"You are the most selfish, insensitive, manipulative, vindictive people I have ever met." Steven growled as soon as his mother answered the door. He pushed past her, his voice having startled his father and sister from their spots in the living area of the hotel room. He had left his sobbing sister in the hands of her overwhelmed boyfriend. Grams had wanted to come with him, but Steven hadn't allowed it. There were some words he intended on using that he didn't want his grandmother hearing.

"Hello to you to Steven." Elaine managed. "When did you get back to town?"

"Recently." Steven answered vaguely. "How could you do this to your own daughter?"

"Really son, you are blowing this completely out of proportion." Jeff stood up to approach Steven carefully. "We all know Elizabeth is prone to hysterics to get attention."

"You volunteered to help the people who are trying to take a little boy from his father? How do you sleep at night?" Steven wanted to know, barely hearing his father's booming voice.

"I take a Valium." Sarah spoke up with a grin.

"Sit down Steven and we'll discuss this in a calm rational manner." Elaine motioned towards the couch where her daughter and husband had been sitting until her eldest came pounding at the door. "I'm sure you will understand our reasons."

"I'd rather stand." Steven countered folding his arms across his chest.

"Do I get to act like a petulant child too?" Sarah asked rudely.

"Sarah." Jeff rebuked is daughter gently before turning his full attention to his only son, the one that was supposed to follow in his footsteps into medicine. "Steven, clearly you don't know all the facts in this case."

"Explain them to me then. What possible reason could you have to send your daughter to the guillotine?"

"It's the only way to save her from herself." Elaine explained patiently. "It was bad enough she got herself pregnant by that boy. Now the press situation occurred. Elizabeth will continue to drag our family's name into the mud unless we step in and stop her."

"I doubt you'll have to worry about that much longer. If you'd spent more than two seconds with Lucky, you'd probably know how much he wants to marry Elizabeth. So you won't be plagued by her good choices for much longer." If defending his sister including Spencer, he was okay with it. It's not like any of this would get back to his wife.

"Elizabeth and good choices should never be in the same sentence." Sarah rolled her eyes. "How can you be okay with this?"

"I've met my niece and nephew and I'll never think of them as anything but miracles."

"What will be a miracle is if those children make it through childhood unscathed." Elaine scoffed. "They will be shipped off to baby-sitters just like the older boy is."

"Unscathed childhood? I spent the first ten years of my life thinking the nanny was my mother and Elizabeth was always staying with one of our aunts." Steven reminded them.

"And clearly we have learned from our mistakes." Jeff pointed out calmly.

"Have you…have you been to meet your grandchildren?" Steven challenged angrily.

"We've tried. That awful Luke Spencer claims to have taken out a restraining order against us." Elaine responded briskly.

"Is that all it takes to get rid of the three of you? I wish I'd known that sooner." Steven turned for the door.

"Steven. We are doing this for the good of everyone." Jeff called out.

"Remind me not to tell any of my children about the wicked grandparents from the north." Steven replied shutting the door behind him.

*****

Colonel William Richard Lansing glared hard at the nurse as she took his blood pressure. She had an annoying habit of talking to him as if he were five years old when she did this, as well as when she had taken his blood. It would only hurt a pinch. It would only be a little bit of pressure and then he'd forget all about it. He had often pointed out that he was a retired Army Colonel who had fought in three wars on three different continents, killed thousands to preserve peace, and broken every bone in his body at least twice. Her response was always the same, always something about, well he was an old man now and he needed to take it easy. It was so tempting to reach over, snatch the instrument out of her hand, wrap it around her neck, and squeeze tightly.

"How does that feel?" She asked as she applied a "teeny bit of" stress with the blood pressure cuff. Her wavy red curls fell in front of her eyes and were just beyond his grasp.

"Say, how much longer do I have to be stuck here?" He had tried being nice, the Colonel thought to himself, but he was only human.

"Well..." The question seemed to silence her and for a moment he was able to joy a short period of no humming or baby talk.

"Well, what? I'm perfectly fine now." He barked impatiently, accidentally jerking his arm back so that she fell into his chest and he groaned in pain.

"You'll stay until the doctors say you can leave Colonel." Ric entered the room carefully. He had stayed away from his father's actual room for as long as he possibly could. It was much easier to send Charlotte in to deal with their father so he could deal with the doctors. Certainly the Colonel would prefer it that way. But Kate had insisted on taking Charlotte out for lunch and now it was up to him to keep his father from blatantly disregarding the doctor's orders.

"What do you care? I bet you'd rather I keeled over right here?" He growled as the nurse straightened herself.

"Oh, is this your son?" The nurse looked from one man to the other. "I can definitely see the resemblance."

"Thank you ma'am." The manners his father had drilled in him years ago, the very manners he tended to ignore when away from his father, came back full force. "I can take this from here. I'm a doctor."

"Richard takes after his mother." The Colonel argued with the nurse's perception, completely ignoring his son.

"A doctor? Well, then, I guess you're the one I should be getting onto. I know your father is stubborn, but it's up to you to make sure he eats right."

"Believe me ma'am, my sister and I will make sure of it." Ric assured her.

"Oh, are you staying in town for more than an hour? What a shock. I hope there's a good reason." The Colonel bellowed.

"I'll leave you boys to talk." The nurse scurried out of the room.

"I'm staying as long it takes you get you to listen to reason." Ric sat down stiffly in the chair next to the hospital bed.

"Why must everyone treat me like a child? I am perfectly capable—"

"With all due respect Sir, you're being perfectly capable of running your own life landed you here."

"What would you know about respect? When was the last time you came to see me? That wife of yours calls me more than you do." He watched his son rub his eyes in frustration. "And don't sell me that nonsense about divorce."

"We've been over this. It's not nonsense."

"You still act as man and wife when you're in the room together." Seeing the surprise in his son's eyes, he continued, "And you still talk that way too. I got a nice little earful when you thought I was asleep."

"Kate and I are friends. She came out here to support Charlotte." Ric defended. It was not the time or the place to enlighten his father on Maxie's presence in his life.

"Think about what this nonsense must be doing to your sister. You throw a temper tantrum and she almost loses her best friend. You never consider the consequences of your actions."

Ric could barely keep his eyes from rolling. "This isn't about me. Right now I'd rather talk about you and how well you are going to follow the doctor's orders."

"Didn't I tell you? I thought it'd be a good idea for him to just move in and bring his stupid nurse with him so she can put me in a bib and dress me." The Colonel gritted through his teeth.

"It's hospital policy Sir. They have to make sure you are responding to the treatment."

"I don't need you to explain doctors to me. I know how much of a pain in the ass they can be."

Ric let the slight at him slide by. There were more important matters right now than the years' long grudge match with his father. "You aren't getting out of here until you show them you are going to follow their recommendations."

"Which means what exactly?"

"I don't feel I have to answer that."

"Respectfully Sir, I think you better find an answer to that." Ric rose from the uncomfortable chair and stood to his full height. Crossing his arms, he fixed his father with the stern face he had perfected for use with his more troublesome patients over the years. "It's the only way you are going to get out of here."

"I'll find my own way Doctor. Thank you for stopping by, but I won't be dying today. So sorry to have wasted your time." The Colonel turned his back on his son and rested his head against the pillow.

There was possibly less than a foot of space between them, but it felt as if it stretched for miles as far as Ric was concerned. Where exactly was the point in his life where he and his father just dismissed each other out of hand, no thought necessary? True they had never been especially close when he was younger, but wasn't the ravages of childhood and adolescence supposed to give way and lead to understanding later in life? Wasn't that what the movies always promised? He had never told Maxie this, but the last thing he had ever understood was her insistence on wanting approval from her father. He had gotten approval so rarely it felt foreign to crave it. And now, as his father recovered from a massive heart attack, during a time where they should be reconnecting and rebuilding their own relationship, they were just as far apart as ever.

"I'll be back later. Don't scare off the nurses." Ric managed softly. "They are just doing their jobs."

"Well you've done yours. Go on back to Port Charles."

"I will when the time is right."

*****

Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, Bobbie raised her hand to knock on the heavy wooden door. It wasn't that she hadn't ever been to Patrick's new home, but this was the first time she had ever visited him like this. "You can do this Barbara Jean." She whispered to herself. "You need to do this."

"Bobbie?" Patrick asked, surprised, as he opened the door slowly.

"Patrick. Can I come in?"

"Did something happen?" Patrick couldn't ignore the panic in his aunt's eyes.

"No. Everything is fine as far as I know. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Huh. Okay. Fine. Come in." Patrick opened the door wider and quickly turned away from her.

"How are you doing?" She asked hesitantly as she stood in the entryway. It was the quietest she had ever heard the penthouse being.

"Honestly? I've been better."

"I'm sure." Bobbie reached out to touch Patrick's shoulder. "How are you holding up?"

"Not to be rude, but why are you here?" Patrick inquired, taking a step back.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Your engagement."

"I've been engaged for weeks." And you weren't here, he silently added.

"I know. And that's part of the reason I'm here."

"Do you want something to drink?"

"No. I'm fine thank you." Bobbie took his offer of a drink as an invitation to step further into the living room, and made her way over to the couch. Perching on the cushions, she patted the one next to her. "Sit down Little Prince. We need to talk this thing out."

While he found her timing suspect, he decided to hear her out. He took his seat and met her eyes. "Okay. You start."

Blowing out a breath, Bobbie reached out to touch his hand. "I know no one in the family reacted to your news the way you wanted us to. And I'm sorry about that. You'll never realize how sorry I am about that."

"I didn't exactly take yours that well, so I can understand that."

"And I understood your reasons for that. So I would hope you could understand mine as well."

"I understand your immediate reaction." Patrick clarified glumly. "I didn't say I forgive you for your continued attitude toward the idea."

"Point taken. But can I try to explain?"

Patrick waved his hand for her to do just that. He was almost afraid of what would come out of his mouth if he spoke.

"Ever since your mother died and your father became, well your father, I had this idea of what your wedding would be like. Not that anyone ever thought you actually would get married one day, mind you." She teased gently. "But you were supposed to be talking to your father again. Logan was supposed to be your best man. It was not supposed to happen like this."

"So you're punishing me for my family's actions? That's fair."

"No, I'm trying to explain myself. A wedding should be a celebration of the entire family, not just a small portion of it." Bobbie paused and leveled a clear gaze at her nephew. "And it should also include the entire family knowing about a pregnancy before the bride walks down the aisle."

Patrick opened his mouth to speak several times before giving up completely. He could only stare at his aunt in confusion.

"I could understand wanting to approach the situation carefully after what happened when Laura found out about Elizabeth's pregnancy." Bobbie continued. "But I would have thought you would have let people know before Robin left for Paris at least. Seeing her walking out of the airport obviously pregnant is not the ideal way to break this sort of news, take it from me."

"We have our reasons." Patrick struggled to say.

"I'm sure you do. But, my boy, you announced your engagement in the paper before you even asked Robin to marry you. You think the reaction to that has been bad, you just wait till Robin returns and can't hide behind her small frame anymore."

"I'd like to believe that's how she'll return." Patrick murmured quietly.

"What was that?"

"I said I'd like to see her big and pregnant when she returns. It's all I want."

The sadness and worry in his voice was impossible to miss. Bobbie leaned closer to him and squeezed his hand tightly with her own. "Patrick? Is there something you want to tell me?"

Gulping, Patrick had to stare at their intertwined hands. "There are... problems with the pregnancy."

"Problems? What kind of problems?"

"We didn't hide this news from the family because we weren't sure how you would react." Patrick said slowly. "We just didn't want to get everyone's hopes up."

"Hopes up? Why would that get everyone's...?" Bobbie's voice trailed off as the reality settled in. They hadn't told anyone because ultimately there might be nothing to tell. "Oh sweetheart."

"We're halfway through." Patrick told her. "And she can't have any kind of stress. It's why she went to see her father in Paris."

"I'm sure Robert would love to know he's the low stress solution."

"Well she can't exactly hide it from him or Georgie so it takes a lot of pressure off. She wanted to tell all of you, but I advised against it."

"Why?"

"I didn't put the announcement in the paper as part of the engagement."

"Then why did you?"

"I wanted to make sure everyone knew about it. We discussed it before I put it there."

"But why wouldn't everyone know it if you just told us?" The more Patrick talked, the less sense he was starting to make.

"I'm not talking about you, or Laura, or even the Scorpios."

"Then who...?" Bobbie's eyes flew to meet Patrick's as the only logical answer settled in her mind. "Logan."

"Logan, Courtney, and anyone else who thinks that coming after Robin again is a good idea."

"Patrick...that is a very sweet idea, but you can't be with Robin all the time. Announcement in the paper or not."

"The hell I can't." Patrick countered. "Right now she's with her father. When she returns, she'll be with me. I doubt you've noticed, but I've taken time off from photography."

"I had noticed that. But at some point either you or Robin will either want to go back to work or have to go back. Children are expensive my boy and you are talking about not only this baby, but Morgan as well."

"Mac will catch them before it comes to that."

"Before it comes to what?"

"Having to go back to work."

"Oh I thought..." Bobbie shook her head. "Well that doesn't matter now. What matters is you need support. Who else knows?"

"The whole story? Just you. Elizabeth and Lucky know about the baby."

"I suspected they knew something when your cold war didn't extend to them."

"Amazing thing, loyalty." Patrick bit off, getting to his feet and rubbing his hand down his neck.

"Low blow, but I guess it is slightly deserved."

"It'll work out."

"That it will." Bobbie nodded in agreement. "Because now your family is in your corner."

"You can't tell anyone."

"But Patrick..."

"No." Patrick shook his head. "When Robin gets back, I'm going to propose for real and this will all be behind us. I will marry her before our baby comes and the family can make whatever decision they make."

Previews:

"Have you thought of any names?"

Robin could already see the wheels turning in her father's mind. "No. Nothing."

"If you find yourself struggling for one, I happen to know—"