Brenda Returns – Chapter 13
"Thank you for coming in to see me," Robin tells Jax when he walks into her office.
"I figured it was news about being a match?" he asks as he sits down across from her.
"Yes, it is," she nods and folds her arms on top of the desk.
"Well?" he asks, suddenly nervous.
"You're a match," she smiles.
"I am?" he asks with a silly grin on his face. He's not sure why, but being able to help that beautiful little girl is better news than if he took over a multi-million dollar company at a bargain price.
"Yes. Now, I haven't told anyone else, yet, not even the patient's mom…or dad, because I want you to look over these papers. It describes and outlines the procedure and the risks," she says handing him over the paperwork. "Once you've read through it, and you agree to it, you can sign them and bring them back to me."
He takes the papers from her and glances over the first page. "Okay. Then what?"
"Then we'll schedule the procedure and have the patient prepped for the transplant, so to speak."
"How quickly can this all happen?"
"I'd like for it to happen by the end of next week. The sooner the better."
He nods. "And will this totally cure her?"
"The odds are good that it will. The patient will still need to see a doctor for a couple of years after the procedure, just to make sure, but most likely, he or she won't have to go under anymore procedures or treatments after this. Maybe a small dose of medicine to maintain platelet levels."
"And I still don't get to know that it's that little girl, for sure, do I?" he asks, leaning back in his chair.
"No, I'm sorry. The patient's parents would like this to be anonymous."
"Okay, but if they change their mind…"
"I'll be sure to mention to them that you are interested in who it is you're donating for."
He smiles and looks over the papers.
"Jax?"
He looks up.
"This is a very generous gesture. Well, it's more than a gesture. I have gotten to know this family very well and I want to personally thank you," Robin says, trying not to get choked up.
He gets a serious look on his face and nods. "I'm doing it for this little girl as much as I'm doing it for myself."
"How so?" she asks, sitting back in her chair a little bit.
"You were there when Carly mentioned that she is having trouble getting pregnant.." he starts.
She nods.
"Well, it doesn't look good. The chances of conceiving at so small and then if she did get pregnant, she would probably have to be on bed rest the whole time and even then the odds of carrying to term are minimal."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I've come to accept it, but Carly hasn't. She feels that she's loosing a part of me. But if I can help someone else's child….I don't know, it just makes me feel like I'm helping in some way. If I can't create a life, I can help save one."
Robin holds back her tears and tries to remain professional.
"That's a good way of looking at it."
~*~
"You sounded urgent on the phone," Brenda says when she joins Robin for lunch at Kelly's.
"Jax is a match," she says with a huge smile on her face.
"What? Oh my God. And he's really willing to go through with this?" Brenda asks, leaning over the table.
Robin nods. "Yes, he officially signed the paperwork. I didn't want to tell you until he had gone through all the motions because he could have pulled out…"
"Oh, right." Brenda sits back in her chair and processes this information. "Wow."
"Wow, what?" Robin asks, motioning the waitress for two glasses of water.
"He's really doing this for a child he doesn't even know?" she asks, staring at the table.
"Yes. Because he's a kind, generous person who loves children, Brenda," Robin says, stressing the last part. "You HAVE to tell him the truth before you leave for Italy."
A tear escapes from Brenda's eye and falls down her cheek. She brushes it away and doesn't say anything for a few minutes. When she does, she starts asking about the operation.
~*~
"Hi Hope," Jax says when he sees her in the waiting room again.
He makes a point to check the waiting room every time he's at GH in hopes of catching Hope there.
"Hi Mr. Jax," she says, looking up from her puzzle.
He looks around at the other families in the waiting room.
"Is your mommy or daddy here?" he asks, sitting down on the couch next to the table she's working at.
She shakes her head. "No. My mommy is running an dare-end."
He raises his eyebrows up at that one. "Oh." He looks around again. "Are you here alone?"
"No, Dr. Robin is at the desk. She's keeping an eye on me," she says, pointing toward the door.
"Oh okay.
Your mommy is running an errand, huh?" he asks, making sure he understood what she was trying to say.
Hope nods and picks up a different colored crayon and continues to color.
"You like my picture?" she asks.
Jax leans over. "Yes, very much. You're doing a good job staying in the lines."
"Aunt Elizabeth is an artist," she says, inspecting what she just colored.
"Aunt Elizabeth, huh?" he chuckles.
"Yeah. I asked her if I could call her that. She's Cameron's mommy."
"Yes she is. She's a very sweet lady."
Hope nods.
"Where are you from? Do you live here in Port Charles?"
She shakes her head no.
"New York?" he asks.
"Is that near Italy?" she asks, looking up at him from her coloring book.
"You live in Italy?" he asks, his mind is trying to process this new information.
"Uh huh. With my mommy. And Ms. Maria helps us a lot."
"What's your mommy's name?" he asks, inquisitively.
"Oh, hey Jax. Visiting the Pediatrics wing again, I see," Robin says when she comes in to check on Hope.
Jax looks up at Robin. "Uh, yeah."
He looks back down and studies Hope's features.
"Everything okay?" Robin asks.
Jax studies Hope for a few seconds more and then looks at Robin. "Yeah. Can we talk?"
"Well, I'm doing rounds right now and I'm keeping an eye on Hope, but later today."
Jax pulls Robin into the hallway, out of Hope's earshot.
"I know I haven't seen Hope that many times, but I have yet to see her with her mother or father. Do you have any idea why?" he asks.
Robin scrunches her eyes together. "Um, no. I mean, her mother has dropped her off a couple of times and sometimes she gets her car in the garage and either Elizabeth or I will walk her to her car. It's not a big deal, Jax," Robin says, trying to appease Jax's curiosity.
He thinks about asking her more questions but stops when he sees Elizabeth walking over to them.
"Dr. Scorpio, I need you to sign off on a couple of charts….excuse me, Jax," she says apologetically to Jax.
He smiles and nods. "It's okay. I should get going anyway. Bye," he says to both of them. He pokes his head in the waiting room and waves to Hope. "Bye Hope. It was good seeing you again."
"Bye Mr. Jax….good seeing you," she waves back.
Robin and Elizabeth both smile sheepishly at him before he walks away.
"Oh my God, thank you for the distraction," Robin says when they know Jax is out of ear shot.
"No problem. Things were looking a little intense."
"I think he's starting to suspect something. He was asking Hope all these questions about where she was from and who her mommy was…."
"You're kidding?"
Robin shakes her head. "No. I'm so tired of all of this lying and hiding, but it's not my place to tell him."
Elizabeth agrees. "No, it has to be Brenda that tells him."
Robin's phone rings. "It's Brenda, would you mind keeping an eye on Hope for a minute?"
"Not at all," Elizabeth says before going into the waiting room.
"You owe me and Elizabeth big time," Robin answers the phone.
Brenda pulls her phone away from her ear and looks at it questioningly before replying.
"Okay….why?"
"Jax was just grilling me on where Hope is from and who her mommy is when Elizabeth came in and caused a diversion to make him go away," she whispers loudly into the phone.
Brenda rubs her temple. "I'm so sorry…"
"Brenda, I'm tired of you being sorry. You have got to tell him before the surgery. There's no way you're going to be able to avoid him next week."
Brenda shuts her eyes for a moment. "Is Hope ready?"
"Yeah, come up and get her," Robin says before shutting her phone off.
Elizabeth glances up when she hears Robin's phone snap shut.
"You want me to take Hope down to the garage?" Elizabeth asks.
Robin stands in the doorway, looking at Hope, who is still coloring. "No. Wait for Brenda."
Elizabeth raises her eyebrows but can't ask any questions because Robin walks back over to the nurses station.
Elizabeth's phone rings and she looks at the caller id before picking it up.
"Hi Brenda."
"Elizabeth…oh good. Um, are you at work, by any chance?"
Elizabeth gently strokes Hope's hair. "You want me to bring Hope down to you?"
"I guess Robin told you not to?" Brenda asks, biting her lip.
"I'll bring her down, but whatever Robin told you…..I agree with."
Elizabeth hangs up the phone.
"Come on, sweetie. Let's go see your mommy."