Chapter 44

Patrick settled into his seat in the back of the SUV while Lucky and Mac finished getting the rest of their gear stowed. Robert and Anna had taken a helicopter out earlier this morning to meet up with their contact and make sure everything was in place to begin the mission while Lucky, Mac and Patrick were heading up with the luggage and all the equipment they would need to rescue Robin.

Lucky had given Patrick a folder a few minutes ago with Marcus's full dissertation. Patrick was planning on taking full advantage of the 5 hour drive to familiarize himself with it so he could create a plan to help her deal with it. Robin was strong but she had been through so much and he just wanted to take advantage of every tool at his disposal to make sure she had the best care possible after they rescued her.

"Is this seat taken?" Patrick looked up to see Jason climbing into the vehicle.

Patrick was surprised. "You're coming with us?"

"How many times has Robin saved my life? Of course I'm coming with you. Sam and Spinelli are going to stay here and do research and they will forward everything they find to us." He sat down next to Patrick. "What are you reading?"

"That sick son-of-a-bitch's dissertation. I am only through his thesis statement and I already want to kill him. The things he is suggesting…" Patrick stopped, getting choked up, "if he does any of this to her…"

Jason took the papers out of Patrick's shaking hands. "Patrick, maybe you had better let me review it and tell you anything you need to know."

Patrick appreciated Jason's attempt to help him. Jason had slowly started to show everyone a more comforting side that surprised everyone, especially Patrick who had once referred to Jason as the least emotionally articulate man he had ever met. "Thank you but this is a medical dissertation, not exactly your field of expertise. How about I promise not to touch the guns and you leave the medical research to me?"

Jason considered what he was saying and grudgingly handed the papers back. "Fair enough but if you see anything that we need to know, tell us. I want to get Robin home to you and Emma too. She deserves to be happy."

"We got engaged again." Patrick didn't know why he was telling Jason – no one else knew. "I proposed the day before she was taken and we were going to get remarried a week from Saturday. We didn't want to wait." Tears came to Patrick's eyes. "We didn't even get 24 hours to enjoy it. We didn't even get a chance to tell Emma."

Patrick put his head in his hands and leaned over, trying to regain his composure. Jason gently reached over and patted his back. "Don't cancel those plans just yet. We are going to find her and bring her home."

Patrick sat back up and leaned back into his seat as Mac and Lucky jumped into the front seat. Mac looked at Patrick and noticed how upset the man was. "You okay?"

"I'm fine Mac just ready to get Robin and bring her home." Mac looked at Jason who just nodded his head and turned to look out the window.

"Okay then." Mac turned back around and looked at Lucky. "Let's go."

Lucky started up the vehicle and the group hit the road. Less than 5 minutes into the drive Patrick picked up the papers and began going through the dissertation piece by piece so he could memorize every word while silently praying that he would not need any of it when they finally saved her.

Robin woke up feeling almost hung over, which was ridiculous because all she had drunk the night before was some water and juice. Her mouth was dry and her head was pounding. She sat up and her stomach began churning. She ran into her bathroom, relieving her stomach of anything that might possibly be in there. After taking a few minutes to lie on the floor, she stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. She turned on the faucet and that was when she noticed the bruising on her arms.

She held her arms up in front of her and studied the patterns. It was obvious that she had been held down and tied up but she didn't remember it happening. Robin sank to the floor, her heart racing and fear overwhelming her. Scared at what she didn't remember, she curled up in a ball and cried.

Marcus walked in the bathroom a few minutes later and found her there. "Robin?"

"What did you do to me?" Robin didn't look at him.

"Robin, I didn't…"

She glared at him and screamed. "What did you do to me?!"

"Oh darling, I didn't do anything to you. You have been sick and I have been taking care of you. Last night your fever spiked and you became delirious." He grabbed a washcloth and, after wetting it with cold water, gently placed it on her forehead. "I was so scared I was going to lose you. You said you wanted to be with Emma and grabbed a knife off the tray of food I had brought in. You brought the knife to your wrist and, Robin, I had to stop you."

Robin shook her head. While some parts of the story sounded familiar, other parts didn't feel right. "No, I would never…"

"I'm sorry I hurt you. I don't have restraints here but I did the best I could and as soon as I felt you were out of danger I let you go." Marcus picked the weakened woman off the floor and carried her into the bedroom. He set her down on the bed and covered her up with the blankets. He went over to the dresser and brought her a tray with a glass of milk, a banana and her protocol. "You need to take your medicine and then rest."

Robin didn't have the energy to fight him. She ate the banana and then took her protocol, emptying the glass of milk. "Thank you."

"Just lay down and get some rest." Marcus helped Robin lay down and then waited for her to fall asleep before taking the tray and leaving her to rest.

Walking into the kitchen, he took the Mescaline and ran it down the garbage disposal vowing to never use it on her again. The scene he described to Robin was almost the truth except she hadn't tried to kill herself - she had tried to kill him. Taking advantage of her weakened state after the events of the night before, Marcus had slipped a small amount of Secobarbital into her milk so she could recover and he could come up with a new plan.

After last night he realized that he needed Robin weak so he could show her that he was the only one who could take care of her. A weak Robin could be his. He picked up the bottle of Secobarbital and smiled. Maybe it was time to revise his dissertation.