Chapter 3 Lick It Slam It
After the shower Robin realized that she didn't have any clothes. She walked out in a towel and found a bag on her bed. She changed into pajamas then dried her hair. Once dry she put her hair up in a sloppy ponytail. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
Robin padded out into the living room where Jake was sitting. He held up a bottle of tequila. She looked at him.
"Sonny had someone buy things from the boutique at that hotel. He said that you prefer tequila. You were in there for a while." He smiled and she blushed.
"It is better not to drink alone. If we are going to be roomies then we should get to know one another." He poured two shots. She stared at him for a moment unsure of why she felt so comfortable around him. She moved to sit next to him on the couch.
"What are you running from?" He asked, he had to wonder about the weight of the world that she seemed to carry on her shoulders. How did she know Sonny? She looked at him, she seemed to be thinking about what she should say. "I am sorry, you don't have to answer that." She sighed then looked at him.
"Demented. Seems like I am always running. That bridge… One night my friend found me there. A little girl, she died of AIDS and I was just ready to throw in the towel. So I was on the bridge ready to jump, maybe. He pulled me down." Jake was shocked by that. He didn't see the woman's face but he remembered the flash he had. It wasn't clear but somehow he knew that he knew her. He hoped that spending time with her would trigger more memories.
"Was she your little girl?" Robin shook her head, she was off in her thoughts.
"I volunteered for the AIDS wing. My first love died from the disease." She explained. "It is how I met Sonny. I didn't like him much at first." She laughed. "We have been through a lot, Sonny and I. I mean…" She shook it off. "Stone was like a little brother to Sonny. When he got sick we rallied around him. We both loved him and we grew close through our love for him. I became like a sister and he the brother I never had. When he died we held each other together then one night on this bridge I met this guy who changed my life. I knew him before the accident."
"Jason Morgan?" He asked, he had heard a lot about the guy. She nodded looking at him with a questioning gaze. "Liz and Carly told me about him." She frowned. "Do we not like Liz or Carly?"
"Liz is a friend—Carly…" She just laughed. "That is a story for another time."
"Do you have it?" He asked simply, taking her by surprise. He didn't move or seem to be appalled, just curious.
"I am HIV positive. Modern medicine has made it so that my viral load is virtually undetectable. I've only had to change my protocol once. My ex-husband's psycho ex, one he cheated with, she replaced my meds with placebos. I recovered and I am fine now. My captors ensured that I got my daily dose." She took her shot.
"Wow, you say that like it is so normal." She laughed at that.
"Yeah well. I grew up the child to not one but two international spies. I have lost people, been kidnapped and had both of my parents resurface from the dead. This last time, one of those enemies, paired with that bitch Liesl Obrecht. They kidnapped me and faked my death for two years. Eventually I was handed off to Jerry Jacks, an old friend who turned psycho. He shot me once and my friends operated on me in a hotel lobby. Anyway, he needed a cure for polonium poisoning. I am a doctor who has created a few groundbreaking drug protocols." He stared at her in awe.
"Wow, not only is she beautiful but she is smart." She blushed ducking her head as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He added modest to that list but didn't say anything. "So you came up with a cure?" She nodded.
"Long story but eventually, I escape with the help of my parents. My husband is getting married. I was just going to go away. I felt they were better off. I had been lurking unseen while I worked in the lab. Jerry had captured my parents and if anyone saw me they were dead. My daughter saw me and she ran into my arms, similar to the way I had run into my mother's when we were reunited. Patrick needed time to decide where he wanted to be. Turns out she was pregnant and another villain comes…" She tears up.
"He has Jason, and it took a while for Jason and I to recreate our friendship but no matter what the bond was always there. I could not allow him to suffer the same fate. So I go to revive him." She explained how she came to the clinic.
"I know he is out there. We came too far and he needs his family. We once had this discussion where we would always find each other. Just looking north. No matter what, he is my direction and I am his." He stared at her having a foggy memory of something about Canada.
"Tequila is no good if you can't lick it, slam it, suck it." She said shaking off the emotion that was beginning to creep in, she stood then headed to the kitchen with him close behind.
"I am sorry what?" She opened the fridge.
"Lick the salt… You know." He caught on.
"I don't think I have ever heard it described quite that way." He chuckled as he watched her get a lime, cut it up then grab the salt.
"It was a girl's night ritual. You are about to be inducted into something sacred." She teased.
"Oh yeah? So tell me about it?" He noticed that her eyes were red rimmed and knew that she was upset. So he was glad for the change in subject. He could try to make her feel better. He felt that he needed to. It wasn't something that he could not describe, it was a need she stirred in him, one to protect and comfort the woman.
Robin told him all of her girl's night out stories, he laughed and so did she. For one night she got to relieve some of the stress. They talked about her work and she shared stories of growing up. One thing they both knew, the pull was electric, it was something that it was too soon to act on but they became friends that night.
A/N: I was going to make it so that they knew immediately but come on there is no fun in that :P