Unexpected Betrayal

Chapter Seventeen:

It was a strange feeling; not like anything else she'd ever experienced.

It was like she was floating, completely disoriented. The voices in her mind were growing closer and louder, they were so familiar but she still couldn't see where they were coming from.

Her eyes opened slowly. She was confused. Everything was fuzzy.

She was in a hospital. The beeping of her heart monitor could be heard, the soft hum of her breathing machine. Her eyes fluttered open and closed, the bright lights stinging the orbs that had been shut for days.

How did she get here? How long had she been here?

She heard their voices, so familiar. She tried to turn her head to look around her surroundings but the tube down her throat held her back. As her eyes grew accustomed to the new light, she could see clearly. Her mother and Brenda were sitting nearby talking.

Her thoughts ran wild.

"This whole situation…" Anna started to say but stopped when the beeping one Robin's heart monitor started to speed up.

"What is that? What's wrong?" Brenda asked frantically.

"Robin?" Anna said, barely above a whisper, noticing finally that her daughter's eyes had opened. The tears came automatically as she walked closer to her little girl, grasping her hand in her own. "Oh Luv…" She ran a hand down her cheek, tears lowing down her own. "Bren-Brenda, go get the doc-doctor." This was too good to be true. They had prayed for this, hoped for this. "It's so good to see your beautiful eyes." She saw the questioning in her soft brown eyes, the freight. They searched her own looking for any kind of answer. She was asking questions that couldn't be heard, and receiving no answers.

"Can you both excuse us; I need to exam Dr. Scorpio." A short, balding man they recognized as the doctor asked as he made his way through the door and into the room. "Ms. Devane?" He asked a moment later when Anna still stood at her daughter's side.

"I'll be right outside Luv." She kissed her hand and moved to walk away but the grip tightened. She turned to see her daughter's eyes filled with tears, so many questions. "I'll explain everything, I promise. Just let the doctor examine you now. I will be right back." She nodded and smiled, genuinely for the first time in what seemed like forever.

Once in the hallway, the two women embraced, crying tears of joy. "Tell me this isn't a dream. Tell me that she is finally awake." Brenda cried into her shoulder.

"She's awake. She's really awake." Anna reassured her. "I-uh- I have to call Robert and Mac." Anna pulled back and let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding, wiping at her eyes.

Brenda added quietly, "And Patrick…"

"Yes, and Patrick!" She couldn't stop smiling. "This is exactly what he needs now. My girl woke up. She's awake."

Anna walked down the hall ready to spread the good news, and as happy as Brenda was that her little sister finally woke up, she was nervous at the same time. She was supposed to call Patrick and give him the news. Would he be as happy as everyone else? Would he stick to his plan and end things with Robin, even more so now that she was finally awake?

--

"Commissioner Mac Scorpio speaking…" Mac said as he picked up the phone and talked into the receiver. "Anna, slow down. What's wrong?" His heart sank… Robin. He stood, "We're on our way."

"What's it is? What's wrong with Robin?" Robert asked urgently.

"Robin woke up. She's awake."

The two men shared a blank look, both not knowing exactly how to react. This was obviously the best news but they had hoped for this very thing for such a long time. It didn't seem real. Their eyes locked and they smiled, sharing a brief hug. They were getting their little girl back.

--

The shrill ring of the phone could be heard through the whole apartment. And once again, he ignored it.

He stood in front of the sliding glass door once more, staring outside. It was quickly becoming apart of his daily routine. Especially with the recent circumstances. There were just too many memories in the apartment, he couldn't sit still or stay in one room for too long. But standing in front of the door, he felt like everything was washed away. He could watch the sunset or the sunrise and it didn't matter what was happening in reality.

The living room was still in shambles behind him. He tried to clean up his mess but with every move, he grew angrier and angrier. Every picture he picked up, he was reminded of their times shared together. He was reminded of the pain that his father caused so many people. He never could finish.

He slowly backed away from the window as the sun sank in the horizon. He glanced around for a few moments, grabbed his keys and walked out the door.

Once again, ignoring the ringing telephone.

--

The men practically ran out of the elevator and down the hallway, both wanted nothing more than to see those beautiful brown eyes once again.

"How is she?" Mac asked urgently.

Anna smiled; pulling away from the hug that Mac had engulfed her in. "The doctor is in with her now."

"Where's Patrick?" Robert asked looking around at those waiting for them; Anna, Felicia and the girls, and Brenda.

"I tried calling him but I didn't get an answer and I didn't really think this was the kind of news that he should be told over a message." Brenda explained.

Robert nodded but he had that familiar look on his face. The look that said he thought there was something more to the story but he wasn't quite sure what. "He would really want to know this…" He spoke softly but everyone heard him and heard the suspicion in his voice.

"What are you thinking Robert?" Anna questioned, the worry returned to her face.

He looked at each person, all waiting for an explanation. "It may be nothing but it's no secret how this whole thing has affected him. What if this just got to be too much for him?" Robert wasn't entirely sure of where he was going with this thought; he just knew that there was something off. For days Patrick had sat vigil at Robin's side and now no one could get a hold of him. There was something off.

"I didn't say anything before because I thought he was just talking out of his head and like you said; this whole thing has gotten to him pretty bad." Brenda spoke up, "But when I was at his apartment he kept talking about Robin being better off without him and blaming himself for this happening because it was his father. He said he would walk away from her if it meant she would be safe. I didn't think a whole lot of it at the time and I thought that he would change his mind now that she's awake. But when he didn't answer when I called earlier, I don't know, I guess I started to think that he was serious."

Mac asked, "Have you tried calling him again?"

"Every twenty minutes." Brenda replied.

"What do you think he would do?" Felicia spoke for the first time.

"I don't know…" Brenda bit her lip nervously, "He just said he would walk away if it would keep her safe."

"Maybe he left town?" Georgie offered.

"He would have had to move pretty fast and without us knowing…"

"But think about it," Maxie said, "All Patrick had in this town was Robin and his father. He is the best neurosurgeon in the country, or at least one of the best, he could get a job anywhere. And here, in Port Charles, he thought he was losing Robin and his father at the same time. He could have easily left. Start over in a new town and leave everyone and everything behind."

"You don't really think he would do that do you?" Anna questioned. "Would he really leave without seeing Robin, without saying goodbye?"

Brenda spoke up again, "Maybe that's what he was doing the other night?"

They all knew it was a possibility. Maxie was right, Patrick felt like he was losing everything and everyone. He was terrified of starting over with his father because he didn't want to be disappointed if he started drinking again, he didn't want to get involved with Robin because he was afraid he would lose her like his father lost his mother. And instead of the things happening separately when he would have someone there to help him through, both his fears came true at once.

"We have to find him, Robert." Anna said urgently, "Robin…"

The gray- haired man nodded somberly, "I know."

"Ms. Devane…" The doctor said as he walked out of the room followed closely by the nurse. "She seems to be doing fine. We will watch her for a few days, make sure there was no permanent damage while she was in the coma and if everything works out, she should be able to go home later on this week." He smiled, happy to be giving good news. "As for today, I ask that all visitors be kept to family and you only stay for short periods of time. She needs to rest and I ask that you keep her stress as minimal as possible."

"Thank you doctor." Anna smiled and Felicia wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tears coming from her own eyes.

"What are we going to do?" Brenda asked after the doctor left them. "You know Robin is going to want to see him…"

--

She was so confused. There were so many questions that she needed answered, and she couldn't remember what had happened… She saw the look on her mother's face when she woke up and the tears in Brenda's eyes… Looking out the window now, she could see her family standing together, passing hugs and tears around but there was one person missing…

The door opened a moment later, Anna and Robert followed; smiles plastered on both of their faces. "It's good to see you Luv." Robert kissed her forehead and sat in the chair while Anna chose to sit on the edge of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" She felt her forehead. "Do you have a headache, feel any pain at all? Do you need me to get a doctor?"

Robin shook her head, running a hand through her hair, "What happened? Why am I in the hospital?" The look shared between her parents didn't go unnoticed by Robin, "What? What is it? What's wrong?" It took only a moment for her thoughts to run wild, the many different possibilities shining through, "Mom, where's Patrick?"