned down the request because he knew about how Jason had treated Robin but his ego won out. “Alan was so impressed with the surgery that he offered me a position on the staff.”

“How is your dad?” Robin had met Patrick their sophomore year in college, a few years after his mother had died, and been a great sounding board for him. She understood what is was like to lose a parent – both of her parents had been presumed dead after an explosion – and she had used that experience to help him work through it. Noah’s decision to turn to the bottle instead of his son had hurt Patrick greatly. “Is he still…”

“Yeah, eight years now. He even managed to hold on to his sobriety when Matt showed up.”

“Who’s Matt?”

“My brother.” Patrick couldn’t help but laugh at her response. “No, I didn’t know about him but he is a neurosurgeon here at GH. He is a really great guy and someday he may be as good a surgeon as I am.”

“Wait – Matt Hunter? As in Maxie’s Matt?” Robin could not believe that her cousin was dating Patrick’s brother.

“Yes.” Patrick thought about it for a second and finally made the connection. “Oh my God, I completely missed it.”

“It’s okay.” She sighed. “Wow – that is a lot to take in at once.” Robin couldn’t imagine Patrick being someone’s brother.

“Robin, what happened to Roger?” Roger had been a couple of years older than them in school. Patrick and Roger had met in a class after Roger had starting dating Robin.

“He ended up becoming a firefighter. One night he went on a call and never came home.” The sadness in her voice was hard to hide. It was amazing to her that it still hurt to talk about it after all this time. “He died doing what he loved.”

Patrick took Robin’s hand in his. “I am so sorry. Robin, if I had known…”

“I know Patrick.” She sighed.

“How’s Michelle?” Roger had had sole custody of his little girl when they met. By the time Robin and Roger married, Michelle was six years old and completely loved her new mommy. Robin had told Patrick that she considered it the perfect situation – she was certain she would be unable to have children because of her HIV status and Michelle needed a mom. Michelle’s own mother had walked out of her life right after she was born. Less than a year after their marriage, Robin had legally adopted her.

Robin stood up and headed to the door. “Oh no, I need to get down to the nurse’s station – I’m meeting her…”

Patrick followed her. “I’ll walk you there – hopefully she’ll remember her Uncle Patrick. Is she in college now?”

Robin nodded her head. “We had a few tough years but she just got accepted into Port Charles’s nursing program.”

They arrived at the nurse’s station and Robin relaxed when she saw that Michelle wasn’t there yet. “Good, it will give me a chance to tell you something. Patrick, I…”

Robin stopped speaking when a little body ran into her and hugged her legs tight. Robin laughed and gently picked up the beautiful brown haired, brown eyed little girl. “Did you get to see the daycare?”

The little girl began speaking a mile a minute. “They have books and blocks and dolls and…”

“Rylee – I told you to wait for me.” Michelle came running up to the nurse’s station, almost out of breath. She kissed Robin on the cheek. “I swear mom, this kid is going to be the death of me.”

Patrick watched the scene closely. This little girl was no more than three years old but Roger had been gone for six years. “Robin – is this your daughter?”

Robin and Michelle both started laughing at his comment. Robin finally spoke to the little girl she held in her arms. “Rylee, who am I?”

The little girl rolled her eyes at the silly question. “You’re Grandma Robin.”

[cmahorror]

Confession time - I am writing a little bit of my life into this story. I am a widow of a firefighter who died in the line of duty, my children were his biological children and I adopted them and they made me a grandma in my thirties.

Now I just need to find a cute doctor...

Enjoy!
Cristina



Chapter 3

Patrick stood there for a moment and just stared at the little family. “You’re Grandma Robin?”

“Yes I am.” Robin tickled the little girl and then hugged her tight.

Michelle quickly stepped in, ready to defend her mom. “I had Rylee when I was 17. My mom has been absolutely wonderful about…”

Patrick held up his hands. “Wait – I am not judging you, either one of you. I was just caught off guard.” He smiled at the young mom. “I knew your mom and dad years ago and…”

“Patrick!” Michelle finally recognized him and gave the doctor a hug. “Oh my God mom, it’s Uncle Patrick!”

“Yes it is.” Robin gave Rylee a kiss and introduced her granddaughter to Patrick. “Dr. Patrick Drake, meet my beautiful grandchild Rylee Marie Soltini.”

“Hello Rylee, it is very nice to meet you.” She was a beautiful little girl with her mother’s hair and her grandfather’s eyes. One of the things that had surprised Patrick when he had first seen Robin with Michelle was how much the two of them looked like each other even though there was no biological link. The same could be said for Rylee – if you didn’t know better you would swear Robin was Rylee’s biological grandma. “I knew your grandma and grandpa a long time along when your mommy was a little girl.”

“Hi Dr. Drake.” She smiled shyly at him and buried her head in her grandma’s neck.

He gave the little girl a small smile in return. “You can call me Patrick.”

“Patrick.” She nodded her head in agreement. She turned her head to her mom. “Mommy, is it time to see Uncle Mac?”

Robin handed Rylee to her mom. “I think Uncle Mac is more than ready to see you. Can you say goodbye to Dr. Drake?”

“Goodbye Patrick.” Rylee smiled brightly at the doctor. She then leaned over and kissed her grandma goodbye. “I love you grandma.”

“I love you too Rylee.” Robin briefly rubbed Rylee’s back and then gave her daughter and granddaughter a hug. “I will see you two later, okay?”

“Don’t forget the Ry is staying with Uncle Mac tonight and I am going out with Maxie and Georgie. They want to show me the Port Charles scene.” Mac and the girls were beyond thrilled that Robin, Michelle and Rylee had moved to town.

“Are you staying at Mac’s too?”

“Yes so stop worrying about us.” She smiled at Patrick. “It was great seeing you again. Maybe you could take mom out and show her around town?”

Robin shook her head. “Michelle, I am sure that Patrick has…”

Patrick quickly interrupted her. “I was already planning on asking your mom to join me for dinner and then drinks with some of my friends.” He winked at the young woman. “Don’t worry Michelle, I’ll take care of your mom tonight.”

“I have no doubt you will.” Michelle turned to her mom and smiled. “Have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Before Robin could speak Michelle and Rylee were headed to the elevator and Robin looked awkwardly at Patrick. “Look, I know you were just being polite…”

Patrick cut her off. “No, I wasn’t. I really was planning on asking you to go get supper and then meet my friends for some drinks.” Patrick gave her his best smile. “Besides – I think you have a few things you need to explain to me.”

Robin regarded him curiously. “Like what?”

“Like why you changed your name – who are you hiding from Robin?”


___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


“You didn’t!” Maxie laughed as Michelle told them about pushing her mom to go out with Patrick. “You set your mom up with the male welcome wagon of GH?”

“Male welcome wagon?”

“Patrick is a great guy and one of the best surgeons in the country but he is also a dog.” Maxie shook her head.

“But he was always so sweet and nice to my mom.” Michelle was trying to reconcile the man she remembered with the man they were describing.

“Patrick has dated almost every female nurse and doctor in that hospital.” Georgie nodded her head in agreement.

“Except for Liz and Epiphany.” Georgie interjected.

“Liz is married and even Patrick wouldn’t go after a married woman. Also, they both have good sense.” Maxie nodded her head. “Just like Robin.”

Michelle saw a mischievous glint in her cousin’s eyes. “Maxie, what are you thinking?”

She picked up her phone and called her boyfriend. “I’m thinking that Robin may be just what the doctor ordered.”

[cmahorror]

Chapter 4

“Two bacon cheeseburgers with everything and two waters please.” Patrick smiled at the waitress as he gave their order. “Need to make sure we are hydrated for later.”

Robin laughed at him. “Dr. Drake, are you planning on trying to get me drunk?”

“No – that’s why I am making sure you get plenty of water before when go to Jake’s.” Patrick looked around at the restaurant and then back at Robin. “Enough stalling – tell me what is going on.”

Robin sighed. “I guess I should start with after we got back from Paris. I had graduated from medical school…”

Patrick winked at her. “Top of your class?”

Robin blushed. “Yes but that is not the point. Anyway, Roger and I agreed that we would move back to the states once I graduated and there was an opening in Oregon, not far from where his brother lives, so we moved there. Roger joined the fire department and I was working at the hospital. My mom would visit…”

“Your mom?”

“That’s right – you don’t know. It turns out that she didn’t die in the explosion, we found out when we were in Paris, and that she had amnesia. I went to see her, she got her memory back and rejoined the WSB.” Robin decided a short summation was her best option.

“And your dad?”

She shook her head sadly. “No.” She took a deep breath. “Anyway, we settled in to a nice, normal life.”

“And Roger’s brother?” Patrick remembered that Roger had never been that close to the man.

“Hated me from the beginning.” Robin laughed. “Actually, he hated that his brother married an HIV positive woman. He was certain that I was going to infect Roger or Michelle. He even tried to get custody of Michelle after Roger died.”

“Bastard.” Patrick had always been very protective of Robin in college and hated that people treated her differently because of her HIV status.

“He failed miserably. He left town and we haven’t heard from him in years.” The waitress brought their waters over and Robin stopped to smile at the young woman. “Thank you.”

Patrick barely noticed the pretty young woman, his attention was completely focused on Robin. “Yes, thank you.”

Robin took a drink and continued her story. “About a year after Roger died, Michelle met Dean.” The disdain she felt for the boy was evident in her voice. “He was older and swept her off her feet. Six months after they began dating she found out she was pregnant. He completely abandoned her – wanted nothing to do with her or Rylee. I stood up for my daughter and told him if he really felt that way then we wanted nothing to do with him. We decided to move back to this side of the country and, before we left, had him sign relinquishment of parental rights papers.”

“Where did you move to?” Patrick was completely enraptured with Robin’s story.

“Well, Roger’s parents were buried in Vermont and we buried him with his parents so we decided to move there.” His parents had passed away before Michelle was born. “It was a small town in middle of nowhere but we loved it. Michelle got her GED while I worked at a small hospital and, once Rylee was born, she took some college classes online. It was all going really well.”

“Until…” Patrick prodded her gently to finish telling her story.

“About a year ago a patient came into the ER one night to get some stitches. He was a local businessman and, in a small town, that meant he held a lot of power. He thought that meant it entitled him to any woman he set his sights on and he wasn’t used to being told no.” They were interrupted as their waitress brought them their burgers. Robin took a bite and groaned in pleasure. “Man this is so good.”

“Kelly’s is the best.” Patrick took a fry and ate it. “So this patient came into the ER?”

“He took a liking to me and I wasn’t interested. Apparently this was not good enough for him because he continued to try and get me to date him. Flowers, candy, jewelry, stuffed animals for Rylee…”

“He knew about Rylee?” Patrick was surprised.

Robin nodded her head. “Oh yeah, he found out everything he could about me. Pretty soon I saw him everywhere. He was at the hospital all the time or he just happened to be in the same restaurant that we were eating in or at the park at the same time we were or…”

“He was stalking you.” Patrick’s voice took on edge as his anger took over.

“Yes, he was stalking me. I talked to the police but they said that he hadn’t done anything illegal so there was nothing they could do.” She took another bite of her hamburger and a moment before finishing her story. “A couple of months ago that changed. He showed up at my house and pushed his way in. He said he couldn’t understand how someone like me could afford to turn down someone like him – it wasn’t like I was beating men off with a stick.”

Patrick noticed the pained look in her eyes as she recounted what happened that night. He reached over and took her hand in his. “It’s okay Robin, you can tell me anything.”

“Michelle had taken Rylee to a birthday party for one of her friends so I was home alone thank God.” Tears came to her eyes. “He grabbed me and kissed me. I fought back immediately and he slapped me to the ground. I remember my head bouncing off the linoleum in the kitchen and then he was on top of me.”

Patrick squeezed her hand. “Robin, did he…?

“No. I managed to knee him in the stomach and ran to the bathroom, locking myself in. I called the cops and he was arrested.” She wiped a tear away from her face. “He pleaded out and was sentenced to two years in jail for assault and battery. I got my restraining order and, when we found out that Michelle had been accepted into the nursing program, made the decision as a family to change our last names and move to Port Charles.”

“Why Soltini?”

“My mother hid me with a woman for the first six years of my life.”

He remembered her telling him about her grandmother. “Filomena?”

“You remember.” Robin smiled sweetly at him, her first real one since she began her story. “Her last name was Soltini and it was a way to honor her.”

“Is he still in jail?” Patrick was worried for Robin and her family.

“Last time I checked, yes. The records of our change in name have all been sealed and there is a permanent restraining order in place for me, Michelle and Rylee. Hopefully, we will never see the man again.” Robin finished off her burger. “Sorry you asked?”

“No, I understand you better now.” He looked down at their now empty plates and called the waitress over. He handed her a few bills and told her to keep the change. “So, ready to have a little fun? Say tequila shots and darts?”

“That is the best offer I have had in a long time.” Robin stood up and held out her hand to him. “Ready to go?”

“You bet.” Patrick happily took her hand and walked with her out the door.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 5

Liz watched the door to Jake’s anxiously. “Where are they?”

Lucky tried to figure out why his wife was acting this way. “Liz, this is just drinks with Patrick – we’ve done this a hundred times before.”

“But Patrick has never texted me and told me to be on my best behavior before.” Liz smiled at her husband. “I don’t know who this Dr. Soltini is but she already has Patrick tied in knots.”

“Maybe it’s not a she.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “Please, this is Patrick we’re talking about.”

Lucky laughed at her comment. Of course it was a woman, Patrick was definitely a ladies man. Years ago, when Patrick had first started at GH, Lucky had been convinced that Patrick was after Liz. After a few talks and guys nights out, Lucky had realized that Patrick would never come between a man and his wife. Patrick was many things but a cheater was not one of them. “So what do you know about this doctor?”

“Almost nothing except she is a researcher and Alan is thrilled to get her on staff.” After Patrick’s text she had tried to look up the woman online but without a first name she had gotten nowhere. “What surprises me is how anxious Patrick is about her – he hates drug protocols and most researchers advocate them.”

“Maybe she’s…” Lucky stopped speaking as he saw Patrick walk through the door with a dark haired woman. She turned around and Lucky finally saw her face. “Well I’ll be damned.”

“What?” Liz looked in the direction of the door and smiled. “Is that…”

“Yes, I believe it is.” Lucky waved the couple over to their table. “Patrick, over here.”

Patrick led Robin to the table. “Liz, Lucky I would like to introduce…”

The words had barely left his mouth before Lucky jumped up and hugged Robin. “Where the hell have you been Scorpio?”

Robin just laughed. “Staying out of trouble. What about you – are you your father’s son?”

“I joined the police force.” Lucky was proud of the work he did.

“Your dad must have had a heart attack.” Robin was laughing even harder now.

“He wasn't exactly thrilled.” Lucky pulled Liz close to him. “I’m sure you remember Liz.”

Robin hugged Liz. “Of course, Mac said the two of you were married and have three boys, right?”

“Yep.” Lucky pulled out his phone and showed Robin pictures of the boys.

“They look like trouble.” Robin was thrilled that Lucky and Liz were so happy.

“Just like their father.” Liz sat down and smiled at her husband. “Why don’t you get some drinks for Robin and Patrick?”

Lucky gave Liz a quick kiss. “What’s your poison Scorpio?”

“It’s Soltini now and why don’t I go with you and pick it myself.” Robin winked at Patrick. She had made it clear on their way over that if anyone asked, Soltini was her married name. They had gotten married in Georgia and Mac had been the only member of her family there so it would be easy for everyone to believe. “Beer with a tequila chaser?”

Patrick sat down next to Liz. He wasn’t surprised that Robin knew Lucky and Liz, it was obvious from their many talks in college that she had strong ties to Port Charles. “I’m touched you remember.”

“Please, how many nights did I outdrink you in college?” Robin giggled as she took Lucky’s arm. “Come on, I want to hear all about your work on the dark side.”

Liz gasped and looked at Patrick. She waited until Robin was out of earshot before she asked him the question she was dying to ask him. “Patrick, is she…”

“Not now Liz.” He knew that Liz would figure it out but he wanted to avoid the conversation tonight and just enjoy reuniting with his old friend.

“Her husband?”

“Passed away years ago so don’t bring it up.” Robin and Lucky reappeared at the table with their drinks and she took a seat next to Patrick while Lucky rejoined his wife. “Thanks – next round is on me.”

“You better believe it man.” Lucky kissed Liz on the cheek. “Would you believe that our little Robin is now a grandma?”

“No!” Liz was shocked.

“Yes, she is almost four and the most amazing little girl.” Patrick watched Robin’s face completely light up as she spoke about her granddaughter. “She’ll be at the daycare center at GH while my daughter attends nursing school.”

“That’s wonderful.” Liz would get the whole story later from Patrick. “So how do you know Patrick?”

“Patrick and I went to college together along with my husband Roger. Patrick and I had a lot of the same classes since we were both pre-med.” Robin looked at Patrick. “Ready?”

Patrick picked up the salt shaker, licked his wrist and poured some salt on it. “Ready when you are.”

She did the same and winked at him. “Let’s do it.”

Together spoke the words as they did their shots. “Lick it.” They both licked the salt off of their wrists. “Slam it.” They drank their shots. “Suck it.” They picked up their limes and quickly sucked out the juice.

Liz watched as the two did the shots perfectly together. They were so in synch it was scary and she needed to know more about the two of them. “So what was your favorite class that you two took together?”

Robin began laughing loudly while Patrick turned red. She smiled at her drinking companion. “Dance class – it has to be dance class.”

[cmahorror]

Chapter 6

Lucky about spit out his drink. “Dance class?”

“Hey – real men can tango. Didn’t you see True Lies?” Patrick turned to Robin. “I can’t believe you told them.”

“Hush.” Robin giggled, the effects of the tequila starting to hit her. She had been spending most of her nights with Rylee and Michelle and the strongest stuff they drank was hot chocolate. “It was spring semester of our junior year. I was needing one more elective…”

Patrick interrupted her. “I suggested a film class.”

Robin playfully punched him in the arm. “We had already taken one and I wanted to learn some new moves for the wedding.” She smiled at Liz. “Roger and I were married the summer between my junior and senior years. He had graduated and was working as a paramedic for the local hospital while I finished up my bachelor’s degree.”

“Want another beer?” Patrick flagged down a waitress. “Another round please and four shots of tequila.”

“And a glass of water.” Robin added. She looked at her table mates and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t drink very often so I want to be careful.”

“Don’t worry Robin – I'll make sure you get home okay.” The waitress came back with their drinks and Patrick paid the woman. “Go on with the story before Liz goes crazy.”

Robin stuck her tongue out at him. “Be nice. Anyway, as Patrick’s wing woman of a year and a half, I convinced him to take the class with me so that he could dazzle the women with his dance moves. After all, women love a man who can twirl them around the dance floor.”

Liz watched Patrick closely as Robin spoke. The look in his eyes as Robin told the story made it clear that she had no clue the real reason he took the class with her – it was to be with her. The only woman he had wanted to twirl around the dance floor was Robin. Liz watched as Patrick subtly shifted a little closer to Robin and moved her empty bottle out of her way. “You tend to gesture when you talk – wouldn’t want you making a mess for the nice waitress.”

“Thank you.” Robin took a drink from her water and returned to the story. “I’ll never forget learning to waltz…”

“Patrick can waltz?” Liz shook her head at her friend, surprised at this news.

Robin nodded her head. “Patrick can waltz. We picked it up so well that the teacher had us demonstrate for the rest of class.”


Flashback

“Class.” Ms. Pope gathered her students together. “I have asked Mr. Drake and Ms. Scorpio to demonstrate the proper waltz.”

Patrick took Robin’s hand and led her to the middle of the floor. “Ready to do this Scorpio?”

Robin laughed. “Are you?”

He didn’t get a chance to answer her before the music started. He held her hand in his, placed his hand on her waist and waited for her to get into position before taking their first steps together, moving in time to the music.


You give your hand to me and then you say hello
And I can hardly speak, my heart is beating so
And anyone can tell, you think you know me well
But you don't know me


Patrick couldn’t stop himself from staring into Robin’s eyes as they danced together. The song the teacher had chosen couldn’t have been more appropriate and it was taking every ounce of willpower he had not to pull her closer to him.


No, you don't know the one who dreams of you at night
And longs to kiss your lips and longs to hold you tight
To you I'm just a friend, that's all I've ever been
You don't know me

For I never knew the art of making love
Though my heart aches with love for you
Afraid and shy I let my chance go by
The chance that you might love me too


Robin found herself absolutely mesmerized by Patrick as he waltzed her around the room. His hand slipped and she stepped in a bit closer to him. Following his lead, she let him turn her around and she ended up back in his arms, closer to him than she had ever been. She looked back up at him and a small smile came to her face. Neither one noticed that Roger had walked into the room to pick up Robin and was watching the two of them dance together.


You give your hand to me and then you say goodbye
I watch you walk away beside that lucky guy
You'll never, never know the one that loves you so
You don't know me

I never knew the art of making love
Though my heart aches with love for you
Afraid and shy, I let my chance go by
The chance that you might have loved me too

You give your hand to me and then you say goodbye
I watch you walk away beside that lucky guy
You'll never, never know the one that loves you so
You don't know me

You'll never, never know the one that loves you so
You don't know me...


Patrick gently dipped Robin and then slowly brought her back up to him, ending the song with her close in his arms. Both of them were breathing hard and just staring at each other, unsure what had just happened. Patrick was about to speak when the class broke out in applause.

“Bravo! Beautiful dancing!” Ms. Pope walked over to them and they quickly separated. “That’s all for today class – I will see you next week.”

“Robin, I…” Patrick was trying to find the right words but stopped when he saw Roger walking up behind her. He thought about his next words for only a moment before he made his decision and gave Robin his best smirk. “I think you are right – I am going to get so many girls with these moves.”

Robin swallowed hard but nodded her head. “Of course I am.” She felt an arm slip around her waist and leaned into her fiancée’s embrace. “Right dear?”

“Always dear.” Roger kissed her cheek and pulled her close. “Just keep those moves away from my girl Drake.”

“I would never steal Robin from you.” Patrick looked around. “In fact, I have a date in about an hour. I will see you at the tux fitting tomorrow?”

“You got it buddy.” Roger turned Robin around in his arms. “Ready to go? We need to pick up Michelle from her friend’s house.”

Robin smiled at the man she was going to marry, the father of the little girl she now considered her own. “Yes and Patrick?” Robin addressed the man one last time. “Study session for our advanced chem class tomorrow night at our place.”

“Sure thing short stuff.” Patrick was glad Robin hadn’t said anything about what had just happened. “See you guys later.”

Robin grabbed her bag and followed Roger out to the car. She loved him and the family they had created. They were her future and she knew it.

She watched Patrick pull out of the parking lot and shook her head. After all, it was just a dance.

End Flashback


“Are we done embarrassing me yet?” Patrick had dreamed about that dance many times over the past 15 years.

“How many woman have you wooed with your mad dancing skills?” Robin had danced with him once more at the wedding and never again.

Patrick was caught off guard by the question but answered without hesitation. “No one – never could find the right partner. Everyone else was too tall.” The truth was that no one had fit in his arms as perfectly as Robin had.

“Oh.” Robin didn’t know why this confession affected her but it did. She downed her shot of tequila and smiled at him. “Then I expect you to save me a dance at the Nurse’s Ball Dr. Drake.”

Patrick did his shot and smirked back at her. “Count on it short stuff.”


Song: You Don't Know Me - Mickey Gilley version

[cmahorror]

Chapter 7

“Do you even listen to yourself?” Robin glared at Patrick as they made their way to the nurse’s station.

“Of course I do.” Patrick winked at her. “I happen to love the sound of my voice – I’ve got that smooth, sexy tone…”

“That apparently works on a lot of women but not me.” Robin slammed the patient’s chart on the hub. “We need to hold off on surgery for at least another two weeks.”

Epiphany took a moment to glare at the two. “Do you mind taking your anger out on Dr. Drake and not my station?”

A sheepish look crossed Robin’s face. “Sorry Epiphany.”

Patrick smirked at the older nurse. “Yes, I’m afraid I bring out Dr. Soltini’s color when we are discussing patient care.”

Epiphany rolled her eyes before turning back to her computer and finishing her work. Robin had been working at the hospital for the last month and watching her with Patrick had definitely raised the entertainment level at the hospital. When the two of them weren’t flirting, they were arguing over patient care. She had no idea where Dr. Soltini came from but she had Patrick tied in knots and it was obvious that he did the same to her. “Well please keep your color out of my work space. Some of us are trying to work.”

Robin looked at her watch and shook her head. “Look, I’ve got to get going but do not speak to Mr. McDermott again until you have a chance to go over the protocol I am discussing in detail. I really think that we may be able to shrink the tumor to the point that a nasal entry might be possible. I spoke with Dr. Basal and…

“What are you doing talking to him?” Patrick was trying not to sound jealous but he really wasn’t doing a good job. “He’s our patient and Basal is in ENT.”

“And we needed the consult.” Robin sighed. “I know you don’t play well with others so I decided to vet the doctor and see if I should arrange a play date.” She swore at times he was worse than Rylee. “I really have to get going – I have a consult in 10 minutes.”

“Consult with who?” Patrick had made it clear to Alan that, as Chief of Neurology, he would have the brilliant researcher as his partner there at the hospital. Alan had not been happy with Patrick monopolizing Robin at first but their collaboration was proving to be very good for the hospital.

Robin laughed at him. “Jealous Dr. Drake?”

Patrick smirked at her. “I don’t do jealous.”

“Sure you don’t.” Robin winked at him and turned to leave. “I will be back in the office in the morning. Have a good night Patrick.”

Patrick was so distracted by the way Robin’s hips swayed as she walked away that he almost forgot she hadn't answered his question. “Robin, who are you consulting with?”

Robin turned back around and smiled. “Good night Dr. Drake.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


“Thank you so much for doing this.” Matt handed Robin the folder as they ate dinner. “Sorry it had to be after hours but…”

“But your brother tends to monopolize my time at the hospital – I know.” Robin shook her head. “Patrick needs to learn to share. Besides, Maxie makes a great lasagna.”

“Thank you.” Maxie handed Robin the bread basket. “I learned from the best.”

“Mac’s lasagna is legendary.” Robin agreed. She took a sip of her wine and then reviewed the file. “I agree with your course of treatment but I would suggest slowing the increase in dosage by .25 milligrams per day.”

Robin handed the file back to Matt who smiled at her. “No wonder Patrick wants you all to himself.”

“Yeah, word around the hospital has it that he has been seriously off his game since you blew into town.” Maxie took a sip of wine and ignored the glare her cousin shot her. “Apparently you two are the talk of the hospital.”

Robin was confused. “Why are we the talk of the hospital?”

“Please Robin – you can pretend with everyone else but not me.” Maxie winked at her boyfriend. “You and Patrick need to just drop all the pretenses and get together. You two obviously are attracted to each other and you haven’t seen anyone since Roger died. It’s been six years Robin – you are allowed to be with someone again.”

“Patrick doesn’t…”

Matt jumped in. “Yes, he does. Do you know that he hasn’t had a single date since you came to town?”

“Really?” Maxie and Matt both noticed that a note of hope had managed to creep into Robin’s voice.

Matt nodded. “Really. Patrick texted me wanting to know where you were going and who you were meeting with.”

The hope disappeared. “Of course he did. He knew I was going to meet another doctor for a consult and he wants to make sure I am free to be on his surgical team at his beck and call.”

“I don’t think…”

They were interrupted by a pounding coming from the front door. “Matt!”

“Coming Patrick.” Matt stood up, making his way from the kitchen through the living room to the front door.

Patrick came storming through the door before Matt even had it halfway open. “What the hell kind of text was that?” He pulled out his phone and read it his brother. “Robin is going to have dinner with a handsome doctor at his home! Who the hell is this doctor?”

Maxie bit her lip to keep from laughing while Robin’s mouth dropped open. They both got up and walked over to the kitchen door so they could hear the brothers better.

Patrick began pacing the floor. “Answer me Matt – who the hell is this doctor and what is he doing with Robin?”

[cmahorror]

Chapter 8

“Answer me Matt – who the hell is this doctor and what is he doing with Robin?”

Matt couldn’t help but smirk at his brother. This was actually perfect timing – Robin was in the kitchen and could hear every word they were saying. It was time to get his brother to admit that he was in love with her.

Matt had been hesitant at first when Maxie had suggested that Robin would be perfect for his brother until he saw the two of them together for the first time. They had been going over a patient file at the nurse’s hub and they stood as close together as they could without actually touching. Patrick watched Robin and listened closely to every word she said. At one point she was pointing out something to him on the paperwork and he leaned over, his chin almost resting on her shoulder, and neither one seemed the least bit uncomfortable despite the fact that they were standing in the middle of the floor where anyone could see them.

That one moment had gotten Matt on board with the coupling. He had spent the last month watching them at the hospital and during various outings they had taken together. They had gone out to Jake’s several times, several business dinners together as friends and even had a Sunday bowling outing with Rylee while Michelle crammed for a test. Patrick was a natural with the little girl and she quickly grew to love the man she called Uncle Patrick. Matt may not have known his brother that long but he recognized a man in love and Patrick was in love with Robin.

“Patrick, why do you care who Robin is with?” Matt was hoping his brother would finally open up to him.

“Because she’s a member of my department and I need to know if she is going to be busy working on another surgery when I need her.”

“Sorry but I don’t buy it.” Matt sat down on the couch. “Try again.”

“Robin doesn’t know all the doctors around here and what if he is a quack – he could damage her reputation and, by extension, General Hospital’s.” That excuse sounded lamer out loud then it had in his head.

Matt rolled his eyes. “Strike two.”

Patrick sat down next to his brother. “Look, she has been through so much over the years and I would hate to see some guy try to take advantage of her.”

“I think Robin can take care of herself.” Matt could not believe how far into denial his brother was.

“Let’s face it Matt, she’s a widowed grandma – someone needs to look out for her.” Patrick ran his hand through his hair. “I mean, the kind of guy that would be interested in…”

“Thank you for your concern but I can take care of myself.” Robin walked out the kitchen door with Maxie right behind her.

A look of pure horror crossed Patrick’s face – he hadn’t meant what he had just said, he had only been trying to get Matt to back off. He glared at his brother. “You were the handsome doctor.”

Matt just nodded his head.

Patrick stood up. “Robin, I…”

“Matt, I need to get going but I would appreciate it if you would keep me updated on how your patient is doing and if the protocol is working.” Robin had foolishly let herself hope for a few minutes that Patrick was interested in her as something other than a co-worker. She needed to save face and get out of there before the hurt she was feeling surfaced.

She hugged her cousin. “I will see you at the ball this weekend.”

Maxie gave Patrick a death stare over Robin’s shoulder as she hugged her cousin. “You bet.”

Robin turned around and walked to the door. She opened it and finally looked at Patrick. “Good night Dr. Drake.”

“Robin.” Patrick didn’t know what else to say so he kept silent as she shut the door behind her.

Maxie walked over to her boyfriend. “I’m going to bed – let me know when he is gone.”

“Maxie, don’t be that way.” Patrick knew that she had every right to be mad at him but he didn’t want Matt caught in the middle.

“Good night Dr. Drake.” Maxie stormed off to the bedroom and Matt shuddered as he heard their bedroom door slam shut.

“I’m going to have a fun night.” He glared at his brother. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Me!” Patrick stood up and began pacing once again. “Why didn’t you tell me Robin was here?”

“Because, foolish me, I thought you might finally get out of your own damn way and admit that you care about her.” Matt stood up and got in his brother’s face. “I didn’t think you would be so stupid as to deny what you feel to me.”

“Damn it Matt, you don’t understand.”

“Understand what?” Both men were yelling at this point but neither one cared. “That a great woman cares about you and you treated her like crap!”

“No!” Patrick was getting more and more agitated.

“Then explain it to me Patrick! Why the hell would you pretend you don’t care about her?” Matt was upset that he had, indirectly, been a party to hurting Robin. “Or maybe you really don’t care about her?”

“Don’t you ever question my feelings for Robin.” Patrick’s voice took on an almost menacing tone.

“What feelings – pity, sympathy?” Matt practically spat his words at him. “She deserves more than that.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Patrick stared his brother straight in the eyes. “Why do you think I am trying to fight this? She deserves so much better than a playboy who has slept with half the women in Port Charles.” He sounded almost defeated. “Robin is special and she deserves better than me.”

Patrick headed to the front door. “You want to know how I feel? I love her. I have been in love with Robin for fifteen years but I have never been and I will never be good enough for her.”

Matt walked over and stopped his brother from leaving. “The only person who believes that is you Patrick. I don’t think that, Maxie doesn’t think that and I know for a fact Robin doesn’t.”

“She doesn’t?” Patrick thought about what Matt was saying and shook his head. “Well she’s wrong – I just need to prove it to her.”

Matt didn’t like the way Patrick was talking. “Patrick, what are you going to do?”

“Don’t worry Matt, you’ll find out soon enough.” Patrick stepped out the door and headed to his car. He got in and opened up his phone. He dialed an old familiar number and waited for the woman to pick up his call. “Hey, how would you like to attend the Nurse’s Ball with me?”

[LexieLily]

Sorry to break up the flow, cmahorror, but I am thinking of writing a fanfic this summer of a way to redeem this Lulu/Valentin/Charlotte/Nina mess now that we are where we are in the storyline. Would anyone be interested in reading that?

[Oracle42]

I would! 

Is there a way to make subthreads for different chapter stories and one for just one-offs/mini-scenes

[LexieLily]

Are we allowed to link to stories that we have posted on fanfiction.net? Because if so that is what I will do. I have a Kevin/Laura + The Cassadines story in progress.

[OnceSane]

On 5/15/2017 at 2:22 PM, LexieLily said:

Are we allowed to link to stories that we have posted on fanfiction.net? Because if so that is what I will do. I have a Kevin/Laura + The Cassadines story in progress.

Yes, that's fine as long as it's only GH fanfic.

[LexieLily]

Thanks for the reply!

[cmahorror]

LexieLily,

Can't wait to see what you write - it's got to be better than what's onscreen right now. 

I'm working two jobs so it has been hard to get the chapters up on a regular basis.

 

 

Chapter 9

Robin walked into the house and threw her keys on the table by the door. Unfortunately, the throw was a little harder than normal and the keys slid off the table and onto the floor. “Damn it.”

She knelt down on the floor and reached under the table to retrieve them but she misjudged where she was and accidentally hit her head as she stood back up. “Damn it!”

Moving slowly, she pulled herself out from under the table and leaned back against the door, tears slowly trickling down her face. She had no idea why she was crying – it really hadn’t hurt that much.

“Mom?” Michelle had heard the front door shut and walked into the hallway. Seeing Robin sitting on the floor with tears on her face, she quickly sat down next to her mom. “Mom?”

“I’m okay – I just hit my head.” Robin wiped her cheeks and gave her daughter a small smile. “It doesn’t hurt that bad. I don’t even know why I am crying.”

“I do.” Michelle gave her mom a sad smile.

Robin shook her head. “Maxie called.”

“She was worried about you. She told me what Patrick said.” Michelle stood up and held out her hand. “I have a bottle of wine and two glasses.”

Robin took her daughter’s hand and pulled herself up off the floor. “That is the best offer I have had all day.”

The two women went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Michelle poured them each a glass of wine and handed one to her mother. “Maxie said that Matt and Patrick got into it after you left.”

Robin felt horrible. “I don’t want to cause problems between the two of them.”

“Mom, Maxie said that she overheard Patrick saying he cared about you.” Maxie couldn’t hear the whole conversation but she was certain that Patrick was in love with Robin.

“I know he cares about me as a friend but that’s all.” Robin took a long drink of her wine. “I think that maybe he feels guilty for not being there for us after your dad died and he is seriously overcompensating.”

“He hurt you.” Michelle had really hoped that Patrick would be the man to pull her mom out of the shell she had crawled into after her father died. Instead he may have just gotten her to retreat further.

“Before Patrick showed up Matt and Maxie were trying to convince me that Patrick was interested in me and I made the mistake of believing it.” Robin blinked back a tear. “And then he said…”

Michelle waited for her mom to finish her sentence. When Robin didn’t say anything she decided to prompt her. “He said…”

“He said the he needed to protect me because I was a widowed grandma and what kind of man would be interested in me?” Repeating the words hurt almost as much as when she first heard them. “I don’t know – maybe he’s right.”

Michelle was ready to kill the man. “No he’s not. You are a beautiful, intelligent, loving woman and any man would be lucky to be seen with you.”

“This is silly – why am I so upset about this?” Robin felt the tears coming again. “It isn’t like we were dating or anything.”

“No but it’s alright if you did.” Michelle set down her wine glass and smiled at her mom. “I know you love dad and I know you miss him but he would not want you to spend the rest of your life alone.”

“I know but I also have to be realistic. Michelle, I love being your mom and being Rylee’s grandma but most men are not impressed with a 36-year old grandma and anyone who can’t accept you two, I can’t accept.” She smiled at her daughter. “Then there is my HIV status – even in this day and age I still meet people who won’t even shake my hand let alone someone who would want to date me.”

“The right man won’t care – dad didn’t.”

“But your uncle did.” Robin bit her lip and a look of determination crossed her face. “But you know what, I think I finally realized tonight that I am open to dating again and, if Patrick isn’t interested, there is someone else who is.”

“Really?” Michelle decided that Patrick’s loss may be someone else’s gain. “Who?”

“Dr. Basal from ENT – he asked me to dinner after we finished our consult the other day.”

Dr. Keith Basal was a gorgeous doctor with dark brown hair and green eyes. Michelle thought he was probably a couple of years younger than her mom but at least it was a start. “Why didn’t you go?”

“It was the night of Rylee’s recital but I did promise him a rain check. Maybe he would like to do it tomorrow.” Robin pulled out her phone and texted Keith who responded with an immediate yes. “Wow – that was fast.”

“And he knows about…”

“Everything.” Robin confirmed. She took a deep breath and raised her glass. “To my first date in over fifteen years.”

Michelle clinked her mother’s glass with hers and smiled. Tomorrow before class she would let Maxie know about Robin's date and by lunch tomorrow Patrick Drake would know exactly what he had lost.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


“Hit me again Coleman.” Patrick held up his empty glass and smiled at the bartender. He had called Sabrina and invited her to the Nurse’s Ball but she had turned him down immediately. Sabrina was dating Morgan Corinthos and suggested he do what everyone knew he wanted to do – ask Robin to go with him. But, instead of calling Robin, he had headed to Jake’s to have a drink and try to figure out what the hell he was going to do.

“Sorry doc but I am going to have to cut you off.” Coleman took the empty glass from Patrick and set a glass of water down and Patrick’s phone in front of him. “I swiped your phone and called someone to come and get you.”

“Who did you call?” Patrick didn’t have anyone listed as an emergency contact.

“He called me sport.” Noah walked up to the bar and smiled at his oldest son. “Want to talk to me about what happened at Matt’s tonight?”

Patrick scoffed at the man. “No I do not. I just want to go home and pass out.”

Noah put his arm around Patrick and helped him off the stool. “I’ll take you to my place so that I can fix you a hangover cure and make sure that you don’t hurt yourself tonight.”

“Fine.” Patrick didn’t have it in him to fight with his father at the moment.

“Good and on the way there,” Noah helped Patrick out of the bar and into his car, “you can tell me exactly why you are trying to convince Robin, the woman you love, that you are a complete and total ass.”

“In all fairness, I am a complete and total ass.” Patrick managed to buckle his seat belt and leaned his seat back. “Robin deserves…”

“Robin deserves to be with a man who loves her and treats her with respect.” Noah started up the car and put it into gear. “You can be that man Patrick if you want to.”

“What if I can’t?” The fear Patrick was feeling came through loud and clear. “I have never been in love before and if I ever broke her heart, I don’t think I could live with myself.”

Noah parked the car and turned around to face his son. “Patrick, I know I have screwed up many times over the years and you have no reason to listen to me or believe me but loving your mother and being with her was the best decision I ever made.”

“Even though she…”

Noah nodded. “Even though.”

Patrick thought about what Noah was saying. As much as he hated to admit it, his father was right and Robin was worth the risk. “How do I fix this? How do I get her to forgive me?”

Noah smiled at Patrick. “I don’t know right now but let’s sleep on it tonight and, in the morning, we’ll figure out what to do together.”

[LexieLily]

cmahorror  - Thanks for the vote of encouragement! I like reading your Scrubs stories, ever since the Jake Doe lie story ruined them and turned Patrick into a jerk.

I was told we were allowed to post links to GH stories we have posted to fanfiction.net here so here is my first one. It is Kevin/Laura with Cassadine drama.

The Trouble With Love Is

Once I figure out a plan for my Lulu/Charlotte/Valentin one and start writing I will let you know!

[cmahorror]

Chapter 10

“Rise and shine.” Noah held out a glass of some odd looking concoction to his son and smiled. “We need to finish our conversation from last night.”

“Could you not talk so loudly?” Patrick groaned as he slowly opened up his eyes. “And what the hell is that?”

“This is my hangover cure.” Noah hated that he actually had one from his years of drinking but at least it could benefit his son this morning. Patrick had barely made it onto the couch before he passed out, the effects of six bourbons finally hitting him. Noah had set a bucket and a bottle of water next to the young doctor and was happy to see the bucket empty and the water gone when he checked on Patrick that morning. “Drink up – breakfast will be here in just a minute.”

Patrick grimaced as he drank down the odd colored drink. “What was in that?”

“Trust me – you don’t want to know.” Noah shook his head. “But you should be ready to eat in a few minutes.”

“I can’t imagine anything sounding good right now.” He rolled over on the couch and buried his head in the pillow. “All I want to do is sleep the day away and try to forget what an ass I was last night.”

“Here’s the problem – you can’t forget and I guarantee you Robin won’t. You need to work on getting Robin to forgive you.” Noah heard a knocking at the front door. “And we are going to help you do it.”

Patrick stayed turned over. “We?”

“Yes, we – morning big brother!” Matt made a point of making as much noise as possible as he walked in the door. “I come bearing muffins.”

Patrick sat up on the couch. “Do you have to be so loud?” He was starting to feel a little better but his head was still pounding.

“Do I have to be – no. Consider this payback for the ranting I had to listen to from my girlfriend last night. Maxie is super pissed at you right now.” Matt sat down next to his brother. “But I promised her I would help make it right and I intend to keep that promise.”

Matt handed Patrick a muffin while Noah left the room. Less than a minute later he reappeared with three steaming cups of coffee. He handed one to each of his sons before taking a seat in the recliner. “Okay boys – we know why we are here. Last night Patrick said some very stupid things and hurt the woman he loves. We need to come up with a plan to help him fix things with Robin.”

“I suggest groveling, lots and lots of groveling, and you need to do it in public.” Matt smirked at his brother.

“Matt…” Noah shot his youngest son a warning look. “This is the first time Patrick has ever felt this way and we need to help him through it. Now the first thing I need to know is what you said that upset Robin so much.”

Patrick’s shame filled his face. “I said that she was a widowed grandma who needed someone to look out for her and maybe something about the kind of guy who would be interested in her because of that.”

“Let me guess – she took it the wrong way?” Noah shook his head.

“No, she understood exactly what I was saying but I didn’t mean it.” Patrick flopped his head back against the couch. “I was just trying to get Matt to back off – any man should consider himself lucky if Robin even so much as looked his way. As for being a grandma, I find it one of her best qualities. She loves Rylee so much and that little girl adores her. You should see them together like the other day, we were at the nurse’s station and Rylee came up with Michelle and told Robin that she loved her with all her heart. It was the sweetest thing.”

Noah listened to his son closely as the young man continued speaking. “As for being widowed, Roger loved Robin so much and she loved him.” A smiled crossed Patrick’s face. “I remember her on their wedding day. She came walking down that aisle and I have never seen a more beautiful sight.”

Noah looked at Matt who nodded his head. “Patrick, why didn’t you say anything before she married Roger?”

“They were a family Dad and she loved him.” Patrick couldn’t believe his father would even ask him that. “I may be many things but I am not a homewrecker.”

“I know you aren’t son.” Noah hadn’t realized just how long this had been going on. He had always thought that Patrick’s womanizing ways were because of his mother’s death and Noah’s actions after it but the truth was that no woman would ever measure up to Robin. “But he is gone and I’m sure he would want her to be with someone who loves her.”

Patrick shook his head so Noah tried to expand on his thoughts. “I mean, Robin has suffered a lot of loss in her life especially when it comes to men. Her father died, her first love died and then her husband died. It’s hard to move past that kind of loss once, let alone multiple times. There is a reason why Robin hasn’t dated since Roger’s death.”

“And why do think that is?” Patrick knew that Noah had only recently rejoined the dating pool and his mother had been gone for far longer than Roger.

“Fear of loss. Robin is scared to death of going through that kind of loss again but I saw her start to let her walls down with you.” Noah leaned over and smiled at his son. “I have spent the last month watching you and Robin flirt and fight all over town. She challenges you and doesn’t fall for a single one of your lines. She is your equal in every single way. She’s your Mattie.”

“Or your Maxie.” Matt said, thinking of his girlfriend.

“And you will regret it for the rest of your life if you do not do everything in your power to prove to her that you not only love her, you deserve her.” Noah leaned back in his chair. “So boys, let’s get started. Let’s figure out exactly how Patrick is going to win the heart of the woman he loves.”

[cmahorror]

Chapter 11

“Robin?” Patrick opened the door to her office and poked his head in. “May I come in?”

Robin was surprised to hear his voice – Patrick had been off for the past two days and she had not even received a text from him since her dinner with Matt and Maxie on Sunday. She kept her focus on the file she was reviewing. “I’m kind of busy…”

“Please Robin, it’s important.” Patrick entered her office and shut the door behind him.

She finally looked at him and found herself caught off guard by the look on his face. There was no smirk or self-satisfied grin, he was serious. “Patrick, what happened? Is everyone okay?”

He was not surprised that, even though she was mad at him, she still had enough compassion in her to put those feelings aside and worry about him. He sat down on her couch and patted the cushion next to him. “Please come here Robin.”

Robin jumped up and went to his side. “Patrick, what’s wrong?”

Patrick took a moment to just take her in and get caught up once again in her beauty. She had her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail and she was without a hint of makeup but she was still stunning. He took a deep breath. “About the other night…”

She tried to stand up and was surprised when he grabbed her arms and kept her on the couch. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Yes you do.” He sighed. “I owe you a huge apology – I didn’t mean what I said the other night to Matt. I was angry and trying to get him to back off and if I had known you were there I wouldn’t have said it.”

She could hear the sincerity in his voice but it she wasn’t sure she was ready to forgive him just yet. “Patrick, I get it. You have a loyalty to Roger to protect me and I appreciate it. Not only that but…”

“Let me finish please.” Patrick reached over and took her hands in his. He had spent the last day and a half working on the right things to say to her, trying to make sure he made his feelings clear without scaring her off completely. His father and Matt had both encouraged him to be honest with Robin. “You are an amazing woman and any man would be lucky to have you in their life. You are beautiful, compassionate, and intelligent with a wicked sense of humor. Every day I find a new reason to be impressed with you.”

He took advantage of her stunned silence to scoot a little closer to her on the couch. Matt and his father had also told him it was time for him to quit hiding and face his feelings or he would lose Robin forever and Patrick knew they were right. “From the day I met you I have been completely enchanted with you. I saw you with Roger and I just couldn’t believe that he found you first. I saw you with him and I wanted what you two had.”

He shook his head. “That’s not true – I wanted to be him. He was the luckiest man in the world because he had you. When I walked into Alan’s office and saw you standing there I was thrilled because you were back in my life. I have spent the last month watching you, working with you, spending time with you and seeing just how wonderful you still are. The way you love with your whole heart, the way you embrace being a mom and a grandmother, the way you have created a wonderful life in spite of your HIV status, I could list a million different things about you that impress me.”

“Then why did you say the things you said?”

A tear trickled down her cheek and reached over and gently wiped it away. “Because I was scared.”

“And you’re not now?”

“I’m more scared of losing you because I was an idiot. Robin, I didn’t say anything all those years ago because you were in love with Roger and you had a family but Roger is gone and I have a second chance. For once I am going to get out of my own way and embrace it.” He leaned over. “I am absolutely crazy about you Robin and I will do everything I can to prove it to you.”

“Patrick…”

The door opened and Keith walked in. “Ready to go?”

Robin instantly stood up and walked over to him, needing to distance herself from Patrick for a few minutes. A few pretty words, even spoken with complete sincerity, were not going to erase the pain Patrick had caused her. She pulled her hair out of the ponytail and shook it out. “I just need to finish with Patrick and then I’ll be ready.”

“Going where?” Patrick went into protective mode. “Isn’t it a little late for a consult?”

“Not that it is any of your business but Robin and I are on our way out for dinner.” Keith looked at Patrick and gave him a little smirk. “We had a lovely dinner last night and I couldn’t wait to do it again.”

Robin shook her head at the men’s posturing. “Give me a couple of minutes and I will meet you out at the nurse’s station.” She kissed him on the cheek as she pushed him out the door.

“Okay but hurry up – wouldn’t want to miss our reservation.” Keith glared at Patrick one last time before he left.

Robin turned to Patrick. “He had been wanting to have dinner and…”

“After I hurt you the other night you decided to say yes.” Patrick could kick himself for unintentionally pushing her towards another man.

“It wasn’t like that.” Robin’s protest was weak at best – it was exactly like that and they both knew it.

He shook his head and stepped closer to her. “I made a horrible mistake out of fear – don’t do the same thing. Tell Keith that you have changed your mind and come with me to dinner. Give me a chance.”

Robin shook her head. “No.”

“No?” Patrick could see how much she wanted to stay with him.

“Patrick, two nights ago you were telling people that I wasn’t someone you wanted to be with and now you want me to dump my date for you.” Robin decided to tell him the truth. “I let myself believe that you had feelings for me and then you…”

“Robin I have already said I’m sorry.”

“But what happens the next time you get scared?” Robin’s eyes welled up with tears but she blinked them back before they started flowing again. “I think it is best for now if we just remain friends and colleagues.”

“Robin…”

She wiped her eyes and headed to the door. “I need to meet up with my date. I will see you tomorrow for the Tomlinson surgery.”

As much as he hated it, Patrick knew that he needed to back off for tonight. Robin had been hit hard by his revelation and needed time to digest it. “Fine but this conversation is not over. I know we have a chance to have something amazing and I am not going anywhere.”

“What are you saying?” Robin was confused.

“I’m saying, Dr. Soltini, that I am crazy about you and I will do everything I can to prove it to you and no one, not even Keith, is going to stop me.” He leaned over and kissed her on her cheek. “I have never felt this way about another woman in my life. Robin, you matter to me more than you can even understand and I know you feel the same way about me.” He kissed her other cheek. “No matter how much you want to deny it.”

Robin shivered at the touch of his lips on her skin. “Patrick…”

He stopped her with a kiss on the lips. She threw up her hands between them in a brief protest but they slowly moved around him, pulling him closer. She felt his arms wrap around her and one of his hands made its way into her hair, gently caressing the back of her head. The kiss lasted a few minutes before he pulled away and smiled at her. He headed to the door but took a moment to give her one last smirk. “Have a nice date Robin.”

Edited June 10, 2017 by cmahorror

[cmahorror]

Chapter 12

Robin moved to the cabinet and pulled the plates out. “Thank you for feeding Callie baby girl.”

Rylee beamed at her grandma, proud that she was helping. “You’re welcome grandma.”

Robin and Michelle were giving Rylee little chores to do around the house so that she could learn responsibility. Feeding the cat, along with making her bed and putting up her clothes, were the ones she had to do every day and the little girl excelled at all of them.

Robin set the plates down on the counter and kissed her granddaughter on the top of her head. “So what are we watching tonight?”

Michelle had study group tonight so Robin and Rylee were having a girls night in with a movies and pizza. “The Rylee movie!”

Robin groaned. “Can’t we watch something else Ry?” Inside Out had been good the first dozen times they had watched it but it was quickly getting old. “How about Lady and the Tramp?”

“No – I want to watch the Rylee movie.” The little girl loved that the main character had her name. She sat at the kitchen table and pouted. “Please grandma?”

Robin shook her head, well aware that she would give in. Although she was big on making sure Rylee behaved and had good manners, she was still a grandma. “Fine but I pick the movie after that.”

“We get two movies?” The little girl couldn’t believe her luck.

“Well I don’t have to work tomorrow – do you?” Robin tickled her granddaughter and the little girl giggled.

“No.” The doorbell rang and Rylee ran to the front door. “Pizza!”

Robin ran after her. “Rylee wait for me before you…”

Rylee threw open the door and instantly jumped at the figure standing there. “Uncle Patrick!”

Patrick caught her easily with one arm while balancing the pizza in his other. “Hey kiddo.” He carried her into the house. “Wouldn’t want me to drop supper, would you?”

Robin walked over and took the box from his hands. “What are you doing here?”

“Michelle said that you two were going to have a movie night and I promised Rylee that I would watch Inside Out with her.” He hugged the little girl. “Right?”

Rylee nodded. “Right.” She gave her grandma her best pleading look. “Please grandma?”

“Yeah, please grandma?” Patrick pouted.

Robin put the pizza on the coffee table and threw up her hands. “Fine but I still get to pick the second movie.”

“Deal.” Patrick set Rylee down on the couch. “What can I do to help?”

“Put the movie on while I go get the plates and napkins. Do you want apple juice, milk or water to drink?” Robin was already headed towards the kitchen while asking the question.

Patrick headed to the dvd player. “Can we please have a little Sprite?”

Rylee joined in. “Yeah grandma, please?”

Robin shot Patrick a quick glare. “You are a horrible influence.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I try.”

She sighed. “Fine – one glass of pop but that’s it.”

Patrick waited until she was out of the room before he winked at Rylee. “I told you I could get her to let you have pop.”

“I heard that.” Robin shouted from the kitchen. She walked back in moments later with the plates and three drinks balanced on them. She saw that Patrick was sitting on the couch with Rylee watching the previews. She set everything down on the coffee table and then joined them. “Let’s eat.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Two hours later, Patrick was cleaning up the dishes while Robin got Rylee into her pajamas and her teeth brushed. Tonight had been great so far – watching the movie and eating pizza had been more fun than any date at a fancy restaurant he had ever had. Rylee had stayed between the two of them but she had taken turns leaning on her grandma and Patrick.

He put the leftover pizza in the refrigerator and smiled at the front of it. It was covered in a mixture of pictures of their family and drawings Rylee had done. The little girl was amazing and Patrick had a lot of fun with her. The truth was that, except for Michelle, Patrick had never been much of a kid person. It wasn’t surprising that Rylee had the same effect on him.

“Ready for the second movie?” Robin poked her head into the kitchen, interrupting his thoughts. She had changed into her yoga pants and old t-shirt and looked absolutely adorable.

“You bet.” Patrick followed her back into the living room and joined her and Rylee on the couch. “What are we watching?”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


They were halfway through the movie when Patrick noticed that Rylee had fallen asleep on Robin’s lap. The way the little girl was lying was obviously very uncomfortable for Robin. “Robin, why don’t you let me put her to bed?”

“Michelle wanted to tuck her in.” Robin yawned.

“Okay.” Patrick stood up and moved over to the opposite side of the couch. “Then let’s at least get you both comfortable.” He sat down and slid one leg behind Robin as he turned her around. Leaning back against the pillows, he pulled Robin down to his chest so that she was lying in between his legs while Rylee laid on her chest. He then wrapped his arms around her so that he was helping hold the little girl in place.

“Thank you.” She adjusted herself a little more and soon she was comfortably situated on the couch. Rylee’s arms slid down Robin’s sides and the little girl let out a little snore.

“So where is the boyfriend tonight?” Patrick wanted to know about his competition.

“My friend Keith is working tonight.” Robin and Keith had agreed to take it slow. Besides their two dinner dates they had also had lunch the other day but so far there had only been a few kisses on the cheek. Keith was well aware that Robin was just starting to date again and agreed to be patient. “But you will see him tomorrow night at the ball.”

“I heard he was taking you.” Elizabeth had been more than happy to let Patrick know about Robin’s date for the Nurse’s Ball. “Maybe you could sit with me and my date?”

Robin felt a little hurt at his comment but quickly shook it off – obviously he wasn’t as crazy about her as he had claimed. “Maybe.” She yawned again. “Shut up and watch the movie – this is the best part.”

Patrick looked at the screen and saw Tramp pushing a meatball towards Lady. He wrapped his arms a little tighter around Robin and Rylee. “Yes it is.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Michelle unlocked the front door and walked into the house. “Mom? Patrick?” She had seen the doctor’s car in the driveway as she was dropped off. The study session had gone great and she felt confident that the test next week would be a breeze.

She walked into the living room and smiled at the sight she was greeted with. Patrick, her mom and Rylee were all three asleep on the couch together, perfectly content. She tiptoed over and nudged Patrick. She waited until his eyes opened and smiled at him. “Having a good time?”

Patrick nodded. “The best – there’s leftover pizza in the fridge.”

“Maybe after I get this one to bed.” She picked up her daughter and began to carry her to her bedroom. “Could you…”

Patrick had already picked Robin up off the couch and was following Michelle down the hall. “Which room is…”

Michelle tilted her head towards the door at the end of the hall. “Down there.”

“Thanks.” Patrick carried the still sleeping Robin down to her room. He used his foot to pull the blanket off and then gently laid her down on the bed. He then tucked the covers over her and kissed her on the forehead. “Good night Robin.”

He walked out of her room, taking time to look at the various pictures she had on her dresser. There were pictures of her with Michelle, Roger, Rylee, Mac and her parents and various other relatives. He was just about to leave when he saw one more picture. It was of her and Patrick right after their first surgery together – Liz had taken it to celebrate the new GH ‘dream team’ and given them each a copy.

The surgery had been extremely difficult and the patient had almost died on the table but Robin's quick thinking and his quick hands had saved the day. The patient had stabilized, made it through the rest of the surgery with flying colors, and they had gone to Jake's that night to celebrate. They took turns buying drinks and Robin proceeded to beat him at darts while he kicked her butt in pool.

He loved this picture - they were still in their scrubs and stood with their arms behind each other’s backs and had huge, tired smiles on their faces. It was the start of something special and he was certain that they both knew it.

He studied the frame and chuckled – his copy of the photo was in the same frame and he had put it on the dresser in his bedroom as well. “Great minds, huh Soltini?”

He took one last look at the sleeping doctor and left the room. He needed plenty of rest for the ball tomorrow night.

[cmahorror]

Chapter 13

“Robin, you look amazing tonight.” Keith took Robin’s hand and gave it a chaste kiss. “I am so happy that you agreed to be my date.”

“Thank you for inviting me.” Robin took a sip of her wine and gently smoothed out the skirt on her dress. The floor length dark burgundy gown, a gift from Brenda, fit her like a glove and she was a little self conscious about wearing it but Rylee and Michelle had insisted it was perfect for the night.

He could sense she was nervous about her dress and how she looked in it. The woman had no idea how truly beautiful she was. “You look gorgeous – promise.”

“He’s right – you do.”

Robin jumped up out of her chair at the sound of the voice behind her. “AJ!” She hugged the man and smiled at his companion. “And Michael – it is so great to see you both.”

Michael gave her a quick hug. “It’s great to see you too. Got room at your table for us?”

Keith stood up and gestured to their table. “Of course we do.”

The two men sat down and Robin smiled at the sight of the father and son together. Maxie had gotten Robin up to date on all the gossip in town over the years. The best piece of gossip was how Michael found out the truth about exactly how Sonny forced AJ to sign over his parental rights. Once the truth was out, he turned his back on his mother and Sonny. As soon as Michael had turned 18 he had changed his name to Michael Quartermaine and left Sonny, Carly and the mob far behind him. He was now studying business at PCU while interning next to his father at ELQ.

“Did you put your name in for the auction?” Several doctors and nurses had agreed to be auctioned off for dances tonight to earn extra money for the Stone Cates AIDS wing. “Because, if so, I have every intention of bidding on you.”

Keith shook his head. “Hey, she’s my date – get your own.”

Robin just laughed at the men. “I think that I agreed to several dances so everyone should be able to get a turn.”

“Sounds great to me.” Robin’s heart stopped as she heard Patrick’s voice cut through the air. She took a deep breath and turned around. She was shocked to see who Patrick had brought as his date. “Michelle?”

Her daughter giggled and hugged her mom. “Surprise!”

Robin hugged her back and quickly sat Michelle down in the chair right next to her. “What are you doing here with him?”

Patrick sat down next to Michelle and smiled at the women. “Hey – him has a name.” Robin stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed. “Real mature there Soltini.”

“Says the man who has a race track in his spare bedroom.” After a long surgery one night Patrick had challenged Robin to a race. There was still some debate as to who won, Robin insisted she had kicked Patrick’s ass, but it had been a fun evening of corn dogs, racing and beer.

“You have a race track in your house?” AJ would ask Robin later how she knew about track.

“It’s not just any track.” Patrick stated proudly. “It’s a Giant Set with Lap Counter – one of the best race tracks you can buy.”

Keith slipped his arm around the back of Robin’s chair and leaned over to talk to Patrick. “Not near as good as the real thing though – I used to do a little racing in high school and college.”

“Me too.” Patrick was not about to back down. “Even had a couple of offers to go pro but decided that my hands were too important to risk damaging in a race. I still have a car down at the speedway – I keep trying to get Robin let me take her for a ride.”

Michelle choked back a laugh at Patrick’s comment. She looked across the table and saw Michael was doing the same thing. “I’m sorry, we haven’t been introduced – I’m Michelle Soltini.”

“Robin’s daughter?” Michael looked curiously at the beautiful dark haired woman who had accompanied Dr. Drake. “It is a pleasure to meet you. I’m Michael Quartermaine and this is my father AJ.”

“It’s nice to meet you, both of you.” Michelle smiled at him.

“I have actually been wanting to talk to you – Maxie said you are a nursing student and I am opening a clinic for low income families down by the docks. I was wondering if you might like to do some of your clinical hours there?” He looked at Patrick. “Would you mind switching seats with Michelle so we can talk?”

Before Patrick could say a word Michelle was already standing up. “I wanted to go and say hi to Maxie and Matt – why don’t we go do that first and then we can talk.” She winked at her mom. “Have fun!”

“Thanks Michelle.” Robin shook her head. “That didn’t take long.”

“Maxie has been talking up Michelle to Michael since you moved back to town. He has been trying to meet her for weeks.” AJ approved of his son’s decision to try and date Robin’s daughter.

“And matchmaker Maxie strikes again.” Robin laughed as she watched Michael and Michelle join Matt and Maxie at their table. “I think you just lost your date Drake.”

“I’ll survive.” Patrick slid over next Robin. “So, when does the bidding begin?”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Michael smiled at Maxie. “Brilliant plan Max.” He pulled out Michelle’s chair and helped her into her seat. “Robin didn’t have a clue what was going on.”

Michelle winked at Michael. The truth was the two of them had been seeing each other for a couple of weeks but were keeping it on the down low until they could see where it was going. They had met in a biology class and instantly clicked but she was a young mom and her first concern would always be Rylee. “Yeah, mom was completely blindsided.”

Matt laughed as he saw Patrick move over into Michelle’s abandoned chair. “Oh, I wish I could hear what is going on over there.”

Maxie saw a couple approach Patrick and Robin’s table and smiled. “We may not be able to hear them but I know that we are going to be able to get a blow by blow description later from their table mates.”

Michael shook his head. “Come on Maxie, my dad is not that reliable…”

“Not your dad Michael,” Maxie looked over at the table in question, “her.”

[Luckylyn]

Elizabeth & Franco - Beauty & The Beast

[cmahorror]

Chapter 14

“May we join you?” Liz couldn’t help but smirk at Robin when she saw her old friend sitting between the two men. “Unless you were saving a seat for another one of your admirers…”

“Sit down Liz.” Patrick greeted his friends. “Lucky – good to see you out of jeans.”

Lucky pulled at the tie on his neck. “Don’t get used to it. The only reason I am in this thing is because my wife insisted.”

“And you look amazing.” Liz leaned over to kiss her husband.

“As do you Liz.” Robin gave her friend a warm grin. “That dress looks amazing on you.”

Liz was dressed in a dark green dress with a brocade fitted top and a chiffon skirt. “Lulu helped me pick it out.”

“Are she and Dante coming tonight?” Robin hadn’t seen Lucky’s little sister since she was a baby.

Lucky shook his head. “No, she is meeting with a doctor in Manhattan about my mom.” Laura had succumbed to psychomotor disassociation years ago. Luke had blamed himself, gone off the deep end and was currently off on some adventure while Lulu and Lucky searched for a cure.

Robin’s eyes clouded over. “I heard about Laura and I am so sorry about what happened. Would you mind if I reviewed her case? I have worked with several doctors overseas on some new treatments for neurological disorders – I would like to be able to help her if I can.”

“You know Laura?” Patrick had come to town after Laura’s breakdown and Lucky didn’t like to talk about his mom. Remembering the good times hurt him too much.

“She was great to Stone and me after we revealed we were HIV positive. She treated us just like anyone else, never shied away from a cut or a hug.” Tears filled Robin’s eyes briefly but she blinked them back. “Please Lucky?”

“Of course Robin.” Lucky squeezed his wife’s hand and then looked at the man who kept scooting closer to his old friend. “You must be Keith – Liz has told me all about you.”

“And you are Liz’s husband Lucky – nice to meet you.” Keith had no illusions about where Liz’s loyalties laid. She had been campaigning for Robin and Patrick to get together since the moment she discovered Robin was back in town. It was obvious from the way that Lucky glared at him that he shared his wife’s opinion. “I understand that you work with Robin’s uncle at the PCPD. I appreciate what you do to keep us safe.”

“You’re welcome.” Lucky dismissed Keith and turned back to Patrick. “So, did you catch the game last night?”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


“Well, well, well, look who’s here.” Carly glared at a table across the way as she and Jax sat down. “I can’t believe that the saint had the nerve to show her face back in this town after what she did.”

Jax rolled his eyes and poured them each a glass of wine. “Robin didn’t do anything Carly and I thought we agreed that it was time you let this go.”

“But my son barely speaks to me because of what she did.”

“Michael barely speaks to you because Sonny tried to kill AJ and you supported his decision to do so.” It amazed Jax that after all these years Carly still tried to blame Robin for what had happened.

“AJ would have never known he was Michael’s father if she hadn’t told a truth that wasn’t hers to tell.” She pouted at her husband. “Sonny was a good father to him…”

“I swear to God Carly, if you start defending Sonny to me…”

Carly quickly shut up. For some reason Jax still cared about Robin and would not believe her when she said that Robin had destroyed her life. “Fine but I still don’t have to like her being back.”

“She has a new life and so do you. It’s time to let the past go and concentrate on the future.” Jax reached across the table and took her hand in his. “Now, we need to discuss whether or not Joss goes to public school or private.”

Carly rolled her eyes. “Private of course.”

Jax began talking about different schools but Carly barely heard him, her focus was on Robin. She sat there silently fuming as Jax tried to talk to her about their daughter.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


“I am actually an Eagle Scout.” Keith said proudly. “My final project was starting a recycling program in my town that is still going on.”

“I was never a boy scout…”

Robin couldn’t help but interrupt Patrick. “Shocker.”

He threw Robin a little glare, “I was too busy teaching the girls how do to mouth to mouth.” Everyone at the table glared at him. “I taught CPR.”

“I finished at the top of my class in medical school at Harvard.”

Patrick refused to let Keith upstage him. “Same here – John Hopkins.”

“Sorbonne?” Robin was trying to get the men to stop posturing but it wasn’t working. “Liz, would you mind accompanying me to the ladies room? I want to move before they start comparing their shoe sizes.”

“Let’s go.” Both women stood up and left the table. “So, are you having fun?”

“Fun? Liz, were you at the same table I was?” The ladies entered the bathroom and went to the sink to check their makeup. “I mean, what was all that about?”

“It was about impressing you.” Liz was thrilled that Patrick was finally getting out of his own way. “You have two gorgeous doctors competing for your affections. Don’t fight it, enjoy it.”

“You are horrible.” Robin sighed. “I am just getting back into this dating thing. And after everything that happened in Jacksonville…”

“That was over months ago and it doesn’t matter now. Robin, nobody here knows about that and they don't ever need to.” Robin had confided in Liz and Lucky about the man who had stalked her one night not long after she had come back to town.

"But..."

"No buts." Liz heard an announcement that the auction was about to begin. “All we need to worry about is getting out there for the auction – I have a feeling that you are going to very popular tonight.”

Robin just laughed and followed her friend out the door, neither one noticing that there was someone in the stall who had heard every word of their conversation.

Carly waited until she heard the door shut before she came out the bathroom stall. She walked over to the sink and stared in the mirror, a malicious grin coming to her face. So Robin had a secret.

She fixed up her lipstick and checked her hair, a plan already forming in her head. She winked at her reflection before heading to the door. “Let’s see how Robin likes it when someone tells a truth she wanted to keep hidden.”