Falling For You
By Beccabo

Chapter 19
Conclusion

Chapter 19 : This Thing Called Love

Patrick stepped out of the elevator on the floor of Robin’s apartment, careful not to fall over anything in the darkened hallway. Shaking her head, Robin walked out behind him. He turned to face her and held out his hand. "Keys?" He asked, motioning for her to give him the keys to her house.

"I can open my own door." She muttered but handed the keys over to him.

"Really?" Patrick asked, raising his eyebrow at her. "Because if I remember correctly, you had a little trouble getting yourself out of the car. The door handle is much larger than your keyhole here, and..."

"Just open the door and don’t rub it in." She said, waving him off. He smirked and turned around to open her front door. As she watched him, Robin said, "Why did you agree to bring me home? Don’t tell me you make house calls now."

"Only for my favorite patients." Patrick said, opening the apartment door and leaning down to greet an anxious Riley. "Besides, I’m taking your advice and working on my bedside manner."

"How’s that going for you?" She asked, following him into the apartment and leaning down to scratch the head of her traitorous dog.

"Slowly." Patrick said with a grin. "I’m much better with comatose patients. They don’t throw you out. Besides, Emily and Liz thought that me taking you home was a safe idea since I had less to drink than any of you."

"Don’t kid yourself. They didn’t want me to be safe. They wanted me to get laid." Robin muttered, brushing past him and heading into the living room.

Patrick smirked, closed the door and followed her into the living room. "That sounds promising for me." He flopped down on her sofa and grinned up at her.

"Make yourself right at home, why don’t you?" She muttered, moving one of her many throw pillows and sitting down next to him. She gave him a serious look and said, "I don’t put out on the first date."

Teasingly, Patrick put his arm around her and said, "I know. You told me that when we actually went on our first date. So, technically, if you want to call this a date then this is our second date. But given the fact that I saved your life in between, I’d think you would be looking for ways to express your gratitude ."

Robin resisted the urge to snuggle closer to him and simply leaned her head back, trapping his arm between her neck and the couch. "I’d offer you some coffee but, believe it or not, I have to be at work tomorrow. If I drank coffee now, I’d be completely useless by mid-morning."

"You know, it’s a good thing your mother is staying at your uncle’s because I think that she would be very upset to learn that you didn’t offer the man who saved your life a small cup of coffee." Patrick observed, liking the feeling of her head resting on his arm.

"Are you trying for the world record of how many times you can remind me that you saved my life?" Robin asked with a grin. "And if you really want coffee, there is an all night convenience store down the street."

"If I go, will you let me back in?" He asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

"Nope." Robin grinned, turning her head to look at him.

"Then I don’t want coffee."

"What do you want?" She asked quietly.

"You."

Robin was silent for a moment while she digested what he had just told her. Sensing that he had rendered her speechless, Patrick took advantage of the moment and said, "I found out something while you were sick. Something you should know."

"Something in my research?" She asked, knowing full well that wasn’t what he was talking about.

"No." He replied with a laugh. "Actually it has nothing to do with medicine. It has more to do with Chemistry."

Robin burst out laughing at his response and sat up to face him. "Does that line actually work for you?"

"Apparently not." He replied with a smirk. "Okay, so how about this line? I found out that I’m falling in love with you."

Robin was shocked and stared at him for what seemed to be an eternity. Of all the things she was expecting him to say, that wasn’t one of them. She got up off the couch and walked into the kitchen. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"To make coffee."

Amused, he followed her into the kitchen and said, "I thought you weren’t going to offer me any coffee."

"I changed my mind. I need something to do right now." Robin said, opening up her coffee canister and praying that he wouldn’t see her hands shaking. Not taking her eyes off her coffeemaking task, she said, "You can’t do that, you know? You can’t tell a woman who has had a little too much to drink that you are falling in love with her! It messes with her emotions and...Damn." Robin’s trembling hands were having trouble separating the thin coffee filters, so Patrick covered them with his own gentle hands. Robin finally looked up at him and softly asked, "Why did you just say that to me? You can’t tell a person that you are falling in love with them without some kind of warning."

"So, a warning is what you are interested in?" He said, leaning in so that he was close enough to her to for her to feel his warm breath on her cheek. ""Well, here’s a warning. I’m going to kiss you. Okay?" He grinned against her lips before capturing them with his own .

Patrick didn’t really give her a chance to answer, so Robin let her eyelids slide closed and let herself sink into his kiss. His mouth was hot and slick and he tasted faintly of the bourbon he had been drinking earlier. She’d never liked bourbon much, but second-hand, chased off his tongue, it was the best thing she’d ever tasted.

When Patrick finally let her go, he whispered, "I heard once that love is friendship on fire. Isn’t that what we have here?"

Robin shook her head and tried to step away, but he wouldn’t relax his hold on her. Things were spinning all around her and she knew it had nothing to do with the alcohol. "Patrick, this is crazy. We just..."

"No," Patrick said, cutting her off before she could talk herself out of her feelings. "What’s crazy is this dance we’ve been doing around each other since we met. If I learned anything from almost losing you, it’s that life is too short to keep on doing what we’ve been doing."

Robin shook her head and pulled away, walking back into the living room. What the hell was happening here? "You can’t think that you love me, Patrick. It’s just a reaction to thinking I was going to die. It’s okay," she reasoned, "I understand..."

"I don’t think you do." He said following her to the living room. "Because this is not how you’re supposed to react when someone tells you that they love you."

Robin turned on him and Patrick was surprised by the fear and doubt he saw in her eyes. "Do you really think you love me?" Patrick nodded and Robin continued, "For how long, Patrick? How long till you start wondering if there isn't someone better in the next room or the next bar? Or the next exam room for that matter? Do you know what it’s like being involved with someone with HIV?" She asked, trying to keep the tears from finding their way into her voice. "How careful we would have to be and how fed up you’re going to get with that? I am not one of your easy little one night stands..."

"That’s not what I want." He said quietly. "Not anymore. Not since I met you."

"That’s because this is new to you...a challenge. But how long until that little voice in your head reminds you of all the infinite 22-year-olds you could be screwing tomorrow, or the next day, or the next?"

He moved closer to her and quietly said, "I’m not Jason. And it’s not fair of you to color me with his mistakes." He pulled her back into his arms and held her tight, in a clear indication that he was not going to let her go. He put his finger under her chin and forced her face up to look at him. Gently he said, "I know you’re scared. I’m scared, too. But not as scared as I was of losing you before we even got the shot at this that we deserve." He traced a his finger along her jawline and whispered, "Sometimes what we want most in life is right in front of us and we’re just afraid to take the first step. So let’s take it together."

Robin looked into his eyes, really looking into them for the first time. And what she saw there was truth. Truth in what he said and truth about what he felt for her. Why was she so afraid to accept his gift of love? "I’m not dying anymore, Patrick. And my uncle is the police commissioner. You can’t take all of this back without some serious consequences."

Patrick grinned and said, "I don't plan on taking it back." He brushed his lips against hers, relieved that he had been able to begin breaking through that wall she had up around her heart. With a smirk, he said, "You know I could be anywhere in the world right now, right?" She rolled her eyes at him and then his tone turned serious. "But I choose to be here. Because this is where you are. And the world is a better place where you are."

That did it. Those words were enough to force her true feelings out of her. "I love you, too." She whispered and Patrick’s mouth was against her collarbone before she even finished her statement. He traced a path up her neck, covering it with sweet kisses until she gasped. Robin’s lips parted immediately when they met his and she tasted the masculine sweetness of him. Patrick watched her eyelids flutter closed as his hand on her shoulder drew up into the curve of her throat, warm around the nape of her neck. His tongue met hers halfway and they kissed until she couldn't remember anything outside of this; the soft scratch of his stubbled beard, his wandering touch, the feel of his shoulders under her hands. But mostly she felt his mouth and hers and the many ways they could fit together, the taste of him on her tongue.

Patrick finally drew back for breath, and she opened her eyes. "Come on, doctor. It’s time for you to let someone else take care of you for a change."

"I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time now." Robin said quietly. "I’m not sure I know how to let someone else do it."

"Allow me to show you." Patrick said, sitting them both down on the couch and pulling her close to him. Once she was nestled close to him, they both leaned back against the sofa cushions. "How’s that?"

Robin laid her head on his chest and breathed in the masculine scent of him, nodding. "You have a pretty good bedside manner."

"You ain’t seen nothing yet." He teased, his fingers playing in the softness of her hair.

"You know," Robin said, her voice low and intimate, taking one of his hands in hers and examining it closely. "I heard this rumor that you have really good hands, doctor. Does this whole being in love thing mean I get to find out?"

"You ain’t seen nothing yet." He repeated with a seductive grin, leaning in for another breathtaking kiss

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The End

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