The dim hallway lights did little to provide its inhabitants with any kind of direct route to their apartments. It was a good thing, then, that Robin had memorized the steps needed to find hers, especially tonight since she was trying to balance a sleeping Morgan on her left shoulder as well as lead Patrick in the right direction. Through futile protests, she had insisted that she could get them home without him, but he had been more stubborn than usual about it, and hadn't budged on the issue. Rolling her eyes at his over protectiveness, she hadn't said another word and left her car in care of her uncle and cousins until she could pick it up the following morning.
"I can go in first if you want me to." She recognized rather than assumed that it was Patrick speaking to her, because she knew she wouldn't have been able to turn around and make out his face in the overwhelming shadows surrounding them. He must have assumed her silence had to do with fear of returning to the scene of the crime--even though there hadn't been a thing stolen and her uncle had made nothing of it when she finally admitted to suspecting a break-in--when really she had just gotten lost in her thoughts.
"I'm not afraid." Robin replied defiantly, alternating Morgan to her other shoulder since this one had long since gone numb. To further prove her point, she jammed the key into the lock and turned it counterclockwise until she heard it disengage.
Patrick resisted the urge to point out that her fear was not without cause and would be a completely fathomable reaction to all that had happened in this loft not a handful of days ago. She would just continue to argue with him and he didn't want to fight with her tonight. She had been incredible during their visits--campouts--at the hospital both picking up on his agitation and doing her best to provide him with relief. She had been right about him needing to visit Cameron; he still had a hard time believing that that little boy had been in a coma as long as he had when he hadn't stopped talking since he'd woken up. "I never thought you were." He answered carefully, understanding that she needed to feel in control but wishing she would just lean on him a little bit. It wasn't like he had any intention of leaving her tonight; she didn't have to sound so put off by his decision.
"I'm going to put him down." Robin explained, already heading toward the stairs to put her words into action. Patrick caught her left arm, his hold unyielding, and waited for her to look at him. Meeting his concerned stare with one of absolute confusion, Robin let her arm go limp beneath his touch. Moving his left hand up to cradle her face, Patrick closed the space between them and lowered his mouth to hers. Responding instantly, Robin's eyes mirrored his in passion as she ran her restless tongue over his. He could tell she wanted to wrap her arms around him, but knew she was at a slight disadvantage, so he kept the kiss brief, pulling away before either of them was quite ready for him to. "I'll be back in a second." She whispered, awkwardly stepping out of his embrace and proceeding up the stairs.
Not trusting himself to speak in that moment, Patrick watched her climb the stairs instead, rubbing his fingers against the legs of his slacks when they started to itch, understanding that there was little he could do about it until she returned. He hadn't meant to kiss her that way, but he hadn't liked the way the wariness haunted her gaze. He just wanted to let her know he in no way felt obligated to stay, that he merely wanted to be close to her. Now, he wondered if he could actually spend the night without being tempted to move their relationship onto a far more intimate level. Her initial anxiety had come and gone with Cameron's accident and she hadn't showed any sort of resistance a moment ago. She wasn't naïve and must have recognized the purposefulness in the way he held and kissed her. He had always held back, that is, until just now. And her reaction left him wanting more; only logic kept him from running up the stairs and having his way with her.
Robin watched him from the top step of the stairs, drinking in the sight of him as he slowly paced from one corner of the room to the next. It was a relief to know that she wasn't alone in how she was feeling that he had his doubts too. It wasn't so much that she worried about sleeping with him; they were far too perfectly matched for the act to be anything but mind-bending. What made her step back and hesitate were her boyfriend's previous lovers she knew she'd be competing with. Admitting that none of her lovers prior to Patrick had been able to give her an orgasm had been a lot harder than she had ever realized because it showed vulnerability in her. Though he had grown out of throwing his conquests in her face, some intelligent part of him picking up on the fact that that was the main reason she hadn't slept with him yet, she couldn't just forget about his reputation no matter how hard she tried.
"Don't tell me you're shy all of the sudden." Patrick teased, his lips turned upward to display a smug expression. He had discarded his t-shirt in the time it had taken her to tuck in her son and she couldn't help but smile in return.
Robin shook her head, making her way slowly toward him. Bracing her hands on either side of his face, she fused their lips together, not even giving him a chance to suck in a breath before her tongue sought entrance into his mouth. Pressing his fingers into her waist, he used his hold on her to lift her off of her feet, letting her body crash into his. Her legs wrapped around his hips immediately and she clung to him. Bunching her dress in his fingers, he reached under the material with his thumbs and traced little circles over her stomach. His right arm tucked beneath her while he used his other hand to yank the dress over her head, their lips making a smacking sound when they were forced to break the kiss.
Stumbling over to the couch, Patrick lowered Robin onto the soft cushions, urging her to raise her knees so he could peel away her pantyhose, but she impatiently caught hold of his belt and thumbed away the metal fastener instead. Easing the zipper down, she let her fingers slip inside of his slacks and vigorously stroked him, feeling him bury his mouth against her shoulder as he struggled to catch his breath. Pushing his underwear out of her way, she smirked when his shaft jumped in her hand. Patrick unbuttoned his slacks hastily and together they kicked the offensive piece of clothing down to his ankles and over his socked feet. As his mouth found hers, his hands caught the strip of pantyhose, one wicked finger brushing over her drenched sex. Jackknifing beneath him, she rubbed her thumb over the tip of his burning shaft.
"Robin!" Morgan screamed, his voice heavy with sleep and terror. At first neither adult realized who had spoken and continued their curious explorations of the other's body. It wasn't until the child started to wail that they, gracelessly, fell off of the couch and pulled on their now wrinkled clothing.
Finding his room without the help of lights, Robin forced herself to breathe normally even though she hadn't had the necessary oxygen for at least five minutes. "Wha--What's the matter?" She asked, moving closer to her son's bed and pulling him into her arms, pushing the strap of her dress back onto her shoulder.
"Bad dream." Morgan explained, though he sounded embarrassed by it.
"It's okay. I'm here now." Robin assured him, noticing Patrick leaning in the doorway, looking as breathless as she felt. Holding her son even more tightly, she gingerly rocked him, humming a lullaby her mother used to sing to her when she had trouble sleeping, a song she had forgotten all of the words to. Mouthing to Patrick that she would meet him downstairs once Morgan had succeeded in falling asleep once more, she closed her eyes, barely picking up on her boyfriend's footsteps as he resigned to the living room.
Barely ten minutes later, Patrick headed back upstairs and found both mother and son fast asleep in the double bed, the Spider-Man comforter covering only Morgan. Sighing, Patrick walked over to where they lay and adjusted Robin so that she was under the blanket too. Pressing a sweet kiss to her lips, he returned to the couch; as luck would have it, he was able to locate spare pillows and a blanket from the top shelf of the coat closet. It was going to be a long night, he realized.
Cameron kicked his free leg in his sleep, a sign to his father the doctors at least had some clue to what they were talking about. Lucky had been skeptical at first when they told him it appeared Cameron had suffered no neurological effects from the horse's kick or the coma. In fact they were talking about discharging him as early as the next afternoon if he made it through the night ok. Any normal parent would be rejoicing at their child's good fortune, Lucky thought. A Spencer parent, he further realized, would be doubting the doctors and trying to diagnosis the problem themselves, no medical training necessary. This was exactly what he had been trying to do since the second Cameron had screamed for him during the tests.
He wasn't completely convinced the staff wasn't desperate to get his father away from them at all costs. Not that Lucky could really blame them for that thinking.
He's going to be fine, he told himself. You heard the doctor's. You know the bruises and bones will heal. He won't be the first Spencer child to need be on bed rest for a few weeks. Cameron will be fine. Quit this obsessive need to find something else to keep him in the hospital until this whole thing blows over.
Cameron was going to go home, most likely tomorrow and then he was going to have to deal with the press. It was as simple and terrifying as that. It was useless to pray for some starlet to have a major breakdown between now and then. A pop star shaving themselves bald only happened once every decade. In his bid to keep his son's life as normal as possible and to sell as many records as he could, Lucky had inadvertently set himself up in the center of a growing tabloid frenzy.
He was either going to have to deny Cameron's existence officially, which would not help his shaky relationship with the Grimes, or just come clean with the truth. Admit that his entire image was based on a total lie and go from there, deal with the fallout and see what happens. Even if he jump started several careers with nothing more than tabloid hype, Lucky didn't fool himself for one second to thinking that his name alone had made them successes. Each of his artists had the talent to back up the hype.
And it wasn't as if he wasn't planning on dropping the whole playboy act from his publicity push entirely. Elizabeth had talked a good game but Lucky fully realized his usual way of doing business made her uncomfortable. She had only handled Daphne as well as she had after she met Taggert. There wasn't always going to be a Taggert in the background. He hadn't exactly discussed this idea with anyone just yet. Lucky wasn't ignorant. If he only told Ned this plan, Ned would tell Lois, Lois would tell his mom and that would be it. His mother would be booking Mt. Hebron for the wedding before the day was over.
Of course that was all dependent on if Elizabeth was going to stick around for any of this. This was the big If. Standing by him during Cameron's crisis was one thing but during a tabloid frenzy? He wouldn't blame her if she bailed. As hard as he tried to ignore it, some part of him always expected something like this to happen. Well maybe not exactly like this, exposing Cameron to the world was never part of the plan, but Lucky wasn't naive enough to think he could mess with the tabloids and not get caught in their crosshairs at some point. But just like Cameron, Elizabeth hadn't asked for any of this. She didn't deserve to have her own life dissected for public consumption. He had willingly signed up for this. She hadn't. It would probably kill him to let her go, but if she did, he wouldn't blame her.
"You told me he moves a lot in his sleep. I don't think I really believed you until now." Elizabeth's soft voice broke through his thoughts. She crossed from the doorway, noting the concern that laced his normally placid features. There was some rumor Lucky was a vicious card shark, but for the life of her, she couldn't' see it. His every emotion was always on his face. A person just needed to know where to look for it.
Lucky smiled at her joke, her presence both comforting him and spiking his anxieties. Sometimes he wondered if he had run from relationships not just because of his son but because he couldn't' handle the mix of emotions that came with it. Life was much simpler when all you had to do was just get up and walk out the door, when the possibility of loosing someone didn't tear your heart out.
"I thought you were going home." He squeezed her hand when she laid hers on his knee.
"Well then I became 'mysterious brunette' and it sort of changed the game plan a bit."
Her tone was gentle but Lucky still winced. Of all the times she chose now to be direct. If they got through this, he was going to have a discussion with her about her timing issues. "Are there reporters out there hounding you?"
"No. They are more curious as to why you are here than in who the heck I am." Even though Cameron was sleeping, she still felt the need to clean up her language. It was a crazy impulse but Elizabeth had never denied she could very well need therapy. Especially since she had met one Lucky Spencer.
"You seem very calm about this." Lucky couldn't hide his surprise. Even though it wasn't technically his fault, he had almost convinced himself somehow it would be made his fault.
"I do?"
"I'm not questioning a good thing. It's just I was expecting you to be a bit more freaked by this."
Elizabeth moved forwarded, clasping his hand more tightly as she looked directly into his eyes. "I was freaking out earlier. When you first handed me that paper? I think my heart stopped."
"So what changed your mind? And I swear if you say positive thinking I will break up with you just for principle's sake."
She chuckled softly. "Well fine, steal my opening line. No really, the thing is I knew exactly who you were when we met. I'd seen the stories, seen the pictures. Hence my over-reaction to Daphne. So I was already aware that you got attention." Elizabeth shrugged. "It took me a few minutes to calm down enough to realize that I already knew this was at least on some level a possibility."
"But knowing and actually having it happen are two different things." Why he couldn't just accept her explanation and be happy with it was beyond him. It was probably somehow his father's fault.
"I'm not saying I'm thrilled with it. Believe me, I'm not. But the thing is my life is boring. What are they going to find? Max? As everyone keeps pointing out he was the a-hole there, not me. As far as I know, I have no illegitimate children out there, no ex-boyfriends in jail for murder, no ex-husbands. I teach school, live with my grandmother and I happen to date you. Pardon me for bringing you back down to earth here but that's not the most exciting of tabloid lives. It's dull."
Lucky put his hands across his heart. "Dull? You think we're dull?" he teased.
Elizabeth smacked his arm. "Quit fishing for compliments. I read the magazines. I realize that our relationship lacks the 'drama' they seem to love." She shook her head in mock sadness. "We are just too normal for them I think."
"We're not normal. We're superior. You'd do well to remember that."
"Duly noted." Elizabeth mocked saluted. "I'll be ok. We'll be ok. Whatever you decide to do about Cameron, we can handle it."
"Since when are you the confident one here?"
"Since I lo--looked and realized the tabloids are full of lies. You did what you thought was right by your son. There is nothing wrong with that. If someone has a problem with that? They got the bigger problem."
Elizabeth bit her lip. Where had that other word come from? She wasn't in love with Lucky. She had spent far too many hours listening to Robin try to live vicariously through her. They were going to have a talk about that as soon as Cameron got out of the hospital.