Disclaimer: Have I, in the course of the nine or so days it's been since I last wrote an entry for this story, acquired insane amounts of money and bought GH? Nope…

A/N: This chapter has been a total pain- I knew what I wanted to write, but getting the words from my mind to the computer… Not so easy… Anyway, after some serious writer's block, here at last is chapter fifteen of my little story… I hope you like it, even though it's sort of short- of course, all of my chapters are sort of short, but I can't help it! I just start writing when my muse tells me to and stop when it says to!

--Chapter Fifteen--

--The Pier--

As she'd half-expected- okay, more than half-expected, really, but she was in denial, so she chose to overlook the fact that she'd seen this coming a mile away- Patrick had asked her to join the Drake family, which had grown exponentially in the past twenty-four hours, for dinner at the Metro Court tonight. She wanted to say yes, she really did, but if she did… Well, she'd be taking that leap of faith; promising both Patrick and herself without words that she was willing to take the chance, willing to take the risk of having her heart broken once again. Was she ready to do that? Would she ever be ready to do that?

Robin sighed as she stared off into the fathomless depths of the water before her- this place had always been a source of comfort for her, a place she knew she could always come to, no matter what state her thoughts were in, and work things out. She could lose herself in the tranquility of the water's movements and allow her thoughts to find some sort of order in her mind- just the way she liked it. Whether she was hurt or excited or scared, her emotions tended to sort themselves out while she sat on the bench and just stared off into nothingness.

She wished that she could just ignore it- that she could convince herself she was making too much of this whole dinner thing, but she knew she wasn't. Patrick was telling her- without really telling her- that he wanted her to be a part of his family, a permanent part of his life. And, if she went, she would be telling him that's what she wanted, too. Really, she did want it- but the fear of being hurt again… It seemed to be choking her.

When Stone had died, she'd tried to imagine her life without him. What scared her was that she'd been able to- she hadn't wanted to think about going on without him, about living the life they should have shared alone. But she'd been able to do it. She'd seen herself living. Though she'd never quite returned to the way she'd been with Stone, she'd been able to survive. When she'd been with Jason, she'd wanted to see herself with him- back then, she'd desperately wanted to know that she could open up again. Now, it terrified her- of course, a lot had happened since then, and she'd added more stones to the walls protecting her fragile heart.

It didn't take her long to realize what she had to do- she'd known, in the back of her mind, the question she needed to ask herself. Could she see her life without Patrick? Could she picture herself living in a world where he wasn't a part of her life? She leaned back against the bench, closing her eyes and trying to conjure up an image of what her future might look like.

The first thing she saw was a little girl with dark brown hair and brown eyes- for a moment, she thought maybe she was remembering something from her own childhood- and then she saw the little boy. A miniature version of Patrick, that's what he was- right down to the cocky little grin on his face. The two children were chasing each other around her uncle Mac's backyard, smiling and laughing merrily as they ran around and around in circles, calling out after one another. On the deck sat older versions of Mac, Georgie, Maxie, her parents- bickering with one another as usual, Noah, herself- and Patrick. Patrick had an arm slung around her shoulder as he engaged in some conversation with her uncle and both their fathers. She, on the other hand, had a hand resting on his knee as she laughed as her mother told a story- probably about some adventure she'd taken, Robin thought.

It occurred to her that that- the happy family she'd long ago given up home of ever having- was what she wanted… Patrick had given that dream back to her- could they make it a reality? She knew, without a doubt, that they could- if she just took that leap. If she just allowed the walls around her heart to crumble and had faith that their love would be enough, even if one or both of them ended up getting hurt at some point down the road.

As she opened her eyes and stared out at the water once again, she realized that it was too late to back out now- she'd get hurt much worse if she left now, if she kept herself and Patrick from living that life she wanted so much and walked away from the second chance at love she'd been dreaming about since Stone's death so many years ago. She couldn't do that. She couldn't walk away.

Slowly, she stood up and started walking- she didn't have a plan, didn't have a destination in mind. She just walked. Eventually, she found herself standing outside Patrick's apartment- briefly, she wondered if she'd meant to end up there all along, the whole time she'd been strolling around Port Charles. It didn't matter- she was there. How she'd gotten there, whether she'd thought about it or not… She was there. She pulled the key Patrick had given her from her pocket- usually, she knocked, not wanting to take the step that using the key somehow symbolized in her mind, but she was ready- she was ready to admit to him that she wanted more. She wanted forever. All along she'd told him she wanted a commitment- but those had just been words and, ironically, a way for her to at least attempt to push him away. After all, they should have scared him away- he had never wanted a commitment, never wanted to leave himself vulnerable to the hurt his father had experienced when his mother had died.

Shaking her head, she slowly entered the apartment. Patrick was sitting on the sofa with the television on, but his eyes were focused on some point beyond it and he was lost in thought. He was holding a beer, but she could see that he had barely touched it. She swung the door closed- a little more loudly than was necessary in an attempt to gain his attention. When his gaze swung from the wall to her, she knew she'd accomplished her goal.

His eyes held a glint of fear- something she'd rarely seen in the arrogant doctor's gaze- and he opened his mouth to speak, probably to try once again to get her to see that they did have a chance, if she'd just allow it, but she held her hand up to stop the flow of words and quietly but firmly- without hesitation or fear- said, "I'll go."

Never, in either of their lives, had two words been more important to them- not even when they'd told each other they loved one another, because that had been something they'd both known all along, though that moment certainly came close to this one. This… This was a promise- not a promise that Robin would try to make their relationship work or try to let her guard down; not a promise that Patrick would try just as hard and stop being afraid he was going to become his father. This was a promise that they would make it- because neither one of them could see their life without the other in it.