Disclaimer: I don't own Maxie and Jesse or Robin and Patrick; that privilege belongs to ABC and Disney. If I did own them, Jesse would still be alive.

Summary: When Jesse wakes up from his surgery, Maxie discovers something startling and Patrick and Robin finally confess how they feel for each other, but when tragedy befalls Robin, Patrick also discovers some shocking news. Will Jesse and Maxie and Robin and Patrick be able to hold on to the love that they have for each other?

Pairings: Maxie/Jesse and Robin/Patrick

A/N: I'm not sure the dream sequence is exactly how Jesse described his accident, but this is how I see it. Anyway, I think it's pretty close.

----

Jesse could see it again. He could see himself in a car, along with two other men; one was in the backseat with him and the other was the driver.

All three of them sat in silence, as they watched the buildings in the warehouse district pass them by. As they stopped at a red light on the deserted road, they watched as a black sedan pulled neatly up beside them. And the next few seconds seemed to pass by in a blur.

Jesse watched as the backseat window smoothly slid open, with a quiet, yet very distinguishable whir. The single occupant of the backseat, whose face was hidden by a dark hood and baseball cap, extended the nose of a gun out the window.

Jesse didn't realize how dire the situation really was until it was too late, and before he could react, he saw the flash from the muzzle and heard a loud pop reverberate through the serene night. The window, through which the bullet traveled, shattered, cascading the entire backseat with tiny shards of glittering glass and the shooter's car peeled off into the night, leaving the conspicuous smell of burnt rubber in its wake.

It was then, he felt the searing pain shoot up his body and he cried out. He glanced down at his side, noticing the small hole the bullet had made. ' It's not that bad,' he said to himself. 'Nothing surgery and a few stitches wouldn't fix.' "It's okay. I'm okay," he said aloud to his companions.

He peeled his eyes from his own wound and looked at the driver, who was slumped over the wheel, motionless. Then, Jesse saw the dark stain near his temple, which was likely caused by another bullet, rather than flying glass. He had been fixated on making sure his situation was not too dire, that he hadn't even heard another gunshot.

With a great level of pain, Jesse leaned across the front seat and put his pointer and index on the driver's neck, feeling for a pulse. When he didn't find one, he wasn't really surprised; the wound made it clear that he wouldn't find one, even before he tried.

He sat back in his seat, not even taking the time to mourn a friend, and glanced at his backseat companion. He was still breathing, albeit barely, and his eyes had become glazed.

Following his instincts, Jesse looked down and saw the hole the bullet had made. Then, he realized that the same bullet that had lodged itself firmly in his side, had traveled straight through the other man.

Despite his own pain, he ripped off a piece of his shirt and held it on his companions wound, trying to put as much pressure on it as possible. With one hand still on the wound, he used his other hand to reach into his pocket and grab his cell. He dialed 911 and when the call ended-what seemed like minutes, but was really only seconds later-he snapped his phone shut and carelessly threw it to the floor. Jesse turned his attention back to trying to keep his companion alive until the paramedics arrived. "The paramedics are on the way. Don't die on me…"

Jesse sat upright, breathing heavily, with sweat covering his face.

He was sure that that dream and that man were an important part to rediscovering his past, but every time he came close to remembering the man's name, he woke up.

He pulled back the covers and looked down at his scar. He had first noticed it at his first physical therapy appointment a few days ago and when he had asked Maxie about it's origins, she smartly dodged the question by saying that he hadn't told her much about that part of his life, but what he had told her, she'd talk to him about when he was stronger.

He shook his head, trying to get that memory of a few days ago out of his head. He was beginning to realize that Maxie was already feeling hopeful for a future for them, but he couldn't bear to hurt her by giving her hope about a future that didn't…that couldn't exist.

He silently got out of bed and put on the shirt he had worn the day before. He sighed heavily, as he looked at Maxie, still sleeping peacefully. Right now, all he needed was air, and, as cruel as it might sound, he needed an escape from Maxie and the pressure she was putting on him to remember. Consciously, she might not realize she was pressuring him-she was always saying she'd stay by him, no matter what-but every time he looked into her eyes, he saw how desperately she wanted him to remember and he saw how disappointed she was.

He quietly walked to the door, not wanting to wake Maxie. She had been up constantly over the last few days by his side and she had looked exhausted last night before they went to bed. Jesse opened the door and took one last look at Maxie. He watched as she rolled over to his side of the bed, no doubt finding comfort in knowing…or thinking that he was there. He slowly shut the door, until he heard the satisfying click, and then he made his way downstairs.

When he stepped out the doors of Kelly's, he let the cool night air wash over him and soothe his anxiety, while the slight dizzy sensation that he had been trying to ignore for the last few minutes faded.

He sat at the nearest table, putting his head in his hands, and pondered how he could make this easier on Maxie without hurting her more than he already had.

He quickly raised his head when he heard a rustling in the bushes just feet away and, as there was no wind, or barely any, he knew it wasn't that. It could be an animal, but he discarded that possibility when he heard the muffled ringing of a cell phone coming from those same bushes. Of course, someone could have dropped it earlier that day, but it just didn't feel right.

Jesse got up, ignoring the dizziness that had returned, and loudly said, "Who's there?"

He had no sooner spoken out, than he grabbed his head in pain and his vision grew blurry, no doubt having been caused by vacating the chair too quickly. Although this was the greater possibility, he didn't have time to ponder whether this was, in fact, the case and he fell, losing consciousness even before he hit the ground.

----

He watched as Jesse walked out of the diner and sat at one of the tables.

He had found out through his employer, that Jesse was staying in Port Charles at a diner called Kelly's and, although he had been staking out the place since darkness had descended upon the small town, he hadn't actually expected to see Jesse tonight.

He hadn't seen Jesse for years and if it hadn't been for the picture his employer had given him of what Jesse looked like today, he probably wouldn't have even recognized him; Jesse had changed so much in the years he had last seen him.

His thoughts were interrupted by his ringing cell phone. He tore his eyes away from Jesse, looked down at his jacket pocket, and reached in, trying to turn his phone off before Jesse could hear it. He shut it off as quickly as possible, not even taking the time to look at who was calling. No doubt, it was the man behind this whole operation, so he'd have to make damn sure that he called him back.

He looked back at Jesse and when he saw him get up from the table, he silently berated himself for not turning his phone off or switching it to vibrate. He backed further into the bushes as Jesse came closer. Unfortunately, even though he'd like to see Jesse face to face again after all these years, he had very explicit orders to keep his personal feelings to a minimum and if they were non-existent, all the better. But when he saw Jesse collapse, he threw his orders not to get too close out the window. He'd be damned if he let Jesse die just because he'd been ordered to keep his distance.

Even though he knew there could be something seriously wrong with Jesse, he took time looking around his hiding place just to be sure no one was in the vicinity-he wasn't careless enough to let anyone see him before the time was right, although it couldn't be helped when he dropped Jesse off at the hospital-and when he was sure the coast was clear, he abandoned his cover.

----

Patrick had been back by Robin's bedside for the past hour and during that time, he still hadn't gotten used to seeing Robin hooked up to all the monitors or hearing the steady rhythmic beeping emanating from them.

On some subconscious level, he half expected to wake up at any minute and be in Robin's cottage in bed, with her lying right beside him, realizing this was just a terrible dream.

Patrick gently ran his fingers through Robin's hair, trying to remember what it felt like for them to be truly happy. Although he knew it had been the previous night at the carnival, the happiness he had felt seemed to be a distant dream and everything that had happened since then was all too real. Patrick tried pushing those bittersweet memories out of his mind, so he could focus on Robin's present condition and when he was disturbed by the PA calling his name, the anger that had been building up inside him for the past few hours almost surfaced, but luckily, he was able to keep it in check.

He tried ignoring the initial summons, but when he felt the vibration of his phone in his pocket and heard his name being called over the PA (again!) minutes later, he realized that it was futile. Unfortunately, when he realized that he'd have to leave Robin's side, even for a short time, his anger did manage to make an appearance and he cursed silently to himself; however, it didn't last long because he knew that he wouldn't have been paged if it wasn't important, as nearly the entire staff undoubtedly knew of Robin's condition.

He leaned closer to Robin, so he could hear her shallow breathing in his ear and feel it on his face, and gently kissed her forehead. "I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can," he whispered, not really knowing why he said it, but hoping that on some level, although she was in a deep coma, she could hear him.

He backed away from Robin, so the only visible indication she was even breathing was the up and down motion of her chest. He lingered by her bedside for a few seconds and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, then he left to go find the room that had been indicated in the page he had received.

----

It only took Patrick a few minutes-ten at the most-to reach room 212, but that was nothing compared to how he would feel in a few hours when he was still working on his patient and wanting desperately to be with Robin; he knew that just one or two hours away from her would feel like a lifetime.

When he reached room 212, he grabbed the chart from the slot on the door and glanced through it, without really reading it, but when he caught a glimpse of Jesse Beaudry's name, he stopped, mildly surprised that Jesse had been brought back in after having been given the all clear.

He entered the room and said, "What have we got?"

"Jesse Beaudry was brought in a little while ago with some dizziness and severe headaches," said the nurse, who was in the process of adjusting Jesse's pillows so he'd be comfortable when he woke up.

"Okay. Who brought him?" Patrick asked, putting Jesse's chart securely under his arm and looking around the room, fully expecting to see Maxie.

"I don't know," the nurse replied. "He didn't say and he only stayed long enough to tell us he witnessed Jesse collapse, then he bolted out of here. If you ask me, he couldn't get out of here fast enough."

"Maxie doesn't know Jesse'e here, then?" Patrick asked.

"The Commissioner was at the nurse's station enquiring about Dr. Scorpio"-at which point Patrick felt a jolt of loneliness and helplessness-"when he was brought in, so I think he called her."

"Well," Patrick said, returning the topic to Jesse's condition, "I think Jesse's just dehydrated and exhausted and I think the fact that he's pushing himself to remember too soon after his surgery isn't helping matters any, but I want to order a CAT Scan anyway. Oh, and would you mind informing Dr. Cosby of this latest setback."

The nurse nodded in acquiescence and left the room to follow Patrick's orders.

Patrick began to follow the nurse, but when he reached the door he stopped. His plan had been to go to the nurse's station to check over the charts of his other patients while he waited for Dr. Cosby, who had been Jesse's leading doctor while he had been recovering from the transplant surgery, to take Jesse for the CAT Scan. Instead, he put Jesse's chart back in the slot and sat in the chair by the window.

Patrick glanced at Jesse-who was breathing steadily, but still showing no signs of regaining consciousness-and wearily combed his hand through his hair.

He had been up for the past forty-eight hours straight and it was just now, sitting here alone with Jesse, that he realized just how tired he was. He could now feel his eyes begin to droop and his head fall towards his chest. He quickly jerked himself awake, determined not to fall asleep, but no sooner had he done this, he could feel the process beginning over again and instead of stopping it, he welcomed it.

It seemed he had only been asleep a few minutes, when he was being woken by voices out in the hall. He slowly opened his eyes, letting them adjust to the light, and turned to the door, where he saw Maxie conversing franticly with Mac.

Patrick quickly shook his head, trying to rid himself of the drowsiness that still plagued him. He shifted in the chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing his face with his hands.

He tried blocking out the conversation between Maxie and her dad, but he found it rather difficult because, what started as a whispered conversation was becoming increasingly louder. However, it wasn't loud enough for him to catch everything; he was still only able to catch bits and pieces, but he caught the gist of it. Maxie was worried about Jesse and how could she not be after everything he had been through.

Patrick glanced at his watch, then he looked at Jesse, who was still sleeping peacefully. He had been sleeping longer than he had realized-he had intended to close his eyes for only a few minutes at the most; he had been sleeping for about two and a half hours-and Dr. Cosby must have already taken Jesse for his CT scan. What made him mad and slightly bothered him; however, was Cosby not waking him when he came to get Jesse. He would talk to Cosby about that later, but right now, he had to talk to Maxie.

He got up from his spot at the window and walked to where Maxie and Mac were standing, just outside the door. Upon seeing him, Mac and Maxie immediately stopped talking and Maxie looked at him expectantly.

Patrick grabbed the chart from the slot on the door and began flipping through it. When he still hadn't said anything a moment later, Maxie said, "Patrick, I just got here, but nobody seems to want to tell me what's going on with Jesse. Is he okay? I mean, when I got the call from Mac saying that Jesse had been brought to the hospital, I panicked. What's wrong with him?"

Meanwhile, Patrick had found what he had been looking for on Jesse's chart and had returned it to the slot. "Maxie, it's okay. Jesse's okay," Patrick told her.

"Then, why is he here?" Maxie asked, on the verge of tears.

"Jesse was brought in with some dizziness and severe headaches; so of course, our main concern was more bleeding in the brain. I ordered a CAT scan and the results showed no bleeding. So, his headaches and dizziness are most likely the result of dehydration and over doing it. I do; however, want to keep him overnight just for observation, but I see no reason why he can't go home tomorrow morning. But I want you to make sure that when he gets home, he takes it easy. In his case, that's key to a full recovery. Okay, well I'll leave you alone." Before leaving, Patrick added with a smile, "And take good care of him, 'cause I don't want to see him back at the hospital."

Patrick took one last look at Jesse and left the room, planning to spend the rest of the day with Robin.

When he got to Robin's room a few minutes later, whether it was from exhaustion or fear for Robin, he wasn't expecting what he saw.