Chapter Fifty-Three:
Robin sat up in her hospital bed and brushed her hair. She looked up as Patrick walked in, smiling at her. "Hi beautiful."
She laughed. "Hardly, but I appreciate the sentiment," he sat down next to her.
"You are beautiful to me, always," he leaned in and kissed her. "Are you ready to go home?"
She felt her eyes fill with tears and he brushed them away. "How can I leave them here?"
He knew she was broken up about leaving their babies. "They can't come home for a while and I need you home with me. You are doing so much better and we have a lot to do for their homecoming," he smiled at her.
"I just envisioned when I had them, they would come home with us. What if they get lonely or scared?" she sighed. "I know it's necessary, I just hate leaving them."
"I know, baby. We will be here all day and they will know how much we love them," he took her hand in his. "Right now, I want to take care of you if you'll let me."
She looked at him and got lost in his eyes. "I think we should take care of each other."
"Sounds like a plan," he looked up as the nurse wheeled a chair in.
"Ready to go?" The nurse asked.
Robin took a deep breath. "I am," she let Patrick help her up and into the chair and they left the hospital.
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Patrick carried her into the house and placed her down on the couch. She smiled at him as he went to grab her bag and then sat down next to her. "Are you okay?"
She reached up and stroked his cheek. "I love you so much and I am wonderful."
He grinned at her. "I have something to show you."
"Really? Does it involve less clothes?" she asked him.
"Well no, but that can be arranged," he stood up. "Wait right here."
She sat back against the pillows on the couch and sighed. "She missed her girls and she missed being with Patrick. There was so much running through her mind."
He walked in with his laptop and sat down next to her. "I figured this would be something that might make the transition home easier," he clicked something and an image of their daughters in the nursery came up.
Robin gasped and brought her hand to her mouth as she looked at the images. She turned to her husband and was speechless. "I don't understand. How did you do this?"
He smiled at her reaction. "It's a baby cam. I worked with Nurse Hill to set up a camera in the NICU for us. I know it isn't normally allowed, but because of what happened to you, they made an exception. You can look in on them anytime. The camera is only on our girls, so there are no privacy issues with any other babies."
She looked at the image of her sleeping daughters and let her tears spill down her cheeks. She turned to him and shrugged. "You are simply the most amazing husband and father," she pulled him to her and hugged him tightly. "Thank you."
He rubbed her back. "I wish I could do so much more."
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A while later, Patrick helped Robin into the bedroom and sat down on the bed with her. She was exhausted, but looked like there was something on her mind. He sat down next to her and she took his hand. "If you want to go out for a little while, it's okay. I am just going to take a nap."
"I'm tired, too," he said. "You can't get rid of me that easily. I almost lost you and our girls. You are home and I want to enjoy being with you. I think it's time we get undressed and just hold each other," he flashed his dimples at her.
"That's about all I can do, hold you. It will be awhile before there can be anything else. But you can certainly have fun and I would be happy to watch," she grinned, but her eyes weren't as bright as usual.
"Tell me what's bothering you. I can see there is something you are thinking about and it isn't jelly or bean," he smoothed her hair behind her shoulders.
"It's nothing, really. I should be so happy and I just need to keep remembering that," she said.
"That was cryptic. Talk to me, Robin. What are you thinking about?"
She felt tears come to her eyes as she looked at him. "I killed someone, Patrick. I know Brad was a really bad guy, but I killed him. I just don't know how to live with that," she put her head in her hands and cried.
He held her as she let it out and he felt his own eyes grow wet at her torment. He pulled back after a minute and wiped her face. "I wish I had been the one to do it for us. I wish more than anything I could take this from you. But I am not the least bit sorry he is gone. Baby, he tormented us for so long. He almost killed me when he hit me with that car. He was going to kill you and steal our children. He beat the crap out of Elizabeth and caused her to lose her baby. He stood in the NICU with a gun and he was going to kill us all if you didn't stop him. I am so proud of you and how brave you were despite horrific circumstances. Please don't beat yourself up about this."
She nodded and looked at him. "I couldn't let him hurt you or our girls. I just couldn't."
He hugged her again. "I thank God you are okay and our girls are okay. All I want is our family safe and home. Tonight I have the first part of that wish and soon enough we will all be together."
She sighed. "You're right," she looked at him. "When do you have to go back to work?"
"Well that's the other part of my surprise. I put in a while ago, but I actually just recently found out it was approved. I am officially on paternity leave for 4 weeks," he said.
He was simply the most amazing person. "How do you always do that?"
"What?"
"Make me feel better when I don't think there is any way out? Make me feel loved and respected and make me simply love you even more than I did a moment ago?"
He smiled through his own tears. "It's a talent."
She laughed and hugged him. "Let's get to some of that holding time."
He raised his eyebrows. "I thought you would never ask," he stood up and slowly moved to unbutton her top. He pulled it off her shoulders and tossed it on the floor. He helped her stand up while he pulled the covers down and helped her to lie down on the cool sheets. He moved to her pants and pulled them off before moving his hands up her legs and smiling at her. "You are so beautiful."
"I'm still fat," she said.
"Robin, you are not fat. You already look like you did before the pregnancy. Besides, I didn't mean your body, I meant you. You are beautiful," he leaned in and kissed her lips.
She smiled as she closed her eyes for a moment, exhausted. He grabbed her nightshirt and helped her take her bra off before she put the shirt on. He stood up and removed his clothes, walking in front of her as she bit her lip at his beautiful body. He pulled on his shorts and crawled into the bed next to her. He moved right against her and traced a line across her chin. "We will have our family together again really soon. Until then, we will simply have to love each other."
"Why don't you ask me to do something difficult?" she stroked his cheek and turned to lean into his chest as he held her and she fell asleep almost instantly.
Chapter Fifty-Four:
Robin and Patrick made their way to the nursery to spend the day with their daughters. They had been regular fixtures in the NICU and they were hopeful that maybe the girls would be able to come home soon. They walked in to put their gowns on and smiled at the nurse on duty.
"How are they this morning?" Patrick asked the new nurse.
"Doing well. Hannah has been very vocal and Becca took 2 ounces of formula by mouth," she said.
Robin was ecstatic. There was no way they could take them home if they weren't able to take formula successfully. She walked over to little Becca and reached in to touch her baby girl. "Hi little Becca bean. Mommy and daddy are here to see you."
Patrick walked over to Hannah and smiled at the fussy girl. "Good morning little Jelly belly. Daddy and mommy love you."
Each of them expertly unhooked their daughters and carefully picked them up. "Waaaa," Becca complained when Robin adjusted her in her arms. She smiled at her tiny daughter. "What is it? Do you need to tell me a story?" she asked as she sat down on the rocking chair. Becca nestled against her mom and settled down immediately.
Patrick sat down next to them with Hannah. She grasped his finger and Patrick felt his heart melt. "Robin, look at her," he said.
"What is it?" she smiled at her other baby girl.
"I think she winked at me." Patrick said.
Robin grinned. "It's called blinking."
"No, it was a wink. She winked at me," he said and moved her to his shoulder. She fit almost in one hand still, but it was evident they were both growing nicely. They held their girls and spent time enjoying them before they needed to be placed back in the incubator. After they were safely back in their makeshift cocoons, Patrick and Robin sat down, watching their daughters.
Robin looked at her husband who was deep in thought. She wondered what was going through his mind. She reached over and took his hand in hers and looked at the babies.
Patrick smiled as Robin put her hand in his. He looked at her and then his daughters. His mind was whirling with everything that had happened to them over the past year and a half. He had just moved back to Port Charles to take a job as a teacher in the school close to his parents. The last thing on his mind was any sort of relationship; that is until he saw Robin. He still remembered the first time he looked at her. Everyone was welcoming him in the teachers lounge and she stood back, not interested in the least. He was so taken by her and her ability to affect him so deeply by not doing anything. She was so guarded and he found himself needing to know why. And then she was attacked in the woods and he found her, beaten and bruised. Nothing had been the same since.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked him softly as she rubbed his hand.
He smiled and had tears in his eyes. "Us, you, our life, everything."
She leaned her head on his arm. "As long as it's nothing serious," she whispered and they both laughed. He put his arm around her and she smiled into the safety of his chest. He had always done that for her, made her safe. She never had that before, someone who put her above anything else, not because they had to, but because they needed to. He was everything to her from the first moment he walked into school. She tried to fight it and she went out of her way to be unreachable, but it didn't matter, they were each other's destiny. It was bound to happen.
"Where did you go?" he asked her as he rubbed her arm.
"Just thinking," she said softly.
"Care to elaborate?" he kissed her forehead.
She shrugged. "I am just so blessed. Sometimes I wonder if I deserve so much," she felt her eyes sting with tears.
He turned to look at her. "Where is this coming from? You deserve all of this, we both do."
She nodded. "I know. I just think about everything we have been through. So much has happened to you because of me and I just want our girls to be safe and to feel as loved as I do."
He stood up and reached for her. "Let's take a walk," he led her out to the small garden area near the nursery and they sat down. It was a beautiful day out, blue sky and a cooling breeze. He looked at her, the wind blowing her chestnut hair and her face glowing. He sat opposite her and took her hands in his. "Do you remember what happened soon after we met and I found you in the woods. You came back to work too soon and got light headed so you went home and I came over later. You wanted me to leave and I wouldn't."
She smiled. "I remember I got mad and threw a pillow and then immediately went to pick it up. You didn't understand that."
He grinned. "I always figured when someone throws something out of anger, it's best to let it sit for a while."
"I always had to make everything better. You called me on that," she smiled.
"Something profound happened that afternoon, do you remember?" he asked her.
She looked up at him and nodded. "The shower scene."
"You make it sound like it was from Psycho or something," he chuckled. "I remember every part of it, but more importantly, my feelings."
Robin cried into his shoulder as she sat there, dripping wet, wrapped only in a towel, but she didn't care. She felt like the weight of the world was slowing pouring off of her shoulders. She was spent, like she had just run a marathon and she wasn't sure she even had the energy to pick her head up.
Patrick felt like he was home. He thought she fit perfectly in his arms and through his whole life, he had longed for someone to wake him up like she had. He had almost lost hope that there was someone out there for him. He also realized the ridiculousness of having these feelings in the midst of her having a breakdown. He needed to get her through this, get them through this, and then they could maybe be more.
Robin put her hand on his chest and picked her head up, using her other hand to almost hold her head up, resting her forehead on her palm. Patrick touched her face and smoothed her hair. "Hey, are you back?" he smiled at her, no a hint of anything other than compassion in his face.
She exhaled. "I am so exhausted. I don't know what happened, but I think every bit of my energy just left my body."
He was concerned, but figured it was probably just the extent of the emotional release she had just experienced. "We need to get you dressed or you're going to get sick. Where are your clothes?"
"I can do it. Do you want to wait in the other room?" she asked, looking down.
"No. I don't want to leave you. I will turn away and give you privacy, but I am simply not leaving," He said leaving no room for argument.
She nodded, grateful. "Okay. Can you just hand me those pants over there?" she motioned to her clothes and he handed them to her. He turned and looked out the window as she put her clothes on. She stayed sitting on the bed and looked over at him. "All done," she whispered.
He turned and smiled at her. She was a mess, with wet hair plastered in all directions, red splotches on her face, her bare feet on the floor and her clothes wrinkled and worn, but Patrick thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Robin wiped her eyes at his memory and looked at him. "I was anything but beautiful. You should have run while you could," she smiled, showing him she was joking.
"Where would I have gone? Everywhere I went, I thought about you. At work, I wanted to be with you. At home I missed you. Running would have done nothing. I would have run to you," he said softly.
She leaned in and kissed him. "Do you remember when we first said I love you?"
"How could I forget? We had just made love for the first time and I just blurted it out," he smiled. "I wasn't sure if you felt the same way."
"I love you," He said and meant it with all his heart. She looked at him and her eyes were wide while she registered what he said. "I don't know if you feel the same way or if I should have waited to say something or if I just ruined something that was perfect, but I just wanted you to know," he said, feeling more exposed than he did while they made love.
Robin looked at him while he spoke, and all she could hear were the words 'I love you'. She sat up, wrapped in the sheet and looked at him. She took her hand and smoothed his cheek, already showing stubble from not shaving in a day. She touched his bare chest and he put his hand on hers. "You don't have to say," he began and she put her finger on his lips, stopping his sentence.
"When I was little, I used to imagine my knight in shining armor coming into town and rescuing me. I pictured all of the amazing heroes from the stories I read being the only man who would ever have my heart. I began to lose that image when I met men who were simply not for me. I even went so far as almost settling for less than I wanted, or deserved," she scooted closer to him. "But you, Patrick, you came into my life and it was like an explosion of feelings. Everything I had left behind came back to the forefront. You are my hero, my knight in shining armor, my friend, and my equal. I love you, too," she said simply.
He smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. She pressed her mouth on his and kissed him deeply. She broke the connection and he saw she had tears in her eyes. "What is it?"
She shook her head. "Nothing, just a little overwhelmed."
He smiled. "Me too."
"So are you going to always compare me to literary characters, because I might have some reading to catch up on?" he said with his eyes smiling.
She shrugged. "That's the drawback of dating an English teacher."
Patrick felt overwhelmed as she relayed that moment and how vividly she had remembered it. He was simply surprised by her every day and his love and admiration for her had grown exponentially. "It's really important to me that you know how happy I am and how much I love you and our little Jelly and Bean. We are going to have the best life with our girls. We will teach them to love and honor each other. We will show them that sometimes life is hard and sometimes there is pain involved in living, but when you find a love like we have, when you least expect it, you find all the courage you need. After all, love is courage."
She wiped her eyes and leaned in to kiss him deeply as a group of butterflies landed next to them.
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The End! Thank you so much for reading. Please check out my other stories
