A/N: Yes, a coma! Can you guys believe it? I know, I know… I'm evil for leaving you guys hanging like that but what do you expect? I can't write the whole story out at one time now can I? But as always I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's coming out a little sooner than normal but I was really excited to start writing this chapter for you all. It's not super long but I think the emotion makes up for the lesser length. But anyway, I hope you guys like it and be sure to let me know what you think...
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?
Look, the summer has already sped up my posting time!
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Unexpected Betrayal
Chapter Eight: Much Needed Support
She has slipped into a coma.
The words repeated over and over again in his mind.
She has slipped into a coma.
There was nothing he could do to help her.
She has slipped into a coma.
Now we wait. We wait to see if she can bring herself out of this mess. We wait to see if she will ever wake up again.
Again and again they ran through his busy mind and each time he was growing angrier and angrier.
Walking aimlessly from one hallway to the next, Patrick was lost in his thoughts and worries. Occasionally he ran into a colleague asking about Robin and sending their best wishes and regards. These were the same people who always talked behind her back, judging her because of her HIV. These were the people who now felt guilty and needed him to clear their conscience.
He found himself standing in the doorway of the tiny, dark room. He could see that the light was coming from the candles lit at the front of the room. Cautiously he walked down the isle and took a seat. It had been quite a long time since he had been in a chapel or a church. He couldn't remember the last time he has attended a service or even prayed. If he guessed, it was probably before his mom went into surgery…
He sighed heavily. This was harder than he remembered it being. "I know that I haven't done this in a really long time." He spoke out loud. "I just," he took a breath and ran a hand over his face, "I don't understand. What did she ever do to deserve any of this? Is this all just some kind of way to punish me, to make me see what I took for granted for so long?" The tears were stinging his eyes. "I'm not the best with words when it comes to telling you how I feel but I'm asking you... please let her be okay. Robin is so strong. She has plowed through every obstacle that you ever sent her way, so please don't take her now. She is the most honest person I know, always trying to do the right thing." His emotions were getting to him, the pain was showing through and he couldn't stop the flow of tears that exploded. "She has made me see what there can be in life. She has taught me what it means to care about someone with everything you have, but also that it is okay to be afraid. She has taught me how to open up and come into the man that I am supposed to be." He was shaking, "I need her. Please don't take someone else I love away from me."
He hadn't been aware that anyone was listening to him or was in the room. He thought he had been alone but looking up he saw the older mirror image of himself, his father.
Noah spoke now words. He just sat and placed a secure hand on his son's back. There were no words that could make everything okay. Nothing would be right in his world until Robin woke up and he took her home. He wished his son was still a young child who he could hold, give him false reassurances that everything would be fine and fix his world when he was proved to be a liar. But he wasn't a child any longer. He was a man and as much as he wished he could take some credit in where he was in his life right now, he owed all of that to Robin. Since crashing into both of their lives, things had never been the same.
"You heard all of that?" Patrick tried to wipe at his eyes without letting his father catch on.
"Most of it." Noah nodded. "She isn't your mother son." He stated cautiously.
Patrick nodded but didn't face him. "She reminds me of mom a lot; the way she laughs or runs her hand through her hair."
"Mattie definitely would have approved." Noah agreed. After a few moments of silence he spoke again. "I know that losing your mother has impaired your opinion of love and commitment and I know how I acted after her death didn't help things any…" He sighed. "But Robin isn't your mother and you aren't me. You ma look a hell of a lot like me but you are a much better man than I ever was and I'm not too much of a man to admit it." He watched his son for any kind of understanding, but Patrick still refused to make eye contact. "You fought Robin on every move that either one of you made and you got what you wanted; you ended up together and you ended up happy. She needs you to fight for her now, not against her. Stand beside her, hold her hand… she knows you love her now show her how much."
"For years I shut myself off from real love. I saw what losing mom did to you and I was so afraid that I would love someone with so much of myself and I would lose them when I least expected it. And when I finally let myself love someone, I fall for a woman with HIV. A woman who is slowly dying everyday and our life together could be over tomorrow…"
"And you could walk across the street and get hit by a bus." Noah said before thinking about the situation.
"And in the end," Patrick continued, "I still might lose her and it might not be to the one thing that I have taught myself to deal with."
"You know, when your mother and I got married, I knew about the tumor." Patrick, surprised, finally looked at Noah. "She was doing the radiation treatments and chemo when we got married, but I still married her. Over time, the radiation and chemo did their job and the tumor stopped growing and it seemed we had nothing to worry about. We lived our lives to the fullest and never thought twice about it. We started a family…" He paused. "And when we fond out the tumor was growing again, we were ready to face it head on. We were going to fight and we were going to fight as a family." His looked at the younger version of himself. "What I'm trying to say is that I loved your mother and despite knowing that I could lose her, I married her anyway. I stood beside her and we fought through everything together. You and Robin can have that too, and don't you think otherwise."
"You know the worst part?" Patrick said after a moment of silence. "I know I could help anyone else. I could come up with an alternative treatment or do surgery, anything. But to help Robin, I couldn't do it. I'm the best that could be offered to anyone else but to the woman I love, I have to sit on the sidelines and hope the other guy can help her."
Noah nodded in understanding. "Its even worse knowing that you are the best and knowing that you still couldn't save her."
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Father and son joined the others waiting for any news, any positive information. It was mostly family but there were a few doctors and nurses who worked closely with her in the lab. A few of her childhood friends were also seated in the chairs; Jax, Nikolas, and even Jason. Mac and his girls were seated on one side of the room and Noah and Patrick took a seat near them.
"I-uh- I'm sorry about earlier." Mac directed toward Patrick. "I was worried and I was angry and I was projecting that onto you."
"Don't worry about it." Patrick said calmly, not in the mood to think about anything other than Robin. They had both been worked up and were looking for anyone to blame. "Have you been in to see her yet?"
Mac nodded. "Briefly. She just isn't our Robin…" Patrick nodded and felt his stomach tighten even more. He still hadn't been in to see her. He wasn't quite sure e was ready for that. "I got a call that there was an accident but no one told me it was Robin. I sent a younger detective because I wanted a night off." Mac scoffed. "My daughter needed me and I wasn't there…"
"I was asleep. She woke me up and asked if I wanted anything when she went to the store." Patrick stated. "She was just going to the store a few blocks away…"
The others around them listened to the two men, all thinking of the last time they had spoken to her, the last time they had seen her smiling face or just smiled at her.
"I am going to find whoever did this and make them pay." Mac said as his cell phone rang earning a sharp look from Epiphany who was standing at the Nurse's station. "Trust me on that." He laid a hand on Patrick shoulder before he caught the elevator going down to answer his cell phone.
"I think I'm going to-uh- go see her." Patrick stood and Noah followed.
"I know you need this time alone with her and I'm not going to interrupt that." Noah stated. "I know you have seen a patient hooked up to the tubes and in this same condition before but this is the woman you love. Everything will seem even worse because you are more emotional. Remember what I told you earlier, stay calm and let her know you are here. And if you need me I'm here."
