June 1, 2006

Metro Court Hotel: Carly’s Office

“Okay. Okay.”

Carly closed her eyes and dug her teeth into the flesh of her bottom lip. “Okay. We–we just–we just have to take a deep breath. We have to be calm and we have to–Sonny’s done this like fifteen times, I can do it once.”

She pressed a hand to her abdomen and reached for her phone. “If Robin do this with two, I can certainly do it with one.”

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“This is Carly Corinthos at the Metro Court Hotel, I’m in my office and someone just shot me!”

“We’re sending an ambulance now, Ms. Corinthos. Do you know who shot you?”

Carly winced and swallowed hard. That pinch was turning into the hot poker feeling she’d been expecting in the first place. “No, and they’d better hope I never find out or I will kick their asses! God damn it, this hurts!”

ICU: Robin’s Room

Megan Jennings exited Robin’s room for the second time that day and faced her patient’s exhausted mother. “Ms. Devane?”

“Why is she crashing?” Anna demanded. “She was stable just a few moments ago–”

“Anna…” Audrey placed a hand on the former police chief’s shoulder. “Robin’s been through a lot of trauma and her body is dealing with it the best way that it can. Dr. Jennings brought her back and that’s important to focus on. They were able to revive her.”

Anna shrugged off Audrey’s comfort and started down the hall. “I have to go tell Mac and Robert about this.”

When she was out of earshot, Megan looked at Audrey with sad eyes. “She’s not going to survive a third round, Audrey. Monica needs to be paged and Dr. Scorpio needs to go back into surgery now if she’s going to have any chance at all.”

“I’ll page her,” Audrey sighed.

“I’m off shift but Marian Hawthorne’s taking over for me,” Megan said as the two walked towards the nurse’s station. “I made sure to brief her on the case and the, ah, principles involved.”

“Thank you, Megan. Say hello to Derek for me,” Audrey said absently as she reached for phone to page Monica Quartermaine.

General Hospital: Break Room

Elizabeth swallowed hard. “You found Lucky.”

“Yeah…listen, I’ll come to the hospital and tell Mac so he can send someone to go get him,” Jason continued. “He’s in a motel just over the Canadian border and he checked in there last night about two in the morning.”

Her voice shook as she asked the next question, “And Cameron?”

Jason was silent for a moment. “Max said the clerk didn’t notice a kid but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t in the car, Elizabeth.”

“Right,” she said hollowly. “He was probably in the car.”

“I’m coming to the hospital, okay?” Jason said. “I’m telling Max to stay on the room in case Lucky leaves and if he sees Cameron, he’ll let me know immediately. And if he doesn’t have him…” Jason hesitated. “I’ll find him.”

“I’ll see you when you get here,” Elizabeth said dully. She shut off her phone and leaned her head in her hands. She would do anything to go back in time and fix this so none of this could have happened.

ICU: Waiting Room 1

“I feel like I’ve been here forever,” Maxie said to her sister. “And it’s barely been a day.” She propped her head up on her hand and stared out the window at the harbor. “This is so much worse than Jesse.”

Georgie arched her brows. “How can you say that? You loved Jesse!”

“Yeah, but…” Maxie shook her head. “I’m not negating how we felt towards one another, Georgie, but this is Robin. This is our cousin–better yet, our sister. And they can’t tell us one way or the other if she’s going to make it. With Jesse…it was quick, you know? It was a few hours and he was gone. But this just keeps dragging and dragging and everyone’s here and you and Dillon are arguing–” she closed her eyes. “I want to skip ahead to the end just so I can avoid this middle stuff.”

“Robin is going to be okay,” Georgie said firmly. “I have to believe that. She was, you know, okay enough to call 911. And that’s what I keep telling myself. She had to reach for the phone and she had to dial and she did that. She’s strong, Maxie. She’s been through so much and she’s the strongest person I know.” She hesitated. “She watched Stone die little by little and she was in the room when he did pass away. And she got through that and made a life herself anyway. So many other people would have given up after going through a quarter of what Robin has.”

“I know she’s strong,” Maxie said softly. “But how long does a person have to keep picking herself back up before she just stops bothering? How much more does Robin have to take before she gets a break?”

The door to the waiting room opened and Monica stepped in. Immediately everyone was on their feet and Monica had to take a step back to keep herself from feeling crowded. “After Robin’s last flat line, I’ve decided that it’s too risky to keep waiting for the second surgery.”

“Is she strong enough?” Robert demanded. “I thought the whole point of waiting was for her to regain some strength.”

“She’s not as stable as I’d like,” Monica admitted, “but the internal bleeding has to be stopped or the next time Robin flat lines, we may not unable to revive her. If I don’t take her back in now, she won’t survive the night.”

“But will she survive the surgery?” Patrick asked roughly. “If she’s not strong enough to last the night…” he couldn’t speak anymore.

“There’s no way to say for sure whether she will or not,” Monica told him. “I will do the best I can, you have my word on that but I won’t make any promises.” She held a clipboard out to Anna. “You’re her next of kin, legally. You need to sign the consent forms.”

Anna hesitated but signed her name at the bottom of the form. “A small chance is better than none,” she said quietly. “Can I see her one last time before you take her in?”

“I want to see her as well,” Robert said.

“You can all go see her if you make your visits short and quick,” Monica said. “It’s going to take a half hour to prep the team and the OR. Liz Spencer will be up shortly to prep Robin.”

General Hospital: Emergency Room

Sonny strolled up to the admittance desk. “My ex-wife Carly Corinthos was just brought in, I, ah, heard on the news that she’d been shot.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Corinthos,” the nurse began, “but as her ex-husband, we can’t release any information to you. Only to the next of kin.”

“Her mother is out of town, and won’t be back until tomorrow,” Sonny said, making a note to call Bobbie in Florida where she was vacationing with Lucas. “She has no other next of kin save our boys.”

“I’ve got Carly’s power of attorney,” Jax snarled from behind Sonny. “You don’t need to be here.”

Sonny turned around and glared at the man he’d probably hate for the rest of his life. “She’s the mother of my children–”

“Only two of them,” Jax clarified with a smirk. “And the other two…aren’t they with a mother and daughter duo?” He clasped his hands behind his back. “I repeat, there is no reason for you to be here. If Carly wanted you here, she’d ask for you.”

“I want to know how she is I can tell our sons,” Sonny all but growled. “Don’t you think Carly would want them to know she’s okay?”

Jax pursed his lips, knowing that the man was right and hating him all the more. “Fine. Carly was hit in the lower abdomen, but it was a relatively clean hit and there was an exit wound. She’s conscious and they’re going to take her in for some quick surgery to sew her up. She’ll be here for a few days. Is that enough for you?”

“Do they know who did it?” Sonny pressed. “Any suspects?”

“Other than your enemies, you mean?” Jax asked pointedly. “No. Now, you know Carly’s condition, so you can leave.”

“Oh…” Sonny shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere.”

ICU: Waiting Room 1

It had been only fifteen minutes since Robin had been taken in for the second surgery but Mac Scorpio kept waiting for Monica to come through those doors and tell him that they’d lost her.

He’d paced the carpet so often in this room that there he’d worn a groove into it. Felicia kept pressing him to eat, to try to nap but he refused. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate until he knew Robin would be all right.

When the door did push open, Mac tensed and looked towards it with dread. He exhaled in relief when it was Jason. “What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for Elizabeth,” Jason answered, glancing around at those gathered and feeling uncomfortable. “But they said she was in surgery. I found Lucky Spencer.”

Those four words garnered the attention of every person in the room. “How did you even get involved?” Patrick demanded. “Since when have you given a damn about Robin–”

“That doesn’t even matter right now,” Robert cut off Patrick’s tirade. “Where is the little bastard?”

“He’s holed up in a motel over the Canadian border,” Jason answered. “I have some men watching him in case he makes a run for it but I know…” he looked to Mac. “Robin would want this handled through you and if Lucky has Cameron, then I can’t take any chances.” He took a piece of paper from his pocket. “This is his location.”

Mac took it and met Jason’s eyes. “Thank you. I’ll send my detectives up there immediately to get him. Hopefully, we can talk him into surrendering himself without having to deal with extradition but if you could keep your men watching him until they get there.”

“It’s done,” Jason agreed. He hesitated. “Is Robin…has her condition changed?”

“She’s in surgery,” was all Mac could say. “Thank you for asking.”

The indication for Jason to leave was clear and he didn’t need any more encouragement. He would just wait in the other room for Elizabeth.

When he was gone, Felicia exhaled slowly. “I can’t believe he’s just turning Lucky over so easily or cooperating with the police. It’s so unlike him.”

“Jason knows how to use the PCPD when it’s to his advantage,” Mac said dryly. “I have to step out for a moment and give Rodriguez a call. He’ll want to be the one that brings Lucky in.”

It was almost two hours before the doors opened again and Emily, who had been observing the surgery, stepped in. “Mom sent me to give you guys an update.”

“Is the surgery done?” Anna demanded. “Is Robin all right?”

“We’ve stopped the bleeding,” Emily informed them, “and Mom’s just repairing the artery now. But…” she hesitated. “There’s a lot of damage and Robin lost a lot of blood, you know? There’s…there’s a really good chance that she might not…”

Robert stepped forward. “You’re telling me that even if this surgery is successful, that Robin could die anyway?” he demanded. “What the hell kind of doctors work here?”

“I’m sorry,” Emily said softly. “But even last night, there was only a twenty-five percent chance that she would make it. And after flat lining twice, that chance has shrank considerably. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, of course, but you should prepare yourselves–”

She broke off abruptly when Patrick slammed out of the room. Anna hesitated but went after him.

“Just tell us straight, Emily,” Felicia said quietly. “Robin’s probably not going to make it?”

“The chances are slim,” Emily agreed sadly.

ICU: Hallway

“God damn it!” Patrick slammed his fist into the plaster wall. The wall didn’t crack but the stinging pain that radiated in his hand and up his arm was the first feeling Patrick had had in hours.

“You probably shouldn’t do that,” Anna stated. “Robin tells me you’re a gifted neurosurgeon and you wouldn’t want to damage your hands–”

“To hell with my hands!” he retorted. “What good are they doing me now? They can’t fix Robin!” He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. “If I had just stayed in Manhattan, this wouldn’t be happening right now.”

Anna arched an eyebrow. “So you regret meeting my daughter?” she asked bluntly. “Not the best way to make a good impression here, Dr. Drake.”

“Before Robin, I didn’t give a damn about anything,” Patrick shot back. “Nothing except my career. I didn’t care about my father; I didn’t care about the future unless it was medically related. And now…” he shook his head. “What’s the point?”

“The point?” Anna repeated.

“Of giving a damn. Of letting someone in and caring about them?” Patrick demanded. “If Robin had been anyone else last night, I would have just sent them home and forgot about them and if I had just done that–”

“And if I had just convinced Robin to move to London with me instead of Port Charles last fall, she wouldn’t have been here at all and then where would you be?” Anna said. “Are you going to tell me you’re not better off for having known her?”

“Right now, it doesn’t feel like I am,” Patrick muttered.

“When things get tough, that’s when you prove yourself,” Anna said. “Now, when Robin talked about you in the islands, I was so disappointed because I realized she’d fallen in love with someone who had all her father’s worst qualities–”

“Wait a second–” Patrick snapped his head up. “We’re not–”

“According to Robin, you’re arrogant, you think you’re God’s gift to women and that you’re infuriating, which are all of Robert’s worst personality traits.” Anna paused. “After having met you, I realize you are exactly like her father. In all the worst ways…and the best ways. Robin wouldn’t want you to blame yourself–”

“I am so sick of hearing what Robin would want,” Patrick cut in. “Well, she’s not here and you know what? She might not ever be here again so I’m just going to do whatever the hell I want, okay?”

Anna glared at him. “I wasn’t finished. Robin wouldn’t want you to blame yourself but she also wouldn’t tell you how to feel so if you want to sit out here and feels sorry for yourself and torture yourself because you let yourself care for my daughter, that’s your prerogative. But a real man stands up, Patrick.”

She left him standing there and went back into the room. Robert frowned at her. “Is he all right?” he asked grudgingly. “He’s taking this all kind of hard.”

“It’s a little difficult, Robert, for a man to lose someone and realize that he loves them all at the same time,” Anna said slowly. “I imagine that’s difficult for anyone.”

General Hospital: Records Room

Dillon slid the chair up against the door and then turned the lock. “Okay, anyone who wants to come in is going to have find a key and then get the chair out of the way so that should buy us time to either jump out that window out there–”

“–we’re on the third floor!” Lulu said with wide eyes. “We couldn’t jump out the window–”

“–or make up some really good excuse for why we’re in here,” Dillon finished. “So let’s just get this done quickly.”

Lulu sat at one of the computers and booted it. She cracked her knuckles and then flexed her fingers before starting the delicate process of hacking into the patient’s files.

“Where did you learn how to do this?” Dillon asked curiously, leaning over her shoulder.

“My brother gave me my first lesson when I wanted to change a failing grade,” Lulu informed him as her fingers flew over the keys. “And I kind of used what Lucky taught me and expanded it. I hacked into your mother’s bank account, remember?”

“Vividly,” Dillon muttered, remembering Tracy’s wrath.

“Okay, here we go. John Michael Jacks, complete patient history.” Lulu clicked on his file and started to scan it. “Okay, the first part of this is all his actual history. His premature birth, how he was sick with the virus…okay, here are the tests that have been run.”

“Three separate paternity tests,” Dillon said, surprised. “One back in 2005 and two this year. Why would they need so many tests?”

“Well…first, let’s find out who had access.” Lulu pressed a few more buttons that Dillon didn’t catch. “Okay, Dr. Lynn Meadows accessed the one created on May 8, 2006 and the one from October 2005. Dr. Robin Scorpio also accessed both of those as well as the third one created, February 25, 2006. Only one other person accessed all three but…” she leaned forward. “Whoever it was didn’t have legal access so it was someone who hacked in, I think. Like us.”

“What’s in the tests?” Dillon asked.

“The first one says that Jax is the father, and the most recent one lists Nikolas.” Lulu frowned. “Weird.”

“What about the one from February? From right after John was born?”

She clicked on it and sat back in surprise as she read the results. “Well, this one says that neither of them is.” She looked at him, confused.

“Well…hell…” Dillon said disgusted. “Who the hell is his father for Christ’s sake?”

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