Entranced by the smells radiating from behind the swinging door, Lulu wandered into the kitchen. Missing her mother's cooking was one downside of living in her own apartment. On the plus side, she was now reasonably certain why holidays were invented. She had arrived at the Spencer house early, since her mother declared she never saw her daughter any more now that she had her own place. Lulu had pointed out she had only moved to Kelly's, not the moon, but hadn't pressed the point further when her mother threw "the look" at her.
"Everything smells great Mom." Lulu declared as she sat down at the table. "When do we eat?"
Laura smiled at her only daughter, wanting to pull into a full embrace, but expecting that "I'm too old for this" glare if she even attempted such a thing. "Quarter of six sharp." She answered, stirring the gravy with one hand while the other pulled the oven door open to get a pleasant aroma of the sizzling turkey.
"And the rest of the natives will be descending when?" Lulu asked while she chopped a carrot left conveniently on a cutting board left on the table.
"If they want to eat, not one minute after that." Laura addressed her firmly, knowing she would wait dinner as long as it took to get her boys over for the holiday.
"It's Thanksgiving Mom. All three of them are probably planning on eating all day." Lulu pointed out wisely. "I'm shocked they aren't all sprawled on the sofa watching football and grunting."
"It's barely five-thirty. They'll be here." Laura assured her brightly, leaving the stove for a minute so that she could check the table settings in the dining room.
"This year is just so weird."
"What's weird about it? It's a full table!" Laura pointed out.
"Yeah but..." Lulu shook her head trying to put her thoughts into words. "It's just...well last year Lucky, Patrick and Cam slept here the night before so they could have you make them breakfast and they wouldn't miss any of the game. Cruz would show up about noon and would pass out shortly after dinner. Now Lucky and Patrick are spending the morning with their girlfriend's families, like they're grown ups or something. And Cruz will be bringing Aunt Bobbie, who's pregnant with his child. You don't see how just flat out weird this is?"
"Well..." Laura thought about it. She had to admit, this year was definitely more interesting than the previous ones. She couldn't have been more thrilled that all three couples were finally happy and together without any bickering or name-calling or misunderstandings standing in their way. That's what she was thankful for. Maybe by this time next year, they would have plenty of new blessings to be thankful for. Cruz and Bobbie's little bundle of joy wasn't that far away and she had a sneaky suspicion that there was something else going on. Maybe it was the way the girls had been avoiding her—nothing really new about that except that they usually at least put up the effort to talk to her—or the way they always had something going on, were always busy. She was no fool. She had been busy too: both times she was pregnant.
"Grandma! Happy Turkey Day Grandma!" Cameron came barreling into the kitchen, arms waving wildly. He attached himself to Laura's leg and raised his head enough to spot his aunt seated at the table. "Hi Aunt Lu!"
"Well there's my little guy!" Laura scooped him up and balanced him on her hip so that she could finish lighting the candles on each corner of the table. "What's that?" She pointed to a rolled up piece of construction paper he had in his hand, turkey "feathers" sticking out the side shaped like fingers.
"Present." He declared proudly, thrusting his fist out toward her. "Miss Lizabeth helped me."
Laura caught Elizabeth's shy stare. "Well, let me see. Let me see." She begged merrily, putting him down and crouching next to him so that he could spread it out on the carpet. The turkey he had made with his little hand was made of brown strips of construction paper and he had colored the feathers with red, purple, yellow, and green crayons.
"I didn't do that much. Cameron's a natural talent." Elizabeth declared, resisting the urge to smooth the fabric of her loose dress over her stomach. This day was going to prove to be the death of her. Her grandmother hadn't been too obvious with her questions and implications, but now she had to deal with Laura and her "hopes"? What crazy person invented holidays anyway?
"Don't suppose you spotted Cruz or Patrick on your way in?" She asked her son, leaving Elizabeth's comment to be brought up later. She would get her away from the crowd in some old-fashioned way. It'd be perfect. Maybe she would even devise a trick to see which of the girls was actually pregnant, if either was. Something was definitely going on.
"It's not my day to watch them." Lucky pointed out. He winced in pain as Elizabeth's hand collided with his stomach. At least that reaction was normal. Something was up with her, but he couldn't put his finger on it. She wasn't pushing him away, but it was clear to him her mind was on something else entirely. "What I meant to say is that no but Patrick was trying to get here from Mac's. I'm sure he got cornered into some discussion on what is best for Robin from him. And I would prefer not to speculate on why Cruz and Bobbie aren't here."
"Are your ears burning, Barbara Jean?" Luke teased when he saw her and Cruz stumble into the living room a second later. He had made it a point to hide in the shadows of the stairs so that Laura wouldn't make him work. Now that she had seen him, it was only a matter of time.
"No more than I'm sure yours will be by the end of the night." Bobbie teased her brother lovingly. She smiled brightly at him, realizing from the look Laura was shooting him, he must have been hiding from helping out with the dinner. "I can't wait for your famous cranberry sauce tonight Luke."
"You're evil." He muttered before Laura pushed him toward the kitchen to do just what Bobbie had implied.
"I love you too." Bobbie called after his retreating back. She made her way toward the chair, sinking down gratefully.
"You alright, Bobbie?" Laura asked carefully.
"Just tired. Dr. Lansing is threatening me with complete bed rest so I'm not as active as I usually am."
"And for good reason. What did you think you were doing this morning, vacuuming of all things? You know you're not supposed to—" Cruz patronized lightly. It was like she was unable to take it easy for more than five minutes at a time.
"Cruz, sweetie, I'm pregnant. Not an invalid."
"Yes, but you know that's on the bad list." Cruz reminded her.
"Who wants to watch the game?" Luke asked, emerging from the kitchen after what felt like forever.
"I thought you would never ask." Lucky answered gratefully.
"You're making a big deal out of nothing." Patrick told Robin for the hundredth time since they had driven away from the Scorpio house. "It's a teeny, tiny stain. No one will even notice." He went on, leading her and Morgan to the Spencer house.
"I should have gone back to the apartment and changed. It only would have taken five minutes." Robin countered stubbornly, raising her hand to knock. Both Morgan and Patrick gave her an incredulous look. "Fine, maybe ten." Patrick reached past her and opened the door.
"We didn't miss the turkey, did we?" Patrick asked, noticing the majority of his family caught up in the football game.
"No." Elizabeth answered greeting Robin with a hug. "Although Laura was about to send out a search party."
"We're ten minutes early!" Robin argued, returning the hug.
"This is approximately five minutes later than Laura wanted you here." Elizabeth explained matter-of-factly. "How you doing?" She whispered into her friend's ear.
"I'm alright." Robin whispered back. "I still haven't told them."
"You will right? Soon?"
"Well, I think it'll be pretty obvious soon, don't you?"
"Which is why you have to say something?"
"Hey ladies, what are you whispering about?" Lucky asked as he ambled over to greet Robin himself.
Robin gave him a startled look. "Whispering? We're not whispering. Trust me, just boring girl stuff."
"Which translate to things that I am better off not knowing?" Lucky nodded.
"See he learns fast." Elizabeth smiled brightly. "They can be taught."
"With a little perseverance." Robin giggled, realizing that Patrick was already settled on the couch with Morgan beside him. "I think I'm going to get something to drink." She wasn't aware that Laura was directly behind her.
"Oh dear, did I startle you?" Laura smiled apologetically. "Did you say you wanted something to drink? Here, some of our best red wine." She handed the glass over, not missing the hesitant way it was accepted.
"You know, I probably shouldn't with my meds." Robin argued politely.
"'Meds?' Are you not feeling well, dear?" Laura immediately pressed her hand to Robin's forehead.
"Oh I accidentally passed on the flu I had to her." Elizabeth scrambled to explain.
Patrick leapt up from the couch. "Don't worry, Aunt Laura." He smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I'm taking great care of her."
"Yeah mom. You know you always wished Patrick would have studied medicine." Lucky teased, wrapping his hands around Elizabeth's waist and pulling her close to him.
"Well, that's true. Are you being a good patient, Robin?" Laura questioned, lifting an eyebrow in her direction. Robin nodded mutely.
"You guys just missed the best play ever! Get over here before you miss the replay." Cruz beckoned them forward.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes as both Lucky and Patrick immediately responded to their friend's call by running back to the couch. "I take it back. Apparently training wasn't entirely successful."
"Hey, whatever gets me away from the knowing look?" Robin murmured with a smile.
Elizabeth nodded, watching Laura make he way back to the kitchen. "Yes the look. That has to be illegal somewhere."
"Pause the game. This bird is ready to come out!" Luke yelled from the kitchen, laughing when Laura shooed him into the dining room to collect the rest of the family.
"Lulu, how's living at Kelly's going?" So far the dinner had been delicious, but Elizabeth had not missed the constant speculative looks she was getting from Laura. Focusing on Lulu's foray into living somewhat on her own seemed to be an excellent strategy to shift the focus to the youngest Spencer child.
"It is so great. Well except for this guy who lives there. He's majorly annoying and I think he has a crush on me..."
Patrick didn't mean to drown his younger cousin out, but she kind of reminded him of a Furby in that she only knew certain topics and just talked about them over and over again. He took a bite of turkey but, unlike every other meal he had had over here, he was barely able to enjoy the taste. He hadn't realized he was breathing through his mouth until he tried to do so out of his nose and found it stuffed up. It would be just like Robin to get the flu from Elizabeth and then pass it on to him. Surely it couldn't have gotten into his system this quickly, not in the mere week they had spent together. No, he was just tired. Exhausted was more like it. He had had to send a client home the morning before last because he just hadn't been able to focus on the task at hand and he didn't do anything halfway. If he wasn't dedicated in his work, he might not have minded slacking off, but his pride was at stake.
He was overanalyzing this. Robin was starting to rub off on him. Pretty soon he would be rushing home because he got a drop of Mayonnaise on his shirt. He tried to laugh at this, but his throat suddenly felt too tight to allow even that. Taking a quick drink, his throat both welcomed and resisted the cool liquid running down it. He turned his head to the side to cough into his hand and no one was the wiser. He had been fine this morning, had thought maybe this was just a fluke and he needed to drink more water or take a few more breaks between the tasks he forced himself to complete everyday.
Robin's hand was like ice against his fingertips and he almost winced in pain. She must have noticed the jerk, because her eyes had taken on a more serious tone and she wasn't looking away from his face. Sweat was collecting across his forehead and he absently wiped it away with his napkin, the action not going unnoticed by Lucky. Great, now they were going to make a big deal about this. He clutched his fork a little harder, trying to just get through the meal before taking a nap. He knew he'd be fine once he slept. But his hand started to shake and he wasn't able to hold the fork for more than a few seconds at a time. The fork bounced off of the plate, startling Laura, and his eyelids started to grow heavy.
"Patrick? Patrick?" Lucky couldn't help the concern being obvious in his voice when he watched Patrick slowly start to slide down in his chair. "Patrick!"
"Oh my God." Robin pushed her chair out so fast, it bounced off the wall behind her. She was at his side that second, smoothing his hair away from his forehead. "He's burning up. Patrick, sweetie, open your eyes." She tried to shake him awake by pushing at his shoulders, but he was completely still.
"Shit." Lucky swore rising as fast as Robin had. "Has he been taking his meds like he's supposed to?"
"Yes." Robin nodded. "We need to get him off the floor."
"Meds? What are you talking about?" Laura demanded, confused, worried, and starting to panic.
"Come on man. Don't do this today." Lucky muttered.
"Robin, do you need me to call anyone?" Elizabeth asked.
"What are you all talking about? Why is no one answering me? What is going on with Patrick?" Laura asked as she raced over toward the couch.
"Alan Quartermaine." Robin responded instantly. "We need cold washcloths and a thermometer." Robin told them, her calm quickly slipping away.
"Got it." Elizabeth raced off toward the kitchen. "Lulu come help," she commanded, mainly to give the younger woman something to do.
"But what is going on?" Lulu asked, casting a backwards glance toward Patrick.
Bobbie rose unsteadily toward her feet. With steel in her eyes, she looked at the group of young people assembled around Patrick's still form. "It is obvious that something is going on here. If any of you think that we'll just stop asking questions about this, I would hope you all know that is impossible. Now I suggest someone better start telling me what is going on with my nephew right now or I will not be held responsible for what I do to each and every one of you."
"Patrick's highly susceptible to illness right now." Robin offered cryptically, taking the thermometer from Elizabeth and moving it between Patrick's lips.
"Vague doesn't cut it Robin." Laura warned. "I want answers. What is going on with him?"
"I don't have the time—" Robin insisted, willing the thermometer to determine the correct body temperature quicker. She slowly ran a cool washcloth over Patrick's face.
"Make the time." Laura insisted coolly.
"Mom...it's nothing really. Patrick wouldn't want you to worry." Lucky tried to stall her.
"Did you get a hold of Alan?" Robin asked Elizabeth.
"Then he should have told me what is going on Lucky." Laura pointed out.
"I got his voice mail. I left him my cell number." Elizabeth answered Robin.
"Damn it." Robin muttered, reading off the thermometer. "Hundred and two."
"We need to get him to the hospital." Cruz spoke up at last.
"Excellent. Everyone is talking in circles and no one is answering anything." Luke muttered in exasperation. "When you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." He let loose a loud wolf whistle which startled everyone into looking at him. "Now, before you move anyone anywhere, you will answer the following questions."
He pointed directly at Robin, Lucky, Cruz, and Elizabeth. "Are we correct in assuming you four have some idea about what is going on with my nephew and his current state?" Seeing each of them nod, he smiled, satisfied. "Excellent. Now which one of you would be the first one to know?"
Robin raised her hand.
Luke smiled. "Very good Little Scorpio." He beckoned her closer to him with one hand. "Come here and tell Uncle Luke all about it."
"Lulu, here." Robin handed over the washcloth. "If we can get the temperature down, we may not have to take him to the hospital."
Lulu nodded and rushed over to the couch, her eyes never leaving her father and Robin.
"The night I got in that car accident, Patrick was exposed to my blood." Robin explained quietly. It took her a few seconds to continue. "And I was diagnosed with HIV when I was seventeen. I told him to leave me in the car and wait for the paramedics, but he wouldn't, and he's only a month from his six-month test. That's why we're worried. This could mean...it could mean..." She closed her eyes. This wasn't supposed to be happening. She would never forgive herself if Patrick was, indeed, HIV positive.
Luke, Laura, and Bobbie shared a look between them as silence fell across the room. The shaking of Robin's shoulders convinced Laura and Bobbie of the stress the other woman was under. Bobbie crossed the table toward Robin and pulled her into a hug. "Sweet girl. Oh you sweet girl."
Robin couldn't stop the tears from spilling down her cheeks as she yielded in Bobbie's comfortable embrace. "I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault. Not at all." Bobbie reassured her, tracing soothing patterns on her back.
"Why's Roby crying, Aunt Laura?" Morgan wanted to know, tugging on the end of her cream colored dress. Everyone was acting strangely and whispering too quietly for him to understand. A look to Cameron told him that his cousin wasn't sure what was going on either.
"Because Patrick is going to miss pumpkin pie because he's sick." Laura improvised. No use in scaring the children with the reality. "But we are going to take him to the doctor right now and get him better." Seeing Morgan nod, Laura smiled at him. "Good. You and Cam can stay here with Aunt Bobbie and get first pick of the pie."
"YAY!" The boys cheered in unison.
Robin mouthed a "thank you" to Laura.
"No problem" Laura mouthed back. She clapped her hands together. "Now Cruz, Lucky, Luke get Patrick into my car. You three start out to GH. Elizabeth keep trying Dr. Quartermaines number in the car. We'll follow in Robin's car."
"His fever's breaking." Lulu interrupted, glancing up with tears in her eyes.
"Yes, thank you, Alan." Robin couldn't keep the relief out of her voice. Patrick hadn't woken up yet, but his breathing was steady and his fever had broken at the mere mention of a hospital. Typical, she tried to smile. It was shaky, but it was somewhat comforting. "I will, just as soon as he wakes up." She promised, closing Elizabeth's cell phone and walking over to the bed where her boyfriend lay sleeping. He looked so peaceful, his face no longer sweaty, his features no longer pinched in agony.
Laura and the rest of the Calvary had each been in to talk to him and she hadn't thought it polite to deny them their few minutes. Even Lulu had made it a point to threaten him with no pie if he didn't wake up soon. She played dirty, Robin mused. Cruz had told him that he wouldn't feel right watching the rest of the game without him, especially since he would owe him money once their home team lost. Lucky hadn't said much of anything, his fear tangible. Bobbie and Luke had had about the same reaction. Laura had spoken about her garden and about how Patrick needed to move out of the dangerous neighborhood he lived in so that he would have enough room for Robin and Morgan once he woke up and smelled the roses. Elizabeth had done a bit of her own threatening, but Robin hadn't been in the room to hear the details.
Robin felt safer in the quiet bedroom than she had in the frantic living room, but she was still half panicked that she should have taken Patrick to the hospital anyway, or had Alan make a house call. As it stood, they were upstairs in what must have been Patrick's old room. The walls were littered in racing posters and a calendar of models wearing leather jackets, boots, and hats was tacked to the back wall. There was an alarm clock next to the bed and a partially full dresser where Laura still kept a few outfits for him to wear if he should run out of clean clothing. A picture frame of Luke, Laura, Lucky, Lulu, and Patrick sat atop the dresser.
"Do you enjoy making me a mess over you?" She whispered to Patrick though there was little reason to speak so softly. There was no one around to hear the one-sided conversation. It wasn't like she was sitting on the docks in the middle of the night shouting out her innermost secrets to strangers.
"I'll have you know, if you wanted some tender, loving care you didn't have to play sick." She told him in a quivering voice. "Get a grip, Scorpio." She scolded herself. "Alan said you should be fine, just a bug he assumes. And don't think you're getting out of a hospital visit once you do wake up, holiday or not. I should have made you go." Robin rolled her eyes at him.
"I'm really glad you didn't." Patrick managed hoarsely, his eyes opening slowly.
"How much did you hear?" Robin wanted to know, folding her arms over her chest in a mock pout.
"Nothing." Patrick assured her.
"I don't believe you."
"I guess that's your right." Patrick smiled, reaching for her hand. "Lay down with me."
"I don't think so, hotshot." Robin shook her head as a smile passed between them.
"But you have to. You promised tender, loving care. I don't feel good." He reminded her, his bottom lip plumped as his brown eyes went soft.
"Only you would use that as a ploy to get me in bed with you." Robin muttered.
"Is it working?" Patrick asked, catching her troubled stare. "Hey, I'm okay." He reached out and traced his fingers under each of her eyes before cradling her face in his palm.
"You scared me." Robin admitted. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes, the tears warm as they slipped beneath her eyelashes. "You just collapsed." Robin recalled brokenly. "And you wouldn't respond to me or your family. I didn't know what to do."
"But you took great care of me if I'm alive to talk about it, right?" He could tell he should have been more tactful when she turned her face away from him in response. "Robin?"
"Yeah?" She managed weakly.
"I love you." He answered as he used his index finger to tilt her head toward him. "I should have told you I was feeling lousy before we even left your uncle's."
"Yeah." She planted a soft punch to his right arm. "You should have."
"But surely you can forgive me now, in my weakened state?" He added.
"You're impossible." Robin smirked.
"Impossibly adorable." Patrick corrected. "Come on, lay down with me. There's plenty of room." He gestured toward the scant amount of space he didn't take up.
"Fine, but just for a minute." Robin gave in, pulling the comforter back and settling in next to him.
"Hey, Robin?" Patrick asked once she was settled in beside him.
"Hmm?" She murmured, knotting their fingers together.
"Think you can sneak downstairs and get me some pie?"