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.”

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