31Brenda turned to Anna, "So, is something going on between you and Dr. Hottie's father?"
Anna, startled, looked at Brenda abruptly, "You sure don't pull any punches, do you?" she asked with a frown.
"No, I learned early on that it was better to just ask a question directly – misunderstandings are fewer that way. It makes the whole addressing the elephant in the room stage much less awkward," said Brenda with a smirk.
"Ah, yes," stalled Anna. "We were just enjoying a cup of coffee," she said trying to dodge the subject.
"Anna…," drawled Brenda. "That looked a little more comfy than just a cup of coffee."
Anna looked up at Brenda in disbelief. "Listen, Brenda, I'm not going to sit here and let my daughter's friend give me the third degree over a cup of coffee with her husband's father. This is just ridiculous and I will not stand for it," finished Anna angrily with her hands on her hips.
Brenda held up her hands in front of her in a passive gesture. "Whoa, hold on there, I was just trying to make small talk," said Brenda with a defensive stance. As she took in Anna's posture, Brenda knew without a doubt that there was definitely something more going on than just coffee, and she determined that she would keep an eye out for Robin so that she could report back. For right now though, she decided that it would be better to let the matter drop as she had already made Robin's super spy mom angry and there was no reason to further antagonize her.
Anna let the matter drop after Brenda backed down and they both sat down to await Noah's return or a nurse to call Brenda in to see Robin.
oOo
As Noah was walking back down the hall, right before the ICU doors, he was stopped by Dr. Sadhi, the head doctor of the CCU floor, where Robin would go once she was stable enough to leave the ICU. "Dr. Drake, could I have a moment with you?" he asked.
Noah stopped in surprise, "Sure, Dr. Sadhi, what can I do for you?"
"Well, I was just checking over the paperwork regarding what Room Dr. Scorpio-Drake would go in and I noticed that the transfer paperwork didn't seem to have arrived yet. Would you know when I can expect it?" he asked.
"Oh, about that," said Noah, running a hand over his brow, "my daughter-in-law had a small setback this afternoon and won't be moved to your unit until sometime tomorrow."
"Oh, I see," said Dr. Sadhi with a frown. "I do hope it's nothing serious."
"No, not too bad. She had a hypertensive episode but it's under control now. I just don't want to move her over to your unit just yet, but I'm fully expecting that tomorrow will be the day. There won't be a problem getting a private room for her, will there?" he asked.
"No, no, not a problem at all," said Dr. Sadhi. "We take care of our own here at General Hospital," he said with a smile. "I'll make sure there's a private room available for her," he said while patting Noah on the arm. "I need to go and check on a patient, but please give her and your son my regards."
"I will do that, Dr.," said Noah gratefully. Dr. Sadhi turned and walked away and Noah watched him go thinking that it certainly had been an odd conversation. He'd never had a doctor question when a patient hadn't arrived at their floor before, but he shrugged figuring it had something to do with Robin's popularity around the hospital.
He had no idea how wrong he was.
oOo
Patrick gently left Robin's bed right before Noah popped his head in. He saw Patrick putting on his shoes and he smiled to himself as he saw the happy look on his son's face. He could tell where Patrick had been from his rumpled clothes and his slightly mussed hair from the pillow. "Hey, son," he said, startling Patrick who looked up quickly while sliding his feet back into his shoes.
"Hey, Dad," said Patrick with a smile and holding his finger to his lips. "I just got her back to sleep and I would love it if she could sleep awhile," he said softly.
Noah gestured for Patrick to meet him outside of the curtain and Patrick slowly followed him. "Brenda's in the waiting room chomping at the bit to see Robin. Do you know when a good time might be?" he asked his son.
Patrick glanced at the closed curtain, "I'd say give it at least a couple of hours," he said. "She's only been asleep a few minutes and I know I wore her out," he said with a sheepish smile.
Noah glanced at him sharply and noticed the happy grin on his features. "Patrick, you didn't… you didn't do anything with her in there, did you?" he asked, half afraid of the answer. Patrick and Robin's appetite for each other was well known throughout the hospital and he had heard quite a bit of interesting gossip over the past year.
Patrick looked at his father in shock. "No, Dad," he said, annoyed that his Dad would even think that he would risk hurting Robin in her delicate condition. "Of course not. What would make you think that? It's not safe for her yet. Of course, in a few days, it wouldn't be so bad…" he said as his voice trailed off and his eyes got a glazed look in them while he stared at a spot on the wall behind Noah.
"Patrick… Patrick, earth to Patrick," said Noah patting Patrick's shoulder to bring his son's attention back to him. "That's why I thought that, son," he said with a smile.
Patrick stared at Noah with a bemused smile on his face. "Well, I guess you do have a point there," he said smiling wider now. "Anyway, tell Brenda to come see Robin in a couple of hours and hopefully Robin will be awake then so she can actually talk to her. I know she would like that," said Patrick.
"Ok, will do, Sport," said Noah. "Take good care of our girl now," he said with a smile.
"I will do that," said Patrick, with a return smile. He pulled back the curtain and walked back into her cubicle, sitting down in the chair by his wife's bed, and gently taking her hand in his. He placed a small kiss on her relaxed hand and murmured, "I certainly will."
oOo
Noah went out to the waiting room and informed Brenda that Robin was sleeping, but that she would probably be awake in a couple of hours and she could see her then. Brenda thanked him profusely and then Noah left saying he had other patients that he needed to check up on.
As Noah walked away, Bryan walked up and seeing Brenda, smiled at her. "I came to check on Robin," he said. "Do you know how she is?"
Brenda smiled flirtatiously at him, causing Anna to raise her eyebrow in surprise. "She is doing just fine, thanks to your handiwork, Bryan."
Bryan, spotting Anna, laughed hesitantly. "Well, I certainly can't take all the credit. I had an excellent team to work with and Robin is healthy and strong, which can sometimes make all the difference."
"Having a world class cardiologist working on her certainly helped tip the scale in her favor though," said Brenda with a grin. "Hey, Bryan, do you have a minute? I was going to go see Robin, but Noah said she's sleeping and probably will be for a couple of hours so I find I have some spare time on my hands. Would you like to get a bite to eat or a cup of coffee with me?"
Bryan, remembering how much he had enjoyed the night before, smiled and said, "You know, I think I would. I can check on Robin when you go to visit her and than that would kill two birds with one stone. Where would you like to go?" he asked.
Anna, who was watching this little exchange with great interest, couldn't suppress a chuckle just then as she thought how fitting it was that Brenda wanted to grill her about Noah, but she herself seemed to have found a budding romance. Robin will love this tidbit of news, she thought, trying to suppress another chuckle.
Brenda, hearing Anna's soft chuckle, pointedly ignored her. "Let's go to the MetroCourt and get a bite to eat and we can come back after that." At Bryan's nod, Brenda reached up to hook her arm in his and they started for the elevators as Anna watched them, not bothering to hide her interest. Brenda looked back once and gave her a large wink and Anna gave her a big smile in return.
oOo
Brenda and Bryan came back in a couple of hours as promised and they walked slowly towards the waiting room where Brenda would wait until Bryan or someone else came to tell her Robin was awake. "I'll go and check on Robin," Bryan said, "and if she's awake, I'll send a nurse out to get you." At Brenda's nod, Bryan gave her hand a quick squeeze and hurried off to the ICU.
As Bryan entered Robin's cubicle area, he noticed that Patrick was asleep in a chair with his head resting by Robin's hand next to her thigh. Robin was awake and slowly, but methodically, running her hands through Patrick's hair. She looked up at Bryan as he came in and smiled, "Hi," she whispered. "He fell asleep and I didn't want to wake him," she said as she brought her finger up to her lips in the universal gesture for quiet.
Bryan smiled and said quietly, "No problem. Usually it's the other way around though – you're the one sleeping that we don't want to wake up," he said with a grin. Robin shook her head and smiled sweetly so he continued, "I just came in to check out how you are doing." He picked up her chart from the foot of her bed and spent a few minutes going over all of the notes.
Bryan pulled up a chair beside Robin, on the opposite side of Patrick. "Well, everything is looking pretty decent, Robin, from my end of the spectrum. We did put in a Swan-Ganz catheter, which I think we'll probably take out in a couple of days or so. The cardiac output readings we've been able to get because of that have all been good and I'm very pleased."
At Robin's encouraging nod, he continued. "I don't know how much Noah or Patrick have told you, but the bullet came just a millimeter or so from hitting your heart, but you were very lucky and it just passed through the pericardium instead. I've actually never seen another case like it and I probably never will. You were a once in a lifetime lucky Robin. Another millimeter and you probably would have died," he said somberly, thinking what that would have done to his friend and Robin's new husband.
Robin smiled and reached out for his hand. "Well, I'm really glad that it didn't hit my heart then. Thank you so much Bryan for being there to take care of me. I can't express how much that means to Patrick and I," Robin said gratefully.
Bryan squeezed her hand gently, "It was my pleasure, Robin. I wished it hadn't happened, but I'm very glad I was there to help the situation."
"Will you be able to stick around here for a while, Bryan, or do you have to get back to work?" asked Robin, still absently stroking Patrick's hair.
"I really do need to get back to my hospital and practice," said Bryan regretfully. "I wasn't going to go until I knew you were out of the woods, but that appears to have happened now. And plus, now that my cardiology expertise isn't needed now, I don't want to interrupt you two lovebirds by coming in and making some useless checks on you," he said with a smile. "Dr. Quartermaine can handle the procedure needed to take out the catheter. As I'm sure you know, you will definitely be in good hands there."
Robin gave a small smile, "Yes, I know, Dr. Quartermaine is brilliant and more than capable of taking over." Robin paused, getting a protective look in her eyes, "Bryan, I hope that you know you are always welcome anywhere we are," said Robin fervently. "You are Patrick's best friend and I don't ever want to stand in the way of that."
Bryan smiled, "Robin, that is very sweet. I can see why Patrick fell so head over heels in love with you. You are certainly a find."
Robin blushed. "Thank you Bryan, I appreciate hearing that, especially from someone whom Patrick has known for so long. He's certainly the best thing that ever happened to me too. I don't think in a million years I can tell him how much he means to me," she said passionately.
Bryan gave a soft laugh, "Well, I'm sure he will insist on you trying." Robin gave a soft chuckle also. Bryan added, "I'm going to go and tell Brenda that she can come in and see you now. She's been chomping at the bit and I don't think she can be delayed any longer."
Robin laughed, "She sure is a pitbull when she wants something, isn't she?"
"Yes, I've noticed that about her," said Bryan. "However, I have seen that she has a fierce protective loyalty to her also, which is quite endearing," he added quietly.
Robin looked up at him in surprise. He's got it bad for her, she thought. I think Bryan may be in love with Brenda. Well, good for her, thought Robin. I'm certainly going to have to grill Brenda about what has been going on in my absence. Shoot, I've only been here 2 days and Brenda has already found herself another man. She paused in her thoughts, "Yes, she certainly does. When Brenda finds something that she wants, nothing can stand in her way," she told Bryan.
Bryan lifted an eyebrow in response. "Nothing I like better than a feisty woman," he said with a laugh. Robin laughed in response and Bryan went to find Brenda as Robin continued to stroke Patrick's hair while he slept peacefully.