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.”

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