Chapter Fifty-One:

"Just remember that he is very sick, so he might not be able to talk too long," Patrick told Emma as they walked to meet Aaron.

"Dad, I heard you," Emma said and stared at Patrick who smiled.

"Okay, but I just want you to be prepared," he said and shrugged.

Emma looked at him and carried her backpack.

"You said he has what mommy has, right?"

"Yes, but mommy isn't sick like he is. Actually, mommy and I are trying to help him to feel better."

"Okay," she said and smiled when Robin walked out of the room.

"Hi mom!"

Robin hugged her and kissed her forehead.

"Hi baby! How was school?"

"Good. I got an "A" on my hero paper! Ms. Treepal said it was right that I wrote about what I felt was a hero to me. She said it was really good."

"That's awesome! I am so proud of you. When we get home, you should put it on the fridge," Robin said.

"Okay," she smiled and looked at Patrick. "Is that okay daddy?"

Patrick smiled at her.

"Of course it's okay. I'll just have to come over to mommy's house and see it."

Robin blushed and looked at him.

"That would be nice."

"Okay, let's go meet Aaron," Patrick said and they walked into the room.

Mark sat with his son and he stood up when Emma walked in.

"Hi! I'm Emma," she said and walked to the bed.

Aaron smiled as he sat up more.

"Hi Emma. I'm Aaron and this is my dad."

Mark smiled and shook Emma's hand.

"Hi Emma. It's nice to meet you."

Emma sat down and opened her bag.

"I brought you a few things."

Mark stepped back and looked gratefully at Robin and Patrick. Aaron seemed to perk up considerably when he saw Emma.

"Let's give them some time alone," Robin said to the men.

Mark nodded and Patrick frowned.

"Patrick?" Robin saw he stopped.

"Why is he looking at her like that? Why is she sitting so close? Did she just touch his arm?"

Mark grinned and shrugged.

"That's my boy."

Robin rolled her eyes and led them out.

"Let them be kids," she said.

"Within reason," Patrick grumbled as he walked out, watching his daughter the whole way.

Mark laughed as they walked into the hall.

"Can I go over some questions about the treatment with you?" he asked Patrick.

"Of course," Patrick looked at Robin and she checked her watch.

"I need to take my meds and eat something. Can I meet you back here in a few minutes? I'm just going to head to the lounge."

Patrick nodded and stopped himself from going with her. He needed to let her do things on her own.

"Okay," he smiled and she walked off.

Robin pulled her sweater around her as she made her way to the lounge. She was excited about her date with Patrick later and she was happy to see Aaron smile.

So much was finally going right for her and she was determined to keep it that way.

"Dr. Scorpio?"

Robin walked into the lounge and sighed when she saw Sabrina.

"I just need to get something, so please excuse me."

"How is Emma doing?" Sabrina asked.

Robin opened her locker and sighed when the contents were empty.

"Is something wrong?" Sabrina asked.

"Nope," Robin smiled. "Excuse me."

"I didn't know you were working here. I told them your locker was abandoned, kind of your M.O. anyway."

Robin faced her and smiled, not giving her an inch.

"Thanks for looking out for me," she said and went to leave.

Sabrina was furious. She was sure this would get a reaction out of Robin.

"You have no business being so happy. You deserve to be miserable."

"Have a great day," Robin said and walked out. She made her way to a private bathroom and walked in, locking the door and sitting down, taking a deep breath.

She was proud of herself and at the same time, she was sick to her stomach. The guilt she felt over what Sabrina had lost was immense, but as Dr. Holly helped her see, she wasn't responsible for the actions of others. She didn't hurt Sabrina and she never would have wanted Patrick to lose a child. As for Sabrina losing Patrick, it was clear that Patrick was never really into that relationship. It was for the best that they never got married. Patrick wouldn't have been happy.

What bothered Robin the most was Sabrina's comment about Emma. Her daughter had been through so much and Robin worried about that. She wanted Emma to be happy and to believe that Robin loved her.

She walked out of the bathroom and made her way back to the lounge. She had a set of meds in her purse, so that would be fine for now. She just needed to grab something to eat.

Nothing was going to ruin this day for her.

XXXX

Patrick cleaned up the dishes after dinner later that night and he smiled as he watched Emma leave with Mac for a sleepover. Robin walked them out and waved as she came back in and closed the door.

He finished cleaning and sighed. Something had happened earlier when Robin went to the lounge but she didn't say anything. Dinner had been all about Emma and her day, so they hadn't had a chance to talk.

Now he wanted to know more.

"So what happened when you went to get your meds?"

Robin looked at him and smiled as she sat down.

"I got my meds."

He raised his eyebrows and smiled as he sat across from her.

"What?" she asked.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me, but something upset you."

"How do you know?"

Patrick shrugged.

"Your body language was different when you came back. You were more closed off and your forehead had more lines. You always got those when you were worried about something."

She stared at him and he blushed.

"I never knew you were so observant," she said.

"Well I wasn't when you needed me to be, so I won't make that mistake again."

She smiled and was quiet for a minute.

"Sabrina was in the lounge."

"Shit," he said and looked at his hands.

"I handled myself and it's not something you need to worry about. I used my tools from therapy and it was fine," she said. "I really don't want to focus on it, okay?"

He nodded.

"I don't want to focus on it, but I don't want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me."

She stood up and sighed.

"I don't. She had them clean out my locker so my meds were gone, but I had some in my purse. I didn't let her get to me and I know that irritated her, but I handled it."

"She took your meds?" he asked, shades of the torment Lisa put them through showing up.

Robin looked at him and knew what he was thinking.

"It's nothing like before. You and I are not going to be put through this again, okay? Please don't let this ruin tonight."

"Okay," he said and nodded. "I'm just sorry you had to deal with her."

"I'm not. It made me confident that I could. I didn't shrink back or crawl into myself. I handled her and I got through it. That's important to me."

He smiled at her.

"So what's next?"

She laughed and walked into the kitchen, coming back with a couple beers.

"Let's talk. Tell me about yourself," she grinned and handed him a beer as she sat down.

He took a drink and smiled.

"I had a nice childhood. My mom was amazing and my dad was a world-renowned brain surgeon. My mom died when I was 18 and my dad fell into the bottom of a bottle. I worked to become a better surgeon than he was."

She took a drink and nodded.

"So what made you come to Port Charles?"

He shrugged.

"A desperate young girl found me and begged me to help her boyfriend."

She choked on her beer and he jumped to help her.

"Seriously? Desperate young girl?" she said as she wiped her eyes.

"That's how I remember it," he said, flashing his dimples.

"I see. Please continue your memory," she grinned.

"So anyway, I helped him because I'm an amazing man and I decided to stay here."

Robin nodded.

"You're amazing."

They were both quiet and then burst out laughing.

"I need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back," she said and he grinned as she walked away.

He was loving this. He hoped she was, too.

Robin washed up after she used the bathroom and on her way back to Patrick, she stopped and looked through the box of things Patrick had brought over with Emma and she laughed when she saw the pictures from their karaoke night at Jake's. She touched the images and thought of the night they had after that.

It had been so long since a man had touched her, at least in a way that wasn't violent. She felt tears come to her eyes when it occurred to her that she forgot what it was like to feel the love that she used to. She forgot how Patrick made her body come alive and she realized that she had been punishing herself.

Her anger and sadness had been a mask for much of her fear. Being touched and possibly raped by her captors meant that her ability to move forward with her life was seriously hindered. She had spoken to Dr. Holly about that and the fact that she would never be able to confirm if she had been raped was something she would have to deal with. It was possible more memories would return, but it was also possible they wouldn't and she would simply have to move forward.

"Robin?" Patrick's voice startled her and she jumped.

"Oh, sorry," she said and wiped her eyes. "I didn't hear you."

"I see that," he said softly and sat down next to her. "What are you doing? I was worried when you didn't come back. Is everything okay?"

"I'm sorry. I got a little sidetracked," she said and he looked at the pictures she held.

"I was just thinking," she said.

He nodded and took her hand.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Her brown eyes met his and he ached to hold her and make the pain go away.

"I was thinking about sex with you."

He was surprised at that.

"I see," he smiled. "Do I want to know more or is this something best left alone?"

She grinned and then her tears came again.

"I miss it. I miss being touched and I miss feeling beautiful. I worry I won't ever have that again. I worry that what happened to me will make it so I won't be able to be happy with sex again."

"Robin," he started to talk and she pulled her hand away, getting up.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I said any of that. I don't expect you to have to deal with this and it's wrong of me to just bring this up. You should go home."

Patrick stood up and took her hand.

"Come here," he said and pulled her to him, looking into her eyes.

"You will have it again," he said softly.

"What do you mean?"

"You worry you won't have someone touch you or love you. You miss being touched and you need to know, it will happen."

She looked down and he tilted her chin up to look at him.

"You are incredible. You're intelligent and funny and passionate. You are absolutely beautiful and as someone who has had the privilege of touching you and loving you, it is the most beautiful and amazing experience. I have been with a lot of women, we both know that, and it's not something I'm proud of. What I can tell you is that of all of the women who I have slept with, none have had my heart except you. You are unforgettable and the way it feels to be with you, completely, is exquisite. You will have it again. I promise."

She moved away from him and walked back into the family room.

"Robin, wait," he said as he followed her.

"I can't. I feel ridiculous talking to you like this."

"Stop walking away from me," he said and she stopped, her eyes full of sadness.

"Why would you feel ridiculous?"

"Because I have been with 3 men my whole life. I had never looked at sex as fun or exciting before you because my life was just not set out that way. My relationship with Stone was over so quickly after we had sex and Jason had to sleep with Carly because I wasn't able to satisfy him," she stopped when he looked stunned.

"I didn't mean it to sound like that, I mean, Jason and I had a lot of issues, but sex was one of them when it came to Carly. Actually, betrayal was big, but I understood it to a point."

He let her talk and she paced as she recalled her past.

"I didn't ever believe that I was someone who brought out sexiness. I felt like I was held back by my own hang-ups and my HIV."

She looked at him and saw his compassionate eyes.

"But with you, it was like I wasn't a woman with HIV. I don't mean that you didn't respect my past or what I carry, but you seemed to want me because you loved me and when you touched me, I felt like I was beautiful. I never once felt like you were forcing yourself to be with me and the times we made love were some of the most amazing moments I've experienced. I miss that. I miss you and I miss watching you come alive when we come together. I feel like I won't have that again and it makes me incredibly sad."

He took her hands in his and smiled.

"I need to tell you something. First of all, you shouldn't understand what Jason did with Carly because that's shit. You deserved better than that and it had nothing to do with you at all. It's similar to how I hurt you. I broke your trust when I cheated with Lisa and I destroyed your heart when I moved on with Sabrina and Sam."

She looked at her hands and sighed.

"Hey, look at me," he said. "What I'm trying to say, although not really well, is that you scare me. You scare me in the best way possible. Making love with you is unlike any experience I've ever had and it has everything to do with who you are and how much you mean to me. Your body is incredible and the way you move your hands over my body is unlike anything I've ever felt before. But the most exquisite part of being with you is what I see when I watch you come apart. I see my future and it's more than I could ever hope for. You deserve to be loved and cherished and you deserve to feel beautiful and sexy. I wish, so much that I get to be with you again, but if that is something you never feel comfortable with, I truly hope you find it somewhere. You are meant for love. You are meant to be touched."

She reached to his face and stroked his cheek.

"Thank you for saying this."

He covered her hand with his and kissed her palm.

"I meant every word."

She hesitated and made a decision.

"I think you should go home."

He nodded.

"Okay. I understand."

She looked at him and he could see she was struggling.

"What is it?"

"I want you to stay, but I don't think I'm ready for anything. I don't know how to get past this issue."

He stood in front of her and took a deep breath.

"Will you let me try something?"

She wiped her eyes and nodded.

"Okay."