Chapter 212

One love

As they pulled out of the driveway Patrick looked at Robin from the corner of his eye. "Tell me again," he asked.

With an exaggerated sigh, Robin rolled her eyes. "Maxie is an excellent babysitter. She knows first aid, knows all the numbers for the hospital and her and Kathleen are going to be fine." As the tiniest of smiles formed on her lips, she carried on. "Who could have ever guessed that out of the two of us, you would be the worrier?"

"Shut up" he groused good naturedly.

She placed her hand on his thigh and gave it a small squeeze. "Patrick, this is our bachelor party and we are one day from being married. We have earned good luck and worry free days."

Exhaling slowly, he nodded. "I know but it's just…leaving her with someone else – with anyone else," he amended, "is so hard."

"I know," she reassured him, curling her fingers through his, "but we can't wrap her in cotton. She's going to get bumps and bruises and she's going to be fine. You and I both were."

"I hate it when you're more rational than I am," he told her, his eyes still firmly glued to the road.

"I always was," she teased, "you just never noticed."

As they pulled into the parking lot a Jake's, Patrick shook his head. "Tell me again why I'm marrying you?"

"Because no one else will have you" she replied with a grin. "And you love me."

"Right," he smiled. "I knew there was something there."

Both of them had turned down offers of a bachelor and bachelorette party, neither particularly interested in celebrating the end of singledom but their friends had insisted and with a few guidelines in place had finally allowed them to organize a small party at Jake's.

As they pulled open the doors to the bar it was clear that their definition of small and their friends' definition were two entirely different things. The bar was packed with what seemed like half the town and the seedy décor had been replaced, albeit temporarily, with bright balloons, streamers and quite possibly the largest mistletoe either of them had ever seen.

Brenda spotted them first and bounded over. "Thank god you're here! I thought maybe you had tried to make a get away and elope to Vegas or something."

Patrick's eyes widened as he looked at Robin. "That's an option?" Grabbing her hand he pulled her towards the door. "Let's go!"

"Not so fast buster!" Brenda commanded, grabbing hold of his arm. "That ship has sailed."

"Dammit" he muttered under his breath.

"Pardon me?" the fiery brunette asked.

"I said I'm thrilled to be here" he replied with a grin.

"That's what I thought. Come on in - Coleman has made some special drinks in your collective honour and we are selling pool games against Robin for $10 each."

"Against me?" she asked in surprise. "Why me?"

"Because you will win. Your husband to be, according to his best man, does not possess any talents on the pool table."

Scrunching up his face, Patrick shook his head. "I wouldn't say I don't possess any talents, in fact I'm quite good on the pool table."

"Lalalalalalalalalalalala!" Brenda sang with her ears plugged.

As they came through to the main part of the bar, they were almost overwhelmed by well wishers. Neither of them had any idea the number of people who wanted to share in their happiness. They shared several laughs with Epiphany, Elizabeth and some of their closest colleagues who had all shared a front row seat to their burgeoning relationship. Darren and Melinda joined in wishing them well and Robin hugged them both tightly.

Sonny spent almost an hour speaking with Robin in a far corner, mostly away from prying eyes, in which he reiterated to her how immensely proud he was of her and she had accomplished. Several tears trickled from the corners of her eyes when he told her what he was most proud of, what he was most impressed with, was the way she had opened herself up to love again when many others, including himself, had held on to the pain and the grief of loss until it practically debilitated them.

Patrick played pool with Eric. The two friends said little – few words were ever needed between them – but both were grateful to be in the moment with the other. They had each come so close to missing it, to missing out, and neither of them took it for granted.

As Robin found Brenda through the crowd of people, she grabbed two drinks and then commandeered her friend to a booth.

"I'm really glad you're here," she told Brenda.

Brenda smiled. "I wouldn't have missed any of this for the world. Look at all these people Robs, they're here for you because they love you and they are so excited for you."

"I'm really quite a lucky girl. But mostly I'm really lucky because you are my best friend. You and I have seen each other through terrible times and good times and I want you to know that there isn't anyone on this planet that I would have rather had by my side than you. You pushed me when I needed it, held me up when I couldn't stand and you loved me through everything. So in case I haven't said it before – thank you for being my friend."

Brenda smiled lovingly at the woman she had long considered a little sister and reaching across the table, squeezed her hand. "Right back at you."

Both women jumped as Brenda's watched started to bleat loudly and seeing Robin's curious look, she smiled sheepishly. "We have a small surprise for you and Patrick and well….I have things running on a schedule around here. So if you'll excuse me, I'm off to get things set up."

Watching as her best friend dashed from view Robin could do little but shake her head. Easing her way from the booth she saw Patrick looking for her. Sidling up to him she slipped her hand inside of his.

"You look perplexed," she remarked.

"Look over there," he said, jerking his head towards the front of the bar. Mac, Noah and Brenda were deep in conversation.

"Oh god," Robin groaned, "nothing good can come from that."

"I know" he agreed, taking a sip of his beer. "One more day and then we're married and we can tranquilize Brenda," he teased.

Brenda tried in vain to call for people's attention but when they continued to ignore her, she climbed on the bar and let out a loud wolf whistle. The crowd quieted down immediately and Brenda climbed down ceding the floor to Mac and Noah.

"As you all know, tomorrow Robin and Patrick will be married and tonight we have all gathered together to bid them good luck as they start their journey together" Noah began. "And in that spirit, we thought it would be appropriate-"

"And fun!" Mac chimed in.

"And fun," he agreed, "to take a look back at how they got to this point."

"This video was the brainchild of some friends who will remain nameless unless either the bride or the groom would like to cough up some cash," Mac said. "And it is a reflection of the love and affection that your friends and your family feel for you. Enjoy!"

The lights dimmed, a video screen was pulled from the ceiling and music began to swell through the bar as the first images appeared on screen. There were photos of Patrick in Mattie's arms on his first day home from the hospital; Robin in a high chair being fed by Filomena; Patrick's first steps and Robin colouring on a wall.

The room erupted in laughter as a short clip of Patrick, aged three, naked in the tub appeared showing him giggling at the bubbles he was making in the water.

He held Robin in front of him, his arms around her waist, as newer photos appeared – Robin with her parents; Patrick winning first prize in the science fair. She reached for Mac's hand as a photo from the Nurses' Ball showing him wrapping her in a quilt square appeared and Mac returned her squeeze with a watery smile.

There were photos from college, Halloween parties, Christmases and Thanksgivings. Noah and Patrick shared a look as the picture from his med school graduation appeared. Noah had worked very hard to be sober that day and while there was obvious distance between them in the photo, it was a reminder that Patrick had not marked that milestone alone.

The music changed to a slow lilt as the remaining pictures were of them as a couple – at the Rangers game, at Christmas and celebrating New Year's in Scotland. There was a fast edit of Robin's growing belly through the months and a precious photo of Patrick asleep in the rocking chair with Kathleen in his arms.

A new video clip appeared and Robin gasped as both of her parents appeared on the screen.

"Luv," Anna began, "your father and I both wish very much that we could be with you tomorrow, to celebrate this special day with you but alas despite our best efforts it was not meant to be. But we want you to know how proud we are of you and the woman you have become. Your Patrick is a fine man and we could not have chosen better for you if we had picked him ourselves."

Robert nodded. "We cannot wait to meet our granddaughter and look forward to spending some time with you very soon. Until then, know we love you and we wish you nothing but happiness. You are in good hands, as you've always been, with Mac and we look forward to hearing all about your special day. We love you Robin."

"With all our hearts" Anna added as she blew a kiss to the camera.

Robin wiped at her tears and Patrick, leaning forward, nuzzled her neck.

The video continued with a series of pictures of Kathleen, ending with a final shot of Robin and Patrick lying on their bed with their daughter cradled between them.

Loud applause filled the room as the lights came up and Noah and Mac called for everyone's attention.

"They say," Mac began, "that it takes a village to raise a child but I also believe it takes a village to support and honour a family. And so, Patrick and Robin as you look around this room know that your village is behind you, supporting you and loving you and we will be doing all we can to ensure your continued successes both professionally and personally. You are both, along with wee Kathleen, very important to all of us and we are filled with joy that you have found each other."

Noah raised his glass. "To Robin and Patrick!"