Chapter Six

/

After speaking with Robin and finding out how Patrick was doing, RJ had showered and was now dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. He had let his sister know that he was going to let Mac and their brothers in on the postcard, as he was sure it was somehow connected to the shooters at her home.

He was sitting on his sofa drinking a cup of coffee when his doorbell rang. His eyes wandered to the locked front door and then back to the postcard on his coffee table. He wiped his hands over his face before standing and walking to the door.

Ever cautious, RJ had his gun in hand as he slowly opened the door.

"Hi honey, I'm home," a dark-haired woman said as she stepped through the door and wrapped her arms around RJ's neck.

/

Mac, Sean and Jamie were on their way to RJ's apartment in Mac's car. Jamie had been found in his dorm room at PCU. He'd gone back to school early to work on a project which was due when the new semester began.

"So, what exactly is this all about, Uncle Mac," Jamie asked as he sat in the backseat.

Sean turned around and locked eyes with his younger brother. "Robin and Patrick's house was shot up this morning by lots of masked gunmen and then burned to the ground."

Jamie's eyes widened and teared-up immediately. "Are they…?"

"No, they're fine, and so is RJ," Mac explained. "He was supposed to babysit Justin and Emma while Robin and Patrick went out. He arrived just after the shooting started. They all managed to get out alive."

Jamie took a deep breath. "Thank God for that."

Sean nodded. "Yeah, so now we're headed to RJ's because he thinks he might know what's going on."

/

RJ was too stunned to move. A woman he hadn't seen in five years had her arms wrapped around him and standing quietly behind her with his arms around her legs, was a small boy with dark blonde hair and blue eyes.

Shaking off his shock, RJ stepped out of her embrace and pulled back to stare at her. "What are you doing here, Erin?"

Erin Lavery smiled. "I wanted to see you, and…"

RJ ran a hand through his hair and interrupted. "You can't be here. Okay, I have…you just can't be here right now."

Erin reached down and picked up the boy and glared at RJ. "I thought you might want to meet your son."

RJ snickered. "Shouldn't you be on Aidan's doorstep instead of mine?"

Erin pushed passed him and into the apartment. "He's not Aidan's. He's yours."

RJ slammed the door. "Yeah, I'll believe that when I have the paternity test in my hands."

"You don't believe me?" she challenged.

RJ shook his head. "No, I don't. So, look, my uncle and my brothers will be here any minute. We have things to discuss, privately, so you need to leave."

Erin was angry. "RJ, I need…"

He held up his hands. "I don't care right now, Erin. I have other things that need my attention."

Her dark eyes flashed. "Your son needs your attention."

RJ sighed deeply. "Where are you staying?"

"I have a room at some place called Kelly's," she told him.

"Fine, I'll come by tomorrow morning and we can go to GH and have paternity test done," he informed her. "When it shows that I'm not the father, I'm calling Aidan and you can tell him the truth."

Still challenging, she spoke. "Why would I try to pass Aidan's kid off as yours?"

RJ shrugged. "I really have no idea, Erin. Why are you here five years after we last saw each other? If…what's his name?"

Erin smiled at her little son. "Cooper. Cooper Jonathan Scorpio."

RJ's eyes flared. "You gave him my name?"

Erin smirked. "Well, he is yours."

RJ threw his hands up. "Okay, whatever. Tomorrow morning, hospital, paternity test, call Aidan. Those are my terms. Now, you and Cooper have to go."

Erin allowed herself and Cooper to be escorted from his apartment then and RJ was thankful they were gone by the time Mac, Sean and Jamie showed up five minutes later.

/

An hour later, RJ had told them about the postcard, puzzle piece and what he thought it meant. Mac, Sean and Jamie were stunned.

"What makes you think this isn't Faison?" Mac questioned as he paced the room.

"He's dead, Mac," RJ responded. "You and Luke saw that boat blow. He's dead. This is…this is something…someone else. I can…I can feel it."

"But, Faison was dead before," Jamie said bluntly. "He came back. Is it so impossible he's done it again?"

RJ stood then as well. "I…maybe I just want so much to believe that he's dead, I'm not willing to accept that…"

"That he might very well be alive," Sean finished. "What are we gonna do? Robin's home was shot up. She and Patrick and the kids could have been killed. You could have been killed."

RJ nodded. "See, that's another part I don't understand. Faison wanted Mom and Dad; Mom for himself and Dad dead. He never came after any of us. We didn't matter to him. So, what's changed? If it's him, what's changed?"

"Well, Mom and Dad are dead, for one thing," Sean pointed out. "Maybe he just wants to end our whole family."

The three of them shared a look that spoke of many emotions; anger, frustration, nervousness and no small amount of fear.

/

The Following Morning

/

RJ had just had his mouth swabbed for the DNA test to be run on him and Cooper. Now he was sitting beside Patrick.

"How ya feeling?"

Patrick shrugged. "Tired and in some pain. Mostly I feel lucky to be alive."

RJ smiled slightly. "Yeah, I know that feeling. Listen, I came by because I wanted you to know that whatever is happening here, whatever's gonna go down, it's gonna be bad. I can feel that in my bones. Whether it's Faison, or Cassadine's unknown, or…the boogeyman, it's gonna be a battle and it's gonna be fierce. So…"

Patrick stared at his brother-in-law. "So, what?"

RJ met his stare. "So, I'm letting you know that you're either going to have to go all in and learn to defend yourself, or you need to get out of the line of fire."

"I'm not getting out of the line of fire while Robin and our kids are directly in it," he insisted.

RJ nodded. "I figured that would be your answer. So, once you're out of this dump, we'll start your training."

Patrick frowned just as Robin walked into the room. She walked to her husband and gave him a tender kiss.

"Hey, Robbie," RJ greeted his sister. "You are just in time."

"Time for what?"

RJ grinned. "I was just telling Patrick that once he's cleared to leave this dump we're gonna start his training. Martial arts, close quarters hand-to-hand, weapons…everything."

Robin looked at Patrick. They shared a meaningful glance before Robin spoke. "Are you okay with that?"

Patrick nodded. "Yeah, I am. No more secrets, Robin. I need to…and want to know everything. I have to feel like I'm able to help when the chips are down."

Robin brushed her fingers against his before he threaded them together. "You're going to be learning things…things that go completely counter to your life as a doctor."

He cleared his throat. "I understand that. Will these things give me a chance to live and protect the people I love?"

Robin nodded as tears gradually began to fall from her eyes. "Yes, they will; with deadly accuracy."

RJ stood and quietly left the room. He knew his sister and brother-in-law needed to work things out between them. He was glad Patrick was so accepting of what was to come for him. He just hoped that the reality of those things didn't hit him later. Robin would be devastated if Patrick ever left her. RJ also knew that when push came to shove, Robin was a Scorpio first. She'd sacrifice her marriage to Patrick if it meant eliminating any threat to the Scorpio family.

/

"How many different types of weapons can you use?"

Robin laughed. He asked the craziest questions out of nowhere. "Why do you want to know?"

"So I know how many I have to learn."

She thought for a minute. "I guess…fifteen, maybe twenty. Handguns, semi-automatic and automatic weapons; my father made sure we all knew how to use them safely and with…"

Patrick grinned. "Deadly accuracy?"

Robin nodded. "Yes. Three in the chest, one in the head."

Patrick knew he would never be completely comfortable with guns, knives or violence in general, but he was willing to learn to protect their little family.

"Does Justin know…?"

"Yeah, he does," Robin answered, knowing the question without it being asked. "RJ took him to the gun range the first time when he was eight. He's pretty good with a handgun and a rifle."

They talked for a while more before Robin kissed him softly on the lips and then went back to work.

Patrick rested in his bed, his mind churning and his heart a whirl of emotions.

/

RJ arrived home and immediately saw a blank envelope on the welcome mat outside his apartment door. He picked it up and unlocked his door, shutting it tightly behind him and locking it.

He sat down heavily on his couch and opened the envelope.

This is a freebie for you. San Remo was the wrong place to look.

RJ flipped the postcard over and saw a city near the water, but didn't recognize it off hand.

"Great," he muttered to himself. "Another fucking mystery."