Chapter 62

Ethan dangled a piece of muffin in front of Lulu, pulling it away as she moved to take it. "Too slow" he teased.

"Depriving your girlfriend of food after forcing her to work up such an appetite is a mean thing to do" she pouted in jest.

"Forcing?" he asked as his blue eyes danced, "forcing? You seemed more than willing to…er…" he looked around the diner to see if anyone was listening. Leaning over the table he brought his mouth close to hers "to exercise" he grinned.

As Ethan moved in to kiss her, Lulu reached for the piece of muffin and popped it in her mouth. "Now who's too slow?" she teased.

Linking his fingers through hers, he pressed his lips against hers. "You're a bad girl."

"You have no idea" she said playfully.

Leaning back in his chair but keeping hold of her hand, he grinned. "Oh I think I have some idea. And I'm fairly certain those dog walkers in Central Park have some idea as well."

Her cheeks flushed at the memory. Ethan had been emotionally drained following his revelation about his mother's murder. Lulu had taken him to bed where he slept for nearly 12 hours. Realizing upon waking that the world had not fallen in around him and that Lulu had stayed, he proposed a quick two-day trip to New York and his old stomping grounds. They had thrown some things in their knapsacks, bought train tickets and hit the road. Ethan showed her his city – his favourite diner, the outdoor rink where he played pick up hockey and his favourite bench in Central Park. Stealing kisses on the bench turned in to a full on make out session which the locals greeted with calls for the young couple to get a room but they had been oblivious to the protests. Their time away had only reconfirmed the growing feelings they had for each other.

She played with his fingers as they gazed lovingly at each other. There were no words exchanged just giggles and knowing glances. For Lulu it felt as though time stood still for her and she was living in one prolonged perfect moment. Reaching for her coffee she did a double take as a familiar figure came through the door of Kelly's.

"Brenda?" she called out.

Shoving her sunglasses up on to her head, Brenda smiled and walked over. "Hey Lu – just came to get some coffee – the jet lag is killing me – can you believe his coffee machine has been broken for three months and he's never bothered to fix it? I promised him I'd bring a coffee back for him as well and then I'm headed to Robin's – I'm worried about her – she seems too in control and too strong – I mean it's been three days since Patrick's gone and she hasn't cried yet."

Ethan felt Lulu's hand tighten in his as he looked from the raven-haired beauty to his girlfriend.

"Brenda – wait – slow down – whose coffee machine is broken and what do you mean Patrick's gone?"

Brenda's stomach dropped as she realized that Lulu had no idea what was going on with Patrick and Nathalie. "Lu –have you spoken to your brother lately?"

She shook her head. "We were out of town for a few days and just got back – Brenda –you're scaring me."

Brenda slid into the seat beside Ethan and smiled at him. "Hi, I'm Brenda Barette."

"Ethan Young" he said.

She nodded. "I know. And I reserve the right to grill you later." He gave her a small smile. "Lulu" she took a deep breath. "Patrick and Nathalie have been kidnapped"

The crash of Lulu's coffee mug on the floor echoed throughout the diner. Her hand trembled slightly in Ethan's and he ran his thumb along her palm in an effort to calm her. "What do you mean kidnapped? Who? What's the ransom?"

"Nikolas hasn't called you?" Brenda asked feeling very badly about breaking the news to her.

Reaching for her phone, she flipped it open and scrolled through the missed calls and text messages. "No, nothing."

"Maybe you should call him."

"Or maybe you should tell me what's going on right now" her voice rose with impatience.

"Hey" Brenda said softly, "I'm on your side."

"Sorry" she said sheepishly. "How is it that no one called me?"

"I'm sorry Lu – I'm sure Nik meant to."

"Whatever" she sniffed. "Tell me everything you know – starting with who has them."

"Robert and Mac think it's Helena." Brenda watched as the shock and then understanding registered with her friend.

"Why…why would Helena want them?" She thought back to all the occasions that her brother had warned her about the dangers of his grandmother and how she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.

Brenda sighed heavily, resenting that neither Nikolas nor Lucky recognized that their sister was a grown woman who deserved to be told things as they happened and not some little girl to be protected. "Nathalie is pregnant and I guess Helena found out."

Blowing the air out of her cheeks, she slumped back against her chair. "She's pregnant AND Helena has her? Nik is going to go mental" she said quietly.

"Who is Helena?" Ethan asked.

"Nikolas' crazy grandmother" Lulu answered quickly.

"More like Nikolas' violent and psychopathic grandmother" Brenda corrected. "And she's obsessed with Cassadine babies."

"Why would she take Patrick?"

Brenda shrugged. "Not sure – wrong place, wrong time I guess. Robert's on the case and Anna is on her way."

Lulu shook her head. "I don't…she TOOK Nathalie and Patrick?"

Brenda nodded. "It appears that way."

Lulu looked from Ethan to Brenda trying desperately to comprehend how everything turned upside down quite so quickly. "Where is Gracie?"

Brenda frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean – where is Grace – her mother is missing, her favourite person in the whole world is missing, my brother appears to be awol – where is Gracie?"

"I thought she was in the hospital…"

"Jesus" Ethan swore under his breath. "She's all alone at the hospital…"

"Wondering why no one is coming to see her" Lulu stood up quickly. "Can you tell Robin I'll call her soon? Someone needs to go be with Grace."

Brenda nodded. "I'm sorry Lu – I really thought you knew or I never would have blurted it out like that."

"I'm just glad I know." Lulu pulled her jacket on and headed towards the door. Stopping for a moment she turned back and called to her friend. "Bren?"

"Yeah?"

"Whose coffee machine is broken?"

A smile slowly spread across her face as she winked at her friend before turning back to the counter to place her order.

"That's what I thought" Lulu called to her as they headed out the door.

****
Robin watched as her father's contractors brought box after box in to her house to set up a command post. Robert had been unsuccessful in reaching Nikolas but had managed to speak with Alexis and was off to meet with another contact in hopes of gathering more intelligence regarding Helena. In the meantime, he had instructed his men to establish a security perimeter around Robin's house, assign a watch patrol to her and Rian and to bring in all the equipment necessary to run the operation from Robin's house. Her uncle Mac had been in regular contact with her over the last 72 hours but the leads for the PCPD were drying up – they had discovered all they were going to about the abduction of Nathalie and Patrick. Helena did not operate like a common criminal and it would take a specialized team to find her.

Sitting on the stairs watching the flurry of activity, she rubbed her belly. Whatever morning sickness she had disappeared when Patrick did, almost as if their child knew his mother needed all of her strength. Though her thoughts had been almost exclusively of Patrick, they did drift, from time to time, to Nathalie. She couldn't imagine being pregnant and being held captive, away from the man she loved. The only consolation, and it was a small one, was that Helena was unlikely to hurt Nathalie until after the baby was born. Robin expected them to be home long before that if she had to join the mission herself to ensure that happened.

Sleep had remained intermittent – more like a series of naps than any real deep slumber. The researcher in her was fascinated at how quickly having Patrick with her had become second nature. She made too much coffee in the morning, too much food for dinner and she had even phoned him last night – it wasn't until she heard his cell phone ringing in the kitchen that she remembered that he was unreachable.

The noise from computers being assembled and the tracking equipment warming up began to grate on her nerves. Alan had insisted she take a few days off before even considering returning to work but the lack of work, the lack of distraction was making her antsy. Bounding up the stairs, she went to her son's room and gathered him up. Dressing him warmly enough for the cool spring air, Robin grabbed her jacket and settled him in his stroller.

She sang quietly to him as they walked to the park. He remained a happy baby but she was sure he could sense that something was off. Every time he heard a man's voice his eyes seemed to search the room as though looking for his father. Concept of time for babies was very different than for adults but what she didn't know was whether Rian felt like his father had been gone for 10 minutes or 10 years. Until Patrick came home, she would need to hug him enough, kiss him enough and love him enough for both of them. Parking the stroller on the still frozen grass, Robin took her son from the stroller and walked to the swings.

Settling him on her lap, she wrapped her arm around his waist and swung gently. Rian, with new teeth coming through on an almost daily basis, chewed on his favourite stuffed dog. She pointed out the birds and kissed his cheek as he squealed and squirmed as a squirrel approached them. Fascinated by the squirrel, Rian threw his dog at him to get his attention.

"Rian, that's not very nice" Robin chided him gently. "Poor Mr. Squirrel thought you were trying to hurt him."

"I'm sure the squirrel has survived worse" the man said, handing the dog back to Robin.

"I'm sure he has too" she laughed. "I guess the violent streak starts young in baby boys."

"It just gets them warmed up for ponytail pulling and putting worms in girls' hair."

Robin smiled. "Sounds like you speak from experience – so which is it – do you have a son or are you a reformed ponytail puller?"

He raised his hands. "I plead the fifth"

Robin watched the stranger in front of her carefully, struck by his familiarity. "Have we met?"

He smiled at her. "You work at the hospital, don't you?"

She nodded. "Do you?"

"No – I've just been spending a lot of time there. I'm Anthony Waters" he said extending his hand.

"Your name seems very familiar. Robin Scorpio-Drake." she said shaking it.

"We may have crossed paths" he smiled, trying not to shudder at the inclusion of Patrick's name. "And who is this little guy?"

"This" Robin grinned, unable to keep the pride from her voice. "is Rian."

"Nice to meet you Rian" Anthony said, touching his head. "I should get going – it was nice to see you….er..again."

"You too – maybe we'll see you at the hospital."

"I hope so" he grinned before walking away.

Robin watched him walk across the park, aware that something about him made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Come on little man" she said as she got up from the swing. "Let's go see if there's news about daddy." Robin took one last look at Anthony's departing frame before strapping Rian into his stroller for the walk home.