June 2, 2006

ICU: Hallway

Code Blue, Room 314. Code Blue, Room 314

Patrick halted, the blood draining from his face. “Robin.”

Lulu grabbed Dillon’s sleeve and tugged. “Robin’s in room 314?” she demanded. “What does code blue mean?”

For someone who grew up during the era of ER and Chicago Hope, Dillon just swallowed. “It’s a code, it means Robin’s heart has stopped, basically.”

Lulu’s eyes bulged and she turned to look at Patrick, but he had already taken off, covering the short distance between their position by the elevators and Robin’s room at the end of the hall. The waiting room door spilled open and Robin’s various relatives flooded out. A movement caught Lulu’s attention and she turned to see someone slipping into the emergency stairwell.

“Someone just went into that stairwell,” Lulu hissed. She tugged his sleeve again. “Come on!”

“What about Robin–” Dillon began.

“I’ve got a bad feeling that whoever just snuck away has something to do with Robin’s current condition,” Lulu remarked.

“Oh, your Spencer senses are tingling?” Dillon retorted. “Well, gee, because that’s never got us into trouble before!”

“You really have to stop pretending you’re not enjoying this,” Lulu rolled her eyes. “I’m going after the strange person in the stairwell, why don’t you decide if you’re a man or a mouse.” She slipped into the stairwell and left Dillon to glare after her.

“You totally ruined that movie quote,” he muttered more to himself than to her and then followed her into the stairwell. He’d followed Spencers into worse situations before.

ICU: Robin’s Room

He’d learned this procedure during the summer he’d worked as lifeguard at the community pool in Long Island. He remembered standing with his friends and laughing as the instructor fumbled with life sized dolls for them to practice on.

He’d been lucky that he’d never had the chance to use this, never had someone’s life in his hands like this. He was cool and confident working on a stranger as long as he had a scalpel in his hands but standing here, in this ICU, pressing down hard on the chest a woman that he’d just begun to…

There was nothing cool and confident about Patrick Drake in this moment as he frantically tried to keep Robin Scorpio from slipping away.

He heard the door swing open behind him and realized that the crash team had arrived. He knew that he had to cease his ministrations and step back so that they could do what they were trained to do but in the back of his mind, he honestly felt that if he stepped away, if he stopped for even a moment, Robin would be gone forever.

“Dr. Drake!” Megan Jennings’ sharp voice finally broke through the haze that panic had created and Patrick stepped aside, stepping back and watching with an almost detached curiosity as a nurse handed Megan the paddles and the doctor placed them on Robin’s chest.

“What’s going on?” a panicked voice demanded as Megan gave orders to bump it up. Robin’s body jerked and moved slightly into the air.

“Again!” Megan ordered. She looked at Patrick. “Get them out of here!”

It was then that Patrick realized that Robin’s aunt and cousins had flooded the doorway. And just like that, he was in control again. He led Felicia, Maxie, Georgie and Brenda in the hallway. “Let them do their work–” he began.

“She was fine!” Maxie cried. “She was awake, she was talking! What happened?”

Patrick swallowed roughly. “I don’t know.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

“Make this quick,” Mac remarked, taking a seat behind his desk. “I’ve got a full plate today–”

Jax shifted in his chair and glanced at Robert and Anna Scorpio as they hovered behind Mac. This was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult moments of his life. “I thought you should know that there is a link between Robin and Carly.”

“Besides the fact that they despise each other and were both shot at the Metro Court?” Anna demanded. “Because we already knew–”

“They are among the handful of people who are aware that my son, John, is actually Nikolas Cassadine’s son,” Jax said painfully. “I–I wanted to protect him from Helena Cassadine so I lied and I covered up his paternity.”

Robert’s back stiffened. “Robin would have said something–”

“She did,” Jax sighed. “She’s known for about a week and has been trying to convince me to come clean to Nikolas. I refused and then finally yesterday, she reached the end of her patience. She told me that if I didn’t tell Nikolas, she would.”

“That sounds like excellent motive,” Anna mused. “Are you here to confess?”

“No,” Jax said, irritated. “I didn’t even think one had anything to do with the other until Carly was shot as well and it was the only link between the two that I could come up with.”

“The Cassadine family would do anything to protect its own,” Robert said. He looked at his brother and then his ex-wife as the three reached a similar conclusion. “And they’ve killed in the past.”

Jax frowned. “But Nikolas knows nothing of this, Helena couldn’t possibly and Alexis–”

“Stefan Cassadine was spotted on the grounds of the hotel shortly before Carly was wounded,” Mac reluctantly said. “That shot was designed to wound, not kill and Lucky Spencer’s statement says that the man in the room admitted he hadn’t intended on killing Robin, only wounding her but she moved at the last second.”

“Stefan–” Jax shook his head. “No, he’s supposed to be dead–”

“So am I,” Robert said dryly. “Death, in Port Charles, is usually exaggerated.” He sighed. “If Stefan Cassadine thought he was avenging his nephew by causing great pains to those who kept Nikolas’s son from him, I think that would push him over the edge–if a Cassadine needs an actual motive to go over the edge.”

Anna arched an eyebrow and smirked at Jax. “Which makes me wonder what he has in store for you.”

“He’s not going to get a chance,” Mac stood. “We’ll put protection on you and we’ll drag Nikolas Cassadine in here to find out exactly what he knows about the latest Cassadine to rise from the grave.”

Anna’s cell chirped and she tugged it out. “Devane.” Her face paled and she hung up after a moment. “That was Felicia–Robin crashed again.”

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

Elizabeth tapped her pen nervously. “I wish I’d been assigned to the ICU today,” she remarked, waiting for her phone to ring and for her grandmother to give her an update on Robin’s condition. Since the code blue five minutes ago, there’d been no word.

“What I can’t figure out is why she’d code at all,” Emily remarked. “She was stable–no signs of infection. She was up, she was alert.” She set a medical text down on the counter. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”

“Very little has made sense for the past forty-eight hours,” Elizabeth replied.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Emily sighed. “First Robin gets shot, and they suspect Lucky–who’s disappeared with Cameron. Then Sam wakes up, has lost all her memory, Carly gets shot, Lucky reappears and was the witness to Robin’s shooting, thought you were dead–” she shook her head. “Life was a lot less dramatic when I lived with my biological mother.” She glanced at Elizabeth. “Have you been to see Lucky since he’s been in the hospital?”

“No,” Elizabeth said softly. “I have my son back, that’s all I’m worried about right now. I mean…I’m not angry with Lucky for taking Cameron, because I know he was just trying to protect him but I’m just not sure I can get past the fact that Lucky was in that room in the first place because he thought I would be there. I mean, I would never sleep with Patrick–I’m married and he’s crazy about Robin and even if I weren’t married, it would still be wrong because…” she wrinkled her nose. “I just don’t see him that way.”

“And when you factor in the drugs, the fact that he had Nikolas hire someone to follow you around…the trust is gone,” Emily replied. She flipped her text open. “Well, then it’s a good thing you and Jason are friends again because between your marriage falling apart and Sam losing her memory, you’re going to need each other.”

“Don’t I know it…” The phone rang and Elizabeth snatched up the receiver. “Gram?” Her shoulders sagged and she closed her eyes. “Thank God.” She hung up the phone and turned back to Emily. “They were able to get Robin’s heart started again, she’s going to be okay.”

General Hospital: Sub-Basement 3

After third time Dillon saw the sign indicating that they were, indeed, in the third sub-basement of General Hospital, he stopped in the middle of the hall and sat down. Lulu didn’t realize he’d stopped moving and was a few feet way before she stopped to look back. “What are you doing?”

“I’m staying right here,” Dillon said with a firm nod. “Someone will eventually come by and they will lead me back to civilization.”

Lulu rolled her eyes and slid to the floor next to him. “You’re such a pain in the ass,” she sighed dramatically. “I wish you could admit to yourself that you’re enjoying this.”

“If I were having fun,” Dillon drawled, “I would admit it. I am not having fun.”

“Please,” Lulu scoffed. “You refuse to admit it because if you do, you’ll have to admit that you love our adventures, that you enjoy our little capers and if you admit that, you’ll have to admit that the reason you keep–” she used air quotes for her next words “–giving them up is because Georgie dislikes you being focused on anything but her.”

“That’s…” Dillon shook his head. “That’s just a false theory, right there.” He snorted and looked away.

“Right.” Lulu folded her arms across her chest. “So you’ve never had fun with me or my father. Then what are you doing here right now?”

“I’m keeping you out of trouble,” Dillon muttered. “Though my technique could use some work.” He shifted, wishing he’d worn something thicker than his khaki shorts that day. The cement floor was awfully chilly. “The next time your Spencer senses tingle, just say no.”

Lulu gasped and smacked him. “You say that like I’m a drug! I am not a drug–” she broke off and grinned. “I mean, if you’re saying I’m addictive, well then I can’t argue with that.”

“That–I never–that’s not even close to what I was inferring,” Dillon sputtered. “You’ve gone off the deep end entirely.”

Lulu ignored that. “Anyway, in ten years, I am totally going to outshine my father. My Spencer senses, as you term them, are fabulous and I’m just–” she shrugged. “I’m having an off day. I know I saw someone go through that door, they’re probably just–” her eyes lit up and her back straightened.

“Oh, God, I know that look.”

“Helena Cassadine! Of course, she wants to shut Robin up because Robin will tell everyone that Helena shot her. So she injected something into Robin’s IV to make her heart stop and then she escaped through one of those tunnels–you know back when she brought Stavros Cassadine back from the dead, there were all these tunnels that connected Wyndemere and the hospital–”

“See, I know where this is going and now I’m scared.”

Lulu lunged to her feet and Dillon reluctantly stood. “So I bet she escaped and went back to Wyndemere, so you know what we gotta do right?”

“Find a way out of here and never do this again?” Dillon asked hopefully.

“We gotta find those tunnels!”

Dillon sighed. “I was afraid of that.”

ICU: Hallway

Megan stepped out of the room and rubbed the side of her face, a little started that the small group had grown into a much larger one. Patrick, Felicia, Brenda, Maxie and Georgie had been joined by Noah, Audrey, Robert, Anna, Mac and Jax.

She cleared her throat. “Robin’s stable, again. We’re not sure what happened but this was a close one. If Dr. Drake hadn’t been so close and kept her going until my team arrived…” she coughed. “Well, anyway, it was a close call but Robin’s stable and it shouldn’t affect her recovery all that much.”

The group broke up as Felicia, Brenda and the girls crowded into Robin’s room and Audrey returned to her post at the nurse’s station.

“Has Nikolas Cassadine been back to the hospital?” Mac asked Patrick.

“Not that I’ve seen,” Patrick answered. “Why?”

“Because we think he might know where his psychotic uncle is,” Robert snarled. “He’s the one who shot Robin–”

“We think he might be responsible for the shooting,” Mac clarified. “It seems that Robin was aware that John wasn’t Jax’s son–”

“She knew about the paternity, yeah, but why would any of the Cassadines go after Robin?” Patrick asked, confused. “She wanted Jax to tell the truth–”

“Stefan Cassadine was obsessively protective of his nephew,” Jax sighed. “He might want to take revenge on anyone he thought kept John away from Nikolas.”

Patrick’s eyes narrowed. “Let me get this straight–Carly gets a little scratch, you don’t get hurt at all and Robin–the only person who wanted to come clean about this entire situation–has almost died because you kidnapped the Cassadine baby?”

While everyone was somewhat surprised, no one really blamed Patrick when he lunged for Jax’s throat.

Wyndemere: Nikolas’s Study

Nikolas rubbed his eyes and sifted through the last of his mail, hoping to get the paperwork out of the way so he could go to the hospital and sort out the drama there. He had to visit with Lucky, patch things up with Elizabeth and of course, stop in to visit with Robin. He had been relieved to find out she’d been upgraded to stable condition and that his brother had been cleared of the crime though he’d been unable to find out what the current theory of said crime was.

He heard footsteps in the corridor by the study and his head snapped up just in time to see his uncle step into the room.

His dead uncle.

Nikolas shot up. “What the–”

“We have a few situations that we need to correct immediately,” Stefan said, striding forward. “Yes, I am still in the land of the living, can we please table the shock, the anger and the accusations until after we see to these problems?”

There weren’t words, Nikolas realized. He’d watched his uncle rise from the dead before and after no body had been found, he really should have known better but he’d grieved anyway. He just stared as Stefan pulled out a slim folder and opened it.

“First order of business, we have to bring John Jacks into this family.” Stefan sniffed. “A Cassadine heir does not use a commoner’s name so he will have to be rechristened–” His lips curved into almost a chilling smile. “He is your son, by the way. I have punished those who kept him from you. Except Jasper Jacks. I have something special in mind for him.”

The shock was beginning to pass and Nikolas was beginning to understand what his uncle was telling him. He had shot Carly–and Robin? “Did you–why would you shoot Robin?” he demanded.

“That is no longer important,” Stefan said, glancing at him over his glasses the way he had done since Nikolas was a small child. “What is important is bringing your son into this family and cleaning up Alexis’s mess.”

“Alexis’s–” Nikolas shook his head. “I don’t understand–”

“Nor do I. I cannot believe my sister has not had a blood test performed. I will not allow that street urchin to pass herself off as a Cassadine relation,” Stefan sniffed.

“Wait–” Nikolas held up a hand. “You shot Robin and Carly and now you’re saying that Sam isn’t Alexis’s daughter?”

“Precisely.” Stefan sighed. “Please try to keep up, Nikolas.”

June 1, 2006

Wyndemere: Bedroom

Stefan stared at him for a long moment and finally broke eye contact. “Spencer,” he said disgusted. “You are a plague.”

Luke considered this and found it to be generally true, “Okay, I’ll buy that. Spanky’s called me worse.” He strode forward and closed the doorway to the passage. “I’ll make this quick, Vlad. Why you framing my kid?” He smirked. “Or is that a rhetorical question since he’s a Spencer and you’re a Cassadine?”

“It’s hardly my fault if the incompetent police department chose to focus its investigation on your son.” Stefan sighed. “I am disappointed in the boy, myself. He once held such…potential.”

Luke narrowed his eyes. It was one thing for his daughter to insinuate that Lucky had fallen short of expectations but for a Cassadine? “You’re hardly one to talk about someone not living up to their potential. You and the Dark Prince are Cassadines in name only. Hell, even Natasha has more evil in her than you.” He pushed aside the heavy velvet curtains to peer out over the harbor. “So if you didn’t want Lucky to take the rap, what’s the use of shooting Junior Scorpio?”

“You never change, Spencer.” Stefan sighed. “The world does not revolve around you or your family. This business has nothing to do with you and if your son would learn to stay out of rooms that do not belong to him, he would not have been involved at all.”

Luke narrowed his eyes. “I don’t hear you denying you played a hand in this, Chocula.”

Stefan smirked. “No, you don’t. Rest assured, Luke, I do not wish any interaction between us other than what is necessary. It no longer matters if your son keeps quiet. This has begun to play out as I anticipated and I no longer require his help.”

“In English, Stiffin,” Luke snarled, intentionally mispronouncing Stefan’s name, a quirk of his that never failed to rile the dark one.

“I am pleased that Dr. Scorpio seems to be making a full recovery,” Stefan remarked. “It was never my intention for her to die. Only to…suffer.”

“And letting Lucky think his wife was dead?” Luke growled. “You don’t think that’s suffering?”

“No, but it was an added side benefit. You can let yourself out the way you entered.” Stefan left the room and Luke glared after him for a moment before reaching into his pocket and removing the small recorder he’d brought with him.

Petersen Clinic: Lounge

“Sam has brain damage,” Alexis blurted out. “She doesn’t remember anything.”

Jason heard the words but it took a few moments for the meaning to sink into his head. And still, he tried denial. Clearing his throat, “She doesn’t remember the shooting?” he tried.

Alexis shook her head and twisted her hands together. “She doesn’t remember anything, Jason. Her mind is a clean slate. There’s nothing–nothing about her life before Port Charles, nothing since…there’s nothing. And she keeps looking at me like I should have the answers…” She placed a hand over her mouth and took a deep breath. “The doctors think she will make a full recovery but not her memory.”

He could now put himself in the place of his parents, of his family after the accident a decade ago. He wondered if they had felt this twisting in the gut, this hollow emptiness when Tony Jones had taken away any hope that Jason Quartermaine would return.

“I want to see her,” Jason said, dismissing the voices in his head that told him to turn around and go home. He could be of use in Port Charles. He could help investigate the shootings, he could continue talking sense into his sister. There were a thousand things he could do in Port Charles but instead, he followed Alexis down the hallway and to the room.

Sam lay on the hospital bed, her skin as pale as he’d ever seen it and a vacant stare in her eyes. When the door slid open, she turned to look at them and frowned. “Who are you are?” she asked quietly. She looked to Alexis. “Who is he?”

“A friend,” Alexis answered when Jason couldn’t find the words. “He’s a friend from where we live in Port Charles, sweetheart. Sam, this is Jason Morgan.”

He waited for the name to mean something to her, to see any kind of recognition dawn in her eyes. But the vacant stare remained and when he said nothing, her frowned deepened. “And?” she prompted. “How do we know each other?”

There was a lump in his throat that kept him from speaking so again Alexis took pity on him. “Jason…he was your fiancé, Sam.”

Sam’s eyes darkened and then she looked at Jason again. “Oh.” Color flooded her cheeks. “Oh. I’m–I’m sorry. I d-don’t remember.” When he still didn’t speak, she pursed her lips. “Why…why aren’t you talking?”

“I’m sorry.” His voice sounded disembodied and he didn’t feel like he’d even said the words. “I–I have to go.”

He turned and walked out.

“I’ll be right back,” Alexis promised to a bewildered Sam before hurrying after him. “Jason–”

“I’m going back to Port Charles,” Jason said, not turning around. “She should focus on her recovery…not on a life that she doesn’t know anymore.”

“But–”

Jason whirled around and Alexis squeaked as she almost ran into him. “You’ve got what you want, Alexis. She doesn’t remember me. This is her chance to get out of this life, to have a new one.”

“Jason–this isn’t what I wanted–” she stopped him from leaving, putting a hand on his forearm. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I didn’t–I wanted this to be your decision, I wanted her to want a new life. I didn’t want this.”

“Well…you’ve got it, regardless.” Jason exhaled slowly. “I’m needed in Port Charles. There are people there that do remember me–I can’t sit here and pretend things are going to change. I can’t. I won’t. I won’t be like the Quartermaines, begging for scraps and wanting something that’s never going to happen. I won’t do that to myself, Alexis.”

And with that, he turned again and strode out of the clinic.

ICU: Robin’s Room

Monica set her stethoscope back around her neck and smiled warmly at her exhausted patient. “I have never been happier than I am right now to tell a patient they’re on the mend.”

There was a collective sound of three breaths being released at the same time as Mac, Anna and Robert heard from the doctor that Robin would recover.

Monica patted Robin’s hand. “When you’re a little stronger, we’ll talk about the long term ramifications of the injuries.”

Robin blinked and looked away. “Too much to hope for that it’d just heal and I’d be back to normal, huh?” she asked quietly.

“I wish it were that simple, honey,” Monica replied. “Unfortunately, your protocol is going to be reevaluated, your system took a bad hit with this. And the position of the injuries opens you to the possibilities of back problems and even heart problems in the future. But I want to wait until you’re a bit more on your feet and then we’ll see where we’re at.”

Once Monica had left (first giving a stern warning to the visitors that Robin needed her rest), Mac sat next to Robin in a chair that had seen more than its fair share of people in the last twenty-four hours. “Sweetheart, I’m going to ask you a few questions but I want you stop me whenever you’re not feeling good or too tired.”

“Okay.” Robin sighed and rested her head back against the pillows. “Is someone making sure that Patrick’s sleeping?”

Anna smiled softly. “I saw Noah marching him towards the break room a few minutes ago. The poor boy was on the verge of crashing–starting to fall asleep if he wasn’t moving.” She touched Robert’s arm. “We should leave her and Mac alone–”

“I want to hear–Ow!” Robert broke off as Anna pinched him. “Yes, dear.”

After the two were gone, Mac cleared his throat. “Speaking of Drake…who knew you would be at the hotel last night?”

Robin hesitated, biting her lip. “No one, really. Elizabeth, I guess, since she was studying and I think Patrick said she helped him set up the room. But it was really kind of a last minute…” she paused. “But I guess it wouldn’t be that hard to predict.” Her cheeks flushed. “We’ve been trading between each other’s places the last week or so and the night before, we were at mine so…I mean, we didn’t plan it to work out that way, it just did.”

Deciding he would rather not be thinking about Robin’s sex life anymore than he had to, Mac changed the subject. “When did you definitely decide to go to the Metro Court?”

“We’d have a fight that morning,” Robin said slowly. “And we both apologized–well, more so he apologized but I guess neither one of us felt like it was resolved because–well, it wasn’t. So he invited me over to talk about it.”

“Talk about what?” Mac asked, praying it wouldn’t be something wholly embarrassing or humiliating for either of them.

“I can’t really say,” Robin remarked. “It’s not like it’s a…” she hesitated. “It’s not my secret to tell, Uncle Mac. Let me make sure it’s okay to tell before I get into it. Suffice to say that whatever it was, it was kind of taking over my life. And I only told Patrick in a moment–” she coughed again. “A moment of weakness, so to speak. I guess he was a little annoyed that I didn’t spend more time thinking about him. He’s a little self-centered that way. Anyway, it wasn’t even a bad argument but I think we were both at the end of the line. It was going to have to come out and I think that’s what we would have discussed…” she hesitated. “After he invited me over, I ran into Helena Cassadine.”

Mac’s eyebrows shot up as he realized that having both Stefan and Helena in the same town at the same time would be a thousand different kinds of bad. “And what did the dark queen have to say?”

“I don’t remember,” Robin muttered. “The rest of the day is mostly a blur right now. I don’t remember much until I got to Patrick’s room. Something happened in that time, Uncle Mac. I can’t figure out what, but I went there and we didn’t talk–” she broke off and fiddled with the edge of her blanket. “We sort of–to the bed–right–” she coughed uncomfortably. “We went right to bed.”

“I get the picture,” Mac mumbled. “Okay, so–after all that stuff we’re not going to talk about…Patrick got called to the hospital.”

“It gets blurry again. He asked me to stay and then…I remember a lot of pain…” Robin furrowed her brow. “And there was a voice. A familiar voice–it sounded like Stefan Cassadine.”

Mac’s pen stilled and he looked up at her. “Stefan.”

Robin nodded. “But he’s dead,” she said softly. “So that’s not possible, right?”

He set his pen and note pad aside. “It looks like that might not be the case anymore, sweetheart. He was present at the hotel right before Carly was shot. Now if you heard his voice in your room last night…that means the two shootings are connected.”

Robin shook her head. “No…that’s impossible. There’s no one that would want us both dead.” She frowned. “Right?”

He sighed, troubled by the idea that Robin had been targeted by the Cassadine family. “I don’t know, Robin. But I promise you I will find out.”

June 2, 2006

General Hospital: Hallway

“Doc said that Spencer hasn’t been on the pills long enough to worry about withdrawal,” Rodriguez remarked to Mac as they approached the room where Lucky was situated. “Once he came down from the high, he was remarkably coherent and I think he’s ready to answer questions.”

“Well, he’d better have one damn good explanation,” Mac muttered, tugging the door open.

Lucky sat up in the hospital bed, staring out the window, his eyes troubled and his face shadowed. He’d walked around in a haze of pain medication for nearly a month and for the first time, he could see his life clearly.

And he was beginning to realize why he’d taken the pills to shut out his life. The never ending cycle of debt, the disappointment in Elizabeth’s eyes and the choking feeling that he’d never measure up to everyone’s expectations of Luke Spencer’s son.

It had all seemed so easy once. He wondered when that had changed.

“Mac,” Lucky said quietly. “I’m glad you came early. I’ll feel better once I get this all out of my head.”

Mac sat and studied his former officer for a long moment. “I wish you had come to me,” he said. “I wish that I could have helped you, that I could have fixed this.” He took a deep breath. “I want you to tell me everything you think I need to know and then we’ll go from here.”

Lucky nodded and he lifted himself off the bed, feeling restless. He dragged his hands through his short hair. “I’m not sure now why I thought Elizabeth and Patrick Drake were having an affair but I remember feeling absolutely certain of it. Even before Nikolas brought me those photos.” He stopped at the windows and peered out at the view of the parking garage. “I thought they’d be at the Metro Court because Elizabeth said she’d been called into work suddenly. I wanted to talk to her, Mac, I swear.” He exhaled slowly. “I went into the hotel and I took the stairs. I wanted time to think.” He chucked bitterly. “I don’t know what good that would do because I haven’t really had a clear thought in weeks.”

“When I got to Drake’s room, it was already ajar. I went in–” he sucked in a deep breath, “and she was in the bed. She was lying there and there was blood everywhere–”

“Lucky, you know that it wasn’t Elizabeth, right?” Rodriguez broke in. “It was Robin Scorpio.”

“I know that now,” Lucky said flatly. “But at that moment, at that second in time, I thought that it was my wife. I thought it was Elizabeth, lying dead in that bed. I was saying her name, over and over. And then…there was a sound from the other side of the room.”

Mac tensed. “What was the sound?”

“A sound of a glass clinking,” Lucky murmured. “Like someone setting it against other glasses.”

Mac and Rodriguez traded looks, realizing that explained the single glass of bourbon that had been poured at the minibar but not finished. There had been only Patrick Drake’s prints on it, and they had assumed it was his but the assailant could have worn gloves.

“And then he spoke.” Lucky took a deep breath and faced the other men. “Stefan Cassadine.”

Corroboration, Mac said absently. Two people separately placed the man in the room and a video placed him at the Carly shooting. “What did he say?”

“He was standing by the bar, sipping a drink,” Lucky said emotionlessly, “and he told me that it was a shame. That she had moved at the last second and the bullet had gone in the wrong direction, that instead of being merely injured, she was dying and there was nothing anyone could do about it.” His lips twisted. “He sat there, drinking bourbon, while Robin lay dying just a few feet away. I didn’t think about it then, I didn’t register that his words meant that whoever was in the bed was still alive. I just…I thought she was dead.”

“What happened after that?” Mac asked.

“He said that if I told anyone what happened, that if I even breathed a word, he wouldn’t stop at killing my wife. He’d kill me and he’d kill Cameron.” Lucky shook his head. “I’m not proud of myself, Mac. Not for anything. But I couldn’t let anything happen to Cameron. I thought Elizabeth was gone and I knew she’d want Cam protected. So I just kept that in my head the whole time and I went to Audrey’s to get him. He was in the crib she’s got in the living room and Audrey was in the kitchen making something. I just called out to her that I was picking him up–that Elizabeth was held up.” He exhaled harshly. “She never even saw me.”

“And then you headed for the border.”

“Right. I stayed there until Rodriguez found me the next morning.” Lucky met Mac’s eyes. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes, Mac, and I’ve done a lot of things that I’m not proud of. But I would never hurt Elizabeth. Even if she’d been having an affair and I know now that would never happen. I love her. She’s my life. I would never hurt her. I went there to talk to her.”

Mac wasn’t sure if he believed him because he quite simply needed to or because he thought Lucky was actually telling the truth. But he did believe him. He flipped his notebook shut. “You’ve got a tough road ahead of you, Lucky. And I don’t mean about the pain pills–”

“Elizabeth is never going to forgive me,” Lucky cut in softly. “It doesn’t matter that I was on pain medication. I took her trust in me and I shattered it. And I deserve whatever I get coming to me because of that.”

General Hospital: Hallway

Patrick emerged from the locker room, dressed in his scrubs and ready to do some actual work instead of just floating through his rounds like a dead man. His father had forced him into the break room against his will and while he was still kind of irritated about it, the second his head had hit a pillow, he’d passed out and hadn’t woken until just an hour ago. He’d showered and changed but he still hadn’t left the hospital.

The last time he’d left the hospital, he’d gone to the Metro Court to grab some of his things and he’d seen that room. Somehow, the hospital felt safer. More secure.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw Lulu and Dillon leaning against the opposite wall. “The two of you aren’t looking for me right?” he asked hopefully, remembering the last time they were in together and that it had resulted in a not so fun adventure.

“Doctor Hottie, have we got a story for you,” Lulu remarked brightly. She wound her arm through his and started to lead him down the hall. If he thought he’d hit rock bottom the day before with the passing out he’d done on available surface, being led around by a kid pretty much topped that.

He listened as the perky blonde explained that they had their own theory about Robin’s shooting and that it led back to John Jacks’s paternity–a thought which hadn’t really crossed Patrick’s mind since he’d never pegged Jasper Jacks as the homicidal type. But Lulu’s explanation made scary sense as he realized the chain of events was very disturbing–coupled with the fact that Robin had had a run in with Helena the day of the shooting.

When Lulu had finished her explanation, Patrick frowned at her before looking at her resigned companion. “And what is it that you need from me?” he asked curiously.

“Well…” Lulu sighed. “We’re kind of over our heads with this. For one thing, we don’t even know who John’s father is for sure. And what Robin might have been thinking yesterday. Plus, there’s this weird thing about Jesse being connected to the Cassadines, so we were hoping to borrow your expertise.”

“My expertise…” Patrick repeated. “To do what, exactly? Why can’t you take this to Mac?”

“Well, for one, thing we have no proof that any crime has been committed,” Lulu pointed out.

“Except by us when we broke into the records,” Dillon admitted sheepishly.

“Yeah…” Patrick drawled. “We’re going to have to have a discussion about that when this is all over.” He sighed. “And you’re dumping this on me because…?”

“Well, we had to think of someone who could help us, who cares what happens to Robin and isn’t exactly too worried about blurring the lines of the law,” Lulu explained. She grinned. “You could be a hero.”

“I thought we talked about this,” Dillon hissed. “He’s too old for you to flirt with to get your way.”

“That’s silly…” Lulu smiled up at him and for a second, Patrick felt a little dizzy. At seventeen, this girl had a bright future as either a con artist or a heartbreaker ahead of her, he decided. “I’m not flirting to get my way. Patrick understands that it’s in Robin’s best interest that we find out what’s going on with this.”

Patrick narrowed his eyes. “Maybe you didn’t get the memo about how I don’t do anything that doesn’t benefit me in the end.”

Dillon rolled his eyes but Lulu wasn’t deterred. “Well, even I’ve heard the gossip about you and Robin and I’m willing to bet that if you help catch the idiot who did this, it’s going to mean some sex for you.”

Dillon’s jaw dropped and smacked her shoulder. “Lu!”

“What?” she huffed. “It benefits him right? He wants to play this like we don’t all know he’s crazy about Robin then we’ll just appeal to the man whore in him.”

Torn between being amused and offended, Patrick crossed his arms. “Yeah, you’re not winning your case here, cupcake.”

“C’mon!” Lulu stamped her foot. “Why am I the only one this is driving crazy? I have to know! I have to know why there’s a third test that Robin accessed just hours before getting shot and I want to know who else hacked into the records! Why doesn’t anyone else want to get to the bottom of this?”

“If you help, she’ll shut up,” Dillon supplied. “I think by now, that should be reason enough.”

Patrick sighed. He’d never broken the law or blurred the line of ethics before coming to Port Charles and now he was on his third round in less than a four months. Life had definitely been simpler before Port Charles and Robin Scorpio. “Fine,” he said resigned. “I’ll run a paternity test. Give me the test details.”

Lu brightened and happily handed over the list of tests, the user accesses and the results of each. Patrick scanned them idly but hesitated over the mysterious third test that listed neither Jacks nor Cassadine as the father. “Robin didn’t access this the other day.”

Dillon frowned. “Yeah–it says right there–”

“No…” Patrick frowned. “She created it and then backdated it. This test wasn’t performed in February, it was created May 31. And it wasn’t actually performed so much as Robin just entered the values.”

“So, wait…Robin created a test that said neither of them were the father?” Lulu said. “That’s crazy. Why would she do that?”

She’d created it after her meeting with Helena, Patrick realized with a sense of dread. He’d never had the pleasure of meeting the crazy Cassadine matriarch but it was difficult to live in Port Charles for any length of time and not hear the lengthy tale of the Cassadine family legacy. Helena, while not being especially successful in the last few years, had a history of bad deeds and ominous threats.

And one of those threats had scared Robin so badly she’d decided to create this test. Suddenly, Patrick wanted to get to the bottom of this as badly as the impatient blonde girl in front of him.

ICU: Robin’s Room

It had taken fifteen minutes for Monica to get Brenda out of the room and the ex-model had been very vehement about her god-given right to stay in her little sister’s room until the very end.

But when Robin had politely requested some time alone, her best friend had reluctantly acquiesced to the request and now Robin was alone.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Not to sleep, but to force herself to remember the events of May 31. There was something in the hours between Patrick’s invitation and her arrival at the hotel that was significant and if it took the rest of her life, she’d remember it.

She’d been on the docks, she could remember that much. She’d wanted to go see Nikolas, Robin realized. To tell him the truth. Because she’d realized Patrick was right–not for the reasons he wanted to be right but it was way past time for her to start concentrating on her own life and if she wanted this…whatever it was between her and Patrick…if she wanted it to work, she’d have to put the effort in and if she kept dividing her concentration, it wouldn’t.

But Helena had stepped out from the shadows and the more Robin pictured the scene, the more the words came together for her. Phrases came to mind and she fought to put them in order. To make some sense out of them.

“It’s a shame that he’s not my Nikolas’s child. I could have had such plans.”

“He’s just a child–“

“Though I wonder…if it’s possible…I suppose I could just find out for myself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I could just take him, find out for sure.”

“And if he’s not?”

“Dispose of him, I imagine.”

The words were jumbled and she couldn’t be sure that they were even right but the more Robin thought about it, the more she pieced it together. Helena had threatened to kidnap John and kill him if he turned out not to be Nikolas’s son. Even though Robin was mostly sure about the paternity, it was a chance she wasn’t willing to take.

She closed her eyes and wished she had more strength. That she could move or that she could get out of this bed and get on with her life.

There was a creak and Robin opened her eyes, wondering which of her family members hadn’t received the memo about her needing some alone time.

Instead, Helena stood here, with a smirk on her face. “Hello, my dear. As usual, my darling son can’t manage to carry off even the simplest of orders.”

Robin opened her mouth but the talking she’d done all morning had left her hoarse and somewhat weak. She couldn’t move her hand to the call button; she couldn’t call out for help.

She could only watch in horror as Helena took a syringe from her purse and injected it into her IV.

“Sleep well, my dear Dr. Scorpio,” Helena murmured. She watched as Robin’s eyes slid closed and then she watched as Robin’s vitals slowed and when the heart line flattened, the machines started to shriek.

She took that as her cue to leave, exiting the room as Audrey Hardy’s panicked voice sounded over the speaker.

Code Blue, Room 314. Code Blue, Room 314.

June 1, 2006

ICU: Hallway

“You give a kid a little freedom and look what happens,” Felicia sighs as she pulled her daughter out of Robin’s room. “What paternity mess?” she asked.

“Come on, Mom, I’m nineteen,” Maxie rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to be involved in every decision in my life–”

“Maria Maximilliana Jones, do not make me ask you again,” Felicia tapped her foot. “You still live under my roof and I pay your tuition at school. If you want to see daylight again or possibly your future, you will tell me what’s going on right this second.”

Truthfully, Maxie was more than ready to hand this over to someone else. Her mother was as good as anyone else. “Fine,” she sighed. “But we can’t leave Robin alone. Where’s Brenda?”

“Checking in at the Metro Court.” Felicia took Maxie’s elbow and all but dragged her down the hall to the waiting room. She tossed open the door and hesitated when he saw the lone person sprawled out in a chair, his head tilted back and his eyes closed. “That’s probably the first bit of sleep Patrick’s had in two days.”

“Well, then I’ll just go sit with Robin until he wakes up–” Maxie made a brief attempt at escape but Felicia’s grip on her arm was firm.

“He can sleep in Robin’s room.” Felicia crossed the room and tapped Patrick. Never a light sleeper, he woke immediately.

“I wasn’t sleeping, I was resting my eyes,” he said immediately. He blinked and looked around. “Oh. I’m not in anatomy class anymore.”

“Right,” Felicia drawled, somewhat amused. “Listen, can you go sit with Robin? It’s Maxie’s turn but she and I have a few things to discuss.”

“Uh…sure.” Patrick rubbed his eyes and made his exit before they could change their minds or that crazy lunatic Brenda came back and he lost his turn altogether.

“Start,” Felicia demanded when the door had closed behind him.

Maxie coughed. “Well, it’s a funny story actually–”

“Oh, like ‘Mom, it’s a funny story–Dillon and I got married while you were in Texas.’ Or ‘Mom, it’s a funny story, I didn’t mean to go on the run with a possible fugitive.’ Oh, and there’s always ‘Mom, it’s a funny story, I was hiding a fugitive in my room instead of going to Prom.’ And my personal repeat favorite, ‘Mom, it’s a funny story. I didn’t mean to get arrested for underage drinking.’ Maxie, if I had a dime for every time you girls thought to start one of your confessions with ‘it’s a funny story’ I’d be able to retire.” Felicia arched an eyebrow. “You really want to use that phrase?”

“Well, no, not now,” Maxie muttered. “Okay, so I was doing the mail here at the hospital and there was a blank envelope in Robin’s mail slot. Monica told me to go ahead and open it to make sure it was at the right mail slot and if not, to send it to the right doctor. I opened it, and it turned out to be results for a paternity test.” Maxie shifted. “The test was for Jax’s son, John. And it had Nikolas listed as the father.”

“Dear God,” Felicia sighed. “And I bet you didn’t come clean with either of them. No, that would be too easy.”

Maxie frowned. “Well…I made some stupid mistakes but I finally decided I wasn’t old enough to deal with this–”

“Define stupid mistakes,” Felicia cut in. “You’re not glossing over anything, Maxie.”

Maxie huffed. “Okay, so I tried to blackmail Jax so I could get money for a new car after Mac took mine away. It was stupid–”

“Oh my God, I’ve raised a pair of psychos,” Felicia groaned, collapsing into her seat. “Georgie’s off getting married and committing adultery with a felon and you’re blackmailing billionaires.”

“Well, then I was going to tell Nikolas but that went all wrong,” Maxie continued, ignoring her mother’s histrionics. “So I decided that Robin would know what to do.”

“Robin?” Felicia sprang up. “You involved Robin in a paternity mess? One that involves Carly? Have you lost what little mind you have left?”

Maxie folded her arms and glared at her mother. “I knew she’d know the right thing to do–”

“After what Jason and Carly put her through with Michael, I cannot believe you’d be so selfish as to involve Robin in something like this,” Felicia interrupted. “Do you ever think about anyone else but yourself?”

“Hey, you don’t have to get all hostile,” Maxie retorted. “I know I made a few wrong turns–”

“No, no, Maxie, a few wrong turns is breaking curfew and maybe sneaking a cigarette. You have gone completely off the track.” Felicia took a deep breath. “Honey, I know you’ve been going through a rough time, with losing Jesse but you have got to get a grip.”‘

Maxie scowled. “You’re not very supportive, Mother. I’m telling you the truth now, so you can fix it and Robin doesn’t have to worry about it or fight with Patrick about it.” She sniffled. “It’s all my fault, you know. She and Patrick had a fight and it had to be about the paternity and he invited her over last night to apologize.”

“Maxie…” Felicia gripped her daughter’s shoulders. “It’s not your fault that Robin and Patrick were fighting no more than it is Patrick’s fault for leaving her alone in the hotel room. The only person who is it at fault here is the son of a bitch that shot her, okay?”

“Okay.” Maxie bit her lip. “I don’t want to do the stupid things I do, Mom. I know Jesse would be disappointed in me and I hate that–”

“Honey…” Felicia folded Maxie in her arms. “When this is all over, you, me and Georgie are going to sit down and we’re going to fix this.”

“At least I’m not committing adultery with a felon,” Maxie pointed out with a watery smile.

“Yes, thank God you only blackmailed someone,” Felicia remarked wryly. “We’ll fix this, sweetie.”

PCPD: Commissioner’s Office

“We have reason to believe that Lucky is not responsible for Robin’s shooting,” Mac sat behind his desk.

Robert leaned against Mac’s office door. “How long have you had this reason?” he demanded.

“Robert, don’t bite Mac’s head off. He’s not required to tell us everything about an ongoing investigation,” Anna chastised.

Mac ignored the duo and kept his eyes focused on a still ashen Elizabeth. “When Detective Rodriguez found Lucky, Lucky made a lot of remarks about someone threatening him, threatening Cameron if he told them what he saw. Now, it’s clear that Lucky has taken too many of his pain meds and it’s fed into the fear he must feel. We believe that Lucky did go into the room that night and saw Robin lying in the bed. When he saw the blood and how she didn’t move, he assumed that she was dead. He had gone there expecting to see you and he still doesn’t realize that you are in fact, alive and that it was Robin that was injured.”

Anna frowned. “But Robin didn’t pass out until after the 911 call. If Lucky is to believed, the assailant stayed in the room and watched her. He knew she was still alive. That doesn’t feel right to me.”

“Unless he didn’t want Robin dead.” Robert frowned. “Or he didn’t want whomever he thought it was in the bed dead. We’re not clear on whether Robin was the target or not. Apparently, Dr. Drake has quite the reputation–”

“No,” Elizabeth shook her head woodenly. “No, he doesn’t. That’s why Lucky’s claims of my having an affair with him were so…odd. He hasn’t dated anyone in months. It’s been Robin for him.” She bit her lip. “In fact, the hospital gossip was that Robin had tamed him. The nurses were jealous because he didn’t flirt with them the way he had before.” She rubbed her hand over her lips. “I’m not sure if that helps, Mac–”

“No, it does. We have to be sure who the target was because otherwise we go in different directions. And considering the fact that Robin was in a room that wasn’t registered to her doesn’t completely put my mind at ease that it wasn’t Patrick Drake who was the target.”

“Well, if it wasn’t Lucky Spencer trying to kill his adulterous wife, then who was it?” Robert demanded, aggravated.

There was a knock on the door and Robert moved away. He pulled open the door and Rodriguez stepped inside. “Commissioner–”

“I thought I told you go to home, get some sleep,” Mac stood. “Did the lab having something then?”

“Well, we’ve got quite a bit for you actually.” Rodriguez closed the door behind him and pulled several prints out of his pocket. “Part of it relates to the Corinthos shooting but we do have confirmation that Lucky entered Drake’s hotel room at 10:07 last night. The footage shows someone at 9:50 P.M. entering the room which is why we thought it was Lucky Spencer. Lucky came into the hotel only five minutes before the first person. But Lucky never entered the room until after Robin called 911.”

Elizabeth released long breath. “So he didn’t shoot her.”

“No, but it still doesn’t clear him completely,” Rodriguez said apologetically. “He could be an accessory after the fact or he may have gone there with that intent and someone beat him to it.” While Elizabeth mulled over that terrifying possibility, he detective looked back to Mac. “Commissioner, there’s something you should know about the Corinthos shooting.”

Mac scrubbed his hands over his face. “Just tell me you can ID the shooter so I can close something.”

“Well,” the detective set the print of the shooter on the desk. “That’s the shooter. Mel–” he coughed. “Detectives Horowitz and Sullivan were only able to get a profile. We’ll circulate it among the employees and guests. But ah…” he set the other print down. “He walked past the office window shortly before the shooter.”

Mac stared at it for a long moment before dragging his tired eyes up to meet those of his officer. “Freaking Cassadines. Don’t they know how to stay dead?”

General Hospital: Carly’s Room

“I’m never going to be able to wear a bikini again,” Carly sighed, leaning back against her pillows. “This is going to scar.”

“Is that really what you’re worried about here?” Jax said impatiently. He stood and crossed the room to peer out the window at the view Carly’s room gave him of the parking garage. “Jesus, Carly, that’s two shootings at the hotel in less than twenty-four hours. And you could have been killed.”

“Jax–”

“And the fact that it happened so close together…” Jax shook his head. “There has to be a reason, Carly.”

Carly shifted and winched from the pinch in her side. “Robin and I don’t even have anything in common except our mutual loathing for each other. I think you’re being paranoid–”

“You both know about John,” Jax said softly. He turned to look at her, a strange look in his eyes. “Robin gets shot after we have an argument about him and then you got get shot after we talk about coming clean. These aren’t coincidences, Carly.”

“It does sound odd when you put them together,” Carly said after a moment. “But you know…the running theory is that Robin wasn’t even the target. They think it was my cousin Lucky because he thought Elizabeth was having an affair with Patrick.”

“And you?” Jax prompted. “Who would shoot you?”

“Well…” Carly frowned. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t exactly inspire love and loyalty from most of Port Charles but I didn’t think I inspired homicidal rage either. Jax…there could be a hundred reasons why Robin and I were both shot and none of them have anything to do with Little John,” she reached for his hand and he held it.

“That is true,” Jax said slowly, “but all the same I think I’d like let Mac know the possibility.”

“It would mean telling him about Nikolas,” Carly pointed out. “Are you ready for that?”

“I love John,” Jax said after a moment. “But I can’t live like this anymore. If the truth is going to come out, I’d like it to be on my own terms.”

ICU: Robin’s Room

Food was beginning to feel like a distant memory to Patrick. He was becoming painfully aware of the fact that he hadn’t eaten since a quick lunch at the hospital before he’d left the day before. He and Robin hadn’t eaten dinner and he hadn’t been able to think about anything but Robin in the intervening hours.

But as he sat next to her bed and felt the listlessness in his limbs, he knew that he was close to crashing. No sleep, no food and a constant state of panic and fear–all of those factors were going to combine and kick his ass.

But not right now. Not until someone came to relieve him. When Robin woke, she would be disoriented, scared and in pain and he wasn’t about to let her go through that alone. He could wait to eat, wait to sleep. None of those things felt important anyway.

He wasn’t able to stifle a yawn though and the sound echoed like a gunshot in the room. He closed his eyes for just a moment and then just like that, he was asleep.

Robin’s first thought was pain. Sheer and utter gut-wrenching pain. She pried her eyes open and moaned a little. “Patrick,” she breathed. Where was he? Was he hurt? She couldn’t remember anything past his apology at the nurse’s station earlier. What had happened? “Patrick?” she repeated, her voice a little stronger.

Patrick snapped to attention. “I wasn’t looking at her, I swear,” he said automatically before realizing that he wasn’t at his teenaged best friend’s house and hadn’t just been caught peeking in at Steve’s older sister. He rubbed his eyes and focused on a confused Robin peering back at him. “You’re awake.”

“W-what happened?” she closed her eyes but forced them back open. Why couldn’t she move? What was wrong? “Patrick–” her voice was more desperate. “Patrick, why can’t I move?”

“Shh…” Patrick took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to the inside of her palm. “Deep breaths, Robin. You’ve been unconscious for almost a day and you’ve had some surgery, you’re not going to be able to move much for a while.”

“What-what happened? Tell me–”

“I’m going to tell you anything until you calm down,” Patrick said sternly. His expression softened. “Are you in pain? I should get your doctor–”

“Patrick,” Robin gripped his hand as hard as she could which wasn’t all that hard at all actually. “Please.”

He sighed. “What do you remember?”

Robin bit her lip. “I–we were at the nurse’s station. And you were being–” she had to stop. She shook her head. “No. You asked me to come over.”

“Right,” Patrick agreed. “Nothing after that?”

Robin blinked at him but then her eyes focused and she nodded. “I saw Helena Cassadine.”

General Hospital: Records Room

“We should just move in here,” Dillon said sarcastically as he put the familiar chair in place. “I can’t imagine what we think we’re going to find.”

“Oh…be quiet.” Lulu set herself up at one of the work stations and punched in some keys to bring up Jesse Beaudry’s medical files. “We’re just doing some more background. There’s got to be something that connects it all together.”

“Seriously, Lu, we are over our heads,” Dillon twisted the knob to make sure it was locked before joining her at the computer. “We need to find help.”

“And who are we going to ask for help?” Lulu remarked. She looked at him. “Robin’s uncle? The only laws that been broken so far are by us.”

Dillon hesitated. “Fair point. Okay, so not Mac. How about someone who cares about Robin but not necessarily about the law or codes of procedure?”

“Who do you have in mind?” Lulu asked.

“Well, Patrick Drake,” Dillon suggested. “He ignored a court injunction to operate on Sam when he didn’t even know her. And he’s a doctor. Plus he’s crazy about Robin. So maybe he’d know what to do with this paternity stuff.”

“That’s good point.” Lulu sighed and peered at Jesse’s file. “Nothing about him being a Casssadine that I can see though it would be been too easy if it had just been listed, right?” She tapped her nails against the desk absently. “Born May 12, 1980. He would have been twenty-six this year.”

“What?” Dillon leaned forward. “Oh. We were out of town.” He bit his lip. “I hope someone was with Maxie that day.”

“Anyway…” Lulu bit her lip. “You’re right. Patrick would probably be the best bet. At any rate, he could probably run a paternity test for us that would say definitely who John Jacks’ father is.”

“Or at this rate, who it isn’t,” Dillon replied wryly.

Petersen Clinic: Lounge

Alexis Davis lowered herself into an uncomfortable chair, her eyes trained on a door in the distance. “It’s all surreal,” she murmured.

Her nephew sighed and looked at her with a concerned expression. “I’m glad you called, Alexis.”

“I’m sorry to take you away from your search for Lucky,” she patted Nikolas’s hand. “But I needed–I needed my family. You, Ric, the girls…I needed you.”

“Have you thought about what you want to do yet?” Nikolas asked quietly. “How you want to handle this?”

“I don’t know. I can’t begin to imagine the next step.” Alexis shifted. “Though I am glad not to be in Port Charles right now. How awful it must be for Robin and her family.”

“She was in stable condition when I last called the hospital.” Nikolas shook his head. “I don’t know what to think, Alexis. I don’t want to believe my brother to be capable of such a horrendous act but I saw his face when I gave him those photos–”

“I don’t believe for one second believe that Elizabeth cheated on Lucky,” Alexis cut in. “And even if I thought her capable of that, it would have been Jason or someone she had actual history with, a connection to. Not a man she barely knows. Where is your common sense, Nikolas?”

“I thought that I could believe that. I thought that I knew Elizabeth but I saw those photos with my own eyes,” Nikolas replied. “I don’t–I know she and Lucky have had some rough times with his injuries, the kidnapping and the money problems. I can certainly understand how she’d be driven to turn to someone else but I wouldn’t have thought she’d turn to Patrick. Especially since Robin told me she was seeing him.”

“Well, there’s your answer right there,” Alexis said with a faint smile. “Elizabeth would never do that to another woman. Especially after what Lucky put her through with Sarah. Nikolas, you’re thinking first of your loyalty to Lucky and not thinking it through logically.”

“It’s hard when they’re both on opposite sides,” Nikolas admitted. “Because if I believe Lucky, I lose all faith in Elizabeth and if I believe Elizabeth, I’ve betrayed my brother.”

“Cheer up, Nikolas,” Alexis sighed. “It can hardly get worse.”

Jason chose that moment to make his entrance. His eyes narrowed when he found Nikolas but he dismissed him after another moment and focused on Alexis. “Where is she? I want to see her.”

Alexis stood and nervously wiped her hands on her jeans. “Jason…there are some things we have to discuss first–” She looked to Nikolas. “Ah…can you tell us the situation at home first?”

Jason sighed, impatiently before looking at the Cassadine prince. “Lucky was found with Cameron over the Canadian border. He’s at the PCPD. You should probably go and apologize to Elizabeth for being an ass. Robin’s in stable condition, she’s going to be fine and Carly was shot. Is there anything else or can you tell me how Sam is?”

Nikolas coughed and kissed his aunt on the cheek. “Call me.”

When he’d left, Alexis swallowed nervously. “Jason, there’s nothing I’d love more right now than to let you go in there and see her and if you still want to when I finish talking, then it’s completely up to you–”

“Alexis,” Jason cut in sharply. “Just say it.”

“Sam has brain damage,” Alexis blurted out. “She doesn’t remember anything.”

ICU: Robin’s Room

Patrick stared at her for a long moment. “Helena Cassadine.”

Robin nodded. She shifted and bit her lip hard. “I–can’t–I saw her and there…” she shook her head. “I don’t remember what happened after that. I–I know she said something and I said something but…I remember going to your hotel room.” A ghostly smile flitted across her face. “I remember what we did in your hotel room.”

“Well, at least there’s a bright side.” Patrick hesitated. “Do you remember what happened when I left?”

“It’s…blurry…” Robin bit her lip harder. The pain was getting worse and there was black around the edges of her vision. She would be out again soon. “I remember pain. And a voice. I can’t—I can’t remember what they said or who it was but I knew the voice.” Her grip on his hand tightened.

“I’m going to get you some pain medication,” Patrick leaned across her and pressed the call button. “Just relax, baby. You’re going to be okay now.”

“Patrick…I knew the voice,” Robin repeated. “But…he’s dead. So it can’t be him.”

“If there’s anything I’ve learned living in Port Charles, it’s that dead is usually a figurative rather than literal term,” Patrick said. “Relax, Robin. You don’t have to worry about anything right now.”

“I do,” Robin said intently. “But–I just can’t remember what.” She was frustrated. Her mind couldn’t focus, she couldn’t move and there was this blinding pain. And she didn’t have any idea what was going on.

Wyndemere: A Bedroom

It had never been his intention to kill the Scorpio girl.

Stefan Cassadine buttoned his silk shirt and adjusted the cuffs, pinning them with a gold stud pin in each sleeve.

He had been obliged to return from his place of residence on Cyprus when it became apparent to him that Nikolas required his assistance. He had been careful to keep his survival to himself, knowing that Helena was still on the loose and still a potential danger.

He had kept himself a secret in some of Nikolas’ worse times, knowing that he had raised a man who could take care of himself, that could look out for himself and did not require parental supervision to run his life.

But Stefan had kept a close eye on him nonetheless and had made it a point to know that Courtney Jacks was not in fact carrying her estranged husband’s child, but the heir to the Cassadine family. Stefan had waited, albeit somewhat impatiently, for the knowledge to reveal itself.

But Courtney had died and the boy had gone home with a man not his father. Stefan had vowed to love Nikolas as his own, to treat him as his own. And a man did not allow his child to be duped into losing his firstborn son.

It was only right that those who sought to keep Nikolas’s child from him would have to pay the price. Even if it meant coming out of hiding.

Stefan tugged a suit jacket over his shirt and was about to exit the bedroom when a panel slid open and Luke Spencer stepped out.

“I should have brought popcorn,” he remarked with a grin. “It’s my favorite two movies rolled into one. Back from the Dead and The Undead. Must be my lucky day.”

June 1, 2006

ICU: Waiting Room 1

“I don’t know about you,” Robert began, looking at his brother, “but I need to do something more than sit around waiting for Robin to wake up.” He cracked his knuckles and flexed his neck. “She’s going to be okay. I think it’s time we started to digging into this.”

Anna nodded. “Yes, I think we should go to the police station with you, Mac. I need to feel like I’m doing something. Monica said it could be hours until Robin wakes up–”

“Okay,” Mac agreed. “But neither one of you is getting anywhere near Lucky Spencer, not during interrogation and not in the squad room. I will not hesitate to shoot you.” That he directed to his brother.

Robert narrowed his eyes. “Still haven’t forgiven me for the last fifteen years then, I imagine.”

“Gee…you think?” Anna remarked dryly. She turned to Patrick. “Since I don’t think you’ll be moving much until our daughter wakes up, would you call us soon as she does?”

“Ah…” Patrick glanced over at the more qualified members of Robin’s family but Brenda, Maxie and Georgie were conversing with Felicia across the room. “Sure. I guess. I mean, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good.” Anna patted his shoulder. “That’s good to know.”

“Felicia, we’re going to head down the station,” Mac told Felicia.

“That’s a good idea,” Felicia replied. “The three of you are going crazy in here and you need to get to the bottom of what happened to our Robin.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Georgie’s going to head to Kelly’s for some food, Maxie’s going to take the first shift with Robin and then Brenda and I are going to go the house and get changes of clothing for everyone.”

“I’ll call you if anything comes up,” Mac promised.

After they had left the room, Patrick sat alone for the first time in nearly twenty four hours. In fact…he checked his watch. At this time the night before, Robin had just been arriving at his hotel room. She’d been less than cheerful when he’d called her to make plans but considering the fight they’d had that morning, he couldn’t blame her.

Robin had been upset for days about the news her cousin had sprung on her after her return from the Maarkam Islands and she stressed about whether to keep the secret or tell Nikolas and as a result, it had driven Patrick up the wall because he’d wanted to her to be concentrating on him. God, he was such a selfish bastard sometimes.

Yesterday morning, it had blown up in their faces. He’d spent the night with her at her place and was already off kilter by that fact and she’d seen a picture of Nikolas in the paper for some hospital function and the guilty expression on her face had pissed him off because she should have been thinking about him–he was beginning to notice a pattern.

He’d been angry, Patrick remembered now. And he’d told her that she should just stay the hell out of people’s business and concentrate on her own life or there’d be nothing to concentrate on. And he’d left.

He’d apologized to her at the hospital later and she’d said she accepted but Patrick hadn’t felt like it was really solved so he’d asked Elizabeth to help him set up the romantic evening. He was really going to prove to her that he cared about her and wanted to give her all the things she wanted.

Robin had come to the door and she’d told him that he was right–she should concentrate on her own life instead of getting wrapped up in things she didn’t understand. Before he could ask her what that meant, she’d kissed him.

They never did manage to eat dinner when they were together.

The door to the waiting room opened and Patrick looked up, hoping it was Maxie to announce that Robin had woken early though the surgeon in him knew that was not possible.

But instead it was his father. Noah was still pulling off his operating scrubs when he sat next to him. “I’m sorry, I was in surgery all day–I heard Robin was upgraded to stable.”

Patrick exhaled slowly and took the first easy breath in nearly twenty-four hours. “She was. We’re just waiting for her to wake up now.”

“Thank God,” Noah replied. “I was so worried…” he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter now. She’s going to be okay.”

General Hospital: Emergency Room

Elizabeth pulled away from Jason and swiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry…you shouldn’t–you shouldn’t have to deal with this.” She sniffled. “You have your own problems to deal with and I can’t keep expecting you to drop everything when I need you–”

“Hey…we’re friends aren’t we?” Jason said quietly. He took her hand in his. “Elizabeth, I am always going to be here if you need me. That’s never changed, no matter what we’ve been through. And I know that I can count on you the same way. You put your career on the line to do that operation on Sam–”

“For all the good it did,” Elizabeth huffed. She folded her arms tightly. “I mean, I know why Alexis is doing what she’s doing but I just wish…I wish that for once, you’d get the happy ending.”

“I’m going to find Alexis and Sam,” Jason told her. “And I know that Sam is being cared for, that despite how Alexis feels about me, she’d make sure Sam had the best care.”

“I’m sure that must help,” Elizabeth murmured, “but you would rather be there with her.”

“Yes, but–Elizabeth, you don’t have to worry about any of this right now–”

“I get to worry,” she cut in with a weak smile. “We’re friends aren’t we?”

Jason accepted that and nodded. “Fair enough. Do you need a ride to the PCPD to pick up Cameron or is Audrey going to take you?”

She shook her head. “Gram’s staying on shift–she’s insisted that I pick up Cam and go back to her house for some rest. If you wouldn’t mind giving me a ride–”

Jason’s cell began to chirp and he held up a hand to indicate for her to hold that that thought. He opened his phone. “Morgan.”

“Jason?” Alexis’s voice was shaky. “Jason…it’s me.”

“Alexis?” he asked, in disbelief. “Why–why are you calling me?”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. Alexis? she mouthed. That would be a miracle–if she were calling to tell Jason that she’d changed her mind and would be bringing Sam back to GH or even better…if she were telling Jason that Sam was awake.

“Jason, you need–Sam is awake. You need to come immediately.” Alexis paused for a long moment. “We’re at the Petersen Clinic in Manhattan. I’ve registered her under Kristin Nilsson. I’ll leave your name at the front desk.”

She hung up without waiting for him to answer. He slid the phone back in his pocket and blinked. “Sam’s awake. Alexis needs me to go see her in Manhattan.” Jason exhaled slowly. “I’ll take you to the station and drop you off at Audrey’s–”

“Absolutely not,” Elizabeth interrupted. “You’ve been waiting three weeks for this news. I can get a ride with someone. You should leave for Manhattan right now.” She reached up and hugged him tightly. “It would make me feel a lot better if you were to go to Sam right now. She’ll need you.”

“Are you sure?” Jason asked. “Because I can–”

“I’m positive.” Elizabeth drew back and smiled up at him. “It’s a good night for us, you know? I’ve got Cameron, Sam’s awake and Robin’s going to live. It’s good to concentrate those things right now. The rest…it can wait.”

Kelly’s: Courtyard

“Mmm…this burger tastes so good,” Lulu mumbled biting into the sandwich. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in days.”

Dillon glanced over at her from where he was booting his laptop. He’d briefly thought about conducting this in the room upstairs but it felt weird to invite Lulu into the room he shared with Georgie after the extremely uncomfortable conversation from the records room.

“You were the one that insisted we stop off at the hospital cafeteria to grab a snack before we committed a series of felonies right?”

Lulu bit into her burger again with great relish and swallowed before speaking. “I have a healthy appetite and adrenaline seems to fuel it. Let me connect to my email account–” she reached for the laptop but he smacked her fingers.

“Uh uh. No one touches Sophie but me,” he told her. He reached for a French fry from her plate and tossed it in his mouth. “You just tell me how to get in–”

“Sophie?” Lulu repeated. She snickered. “I suppose that’s for Sophia Loren or something.” She sipped her milkshake but paused when she saw him staring at her. “What? Do I got ketchup on my face or something?”

“No, no…you’re right,” Dillon coughed. “It’s for Sophia Loren. Ah…no one’s got that connection before, that’s all.” He coughed again and slid the laptop towards her. “Log into your email and we’ll see if the results are there yet.”

“You’re not all weirded out about the records room, right?” Lulu asked, wiping her fingers before using Dillon’s precious Sophie.

“What?” Dillon laughed, but it was kind high and sounded extremely nervous. “Me? I don’t get weirded out. I’m cool. I’m always cool.” He coughed and took her milkshake, taking a long sip.

“Okay, because I wouldn’t want things to change–” Lulu began.

“I knew it.”

The disgusted outburst came from the doorway where Georgie stood, hands planted on her hips. “I cannot believe this–my cousin–no, my sister–is lying in a hospital bed fighting for her life and you are here with her instead of with me–”

“Georgie, we’re trying to help–” Lulu began.

“I don’t want to hear from you, Lesley Lu,” Georgie snarled. “I don’t give a damn about you. You’re nothing but a little piece of trash–”

“Hey,” Dillon stood. “I know you’re upset and that you’re worried about Robin and mad at me, but you don’t get to say things like that to her. Lulu hasn’t done anything wrong, okay? Be mad at me. I’m the one that went to the Islands and I’m the one who chose to help Lu clear her brother’s name, okay? Be mad at me, Georgie.”

“Of course you defend her Dillon!” Georgie retorted. “Are you actually sleeping with her or has she just–”

“Whoa, sweetheart.” Lulu stood. “You’ve been watching way too much television. I am not sleeping with Dillon and I don’t intend to. For one thing, he’s married,” she rolled her eyes, “and secondly, I’m a virgin so clearly I’m not going to waste it on a guy who’s in love with his wife. I’m seventeen and I don’t live in the O.C.”

“I don’t hear any denials about not wanting to,” Georgie growled.

Dillon frowned and then looked at Lulu before looking at Georgie. “Georgie, this is all a big misunderstanding–”

“Oh for the love of…” Lulu rolled her eyes. “You are completely delusional–why does it matter what I want? What? Dillon can’t say no?”

“Apparently not where you’re concerned,” Georgie said though clenched teeth.

“Now, wait a second–” Dillon began, really angry for the first time. Before he could finish, Diego Alcazar emerged from Kelly’s.

“Is there a problem out here?” he asked. He looked from Georgie to where Dillon and Lulu were clustered by the table. “Do you need–”

“No, we don’t need anything–why don’t you just go back inside–”

“Diego is my friend and I want him stay out here,” Georgie said stubbornly, crossing her arms and lifting her chin.

“Oh and you’re mad at me for Lulu?” Dillon demanded incredulously. “At least she’s not a felon!”

“Only because she’s never been charged!” Georgie retorted.

“Hey!” Lulu cried, insulted.

A bell chimed on Dillon’s computer, indicating new mail but the four teens were too busy arguing to hear it.

ICU: Robin’s Room

“You look better,” Maxie finally managed to say. She shifted uncomfortably in the chair and peered towards the doorway, hoping that someone would come in and take over sitting with Robin. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to sit with her, but she was nervous about everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

She had last spoken to her cousin the night before, shortly before Robin had left for Patrick’s hotel room. Robin had called and told Maxie that she had checked the hospital records and that there was a third paternity test that didn’t have either Jax or Nikolas listed as the father and that before they made any decisions, they would have to find out what was going on.

But Maxie had had enough of the entire affair and had called Nikolas to meet with her at the hospital. She’d wanted to take this entire situation out of Robin’s sphere and just tell Nikolas that there was some question to the paternity.

But Maxie had had an emergency call from Georgie about Dillon and she’d reluctantly canceled the meeting with Nikolas–after all the news could always wait, right? If she’d known Georgie’s emergency was all about ranting about Dillon’s involvement with Lulu, she would have thought twice.

“You have more color,” Maxie offered, deciding to pretend that she would talk to Robin as if she were really there instead of…wherever she actually was. “Um, so your parents were getting along for at least a good two hours so I suppose that’s something right? And I think your father’s finally warming up to Dr. Drake.” She bit her lip. “Brenda’s here and she wants all the dish on the doctor, by the way, so if that’s not reason enough to wake up, I don’t know what is.”

She cleared her throat and picked some more at her already chipped nail polish. “Speaking of Dr. Drake…I wanted to tell you that I was sorry. I know that I’ve got you involved in this whole mess and that it’s the last thing you wanted or needed and that it’s been causing problems with you and Patrick. I’m sorry for that because I know how much you like him and how much you hate the position I put you in.”

Maxie sniffled. “I knew about the dinner last night. I was at the nurse’s station when he asked Liz to help him set it up and I knew it was for an apology for a fight and I’m scared that the fight was about the paternity stuff and then it makes it my fault that you were there last night instead of at your apartment or whatever. I don’t believe it was Lucky Spencer but it still doesn’t change the fact that you were shot in a hotel room that you wouldn’t have been in it hadn’t been for me dragging you into this whole paternity mess.”

There was a sound of a throat being cleared and Maxie whirled around to find her mother staring at her with an arched brow.

“What paternity mess would that be, exactly?” Felicia asked.

PCPD: Squad Room

“Wait in my office,” Mac instructed Robert and Anna as they entered the PCPD squad room. Before the duo could obey that order (or argue as it looked like Robert was preparing to do), the door to the primary interrogation room swung open and Rodriguez walked out, dragging a hand through his dark hair. He hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours and the drive to and from Canada hadn’t helped his mood much.

“Have you gotten anything useful out of Spencer?” Mac asked, momentarily forgetting his brother and his sister-in-law standing behind him.

“No,” Rodriguez said, disgusted. “He’s too high on his pain medication. It does appear that he was a witness at the very least. I managed to piece some stuff together. Apparently, Spencer showed up to talk to Elizabeth–so he says–and he saw her in the bed, with the blood. He thought she was dead so my guess is that he showed up after Robin made the 911 call. He goes on to ramble about if Lucky tells what he saw, he’ll be killed and so will Cameron.” Rodriguez shrugged. “But I can’t really tell at this time if he’s telling the truth or has come up with something in his head to absolve himself of shooting his wife or at least attempting to.”

“We’ll have to get him admitted to the hospital, to the detox center if we’re going to get anything useful out of him,” Mac sighed. “Look, I haven’t checked my messages yet but I think the ESU called. Why don’t you head down there, find out if they’ve got anything and then take the rest of the night off?”

“Thanks,” Rodriguez sighed. “I already called for a car to take Spencer to the hospital. They’ll be taking him down momentarily.” He rubbed his face. “Do I look as tired as I feel?”

“More.”

The detective left the squad room and Mac turned back to Robert and Anna to escort them into his office.

Elizabeth entered the room then with Emily on her tails. “Mac…I want Cameron released to me.”

“Of course.” Mac snapped his fingers to the one of the patrol officers. “Lewis, can you please show Mrs. Spencer to the office where the social worker has Cameron Webber?” He looked back to Elizabeth. “You might want to think about admitting him to the hospital, at least over night for observation.”

The door to the interrogation room opened and an officer started to lead Lucky Spencer out to escort him to a car that would take him to the hospital.

Before Elizabeth could even process the sight of her husband standing before her, his eyes unfocused and rimmed with red, Robert Scorpio had launched himself across the room and attacked Lucky.

Kelly’s Courtyard

“You know what?” Georgie said. “I think we should get an annulment!”

“Best news I’ve had all night,” Dillon shot back. “This was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”

Georgie huffed and looked to Diego. “Can you give me a ride to the hospital?” she asked deliberately glancing at Dillon to get his reaction.

“Uh…sure,” Diego drawled out, uncomfortable now. “Let me just tell Mike I’m leaving.”

“Oh, that’s real mature,” Dillon rolled his eyes when Diego had gone back inside. “Go out with the convicted felon who drugged women to make a point. You know, Georgie, right now…you’re acting exactly your age. Clearly, you weren’t ready to be married.”

“Well, you were going to die,” Georgie muttered and Dillon paled.

“That…” he shook his head. “No…I asked you to marry me because I loved you and I thought we were going to be together. I wanted to spend my life with you. That’s why I asked. Are you telling me you only said yes because I was sick?” he demanded.

“Oh come on,” Georgie stomped her foot. “You’re being stupid about this, Dillon. Of course you asked me because you were sick and I thought you were going to die and–”

“Wow…” Dillon looked away. “Wow. So why didn’t you just get an annulment to begin with? Why make this big deal about making our marriage work?”

Georgie cleared her throat, feeling somewhat embarrassed now. “Because we were going to be together anyway, might as well stay as married.”

Lulu wisely kept her mouth shut and sat back at the table to finish her dinner. They were obviously going to implode without her help. Her eyes widened she saw that the test results had finally come in. She turned to tell Dillon.

“Might as well stay married,” Dillon repeated. “Well, you don’t have to bother making that sacrifice for me anymore, okay? We’re done.”

Diego exited the diner. “You ready?” he asked Georgie.

“More than,” Georgie muttered. She stomped away and Diego followed.

“I cannot believe her,” Dillon took a napkin and started to shred it into tiny little pieces. “Might as well stay married, can you imagine?”

Lulu huffed. “Okay, I don’t want to change the subject and I promise you that we’ll get back to this in a second but the results are in!”

“No, I don’t want to talk about Georgie or my marriage anymore,” Dillon shook his head. “Let’s concentrate on this. What do the results say?”

She opened them and scrolled to the bottom where the list of possible matches were listed. “Okay, it looks like it was only able to narrow it down to the family–” she broke off. “Wow.”

“So it might be Nikolas’s child after all,” Dillon said, perking up a little at seeing the list of Cassadine male relatives that had been treated at General Hospital in the past. “It lists Nikolas, Stefan, Stavros, Mikkos or…” he frowned. “Since when is he a Cassadine?”

“The last I checked, he wasn’t,” Lulu muttered. She tapped her fingers against the table. “Okay, out of the only two people alive at the time of conception on this list, Nikolas is the only one who has a possibility of being the father because he was actually with Courtney.”

“Well, we don’t know that he wasn’t,” Dillon gestured towards the second name. “I mean, I doubt it but would we really want to rule something like this out?”

“Oh come on,” Lulu rolled her eyes. “For one thing, he’s not a Cassadine and secondly, it’s Jesse. Why would he have slept with Courtney?”

“Okay, so John is Nikolas’s child,” Dillon remarked. “But it still makes me wonder why exactly Jesse Beaudry is showing up as a member of the Cassadine family.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Robert had his hands wrapped around Lucky’s throat, Lucky was gasping for air, Mac and Anna were both trying to pull them apart and the dozen or so officers were just standing around watching because clearly this was not business as usual.

“I’ll kill you!” Robert bellowed as Mac finally managed to pull him off the shaken former police office. “You bloody son of bitch–”

“Get in my office,” Mac snarled. He shoved his brother in the general direction and of course completely missed Anna grabbing Lucky by the collar.

“Why did you try to kill my daughter?” she snarled.

“I d-don’t–” Lucky started to struggle and Anna lost her grip, Robert grabbed her to keep her from falling. “I didn’t try to kill your daughter!” he finally managed to get out.

“Okay, then why did you try to kill your wife?” Robert growled.

Lucky’s eyes widened. “I didn’t–I didn’t kill her–” and then he saw Elizabeth standing there, her face ashen and her eyes large in her face. “No! You’re not here! You’re not supposed–” he stumbled back and started gasping for air. “You’re dead, he killed you, he’s going to kill me–”

Emily wrapped an arm around a trembling Elizabeth. “Lucky–” she began in a calm and patient tone.

“You’re dead!” Lucky cried again, struggling against the hold that an officer had on him. “You’re dead!” he kept repeating.

“Take him down to the car!” Mac yelled. “Elizabeth…” He took her elbow. “Let’s go into my office. We need to get you out of his sight.”

She followed him wordlessly and the officer led Lucky out of the squad room even as he was still mumbling to himself, “He killed her, he killed her.”

PCPD: Electronics and Surveillance Department

Rodriguez strolled into the small room that housed PCPD’s very tiny ESU department. So tiny, that it was made up completely of Detectives Catherine Sullivan and Melanie Horowitz.

He approached the latter and touched her shoulder. “Hey–the Commissioner thought you might have tried to get in touch with him.”

Melanie glanced up at him. “Hey, Carlos. Have you slept at all since you got the call last night?” she asked softly, keeping an eye on her partner Cathy who was currently trying to remember where she’d put her backup package of Tim Tams.

“Well, no,” Rodriguez said, but he grinned. “But Scorpio’s ordered me to go home after this so maybe I can rustle up some company.” He arched an brow at her. “Know anyone who’d be interested?”

“Carlos!” Melanie hissed.

Cathy snorted. “Please, like the entire department doesn’t know you two are banging each other. Rodriguez, she gets off in an hour.” She fished out her Tim Tams and set them next to her work station. “Are we going to get down to business or what?”

“So you do have something for me,” Rodriguez remarked, taking the empty seat next to Melanie. “I’m going to need you guys to go further on the Scorpio footage from last night. We think there was a second person in the room.”

“Sure…but first…” Melanie punched a few buttons. “We have your shooter from the Corinthos shooting. It looks like some guy dressed as tourist. He literally strolled up to the window, shot her and walked away. We don’t have clear shot of him but Cathy was able to zoom real close up on his profile, so we’ve got a partial photo for you.” She cleared her throat. “But the real surprise on that tape came about ten minutes before the shooting.”

She keyed up the footage and started to play it. Rodriguez leaned forward and watched as the familiar man walked past Carly Corinthos’ office window. The man paused for only an brief moment but it was long enough for the camera to get a full view of his face. “That can’t be…”

“Oh…we double checked,” Cathy remarked. “We pulled some photos from the system and it’s him. A little older, but it’s him.”

“Even if it is him,” Rodriguez began slowly, “I can’t imagine why he’d have anything to do with this.”

“Since when did his family never need a reason?” Melanie pointed out. “You’re not from PC, Carlos. My mother still tells stories about the Cassadines trying to freeze the world, okay?”

“Okay,” Rodriguez allowed, “but he’s not like the rest of his family. Or at least he wasn’t. And I can’t think of one reason why Stefan Cassadine would want Carly Corinthos dead.”

June 1, 2006

ICU: Waiting Room 1

“Okay, it took four planes and one minor assault charge but I am finally here.”

Brenda Barrett swept into the waiting room, lacking the energy and vibrancy that was so characteristic of the diminutive brunette. The sparkle in her eyes and the smile on her lips were also gone and her movements weren’t smooth but frantic.

“Jax didn’t pick me up at the airport, something about a shot Carly but I found a cab.” Her eyes searched out Mac and she zoomed in on him. “Where is she? Surgery? Recovery? Has her condition changed?”

There were some things in life that would never change and the dull ringing Mac got in his ears after Brenda began speaking seemed to be one of them.

“She’s in surgery, Brenda,” Felicia said, rescuing her ex-husband. “Monica just came in to let us know everything was progressing as expected.”

“Progressing as expected,” Brenda repeated. “What does that mean?”

“It means that the surgery is going fine but Robin’s still probably going to die,” Maxie said harshly. She stood and stormed out of the room. Georgie sighed and followed her sister.

“Oh, Robin can’t–” Brenda blinked and looked back at Mac. “But she can’t…she can’t die. That’s my thing. I’m the one who goes away. Not Robin. She’s supposed to stay and…she’s supposed to be okay.”

“From your mouth to God’s ears,” Anna murmured. “It’s good that you’re here, Brenda. Robin would appreciate it.”

“Okay. Well.” Brenda planted her hands on her hips. “She’s just not going to…” she waved her hands. “I’m not letting it happen.”

“And when did you get your medical degree?” Robert demanded, rising to his feet.

“About the same time you graduated from Deadbeat Dad University,” Brenda shot back. “I’ve seen Robin survive a lot of crap in her life–from thinking her parents were dead, to Stone, to that idiot Jason and his bed partner Carly. I believe in Robin and she has a lot to live for.” She sniffed. “Besides, she hasn’t given me the 411 on Doctor Hottie over there so she’s not going anywhere yet.”

With Brenda’s attention on Patrick now, she crossed the room and stood in front of him. “I’m Robin’s best friend and your potential worst nightmare if you ever hurt her.”

Patrick just looked at her, at a loss for words. How was his sane and steady Robin friends with this lunatic?

General Hospital: ER

Kelly Lee had been many uncomfortable positions in her life. Some for fun and some…not so fun. Despite her patient’s relative good prognosis, she still didn’t want to go into that waiting area and confront the three men waiting for news on Carly Corinthos. Jasper Jacks and Sonny Corinthos were either trading barbs or dirty looks and Jason Morgan…

He was probably one of Kelly’s least favorite people after the debacle with Samantha McCall.

But she was a doctor, and more importantly, she was a professional so it would just be better to get it over with. She straightened her shoulders and started towards them.

Jax and Sonny were too busy trying to one up each other but Jason saw her coming and got to his feet. “Ah…Mr. Jacks?” Kelly said, “I’m only authorized to give news on Carly’s condition to you.”

That got Jax’s attention and the Australian stood. “I thought I was just waiting to go and see her.”

“Well, the surgery took a longer than we thought and it turns out that the bullet did nick Carly’s liver so we had to repair that,” Kelly continued. “However, my original prognosis remains the same, she’ll just have to stay in the hospital for a week or two.”

“Can I see her?” Sonny asked.

“Ah…well, right now she’s in recovery but when’s she moved to her room…” Kelly hesitated and wondered how to tell the town’s foremost mobsters that Carly didn’t ask for them. “Carly’s only asking for Mr. Jacks.”

Jax smiled smugly. “I thought so. When will I be able to see her?”

“In about an hour,” Kelly answered. “One of the nurses will be able to direct you to her room. I have another patient to see.”

She made her escape after that.

“I should go check in on Robin while I’m waiting–” Jax broke off and closed his eyes. “Oh, hell.”

“What?” Sonny asked almost reluctantly.

Because the wrath Jax would receive when he met up with Brenda would be understood by these men more than any other, he told them. “I forgot to pick Brenda up at the airport.”

“Brenda?” Jason repeated. He closed his eyes and grimaced. “And I didn’t think this could get much worse.”

General Hospital: Records Room

“Well, I guess there’s no way to know from these records,” Lulu remarked. She pressed a few more keys. “Here’s something intriguing. Robin accessed the test that lists Nikolas as the father last week but then she accessed the test that says neither of them are the father at five p.m.yesterday.”

“Whoa…” Dillon leaned over Lulu’s shoulder more closely. “That is definitely an interesting twist.”

“If Robin knew that neither Nikolas nor Jax was John’s father…well…I think that’s a secret that is definitely worth shooting for,” Lulu said with a smirk. “So our list of suspects is…”

“Jax, the baby’s biological father and Lucky.” Dillon shrugged. “My money’s on the biological father but how are we supposed to figure out who that is?” He sat in a chair next to Lulu. “Courtney was married to AJ, Jason and Jax and engaged to Nikolas before she died. Was she ever linked to anyone else?”

“Well, I never heard anything on the grapevine but there has to be someone else. AJ was dead and Jason was with that Sam chick all last year.” Lulu pursed her lips.

“Yeah, but vows of fidelity mean nothing in this town,” Dillon reminded her.

“That’s true…” Lulu turned back to the computer. “The hospital keeps all DNA on file so we could just a run a search of any DNA that matches John’s.”

“How do you know that?” Dillon asked as he watched Lulu set up the search.

“I hack into the hospital files all the time,” Lulu said as if it was something anyone did on an ordinary day. “I can hack into the school’s too. I’m still working on cracking the PCPD mainframe.”

“Oh.” he stared at her for a moment. “Well, those are handy skills to have.”

“We might get chased out of here before the search finishes but I’ll set the results so that they get sent to my untraceable email address,” she said.

“You have an untraceable email address,” Dillon stated.

“Sure, doesn’t everyone?” Lulu pressed another button. “We’ll have to get you one too if we’re going to keep doing this stuff.”

“Uh uh, I promised Georgie this was my last caper,” Dillon said stubbornly.

“Right. How many times have you promised her that?” she asked, glancing at him with a wry smile.

“Six times,” Dillon admitted. “But I mean it this time,” he added.

“Okay…the search is running.” Lulu sat back and studied her hands. “So…I’m sorry if I’m causing problems for you and Georgie.”

He dismissed that. “Georgie’ll get over it. There’s no reason for her to worry anyway. I mean, there’s nothing going on and she’s just being paranoid. I gave her reason to worry with Sage, I guess.”

“Well…” Lulu frowned and looked at him. “She’s not paranoid, not really Dillon.”

“What?” he said. “There’s nothing going on between us. I mean, the islands–that was something else. That was a plan, a ruse, a cover. There was nothing and I never–it was nothing,” he said quickly. “I never even–it was nothing.”

She sighed. “Dillon, you’re so obtuse. Even for a guy. Why do you think that every time we need a cover, that my first suggestion is to make out?” she asked him.

“Because I’m a guy and you’re a girl and it always works?” Dillon said desperately. He really didn’t want to have this conversation. He would rather discuss his mother’s sex life than have this conversation. Well…maybe that was too drastic.

“Well, yeah, but…” Lulu smirked. “Come on, Dillon. I like you.”

He blinked. “I like you too.”

Men. “No…Dillon, I like you–don’t make me spell this out because you know where I’m going with this, okay?” she huffed.

“I guess I do, but…Lu–”

“I know you’re married, Dillon and you were with Georgie before I even really knew you so I know that it can’t go nowhere,” she rolled her eyes. “But Georgie’s not stupid, okay? She knows.”

Dillon coughed. “Yes, but…Lulu, you’re–” he gestured. “You’re completely–” He shook his head. “I don’t even know where to go with that. I can’t imagine why you like–”

“You’re cute, you’re funny and you’re sweet. Plus, you pay attention to me.” Lulu shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable. “And even though you think this whole thing is stupid, you’re still helping me. Look, Dillon, I didn’t tell you to change anything and I don’t want it to change anything.”

Little late for that now! “Then why tell me at all?”

“So you understand that it’s not about Georgie not trusting you,” Lulu said. “She doesn’t trust me. But it’s okay; I’m not going to play the vixen and try to break you guys up. I figure…she keeps dating Diego–”

“She is not dating Diego–”

“–and you two will take care of it for yourselves.”

“I wish you’d stop saying she’s dating Diego,” Dillon muttered. He trained his eyes on the computer screen, wishing like hell a match would come up and this conversation would be over. He didn’t want to think about this. He didn’t want to think about how much easier it would all be if Georgie understood his need for adventures like Lulu did. He coughed. “She’s not–”

“As a girl who has a crush on a guy she shouldn’t…” Lulu smirked at him. “I know the signs–” she broke off abruptly. “Was that footsteps?”

“The window!” Dillon went towards it.

“You idiot, we’re on the third floor,” Lulu hissed. She minimized the search to hide it from then next person who used the computer.

“There’s a fire escape,” Dillon growled at her, grabbing her arm and shoving her out the window just before someone tried to open the door.

ICU: Waiting Room 1

The only sound in the room was the tapping of Brenda’s heel against the wooden leg of her chair.

Tap, tap, tap.

Robert glared at the ex-model. “Will you stop that?”

“Sorry…I tend to fidget when I’m nervous,” Brenda sighed. She glanced over at a sullen Maxie and Georgie who was trying to comfort her.

Robert looked like he might argue the point just to be contrary and for God’s sake…to have something to do but Monica stepped into the room before he could decide.

“Robin’s in recovery,” Monica said, wiping her forehead. “She stayed stable throughout the last half of the procedure and after repairing the artery and stopping the internal bleeding…we’re going to upgrade her condition.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Anna asked.

But Patrick understood. He got to his feet. “She’s going to make it.”

“I didn’t say that,” Monica said, but she was smiling a little. “I’m saying that Robin made a turn around in the last hour that we didn’t predict. Her blood pressure is stable, her pulse and her heartbeat are strong and the damage was repaired. The next twenty-four hours remain critical, she could still develop an infection but I’m cautiously optimistic enough to upgrade her to stable condition.”

“Stable condition,” Mac repeated like it was a mantra sent straight from heaven. “Stable means she’ll be okay.”

“Barring any natural disasters or infections,” Monica reminded them. “But with a little luck, yes. We’ll be moving her back into her room in the ICU in about a half hour.”

“When will she wake up?” Brenda asked.

“That all depends on Robin. With her condition and the HIV, her healing process is going to be more difficult, her T-cell did drop significantly and I’m bringing in some specialists to work on raising that but with all her body’s been through, she may not be conscious for another few hours or even until tomorrow morning.” She took her pager off her waist. “I have to go take this–”

“Monica,” Anna stepped forward and clasped the woman’s hands in hers. “Thank you. For saving her.”

“Robin did the hard part.” Monica patted Anna’s shoulder. “I’ll be back later to check on her.”

Budget Motel: Room 12

Rodriguez stepped up to the room number Jason Morgan had given Mac and knocked. There was no immediate answer. He knocked again.

He reached to the small of his back to remove his gun but before he could actually grasp it, the door swung open and he was confronted with Lucky Spencer.

He wasn’t sure what he suspected when he finally came face to face with his old colleague. With the rumors and the suspicion, he expected Lucky to have the red eyes and dazed expression of a drug addict.

But Lucky Spencer looked mostly alert and more importantly, he looked worried. “How did you find me?” he hissed. “Never mind.” He yanked the detective inside. “Did anyone see you?”

“Spencer…” Rodriguez scanned the room and was relieved to find Cameron Webber sitting on the bed, chewing the ear of a stuffed rabbit. “What the hell are you doing up here?”

“What does it look like?” Lucky snapped. He peeked out the curtains. “How did you find me?” he asked again.

“Jason Morgan found you–” Rodriguez shook his head. Spencer was a suspect, not a friend. “Lucas Lorenzo Spencer, Jr. I have a warrant for your arrest in the kidnapping of Cameron Hardy Webber–”

Lucky stopped and whirled around. “Kidnapping? He’s my son–I had to protect him–”

“From what?” Rodriguez dropped the cop mask and reverted back to former colleague. “Spencer, they think you shot Robin Scorpio.”

“Robin?” Lucky repeated. “Robin was shot, too?”

“Too?” Rodgriguez repeated. His head was spinning and none of this was making sense. “Robin was shot at the Metro Court last night–”

“How is that possible?” Lucky demanded. “Why would she be at the Metro Court–” he stopped. “So she knows, too.”

“You’re going in circles, Spencer. Robin was with Patrick Drake in his room before Drake was called back to the hospital–”

“No, no, that was Elizabeth,” Lucky shook his head. He pointed at Rodriguez. “Elizabeth was in his bed, I saw her.”

The agitation, the strange manic look in his eyes and Rodriguez could finally believe the rumors. “No, Spencer, your wife was at the hospital last night. Robin was in his bed. She was sleeping and you shot her.”

“No!” Lucky’s eyes widened. “He said you’d say that but I didn’t! I didn’t shoot my wife, I wouldn’t!”

“Lucky, just come back to Port Charles with me,” Rodriguez said quietly. “We’ll get this all straightened out there.”

“No, I can’t–I can’t go back. He’ll find me and he’ll kill my son.” Lucky shook his head. “That’s what he said.”

“Who said?” Rodriguez demanded. “Who said that, Lucky?”

“He killed her.” Lucky dropped onto the bed and put his hands on his head. “I just wanted to talk to her–I just wanted to ask her why and she was in the bed, and there was blood and she was dead. And he was there and he said if I told anyone–anyone at all, he’d find me and he’d kill me and he’d kill Cameron.”

“We’ll protect you, Lucky,” Rodriguez promised. “We’ll protect you and we’ll protect Cameron.”

“I don’t care about me, I care about Cameron.” Lucky rocked back and forth. “He killed her and if he kills me, Cam won’t have anyone. I have to protect Cameron–”

“We’ll protect Cameron, Lucky. Just come back and straighten this out. We know you didn’t kill your wife. We want your help to find out who did.” Rodriguez knelt in front of him. It was important to make him feel safe, to make Lucky feel like he was believed and in safe hands. “Come home and we’ll fix this.”

“You’ll protect Cameron?” Lucky demanded. “You’ll keep him safe no matter what happens to me?”

“I’ll protect him with my life,” Rodriguez swore. He stood and held out a hand. “Let’s go back to Port Charles.”

General Hospital: Emergency Room

Elizabeth found Jason sitting alone in the Emergency Room. “Hey…Monica said you’d be down here–Carly was shot?”

Jason stood and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah–she’ll be okay though. They said you were in surgery with Robin–how’s she doing?”

Elizabeth smiled briefly and felt lighter than she had in days. “She’s stable now. Unless she develops an infection, she should be okay. And I also stopped in to check with Mac. The detective found Lucky. And Cameron was with him. Detective Rodriguez is bringing him home.”

“That’s great news, Elizabeth.” Jason stepped towards her. “Maybe we’ll get to this bottom of this now.”

“I’m just so relieved Cameron is safe,” Elizabeth said quietly. “I feel like I’ve aged a thousand years in just a few hours, you know?” Her lips twisted into a half smile. “I guess after what you went through with Michael last year, this must look easy in comparison.”

“That was rough,” Jason agreed, “but nothing about this has been easy, Elizabeth. Not knowing where your child is, if you’re ever going to see him again, whether that lasts a few hours, a few weeks or even a few months, it’s the worst thing I could think of for any parent.”

“Cameron’s safe, Robin’s going to live and they’re bringing Lucky home.” Elizabeth closed her eyes. “And I’ll find out for sure if he wanted me dead.”

Her voice broke on the last word and all of the desperation, the fear, the panic, the devastation–it broke at that moment and she started to cry. Her tears turned to sobs and Jason hugged her tightly, wishing he could take her pain away as easily as he’d found Lucky Spencer.

PCPD: Electronics and Surveillance Division

“And here is the security tape for the garden right outside the office.” Cathy shoved the tape in and pressed play. “I hope this has the shooter on it.”

“Please,” her fellow technician Melanie snorted. “I read the tabloids you know. Carly Corinthos has a list of enemies as long as well…have you seen the Nile River?” she remarked as she centered the frame on the window area. “How far away did forensics say the shooter was?”

“No more than few feet from the window, so he should be in the frame.” Cathy reached for her box of Tim Tams and frowned when she found them empty again. “You’ve been eating these again.”

“Have not,” Melanie said innocently. “It was probably the night staff.”

“You always eat them–” Cathy began heatedly.

“Hold on a minute–” Melanie straightened and pressed the zoom button. “Holy shit. Is that who I think it is?”

“What?” the other woman leaned in and gasped. “Oh my God. Oh my God. There’s no way.”

“I better call the Commissioner right away.” Melanie reached for the phone. “Though I bet he’s not going to take this well. Damn it, don’t people ever stay dead in this town?”

June 1, 2006

Metro Court Hotel: Carly’s Office

“Okay. Okay.”

Carly closed her eyes and dug her teeth into the flesh of her bottom lip. “Okay. We–we just–we just have to take a deep breath. We have to be calm and we have to–Sonny’s done this like fifteen times, I can do it once.”

She pressed a hand to her abdomen and reached for her phone. “If Robin do this with two, I can certainly do it with one.”

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“This is Carly Corinthos at the Metro Court Hotel, I’m in my office and someone just shot me!”

“We’re sending an ambulance now, Ms. Corinthos. Do you know who shot you?”

Carly winced and swallowed hard. That pinch was turning into the hot poker feeling she’d been expecting in the first place. “No, and they’d better hope I never find out or I will kick their asses! God damn it, this hurts!”

ICU: Robin’s Room

Megan Jennings exited Robin’s room for the second time that day and faced her patient’s exhausted mother. “Ms. Devane?”

“Why is she crashing?” Anna demanded. “She was stable just a few moments ago–”

“Anna…” Audrey placed a hand on the former police chief’s shoulder. “Robin’s been through a lot of trauma and her body is dealing with it the best way that it can. Dr. Jennings brought her back and that’s important to focus on. They were able to revive her.”

Anna shrugged off Audrey’s comfort and started down the hall. “I have to go tell Mac and Robert about this.”

When she was out of earshot, Megan looked at Audrey with sad eyes. “She’s not going to survive a third round, Audrey. Monica needs to be paged and Dr. Scorpio needs to go back into surgery now if she’s going to have any chance at all.”

“I’ll page her,” Audrey sighed.

“I’m off shift but Marian Hawthorne’s taking over for me,” Megan said as the two walked towards the nurse’s station. “I made sure to brief her on the case and the, ah, principles involved.”

“Thank you, Megan. Say hello to Derek for me,” Audrey said absently as she reached for phone to page Monica Quartermaine.

General Hospital: Break Room

Elizabeth swallowed hard. “You found Lucky.”

“Yeah…listen, I’ll come to the hospital and tell Mac so he can send someone to go get him,” Jason continued. “He’s in a motel just over the Canadian border and he checked in there last night about two in the morning.”

Her voice shook as she asked the next question, “And Cameron?”

Jason was silent for a moment. “Max said the clerk didn’t notice a kid but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t in the car, Elizabeth.”

“Right,” she said hollowly. “He was probably in the car.”

“I’m coming to the hospital, okay?” Jason said. “I’m telling Max to stay on the room in case Lucky leaves and if he sees Cameron, he’ll let me know immediately. And if he doesn’t have him…” Jason hesitated. “I’ll find him.”

“I’ll see you when you get here,” Elizabeth said dully. She shut off her phone and leaned her head in her hands. She would do anything to go back in time and fix this so none of this could have happened.

ICU: Waiting Room 1

“I feel like I’ve been here forever,” Maxie said to her sister. “And it’s barely been a day.” She propped her head up on her hand and stared out the window at the harbor. “This is so much worse than Jesse.”

Georgie arched her brows. “How can you say that? You loved Jesse!”

“Yeah, but…” Maxie shook her head. “I’m not negating how we felt towards one another, Georgie, but this is Robin. This is our cousin–better yet, our sister. And they can’t tell us one way or the other if she’s going to make it. With Jesse…it was quick, you know? It was a few hours and he was gone. But this just keeps dragging and dragging and everyone’s here and you and Dillon are arguing–” she closed her eyes. “I want to skip ahead to the end just so I can avoid this middle stuff.”

“Robin is going to be okay,” Georgie said firmly. “I have to believe that. She was, you know, okay enough to call 911. And that’s what I keep telling myself. She had to reach for the phone and she had to dial and she did that. She’s strong, Maxie. She’s been through so much and she’s the strongest person I know.” She hesitated. “She watched Stone die little by little and she was in the room when he did pass away. And she got through that and made a life herself anyway. So many other people would have given up after going through a quarter of what Robin has.”

“I know she’s strong,” Maxie said softly. “But how long does a person have to keep picking herself back up before she just stops bothering? How much more does Robin have to take before she gets a break?”

The door to the waiting room opened and Monica stepped in. Immediately everyone was on their feet and Monica had to take a step back to keep herself from feeling crowded. “After Robin’s last flat line, I’ve decided that it’s too risky to keep waiting for the second surgery.”

“Is she strong enough?” Robert demanded. “I thought the whole point of waiting was for her to regain some strength.”

“She’s not as stable as I’d like,” Monica admitted, “but the internal bleeding has to be stopped or the next time Robin flat lines, we may not unable to revive her. If I don’t take her back in now, she won’t survive the night.”

“But will she survive the surgery?” Patrick asked roughly. “If she’s not strong enough to last the night…” he couldn’t speak anymore.

“There’s no way to say for sure whether she will or not,” Monica told him. “I will do the best I can, you have my word on that but I won’t make any promises.” She held a clipboard out to Anna. “You’re her next of kin, legally. You need to sign the consent forms.”

Anna hesitated but signed her name at the bottom of the form. “A small chance is better than none,” she said quietly. “Can I see her one last time before you take her in?”

“I want to see her as well,” Robert said.

“You can all go see her if you make your visits short and quick,” Monica said. “It’s going to take a half hour to prep the team and the OR. Liz Spencer will be up shortly to prep Robin.”

General Hospital: Emergency Room

Sonny strolled up to the admittance desk. “My ex-wife Carly Corinthos was just brought in, I, ah, heard on the news that she’d been shot.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Corinthos,” the nurse began, “but as her ex-husband, we can’t release any information to you. Only to the next of kin.”

“Her mother is out of town, and won’t be back until tomorrow,” Sonny said, making a note to call Bobbie in Florida where she was vacationing with Lucas. “She has no other next of kin save our boys.”

“I’ve got Carly’s power of attorney,” Jax snarled from behind Sonny. “You don’t need to be here.”

Sonny turned around and glared at the man he’d probably hate for the rest of his life. “She’s the mother of my children–”

“Only two of them,” Jax clarified with a smirk. “And the other two…aren’t they with a mother and daughter duo?” He clasped his hands behind his back. “I repeat, there is no reason for you to be here. If Carly wanted you here, she’d ask for you.”

“I want to know how she is I can tell our sons,” Sonny all but growled. “Don’t you think Carly would want them to know she’s okay?”

Jax pursed his lips, knowing that the man was right and hating him all the more. “Fine. Carly was hit in the lower abdomen, but it was a relatively clean hit and there was an exit wound. She’s conscious and they’re going to take her in for some quick surgery to sew her up. She’ll be here for a few days. Is that enough for you?”

“Do they know who did it?” Sonny pressed. “Any suspects?”

“Other than your enemies, you mean?” Jax asked pointedly. “No. Now, you know Carly’s condition, so you can leave.”

“Oh…” Sonny shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere.”

ICU: Waiting Room 1

It had been only fifteen minutes since Robin had been taken in for the second surgery but Mac Scorpio kept waiting for Monica to come through those doors and tell him that they’d lost her.

He’d paced the carpet so often in this room that there he’d worn a groove into it. Felicia kept pressing him to eat, to try to nap but he refused. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate until he knew Robin would be all right.

When the door did push open, Mac tensed and looked towards it with dread. He exhaled in relief when it was Jason. “What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for Elizabeth,” Jason answered, glancing around at those gathered and feeling uncomfortable. “But they said she was in surgery. I found Lucky Spencer.”

Those four words garnered the attention of every person in the room. “How did you even get involved?” Patrick demanded. “Since when have you given a damn about Robin–”

“That doesn’t even matter right now,” Robert cut off Patrick’s tirade. “Where is the little bastard?”

“He’s holed up in a motel over the Canadian border,” Jason answered. “I have some men watching him in case he makes a run for it but I know…” he looked to Mac. “Robin would want this handled through you and if Lucky has Cameron, then I can’t take any chances.” He took a piece of paper from his pocket. “This is his location.”

Mac took it and met Jason’s eyes. “Thank you. I’ll send my detectives up there immediately to get him. Hopefully, we can talk him into surrendering himself without having to deal with extradition but if you could keep your men watching him until they get there.”

“It’s done,” Jason agreed. He hesitated. “Is Robin…has her condition changed?”

“She’s in surgery,” was all Mac could say. “Thank you for asking.”

The indication for Jason to leave was clear and he didn’t need any more encouragement. He would just wait in the other room for Elizabeth.

When he was gone, Felicia exhaled slowly. “I can’t believe he’s just turning Lucky over so easily or cooperating with the police. It’s so unlike him.”

“Jason knows how to use the PCPD when it’s to his advantage,” Mac said dryly. “I have to step out for a moment and give Rodriguez a call. He’ll want to be the one that brings Lucky in.”

It was almost two hours before the doors opened again and Emily, who had been observing the surgery, stepped in. “Mom sent me to give you guys an update.”

“Is the surgery done?” Anna demanded. “Is Robin all right?”

“We’ve stopped the bleeding,” Emily informed them, “and Mom’s just repairing the artery now. But…” she hesitated. “There’s a lot of damage and Robin lost a lot of blood, you know? There’s…there’s a really good chance that she might not…”

Robert stepped forward. “You’re telling me that even if this surgery is successful, that Robin could die anyway?” he demanded. “What the hell kind of doctors work here?”

“I’m sorry,” Emily said softly. “But even last night, there was only a twenty-five percent chance that she would make it. And after flat lining twice, that chance has shrank considerably. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, of course, but you should prepare yourselves–”

She broke off abruptly when Patrick slammed out of the room. Anna hesitated but went after him.

“Just tell us straight, Emily,” Felicia said quietly. “Robin’s probably not going to make it?”

“The chances are slim,” Emily agreed sadly.

ICU: Hallway

“God damn it!” Patrick slammed his fist into the plaster wall. The wall didn’t crack but the stinging pain that radiated in his hand and up his arm was the first feeling Patrick had had in hours.

“You probably shouldn’t do that,” Anna stated. “Robin tells me you’re a gifted neurosurgeon and you wouldn’t want to damage your hands–”

“To hell with my hands!” he retorted. “What good are they doing me now? They can’t fix Robin!” He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. “If I had just stayed in Manhattan, this wouldn’t be happening right now.”

Anna arched an eyebrow. “So you regret meeting my daughter?” she asked bluntly. “Not the best way to make a good impression here, Dr. Drake.”

“Before Robin, I didn’t give a damn about anything,” Patrick shot back. “Nothing except my career. I didn’t care about my father; I didn’t care about the future unless it was medically related. And now…” he shook his head. “What’s the point?”

“The point?” Anna repeated.

“Of giving a damn. Of letting someone in and caring about them?” Patrick demanded. “If Robin had been anyone else last night, I would have just sent them home and forgot about them and if I had just done that–”

“And if I had just convinced Robin to move to London with me instead of Port Charles last fall, she wouldn’t have been here at all and then where would you be?” Anna said. “Are you going to tell me you’re not better off for having known her?”

“Right now, it doesn’t feel like I am,” Patrick muttered.

“When things get tough, that’s when you prove yourself,” Anna said. “Now, when Robin talked about you in the islands, I was so disappointed because I realized she’d fallen in love with someone who had all her father’s worst qualities–”

“Wait a second–” Patrick snapped his head up. “We’re not–”

“According to Robin, you’re arrogant, you think you’re God’s gift to women and that you’re infuriating, which are all of Robert’s worst personality traits.” Anna paused. “After having met you, I realize you are exactly like her father. In all the worst ways…and the best ways. Robin wouldn’t want you to blame yourself–”

“I am so sick of hearing what Robin would want,” Patrick cut in. “Well, she’s not here and you know what? She might not ever be here again so I’m just going to do whatever the hell I want, okay?”

Anna glared at him. “I wasn’t finished. Robin wouldn’t want you to blame yourself but she also wouldn’t tell you how to feel so if you want to sit out here and feels sorry for yourself and torture yourself because you let yourself care for my daughter, that’s your prerogative. But a real man stands up, Patrick.”

She left him standing there and went back into the room. Robert frowned at her. “Is he all right?” he asked grudgingly. “He’s taking this all kind of hard.”

“It’s a little difficult, Robert, for a man to lose someone and realize that he loves them all at the same time,” Anna said slowly. “I imagine that’s difficult for anyone.”

General Hospital: Records Room

Dillon slid the chair up against the door and then turned the lock. “Okay, anyone who wants to come in is going to have find a key and then get the chair out of the way so that should buy us time to either jump out that window out there–”

“–we’re on the third floor!” Lulu said with wide eyes. “We couldn’t jump out the window–”

“–or make up some really good excuse for why we’re in here,” Dillon finished. “So let’s just get this done quickly.”

Lulu sat at one of the computers and booted it. She cracked her knuckles and then flexed her fingers before starting the delicate process of hacking into the patient’s files.

“Where did you learn how to do this?” Dillon asked curiously, leaning over her shoulder.

“My brother gave me my first lesson when I wanted to change a failing grade,” Lulu informed him as her fingers flew over the keys. “And I kind of used what Lucky taught me and expanded it. I hacked into your mother’s bank account, remember?”

“Vividly,” Dillon muttered, remembering Tracy’s wrath.

“Okay, here we go. John Michael Jacks, complete patient history.” Lulu clicked on his file and started to scan it. “Okay, the first part of this is all his actual history. His premature birth, how he was sick with the virus…okay, here are the tests that have been run.”

“Three separate paternity tests,” Dillon said, surprised. “One back in 2005 and two this year. Why would they need so many tests?”

“Well…first, let’s find out who had access.” Lulu pressed a few more buttons that Dillon didn’t catch. “Okay, Dr. Lynn Meadows accessed the one created on May 8, 2006 and the one from October 2005. Dr. Robin Scorpio also accessed both of those as well as the third one created, February 25, 2006. Only one other person accessed all three but…” she leaned forward. “Whoever it was didn’t have legal access so it was someone who hacked in, I think. Like us.”

“What’s in the tests?” Dillon asked.

“The first one says that Jax is the father, and the most recent one lists Nikolas.” Lulu frowned. “Weird.”

“What about the one from February? From right after John was born?”

She clicked on it and sat back in surprise as she read the results. “Well, this one says that neither of them is.” She looked at him, confused.

“Well…hell…” Dillon said disgusted. “Who the hell is his father for Christ’s sake?”

June 1, 2006

ICU: Robin’s Room

“You must be the arrogant doctor that drives my Robin crazy.”

The smooth, accented voice roused Patrick from his thoughts and he turned to see a woman who could only be Anna Devane, Robin’s mother. “I see Robin’s mentioned me,” Patrick said idly. “She’ll be glad you’re here.”

He kissed the inside of Robin’s palm and gently set her hand back at her side before pushing himself to his feet. “I’ll go–and let you sit with her.”

“Mmm, thank you.” Anna touched his shoulder as he passed her. “But stick around, Dr. Drake. I’d like to speak with you.”

Patrick flicked a glance back in Robin’s direction, his eyes lingered for a moment as if willing her to wake up and say goodbye to him. When she remained motionless, he looked back at Anna and nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Anna sat gingerly in the seat Patrick had vacated and took her daughter’s hand. “You weren’t kidding when you said he was good looking, sweetheart.” She bit her lip. “I’m so sorry that I couldn’t be here sooner, but I am glad that I made it before the second surgery because I wanted–your father tells me that you might not…” Anna couldn’t bring herself to say the words. It couldn’t be true, she wouldn’t let it be true.

“We won’t think about that now, darling. We’ll concentrate on what we’re going to do when you get released and you can tell me all about how Patrick Drake went from being the man you barely liked to someone who sits at your bedside.”

ICU: Waiting Room 2

Mac stared at his detective for a long moment. “Not Lucky Spencer.” Thank God. Thank God. He hadn’t misjudged Lucky after all. Maybe Lucky was going through some tough times and maybe he was addicted to those pain pills, but Mac could get him through this. He could fix this now, just so long as Lucky wasn’t the shooter. “Who was it then?”

“Well…when I say it’s not Lucky Spencer, I mean we can’t say for sure that isn’t…or that it is.” Rodriguez dragged his fingers through his hair. “Could be the Tooth Fairy for all we can see. The hallway was dark and the person is no more than a shadow. I’m sorry, I worded it badly.”

Mac let the breath rush out of his chest with a fast whoosh. “So it could still be Lucky.”

“It could, but I gotta say from what I can see of the shadow, it doesn’t look to be the right build. But that would never stand up in court.” The detective sighed. “But Lucky was there that night. We have him entering the building at nine forty-five and if he didn’t shoot Robin, it’s possible he might have seen something that sent him running.”

“But why take Cameron? Why make a stop and take the kid with him? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Maybe he thought he was in danger, thought his son would be in danger,” Rodriguez shrugged. “Hard to say, Mac. We won’t know until we find him.”

“If we find him,” Mac muttered. His eyes felt gritty, his limbs were heavy and he knew that if he didn’t get some sleep soon, he would crash and that would be the last thing his family needed. “Okay, I appreciate you coming by. Keep the APB out for Lucky. We still can’t rule him out.”

“Do you want to tell Elizabeth Spencer that her husband might be in clear?” Rodriguez asked.

“I don’t want to give her that kind of hope unless I can back it up and right now the fact that the shadow didn’t fit Lucky’s build, it doesn’t work. There are too many other factors against Lucky to make that work. If the DA took this to court today, she’d get a conviction.”

“All right, I’ll head back to the hotel and do some more questioning. We’re about done with the scene if you want to tell Dr. Drake. He’ll want to get the rest of his things at any rate.”

“Yeah, I don’t think Patrick’s going to be going back to that room any time soon.”

ICU: Waiting Room 1

Luke pushed open the door to the waiting room with a clear agenda in mind. He was going to get to the bottom of this mess and find out why people were so damn convinced his son would do such a despicable thing. Lucky would never shoot anyone, much less Robin and he sure as hell wouldn’t do it to kill his wife.

It was ridiculous and Luke would show them all.

When he entered the room, he stopped short at the sight of his old comrade sprawled out in one of those armchairs that looked a lot more comfortable than it actually was. It suddenly struck Luke that Robert looked more than exhausted, he looked old. He looked worn out and down for the count.

He could understand that look, that feeling. He’d been where Robert stood now. He’d stood in a morgue while Mac Scorpio told him that his only son had died in a fire. Lucky was alive now, but Luke didn’t think he’d ever shuck that feeling entirely.

The others in the room didn’t notice him–the Jones girls were still crying and being consoled by their mother and Junior Drake was over in a corner, brooding.

But Robert noticed him and slowly got to his feet. “You shouldn’t be here, Spencer.”

A witty remark sprang to the tip of Luke’s tongue and had they been anywhere else, with anyone else, he would have said it. But instead, he swallowed. “How’s Robin?”

“Her mother’s sitting with her now,” Robert remarked. “She’s holding on.” He hesitated and his next words sounded painful. “But you shouldn’t be here.”

“My son didn’t do this,” Luke said quietly. “My son would never do this, he would never harm Robin and he would never try to harm his wife. My son would not do this.”

“Do you think I want to believe that he did?” Robert demanded. “Do you think I want to believe that the only son of my oldest friend could have nearly killed my daughter? Luke, it tears me up inside to think that he did! But I can’t ignore the facts–”

“It’s my son!” Luke retorted. “It should count for something–I know him, Scorpio. I know him inside and out and he would not do this. I don’t care what any of you think–Lucky didn’t do this.”

“He’s not making it any easier on himself,” Patrick said, joining the conversation. “He ran didn’t he? He disappeared and he took Elizabeth’s son with him. He was stupid enough to think that Elizabeth would cheat on him–”

Luke took a step towards the neurosurgeon who didn’t back away. “You know nothing about my son–”

“No, I don’t,” Patrick admitted. “Except that he abused his morphine drip to the point that Elizabeth begged me to change it to pills that had to be doled out manually. And I was here when Elizabeth found out that her son was missing–picked up by Lucky. So maybe I don’t know your son, Luke, but the longer Lucky is missing, the guiltier he looks.”

“Exactly, Luke,” Robert said, surprising Patrick with his agreement. “Now I don’t like this idiot but I don’t believe he had an affair with Elizabeth–”

“–not now, anyway–” Patrick muttered.

“–but if a Spencer thinks he’s been betrayed, I know from experience that he’s sure as hell going to do the dumbest thing he can think of to get even,” Robert said.

“Maybe that’s true,” Luke admitted. “But I know my son. He would never hurt Elizabeth so this crazy notion of him thinking Robin was Elizabeth just doesn’t hold water and I’m going to prove it.”

“And just how are you going to do that?” Patrick demanded.

“Never ask a Spencer that question,” Robert remarked, resigned. “It’s a death wish.”

“I’m going to find Lucky and I’m going to make him tell me what happened,” Luke said, glaring in his old friend’s direction. “He didn’t do this and I’m going to make sure you all know it.”

Wyndemere: Study

“It is a really bad idea to break into a Cassadine mansion,” Dillon muttered as he flipped through some paperwork on Nikolas’s desk.

“Please–it’s my brother’s house,” Lulu snorted as she searched Nikolas’s planner for any clue to where he’d disappeared to. “If we get caught, I’ll just say I was here to visit my brother and was looking for a notepad to give him a note.”

“Uh huh and how do we explain that we didn’t knock on the door but climbed through a window? Or that we took a boat we stole from the Quartermaines instead of the launch?”

“Well, if it came up, we’d be too busy running to worry about those answers.” Lulu reached for the phone on desk and hit redial. She sighed in irritation when Lucky and Elizabeth’s answering machine came over the line. She dropped the receiver down. “There are no clues here,” she said, disgusted.

“Well, the Cassadines have been trying to rule the world for about thirty years, I think they know how to hide their tracks from a couple of teenagers,” Dillon remarked. He reached for a photo that was beneath one of the papers. “Hm.”

“Hm, what?” Lulu made a grab for the photo but Dillon held it out of her reach. “Dillon, don’t make me hurt you.”

“It’s just a photo of Jax’s kid. He’s brought him by the house a few times to see Ned. I guess Nikolas hasn’t let go of him yet.”

“No, I guess not,” Lulu said. She pouted for a moment but then spotted a pile of Nikolas’s unopened mail. She lunged forward and grabbed it.

‘Whoa, whoa!” Dillon reached for the mail. “Now we’re stepping over line, Lulu. Breaking into your brother’s mausoleum, that’s mischief. Messing with mail, that’s a major felony!”

“I’m not opening it, I’m just going to see if there’s anything interested–you don’t give me enough credit,” Lulu huffed. She found a plain white envelope with her brother’s name written in block letters and no return address. It was postmarked Port Charles. “Hmm….”

“Oh, no…that tone is not encouraging coming from a Spencer,” Dillon sighed. “Why do I do this to myself?”

“Oh, you love it and you know it,” Lulu said absently. She stuck her finger in the flap and tore it open. Dillon yelped but she ignored him and slid out a single sheet of paper. “Well, well…now this is a surprise.”

“It had better be worth ten years in a federal jail,” Dillon grumbled.

“Oh…I think it is.” Lulu held up a paternity test. “Someone mailed my dear brother the results of a test that say that John Jacks is Nikolas’s son.”

“Why would someone do that?” Dillon asked. “Isn’t that kind of mean?”

Lulu whistled as she took the second piece of paper out. “Not if it’s accompanied by a note saying that someone close to my brother knows the truth and neglected to tell him,” she said in a sing song voice.

Dillon frowned. “Close like who? Lucky? Elizabeth?”

“Well, Nikolas never got this message,” Lulu said instead. “So here’s the question I have for you. What if Robin knew–because she works at the hospital and has access to records–and never told Nikolas?”

“That would make some people panic. People who do know the truth,” Dillon said slowly.

“I wonder if Jasper Jacks knows that he’s not the father.” Lulu slid the letter and test results back into the envelope. “But if he did and he knew that Robin might tell…”

“She was shot in the Metro Court…” Dillon trailed off. “But that’s insane. Jax would never shoot someone. He’d pay them off or something.”

“But Robin can’t be bought. And everyone knows the story about Michael Corinthos’ paternity and how that played out. It’s not like Robin’s been known to keep quiet–and I wouldn’t blame her. So who had reason to protect that kind of secret?”

“We’re operating on a lot of assumptions here, Lu,” Dillon said, shaking his head. “We don’t even know that Robin knew. And even if she did…she didn’t send this letter. So there’s someone out there who’s not Jax that knows the truth.”

“And you thought we wouldn’t have any fun,” Lulu said with an excited grin, smacking Dillon in the shoulder.

“No, I said we wouldn’t make it out alive, there’s a difference.”

Metro Court Hotel: Patrick’s Room

Carly stepped into the room and grimaced at the sight. There were still blood smears on the walls that would need to be painted over though Carly was tempted to just rip the wall out and start again. She’d never be able to think of this room without remembering the horror of seeing Robin Scorpio rolled out on a stretcher.

“I almost wish we could turn this room in a supply closet,” Jax muttered.

“Well…it’s a possibility though it’d be a large closet.” Carly avoided looking at the bed and sighed. “We’re going to have rip that wall out. I can’t–we can’t just paint over it. It would…I would never be able to walk past this room.”

“I just can’t imagine Lucky Spencer walking in this room and shooting Robin,” Jax shook his head. “It’s mind boggling. I mean, he’s an ass and he’s never trusted Elizabeth because during the surrogacy, he acted like an idiot, but I still…I thought he loved her.”

“Well, it’s not a hard and fast fact that Lucky did it,” Carly reminded him. “I can’t imagine why anyone would want to hurt Robin. I mean, she’s annoying as they come but still…” she sniffed. She glanced at Jax. “I know how much she means to you. I really do hope she’ll be okay.”

“She and I argued yesterday,” Jax sighed. “She was so disappointed in me.”

Carly slowly turned and looked at him oddly. “Why…why did you argue?”

Jax tugged his ear. “She found out about John.”

“What?” Carly demanded. “When? Has she told Nikolas? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“She wants me to tell Nikolas,” Jax remarked. “She promised she wouldn’t tell anyone because she refused to put herself in that position but she thinks I should tell Nikolas anyway.”

“Oh, my God…” Carly leaned against the sofa. “This is a disaster.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Jax said quietly. “I believe Robin when she says she won’t tell–”

“Don’t be naïve, Jax. Robin might even believe she won’t tell but she will. If she survives–and I hope she does–she will tell, Jax. She’s not like you and me. She’s honest. And she thinks every man deserves to be a father. She’ll feel more and more guilty until she can’t stop herself.” Carly took a deep breath. “There’s only one solution then. We have to come clean.”

“Wait…what?” Jax frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“We have to come clean,” Carly repeated. “We have to tell Nikolas the truth and pray that he forgives us. It’s only been a few months, it’s not so bad.” She bit her lip. “It’ll be better coming from us and it’s not…no one else should be put into the position Robin is and I’ll tell you–if she knows, there’s someone else who knows and the more people who do know, there worse this gets. No, we have to come clean.”

She stalked towards the door but Jax grabbed her elbow. “Whoa, Carly–”

“I don’t mean right now, but as soon as Robin’s out of the woods and Nikolas comes back to town, we have to tell him.” She tugged her arm from Jax’s grasp. “It’s the only way to fix this.”

ICU: Hallway

“Okay, so we’re not going to say anything about what we found out,” Dillon reminded Lulu as they headed towards the waiting room. “You’re going to stay out here and check in with Elizabeth and I’m going to check in with Georgie but we are not telling anyone what we found.”

“I got it,” Lulu rolled her eyes. “Look, I’ll leave you here. Dragon might sense my presence.” She went towards the nurse’s station where Audrey Hardy was standing.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you mean when you say Dragon,” Dillon called after her. He sighed and entered the room.

“Dillon…” Georgie jumped to her feet and crossed the room to join him. “I thought you’d be back before now.”

“Sorry…” he kissed her cheek. “I was…look, Georgie, Luke took the news pretty bad–”

“I know,” Georgie replied. “He was in here, yelling at Robert. But it’s pretty clear what happened right? I mean….there’s no other explanation.”

“Right,” Dillon said slowly. “Well, then you can imagine how Lu felt giving Luke that news. He threw it in her face and made a big deal about how she’s being loyal so she wants to find out what happened and me…well Robin’s pretty important to you, so I figured if I help find out what happened–”

“Oh, no…” Georgie stuck her finger in Dillon’s face. “Don’t you dare come in here and tell me you’re helping Lulu for me or for Robin.”

“Georgie–”

“You’re doing this for her,” Georgie continued in a snarl. “You’re doing this for your precious Lulu–”

“Whoa…” Dillon held up his hands. “You’re seriously upset about this. You’re jealous–” he stared at her in disbelief. “Do you think….do you think something is going on with me and Lu?”

“I don’t think, I know,” Georgie retorted scathingly. “This is the second time in as many months that you have dropped everything to help her. If you’re not sleeping with her–”

“Sleeping with her?” Dillon repeated incredulously. “How in the hell did we get to that? You’re being ridiculous–”

“If you’re not sleeping with her, it’s only a matter of time,” Georgie said as if he hadn’t spoken it at all. “This is just like Sage all over again. She wants you Dillon and if you’re too thick or stupid to see that–”

“First of all, even if she did–which I’m not saying she does–nothing would happen because I love you,” Dillon said testily. “Though you’re making it pretty tough for me to remember that right now. This is not Sage all over again. Sage–Sage was something completely different, okay? Lu is my stepsister, she is my friend and she’s going through a rough time–”

“Oh and I’m not?” Georgie interrupted.

“You both are,” Dillon corrected. “And if tracking down Lucky Spencer helps the both of you, then I can’t imagine what the harm is.”

“Yeah, of course you can’t because you refused to believe that Sage wanted you either!”

“That is not true,” Dillon contested. “I knew Sage…had feelings for me but nothing happened between us until you broke up with me remember? Because of my mother–”

“That was three years ago, Dillon–”

“Exactly. Sage was years ago. It’s in the past. I can’t believe you don’t trust me–”

“Hey, maybe the two of you don’t realize this,” Maxie snapped joining them, “but this is the ICU and Robin is down the hall fighting for her life. Maybe you should get your asses in gear and remember that.”

General Hospital: Break Room

Elizabeth yawned and reached for her cell phone. She propped it up to her ear. “‘Ello?” she asked sleepily.

“Elizabeth?”

She sat up, nearly avoiding bumping her head on the bunk above her. “Jason, what is it?”

“We found Lucky.”

Metro Court Hotel: Carly’s Office

“Yes, Sonny…” Carly rolled her eyes and tossed a file in her bag to look over at home. “If I knew anything about the investigation, I wouldn’t tell you because it’s none–and it’s also none of your business what’s going on with Jax. I’m not your wife anymore, I don’t answer to you.”

Frustrated, Carly slammed the phone down and stood. She was going to spend a relaxing night with her boys at home and try to answer their questions about the shooting the night before.

She stood behind her desk another moment, rifling through her bag to double check that she had everything. She was just stepping away when there a sound of glass shattering and suddenly there was a pinch.

She would remember the rest of her life it only felt like a pinch which was odd because she’d always imagined it would be worse. Like a thousand needles ripping into your skin or maybe a hot poker being pressed into the flesh.

But this felt like a pinch and Carly pressed a hand to her abdomen. When she drew them away, her fingers were smeared with blood.

“Oh my God…” Her knees felt weak and she nearly went to the ground then.

“Oh, my God….I’ve been shot.”

June 1, 2006

General Hospital: ICU

The crash team was already in Robin’s room when Elizabeth and Jason got to the room. An ashen Georgie was standing outside the room, crying into Robert’s chest. “It just started beeping,” the teen was sobbing. “I was sitting there and–”

Mac was practically running as he launched himself out of the waiting room at the other end of the hall and had to skid to a stop to prevent him hitting a wall. “What’s going?”

“Robin’s dying!” Georgie wailed. Felicia and Maxie joined the group in time to hear that announcement and Maxie grabbed Georgie’s arm.

“Don’t say that!” Maxie cried. “Don’t ever say that, this isn’t the way it’s supposed to be, okay? She’s supposed to have a family and live until we’re all old and gray and–” her voice broke off and she had to bit down on her lip to keep her own sobs back.

The shrill beeping from Robin’s room finally ceased and the team started filing out of the room. The doctor running the team pulled Elizabeth to the side and away from Robin’s family and friends.

“What’s the situation?” Elizabeth asked. “Did you…?”

“We stabilized her,” Megan Jennings sighed. “Whether or not she’ll make it…it’s up to her. Her heartbeat is weak but it’s there and her pulse is still strong. We’ll stay nearby–I don’t think it’s going to be the only time today we’ll be down here.” Megan patted Elizabeth’s arm before she and her team left the area.

Elizabeth closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts before returning to the group. Before she opened her mouth, the elevator doors slid open and Patrick skidded out. “What’s going on? I heard the code–”

“She’s stabilized,” Elizabeth assured him quickly. She looked back at Mac, at the girls, at Robert. “Dr. Jennings and her team got Robin’s heart started again, the beat is still there. The pulse is strong but…you might have to brace yourself for this again today.”

“She could flat line again?” Robert demanded, agonized. “Where is that idiot blond? If Robin…before Anna gets here…”

“Anna’s flight was due in an hour ago, I’m sure Jax is on his way back to the hospital now with Audrey and Anna,” Felicia said, touching Robert’s arm. “She’ll be here and Robin…she’ll hold on.”

“Georgie, honey, do you want to finish your ten minutes?” Mac said softly.

“No…I can’t–” she shook her head. “I can’t–I can’t go back in there right now. I can’t face her–” she started to cry again and Felicia led her daughters back to the waiting room.

“I’m going in,” Patrick told Elizabeth. “You can call security, you can call the damn army for all I care but I’ve played by the rules and I haven’t pulled any strings but God damn it, Elizabeth, I’m going in–”

“I’m surprised you held out this long,” Robert said dryly. He looked to Mac. “You gonna arrest the boy if he storms the ICU?”

Mac glared at his brother but didn’t answer. Instead he spotted Rodriguez stepping off the elevator. “Excuse me for a minute.” He pulled the detective away from the group and they went to the empty waiting room at the other end of the hall.

“Go ahead, Patrick. If anyone asks…” Elizabeth shrugs. “I asked for a neurological consult.”

Patrick nodded to Elizabeth and then stepped inside the room, shutting the door behind him.

That left Robert, Elizabeth and Jason alone in the hallway. Robert eyed the other man warily. “And what are you doing here?”

“He came to see me,” Elizabeth said quickly, not wanting a repeat of the epidemic. “Jason’s helping me find Cameron.”

“Elizabeth, you should leave that to Mac–” Robert began.

“If it were Robin that was missing, would you leave it to the police or use every resource available to you to find her?” Elizabeth countered with an arched eyebrow.

“Point taken.” Robert cast a glance towards Robin’s room before moving down the other end of the hall and disappearing back into the waiting room.

Elizabeth sighed and turned back to Jason. “I’m so sorry about this. This has just…” she shook her head. “This has been the worst day in at least six years.” She exhaled slowly and fought off the slight dizziness that came when one has been up for over twenty-four hours. “Thank you for coming, Jason. I mean, I could have told you this on the phone but it means a lot to me that you’re here right now.”

Jason studied her for a long moment without speaking. “I know all the reasons you’re going to say no, but you should sleep, Elizabeth. Because if you don’t, you’ll be the next one in a hospital bed and that’s not going to help anyone.”

She smiled faintly. “I’ll be fine. I’ll catch a nap when Robin goes into for her second surgery.”

“I’ll keep my phone on this time. I want you to call me if you need anything, or if you hear anything,” Jason instructed her. He touched her cheek, letting his fingertips slide across her cheekbone. “If you don’t want to sleep, please at least eat something.”

“I promise,” Elizabeth replied. “And I’ll keep you updated on Robin’s condition if it changes.”

ICU: Robin’s Room

Patrick slowly lowered himself into the chair next to Robin’s bed and kept his eyes anywhere but her face. Instead he focused on her hand, picking it up and cradling in both of his much larger ones. “The last time I saw you,” he began quietly, “you were sitting in my bed and you were clutching a sheet to you as if I hadn’t just spent a good two hours exploring every inch that you were trying to cover,” at this he had half a grin, remembering.  “And you were smiling at me.”

He ducked his head and stared at the tiles on the floor. He would not give into the lump in his throat, to the tightness in his chest. If he did, he was terrified he would lose it and start begging her to wake up. He didn’t want that.

“It was almost six months to the day we met that I managed to talk you into bed, do you realize that?” Patrick continued, somewhere finding the strength to continue, to pretend that she could hear every word he was saying. “I’d never spent six months chasing the same woman and the whole time, I kept telling myself it was because you said no when no one else did. But after we…after that first time, I knew it was different with you. I couldn’t lie to myself anymore or pretend that you were like every other woman I’d ever known.”

“So I’m going to do what I’m sure everyone else in here has done. I’m just asking you to hold on because…because we’re not finished yet, Scorpio. I’m asking you not to leave me because for the first time in my life, it’s not about the finish line for me. Because I would really like to see your smile again, even if it’s not at me.”

Patrick finally raised his eyes and focused on her face, with its delicate features and the pale cast to her skin. He’d never seen her looking so still, so…quiet. Even in sleep, her mouth would be open just slightly to breathe. And sometimes, her lips would curve into a smile that made him hope she was dreaming about him.

But to see her like this, to know that this could be his last memory of her, it was almost more than he could take.

Quartermaine Mansion: Pool

She found her father lying out on a lounge chair, drinking some concoction Lulu was sure that Alice had made special for him.

“Okay, suggestions for how to begin this conversation would be extremely helpful,” Lulu said to Dillon.

“Hey, Dad, your oldest son might be a cold-blooded killer and baby snatcher?” Dillon suggested. Lulu slapped his arm. “Hey…you asked!”

“You are the bane of my existence,” Lulu grumbled. She closed the distance between herself and her father and heard Dillon sigh before reluctantly following her. “Dad?”

“Hey, Princess…” Luke sat up. “How’s Robin? And Robert?”

“When we left, Robin was still doing okay and I guess Robert doing the same.” Lulu sat in the adjacent lounge chair and planted her elbows on her knees. “Dad, look, there’s something I gotta tell you and I’m really all that sure how to do it.”

“What is it, Lulu?” Luke asked, sounding somewhat resigned. “If this is about me disappearing again, I got no plans–”

“Dad…there’s a very good chance that Lucky might be involved in whatever happened to Robin,” she said reluctantly. “He thought Patrick and Liz were having an affair and apparently, Nikolas gave him some sort of proof last night.”

Luke was silent for a moment before shaking his head. “No, Cowboy would never do anything like that. There’s a mistake–”

“That’s what I thought when I heard it,” Lulu admitted. She looked to Dillon who bit his lip and took up the conversation.

“Luke, Lucky picked Cameron up from Elizabeth’s grandmother last night because he told her that Elizabeth wouldn’t be able to. And no one has seem them since,” the teen revealed.

“I don’t care,” Luke said stubbornly. “I know my own son. What reason would he have for shooting Robin?”

“If it was Lucky, he wouldn’t have known it was Robin,” Dillon explained. “The theory is that he saw a small woman with dark hair sleeping in Patrick Drake’s bed and thought it was Elizabeth.”

“Well now I know this is all a crock,” Luke snapped. He sprang to his feet. “Lucky would never hurt Elizabeth, and he sure as hell wouldn’t try to kill her–”

“Come on, Dad, Lucky is not the same kid he used to be,” Lulu said. She jumped to her feet. “You still see him the way he was before the fire, the smart and cocky kid who lived by his own rules.That Lucky treated Elizabeth like a precious figurine. He would never have become a cop and he would never have even dreamed that Elizabeth would have an affair. But he’s not that Lucky anymore, Dad, and you’ve got to stop seeing him that way!”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing, Lesley Lu. Your brother loves you–he would never betray you like this–”

“I’m not betraying him, I’m just stating facts,” Lulu interrupted. Her eyes were filled with tears as she realized once again that Luke would always love Lucky first and best. “Lucky is different. He’s not kind and he’s not compassionate anymore. Okay? You’re never around to see him–he treated Liz like dirt last year during the surrogacy and you know what? If the rumors are true and he’s addicted to his pain pills, it wouldn’t surprise me if he tried to kill Liz! Lucky hasn’t been the same since Helena Cassadine screwed with his mind!”

“That’s all over and done with,” Luke countered sharply. “He’s cured of that and he would never–”

“You just refuse to see that things have changed! That I’ve changed, that Lucky has changed–well you know what, Dad? You’re the only one who doesn’t think Lucky is capable of this, the only one! Even Nikolas is out looking for him!”

“I’m not going to stand here and listen to this anymore,” Luke remarked coldly. “Your mother would be ashamed of you–”

“Hey, don’t talk to her like that,” Dillon cut in sharply, covering Lulu’s agonized cry. “She’s right, you haven’t been around at any point long enough to say Lucky isn’t capable of this. Lulu has. She’s the one that didn’t leave, Luke. And I can’t believe you’re treating her like this–she’s your daughter!”

“I’m going to go find Lucky,” Luke said instead of paying Dillon any mind. He stormed away and Lulu collapsed back onto the lounge chair.

“I can’t believe he said that,” she whispered. “I can’t believe he said that my mother would be ashamed of me–” she turned to him with devastated eyes. “Is that true? Would she hate me too?”

“Hey, no one hates you–” Dillon sat next to her and put an arm around her. “Look, we knew he wasn’t going to take this well. And you know your dad always reacts with his mouth first and his head later. I bet he’ll be coming back and begging you to forgive him.”

Lulu sniffled. “It must be nice to be that optimistic about everything.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. “Okay, well now I have to find out the truth. So I’m going to track down Nikolas and figure out what he knows so I can find out if Lucky did do this.” She stood. “You should go back to the hospital and stay with Georgie.”

Dillon rose to his feet. “Yeah and let you wander off alone to chase down a Cassadine? He might be your brother, Lulu, but even I know that’s a death wish.” He sighed. “I just knew I was going to get pulled into this. Well, I’ve gone up against everything but a Cassadine so I figure it’s about time.”

General Hospital: ICU

The elevator doors slid open shortly after Jason left and Anna Devane darted out. “Where’s my daughter?” the brunette demanded of Elizabeth at the nurse’s station.

“Ah…she’s in Room 314, Ms. Devane, but you can’t go–” Elizabeth broke off as Anna ignored her and took off for Robin’s room. “Good luck getting Patrick out of there,” she mumbled. She turned her attention to Jax and her grandmother. “Gram, Jax…”

“Darling…” Audrey rounded the station and embraced her granddaughter tightly. “I haven’t had much of chance to be here for you during this mess. I can’t imagine why they needed to keep me so long and ask the same questions.” She pulled away and framed Elizabeth’s face with her hands. “I am so sorry that I let him walk out the door with Cameron–”

“No, no…Gram, you couldn’t have known. Don’t blame yourself for this, there’s enough people blaming themselves right now without adding you. Just…be here with me.”

“Of course.”

Elizabeth turned to Jax. “Thank you so much for picking her up.”

“Not a problem, Elizabeth. Has there been any change?” Jax asked.

“She flat lined about ten minutes ago,” Elizabeth admitted. “But she’s stabilized again and Monica’s scheduled to take her into surgery about three this afternoon.”

“Okay…I have to stop in at the hotel and then I have to go pick up Brenda at about six. Will you call me?” he asked. “I need to know the moment anything changes.”

“Of course,” Elizabeth agreed. “Thanks again, Jax.”

When the blond had left, Audrey touched Elizabeth’s shoulder. “I’ve taken the liberty of assigning myself to Robin’s case,” she told her granddaughter. “So my first order of business is to relieve you of your duties long enough to get some sleep and something to eat.”

“I couldn’t sleep right now,” Elizabeth sighed. “My mind is going a mile a minute–”

“I don’t want to hear any arguments, darling,” Audrey said in a brisk tone that made Elizabeth feel like she was sixteen again. “Now let’s make a bargain. You’ll lie down and if in ten minutes you haven’t fallen asleep, you can get up and I’ll let the matter drop.”

“Fine,” Elizabeth agreed reluctantly. “I’ll go to the break room–but if I do fall asleep, I need you to wake me up if anything changes, okay?”

“Of course,” Audrey agreed.

ICU: Waiting Room

“Forensics came back,” Rodriguez reported, finally getting down to the meat of his reason for the visit to the hospital. They had spent the first ten minutes going over what the police were doing to find Lucky. “All the blood found in the room belongs to Robin, which means there was no struggle.”

“She was probably asleep and didn’t wake up until after the first hit,” Mac said, trying to pretend he was talking about someone other than his beloved niece. “Any fingerprints?”

“Nope, none save for Patrick Drake, Robin, Noah Drake, and Elizabeth Spencer. There were some unidentified that we think are going to match up to the hotel staff but Carly Corinthos is arranging for those who have worked on Drake’s room since he checked in to go down to the station and be printed. She has to round them all up so it might take some time.”

“What about ballistics on the bullets Monica removed?” Mac questioned.

“They match the type of gun that Lucky had a permit for,” Rodriguez admitted. “But we can’t match them to a specific gun so we’re pulling all permits in the city for them right now and cross referencing them.” The detective hesitated. “We got the security tapes back, Mac. There is footage of Lucky Spencer entering the hotel.”

Mac exhaled slowly. He’d wanted to believe that his former employee and someone he’d known for so long wouldn’t be capable of this but the more he found out, the more he realized that he couldn’t pretend anymore. “So that’s it then,” he murmured. “The gun matches, there was motive and opportunity and the security tapes–”

“There’s more…” Rodriguez scratched his neck uncomfortably. “We got the footage of the hallway outside Drake’s room and the person entering the room is not Lucky Spencer.”

June 1, 2006

General Hospital: ICU Waiting Room

Dawn broke out over Port Charles and Jasper Jacks couldn’t help but compare this morning to the one that had come before it.

Yesterday morning, he had argued with Robin about telling Nikolas Cassadine the truth about John’s paternity. She had come into possession of a paternity test somehow and was trying to persuade him that keeping the truth helped no one and that he should come clean. They had argued bitterly at his penthouse apartment and she’d left in a huff. He’d been disappointed by the entire encounter and had resolved to solve the problem once and for all.

This morning, he sat in a waiting room, surrounded by those nearest and dearest to Robin Scorpio. Her surrogate mother, Felicia curled up on a sofa with her eldest daughter Maxie’s head resting in her lap and her youngest daughter Georgie’s head on her shoulder–all three had dozed off shortly before the sun had peaked over the horizon. No amount of coffee could keep them going any longer.

Mac had been pacing the room since the group had moved up here at two o’clock that morning. Robin had finally been allowed visitors but only one at a time for ten minutes. They’d been trading off but only family had been allowed. Robert was sitting with his daughter now but in a few moments, Jax was sure Mac would be trying to peek in.

Elizabeth had done all she could to bend the rules so that Felicia and the girls could take turns sitting with Robin even though they weren’t technically related anymore but no amount of twisting arms had allowed anyone else through–including an irritated Patrick who had sat in the corner and brooded over that fact before leaving for his rounds at six.

Mac had whispered with police officers who had come in and out all night but if there were any developments, he’d told no one. Apparently, there was still no sign of Lucky Spencer or Cameron Webber, a fact which Jax felt awful for. After all Elizabeth had been through with two miscarriages, for her now to have lost her only living child, he could scarcely imagine that torment.

When Elizabeth entered the room again, Jax had stood and crossed to her. “Elizabeth, I want you to know that if there’s anything I can do–”

“Actually…” the nurse sighed and pushed her hair out of her face. “My grandmother is down at the police station for questioning. They’ve had her there all night, grilling her about Lucky’s condition when he showed up at the house and I would really appreciate it if you could pick her up. If that’s not a problem.”

“No, no. I’ll be glad to be doing something.” Jax sighed. “Brenda won’t be here until tonight and I’ve already been elected to pick up Robin’s mother in a few hours at the airport but I can’t…I can’t sit around here anymore and wait for news. They won’t let me see her–”

“She’d be glad to know you were here. That everyone was here–” Elizabeth sighed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you guys in, I don’t know what I’m going to do about Brenda–she’s never going to take no for an answer–”

“Have you slept yet?” Jax interrupted softly. “I don’t think I’ve even seen you sit down since Robin was moved to ICU.”

“If I stop for a second, I will think about my son. I will think about all that has happened in the last twelve hours and how it could have been avoided if I had just told Lucky I was studying–”

“And I think about what would have happened if I hadn’t given you a ride home that night,” Jax cut in. “If we had taken that road, if I hadn’t looked at you for a second. We could spend our whole lives second guessing our choices, but when it comes down to it, we cannot control the actions of others and we are not responsible for them.”

“I understand the theory,” Elizabeth said. “It’s the execution I’m having trouble with.” Her beeper vibrated and she pulled it out of her pocket. “It’s Jason…”

“Jason?” Jax repeated. “Why is he calling you?”

“I called him to tell him about Cam but his phone was off…I have to go call him back, okay?”

“All right,” Jax agreed and watched her leave the room, never understanding what the women in Port Charles saw in Jason Morgan.

General Hospital: ICU Nurse’s Station

Elizabeth reached for the phone and dialed Jason’s cell number. He picked up on the first ring. “Jason, hey–I’m sorry I had my phone off–”

“It’s fine,” Jason said. “I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you before but I was getting the search going. Is there news?”

Elizabeth hesitated. “Well, Robin’s in the ICU, hoping that she’ll get stronger so they can take her back into surgery. No one here has any leads on Lucky even now that…” she bit her lip. “Jason, Lucky picked Cameron up from my grandmother’s last night and no one’s seen either of them since.”

“I’ll be right there, Elizabeth.”

He hung up without waiting for Elizabeth to say anything else. She sighed and placed the receiver back on the hook and was just going to check on Robin when her eyes caught something in the second waiting room at the opposite end of the hall from the one where Robin’s family was waiting.

She stepped into the room and immediately sighed at the sight of her sister-in-law Lulu curled up on a couch and Dillon Quartermaine sleeping upright in a chair, snoring. The two had been banned from the other room when Lulu and Georgie had gotten into a second fight and Mac couldn’t very well send Georgie or Maxie home so he’d just sent these two out.

“Lu…” Elizabeth knelt beside the blonde. “What are you still doing here, honey?”

“Liz?” Lulu started to sit up and yawned. “How’s Robin?”

“She’s still holding on. I thought Dillon was supposed to take you home.” Elizabeth sat next to Lulu.

“Well, Dillon didn’t want to leave in case Georgie needed him and I didn’t want to go home and face Dad.” Lulu bit her lip. “Do you really think Lucky shot Robin?”

“I don’t know what to think,” Elizabeth said slowly. “I know that he picked Cameron last night and never brought him home. No one has seen them and even Nikolas was searching for him.”

“At best, he’s guilty of kidnapping then,” Lulu picked at her nail polish. “And at worst, he tried to kill you and succeeded in nearly killing Robin.” She met Elizabeth’s eyes. “My dad loves Lucky. He has always loved him best and I don’t know how to tell him that any of this is possible.”

“Sweetheart…” Elizabeth smoothed Lulu’s hair off her forehead. “No one knows about Lucky save those we’ve told personally. If you don’t want to tell Luke until we know more…”

Dillon kicked in his sleep. “Spiders!” he yelped.

Elizabeth and Lulu both looked at him and Elizabeth cracked her first smile in hours. “Lu, you and Dillon should both go home and get some sleep. And as for telling Luke, I don’t know how he’d take it but knowing him, I think he’d rather be told now rather than later.”

“Yeah…” Lulu sighed. “I guess I’ll do that. Besides, if I stay here, I’m just going to tell Georgie Jones exactly what I think of her and that won’t be good for any of us.”

“I never touched her!” Dillon mumbled again. “I don’t even like gumdrops!”

“What in the world…” Elizabeth peered at the Quartermaine teen oddly. “What’s that about?”

“Oh, something that happened in the Maarkams,” Lulu said with a wry smile. “You should get back to work and I’ll wake Spielberg up to drive me home. Thanks, Liz.”

General Hospital: Locker Room

Emily Quartermaine collapsed on a bench and leaned her head against her locker. “I’m thinking about changing my career to something a lot less painful.”

Kelly Lee looked over from where she was changing for her shift and laughed. “Oh, really, like what?”

“Bartender,” Emily said seriously. “I think I’d be a lot happier listening to people’s problems than trying to fix their bodies. I just had the most horrendous night–I had to observe an operation for one of my oldest friends and then I had to watch her vitals for the rest of the night.” She glanced at Kelly. “You heard about Robin right?”

“Yeah.” Kelly sobered and sat next to the intern. “It’s just awful and to think, she’d finally managed to tame Doctor Hottie. He looks like someone smacked him over the head with a two by four–I can’t believe he’s doing his rounds today.”

“For the same reason that Liz is still on shift and why I was here all night.” Emily opened her locker and took her jeans out to change. “Because when you stop, you start to think about the possibilities. My mother told me there’s a seventy five percent chance Robin will die before even going into a second surgery. She didn’t tell the family that though.”

“Why not?” Kelly asked. “I would think she wouldn’t want to give them false hope.”

“She’s not. She told them that Robin’s not out of the woods, that there is a chance but…my mother’s known Robin for most of Robin’s life. She’s known the family and I don’t think she could stomach telling Mac Scorpio that despite everything he’s done to protect her, it’s very likely that Robin will never open her eyes again.” Tears pricked the corners of Emily’s eyes and her throat felt tight. “I keep remembering her the night we went out to Jake’s and she was smiling and she was laughing and I can’t believe it’s barely a month later and she might be dying. It’s…it doesn’t seem fair.”

General Hospital: Fourth Floor Nurse’s Station

“What are you doing here?” Noah demanded of Patrick as he saw his son giving instructions to Epiphany Johnson.

“My job,” Patrick said roughly. “I have to take care of my patients, Dad, so spare me the lecture–”

“After what you went through last night, I can’t believe you’re still on your feet,” Noah began but Patrick sent him a seething glare.

“What do you expect me to do?” Patrick countered. “Go find the nearest bar and drown myself in vodka? Take a page from my dear old father’s book? I’m sorry to disappoint you.” He finished his notes and all but shoved the chart at Epiphany who just glared at him and walked away. “Sitting in the ICU room isn’t going to make a damn bit of difference. I can’t change anything, I can’t even see her. So why stay up there and think about all the things I can’t do when I can do something worthwhile down here?”

“I’m not talking about sitting in the ICU,” Noah returned angrily. “I’m talking about getting some sleep, maybe eating something. When was the last time you did either?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Patrick said shortly. “If I were hungry, I’d eat and if I were tired–well–” he broke off. “I wouldn’t be able to sleep. Nowhere to go remember? Some psycho shot up my hotel room.”

“Do not give me glib answers, Patrick, I know how you must be feeling–”

“No, no you have no idea how I’m feeling right now!” Patrick exploded. “You went into an operating room and you knew there as a good chance Mom wouldn’t come out alive but you know what? I didn’t know that when I walked out of my room last night it could be the last time I saw Robin! There is a huge difference, so don’t stand there and pretend like you have any idea–”

“I know what it’s like to blame yourself for things you cannot control,” Noah cut in. “And I know you’re blaming yourself for Robin being there alone–”

“You’re damn right I blame myself–” Patrick broke off abruptly when he saw Alan Quartermaine approaching them, looking both annoyed and concerned.

“I know that we are all under a certain amount of stress here,” the Chief of Staff said, “but let’s please try to remember we’re in a hospital.”

“I’m sorry, Dr. Quartermaine,” Patrick mumbled.

“You know, Patrick, if you want to take the day off,” Alan started.

“No,” Patrick shook his head. “I would rather be working and doing something right now. I don’t have any surgeries today, just my rounds and some consults.”

“All right, I can’t say that I don’t understand. Robin would be probably be doing the same thing in your position. But if you need the time, it’s yours. Noah,” Alan nodded. He passed by the two of them and stepped into the elevator.

Patrick closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath, trying to clamp down on the maelstrom of emotions raging though him. It seemed that life had been a lot simpler before he’d come to Port Charles. “I don’t want to argue with you, Dad. I may not be handling this the way you think I should but I’m doing the best I can, okay?”

“Okay,” Noah said after a long moment. “Okay.”

General Hospital: Parking Garage

“You know, I really should write this down.”

Lulu rolled her eyes. “I cannot believe you forgot where you parked your car. Why does this always seem to happen when you’re with me?”

“Probably because I’m too busy trying to talk you out of some lunatic idea,” Dillon muttered, scanning the parked car. “Was it Purple Four or Chartreuse Eight?”

“I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Chartreuse,” Lulu remarked soberly. “I think it was orange.” She rubbed her arms, feeling some what chilled despite the warm weather. “You have to help me figure out how I’m supposed to tell my dad.”

“Well, you could try to soften it or you could tell him bluntly. Maybe it was green.” Dillon pursed his lips and frowned at the color coded sign. “Was it blue?”

“My dad’s gonna freak whether I tell him nicely or bluntly, okay? So what I’m looking for is a way to tell him without him disappearing on me again.” Lulu glanced out the surrounding buildings. “Weren’t we higher up?”

“His middle name is Disappearing Act, Lu, I don’t think we’re going to be able to avoid it. And before you suggest it, I’m not going to help you track him down.” Dillon frowned at the scenery outside the garage. “I thought we had a better view of the harbor from our parking spot.”

“I know, I know, you have to stay and work on your marriage,” Lulu remarked in a tone that was neither annoyed nor sarcastic and he frowned at her anyway. “Georgie is more important than me and that’s totally the way it should be. I just hate how she treats you.”

“Well, my abandoning her for the Maarkams and your father probably didn’t go over well. Was it Red Nine?”

“I don’t think it was abandoning her for the Maarkams and my dad. I think it was your choice of company on the flight there,” Lulu said delicately. “We could see more of the docks from our parking space, I think.”

“Georgie is not jealous of me spending time with you,” Dillon said. He paused. “Well…she shouldn’t be. You’re my stepsister, it’s not like it was with Sage. Though…the similarities are amazing. I get asked to look after a teenaged girl who drives me crazy. I should learn to say no.” Pondering that, Dillon shoved his hands in his pockets and frowned as his hand closed over a scrap of paper. He withdrew it and grinned. “I did write it down. Yellow Twelve is where we parked.”

“Next time, write it down and give it to me,” Lulu instructed. “And we won’t have to spend fifteen minutes standing here staring at color codes.”

General Hospital: ICU Nurse’s Station

The elevator doors slid open and Jason stepped out. “Elizabeth–”

“Hey…” Elizabeth rounded the counter and met him halfway. “Is there any news?”

“No, not yet but I sent some people up to the border in case he tries to pass over into Canada,” Jason remarked. He took her arm and led her to a chair. “You said he picked up Cameron from Audrey’s?”

Elizabeth nodded miserably. “I called Gram to check on Cam last night and she told me that Lucky had picked him up at about eleven and told her that I wouldn’t be able to.” She was too tired to cry, too exhausted to feel anything but numb. “Mac put an APB out on Lucky and Cam last night but there’s been no word so far.”

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I wish there were more I could do,” Jason remarked. “But I’ve been where you are in a way. When Michael was kidnapped…” He trailed off, not wanting to go there again.

“It’s all I can do to go from one moment to the next. The only thing that’s keeping me sane is the knowledge that Lucky loves Cameron and I have to believe that no matter what else he’s capable of that he would never harm him, I have to believe that Jason.”

Before he could answer, there was an announcement over the loudspeaker and Elizabeth tensed before springing to her feet.

Code Blue, Room 314. Code Blue, Room 314.

“That’s Robin’s room!” she gasped.

June 1, 2006

General Hospital: Waiting Room

Robert grabbed Patrick by the neck and slammed him against the wall. “You son of a bitch!”

“No, no!” Elizabeth tugged at Robert’s arms. “Wait, you don’t understand–”

“You were cheating on Robin?” Robert growled, squeezing harder.

“Elizabeth, will you please explain this to him?” Patrick grunted.

“It’s not true!” Elizabeth said frantically. She looked back at a dumbstruck Mac. “Mac, will you help me! He’s going to kill him!”

“I’m not so sure he doesn’t deserve it,” Felicia said scathingly. “And shame on you, Elizabeth!”

“Wait, wait–it’s not true!” Elizabeth cried. “I would never do that to Robin or to Lucky!”

“Yeah, come on, Uncle Robert!” Georgie said. “Robin is going to be really pissed when she wakes up and finds out you’ve killed Patrick.”

“Will you let him go?” Noah demanded, but not actually stepping forward to extract his son. Noah wasn’t stupid after all–Robert was former WSB. “Patrick would never cheat on Robin!”

Robert finally released Patrick who was gasping for breath at that point. “Crazy son of…” he muttered, rubbing his neck.

“You might have mentioned it wasn’t true,” Robert told Elizabeth disapprovingly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize everyone thought I was an adulterous tramp,” Elizabeth shot back.

“Well, it’s not you so much as it’s him,” Robert jerked a thumb at Patrick, who glared back at him.

Mac stepped between Robin’s father and boyfriend. “Okay, let’s just all take a step back here. Elizabeth, before my brother went homicidal–” at this Mac shot Robert a dirty look, “–you said that Lucky might have thought it was you. Why would he think you and Patrick were having an affair?”

“Which we weren’t,” Patrick said, irritated. “If this is what happens when I try to do something nice–”

“Patrick–and Robin–were helping me study for a certification test,” Elizabeth sighed. “Lucky asked Nikolas to find out if anything was going on and Nikolas hired someone to follow me. I guess the PI got a lot of photos of me meeting with Patrick and either missed Robin or didn’t care enough to include her in the photos. Tonight, I was at Patrick’s hotel room and I kissed him on the cheek when I left. Nikolas got that photo and concluded that I must be having an affair–” she stopped and had to take a second to gather her thoughts.

“He took the photos to Lucky tonight. And not long after Robin was taken into surgery, Nikolas came in and confronted me about the whole thing. I told him he was crazy but he’s on a search to find Lucky which leads me to believe that Nikolas has a good reason to think that Lucky is guilty.” She rubbed her eyes, exhausted beyond all comprehension.

Mac nodded. “It does sound suspicious that Lucky receives that photo tonight and then Robin ends up being shot. And you’re right, in a dark room, it would be very easy to mistake the two of you.” He glanced around at the multitude of interested faces. “I’m sorry for this, Elizabeth. It probably would have been better if we’d talked about this alone.”

“Well…” Elizabeth shrugged and looked away. “It’s not like this stuff never comes out. Might as well begin the embarrassment now.” She shifted uncomfortably. “I’m going to call my grandmother and check on my son, if you’ll excuse me.”

She all but fled the room. Robert had the decency took slightly ashamed. “Sorry about that, Drake.”

“Right,” Patrick muttered darkly. “As if this isn’t already the worst night of my life.”

Audrey Hardy’s House: Living Room

Audrey Hardy hummed as she turned out a light on the desk. Just as she was starting up the stairs, the phone began to ring.

“Who on Earth could be calling this late?” she murmured, stepping off the first step and reaching for the receiver. “Hello?”

“Gram?” Elizabeth said. “I’m sorry to call so late but I didn’t have a chance before now. I won’t be able to pick up Cam tonight–you probably heard about Robin on the news–“

“Darling….” Audrey blinked and shook her head. “I don’t have Cameron.”

There was long a silence before Elizabeth could find the strength to speak. “What do you mean you don’t have Cameron?”

“Lucky picked him two hours ago, sweetheart. He said that you’d been held up and wouldn’t be able to get him. What’s this about Robin…?”

“Lucky picked him up?” Elizabeth demanded. “Two hours ago?”

“Yes, dear–was he not supposed to?” Audrey asked, unsure.

“I have to go, Gram.”

The line went dead and Audrey stared at for a moment. Finally, she set it down and reached for her keys and her purse.

Sonny’s House: Foyer

Jason stepped inside and nodded to Max before turning his attention to Sonny. “Robin’s in surgery and in critical condition.”

Sonny exhaled slowly and looked away. “I can’t believe this–do you know what happened?”

Jason sighed. “No. All I know is what the news is reporting. Robin was in Patrick Drake’s room, she was shot and she called 911. It’s not Drake, he was at the hospital with a patient and…” he hesitated, wondering if he should confide Elizabeth’s theory to Sonny. It had been weeks since the two of them had had an actual conversation and Jason couldn’t help but think he should take advantage of the temporary truce between them. He would need Sonny’s help with tracking down Lucky Spencer anyway.

“Lucky Spencer thought Elizabeth and Patrick were having an affair and Nikolas Cassadine went to the hospital tonight, hell bent on finding his brother,” Jason said, leaving it at that and knowing that Sonny would make the necessary connection.

“Robin and Elizabeth look enough a like for someone to mistake them in a dark room,” Sonny murmured. “But to think Elizabeth would have an affair, that’s just ridiculous. Have they found Lucky?”

“No,” Jason admitted. “And I promised Elizabeth I’d find him for her.” He scratched his temple. “So I need to borrow Max.”

Max frowned. “Borrow?”

“Sure, whatever you need.” Sonny nodded to Max. “Jason’s going to require your assistance to find Lucky Spencer.”

“Yeah, Boss, I got ears,” Max said dryly. “Do we have to turn him over with or without injuries?”

General Hospital: Hallway

“So I’m sure my dad would approve–” Lulu was saying when Dillon stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway and slapped a hand over her mouth. She glared at him.

“Listen very closely, Lesley Lu Spencer,” Dillon began. “We just got back from the islands a week ago. During the two weeks we were there, there were numerous guns shoved in our faces, okay? And then there was a cougar. And lots of insects that could kill us. Now I’m all for adventure and having fun but the last thing I need for the next caper is a Cassadine family mystery, is that clear?” He removed his hand.

“Oh, okay,” Lulu huffed. “But I’m just saying that my dad would totally be okay with us tailing Nikolas for a few days. And I know that you, like, want to be Luke Spencer–”

“What is she doing here?”

Lulu and Dillon turned to find a very irritated Georgie standing behind them, the door to the surgical waiting room open. “It’s supposed to be family only,” Georgie continued.

“Well I care about Robin, too,” Lulu replied, rolling her eyes. “Besides, we totally bonded in the Maarkams.”

Georgie narrowed her eyes at the mention of the island chain and Dillon sighed impatiently. “Georgie, Lulu just wanted to show some support.”

“She can show all the support she wants…at the mansion.” Georgie sniffed. “Are you coming in or not?”

“Hey, you know, I’m not the one that took the convicted felon to Prom,” Dillon retorted. “So you want to back off a little? Lulu is my stepsister and whether you like it or not, she’s a friend of Robin’s.”

“Look, you know what? I’m not in the mood for another episode of the Young and the Stupid, okay?” Lulu remarked. “I’ll be in the cafeteria if you get any news on Robin and I’ll wait for your decision on that other thing.”

She started down the hall. Georgie glared at Dillon. “What other thing?”

Before Dillon could answer, Elizabeth rushed around the corner and plowed into Lulu, sending the teen flying the ground. “Geez, Liz!” Lulu sighed. “What’s with you?”

“Lulu…” Elizabeth gripped her sister-in-law’s shoulders. “Have you seen your borther?”

“Which one?” Lulu asked suspiciously. “Because Nikolas was at the Q’s earlier asking me if I’d seen Lucky.”

“Have you?” Elizabeth demanded. “Lulu–”

“Nope, I haven’t seen him in weeks.” Lulu wrenched herself out of Elizabeth’s grasp and picked herself up. “But that does seem to be a popular question.” She tossed a look to Dillon as if to say — Told you so.

“Is Mac still in there?” Elizabeth asked Georgie, dismissing Lulu entirely.

“Ah, yeah,” Georgie frowned and stepped aside just in time as the frantic brunette rushed past her. “What in the world…”

“You’re not keeping me out now,” Lulu muttered to Georgie as she went into the room and Georgie just rolled her eyes.

“See, I don’t get women,” Dillon grumbled under his breath.

“Mac, I just called my grandmother and she said that Lucky picked Cam up two hours ago,” Elizabeth blurted out, so upset that she didn’t even realize that she had grabbed Mac’s arm. “But no one’s seen him and he’s not picking up his cell phone–”

“Deep breathe,” Mac said. He took her shoulders. “Slow down. We don’t even know that Lucky is–”

“No one has seen him, Mac! And he told my grandmother that I wouldn’t be able to pick him up!” Elizabeth cried. “Why would he say something like that?”

Robert swore under his breath. “He’s probably on the run, hasn’t heard the news reports. If he picked the kid up two hours ago…”

“The 911 call came in at 10:05, Lucky would have gotten to Audrey’s at about eleven,” Mac checked his watch. “And Nikolas came to the hospital when?”

“10:30,” Elizabeth answered numbly. “He said he’d been by the apartment and Lucky wasn’t there.” She closed her eyes. Oh, God. It was all true. Lucky had done this. He’d shot Robin, intending to kill his wife. Oh, God.

He had her son!

“Whoa!” Mac reached for her and kept her standing upright when her knees suddenly buckled. “Can I get some–”

Patrick stepped forward and wrapped an around Elizabeth’s shoulders. “Let’s sit down, okay? We’ll sit down, you’ll take some deep breaths and we’ll figure this out.”

He led her over to the group of chairs and when she was seated, he kneeled in front of her. “You went from the Metro Court directly to your test and then to work, right?”

“Right,” Elizabeth licked her lips. “I haven’t even seen Lucky since this morning but Gram was supposed to keep Cam until I got finished my shift at eleven. But she sometimes keeps him overnight when I work late because I’m too tired to pick him up. Lucky never picks him up.” She rubbed her eyes. Her eyes focused on a bewildered Lulu. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“What is going on?” the teen demanded. She planted her hands on her hips. “Why is everyone so determined to find Lucky? Why is it such a big deal that–” Her mouth closed abruptly and she stared at Elizabeth. “You guys think Lucky shot Robin.”

“Ding, ding, ding, give the girl a prize,” Georgie muttered.

“Hey! I have had it from you, you little brat!” Lulu snapped. “I’m not the one who’s dating a sick twisted jerk!”

“I am not dating Diego!” Georgie stamped her foot.

“What do you call it when you take someone who isn’t your husband to the Prom?” Lu countered.

“God save me from teenagers,” Mac muttered. “Felicia…?”

“Right,” Felicia nodded. She took her daughter and yanked her into the hallway. “Maxie, Lulu, Dillon, let’s go.”

“I didn’t even do anything,” Maxie complained following her mother out the door. “Typical, Georgie. Ruin it for everyone.”

“I hate to say it but it’s looking more and more likely that Lucky Spencer is our guy,” Robert said. “The times just add up too well. And if Nikolas Cassadine is tracking him down as well, you’d better believe it’s to get him out of the country.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen. We’re going to find Lucky first. Elizabeth, has he legally adopted Cam?” Mac asked gently.

“No,” Elizabeth said hoarsely. “We never had the money.” She wiped at her nose. “You can use that right? You can say he kidnapped Cam so that you can find him.”

“We can do that, but I want to make sure that you’re okay with that. Because it could turn out that Lucky didn’t shoot Robin. That he honestly just picked Cameron up for you and there’s another reason that he’s not at the apartment. It could happen that way, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth smiled wearily. “It could. But I don’t think anyone here thinks that’s the case.”

Monica Quartermaine stepped into the room and everyone snapped to attention.

“I thought you were going to be longer,” Patrick said, stricken. “Liz said a half hour ago–”

“We thought it would take longer,” Monica sighed. “But Robin’s blood pressure finally stabilized and we were able to pick up the pace. We closed five minutes ago and she’s been moved to recovery.”

“That doesn’t tell us anything,” Robert snapped. “What is my daughter’s condition?”

“I’m not going to lie to you.” Monica cleared her throat. “She came through surgery which was more than we were expecting. We repaired the damage as best we could and right now, we’re going to play a waiting game. The next twenty-four hours are critical. If she pulls through, we’ll go back into surgery to repair the rest of the bleeding. Right now we need her to be stronger and she’s too weak to survive more surgery.”

Mac exhaled slowly. “So, what are you saying Monica? There’s a good chance that my niece is going to die anyway?”

“I’m saying, Mac, that Robin is young and she was alert and coherent enough to call 911 when lesser people would have been passed out by then. But I can’t give you false hope. It’s going to be rough couple of days and we won’t know that she’s out of the woods until we complete the second surgery.”

“Can I see her?” Robert asked quietly. “Can she have visitors?”

“No, not until we move her into the ICU, which will be in about an hour. She’s not going to be conscious, we’ve got her on too much medication for that to be a possibility. If she does wake up, it’ll be for seconds and she’ll probably go back under. I want you to be prepared for this.” She surveyed the men gathered. “It’s not going to be an easy week. Have you contacted her mother?”

“Anna will be here tomorrow evening,” Robert answered.

“Elizabeth, you’re more than welcome to stay on shift if you want,” Monica told the nurse kindly. “We can assign you to the case–”

“I couldn’t–it would be wrong,” Elizabeth said quietly. “I shouldn’t be here–”

“There’s not a doctor or nurse in this hospital that doesn’t know Robin,” Monica said. “She’d want you to be her nurse right now.”

Elizabeth bit her lip. “Okay, I can stay.” She smiled bitterly. “Nothing to go home to anyway.”