Patrick felt domesticated as he pulled his Ferrari into the only available space, opened his girlfriend's door for her, and unbuckled her six-year-old's seatbelt. He could say for certain that, as an adult, he had never been to an elementary school carnival to celebrate the beginning of a new school year. The John L. Bernstein's Elementary School was one of two schools that the children of Port Charles had to choose from, but the event itself was far from small. As they neared the entrance of the school, he could see that the hallway was already crowded with excited children and anxious parents. He was about to retreat back to the car when Robin caught his right hand and steepled their fingers together. Her touch was like his life preserver and the reassuring gaze resting in the depths of her cinnamon eyes instantly calmed his frayed nerves.
"They're just little kids." She whispered to him, her expression teasing. He was still amazed when he woke up and found her beside him, her face pressed into his back, her scent entrancing him in the most spectacular sense.
"Easy for you to say," Patrick chuckled. "You fit right in." He dodged the elbow blow to his side and anchored her to him.
"Grown-ups." Morgan grumbled quietly, his eyes frantic as he stepped inside.
"Morgan, wait just a second." Robin ordered as she handed over the twelve necessary blue tickets to enter the carnival. She hadn't even had to look up. The small boy sighed and waited for the couple to follow behind him though Patrick saw the conflicted look in his eyes.
"Too bad they don't have an aquarium." Patrick said to himself, his hand finding the small of Robin's back as they followed Morgan through the double glass doors.
"They have popcorn though and corn dogs." Robin reasoned, making sure to only let Morgan stay a foot or two away from them.
"What do you want to do first?" Patrick asked, looking from Morgan to Robin and then back again. He wasn't leaving their sides, because he doubted he'd be able to find his way out if he did.
"Bounce house." Morgan replied, holding out his hand for Robin to hand over the needed tickets. "Four." He told her.
"Alright. We'll come with you. If we didn't have the Hulk here, we could both go in." She went on in a tiny voice.
"Babe." Patrick shook his head, amused.
"Grown-ups are not allowed in the bounce house, Roby." Morgan admonished with a little giggle as if he didn't now, nor would he ever, understand his mother.
"'Roby, huh?'" Patrick smirked, looking over his girlfriend's shoulder when he noticed Lucky, Elizabeth, and Cameron heading their way.
Robin followed his gaze and beamed. "Elizabeth!" She hadn't seen her friend since their little spa vacation so she didn't feel like an idiot when she left her son in the care of her boyfriend and threw her arms around her friend.
"Robin. I need to breathe babe." Elizabeth laughed. Life had been crazy since returning from Vegas and almost immediately starting the school year again. If it didn't sound a little crazy she would have been convinced she was still jetlagged.
"Damn, I wish I could get that kind of reaction." Patrick muttered with an eye roll.
"Daddy! I go bounce?" Cameron tugged on his father's arm, excited by the gigantic balloon house, with all the kids jumping. He spotted Morgan and waved excitedly. "Morgan! Hi Morgan!"
"Hi Cameron!" Morgan waved happily.
Lucky smiled and counted out the tickets that were required for admission to the Bounce Hut. Lucas and Dillon had convinced him to come to the carnival, even though Cameron was still a year away from entering the school. They had spun a tale of making sure Cameron was comfortable with the bigger school when it was time to start kindergarten. He was of the impression they wanted him to keep an eye on Lance while they had to work the pop toss booth.
"You going too Morgan?" he asked, ready to count out the extra tickets should the small boy say yes.
"Yep." Morgan held up his tickets proudly. "Come on Cam." A quick look of approval from Robin is all he waited for before dragging his cousin over to the Bounce Hut.
"Get a little color in Vegas?" Patrick teased Lucky. His cousin was sporting full-body sunburn.
Lucky shot Patrick a confused look, noticing his cousin's bruised knuckles. "What did she make you box a wall or something?"
"I fell off of the couch and landed on my hand." Patrick lied, remembering all too well the sound of his hand connecting with that bastard's nose.
"He's like James Bond or something." Elizabeth mock whispered to Robin.
"Secret Agent Man." The women teased in unison. "Can you believe Morgan thought we were going to infect him with grown-up cooties?" Robin replied, nudging Patrick in the side when he looked like he might continue on with his banter.
"Patrick? Give off grown-up cooties?" Lucky snorted. "Has he seen the toy car collection? Or the race track?"
"The race track is a touchy subject." Patrick whispered harshly, watching Robin's eyes narrow.
"As you can see we are still working on the whole 'not sticking your foot in your mouth' concept." Elizabeth explained. "So when did you get back you sneak? You didn't call me."
"I meant to, but half the town showed up in my bakery demanding cookies and cakes for this little get-together and you don't want to turn down soccer moms." Robin explained.
"Well not if you want to live." Elizabeth nodded.
"This is unreal." Patrick declared, poking his dark head out the side door when a familiar middle-aged dishwater-blonde caught his attention.
"What is?" Robin asked, chewing on her bottom lip as she tried to make sense of the bewilderment in Patrick's expression.
"My fifth-grade P.E. teacher Ms. Cooper." Patrick explained, pointing toward the blonde as she sat on the edge of a small diving board in the Dunk Tank while several children lined up to hit the target.
"I thought you weren't from Port Charles?" Robin recalled, taking a long look at the woman who had caught her boyfriend's complete attention.
"I'm not. She taught at my school for years. She must have transferred here." Patrick figured his voice thin and wispy.
"We should go say hi." Robin suggested, already moving toward the door. Her eyes bugged out when Patrick's right hand latched onto her left one pinning her into the corner. "What the hell?" Robin demanded, not looking pleased for his reaction.
"I want to surprise her." He explained in a scheming voice.
"Let's go there!" Lance was practically dragging Cameron behind him as the two darted off towards a set of trailers located on the other end of the fair. The two boys started off at a rapid pace, threatening to leave Lucky and Elizabeth in the dust.
Sticking two fingers in her mouth, Elizabeth let loose a loud whistle. The two boys turned around with shock on their faces. They had grown up hearing Luke, Patrick, Cruz and their dads whistling like that. Never had they heard a girl make such a loud noise.
"Whoa. She's louder than Cruz." Lance whispered.
"Freeze. You need to stay where we can see you two munchkins. Understood?" It was amazing how quickly the authoritative teacher voice came out of her once school was back in session.
The two boys nodded and started off again, this time at a much slower rate, glancing backwards every few feet to make sure the grown ups were close behind.
Lucky applauded as they started walking again. "I'm going to have to upgrade you from Cinderella to Wonder Woman."
Elizabeth blushed. "That's called bringing my work home with me."
"Whatever you call it, it worked. I was wondering how long it would take Lance to ditch us with my kid in tow." He leaned his closer to her ear and whispered in it. "Not that I would mind spending time alone with you."
"We're at a school fair with your son. Somehow I think that is against the rules buddy."
"Possibly, but isn't half the fun of having rules breaking them?"
Whatever response Elizabeth was going to make was lost as they came upon the two cousins stopped in front of a large trailer. Smoke poured out of it and a strobe light flashed every few seconds. Mechanical laughter rang out from inside, sounding remarkably like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. Every few seconds, the building shook and the terrified screams of the children inside would reach the ears of all that stood nearby.
The two boys turned around, Lance's eyes shining in excitement. Cameron's were terrified. Jumping up and down, Lance practically shook from excitement. "We need to go in! We need to go in!"
"Sir, it's four tickets a turn." The pimple-faced twelve-year-old explained to Patrick impatiently.
The young photographer would not be perturbed. He was going to throw away as many tickets as he had to if it meant dunking his old P.E. teacher. He had been a quiet little kid, surprising as it seemed now, and she had teased him worse than anyone else about it. How high and mighty was she now, sitting on the brink of a diving board at the mercy of his aim?
"I know that." Patrick shot back, tossing the ball forward confidently. "So why can't I just give you as many as I want as long as it's a multiple of four?" He challenged.
"Patrick, you have to let the other kids have a turn." Robin whispered to him, a smile forming across her lips as she clarified the rules for him.
"Well if it isn't Pretty Boy Drake? You're a big boy now." Ms. Cooper announced in a sing-song voice.
Robin closed her eyes. This was not going to end well.
The ball skidded to the left of the Bull's-eye and the little kids behind them laughed hysterically. "I've still got two left." Patrick told the evil children coldly, bending down to retrieve the remaining yellow balls.
"Maybe you should let the girl throw." Ms. Cooper suggested cruelly as Patrick missed a second time.
"You know what…?" Patrick threatened, taking a few steps toward the menacing voice.
Robin linked arms with him and stopped him in his tracks. "Maybe we should just forget the whole thing and go get some cotton candy." She offered in a pleading voice.
"I'm not a child, Robin." Patrick snapped, gripping the last ball tightly in his fist.
"You could have fooled me." Robin spat back.
"You don't get it." Patrick insisted.
"Patty-Boy and I have some unfinished business." Ms. Cooper tried to explain to Robin, her voice patronizing. Patrick watched in amusement as Robin bristled up like a cat.
"Give me the ball." Robin made a grab for it, but Patrick held it over her head.
"You'll get your turn." Patrick promised, training his eyes on the target.
"Kristina, stop it!" Morgan's yelp startled the young couple and they each turned toward the sound. The eight-year-old was on top of another little girl--it was impossible to determine her age from this distance--pulling her hair and beating her head against the grass. Watching his girlfriend take off in a run, Patrick distractedly threw the ball and followed after her, missing the target and smacking the teacher in the middle of the forehead. The sound of her flipping off of the diving board and into the two foot pool barely registered in his ears.
"You want to go the fish pond?" Elizabeth offered helpfully. Lance had begged to go into the Haunted House and Cameron just as adamantly refused to go near the attraction. Truthfully Elizabeth thought Cameron had the right idea. Carnival haunted houses and rides had always freaked her out for reasons she had never figured out fully. Lucky couldn't figure out a way to allow Lance to go in alone without risking the fury of the boy's parents, so he allowed himself to be dragged inside. Which explained why she sitting next to her former student, desperately trying to figure out a way to entertain him.
Cameron shook his head, watching the exit carefully. "I wait for Daddy." He explained seriously.
"It may take a while. It looks pretty big." Elizabeth nudged him a little and pointed out the fish pond booth. "We'd just be over there. You won't miss him."
When Lucky had called and asked her to come with them to the school carnival, she had been confused. Time with Cameron was a definite rule violation. But the rules apparently needed to be revised.
When Lucky had called and asked her to come with them to the school carnival, she had been confused. Time with Cameron was a definite rule violation. But the rules apparently needed to be revised.
Their return from Vegas came one day after Cameron returned from his two weeks with his other grandparents. While he spent the night with Luke and Laura, apparently Luke had taken it upon himself to tell the three year old that his father was dating his former teacher. When Lucky had picked Cameron up, he had been bombarded with questions about what dating meant and why Miss Lizabeth was his girlfriend, not to mention what the heck a girlfriend was.
Giving up on explaining after a few days, Lucky had decided actually including Cameron on a few dates might make the concept more understandable. However it did mean that school was going to be a lot more interesting this year. Already she was wondering how she was going to keep a professional front on when Lucky came by the school to see Cameron, but now she had Cameron and more than likely all his questions as well.
Cameron shook his head, determined not to leave his spot. "I stay here."
Elizabeth bit her lip. She genuinely liked Cameron and had since before she started dating his father. She had thought he liked her too. However it was hard to shake the feeling that she was getting the cold shoulder here. "Then we'll wait here. What about we make a list of the things we want to do when they get out?"
Cameron looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Even if Lance don't want to?"
"Even if Lance doesn't want to."
He pointed toward a nearby booth decorated with balloons and stuffed animals. "There."
"Dart game it is. What's next?"
"Just what did you think you were doing?" Mac scolded Kristina as he pressed a cold compress to her left cheek. She was in far better shape than her opponent, but neither girl had divulged the details leading up to the fight. Alexis was going to kill him, Mac realized. He was bringing her only child home with a scraped up face. He had been waiting outside the Bounce Hut for her and somehow she had gotten away from him and caught up with a new enemy. The young blonde to their left was sobbing in her mother's arms and the woman was giving Mac death glares. He offered up an apologetic smile, one which she cut in half with her eyes.
"It was her own fault. She started it!" Kristina accused pointing furiously at the other girl.
"Did not!" The distraught little blonde shouted back, sticking her tongue out at Kristina. Figuring that was as good as a challenge, the little brunette got to her feet and started toward her.
"Kristina, stay." Mac advised, patting the spot of grass she had just vacated.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Robin asked Morgan. They were stationed just behind Mac and Kristina and Patrick was watching the countless kids at the Dunk Tank knock his old teacher into the pool one by one. Apparently, there was a lot of revenge to deliver.
"Can't." Morgan shook his head, knowing better than to go against his older sister.
"You were right here, Morgan. You must have heard something." Robin added sternly.
"I didn't hear anything. It all happened really fast." Morgan insisted, his little arms thrown out in front of him for emphasis.
"Don't make him rat out his sister." Patrick murmured to Robin, his eyes finally meeting hers.
"I'm going to check on her. Stay here with Patrick." Robin told her son, getting to her feet and heading over to her uncle and the little girl in his care. "Kristina, how are you feeling?"
"She thought she could take me down." Kristina explained to Robin, her answer surprising both adults. "Stupid little brat."
"What started it?" Robin wondered. Maybe she would have better luck with Kristina.
"She started talking crap about my daddy." Kristina clarified, her hazel eyes dark as they were cold. Ah, well that explained it all, didn't it?
"You should have walked away." Mac scolded her lightly though Robin bet he agreed with how she had handled the situation as he was all about family pride.
"No." Kristina argued. "She was picking on Morgan. I shouldn't have walked away."
"Little girls can be really nasty." Robin admitted with a slow shake of her head. "But if you beat them up every time they say something mean, they'll always win."
"You don't get it. I had to protect my brother." Kristina went on adamantly.
"I do get it." Robin promised, taking the compress from her uncle and lightly brushing it across her cheek, cleaning up the dirt.
Morgan gazed up at Thunder Coaster in a mix of excitement and fear. Standing at about fifty-four inches from the ground, the ride was made up of four beams that, where they connected at the peak, were interconnected with a fifth beam that hung at a forty-five degree angle, the rollercoaster dangling from it. "Are you sure about this?" Where was Robin when he needed her? She would take one look at this contraption and cross it off of his list, insisting that it was about as stable as a house of toothpicks. As luck would have it, he was stuck with Patrick, Robin off with the other children.
"Of course. I know it looks kind of nuts, but I've ridden it a hundred times and I've yet to fall off." Patrick promised, his answer causing Morgan's nerves to fray. "You aren't scared are you?"
"No!" Morgan shot back in a sour tone.
"Good, because I've been saving my tickets for this ride and your mom would never agree to go on here with me." Patrick replied, leading the small boy toward the monstrosity.
"Let's just get this over with." Morgan grumbled, wishing he had told Robin he loved her before he agreed to this.
"You know, if you're not careful, you might actually have fun." Patrick warning derisively. Morgan stuck out his tongue and the young adult smiled at his pint sized counterpart.
Morgan took his seat the second he saw his cousin hand over the tickets and waited impatiently for Patrick to join him. This whole ride wouldn't last more than a few seconds, right? He would be fine. No way would the school put his life in jeopardy. Robin would murder them. Pleased with that last thought, Morgan closed his eyes and felt the metal bar being lowered down onto his legs, holding him in.
The ride hummed to life and Morgan swallowed hard. As the little car rounded the small corner of track, he tried to find Robin in the crowd. A quick dip and his vision began to blur.
"Morgan, open your eyes." Patrick suggested, disentangling the boy's death grip from the bar.
"Nuh-uh. I'm not looking." Morgan argued, squeezing his eyes tighter.
"Come on. It's incredible." Patrick cajoled lightly.
At his insistence, Morgan eyelids lifted slowly, his brown eyes turning amber when he noticed how high off the ground they were. The car flipped and he found his little legs hanging in thin air. Wanting to cry out, but not wanting to seem like a baby, he swallowed a second lump in his throat and focused on Patrick's expression. Unlike him, Patrick's eyes were alive and his arms were thrown up above his head. He called out to the crowd in a loud yell and some of the others did the same. Shrugging, Morgan followed suit and let out an insane-sounding yelp.
"Having fun?" Patrick guessed, noticing a bit of color in his cousin's cheeks. His big brown eyes were wide, in alarm or exhilaration Patrick didn't know.
"Yeah!" Morgan declared and then clamped his hand over his mouth when the car lurched forward.
"Focus on something that's not spinning. Look at the ring toss over there." Patrick ordered quickly, motioning his right hand toward the game directly in front of the coaster.
"I'm going to throw up." Morgan shook his head seriously.
"Calm down. It's okay." Patrick assured him, rubbing his back softly, trying to stop the inevitable.
They made it to the Bounce House before Morgan's face turned an awful shade of green and he had to empty his system. Amazing how fast they were able to clear out the other children. Dropping to his hands and sitting on the ground, Morgan glanced over nervously at Patrick. "I'm sorry I got sick."
Patrick couldn't stop the look of surprise from splaying across his face. "It's not anything you could have controlled. I shouldn't have taken you on that ride." He countered, patting the boy's shoulder.
"I liked the ride. Maybe we can go back on it later?" Morgan's voice was hopeful.
The sides of his mouth twitching, Patrick waited a beat before answering, "Maybe when your face goes back to its normal color."
"I think he hates me." Elizabeth moaned. The only way she had been able to keep Cameron talking had been to list out the itinerary for the rest of the day. After that had been completed, the three year old had fallen silent until his father and cousin emerged unharmed from the haunted house. Only then did he become the chatter box she remembered so well from her class last year.
"Cameron?" Lucky kept one eye on the two young boys as they ran ahead to meet the clown just in front of them. "Cameron doesn't hate you. He couldn't stop talking about you last year."
"That was last year. Then I was just his teacher. Now I can't get him to talk about anything for longer than two seconds."
"Calm down Princess. I'm sure you are just reading way too much into this." Lucky rubbed her shoulder gently and pulled her close to his side. He smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "He's still trying to figure out what this whole dating thing means and I'm sure my dad didn't make it any easier on him. I'm sure his idea of explaining was just to throw the words out there and walk away."
"Maybe."
"No maybes. He loves you, he's just confused. Give him some time and he'll come around." Lucky raised a hand in greeting to Dillon, who was currently being tackled by both Lance and Cameron. Dillon pantomimed taking the two boys over towards the petting zoo. Nodding his understanding of the plan, Lucky looked down at the top of Elizabeth's head. "So you want to go on any of the rides?"
Raising her eyebrow, Elizabeth looked up at him incredulously. "The death traps? I don't think so."
"They aren't death traps."
"Lucky, come on they look like they are held together with chewing gum!"
"They are perfectly safe." Patrick announced, throwing his arms around Lucky and Elizabeth's shoulders as Robin and Morgan hurried to keep up.
"Some of them are. Some of them...well I won't be getting anywhere near them." Robin declared sagely.
"See Robin agrees with me." Elizabeth pointed out triumphantly.
"There's a surprise." Patrick whispered, catching Lucky's smile.
"Yeah that was a big shock." Lucky laughed.
"What is that supposed to mean? We don't always agree." Robin told them.
Elizabeth crossed her arms and affected her best put-out stance. "Yeah because I know you two would not be trying to pick a fight right now." She could barely keep back the laugh.
Both cousins went pale and Robin tilted back her head and laughed. "There's always Yoga if they get out of line."
"You promised never to mention that." Patrick reminded her, softly poking her in the ribs with his index finger.
"Did I?" Robin asked innocently. "Hmm."
"Yoga? You had to do yoga?" Lucky laughed. "Please tell me you got that on video?"
"Well it's not on par with thinking I was dating my brother, but I have to admit it is an amusing image." Elizabeth smiled sweetly.
"Dating your brother? Is that legal in this state?" Patrick teased, catching Robin's eye roll.
"They were in Vegas. Isn't anything possible there?" Robin recalled, watching Elizabeth's eyes narrow in mock frustration.
Lucky pulled Elizabeth closer to him. "Jealousy doesn't become them does it? They have to hate since they didn't go any place exciting like Vegas." He mock whispered, counting down the seconds until Patrick would respond about the slight on his hometown.
Patrick made a face at his cousin's response, but then his eyes lit up. "Who's up for a little water gun and balloons fight?" He asked, gesturing toward the game. Morgan started forward, but then he saw a large picture of a white and orange clown and quickly retreated behind Robin's back.
"Looks like Ms. Cooper is sitting this one out." Robin ignored her boyfriend's suggestion and nodded toward the empty Dunk Tank.
"Personally I think an empty dunk tank is a crime against nature." Lucky declared.
"I have to agree. Why don't you do your part and join in on the festivities?" Patrick nodded toward the pool in question.
"Because I know you would feel compelled to try to take me out." Lucky clasped his hand on Patrick's shoulder. "I've seen how you throw man. It's not pretty."
"What? You're on little man. Go on. Get in."
"Nope. To protect you from further public humiliation, I can't."
"Do you hear them? Who do you think is the bigger chicken?" Robin murmured to Elizabeth.
"It was a toss up but I think Lucky is leading by a slight margin." Elizabeth mused.
"And turning down those little kids too when all they want is to dunk a teacher." Robin shook her head dramatically and then she got an idea. It must have been clear in her eyes, because Elizabeth looked like she might protest. "Lucky for us, we have one."
"We are no longer friends. I want that stated in the record."
"Oh, come on Liz." Robin nudged Elizabeth toward the Dunk Tank. "It's for the children."
Lucky knew he was playing with fire but he couldn't help it. "Yeah, think of how much Cameron would love it."
"Please Miss Lizabeth." All three remaining adults begged.
An idea began to form in Elizabeth's head. They thought they were so clever didn't they? Backing her into a corner and using her love of kids against her? Had Lucky not learned anything from their recent trip to Vegas? She smiled in anticipatory glee and began to walk towards the dunk tank. "Be right back."
"That went a little too smoothly. I thought she was going to fight us at least a few minutes more." Lucky commented. He had a bad feeling about this.
"Did it just get chilly?" Robin looked uncertain.
"You're both worrying for nothing. She agreed, didn't she?" Patrick pointed out.
"Yes but it's the way she agreed." Lucky pointed out, seeing Robin nod in understanding.
"I'm going to get a corn dog." Patrick decided, clearly not affected. "Anybody want one?"
The loud yelling from the twelve-year-olds near the dunk tank distracted them all. Lucky's mouth dropped open in shock as he watched Elizabeth climb into the tank in an oversized white t-shirt and jeans. The shirt was just big enough that a view of her bare shoulder was visible if she shifted in just the right manner.
She found the group easily enough and waved at them. "It's for the children right?" she called over with a grin plastered all over her face.
"Yeah, the ones who are considering renewing their subscription to Playboy." Robin answered in a soft voice.
Lucky shook his head and closed his eyes. "This is not the way I pictured this going down."
"I never thought she'd agree." Robin shook her head as her friend climbed upon the plastic blue diving board.
With a groan, Lucky pushed Patrick with one hand. "Come on. You're coming with me."
"What about my corn dog?" Patrick pouted, not putting up much of a fight because it was no use. Lucky couldn't see reason right now.
"I'll buy you the whole damn stand. Right now you need to help me keep horny teenagers from soaking my girlfriend."
"How are we going to do that? Buy them off?" Patrick's smile died on his lips when Lucky turned to him with a cold expression on his face. "A joke, cousin."
"Even better. We're going to use your crappy throwing skills. Now come on. We've got tickets to buy."