The doorbell rang at the Drake residence and Patrick ran from the kitchen to see who it was in a timely manner. Just as he opened the door, Sabrina was coming out of the kitchen wiping her hands with a towel. As Sabrina looked up to see the porch, her mouth fell open. It was the person who she had seen in all the pictures inside the house. It was Robin.

Robin: "Hi"

Patrick: "Robin is that really you? This must be some mistake because I know I buried my wife a year and a half ago."

Robin: " Yes, it really is me. Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Patrick: " I would but Emma is going to be home soon and I would like to explain this to her as much as possible before she sees you."

Robin: " I understand, I will be staying at the Metro Court with my mom and Duke, give me a call when you are ready for me to move back home."

As Sabrina watched this exchange between them, she knew what she had to do. Not wanting to disturb the moment that was happening right in front of her face, she quickly dropped the kitchen towel on the floor in the living room, and snuck upstairs to the bedroom she shared with Patrick as quietly as possible to pack her things. She then heard footsteps coming up the steps and her name being called. She knew who was calling her and the reason why, so she tried to get herself together as best she could even though she knew Patrick would see right through her act.

Sabrina: "Coming." She grabbed her bag of belongings and looked around the room to make sure she did not forget anything, but it was more of a final glance at the life she thought she could have.

As she came down the stairs she realized that Patrick was alone in the living room waiting on her. He looked at her and then at the bag in her hand and then back up at her.

Patrick: "What are you doing?"

Sabrina: "What does it look like I am doing. I am leaving so you and Emma can have your first family back." She tried so hard to not cry but the tears were weighing so heavy on her heart that she could not help but let them out.

Patrick: "What do you mean my first family? Sabrina I have chosen you and I want to be with you. You and Emma are my family."

Sabrina: "And who was that at the door? That's what I thought I saw. Robin Scorpio-Drake. If you will excuse me now, I would like to leave before Emma comes home, I would not want my heart to break twice today."

As she turned towards the door, Patrick grabbed her arm to try and stop her, but the anger and sadness she was dealing with at the moment was too great for Patrick to be able to hold on as she jerked her arm away from him.

Sabrina: "Goodbye Patrick, I will call to talk to Emma soon. I guess I will see you around the hospital."

And with that the opened and slammed closed. It was as if Sabrina shot Patrick in the heart as he quickly fell to his knees in anguish. He knew anything he tried to say to her would be a lie as he was happy that he had his family back, but he could not help but notice the gapping hole in his heart where Sabrina's love had been.

Four Months Later

Sabrina was giving Carlos another chance. As much as she did not want to do this, she knew he was the only chance at happiness she would have. She still worked at the hospital but made sure to not run into either Patrick or Robin as she had recently come back to work. Sabrina knew that they moved back in together as it was the hottest topic around the nurses station to talk about. Sabrina kept her focus on her work and her new relationship with Carlos. She was trying to avoid any confrontation whatsoever between Patrick and Carlos and herself and Robin.

Patrick: "Hi Sabrina." He looked at her until she could not help but look back. Into the eyes of the man she once loved and the man that caused her so much pain.

Sabrina: " Hi Patrick, how are you?" She really did not want to get into this in the hospital but she figured if they did, at least there were witnesses who would be taking thorough notes.

Patrick: "Not so good actually. Yes I have my wife and my daughter, but I can't help but notice this gigantic hole in my heart where you are supposed to be."

Sabrina: "Patrick please do not make a scene. It is already awkward the way it is me, you, and your wife working at the same place, just trying to avoid each other is a nightmare."

Patrick: " I'm not trying to make a scene but if this is the only way you are going to talk to me than I will do it."

At that very moment both Carlos and Robin got off the elevator and were greeted by the yelling coming from the nurses station. Robin did not recognize the female voice, but Carlos recognized both of them and ran as fast as he could to stop the yelling. Robin was close on his heels, but got their a few moments after the yelling stopped.

Carlos: "Sabrina are you okay? I heard yelling when I got off the elevator and recognized your voice and the voice of the person you were fighting with, of course I don't like the person that voice is attached to."

Sabrina: " Yes Carlos, I am fine. Dr. Drake and I were just having a heated discussion over what medication to give a patient." "Dr. Drake you remember Carlos."

At this point Robin had come to stand by Patrick and started realizing who the woman he was talking to was. She was the person who her daughter Emma still called out for when she had a bad dream.

Robin: "You must be Sabrina? Emma and Patrick both talk about you all the time."

Sabrina was shocked with what Robin had just said and brushed it off to give Robin a handshake and mutter "Hi" back to her.

Patrick: "Sabrina all I am is saying is we need to talk about this. It is not fair to either of us or Emma to keep this to ourselves."

Sabrina: " It is fair, and I am becoming quite good at forgetting everything that happened. In fact, I do have a date to get ready for as my boyfriend (pointing to Carlos) has come to pick me up for." "If you would excuse me Dr. Drake I would like to get changed now, have a good rest of your shift, oh and Robin it was nice to have met you.'

Patrick's eyes turned green with envy as he watched Sabrina and Carlos walk away together, hand in hand. He did not even notice that his hand was bleeding until one of the nurses pointed it out to him. With all of his jealousy and rage towards Carlos for having the girl he wanted he broke the coffee cup with his bare hand.

Robin noticed the jealousy he had and tried not to have it written all over her face that she knew what was happening, but she knew things with her and Patrick would never be the same.

Sabrina and Carlos were coming home from their date when they heard shooting coming from the pier. Because of the line of work Carlos was in, he dragged Sabrina down to the pier with him to see what was going on. Carlos ended up in the shooting and Sabrina was praying that the barrel would give her enough cover to keep her from getting hit. All of a sudden the barrel that she was using for cover got knocked over by a stray bullet. She got up as quick as she could to try and find another place for cover, but as quick as she got up, she was thrown to the ground. At first she didn't feel any pain, but then after a quick check of fingers and toes, she saw blood pooling around her lower stomach.

Sabrina: "CARLOS!" "I need help!"

Carlos came rushing over as soon as the gunfire had ended. Looking down at Sabrina bleeding Carlos was in complete in utter shock that his curiosity was the reason his girlfriend was laying there shot and bleeding.

Carlos: "What do I do?!" "What do I do?!" "Sabrina, tell me what to do!"

Sabrina: "First I need you to calm down. Second I need you to call 911 for an ambulance to take me to GH."

Carlos quickly dialed 911 and they could hear the ambulance sirens getting closer and closer not long after that.

At General Hospital, Patrick and Felix were working down in the ER when Sabrina was rushed in, with Carlos close behind. The moment Patrick and Felix realized who it was just based on her physical characteristics as her face was blocked from view, they ran to see what had happened.

Patrick and Felix: "What the hell happened? Who did this to you?"

Sabrina: "Nice to see you both. Could you please help get this bullet out before I bleed everywhere."

Patrick knew what had happened and who did it to her; it was Carlos' fault Sabrina was laying in the hospital with a bullet in her side. He gave Carlos the evil eye and did his best to restrain himself from hurdling over the gurney and killing Carlos.

Felix: "All right Sabrina, we are going to get you changed and up to X-ray stat so we can see where exactly the damage is before we take you into surgery." He had to put a few extra pieces of gauze in his hand just in case it started to bleed more.

Carlos and Patrick both left to give her some privacy. They stayed on opposite ends of the ER not to interfere with each other, but both of them knew where the other one was at all times. Carlos was closer to Sabrina's cubicle than Patrick but Patrick was working, he was trying to keep his distance from the woman he loved. As Felix helped Sabrina changed he started noticing bruises everywhere on her body on her upper arms, chest, stomach, and legs. He didn't want to say anything as Carlos was standing close watch outside the cubicle, but would mention it when they were out of his earshot.

Sabrina knew that Felix saw the bruises just by his facial expressions when he was helping her. She tried to cover as many as possible with the gown but it did not work so well. She had moved in with Carlos about a month after they started dating and besides from work, Felix had not seen much of her. He knew it was not her doing, but he was afraid to ask or mention whose doing it was.

Felix: "Dr. Drake, Sabrina is already to go to X-Ray, you ready to come?"

Patrick: "Right behind you Felix." He looked over at Carlos and started walking towards him. "It is going to be a while before you can see her, if you want you can wait in the waiting room and I will have someone update you as soon as possible."

Carlos: (looking down at the floor than up at Patrick) "No, wherever Sabrina goes, I go."

Felix was already on his way with Sabrina up in the elevator to Radiology so both Patrick and Carlos had to wait for the next elevator to become available. While in the elevator Felix started to tear up

Sabrina: "Felix, what is wrong?" Asking but knowing what he was going to say

Felix: "How long?"

Sabrina: "Felix what are you talking about?"

Felix: "I am talking about how long has Carlos been hurting you to where you have bruises all over your body?!"

Sabrina: (tears starting to form in her eyes) "Ever since I moved in with him. He has gotten so much more controlling since we have moved in together. I thought it would be different than it was the first time we dated, but nothing has changed."

Felix: Stunned by what Sabrina had just told him. "Well just wait until I have a word with him, I do not think he will be hurting you anymore."

Sabrina: "Felix you can't do that! If Carlos finds out that I told someone he will only hurt me more, and then it will get awkward with me wearing more clothes in July than I wear in January trying to cover everything up." "Felix you have to promise me you will not say anything to anyone."

Seeing the fear in his friend's face Felix reluctantly gave in. "Fine," he said, but if I notice any new bruises while we are getting ready for work, I am telling someone."

Sabrina thanked her friend for not telling anyone, and when they turned around they saw both Carlos and Patrick standing there. They looked as though they heard the very tail end of what Felix had said and what Sabrina had said.

Patrick: "What are you two talking about?"

Carlos: "Yeah, what are you two talking about?"

Felix and Sabrina both looked at each other and said "Nothing" at the same time.

Felix: "Alright Sabrina if you could lie down for me we will get started with the X-Rays."

Patrick: " Carlos, I know that you want to watch over your girl, but I think she is in good hands and needs to have a few minutes alone, so we can get the best images possible."

Carlos reluctantly agreed and headed out the door to the waiting area. Patrick and Felix positioned the machine over the bullet wound and Patrick could see things were just not right with Sabrina's skin tone. Felix tried to distract him by pulling the machine further away than necessary so Sabrina could try and cover the bruise. She and Felix breathed a sigh of relief when he looked away to fix the machine.

Patrick and Felix stood in silence in the control room waiting for the images to develop. Patrick could tell Felix had something on his mind, he needed to share.

Patrick: "Felix what do you know?"

Felix: "I don't know what you are talking about."

Patrick: "Yes you do, and I want to know what you and Sabrina were talking about when Carlos and I walked in the room."

Felix was about to tell him when Sabrina's vitals started taking a nosedive. They rushed into see what was happening and noticed that there was way more bleeding than there should, and it had soaked clear through her hospital gown. They rushed her out of the radiology department into an OR as they both realized they could lose her if she was not operated on ASAP.

Felix: "Patrick before you go in there you need to know something…"

Patrick: " Felix, now is not the time to be having a philosophical conversation with me, the woman my heart belongs to might die on the table if I don't do something."

Felix was shocked with this information he learned and decided to keep his mouth shut and have Sabrina answer the questions when she was out of surgery and recovering. Just as Patrick was about to go in, he was paged about one of his patients in the ICU. Luckily Dr. Clay was in the OR and started working as soon as Patrick was paged. Felix ran into the OR and was assisting with the surgery, more to keep on an eye on his friend. As Sabrina was in surgery, Carlos was above in the amphitheater watching. He knew that if she died it would be on his hands, but he could not worry about that right now. He was more worried about the surgical team, which included both Felix and Elizabeth noticing the bruises all over Sabrina's body.

Patrick: "What happened?"

Robin: "Don't worry Patrick, he was code blue, but we were able to revive him before you got up here and he is now stable."

Robin noticed Patrick was distant but decided to ignore it with the fear it may cause another argument between the two of them. They had been arguing a lot lately and Robin was concerned it would lead them to divorce.

Robin: "What do you say to us going home now, I mean I am now off shift and you are done with yours, let's go home."

Patrick: "I can't I have a patient that is in surgery and I don't want to leave until I know they are stable"

Robin knew who the patient was, news about a nurse at General Hospital being shot did not take long to reach everyone on staff.

Dr. Clay was closing up just as Patrick got into the OR.

Patrick: "How is she?"

Dr. Clay: "She is stable but the bullet was not the biggest problem I encountered."

Patrick: "What are you talking about?"

Dr. Clay: "She had a lot of scar tissue and bruising all over her body which made it difficult to see the actual damage the bullet had done."

Patrick and Dr. Clay watched as Felix and Elizabeth wheeled Sabrina out of the OR and into recovery. Patrick gave Felix a stare that only Epiphany could give, and Felix knew Patrick now knew.

Carlos sat by Sabrina's side in her hospital room waiting for her to wake up, but all she did was lay there. Patrick came in to check her vitals one last time before he went home.

Patrick: "Carlos, could I ask you a question?"

Just as he said that Sabrina opened her eyes. She looked at Patrick and Carlos and she knew Patrick knew about the bruises and Carlos was staring at her as if to tell her she was going to get it once they got home.

Carlos: " Welcome back Sabrina." He leaned in to kiss her, but something stopped him.

Patrick had grabbed Carlos by his jacket and was dragging him out of Sabrina's room while yelling for security at the same time. Carlos tried to get away, but Patrick's rage was too great for him to mess with. Anna was there following up on the shooting at the pier when she heard Patrick yell. She rushed over and asked him "What's going on?"

Patrick: "Anna this is the man who played a part in the shooting tonight at the pier and is the reason Sabrina Santiago is bruised all over her body."

Anna: "Are you sure Patrick? Those are some very serious accusations that are being brought against Mr. Rivera."

Patrick: "Yes I am sure, I saw the bruises for myself. If you don't believe me ask Felix or Dr. Clay about them too."

Anna placed Carlos under arrest for the shooting but also made it clear he would be detained pending an investigation into the accusations Patrick was making. As he and Felix walked towards Sabrina's room they could hear her screaming. They rushed to her room as fast as they could and when they got there, they noticed no one in the room.

Sabrina: "No, not again! I'm sorry I won't put the spaghetti in that bowl again!"

Patrick: "Sabrina! Sabrina! Wake up!"

As she woke up and realized where she was she collected herself and calmed down.

Sabrina: "What are you doing here? I did not press the call button, could you please leave, Carlos will be back any minute and I don't want to be stressed when I see him"

Felix: "We came in because you were screaming bloody murder about a spaghetti bowl. Besides Carlos won't be seeing you for a long time."

Sabrina: "What do you mean? Did he leave Port Charles?"

Patrick: Finally stepping in to answer. "No he was arrested for his involvement in the shooting down at the pier and on the accusations of domestic violence, pending an investigation and formal charges being pressed."

Sabrina: "Felix you told him!"

Before Felix could answer Patrick interrupted

Patrick: "Are you telling me it is true? That he is the reason for the bruises all over you?"

Felix: "Sabrina, I didn't tell him before surgery, your wound started to bleed profusely and we had to get you out of your gown for surgery, and while Dr. Clay was operating he mentioned all the bruising and scar tissue he had to work around. Patrick did not find out about it until he talked to Dr. Clay."

Anna was at the door and asked if she could come in, Sabrina nodded her head yes and Anna shut the door behind her.

Anna: "Sabrina, Patrick and Dr. Clay have both come to me with accusations that your boyfriend Carlos Rivera has been hitting you. I know these are some tough accusations to hear, but I need to hear from you if they are true, if you want to press charges, and I then will need to take pictures of the bruises for evidence."

Sabrina: looking at both Patrick and Felix, "yes these accusations are true, but no I do not want to press charges." " I guess you will never see the bruises for yourself, Patrick."

The knife that had been in his heart ever since she left his house was twisted and dug a little deeper that day as he saw the woman he knew he wanted to be with, give up fighting and acknowledge the life she had chosen.

Anna: "Sabrina are you…

Sabrina: "Yes I am sure." "Now if you could all please get out I would like to rest."

Anna opened the door and Felix followed but not before looking back at his friend in sympathy. Patrick was the last to leave and before he shut the door, he said, " you may not want to fight this battle or these feelings I know you still have for me, but I am not giving up on you or this problem." With that he closed the door, so weak in the knees he fell down to the floor crying. He did not see her sobbing as well on the other side of the hospital door.

To BE CONTINUED