Falling For You
By Beccabo

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 : So Many Men, So Little Time

"Okay, Jeremy, I think we’ve got you all fixed up." Robin said, coming out of a hospital exam room with her 9 year old patient. She checked the bandage she had applied a few moments before and smiled down at him. "But the next time you have a piñata at your birthday party, make sure the other kids are done swinging at it before you dive for the candy, okay?"

Jeremy nodded, hugged Robin, and ran off past the nurse’s station to find his mother. Shaking her head, Robin joined Emily at the nurse’s desk with a smile on her face. "We go from life altering brain surgery to bandaging up a little boy’s head without missing a beat, don’t we?" She said, filling out Jeremy’s paperwork. "Never a dull moment here at GH."

Emily smiled at her and asked, "How much longer do you have to be on duty?"

Checking her watch, Robin said, "Just another hour, thank goodness. This week has been crazy."

"So, what are you gonna do tonight?" Emily wanted to know, trying to ease her way into this conversation.

"Oh, the usual." Robin said, not missing a beat or looking up from her paperwork. "Get drunk, meet a random guy at the bar and have a night of wild sex until I pass out from sheer exhaustion."

Emily grinned and asked, "So it’s takeout and a hot bath, then?"

"Yeah." Robin grinned "Actually, I can't wait to go home and get into bed. What do you think the chances are of George Clooney waiting there for me?"

"About the same as Brad Pitt waiting at home for me." Emily joked. She hesitated for a moment and then said, "Listen, Robin, about the other night at Kelly’s..." Robin looked up at Emily and she licked her lips and continued, "If I had known that there was something going on between you and Patrick Drake, I would never have asked him out."

"You asked him out?" Robin asked, almost ignoring the first part of her statement.

"It was stupid." Emily shook her head and kept going. "I was just feeling lonely and he was flirting with me..."

"Say no more. I understand." Robin said, cutting her off. Then, remembering how Emily had started this part of the conversation, she said, "There’s nothing going on between me and Patrick. He’s yours if you want him."

"Really?" Emily asked.

"You sound surprised." Robin said, noting the tone in Emily’s voice. "Patrick and I work together and that’s all."

"I just thought..." Emily searched for the right words. "I mean, I don’t want him because he..." Again she paused, and looked at Robin helplessly. "Are you sure there is nothing going on between you two?"

"Absolutely sure." Robin said, looking away.

Emily hedged for a minute and then said, "Because he spent the entire evening talking to me about you. And then when you left for drinks with Jax, he was...I mean, he seemed..."

"What?" Robin wanted to know.

"He seemed pissed." Emily confessed.

"Good." Robin said and smiled. Then quickly, she said, "I know. That sounded awful. But, he takes such delight in torturing me that messing with him brings about a certain kind of pleasure."

Emily smiled and said, "Well, you remember how in elementary school the boys would always torture the girls they really liked because they didn’t know any other way of getting their attention? Maybe that’s what’s going on with you and Patrick."

"Emily, elementary school was a long time ago." Robin said, dismissing her words. "And trust me, Patrick Drake doesn’t torture the women he likes. He sleeps with them. It’s part of his charm."

"You don’t realize how beautiful you are, do you?" Emily suddenly asked.

Robin laughed a little uncomfortably. "Where did that come from?"

"I’m sorry." Emily said with a chuckle. "I don’t mean to freak you out, but you just can’t seem to accept that this guy likes you."

"I’m not like you, Emily. I don’t have guys falling all over me and having to make a choice between them." Robin said, almost wistfully. "When men see me, they see HIV. I’ve been through it before...one time too many."

"Maybe this time will be different." Emily said. Robin smiled at her and shrugged her shoulders, then went back to her paperwork. Realizing that Robin was done with the conversation, Emily said, "Well, I’d better get going. I have some things to do. I just wanted to make sure that things were okay between us."

Robin looked up and said, "Things were always okay, Em. See you later." Emily smiled again and walked off to find Monica, leaving Robin alone with her paperwork. There always seemed to be more paperwork than patients.

"Why do people think we are dating?"

Robin looked up, startled, and saw Jax leaning on the counter of the nurse’s station with a grin on his face. "What are you talking about?" She asked.

Jax replied, "Well, I have been here all of ten minutes and already three people have congratulated me on our relationship. Then each one of them told me that I’d better treat you right."

"You have got to be kidding me." Robin groaned, closing the chart she was working on. "I am so sorry, Jax. This has gotten out of hand. Liz and I were..."

Jax chuckled and waved away her explanation. "Forget it. I don’t think I want to know, after all. Especially if it starts with the phrase Liz and I." Robin playfully smacked him in the arm and Jax laughed. "But, I have a feeling that it has something to do with a certain young doctor from New York who was definitely sizing me up while warning me to be good to you."

"Patrick Drake." Robin filled him in.

"Do you like him?" Jax wanted to know.

"He’s a jerk." Robin said.

"Aren’t we all?" Jax asked, but then had to step aside while a nurse handed Robin two more charts for her to look over. "Jumping right back into the swing of things, aren’t we kiddo?"

"It’s been crazy." Robin said, looking over the new charts.

"Which must explain why I haven’t seen you since the train crash." Then, with a twinkle in his eye, Jax whispered, "Except, of course, for the drinks we didn’t have together the other night."

Robin grinned at him. "I’m sorry. I meant to call you or stop by the Metro Court, but I really have been busy with Jason’s surgery, Manny, getting settled..."

"Enough said." Jax said, interrupting her with a smile. "But I think I can remedy that. Since people already think we are dating, why don’t you accompany me to a dinner party I have to attend for a client on Friday night."

"I don’t know..." Robin hedged.

"Come on. It’ll give us a chance to catch up and it’ll give me a chance to impress my client when I show up with a beautiful and brilliant doctor on my arm." Jax grinned with delight at his idea. "Besides, it’s a formal affair. How long has it been since you’ve had a chance to get all gussied up?"

Putting the charts down, Robin smiled a tired smile. "Too long." She admitted. "Okay, then. I would love to attend that dinner party with you."

"Great." Jax said. "I’ll pick you up at eight."

"Oh, wait!" Robin said, glancing at the schedule posted near the counter. "I’m on duty until 7:30 on Friday. But I can change in the locker room after my shift. "

"Then I’ll pick you up here." Jax said, leaning over the counter to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. "You’re a lifesaver. See you on Friday." Jax turned around and almost ran right into an approaching Patrick Drake. "Dr. Drake." Jax greeted him before running to catch the elevator before it’s doors closed.

"So that’s Jasper Jax, hmmm?" Patrick asked, joining Robin behind the desk at the nurse’s station. "He doesn’t seem to be your type."

"How do you figure that?" Robin asked.

"Well, he’s not in the mob." Patrick said slyly. Robin rolled her eyes at him and went back to her paperwork. "So, drinks were not enough for the two of you? Now it’s a dinner party? I misjudged you, Dr. Scorpio. You get out more than I thought."

"Yes, you did misjudge me. More than once." Robin said, putting down her pen and turning to face him. "Jax is an old friend of mine. I am doing him a favor and accompanying him to a business..." Robin shook her head and then said, "Why am I explaining any of this to you?"

"Because you are a puzzle, Dr. Scorpio. One that constantly needs to be explained to people." He smirked.

"Why do you do that?" Robin asked, changing the subject. "Why do you always call me Dr. Scorpio? I have a first name and I know you know it."

"Because we have a strictly professional relationship, remember? Those were your terms, correct?" Patrick reminded her. "Since I wouldn’t want you to mistake any acts of kindness for pity, or God forbid, compassion and friendship, I figured that calling each other doctor was the most professional approach." Then, slyly he added, "Unless you want to change the rules on me again."

"I have rounds to make." Robin said, ignoring him and grabbing her charts off the counter. Then without another word she headed off down the hall with Patrick watching her go, his trademark smirk pasted on his face.

to be continued...

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