EPILOGUE

One year later…

On Christmas Eve, Sabrina sat on the floor by the fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate, having just finished wrapping Patrick's Christmas present. As she absently petted Dash on the head while he snoozed in his puppy bed, she reflected over everything that had happened in the past year.

Sabrina looked at her rings and smiled, remembering how Patrick had chased her to Puerto Rico to win her back. She had been hesitant at first, scared of going through even more pain, but ultimately decided to take the leap. Being with Patrick and Emma was worth the risk if it meant she could finally, truly, be happy. They'd barely gotten in the door of her condo before their clothes came off. They'd ended up spending the week there for the honeymoon they'd been jipped out of while Sabrina made arrangements to sublet the apartment and pack her belongings for the move back to Port Charles. As much as Sabrina wanted to stay in Puerto Rico, she didn't want to separate Patrick and Emma; so, she agreed to move back.

After their move, Sabrina continued with her graduate studies and ended up getting a position in the NICU at GH. While it was hard to face the memories of Gabriel's passing there, she knew that helping protect other mothers against the same pain was worth it in the end. Sabrina also worked with Britt in the OB/GYN practice and rotated floors when Pip needed the coverage. However, Pip kept that to a minimum since she had a habit of inexplicably disappearing whenever Patrick was around.

Ava, thankfully, was dead. In an ironic twist of fate, Ava had gotten into a car "accident" at 32 weeks pregnant. Thanks to an unexplained mechanical failure, she lost control of the car and rolled down an embankment. The doctors at GH delivered the baby, which turned out to be Morgan's, via a C-section. Ava passed shortly afterward due to her severe injuries, having never regained consciousness. Sabrina wasn't a hateful person; but, she didn't she'd a tear for that manipulating she-devil. Karma was a bitch, huh?

Jason was appalled when he found out what the Corinthos's clan had been up to since his "death". When he learned of the recording of AJ's shooting, he turned it into the police. Sonny had never been able to repair his relationship with Morgan and, when Michael turned his back on him, too, Sonny decided to leave town indefinitely. Carlos was released from prison due to the new evidence and he took over the territory in a surprising coup. Sabrina knew, deep down, that Carlos had somehow arranged for Ava's "accident". The man was loyal to a fault, but could be ruthless when betrayed. While he would have hated to cause pain to Morgan, he had no qualms about doing to Ava what she did to Sabrina. Luckily, it worked out that the car rolled in such a way as to not injure the baby, which she had a feeling was also part of Carlos' scheme.

Sabrina and Carlos remained friends, much to Patrick's chagrin, but Sabrina was done being a doormat. She could respect Patrick's position, but she wouldn't cut Carlos out of her life completely. Whenever they met, which was rare, it was never at their cottage or in the presence of Emma. Even though Carlos was seeing another woman, he still managed to press Patrick's buttons. Sabrina couldn't complain, though, because Patrick's attempts to prove Carlos wrong usually ended up working extremely well in her favor.

Shortly after their return, Robin informed Patrick that she was taking a page from Maxie's book and going on an "Eat. Pray. Love" journey of her own. So much had changed in the last two years that Robin need to find out who she was now. Patrick blew a gasket when Robin asked to take Emma with her; but, Sabrina convinced him to let Emma decide where she wanted to be and with whom. She was smart and resilient and knew her own mind. In the end, Emma chose to go with Robin because she wanted to get to know her mother the way she knew her dad. They were due back tomorrow morning and Patrick was on pins and needles over seeing his daughter again (even though they texted and Skyped practically everyday).

Sabrina was brought out of her reverie when the door to the cottage opened and Patrick walked in.

"Hey, beautiful," he said as he took off his coat.

"Hey yourself," Sabrina replied when he walked over to her and bent down to give her a kiss. "How was work?"

"All my patients were okay," Patrick said as he greeted the now fully-awake Dash. As he spied all the Christmas presents, he added, "Looks like you've been busy. Are all these for Emma?"

Sabrina looked around guiltily at all the presents and blushed, "Yeah. I guess I just love to spoil her. I miss her."

Patrick sat next to her and took Sabrina in his arms while the puppy chewed on a bone nearby, "Yeah, me too. I'm glad she's coming home tomorrow and I can't wait to see her. It's been hard without her...but I have to admit that I've enjoyed being able to make love whenever and wherever we want in the house."

When he added, "- and as loudly as we want," Sabrina lightly punched him in the stomach and scolded him with a, "Patrick!"

Patrick faked a wounded look and a grunt when Sabrina punched him for his comment about her being loud. He loved embarrassing her by talking about their (very active) sex life. Even though she was passionate with him, outside their bedroom she was still very shy. Her volume was a long-running inside joke between them.

Patrick was glad to be home from work. He had planned to spend the whole day with Sabrina, but got called in due to a major car wreck on the interstate. Thankfully, he'd been able to give the families of his patients good news for Christmas.

Since he figured Sabrina would have Em's presents covered (if last year was any indication), he only had to worry about finding something for her. He couldn't believe that it had been a year since he'd chased her in Puerto Rico. He thought for sure that she would turn him down, their suprisingly legal marriage notwithstanding. But, fortunately, she was able to put her fear at being hurt again aside and give him another chance. Patrick really would have moved to Puerto Rico, but he was glad he didn't have to leave Emma. There was no reason, however, they couldn't enjoy their time there, though. Aside from vigorously making up for lost time, he met Sabrina's family and visited all of her favorite places. He loved learning about her life before Port Charles. After they returned, they bought a cottage just outside the city. It was still close enough for Emma to go the same school, but far enough away to discourage frequent visits by their loved ones, giving them time to reconnect and build their marriage.

Learning of Ava's death gave them both peace. While Carlos never took the credit for her tragic "accident", Patrick knew he had been behind it to avenge Sabrina. He was thankful to Carlos for getting justice for his son, but frustrated that Carlos' actions only brought him and Sabrina closer. Sabrina flat out refused to sever ties with the guy, but agreed never to see him at their house or around Emma, conditions on which he wouldn't budge now that Carlos was running Sonny's territory. Carlos still managed to push all of Patrick's buttons when it came to Sabrina. He didn't know why he let the jackass get to him, but he did and Patrick always strived to prove him wrong - a fact that Sabrina thoroughly enjoyed.

Patrick was sitting quietly with Sabrina in his arms when he remembered her present. He said "Hang on a sec!" and got up, grabbed the package and gave it to her. He sat down again and said "Open it."

"Shouldn't I wait until tomorrow?"

"No, I want you to have it tonight."

At that, she smiled and reached onto the coffee table to grab his present. "Then I guess I should give you mine, too," Sabrina said as she handed it to him, "Since I didn't get you one last year."

Patrick kissed her briefly on the lips and said, "Shush. Yes you did. The best ever - you. Now, go ahead and open it."

Unlike last year, Sabrina tore into the wrapping with alacrity. When she opened the box, her eyes got big as saucers. "You got me a travel book on Italy?"

"Yeah. Open it to the page that's marked."

Smiling, Sabrina turned to the bookmarked page to see pictures and a write-up of Rome. Tucked between the pages as the bookmark were two plane tickets - to Rome.

Sabrina bounced up and down excitedly as she squealed, "Tickets to Rome? Oh, my God, Patrick! These are amazing!"

Patrick, grinning at her happiness, said, "You wanted to go, so we will. We have a lot of memories to make - together." As she hugged him, he asked, "So when do you want to go?"

At his questions, Sabrina sobered (weird) and said, "Maybe you should open mine before we decide."

"Why?" he asked curiously. "What's going on?"

"Just open it, Patrick."

He opened the small, long skinny box as Sabrina looked on expectantly and the words "Oh my God" escaped his lips before he could stop them.

"Yeah, that's what I said, too."

"Is this for real?"

"Yeah. Very. I confirmed it with Britt this morning."

"So… You're really pregnant?" Patrick asked as he looked between his wife and the positive home pregnancy test in the box she'd given him.

"Yeah. Really." Sabrina paused and then added, "Are you happy, Patrick?"

Patrick couldn't help but look at her as if she was daft. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be? This is amazing Sabrina!" He briefly kissed her and then said, "I can't wait to share this with you. I missed out on so much before…"

At that, Sabrina frowned and admitted, "I'm scared, Patrick. What if we lose him again? I don't think I could bear it."

Patrick was afraid, too. Losing Gabriel had been devastating. But, he knew in his gut that it wouldn't happen again, so he reassured Sabrina. "We won't lose him - or her, Sabrina."

"How do you know?"

"I don't, but we need to take the leap and trust that it will all work out in the end." Patrick looked into Sabrina's eyes, full of joy and worry, and leaned in to kiss her reassuringly.

When the kiss was over, they pulled apart briefly, each one thankful for having found the other again after all the confusion and pain. Then, as Sabrina pulled Patrick in for another kiss while she began unbuttoning his shirt, Patrick smiled and said mischieviously, "You know...I'm kind of glad Emma isn't getting home until tomorrow…" Sabrina chuckled in response and then, as Patrick gently maneuvered her backward onto the throw rug by the fire, she smiled seductively and whispered, "Me too... Because I plan to be loud."

THE END :)

(I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! #patrinastrong)