I hope everyone enjoys this Friday cliffhanger!
"I didn't expect tears." Courtney ambled into the apartment with her black Prada on one arm and a shopping bag on the other. She had made herself scarce lately, unable to handle the turn of events. Last night had been a little more than she had been able to take and AJ had provided the perfect distraction. She wondered if she would ever fully trust him not to break her heart. He had done so on plenty of occasions and, here she was, giving him yet another perfect opportunity.
Robin looked up at the familiar voice with shiny brown eyes. She had woken up crying as the result of her nightmare and then found herself in a nightmare upon waking. Patrick had left without making a sound and she must have called his phone a hundred times since she had woken up three hours ago. She knew where he was, or at least she had thought she knew, but Alan assured her that he hadn't seen Patrick since his last batch of tests and that was two weeks ago. She had gone to his studio, but he hadn't been home according to Greta. Robin didn't know what it was about Patrick's neighbor but she found herself starting to like her. She was pretty certain Greta and Patrick had never had sex, but it really didn't matter at this point. Where Patrick was right now, why he wasn't at the hospital, why she wasn't with him—all of these things mattered.
"What's the matter? Last I checked you were in love and oblivious to the world around you." Courtney recalled, not caring if her tone was stinging or not. Robin had basically ignored her since Patrick had come into the picture and she had grown tired of the treatment.
Robin's bottom lip quivered slightly and she immediately bit into it, willing back what tears she could. "Will you please sit with me?" She half-begged, gesturing toward Courtney's favorite chair. Her roommate lowered herself into the chair warily.
"Are you sure you want me to?" Courtney asked carefully. "I could name a few better friends, or maybe you'd rather have Patrick here..."
"Why are you being so mean to me?" Robin inquired in a frustrated tone. "What have I done that is so bad you feel the need to treat me this way?"
"Maybe I'm just a little tired of playing second fiddle to Patrick Drake." Courtney mused bluntly.
"It's more than that. You've had plenty of time to get used to him being in my life again." Robin shook her head, knowing she was onto something.
"And you seem to forget what happened last time he was in your life. If I remember correctly, he was the one who accused you of cheating on his brother. You do have some recollection of that, don't you?" Courtney snapped.
"Don't use me as your excuse. This has little or nothing to do with me." Robin warned, pointing a finger in Courtney's direction.
"I wish you at least respected me enough to trust that I know what's best for you. God, Robin, we've known each other forever." Courtney stressed the last word.
"What's best for me? Since when do you know what's best for me? You were the one who thought I should hook up with strangers at one your A-list parties and get it out of my system. You do have some recollection of that, don't you?" Robin gritted through her teeth.
"I just wanted you to stop staying in this apartment and feeling sorry for yourself. Excuse me for caring." Courtney shot back, moving to stand up.
"I asked you to sit with me for a reason." Robin informed her. "If we can't get along talking, let's just sit in silence. I really need a friend right this second."
"Oh, you need me now? But you haven't needed me for the last six months? You actually expect me to let you lean on me when you've all but turned your back on this friendship?"
"I did not turn my back on anything! You just stopped talking to me! You're the one who—" Robin countered hotly.
"I have no time for the blame game, if that's what we're playing now." Courtney answered in an almost bored tone.
"All I'm asking is for you to be my friend. Today happens to be a very difficult day..." She stopped talking when she noticed Courtney leave the chair and head up the stairs as if she hadn't spoken at all. Choking on her tears, Robin placed her head between her legs, trying to remind herself to breathe. Had it really come to this? Courtney hated her so much that she couldn't even have a discussion with her, couldn't even comfort her on the worst day of her life? And Patrick felt he had to sneak out and pick up his test results without her because he didn't want to deal with her reaction. It was becoming more and more difficult to take in breaths and her body was starting to shut down in response. She lifted her head and rested her left cheek against the left arm of the couch, watching the door, perplexed.
At some point, she lost the battle and fell into a fitful sleep. She knew she had been asleep because the sound of the door opening startled her. There he was with Lucky and Cruz right behind him all looking void of expression. Some part of her wanted to cry out in fear, but a much bigger part wanted to leap off of the couch and attack Patrick for leaving her here to worry about what the test results concluded. She decided to trust her instincts and moved in his direction, dodging his arm when he tried to protect himself from the blows of her fists as she slammed them against his chest, her entire body trembling as she did so.
She hit him until she grew exhausted by the effort and he quickly collected her in his arms, offering her the kind of comfort she wanted. She tried to push away from, to put some adequate distance between them, but he quickly tightened his grip and trapped her between his arms. Kicking him in the shin for good measure, she buried her face in his shoulder and let him hold her without putting up anymore resistance. Cruz and Lucky didn't say a word, didn't intrude on the moment, and that made them both incredibly wise men.
"What are you doing to her?" Morgan shrieked from the top step of the stairs, taking them two at a time, almost tripping on his descent. The panic in his voice caused all four of them to turn in his direction.
Robin quickly caught him by the arms before he could inflict whatever attack he wanted on Patrick and lifted him into her arms, hugging him tightly to her. "It's okay, Patrick hasn't done anything to me or anyone else."
"But I saw..." Morgan's voice trailed off.
Robin gave him a butterfly kiss and closed her eyes, rocking him without realizing it. "I was being dramatic." She insisted, trying to soothe his anxiety.
"It's my fault, Morgan." Patrick told him, cutting in on their reverie. He was surprised when the look Morgan gave him wasn't filled with malice. The child looked—like a child. His big brown eyes were filled with tears and his cheeks were flamed.
"Yes Morgan. You know we always blame Patrick." Lucky tried to joke. Morgan reminded him way too much of Cameron when he was upset for this to be comfortable.
Morgan nodded wiping at his tear-stained face. "What's going on?" When he spoke, it was clear that he was getting sleepy. It made sense, Robin reasoned, since it was nearing his naptime.
"Patrick was just going to ask Robin to join us for dinner." Cruz explained. "She just didn't let him talk."
Though it was Cruz had spoken up, Robin glanced over at Patrick, her eyes locking on his. "Dinner?" She parroted.
Patrick nodded slowly. "Yeah, we have a lot to celebrate."
The Metro Court was the current gold standard for hotel excellence in Port Charles. When the original Port Charles Hotel had burned to the ground after a freak electrical fire, the Quartermaine family had vowed to re-build and modernize the beloved icon. Edward had wanted the new building to surpass the first in every category: luxury, elegance, and modernity. The restaurant on the top floor was the best example of Edward's vision. Sleek, sophisticated, large enough to hold a noisy event but intimate enough to be the current hot spot for proposals.
As the elevator doors opened to reveal the dining room, small tables lit by flickering candles and soft overhead lighting, the walls and linens in various shades of cream, Elizabeth briefly wondered how on Earth this place was chosen for the celebration. Patrick getting a clean bill of health she would have thought would have involved a place a bit noisier and more closely resembling Jake's than here. A nagging suspicion there was something else going on tonight began nibbling in the back of her mind. She wasn't objecting to the restaurant by any means, but it didn't exactly match the picture she had in her mind when Lucky had called and invited her this afternoon.
"This feels like a suspiciously grown up place for a celebration. What are they doing picking a place like this?" she joked, pausing long enough to pass her wool coat toward the coat check girl in the corner. Gesturing to the Christmas trees decorated entirely in white Christmas lights that serenely dotted the room, she continued. "I'm not complaining but this place has been featured in Martha Stewart. I never took Patrick for a fan of hers"
"Don't ask me. I had to verify the address because I seriously thought he was joking." Robin replied with a smile. She had to admit, she was curious as to what else was going on besides Patrick's test results, but maybe she was over thinking again and that's all this was. She was not above taking an ad out in the paper and writing it in the sky if it made him smile.
Elizabeth put her hand out on Robin's arm. "You don't think we are going to hear some speech tonight about how he knows what is important in life and he's going to put all the silliness behind him, turn over a new leaf, and be a new man, do you? I'm just starting to get along with the original Patrick. A new one will throw off the whole rhythm we are working on."
"I've been wondering that myself." Robin admitted, unconsciously biting into her bottom lip. What if she was suddenly nothing more than the woman who had helped him during a difficult time, a possible crisis, and he no longer wanted to be with her? What if he had decided since receiving his test results and coming out healthy and HIV free that he needed to go out and reestablish his independence, his freedom, his masculinity?
Spotting the guys across the room, Elizabeth adjusted the sleeves of her blouse. "Well we can stand here and wonder or go over there and just find out. What's the verdict?"
"Let's go see." Robin decided, locking her arm in Elizabeth's and pulling her toward the table.
Smiling brightly as the two reached the table, Lucky stood up to greet them both. "Great. Now everyone can stare at us with jealousy." He quickly hugged Robin and kissed Elizabeth's cheek before pulling out the chair next to him for Elizabeth to sit down.
Smiling sweetly at him, Elizabeth returned the kiss on his cheek and turned her attention to Patrick. "Congratulations Patrick."
"Well, you know, I always knew. I just wanted to keep you three in suspense." Patrick joked, smiling in return.
"Of course since we are such calm, cool, and collected folks." Elizabeth teased right back. "No over reactors here."
"Nope." Robin agreed, shaking her head slowly. Patrick jumped up and pulled out her chair, leaning down to press a kiss to the back of her neck. She could feel herself blush and reached for his hand when he sat down beside her.
Spying the two empty chairs, Elizabeth pointed at them in curiosity. "Who else are we waiting for?"
"Cruz and Aunt Bobbie." Lucky answered simply.
Her eyes wide, Elizabeth leaned forward toward Robin. "I'm sorry did you just hear what I heard?"
"I think you're making that up. We're not supposed to talk about those two, didn't you know? Haven't you ever been in a secret society before?" Robin answered glibly, smiling at each of the guys so wide they could see her teeth.
"We must have ended up at the evil twin table by mistake. I remember being told we couldn't discuss them unless they were completely drunk and even then, not in detail." Elizabeth concurred. She snapped her fingers as the answer came to her. "That's it. You're drunk already. You started the party without us!"
"Are you two done yet?" Lucky asked patiently. He should have known the announcement would have that kind of reaction.
"Almost." Robin assured them. "Do you suppose we should look for hidden cameras? You never know what ends up on television these days."
"Oh like that guy with awful hair?"
"Didn't he get shot in the finger with a rubber dart, or something?" Robin lifted her eyebrow.
"Or something. I was too busy hoping that car would fall on him."
"Are we really so boring that you feel the need to bring up soap operas at the table?" Patrick rolled his eyes at her.
"How would you know it's a soap?" Elizabeth tilted her head to the side.
"I suspect real actors have to, well, act." Patrick informed her smoothly.
"That would imply you've watched."
"Isn't that cute? You stay up-to-date with soap operas." Robin teased him, kissing the tip of his nose as if he were a child.
"Just the ones with really pretty girls." Patrick replied, watching her eyes narrow in reaction. Two could play this game.
"Who wants a drink?" Lucky offered. This was heading into dangerous territory quick.
"Sounds like a good idea. You two up for it?" Patrick inquired, looking from left to right.
"Actually," Robin began, "none for me thanks. My stomach's been a little upset. Just an iced tea."
"None for me. It's snowing and I drove." Elizabeth nodded. "Water is fine for me."
Patrick signaled the waiter over. "We're going to need an ice water, an iced tea, a martini, and..." He glanced over at Lucky, but his mind was focused on Robin's answer. He had known she wouldn't order alcohol, but just hearing her turn it down further proved what he already knew. He only hoped she wouldn't go running out the door once he told her what he had set up for them this afternoon. It was all a matter of paperwork now.
"Scotch neat." Lucky supplied. Turning toward Elizabeth he joked, "And yes it's the first of the night."
"Keep trying to sell that story Cowboy. Maybe your reporter friend can help you write it."
Robin was blatantly aware of Patrick's attentiveness to what she said and how she acted. It was irrational, but she had started to wonder, since last night at least, if he knew what she wanted desperately to tell him. It was possible, but how could he have put it all together this fast? And with no help from her? She had been careful not to let it slip out in casual conversation and she was always where she said she was when he called so he wouldn't get suspicious. So far, only Morgan knew.
Patrick rubbed Robin's knuckles with his thumb and smiled as Lucky and Elizabeth got into a little argument about whether or not the Rangers had a chance this season. He would wait for her to tell him, but only because he had seen what happened when he tried to rush her into spontaneous decisions: he never came out on top.
"Now that you don't have this hanging over your head," Robin's voice brought him back to the present, "what are you planning on doing next? Traveling the world? Finding a cure to world hunger? Buying a mail-order bride?"
"Finally curing that phobia of muddy footprints then?" Lucky cut in.
"Actually, I've been thinking a lot about it." Patrick assured her.
"It's a speech. I knew there would be a speech." Elizabeth laughed.
"And what did you decide?" Robin wanted to know, trying not to hold her breath.
"To focus on what's important." Patrick told her, stroking her hand gingerly.
"I think I might need that drink." Robin laughed, waving her hand at the waiter.
Patrick's laugh died in his throat. "Yeah, okay." He gave her a look of feigned surprise.
"You better just order a double." Elizabeth advised. "After all, this is only the beginning of the night."
"I don't really think you should be drinking." Patrick countered quietly.
"Why can Lucky drink and I can't?" Robin pouted.
"Hey Patrick? The whole 'he's a guy' argument won't work here." Lucky pointed out.
Patrick ignored his cousin's comment, his eyes nothing more than wide brown marbles as he stared at Robin. "I think we both know why."
"Do we? I seem to have forgotten my rule book As According to Patrick Drake." Robin retorted, snatching her hand out of his.
"Patrick, it's fine. I totally drove." Elizabeth offered. "She's not driving tonight. If she wants to drink it's cool."
"Would you mind, just once, staying out of this? You're supposed to be her friend and you're advocating alcohol?" Patrick couldn't keep the incredulity out of his voice.
"Don't snap at her just because you're not winning the caveman argument." Robin warned him.
"What the hell man?" Lucky wondered.
"Robin, would you mind filling our friends in on why you're not supposed to be drinking, or should I?" Patrick challenged, folding his arms over his chest.
"You've seriously lost it." Robin remarked coldly.
"Did you fall on your head today at the hospital?" Lucky wondered.
"Robin, don't." Patrick insisted when she took the apple martini from the waiter. She came here often enough for the staff to remember what she liked.
"Patrick you are not her father." Elizabeth pointed out
"Oh look," Robin mocked him. "It's to my chin, now my lips; I'm opening my mouth..." When she noticed the absolute fury in his eyes, she slammed the drink down, almost shattering it in the process, and scooted out of her chair with a loud squeak. "If you'll excuse me..." That said she scurried over to the elevator with every intention of stepping into the cold night air.
Lucky stood up, intent on stopping Robin. This was supposed to be a celebration of Patrick's good news. Did his cousin inherit some kind of talent for self-sabotage? "What the hell was that about you moron? This party is a celebration for you. And, newsflash, you love her and want her here."
"Lucky, she's not supposed to be drinking." Patrick breathed out. "She's pregnant."
Lucky sat down in shock and Elizabeth looked between her friend and Patrick rapidly. "What...How...?" She struggled to put words out in her shaky voice. "What are you talking about? Robin isn't pregnant."
"Mom did say she thought Robin was avoiding her." Lucky muttered. "That would explain it."
"Did you ever stop to think that maybe she wanted to tell me before you?" Patrick asked bitingly.
"Did she tell you?" Elizabeth pointed out.
Patrick's silence was enough of an answer.
"If she didn't tell you then how did you draw this conclusion?" Lucky wondered.
"Courtney found an appointment card to General's top obstetrician, Audrey's attic was filled with baby stuff, and you've both got to admit, she's been dodging everyone." Patrick ticked each one off on his right hand.
"An appointment card?" Elizabeth questioned weakly.
"Aren't you two planning Aunt Bobbie's baby shower?" Lucky looked over at her, noticing her rapidly paling complexion.
Patrick felt like a fool. Of course. Robin had mentioned that to him. That didn't mean he wasn't right.
"Yeah and we're storing everything at Gram's for space." Elizabeth nodded hastily.
"But the appointment card." He stressed the last two words. "What would she be doing with that if she weren't pregnant?"
"I really hate to admit I know this, but curse of having Lulu live with me. Her yearly exam?" Lucky offered.
"Why would she leave the card out for me to find then?" Patrick wanted to know.
"I thought you said Courtney found it." Lucky pointed out.
"I did." Patrick admitted.
"Maybe it was dropped. And the person who dropped it didn't know it was there." Elizabeth spoke nervously.
"What person? Courtney was absolutely spooked by it." Patrick pointed out, hating that Courtney was the strongest part of his argument.
"Why was she spooked by it? Did the card say outright it was a pregnancy related appointment?" Lucky wondered.
"No." Patrick shook his head. He looked across the table at Elizabeth. "You're sure she's not pregnant?"
"Positive."
"Well that's just great. I better go find her and apologize. I really thought I was helping." Patrick grumbled, glancing toward the exit.
"No you were jumping to conclusions again you moron." Elizabeth grumbled.
"I was just concerned." Patrick argued hotly.
"Because you jumped to conclusions." She pointed out.
"Fine, maybe I did. Maybe my head's just not screwed on right. I was so worried about these test results and then Courtney made the comment that she thought Robin was pregnant and I guess a part of me just panicked. But, damn it, I've done everything since then that I can think of...maybe it won't all have been for nothing." He mused, immediately hoping Robin would like the apartment.
"Everything you can think of...to what? Prepare for a baby that doesn't exist? How long have you been thinking this?" Lucky wondered
"A day." Patrick told him.
"A day?" Elizabeth sputtered. "Did the concept of just asking her not cross your mind in the twenty-four hours you've been preparing?"
"Have you tried asking that woman a straight answer lately?" Patrick shot back. "I didn't want to pressure her into telling me until she was ready. She's hiding something!"
"Have you tried not asking her questions about things she's not? You might get those straight answers." Elizabeth pointed out, crossing her arms.
"What's got you so flustered? It's not like this concerns you anyway." Patrick reminded her.
"Besides the fact Robin is my friend?" Elizabeth paused, tilting her head up to the ceiling. "Doesn't concern me. I drop one card and he jumps to the mother of a wrong conclusion." She grumbled unaware it wasn't entirely under her breath.
"You dropped what?" Lucky spun around. "What did you just say?"
Elizabeth froze, her eyes focused straight ahead on the flickering light of the candle. "Nothing. I said nothing."
"No you said you dropped one card. What did you mean by that?" Lucky struggled to keep his voice calm, even though he knew if he had still been standing his knees would have given out by now.
She caught his eye and debated the merits of lying briefly. He could let it go. Cruz and Bobbie could show up right now and save her from this conversation. The earth could open up and swallow her whole. What were the odds of a group of masked gunmen busting through the doors and taking them hostage? Couldn't be that small, could they? This wasn't the plan. This wasn't the plan.
"Elizabeth?"
Looking up she saw Lucky's confused eyes and Patrick's curious ones. They weren't going to let this go. There would be no one to interrupt this time. Of all the times for people in this town to suddenly develop respect!
"Fine. I know Robin isn't pregnant because that was my card. My appointment. I'm the one who's pregnant." Shaking, she quickly pushed away from the table and stood up. Catching Patrick's eye Elizabeth shook her head. "Thanks so much for this special moment. Exactly the way I dreamed of this happening."
She ran for the exit, pushing past the just arriving Cruz and Bobbie in her haste. The late arrivals neared the table, noting Robin's absence, Patrick's confusion, and Lucky's shock.
"So," Cruz started gamely. "We miss anything?"