Chapter 10

Patrick lay on his bed for nearly an hour before finally getting up. He had no interest in checking out the rest of conference sessions – his head just wasn't in it. Walking down to the lobby, he hailed a taxi outside the hotel and asked to be dropped in the centre of town. Getting out by the docks, he walked inside the walled city and thought he had walked into the middle of a time warp. Everything outside the wall was sleek and modern, everything inside the wall looked like it had been frozen in the time of ancient Greece. He walked up the hill to the cathedral. From the top, he was able to see the entire city and out over the ocean. Buying a bottle of water from the vendor, he sat on the retaining wall and stared at the sparkling water.

"Can't or won't?"

Robin's words echoed in his ears. She had implied that it was a choice for him to be in a relationship or not but he really felt that it was out of his hands. He could pinpoint the moment when he knew that he would never fall in love. His mother had been suffering for months with a brain tumor and none of the conventional treatments, chemotherapy and radiation had worked. None of the surgeons in Manhattan would consider operating on her as the procedure was too delicate and with a high failure rate. Without the surgery, his mother had only weeks to live. His father, at the time, a renowned and much sought after neurosurgeon had agreed to attempt the procedure because his wife asked him to. He fought both the medical ethics and the hospital board for the right to perform the surgery. Patrick had been terrified about her dying. He had always believed the next treatment was going to make the difference. He became her personal cheerleader, prodding her to believe that she could survive, that a miracle was just around the corner. Patrick had been nervous when his father had announced he would be performing the surgery. His mother, Mattie had reassured him telling him his father was the very best there was.

"This could be our miracle Patty" she told him before she was taken into the OR. "Your dad is a genius."

It was the last time he saw his mother. The surgery proved to be too much for his mother's frail body and she died on the table. His father walked from the OR to the nearest bar without even stopping to tell him that his mother had died; he left that task to one of his assistant surgeons. He spent the next decade watching his father engage in a delicate destruction. Alcoholism took over his life and he cut everyone, including Patrick out. The disappointment of missed birthdays and holidays, his father's absence from his both his university and medical school graduation cemented for him the idea that love meant annihilation and the survivor in him would have none of it.

If he thought himself capable of love, he knew that he would be in love Robin. She turned his life upside down and he liked it. She aggravated him, annoyed him and demanded more of him than almost anyone had in recent memory. She was the type of girl you would be proud to bring home to your parents. The only problem was that he wasn't the type of guy who brought girls home.

Patrick only caught glimpses of Robin over the remaining two days of the conference. Every time he did see her, she was engaged in conversation with other delegates. He on the other hand had taken to avoiding all the social situations. He spent his evenings walking the beach trying to put some order in the jumble of feelings tossing around in his head. The irony that Robin was out socializing while he was closing himself off was not lost on him. He admired her resilience and wondered where his was.

He was packing the last of things when he heard the knock on his door. Opening it, he couldn't suppress the smile when he saw Robin.

"Hey" he said softly.

Robin bit at her lip, her tell tale sign of nervousness. "Hey – are you packed?"

He nodded. "Just finishing up."

"I was..uh…do you want to share a taxi to the airport – you know..since we're on the same flight and all?"

Patrick smiled. "Sure. Are you all packed?"

"Yup – my stuff is ready to go."

"Okay – just give me five minutes and I'll meet you in the lobby."

"Okay" she said, turning away from the door.

Robin wheeled her suitcase down to the lobby. She had barely seen Patrick since their talk on the balcony. She refused to call it a break up because they hadn't been together or at least wouldn't admit to being together. She assumed he had found plenty of company among the more beautiful delegates and had been fully occupied. She tried not to let it bother her but it did. She envied his ability to move on and wished she had more of it. Standing in the marble lobby she resolved to be more like Patrick. She needed to move on without looking back and would find away to do so sooner rather than later. She would let go of her traditional habit of burying herself in her work and would go out more, meet more people and see if that brought any change to her luck.

She could sense him before she saw him and turned around. "Ready?"

"Sure."

The taxi driver loaded their bags into his car and drove them by the water to the airport. Patrick watched as Robin kept her eyes glued to the ocean.

"You really like the water don't you?"

"I love it."

"How come?"

She turned and looked at him, surprised by the sincerity in his eyes. She shrugged slightly. "I don't know entirely. I think it brings me a sense of peace – it's a connection to the world around. I also find it humbling – any time I'm feeling like my problems are too big to deal with, the ocean is a good reminder of how small I really am."

Patrick pursed his lips together and nodded. He was going to ask her another question but the car pulled up at the airport, saving him. They checked in and had only a short wait before they boarded their plane. Once again they were seated next to each other. They hadn't actually spoken since the taxi and while it wasn't an uncomfortable silence it was quite possibly the longest they had ever gone without speaking.

The plane was airborne and Patrick was reclining in his seat when he felt his elbow being nudged. Opening his eyes, he stifled a laugh as Robin pushed a napkin towards him. She had started a game of Tic Tac Toe on it.

"You know" he said marking an o "it's a tactical error to always choose the middle square"

"Says you. I'll have you know I was the Tic Tac Toe champion of my dorm at Yale" Robin marked her square.

Patrick scoffed. "Yes but we all know that Yale is a poor excuse for higher education" he teased. They went back and forth marking squares until Patrick drew a line through three Os.

Robin dropped her pen. "How did you do that?"

"I keep telling you I'm a genius and you keep ignoring me. Rematch?"

"Fine."

"And I get to go first."

"Whatever" she said rolling her eyes.

After Patrick beat her for the fifth time, Robin downed her pen. "Forget it. My ego can't take much more."

"We should have played for money – I'd be rich."

"Tic Tac Toe for money?"

"How do you think I paid for med school?"

"Hmm- the trust fund left by your grandfather the Senator?"

Patrick tilted his head. He had never talked to her about his grandfather or his trust fund. "How do you know about that?"

"Your family name was pretty famous even before you got a hold of it. Port Charles is a small town and not much happens that isn't talked about." Robin looked at him, narrowing her eyes. "Sorry – did I make you uncomfortable?"

He shook his head. "No. It's just odd to hear anyone reference the Senator."

"The Senator? Don't you mean your grandfather?"

"No trust me – he was the Senator. So what shall we play next" he asked changing the subject "Hangman?"

"Please. You don't know enough words to play" she joked.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're a brat?"

"All the time" she smiled. She was relieved that they were finding their way to normalcy.

Eventually they both fell asleep. Robin woke up at one point, horrified that her head had nestled into his shoulder. Lifting her head, she saw that Patrick was still asleep. She fluffed her pillow and placed it against the window as far away from him as she could.

They had just cleared customs when Patrick turned to her. "Wanna share a cab?"

"Sure" she said smiling, trying to smooth her ponytail. They stood on the escalator as they descended to the main floor when Robin finally stood up straight and started to wave like a maniac. "Oh my god!" she said.

Patrick followed her gaze and furrowed his brow as he saw Bruce Harris standing at the bottom of the escalator.

Robin scampered down the steps as she launched herself into his arms. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Thought I would be your one person welcoming committee" he said kissing both of her cheeks.

Patrick froze for a second before regaining his composure. "I'll see you later Robin" he said touching her arm.

"Oh hey, Dr. Drake – Robin and I would be pleased to give you a ride home" Bruce offered.

"Robin and I?" he thought to himself. "Since when did they become Robin and I?"

"No thanks – I'm at the opposite end of town from Robin. Thanks for the offer. Later Robin" he said, hiking his carry on bag over his shoulder.

"Okay" Robin felt a sudden change in mood around her. "I'll see you at work?"

Patrick nodded and disappeared out the front doors to the taxi stand.

"I can't believe you came to pick me up" Robin said excitedly.

"Consider it payback for all the times I forced you to take the metro to Charles De Gaulle to meet me"

"Yes you considered it uncivilized to arrive home with no one to greet you, if I recall."

"Exactly." He picked up her suitcase and took her to his car. He dropped her at her apartment and carried her bag to her door before wishing her goodnight.

The next morning, Robin made the walk to Kelly's for her usual coffee run. She had another two days before she needed to be back to work. It would give her enough time to get over the jet lag and write up her notes on the conference.

"Hey Lulu!" she said walking into the diner.

"Hey Robin, how was Turkey?"

"Greece."

"Whoops. How was Greece?"

"It was great – got some surfing in between presentations."

"Sounds cool"

"Your usual?"

"If by that you mean an extra hot extras strong coffee – bring it on"

Lulu smiled and went off to fill her order. She had just passed the coffee to Robin when Robin turned and walked straight into Patrick.

"Oh my god" she said quickly "I'm so sorry"

Looking down at Robin, Patrick smiled. "It's okay, I don't think I'm scalded."

Robin grimaced. "Your shirts cost more than my shoes – I could never afford to replace it"

"Please" he scoffed "Your shoes could feed a small nation"

"It's hard to be fashionable when you're this small" she protested "High heels cost more"

"Sure thing Scorpio. What are you doing here, besides trying to pour your coffee on me?"

She blushed slightly. "Just getting some coffee to go."

Patrick licked his lip. "Would you, uh, do you want to have some breakfast with me?"

"Oh I'd really like to but I promised Bruce I'd meet him at Stella's – they have an awesome breakfast."

"Oh, okay, another time"

"Do you want to join us?"

"Uh, no thanks. I'm just craving some diner food."

"Okay then. See you later"

"Yup, later" he said as he watched her walk out the door.

"Sucks to be you" came the voice from behind.

He turned and saw Lulu Spencer grinning at him. "Shouldn't you be at home playing with dolls or something."

"Maybe but at least mine aren't inflatable."

Patrick rolled his eyes. "Coffee please" he said tightly, turning his attention back to the door.