Brenda had waited in the room for news of Robin for what had seemed like years and finally Noah had told them that she had woken up briefly and talked to Patrick. That had been like music to her ears. She considered Robin her "little sis" and didn't know what she would do if she had not made it. The thought was incomprehensible.
After Noah had left to take Anna in to see her daughter, Brenda realized it would probably be quite awhile before she would be able to see her as it was only family right now. She looked over at Bryan, Patrick's friend, groomsmen, and the cardiologist who had performed his life saving work tonight. She appraised him carefully, noting that he was a very handsome fella.
Bryan had settled down on a couch and she could tell he was just plain tuckered out. She was a bit confused as to why he had settled down here instead of in the doctor's lounge, but she figured maybe he felt more comfortable here, since he was from out of town. She decided maybe he needed some company so she stood up and went to sit next to him.
"Thank you for saving Robin," she said softly.
"You're very welcome," he replied. "I'm Bryan, by the way," he said extending his hand and flashing an exquisite smile.
Brenda looked at him, took in his smile coolly, and noticed how handsome he was. He was blond, blue eyed, had an adorable crew cut that had grown out just a bit too long, was lean but muscular, and obviously worked out on his off time. She put out her own petite hand and smiled her famously photogenic smile, "I'm Brenda, Robin's best friend," she said.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Brenda," he said, flashing that adorable smile again. "I got into town pretty late last night so I didn't have a chance to get to meet anyone at the rehearsal dinner," he said apologetically. "I had a last minute surgery and it was a doozey," he said, with a shake of his head.
"I understand," said Brenda. "Robin is always getting paged and called at odd hours when we are hanging out here in Port Charles. That's just one of the many reasons I usually encourage her to come to Italy with me instead."
"Oh, you live in Italy?" asked Bryan. "I've always wanted to check it out, but haven't had enough time off to do it yet," he said with a small frown.
"You should come sometime," said Brenda. "It's really beautiful there. I run a not for profit children's AIDS charity there," she said with satisfaction, clearly happy with her work.
"That sounds really interesting. I'm sure it's rewarding too," he said with a smile, not at all surprised at her occupation considering her relationship with Robin.
"Yes, it is," said Brenda. She continued with a sad smile, "It can also be extremely sad though when we lose a child, which unfortunately does happen periodically. Most of the children I really don't know, but every once in awhile I get to know some of them and it's always sad when they pass on."
Bryan, seeing her sadness, put a comforting hand on her knee. Brenda smiled at the tenderness and put her hand on top of his in mutual commiseration. "How is your job?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject. "Robin said you are a world famous cardiology surgeon. I'm sure that comes with a lot of perks," she said with a laugh.
Bryan laughed in spite of himself, unusually charmed by this dark haired woman who reminded him of Robin. "Yes, there do tend to be perks with the job, but only in the medical community. I get treated like anyone else outside of these hospital walls," he said gesturing to the hospital they were in.
Brenda laughed, "Yeah, I suppose that is how it works, huh?" Brenda flashed him a smile, feeling a twinge of happiness, the first she had felt since Robin's wedding had been so rudely interrupted. She checked out the man next to her, finding that she liked what she saw, and noted that he didn't wear a wedding ring, which didn't surprise her since Robin hadn't said anything about him being married.
"So, Bryan…" she drawled, "do you need to stick around here to check up on Robin?" she asked.
"No, not really. I was really only here to do the surgery and any specialized follow up care she would need, but since the outcome has been so good so far, I think Noah can handle things from here. I'm sure I'll act as a consultant, but Noah is her attending." He paused as the words sunk in. "I don't really have privileges here anyway. The staff was very gracious about letting me operate on Robin," he finished.
"Well, of course, they were good to you," said Brenda playfully punching him in the arm. "According to Robin, you are the best, even better than our own Monica Quartermaine."
"Wow, that is wonderful praise," said Bryan gratefully, "Monica is known throughout the cardiology world as a great surgeon. I'm very pleased to know some people consider me to be in the same league as her," he said, as he smiled thinking of Robin's words.
"Well, I'm sure Robin wouldn't have said it if she didn't mean it," said Brenda with an appreciative smile. "After all, you did save her life, even if she doesn't know it yet, a fact for which I will be forever grateful," she said as she impulsively reached over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
Bryan pulled back, startled, but pleasantly surprised by the heat that was left on his skin after Brenda's soft kiss. He turned to her, looking on in new appreciation at how truly beautiful she was. "Thanks," he said, taking her hand and giving it a slight squeeze.
Brenda smiled, "You know, why don't we get out of here and go grab a bite to eat at this little diner called Kelly's?" she asked. "It's a quaint little place and has much better food than this yucky old hospital. I don't think I will be able to see Robin anytime soon, so we may as well go get something to eat," she said, looking up at him hopefully.
Bryan gave a nod and stood up, "Let's go, Miss Brenda. I'm famished and could definitely use some good food and great company." Brenda gave him her hand to help pull her up and they walked side by side out the door of the waiting room.
Much later, in the wee hours of the morning, Patrick waited by Robin's bedside, hoping to have a few words with her when she woke up again. Anna and Noah had both left to go to get some food and rest. They had tried to encourage Patrick to go, but he just couldn't go and leave Robin. He didn't want her to be afraid and he was worried she would be if she woke up and no one she knew was around. He also knew she would be in considerable pain and he wanted to make sure that it was managed well so she could be comfortable. Her well-being was all that really mattered to him and he would do anything to take care of her.
Patrick had fallen into a light doze in the bedside chair holding Robin's hand. He felt a slight movement of her hand and abruptly woke up, his eyes popping open. He gripped her hand lightly and sat up to look at her eyes, which were wide open gazing at him. "Hi," he said, in astonishment, surprised to find her so wide awake and looking at him in wonderment.
"Hi, yourself," she said weakly.
Patrick slowly got up, leaned over, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, taking care not to brush the oxygen tubes. "I wondered when Sleeping Beauty was going to wake up," he said, with a tender smile.
Robin didn't reply, but instead raised her hand to run it along the side of his face as he was still leaning into her. Patrick's heart soared at the tender caress of her fingers. He knew there would never be anyone like Robin for him as he felt a wave of love wash over him, generated just by a soft, simple caress. He closed his eyes for a minute as the feelings washed over him.
As Patrick opened his eyes again, he looked into Robin's eyes and he could see the pain. "What's wrong, baby?" he asked gently, as she grunted and her arm fell back down to her side.
"Patrick," she said breathlessly, "what happened? It hurts so bad just to lift my arm." She paused and then continued as she remembered, "I remember being at the wedding, having the minister pronounce us husband and wife, and then walking down the aisle. After that, nothing…" she said as she trailed off and looked at him with pleading eyes.
Patrick hesitated, not sure how much he should tell her right now with her condition still precarious. Robin saw his hesitation, "Patrick, just tell me, all right? I need to know what happened," she said, frustration creeping into her voice.
Patrick heard the irregular beeping of her sinus rhythm as her heart rate increased slightly. He knew she needed to know what happened, but he wasn't prepared to risk her health with that knowledge. After another pleading look from Robin, he figured he'd just get it out quickly. "Darling," he said taking her hand, "while we came down the aisle someone shot you, the bullet came very close to your heart."
At his words, Robin's eyebrows shot straight up. "Someone shot me?" she asked in confusion.
"Yes, darling," said Patrick quietly, holding her hand and tucking a stray hair back behind her ear tenderly, trying to soothe her.
"Why would someone do that?" asked Robin in confusion, as her heart rate sped up a few more beats according to the increasingly irregular pattern from the heart monitor.
"We don't know," said Patrick slowly. "Robin, you need to calm down. You've been through a very traumatic ordeal and I don't want you getting upset," he said gently, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
Robin just looked at him, floundering, and unsure what to do. "Ok," she said hesitantly. She grimaced again as she realized how much pain she was in. "Owww…, she whimpered, "it hurts, it hurts to even breathe," she said whispering, as the waves of pain hit her again and she closed her eyes, trying to force the darkness away.
Patrick stood up quickly and adjusted her morphine drip to the next higher dosage and slowly bent over her. "Robin, honey," he said, talking quietly, "I adjusted your drip to help with the pain. You let me know if it's enough, ok?" he asked gently, brushing his lips against her forehead to help calm her. He knew the more relaxed and unstimulated she was, the less pain she would have. It was breaking his heart to know that she was in pain.
Robin nodded with her eyes still shut, trying to fight the darkness that wanted to overtake her. Patrick slowly sat down, sure that she was falling asleep again since she had yet to open her eyes and the heart monitor had returned to it's normal beeping; therefore, he was surprised to discover that she had opened them again and was gazing at him. "I thought you'd fallen asleep," he said with a grin. "But I have to admit, I love seeing those beautiful brown eyes of yours staring at me," he said flashing his dimpled smile.
Robin gave a small smile at his tender comment. "Patrick, I love you," she said with a small, child-like voice. "I just wanted to make sure you know that," she said carefully.
"Oh, darling," he said, taking her hand and giving it small kisses, "I know you love me, you've said it a thousand times. I have no doubt of your love," he said tenderly. "All I want right now is for you to get better and be able to come home with me," he said. "And for that, you need your rest, young lady," he said sternly. "Close your eyes and let the medicine do it's work."
Robin stared at him for a second as she debated about arguing with him, but then decided he was right. She knew she couldn't fight the darkness off much longer and all she really wanted to do was get lost in it and forget about the pain for awhile. The morphine had helped, but the pain was still there just underneath the surface.
Robin gripped Patrick's hand, "Will you stay with me?" she asked pleadingly.
"Of course," he said, with his love plainly showing in his eyes. Robin acknowledged his words with a big smile and let her eyes drift shut.
Dr. Sadhi wondered how he had gotten himself in such a mess. His contact had met with him and given him everything he needed to do his job and now he just had to find the appropriate time to do it. It was not something he wanted to do, but his family was in danger and it had been forced upon him. If he did not do as he was asked, his family would suffer and he would never hear from them again. It was just not an acceptable risk he could take.
Once he was sure without a doubt that Dr. Scorpio would survive her injuries, he was to switch the IV bag she had with the one he was given from his contact. After that, everything would fall into place. He frowned, not happy with his role to play in this game at all.