Twenty-Seven

She had already spoken to the Gilmartens by the time he had gotten out of the O.R. and had left the hospital. She wasn't answering her apartment phone, her pager or her cell phone. She wasn't at her apartment or on the docks. He had even done the unthinkable and called her parents, who hadn't seen her either. Patrick was at his wit's end when he finally got off the elevator on the floor of his room at the Metrocourt. His shoulders were drooping with fatigue and his chest ached with tension. It was an uncharacteristic pose, but one he had gotten used to over the past few days. He dug his key out of his jeans and headed towards his room.

"Hey."

He halted and looked up. He hadn't seen the small bundle sitting in front of his door.

"God, Robin. I've been looking for you everywhere," he said as she stood up.

He walked up to her, licked his lips and just looked at her.

"Can I come inside for a minute?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, of course." He nodded dumbly and stuck his key into the lock and unlocked the door. Now that he had found her he wasn't sure what to say. He pushed the door open and guided her inside and closed it behind him. He stopped and watched her walk over to the couch. "Can I get you a drink? Wine? Water?"

"No, I'm fine." She turned to face him, her purse dangling awkwardly in her hands. "I just came here to thank you. I should have at the hospital, but I just had to…leave." She shrugged.

"Thank me for what?" Patrick said bitterly. "Failing you?"

Robin frowned. "You didn't fail me. You did everything you could. We both knew it was hopeless when you went in. If anyone failed it was me." She turned away, mangling the strap of her purse in her fists.

Patrick stepped forward. "You didn't fail, Robin." He reached out a hand to put on her shoulder, but let it drop before he touched her, not knowing if it would be welcome.

"You should have operated right away, after the accident, maybe then you could have caught this before it was too late." Her voice broke. "You're right, my drug protocols endanger people." Her voice ended on a sob.

Patrick swallowed and licked his lips. He nodded abruptly and then moved forward and grabbed Robin by the shoulders and turned her around to face him. His heart panged when he saw the tears on her cheeks, but he didn't hesitate. "I was wrong and I haven't believed that for a long time. I've seen you save lives. I've seen your work cause miracles."

"Some miracle today."

"What happened today no one could have prevented, you know that. I know you know that." He shook her shoulders. "I saw the scans all the way through and so did you. This did not show up and it probably was something that happened spontaneously today and it might have had nothing to do with the accident!"

Robin closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I know you're looking for some reason, someone to blame, but we both know that bad things happen to good people and a lot of the time there is nothing we can do about it," he said gently, his hand cupping her face. "But people like us, they hang in there for the times we can do something. I'm not going to let you give up."

Robin bit her lip and stared into his eyes, her tears running faster now.

"If anyone failed you it was me."

"No." Robin shook her head.

"Not today, not in surgery. Before." Patrick swallowed. "About what happened before we were together." He felt Robin stiffen and he wrapped his arms around her. "I was wrong to run out on you, to get angry about something that happened when we weren't together."

"I should have told you, not let you find out that way." Robin sighed. "I was a coward."

"It wasn't my business." He kept one arm wrapped around her and put the other one on her cheek and wiped at her tears with his thumb. "I told you I loved you and then I ran out at the first problem. It was rude and it was immature. Can you forgive me?"

"Yes. Can you forgive me?"

"Nothing to forgive." Patrick pressed a kiss to her hair. "I think you should call your parents and your roommates and let them know you're all right."

Robin pulled back and looked up at him in wonder. "You really were looking for me everywhere. You called my parents?"

He nodded. "I was worried about you." He sat down and pulled her onto his lap. "You once told me that Jeremy reminded you of Stone. Even if you didn't want to see me, I didn't think you should be alone tonight." He searched her face. "Will you stay with me?"

"Always." Robin wrapped her arms around Patrick's neck.

It was quiet a revelation to do and be all the things he was when he was drunk and be sober. It was downright creepy at times talking with other drunks, listening to the bragging and the nonsensical stories that he knew sounded like pure genius when he himself was inebriated. Now, the epiphanies were few and far between in this half-world he had been living.

But not completely non-existent he acknowledged as he helped tie the boat up on the dock and prepare it for loading. Not unloading as he had previously believed.

It was a job that he was completely unqualified to do and he imagined there was a union for this kind of thing, but most of his compatriots were similarly down-on-their-luck cases looking for a quick buck in exchange for a zipped lip.

Noah stood up and wiped his long-sleeved t-shirt clad arm across his sweaty forehead. His hair, borderline unruly before his seeming descent to rock bottom, was sticking to his forehead and his neck and making him itch.

"You, over here!" Noah looked up to see the foreman or whatever the heck he was called pointing at him. Damn, he had planned to slip away for some water and a furtive call to Robert.

"What's a guy gotta do to get a drink around here?" he mumbled petulantly, not quite under his breath as he approached the guy known only as Pedro.

"The boss wants to see you inside."

"What? Am I getting a promotion?" Noah smirked.

Pedro was not amused, merely pointed towards the office and dismissed Noah from his mind.

A bad feeling came over Noah as he approached the pier building.

"This was a good idea," Robin said.

"I have those from time to time." Patrick grinned down at Robin over his ice cream cone, laughing when Robin swung their entwined hands and skipped at few steps, dragging Patrick after her. Feeling that things were getting too emotional and confirming that Robin hadn't had dinner yet, Patrick had insisted that they head down to the amusement park at the pier and have "fresh" corn dogs, soda and ice cream for dessert. They got in just before it closed and were now walking along the docks with their soft serve. Vanilla for him. Chocolate and vanilla swirl with rainbow sprinkles for her.

"I wish we had tomorrow off." Robin rolled her shoulders and took a lick of her melting ice cream.

"You're going to lose all of that." Patrick picked her hand up and took a bite out of her ice cream.

"Hey!" Robin pulled back, laughing. "That's not going to help, you pig!"

"This will." He lifted her hand again and began to lick at the ice cream that was dripping onto her hand.

"You goof! Now yours is melting." She pulled at his hand and brought it to her mouth. Unlike him, though, her licks were slower, longer, more seductive. Patrick groaned and pulled her close with his other hand.

"We should have eaten these naked," he growled and captured her lips. "I missed you," he murmured in between kisses.

"Me too," Robin said breathlessly. Their ice cream fell forgotten to the wood of the dock.

"Where the hell is he?" Anna said into Noah's empty room. Robert stood just behind her looking irritated.

"I told you, he's working on Pier 9."

Anna spun around. "And I told you that he's not there." Anna pulled her phone out and pressed a button. "Any sign? Dammit. Keep looking." She cut the connection. "Damn you, Robert!"

"His check in is only half an hour late, Anna. Relax." Despite his words, Robert didn't look relaxed himself. Like Anna, he had people watching Noah at the Pier and he knew that Noah hadn't been seen since he disappeared into the warehouse.

"Do you have people watching our kids?" Anna demanded sharply.

"Of course!" Robert scowled at her. "If you had just told me what the hell was going on sooner instead of that bullshit cover story I could have…"

"Spare me, Robert. Working on the Haunted Star my ass," Anna scoffed. "This has to end tonight."

"Except that your agency wants to let the shipment go through so they can get higher up the food chain." Robert shook his head, muttering to himself about greedy idiots.

"And your agency?"

"I'm a free agent, darling. I keep telling you that." Robert held his hands out and smiled charmingly. Then his façade of amusement dropped away. "We can't let that ship out of here. Alcazar knows too much."

"What arrangements have you made?"

Robert's lips thinned in disgust. "I tipped off Corinthos' organization. Or Morgan's. Whoever the hell is running the show. Might as well let the criminal element be useful for once."

Anna thought for a moment. "We need to find Noah. And get Patrick and Robin out of the way."

Robert nodded and made a phone call of his own. He cursed. "Get them now!" He clicked his phone off. "They're together now on the dock."

"Too damn close," Anna exclaimed and headed out of the room, Robert on her heels.

Robin and Patrick were getting into their kiss, neither heard the footsteps coming towards them. The hands that grabbed at both of them and pulled them apart took them by surprise.

Robin slipped on the melted ice cream as she was dragged away from Patrick. She struggled against the arms entrapping her. "Patrick!" she yelled and was promptly silenced by a hand on her mouth. She watched in mute horror as Patrick was dragged, struggling, away from her.

TBC