Author's Note: So… school started today. Junior year, of boy:D The day was pretty crazy, full of new teachers and A LOT of annoying freshmen… Not to mention homework! On the first freakin' day… HOMEWORK! WTF:D But I found some time after school to finish this chapter. It's not the longest and it's probably not the best because it's been kind of rushed but nonetheless, I'm posting it. I will try my best to update as much as possible but I am taking a whole slew of honors and AP classes this year so writing might be cut down to what little free time I have on the weekends. And I know I have a butt load of other stories and I think that for the time being I am going to focus only on this one, because of all of your amazing feedback, and Unexpected Betrayal. Maybe sometime down the road, I will continue the others but for now, I think cutting it down to these two only is for the best. But I promise, these two will be finished eventually. (They are the ones I am most proud of. :D) But once again, you guys are amazing and I love every single one of you! Thank you for the support and the understanding… sigh. If only I was home schooled…

Summary: There is a new doctor at General Hospital. She seems really shy and keeps to herself a lot, but slowly she is coming out of her shell. As time goes on and as she starts to get to know her colleagues better, they start to notice unexplained injuries and bruises. What happens when she is brought in late one night by ambulance? Will her secret be revealed? And how will Patrick Drake, her closest friend at the hospital, react?

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Danger in the Unknown

Chapter Ten:

It happened all too fast. One moment he was sitting around the table with three gorgeous women; walking down the street, a bag of food at his side, ready to get back to Robin.

He heard the scream; the panic and fear slicing through the air. He had to get to her; he had to save her. His feet were glued to the spot where he stood. The bag in his hand fell to the ground; his heart was beating faster and faster, echoing in his ears.

"Don't touch me!" Her voice shook; he could hear the sheer terror, the tears.

Adrenaline kicked in and he ran. He had to get to her. He promised; he promised to protect her.

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"What do you want?" She pleaded on her knees after he kicked her, her legs giving out from under her. "What do you want from me?" She was so tired. She was tired of fighting him, tired of the pain and the injuries. She thought it was over…

"You thought you could get away from me! You thought your little playboy was going to be able to keep me away from you?" He walked to her side, whispering in her ear, "I own you."

Ice ran through her veins as she stood, smacking him across the face. She'd never stood up to him before, never fought back. She was out, she saw the silver lining and she wasn't going to let him drag her back. "I won't let you hurt me anymore!"

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He stood at the top of the stairs, watching as Robin fought back. Anger surged through his body as he saw the man's face for the first time but pride as he saw Robin standing up for herself.

"You sick son of a bitch!" She kicked his side, her arms flailing at her sides; she was no longer in control of her actions.

She felt two strong arms encircle her waist; she would have fought back but she knew it was him. She knew his touch, he smell. He pulled her away, her eyes still on the man lying on the docks. He was moving, slowly, but he was moving. She turned away from him, burying her head in Patrick's chest as the tears fell once more. But this time the tears were a mixture of fear but also accomplishment. For once, she fought back; she didn't let him control her. She'd hurt him, maybe only slightly, but she'd hurt him. Most importantly, she protected herself.

"Are you okay?" Patrick asked as he ran his hands up and down her back, lightly kissing her forehead, squeezing her tiny form to his own. "Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head, wrapping her arms tighter around his waist. "I just want it to stop. I want him to leave me alone."

Patrick glanced at the worthless man still lying on the ground a few feet away from them; it was his fault. If he'd just stayed with her or if he'd taken her to Kelly's with him…this wouldn't have happened. "Shh, everything is okay now. I'm not going to let him hurt you anymore." The words felt nasty as the rolled off his tongue. He'd promised that very thing before and he'd broken that promise; somehow he'd been able to get to her again. "Come on, let's get out of her."

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They walked in silence down the dark street, his arm wrapped securely around her waist, her head resting on his chest. The thoughts and images were being replayed in their minds. Robin was once again forced to relive the nightmare that she'd called her life for so long, while he was forced to see her so vulnerable. Sure, in the past few days he'd seen her at her worst but even when she felt like her world was falling apart around her, she fought through it with unimaginable strength. But seeing her on the docks, him leaning over her… he'd been told stories of what happened, been to the apartment, but he never could envision the pain and torture.

"He snuck up on me." She said suddenly, quietly. "I was sitting on the bench and I heard his voice." Just thinking about it sent chills up her spine. "I thought I was safe, Patrick. I thought this was over…"

He said nothing as they reached the entrance to his building, never lifting their hold on each other as they joined another couple on the elevator and walked down the hall to the apartment. She finally pulled away once they were inside still holding onto his arm, not wanting to lose all contact.

It was amazing the comfort she felt just knowing he was nearby. She'd only known him for a short time but she felt like she'd known him her whole life. Her only wish was that they could have met under different circumstances, that she could let herself feel something for him and not be afraid. She felt safe with him, trusted him with her life, but she'd trusted Johnathon once upon a time too… She still had her reservations about opening up so completely to someone who could still be considered a stranger. They'd shared a few conversations over take out, but nothing too personal; at least not on his end.

"Will you tell me a little bit about your childhood?" Robin asked as they took their places on each end of the couch. They never sat too close together, feeling the tension their bodies created when they got near each other. It was different when he held her while she cried, for those moments they are both focused on getting her over the latest nightmare or the pain caused by her still nasty looking bruises. "I need to get my mind off of what happened and I can't really tell you much more about me, considering you already know most everything." She gave a slight smile, wrapping the blanket from the back of the couch around her shoulders. After a moment of silence she continued, "You don't have to if you don't want to…"

"What do you want to know?" He interrupted her, knowing she was telling the truth; he knew almost everything about her but he never gave her information about himself.

"I don't know… What were you like as a kid?"

He smiled, "I was spoiled rotten. I was my parent's only kid so I got all of the attention. My dad worked long hours at the hospital so my mom always felt like she had to compensate for the things that he missed and then he felt he had to do the same. I had both of them wrapped around my two little fingers." He smiled proudly.

She raised an eyebrow in surprise, "You were a mama's boy?"

"Oh, yeah. She was my first girlfriend, you know? We had a date night every week. Whether it was a movie or a board game, we just spent time together. She would always fix my favorite dinner, and my mom was a health food junky, so on those nights she let me eat stuff with loads of sugar and chocolate while we did whatever. We did that up until I turned fifteen or sixteen and I started dating for real." His eyes darkened slightly, tears forming suddenly, "I regret stopping those dates when it was just me and her. Looking back, I know that she understood that I was a teenage boy but now, I wish I had another chance to do things differently. I wasted so much time flirting and chasing after girls…"

Robin nodded in understand, noticing the mood shift in the room. "There are a lot of things that if I could go back, I would. I wouldn't have fought with my mom over all of the silly stuff." She paused for a moment before continuing, "And as strange as it may sound, the only thing that I regret about my relationship with Johnathon is that I let it go on for so long. I mean, I know that the way he treated me was wrong and I certainly don't condone it but part of me thanks him for hitting me that first time. I'm a stronger woman because of it…"

"When I was younger, ten or eleven, I remember my mom taking me to this shelter in the town over from ours. I never knew where we were or what we were doing there, I just saw my mom talking to these women and holding them when they cried. And finally, when I was about thirteen, I finally understood what was happening…It was a shelter for battered women." Robin listened whole heartedly, "My mom was always doing things like that while I was growing up. Whatever clothes I grew out of, she donated to the Salvation Army, she cooked for the church on Sundays… She did whatever she could to make someone else's life just a little bit brighter."

"I wish I had a chance to meet her." Robin spoke softly knowing the sensitivity of the conversation. "She sounds like a truly amazing woman."

He nodded, "She was and she would have loved you."

Her eyes widened, "Why?" She wasn't quite sure what she was hoping he would say or why she even really felt like she needed his mother's approval.

"You're a lot like her. You go after what you want and you don't stop until you succeed. I see that everyday when you're at the hospital. You are compassionate and often think of others before yourself, just like she did when it came to me and my dad and those women at that shelter." He paused for moment, "And you don't give up. I saw that tonight on the docks. You could have let him win and get inside your head but you didn't, you fought back. She never let anything bring her down. Even with all of the cancelled dinners from dad because of an emergency surgery or with every new woman who walked through the doors of the shelter… she never let it bring her down and she always had hope that there would come a time when she would finally get that dinner, and the numbers of battered women would fall."

She wiped at the tears that fell slowly down her cheeks. "What's wrong? What did I say? Why are you crying? I hate it when you cry…"

She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "You are an amazing man Patrick; just like your mother always intended for you to be."

He took a shaky breathe, his eyes focusing on his hands that were playing with the stray strong on the corner of the blanket. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you tonight. I should have been there and then this wouldn't have happened, he would have been able to hurt you again…"

"It wasn't your fault, Patrick. And it's taken me a long time to realize that it's not my fault either. I don't blame you." She placed both of her hands on his cheeks making him look her in the eye, "You are the best thing that has probably ever happened to me and the best friend that I could ever ask for. You took me into your home when you didn't know me that well and you have done everything possible to protect me… Do not blame yourself for his stupidity and please don't feel sorry for me and everything that I have gone through. It is because of you that I had the courage to take myself out of the situation."

He nodded slightly, leaning forward and brushing a light kiss across her forehead, pulling her close to him. He ran his hand up and down her back, occasionally rubbing soft circles on her lower back until he heard her even breathing; she was finally asleep.

He carried her up the stairs, carefully laying her tiny form on the bed, once again kissing her forehead lightly. He hoped this night wouldn't be full of nightmares like so many of the last; he wouldn't be here to comfort her this time. He had somewhere else he had to be, something he had to take care of.