Chapter 100
I
will always be your friend
Took an oath, I'm going to stick it
out to the end
As Patrick stared at the television watching the news crawl on the bottom of his screen he moved his tongue around in his mouth trying to form the words he saw passing before his eyes.
It was a surreal experience for him – he understood everything that was said to him, in his mind he was as articulate and verbal as he had always been but somewhere between his brain and his mouth everything came off the rails. There were moments where if he tried too hard to speak, forced himself beyond what he could do, he would start to panic and the feeling of drowning would surround him. There were days were it felt like the words were piling up inside of him, overloading him with no way to get them out.
But Eric had arranged for a speech therapy consult which was the last hurdle he needed to pass before being released. Once a baseline for his therapy was established he could go home. Or to the Hamptons at least. He wasn't sure if it would be home to him or not. He had not been back since his mother's death but through his days in the hospital as he thought about where he wanted to be that place seemed to be calling to him.
He glanced quickly at the clock and tried to figure out exactly how long Robin had been gone for. She said she wouldn't be more than an hour but he couldn't quite remember when she had left. Exhaustion was still such a part of him that he would easily drift off to sleep and wake up with no concept of how long he had been out for. It was frustrating and irritating and though he knew medically that he was healing well, it wasn't going as quickly as he'd like. Patience had never really been a part of his make-up and his was being sorely tested.
"You ready for me?"
Looking over at the door Patrick smirked as Robin sauntered through. "I'm always ready for you" he thought to himself, frustrated that he could never get the words out quickly enough.
"Maria Jesus said to say hello, by the way" she teased as she brandished a bag from Bread and Roses, his favourite bakery.
His eyes widened in surprise as his face broke into a wide grin. "H-h-how?" he asked.
Robin took a deep breath as she set the bag down on the table and started to pull out the treats. She was trying very hard not to take every lost memory as a knife to the heart and reminded herself that his heart recognized what his mind could not.
"We spent an amazing weekend here in February," she told him as she passed a sticky bun to him. "And you took me to the bakery. And then I watched as Maria Jesus fawned all over you, thinking you walked on water."
Patrick chuckled softly, knowing that was exactly what would have happened.
Glancing up at the television screen Robin asked, "You watching the news?"
He nodded as he took a bite of his pastry. His eyes closed and an involuntary moan escaped from his throat as the warm caramel melted in his mouth. As he opened his eyes he was met by Robin's playful grin.
"And here I was thinking I was the only one who made you moan like that." She laughed loudly as Patrick's cheeks blushed a bright red. She was about to tease him when the door opened and a tall blonde woman breezed through her eyes fixed on the chart in her hands.
"Hi, I'm Karen Dunlop and I'm a speech therapist. We're going to do some baseline assessments" she prattled on not looking up. "and then-" Her mouth dropped open as she stared at her patient. "Patrick? Drake the Rake?"
Robin could feel Patrick tense and looked curiously at the very pregnant woman standing beside her wondering if this was one of his exes. Looking back at him and seeing how tightly he was gripping his sheets, his knuckles white she immediately dismissed the thought from her mind.
"N-n-no" he spat out, glaring at the therapist.
She smiled and shook her head. "Don't be like that Patrick. You can't stay mad at me forever."
Angrily he reached for his pen and white board scribbling quickly. Not mad at you. I hate you.
"Patrick!" Robin exclaimed in shock.
The young woman was undeterred. "You can't possibly hate me. It all happened years ago" she replied breezily. "And even if you do hate me, you need a speech therapist and that's what I'm here for."
"NO!" he shouted.
Robin shot an anxious look at his heart monitor as his blood pressure began to rise. "Patrick," she called to him quietly, "you need to calm down."
Shooting a withering look at his girlfriend he shook his head. He knew he needed a speech therapist but he was not having this one. I would rather never speak again than have you help me.
"Jesus Christ Patrick" she sighed heavily. "I'm just doing your assessment. You can have whatever therapist you want after that. Surely to god you can put away your misplaced anger long enough for me to do that."
"NO!" he shouted again, slamming his fist down on his bed.
Pushing back her chair, Robin rose to her feet. "I'm Robin Scorpio" she said as she turned her attention to the woman beside her. "I'm Patrick's girlfriend. Clearly you are a source of agitation for him and I'm not sure why but perhaps it would be better if you sent someone else for his assessment."
"There isn't anyone else today" she said curtly, "and I was told this was an urgent assessment. So perhaps he can just get over himself for half an hour and then we can both go our separate ways." She shot him a steely look.
He slapped his hands again on the bed. "No. No. No."
"Patrick what the hell is going on?" Eric asked coming through the door. His friend looked as though he was ready to jump from the bed. "I thought you were-" the words died on his lips. "Oh" he said quietly seeing Karen in the room for the first time. "Karen, I...I didn't realize you had caught this case." His eyes were firmly glued to her round belly.
"Hey Eric" Karen said, putting her clipboard in front of her stomach. "Apparently I'm not a suitable therapist for you patient but there are no others working today."
As she watched the interaction between Eric and Karen and felt Patrick's temper continuing to rise, realization dawned that this was Eric's ex-girlfriend. She finally understood the source of her boyfriend's agitation.
Swallowing down a sigh, Eric looked at his friend. "Pantsy, she's one of the best there is and it's just an assessment"
"B-b-b-bitch!" he stammered loudly, moving around in his bed itching to get up. He had not seen her since she broke up with Eric claiming she could not cope with his cancer. He had been by Eric's side every step of the way as he tried to deal with his heartbreak and the news he was unlikely to survive more than a couple of months. He had always believed, fairly or unfairly, that her leaving him had hastened the advance of his cancer. Eric might have been able to forgive her but he never would. Until Robin, Eric was his family and there was simply no way he was going to allow anyone to hurt him and get away with it.
"Dude" Eric admonished him as Karen took a step back, "that is not cool."
Patrick glared at them defiantly and picked up his pen. She left you to die. She's a fucking coward and I want nothing to do with her. If I have to stay here for another month until there is another therapist then I will.
"G-g-get o-o-out" he spat, exhausting himself.
She offered a weak smile. "You sure you want me to go?" she teased nervously, "it seems you're picking up new words every minute I'm here."
Robin folded her arms across her chest. "I would like you to go" she said evenly. "Patrick's choice of words may not be the kindest but he clearly doesn't want you here and quite frankly, neither do I. I don't want him upset any more than he already is. We'll wait for another therapist."
Shrugging, she looked at Eric. "You always were more mature than he was."
His blue eyes narrowed. "Don't push it Karen."
"You're looking good Smitty." Heading to the door, she called over her shoulder. "Hope you get better soon Patrick."
Robin sat down on the edge of the bed and bussed his lips. "You're kind of hot when you're protective" she whispered.
Giving her a sheepish smile, Patrick kissed her back.
"I thought you wanted me to spring you" Eric asked him kindly. "Telling off the only available speech therapist was not a good idea."
Did you know it was going to be her?
He shook his head. "No. She's only be here for about eight months and our paths have only crossed a couple of times. You really shouldn't of thrown her out and you don't have to fight my battles."
I'm not apologizing.
Eric held up his hands. "Okay, okay. No mas."
"How long do you think we'll have to wait for another assessment?" Robin asked, entwining her fingers though his. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.
"I'll go see if I can't call in a favour or two" Eric said. "So long as you" he looked at his friend, "stay put and keep your potty mouth under control" Smiling, Patrick held up his middle finger. "Nice, we're resorting to sign language."
Robin watched as Eric left and when she turned back to Patrick was surprised to find tears pooling in his eyes. "Babe, what's wrong?"
He tried to speak, his mouth twisting and turning but no words would come. With a frustrated sigh, he reached again for his board and started to write.
I don't understand leaving when someone is sick. You never left me. My father didn't she said she loved him and the minute it got tough, she bolted. Fucking coward.
Robin took a long, steadying breath as she felt a bolt of anger zap through her. He left her when he was sick which while rooted in love, was also cowardly. The feeling of loss as he walked through the door of their apartment without looking back was still very much near the surface. She wanted to tell him that regardless of his intentions, he still broke her heart but she didn't trust herself to speak about it.
"You can't dictate someone's fear" she told him softly when she finally spoke. "People make all kinds of decisions when they're in pain."
He shook his head. Not acceptable. I would never leave you.
Wanting to stop the conversation before it went further down the path it was headed, Robin leaned in and kissed his tenderly, her tongue running alone the seam of his lips. He threaded his fingers through her hair pulling her closer to him.
"Oh gosh, I'm sorry" Noah's voice interrupted them. "I'll come back"
Relcutantly letting go of his lips, Robin waved Noah in. "Noah, please."
He smiled and crossed the room. "Nice to see you both with a little colour in your faces" he teased lightly. "I won't stay long but I wanted to tell you that the house is ready. As soon as you're given the green light we can go home"