Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to submit a review. I read each one carefully.
It was later than he had originally planned but Jason was finally at Mac's house to have lunch with Robin. He had casually checked things out as he had walked up to the door. While he waited for her to answer the door he checked again. Everything looked normal. He figured a quiet lunch with Robin would be the perfect contrast to the busy morning.
She was on the phone when she opened the door. She smiled at him and waved him in.
"I appreciate the thought," she was telling the person on the phone. "But I won't need that kind of time. Another week will be fine."
Jason decided to get lunch set out for them while she was on the phone. It had been a very long time since he had been in Mac's house but he figured that the kitchen would be arranged pretty much the way it had been when he and Robin were dating. As he got the drinking glasses, plates, and napkins from the kitchen he realized that he had guessed correctly. The layout was exactly the same as it had been nearly 10 years ago. He also realized that he didn't have any room to judge since his kitchen was exactly the same as it had been when he moved into his penthouse 7 years ago.
"Sorry about that." Robin said. She was hanging up the phone just as Jason returned to the living room. "It was the hospital."
"I brought lunch," Jason told her as he put the plates and stuff on the coffee table. He wanted to tell her not to rush back to work but decided not to. She was capable of deciding when she was ready. Plus he knew from personal experience that work could be very therapeutic. He decided to keep his concern to himself and focus on lunch. "I hope you are hungry. I told Mike I was coming to see you and he packed a lot of extra treats for you."
Robin watched as Jason unloaded the bulging to go bag. Apparently Mike really had thrown in a lot of treats. There were chocolate cookies which everyone knew were her favorite. She reached over and grabbed one while Jason continued to unload the bag. He set out their food orders as well as large pieces of chocolate cake, a large bowl of Mike's famous chili, and a large salad with several packets of organic dressing that Robin liked so much.
"There's enough food here to feed an army." Robin told him quietly. Something in her voice caught his attention and he looked up from the food. He found that she was looking very intently at him.
"What?" He asked curiously.
"Something is bothering you," Robin stated. It was not a question. It was something she knew to be fact. "You are tense and there is something different in your voice."
The fact that Jason Morgan even had emotions would shock a large number of people. He was simply so good at keeping them in check that a lot of people took his lack of reaction to be a lack of feeling. That wasn't the case and only a few people knew that for sure. Robin was one of them.
Jason had always told Robin that she didn't have to lie to him because she would always try to say she was fine when really she wasn't. The reverse was also true and he knew that he never had to lie to her. He felt comfortable sharing things with Robin that he wouldn't share with others. It was amazing that they were as close as they were considering how badly things had gotten between them when they broke up. Maybe time really did heal things, he thought briefly but dismissed it just as quickly. Time hadn't healed their relationship, they had. Neither of one of them was happy with how things had ended between them. They had taken steps to make things better. Even though they were done as a couple they had decided to fight for their friendship, for the closeness that they had shared. They had won that fight and had come out on the other side with a deep and abiding trust in each other that could not be shaken.
"Yes." Jason said simply as he sat down. Robin sat down next to him and waited. She knew he would share what he felt he could when he was ready. "Someone that I trust and consider to be a friend may be working against me."
"What an awful feeling!" Robin said sincerely. She wrapped her arms around Jason and hugged her friend. Jason remained silent just as Robin figured he would. She did notice that he did not pull away from the hug as quickly as he normally would have. He was obviously hurting and she wanted to make it better, like he would want to do for her. She couldn't do anything for him really except let him know she really cared, that he had a friend she thought suddenly. It was like what he had written on her card when he delivered the flowers to the hospital saying that she had a friend.
"I'll be right back," Robin told Jason as she pulled away from their embrace. He watched her head upstairs quickly. She seemed alright so he did not follow her. He waited on the couch for her to return.
She returned quickly and sat down beside him on the couch again.
"Close your eyes," Robin told him quietly. She knew he hated to do that. He really hated when someone covered his eyes and told him to 'guess.' He was always steadfast in his refusal to play in guessing games. Robin knew this and would never ask him to guess on anything. She also knew that he didn't like closing his eyes when asked. However, for a very small group of people he was willing to make an exception. He closed his eyes without saying a word. "Hold out your hand."
"A friend of mine gave me this when I was going through a really rough time to remind me that even though things were bad, I wasn't alone. It really helped me and I wanted you to know the same thing." Robin told him emotionally as she placed a small card in his hand.
The moment he opened his eyes Jason recognized the card. He couldn't help but give her one of his very rare heartfelt smiles. He opened the card and read 'You have a friend.' He had known she would recognize the full meaning of that sentence when he gave her the flowers, just as he recognized it now. It didn't change the situation about the possibility of Sam working with the police. However, it did make him feel better anyway.
"Thank you," he said as he handed her back the card. "There are still tough times ahead for you and I want you to keep it. Each of us will know that a friend is only a phone call away."
Robin nodded without saying a word. Truthfully, she didn't trust herself to speak at that moment. She was overcome with emotions and could not have sorted them out if her life had depended on it.
Jason took one of Robin's hands in his. She felt the intensity of his gaze all around her and turned her head to look him directly in the eye. She realized that she could easily get lost in his eyes. It was something she somehow managed to forget every couple of years until something would come up and she would find herself staring into his eyes. Those eyes that everyone said were empty and devoid of human emotion. Robin however knew different. His eyes were so full of pieces of himself that she truly did consider them to be the windows to his soul. His soul cared so deeply and wanted so much to help, to somehow make things right for her. His admiration of her shone through just as intently. It was an intense moment and ultimately it caused her shudder for a brief second. It was simply too intense for her.
Robin broke off the eye contact and turned her head slowly and looked at the fireplace. Wordlessly, Jason used one of his fingers to gently lift her head up and toward him again. There was the smallest hint of a smile in the corners of his mouth and she noticed it. He knew the moment was intense for her, just as it was for him. He did not know why but he simply knew instinctively that he had to make her face the intensity of this moment.
Apparently she recognized the need to meet this moment head on as well. Jason watched her take a steadily breath before she raised her eyes to meet the intensity of his gaze again. 'She is amazing' he thought to himself as she looked into his eyes every bit as intently as he was looking into hers.
"You are focusing on me and my problem when you need to focused on your grief and making a new life for yourself and your child." Jason told her gently as he continued to look deeply into her eyes. He was sure that he could even feel her heart beating in her chest at that moment. Although, with how intently his own heart was beating he couldn't rule out the possibility that she could hear his heart beating as well.
"I know," Robin admitted softly. "At this particular moment, your problems feel more manageable to me than my own."
"Grief is hard and everyone goes through it their own way. The important thing is to let yourself feel it so that you can begin to work through it." Jason told her.
"That's very insightful." Robin told him. He simply nodded.
"I thought so too the first time I heard it" Jason said with a smile. "You told me that after Emily's death."
"It's easier to tell someone how to deal with their grief than it is to deal with your own," Robin told him.
"I can't go through your grief for you Robin," Jason told her as he wrapped his arms around her. "But I will go with you."
Robin relaxed into Jason's comforting touch. It would not be an easy journey but most of her life to that point had not been easy either. She had suffered a lot of losses but she always managed to get through them and they had helped make her stronger. Robin knew she could get through this and make a life for herself and her child on her own. She was glad that she didn't have to do it alone. She was grateful to have the support of her Uncle Mac and Jason.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Please be sure to submit a review.