Chapter 12

Trust is like a piece of paper, once its wrinkled it can never be as plain again.

...

Robin didn't know when she finally fell asleep last night but she woke up too early again the next morning, sleep wasn't that easy to summon again once she started thinking, calculating. The more she thought about it, the less she liked the picture. She got up and prepared to go to work as usual. The nagging thought couldn't let her go. She had to know.

She burst into their room and Connor was already putting on his clothes getting ready to go to work.

"Do you love her?"

"Robin…"

"Just…tell me. Do you have feelings for her?"

She was looking at him with that hurt look in her eyes and it hurt Connor too. How could she think that he could love another? Hadn't he shown her enough? He approached her like he was approaching a deer.

"Honey." He touched her cheek and brushed it with his thumb. "It's you only." He said, looking deep into her eyes, trying to convey his feeling for her. "I have never loved nor will I ever love anyone the way I love you."

She looked at him a second more then moved away from him.

"You know, when I was going through my illness after the tumor, you said my feelings for you were a symptom of my disease."

"I didn't…"

"I believed you then. Because I didn't know what I was doing and weather you were right or not. They could have been, I couldn't know." She shrugged, but she was really struggling to talk with the lump in her throat.

"Sweet heart…"

"Connor. When I left you that time and went home to my mom, it was because I didn't see myself getting any better, it felt like I was getting worse. But when I got home, I found I wasn't interested in anybody else. Because none of them were you."

A tear streamed down her cheek now and Connor didn't say anything, he just stood there, afraid of where this was going. He had been kicking himself for the same thing.

"You moved on just fine Connor, to Ava." She sniffed some of the tears away. "And it made me wonder…when you love someone, the way you say you love me. The way I love you. How is it that I couldn't sleep with any man who wasn't you, even with my oversexulized symptoms?

"Robin…I have no feelings for Ava…"

"Yet you sleep with her whenever you get the chance."

"You know what, yes! Yes I did sleep with her when you were gone. I slept with a lot of other women too whose names I don't even remember. Because I was angry." He was angry now too, overwrought with emotion. " You left me and I was pissed! You're the one who left Robin and that's on you."

"Oh, so I can't be apart from you for more than a few days before you hook yourself to someone else? Is your love so insignificant? Do you change so easily? Just move on?"

"Robin," he came up to her to try and hold her again. "Since I broke up with Ava a long time ago, I haven't been with her again. Not to my knowledge. I don't want to love anybody else. I love you." He tried to convince her. "The only thing that's been keeping me going these past months with this whole thing is you. I bragged that I had a wife who loved and trusted me. I didn't lie about that, did I?"

She had calmed down a bit, looking at him a while longer she relented and fell into his arms. He held her, thought he had won the battle but when he asked if he could pick her up for dinner at their restaurant tonight she said no. Moved out of his arms, took her bag and said she was off to work.

…

As soon as he got to work Connor went in search of Ava. He had had a fight with Robin this morning and he never fought with Robin. Not like that. And he can put all that on Ava's doorstep. He didn't find her, she wasn't in yet. He made his way back to his office and Choi and Will were waiting for him again. This was becoming a habit.

"Connor, just the man were looking for." Will said

"Shocker." Connor said sarcastically. "When you're stalking me at my office door and all?"

"Yeah, he's got that gloomy face on again." Choi observed. "I suppose you've already seen this?" He said handing him that morning's paper.

Connor took it, skeptical until he read the entertainment page. 'Love child for the Rhodes' headline. This was not happening! He just froze, eyes glued to that scandal page. Great, his life was entertainment now.

"By that look on your face I take it you didn't know?" Will ventured.

"No." Connor said, shaking himself from his confusion. "I mean, I knew about the pregnancy thing but not…not this."

"Dude, you didn't clue us in on the pregnancy thing. Imagine the shock when we got to read it in the morning paper." Will complained.

"I just found out about it yesterday and I only had to make sure my wife didn't find out like this."

"If Ava told you just yesterday, how is it already in the papers?" Choi asked bewildered.

"What do you think?" Connor said, resigned. "Ava only told me because she knew she had already told the press. I was going to find out anyway." Connor said, opening his office door to let in his friends.

"So, you told her? You better have man, because to find out like this would be…" Choi couldn't finish, just shaking his head.

"Yeah, which is what Ava must have been counting on." Connor said. "It doesn't matter because I already had a huge fight with Robin over this. As you can imagine. She's not very happy about it." Connor sat resignedly in his chair.

"So sorry to hear that man." Ethan said, sympathetically. "This woman has really got it in for you huh?"

"And she calls it love." Will said

"So, what are you going to do man?" Ethan asked

"Get a DNA is what I'm gonna do. And prove that she is a lier." Connor said

"Not before the damage is done. For now she can always claim that it is too dangerous for the foetus. You'll have to wait for seven more months until the baby is born." Wil said.

Connor had his hand on his head now, this was a nightmare. Robin was going to get to work and some busybody was going to show her that page and say something hurtful to her.

He slammed his fist on the desk, making his friends jump a little.

"Sorry," he said in dismay. "It's just…"

"We get it." Ethan said, patting him on the shoulder. "Hang in there man."

"And, now this, we are here for you if you need anything. Even to go out for drinks." Will said.

"Yeah, thanks guys." I…uh, I've gotta call my wife."

"Sure. We'll leave you to it." Choi said, and the two left the office. Leaving Connor to deal with his mess alone. He had no doubt Dr Charles will want to know what going on, good thing he had already warned him. The gossip must be going hot in the ED right now, not to mention at East Mercy. He didn't care about people gossiping about him he just didn't want his wife subjected to that same treatment. He didn't want her hurt.

A few minutes later Dr Latham was in his office.

"Ah, Dr Rhodes, good morning."

"Good morning Dr Latham." Connor replied. The man wasn't one for gossip, he had a more rather straight forward approach to these things.

"It turns out Dr Becker will in be in today. She is feeling under the weather so she will be staying in for today." Dr Latham said.

"I'll bet." Connor said sarcastically.

"I understand she is with child? According to the paper today. Your child?" Dr Latham enquired curiously. Even Dr Latham was interested in gossip today. Just what he needed.

"That's what she claims." Connor deadpanned.

'Well, I hope it goes well for you all." Dr Latham politely said. "So, you will be taking over her cases to day."

"I understand but before I do, id like to go check on her, if that's ok?" Connor asked.

"That would be very thoughtful of you, as the father of her child, it is commendable I must say." Dr Latham said. "But be sure to make it quick seeing as you will be a bit more busy than usual today."

"Will do." Connor had already stood up from his chair, the paper in his hand, ready to go confront Ava with it. "I'll be back soon."

Thirty minutes later Connor was knocking on Ava's door. He was seething. He didn't believe one bit that she was feeling under any weather. She was trying to hide from this fire she had started again.

The door was opened and Ava stood before him, wearing a rob.

"You talked to the press?" Connor didn't take a moment.

"You know what Connor, today I'm not in the mood for your accusations." She said tiredly.

"Retract your statement Ava. Ok? I want a DNA to prove this is not my child." Connor bit out.

"You know as good as I know Connor, you'll get your DNA after seven months. But this is your child, I'm not retracting any statement."

"You're not going to ruin my life again Ava! Not this time." Connor sad, turned on his heel and walked away.

Ava slammed the door after him and leaned back on it. He had not even asked how she was feeling. Well, he had just made her case by coming to visit her at all. The press will be all over this come tomorrow. Another scandal for tomorrow's paper. She wasn't doing too badly, she smirked at that thought.

And sure enough, the papers the next morning had Connor entering Ava's building. Gossip magazines were going with, 'caring baby daddy visiting his love child girlfriend when she was not feeling well.' Ava had provided that little titbit, and it was coming out perfectly. She didn't mind being the center of gossip the next day when she went back to work. Not this kind of gossip. Being the one that Connor truly loved, it felt good again.

…...

Clare had seen the paper and could only imagine what Robin was going trough. She would not know for sure until she talked to Connor but she doubted if this whole thing was true. Connor would not be unfaithful to Robin, not with the way he loved her. They had a team of company lawyers, they could sue this away. But first she had to go and visit her sister in law, see how she was doing amidst all this chaos. Being a Rhodes, Connor and Clare were used to media attention, but Robin was not. And now, she had to be subjected to this.

Robin was closeted in her office, busy typing away on her computer when Clare knocked and entered. She just favored her with a sympathetic knowing smile.

"Hey honey." Claire said, coming to give her a hug.

Robin stood to receive the embrace. "Hey Clare." She greeted back

They took their seats. "I take it you've heard." Robin said.

"I read. How are you doing?" Claire asked in sympathy.

"I don't know." Robin shrugged. "It would have been better without the press involved, you know. At least I could pretend that this was only my private matter to deal with. But with everything in the papers now, social media, I mean…" She shrugged again.

"Is that why you're closeted in here?" Claire asked.

"At least my job affords me that privacy. And I don't have any cases to attend to in the ED today. Lets hope it stays that way."

"Gossip?"

"Oh, everyone is looking at me like I'm something to be pitied. It's safer in here." Robin said

Claire stretched her hand across the desk to hold Robin's hand. "I know it doesn't seem like it right now but it will blow over. Trust me, I know. As soon as they get a new scandal, this one will go to the back of the page in no time."

"Well, if we were not fighting to stay in the spotlight, that would work." Robin said, showing Claire that morning's Magazine. "The scandal continues. It seems Connor visited her at her apartment yesterday to check on her."

"You know how Connor is. It was probably to confront her about this and the media found a new way to twist that." Claire reasoned.

"That's what he said."

"Do you still trust him?" Claire asked. 'Last time I was so inspired by your trust in him, when this whole thing first started. You don't sound like that now."

"I don't know." Robin sighed. "I know she is trying to break us up but what about Connor? What is he trying to do?"

Claire could see she was hurting but Robin would never let anyone see her cry. Anyone but Connor.

"Just hang in there sis. It's going to work out." Claire said. "Connor loves you, that much I know. I do know my brother and he is head over heels in love with you only. This will resolve itself."

"Yeah, I hope so." Robin said resignedly.

"So," Claire beamed, "I've got to take you to lunch. You've got time?"

"Yeah, that would be great. Just getting out of this office, you as my shield." Robin joked. "Give me a few minutes and we'll be out."

…

"Dude, what were you doing at her apartment?" Choi said, catching up with Connor in the corridor. No doubt refereeing to this morning's new article. "That was the worst move you could have made."

"I know that now." Connor sighed. "At the time I was just so mad. I just…lost it."

"I get it man. How are things with Robin?" Ethan asked.

"The same." Connor laughed derisively. "If this is what Ava was aiming for, well, she' dong a great job."

"Hang in there man. It's only darkest before the dawn." Choi said, with a pat on the shoulder before taking off to the ED.

Yeah, the night was getting too dark, the way Connor saw it. How long was it going to be before he lost everything. Ava was winning and his world was falling apart. He felt so helpless, he had no move to make.

…

…..