Robin ignored her first instinct to call Mac. Instead she stayed up all night talking to Patrick. They vowed to not tell anyone for now.
Robin got dressed, at dawn, and picked her daughter up out of the crib. "Oh sweetie, I don't want to lose you."
After changing her diaper and feeding her Robin kissed the baby's head and then carried her over to Patrick, who was still in bed.. "Can you stay with Isabella? I have to go talk to my cousin."
His voice squeaked when he asked, "Me? Alone?"
Robin smiled for the first time since dinner the night before. "A surgeon like you should be more than capable of taking care of an infant."
"The two things are not even remotely related."
Robin plopped the baby onto his lap. Patrick gently placed his hands at the child's waist.
"You'll do fine." Robin said "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Should I pack a bag?"
Robin gave him a questioning look.
He added, "We will leave this town, state and country behind before I allow anyone to take this baby from us."
Awed Robin asked, "Us?"
Patrick said, "Yeah."
Robin kissed him. "Don't pack yet. I'll let you know."
"Tell mommy good bye." Patrick told the baby "Tell mommy you love her and don't want any other mommy ever."
Patrick eyes meet Robin's. He said, "I love you, you know that right?"
"Yes, I do. But I love hearing it."
Patrick told her, " I love you and your daughter. I want to be here."
"Good because we need you." Robin gave him another kiss, kissed the baby's head and left.
Once they were alone, Patrick asked Isabella, "So, what do you like to do?"
He placed his ear to her mouth. "Watch Nascar, did you say? Me too."
He used the Tivo to turn on the race. "That's Dale Earnhardt. We like him."
The baby smiled at him. Patrick cuddled her back close to his chest so she could face the TV. "I can tell you are going to be a big fan of racing, kid. Just like me. This will be our thing. And we will win your mom over one day and make her a fan, too. Don't worry I know how to talk her into things. It will all work out."
She grabbed his finger. He said, "I promise it will be okay."
The night before, Georgie went straight from babysitting to Kelly's to meet Maxie. They had agreed Maxie would come home with her that night so Mac and Felicia could see for themselves she was alive.
Georgie pounded on Maxie's door but there was no answer. She got Mike to unlock it but Maxie wasn't inside. While she waited there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
"Max."
Georgie opened the door. "Can I help you?"
"Is your sister around? I've been really concerned for her lately."
"She's not here. I hope she hasn't-"
"What?"
"Done something drastic." Georgie's heart pounded in her chest. All she wanted was her family to be happy. But no matter how much juggling she did someone would be disappointed, broken hearted, let down. She didn't know how to give everyone what they needed.
I can't bear this! She thought
Max left and Georgie waited till midnight but Maxie never came back. Georgie had to leave and go home so her parents wouldn't worry. Every action in her life was dictated by that desire these days.
The next morning, Georgie, who hadn't slept all night, answered the door after Robin rang the doorbell.
"We have to talk." Robin said, her expression grave.
"Is everything okay?" Georgie asked
Robin walked inside and glanced around to make sure her aunt and uncle were not nearby. Then she spun around and hissed, "I know the truth. I know who my daughter's birth mother is. When were you planning to tell me?"
A few hours later, Jax approached the door of Robin's apartment, lifted his hand to knock, and then stopped in mid motion. He heard singing drifting into the hallway.
"My wish for you is that your life becomes all that you want it to." Patrick sang
"Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small. You never need to carry more then you can hold. And while you're out there getting where you're getting to, I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too, Yeah, this, is my wish.." ( Rascal Flatts)
Jax smiled. His daughter would be well loved by Patrick, just like Jax always suspected. The little girl who started life alone now had an abundance of love in her life. And it made Jax happier than he had ever been. Something finally worked out right. Whoever put her in the park, even though it was the wrong place to ever leave a baby, had made this all possible. By the grace of God, the baby still found a home and huge family.
Jax knocked.
A moment later Patrick opened the door, holding the baby, with a rag thrown over his shoulder. "We're burping." he said
"Fun."
Patrick moved aside and Jax walked in. Jax asked, "Is she ready for the zoo?"
"Zoo? Um, sorry, I didn't know you had plans to take her. She is kinda caught up in the outcome at Talledega right now."
Jax had know idea what that meant. "Is that something to do with Sesame Street? I wasn't aware she was watching TV already."
"Oh, she kinda drools in the general direction of the televison but I know it's sinking in. It's never too early to educate a child in Nascar."
"Racing?"
Patrick sat back down on the couch, patting the baby's back. "What else?"
Jax said, "Oh, okay. Well, can I join you two? I really was looking forward to spending time with my girl."
"Why not? Beers in the fridge."
"I'll just stick with bottled water." Jax grabbed one and sat down. The baby burped.
Both men congratulated her.
Patrick thought about asking Jax if he wanted to hold her but Patrick didn't want to let her go. He laid her down on his lap, so she was looking up at him.
"I hope you don't feel offended Robin asked me to be Isabella's father." Jax said
Patrick didn't answer.
"Because I hope we can all be close friends in the future. We're family now, after all." Jax added "You will be just as big of an influence on her life as I am. You can teach her science and sports and I will handle hiking, nature, and when she's over twenty- one playing baccarat."
"You think it will be easy? Sharing the responsibilities ?"
"I think it will be worth it, don't you?"
Staring into the eyes of the child he now thought of as his daughter, Patrick said "Yeah, I do."
Patrick's pager went off.
Max sat on a stool at Kelly's. His fingers drummed the counter. He was nervous as hell about where Maxie might be. He decided to give her five more minutes to come home and then go look for her at the boxcar.
Lea came in and said, "Hey, big guy, still no luck tracking her down?"
He turned and said "It's Max and no. You haven't seen her, have you?"
"I've been at every AA meeting in town listed on the net. She wasn't at any of them. I checked the docks and park too. Because whenever she talked about home it seemed like everything happened in those two places." Lea sat down on the stool next to him. "So where do we look now?"
"We?"
"I need to help Maxie. Why do you think I've stayed in this hick town? I owe her for pulling my ass out of a crack house six months ago and forcing me into rehab. I'm going to stay here till I know she is back on track."
"All right. You can come with but only if you tell me everything about what happened to Maxie in New York."
They stood up and left Kelly's.
"You sure you ready to hear all that?" Lea asked "It's far from pretty."
"Either is my job. I can handle it. So start talking, Lea."
Robin was speaking to Georgie when her pager went off. She made a call and then said, "We will finish this later. Do not tell Mac anything yet... I hope this doesn't give him another heart attack."
Georgie, with tears on her face, nodded.