So tell me the story about
What goes around comes around
Why you’re so afraid to say what you’re thinking
And why I have to keep on guessing for you

July 18, 2006

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

Very aware of all the eyes on them, Patrick swallowed hard and reached for the ring. But he didn’t take it. He closed his hand over Robin’s hand, forcing her to curl the ring into her fist. “No.”

Robin licked her lips again and her eyes looked around at the interested stares. She narrowed her eyes at the female nurses who looked way too invested in the outcome of this scene. “Patrick, this is your mother’s ring,” she began quietly.

He took her by the elbow and directed her towards the stairs that led to the roof. “We’re not discussing this here.”

Robin tightened her fist around the ring to keep from losing it and reluctantly followed Patrick out onto the roof. “You should give this ring to someone–”

“I gave it to you,” Patrick shook his head. He opened her hand, plucked the ring from her grasp and then unceremoniously shoved it back onto her finger. “This is your ring, do not take it off.”

Robin sighed. “You don’t make any sense. I thought you wanted to call this all off, do joint custody–”

“Well, I’ve had about twelve hours to think about it and look–” Patrick sighed, irritated that his father was right and now Patrick would have to at least open up a little instead of being able to sail through this entire thing without risking anything. “You were right last night. You think I asked you to marry me because of the baby and then I got angry when you acted like I asked you for the baby. I’m sorry for that.”

Robin hesitated. “I’m not following you–”

“I’m not following me sometimes,” he muttered. He turned away from her and braced his hands against the stone ledge, looking out over the city of Port Charles. “You probably think that any girl could have turned up pregnant at this point and I would have proposed.”

Robin shrugged and looked away. “Isn’t that true?”

“No!” Patrick cursed under his breath and turned to look at her. “I’ve got high standards, Dr. Scorpio. Do you really think I would have tied myself to just anyone?”

Robin rolled eyes. “If you’re not going to be serious, I’m leaving.” She pulled open the door but Patrick grabbed her hand.

“I asked you because I knew we could make it work,” Patrick admitted. “Those other women, they never meant anything to me. And I know I didn’t mean anything to them. You are different. You’ve always been different.”

“Different how?” Robin pressed. “They had bigger boobs? I’m not as tall, what?” Frustrated, she pulled away from him. “What does different mean?”

“Because you get to me and they never did. Christ, Robin, do you think I talk about my mother on all my first dates?” Patrick demanded. “Do you think I tell everyone about my alcoholic father that threw away his career because my mother died? Robin, you are the first woman I’ve ever dated that’s even known my mother was dead.”

“So I’m supposed to feel special because you told me a few things you’ve never told anyone?” Robin cried. “Well, we’re past that now, Patrick. That might have impressed me a few months ago but–”

“I didn’t tell you to impress you. I didn’t tell you to make a point,” Patrick cut in, irritated. “I told you about my mother because I couldn’t not tell you. You opened up to me about Stone, about Jason. And you were the reason that I even spared a second thought about my father and helped him go to rehab! How could I keep you out after that?”

Robin breathed in shakily and shook her head, tears sliding down her cheeks. “None of this means anything, Patrick, if we’re still in the same place we were then.”

“You’re so damn thickheaded,” he muttered. “Robin, I asked you to marry me because I knew we could have what my parents had!”

Robin huffed. “Your parents were in love, how could we possibly have what they had–” And then she shut up and met Patrick’s turbulent gaze. Recognition flickered in her expression and she bit her lip. “Oh.”

“Oh?” Patrick repeated in disbelief. “That’s…that’s all you can say to me right now?”

“Uh…” Robin tried to search for coherent thoughts trapped in the hazy recesses of her mind. “I can’t–I can’t think right now.”

Speechless, he could settle for. Before he could press her, his beeper vibrated and he swore under his breath. “I have a surgery–are you on shift today?”

Robin blinked and tried to focus. “Ah, no. I–I took a leave until after the wedding. To deal with–stuff.”

“Okay, will you be home later then?” Patrick asked, slightly amused at her scattered words. “We still have a few things to iron out.”

“Ah, yeah.” Robin was beginning to recover from the shock. “Patrick–”

He cut her off with a short but intense kiss that curled her toes and scattered her thoughts again. “I’ll see you then.” He left her alone on the roof, blinking at him.

Scorpio-Jones House

“It’s about time you got here,” Georgie muttered as she ushered a still somewhat bemused Robin into the house. “Brenda has lost her mind.”

“I resent that!” Brenda called from the living room. “Black is a perfectly lovely color for a bridesmaid gown.”

“Black?” Robin echoed. She followed her cousin into the living room where Maxie, Brenda, Felicia and Anna were surrounded by swatches and design books. “Brenda, they can’t wear black.”

“Sure they can,” Brenda shrugged. “It’s the bride that can’t wear black. And it’s not really black, it’s like a gray color.”

“I look better in jewel tones,” Maxie sniffed. “Black washes me out.”

“And I’m totally better in pastels,” Georgie nodded.

Anna was about to interject when she realized that beyond her first few comments, Robin hadn’t joined the conversation and then she saw the circles beneath her daughter’s eyes. She stood, took Robin’s elbow and steered her towards the kitchen. “Quick conference to discuss, ah, flower arrangements.”

“If you like the gray so much,” Maxie began, “you use it for your maid of honor gown. Georgie, Liz and I will pick out a dress we like and order different colors. How does that sound?”

Brenda’s reply was lost when Anna closed the kitchen door behind them. She directed Robin into a seat and then sat adjacent to her. “What’s wrong, luv?”

“Ah…an hour ago, I might have been able to tell you,” Robin said slowly. “An hour ago, I was giving Patrick back the ring and the wedding was off.”

“What?” Anna said, surprised. “What happened?”

“We had an argument last night and he said the wedding was off. I went to return the ring today and he wouldn’t let me and I think he might have told me he loved me but I’m not sure.”

“Uh huh.” Anna pursed her lips. She decided to take this one step at a time. “What was the argument about?”

“It wasn’t an argument so much as…a misunderstanding I guess. A lack of communication. He had started seeing the marriage in a different way than I thought he had and I was still trying to pretend that the whole thing really didn’t matter to me so we got into a fight about that. He didn’t like the thought that I felt like I was making this whole sacrifice for the baby. He didn’t think he deserved that and he doesn’t.” Robin bit her lip. “I started to think that this was all a mistake. That no matter how much I loved him, we couldn’t make it work. So I went to the hospital today to give him the ring.” She stared at the diamond on her finger. “It was his mother’s.”

Anna nodded. “And he wouldn’t take it back.”

Robin bit her lip. “No. He took me to the roof and we argued about why he’d asked me to marry him and then he said it was because he knew we could have what his parents had.” She laughed softly. “And I started to say that wasn’t possible because his parents were in love and then I stopped because I realized what he was trying to tell me but now I’m wondering if he was trying to tell me that because that’s the way he feels or if that’s because he knows that I want him to feel.”

Anna sighed. “Darling, you know you’re the light of my life, but you overanalyze things. Would Patrick lie to you about something like this?”

“Yes,” Robin said without hesitation. “He wouldn’t mean to, and he wouldn’t do it on purpose but I think he wants to feel that way because he wants what he had growing up so maybe he thinks if he tells himself he feels that way, he’ll believe it.”

Anna stared at her daughter. “I can’t decide if I want to smack you or Patrick. I might settle for both at this point. He asked you to marry him, he gave you his mother’s ring, he’s not had one complaint about this huge wedding and God knows, even I’ve complained about it. Robin, the man clearly feels something.”

“I know,” Robin said hesitantly. “And I told myself from the start that if he feels even a little of what I feel for him then we’ll be okay.”

“And what’s changed?”

Robin met her mother’s eyes and smiled miserably. “I want him to love me. Is that so awful?”

Anna sighed. “It was so much easier when all you wanted was a dog. At least that I could handle.”

General Hospital Operating Theater: Scrub Room

The surgery finally over, Patrick stripped his gloves off and started to wash his hands. Elizabeth, who he had added to his permanent surgical team weeks ago, joined him, muttering something under her breath about blondes.

“What’s with you?” he asked. “You’ve been cranky since you got back from your break this morning.”

“I hate men,” Elizabeth grumbled. She dried her hands and started out of the room but Patrick grabbed her elbow and held her back.

“What did my gender do now?” Patrick asked, glad to have a chance to nag her about her problems for a change.

“Your gender has issues about keeping their pants zipped,” Elizabeth replied hotly. “Do you really want to continue this conversation?”

“No,” Patrick admitted. “But I’m going to anyway.” He tipped his head towards the door to the hallway. “Come on, I’ll buy you a cup of coffee.”

He led her down to the cafeteria and once they were seated, Elizabeth blurted out, “Lucky’s cheating on me with his new partner.”

Patrick stilled in the act of stirring sugar into his coffee and stared at her. “Come again.”

“His new perky blonde partner,” Elizabeth clarified through clenched teeth. “We’ve both been working a lot and haven’t spent a lot of time together and he was irritated that the one day we both have off coming up is your wedding so I told him we were going to that but he was angry about it. I went home on my break this morning to talk to him about it and you know what he was doing on his break?”

“His partner?” Patrick suggested, somewhat crudely.

“His blonde perky partner with the large breasts,” Elizabeth confirmed. She clenched her fists, trapping the sugar packet within. “God damn blondes, I do not understand it!”

“What’s wrong with blondes?” Patrick asked, confused.

“Oh, this is only the millionth time in my life I’ve been passed over for a stupid blonde,” Elizabeth told him. “First when I moved town, Lucky couldn’t concentrate on anyone but Sarah, my perfect blonde sister. Everyone loved Sarah, everyone wanted me to be like Sarah. But Lucky and I were dating and then four years later, who does he cheat on me with? Perfect Blonde Sarah.” Elizabeth took her plastic fork and stabbed a sugar packet with it.

“Uh huh,” Patrick said slowly.

“Then Jason cheats on me with Courtney Matthews,” Elizabeth continued. “He says he didn’t but while I was waiting in his penthouse, scared that he was hurt or injured, he was at the Oasis, watching that stupid twit strip. Supposedly he was just protecting her.” Elizabeth snorted. “Right, so that’s why two weeks after we broke up, he’s kissing her in the goddamn rain and then a month later after she kicks her husband out, he’s sleeping with her. Fine, whatever.”

Clearly words were no longer necessary, so Patrick just sipped his coffee.

“And then Ric asked Courtney to marry him instead of me to get at Sonny. God damn Courtney,” Elizabeth muttered scathingly. “And then he slept with Faith Roscoe, a psycho blonde that caused my miscarriage.”

Patrick winced. “I’m sorry, Liz–”

“So that’s three separate guys that have tossed me over for blondes and Lucky has the nerve to do it again!” Elizabeth stabbed another sugar packet repeatedly.

“Okay, Sparky, I think we’re going to take the weapons away from you now–” Patrick plucked the fork out of her grasp. “If it makes you feel any better, clearly they have no taste. I would never sleep with a stripper or a psycho rather than you.”

Elizabeth frowned. “Thanks. I think.” She exhaled slowly. “Anger is better. Anger is easier. This will teach me to brag about my wonderful marriage, huh?” she said darkly. “Just the other day in the locker room, with you and that stupid guest list. Boy, what an idiot this makes me.”

“This does not make you an idiot,” Patrick told her. “This makes Lucky an idiot.”

“I hope he gets shot again,” Elizabeth said. “And this time, it hits him right in the–”

“Okay, okay,” Patrick cut her off, not wanting the visual image. “Is there anything I can do? Do you need a place to stay?”

“I’m going home after work to get Cam’s things and then we’re going to my Gram’s,” Elizabeth sighed. “I don’t know what comes after that.”

“Well, here’s something. After the wedding, Robin and I are moving into her apartment until the baby is born but I haven’t put my condo up for sale or rent yet. I can sublet it to you until you know what you want to do.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “I could never afford the rent–”

“You don’t have to, I don’t actually need the money,” Patrick shrugged. “It’s close to the hospital, it’s in a decent neighborhood.”

She hesitated. “If you’re sure. Just…for a while.”

Patrick nodded. “Okay, so after wedding and I’m moved out, you can move in. It’s actually saving me the hassle of renting it or selling it.”

“Well, glad this situation works for someone,” Elizabeth sighed. She shook her head. “Okay, let’s talk about something different. For example, why Robin tried to give you your ring back.”

“Oh, I fixed that,” Patrick told her. “I told her I loved her and that’s why I asked her to marry me.”

Elizabeth stared at him for a long moment before shaking her head. “No, you didn’t. You would never say that.”

Patrick frowned. “Well, I didn’t say those exact words but Robin got the idea.”

“Yeah, this is going to end well,” Elizabeth sipped her coffee and grimaced. “There’s no sugar.”

“Well, you killed them all with your trusty fork there, Sparky,” Patrick said dryly. “Those mean sugar packets won’t be bothering you again, I can tell you that.”

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