May 8, 2008

Drake House: Living Room

Madelyn Devane Drake had been walking for nearly six months and each day, she tested her parents’ hearts as she climbed up on chairs, tables and on one memorable day, the kitchen counter.

She had said ‘Dada’ when she’d been thirteen months old and became even more Daddy’s Little Girl than before, which Robin hadn’t really thought possible. She loved both her parents, but she was captivated by her father. As soon as she’d been able to crawl, Maddy had started to seek out Patrick and he’d stop everything to pick her up. He was putty in her miniscule hands.

Robin had reluctantly returned to work when Maddy was six months old and they’d put her in day care where Elizabeth’s three-year-old son had promised to look out for her. He had been bugging his mother for a new brother for weeks and thought if he proved he could be a good big brother, she’d give him one.

But Robin and Patrick couldn’t rest long without going down to check on her and eventually, Maddy would only be in daycare if one of her parents couldn’t keep her with them in their offices. She started to crawl in Patrick’s office and she’d said her first word–the aforementioned ‘dada’–in the nurse’s station when a nurse had been cooing over Maddy in an attempt to flirt with Patrick. The word had fallen from Maddy’s lips and anyone else had been forgotten.

Her first steps had been in an operating room and the first word she had said other than dada had been a mangled form of hospital (so Patrick swore) though Robin had been a bit miffed it wasn’t Mama. That came a month later and she felt like she was dancing on air for weeks afterwards.

Maddy was everyone’s little angel. Mac and Felicia made up excuses to drop by the house just to see her, Brenda flew in from Italy on a whim when she saw a toy that her darling god daughter absolutely had to own. Steven loved to carry her around because babies were great at attracting women–he turned into an honorary uncle.

Anna and Robert had also returned to their respective jobs but were frequent visitors to Port Charles, just popping in every once in a while to see their beloved grand daughter and Noah had been very excited to receive a shirt that said Number One Grandpa on Maddy’s first Father’s Day. Robin had bought a matching one for Patrick, as well as a shirt that said ‘If you think I’m cute, you should see my daddy’ which made her husband grin and kiss her.

Georgie and Maxie argued over who could baby-sit her and often Robin couldn’t pick between the two of them, so on the rare nights she and Patrick consented to leave their daughter at home, Georgie and Maxie (usually joined by Dillon) sat at home with her.

Maddy had had her first birthday in December and Robin and Patrick had had to rent out a room at the Metro Court Hotel to accommodate the large crowd. Maddy had been introduced to Carly at that point, which Robin had reluctantly agreed to after being persuaded by Jax, who had recently tied the knot with her old enemy.

Carly had cooed over Maddy and like everyone else, fell in love with the little girl on sight. Motherhood seemed to bond Carly and Robin where nothing else could and the two had finally put the lingering animosity behind them.

When she was fifteen months old, she’d been the flower girl at Elizabeth’s wedding to Jason, though Robin had had to help her toddle down the aisle. And Elizabeth had selected Robin and Patrick to be her son’s godparents when he’d been born earlier that November (It had taken six months for Jason to convince Elizabeth to marry him and by then, she was heavily pregnant and refused to get married in a maternity gown).

And now, Maddy was eighteen months old, doing her best to climb her father’s leg as he stood in the living room, watching Robin as she spoke on the phone with Steven regarding some very important test results.

Her hair had darkened until it matched Patrick’s shade perfectly, but she’d inherited her uncle Mac’s curls (which was why Mac always wore his hair short, a fact that Patrick hadn’t known until Robin told him where the curls had come from). They were separated into two bouncy pig tails and tied with yellow ribbons that matched her spring dress.

She tugged her father’s pant leg. “Up!” she demanded, giving up on the climbing. Patrick automatically lifted her. She smacked a kiss to his cheek but was disappointed when she realized she didn’t have his complete attention.

“Thank you, Steven,” Robin said softly. She pressed the off button and set the phone on a nearby table before turning to Patrick. She strode forward and pressed a kiss to her daughter’s hair. “Guess what, princess?”

“What?” Maddy asked. She pursed her lips expectantly and Robin kissed her.

“We got the tests back and guess what they said?”

“Robin,” Patrick said, somewhat impatiently. Maddy turned back to her father as if sensing his tension and kissed the tip of his nose.

“They were negative,” Robin said softly. Her eyes filled with tears and she pressed her hands to her lips. “Steven wants to test her again in another six months but she’s negative.”

“Oh, thank God.” Patrick cupped the back of Robin’s neck and drew her in for a relieved kiss. “I mean, I was pretty sure but–”

“It’s still good to hear.” Robin returned his kiss. “I love you,” she whispered to him.

“I love you, too,” he replied.

“I love you!” Maddy parroted. She clapped her hands but then frowned. “What’s that?”

“It means that your mother means more to me than anyone else in the world, except for you,” Patrick told her, hoping she’d understand. “And that I want to spend every day making her smile.”

“Oh.” She turned to her mother. “I love you, Mommy.” And then she looked to her father. “I love you, Daddy.”

“I didn’t think it could ever mean more than it did the day I held her,” Robin said softly, “but I was wrong.” She lifted Maddy into her arms and hugged her tightly. “I love you, too, Maddy.” She closed her eyes. “I will always love you.”

 

THE END

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