Title: The Morning After
Author: Steph
Rating: PG
Pairing: Robin/Patrick
Category: Drama/Humor/Romance
Disclaimer: I do this out of a love for this couple. No infringement is intended.
Spoilers: Racecar episode, the surgery gone wrong, and Girl's Night Out.
Summary: Robin and Patrick discuss some things following Girl's Night Out.
Note: Thanks for the feedback on part 3 of "Sweet Temptation". More of that soon. This kept rolling around in my head after GH failed to give us any Morning After Girl's Night Out scenes between Patrick and Robin on Friday. I felt there was some fun to be had there and some things that needed discussing considering everything that's been happening. So, here it is! Very short. Hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you thought. Thanks! -Steph
--- The Morning After: Part 1/1 ---
Robin's upper body was sprawled across the table, her head lying on her outstretched arms and her hair obscuring her face. Patrick smiled as he walked into the lounge and caught sight of her.
He walked up close to her and leaned down near her ear, saying in an intentionally loud voice, "Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty."
Robin's head jerked up, her hair falling in front of her face and making her resemble Cousin It. She squinted at him, as her hand came up to her pounding head.
"Are you trying to kill me?"
"You look like hell."
She brushed the hair out of her face self-consciously. "You really know how to charm a girl."
He grinned. "I guess it's not surprising, considering the long night you had."
Robin eyed him for a long moment, her brow furrowing at his tone and her fuzzy mind. "I remember drinking...a lot."
"Yup."
She tilted her head. "And I think I remember you showing up. At least, I think you were there. You may not have been real."
He smiled and said huskily, as he sat down next to her, "Oh, I was there. And I was very real."
Robin's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She gestured with her hand between them, "Oh my God, we didn't-..."
He leaned in close to her and whispered, "What happens at Jake's, stays at Jake's."
Robin covered her face with her hands. "Oh my God! I slept with you! What was I thinking!"
"I'm not sure. Unless there was some sort of catastrophic event last night and I actually am the last man on earth." He grinned, "If so, we have a responsibility to repopulate the earth. I'm willing to do my part, if you're willing to do yours."
Robin rubbed at her temples. "I am such an idiot."
"I can't believe you don't remember. I'm nothing if not memorable," he said with a grin.
Robin groaned. "I tend to block out traumatic events."
"Come on now, you know you want me. One minute, you're making vows about never sleeping with me and the next you're all over me. Don't act like it's not something you want."
"I can't believe this."
"Believe it." He paused, a slow smile spreading across his lips. "I still can't get over how...adventurous you were. The things you did to me-..."
Robin covered her ears with her palms. "Stop! I don't want to hear this!"
Patrick shrugged, bringing his hands up to cover hers and removing them from her ears. "Fine. You may not remember, but I do. And now I can picture you naked whenever I want."
Patrick closed his eyes, his lips curling into a grin. Robin's eyes widened, her lips parting in horror. She brought her hand up and swatted his arm.
"Stop that!"
His eyes flew open. "You're right. I should really wait until I'm alone."
"I think I'm going to be sick," she said her lips turning down in disgust."
"Alcohol can do that to you."
"You do that to me." Robin sighed and then shook her head, her eyes flashing with anger as a thought hit her for the first time. She eyed him for a long moment. "I can't believe you took advantage of me in my drunken state."
He looked down at the ground, enjoying the fact that he was bugging her, but not wanting her to believe the worst of him. "Okay, so we didn't have sex."
"Oh thank God," Robin breathed.
"You don't have to sound so relieved." He paused and then added. "If it were up to you, we would have though."
Robin's eyes grew large. "What are you talking about?"
"You, Dr. Scorpio, made me an indecent proposal last night."
Robin's mouth dropped open and she shook her head. "What? No way. I don't care how drunk I was."
"It's true. You offered me mindless, no strings sex."
Robin squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed at her forehead. "Well, that was obviously the alcohol talking." She paused, eyeing him for a long moment. "I guess the question is why didn't you take me up on my offer?"
He smiled. "You know me, I'm not into mindless, no strings sex. It's just not appealing."
"Right. Now try giving me a real answer."
Patrick met her eyes. "I was just being the gentleman that I am."
Robin scoffed. "Gentleman? I didn't think you knew the meaning of the word."
"I actually have a very good vocabulary. I got a great Verbal score on my SATs."
Robin tilted her head and then pointed a finger at him. "Let me get this straight. You turned down an offer of no strings sex because you didn't want to take advantage of me? And you did this all because you're a gentleman?"
"Yes. Is that really so hard to believe?"
"More like impossible."
Hurt flashed across Patrick's face. They'd been teasing and playful, as usual, but it bothered him that she actually seemed to believe he was capable of taking advantage of her like that.
"Do you really believe that?" he asked softly.
Robin met his eyes, noting his serious tone and expression. She shook her head. "No. I know you would never take advantage of me like that. I'm sorry."
He bobbed his head. "Good, because I know we've had our ups and downs, but I thought we'd come farther than that."
"We have. I really am sorry."
"Okay."
They fell into an uncomfortable silence, until Robin broke it.
"Are you okay?"
He smiled. "I'm fine. You don't have that much of an effect on me."
She shook her head. "No, I meant about what happened yesterday...with Mrs. Dixon."
Patrick lowered his gaze. "I'm all right."
"Are you? I mean, you were at the bar last night."
"Don't worry, I'm not following in my father's footsteps just yet. My liver's safe for the time being. I didn't have much. I just needed something to take the edge off."
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you last night. You were there for me the other day on the roof. I should have done the same. Instead, I got a little self-absorbed."
He smiled. "It's okay. You're here now."
"So, you want to talk about it?"
"There's not much to talk about."
"How was it telling William?"
He chuckled bitterly at the question. "It was great. Best time I've had in a while."
"Sorry, stupid question I guess."
He shook his head, his eyes getting a faraway look in them. "It was...probably the worst moment of my career. Having to look into that little boy's eyes and tell him his mother wasn't coming back to him...was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I can't get his face out of my head." He paused and ran a hand through his hair. "I just kept thinking about how he looked at me before the surgery. He looked at me like I was some sort of superhero, with magical powers to heal his mother. I shouldn't have given him so much hope. I should have made it clearer to him the risks involved. He didn't understand."
"He understood. He just believed in you."
"Well, that was an error in judgment."
"He believed in you like I believe in you. Patrick, you were willing to give his mother her only chance at life when every other doctor wouldn't have even considered it. You knew the risks and you did it anyway so that mother and her son might have a chance at a future together. You should be proud of yourself. I know I am and so is your father."
Patrick nodded, his lips pursing. "My father. He actually apologized for how he handled himself after mom died. He said he just couldn't face me. It's funny because I was already in college when my mother died, but when he failed to save my mother and then just left, it was like I finally saw him for just the man he always was. I'd been looking at him for years like William looked at me. He was a superhero. He could fix anything. He could handle anything. He could make everything better. It's not easy when you realize it's all an illusion."
Robin bobbed her head. "I know what you mean. I experienced the same thing with my father. When I was a kid, he was this super spy, this hero who traveled around the world beating the bad guys and making the world a safer place. I always accepted that. I accepted that he wasn't there for me because what he did was so important to him. But I realize now that I never saw him for who he really was. It wasn't about saving people and making the world safer. It wasn't about the work. It was about the rush, the high. And when I look back and think of the time we lost, I can't help but hate him for choosing an adrenaline rush over me."
Patrick sighed. "Aren't we a pair? We could do a Very Special Episode of Oprah with all of our paternity issues."
Robin chuckled, before her tone grew abruptly serious. "But you understand you're father better now, right?"
Patrick nodded. "I always thought that he was so consumed with his own grief and guilt, so self-absorbed, that he couldn't be bothered to think about me and what I was going through. Then he told me he just couldn't face me. Two days ago, if he had said that to me, I would have called him a coward. I wouldn't have understood. But that was before I faced William. I had to tell a boy I didn't know that I couldn't save his mother, who was a stranger to me. And it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. The look in his eyes will stay with me forever. So I can't even imagine what it would feel like to have to face your son and tell him that you couldn't save his mother. If it was this hard for me with strangers, I can't imagine how unbelievably overwhelming just the thought must have been for my father. I never saw it that way before."
Robin covered his hand with hers. He raised his eyes to meet her gaze.
"So maybe you and your father can move forward from here. Maybe you can begin to rebuild your relationship."
Patrick shrugged, a small smile appearing on his lips. "Well, I don't think we'll be taking any father/son camping trips anytime soon, but things are definitely looking up."
"I'm glad to hear that."
They fell silent until Robin made a move to stand up. "Well, I better start my-..."
Patrick's hand moved to her arm, stopping her movement. She sat back down, meeting his gaze.
He swallowed hard, his expression serious and his eyes filled with uncertainty. He licked at his lips nervously. "I...uh...I just wanted to say...about the other night...at my place-..."
Robin shook her head, cutting him off. "Don't worry about it. We just want different things. I'm not going to try to change you and I'm not going to try to force you into anything. We gave it a try. I guess it's good that we figured this out before we got in too deep and one or both of us really got hurt."
He shook his head, "No, you don't understand."
Robin's brow furrowed. "What don't I understand?"
Patrick rubbed at his face nervously. "This...I know this isn't going to come out right and I'll probably just do what I do best, which is make things worse." He paused and took a deep breath before going on, "Look, you use words like 'long haul' and it scares me to death. It makes me say things I don't necessarily mean. I said you were asking for more than I can give you right now. I need you to understand that it's not that I don't want to be able to give you what you want, what you need...because I do and I think I'm just beginning to realize how much. I want to, Robin, it's just that I can't right now. But the words 'right now' imply that things won't always be this way. Someday, I hope I'll be able to give you everything you want and need. And when that day comes, I hope it's not too late."
With that, Patrick bowed his head and stood up, exiting the lounge. Robin's eyes followed him until he disappeared. Then a slow smile spread across her lips.
------------------------------------------------THE END-------------------------------------------------
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought. -Steph