A/N: The story is pretty darn simplistic, isn't it! Why can't TIIC figure out that this is what women want to watch? Not shoot outs in church on Good Friday and dying babies?

Thanks for the excellent feedback! Considering how rushed this story is, I'm so excited that you all seem to like it! I have another part almost ready after this.

I think Soily is a gross example of mid-life crisis, but since I hate Emily I'm going with it in here. I'm just so happy Nikolas is free of that self-centered whiner. Maybe Sonny will don a "wife beater" and treat her like he does all his bitches, er, I mean women. That was freakin' hilarious yesterday, first time I've liked Blinky in years. Hmmm, since he and Emily aren't related by blood….two birds, one bullet….

BTW, this is what you get when you're snotty to my girl Robin! Dr. Lee, I mean you.

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If You're Not the One - 4
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If I don't need you then why does your name resound in my head?
If you're not for me then why does this distance maim my life?
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He was edgy. He was not supposed to be edgy, that's why he was at a party in the first place.

Patrick Drake was standing at the bar watching Dr. Lee, Kelly, down her third champagne, while he nursed his first and tried to make small talk. He wasn't waiting for Robin to show up, he told himself. That he kept looking towards the door was just because he was interested in seeing who arrived, like people who could advance his career and hot women. Especially the hot women as there was certainly no need to limit himself to just one. Particularly since he wasn't sure this one would be sober much longer. With an internal groan he smiled down at his date.

"Is it just me, or is this room loaded with intrigue tonight?" Kelly smiled flirtatiously up at Patrick, the glass in her hand already empty.

"Well, it's human nature. We're all gamblers." Patrick threw out the line and accompanying smile without a thought. Romantic patter came naturally, but it wasn't do its job and distracting him from wondering when Robin was going to show up. Neither was his two sheets to the wind date.

"Is that why you invited me to this party when you really wanted to be with Robin?"

At the mention of Robin's name and the implication, Patrick stiffened, frowned. "I go out with who I want, when I want. Robin has nothing to do with it." He wasn't pleased that his date seemed to have his father's drinking habits or that she would mention Robin to him when he was trying to have a good time.

"The doctor doth protest too much. You're seriously hung up on her." Kelly countered, determined to either find out if that was true and she really had no shot at snagging this hottie or to goad him into paying more attention to her and maybe into her bed.

"I think the champagne's clouding your perception," Patrick snapped.

"You misunderstand. I'm glad you asked me out, and I plan to enjoy myself." Kelly wondered if she should dare touch him. He was so gorgeous, he took her breath away.

"A woman after my own heart." So what if she was drinking a little too much, it was a party. He was about to invite her to go play roulette when a shimmer of silver caught the corner of his eyes and his head turned.

"Oh, I don't believe this," Kelly murmured uselessly at his side.

The world stopped spinning.

Standing in the entranceway greeting Luke Spencer and his wife was Robin Scorpio looking stunning. She was wearing an ice blue gown held up by thin straps and that caressed her body all the way down to the floor. And a smile. A carefree, bright smile.

She shimmered.

That her hair was pulled back and her skin looked so soft as to be suede like it did that day in the hospital after the antidote took hold was just a secondary detail he took in as his eyes swept over her. That her eyes were creamed with the same color was her dress so that her eyes looked dark and mysterious was icing on the cake as far as he was concerned.

And then he fell from the great height when Luke moved aside and he saw Nikolas Cassadine with his hand resting, once again, on Robin's back.

With a shrug Kelly Lee turned back to the bar and ordered another drink, this time a shot of tequila. She had nothing else to keep her warm tonight.

Robin felt a ripple of heat over her bare shoulders and turned her head to find Patrick Drake staring at her. He looked stunned, standing there clenching the half-empty glass of champagne in his hand as he openly stared at her. She allowed herself a moment of pure feminine satisfaction as she drank him in in return. He looked, she admitted, devastatingly attractive. She reluctantly looked away.

"He's seriously jealous of me being at your side."

"Patrick Drake doesn't do jealousy," Robin scoffed, wishing it was true and wishing that she didn't wish that.

"Maybe not before he saw you looking so gorgeous on the arm of a handsome prince." Nikolas leaned in and whispered in her ear, keeping his eyes on the Drake guy glaring at them and getting a big kick out of it.

Robin turned and looked back at Patrick. Whatever he was feeling and Robin wouldn't go so far as to call it jealousy, she was surprised that he didn't look away, but held her gaze quite confidently. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach as she realized what two things she had failed to factor into her neat little formula on how to deal with Patrick Drake. One was that she couldn't turn off her feelings for him no matter how much she wanted to. Number two was that she couldn't control Patrick Drake. He was and always had been a wild card and she was as attracted to that about him as she was scared by it.

"You like it don't you?" Nikolas chuckled.

Robin laughed at how easy her old friend was reading her and turned and smiled up at him.

Seeing Robin's easy interaction to the man at her side, a man who was not him, Patrick felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He wasn't supposed to be feeling anything other than a distant appreciation for female beauty; maybe a general kind of…of….warmth at seeing a friend and colleague. This was a closed road and he wasn't going down it anymore.

He forced himself to look away from Robin and Nikolas making their way into the room and found his date downing her second, or was that third, shot of tequila. With an aggravated sigh he walked over to the bar to see if he could salvage this evening. As he exchanged inanities with the inebriated doctor his gaze wandered back over towards the other side of the room.

"There's Liz and Lucky, let's go say hello." Nikolas put his arm around Robin's shoulders and led her down the stairs. "I've decided I'm going to help you, Scorpio."

"Help me what?" Robin asked.

"Catch a neurosurgeon."

"No.' Robin stopped, grabbing his arm. "No. I told you that he and I agreed we won't work. We want different…If you want to help just distract me. I'll get over this, him, soon enough."

"Ri-i-ght." Nikolas looked at her dubiously, but decided to play along. "Did I mention how beautiful you look tonight? I didn't think it was possible, but you've gotten even more beautiful over the years." He brushed a stray hair off her face. He was very conscious of Patrick Drake's fulminating glare, but he was also aware of a slight stirring of old feelings. It wasn't going to be a hardship to play this however Robin preferred.

"Thank you." Robin's eyes were filled with gratitude as she looked up at him. "You always manage to say the right thing at the right time."

"Just returning the favor, old friend." Nikolas felt an unexpected urge to kiss her. He grinned and held his elbow out. He hadn't felt this good in years. "Come on, we're old hats at this escort thing."

"Like when you came with me to Mac and Felicia's wedding?" She agreed and slipped her arm through his.

"Among other times," Nikolas agreed amiably.

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"I wanted to tell you that you look gorgeous in that dress, Liz. And that is a seriously gorgeous dress. Once again you prove that you've outgrown squirming in your dresses." Robin smiled, recalling the conversation that they had at Nikolas' eighteenth birthday party almost eight years before.

"That's true," Emily said, also remembering that discussion and looking around for Lulu who had inspired it in the first place. So what if her gaze also happened to land on Sonny? No one would notice anything strange about that. Then she caught Jason staring blankly at her and she turned away swiftly and took a sip of her champagne.

"Thank you." Liz beamed in pleasure at her girlfriends. They were standing in a close group chatting while the men – Nikolas and Lucky were talking with Luke. "You look beautiful too, both of you. Did you get that dress in Paris, Robin?"

"Brenda got me this dress in Paris. It's a designer original if you can believe it. She was attending the shows for her boutique and insisted I have it. I haven't worn it before, never had a reason."

"It's perfect. Brenda always did have good taste. In clothes." Liz shot her friend Emily a look. Liz had a feeling that Emily was still hung up on Sonny and she wasn't so sure it was over despite her protestations to that effect. If things didn't change soon she was going to fail out of medical school, but there was no talking to her and Liz saw her wishes for an Emily and Nikolas reunion slipping down the drain. She had seen something, however, in how Nikolas was looking at Robin tonight and her mind was heading in another direction, as back up.

Although, she glanced over her shoulder, Patrick Drake seemed to still be seriously interested despite what Robin had told her they had agreed to last night.

Patrick Drake was having similar thoughts about Nikolas and Robin and they were consuming his thoughts even as he tried to score with the lovely blond he had befriended at the blackjack table. His previous date, Dr. Kelly Lee had long ago passed the point of polite intoxication and as discreetly as he could – after she had already taken a spill and lost the top of her dress - had taken her home and come back alone intent on having a good time at his first Port Charles social event.

Since his return he had dabbled at the gaming tables, met some new people, touched base with some fellow doctors, met their wives or husbands and scoped out the hot women who, unlike one Dr. Robin Scorpio, welcomed his advances and wanted nothing more than to briefly enjoy his company.

Along the way during the evening he had learned a lot of interesting things about Port Charles history.

Like Ric Lansing was actually a half brother of Sonny Corinthos and that Robin had performed an emergency C-section on Alexis and delivered and saved her and Ric's baby Molly during the train wreck.

From Alan Quatermaine, his boss, he learned how every year the hospital put on a Nurse's Ball to raise money to support AIDS research and the General Hospital AIDS wing that was named in honor of Robin's boyfriend Stone; and that since she had returned to Port Charles everyone was thrilled to have Robin back helping with the event and they were hoping to have her speak at this year's event like she had years ago. Her speech back then had, according to Monica, moved everyone to tears and wallets and checkbooks snapped open for the cause.

And he was just leaning that she could waltz.

"The waltz I promised you." Nikolas held out his hand and led a willing Robin out onto the dance floor. "Remember when we waltzed together at a Bacchanalia at Wyndemere?" He asked as they got into position.

"Katherine was dancing with Stefan," Robin murmured as they fit their bodies together. Nikolas, her dear friend, also had a lot of loss in his life. Maybe that was why they had always had a deep understanding of each other?

Patrick didn't bother to pretend not to be spellbound as he watched Nikolas and Robin move across the floor in a dance that had at one time been banned in polite society. The blonde he was talking to shrugged and walked away.

"Do you know how to waltz?" Carly sidled up to Patrick.

"Yes. My mother made sure I had the appropriate dance lessons. Won't you boyfriend and your ex-husband be upset to see you talking to me?"

"No one tells me what to do and you looked like you need rescuing."

"From what?" Patrick dragged his gaze away from the dance floor.

"Standing there panting after wittle wobin. What's wrong, Ms. Holier Than Thou actually has the gall to be mad at you for making her grovel in front of me?" Carly smirked over at the dancers and back at Patrick. "Really, Patrick. You can do so much better."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Patrick took a sip of his water and glanced back at the dance floor. "Robin and I are just colleagues."

"I can tell that's why you're sweating watching her dance with a man who happens to be a rich prince and used to be in love with her. Oh, you didn't know about that!" Carly laughed when Patrick's eyes flickered in surprise. "Oh yeah, he was all about her when he was just a kid, like eighteen. But she chose to go back to Jason. I bet he wouldn't mind fulfilling adolescent fantasies now."

"He's grieving for his fiancé who just died."

"How do you handle grief, Dr. Drake?" Carly taunted, and then she relented. "I'm not a big fan, as you know, but if you want the saint then why aren't you going after her? You don't seem like the kind of guy to sit back and long for anything."

"I am not longing for Robin Scorpio," Patrick scoffed. "I don't long for women, they long for me."

"Could have fooled me." Carly let out a noise that eerily sounded like a snake hissing and slinked away.

Patrick stood thinking for a while, long after Robin and Nikolas had finished their dance. Then, he came to a decision. He dropped his glass onto a pass waiter's tray and strode forward.