Chapter Thirty-Six:
It had been five months since the night in the woods and things were going so well for Robin and Patrick. They had been dating exclusively and a month earlier, Patrick returned to surgery.
He had worked tirelessly in therapy and when he was finally cleared for work, he felt he had become even better than before because of the intense work he had to do in order to recover.
"Patrick? I didn't know you were going to be here," Liz said as she walked up to check the surgical notes.
"Hey, I'm back full time now," he smiled. "Are you assisting?"
"No, I need to head to Cam's school for conferences," she smiled. "But I'm so glad you're back on the rotation."
"Thanks. I hope to see you in my OR soon," he moved to let her by.
"Me too," she flashed him a smile and left.
"Flirting again? Won't Dr. Scorpio have an issue with that?" Epiphany asked as she walked by.
Patrick had developed a strong affinity for the motherly nurse and she was always yelling at him and Robin about displays of affection in public. They all knew the deep respect they all had for each other.
"You know she tolerates my personality, but the real thing is all hers," Patrick flashed her his dimples.
"She should be up for sainthood now, having to tolerate all that," Epiphany rolled her eyes at him.
"Aw, come on, you like me a little, don't you?"
She laughed.
"I like my men a little more humble."
"Humble is overrated," Patrick smiled. "Speaking of Dr. Scorpio, she should be here by now. Do you know of she was called in somewhere else?"
"There was an emergency in Ortho and she went to talk to them about a potential protocol they might use."
Patrick felt the pride surge through him at all she had accomplished since coming back here. Her protocols had been extremely successful and she was getting a ton of press for her new trials.
"Okay, thanks. If you see her, will you let her know I'm in my office?"
"Yes doctor," she said and he laughed as he walked away.
Epiphany shook her head in amusement as she watched him leave. For as much as she teased them, she was so happy they were together. They seemed to bring a sense of fun and happiness to the hospital that had long been missing.
"Nurse Johnson, trauma on route," the intercom blared.
Epiphany forgot everything else and went to prep for the arrival.
XXXX
"I can't thank you enough," Ryan said to Robin. Ryan was the top ortho specialist and he had a patient with bone cancer who was looking for a way to save his leg. Her new protocol might give them enough time to find a solution.
"No thanks necessary," she smiled as she closed the chart. "I just hope it gives you some time."
"Me too. I'll let you know what the tests show in a few days."
Robin tucked her hair behind her ear.
"That would be great. I need to head back to the ER, but I'll talk to you soon."
He smiled as she left. There was a spring in her step and she couldn't help but smile.
What the hell was happening to her? She felt like skipping and it was seriously not in her character to be like this.
Patrick just made her happy.
It had been an amazing and whirlwind few months and she found herself excited for what might come next.
"Dr. Scorpio? We need you in the ER," a nurse said as she rushed by. "Bus accident and all hands on deck."
Robin nodded and raced to triage.
She saw mass chaos when she entered. There were gurneys all over and doctors scrambling to help whoever they could. She saw Patrick attending to a head wound and she went to help wherever she could.
"Matt? Hey, can I help?" she asked when she saw him trying to stabilize a young girl about three years old. There was a mother sitting by and she was inconsolable.
"Robin, yeah, I need you to find out from the mother what she can remember about what happened. The injuries to her daughter aren't just from the accident. She was in the car that rammed the bus."
Robin nodded and went to the woman who was surrounded by police officers.
"I need to talk to her about her daughter," she said to the officers and then nodded, stepping aside.
"Ma'am? I'm Dr. Scorpio and I need for you to tell me exactly what happened to your daughter."
"We were in a car accident. I don't know why you keep hounding me!" she screamed at Robin and the police stepped closer.
Patrick turned at the screaming and so did many of the other people standing there. He saw Robin and his protection mode took over.
"Excuse me," he said to the nurse he as talking to. He walked closer to the chaos and the police stopped him.
"You need to stay back," the officer said.
Patrick sighed, but was close enough to be sure she was okay, so he nodded.
Robin saw him and smiled reassuringly before she turned back to the woman. He was called away and went to help another case.
"Your daughter has some injuries that need special attention and Dr. Hunter asked me to get a little more information from you. I know you were in a car accident, but can you tell me if your daughter was in any trouble before you got into the car?"
The woman looked at her and there was absolute fear in her eyes.
"I just needed to get her some help. I needed to get away," she said fearfully.
Robin nodded and rubbed the woman's arm.
"It's okay. You're both safe now. Can you tell me why she needed help? What happened?"
"I thought he loved me," she sobbed. "I had to work and he said he would watch her. I came home and there were these people all over my apartment. When I went to find her, I couldn't wake her up. I don't know what they gave her, but I just had to get here. I didn't know what to do. He was so mad and he warned me not to leave, but I just took her and ran. I didn't have her in her car seat. When I hit the bus, she slammed against the seat and her neck was in a strange position but I just picked her up and held her. Is she going to be okay?"
Robin looked at Matt who shook his head and continued to work.
"I'll check for you. Thank you for telling me."
The woman sobbed and Robin went to Matt.
"What can I do?" she asked him as she closed the privacy sheet.
"Nothing. There is no brain activity," he said with anger in his voice. "Whatever that dipshit gave her combined with the torque from the impact of the car ended things before I could try anything else."
Robin shook her head and looked at the beautiful little girl.
"I'm sorry Matt," she said as he called it.
"It's just that I think of Kenzie and I can't imagine anyone touching her or doing anything to hurt her. It makes me sick."
"Hey! Where is she?" an angry voice yelled.
Robin and Matt turned and opened the privacy sheet and saw a man standing there with a gun.
"Where is she? What did you do to her?" he screamed.
"Henry, stop it!" the mother yelled.
"You did this! You blamed me but you did this!"
Matt instinctively stepped in front of Robin and they saw Patrick race back over.
The police had the man surrounded, but he was aiming the gun at Matt and Robin.
"She did this. She has a problem with alcohol and she knew I had to work. She said she would watch Leyla and when I came home, the house was a mess and Leyla wasn't there. I got a call from the cops and then I saw the news and," he started crying as he realized the truth.
"Please, let me see my little girl," he cried.
The woman glared at him and Robin could see his pain.
The man was telling the truth.
"How could you lie about your child? Who does something like this?" she asked the woman as she walked closer.
"Robin, don't move," Patrick yelled.
"You don't know what it's like! You have everything, being a doctor. You have money and that means everything!" she cried and lunged at Robin but the cops held her back.
"My baby," Henry cried as he walked to the bed. Matt put his hand on the guy's arm and comforted him, motioning to the police that it was okay. The man still held the gun.
Robin looked at Patrick and he had fear in his eyes.
"I'm okay," she said.
"Help her, please!" the man cried.
"I can't," Matt said sadly. "She's gone."
"What? No!" he yelled and turned to look at Robin. "Do something!"
She walked closer and ignored Patrick's voice telling her to stop.
"Henry, right?" she said as she walked to him.
"Yes. Please save my little girl."
Robin walked to Matt and they looked at Henry.
"She was gone before they got here. I'm so sorry, but there's nothing we could do," he said.
Robin looked at Matt and they braced for his reaction.
XXXXX
"We need to go in there!" Patrick cried as the cops stood back from the covered area. "He is going to kill them!"
"If we rush him, he will shoot for sure. With the amount of oxygen nearby, we need to be careful and give them a minute to talk him down."
"They're doctors, not hostage negotiators," he said and felt his heart in his throat. "That's my brother and the woman I love. Please help them!"
The officer turned to say something when they all heard the gunshot.