Unexpected Betrayal

Chapter Sixteen: Nothing Short of Love

"Sit down. I want you to tell me about your young man."

"Alright, fine. I'll tell you about Patrick." She made sure to correct her mother. "Alright, I mean, he's attractive. I'll give him that. But not as devastatingly handsome as he thinks he is."

"Yeah but he's a man."

"Right." She paused for a moment, "He's a brilliant surgeon. Actually, there's no one better than him. On a human level he has brief flashes of depth but they happen, lets say, as often as a solar eclipse. But you know, you take what you can get. Otherwise, he's a pig."

"Three out of five, that's not bad." Her father jumped in the conversation.

"Patrick is the most conceited man I think I have ever met." She ran a hand through her hair, ignoring her father's outburst. "With the exception of you." She shot at the gray haired man in front of her. "I mean he's arrogant, pushy. He thinks his insensitive behavior can be erased by a sexy smile and a sleazy joke. He's a challenge junky. Whether it's acing the latest medical procedure or winning a bet so he can get the attending nurse into bed. It's quite disgusting."

"Ohh…" Anna sighed, looking disappointed.

Robert added, "See he's not a bad guy."

"You know what, that's another thing. He thinks that he is God's gift to woman. He thinks he is entitled to anyone that moves practically. I mean, he almost nailed Holly on the dining room table remember that?"

"That was to get a reaction from you and it worked." Robert defended him.

"Whatever it doesn't matter, none of it matters. Even if I was stupid enough to like him, I could never trust him."

"UGH!" Anna elbowed Robert.

"OHH! What! What'd I do?" Robert asked bent over, groping his side.

Smacking him over the head, Anna replied, "You made our daughter fall in love with you."

"Okay, I think you need to explain that last statement." Robin smiled slightly at her mother.

"Oh Robin, its textbook psychology. Most young girls, they tend to choose men who remind them of their fathers. Which only becomes unfortunate when the father I question is-uh- self absorbed, emotionally void, libertine, who lies for a living." Anna proved her point by motioning towards Robert.

"Well Patrick is a doctor. That's about as far away as you can get from, I don't know, whatever you call yourself these days."

"What do you call yourself these days?" Anna asked.

"Agent of the World."

The two women had to stop themselves from laughing. "Ok so, whatever," Anna wraps an arm around a laughing Robin's shoulders, "Let's just go down the list. And then you tell me when I'm wrong."

"Sure."

"Alright, so your Patrick is, what, arrogant?"

"Check."

"Domineering?"

"Totally."

"The attention span of a knat unless sex is involved."

Robin sucked in a breathe, "So true!"

"And the emotional depth of a tiny weenie little thimble. Teeny weenie."

"Oh my god," Robin ran her hands down her face walking to the other side of the room and motioned towards her father, "You're right. I think I've found a stand in for you."

"And exactly what is wrong with loving me?" There was a hint of hurt and sadness in his voice. "I hardly think that loving me is a hanging offense. I mean, I have many exceptional qualities and your mother knows that all too well."

"What, no, please leave me out of this."

"Alright, look me in the eye and tell me that you didn't crave me from the very first second we met, and that every other man in your life including that toilet flush Lavery has come up worthily short."

"Excuse me; as usual you give yourself way too much credit. You are insufferable Robert. I mean, impossible to live with. Between you and this massive ego of yours, there was barely enough room for me in the bed. Don't even get me started on what a nightmare you were to work with." She turned to face Robin, "He had to win at all cost. Even when we were working on the same side. Now that is a true mark of a lousy spy."

"That is a sucker punch and completely uncalled for."

"Okay, so who got us blown up by Faison?"

"Who got us caught up in that ambassador's porno closet?"

"God, you're a spiteful toad, you know that?"

"Ice sculpture!"

"Will you guys stop?" Robin finally yelled. "I have a question for you. Did you two ever love each other like normal people?"

There was silence for a moment but Robert replied, "More than you'll ever know."

"Has anyone ever told you that this gray color really isn't your best?" Anna asked while she straightened out the blankets around her daughter, referring to the less than attractive hospital gown she had to wear. "For just being put through this torture I think a shopping spree is deserved when you finally get out of here." She smiled, taking a brush to Robin's hair. "I finally met your Patrick." She smiled. "I know you said he was cocky, insufferable, arrogant, a jerk…well you get the point. But I'm telling you Luv, that man is hopelessly in love with you." She seemed satisfied with the younger woman's hair and sat in the hard chair next to the bed. "I know that everyone keeps telling you to fight and come back to us, but if this is your time and we never get to see your smiling face again, Mac, Brenda, and your father and I will understand. But Patrick won't. If you fight and come back for anyone, fight for him.

"You know, I had coffee with him the other day. Or, he had coffee and I watched him drink it, you know how I get when I drink caffeine." She tried to lighten the mood unsuccessfully. "We talked about his mother and he said you remind him of her. I could hear the pride in his voice when he talked about the both of you. I was proud of you and I was proud to say that you found someone that you love unconditionally, and who loves you back the same way." She leaned forward and whispered, "And between me and you, I think he's going to propose soon…" She had more that she wanted to say, but the emotions overtook her and she could no longer fight the tears. There still was no guarantee that she would wake up. There was still a chance that she may never get to marry the man of her dreams…

--

"I can promise you Robert, he isn't going to get away with this." Mac told his brother, growing annoyed.

"I know that you are doing everything that you can but he hurt my little girl…"

"She's my little girl too Robert." Mac said angrily. "I want him locked up as much as you do but at the same time. I know that man, I have seen him struggle. Not to mention that he is Patrick's father and he loves Robin as if she were his own too. I may not be happy with him but I certainly don't despise him." He ran a tired hand down his face and took a seat behind his desk, "Deep down I know that he wouldn't intentionally hurt her…"

"I have seen him with his son and I have seen him with Robin. I know that he made a mistake. But it was a mistake that almost cost me my daughter; it still could cost me my daughter."

Mac nodded, understanding completely. He had spent quite a bit of time with Noah recently and had grown to really respect the man for the career he had but more importantly, how he changed his life for his son. Despite everything that had happened now, he still had a great deal of respect for the man.

"I'm sorry; I know you are doing everything that you can here when all you want to do is be at the hospital. She is your daughter too." Robert apologized. "And I couldn't have chosen a better person to take care of her when I couldn't."

Mac sat silent, not completely sure of what to say. It wasn't often that he and his brother enjoyed a moment together when they weren't arguing. "She had been so happy recently. She finally seemed content. She had both of her parents back and she was in love again. Those two, they really bring out the best and worse in each other." He smiled. "I've never seen two people who can be in a heated argument one minute, both fuming and neither one willing to stand down, and then holding each other the next. I remember once, I was at the hospital meeting someone but I walked off the elevator and I swear, you would have thought the roof was going to cave in. You could hear the two of them arguing down the hallway. They were arguing over some new treatment for a patient." He smiled, "I'll never forget it because there was a group of doctors standing together watching them fighting. I went on and met whoever I was there to see and, I'm not joking, I saw them on my way out. Robin was sitting on the couch in the waiting area crying and of course, I was worried and I started to make my way over there. But just as I got close Patrick came and sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug. Apparently she had just lost one her long- time patients. But here were these two people who had been at each others throats less than an hour before and they were sitting there comforting each other. It was as if it never happened."

Robert agreed, "He makes her happy."

"What are we going to do if something happens to her, Robert?"

He gave no reply, he couldn't give an answer. What would they do if they lost her forever?

--

"How is she doing?" Brenda whispered handing Anna a cup of coffee.

Anna smiled, "Thank you. There is no change." Her heart broke a little bit more every time she said those words. She was so drained; this situation was taking every last bit of energy she had left in her.

"I went to Patrick's place." Brenda pulled the other chair up to sit next to Anna. "I wanted to know why he hadn't been to see her today." She said simply and said nothing for a moment. "His place is destroyed."

"He's upset." Anna excused him.

"I know," Brenda nodded, "He really loves her."

Anna said softly, "Yeah, he does."

"I was beginning to think it would never happen." The younger brunette smiled. "It was to the point that every time I talked to her, all I ever heard about was Patrick and whatever ridiculous thing he had said or done the day but I always heard the playfulness hidden in there, even when she was trying to act annoyed." Anna nodded and smiled. "I was so excited when she told me they were official, they were dating. I had known for a long time that she had fallen in love with him…"

"It's just nice to see her so happy and to know that he does that for her." Anna summed up what Brenda had been trying to say. They two shared a teary smile and grasped each other's hands.

However, the two women had been so lost in their conversation that they didn't notice the open pair of eyes staring at them.