Title: The Men in Her Life 1/1
Author: Steph
Rating: PG
Pairing: Robin/Patrick, Robin/Robert
Category: Drama/Romance
Disclaimer: I do this out of a love for this couple. No infringement is intended.
Spoilers: (4/21) episode and Monday's (4/24) episode. Picks up where we left off, including Monday stuff.
Summary: Following Robin and Patrick's encounter, they both have something to say to Robert.

Notes: God, I can't get these two out of my head! Don't worry, "Out of Sight, Never Out of Mind" is done, just tinkering with it. Should be up tomorrow or Monday. This just popped into my head and I had to write it. It picks up where Friday left off and includes Monday's spoilers. I started thinking how great would it be to see a Patrick/Robert scene? So, voila! Anyway, hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you thought. Thanks! -Steph

--- The Men in Her Life: Part 1/1 ---

Robin pulled back from Patrick, looking down at him, as she undid the last button on her sweater. She loved the way he looked at her, his eyes liquid with desire. She tossed the sweater onto the floor and lowered herself to him again, devouring his mouth. Slowly, her hands trailed down his chest and made their way to the button at the top of his jeans. When Patrick felt her tug, he pulled back, looking up at her.

"Are you sure?"

She smiled. "About not hiding out from life anymore? Of course."

She began to undo the button on his jeans, but he covered his hands with hers. He shook his head and moved out from beneath her.

Robin's mouth dropped open. "What's wrong?"

Patrick walked to the couch and sat down. Robin followed him.

He shook his head. "You're not ready for this."

Robin's eyes flared. "Don't tell me what I'm ready for, Patrick. If you don't want to be with me, just say so. God knows if I were any other woman we'd both be naked by now."

"You're not just any other woman, Robin."

Robin laughed bitterly. "That's right. How could I forget? I'm passionless. I'm frigid and I lead a cloistered life."

Patrick's brow furrowed. "I never said that."

"No, but my father did," she replied softly, as she lowered her eyes.

Patrick nodded, the reason for her behavior becoming clearer.

"You saw your father," he stated.

"Yup, I took your advice and I tried to reach out."

"It sounds like things didn't go too well."

Robin took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice from cracking. "He's disappointed in me. He says sometimes he can't even believe I'm his daughter."

Patrick's eyes widened. He felt his fists involuntarily clench at the thought of her own father saying something so cruel to her.

"How can he be disappointed in you? You're a brilliant doctor."

Robin wiped at the tears streaming down her face. "Apparently, that doesn't matter to him. I'm supposed to be out throwing caution to the wind, damn the consequences. Instead, I'm afraid to live at all."

"So that's what this was about. Trying to prove a point."

"Pretty stupid, I know."

Patrick placed his fingers beneath her chin and forced her to meet his eyes. "Your father's an idiot. If he stuck around long enough maybe he'd realize what an amazing daughter he really has."

Robin smiled. "You must still be trying to sleep with me if you're willing to say that."

"It's true," he said softly.

Robin stared at him for a long moment, surprised by the sincerity in his words. "You really mean that?"

"Ask yourself something. Why do I keep chasing after you when you've repeatedly rebuffed me?" he asked pointedly.

Robin shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just figured you like a challenge."

"I do. That's why I'm a brain surgeon. I leave the challenges in the operating room and out of my love life."

"Why then? Why haven't you given up?"

His piercing eyes met hers and she couldn't have looked away if she wanted to.

"Because I know a woman worth the effort when I see her. At least, I do now," he whispered.

Robin felt her breath catch in her chest. She slowly brought her lips closer to his. He brought his hand up and cupped her face, as their lips met.

After a few moments, he pulled back and looked at her. "This can't be about him."

She smiled and brought her thumb up to his bottom lip, running it across the soft, inviting skin.

"It's about us," she said, as she replaced her thumb with her teeth, nipping lightly at his lip before taking it in her mouth.

Patrick wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. She settled in his lap, straddling his thighs with her legs. She was just about to start working on the buttons of his shirt, when they heard a knock at the door.

"You gonna get that?" she whispered against his mouth.

"Not a chance in hell," he responded, moving his lips to her neck.

"Could be important," she managed, as she threaded her fingers through his thick hair and threw her head back, the feel of his heated kisses on her skin driving her insane.

"The building being on fire could drag me away from you right now," he replied, his voice muffled against the skin of her throat.

Robin laughed and placed her hands on the side of his face so their lips could meet again.

The knocking came again and this time it was followed by a voice.

"Patrick? It's Gwen. I'm here for our date."

Robin's eyes widened and she jumped off of him. She looked at the door, then at him, then back at the door, then at him again.

"You had a date? Were you even going to tell me?"

Patrick looked up at her, searching for a coherent response when she'd pretty much erased all shred of coherence from him the moment she walked in the door.

"I...uh...No, I thought we'd do this fast and be done before she got here."

Tears sprung to Robin's eyes, but she blinked them back, determined not to let him see her cry over him.

She shook her head. "I don't why I keep doing this to myself. Why do I keep getting sucked in by you? Why do I keep hoping there's more when it's obvious that what you see is what you get when it comes to you? I'm such a fool for believing there could be more."

Patrick stood up, placing his hands on his hips, as his tongue darted out to lick his lips. "Right, I'm all surface, no substance. Forget what I said earlier. None of it matters."

"You're right. None of it does. Enjoy your date," she snapped, before brushing past him.

She walked to the door, flung it open and glared at Gwen. "I warmed him up for you. As he likes to say, he's good to go."

With that, Robin brushed past a shocked and confused Gwen, as Patrick watched her disappear from sight.

---

Robin stormed into the Quartermaine's living room, finding her father where she'd left him.

"Good, you're still here," she said, coming to stand in front of him and placing her purse down on the coffee table.

"My plane was delayed. I leave in two hours." He paused and then asked with a raised eyebrow, "So I guess you're back for round two? Or is it three? I've lost count."

"Don't worry, this won't take long," she replied. She then looked him right in the eye. "Well, I took your advice, Dad. I took a chance."

Robert's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"I wanted to make you proud of me and since getting straight A's and becoming a doctor didn't seem to do the trick, I figured I better think of another way. And then it came to me. So I went to Patrick Drake's place-..."

"Patrick?"

Robin smiled at him. "And I threw myself at him. I went after what I wanted. No more frigid and cloistered life for me. Oh no. I walked in and pushed him against the door, kissing him-.."

"I don't think I want to hear any more of this."

"Why not? You're such an expert on my life and how I live it, I figured you'd like to be fully informed. Come on, Dad, it's just getting to the good part. So first we're on the bed-..."

"I really don't think this is appropriate, Robin."

Robin sighed. "Fine, I'll just give you the Cliff Notes version. We were interrupted by his date."

"He sounds like a jerk. Why would you want to be with him in the first place?"

"You're right. He is a jerk, just like you. And I'm the fool who keeps listening to you both. I listened to him about coming over here to talk to you and I listened to you about taking chances. And you know what I realized? The only one I should be listening to is myself. You can think whatever you want of me, but considering everything I've been through, I'm pretty damn proud of the person I've become. I'm a doctor, Dad! Do you even care?"

"Of course I do. Robin, professionally you've done extremely well for yourself. But life's not just about work."

Robin laughed bitterly. "Funny, coming from the man who's always put his in front of everything and everyone in his life." She paused and shook her head, "If you're disappointed with how I turned out then you need not look any further than in the mirror to see who's to blame."

"Back to this again," Robert said with a sigh, as he ran a hand down his face.

Robin shook her head, as tears pooled in her eyes. "Don't you get it! You chose to stay dead and you changed the course of my life, changed who I became. Who knows what my life would be like now! I loved Stone and I don't regret a moment we spent together, but the circumstances of my life led me to him. I wanted to live again, I wanted to feel. And I did. I also contracted HIV."

"You're blaming me for that?"

"No! I'm just saying that if you had come back my life would have played out differently. The circumstances and choices I was faced with would have been different. I don't regret who I've become or how I got here. But you have to face the fact that your choice sent me down this path."

Robert's mouth dropped open, but he produced no words.

A tear slipped down Robin's cheek and she swatted it away. "Good-bye, Dad," she said, before turning on her heel and leaving.

---

Patrick walked into the Quartermaine's living room, much the same way Robin had thirty minutes earlier.

Robert stopped pouring his drink and turned around to face the unexpected visitor.

"Well, it must be my lucky day. So many visitors, so little time." He paused took a sip of his drink and then said. "My daughter's not here. And I feel quite sure that even if she were, she would have no interest in seeing you."

Patrick cocked his head. "I'm not here to see her. I came to see you."

A smile pulled at Robert's lips. "Well, good then. It seems we have some things to discuss, like how my daughter should be treated."

"Good, we're on the same page," Patrick replied, as he nodded his head.

"Let's start with you staying the hell away from her."

Patrick snickered. "Not gonna happen."

"Well, I wasn't asking. My daughter told me about your little encounter and how you think so little of her that you had another woman waiting in the wings."

"That's not how it happened. Robin came over unexpectedly after seeing you and things just started happening. I'd forgotten I even had a date that night. Instead of telling her that, I said something stupid and she stormed out."

"And headed here to tell me all about it." He paused and then said, "You listen to me, Dr. Drake. This may have been a misunderstanding, but it's obvious you're not good enough for my daughter so why don't you stay-..."

"No, you listen to me," Patrick cut him off sharply. "None of that would have even happened if you hadn't ripped her heart out and stomped all over it about ten minutes earlier."

"What do you know about it?"

"She told me. She told me all about what a disappointment she is to you," he said, his words dripping with anger and disgust.

"That is between me and my daughter. Stay out of it."

"Now that's where you're wrong. Because whether or not you or she like it, I care about your daughter and I'm not about to stand by and let her own father treat her so shabbily." Patrick shook his head, his voice emerging softly. "How can you not see it? How is it possible that you can't see how incredible she is?"

Robert's brow furrowed. "I guess I'm a little confused. From what I've heard, you've been saying some of the same things to my daughter. Saying she needs to live more, go after what she wants, take a risk, loosen up. And now you're reading me the riot act? Aren't you being a bit hypocritical?"

"I'm not her father. And even though she may need to do all of those things, I could never be disappointed in her. The truth is, she wakes up every day, knowing that she has this terrible disease. We can't pretend to know what that's like or what that does to you. So, yeah, she's scared and she's cautious. But the fact is she gets up every morning and faces another day with grace and dignity. Can either of us say the same?"

Robert stared at Patrick for a long moment, his eyes roaming over his face. Then his mouth dropped slightly open. "Oh my God. You're in love with her."

Patrick bowed his head. "That's ridiculous."

Robert shook his head. "No, no, it all makes sense. I may not be that well-versed in this fatherhood thing and I missed the days of the suitor showing up at the door, but I know what a man in love looks like. More specifically, I know what a man in love sounds like."

Patrick sighed. "You know what? Forget it. If that's all you can get out of what I said then Robin was right to rebuff you."

"You don't have to admit it. But I'm her father and I think I read somewhere that I'm supposed to threaten you with bodily harm if you ever hurt her. And considering that you seem to make that a past time of yours, I'm more than a little concerned."

Patrick met his eyes, the comment stinging him. "Look, I have my own issues, most of which stem from my relationship with my father. Those issues have caused me to say and do some pretty stupid things where your daughter's concerned. But...and I'm not admitting to anything here...I would like a chance with her. A real chance. So, I'm done telling her how to live and I'm done commenting about who she is and why she's that way. I'm just going to be there for. I'm going to listen. And maybe, if I'm lucky enough, she'll eventually decide I'm worth all the trouble."

Robert and Patrick heard a slight rustling by the door and whipped their heads in the direction of the sound. They found Robin standing there, her eyes glued to Patrick.

Patrick licked his lips and lowered his head. "Exactly how long have you been standing there?"

Robin shook her head. "Uh, I forgot my purse. I just came back to get it," she said, not answering the question.

She walked over to the table and picked up her purse. Then she looked from Patrick to her father and back to Patrick.

"What are you doing here?" she asked Patrick.

Patrick opened his mouth to speak, but Robert beat him to it. "It seems Dr. Drake took issue with how I've been treating you. Decided to tell me so."

Robin's brow furrowed, as she eyed Patrick. "Is that true?"

He raised his eyes to meet hers. "I felt it was about time your father and I had a little talk."

Robin's jaw tensed. "I don't believe I asked for your help."

Patrick shrugged. "You're right, you didn't. But if you ever do, you know where to find me."

With that, he bent his head and made his way to the door.

Robert looked at Robin. "He cares very deeply for you."

"He's got a funny way of showing it," she scoffed.

"You're not the only one with issues, Robin. Try to remember that," Robert replied.

Robin stared at him for a long moment, before shaking her head and leaving. She caught up with Patrick outside, who was waiting for his car to be pulled up.

He placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and dropped his head. "I know. Stay out of your life."

She looked up at him, her eyes scanning his features. "Did you really mean what you said?"

He raised his head and met her eyes. "Mean what?"

"About wanting a real chance with me? About just being there and listening to me?"

A blush crept into his cheeks. "You heard that, huh?"

"Yeah, I did. So did you mean it?"

"How could I? All surface, no substance, remember?"

Robin sighed in frustration and began to turn away, when he gently grabbed her arm. She slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.

He licked his lips. "I meant it."

Robin nodded and folded her arms across her chest. They remained in silence, pondering everything that had happened in the last few hours and what it would mean for the future, as they waited for their cars.

-----------------------------------------------THE END--------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought. -Steph