Smiling at the young couple in front of her, Dara Jensen closed the file on her desk with a definitive air. "With the list of character witness you've supplied me and a timeline of the events for both the accident and the attempted kidnapping; I think we have a reasonable chance of you maintaining custody."
"Reasonable chance?" Lucky leaned back in the chair, kicking one foot up on his opposite leg. "Dara would it kill you to actually be optimistic for once?"
"It's against my training as a lawyer." Dara deadpanned.
Leaning over to smack at his arm, Elizabeth smiled for the first time since they entered the office. "So would that mean I was right? And that someone might have been freaking out a tad too much?"
"It means you were right in that you have the stronger case." Dara cautioned, leaning back in her mahogany leather chair. "I haven't heard from Diane Miller just yet, but I would imagine her main argument will center on the kidnappings. With Logan being your cousin and still missing, it could be a convincing tactic. However I think we have more than enough evidence to counter-act any claims of Logan being a close family member."
"Logan knows better than to show his face here." Lucky muttered darkly. "At least he should."
"I still think it would be better if I didn't come to the trial." Elizabeth offered. "If I'm not there then I can't be a target for them."
"True. But if you aren't there, then they have a stronger case for a pattern of irresponsibility. We have the stronger case if you are there."
"Is there anything else we should be doing Dara?" Lucky interjected. He and Elizabeth had gone around and around on her coming to the trial. The last thing he wanted was for Dara to do a lawyer double talk and convince Elizabeth she should stay home. The faster he got the subject changed the better as far as he was concerned.
"Not as far as I can see. Cameron appears to be happy, sticking to a routine and is being well cared for. All positive. The only thing I can think of is don't make any drastic changes. No moving. No changing schools. Nothing major. It might signal the judge you have something to hide. Keep everything as is for now."
"As is. Right." Lucky felt his heart sink a little. The idea of proposing had been running in the back of his mind ever since Elizabeth confronted him about his nightmares. He was still having them, but they seemed to be getting better. But he didn't want to propose and have to keep it secret. If Elizabeth accepted he would want to tell everyone.
Dara smiled. "Obviously there is an exception for birth. If the baby decides to come before we go to court, don't' hold back on my account."
"Thanks for your permission." Elizabeth smiled drolly.
"That's all for now. Go home. If anything changes I'll call you." Dara waved her hands shooing them out of her office. "Go. Be nauseatingly happy elsewhere."
"You can't be considering this!" Patrick went on incredulously.
"Keep your voice down. Morgan's asleep." Robin cautioned with a slow wave of her hand. "And anyway you're putting too much into this."
"Too mu—too much?" Patrick raged. "We're talking about you going overseas for three months!"
"Two months. I can't be on a plane after the second trimester." Robin corrected him.
"Oh, well thank you for clearing that up. Robin, you can't just hop on a plane and cross the ocean on a whim!"
"It's not a whim. I don't leave for five weeks."
"So you're actually going to go? Just like that?"
"What would you have me do? Stay here? Pretend that I'm just getting fat? I'm sure that'll go over real well with your family." Robin rolled her eyes.
"Don't bring them into this. They're not the reason you're running away."
"I am not running away." Robin ground through her teeth.
"Really? You're not? Because that's what it looks like to me."
"Then maybe you need to blink a little slower."
"I guess I don't understand why you're suddenly so ready to leave."
"This is my dad, Patrick. I never get to see him. And he was right about Morgan. He needs some semblance of protection."
"Is he the one that doesn't feel safe or is that you?" Patrick asked facing her at last.
"That's ridiculous! What would I have to be—?"
"How about the fact that my obsessed brother and your ex-best friend have fallen under the radar? You can't tell me you're okay with that."
"I wouldn't pretend to be okay with it."
"Isn't that what you've been doing? You're focusing on everyone but yourself."
"What would you have me do? Fall apart? And, if I do, what exactly is that going to solve? Is it going to make our lives better? No."
"So this is about you paying me back for not agreeing with everything you say?"
"No. God." Robin groaned holding her head in her hands. "You are so frustrating sometimes!"
"I'm frustrating? You're using this as an answer to a question. If anyone's being frustrating or unreasonable, it's you babe."
Robin planted her hands on her hips. "This really has nothing to do with you. I'm not asking you to come. In fact, I'm telling you not to."
"Nothing—" Patrick broke off. "Nothing to do with me. Last time I checked, that's my baby."
"Oh yeah? So you're offering to carry this baby for the next seven months? Is that it? Is that what you're saying? Because, if not—" Robin growled at him.
"Do not threaten me. I may not be carrying that baby, but it's just as much mine as it is yours. I don't like the idea of you running around Paris in your condition."
"My condition?" Robin shrieked.
"Yes, you're pregnant. I know it's hard for you to accept, but you have to slow down a bit."
"I didn't realize you were a doctor." Robin snapped.
"As far as you're concerned, I am." Patrick shot back. "Now are you going to start listening to logic?"
"Is that what's spewing out of your mouth?"
Patrick managed to turn Robin around without touching her and led her to the couch. "I can understand wanting to see your dad—"
"How would you? You don't even talk to yours." Robin countered and then broke his gaze. "I'm sorry. That was—"
Patrick stared at her, dumbstruck. "I can't believe you just said that to me."
"It was uncalled for. I'm so sorry." Robin apologized.
"Forget it. It's fine. As you already pointed out, this has nothing to do with me."
"Patrick..." Robin leaned toward him but he remained just out of reach.
"How does this work, Robin?" Patrick wanted to know. "You disappear with Morgan and our baby and decide not to come back?" The pain in his voice was unmistakable. It was as harsh as an unexpected slap in the face.
Robin felt tears spring to her eyes. "Why would you think that?"
"What am I supposed to think?"
"That I love you. That I live here. That I'll always come back to you." Robin counted off each point on her hand.
"From what I understand, your decision has nothing to do with me." Patrick reminded her.
"Come off it. I didn't mean that." Robin assured him.
"This isn't getting us anywhere." Patrick announced sliding off of the couch and standing up. "You're not going to listen to me. You're going to do whatever the hell you want because that's how it always goes. No matter that it could be dangerous—"
"I don't feel safe here. I haven't felt safe since the night Logan climbed through my window."
Patrick's eyes crinkled in anguish. This was supposed to convince him that she would be coming back? "What difference is two months going to make?"
"I don't know." Robin whispered. "But I wouldn't feel this strongly about it if I didn't feel like it was something I needed to do."
"That's your argument?"
"I don't want to fight with you."
"You'd rather I not have an opinion? Oh, that's right. You're telling me not to come. What am I supposed to do while you're gone? Pretend once he gets you down there, he's not going to try and convince you to stay gone?"
"Why would he do that?"
"Are you kidding? Robin, you are not this naïve."
"First, you use the baby, then accuse me of abandoning you. Now you think my father is plotting to destroy us? I didn't realize you were this insecure."
Bending down in front of her, Patrick placed his hands on top of her knees. "Whether or not you want to admit this, we are a family. You, Morgan, and this baby are what matter to me. I get to have some say in where you go and with whom. I also get to question your motives when you're acting insane."
"Then what are you worried about?"
"I haven't stopped worrying about you since the car accident and I probably never will. What's so wrong with staying here where we can deal with this together?"
"We can't deal with a ghost, Patrick." Robin argued drearily. "And until Logan's caught, that's exactly what he is."
"We can if you would try. Why won't you try?"
"I'm not going to sit here and wait for him to come after us again." Robin vowed.
"And you think running off to Paris is going to make you safer?"
"In a matter of speaking, yes."
"Because your father can protect you and I can't. That's what you're saying." Patrick deduced coldly.
"I never said that!"
"You didn't have to. You have every reason not to trust me to protect you."
"Let's not go through it again." Robin begged him.
"We obviously need to if it scares you this much."
"Why haven't they caught him yet?" She murmured brokenly.
"I don't know baby."
Stiffening her shoulders, she said, "He wouldn't expect me to leave."
"I don't get why you don't want me to come with you."
Robin couldn't look at him. "I'm not going to make you put your life on hold—"
"You are my life. Do you understand that?" Robin nodded mutely. "But I can't make you stay."
"Patrick..." Robin began, watching him put even more space between them.
"I'm behind you...whatever it is you decide." His back was to her, but she could tell that he was shaking in his skin.
"Don't do that. Please. Please Patrick."
"This is what you want isn't it?"
"I want you to tell me I'm doing the right thing."
"I can't. I'm not going to lie to you and I'm not going to put on a smile for you."
"Then what am I supposed to do, huh? You have some foolproof plan, do you?" Robin shrieked.
Patrick glanced at the door and slowly made his way toward it, ignoring the dangerous stare his girlfriend was giving him. "I don't know when I'll be back." With that, he opened and closed the door behind him leaving Robin in tears.