Pausing from reading his patient's chart, Dr. Ric Lansing rubbed the bridge of his nose. Ever since starting his practice in Port Charles, his cases had been the envy of his fellow obstetricians. Twins by different fathers? Been there, done that twice. Ever changing paternity test? It seemed every February or November he had at least one. He had lost count of how many of his patients had delivered in a place other than the hospital. Ric had seriously begun to consider not entering any elevators, attend any parties, or go any place in inclement weather.
However all that paled in comparison to his current patient. Bobbie Jones had been told for years she couldn't have children. She had even adopted two. Now, even when she was already a grandmother three times over, she was pregnant. And by a man that was only a few years older than her son. Had he not met the couple prior to this meeting, he would have certainly been looking for a hidden camera.
Of course this particular case was no laughing matter. Mature pregnancies always had there own share of complications. And Bobbie's complicated health history made the risks even more dangerous. He didn't want to scare the couple that sat across from him but he did want to make sure they were aware of everything. It was obvious to see Cruz was already scared and the last thing Bobbie needed was a nervous new father bailing if and when things got tough.
"I'm glad you could make it this early." The clock above his desk showed it was barely 8 in the morning. He didn't like to be up this early but this meeting was too important to put off any longer.
"It's not a problem Dr. Lansing. Thank you for being so understanding about us having to reschedule." Bobbie laid her hand gently on Cruz's arm, smiling softly.
"I completely understand. How is your nephew doing?"
"Much better. He was released from the hospital the other day." Bobbie pulled a daily planner out of her purse, holding her pen, poised to write. "Now I think we were discussing testing."
"Yes." Ric folded his hands under his chin. "Now normally I would have preferred to do genetic testing if you were planning on having children..."
Bobbie tried to keep back her laughter at Ric's statement. Planning this pregnancy? Much like the relationship between his parents, this baby was anything but planned. Welcomed and unexpected at the same time. "Yes well we didn't exactly even discuss this as a possibility."
"It's not really Sunday afternoon conversation." Cruz joked uneasily. "We mostly stick to crosswords."
"So I gathered." Ric nodded and looked down in the file. "Since genetic counseling is obviously out, we need to schedule some tests to rule out chromosomal abnormality. We'll need to schedule the Chronic Villus Sampling within the next two weeks."
Cruz didn't even try to hide the confusion he was feeling. "English, Doc? Or Spanish? I don't speak Doctor."
"A Chronic Villus Sampling is a simple procedure to test for, among other things, Down's syndrome and neural tube defects. You may be more familiar with an amniocentesis. We'll be doing that test as well. This test is time limited and we are going to run out of time if we don't move quickly."
"It's just a precaution with women my age." Bobbie tried to reassure him.
"Yes. Everything could be perfectly normal. I just wanted to make sure you are aware of all the risks." Ric looked at the couple solemnly. "There is a high probably that this will be a difficult pregnancy and that this child will have many needs."
"We know that." Cruz assured the doctor, reaching for Bobbie's hand for support.
"I'm glad to hear you say that but do you really know?" Ric leaned closer towards the couple. "A higher risk of Down's Syndrome is at the bottom of the list of the things you need to be concerned with. High blood pressure, gestational diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and that's just through the pregnancy itself. I do not want to scare you at this point but I do want to make sure you are going into this completely aware of what we will be working with."
"We want a healthy baby Doctor, but we'll take her any way we can get her." Cruz insisted, having wanted to run away since as the doctor started ticking off the risks.
"Him." Bobbie teased gently. "This baby could be a boy." She was putting on a brave face but the more Dr. Lansing talked with them, the more worried she became. She was already aware her age would bring risks to this pregnancy, but hearing only some of them laid out so bare was another thing entirely. Bobbie was at once grateful for Dr. Lansing's candor and wishing he had kept his risks to himself.
"She kicks like a girl." Cruz countered with a wink.
"If you value your life you will not say such a statement again or I will tell Robin you said it."
"Can you tell us more about these tests?" Cruz inquired, redirecting the question to the doctor.
"As I was saying we must schedule the Chronic Villous Sampling within the next two weeks. It should be done by the tenth week and I do believe you are about eight weeks along. Then we should have a Alpha Fetoprotein Test in a few weeks following that. Again this is non-evasive and a routine procedure. If those two tests show no problems, I most likely won't schedule an amniocentesis but I don't want to rule it out at this stage."
"What do we need to be doing?" Cruz was so out of his element and Bobbie seemed incredibly calm.
"Right now, limit your stress." He raised his eyebrow at Bobbie. "If you have anyone to help you with your business I recommend that you delegate as much as you possibly can to them. If not, no new business until this baby is born. The usual recommendations about diet and exercise apply. Take it easy. That's the best thing you can do right now. I'll prescribe you some prenatal vitamins to take religiously."
"You hear that hard head?" Cruz teased Bobbie lightly.
She smacked him on his arm. "Don't be a smart ass."
"I come by it honestly." Cruz smirked. He knew he had to keep her as happy and stress-free as humanly possible. Dr. Lansing had a laundry list of possible outcomes and Cruz was absolutely terrified.
"Dr. Lansing, when can we do the first test?" Bobbie asked, determined to focus on what they could do and not worry about what they couldn't control at this point. She was terrified but she couldn't let it affect her right now.
"I think we can get that done later this week if you are available."
"We'll be available." Cruz answered without hesitation. He had a whole fucking crew to baby-sit. They could take care of the magazine for him over the coming months.
Robin could feel Patrick watching her sleep, but she decided to lay here just a bit longer. She could feel her left arm going numb as she rested her cheek against it. Her body kept begging her to switch positions if she was going to go on pretending that she was still fast asleep. She didn't want to think about how she must look after a night of almost no sleep. Her hair must be at least a mile wide and she had forgotten to take off her makeup before going to bed so she probably looked like an escaped clown.
"I know you're awake." Patrick's voice tore through her self-defeating thoughts and she blushed, giving into her aching body and rolling onto her back.
"How do you know that?" Robin wanted to know.
"For one thing, you're smiling. For another, your breathing isn't as deep when you're awake." Patrick explained, sliding a hand through her hair and massaging her neck.
"Oh, I like that." Robin told him, reaching up and touching his cheek without opening her eyes.
"Yeah? How are you feeling this morning? A little sore?" Patrick's tone said that he had already come to the conclusion despite his probing words.
"No, I'm alright." Robin shook her head, accidentally knocking his hand away. Before she could even think to whine at the loss of his fingers kneading her skin, he started up again.
"If you'll turn over, I guarantee satisfaction." Patrick suggested, chuckling when Robin moved immediately at his advice.
"You are all about satisfaction, aren't you?" Robin praised thickly, pressing her face into her pillow.
"That's what it says on my driver's license." Patrick joked as his free hand went to work on her right shoulder.
"I'm really glad you stayed last night." Robin stated, rolling her shoulders as he applied just the softest pinch to them.
"Me too. Dinner was fantastic." He commended, pressing the heels of his hands into her spine and watching her body lift slightly at the touch.
"And dessert?" Robin wanted to know.
"We're still working on dessert." Patrick informed her, dropping a kiss to her hair. "But a little tender, love, and care is required first."
"Speaking of love…" Robin began, lifting her face from the pillow.
"Yes?" Patrick urged, leaning in closer.
"Why do you love me?" Robin asked quietly, darting her eyes to his hands.
"What?" Patrick left his hands where they were and let the moment of absolute silence drag on.
"How do you know it is love?" Robin had a really bad feeling that she was about to ruin everything, but she couldn't pretend she hadn't said the words, didn't have her own doubts.
"I know." Patrick insisted.
"But how do you know?" Robin pressed on.
"How do you know?" Patrick countered stubbornly.
"It's a bunch of little things about you that prove to me that this is love." Robin responded with a tiny smile.
"Little?" Patrick sounded outright offended.
"Oh my God, you're incredible!" Robin scolded impatiently.
"That's better." Patrick praised her, ignoring her original intent. "What kind of things?"
"You first." Robin prodded, holding her chin in her palm as she started to sit up.
"Your smile." Patrick answered after a slight pause.
"What about my smile?"
"When you smile at me, your face lights up. I love that smile."
"Okay my smile, what else?"
"Since when do you fish for compliments?" Patrick inquired confused.
"I'm not. I'm fishing for proof." Robin clarified with a roll of her eyes.
"Oh, excuse me. I love when you get annoyed."
"You love that? Why?"
"You're a lot of fun to fight with." Patrick explained matter-of-factly.
"You like fighting?"
"No. I like pushing your buttons. There's a difference."
"So you admit to provoking our fights then?"
"Most of them, yes." Patrick confessed smugly.
"You know what I love about you?" Robin asked with a gleam in her eyes.
"I was hoping you'd tell me." Patrick grinned and stretched out on the pillow beside her.
"Those little dimples."
"What little dimples?"
"These." Robin informed him, running her thumb over the slight indentations in his cheeks. She giggled when he snatched up her hand and kissed the outside of her palm.
"You like the fights too, don't you?" Patrick predicted.
"No I don't." Robin shook her head.
"Liar." Patrick accused with a shake of his finger.
"I don't mind them, but they aren't the deal breaker for me." Robin said tilting her head to look at him.
"What is then?"
Watching him through half-closed eyelids, Robin used her hands to push her body into a sitting position. Scooting closer, she murmured, "Long," and kissed his lips, making sure to leave hers pursed together. "Sweet." At her words, she tickled the back of his neck with her fingertips. "Kisses." She whispered, moaning when Patrick took the incentive and swept his tongue over her closed mouth, persuading her lips to part for him. Surrendering her mouth to him, she draped her body over his, tempting him to pull her onto his lap.
A knock at the door ceased any further frenzied actions. "Robin?"
Instantly recognizing the soft voice, Patrick yanked the blankets over them as Robin leaned over the bed and managed to get her robe on before the door opened. "Good morning." She addressed her son.
"I didn't mean to wake you up." Morgan assured her, his eyes never meeting Patrick's.
"You didn't." Patrick replied, just to see if Morgan acknowledged his presence at all.
"I made waffles." Morgan announced, handing Robin a plate of syrup-drenched waffles.
"Morgan, you know how I feel about you using dangerous electronics." Robin scolded sternly.
"I didn't." Morgan argued vehemently.
Robin watched him climb into bed between them. She wouldn't go so far as to say it had been intentional, but she couldn't ignore the skeptical look in her boyfriend's eyes as her son worked as an iron curtain between them.
"None for me Buddy?" Patrick feigned hurt.
"I didn't know you would still be here." Morgan retorted curtly.
Robin knew the second she took a bite of the aforementioned morning treat that it was still frozen. Even with the massive amount of syrup, it was impossible to tear apart. Rolling it into a improvised breakfast burrito, she took a bite and smiled all the while. She could see Patrick trying to suppress a smile at her effort, but she closed her eyes and pretended she was eating something else.
"Do you like it?" Morgan wondered, his smile shaky as he waited for her answer.
"So very much!" Robin nodded, setting the half-eaten waffle onto the plate and wiping her mouth with a tissue from the Kleenex box she kept on her nightstand.
"Good! I gotta go now. Cartoons." Hopping off of the bed, the child turned to look in the young couple's direction. "I think Patty should make lunch."