Chapter 125

May your strength give us strength

As Patrick kicked the door shut behind them, Robin looked up at him and shook her head. "You really shouldn't be carrying me" she told him softly.

Patrick merely cocked an eyebrow in response as he walked down the hallway to the bedroom. He laid her gently on the bed and removed her jacket. Having slung it on the back of the chair he turned his attention to her boots, tugging them off and letting them drop to the ground with a thud. Moving up the bed he unzipped her jeans and slid them down her legs, placing them on top of the jacket. He motioned for her to lift her arms up and he pulled her sweater off leaving her in a tank top and underwear.

Robin could not take her eyes off of him as moved about the room, folding her clothes and putting them away. As he approached the bed again, he pulled back the covers and with a small jerk of his head, asked her to get underneath them.

"Patrick, you don't-" she began.

"My t-t-turn" he interjected. "T-take care of y-you."

Robin's chest tightened and felt herself inching closer to tears yet again. She was tired of crying and tired of trying to stay in motion when every fibre of her being was exhausted. Somehow he seemed to know that too and despite his own ongoing recovery and the deep wound of hurled accusations, he was going to take care of her. Forgiveness was a guiding principle in her life even if she had given more of it than she had received. Having not always been absolved of her transgressions, it was daunting for her to be in the face of such unconditional love.

Patrick kicked off his shoes, stepped out of his jeans and quickly removed his shirt before crawling into bed with her. His arms slid easily around her drawing her to him. He pressed his lips to her forehead in a long, lingering kiss. He kissed her under one eye, then the other, whisking away the salty tears that had pooled there. He moved to her left cheek, then her right one and by the time his mouth near hers, her lips were groping for his in anticipation of the kiss she knew was to come.

With infinite tenderness he closed his mouth over hers and kissed her, his tongue coaxing her lips apart. He could feel the tension in her body and knew she was fighting with herself to give in or pull away. He trailed his fingers through her hair, getting lost in its silkiness as his tongue continued to explore her mouth. He pushed his body against hers, not in anticipation of going further but so that she could really believe he was there, in the moment with her.

He reluctantly let go of her lips and softly stroked her cheek with his thumb as he searched her eyes for some clue as to how she was feeling.

Fingering her swollen lips, Robin looked up at him with a small smile. He had managed to get on the other side of her walls from the very beginning and he was there once again. She had pushed as hard as she could and he was still with her. Snaking her arms around his waist she pulled herself flush against him and exhaled.

"Kiss me again" she quietly demanded.

Smiling, Patrick looked to her mouth and then to her eyes. Cupping her face with both hands he fastened his mouth to hers and kissed her passionately.

"Love you" he whispered against her mouth.

Sighing in both relief and reassurance, Robin brought her head to rest against his chest and snuggled in tightly feeling, for the time being at least, safe in the arms of love.

xxxx

Eric had barely walked through the door of the lake house when Alexis bounded to him and had him pushed up against the wall, seizing his mouth in a hot, hard kiss. Dropping his knapsack to the floor, he closed his arms around her and returned her kiss with alacrity.

Panting as they pulled away, he grinned at her. "It's almost like you missed me or something."

The apples of her cheeks blushed brightly and she smiled sheepishly. "You've been gone two whole days" she offered as explanation. "How was New York?"

Having hung up his coat in the closet, he reached for her hand and led her to the couch. Settling down, he pulled her to his lap and curled his arm around her waist. "It was good. I got all my remaining shifts covered, the loft is rented and I have a whole week off before I start at GH. Whatever will I do with my free time?" he asked teasingly, waggling his eyebrows.

"Oh I have a few ideas" she answered throatily.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the bedroom and then back at Alexis, a sly grin appeared on his face. "Where are the girls?"

"Viola is taking them to a movie."

He nuzzled her neck, breathing in her heady scent. "I like movies" he mumbled against her skin. "It gives us time."

Sliding from his lap, she pulled him to his feet and started to drag him in the direction of the bedroom. "So right. Let's not waste a minute."

There had been a marked shift in their relationship since her doctor's appointment. Cancer had been a very solitary and isolating experience for her and so much of her life had fallen to pieces all at once that she just got used to doing everything on her own. But his presence and then his unabashed joy at her being given a three month all clear had driven home to her how incredibly special this relationship was. Whereas before she was letting down her defences one brick at a time, she was now taking a sledgehammer to them, wanting to share herself completely.

She shrieked as he picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder and raced back to the bedroom dropping her playfully on the bed. Her fingers moved at a furious pace undoing his buttons and tugging his shirt from his body. Eric looked at her with a mixture of amusement and love, ecstatic at her exuberance.

As she shifted back on the bed he crawled towards her pulling her skirt down her legs. His blue eyes went wide with shock when he realized she was not wearing any underwear.

"You're a bad, bad girl" he commented, dropping a kiss between her legs.

"You have yet to begin to see bad" she replied in a strangled voice as his tongue curled around her sensitive bundle of nerves.

His hands slid under her blouse, teasing her skin as they worked their way up to her breasts. He palmed them, loving the weight of them in his hands. Quickly withdrawing his hands, he worked on the buttons of her blouse as she attached her lips to his shoulder, nipping at him.

As her blouse fell away, he paused and gently pulled back.

Feeling him move away, Alexis looked up in surprise. "What? Why are you stopping?"

He looked at her torso and then at her, smiling wryly. "Alexis, did you have a fever in the last few days?"

She furrowed her brow. "What?"

"A fever – did you have one? Did either of the girls?"

"How do you know these things?" she asked.

"Because I'm brilliant," he replied. "And I'm pretty sure that's chicken pox" He pointed to several red spots that dotted her torso.

"WHAT?" she exclaimed, jumping from the bed and examining herself in the mirror. "I can't have chicken pox."

Propping himself up on his elbow, he smiled. "Have you ever had it? Have the girls?"

"No" she answered slowly, touching the small blisters. "I didn't have these when I took my shower."

Getting off the bed, Eric reached for his shirt and pulled it back on quickly doing it up. Walking behind her and sliding his arms around her waist, he kissed her shoulder. "I'm going to guess that the girls will be coming home sooner rather than later and they will not be feeling so well. I think you should get into your pyjamas and get into bed. I'm going to call your oncologist and have him order an anti-viral for you. You're not going to be feeling very well either pretty soon."

Turning around in his arms, her bottom lip jutted out in a pout. "But I have plans for you."

He nipped at her lips. "I promise to let you make it up to me but right now the most important thing is for you to rest."

She sighed in disappointment. "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired" she complained.

"I know" he acknowledged softly. "But your immune system isn't up to snuff yet and I don't want you getting knocked off your feet by a virus."

"Will you…will you stay?" she asked hesitantly.

"Every step of the way" he promised before stealing a quick kiss. "Now, I think you better get into your pyjamas because the girls will be home-"

He was cut off by the sound of Kristina, Molly and Viola coming through the front door. Alexis scurried to her dresser and pulled out a pair of flannel pyjama pants and quickly yanked a t-shirt over her head.

"Mommy!" Kristina called. "Mommy!"

Hand in hand they left the bedroom and headed down the hall the family room. Seeing them come around the corner, Kristina ran to her mother's open arms.

"Mommy, I have itchies" she said plaintively, pointing to the red spots on her arms. "Molly too."

Molly squirmed from Viola's arms and ran to Eric. "Ewic, look!" She held out her arms showing her rash.

He scooped her up in his arms and kissed her forehead. "Is it scratchy Molly?"

"Yeah"

"Mommy has them too" Alexis said, showing her rash on her belly. "It's chicken pox."

Kristina pulled on her bottom lip as she settled into her mother's arms. "Does Eric have it too?"

He shook his head. "I don't. I had chicken pox when I was a little boy so I won't get it again. But if it's okay with you guys I can stay here and take care of you."

Molly beamed and nodded forcefully.

"Kristina, is that okay with you?" Alexis asked.

"Can we watch movies and stuff?"

"Of course we can pumpkin," she answered.

"Okay then" she agreed.

Eric smiled and gave a quick wink to his girlfriend. "Okay then. So here are the rules – everyone has to be in their pyjamas, we're going to have lots of nap time and I promise to make some yummy soup. Deal?"

"Deal!" Molly and Kristina said together. The older girl climbed down from her mother's lap and reached for her sister. "Come on Molly – we hafta get into our pjs." The two girls headed to their room hand in hand.

As Eric watched them go, Alexis gently touched his leg and smiled. "Thank you" she whispered.

"No thanks needed" he told her, thinking how nice it was to be part of a family again, even for just a little while.

xxxxx
Robin stretched out; eyes clenched shut, letting the tiles from the bathroom floor cool her off. The room was spinning and the only way to make it stop was to lie flat on the floor. Her medication was still forcing her to spend more time in the bathroom than anywhere else. Every time she thought it was under control, it would come back and drive her from the bed or to the couch.

At Patrick's urging, she had called Alan who made a house call. He sympathized with her discomfort but reassured her the medication was working and she just needed to get through a few more days and she would start to feel significantly better. There was good news to be had but she was having a hard time focusing on it as she munched on yet another piece of dry toast.

It had been two days since Patrick found out about her failed protocol. It had been two days since she ran out and he ran after her. There were still so many hurdles they needed to get over but Patrick seemed uninterested in addressing them until she was feeling better. At first she thought it felt like obligation but in a moment of clarity she understood that this was what love felt like – really felt like.

She smiled as she heard the door to the bathroom creak open. He was never far from her side and instead of feeling smothered by it as she normally would, she felt strengthened by it. Hearing him bustle around the bathroom she slowly pried open one eye.

"What are you doing?"

Patrick said nothing as he continued to busy himself. It had not escaped her notice that his ability to speak was directly related to his stress level and his fatigue. In the last day he had relied more on the dry erase board than she knew he liked to, giving her an indication of just how tired he was.

Finished setting up, he sat beside her on the floor patted her leg. Turning her head to the side, she started to laugh as she saw the small television and dvd player he had set up on a stool by the sink.

"You must think I'm in here for the long haul" she teased. It felt good to laugh; she viewed it as a way to push the darkness further from sight.

He wrote:

I have all seven seasons of the West Wing ready to go. We'll stay in here as long as we have to.

She smiled at his underlined word. "I love you – you're a big giant goof and I love you" she told him.

"Th-thank you" he grinned. Picking up the remote control, he pressed play and the sweeping notes of the music filled the bathroom.

Feeling a little less dizzy, Robin pulled herself to a sitting position and crawled into his lap. Patrick's arms instinctively closed around her and he kissed the top of her head.

Tilting her head to the side, she looked up and smiled. "You make me feel less crazy" she said kindly.

Patrick shook his head. "Not crazy. B-b-brave."

Entwining her fingers through his, she stared ahead at the television. "I don't feel very brave," she admitted. "Like this – living on my bathroom floor – I feel….weak."

Patrick was quiet for several beats before slowly disentangling his fingers from hers. Reaching inside his shirt, he pulled out the Michael the Archangel medallion that had already seen him through so much – more than he even realized – and placed it around her neck. Dipping his head, he kissed the soft spot just under her ear.

"N-not weak. Warrior" he whispered.