A/N: Okay, so I have to thank all of you who corrected me on my mistake about the IV and not ivy. My mind must have been on other thing because I know that ivy is a plant. So thank you to you guys who corrected me. I know you guys hear it in every chapter but I love that you all are enjoying this story so much. Your comments and feedback makes me want to write and so far, I am really proud of how this story has come together so thank you guys so, so much. I truly can't thank you enough.

Summary: Robin and Patrick are the happiest they have ever been and falling more and more in love everyday. What happens when Robin's life is threatened and someone close to the both of them is at fault? How will Patrick cope and where will they go from here?

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Unexpected Betrayal

Chapter Seven: How is She?

He felt the stares. The stares of the people he worked with on a daily basis. The stares full of pity; all feeling sorry for him but all happy it wasn't them. He sat hunched over in his scrubs, all but given up on doing anything except waiting. Waiting for any kind of news.

Normally he was the one in control. The one who held the life in his hands; everything depending on his orders. He was the one who held the knife, made the cut, fixed whatever was wrong, and then gave the waiting family the good news. He had only been on the receiving end once before in his whole life and he never wanted to be here again. But yet, here he sat.

Losing his mother had obviously been an extremely traumatic time in his life like it would be in anyone's, but having to go through it with an absent father made things even harder. He swore to himself he was never going to let anyone close enough to him for them to ever affect him, but when Robin came crashing into his life, there was no going back.

He could still hear the doctor's orders and the nurse's responses coming from behind the curtain, wanting nothing more than to walk in that room as his usual confident and cocky self and save her. It was what he did best, what he was supposed to do. Ever since he began his career, he had prided himself on being the best and a large part of being the best was his ability to do what he had to do and let it go. He would walk into the operating room, do his job and move on to the next person he was to save. Now he made an effort to get involved in his patient's lives. He would ask questions and if possible, even reply with his own story… all because of Robin. She had to be okay. She just had to be.

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"Why don't you take a break?" Epiphany asked the fragile man before her. Fragile definitely wasn't the best way to describe the infamous Dr. Patrick Drake. He was always so tough and strong, very little could get to him. Maybe that was part of the reason everyone was so worried about him. Sitting in the hard chair with red- rimmed eyes certainly wasn't a part of the normal routine.

He only shook his head. "I have to wait here…"

Epiphany nodded in understanding and cautiously took a seat beside him. She reached out and patted the hand that rested on his knee. "She is a fighter. That woman has been through more than most of us have to go through in a lifetime. She is strong and she has the support of her family and this whole town." She tried to reassure him but this wasn't exactly what she was best at. She spoke quietly. "She isn't your mother, Dr. Drake. She will come back to you."

--

The phone rang once, twice, three times. No answer.

Sighing heavily Patrick placed the payphone back on its cradle. There were so many people he needed to call. Her family needed to know, they needed to be here. And her best friend Brenda; she was still angry that no one had called her before during the epidemic. All of these people needed to be here to support her. But he needed his own support. He needed his father. For the first time in years, he needed his dad and he gets no answer when he calls.

Picking up the phone once more, he dialed the dreaded number. How was he going to tell them? What was he going to tell them? The ringing seemed to go forever, his heart pounding in his chest, his stomach tightening.

"Hello?" The male voice finally answered.

"M-Mac?" Patrick stammered. Now was when he shattered this man's world.

"Patrick?" Mac asked surprised. Very rarely did he ever talk to the man, even with him and Robin dating. Robin… "What's wrong?" He was right. He barely ever talked to the man. There had to be something wrong.

"I-uh- I'm at the hospital." His voice was cracking. "There- uh- there was a-uh- an accident. Robin was hurt." He wiped at his falling tears once more. He was worn out, his eyes hurt from the tears and he had no idea what was happening.

"Is- is she okay?"

"They are still working on her…" He took a deep breath. "You really need to get down here."

Silence.

"Mac?"

"We're on our way."

--

The group stormed through the doors and spotting Patrick practically ran toward him. Despite the urgency to make it to the hospital and to find out exactly what had happened, no words were spoken. Maxie, Georgie, and Felicia took a seat and Mac laid a gentle hand on Patrick's shoulder. "What happened?"

All eyes fell on Patrick. He looked at all the waiting faces, wanting to give them the answers they longed for but he came up empty. "I don't know." He stated simply. "I was asleep when she left the apartment. At best I can guess, she woke me up around six or seven to tell me she was leaving and when I woke up… she was gone."

"S-so she was in a car accident?" Maxie finally spoke up.

Patrick looked at each one of them. They didn't know. "No," he shook his head, "she wasn't in a car."

The realization flashed in all of their eyes followed by the pain and tears. "She-She's going to be alright though? Isn't she?"

So many times he had answered this question. So many times that the answer was almost mechanical, he didn't have to think about it anymore. But what did he tell the family of the woman he loved? "I, I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Mac spoke for the first time, angrily. "You're a doctor. You know the tests and procedures, you do them every day. Why the hell don't you know what is going on with my daughter? You say you love her…"

"I do love her! Don't you EVER question that!" He stood, staring Mac straight in the face. "I want to be in that room helping, doing anything right now and you have no idea how much. So don't question me or criticize me. You don't know what it feels like to sit on this side of that door knowing that you are the best that can be offered to anyone else, to a stranger, but to the woman that you love, you are helpless. You have to sit on the sidelines and hope that the other guy can be half as good as you."

Patrick stormed off, passing Epiphany as he disappeared around the corner. She shook and bowed her head. Over the past few months, working so closely with both Patrick and Robin, she felt she had grown to be some kind of a mother figure for the both of them. She often gave them advice and when they needed it, a reality check. She walked over to Mac and simply said, "It's not his fault."

And walked away.

--

Eight hours, forty-three minutes, thirty- five seconds. The small group sat in the chairs, silently sneaking glances at the others around them every few minutes. Robin had now been moved into her own room but the doctor was still running tests and giving them very little answers. Epiphany kept them in on the loop and gave them any information that she could but Patrick knew she was holding back and not telling him everything and everyone refused to let him see her chart.

He had paced almost every inch of the tiny room, clenching and unclenching is fists. He was kicking himself for giving into his heart and not listening to his head and running before things got too serious between him and Robin. Then in the next breath, he was kicking himself for even thinking of not being with Robin. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, changing him and giving him something to live for.

The more he thought of his feelings for her, the more he wanted to punch the wall beside him. The more he wanted to hunt down whoever it was who put her through this pain and kill them with his bare hands. She didn't deserve any of this. Why did it have to be her? Why did she have to be in that particular spot at that time? Why did that car have to be driving down that road right then? All these questions running again and again in his mind. And then the "what if's." What if he had gotten up when she came in their room to tell him she was leaving? They could have gone to dinner together or he could have walked with her… What if she blamed him? What if things were worse than he thought? What if… he wouldn't let himself go there.

The doctor from the emergency room walked toward them and Patrick finally stopped his pacing. He was a fairly new doctor at General Hospital and Patrick wasn't entirely certain of his track record or entirely certain that he trusted him. But it seemed he had no choice.

"How is she? Is she going to be okay? When can we see her?" Mac bombarded him with questions.

"Well we have her set up in her own room now," he began explaining, "and we just finished running some tests. She did receive some minor injuries. She has a few broken bones and some bumps and bruises. All of her neurological functions seem to be in working order…"

"Oh thank God." Mac sighed with relief upon hearing this news but Patrick eyes never faltered.

"What aren't you saying?" Patrick asked coldly.

"Her neurological function seems to be working correctly but she did receive some serious head trauma." His eyes connected with Patrick's. Here came the big hit. "And she has now slipped into a coma."