A Different Light
Author: Court
Rated: PG-13
Summary: Robin's furious with Patrick and he has no idea why. How will he deal with it when he finds out why she is upset with him?
A/N: This isn't my first General Hospital fic, but it is the first one I've done in a very long time - and it's the first one I've posted on this site. Years ago, I wrote a few J&R fics, and between that time and now, I wrote some fanfics for The Practice and ER (available on this site). I'm really enjoying the scenes with Patrick and Robin, and I think they have the potential to be the next super couple (something I don't say that often). Their banter is hilarious. Their chemistry is amazing. And as once being a HUGE J&R fan, I can't believe I'm saying this, but, I truly believe they're each other's match. Robin needs a guy that will put her first, and I think Patrick will. I really can't wait to see more of these two cute docs.
Deep shades of purple and blue blanket the sky, a bed of swollen clouds spread far and wide, keeping the stars hidden from view. Like sobs from a broken soul, the rain pours hard and fast from within their walls, beating down relentlessly in what should have been the quiet still of the night. Like the harsh thrash of a whip, the sharp sound of thunder rings in the ears of the city, carrying along with it a fascinating display of lightening, playing tricks on the night as if it were day. The storm was like a petty thief to those who desired peace, thrusting unwanted brightness into the windows of each home at the most unkind hour of midnight.
Peering out the windows of the hospital, Robin Scorpio fails at masking her displeasure towards the scene before her. Crossing her arms over her chest, she pushes an exaggerated sigh past her lips, irritation getting the best of her. So tired she can barely keep her eyes open, she knows it would be foolish to attempt to drive in this mess. Alas, a new found energy sparks within her as a familiar tap of footsteps falls behind her. Robin didn't need to look. She knew who it was. And that knowledge alone was enough to make her roll her eyes, whirl around and head straight past him toward the elevators.
"Robin, wait!" His deep voice is somehow confident and desperate at the same time as it calls after her, her speed no match for his as he manages to stay directly behind her.
"Don't talk to me. Don't you DARE talk to me. Just stay away from me!"
"Hey!" He catches her arm before she can press the button and forces her to turn around and face him. "What the hell is wrong with you? You've been shooting daggers at me all day and I'd really like to know why!"
"I think you know the answer," she replies, coolly, attempting to yank her arm free of his grasp.
"Humor me," he invites, matching her tone, tightening his hand on her arm.
"Damn you, Patrick! Let go of me!"
"Not until you answer me!"
Robin's gaze momentarily shifts from his to that of her colleagues. "You're hurting me and you're making a scene!"
Immediately, Patrick Drake's eyes soften and he apologizes, "Sorry."
Instead of releasing her completely, he runs his hand from the space above her elbow, down the length of her arm, tenderly taking her hand in his own. But where at one time Robin might have been touched by the gesture, it only makes her more angry. Because she knows exactly where his hands have been. She knows exactly who they've touched. She feels hurt and mad enough to shout it out right there, right then, in front of anyone and everyone. But before either she or Patrick can say another word, another voice chimes in.
"What's going on, here?"
"Nothing, Elizabeth. Robin and I were just having a conversation," Patrick provides, keeping his eyes on Robin.
"Well, it doesn't look like nothing to me. It looks like you're being a jerk," Liz states as-a-matter-of-factly. Glancing down at their coupled hands, she voices her concern to Robin. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine as soon as I get out of here," Robin says, her tone uneven.
"If you think I'm letting you go anywhere in this weather, you're out of your mind, Robin. Now, let's go sit down in the lounge and -"
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much. I've been doing it for a very long time. I don't need anyone telling me how to live my life - least of all you," she bites, resuming the battle for total control over her arm.
"You're not driving home in that storm!"
"Go to hell," Robin replies, punctuating her words with a hard stomp on his unsuspecting foot.
Taking pleasure in his cry of pain, Robin takes advantage of his moment of distress and dives for the button. Luck is on her side as the doors open right away, but not overly so as Patrick manages to wedge his way between them, holding them open.
"Get back out here!"
"Relax, you idiot. I'm just going to another floor. I wouldn't risk my safety just to avoid you. But at least this way I can still get away from you."
"I'm coming with you."
"Exactly what part of 'get away from you' did you not understand?"
Ignoring her, Patrick walks inside, the doors closing behind him. "I have to go to another floor, too."
"You're lying," she demands, "and even if you weren't, you could have taken the other one. Or the stairs for that matter."
"Look, I'm sick and tired of this. And until we hash this out, I'm not letting you out of my sight," he informs her, planting his hands firmly on his hips.
Robin takes in his challenging stance, then mimics it. "Oh, you want to talk, do you?"
"Somehow I imagine talking isn't exactly what we're going to be doing, but yeah. That's what I said, isn't it?"
"Okay, Patrick. Let's talk," she agrees with a nod, her eyes betraying her as they show the first sign of an emotion other than anger.
Patrick narrows his eyes, his brow forming lines of curiosity as they examine hers. Swallowing the lump in his throat he'd scarcely known was there, he silently searches for answers in their rich brown depths, suddenly glazed over with the blinding shine of her tears.
"How did it feel, Patrick?"
"H-how did what feel, Robin?" He manages to mutter, shaking his head in order to clear it from the fog.
"How did it feel to get back at me by sleeping with Carly?"
Patrick's reaction to Robin's accusation was summed up in less than a word, "Huh?"
"Don't play stupid, Patrick. I know, okay? I realize you think you're smarter than the rest of us, but give me a little credit."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Come on, Patrick. I know you've got quite a large number of notches on your bedpost, but I'm sure of all people you'd remember Carly. Good or bad, she leaves an impression."
"Look, Robin, I don't know how this idea got into your head - but it's completely untrue."
"Save your lies for someone who isn't used to hearing them, okay?"
"Why don't you give ME some credit? I'll admit I don't exactly have a preferred type in women, but Carly?"
"You told me to my face that you were attracted to her," Robin reminds him.
"That was before I witnessed your fight at the MetroCourt. Remember?"
"Of course I remember."
"Then you tell me how you can think so little of me. How you can believe that I would go to bed with her after hearing the things she said to you?"
"Because I turned you down. And it was probably the first blow to that big ego of yours, and you couldn't take it. So, you used what you heard that day to hurt me."
"How could I hurt you when you don't give a damn about me!"
"Well, I guess that thought was your first mistake."
Before the sentence was out of her mouth, Robin knew she shouldn't have said it. The silence lays heavily between them, building the tension to a degree of near explosion. Robin's next words catch in her throat as she looks to the numbers decreasing on the screen above them. Just four more levels from separation, the screen and the tiny box holding them gives way to darkness. The elevator simultaneously comes to an abrupt halt, sending both of them flying.
Together, they land in a heap of tangled limbs. Groaning, they try to discover one another in the pitch black air surrounding them. But what is unseen is felt, and their positions become clear as Robin gives his shoulders a push.
"Get off of me! I can't breathe."
"You know, I've dreamt about this. Only we were wearing a lot less clothes and were in a bed, not a broke down elevator. But, hey - works for me," Patrick grins mischievously, leaning closer to her.
Ducking away, she slaps his shoulders once more. "That's never going to happen. Now, get off!"
"I didn't sleep with Carly," he whispers in a voice that was a stranger to them both.
Robin didn't want to admit that she almost believed him, but her voice was shaky as she issued her threat. "The last time I stomped on your foot. I won't be as nice the second time. Now, I'll say it one more time - get off of me!"
"Robin, I know you care about me. I care about you, too. And you don't have to be afraid of it," Patrick tries to soothe her, but she remains rigid beneath him.
"I'm not afraid of anything," she whispers a lie thick with her tears. "Please, Patrick. Please…"
Patrick remains in place for a moment longer, but finally gives in and moves away from her. Sitting back beside her, he watches with regret as Robin all but crawls over to the wall, dragging her knees up against her chest, burying her face in them. Not sure of what else to do, he gives her more space, sliding back against the opposite wall, leaving his legs out in front of him, crossed at the ankles.
"Tell me what happened with Jason."
"It's none of your -"
"It IS my business, Robin. We both know that. There's no point in denying it any longer." Taking a deep breath, he crosses his arms over his chest and asks her again, "What happened? Obviously, Carly had something to do with it."
Robin lets out a bitter laugh, tilting her head back until it meets the wall with a thud. "Carly had everything to do with it."
"Tell me."
Biting her bottom lip, Robin chooses to go on. Not just for him, but for herself. Drifting back to a time that seems like a lifetime ago, the words slowly surface. "I met Jason on this bridge…I was there, thinking about Stone…missing him…needing him…I was alone and lost and afraid and weak to the point of not wanting to go on. And the last thing on my mind was finding or falling in love again. But I did…and it happened so fast. Because of the accident, Jason didn't know fear. He was reckless and wild and lived by the moment. And being with him made me feel alive again. We learned from each other. And he adored me in his own way. He made me feel special and wanted, when I never thought anyone ever would again….But while he gave me everything, I couldn't do the same for him."
"You mean sex," he guesses, recalling Carly's tasteless remarks to her just before Robin justifiably slapped her senseless.
"Yeah," she nods, pausing briefly. "I was afraid I'd give Jason HIV."
"But you can take precautions against that. Very effective ones."
"That was Jason's argument. Well, that and he basically didn't care. But I did. Enough for the both of us. So, we compromised." Suddenly embarrassed, Robin quickly remembers who she is talking to. "We did everything, but…"
"AH -"
"Yeah," Robin affirms, not missing a beat. "Little did I know, in the time prior to our 'compromise', he had been sleeping with Carly on a regular basis."
Patrick doesn't try to hide his disgust. "He slept with Carly while he was dating you?"
"Yes," she confirms on a sigh. "Look, Patrick, this is a really long story. Let me give you a quick summation: he promised to stop sleeping with Carly. They remained friends, I went off to school, and came back when I could. During one of my visits, Jason had a brush with death and I couldn't take it. So, I went to Sonny, asked him to let Jason go, and it backfired. Jason found out, we argued about it. I told him I couldn't live in fear anymore, and we broke up. I went to Paris."
"But the story doesn't stop there. What's this truth that's got Carly's panties in a twist?"
Robin couldn't help but laugh at his quip, but frowned as she told him the whole story about Michael's paternity and Carly's lie. Patrick could hear the pain in her voice as she told him about how she went from being on cloud nine to below zero. How her loving Jason could never compete with his devotion to Carly and her son. How Carly made it her mission to make Jason hers, moving in on Robin's life in every sense of the phrase. How in the end, it broke Robin down to the point of ending their relationship yet again, and telling a truth that she believed would save a little boy's life and at the same time give his true father a chance to have him for his own.
"Jason was so angry…just like I knew he would be. But it went beyond even that I think…he didn't want me near him. He didn't understand. All he could see was Michael being taken away, and that I was the reason. And he could never forgive me for that. Never…" The tears run faster, making Robin's cheeks flushed and slick. But it wasn't all about sadness, Patrick concluded. It was about a need to release her anger. Anger that she hadn't until that moment allowed herself to feel. "He told me I was dead to him."
Unsure of what he was about to do, Patrick was way past caring. Determination was in each step he took, and as he knelt in front of her, he took her face between his hands. "Come on, Robin. Let it out. Finish it. Let it be over. Don't let it hurt you anymore. Don't let it stop you from living anymore. Stop punishing yourself for no reason."
Robin's whole body was shaking, tears of mixed emotions blurring her vision, grabbing her, choking her, taking her very breath away. And just when she thought she might pass out from the episode, she could see again. And what she saw before her was beautiful. It was tomorrow.
"Don't let a man that broke your heart into a million pieces take over the rest of your life," he pleads, his thumbs wiping at her cheeks. "Robin, I'm new to all of this. I've never been in love before. I'm not sure I even wanted to be," he admits, refusing to be ashamed that there were tears in his own eyes. "But when I look at you, I want it. I want to know what it feels like. The ache."
"Patrick -"
"No, listen to me. I don't usually do this, so hear me out," he smiles, pushing the hair off her forehead. "I see you, Robin. The part of yourself that you've been trying to hide. The part that I always knew existed, and was determined to find. You show a little bit of it to me everyday. And now I can see it all."
"But Carly -"
"I didn't sleep with Carly. If you never believe anything I ever say again, believe that. I know how much that would hurt you, and I would never hurt you." Taking her hands between his, he brings them to his lips. "I'm not Jason, Robin. I would never let the whole world believe I cheated on you with another woman, then allow that woman to live with us in our home. I would never put anyone else above you. I'm not perfect. I'm not promising I won't make any mistakes. I just want a chance. A chance to show you that you can be happy again. Happier than you've ever imagined you could be. With me."
"I-I don't know quite what to say…" Robin whispers, taking his words in. Truly overwhelmed, she felt afraid…but a good kind of afraid. It was thrilling and wonderful and surprising and it made her feel just what he promised it would. Happy. She'd almost forgotten…
"Actually, I think we've said enough. We've got months of talking on us. Why not try something a little more…pleasurable?"
"And what might that be?" She asked sweetly, her eyes on his lips.
Patrick didn't answer her with words. Instead, his mouth came down hard on hers, their passion having reached the point of no return. Flames of brilliant colors, rising and roaring and dancing in all their glory. Robin opens her mouth for his, allowing his tongue entry, giving him her own. The petals of their lips meshing and claiming and giving and taking like never before. It was delicious and magical and quickly getting out of hand.
Just as Robin felt Patrick's fingers fumbling with the buttons of her blouse, the lights came back on and the doors opened soon after. How they got back to the floor they started on was beyond them, but the proof laughed directly at their joined faces as they drifted ever so slightly apart.
Elizabeth's shoulders rocked with mirth as she shook her head at the intimate display before her. With their bodies in much the same position as the moment they fell, Robin's hand rested in the hair at Patrick's nape, while his fell just short of Robin's breast.
"So, I take it you two made up?"
THE END