Breath the Moment
Summery: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away. Watch as Dr. Patrick Drake and Maxie Jones enter a relationship full of twists and turns. From a casual hook-up, to friends, to... love?
Authors Note: Okay so this is an AU story. Patrick is being introduced to Port Charles for the very first time. But, the story also follows a lot of Canon events. Maxie's life along with most of the other PC residence follows the same path as on the show more or less. It shouldn't be too hard to grasp. So, just dive right it and give it a chance. Constructive comments are welcome. Thanks for reading!
Chapter One : Don't Die
Five.
In a matter of five short seconds Maxie Jones would be dead. Dead as in not breathing, gone forever. Drowned.
Four.
There had been so, so many times when the young blonde had faced her own mortality. Miraculously she had made it through heart surgeries and serial killers, even hotel bombings. And, as the sharp salt water crashed against her body, she thought back to those times. All the near misses. All the second chances.
Three.
But not this time. This time there was no way out. There was simply no escape, no last minute save. Maxie was about to die and there was nothing that could be done. Tired limbs stilled against the current. Maxie could swim all she wanted but her breathing would soon come to an end. She could feel it in her bones.
Two.
As the seconds became fewer and fewer, time seamed to slow down. The damp air hardened and suffocated the petite girl in question. Maxie had often wondered what it would be like to die. To just end all of the pain and heartache right then and there. Hell, she'd been as close to death as one could get with out sinking in to the point of no return. But, it had never been like this. It had never been so sure, so void of questions. Her breathing was even despite the hurried washing of ocean waves coming dangerously close to her nostrils. Maxie wasn't scared. In fact, she felt an odd sense of comfort wrap itself around her.
For as long as she could remember, the bold temptress had wanted... well she had wanted a lot. She felt a desire for material things like clothes and electronics. She felt an urgent tug at her soul for a family, complete with a mother, a father and that white picket fence she'd always heard so much about. But fairy tales were nothing more than bed time stories. Felicia and Frisco Jones hadn't the time to tell their two beautiful daughters about princes and unicorns. Maxie had done what she could for her sister Georgie. The eldest Jones child had filled her sisters head with dreams and hopes, shoving her own realistic beleifs away in the process. Maybe she'd done it for herself just as much as she had for Georgie. It was nice to believe in magic, even if only for a moment.
But, just like in the fairy tales, the carriage became a pumpkin once again. And, in Maxie's case the glass slipper certainly did not fit. It didn't take long for her to figure out that magic had it's limitations. So, the dreamer stopped dreaming; out loud at least. Armed with biting wit and a bold appreciation for life, Maxie took the cards that she'd been dealt and ran with them. She didn't want anymore. She made things happen. And now all that Maxie wanted, was for the pain to disappear. As her wisp of a body sunk further and further below, the weight on her shoulders lifted. This was it. This was what she wanted.
One.
And with that, her heart stopped beating.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Across town in the General Hospital emergency room, the monotonous beeping of a heart machine sounded repeatedly. Nurses and doctors shuffled to right whatever seamed to be wrong. Dr. Robin Scorpio hurried to shock her latest patient back to life. With frantic perseverance the team of medical experts worked to save the life of 32 year old Leticia Sanchez.
"Charge to 300." Dr. Scorpio commanded, using a voice that her friends and family would find foreign. Robin Scorpio. She was the heroine of Port Charles if there ever was one. Maybe she wasn't an ass kicking super spy like her mother Anna Devane but, she was something special.
"All clear." Nurse Elizabeth Webber yelled to be heard above the trauma room commotion. Holding onto the paddles tightly with her gloved fingers, Robin applied the machinery to the young woman's chest. Snapping her eyes shut she sent a quick prayer up to the heavens. Oh, how she hated seeing such a young life slip through the veil of time. Watching people swing in and out of the hospital grounds only solidified the numbered days that Robin herself was faced with. Living with HIV wasn't easy. It was painful. It was frustrating. It was scary. Living with HIV was hard and Robin lived with it every day.
"Again." She ordered, making sure to keep her emotions in check. Upon deciding to be a doctor the young brunette had been faced with two main obstacle. The first was her status as an HIV positive woman. Her blood. Second was inability to stay detached to the patients. Her heart.
"Clear." Nurse Webber confirmed. Elizabeth's wide blue eyes sought out Robins chocolate orbs. Leticia Sanchez was found lying on the floor of Jasper Jacks' exquisite home. The kind Hispanic woman was nanny to the two little boys who lived there, Michael and Morgan Corinthos. These were people that Robin knew. People that she had smiled at and made small talk with. People that she held places for in her heart.
"Dr. Scorpio…" Another nurse spoke up. At the doctors lack of response, Elizabeth let the worry creep further and further onto her delicate features. She knew that Robin had the tendency to get attached, especially when something hit close to home.
Beeeeeeeep.
The long beep filled the open room. Frozen in place, the staff waited. For what, they were unsure. Robin let her eyes drift to the neck of the body. A harsh red ring adorned the previously flawless neck of Leticia. She had been found strangled with a phone cord. Strangled. The word seamed so grotesque and unfathomable.
"Robin." Elizabeth said quietly, startling the shaken doctor from her reverie. Finally Robin looked up.
"Time of death…" She read the numbers in a flat, deflated tone. It was over. This patient was dead. This beautiful young woman, with her whole life ahead of her, was dead. That thought alone normally would have left Robin with a feeling of hopelessness. A feeling of defeat. Yet for some unexplained able reason Robin could not help but feel restless. There was more. Something more was going to happen.
"We did our best. She was down for too long." Elizabeth said laying a hand on her friends shoulder as they made their way out of the trauma room. The faint sound of sirens could be heard beneath the chatter of people in the ER waiting room. The sound quietly reminded Robin that there was in fact more. There was always more when it came to pain and tragedy.
"I know." She finally responded, offering a small smile. "It's just been one of those days ya' know?"
"Yeah, I do. Which is exactly why I suggest a girls night at Jakes." She said smiling with a somewhat evil glint in her eye. Robin too let a smile spread across her features as the companions readied themselves for the next patient.
"I don't know…" She laughed. Though her nights with Elizabeth, Kelly, and the rest were quite fun, they were also exhausting. And after a day like today, Robin wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed with a pint of chunky monkey and watch a nice comforting movie. No wonder Leo told her to 'live a little'. She smiled at the thought of Leo Juliane, her boyfriend of 2 months. Damn her for melting at the thought of his face. But, to be fair he was practically the Brad Pitt of the Middle East.
"Come on, it'll be fun." Liz persisted as someone from behind the desk hurried towards the pair.
"We got a trauma coming in. A young girl found in the water by the pier. Week pulse and we don't know how long she was under." Epiphany Johnson informed them in a rush. This was life in the Emergency room. Robin could only thank god that her rotation here was almost through. She was much, much happier researching protocols or residing in the controlled safety of a surgical room.
"ETA?" Elizabeth questioned.
"Now." The older woman nodded before heading back behind the desk to sort through paper work and dish out orders. The sirens were close enough to taste by this point and the staff gathered around. To the trained ear of a medical professional the movement of a gurney being lowered and wheels rolling along pavement could be heard. These were the sounds that haunted a doctor. The sounds that would keep Robin awake on this very night.
"You need to unwind. You said it yourself Robin. And, Leo is working late so…" Elizabeth whispered as the doors flew open and the sickening smell of impending death charged in. Bodies blocked the patient from the doctor's view but the chill of borrowed time hung thick in the air. Robin could always feel how bad off someone was before she saw them. Death was greedy, wading through the air until it was given the opportunity to make it's move. And, Robin more than anything wanted to close that gap of opportunity.
"I'll think about it." She relented as she moved towards the body of what looked to be a young woman.
"Oh my god." She gasped as the pale face of her cousin, Maxie Jones came into view. Blue tinted lips. Tangled yellow hair. A lifeless body. "Maxie!" She exclaimed shoving past unimportant bodies to get to the one that mattered. Clinging to the side of the gurney as it continued to wheel down the corridors, Robin swallowed hard. It was happening again. Someone she loved was going to die. In that quiet moment after Leticia had coded... she'd felt it coming.
"No, no, no, no." She ground out as the destination became closer and closer. Beyond her worry and heartbreak Robin could hear the other nurses and doctors talking about Maxie's condition. It would have been wise for her to listen. But Robin was the kind of doctor that was lead by her heart. And Maxie Jones was holding a huge chunk of that heart in her hands. If she were to die then a part of Robin would never return. This was her cousin. The little girl she considered to be a younger sister.
"Robin you shouldn't be here." Elizabeth spoke up, trying to remove her from the situation. Wrenching herself away from the nurse, Robin held on tight to the side of the gurney.
"Doctor Scorpio remove yourself from this situation before I remove you." Nurse Johnson boomed. The larger woman had hurried after the emergency team upon learning of the circumstances.
"No! She needs me. Maxie…" She cursed her voice for shaking.
"Someone get another doctor in here." Epiphany yelled out.
"No need." Came the reply of a man in is mid to late twenties. It seamed like the whole room took notice. Soaking wet and unmistakably hansom, the man was hard to miss. Yet that is exactly what had occurred when he arrived along with Maxie. He had trailed behind the chaotic scene, never letting the barley breathing blonde out of his sight. His hazel eyes latched onto her pink lips, searching for a sign of movement or breath. He just wanted her to breath.
"Who are you?" Epiphany squawked as the ambulance staff lifted Maxie onto a bed effortlessly. Tubes and wires began to parade around the room in a furry.
"I'm Patrick Drake, the new attending here at General Hospital. I was due to arrive this afternoon. I found Ms…" He trailed off while slipping into gloves.
"Jones. Maxie Jones." Elizabeth supplied while preparing a cart.
"I spotted Miss. Jones in the water and jumped in. After reaching land I immediately began CPR and directed a jogger to call 911." he explained in a detached, professional tone.
"Well thank you Dr. Drake but, Maxie is my family. I'll take it from here." Robin informed him. Maxie was breathing. She was alive. She was in bad condition but, she was still alive. So for now, Robin could pretend to be okay. She was going to handle this situation and she was going to save Maxie's life.
"I know I'm new here and all but I can still tell that you are way too close to this case. Your emotions are going to get in the way of her treatment. I'm taking this." Patrick argued.
"No. Maxie may be my cousin but I am a doctor and nothing gets in the way of that." She replied, standing her ground.
"Sorry but, I'm not willing to test that theory. If you really care about your cousin…" He began to say.
"Excuse me? Of course I care about her! Who do you think you are anyway?" She fumed.
"Robin…" Elizabeth tried to calm her friend.
"No, this ego maniac comes in and acts like he owns the place." She continued.
"You know what? I don't have time for this. I'm trying to save a life here." He snapped. Before anything else could be said…
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Maxie!" Robin exclaimed in panic. With a fierce intensity Patrick shoved Robin out of the way with his body. Too shocked to respond the brunette stood paralyzed as the scene played out in front of her moist eyes.
"Charge the paddles!" Patrick yelled.
"Charging." A nurse informed him.
"Don't die, don't you dare die." He whispered to the girl in front of him. The same girl he had rescued not long Drake was a good guy. The kind of guy that would jump in the water to save someone from drowning. But, Patrick wasn't a saint. He didn't participate in exclusive relationships. He liked sex and lots of it. The brilliant doctor could come off as rude or unfeeling with patients at times. And it had been noted that his bed side manor was lacking. While the doctor fought long and hard to ensure that each of his patients survived, he felt no real connection to any of them. Patrick had long ago accepted that working in a hospital meant that he would see people die on a somewhat regular basis.
"Clear!" Came the shout. Pressing the paddles to Maxie bare chest he felt the electricity in his own fingers. He felt it in a way he never had before. Patrick Drake was the kind of doctor that didn't lose sleep when a patient died. But god help him, Maxie Jones just had to make it. He couldn't explain why but, she just had to live.
"Charge again." He instructed.
"Charging." Was the reply. Behind the chaotic mess was a hoard of on-lookers. Hospital staff watched with wide eyes as one of their own hung in the banalnce. Initially Maxie had hated the idea of volunteering at the hospital. She had spent so many days in the stark rooms as a child that she wanted nothing more than to never step foot in that building again. But, it was important to Mac and that made it important to Maxie.
"What's taking so long?" He shouted.
"Low battery. Almost there. Three. Two." The nurse counted down systematically. This was it. He needed to hear something. It was now or never. For the first time in years, Patrick sent a prayer up to the heavens.
One.