Earlier..

Felix was going to die. Slowly and painfully. It wasn't going to be pretty. Patrick would make sure of it as soon as he got his hands on him. It took two seconds for that buttinsky to annihilate all the progress Patrick had made with Sabrina since entering the shower.

It had taken Patrick some time and several seldom used tools in his romantic arsenal to get Sabrina to stop thinking (primarily blaming and chastising herself for sleeping with him last night) and just feel their lovemaking. Once she gave herself over to the power of their attraction, what had started out as tender became frantic, lustful and intoxicating in a way it never had before. While last night had been about rediscovery, this morning was about the need to connect as if their lives depended on it. It amused Patrick how little others really knew of the intensely passionate - and loud - spitfire who lurked just below her goody-two-shoes 'sparkle pony' exterior, but he was more than happy to reap the rewards of their ignorance.

They had just finished leisurely drying each other off when he'd (rather skillfully) managed to pin her up against the marble vanity for a helluva makeout session. Aroused and well on their way to what would have been an extremely satisfying Round Two, they were halted in their tracks by the sound of Felix's voice calling for Sabrina. Frozen mid-caress, her "Oh my God!" escaped the same time as his "Dammit to hell!"

Afraid Fe would recognize his voice, she covered his mouth with her hand and asked Fe what he was doing in her room. When Fe mentioned their breakfast meeting, Sabrina panicked and pushed Patrick away. Sabrina tried to put Felix off, offering to meet him in the lobby, but the guy just blathered on, assuming Simon was the man in the bathroom. Sabrina scrambled off the vanity and attempted to put herself to rights after Fe's directive to get her butt out there and talk to him. Sabrina covered herself in one of the two hotel bathrobes, gave Patrick a look that commanded him to stay and left.

Patrick could hear Sabrina trying to dissuade Felix from asking too many questions and ushering him toward the door. It was then that Patrick had another of his epiphanies: Sabrina was fine letting Felix think that Simon was the man in the bathroom because she was ashamed of what they had done and blamed herself for being too weak to resist what Patrick knew had simply been inevitable. Patrick decided there was no way in hell he was going to stay in the bathroom cowering like a terrible little secret. He wasn't ashamed of his feelings for her or of their perfect night together and he would be damned if he allowed Sabrina to be. So, he put on the remaining bathrobe, opened the door and confidently walked out.

Patrick got a perverse satisfaction in seeing Felix' shocked face at seeing him and not Simon, but was sorry for causing Sabrina embarrassment at being caught with her former, but married, fiance. At Felix' "that's not Simon" comment, Patrick bristled, so he called on his arrogant self to essentially say, "Damn right! Now get the hell out!" as tastefully as possible. He couldn't hear what Sabrina said to Felix when they hugged, but when she banged her head on the door in frustration after he left, Patrick had a feeling the fireworks were just getting started.

The present…

"Well, that was awkward," Patrick said in an attempt to lighten the mood, but Sabrina was having none of it. She'd had the loveliest night and morning with Patrick, but she knew deep down that it was just a dream and that reality (which happened to be in the form of Felix) would come crashing down and ruin everything. She'd hated lying to her best friend by letting him believe she'd spent the night with Simon, but she didn't want Felix to know that she'd caved and given in to her most forbidden desire despite how shameful it was. Sabrina hoped that Patrick would take the "out" Felix gave them for what it was worth, but, of course, he couldn't - or wouldn't. What did he have to gain by flaunting their indescretion to the one person in Port Charles completely unable to keep a secret? They would be found out and she would be labeled a homewrecking whore and publicly humiliated while he went back to his precious Robin with his tail between his legs. It was one thing to screw the guy while he thought his wife was dead, but it was another to knowingly and willingly (oh-so-willingly) cheat with him. So, when he made his offhanded comment, Sabrina wasn't in the mood and her rarely seen sarcastic self came out with a "Ya think?" She wanted to add "dumbass" but decided against it - for now.

"How could you, Patrick?" she asked, agitated. "Why couldn't you just let him believe it was Simon who made me late? You know he can't keep a secret worth a damn."

"Because I couldn't. That's why." Patrick replied, just as agitated.

"Why the hell not?" she asked as she began pacing.

"For one, I'm NOT Simon. I'll be damned if I will let Felix or anyone else think this…" he paused as he pointed to the disarray in the room, "was the result of you and him together."

"Huh? That's ridiculous. I mean, it's not like we haven't slept together before…" When she spied the look of jealous rage on Patrick's face, Sabrina added, "or won't again…" with a shrug.

Patrick reeled back as if he'd been slapped. "How often?"

"How often what?"

"How often have you slept together, Sabrina? How many times has he had his hands on your body?"

At that, Sabrina went from agitated to furious. "What concern is it of yours, Patrick? We're over. We have been since Christmas. You have no claim over my body or who get's to touch it!"

"Because I can't stand it, Sabrina. The thought of Simon with you in that way.. it makes me ill."

"Well, tough. You'll just have to pull up your big boy panties and deal with it." She stalked over to him, looked him dead in the eye and asked, "Do you think it was easy for me knowing that probably twenty minutes after you left my apartment on Christmas Eve you were 'reuniting' with Robin? That it didn't make me ill seeing you with her everyday, touching and kissing her while I was left out in the cold? Well, guess what, I had to deal with it. I didn't have a choice...and now neither do you." Sabrina poked him in the chest, hard, and added, "so suck it up, buttercup!"

Sabrina went to walk away to calm down, but Patrick grabbed her shoulders before she could. Breathing heavily, they stood there staring at each other and each refusing to back down. Then, Patrick pulled Sabrina against him just as she yanked on the lapels of his robe to bring him toward her. Their kiss was unlike any other they had ever had. It was primal and claiming, full of pent-up rage and pain that needed release. However, when Sabrina yanked open his robe and began pushing it off his shoulders while Patrick pulled her backward toward the bed, they both came to their senses and split apart.

Once she'd calmed down, as far away from Patrick as possible, Sabrina asked "Earlier you said 'for one'. What did you mean by that?"

She could tell Patrick was struggling to regain his composure when he simply asked, "Huh?"

"Other than figuratively peeing on me, why did you come outside?"

Smiling (probably at her pee comment), Patrick said, "Because I'm not ashamed of what happened here last night and I can tell that you are - even though you shouldn't be."

"Why not? It's how I feel."

"Because, beautiful, it was inevitable. If it hadn't happened last night, it would have at some point." Then, he looked at her, letting his love show, and added, "Plus, it was wonderful. And I'm glad it happened."

Sabrina smiled despite herself. "Yeah, it was wonderful and I'm glad it happened, too." But, when she added, "We needed the closure, so I guess it was inevitable," Patrick looked up confusedly and said, "Closure?"

"Yeah. A chance to deal with everything that's happened since the wedding and finally be able to move on." Sabrina took a deep breath and then added, "Because I need to move on, Patrick. I can't live like this anymore. Even being thousands of miles away doesn't help. You're in my blood and I need to get you out...for my own sanity."

"Did you ever think that we're in each other's blood because that's how it is supposed to be?" Tentatively, Patrick added, "That splitting up was a mistake - my mistake."

"No, Patrick, I don't." Sabrina said sadly. "Don't you see? Robin was always there. Even dead. I competed with a ghost during our entire relationship - and I always came up short. Eventually, it would have torn us apart." Now crying, she added, "You HAD to choose Robin. You could never have lived with yourself otherwise."

"Sabrina…" Patrick pleaded with silent tears also streaming down his face.

She held up a hand, "No, please let me finish. I gave you 100%, but you never gave that to me. You only gave me the part of your heart that was left. Robin had the rest and she always will. All I have ever wanted is for you to be happy and I know that your true happiness is with Robin, not me. I accept that. And now that I've had the chance to say goodbye, really say goodbye to what we could have had together, I can move forward - without you."

"But…" Patrick whispered as he reached for her.

Sabrina backed away from him and then turned toward the bathroom. "It's been over ten minutes, so I'm guessing Felix is on his way back up. If you don't want to run into him again, I suggest you get dressed and leave. I'm thinking you have a lot to discuss with your wife."

"So, what, that's it? You're going to kick me out of your room and your life and I don't get a say?"

"No, Patrick. You don't. Not this time. Please don't be here when I come out."

Sabrina stood against the bathroom door, crushed, as she heard Patrick gathering his clothes and getting dressed. She didn't relax until she heard the outside door slam - hard. Then, she sank to the floor and cried her eyes out. Why did doing the right thing always hurt so much?