Brenda Returns – Chapter 7
Brenda opens the door and greets Robin.
"Hey," Robin says. "I didn't realize you were staying long enough to rent a house," she says as she walks past Brenda.
"Yeah, well…" Brenda says. She smoothes out her jeans. "Have you had dinner yet? Do you want something to eat?"
Robin sets her purse down and turns back around to face Brenda.
"No, I'm okay, thanks."
"Okay. Good."
Robin looks amused. "What's going on?"
Brenda offers Robin a seat on the couch.
"I have to tell you something….and I don't want you to get mad," Brenda says, sitting on the chair next to her.
"Okay," she replies, hesitantly.
"Did you meet with a Dr. McNeal today?" Brenda asks, leaning forward and clasping her hands together.
"Brenda, I can't talk about any of my cases with…"
Brenda cuts her off. "That case is about my daughter."
Robin stops talking with her mouth slightly open and all she can do is blink.
"I want to explain…" Brenda starts.
"I don't know what to say."
Brenda looks at her hands and then looks back at her best friend. "About her condition or the fact that I have a daughter?"
Robin licks her lower lip. "Let's start with the fact that you have a daughter. From what I remember, she's about 4 ½ years old?"
Brenda nods.
"Which means she was conceived in early 2003…."
"Yes," Brenda says quietly.
Robin takes a deep breath. "I don't understand why you'd keep something like this from Jax, Brenda."
Brenda stands up and walks around the coffee table, wringing her hands together, nervously.
"At this point, nothing I can say is going to make sense….but Jax hurt me – a lot," she says, touching her chest.
"I know that."
"I didn't realize that I was pregnant until I got to Italy. By that time I was settled there. I don't know how many times I tried to pick up the phone and call him to tell him…"
"What stopped you?"
"So many things. Mostly my pride, I guess. I thought maybe this baby would help my heart heal. Jax was always the person who helped me pick of the pieces of my life, you know?"
Robin nods sympathetically.
"When Sonny left me standing at the altar….Jax was the one who was there. This time, it was Jax who left me. The one person who I trusted the most," she says through tears.
"I can only imagine what you were going through, Brenda, but does that give you the right to keep the fact that he was going to be a father from him?"
"I felt that way, at the time."
Brenda sits down again. She rubs her face.
"I didn't have an easy pregnancy. The doctor told me that if there was any stress in my life, I would jeopardize the pregnancy. I was pretty much bed ridden for most of the nine months…"
She stares off into space and smiles.
"When she was born, God she was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Robin smiles softly.
"It was just easier to live my life with my baby in Italy. I convinced myself that if Jax found out, he'd try to take her from me."
Robin shakes her head. "You know Jax isn't like that…"
"I was suffering from post-partum depression, I wasn't thinking clearly. No one could have told me anything that made sense at that point."
"I'm so sorry, Brenda. Why didn't you call me, or email me? I would have done anything to help you…"
"I know you would have. But again, it was just easier to keep my secret, to live the life I had been living. I didn't want to get anyone in the middle." She rubs her temples. "I know, I know it doesn't make sense and it's not fair and not right…but it's the way it is. I can't change anything now. I have to move forward."
Robin sits back a little bit and nods.
"Okay, let's talk about her case. I really wish you had come to me as soon as you found out she was sick."
Brenda starts to cry. "I was so scared. The doctors there had a positive outlook at first, so I didn't think I needed to go to any specialists…"
"I took the file home and haven't gotten a chance to look at it carefully, yet…" Robin starts.
"That's okay."
"I can say that after talking with Dr. McNeal, we came away feeling positively about her case. There are some drug treatments that haven't been tried yet."
"Not an operation?" Brenda asks, hopefully.
Robin shakes her head. "That would be the last resort. At least, in my opinion."
"What are the side affects?"
"Everyone reacts to them differently. One of the drugs is like chemotherapy, so she could loose her hair and get sick…those kinds of reactions."
"What's the worst case scenario?"
"The operation. She'd most likely need a donation and usually the match comes from one of the parents. You've already been tested, I'm assuming?"
Brenda looks down at her hands and nods. "Yes."
"And you're not a match?"
She looks up and wipes a single tear away. "No, I'm not."
Robin gives her a sad look. "That's okay. That's the last resort, remember?"
Brenda nods. "Right."
"But Brenda….you are probably going to be here a few weeks, you really should consider telling Jax. He's bound to run into you at the hospital."
"What if we do the treatments at a clinic or an office somewhere? Or another hospital?"
Robin bites her lower lip. "Everything I need and all of my clearance to work is at GH."
Brenda nods slowly.
"Mommy…" a small voice from upstairs yells.
Brenda looks upstairs and then back at Robin.
"You want to meet her?"
Robin stands up with Brenda. "Of course."
"I'll bring her down."
After a few minutes Brenda comes downstairs with Hope. Robin smiles brightly at the little girl.
"Hope, this is your Aunt Robin, you remember me talking about her?" Brenda asks once they reach the living room.
Hope nods and rubs her eye with her free hand, the other hand is still holding onto Brenda's.
"Hi Hope. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," Hope says.
"I like your Princess pajamas."
Hope smiles and looks down at her gown. "Thank you."
"Hey, guess what?" Brenda asks Hope as she crouches down so they're eye level. "Aunt Robin is a doctor and she's going to help Dr. McNeal make you feel better."
"Really?" Hope asks, looking at Robin.
"Really," Robin nods. "Maybe you could come visit me at my work tomorrow?"
"Okay," Hope says.
Brenda tenses up a little. "Already?"
"No sense in waiting."
They visit a little bit longer and Brenda takes a tired Hope back up to bed.
When she comes back down, Robin is gathering her jacket and purse.
"So, what time tomorrow?" Brenda asks.
"Call me in the morning and we'll set something up," Robin says and stops at the door. "And I suggest you tell Jax really soon because as soon as people see Hope, they're going to know. No way in denying it."
Brenda nods. "I know. I'm reminded of him every time I look at her," she whispers. "Thanks," she says, giving her friend a hug.
"You're welcome. We're going to beat this," she says, giving Brenda's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"I know," she smiles.