DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING, SADLY NOT EVEN PATCH :( HIM AND ALL OTHER CHARACTERS ASIDE FROM GRANDMA CLISTA BELONG TO BECCA FITZPATRICK AND HUSH HUSH SAGA

THANK-YOU THANK-YOU THANK-YOU THANK-YOU TO ALL WHO ARE REVIEWING! YOUR WORDS ARE KEEPING ME INSPIRED TO FINISH THIS STORY. THIS BEING MY FIRST ONE I'M DEFINITELY WORRIED ABOUT FINISHING IT AND KEEPING EVERYONE HAPPY AS I CAN WHILE STAYING TRUE TO MYSELF AND MY STORY. THIS WAS MEANT TO BE A RATHER SHORT STORY AND AS YOU SEE I AM AT CHAPTER 20 ALREADY SO...FAILED THAT ONE. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO DECIDE WHEN WRITING, SO MANY THINGS I WANT TO EXPLORE WITH THESE TWO CHARACTERS, BUT AS A FIRST TIME WRITER I AM TRYING VERY HARD TO NOT TACKLE TOO MUCH, IT'S HARD ENOUGH KEEPING UP WITH THIS AND MY STORY INEVITABLE ON TOP OF THE ONE SHOTS I GET CIRCLING IN MY HEAD OR THE OTHER STORY IDEA'S BADGERING AT ME TO BE WRITTEN. PATCH AND NORA HAVE BECOME AN OBSESSION FOR ME...I MAY NEED INTERVENTION SOON LOL... THANKS AGAIN TO ALL WHO ARE READING, ESPECIALLY THOSE REVIEWING, THE MORE REVIEWS THE MORE INSPIRED I BECOME AND THE FASTER I WRITE :) SO THOSE WHO READ THANK THE ONE'S WHO REVIEW FOR GIVING YOU NEW MATERIAL!

CHAPTER 20

WISE WORDS FROM A WISE LADY

When Patch had bled out his tears, grief and guilt for the time being Clista spoke up.

"You know kid, no one could ever make Nora do anything she didn't want to whole heartedly herself, including you. I knew from the first moment that you were going to be trouble, not that I was expecting her to love you with her entire heart and soul from that the first minute she laid her little eyes on you, nor did I know at first it would grow into the kind of love that would consume as she grew. You grew on me though, you became my grandson and I saw the way you loved her in return, you looked out for her better than even the most attentive of parents do their young. Boy did she give you a run for your money quite a few times as I recall. Every time you guys worked it out, even when she made you want to pull your hair out." Clista chuckled. "The one thing that never changed was the love and commitment you both shared, the way your lives had entangled into each other until you were one unit that not even Dabria, as much as you loved her at the time, could have reviled. Yes, Nora was eaten alive with jealousy and fear of losing the thing that was her life, more than that though she wanted YOUR happiness and she did what she did to make sure you got what she felt you deserved. If that had been Dabria she would have been as happy as she could be for you because only you meant that much to her. She had her doubts and they proved to be right, she struggled for a couple of weeks with the right way to handle what she had found out, knowing the information she had would shatter your heart and dreams, that it would change everything. Her and I spoke and she realized sooner or later that would happen anyhow and she didn't want you falling any deeper in love than you already were or for Dabria to steal anymore from you than she already had. Nora risked losing you by sharing what she knew, as always she had your back and she always will. As much as your change crushed her and shattered her own dreams of a life and future she had envisioned for herself with you, she also knew you were her life and soul, without you she wasn't really Nora so she sucked it up and dealt with the pain taking whatever she could get from you. She knew that in your own way you still loved her more than anyone else and when her family turned and bailed on her it was you she would always choose with no doubts. Nora never questioned that you would find a way to make it all better, she never doubted if you would continue to take care of her as you always had. You did the best you could, Stud, with the cards life dealt you and no one understood that better than Nora. She would have rather died than let you know she was hurting in any way, she knew you weren't ready so she held on to the hope that maybe some day you would be and I did everything in my power to encourage her to do that. I told you kids to follow your hearts and she did, she always has, when given an ultimatum she chooses you every time because you are her heart. I pray that you find that your heart also lies with hers, that the future you both want lies with the both of you together." Clista patted his hand then looked at the fading bruises on her granddaughters cheeks. "If anyone can pull through all of this it is our Nora. She has already defied odd after odd to be here: plunging into the river, the miracle that there was another motorist with life saving skills on the scene the moment it happened who was able to free her from the car and revive her, then her internal injuries and bleeding, the hours and hours of surgery and care it has taken to get us to this point. She is one tough little cookie so don't go giving up on her now Stud, you deserve happiness, you deserve to be together. Make up for lost time and pain by making her happier than you already have, if that is what you truly want. Follow your heart Patch, it won't ever lead you wrong. Only you know what you are capable and willing to give and where you are in your life and where you want to be in hers now. Nora made the choice to follow her heart, she made the choice to follow you, she made the choice to live the lives you two have lived together, no one made those choices but her so enough with your guilt over choices she alone made, not you. Focus on the future son, that is what matters the most now, you never know as you can see when those moments may be stolen from you. The best you can do is the best you can do, live each moment as if it were your last, love someone each moment as if it were your last, and follow that big heart of yours. Don't look at me like that, her and I both know as well as you that you still have one or you wouldn't be sitting here. Keep in mind, everything you experienced with Nora was a choice she made, she could have walked away at any instant and chose not to. She knew what you were and weren't capable of giving her. No one held a gun to Nora's head making her continue to have sex with you or be there when the next tramp left your bed. She went in with both eyes wide open just like she went in that mud hole with her new dress on without your help. Those decisions are on her, not you. Now, this old lady needs some coffee and lunch so I will be back in a little while." Clista put her hand on his cheek and pressed a kiss to the top of his head before excusing herself so he could have time to absorb all she had said to him.

Sitting in the cafeteria with all the throng of Doctors and nurses in their colored scrubs and the other visitors eating her turkey sandwich and chicken noodle soup, Clista though about her conversation with Patch and the one she had overheard. She hoped she had been in time, that it wasn't too late for him to make such big changes. The walls he had built had been so high, so thick and so impenetrable for so long. As much as she hated what happened to her granddaughter, it would never be a blessing, something good could still come of it at least she hoped. For almost six years Patch had been a playboy living up to her title for him from so long ago. He was every bit the 'Stud' she knew that he could be, she had watched him grow up and somewhere still hidden in him was that sweet little boy who had captured both hers and Nora's hearts, even if he had himself and everyone else convinced he wasn't, that he had died with Dabria to NEVER come back. That was the thing about love, it often made a fool of you and you were almost always glad it did when it happened to you. He had done a good job, she surmised, of convincing himself and others. If he did change would it last so that him and Nora would get their happy ever after or would her granddaughter end up shattered beyond repair if he couldn't do it? No, she thought, I can't think that way, these kids love each other and have been more devoted than any married couple she met since her Nick was alive with her and that was saying a lot since her and Nick were pretty damn perfect together. They were the couple back then that everyone wanted to be, they had the relationship every parent wants for their son or daughter, at least any good parent. When hard times hit or disagreements, as any couples have, they always loved each other through it. You don't have to always like someone to love them and that undying love pulled them through a hell of a lot. Harrison would even have had to admit his parents marriage was the personification of what it meant to truly love someone and be devoted to them selflessly.

Patch had consented to Blythe and Harrison visiting Nora each day for a limited time. He would leave ten minutes before they were to arrive and be back ten minutes after they were to be gone. The nurses had strict orders that they were not welcome to stay past their allotted time. He had started the first day with an hour in mind when the beeper the hospital had given him suddenly went off. Patch had run with fear in his heart the whole way back up to Nora's room. Her parents had been removed from the room by the Doctor's who said her heart rate and blood pressure had suddenly spiked again and they weren't sure what had caused it. Patch worried maybe it was him being gone, but that didn't feel like the right answer in his gut. He pondered it a while and a light went on causing him to question if her parents hadn't caused the stress. Who knew what those two were capable of saying while she laid there, especially Blythe. If she could hear or feel their presence like others assumed she could it wouldn't be far from the reaction her parents always gave her. Stress. Patch decided to try cutting back their visiting time to half and hour which, of course, set off the fury of the Greys' and their "rights to their daughter had been violated by someone with the likes of him who should not be allowed to dictate, after all, don't they understand that they are a founding family of Coldwater Creek and outstanding in the community and huge financial contributors to the Coldwater Creek hospital?" they loudly informed everyone. The helpless staff was caught in the middle of the feud, but bound by law so they repeatedly went back to the legally binding documents and time and again informed the Grey's it was Patch's decision until a judge said otherwise and no judge would, those papers were as air tight as they came. Nora's word had been made law, and Nora's word was spelled P-A-T-C-H.

The next visit went the same as the last one, startling everyone. It had only been thirty minutes for Gods sake, thought Patch! Nora had stressed again, that wasn't good for her healing. Once again he had changed their visiting down to a mere fifteen minutes. Nothing, nothing had caused that reaction in her besides lowering her medication to wake her in the whole time she had been there. Patch knew he was going to pay hell for this from them, when hadn't he since Dabria and even before that to a lessor extent? They had always viewed him as corruption to their daughter because he jeopardized their plans for Saint Rixon and Nora, plans he disgustingly had to now admit he had tried to talk her into that night at the fountain, he was no better than them in that moment just as she had pointed out. They hadn't given a thought of Nora's feelings on that marriage or on love. Ever. They never cared or asked if Nora loved Rixon or how she saw her relationship with the younger Cipriano. No, they blamed him which he didn't mind, what Patch minded was how they repeatedly did and said things to hurt his Angel, even before disowning her. He hadn't wanted to marry Vee for the same reasons Nora didn't want to marry Rixon. The difference was that Vee had...gotten over her crush on Patch, Rixon hadn't that he had been aware of before the accident. Her parents could lawyer up and try to fight him, make him pay for the choices he was making, but Clista had been right, her lawyer was the best in the business, he'd done some research, if they did try to fight it they wouldn't be counting on the money he had already stock piled between his new company and the yet unannounced position he held as partner to Angelo in his advertising company. No one knew about Cipriano Enterprise, Inc., all deals were drawn up anonymously. Blythe and Harrison could bring it, he'd happily throw down a gauntlet with them for Nora.

This time the Grey's visit went without a hitch, no pager alert giving Patch a much-needed break if only for some awful cafeteria food and coffee with a measly fifteen minutes to scarf it down. He knew he should be stepping away sometimes to keep his sanity for at least a few minutes a day, but he just couldn't. These fifteen minutes alone had him stressed out, being away from Nora's side. It had been a nightmare of epic proportions when he was told to go home and get some rest the first few days of being there by the Scooby Doo gang. They had said they would take turns sitting with Nora, but Patch physically couldn't leave her side. Their magnetic pull was still fully intact and stronger than ever. If she was there than so was he.

Patch was getting more business done from there now than he was in the beginning, well, as much as he could without leaving for meetings. Now that he knew how she'd felt about him, and even more recently, coming to terms with his own very real feelings for her that he had kept even from himself it seemed. No, with all the new happening there was no way he was leaving Nora more than absolutely required. Patch had thought long and hard about those feeling he had for her. In the beginning he had denied it again to himself, as he looked deeper he thought about how he just had to still hold her so tightly in his arms, to know where she was and that she was okay at all times. Sure it had been that way since they were kids, but after Dabria and all those women it was still Nora he needed and only her that he would do that with. He hadn't felt that way with anyone, including Dabria, he had never given it a thought if she were running late or he didn't know exactly where she was or who she was with. Patch went deeper yet and examined their very, very intimate sex life. Him and Nora had explored so much together which said a lot considering playboy Patch had been in some pretty wild situations on his own, but the connection of theirs, though not ever talked about between them, had always felt very different to him. It felt like it from the moment he had touched her in preparation to take her virginity all those years ago, like he was home at last where he was truly meant to be when he was with her. There was still that crackle of electricity he felt course through his entire body at any and every touch between them, intimate or not, that he hadn't gotten from anyone else, only her. Could that have been a sign? He had insisted she move in with him, sharing his room, refusing to bring girls back to his place anymore, he would go to the girls house or a hotel regardless of the fact that she had been at his home almost constantly with women in and out before that. It hadn't been enough for him... How many times had they pulled the marriage sham to get the girls he had brought home the night before out that drug their feet leaving? That thought alone broke his heart thinking of what she had done for him, putting aside the thing she wanted most while pretending she had it and he had been too cold and too blind to notice or appreciate it. Patch thought about all of their heart to heart talks, sharing all their thoughts and feelings, he hadn't noticed her omissions back then, what kind of best friend wouldn't have felt or noticed those he asked himself. Patch had told her not to settle, had he meant for anyone else but him without knowing it? It was true that the idea of any man so much as shaking her hand aside from his brother made his skin crawl and more than that it had made him physically sick and filled with rage: jealousy. Patch hadn't thought of it that way though, he had never been that way with any girl, including Dabria, he hadn't felt that way even when they would flirt with other guys in front of him. He thought it was because the girls were a dime a dozen, for every girl there were a hundred more still begging for his attention. He was a cock snob, he knew he was hot and he knew how to be charming when needed and when to lay on the sexual innuendo's to get what he wanted, even his voice or glance had ladies panties dropping which only served to make his ego the size of its own country as Nora jokingly put it, now even that side of him was changed. Not that he didn't do those things with Nora, cause he did for sure, but there was love behind it and respect, always. It finally dawned on him just how long this had gone on...a long, long, long time. He could read her eyes, her face, practically hear her thoughts, she must have carefully turned away from him at those moments discreetly or perfected the mask that he had mastered. Probably a little of both. Was he ready to change everything he was? How he lived? Everything about himself now? As he looked at the angel in front of him he knew he would do anything for her and now for himself, yes, he was finally going to admit that he had been in love with her for much longer than he wanted to say, he had pushed that very thing away as far and as hard as he could, no more he vowed to her and to himself. When she came out of this and came back to him he was going to find a way to break his new epiphany to her and convince her to at the very least let them try to be more. He would do anything and everything to convince her he wanted her and her alone from now on, that he wanted to settle down with her now no matter how long it took, even if it was years he would wait, just as she had for him.

Alright folks, grandma has spoken and Patch has come a long ways, yes? Next chapter will be Waking Up Nora... has she heard anything? Does she remember anything? What has her time 'away' been like? Hope you're enjoying and don't forget to review review review :)