CH 24

"I think I was finally able to get Emma back down" Patrick said walking back into the living room.

"Good. At least one of us was" Robin replied from her seat on the couch.

"It's going to take some time Robin."

"Yeah. That's what everyone keeps telling me." Robin still hadn't moved back into the house she once shared with her husband and daughter, but they were slowly beginning to reintegrate her back into Emma's life. Starting with tucking her in at night. Unfortunately on this night Emma woke up from a nightmare and cried for Sabrina. "Maybe you should just call her. In case Emma wakes up again."

"I uh… I don't think that'll be necessary" Patrick said looking down at his feet. His mind flashed back to seeing Sabrina with Ethan at the Floating Rib a week earlier. It took everything in him not to knock Ethan's lights out and grab Sabrina by her arm and carry her out of there. She didn't belong with Ethan. She belonged with him. Patrick knew that in his heart even if Sabrina didn't.

"You love her don't you?" Robin asked reading Patrick's thoughts.

"Who?" He replied know exactly who she meant.

"Patrick, I'm not stupid or blind. You love Sabrina. Don't you?"

Patrick looked around the room and ran his fingers through his hair trying to avoid the question.

"Be honest with me!" Robin said raising her voice.

"Yes! Ok. Yes, I love Sabrina, but you already knew that, Robin." He responded.

Robin lowered her head to hide the pain in her eyes "Do you love me?"

"Robin…"

"Don't answer that. Instead answer something else for me. You and Sabrina not being together right now, is that you're doing?" She asked raising her head.

"I don't think I understand what you mean."

"You know exactly what I mean, Patrick. She walked away, didn't she?"

"Yes" He whispered.

"That's why you can't get over her, because there's no closure. She took that away for you. I understand now. The way you look at her, it makes sense now."

"Robin…" Patrick tried to interrupt.

"No, its fine Patrick. You should talk to her. Ya know, get everything out in the open. The three of us can't move on as a family until that's settled. Call her." She said standing up from the sofa.

"I can't do that…"

"Yes you can. Do you want me to call her?" She asked with panic in here voice.

"Robin slow down for a minute" Patrick tried to place his hand on her shoulder but she pulled away.

"Patrick, its fine. Give me your phone. I'll call her." Robin reached for Patrick's phone on the coffee table.

"Robin, stop!" Patrick said grabbing the phone away from her

Robin looked at Patrick and could see it in his eyes. She had seen this look before but she was choosing to ignore it. She thought that if she didn't acknowledge it, it would just go away but it wasn't. "You want her, don't you?" She asked with tears streaming down her face. "If she had given you the choice, you would have chosen her…"

"Robin…"

"Would you have chosen her?!" She screamed as Patrick just stood there with this head hanging down. When he finally met his eyes with hers, she saw his answer "I have to get out of here" She said grabbing her purse and heading to the door."

"Robin wait…" Patrick called after her, but he didn't stop her from leaving. She knew the truth. Patrick couldn't lie to her anymore. Now he just had to make Sabrina listen to him.

"Good morning, Dr. Drake" Elizabeth said in a chipper voice.

"Good morning, Elizabeth. Oh, nice flowers." He said noticing the vase of white roses sitting on the counter of the nurses' station. "From AJ?"

"Actually, no. They're not for me."

"No? Who are they for?" He said flipping through a patient chart.

"Um… I'm not really sure I should answer that." She replied.

Patrick looked up from his patient file and noticed the embarrassed look on her face. He set the file down, picked up the card and read Sabrina's name on the envelop. "Let me guess, Ethan?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"I would assume so. I know they've gotten… close." She said looking away.

"Yeah, I know. I saw them on a date last week." He sighed.

"Oh Patrick, I'm sorry."

"He doesn't even know her favorite flower." He whispered to himself "I need to get some air." Patrick threw the card on the counter and headed for the elevator. Once the doors closed he hit R for roof. He had to clear his mind. So much was happening at once. Robin was devastated at his non admission of the obvious, Sabrina was dating someone else, and Emma was crying out for the only mother she could truly remember. Patrick's life was in disarray and he didn't know how to even begin to fix it.

He walked towards the doors to the roof and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her. He looked out and saw Sabrina leaning forward against the wall looking exactly how he felt. "Hey" He called from the door.

Sabrina jumped at the sound of his voice "Patrick… what are you doing up here?"

"The same as you, I supposed." He said slowly walking towards her. "A lot on my mind."

"Oh, well let me give you some privacy" She said trying to walk past him.

Patrick grabbed her arm and pulled her back "Stop doing that."

"Doing what?" She asked

"Running away from me."

"Patrick, let go of me." Sabrina tried to pull her arm away but couldn't.

"I can't! Why can't you see that?! I can't let go of you Sabrina. Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?!" He yelled finally loosening his grip on her arm.

"I'm trying to do what's right, Patrick."

"If you honestly think that, you're a damn fool. None of this is right. I'm miserable. Emma is miserable" He said with tears in his eyes.

Sabrina lowered her head at the thought of Emma being in pain "I meant what I said to Emma, I'm always going to be there for her, but I have to move on. You have to let me move on."

"With Ethan?"

"That's none of your business!" She snapped

"Yes it is, Sabrina! You are my business! I hate this. Seeing you with him, I wanted to wrap my hands around his neck."

"Ethan is a good guy…"

"But does he love you the way I do?" He asked taking her face into his hands

"Patrick…"

"Does he?"

Sabrina turned her head away thinking of her and Ethan's almost drunken tryst the previous week. She knew how Ethan felt about her. He cared about her enough to stop her from making a mistake.

Patrick stepped back as if he were reading her thoughts "Exactly how serious are the two of you? Sabrina… god, please tell me you didn't sleep with him."

"And what if I did?" She said the words before thinking.

"No..." Patrick said shaking his head "You wouldn't do that to us."

"To us? Patrick, you're married! There is no us!" She yelled.

"She knows, Sabrina! Robin knows."

"She knows what?"

"That I love you. That I want to be with you. That if you hadn't stripped me of my choice, I would have chosen you. She knows everything."

"You told her that?" She asked surprised.

"I didn't have to. She asked me last night and could see it all over me. I love you. I am in love with you. You are the love of my life. I don't want to be any place you're not." He said wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Patrick, stop" she said trying to pull away.

"Never. I will never stop loving you, Sabrina" He pulled her into a kiss that practically lifted her off her feet. She struggled at first after finally giving in. She couldn't fight anymore. She missed this. She missed him. No other man had ever made her feel like this. Every time he touched her it was as if she had left her body. Every inch of her yearned for this man. Craved him. Patrick Drake was her drug of choice and there was no detox from it. Sabrina relapsed back into her addiction as she and Patrick made love on the roof of General Hospital.

"Sonny!" Robin screamed as she bolted through the front door past Max.

"Boss!" Max said trying to stop her.

"It's ok Max" Sonny replied. "What can I do for you Robin?" He asked once Max left the room.

"You can keep your daughter the hell away from my husband! That's what you can do."

"What are you talking about? They broke up, did they not?" He asked standing up from his chair and walking towards her.

"Yes, but… It's not enough. He still loves her. It's like she has some kind of a hold over him."

"Well, I'm not sure what I can do about that, Robin…"

"You better do something, Sonny. You promised me. When your guys found me in Switzerland and moved me back to the states, you promised me you would handle this."

"Robin…"

"Handle it! Because if I lose my family Sonny, you better believe I won't be the only one."