Chapter Twenty-Four:
"What do you mean? Who is this Sabrina and what does she want with my son?" Mark asked as he paced inside Robin's room after Patrick went to find Sabrina.
"Mark, I'm so sorry. This is all because of me. Sabrina hates me and blames me for her baby's death. She must have seen you talking to me and went after your son. I'm so sorry," Robin said. She prayed Sabrina wouldn't harm Aaron.
"He's only nine. He has no idea about any of this and he's going to be scared," Mark sat down and put his head in his hands.
"Daddy?"
Mark turned around and Aaron raced into his arms.
"Aaron? Oh thank God. Are you okay?" Mark asked as he looked at his son.
Patrick walked in behind him and smiled.
"He was a little lost, but I helped him find his way from the nurses station back here," he said and was vague in front of Aaron.
Robin smiled at the sandy blonde haired little boy. He looked a lot like his father.
"Daddy? She has the same marks on her room like me," Aaron said as he looked at the alerts on the wall of Robin's room, signaling her HIV.
"I do," Robin smiled. "My name is Robin. You must be Aaron."
Mark took a deep breath and was so relieved. He turned to Patrick while Aaron spoke to Robin.
"Thank you so much. Was it that nurse? Did someone purposefully take him to the wrong place?"
Patrick stepped into the hall with Mark.
"I'm sorry. I think it was Sabrina. Her handwriting was on the note and when I went to her station, Aaron was sitting in the lobby, just waiting. He said the nurse came to your office to take him to see you and she left him there. I will find Sabrina and make sure this doesn't happen again. I'm truly sorry."
Mark crossed his arms and nodded.
"Robin said this woman blames her for her baby's death?"
Patrick sighed.
"Sabrina was pregnant with my child and we were in a car accident. She delivered early and our son died soon after."
"It was your child?" Mark realized there was a huge complicated relationship going on here.
"Yeah. It's a long story, and for reasons too long to get into, she blames Robin."
Mark nodded.
"Do you?"
"What? No. Robin has been more a victim in all of this than any of us."
Mark waited and then he walked into the room.
"Daddy, Robin is pretty cool. I like her."
Mark smiled and Robin grinned.
"I think Aaron is pretty cool, too."
"You know what else I think?" Aaron asked him.
"What's that?"
"I think you need to get me a phone. If I had a phone, you wouldn't have been worried."
The adults all laughed and Mark ruffled Aaron's hair.
"Keep trying. No phones for nine year olds."
Aaron sighed and Robin grinned at him.
Patrick looked up as Elizabeth walked in.
"Mark? This is Elizabeth, one of our best nurses. She will take you and Aaron the correct way to the unit."
Liz walked up to Aaron.
"I have a son your age named Cameron. Maybe he can come visit with you when you're settled," she smiled and looked at Aaron. "In the meantime, he lent me this in case you might want to play."
She handed him a video game and Aaron's face lit up.
"No way, really? Dad did you see this?"
Mark smiled at his son's happiness and he caught Elizabeth's eye, blushing a little.
"That's awesome," he walked over and looked at the game with his son.
Liz smiled at Patrick and Robin and looked longer at Robin.
"He's cute," she mouthed to Robin.
"I know," she grinned and watched as Liz left with them.
Patrick watched them leave and he walked back to Robin and sat down.
"Did you find Sabrina?"
He sighed.
"No. She wasn't even on tonight. I just know the note was written by her."
"We need to be careful. She hates me, Patrick. She spoke to Emma the other day in a way I won't tolerate. She needs to back the hell off."
"What? What did she say? Why didn't you tell me?"
"She called me Scorpio instead of Scorpio Drake and Emma was upset that I didn't have the same name. I told her my name was still Scorpio Drake just like hers. Then she told Emma I was involved in Gabriel's death."
"Fuck," Patrick said and put his head in his hands. "Robin, I'm so sorry."
"You aren't responsible for her," she said. "But if she comes after our daughter, I don't care what she's been through. I mean it."
He nodded.
"I agree."
They were both quiet and he sighed.
"Was Emma okay? She didn't say anything to me about this."
Robin looked at him and her eyes were wet.
"What's wrong? Are you in pain?" his concern was immediate and she let herself appreciate it for a moment.
"No, she is such an amazing girl, Patrick. We talked and I explained how I never wanted to cause her any hurt. I told her how I wished I could have been there for both of you when Gabriel was born. She asked me if I had wanted to come home and I told her I did," she stopped when her tears fell and Patrick felt a lump in his throat.
"She told me that I had nothing to be sorry for and she loved me. She said I was her best friend."
Patrick smiled at her and she wiped her eyes.
"She is an amazing girl. I'm so proud to be her dad," he said.
"You have done an amazing job with her, Patrick. I don't think you can ever know how much that means to me."
"Robin, she's my daughter, too. You talk like I'm doing you a favor and I'm not. We made Emma together and although I may not have thought I would ever be a father, she is simply the best thing I have ever done."
Robin watched him talk and her heart did that familiar jump around him.
"Emma is the reason I get up in the morning. She gave me purpose and life when I felt like I had no reason to smile. She is everything to me and that isn't something I will ever lose sight of."
"I hear you. I didn't mean it like that. I am just so thankful she's healthy and happy. I'm grateful for you being here when I couldn't be. I'm grateful to you for so many things."
He went back to her and sat down.
"I'm grateful to you for so many things, too."
She rolled her eyes and sniffed.
"I don't know about that. I'm not sure how much I've done for you that would be something you would look at with happiness. I have caused you so much pain. I truly wish I could have been the wife you wanted; the one you deserved."
"Robin, you are the wife I wanted and you are the one who hasn't deserved any of this. Our lives were amazing and forces outside of our control ripped that apart. You suffered so much and I did things I can never take back, but I think it's time to look forward. I think it's time we stop letting other people dictate what happens to us."
She looked at him and her eyes were again swimming.
"Sometimes I think that would be amazing."
"Then why not let it happen? Why not allow me in? Why not give me a chance to fix things?"
"You don't need to fix anything, Patrick. We just aren't those people anymore."
He nodded.
"You're right. We've grown and suffered and learned. We've been through hell and from where I stand, we've survived. I'm not asking to simply snap our fingers and go back in time. I'm asking if the people we are now, in this moment, might be worth a chance?"
"I don't know. I don't know that I can move on. I don't know that I believe you would want to be with me if Sam weren't back with Jason. I don't want you to settle and I know I won't settle. I want to be the person you choose because it's what you want and not simply what you're afraid to be without. I won't be a fallback."
He moved to sit on the bed, facing her.
"You aren't the fallback. You were the one I wanted but couldn't have. You have always been the one I wanted."
"I hear you, but I feel like it isn't true. You made me wait when I came home and I know I said I understood, but it broke something in me, Patrick. I didn't understand how you could let me out of your sight that night. I knew it would be hard, but I never thought you would pick someone else. I think that just made me realize the fantasy world I had been living in my head wasn't going to happen. My worst fears were realized. I can't forget that feeling."
"I hear you, and I'm truly sorry," he said as he stood up. "Before I leave, can I get you anything?"
She swallowed her tears and nodded.
"Can you help me to the chair? I need to take a nap and I can't carry the blanket over there."
"Robin, you can sleep in the bed," he said.
"No I can't. I need to get out of the bed. If you don't want to help me, then you can go."
"Why can't you stay in bed? Will you let me help you with that? Can you tell me what happened?"
"I was tied down and tortured, that's what happened. Now will you help me?"
He sighed and moved back to the bed, facing her.
"You're scared to verbalize what you went through and I need for you to say it. You need to let it out so you aren't carrying it."
"No I don't. I can handle it. I have always been able to handle myself, Patrick and I can do this. I don't need help. I don't need anyone," she said and started to cry.
"You're such a bad liar," he said softly. "I know you. I've seen you at your worst and it has never meant you lacked strength. What you have endured is more than anyone should ever have to live through. I'm simply asking you to let me try and help you sort this out. Maybe it will be a tiny way I can begin to build back your trust."
She looked at him and her resolve was fading. She needed to tell someone. She needed to begin to heal.
"They tied me to the bed at night so I wouldn't try to escape. They let me walk around during the day when I was working on their cure, but at night, they didn't trust me. They tied me to the bed at night."
He felt his heart break and his anger flooded his veins.
"I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what they must have been like."
"It's not that. I mean that wasn't the only issue," she said softly. "It was at night that," she stopped.
"What? That what? Please tell me," he pleaded.
She pulled the sheet higher up around her and looked at her hands.
"That the man came into the room."