General Hospital - Scrubs Fic - Come Back 11/20
Originally posted by: tkfaf Sep 19 2007, 09:20 PM
Okay, I know it has been awhile since I updated this, but this chapter took some time to work out. Thank you again Kristin for all your help, advice, and having to read the bad version. LOL Thank you to all the loyal readers too. Your comments encourage me to continue to write and work until the updates are (hopefully) good. I hope you all enjoy it and PLEASE let me know what you think.
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CHAPTER 11
Patrick rounded the corner nearest Robin's room and stopped cold. The graying man stood silently in the doorway with his arms crossed staring at Robin through the glass. Patrick shouldn't have been surprised to see Robert Scorpio, but her parents’ appearances, and disappearances for that matter, boggled his mind. There never seemed to be a rhyme or reason to their timing. As if he sensed someone watching him, Robert turned and looked directly at Patrick.
"I've been waiting for you Drake." Although he would never admit it, Robert had a way of making Patrick feel instantly nervous. He wasn't sure what to say or even where he stood with the man.
"Have you been here long?"
"About fifteen minutes or so."
Robert turned back to watch his daughter.
"Anna called you, didn't she?"
Robert nodded and Patrick moved to stand beside him. Both men stood quietly watching her sleep. After several minutes, Robert finally spoke.
"Give it to me straight up Drake. What are her odds?"
Patrick took a moment, carefully phrasing his response to be honest, but not pessimistic.
"Better than during the epidemic, but it's complicated."
Robert gave Patrick no indication what he was thinking at that moment.
"Is Anna coming too?"
"She'll be here as soon as she can, but, like you said, it's complicated."
Patrick nodded, but supposed he only had a vague understanding of the complications Robert was referring to.
"I think I'll go sit with her for a bit." Robert said quietly and reached for the isolation gown out of the box.
"If you want to be alone with her, I could…" Patrick cleared his throat nervously before continuing. "I could go check on some things."
Robert nodded as he finished tying the gown and began putting the mask on.
"She's been pretty out of it, even when she's been awake." Patrick added, wanting Robert to be prepared.
"Thanks for taking such good care of my little girl Drake." Robert said with a hitch in his voice.
Feeling a lump rising in his own throat, Patrick could only nod. Having pulled his gloves on, he watched Robert entered her room and sit beside her bed. Robert picked up his daughter's hand. Although he couldn't hear what was being said through the door, Patrick could see Robert's love for his daughter in his eyes and actions. Suddenly feeling like he was intruding on a private moment, Patrick turned away and went in search of his own father.
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Noah was pouring his third cup of the morning when he heard the door open and turned to see Patrick walking in.
"Hey Sport. You want a cup?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Noah poured Patrick's coffee and then walked over to the table to sit beside him.
"Did you get a hold of Mac?"
"Yeah, he will be here soon."
"That's good. Who's sitting with Robin right now?"
Patrick let out a small laugh. "Robert, if you can believe that."
Noah almost choked on his coffee before managing to swallow it. "Robin's dad Robert?"
"Yeah, I guess Anna got my message last night and called him. Robert says that she is planning on coming too, but it might take a little while for her to get here."
"Well, if that's the case, then Robin will probably be better by the time she gets here and they can have a nice visit."
"I hope so dad."
"Believe it Patrick. We will get a handle on this and she will beat this."
Patrick continued to stare at his coffee.
"What are you thinking about Patrick?" Noah asked softly.
When Patrick raised his head, Noah could see the anguish in his son's eyes.
"Dad, she knows they love her, but she can't ever depend on them to be there for her, like she is never their first priority." Patrick wiped away a lone tear that escaped from his eye. "I know what that feels like," he whispered.
Once again, Noah felt the crushing weight of guilt that his drinking had caused so much damage. Even if he spent the rest of his life trying to make up for it, some of the scars would always be there. He had failed both Patrick and, by extension Mattie, so completely after her death. His thoughts were interrupted by Patrick.
"Dad, I didn't mean it that way." Noah felt Patrick's hand on his sleeve, but couldn't bear to look at him knowing that it was his fault that Patrick understood Robin's situation with her parents so well.
"You and I are good now. I can come to you now and I know you will be there. Robin deserves that too, probably more than I do." All Noah could do was nod.
"Dad, look at me." Noah looked into Patrick's eyes and saw love, rather than the disappointment he expected. "More than anything, I want Robin to have what you and I have with Robert and Anna."
Choked up with emotion, Noah felt happy that Patrick had turned into a loving man despite the obstacles his alcoholism had created. That he had any relationship with his son at all was all Robin's doing. Noah placed his hand on top of his son's.
"You know what I think?"
"What?" Patrick asked.
"I think both of us are lucky she came into our lives like a whirlwind and turned it upside down."
"I think you're right." Patrick said as a grin spread across his face.
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Mac Scorpio stepped off the elevator before the doors had even finished opening and made his way to the nurses’ hub with long, purposeful strides. Seeing Epiphany on the other side, he headed straight for her, knowing that she would answer his questions quickly.
“Where is Patrick Drake?” Her head snapped up, ready to sternly deal with the interloper until she saw that it was him.
“Commissioner Scorpio, I’ll page him for you,” she said reaching for the phone. She had only dialed a few numbers, when she looked past him and stopped. She raised her hand and pointed behind him. Mac turned to see Patrick and his father coming out of the hallway and met them halfway.
“Patrick, how is she?”
"About the same. We are waiting for the antibiotics to get the upper hand which might take another 12 hours or so." Mac nodded, noting that Patrick looked like he had been put through the wringer.
Noah cleared his throat causing both men to look in his direction. "I think I'll let you two talk and I'm going to go check in with Alan." Mac watched Noah walk off before turning his attention back to Patrick.
“You said on the phone that it was pretty bad.” Patrick nodded at Mac’s statement, but was avoiding looking him in the eyes. “Has she been conscious? Does she know what is going on?” Mac was unsettled by Patrick’s slowness to respond to his questions and the way he ran his fingers through his hair.
“Not really.” Patrick admitted. “When she is awake, she doesn’t seem to be in the present most of the time.”
“Are you trying to say that she’s not lucid?”
“Yes.” Mac noted the ragged quality to Patrick’s voice and, despite his own worry, it was a small relief to know that Patrick seemed to care about his niece as much as he did.
“I should probably try to get a message to Robert and Anna.” Mac thought out loud.
“Actually, Robin was asking for Anna last night, so I left her a message already.”
“You had her number?” Mac asked with surprise.
“Actually, it was in Robin’s phone.”
“Did she call you back yet?”
“No, but she must have gotten the message because Robert is here.”
Mac was even more astounded at that. “He got here fast.”
“Yeah, I was caught off guard too.” Mac saw Patrick nervously shifting his feet and reached out his hand to touch Patrick’s arm. For the first time since their conversation had started, Patrick looked directly at him.
“I appreciate you taking such good care of Robin. She means the world to me and I know you feel the same way.”
“Yes sir, I do.” Patrick said with conviction and Mac nodded his understanding.
“As nice as this bonding is, I would really like to see her now.”
“Of course,” Patrick said.
Mac followed Patrick to Robin’s room, each silently lost in their own thoughts. When they got to her room, Mac could see Robert sitting on the bed and Robin was talking to him. As he took the isolation gown from Patrick, Mac became aware that something about Robert’s posture was off. His back was unnaturally stiff. Mac hurriedly tied the gown and mask on.
“Mac, what’s wrong?” He could hear the concern in Patrick’s voice, but his main focus was getting in the room and finding out what was going on.
“I’m not sure,” Mac said as he pushed the door open. Patrick followed him in the room, and they both stopped at the foot of the bed to listen to what Robin was saying.
“I mean you know I love Sean and Tiffany. It’s not like I’m ungrateful for everything they’ve done for me, letting me stay her and everything, but…”
“But what sweetheart?” The emotion in Robert’s voice, not to mention Robin’s mention of Sean and Tiffany, hit Mac like a ton of bricks.
“Who are Sean and Tiffany?” Patrick asked him quietly.
“Old friends of the Scorpios,” Mac answered without looking at him or further explanation.
“I want to go home dad,” Robin was pleading. “I miss my things, my room. I’m trying. If I have to stay here, you know I will, but I really want to go back home.”
Robert’s sigh sounded loud to Mac in comparison to the softness of Robin’s voice.
“I’m…I’m doing everything I can to get your mother here with you and I’ll do whatever I have to, including going away if necessary.” Robert was telling her. Mac couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but amidst the confusion he felt, there was sense of familiarity about the exchange between his brother and niece.
“Well maybe Holly can stay with me if you have to go.” Robin told her father plaintively.
“Is she talking about the same Holly from the epidemic? That Holly?” Mac could only nod in answer to Patrick’s question. Once upon a time, Holly had been a good stepmother and friend to Robin, had even saved her from being kidnapped once. Mac couldn’t blame Patrick for being confused, because he couldn’t begin to explain what had happened to the woman who loved Robin like a daughter.
“Um, well…I guess I’ll have to think about that.” Robert managed to say.
“I love you dad, very, very much.”
“I love you too, darling.”
Mac felt strangely relieved as Robin drifted off to sleep. He realized that Patrick had been trying to warn him about this, but he hadn’t been prepared at all. Suddenly, Robert stood up, pausing for a second as he made eye contact with Mac, and then he was moving towards the door, ripping off his mask and gown as approached. As Robert moved past him to leave, Mac reached his hand out to stop him.
“Where are you going Robert? You can’t leave now.”
Feeling Robert’s arm tense and seeing the determined look in his eye, Mac readied himself for a fight. It wouldn’t be the first time they had come to blows and, if history was any indication, it probably wouldn’t be the last.
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing Mac!” Robert’s arm was yanked from his hand as his brother pointed to Robin. “That little girl needs her mother and I just made a promise to her. I intend to keep that promise and nobody, including you dear brother, is going to stop me.”
Robert stormed out the door and, this time, Mac didn’t try to stop him. He just hoped with all his heart that it had been the right thing to do.
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For those of you that are curious, this scene is based on the following clip I found a couple of days ago. I am a newer GH viewer and had never seen this scene before, but it was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you AdelaideCate for putting it up in time for me to see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=calfU2wjNnQ
Okay, I know it has been awhile since I updated this, but this chapter took some time to work out. Thank you again Kristin for all your help, advice, and having to read the bad version. LOL Thank you to all the loyal readers too. Your comments encourage me to continue to write and work until the updates are (hopefully) good. I hope you all enjoy it and PLEASE let me know what you think.
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CHAPTER 11
Patrick rounded the corner nearest Robin's room and stopped cold. The graying man stood silently in the doorway with his arms crossed staring at Robin through the glass. Patrick shouldn't have been surprised to see Robert Scorpio, but her parents’ appearances, and disappearances for that matter, boggled his mind. There never seemed to be a rhyme or reason to their timing. As if he sensed someone watching him, Robert turned and looked directly at Patrick.
"I've been waiting for you Drake." Although he would never admit it, Robert had a way of making Patrick feel instantly nervous. He wasn't sure what to say or even where he stood with the man.
"Have you been here long?"
"About fifteen minutes or so."
Robert turned back to watch his daughter.
"Anna called you, didn't she?"
Robert nodded and Patrick moved to stand beside him. Both men stood quietly watching her sleep. After several minutes, Robert finally spoke.
"Give it to me straight up Drake. What are her odds?"
Patrick took a moment, carefully phrasing his response to be honest, but not pessimistic.
"Better than during the epidemic, but it's complicated."
Robert gave Patrick no indication what he was thinking at that moment.
"Is Anna coming too?"
"She'll be here as soon as she can, but, like you said, it's complicated."
Patrick nodded, but supposed he only had a vague understanding of the complications Robert was referring to.
"I think I'll go sit with her for a bit." Robert said quietly and reached for the isolation gown out of the box.
"If you want to be alone with her, I could…" Patrick cleared his throat nervously before continuing. "I could go check on some things."
Robert nodded as he finished tying the gown and began putting the mask on.
"She's been pretty out of it, even when she's been awake." Patrick added, wanting Robert to be prepared.
"Thanks for taking such good care of my little girl Drake." Robert said with a hitch in his voice.
Feeling a lump rising in his own throat, Patrick could only nod. Having pulled his gloves on, he watched Robert entered her room and sit beside her bed. Robert picked up his daughter's hand. Although he couldn't hear what was being said through the door, Patrick could see Robert's love for his daughter in his eyes and actions. Suddenly feeling like he was intruding on a private moment, Patrick turned away and went in search of his own father.
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Noah was pouring his third cup of the morning when he heard the door open and turned to see Patrick walking in.
"Hey Sport. You want a cup?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Noah poured Patrick's coffee and then walked over to the table to sit beside him.
"Did you get a hold of Mac?"
"Yeah, he will be here soon."
"That's good. Who's sitting with Robin right now?"
Patrick let out a small laugh. "Robert, if you can believe that."
Noah almost choked on his coffee before managing to swallow it. "Robin's dad Robert?"
"Yeah, I guess Anna got my message last night and called him. Robert says that she is planning on coming too, but it might take a little while for her to get here."
"Well, if that's the case, then Robin will probably be better by the time she gets here and they can have a nice visit."
"I hope so dad."
"Believe it Patrick. We will get a handle on this and she will beat this."
Patrick continued to stare at his coffee.
"What are you thinking about Patrick?" Noah asked softly.
When Patrick raised his head, Noah could see the anguish in his son's eyes.
"Dad, she knows they love her, but she can't ever depend on them to be there for her, like she is never their first priority." Patrick wiped away a lone tear that escaped from his eye. "I know what that feels like," he whispered.
Once again, Noah felt the crushing weight of guilt that his drinking had caused so much damage. Even if he spent the rest of his life trying to make up for it, some of the scars would always be there. He had failed both Patrick and, by extension Mattie, so completely after her death. His thoughts were interrupted by Patrick.
"Dad, I didn't mean it that way." Noah felt Patrick's hand on his sleeve, but couldn't bear to look at him knowing that it was his fault that Patrick understood Robin's situation with her parents so well.
"You and I are good now. I can come to you now and I know you will be there. Robin deserves that too, probably more than I do." All Noah could do was nod.
"Dad, look at me." Noah looked into Patrick's eyes and saw love, rather than the disappointment he expected. "More than anything, I want Robin to have what you and I have with Robert and Anna."
Choked up with emotion, Noah felt happy that Patrick had turned into a loving man despite the obstacles his alcoholism had created. That he had any relationship with his son at all was all Robin's doing. Noah placed his hand on top of his son's.
"You know what I think?"
"What?" Patrick asked.
"I think both of us are lucky she came into our lives like a whirlwind and turned it upside down."
"I think you're right." Patrick said as a grin spread across his face.
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Mac Scorpio stepped off the elevator before the doors had even finished opening and made his way to the nurses’ hub with long, purposeful strides. Seeing Epiphany on the other side, he headed straight for her, knowing that she would answer his questions quickly.
“Where is Patrick Drake?” Her head snapped up, ready to sternly deal with the interloper until she saw that it was him.
“Commissioner Scorpio, I’ll page him for you,” she said reaching for the phone. She had only dialed a few numbers, when she looked past him and stopped. She raised her hand and pointed behind him. Mac turned to see Patrick and his father coming out of the hallway and met them halfway.
“Patrick, how is she?”
"About the same. We are waiting for the antibiotics to get the upper hand which might take another 12 hours or so." Mac nodded, noting that Patrick looked like he had been put through the wringer.
Noah cleared his throat causing both men to look in his direction. "I think I'll let you two talk and I'm going to go check in with Alan." Mac watched Noah walk off before turning his attention back to Patrick.
“You said on the phone that it was pretty bad.” Patrick nodded at Mac’s statement, but was avoiding looking him in the eyes. “Has she been conscious? Does she know what is going on?” Mac was unsettled by Patrick’s slowness to respond to his questions and the way he ran his fingers through his hair.
“Not really.” Patrick admitted. “When she is awake, she doesn’t seem to be in the present most of the time.”
“Are you trying to say that she’s not lucid?”
“Yes.” Mac noted the ragged quality to Patrick’s voice and, despite his own worry, it was a small relief to know that Patrick seemed to care about his niece as much as he did.
“I should probably try to get a message to Robert and Anna.” Mac thought out loud.
“Actually, Robin was asking for Anna last night, so I left her a message already.”
“You had her number?” Mac asked with surprise.
“Actually, it was in Robin’s phone.”
“Did she call you back yet?”
“No, but she must have gotten the message because Robert is here.”
Mac was even more astounded at that. “He got here fast.”
“Yeah, I was caught off guard too.” Mac saw Patrick nervously shifting his feet and reached out his hand to touch Patrick’s arm. For the first time since their conversation had started, Patrick looked directly at him.
“I appreciate you taking such good care of Robin. She means the world to me and I know you feel the same way.”
“Yes sir, I do.” Patrick said with conviction and Mac nodded his understanding.
“As nice as this bonding is, I would really like to see her now.”
“Of course,” Patrick said.
Mac followed Patrick to Robin’s room, each silently lost in their own thoughts. When they got to her room, Mac could see Robert sitting on the bed and Robin was talking to him. As he took the isolation gown from Patrick, Mac became aware that something about Robert’s posture was off. His back was unnaturally stiff. Mac hurriedly tied the gown and mask on.
“Mac, what’s wrong?” He could hear the concern in Patrick’s voice, but his main focus was getting in the room and finding out what was going on.
“I’m not sure,” Mac said as he pushed the door open. Patrick followed him in the room, and they both stopped at the foot of the bed to listen to what Robin was saying.
“I mean you know I love Sean and Tiffany. It’s not like I’m ungrateful for everything they’ve done for me, letting me stay her and everything, but…”
“But what sweetheart?” The emotion in Robert’s voice, not to mention Robin’s mention of Sean and Tiffany, hit Mac like a ton of bricks.
“Who are Sean and Tiffany?” Patrick asked him quietly.
“Old friends of the Scorpios,” Mac answered without looking at him or further explanation.
“I want to go home dad,” Robin was pleading. “I miss my things, my room. I’m trying. If I have to stay here, you know I will, but I really want to go back home.”
Robert’s sigh sounded loud to Mac in comparison to the softness of Robin’s voice.
“I’m…I’m doing everything I can to get your mother here with you and I’ll do whatever I have to, including going away if necessary.” Robert was telling her. Mac couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but amidst the confusion he felt, there was sense of familiarity about the exchange between his brother and niece.
“Well maybe Holly can stay with me if you have to go.” Robin told her father plaintively.
“Is she talking about the same Holly from the epidemic? That Holly?” Mac could only nod in answer to Patrick’s question. Once upon a time, Holly had been a good stepmother and friend to Robin, had even saved her from being kidnapped once. Mac couldn’t blame Patrick for being confused, because he couldn’t begin to explain what had happened to the woman who loved Robin like a daughter.
“Um, well…I guess I’ll have to think about that.” Robert managed to say.
“I love you dad, very, very much.”
“I love you too, darling.”
Mac felt strangely relieved as Robin drifted off to sleep. He realized that Patrick had been trying to warn him about this, but he hadn’t been prepared at all. Suddenly, Robert stood up, pausing for a second as he made eye contact with Mac, and then he was moving towards the door, ripping off his mask and gown as approached. As Robert moved past him to leave, Mac reached his hand out to stop him.
“Where are you going Robert? You can’t leave now.”
Feeling Robert’s arm tense and seeing the determined look in his eye, Mac readied himself for a fight. It wouldn’t be the first time they had come to blows and, if history was any indication, it probably wouldn’t be the last.
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing Mac!” Robert’s arm was yanked from his hand as his brother pointed to Robin. “That little girl needs her mother and I just made a promise to her. I intend to keep that promise and nobody, including you dear brother, is going to stop me.”
Robert stormed out the door and, this time, Mac didn’t try to stop him. He just hoped with all his heart that it had been the right thing to do.
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For those of you that are curious, this scene is based on the following clip I found a couple of days ago. I am a newer GH viewer and had never seen this scene before, but it was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you AdelaideCate for putting it up in time for me to see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=calfU2wjNnQ