Chapter 37

"Hi mommy." Nikolas walked into Robin's room with a sleeping Hope in his arms. He laid the little girl down in her bassinet and sat down next to Robin on the bed. "She took a whole 6 ounces and burped like a pro." He smiled at Robin. "She is so amazing."

"Yes she is." Robin was finally able to relax now that Nikolas had brought Hope into the room. "I'm glad she was good for you."

"Of course she was." Nikolas waved at the open door and one of the maids came in. "Please pack up all of their things and move them back into our room."

"I thought we agreed that Hope and I would stay in here while she was still waking up in the middle of night." Robin was trying to not to let her nervousness show. "After all, you need to get a decent night's sleep if you are going to be able to function at work."

"Well, I have a surprise for you." Nikolas looked like the cat that ate the canary. "I have arranged to work from home for the next few weeks so we can have time to bond as a family. You, me, Hope and, when she gets home, Emma. Our family is the most important thing to me and I want to prove it to you."

"Wow, that's great." Robin knew she couldn't argue with him about this – she had to play along for now.

"It's not like I was sleeping that well anyhow." He wrapped his arms around Robin, holding her close. "I got used to having you in my arms."

"That's sweet." Robin watched as the maid finished packing up her things. "I'll take Hope if you want to grab her bassinet."

"Of course." Nikolas waited until Robin had picked up the baby before reaching for the bassinet. "Let's go to our room."

"Here is the number – we are meeting Robin tomorrow at Wyndamere so we will slip her the phone then." Sam and Jason were meeting with Patrick at his house. They sat on the couch while Patrick paced the floor.

"Okay – Robert texted me a little bit ago and he is stopping by to see Anna and Emma before he heads to Port Charles." Robert had finally starting thawing towards Patrick again. "I have already spoken to Alexis about preventing Emma from moving back into Wyndamere. I don't want to separate her from Robin but…"

"But the girls safety needs to come first – I know." Jason looked at Sam. This was a discussion they had had with Alexis as well. "I have already filed paperwork to have Nikolas's name removed from Hope's birth certificate and have me named as her legal father. Nikolas is fighting it."

"You have to be kidding me – on what grounds?" Patrick was confused. Nikolas was the one who had told them about Hope's paternity in the first place.

"Because he and Robin are married so legally Hope is his daughter." Jason sighed. "He needs to keep control of her – she is his leverage against me and the entire Quartermaine family."

"How much longer does he think he can drag this out? We have the DNA test, we can prove he is not Hope's father." No matter how much he tried, Patrick would never understand Nikolas's way of thinking.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how long Nikolas can drag this out. Legally speaking, he is Hope's father and that means that he can disappear with her and Robin and I can't do anything to stop him. He needs me to know that so I don't say anything at the board meeting next month." Jason grabbed Sam's hand and held on to it tight. "I won't risk Robin or Hope's safety for anything."

"I know." Patrick looked at his watch. "Look, I have to get to the hospital but I will send the burner phone number to Anna and Robert. I'll talk to you both tomorrow after you visit with Robin and Hope."

The couple stood up and headed to the door. Jason smiled at Patrick. "Sounds good. We're going to see if we can have Hope overnight so we can have some time alone with her. If we can get a routine started with her it will help with us in getting custody."

"That's not a bad idea." Patrick knew that Jason felt guilty for even considering taking Hope away from Robin but he needed to protect his daughter. "Could you forward me any pictures Robin sends you of her? I just want to see for myself she is okay."

Sam pulled out her phone and quickly sent him a picture. "I took this one while she was at our place." Patrick opened up the phone and looked at the little girl. He got a strange look on his face as he studied it. "Patrick, what is it?"

"Nothing." Patrick was sure he was imagining it. "It's just, in this photo, it almost looks like she has a little dimple in her cheek. Probably just a trick of the light."

Sam looked at the photo. "I didn't even notice that before. Funny, huh?"

"Yeah." Patrick put up his phone. "Well, I need to get going so let me know how things go tomorrow."

"Will do – and Patrick," Sam smiled at him, "try not to worry – Robin and Hope will be safe soon enough. Who knows, maybe after this whole mess is over the two of you can try again."

"I hope so Sam, I really do." Patrick led the couple out and then shut and locked the door. The truth was Patrick truly believed that there was only one way this whole nightmare would end – with him, Robin and the girls together as a family.

Lucas watched as Brad stared out their apartment window. Brad had been quiet and withdrawn for the last few days and he was worried. He walked up and put his arm around his fiancée. "Penny for your thoughts."

Brad shook his head and leaned back against Lucas. "Have you ever done the wrong thing for the right reasons?" Brad's actions a few days ago were haunting him.

"What do you mean?" Lucas gently turned Brad around so he was facing him. "What did you do Brad?"

"Nothing it's just, I was thinking about when I lied and said I was the father of Britt's baby. I thought I was helping out my friend but…"

Lucas interrupted him. "I don't understand – where is the coming from?"

"I guess I just miss her. I mean, yeah, she did some pretty terrible things but she was a good friend to me in her weird Britt way and sometimes I miss being able to talk to her." Brad smiled at him. "I bet she would walk me down the aisle if I asked her to."

"Is that what this is about – not having someone to walk you down the aisle?" Lucas knew Brad's family was not accepting of their marriage. "Why don't you call Britt and see if she can come back for the wedding?"

"That's not possible." Brad turned back around.

"I don't like the woman but why don't you ask Obrecht to get in touch with Britt?" Lucas couldn't help but get a nagging feeling that there was more to this than Brad was telling him.

"No!" Brad took a deep breath before continuing. "It's just that Britt doesn't like her mother so I don't think she can help me. No one can."

"Brad…"

"I'm okay – I promise." Brad turned back around and smiled at Lucas. "Enough talk for tonight - let's go to bed."