Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Patrick watched while Robin walked to the couch in his office and sat down. He closed his door and sat on the chair opposite her.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted your talk with Sam," she began.

"You didn't. I was just trying to answer more of her questions. Apparently Jason isn't happy about some of the things that went on, although you probably know that because he seems to talk to you a lot."

Robin looked at her hands and then met his gaze ignoring his comment.

"I don't care, really. I didn't come here to talk to you about Sam or whatever you are doing with her."

He sighed.

"I'm not doing anything with her."

They were quiet for a minute and then Robin continued.

"I was talking to Jason and he is worried that Helena has resurfaced."

"Did he find anything out about her being in the hospital?"

She was surprised he seemed to know Jason was worried.

"Not yet, but he found evidence that the elevator was tampered with. It's only because something malfunctioned that we didn't fall to our deaths."

"Shit," he said as the reality of what she said hit him. Emma could have lost both her parents.

"Robin, I don't know what to say. Does he know who did it?"

She sighed.

"No, but It has to be on Helena's orders. She went after me and she didn't care that you were there, too. She won't hesitate to hurt anyone around me."

Patrick was floored.

"Then we need to figure out a way to get to her before she gets to you."

Robin shook her head and looked at him.

"I am going to move into Sonny's penthouse."

He was stunned.

"What? Why?"

"There is a threat out there to me, Patrick, and it isn't safe for me to be unguarded. I am not about to move in with Jason because of Sam and I don't want to stay with Mac because I don't want to bring more danger to anyone I love. Sonny is in jail now, so his place is empty, but he has guards. I wanted to talk to you about Emma because I need to figure out how to keep her safe. I'd like to still see her."

He was so mad and he knew it stemmed from so much more than her words.

"So what, you're going to abandon us again and go stay with the mobsters? They can protect you like I can't? Why don't you just call Nikolas? I'm sure he can once again save you, too," he stood up and paced.

"I'll tell you right now that I will not allow my daughter to visit you in a mob haven surrounded by armed guards."

She met his anger and glared at him.

"Oh, so you never saw Sam at her place? You never let Danny see Emma? I recall the picture you had on your desk of all of you together. Sam is married to Jason and her life was full of danger because of that. You had no issue shacking up with her. You think just because he was gone the threats to her would disappear? Nobody would come after her to teach Sonny a lesson? You didn't think there might be danger surrounding you because of her? Or maybe because it wasn't me, you were okay with it."

He stared at her and she felt her anger grow.

"This is the fucking problem, Patrick. You have a double standard for me and it's shit. You hold me to these ridiculous rules and I can't deal with it. I am a good person. I love my daughter and I loved you. I never worked for the mob. I tried over and over to get Jason and Sonny to give it up. I am not apologizing for my friends any more and I am done defending my past to you. I only came here to try and tell you that I'm scared. I don't know why I thought you would care or what I was thinking. I don't want to be hurt again and I don't trust that I can help myself against the likes of Helena. I am not running or leaving you or Emma. I am talking to you because I am trying not to do the wrong thing," she said as she stood up.

"But you are out of line. I don't owe you anything anymore. I want to be a part of my daughter's life and I will never put her in danger if I can help it. I was hoping to figure out a way to be with her, but you are so damn stubborn and arrogant that I can't deal with this. I'm leaving."

He watched her turn and he moved to stop her.

"No, please," he said. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. You just need to let me live my life and stop judging. You are being cruel. You have always hated Jason and everything he represented. I get that. You hated that I left to help him. I get that, too. You divorced me because of it. I heard you loud and clear. Now my life is still in danger and I'm trying to survive. I am trying to do right by our daughter because no matter how much you and I hate each other, she is the best and most amazing blessing and I will not put her in the middle of this. I need to be here for her. I will not survive another kidnapping. I can't do it. I can barely breathe when I think of all that happened. I just want to be safe. I need everyone to be safe," she said as her tears fell and she sat down on the couch, exhausted.

He had been quiet as he listened to her and for the first time in a long time, he really heard her. He sat down on the chair again and sighed.

"You're right."

She wiped her forehead and sighed.

"I don't want to fight with you. I just wanted you to know."

He looked at her and his eyes were wet.

"He is still in love with you."

She blinked at him.

"What? Who?"

"Jason. He is in love with you."

She shook her head and tucked her hair behind her ears.

"So what if he is? Why is that any concern of yours? Are you worried I might do something? I mean, really, what if I kissed him, or slept with him or divorced you for him," she stood up. "Oh, wait, that was all you."

He flinched a little at her words.

"You have never given me a chance to help you," he said. "You act like all of this is my fault, but your first instinct has never ever been to let me help you."

"What? That isn't true."

"Really? Let's think about it. When you were worried that your HIV meds weren't working anymore, you ran and went to Jason to help you disappear. When you were kidnapped and finally found by your parents, you allowed Nikolas to hide you for weeks instead of finding some way for me to help you. When Victor first approached you, you lied and told me you were going to Africa. Now, when you are in danger again, you want to go elsewhere and you expect all of it to mean nothing to me. You have never trusted me to be the man I can be; the husband you can count on. You treat me like I'm an idiot who can't handle anything if it isn't on the operating table. It's emasculating and wrong. I love you and I have never been enough."

She stared at him and his words had some truth to them.

"I never felt that way. I just didn't want you to be hurt by what I was dealing with. I was scared and I," she stopped and he nodded.

"You were scared and you looked elsewhere for help."

"I was scared because I worried you would blame yourself," she said softly. "My meds stopped working because they were tampered with. If I couldn't get that fixed and regulated, and I got worse, I didn't want you to look at me with such guilt."

"Because of Lisa. Because I slept with her."

Robin shook her head and continued.

"No, because Lisa was crazy. What she did wasn't because you slept with her. Besides, we dealt with that. My meds were a result of her trying to kill me and that was not on you, but on her. I was just scared of how it would hurt you."

"When I heard you left to go to a doctor alone and that you hid it from me, I was hurt more than anything else. You felt like you couldn't trust me. You never let me help you, Robin."

She put her head in her hand and was quiet for a minute.

"Great. I'm so glad we are talking about all of this now, but really, what's the point? It doesn't change anything and it just makes me so sad. I just want to make Emma's life better. I want her to be happy."

"Me too. I think there's only one thing you can do."

"Really? What's that?"

"Why don't you move home with us?"

"What? Why would I do that? I would be putting both of you in direct danger."

He sat down next to her and she looked at him.

"Because maybe, in the midst of all the hurt and anger, you can learn to finally trust me again. Maybe I can be the one who saves you and in doing so, we can figure out a way to move forward?"

"Or you and Emma get hurt because you're near me."

"Or maybe, just this once, the good guys will win."

She shook her head and wiped her eyes.

"That just doesn't happen, Patrick. No matter how much you want it, this story isn't about to have a happy ending."

He had to get through to her, he just didn't know how.