Title: The List
Author: Steph
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Robin/Patrick
Category: Humor/Romance/Good Old-Fashioned Fluff
POV: Robin
Disclaimer: I do this out of a love for this couple. No infringement is intended.
Spoilers: Nope.
Summary: Patrick helps Robin complete the things on her list that she wants to do in her life. (Sequel to 'How to Get a Player to Commit')

--- The List: To Do # 14 - Spend New Year's in an Exotic Location ---

"That's not a word," I say, gesturing to Patrick's tiles on the Scrabble board.

"It most certainly is," he replies, nodding his head.

"No, it's not."

Patrick smirks. "You're just upset because of how convincingly I am kicking your sweet little ass."

"You're winning by ten points," I state.

"True, but there are only five tiles left in the pool and I know for a fact that you are the proud owner of an X and a Z. Good luck with that."

"Patrick, 'ai' is not a word."

"If you doubt it, then request a Dictionary Challenge. That is, if you want to risk it."

After countless fights over the validity of words, I came up with a rule that a player could request a Dictionary Challenge. The word would be looked up in the dictionary. If it was in the dictionary, then the player who issued the challenge had to subtract twenty points from their total and the challenged player earned points for the word's total, plus an additional twenty. If it wasn't, the player who issued the challenge earned twenty points, the challenged player did not receive points for the word and had to subtract twenty points from their score.

"Fine, then Dictionary Challenge issued," I say, arching my eyebrows.

Patrick smiles, as I pick up the dictionary and turn to the A section. I flip a few pages and then move my eyes downward, scanning the words. I feel my brow furrow. Damn him. I lift my gaze, only to find that his smile has grown into one of smugness. I eye him over the dictionary.

"How did you know that-..."

"Ai was a three-toed sloth? Discovery Channel."

"Yeah, right. The only time you ever watch the Discovery Channel is to see the animals having sex." He laughs, as I add, "Because you're a pervert."

He grins. "Okay, okay. Back in college, my buddies and I used to play for money. I looked up a bunch of obscure words to use to help me."

"You mean you cheated."

He cocks his head. "I don't see how studying the dictionary to expand one's vocabulary constitutes cheating." I roll my eyes. "Don't be jealous of my expansive, impressive vocabulary, Robin."

I sigh, put the dictionary down, then adjust the scores. I look at my tiles, not liking my options. I have no vowels and besides, an X and Z, I have a V, W, Q, K, and a C. I scan the board, looking for something I can add onto. I smile as I find my spot. I pick up my C tile and place it in front of the word 'HEATER'.

He smirks and shakes his head. I pick up my pen to write my score down as he immediately makes his move. I raise my head and look at his word. I point the pen cap at it.

"You can't do that. 'Fiji' is a proper noun. Nothing with capitals is allowed."

"It's allowed."

I let out a groan. He knows it's not allowed and is only doing it to bug me.

"Patrick, you know it's against the rules."

"I know no such thing. Read me the rule that says that."

I shake my head. "No, because everybody knows that rule. We've been through this before, in fact."

"Robin, just read me the part of the instructions that says it."

"Read it yourself," I snap.

His jaw tightens. "The instructions are closer to you."

I pick up the instructions and fling them across the table at him. He's not ready and it hits him in the face, before falling into his lap. I don't bother trying to stifle my laughter.

He lets out a little sigh, picks the instructions up, and then reaches across the table, handing me them. "Will you just read it, please?"

A breath escapes my lips. "What, you can't read? How did you ever make it through medical school?"

He licks at his lips in frustration and says tightly, "Please just read it."

I let out an exaggerated sigh and pull it from his grip. I then flip it over to find the section stating the rules.

I find the rule and begin reading it allowed, as his eyes focus on me, "Any words found in a standard dictionary are permitted except those capitalized, unless your gorgeous, thoughtful, charming boyfriend wants a creative way to surprise you with a trip to Fiji." My eyes widen as I read the rest of the rule, my voice trailing off.

I look closely at the sheet and realize that a piece of typed paper had been pasted over the rest of the real rule and then a copy had been made.

I raise my eyes up to him and he smiles at me. "Keep reading."

I feel tears well up in my eyes as I look at the amazing man before me. I then look back down and continue reading. "Number 20. Spend New Year's in an exotic location...with your gorgeous, thoughtful, charming boyfriend."

I shake my head at him. "I can't believe you did this. I mean, surprising me this way."

He laughs. "Of course, you had to be a pain in the ass about it."

I get up out of my seat and walk around the table to his side. His hands dart out and encircle my waist. He pulls me onto his lap and I look down at him.

"Thank you. It was very sweet." I then give him a kiss on the lips. When I pull back I shake my head, "But we don't have anymore-..."

"Vacation days. It's almost the first of the year, so I asked Alan to give us an advance on our vacation days."

I raise my eyebrows. "When you say asked you don't actually mean blackmail like my father did, right?"

He laughs. "No, blackmail is what I had to use to get him to loan me the Quartermaine jet."

My eyes grow big and I slap his chest. "You better be joking!"

He grins at me. "Relax. Alan offered it."

"He did? Why?"

"I don't know. I guess he must like me," he says, lowering his eyes.

I furrow my brow. There's got to be more to that story, but, at the moment, I don't care. All I care about is spending New Year's in Fiji with the man I love.

---

Patrick shakes his head, as he takes in the interior of the jet. "Man, these people know how to live."

I smile. "Tell me about it."

He flops down onto the couch, then grabs my waist and pulls me to him. I straddle his legs, as I fall onto his lap.

He brings his hand up and cups my cheek. "Can you still be accepted into the Mile High Club if it takes place on a jet or does it have to be commercial and in a bathroom?"

I arch my eyebrows, grinning, "Hmm, I'll have to consult the requirements to be sure."

He chuckles and then guides my lips down to his. My fingers immediately move to the buttons of his shirt and I begin undoing them, as his lips trail down my neck. I feel his hands move to the bottom of my knit top. I'm just about to pull back and help him remove it, when we hear a familiar male voice.

"Whoa! Get a room!"

I abruptly tear my lips away from Patrick's, as he raises his head from my neck. We turn to look in the direction of the voice, our mouths dropping open at the sight of Dillon and Lulu.

Lulu places her hands over her face. "My virgin eyes!"

Dillon laughs at that, as I groan and crawl off of Patrick's lap and he begins to button his shirt. I walk over to Dillon and Lulu.

"What are you two doing here?"

Dillon gestures to us. "Hey, it's my family's jet. What are you two doing here?"

Patrick comes to stand by my side. "Alan said we could use it."

Dillon glances at Lulu. "Yeah...well...grandfather said we could use it."

I cross my arms over my chest. "Edward said you and Lulu, two people still in their teens with a penchant for getting into trouble just in Port Charles, could use his jet?"

Dillon looks down at the ground. "Uh, yeah."

"I'm not buying it."

Lulu bites her lips. "Okay, we found out you guys were borrowing the jet to go down to Fiji and we really wanted to go some place cool for New Year's so we sorta kinda stowed away."

I glance at Patrick who blows out a breath. So much for spending New Year's alone with him.

The truth is, I really like Dillon and Lulu. As much as I wish, Dillon's relationship with Georgie had survived, I think he and Lulu are a good match. Dillon and my cousin did everything they could to make their relationship work, but it just wasn't meant to be. Lulu and Dillon have always been great friends and have just recently started to explore being more.

But as much as I like them, I was looking forward to being with just Patrick. I would consider ditching Lulu and Dillon the moment we get there, but I'm pretty sure they would just end up getting into serious trouble. We'll have to keep an eye on them.

Dillon waves a hand. "Don't worry. Once we land, you guys won't see us again until it's time to get back on this jet. We will leave you alone so you can...you know...resume activities."

Patrick nods. "Sounds good to me."

I hit Patrick's arm and say through gritted teeth. "We can't do that. They'll get into trouble."

Dillon gestures to us. "Okay, first of all, from what I've heard, you two are the ones who get in trouble on your little list adventures. Maybe Lulu and I should keep an eye on you."

Lulu puts her hands on her hips and smiles. "Yeah. Two words: Ken and Barbie."

Dillon looks at her and whispers, "That's actually three words if you count the 'and'."

"I wasn't counting the 'and'," she states, eyes focused on us.

Dillon nods and jerks his thumb at Lulu, "Yeah, two words. Good point, Lulu. Thank you."

Patrick and I exchange a look before I narrow my eyes at them. "We're two grown adults. So we can do what-..."

Dillon shakes his head. "Hey, whoa. We're both adults. Legal adults. I've already been married and divorced, which, by the way, neither of you has experienced yet. Not that I want you to experience the divorce thing, but I did marriage, so I've got life experience on my side. Plus, I'm in college. People in college go to places all over the world all the time."

Patrick smiles wistfully. "Junior year in college I went to Cancun with three of my friends for Spring Break. Ended up in an alley naked, all of my belongings stolen. Good times."

I raise my eyebrows. Apparently, his vacation mishaps started early in his life. I wonder if he forced his buddies to take a bus home to save face.

I stomp on Patrick's foot. He yelps and throws me a glare.

"You're not helping!" I growl.

"What? It was a cautionary tale."

"Not when you end it with, 'Good times'."

"Come on, Robin. I was young and stupid. It was one of those mistakes everyone needs to make once."

"Ending up penniless and naked in an alley?" I say, eyebrows arched.

Dillon smiles. "He's right. How can we learn if we do not make mistakes?"

Lulu nods in agreement. "Exactly. I, for one, plan on making many mistakes in order to learn as much as possible. I am that dedicated."

I sigh and shrug my shoulders. "Fine, then we'll go our separate ways once we get there."

Dillon smiles and flops down in a chair. Lulu then does the same.

He waves his hands. "Pretend like we're not even here." He pauses and then adds, gesturing between himself and Lulu, "Except for the about to have sex stuff because that would just be really uncomfortable for us."

Patrick and I sink down onto the couch.

---

Playing charades with Tracy Quartermaine's son and Luke Spencer's daughter on a jet headed to what was supposed to be a romantic getaway to an exotic location with the man I love is not my idea of fun.

But here we are anyway. It was somehow decided that it would be boys versus girls.

"Movie," Patrick states flatly, eyes blankly focused on his teammate.

Dillon nods and holds up three fingers.

"Three words."

He taps two fingers on his forearm.

"Second word," Patrick says.

Dillon makes a circle with his finger above his head, like a halo.

"Uh, angel."

Dillon shakes his head. He presses his hands together and looks upward.

"Praying," Patrick says.

Dillon groans and waves his hands. He chews on his bottom lip for a moment, then points at me. My brow furrows, as Patrick looks at me.

"Doctor. Woman." He pauses and then adds softly, "Beautiful."

I feel my face flush, as Lulu says, "Aw! I mean, totally cheesy, but still 'aw!'"

Dillon rolls his eyes and shakes his head. He holds one finger up.

"First word."

Then taps his forearm.

"Second part."

Dillon walks along the length of the jet, pretending to whistle. He then stops and makes a motion like he's casting a fishing line.

Patrick's forehead creases. "Fishing."

Dillon points to the floor.

"Ground."

Dillon throws his hands up in the air. "Forget it. He'll never get it."

Patrick gestures to him, "Not with those clues I won't."

Dillon's eyes grow wide and his mouth drops open. "Are you kidding me? Those were excellent clues. Top notch!" He looks at Lulu. "I bet you know what it was, don't you?"

Lulu smiles. "Boondock Saints."

Patrick shrugs. "Never heard of it."

I look at Dillon and I'm almost sure he's going to fall to the floor. "Wh...What? You've never heard of 'Boondock Saints'? Two vigilante brothers seeking vengeance against the Russian mob. It's classic. Willem DaFoe, Sean Patrick Flannery, Billy-..."

Patrick and I stare blankly at him.

He groans and rubs a hand down his face, "Wow, that is just sad."

Patrick gestures to Dillon. "What was that fishing thing?"

"I was on a dock. Boondock. Come on, how much time do the citizens of Port Charles spend on the docks? That should have been easy!"

"But I never see anyone fish there," Patrick argues.

"Well, it's a little hard to show meaningful conversations, tearful confessions, or vicious arguments all by my lonesome and without the benefit of words," Dillon counters.

Patrick points at me, "Well, what did Robin have to do with it then?"

Dillon winces at me. "Yeah, well, don't take this the wrong way, but I've heard Carly refer to you as St. Robin so..."

Patrick chuckles and I throw him an icy glare. He clears his throat and averts his eyes.

---

Hours later, we arrive in Fiji. All four of us take a cab to the hotel. Patrick checks us in and then Dillon and Lulu walk up to the counter.

"Yeah, so, we need one room, two beds," Dillon says.

"I'm sorry, sir. We're booked solid."

"So there's nothing at all?"

"I'm sorry."

I look at Patrick, but he shakes his head, holding his finger up. "No, no way. Absolutely not. Robin, I want to be with you. Only you. We just did this, remember? Last time we had to share a room with other people, I got more action in a week from your father than I did from you."

I lean in close to him. "Patrick, we can't just leave them without a place to stay."

"There are other hotels."

"There's not another one for fifteen miles."

Dillon and Lulu walk over to us.

"So, they're booked solid. But, not to worry, because we're going to camp out on the beach."

Lulu nods, feigning enthusiasm.

"For a whole week?" I ask, brow wrinkling.

Patrick smiles and puts his arm around me. "Sounds cozy. Have fun."

He tries to guide me away, but I don't budge. I shake my head. "You guys can't camp out on the beach for a whole week."

Dillon nods. "Sure we can. We've got survival skills up the wazoo. Lulu's a Spencer, so enough said there and I'm a Quartermaine...which means...absolutely nothing, unless betrayal, manipulation, and deceit can somehow be of use."

I shake my head, as Patrick drops his eyes to the ground, and lets out a little groan. "Look, Patrick booked us a suite. There's plenty of room for you guys."

Lulu's eyes light up. "A suite? Really?"

Patrick smiles insincerely. "Yes, really. I figured I should make sure we have enough room, just in case we decide to start a camp for wayward teens."

I hit Patrick's chest. Dillon smiles widely. "Well, in that case, I don't see how we could refuse."

---

"Oh my God! Look at this place!" Lulu practically screams, as she surveys the suite.

It's actually divided into three rooms. The bathroom, the bedroom and a living area. The living area has marble floors, two huge, overstuffed leather couches, and a big flat screen television.

"Look at this T.V.!" Dillon says, as runs over to it and embraces it, squeezing his eyes closed.

Patrick and I wander into the bedroom, which, thankfully, has a door separating it from the rest of the suite. It's just as breathtaking as the rest of the suite. It has a large four poster bed with a red silk canopy draped across it. There's a balcony that overlooks the ocean.

I turn to him and smile. "Wow, you really went all out."

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me to him. "I sure did."

"This must have cost a fortune. Can I ask what warrants such extravagance?"

Patrick lowers his gaze from mine. "Nothing. There doesn't have to be a reason to treat you like this."

I eye him. He's behaving a little strangely. Something's not quite right.

"Whoa!" Lulu says, running into the bedroom, and causing Patrick and I to pull apart. "The bathroom has one of those water fountain things!"

I chuckle. "A bidet."

"Yeah, that's it." She looks at Patrick and grins, "I gotta say, Robin is one lucky woman. I mean, not only are you hot, but you're a doctor and you treat her like this. Never would have guessed it after seeing you be such a pig with her evil ex-step-monster in the Markham Islands. No offense."

Patrick and I laugh, as Lulu bounds out of the bedroom. I turn back to Patrick.

"The Markham Islands. Doesn't that seem like a lifetime ago?"

He nods. "A lot's changed since then."

I smile. "Yeah, you're not a pig anymore...at least, not as consistently."

He grins and brings a hand to his chest, "Ouch! Is that how you thank me for all of this?"

I shake my head and come closer to him, as I lift myself up on my toes and bring my lips near his. "No, this is," I whisper, as I wrap my arms around his neck and cover his mouth with mine.

"Whoa, twice in one day. Awkward," I vaguely hear Dillon mutter behind us, but I don't pull back. He goes on, "Uh, you know, if we're going to be living together for a week, we should probably think about setting some ground rules-..."

Patrick pulls away from me just enough to growl, "Get out," before capturing my lips with his again.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Dillon mumbles and I hear him pad out of the room.

---

"Okay," Dillon says, standing in the middle of the room and holding up his hands, as Patrick and I reenter the living area some time later. "As we all know, tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Such an occasion and this seriously rockin' room calls for a celebration. Nothing big, just something intimate. You know, a few...or fifty...of the natives. I hear Fijian women are gorgeous." Lulu rolls her eyes and throws a pillow at Dillon. He swallows and stammers, "I...uh...really just want them to fill me on their fascinating culture."

Patrick shakes his head. "No parties. Robin and I are spending New Year's Eve alone."

Dillon points downward. "Here?"

Patrick shrugs. "Not necessarily, but you're not throwing a party here either way."

Lulu stands up, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine, there are plenty of ways for us to have fun outside of this room. I say we get started right now."

She then grabs Dillon's hand and drags him to the door.

Patrick and I watch them leave. I then turn to him and smile. "So, what do you have planned for tomorrow?"

He simply waggles his eyebrows.

---

The next morning, Patrick and I emerge from our bedroom to find Lulu and Dillon enjoying a breakfast feast.

Dillon gestures with his knife to his Belgium waffle and speaks through a mouthful, "You guys have got to try this waffle. It's covered in strawberries and whipped cream. Seriously, it's like heaven on a plate."

Patrick's eyes widen, as he takes in the assortment of food. There are plates of bacon, sausage, eggs, stuffed French toast, pancakes, toast, and hash browns.

Lulu lets out a little moan of pleasure as she chomps on her French toast. "Oh my God, I want to marry this French toast and have its children."

I look at Patrick. His face has grown a bright red, he's flexing his jaw, and he has his hands planted firmly on his hips.

He finally speaks, "So, tell me. Exactly who is paying for all of this?"

Dillon and Lulu's forks freeze mid-air, their mouths hanging open, as they turn to glance at him.

Dillon stammers, "Oh, uh, well, I guess we got a little carried away. I mean, that room service menu is just so tempting...and addicting. It should come with, like, a warning label. We ordered one thing and then, before you know it, we just couldn't stop. But that's no excuse. We will pay you back."

I wave my hand at them. "Don't worry about it."

Patrick's head snaps in my direction. "Excuse me?"

I look up at him. "Come on, we're going to eat it, too. They got a little carried away. There's no reason to make them feel bad about it."

"I think my bill at the end of our stay will prove otherwise."

---

I look at myself in the mirror, applying a gold necklace with a heart of diamonds that Patrick gave me for Christmas. I see him come up behind me in the mirror, a smile upon his lips.

He wraps his arms around my waist and kisses the back of my neck, before bringing his lips to my ear and whispering, "I know you're probably getting sick of hearing this by now, but you're beautiful."

Those words coming from his lips still send shivers down my spine and I can't imagine a time when they won't.

I turn in his embrace and snake my arms around his neck, looking up into his eyes. "I'll never tire of hearing that from you. Every time you say it, I know you really mean it. I can feel how much you love me."

His smile morphs into a playful grin. "You know, I have other more entertaining ways of making you feel how much I love you."

I chuckle softly. "Oh, I know."

His fingertips move to the delicate straps of my blue silk dress. He fingers them and then begins to slide them down my shoulders. I shake my head and gracefully slip away from him, as I grab ahold of his hand.

"Not with Dillon and Lulu in the other room, Patrick. Plus, we have a celebration to get to."

He lets out a sigh, but his eyes twinkle as I backpedal out of the room and into the living area.

Dillon and Lulu move their attention from the television to us.

Lulu smiles, her eyes scanning Patrick's body appreciatively. He looks even more gorgeous than usual, all decked out in a charcoal suit and royal blue button down shirt that's open at the collar. She glances at me for a moment, then nods her approval.

"Wow, you two look great. They make such a cute couple, don't you think, Dillon?"

Dillon nods. "Yeah, they really do. They remind me of another cute couple...what were their names?" he asks, snapping his fingers.

Lulu cocks her head. "Sonny and Cher?"

"No, no, not them, although with the height difference I could see where you'd get that."

Patrick and I exchange an amused glance at them. These two always seem to be putting on their own private comedy routine.

"Demi and Ashton?"

"No."

"Tom and Katie?"

"No...and ew."

Dillon suddenly claps his hands and then points at us. "Ken and Barbie!"

Patrick and I sigh and roll our eyes, as Lulu giggles.

"Yes, that's it!" she says, slamming her hand down on the glass coffee table.

Patrick purses his lips, as he slips his hands into his pants. "You done?"

Dillon looks upward, as he ponders this. "Uh...yeah, we're good."

Patrick takes a step toward them, noting how they're both sitting there in sweats. "So, you guys don't have plans tonight?"

Dillon and Lulu exchange a look. Lulu shrugs. "Nah, just going to hang out here, watch some movies...not order room service."

I raise my eyebrows. "What happened to finding fun outside of this room. I thought you guys wanted to really do it up right in Fiji for New Year's. You could have hung out and watched movies in Port Charles."

Dillon points the remote at the television. "Not on that television we couldn't. I hope they get Dick Clark down here, because his head is going to look huge."

Patrick eyes them suspiciously, then shakes his head. "Do you think we're stupid?"

Lulu shrugs her shoulders, replying matter-of-factly, "Not really. I mean, you probably have to be pretty smart to become a doctor."

I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing. I glance over at Patrick and he resembles a disapproving father, trying catch his children in a lie. His brow's furrowed, jaw tense. He looks like Walt Cleaver whenever the Beave got into trouble.

Patrick leans toward them, his voice lowering. "I invented the 'I'm just going to hang out and watch movies' bit. Ask my dad about it sometime. I threw legendary parties in high school. I was on a first name basis with the cops on our route."

Dillon nods. "That's a nice story, very nostalgic. But I don't see how it applies to us. You said no parties and you seemed very firm on the subject. We took it to heart," he says, patting his chest.

Patrick sighs. "As soon as we walk out that door, you guys are going to whip that clothes off and the party will start in no time at all."

Lulu looks at me. "He has trust issues, doesn't he?"

I hook my arm through Patrick's. I know he's right, but I am not about to spend my New Year's arguing with Lulu and Dillon or chaperoning them.

"Come on, let's go. We have plans, remember?"

He lets out a sigh and offers them one last piercing look, before allowing me to guide him out the door.

Once outside, he blows out a breath. "They are going to destroy that room and run up a huge room service bill."

I grab ahold of his collar and force him to meet my eyes. "You can spend all night worrying about what's happening in that room or you can spend all night focused on me. The choice is yours."

He licks at his lips slowly, a smile softening his expression. "Well, that's no choice at all."

---

Patrick and I walk hand-in-hand along the beach, as the warm breeze rustles our clothing. We stroll in a comfortable silence for a long time, until we reach a little sandy secluded cove. Patrick guides me along and then I stop suddenly at the sight before me. There's a blanket spread out on the sand with a gourmet picnic dinner laid out on top of it. A dozen torches surround the area, giving it a romantic glow.

I turn to Patrick and smile. "This is amazing."

"I think you meant that I'm amazing."

I chuckle and nod, "That, too."

"This is a private part of the beach. I rented it for the entire week."

"You can do that?"

"Apparently." His voice lowers, "We are completely alone."

I bring my hand up to cup his cheek. "I can't imagine a better way to ring in a New Year."

He walks over to the blanket and sits down. He then reaches up and pulls me down to him. I settle in between his legs and lean my head against his chest. He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my head.

There's incredible food and expensive champagne surrounding us, but we pay it no attention. We're just lost in the moment.

"You know," he says quietly, breaking the silence, "last year with you was the first New Year's Eve I ever spent with anyone."

I raise my eyebrows and look up at him. "Really?"

"I'd sit home alone, drinking beer and watching old movies."

"Why?" I ask, my eyes scanning his face.

He shrugs his shoulders. "I just couldn't face ringing in a New Year with some woman whose name I wouldn't remember the next day, never mind the next year. It just never seemed right. I guess I kind of bought into that whole spend New Year's Eve with the person you want to spend the year with." He brings his thumb and forefinger up to my chin, his voice softening. "Last year, I finally found her...and I didn't even realize I'd been searching."

I feel the tears begin to sting my eyes, as he lowers his lips to mine. My hand reaches up and cups the back of his head, as I deepen the kiss.

When we separate, he licks at his lips nervously, his eyes growing serious. "Robin, this past year and a half with you has been amazing. More than I could have ever dreamt of, if I ever allowed myself to dream of such a thing. You make everyday more incredible than the last."

I feel my chest begin to tighten and I suddenly can't breathe. The piercing look in his eyes is enough to make my heart start to hammer in my chest.

He goes on, "I can't imagine spending New Year's with anyone else for the rest of my life. And I want to know whenever I ring in a New Year that you will be with me the following year to do the same."

He swallows hard and then takes a deep breath. It feels like time has frozen and everything is happening in slow motion. I can't even form a coherent thought.

He continues, looking right into my eyes, "I guess what I'm trying to say is-..."

All of the sudden, the cell phone we rented starts to ring.

Patrick lets out a groan, squeezes his eyes shut, and mumbles. "You've got to be kidding me."

I want to tell him not to answer it. I want to tell him to finish what he was saying. I want to tell him to throw the damn thing in the ocean so that we can return to this perfect moment, where we are the only two people on earth. This perfect moment when all of my dreams may finally be about to come true.

But we both know we can't ignore it. Lulu and Dillon are the only ones with the number and something could be wrong.

He looks at me sadly, as he lightly runs his thumb across my lower lip. "I have-..."

"I know," I say softly.

With a heavy sigh, he reaches into his jacket and pulls out the phone. He flips it open and snaps, "What?" He then squeezes his eyes closed again, as he listens to the person on the other end. "We'll be right there."

He clicks the cell phone shut and looks down at me.

"They're in trouble, aren't they?"

"Oh, yeah." His features soften as he looks down at me. "I am so sorry about this. I wanted tonight to be perfect."

I smile and run my thumb across his jaw. "It was."

He nods, but can't hide the sadness and disappointment in his eyes. And I'm left to wonder what else that perfect moment was going to hold.

Patrick stands and then extends his hand to me. I slip it into his and we leave our private heaven.

---

My eyes widen as Patrick pulls into the police station.

"Jail? They're in jail?"

Patrick tilts his head, as he pulls the keys out of the ignition. "I've got to hand it to them. No fake jails for them. No, they go right to the real thing."

He gets out of the car and I follow a moment later. We enter the station and inform the clerk who we are here to see. He leads us down a short hallway until a small cell comes into view. Dillon and Lulu are sitting on a bench, their heads bowed. When they hear us coming, their heads snap up and they jump off the bench, running to the bars.

"Oh thank God you're here!" Lulu says.

Dillon manages a crooked grin. "When you guys hear this you are going to laugh." We fix him with icy glares and his grin fades away. "Okay, maybe not laugh, but chuckle. And probably not for a couple of days or weeks, maybe even years. But eventually you will see the humor in the situation."

Patrick clenches his jaw. "I doubt it."

Lulu gnaws on her lower lip. "It really wasn't our fault."

"I've used that one a time or two," Patrick says.

"No, seriously, it wasn't," she says pleadingly.

"Why don't you tell us what happened?" I say.

Lulu nods and takes a deep breath. "Okay, so after you guys left. These people just starting showing up for a party and we were like, hey, what's going on?"

Patrick holds up a hand. "You're insulting our intelligence again."

She sighs. "Okay, so we may have spread the word that we were having a small get together. You know, ring in the New Year, make some new friends-..."

"Get thrown in jail," Patrick adds.

Lulu groans. "All right, so we're having a good time. There's music playing, some people are dancing. It's all just innocent stuff."

"Until..." I prod.

She grimaces. "Until this bellboy, I don't even know his name, tells me about Kava Kava. It's a traditional Fijian drink and they usually drink it during festivals. So, I'm thinking it's New Year's and we should have some of that."

Dillon's head is bowed the entire time as she relays the story. "Anyway, he goes in search of some and then comes back. He tells us of the customary way of drinking it. You clap three times, drink it from half a coconut shell, then clap another three times."

"Okay," Patrick says slowly. "Can you get to the part about how you ended up in jail?"

"Well, the bellboy failed to tell us just how strong Kava Kava is. Apparently, it's so strong it can make you go numb. Well, Dillon obviously didn't realize this and he really liked it, so he drank another and then another. And before we knew it his whole face was numb. I mean, he literally couldn't move one facial muscle. So, understandably, he started to panic. He gestured to his face and I realized what happened. I started to yell that someone needed to call for help, but the bellboy said it was nothing and would wear off in a little while. But Dillon wouldn't listen and it was taking a really long time to wear off. He started to run around the room, hysterical. He knocked things over and started banging his fists against the wall, hoping to get somebody to help him. Instead, hotel security came up. They said they got a disturbance call from next door. They noticed the coconut shell and inspected it. Turns out, the bellboy had slipped a little something into it to enhance its already strong effects and make them last longer. An illegal little something. When I tried to tell security that it was him, not us, I realized he had disappeared. So they called the police and we were hauled in here."

Patrick sighs and shakes his head. I look at Dillon. "Are you okay?" I ask.

"I've gotten all of the feeling back in my face. Now I know what Joan Rivers must feel like everyday of her life."

Patrick lets out a little groan, saying sarcastically, "Wow, that was a funny story."

Dillon shrugs. "Maybe not ha ha funny and I'll admit that while my face was temporarily paralyzed I didn't see the humor in it either. But now that I've had some time to think about it and the feeling's been restored to my face, I can laugh," he then pauses and chuckles weakly.

Lulu manages a smile. "Learn from our mistakes, right? I mean, now I know accepting strange drinks from bellboys whose names you don't know is a bad idea."

I arch my eyebrow. "You didn't know that already?"

She moves her eyes from mine and smiles at Patrick. "Young and stupid, right? Come on, at least we still have all of our clothes and our personal items. And we're not in an alley."

Patrick fixes her with a glare. "Yeah, jail's much better."

I glance down at my watch and look up at Patrick. "It's three minutes till midnight."

Lulu's eyes sparkle and she bounces up and down, as she gestures to the door. "Okay, hurry, tell them to let us out. I don't want to be in this cell when the clock strikes midnight."

Dillon nods at the door. "Yup, open up."

Patrick levels them with a look. "Maybe you should have thought about that before lying to us."

Lulu rolls her eyes. "Oh my God, one of the benefits of having an absentee father is that I don't have listen to lectures. Please, spare me."

Patrick shakes his head. "No way. Your father may let you get away with whatever you want, but I won't."

I look at Patrick. He seems to enjoy letting teens stew in jail. And he's oddly sexy when he's authoritative.

"Wow, you're going to be a hard ass with our kids, aren't you?"

He smiles slightly. "Apparently. Who knew?"

Dillon wraps his fingers around the bars and sticks his face in between, giving up his best puppy dog look, complete with lower lip covering his upper.

"Please? Come on, lesson learned. Starting the New Year behind bars would seriously suck. It would be a bad omen. You can't do that to us, man."

Patrick sticks his hand through the bars and pats Dillon's shoulder, as a grin crosses his lips. "Oh, I don't know. I think you're going to laugh about this. Probably not for a couple of days or weeks, maybe even years. But eventually you will see the humor in the situation."

Patrick then takes my hand, as we turn our backs on them.

"Come on, guys!" Lulu pleads.

"This is so not cool!" Dillon screams. "I thought you guys were cool! I thought this was the start of something awesome! A real bond! We could have been, like, the new generation of the Four Musketeers! Except we would have been way more awesome! What about all for one and one for all? Come on, guys!"

I look at Patrick, as we come to stand by the clerk's desk. "Please tell me you don't plan on leaving them in there for five hours like you did with your cousins."

Patrick shakes his head. "Nah, give them five minutes. Hopefully, those will be the worst five minutes they experience this year."

I smile sadly. "I'm sorry this is how we're ringing in the New Year. I know how much thought and effort you put into this night." I pause and then add softly, "I know you wanted it to be special."

He nods, but manages a smile, as he brings his lips to mine. "I'm with you. That makes it special."

He then pulls me into his arms and kisses my forehead.

"This is not funny, guys!" We hear Lulu and Dillon yell from down the hall.

Patrick and I simply chuckle. We then look up at the clock on the wall behind the clerk's desk and watch as the hands strike midnight. We turn back to each other, our eyes locking.

He smiles as he leans down to me and whispers, "Happy New Year, baby."

He stops the smile that begins to spread across my lips, as his mouth covers mine.

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Up Next: To Do # 15 - Send a Message in a Bottle.
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