Two weeks later…
Patrick leaned heavily on Sabrina as she unlocked the door to his apartment not because he needed to (well, at least not as much as he was), but because he wanted to. Ever since he woke up in the hospital, he and Sabrina had been closer than ever. She had finally let go of her reservations and agreed to give their relationship another try and he was ecstatic. Although Sabrina hadn't left his side except to work or take care of Emma in the past few weeks, hospitals weren't exactly conducive to privacy, so Patrick was definitely glad to be home.
As soon as they walked through the door, Emma plowed into his legs, knocking him off balance. "DADDY!"
Sabrina said, "Emma, honey… careful," as she stabilized him. Patrick said, "It's okay," to Sabrina and then reached down and patted Emma on the head. When she looked up, he smiled. "Hey, kiddo. I missed you."
Emma squeezed his leg harder. "I missed you too, Daddy."
"Emma, why don't we let daddy sit down on the couch and then you can give him a careful hug, okay?" Sabrina said as she steered the two of them toward the couch.
As soon as Patrick sat down, wincing in pain, Emma bounded up next to him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "I was so scared for you daddy," she whispered and then started crying onto his shirt.
Patrick patted Emma on the back in comfort. "I was scared for you, too, honey, which is why the mean lady shot me. But, I'm okay and I'm not going anywhere."
Emma looked up. "What about mommy?"
"A lot of people who care about your mommy are looking for her right now and will bring her home as soon as they can." Patrick shifted Emma so that she was sitting on his lap. "I know she wants nothing more than to be here with you."
Emma looked down sadly. "I miss her. I wish she could stay here."
"I know you do, sweetheart. And, I know that mommy misses you, too. But, in the meantime, you have me and Sabrina, okay?" When Emma glumly nodded, Sabrina added, "And Sarah, too," as the sitter came out of the kitchen.
Sara looked at Emma and then at Patrick. Worriedly, she said, "Dr. Drake… I'm so sorry… I tried to stop them, but…"
Patrick felt horrible that Sarah had gotten caught in the middle of the explosive situation, so he said, "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. I don't blame you."
Sarah nodded resolutely and then said, "Hey, Emma, we'd better get to Darcy's or you're going to miss her birthday sleepover."
When Emma hesitated and then turned around and burrowed back into him, he whispered, "You don't want to miss Darcy's party, do you? You've been looking forward to it for so long."
In response, Emma just whimpered, so Patrick gently pried her off of him. "Emma, honey, it will be fine. You can go to Darcy's tonight and I'll be here tomorrow morning when you come back. I promise."
"Promise, daddy?"
"Absolutely," Patrick said reassuringly.
At that, Sabrina chimed in. "I'll pick you up for your daddy tomorrow morning after breakfast, okay?" Then, she helped Emma climb off of him and assisted her with her coat as Sarah gathered Emma's overnight bag and Darcy's present. Then, Patrick smiled as he watched Sabrina and Emma hug goodbye sweetly right before Emma came over and kissed him goodbye.
Once the door closed behind Emma and Sarah, Patrick held up his hand to Sabrina and waved her over. When she sat down next to him on the couch, he pulled her close and said, "Alone at last."
Sabrina looked up at him with a side-eye. "Patrick…"
"What?" he asked innocently.
"You literally just got out of the hospital. You need rest," she scolded.
Patrick tipped her chin up gently with his free hand. "No, Sabrina, I need you," he murmured right before he leaned in and kissed her.