Title: Sweet Temptation
Author: Steph
Rating: PG
Pairing: Robin/Patrick
Category: Romance/Humor/Drama
Disclaimer: I do this out of a love for this couple. No infringement is intended.
Spoilers: Just that Gwen stuff.
Summary: After deciding to have a purely professional relationship, Robin and Patrick attend a medical conference together in Miami.
Note : Thanks for the great feedback on part one and "Scenes from a Marriage". I'm so glad you enjoyed them both! I really appreciate it. I've added a bit more in and this now flows better in four parts, so there will be 4 parts instead of 3. This will probably end up being the longest though unless I add more. So, hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you thought!-Steph
--- Sweet Temptation: Part 2/4 ---
Patrick stretched out on the bed, linking his fingers behind his head and smiling. Robin glared at him from her seat by the window. She finally sighed and stood up.
"I'm going shopping," she said.
"Sounds like fun," he replied, as he stood up quickly and came to stand beside her.
"I changed my mind. I'm going to the pool."
"I'll grab my suit."
"On second thought, I think I'll just stay here in the room and relax. Maybe watch some television."
"Great, we can bond. So which 'Gilmore Girl' is your favorite? I kind of identify with Lorelai."
Robin clenched her jaw. "Ugh! Would you just leave me alone! We are sharing a room, but that is it!"
Patrick bobbed his head. "Okay, I can take a hint."
"Can you?" she asked, her brow furrowing.
"Yup, I think I'm going to go grab something to eat. Watching you practically make love to that cheeseburger and fries did something to me, but filling me up wasn't it."
Robin nodded. "Have fun. I'm going shopping."
"Enjoy yourself."
Robin smiled, grabbed her purse and then left the room.
---
Robin fingered a pair of sunglasses, then noticed the price tag and promptly dropped her hand. She was just about to pick up another one, when she noticed something reflecting in the lens. She sighed, as she realized it was Patrick's face. She spun around and faced him.
"Wow, you followed directions for a whole five minutes. I'm impressed."
"I'm not in first grade and you're not my teacher. I don't follow your directions."
"Apparently." She shook her head. "That must have been one fast meal."
"I didn't get a chance to eat."
"What happened?" Robin asked, mildly interested.
"Lola," he said.
"What about her?"
"She's here. She works here. She's a fire dancer at this restaurant I went to."
Robin chuckled. "Patrick, you talked to the woman for over an hour and she never once mentioned where she worked?"
"How the hell should I know? I didn't hear a thing after belly button."
Robin rolled her eyes. "Did she see you?"
Patrick raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? She tried to kill me. She threw a flaming Chinese star at my head. And now she's following me. That's why I came in here. I'm hiding out. Plus, I figure if she sees us together then she'll back off."
"Or torch us both. Thanks a lot. I knew it was just a matter of time until you drove a woman to the brink of insanity."
"To be fair, I think she was already pretty far down that road when I met her."
Robin smiled and patted his shoulder. "Well, good luck. If you survive, I'll see you back in the room later. If you don't, then I guess I don't have to share the bathroom."
Patrick smirked. "Thank you for your concern. I'm touched. But I think we need to stay together if we stand a chance against her. Remember, you're the woman who stole me away from her. I'm sure there's a flaming Chinese star with your name on it if she catches you alone."
Robin tilted her head. "You can't be serious."
He shook his head. "I'm telling you, this chick has a screw loose. We're talking 'Misery', minus all the nice, caretaking parts."
Robin sighed loudly. "Fine, we'll stay together. But no talking."
He moved closer to her and smiled down at her. "I can think of some great alternatives to talking."
She grinned at him. "So can I. But they all involve you and bodily harm."
"I didn't know you liked it rough," he said, as he licked his lips.
"Oh my God," Robin said and covered her face with her hands.
---
Patrick and Robin emerged from the conference room, having just finished the opening meeting.
Patrick yawned. "Wow, what a bore that guy was, huh? Was it just me or was his head too small for his body? He looked like a turtle."
Robin shook her head at him, realizing this 'no talking' policy was never going to work. "That's all you got out of it? Dr. Filner is known worldwide for his advances using medication to treat brain conditions."
"Doesn't mean he's not duller than a butter knife."
"I'm not surprised you got so little out of it. After all, I don't believe the woman's cleavage next to you had anything worthwhile to add."
"No, but it was a whole lot more interesting than Filner."
"You might as well just go home now then, because they don't get any better than Dr. Filner. You're going to hate all of the other lectures."
"You're just trying to get rid of me."
"Is it working?" she asked with a smile and a playful tilt of her head.
"You're going to have to work harder than that," he said, flashing her a grin.
Robin groaned and Patrick clapped his hands together. "So how about some dinner?"
She rubbed at her face tiredly. "I don't know if I have the energy to eat with you."
"You do expend a lot of energy resisting me. Maybe you should just stop."
"I'm not resisting you. The things you say turn me off and I stay that way. Face it, you don't get to me anymore."
Patrick stopped walking and touched her arm. He looked down at her, their eyes meeting. Robin swallowed hard, the look in his eyes making her palms sweaty and her knees weak.
Patrick let out a little laugh and shook his head. "I'll face it as soon as you do." He paused and then added, "Now how about that dinner? I promise I'll be good."
Robin eyed him for a long moment and then let out a defeated breath. "Oh, all right. What did you have in mind?"
Patrick simply smiled.
---
Robin leaned against the railing of the pier and looked out at the ocean. The waves crashed softly and the light from the sliver of moon bounced off the water. She could hear him approaching and smiled. She realized some time ago that she'd learned to identify him by the sound of his footsteps.
He took his place next to her, his arms loaded with a cardboard tray full of food. Robin looked down at the various food items on sticks.
She cocked an eyebrow. "This is your idea of dinner? Food on a stick?"
"Are you kidding? It's the ultimate dinner. Taste and convenience."
"You really know how to treat a girl."
"I knew you'd notice eventually."
Robin wrinkled her nose and pointed at the food items. "So what did you get exactly? Everything looks the same."
"I'm not sure. I just kind of pointed and they gave me things with sticks in them. It's more fun this way. A mystery in every bite."
Robin hesitantly picked up one item and bit into it. Her eyes widened and her lips turned down in disgust. "Ew. It's a fried Twinkie. That's disgusting."
"That sounds delicious," he said and took it from her. He then began to devour it.
Robin shook her head. "Do you always eat this way?"
"What way?"
"You know, so unhealthy. All batter dipped and fried."
He shrugged. "Since I was a kid. I refused to eat vegetables of any kind, so my mom would dip them in batter and fry them up. She got me to eat my vegetables."
Robin smiled. "You don't talk about your mom much."
Patrick dropped his head, his eyes moving to the water. "What do you want to know?"
"Anything you want to tell me."
Patrick thought for a moment, then a smile pulled at his lips. "She had the strangest way of sneezing."
"Sneezing?"
"Yeah. You know how most people get this weird look on their face, open their mouths and take a few breaths before they sneeze?" Robin nodded. "Not my mother. Her sneezes would literally come out of nowhere. And they were loud and booming. One time, we were in church and she did it when it was completely silent and everyone was kneeling. The priest looked in her direction and said 'God bless you!'" Patrick recalled with a chuckle.
Robin laughed, as Patrick's smile slowly faded. He looked out at the water, his eyes getting a faraway look in them. "It's funny the things you remember about people once they're gone. I just have these random things in my head about her."
Robin nodded. "I know what you mean. It was like that with my parents when I thought they had died. I would remember these strange little things about them, like how my father put ice cubes in his soup to cool it down or how my mother arranged the glasses in the cupboard by height."
Patrick turned and stared at her for a long moment.
Robin grew uncomfortable and wiped at her mouth with her hand. "What? Do I have Twinkie on my face or something?"
He shook his head. "Don't look now, but we're having a normal conversation."
"Yes, we are," she replied with a smile.
"I bet you're waiting to see what I'll say or do to ruin it," he said, his eyes twinkling.
"Yes, I am," she responded, her smile widening.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not going to ruin it."
"I was under the impression you couldn't help yourself."
"Well, maybe you were under the wrong impression," he replied softly.
Robin nodded. "So, maybe we can be friends then. No more bickering, bantering and witty, sarcastic retorts. You can stop with the lame come-ons and shameless flirting. And, like I already told you, definitely no more physical stuff. Just friends."
He raised an eyebrow. "You really think you can handle that?"
"Can you?"
Patrick grinned. "I never back down from a challenge."
"Well, I guess we'll see, now won't we?"
He cocked his head and leaned in closer to her. "So have you heard about friends with benefits?"
Robin's eyes widened and she shook her head. "You failed already!"
He laughed. "Oh, come on, I didn't know we started!"
Robin sighed. "Okay, just so we're clear, we're starting now. Anyway, the friends with benefits things kind of violates the no physical part."
They fell silent, their gazes moving to the water. After a few minutes of silence, Patrick turned to her and smiled.
"So, friend, you want to have some fun?"
Robin arched an eyebrow.
---
"An arcade?" Robin said questioningly.
Patrick held the door open and allowed her to cross in front of him. She drifted past him, brushing his chest as she did so. She smelled like vanilla and the heavenly scent filled his senses. He squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath, and followed her inside.
"What's wrong with an arcade?" he asked, as Robin surveyed her surroundings.
"Nothing...if we were thirteen."
Patrick grinned. "Oh, Dr. Scorpio, I'm going to show you how wrong you are."
The arcade accepted tokens in exchange for quarters. Patrick put a twenty into the change machine and collected his tokens. He moved aside and Robin looked at him curiously.
He gestured to the machine. "Your turn."
Robin's brow furrowed. "Oh, I thought we were going to share."
Patrick smiled. "If we were on a date, sure. But we're just friends, remember? You're on your own."
Robin sighed and pulled her wallet out of her purse. She stuck a twenty in and collected her coins. She held her hand up and feigned excitement.
"Okay, let's go."
"First, some ground rules."
"Excuse me?"
"I take my arcade seriously. Either you come to play or you can go home."
Robin's brow creased, but she couldn't help but smile. "Oh my God, you're completely serious."
"Competition, baby. I thrive on it," he said, flashing her a grin.
"Okay, so what are these rules?"
"There are two. Number one, I will not, under any circumstances, take it easy on you because you're a girl."
Robin's eyes widened. "Excuse me? Because I'm a girl? What is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounded like."
"You're a chauvinistic pig."
"So I've heard."
"And rule number two?"
"We will receive tickets for points, which can be redeemed for cheesy little gift items. You are not, under any circumstances, to share these tickets with anyone or give them away to children."
Robin's eyes widened. "Wow, you are so selfless."
"I earn my tickets. If I earned a Hello Kitty notepad, then I'm damn well going to get one."
Robin laughed. "I'm just imagining you walking around the hospital writing things in a Hello Kitty notepad."
"You laugh, but I show off my hard-earned prizes. It's a badge of honor. Last time, I wore my glitter jelly bracelets for two weeks."
"Full of surprises. Just full of surprises," she said.
---
Patrick stopped and stood in front of his favorite game: Skeeball.
Robin looked at him a long moment, as he stared lovingly at the game.
"Are you all right?"
"Just paying my respects to the greatest game ever."
"SkeeBall?"
"Yes, SkeeBall. In third grade, I competed in a tournament. I scored a perfect score."
"What did you win? A Hello Kitty toaster?"
"Easy Bake Oven," he said, his eyes focused on the scoreboard.
"Well, I've never played before."
Patrick's mouth dropped open and he slowly turned to look at her. "What?"
"I've never played before," she said with a shrug.
"How is it possible that you've gone through life without playing SkeeBall?"
"I don't know. I guess I was just busy doing other things. You know, reading, studying, spending time with family, having conversations with human beings."
"Wow, you're even more sheltered than I thought you were."
"Because I've never played SkeeBall?"
"Yes."
"You're a SkeeBall virgin." He paused and smiled, "Don't worry, I'll be gentle."
He picked up one of the balls. "The balls come down and you-..."
"I'm a doctor, Patrick, and this isn't the most complicated game I've ever seen. I think I can figure it out."
"Suit yourself."
They put their coins in and the balls slid down. Patrick focused his eyes, his tongue peaking out between his lips. He threw the ball and got it in the highest scoring hole.
"Yes!" he said, as he threw his arms in the air.
Robin smiled and threw her ball. It rolled around and fell into the ball return slot.
He tilted his head at her and smirked. "Don't worry. Everyone's first time is painful."
He continued on, getting the ball in the highest scoring hole every time. Robin's ball continued to go down the return slot. Patrick's tickets spilled onto the floor and he scooped them up. Robin looked sadly at her empty ticket slot.
He grinned. "If you're good, I may open my generous heart and give you a few tickets. There may be a dinosaur eraser in your future."
"But that violates rule number two."
"Rules were made to be broken."
Robin eyed him. "How about we play again?"
He cocked an eyebrow. "You really want to be humiliated again?"
"I think I can handle it."
He shrugged. "Bring it on."
Robin unbuttoned her jacket and threw it on a nearby chair. Patrick's eyes widened, as he noticed her low-cut tank top. He shook his head and tried to focus on the holes. He picked up a ball and was about to throw it when Robin's ball rolled by his foot. She walked over and bent down in front of him. His eyes moved to her cleavage, just as the ball left his fingers. It barely made it into the ball return slot.
Robin went back to her spot, smiling inwardly, and threw her ball. She got it into the highest scoring hole. Patrick's mouth dropped open. She threw again, with the same result. Patrick shook his head and tried to focus. He threw the ball and go it in a 20 hole. Sighing in frustration, he noticed Robin again make the highest scoring hole. Her tickets were spilling onto the floor. Patrick couldn't focus and ended up getting only 50 more points. Robin got the ball in the highest scoring hole every time. She bent over to pick up her tickets. She smiled at him and walked over. She held the tickets up, allowing them to fall to the floor.
"If you're good, I may open my generous heart and give you a few tickets. There may be a Hello Kitty pencil in your future."
Patrick shook his head in awe. "You hustled me."
"You underestimated me."
"I should have learned long ago to never underestimate you."
"Yes, you should have. I've played SkeeBall since I was in diapers."
Patrick simply smiled.
---
Robin slipped her keycard into the slot and pushed on the handle when the green light came on. The door swung open and she and Patrick entered the room. Robin placed the large, stuffed cat she'd earned on the table, and Patrick placed his pathetic foam airplane set down next to it.
Robin groaned as she kicked off her sandals.
"I am so tired. I can't wait to hit that bed and sleep."
She walked into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later wearing a pink tank top and silk lounge pants of the same color. Robin walked over to the bureau to put something away, as Patrick's gaze followed her from the bed where he was sitting against the headboard. His eyes washed over her appreciatively, noting the small area of skin where her tank and her pants didn't quite meet. He licked his lips, but didn't say a word.
She turned around and looked at him, noting that he had changed while she was in the bathroom. He wore a tight navy t-shirt and plaid bottoms. She tried not to notice the way the shirt clung to his upper body.
Robin took a deep breath and smiled at him, as she walked to the bed.
She waved her hands at him in a 'get off the bed' motion and said, "Goodnight."
"Night," he replied, as he slipped under the covers, placed his head down on the pillow, and closed his eyes.
Robin looked at him with wide eyes. "You need to move. This is my bed."
Patrick opened up one eye and looked up at her. "I think I remember hearing something about possession being nine-tenths of the law."
"That's right. And I possess this hotel room and, therefore, this bed. I made the reservations and I put it on my credit card."
"And when I added my name, I had it adjusted so that half of it would go on my credit card. Plus, who are you kidding anyway? The hospital will reimburse you."
Robin sighed and stomped her foot like a four year old who was just refused a toy. "Move!"
He opened his eyes and smiled. "I'm not going anywhere. I have just as much right to this bed as you do. This is my half. You are more than welcome to use yours."
"I am not sleeping in the same bed as you," Robin scoffed with a shake of her head.
"Why not? You may have had something to worry about with the old Patrick, but not with new Patrick. We're pals, buddies, amigos, compa-..."
"I get it, we're friends. Friends should be able to sleep near each other without it being an issue," she stated grudgingly.
"Exactly," Patrick said. He paused and then eyed her. "Unless you think you can't handle it."
Robin shook her head sharply. "Oh, I can handle it just fine, thank you."
"Good," he replied.
Robin walked over to the other side of the bed and lay down on top of the covers. She teetered on the edge of the bed, her body straight and stiff as a board, arms by her side. Patrick turned on his side, propping his head up with his hand and looking at her, a smile spreading across his lips.
"You always sleep like that?"
"Yes."
"Looks pretty uncomfortable."
"I'm fine."
"Fair warning, I move around a lot in my sleep, so if I kick you it's nothing personal."
"Thanks for the heads up."
Robin closed her eyes and tried to drift off to sleep, as Patrick's gaze remained focused on her. He smiled, an idea coming to him that he couldn't resist.
"Hey, is that a spider crawling up your chest?"
Robin's eyes flew open and she began swatting frantically at her upper body. Unfortunately, since she was perched on the edge of the bed, she really couldn't afford to flail about. She promptly fell off the bed, landing on the floor with a loud thud.
Patrick had to bite his lip to suppress his laughter. He finally managed a weak, "Are you all right?"
Her fingers peaked up above the edge of the bed and gave a little wave. "Peachy."
Patrick rolled over to her side and looked over the edge. He then reached his hand out. She hesitated a moment before slipping her hand in his. He helped her up and then moved back to his spot.
Robin smoothed her hair and tried to will away the blush that had crept into her cheeks.
"Where did the spider go?" she asked.
Patrick smirked. "Uh, I don't know. Maybe you fell on top of it."
She looked at him for a moment. "There wasn't a spider, was there?"
"Looked like a spider to me."
"You're twelve."
"No, at twelve I was putting my friends' hands in warm water as they slept. You're going to love being my friend."
Robin sighed. "I think I'll push the chairs together and sleep there."
"Suit yourself. More room for me," he said, linking his fingers behind his head.
Robin shook her head. "The word chivalry means nothing to you, does it?"
"If we weren't just friends, then I might consider chivalry. But since we're just pals it doesn't seem appropriate."
Robin raised an eyebrow. "You've never been friends with a woman, have you?"
"Not true. I was friends with Patty Riley for a whole year."
"What happened?"
"We went to first grade and were in different classes," he said with a smirk.
Robin laughed. "Oh my God, you're pathetic."
Patrick smiled wistfully. "We met at the sandbox. She always shared her animal crackers."
"Wow, what a mature friendship with a female."
He smiled. "What can I say? Since then, the women I've met haven't been interested in my friendship."
"Imagine that," Robin said with a roll of her eyes, as she grabbed a pillow from the bed and moved to the chairs near the balcony doors.
She pushed them together and then crawled into the space provided. She tossed and turned for a full five minutes trying to get comfortable.
"Settling in nicely?"
"I'm fine."
"Okay."
Patrick watched as Robin slowly drifted off to sleep from sheer exhaustion and in spite of her lack of comfort. He smiled, as her lips parted slightly and she blew out tiny breaths of air. Her eyelids fluttered and he knew she was dreaming. He absentmindedly wondered if she was dreaming of him.
Patrick hesitated a moment, before slowly pushing the covers back and standing up. He walked the few feet to where she slept and bent down. He put his arms around her and gently cradled her in his arms. She stirred, placing her head on his shoulder, but didn't wake up. Patrick walked back to the bed and placed her on top. He looked down at her and smiled, as he pulled the covers over her. He brought his hand up and gently cupped her face, marveling at how big his hand seemed in contrast.
He whispered, "Sweet dreams, Robin."
He then moved back to the chairs, sat down, and stretched out, his eyes moving to her peaceful figure.
---
Part 3 coming soon
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it and please let me know what you thought. -Steph