Note: Officer "Garcia" has now been corrected to read Officer "Rodriguez".

And now, finally, the story begins. When I got this title, I thought of people in close quarters with emotions running high, rendered powerless by the long arm of the law. The next few chapters all center around a jail cell and though this is kind of fluffy, it's part of a bigger picture that I can only construct over the course of a few chapters. Just bear with me and revel in the sex-ay-ness of Patrick Drake. Ooh, doctor!

Heat 05

"The only thing to be thankful for…" Patrick Drake drawled, picking at a small hole in his surgical scrubs as he cast a lingering look at Epiphany who sat next to him on the bench. "…Is that you're not a rough trick named Bubba who wants me to dance."

Elizabeth snickered next to him in the cell that she currently shared with Jason, as Epiphany frowned at the young doctor. "Drake, if you don't shut your face, I'm going to make you dance."

"Aren't you the dominant one?" Patrick teased, quickly darting away when Epiphany made to stand up. Elizabeth rolled her dark eyes as he sidled up next to her against the metal bars separating them. "Looks like someone had to empty out bedpans all morning."

"Knock it off, Patrick," the brunette snapped, trying to conceal her smirk. Leave it to Patrick Drake to make her giggle like a child when there was nothing funny about their current situation. "We're not in the break room, you know. In case you missed it, we're in a jail cell."

"Justus is on it," Jason assured them quietly, folding his hands in his lap. They had all gotten a chance to make their phone calls; Epiphany and Patrick had immediately called their lawyers, he had gotten in touch with Justus who promised to be down as soon as possible, and Elizabeth had called Lucky – albeit unsuccessfully. No one had picked up at her home and she figured it was because her husband wasn't feeling well and needed some rest. "He'll try to get us out as soon as possible."

"Lucky will, too," Elizabeth agreed, trying to ease the tense look on Epiphany's face. Her husband had connections within the Police department and was well liked among his colleagues. When he woke up and felt a bit better, he'd hear about what was going on and be down immediately to get her out. "We just have to wait it out a little."

"You know, that was the first thing Robin told me when I came to General Hospital," Patrick smirked, leaning his hip against the bars and crossing his arms over his chest. "She said, get a lawyer – a good one. I thought she was kidding, but I'm glad I listened."

"Hm," Elizabeth smirked, "did she tell you that before you finished nailing the nurse on the gurney, or afterwards?"

"Doctor Scorpio a smart girl," Epiphany nodded, glaring at the debonair young doctor as he tried to grab at his friend through the bars. "Now, if you'd quit needling her every chance you got-"

"Where's the fun in that?" Patrick replied, revealing his dimples as Elizabeth chuckled. "Someone's gotta pull Doctor Sourpuss out of her shell and show her that there's more to life than work and argyle sweaters. And I'm just the man to make it work."

"Oh, you're a piece of work, all right," the nurse groused, turning away from her cellmate and moving toward the bed to sit.

"Epiphany."

Patrick, Elizabeth, and the nurse in question all turned to look at Jason who had hardly spoken during the whole ordeal. The mobster looked directly at the matronly nurse, his cerulean eyes deeply apologetic.

"I'm sorry about dragging you into this. All of you." He glanced at Elizabeth, his intense eyes narrowing slightly when she made as if to protest on her and a silent Patrick's behalf. She had done enough of that in the past two hours. "Justus is working on getting all of us out, and he's the best in the business. I won't forget what any of you did today, and I will make sure that this is fixed as soon as possible."

The nurse seemed to appreciate his sentiments but as usual, didn't waste precious time and emotion expressing it. "The way I see it," she started, pursing her lips into a thin line as she looked at Patrick and Elizabeth who stood close together in the adjoining corner of the two cells. "All we can do right now is hope that the DA has a change of heart."

Patrick snorted, dipping his head toward Elizabeth. "Huh – I wasn't aware Alexis had a heart."

Jason watched as the brunette rolled her eyes and smacked the doctor on the arm. "Hey, you apparently do," she countered, jabbing her index finger at him. "And I've gotta figure that after that, anything's possible."

Epiphany appeared to be waiting for the two to stop bickering, and Jason judged by the bored, somewhat impatient look on her face that this was not an uncommon occurrence. "The post-op showed that Miss McCall's blood pressure was beginning to stabilize," she continued, talking more to her two colleagues than him. "Her heartbeat was normal, and she was recovering. It won't be long at all before that girl wakes up – and once she does, we're in the clear. We're not murderers, we're not renegade doctors. Once the DA's daughter wakes up, we have a reason to hope that she'll have a change of heart and drop the charges."

"Yeah, we can hope," Elizabeth sighed, sweeping her bangs out of her face. "All signs looked promising."

"Barring some unforeseen and unpredictable complication, she should be well on her way to a full recovery," Patrick agreed, scuffing the toe of one white sneaker against the other. "Who knows how long that will take, though?"

"We'll just cool our heels in here until it happens," Epiphany informed him. "And now, if you two will keep it down, I'm going to get some rest. Lord knows I haven't slept in two day and if you so much as make a peep, you will not like what's going to happen."

Patrick and Elizabeth snickered to themselves as the older nurse lay back against the thin cot. "If I had a tin cup, I'd rake it against the bars right now."

Jason smirked, watching as the petite brunette attempted to kick the doctor through the bars. "Knock it off," she hissed, trying to suppress a chuckle. "Or she's going to throw her shoe at us again."

Epiphany covered her eyes with her arm and let out a weary sigh as Patrick and Elizabeth quieted down. Hands on her hips, the brunette paced around in a small circle in the cell she currently shared with Jason before reluctantly making her way over to him and sitting down on the bench. Patrick, taking her cue, sat down on the end of the bench in his cell so that the two of them were only inches apart.

Jason slid a bland sidelong glance at the fidgeting brunette who was currently focusing on her shoelaces. He didn't exactly want to have this conversation with her in front of everyone, but their current set-up didn't allow him much privacy. "You shouldn't have done that."

She blinked at him, the very picture of innocence, and he wanted to shake her. "What did I do?"

"You went all Three Musketeers on us when Jason was ready to take the blame," Patrick muttered, making a point to look away and count the dots on the ceiling when Elizabeth turned to glare at him.

"And you compensated by thinking only of yourself, so consider it even," the brunette snipped at her discourteous and unapologetic friend. "Honestly, Patrick, I don't know what I see in you."

Her eyes narrowed when he turned on her instantly, his dark orbs glittering and his dimples out in full force, and Jason watched as the irritated brunette simply held up her hand. "I swear to God, Drake, if you hit on me now – here – I'll add assault to my already trumped up charges."

The doctor rolled his eyes and slumped against the wall, sulking. "Well, sue me for wanting to get out of here. I have patients, you know. Plus, I need another wrap for my wrist and I don't have my lotion with me-"

"Stop thinking about your hands!" she snapped, giving in to her more base instincts and kicking him through the bars. "And try to remember that this is not about you. Just sit there and look pretty – that's all you need to do."

"Aw, Webber, you think I'm prett-"

"What did I just say?" Recognizing the lethal glint in her sapphire eyes, Patrick retreated and continued sulking on the bench as Elizabeth turned to Jason. "Look, I know you don't like that I blew your whole surgery-by-gunpoint ploy, but I stand by it. I wasn't about to let you take the blame."

"You wouldn't have even been brought in," Jason hissed back, curling his hands into fists to avoid touching her. If he did that, he'd definitely end up throttling the obstinate little woman. "You and Patrick did nothing wrong and-"

"Neither did you," she whispered harshly, turning on the bench to face him. "Alexis is completely out of line. She has reason to arrest us, Jason – what we did was actually illegal. You didn't do anything wrong. If Patrick and I had said right then that we did it on our own and it was our attempt to prove ourselves, we-"

"-would have dug ourselves in even deeper," Patrick reminded her, snapping her mouth shut when she turned to glare at him.

Elizabeth let out a sigh and pulled her legs up under her, sitting cross-legged on the bench next to Jason. "Look, if we had gone with that story, they would have left you alone. And it's not fair that you're down here, Jason. It's not fair."

"Elizabeth…" He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the hard wall. He had always somewhat hoped that she'd outgrow her stubbornness, but clearly, that hadn't happened as of yet. "I don't want you here. I don't want you, Patrick or Epiphany in jail because of this. Let them do what they need to do with me-"

"Why?" she demanded, squeezing her left hand with her right like she always did when she was particularly agitated. "So that Sam can wake up and ask us why her boyfriend isn't with her?"

Her eyes softened when Jason looked away, and after a moment's hesitation, she reached out and settled a hand on his knee. "Jason, if we had gone along with what you said and told Mac that we had done this because you threatened us to…well, first, no one would believe it. I mean, you might threaten Patrick because, let's face it, no one likes him anyway-"

"Hey! I happen to be very well liked-"

"Yeah, only by the half of the population with ovaries, and only for one reason," Elizabeth cut him off, effectively silencing her colleague. "But Jason, Mac would see through it because you'd never threaten me or Epiphany. But on the off-chance that he believed it, what would happen? You'd be stuck in a jail cell with Justus combing for any possible loophole while Alexis did her best to get Sam away from you."

She removed her hand from his knee after giving him a little shake. "With all four of us in here, though, we stand a better chance. No one seriously believes that this allegation holds any water. And just wait – any one of our connections will be here to help. If Alexis keeps us here for much longer, it's only going to be a PR nightmare for her, especially if Sam pulls through, which she will. Justus is already working on the case, like you said, and someone will be here to get us out – Alan, or maybe even Ric, or the Spencers-"

"Or the Scorpios," came a voice from down the hall, and the foursome all looked up to see an officer in uniform leading a worried Robin Scorpio into the holding facility.

Patrick stood up immediately as the petite brunette walked up to the bars, signaling to the officer that she was fine. He retreated outside the facility and waited in the hallway, watching them from a distance. "Hey, you're back. Is everything okay? Luke, your dad, the kids-"

"Everything's fine," she interjected, reaching up to grab the collar of his scrubs. "First things first."

Elizabeth's jaw dropped when Robin pulled Patrick down to her and kissed him through the bars. She and Epiphany exchanged impressed looks as the brunette stood on her toes and framed his face, kissing him deeply. Patrick, though surprised at first, quickly threaded the fingers of his good hand through her rich dark locks and held her close, refusing to let go until they were both out of breath.

"For the love of God, Drake," came a deep voice from down the hall as Robert Scorpio walked in with disdain written clearly on his face. "Can't you go five minutes without fusing your lips to hers? It's unseemly – not to mention what my nightmares are made of."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smirk when she saw the bored look on Jason's face, and she grinned cheekily at her friend when Patrick finally stepped back an inch after glancing uncomfortably at his girlfriend's father. "Hi, Robin."

"Hi, Elizabeth," the doctor grinned cattily back. "Okay, now that we've got that taken care of…what the hell happened?"

Patrick scratched the back of his head, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as Robert drew closer and sized up all the prisoners. "Well, it's a long story, actually…"

"Hey," the former commissioner interrupted, wagging a finger at Elizabeth who slowly made her way over to the small group clustered by the gate. "I know you. Elizabeth, right – we met during the virus?" He extended his hand with a warm smile, remembering the compassionate young nurse that had swooped in to help during the time of crisis. "You're Luke's daughter-in-law – the one he can't shut up about."

Elizabeth grinned, embarrassed, and shook his hand firmly. "It's good to see you again, Robert. I'm just sorry it's under these circumstances."

"Oh, nonsense," the agent replied good-naturedly, slipping his hands into the pockets of his dark blue windbreaker. "A Spencer-Scorpio reunion just doesn't feel right if at least one of the aforementioned parties isn't behind bars."

Patrick frowned as Elizabeth laughed. "See, how come you're so charming around her and not me?"

"Because Elizabeth's not an incorrigible toilet-flush without an ounce of sense in her head," Robert replied easily, backing down only slightly when Robin turned to glare at him.

"Okay, someone better tell me what's going on – Uncle Mac said that you were arrested? Seriously? All of you?"

Patrick nodded reluctantly. "Elizabeth was the one that called me on the island to tell me that Sam's condition had worsened and the operation might have been her only chance. When I got here, Alexis was dead-set against it."

"She and Ric had taken out an injunction to keep Patrick from operating," Elizabeth supplied, wrapping one small hand around the cold metal bar as her gaze darted from Robin to Robert. "Jason was in favor of the surgery, and Patrick believed it was the only way to save Sam's life. He asked me if I'd be willing to perform it with him with the injunction and when I agreed, Epiphany distracted Alexis long enough for us to get Sam into the OR."

Robert's eyebrows jumped in surprise and it was clear that the older man was impressed. "Well, it's no wonder Luke can't shut up about you."

His daughter slid him a suspicious sidelong glance. "Wait a minute – I'd think you'd be all about the long arm of the law on this one."

The detective just shrugged. "Yes, I exercise the utmost fidelity to the law and I believe in its sanctity…to a point. But no one ever got anywhere without breaking at least a few, Luv. And if it's the question of saving a human life…well, that gives me cause to reconsider."

"Thank you," Patrick smiled graciously, bowing. "Your support is appreciated."

"I was talking to Elizabeth and Epiphany," Robert snipped, crossing his arms over his chest. "As far as I'm concerned, you and Morgan can rot in here."

"He's kidding," Robin assured the doctor, lightly pushing her father away. "So you performed the surgery and the police barged into the OR? Fill me in here."

"The surgery was a success," Patrick sighed, widening his stance and settling his hands on his hips. "Sam was stabilizing and we have every reason to believe she'll make a full recovery. Elizabeth and I were just celebrating when Officer Rodriguez and your uncle showed up and arrested us at the nurses' station."

"In full view?" Robin gasped. "That's serious. And you were booked and thrown in a holding cell? Unbelievable." She shook her head, exchanging a solemn look with her father. "This isn't right. And I know Uncle Mac doesn't think it is, either. Look, I'm going to talk to him, okay? He and Alexis work fairly closely together, and maybe he can talk her into dropping the charges. I'll be back, okay?"

"Hold on a second," Robert interrupted, his gray brows furrowed. Before he had a chance to talk himself out of it, the detective was motioning Jason forth. "Let's get the basics cleared up – how was the young lady hurt?"

"Sam was shot in the lumbar region of her spine from behind," Elizabeth answered quietly when Jason said nothing. "There were complications and Dr. Lee had to perform an emergency hysterectomy." Robin gasped with surprise and sympathy, and Elizabeth let out a heavy sigh before continuing. "Um…she was stabilizing after that but then took a turn for the worst. She had to undergo another surgery for spinal compression and cranial edema. We were able to alleviate the compression, but the edema wasn't as easy. That was where Patrick came in – he's the only one that could perform the surgery, so I asked him to get back to General Hospital as soon as he could."

Robert pursed his lips, his hard blue eyes darting from Jason to Patrick. His daughter had the most ill-informed taste when it came to men, and he blamed it all on Anna. Her ex-boyfriend was a criminal whose profession had led to the shooting, no doubt, and her current would-be beau was a hotshot renegade doctor. Absently, he found himself wondering if a monastery would still be out of the question.

Robin shook her head, coming her fingers through her limp, tousled locks as she tried to clear her head. It was a lot of information to take in at once, and right now she had to concentrate on using her own expertise to get her friends out of jail.

"Okay, we're going to talk to Uncle Mac," she announced, lightly smacking her father on the arm with the back of her hand. "We'll see what he can do. Also, I'm going to pull up the stats on the surgery and show that in similar cases, simple medication did not result in a favorable outcome. Who knows – maybe that will help convince Alexis that this was the right thing to do."

Her sympathetic brown eyes trailed over her friends, coming to rest on Elizabeth. Robin hated seeing her friend stuck in a holding cell in a pair of flimsy, drafty surgical scrubs, especially when she knew how much Elizabeth was needed elsewhere. A holding cell was nowhere for a young mother or newlywed.

"Just hang tight, okay?" She reached out and squeezed Elizabeth's hand, giving her a tight, resolute smile. "There are a lot of people on this – I just ran into Justus in the lobby and he's hard at work. This is going to be okay. Just hang tight."

"Honestly, this would never have happened back when I was Police Commissioner," Robert snorted, scratching the back of his head. "Hell, even Anna would have been able to- Hey! Hey, you two, stop that!"

He was, of course, referring to Patrick and Robin who were at it once again much to Elizabeth's amusement. Robin ignored her father and pulled the doctor closer, boldly parting his lips with her tongue and rising on her toes when he snaked an arm around her waist from behind the bars.

Pulling back when she absolutely had to suck in a breath, the brunette winked up at Patrick and placed a hand flat on his chest, gently pushing him a step back into the cell. "Watch him, Elizabeth."

The nurse grinned as she watched her friend walk briskly out of the holding facility, followed doggedly by Robert who was still spouting off about gingivitis the sheer inappropriateness of sucking face within a two-mile radius of a parental figure.

As the duo disappeared from sight, Patrick ran a hand through his tousled hair and sauntered over to the bench with an air of triumph. Elizabeth shook her head when he winked at her and stretched out on the metal surface, his ankles crossed and pointing at a dozing Epiphany.

Jason still sat on the bench they shared, and the look in his eyes let her know in no uncertain terms that their conversation from earlier was nowhere near finished. Elizabeth frowned at him and wrapped her hand around the cold metal bar.

Maybe she'd just stand around for a while.