General Hospital - Scrubs Fic - Come Back 9/20
Originally posted by: tkfaf Sep 6 2007, 03:31 PM
Here is the next installment and thank you again for all the great comments.
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Chapter 9
Robin’s eyes looked deep into his begging him. Patrick didn’t trust his voice to answer her, so he sat down and took her hand into his. Unable to hold her gaze any longer, he looked up at Emily and Elizabeth. Elizabeth quickly turned away from him, but Emily looked back at him with understanding. The room remained deafeningly silent as Elizabeth quickly started Robin’s IV.
Turning towards her brother, Emily broke the silence.
“Why don’t we all give Robin some time alone with Patrick?”
Patrick gave a quick glance of thanks to Emily before she herded everyone out of the room. Patrick watched her close the door and then turned back to Robin.
“How are you feeling?”
“Cold and exhausted. What happened?”
Looking into her eyes, Patrick didn’t know how to answer her question. How could he explain the terror that strangled his heart when he saw her on the ledge? The way he had forgotten to breathe as she fell forward. What could he say?
“Patrick, something happened. I can see it in your face. Did you find out what’s wrong with me? Oh, god, not my HIV levels!”
He gripped her hand tighter. He could see the panic start to show in her eyes.
“No, your viral load and CD4 counts are stable for now.” Patrick tried to keep his voice calm to reassure her.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. They haven’t changed.” He saw her search his face and knew she could probably read it like an open book.
“Then what is it? You’re scared and I want to know what has got the great, levelheaded Dr. Drake running for the hills.”
Her words took some of the tension out of his body and he even felt a smile start to form at the corners of his mouth.
“You think I’m great?” he joked.
She didn’t smile back. “What happened? I mean it.”
Instantly, he tensed again. Her words echoed in his ears. They were the same ones she had said up on the roof right before she almost fell. Closing his eyes, he reminded himself that she didn’t fall and was right here with him.
“Patrick, please. You’re scaring me. I can feel your hands shaking. I can’t help if I don’t know what is going on.”
Opening his eyes, he saw the fear he felt reflecting in her eyes.
“Robin, it doesn’t matter. You need to rest. I will be back to my usual arrogant self when you are better and I can take you home with me.”
“Patrick, it DOES matter. Something has got you rattled. I want you to talk to me about it. I know I have been a little out of it, but I am here with you right now. Please talk to me.”
Looking at her small hand in his, Patrick realized that she wasn’t going to let this go.
“You left your room when I went to check on your labs and we couldn’t find for a little bit.”
“How long was I missing?”
Looking back into her face, he took a breath before answering. “Fifteen or twenty minutes, I’m not really sure. When I came back to your room, you were just gone.” He shifted uncomfortably as she studied his face.
“Oh Patrick, I’m really sorry. You must have been so worried.”
A smile almost crossed his lips again. “You always worry about everyone except yourself. Once you have beaten this, I am going to have to convince you that a little selfishness is not a bad thing.”
“I don’t think so,” she with a weak smile. “One person in love with themselves is enough in any couple and you are it buddy.”
“Well maybe we can work on balancing each other out together.”
“We’ll see, but I don’t hold out much hope for either of us changing at this point.”
Startled by the door opening, Patrick turned to see Jason Morgan.
“Can I talk to Robin for a minute?”
Patrick couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Was this guy for real? Patrick struggled to keep his temper in check.
“I don’t think that is a good idea right now. Robin needs to rest. Besides, I’m sure that Carly needs you for something.” Jason didn’t move, but looked at Robin instead.
“Patrick, it’s okay,” Robin said patting his hand. “You have been here with me all night and I hate to tell you this, but it shows. Why don’t you take a break? Get some coffee and let everyone know that I’m okay. I’m sure you weren’t the only one looking for me.”
“Robin, I don’t want to leave you even for a few minutes.”
“It’s okay Patrick. I want to talk to Jason for a few minutes. He will be here until you get back. He will call you right away if there is the least little change in my condition. I promise.” Robin looked at Jason for confirmation and Patrick saw him nod in agreement. Despite his doubts, Patrick couldn’t refuse her request.
“All right, but only five minutes,” he told her sternly, then looked at Jason making sure that he understood too. Kissing her hand, he slowly got up to leave. Before he walked past Jason, he gave him a glare.
“Five minutes,” he told Jason firmly and then closed the door on his way out.
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Robin watched Jason as he moved to the stool Patrick had just vacated.
“How are you?” he asked quietly.
“Okay, I guess. I have been in and out for most of the night. If Patrick told me any of what they have found out, I seemed to have forgotten it. How is Michael doing? I didn’t get a chance to check on him after I saw him in the ER.”
“He is doing better. His fever is down. The doctor told Carly he should be able to go home sometime tomorrow.” Jason was avoiding looking at her. His face wasn’t as easy to read as Patrick’s, but she could see the hints of worry that were there. Because they had been together through some of the hardest times of each other’s lives, Robin knew Jason better than anyone no matter what Carly told everyone else.
“Jason, you know what happened to me tonight that scared Patrick, don’t you.”
“Robin, he just wants you to be okay and so do I.”
“Jason, don’t do this. Do you remember when I came to visit you in the hospital after you got shot? You told me that I was different from almost everyone else because I didn’t lie to you. Please don’t lie to me now. What happened?”
“You were missing for a little bit, I found you, and made sure Patrick got to you.”
“There is more to it than that. Lying by omission is still lying Jason.” Robin knew that she was using guilt to force Jason to tell her what she wanted to know, but she didn’t care. She needed to find out what had frightened Patrick. Jason looked up and she stared straight into his blue eyes.
“You wandered up to the roof.”
“The roof?” As weak as she felt, it was hard for Robin to believe that she had gotten that far without anyone noticing. “How did you know I was up there?”
“I saw you walk by Michael’s room. You went into the stairwell and I knew where you were going.” Robin nodded for him to continue.
“I told Carly to go find Patrick, tell him where you were going, and I followed you. When I got to the roof, you were sitting on the edge.”
“What was I doing?”
Jason cleared his throat before continuing. “You were confused. You thought we were at the old bridge.”
“What did I say?” she said quietly.
“Do you remember the night I found you sitting on the bridge? You were upset about a little girl that had died.”
“Jenetta, her name was Jenetta.” Robin looked down, twisting her hands in her lap. “I remember. That was the night I told you I was HIV positive and then you kissed me for the first time.” Robin smiled at the memory of how shocked she had been at the time. Looking at Jason, she could see the memory was a happy one for him too, but then his eyes clouded over again.
“Do you remember what happened before that?”
“I remember. I was in a bad place.” AIDS had killed Jenetta and it hit her almost as hard as Stone’s death had. She never could have imagined then that she would have a boyfriend, become a doctor, or even that she would live more than a couple of years beyond that night.
“Yeah, I remember it too. It was the first time I ever saw you mad.”
Robin let a small laugh out as she pictured Jason’s stunned face that night. He wasn’t good then at judging people’s moods. It was one of the things she had worked with him on that year. She looked at his face now determined to get the rest of what happened out of him.
“Jason, was I replaying that memory up on the roof tonight?” Jason sighed, but didn’t look away.
“Yes.” This time Robin sighed and knew she had to ask the next question.
“Did you have to pull me back from the edge?”
“Yes.”
“Patrick saw it, didn’t he?” This time Jason did look away.
“Yes.”
Robin inhaled sharply. No wonder Patrick was so upset. Robin picked up his hand and gave it a small squeeze.
“Thank you Jason.” She could see that he was confused.
“For what?”
“For honoring our past by being honest with me,” she smiled “and pulling me back from the edge again.”
“I still care about you. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”
“I care about what happens to you too Jason. I didn’t just help you, we helped each other. I didn’t think I had a future at all, but you showed me that I did.” Jason finally looked up at her and she could see a sad smile in his eyes. “I have a lot of guilt over how things ended, but I will never regret the time we spent together.”
“Robin, I didn’t understand then why you went to Sonny and asked him to fire me. I still don’t agree, but I think I understand why”
“I wish I could change a few things too, but I think our relationship ended when it was meant to end. You needed to learn how to be on your own and so did I.” She could still see the sadness lingering in his eyes. “Our lives were moving us in different directions and we started hurting each other instead of helping.”
“If you ever need anything, you know that you can ask me.”
“I know that Jason.”
“Is he good to you?”
“Yes he is. Patrick came into my life at just the right time,” she smiled. “I think it might be forever, although I’m not sure he realizes it yet.”
“I’m sure you will find a way to convince him,” Jason smiled back at her.
“It might take a while, but I’m up for the challenge.” They both looked up to see Patrick opening the door. Jason looked at Robin and gave her hand a kiss.
“Well, I better get back to Carly and Michael.” Jason stood up, nodded at Patrick, and left closing the door behind him. Robin felt tired, but better after talking with Jason. Patrick shifted uncomfortably at the foot of her bed.
“Come here,” she said moving the blanket and patting the bed next to her. He moved slowly and sat down beside her.
“Robin, you need to rest,” he said reaching up to brush back a loose strand of hair.
“I will if you lay down with me so I can rest my head on your chest.”
He hesitated for a moment, but when she pulled him closer, he gave in. She turned on her side, laying her head over his heart, and draping her arm around his waist. She closed her eyes and felt his long arms wrap around her shoulders pulling her closer to him. This was exactly what she needed right now and she hoped it was helping him too. She fell asleep almost immediately as the gentle thump-thump of his heart soothed her.
Here is the next installment and thank you again for all the great comments.
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Chapter 9
Robin’s eyes looked deep into his begging him. Patrick didn’t trust his voice to answer her, so he sat down and took her hand into his. Unable to hold her gaze any longer, he looked up at Emily and Elizabeth. Elizabeth quickly turned away from him, but Emily looked back at him with understanding. The room remained deafeningly silent as Elizabeth quickly started Robin’s IV.
Turning towards her brother, Emily broke the silence.
“Why don’t we all give Robin some time alone with Patrick?”
Patrick gave a quick glance of thanks to Emily before she herded everyone out of the room. Patrick watched her close the door and then turned back to Robin.
“How are you feeling?”
“Cold and exhausted. What happened?”
Looking into her eyes, Patrick didn’t know how to answer her question. How could he explain the terror that strangled his heart when he saw her on the ledge? The way he had forgotten to breathe as she fell forward. What could he say?
“Patrick, something happened. I can see it in your face. Did you find out what’s wrong with me? Oh, god, not my HIV levels!”
He gripped her hand tighter. He could see the panic start to show in her eyes.
“No, your viral load and CD4 counts are stable for now.” Patrick tried to keep his voice calm to reassure her.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. They haven’t changed.” He saw her search his face and knew she could probably read it like an open book.
“Then what is it? You’re scared and I want to know what has got the great, levelheaded Dr. Drake running for the hills.”
Her words took some of the tension out of his body and he even felt a smile start to form at the corners of his mouth.
“You think I’m great?” he joked.
She didn’t smile back. “What happened? I mean it.”
Instantly, he tensed again. Her words echoed in his ears. They were the same ones she had said up on the roof right before she almost fell. Closing his eyes, he reminded himself that she didn’t fall and was right here with him.
“Patrick, please. You’re scaring me. I can feel your hands shaking. I can’t help if I don’t know what is going on.”
Opening his eyes, he saw the fear he felt reflecting in her eyes.
“Robin, it doesn’t matter. You need to rest. I will be back to my usual arrogant self when you are better and I can take you home with me.”
“Patrick, it DOES matter. Something has got you rattled. I want you to talk to me about it. I know I have been a little out of it, but I am here with you right now. Please talk to me.”
Looking at her small hand in his, Patrick realized that she wasn’t going to let this go.
“You left your room when I went to check on your labs and we couldn’t find for a little bit.”
“How long was I missing?”
Looking back into her face, he took a breath before answering. “Fifteen or twenty minutes, I’m not really sure. When I came back to your room, you were just gone.” He shifted uncomfortably as she studied his face.
“Oh Patrick, I’m really sorry. You must have been so worried.”
A smile almost crossed his lips again. “You always worry about everyone except yourself. Once you have beaten this, I am going to have to convince you that a little selfishness is not a bad thing.”
“I don’t think so,” she with a weak smile. “One person in love with themselves is enough in any couple and you are it buddy.”
“Well maybe we can work on balancing each other out together.”
“We’ll see, but I don’t hold out much hope for either of us changing at this point.”
Startled by the door opening, Patrick turned to see Jason Morgan.
“Can I talk to Robin for a minute?”
Patrick couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Was this guy for real? Patrick struggled to keep his temper in check.
“I don’t think that is a good idea right now. Robin needs to rest. Besides, I’m sure that Carly needs you for something.” Jason didn’t move, but looked at Robin instead.
“Patrick, it’s okay,” Robin said patting his hand. “You have been here with me all night and I hate to tell you this, but it shows. Why don’t you take a break? Get some coffee and let everyone know that I’m okay. I’m sure you weren’t the only one looking for me.”
“Robin, I don’t want to leave you even for a few minutes.”
“It’s okay Patrick. I want to talk to Jason for a few minutes. He will be here until you get back. He will call you right away if there is the least little change in my condition. I promise.” Robin looked at Jason for confirmation and Patrick saw him nod in agreement. Despite his doubts, Patrick couldn’t refuse her request.
“All right, but only five minutes,” he told her sternly, then looked at Jason making sure that he understood too. Kissing her hand, he slowly got up to leave. Before he walked past Jason, he gave him a glare.
“Five minutes,” he told Jason firmly and then closed the door on his way out.
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Robin watched Jason as he moved to the stool Patrick had just vacated.
“How are you?” he asked quietly.
“Okay, I guess. I have been in and out for most of the night. If Patrick told me any of what they have found out, I seemed to have forgotten it. How is Michael doing? I didn’t get a chance to check on him after I saw him in the ER.”
“He is doing better. His fever is down. The doctor told Carly he should be able to go home sometime tomorrow.” Jason was avoiding looking at her. His face wasn’t as easy to read as Patrick’s, but she could see the hints of worry that were there. Because they had been together through some of the hardest times of each other’s lives, Robin knew Jason better than anyone no matter what Carly told everyone else.
“Jason, you know what happened to me tonight that scared Patrick, don’t you.”
“Robin, he just wants you to be okay and so do I.”
“Jason, don’t do this. Do you remember when I came to visit you in the hospital after you got shot? You told me that I was different from almost everyone else because I didn’t lie to you. Please don’t lie to me now. What happened?”
“You were missing for a little bit, I found you, and made sure Patrick got to you.”
“There is more to it than that. Lying by omission is still lying Jason.” Robin knew that she was using guilt to force Jason to tell her what she wanted to know, but she didn’t care. She needed to find out what had frightened Patrick. Jason looked up and she stared straight into his blue eyes.
“You wandered up to the roof.”
“The roof?” As weak as she felt, it was hard for Robin to believe that she had gotten that far without anyone noticing. “How did you know I was up there?”
“I saw you walk by Michael’s room. You went into the stairwell and I knew where you were going.” Robin nodded for him to continue.
“I told Carly to go find Patrick, tell him where you were going, and I followed you. When I got to the roof, you were sitting on the edge.”
“What was I doing?”
Jason cleared his throat before continuing. “You were confused. You thought we were at the old bridge.”
“What did I say?” she said quietly.
“Do you remember the night I found you sitting on the bridge? You were upset about a little girl that had died.”
“Jenetta, her name was Jenetta.” Robin looked down, twisting her hands in her lap. “I remember. That was the night I told you I was HIV positive and then you kissed me for the first time.” Robin smiled at the memory of how shocked she had been at the time. Looking at Jason, she could see the memory was a happy one for him too, but then his eyes clouded over again.
“Do you remember what happened before that?”
“I remember. I was in a bad place.” AIDS had killed Jenetta and it hit her almost as hard as Stone’s death had. She never could have imagined then that she would have a boyfriend, become a doctor, or even that she would live more than a couple of years beyond that night.
“Yeah, I remember it too. It was the first time I ever saw you mad.”
Robin let a small laugh out as she pictured Jason’s stunned face that night. He wasn’t good then at judging people’s moods. It was one of the things she had worked with him on that year. She looked at his face now determined to get the rest of what happened out of him.
“Jason, was I replaying that memory up on the roof tonight?” Jason sighed, but didn’t look away.
“Yes.” This time Robin sighed and knew she had to ask the next question.
“Did you have to pull me back from the edge?”
“Yes.”
“Patrick saw it, didn’t he?” This time Jason did look away.
“Yes.”
Robin inhaled sharply. No wonder Patrick was so upset. Robin picked up his hand and gave it a small squeeze.
“Thank you Jason.” She could see that he was confused.
“For what?”
“For honoring our past by being honest with me,” she smiled “and pulling me back from the edge again.”
“I still care about you. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”
“I care about what happens to you too Jason. I didn’t just help you, we helped each other. I didn’t think I had a future at all, but you showed me that I did.” Jason finally looked up at her and she could see a sad smile in his eyes. “I have a lot of guilt over how things ended, but I will never regret the time we spent together.”
“Robin, I didn’t understand then why you went to Sonny and asked him to fire me. I still don’t agree, but I think I understand why”
“I wish I could change a few things too, but I think our relationship ended when it was meant to end. You needed to learn how to be on your own and so did I.” She could still see the sadness lingering in his eyes. “Our lives were moving us in different directions and we started hurting each other instead of helping.”
“If you ever need anything, you know that you can ask me.”
“I know that Jason.”
“Is he good to you?”
“Yes he is. Patrick came into my life at just the right time,” she smiled. “I think it might be forever, although I’m not sure he realizes it yet.”
“I’m sure you will find a way to convince him,” Jason smiled back at her.
“It might take a while, but I’m up for the challenge.” They both looked up to see Patrick opening the door. Jason looked at Robin and gave her hand a kiss.
“Well, I better get back to Carly and Michael.” Jason stood up, nodded at Patrick, and left closing the door behind him. Robin felt tired, but better after talking with Jason. Patrick shifted uncomfortably at the foot of her bed.
“Come here,” she said moving the blanket and patting the bed next to her. He moved slowly and sat down beside her.
“Robin, you need to rest,” he said reaching up to brush back a loose strand of hair.
“I will if you lay down with me so I can rest my head on your chest.”
He hesitated for a moment, but when she pulled him closer, he gave in. She turned on her side, laying her head over his heart, and draping her arm around his waist. She closed her eyes and felt his long arms wrap around her shoulders pulling her closer to him. This was exactly what she needed right now and she hoped it was helping him too. She fell asleep almost immediately as the gentle thump-thump of his heart soothed her.