Chapter 101

Chapter 101
You take the home from the boy but not the boy from his home

Seated in the chair beside his bed, Patrick pulled his leg up and tied his shoe. There was some residual numbness in his fingertips but he had little difficulty with small tasks and was confident it would come back. He tugged tightly on the strings of his sweatpants, tightening them around his waist. Looking at the way they hung loosely from his hips he agreed that Robin was right, he was very thin.

Running his hand over the prickly stubble of his head he sighed heavily. He was finally being released - almost 10 days after his first surgery. Though still weak and lacking stamina he was ready, more than ready, to get out of the hospital. He hated the way the antiseptic smell invaded his nostrils. And the pitying looks he got from nurses and residents. It didn't matter to them that he was a neurosurgeon - one of the best in the state if not the country - to them he was dismissed as a poor, pathetic patient who could barely speak. He wanted to be back amidst the familiar where the people that mattered to him saw him - all of him - not just his chart.

Robin had, against her will, returned to Port Charles to back some clothes for the stay in the Hamptons. She had been reluctant to leave him but he had, as best he could, insisted. He worried about her and he worried for her. He believed that a night in her own bed would be good for her. She was due back this morning and he was anxious to see her. Looking up expectantly as the door to his room opened, he tried to keep the disappointment from his face when Eric walked through.

"Geez Pantsy," he joked, "don't look so damn happy to see me."

He shrugged apologetically.
"You ready?"

Patrick nodded.

"I've looked at your latest films and you're in good shape."

He pulled his board from the table and wrote You are coming to visit, right?

While he had little reticence about leaving the hospital he was less ready to leave his friend behind. They had been each other's steadying influence for the better part of a decade and he knew he would need him again before all was said and done.

Giving him a small smile, Eric nodded. "Yeah. I'll make a couple of house calls to make sure you aren't undoing all my brilliant work and ruining my reputation"

Patrick chuckled. I don't think thank you is enough

"Please don't go getting all soft and mushy on me" he demurred kindly. "Besides, for all you know I implanted stuff in your brain that'll make you like the ballet. And impressionist art."

He rolled his eyes in response.

"But so long as we are getting mushy, I have something for you." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small, familiar leather pouch. "I told you this was yours for the duration and so I thought…I thought maybe you might want it as you continue your recovery."

Taking the pouch from his friend, he pulled it open and emptied its contents into his hand. He gave a small gasp as the pendant of Michael the Archangel caught his eye and for a moment he was struck by the faint memory of it hanging around his neck. He ran his thumb along the raised image and felt his eyes prick with tears. Nodding gratefully, he pulled it over his head and tucked it inside his sweatshirt.

Robin bustled through the door with Noah following closely behind. Looking up at them, Patrick smiled. There was relief etched on their faces. His release from the hospital was something they needed as much as he did.

"Ready for your big road trip?" Robin asked, bussing his lips.

"Y-y-yes."

Eric clapped him on the shoulder. "I'll see you in a couple of days. Make sure you listen to your dad and Robin or you'll answer to me, 'kay?"

Patrick smirked and making a fist, extended his hand bumping knuckles with his friend. As Eric left, Patrick wrote on his board and held it up to his father and girlfriend, grinning.

Can I drive?

Noah snorted. "Sure Sport. Just as soon as hell freezes over."

Robin helped him to his feet and Noah took his small duffle bag as the three headed to the door. Just before leaving the room Patrick paused and took one last look around. The next time he was going to be in the hospital other than for routine checkups was as a doctor. He was done with being a patient.

*****
"Holy crap!" Robin exclaimed as she looked around the large sitting room. "This place is gorgeous."

Noah smiled wistfully as he watched Patrick examining some of the photos on the mantle and bookshelves. It was Mattie who had found the house just shortly after they had been married. It had been a decrepit, neglected old place but as with most things where Noah had only seen the problems, she had seen the potential. In her mind she saw a family home and with the help of an architect had set about making it one. Many of the best moments of the Drake family happened here – Mattie had called it the heart of their family. Noah wondered if Patrick still felt her presence here.

As Patrick shuffled somewhat unsteadily around the room, he paused at the entrance to the kitchen running his hand along the door frame. He smiled reflectively as snapshots of the past danced in his mind.

Sliding her arm around his waist, Robin looked up at him. "You okay?"

He nodded and pointed at the marks on the white wood frame. Leaning in for a better look Robin could not keep the smile from her face. There, at various intervals along the frame, was a record of Patrick's growth - age 3, age 5, age 8, age 10 – all the way up until age 16.

"So you pretty much hit your peak at 16, huh?" she asked lightly as the mark was almost at the same height as him.

"Patrick hit his growth spurt at 14" Noah said, walking over to join them. "All of his friends started much earlier and he was convinced he was going to be short for life, despite us assuring him he wouldn't. Then all of a sudden he grew and in two years he was towering over me."

"Overachiever" Robin teased.

Shrugging, Patrick stumbled slightly as he tried to step away. Taking hold of his arm, Noah righted him. "Sport, I think it's time you got into bed. You've had a pretty big day already."

Too tired to even contemplate resisting, he simply nodded and let his father take him to his room.

Robin followed behind, pausing ever few feet as she discovered another family photo along the wall. In the short time she had been in the house she had gained a better understanding about the enormity of loss he had experienced. The house was a celebration of their family; there was evidence of so much love and life lived. Up until that moment she had believed that she and Patrick shared similar experiences regarding their families but she could not have been more wrong.

Her young life had been marked by loss – a grandmother, a step-father, her parents or so she believed and a boyfriend but it had also been marked by love – enormous love. No matter what happened there was always someone looking out for her, some safe harbour that she could take refuge in when a storm hit. Her uncle Mac, her godfathers Sean and Frisco, Felicia, Luke, even Sonny for a time – they had all loved her and been a family to her.

As Patrick had started to open up and share more about his childhood she had been plagued by feelings of envy. His life had sounded so normal and almost idyllic. He had two parents who loved him, who took him to hockey games and baseball games; two parents with whom he watched movies and went to the opera with. But there was a stark difference between them: She had a large, untraditional family who when bad stuff happened would swoop in and take care of her and support her. Patrick's family came to end one day – a complete and total end. His mother died and his father disappeared and there was no one to offer him a safe place to ride out the storm.

It didn't make one's experience worse than the other, it just made it different. His fears about being left were so clear to her now. She had the same fears but she also had proof that love and support came from all corners when you needed it. He had not had the benefit of that experience.

Just outside his bedroom was a photo of the three of them at some school event. Patrick was standing the middle, his arms draped casually over both his parents' shoulders. By the looks of the photo he was probably 15 or 16 years old. Both Mattie and Noah were beaming with pride and Patrick had an easy, contented look about him. She wondered if any of them knew then what was in store and if they would have changed anything?

Pulling herself away from the picture she walked into his bedroom. There was a large bay window on the side overlooking several large trees.

As Noah tucked his son in, he followed Robin's gaze and smiled. "Patrick broke his wrist falling out of that tree when he was nine," he told her. "I wanted to cut it down but he protested telling me it was his Everest and he was going to keep climbing it until he made it to the top."

"So you've been stubborn your whole life?" she asked teasingly.

Patrick gave an unapologetic nod.

"Good to know" she grinned. "What I'm really hoping though is during our time here I'll get some good blackmail material so I can keep you in line when we get home" She waggled her eyebrow and laughed as he stuck his tongue out at her.

His eyes were growing heavy as he found it more and more difficult to fight the fatigue. Noah touched his face and smiled. "It's okay Patty – you won't miss anything if you go to sleep, I promise."
Robin crawled beside him on the bed, kissing him lightly on the lips. He sighed happily and closed his eyes as she entwined her fingers through his.

With a wink, Noah left the room and pulled the door closed behind him. His son was home – in every way and that meant the world to him.

*****
As Patrick slept soundly, Robin got up from the bed and quietly padded around his room. She hadn't realized at first that it was his childhood room but as saw the sporting trophies, the science fair ribbons and the Star Wars figures on the bookshelf she could not keep the smile from her face.

When he had moved into her apartment he had a couple of suitcases and a box of souvenirs. It had made her sad, thinking that his life could be so portable but seeing his room now, almost frozen in time, she recognized that his life wasn't that small. It was as though a hurricane had hit his life and he took whatever he could before leaving but now with the storm over, there was so much that was left unharmed and she couldn't wait for him to tell her about it.

Feeling a vibration in her pocket she fumbled for her phone. Flipping it open, the screen told her she had a new voice mail message. She punched in her code and felt her stomach drop as she heard the message.

"Robin, it's Alan. Could you call me please when you get a moment? I would like to discuss your most recent test results."