Chapter Thirty-Six:
Tommy was beside himself. He sat with Patrick and both men were at a loss as to what was going on. Natalie was asleep, but she kept talking about Brittany when she spoke in her sleep. Patrick looked up as Robin walked in.
"Hey," he smiled at her. "Did you get to talk to your Uncle?"
Robin looked pale and nodded.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Tommy looked at him and smiled.
"Go, I'm okay," he said.
Patrick got up and walked out with Robin and Tommy turned back to his daughter. He watched her for a few minutes before he bent down to pick up the piece of paper he saw on the floor. He stopped when he realized it wasn't a piece of paper, but a picture.
His heart raced when he looked at the image of Natalie's fifth birthday. It was the moment when she opened her favorite present and Brittany had snapped the image of him holding their daughter. He hadn't seen it in forever and he knew Brittany always kept it with her. It had been her lifeline, she told him, when she was away from them.
How was it here?
What was going on?
"Hey, what is it?" Patrick asked after she wheeled him to the lounge. He could see she was upset and struggling with something.
"I spoke with my Uncle Mac. I told you he was working undercover on an assignment, right?"
"Yes," Patrick didn't remember anything else about him.
"Well he was working on a high profile kidnapping. I didn't know the details at first, but he said there was a plane crash and people were taken after and held for ransom, or other reasons."
"Okay, so is he hurt or something? Why are you so upset?"
She didn't know how to tell him the next part without proof.
"The case he has been working on was a crash that happened over a year ago. He didn't think they would find anyone alive, but a few days ago, they did. It was a young woman with red hair and I think it's Tommy's wife."
Patrick lost all color in his face.
"Is this some kind of joke?"
Robin felt her eyes fill with tears at the magnitude of what this would mean to them.
"No. He brought her here, to General Hospital, but she slipped out of the room and they don't know where she is."
Patrick stopped her.
"Britt's alive?"
Robin prayed this was real.
"I think so, but she isn't herself, exactly. Mac said she is unable to speak and she seems confused about things. She was held in isolation, but he doesn't know the extent of what happened to her."
"I need to talk to Tommy," he said. "I need to tell him," he stood up and his legs wobbled and he sank to the floor. Robin jumped to hold him and he started to cry.
"Shhh," she held him. "It's going to be okay. We're going to find her and help her."
"You don't understand," he said. "How could we never look for her? She was alone for so long? You don't know what she's been through in her life, Robin; she was tortured long before this. How did we let this happen?"
Robin sat back and wiped his face.
"We need to find her and move forward from there. She's probably afraid and confused. Mac said she had a terrible time on the flight here."
Patrick understood that. He never flew anymore. He couldn't imagine her terror.
"Natalie was right," he realized. "She saw her mother. Britt must have come to see Natalie and that's when she woke up. She was here."
Robin was stunned.
"She was here? When?"
"When Tommy and I stepped out and you were on the phone. We walked into the room and Nat was finally awake. She asked where Britt was. She said she was here and she looked sad and scared. We figured she imagined it."
Robin smiled.
"She must have been drawn to her daughter. We need to find her."
Patrick sighed.
"We need to tell Tommy."
"Tell me what?" Tommy asked as he walked in. "Why are you on the floor? Are you okay?"
Patrick was unable to say anything. Tommy walked to him and his concern was all over his face.
"Should I call for help? Can you get up?" he faced Patrick.
Patrick took his arm and stood up, sitting back in the wheelchair. He looked at Tommy and Robin and wiped his face.
"I'm okay. I need to talk to you about something," he said.
"I'll go sit with Natalie while you talk, okay?" Robin said.
Patrick nodded and Robin kissed him before she walked out.
"Look what I found on the floor in Nat's room," Tommy handed Patrick the image.
"Oh God," he said, knowing it was all true. "This was Britt's?"
Tommy nodded.
"I must have put it in Nat's things. I just don't remember ever taking it from Red. I thought she had it with her on the trip."
Patrick sighed.
"She did."
Tommy was quiet and waited.
"Patrick, what the hell is going on?"
"I don't know how to say this other than to just say it."
Tommy didn't know what was going on.
"What is it?"
"I think Brittany is alive."
Brittany made her way to the roof to get some air. She had trouble being inside and she feared the people who took her would be after her again. She ran onto the cool cement floor and knew what was bothering her the most.
The little girl.
She didn't feel like it was her sister. She felt like it was her daughter, a part of her. The thought broke her heart because she grew up her whole life without a mother and the thought that she forgot her daughter was simply reprehensible. What kind of a person was she? Who does that to such an innocent and beautiful little girl?
It wasn't just that she forgot her, but the little girl was so sick. What happened to her? Was it because of Brittany that this happened?
"Hey, there she is," an orderly called out. "She's the one missing."
Brittany jumped and ran to the ledge, climbing onto it and sitting precariously close to the edge. The orderly stopped when it seemed like she was going to jump.
"Hey, it's okay, I won't come near you," he said.
Britt heard him, but she was thrust back in a memory and her only thought was making sure they never took her again. She would die before she let anyone take her again.
Chapter Thirty-Seven:
"You need to shut up," Tommy said, finding it hard to catch his breath after hearing what Patrick said. "It isn't true."
Patrick didn't care that his tears were falling.
"I told you what Robin found out. You heard what Nat said and now the picture? It's true."
"What if she's lying? How well do you really know Robin? Maybe she's a part of some sick plan to," he stopped and Patrick sighed.
"To do what? What possible gain would there be in this?"
Tommy shook his head and felt the room spinning.
"I don't know. I don't understand this," he looked at his best friend.
"Where is she?" his voice cracked with despair. "What has she been through?"
Patrick sighed.
"I don't know. The hospital is looking for her, but Robin's Uncle said she was in rough shape. She can't speak and she has memory issues. She has been held and maybe tortured," Patrick stopped when Tommy ran to the garbage and emptied the contents of his stomach.
"Tommy," he walked over and Tommy put his hand up.
"I need some air. I'll be back. Please stay near Nat," he said.
"Tommy, I know this is," Patrick began.
"I just need a minute," he said brokenly. "Please."
Patrick nodded and Tommy walked out.
Robin walked into the lounge and saw Patrick sitting there, looking stunned. She walked to him and sat down.
"Where did he go?"
"He needed some air. He is a mess and I don't know what I just did to him. If this isn't real, Robin, I don't think he'll survive."
She took his hand in hers and held it.
"My uncle is the best at what he does. He is certain she is Brittany and he has spent a lot of time with her this past week. We need to find Tommy and help him find her."
"What about Natalie? I don't want her left alone," Patrick said softly.
"Maxie is with her. She will stay until we get back."
"She can't say anything to Nat. Tommy will tell her if there is anything to tell," Patrick was upset at Maxie being there.
"She doesn't know. I told her I wanted to spend some time with you. Maxie has no idea."
Patrick nodded.
"He probably went to the roof."
Robin unlocked the wheelchair.
"Then let's go."
Tommy sat on a bench in the hallway and thought about heading to the roof. He put his head in his hands and tried to wrap his mind around what Patrick told him.
Could his wife be alive? Could his dreams come true?
He was just so mad at the situation. He was mad his daughter was in so much distress. He was mad he was sick and it was getting serious. He was mad that his wife was gone and he was mad that he couldn't stop missing her. He worried he had imagined the whole conversation with Patrick. People don't come back from the dead, they just don't. Maybe he was going crazy?
He got up and made his way to the roof, walking out into the cool evening air and turning to the wall. He leaned his back against it before he slid to the floor and put his arms on his knees, resting his head in his hands. In this time and in this moment, he cried. He allowed himself to need the release. He needed to feel the spot where he was alone in his grief and he wanted to wallow in the memories of Brittany. Wanting someone so badly didn't make them alive. Wishing and hoping did nothing to change the facts. He couldn't do this anymore.
The roof held special meaning to them and even though it wasn't the roof where those memories happened, it was a hospital roof nonetheless. He used to come up to the roof after telling a patient a diagnosis or after a difficult case. He found the perspective he gained up there gave him the needed motivation to move forward.
It was also the place he and Brittany would steal moments alone while she was busy performing and he was working long shifts. It was their place, and they had numerous picnics and romantic lunches on the roof.
Should he look for her? What if he was thrown in the psych ward because he was delusional? His daughter needed him and he needed to be healthy, at least mentally.
But this was Patrick. He wouldn't say anything if he didn't think it was real.
But how could it be real? How could she be alive? What happened to her?
There was a commotion and Tommy snapped out of his thoughts. He watched as a bunch of nurses and orderlies ran past him to the other side of the roof. He heard them talking to someone, and it sounded like a potential suicide. He got up to see if he could help, needing a distraction before he made sense of things.
Brittany had trouble breathing. Her fear was paralyzing and she felt like she was about to be thrown back into the pit of despair. She saw the strangers circling and she moved away from them, almost falling off the ledge. She saw them stop when she moved and she put her head in her hands and cried.
Patrick and Robin made their way up to the roof and saw Tommy.
"Hey, are you okay?" Patrick asked him.
Tommy nodded and went to say something when they heard the commotion and looked at each other before they moved to the other side of the roof.
"Excuse me, but we're doctors, can we help?" Tommy asked.
"We're going to grab her," the nurse said. "She's been missing from her room and I think she needs to be admitted to psych. We've got it covered."
Tommy nodded and heard the orderly yell and the nurse ran to them. Tommy followed and froze when he saw the scene.
They were pulling the woman who was frantically fighting with them to leave her alone. Her red hair was tied up and she had her head down, but he knew in an instant.
"Stop it! Leave her alone!" he bellowed in a voice that meant business; a voice he didn't recognize as his own.
The nurses and orderlies stopped and the woman cowered on the floor, her arms over her head, shielding her face.
Patrick stood up, stunned. Robin watched the scene play out.
Tommy moved to her, unaware of time or space. He stopped when he was close to her and knelt down to where she cowered.
"Red?" he said softly. "Oh God, baby is it you?" He went to touch her, but he was afraid she was a vision or a mirage.
His voice went right to her and she slowly looked up and met his gaze.
It was the man from the picture. It was the man she knew. It was him.
"It's okay," he said through his tears. "Oh Red, baby it's okay. I'm here and you're going to be okay," he said as she huddled on the ground, her hospital gown barely covering her thin frame. He saw her hands were bandaged, her fingers free.
Tommy moved closer to her and she didn't run. He reached his hands to her and shrugged.
"Can I help you?" he asked in the most caring and heartfelt voice. "Will you let me help you? Please?"
She looked up at him.
He helped her in the past. He was her safe place.
In an instant, she was in his arms.
"Oh God, oh my God," he was sobbing as he held her on the floor and she felt her own tears fall as she rested against his chest. Her arms clutched his back and she silently sobbed as she felt like she was where she belonged. She felt him pull back and she grabbed him and held him tightly, her whole body shaking.
"It's okay, I won't leave you, I promise," he said as he felt her grab on tighter.
She couldn't bear to let go. She couldn't move. She didn't know why, but she felt him. She felt him in her heart.
"Okay," he said and held her to him. "I'll hold you forever."
Patrick and Robin watched the scene as tears rolled down their faces. Robin was surprised when Patrick walked to them.
"Brittany? Is it really you?" he asked her in disbelief, every memory of the moments before the plane crash flashing in front of his eyes.
Tommy sat back and she looked at Patrick.
Oh God, he was in the plane. They said he was dead.
She covered her mouth and her eyes showed her memory. She nodded and looked at Tommy and Patrick. She put her hands over her heart and Patrick walked over to hug her. She backed away and he stopped.
"I'm sorry," Patrick said. "It's okay."
She started to cry again and Tommy moved to her. She shook her head and looked at Patrick before she reached to hug him.
Tommy couldn't believe it. He was afraid to close his eyes. He was afraid to breathe. He was afraid to move.
Robin walked over and knelt down.
"Brittany? My name is Robin. You've met my Uncle Mac," she said.
Brittany's face lit up as she remembered hearing about Robin. She moved to hug Robin and Patrick and Tommy smiled through their tears.
Tommy watched as Brittany shivered in the cool air and he looked at them.
"We need to get her inside and we need a full workup," he stopped. "Oh God, I need to tell Natalie."
Brittany looked at them and simply crawled to Tommy and hugged him again, his arms all she needed.
Robin and Patrick stepped away to give them some privacy. Patrick sat in the wheelchair and Robin took his hands, kissing them.
"You okay?" she asked through her tears.
He looked at her and shrugged.
"How is this real?"
She stroked his cheeks and held him while they waited.
Tommy sat back and reached to touch Britt's face. His hands shook as he made contact with his skin and she tried to grasp his hand in hers, but the bandages stopped her.
"What happened to you? Where have you been? What did they do to you?" he asked brokenly as he looked at her. She was way too thin and there was no color in her face. She was bruised and bandaged and he felt the air go out of his lungs as he realized the extent of what she must have endured. How had he moved on and never looked for her? What did he allow to happen?
She was shaking and he nodded.
"We need to go inside," he stood up and reached for her, helping her up. She wobbled and he picked her up in his arms like she weighed nothing.
"I've got you," he murmured and she wrapped her arms around him as they walked back inside with Patrick and Robin.