I’m alright, I’m alright
It only hurts when I breathe
And I can’t ask for things to be still again
No I can’t ask if I could walk through the world in your eyes
Longing for home again
Home, is a feeling I buried in you

June 29, 2006

General Hospital: Nurse Station

“Psst!”

Elizabeth glanced up at the hissing sound and frowned at the short woman who stood before her. She was dressed completely in black, with a black hat covering her dark hair and a pair of dark sunglasses over her eyes. “Ah, can I help you?”

The woman lowered her glasses so that Elizabeth could see that it was Brenda Barrett who stood before her and then Elizabeth couldn’t contain a snort of laughter. “What are you dressed like that for?”

“I don’t want anyone to see me before I see Robin,” Brenda said in hushed tone, but it was clear she was enjoying going incognito. “And I want to get a look at her new fiancé before I drop by Robin’s so I was hoping you could point him out to me.”

“Ah, well…” Elizabeth tapped her pen against her notebook and struggled to keep a straight face. “I’ll page him and you can meet him–”

“No, no,” Brenda waved her hands. “Robin’ll kill me if she’s thinks I’m snooping. But she’s barely described him to me and I’m dying to see what he looks like. So just…page him. I’ll go stand–” Brenda turned to gesture towards the waiting area but her smacked into Patrick’s chest. “Er, sorry.”

“Patrick,” Elizabeth said brightly. “This is serendipity.”

Brenda frowned, jerked a thumb in Patrick’s direction and mouthed “That’s him?”

“Ah, I was wondering if you’d seen my father–” Patrick broke off and looked at Brenda who was studying him without any hints of subtlety. “Do we know each other?”

“Nope,” Brenda denied immediately. “Never met you before in my life. Don’t have single soul in common. It was nice to see you, Liz–”

“No, something about you is familiar.” Patrick bit his lip and took her sunglasses off. Brenda squeaked and made a mad grab for them. “You’re Robin’s best friend.”

“It’s your own fault,” Elizabeth clucked her tongue, took a chart and waved in their direction before she started down the hall.

“Traitor!” Brenda yelled after her. She grabbed her sunglasses from Patrick, jammed them back on her face and grabbed his elbow to yank him towards the waiting room. “Okay, yeah, I’m Brenda but I’m trying to fly under the radar so she doesn’t find out I’m snooping and since I’m not technically supposed to be in town yet, I can get away with this.”

“Right,” Patrick drawled, having heard a few stories of Brenda’s unique personality traits. “And what exactly are you looking to know?”

“Well, my darling friend has been suspiciously tight lipped about you since day one and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see you up and close and personal,” Brenda admitted. “But you can’t tell Robin, because she’ll flay me.”

“I won’t tell her but I’m not going to lie to her either,” Patrick told her. “I don’t see what the big deal is–”

“You’re a peach,” Brenda patted his arm and smiled brightly. “And your answer was perfect. Robin’s obviously in good hands so I’ll just head over to see her–”

“Whoa, just a second. What has Robin told you about me?” Patrick asked with his usual engaging grin.

“Oh, that is lethal,” Brenda said soberly. “No wonder Robin’s knocked up.” He couldn’t help but laugh at that and she was instantly approving of the object of Robin’s affections. “She’s said almost nothing,” she muttered, frustrated. “She told me when she met you that you were insufferable and the bane of her existence and then later, you wouldn’t leave her alone, and then she thought she might like you but then you were a jackass, so no. And then there was the whole thing with the medical board–I’d love to know how you got her out of trouble because she might be buying it but I wasn’t born yesterday. And then she told me when you guys broke up and then she called me last night to tell me she was pregnant and engaged. So as you can see, Robin told me absolutely nothing juicy and interesting which is why I hopped a plane at ten o’clock Eastern time last night to be here this afternoon,” Brenda finished.

Patrick blinked. “Do you always talk that fast?”

“Absolutely,” Brenda responded. “Now, Dr. Drake, if that’s all of the interrogation, I’d like to go see my sister now. We have a wedding to plan.” She patted his arm again and turned but ran smack into Carly. “Good grief,” she muttered.

Carly frowned. “I know that voice. Oh, for the love of–” She yanked the sunglasses from Brenda’s face. “What did I do to deserve this?” she demanded.

“You destroyed Tony’s life, you destroyed Robin’s life, you drove AJ to his death,” Brenda ticked off on her fingers, “let’s see, you turned Jason into a lapdog, you single handedly brought down the general average IQ in the area–”

“What are you doing with her?” Carly demanded of Patrick. “She’s just as irritating as the little saint.”

Brenda narrowed her eyes and whirled on Patrick. “And just how are you involved with Carly?” she demanded flatly. “Because if you put Robin through what Jason did, I swear with all that is holy, I will make you pay–”

“Patrick and I are old friends,” Carly said smugly.

“Old friends?” Brenda repeated. She glared at Patrick. “You slept with her?”

“What? No!” Patrick denied. “Carly, go away,” he ordered.

“No, I came to see you and I’m not leaving until you hear me out.” She flicked an irritated glance at Brenda. “My mother told me that you and Robin are getting married.”

“Are you still trying to wreck Robin’s life?” Brenda said, in disbelief. “My God, Carly, do you really have nothing else to do?”

“Why don’t you go away?” Carly said shrilly. “Life was great without you and Princess Purity and now you’re both back, it’s like a plague.”

“Carly, I don’t see how my engagement to Robin is any of your business so why don’t you just…go away,” Patrick repeated.

“No, I couldn’t stop Jason from making a mistake and telling the little twit the truth but I can stop you from making the worst mistake–”

“Well, it’s clear that meeting you ranks up there,” Brenda interrupted. “Why can’t you just leave Robin alone? You got Jason, you got your precious son and God knows, you’ve got Sonny and I hear Jax on a leash. Do you really need another dick in your harem?”

“You bitch!” Carly lunged for Brenda, who smartly stepped aside and Carly stumbled and hit the couch.

“Okay, okay–” Patrick took Carly by the elbow and all but shoved her a few feet from Brenda. “This is a hospital, not a bar. Calm the hell down.” He looked at Carly. “Obviously, I haven’t made myself clear. Robin and I are getting married. It is not a mistake, it’s what I want and my child–and Robin–are my top priorities. I swear to God, if I find out you’ve taken one step near her, you will need the protection of your ex-husband, do you understand me?” He released Carly’s elbow and she stared at him, rubbing the sore joint.

“How does she do it?” Carly murmured. “She had Jason completely snowed for a while, too. And now you’re infatuated with her. Well, you’ll pay for it and then you’ll be sorry you didn’t listen to me.” She stalked away and Patrick exhaled slowly before turning his attention back to Brenda.

“I made the mistake of befriending Carly when I first moved here. I didn’t know her history with Robin so I used Carly to get a reaction out of Robin. It was a mistaken and I’ve apologized to Robin about it,” Patrick explained. “I’ve never slept with her, I don’t plan on making that mistake and I would appreciate if you wouldn’t tell Robin what just happened here.”

“I think that this little side trip turned out better than I expected,” Brenda said after a moment. “A man that doesn’t bow to Carly. Huh.” She retrieved her sunglasses from the floor and placed them back on her face. “I’m going to Robin’s. I was worried about her, you know. That she was getting herself married to someone who’s only doing this because it’s what’s right, what’s expected but now…I see that’s not the case at all.” She waved at him and disappeared into an elevator that Noah was just exiting.

Noah frowned at the woman before doors slid closed. “She’s familiar.”

“Brenda Barrett, Robin’s best friend and ex-supermodel,” Patrick said. He shook his head. “Robin sure knows the strangest people.”

“You’ve been living in Port Charles for seven months and you’re just figuring that out?” Noah said dryly.

Robin’s Apartment: Living Room

“Yes, Uncle Mac, I’ll be there for dinner tonight,” Robin twisted the phone cord around her finger. “Yeah–I have some news for you. I think you’ll like it–”

Her doorbell rang and Robin’s face lit up. “Yeah, I have to go, Uncle Mac, Brenda’s here!”

She hang up and darted for the door, pulling it open. Her face fell when she saw the person standing there. “Dad?”

Robert Scorpio cleared his throat. “I, ah, know I’m bit earlier than expected but I wrapped the case sooner than we thought. So…” he spread his arms. “Here I am.”

Robin coughed. She not at all prepared for this–she’d thought she had at least another week to decide on the right wording and by then, she and Patrick would have decided on details for the ceremony–theoretically.

“Come in,” Robin said after a moment. “I’m just–I didn’t expect you this soon.”

“Well, Mac said you had urgent news that you needed to tell me as soon as I was able to get to Port Charles. I’m sorry, it took so long but I was on an island where there’s no electricity so I didn’t even get the message for a day or two and then–”

“It’s okay–I’m glad you came.” Robin admitted. And the fact that he’d clearly come this quickly meant a lot to her. He looked exhausted, like he’d gone from one plane to the next and for the first time, she felt a stirring of hope that she still meant something to him. “I wanted–” She bit her lip and gestured towards the couch. “Let’s sit down.”

“I’ve been going out of mind, trying to think of what you might have to tell me,” Robert said. “You’re not sick, are you?”

“No,” Robin assured him. “I’m okay, Dad.” She sat next to him and held her hand out to him, wiggling her fingers so he’d be sure to catch the flash of light on the diamonds. “I’m engaged.”

“En–” Robert broke off. “How–it’s only been four months! How did you manage that? Who is it?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s Patrick Drake–the doctor from the hospital?”

“The arrogant bastard who tried to have me sent from your hospital room?” Robert demanded. He sobered, remembering the panic in Patrick Drake’s eyes as Robin’s time had waned and the antidote had yet to be found. “Okay, the who isn’t really as surprising as the what.”

Robin frowned. “Why?” she demanded.

“Because you spent a great deal of your time unconscious when I was, erm, getting to know Dr. Drake,” Robert said, remembering all the colorful threats he’d launched at Patrick when the doctor had kicked him out of Robin’s room for making her stressed and how well Patrick had taken them, “And I can see how it might have…developed something–don’t make me explain this,” Robert appealed.

Robin smiled and looked away. “Well, you took that well so maybe you’ll even be happy when I tell you the second part.”

Robert frowned. “I doubt it. I’m not at all adjusted to the fact that you’re old enough to be married.”

“Okay–” Might as well just say it, Robin decided. “I’m pregnant, Dad. Patrick and I are going to have a baby.”

Robert lunged to his feet. “I’ll kill him.”

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