Medical Center
Lily and Robin were chatting up a storm when—ding-a-ling—Robin's phone rang.
"I'll be right there," she said after picking up, then waved goodbye to Lily and Matthew.
"What are you standing around for? Go after her!" Lily gave Adam a shove.
Adam grinned and hustled out the door.
"Robin!" he called.
"What do you want?" Robin stopped, turning to him with a chilly stare.
"Nothing big. Just heard from Lily you got a promotion—haven't congratulated you yet," Adam said with a smile.
"That's it?" Robin smirked, unimpressed.
"And, uh, about last time—I'm sorry again," Adam added, sheepish. "I didn't mean it, and you've got every right to be mad at me."
"I don't have time to be mad at you," Robin snapped. "I'm way too busy. I'm getting shipped off overseas soon, and after that, I might never see you again, you jerk."
"Congrats, though! That's what you wanted, right?" Adam kept smiling.
"Obviously," Robin said, chin up. "As a journalist, I can go anywhere in the world. That kind of freedom and joy? You wouldn't get it."
"Stay safe out there," Adam cautioned. "Skip the remote, sketchy spots—tons of weirdos lurk around. Even in big cities, don't let your guard down just because they're famous. Places like Paris have some shady underworld stuff…"
Robin watched him ramble on with safety tips, her eyes suddenly welling up. Then—bam!—she lunged forward, threw her arms around his neck, and chomped down hard on his neck.
"Hiss!" Adam sucked in a breath but didn't push her off.
Last time, he hadn't meant to screw up, but he'd gone too far. He could totally picture how freaked out she'd been these past few days.
A bite to vent? He deserved it. 😅
"My sudden promotion—you had a hand in that, didn't you?" Robin let go after the bite, not going full vampire on him. Still clinging to his neck, she hissed in his ear, "You're such a jerk! A lovable, hateable jerk!"
"Sorry," Adam said, feeling her emotions shift. He relaxed a bit and chuckled, "Yeah, I'm a jerk."
Robin hugged him for a moment longer, then shoved him off and marched away. She flagged down a cab by the road, and just before hopping in, she spun around and shouted at Adam, who was still standing there watching her.
"Adam, you jerk! I hope whoever made you this way gets pregnant with your kid right now—better yet, a daughter! Then you'll turn into a total daughter-dad, freaking out every day that she'll run into a jerk like you!"
With that, she gripped the cab door with her left hand, flipped him the bird with her right, and smirked.
Adam grinned back, flashing an "OK" sign with his right hand.
Robin laughed, slid into the cab, and kept staring at him through the window as the car melted into the distant traffic.
"Sigh," Adam let out a long breath, rubbing the bite mark on his neck as he headed back into the hospital.
"How'd it go? How'd it go?!" Lily pounced the second she saw him, all gossip-hungry.
"How'd what go?" Adam teased.
"Whoa! She bit you!" Lily's eagle eyes zeroed in on the mark on his neck, and she squealed, "You guys made up?!"
"Sort of," Adam said, tugging his collar to cover it.
Lucky for him, Robin didn't go too deep, and with his crazy stamina came crazy healing. It'd fade soon enough.
Otherwise, explaining this to Peggy and the crew? Awkward city. 😬
"What do you mean 'sort of'?" Lily huffed, unsatisfied.
"Didn't you know she's leaving New York?" Adam asked.
"Duh, of course I did!" Lily shrugged. "I'm the one who told you, remember? That's why I said to apologize quick, or who knows when you'd see her again."
"Probably never," Adam nodded.
"Wait, you mean Robin's not coming back?" Matthew, the clear-headed bystander, caught on.
"What?!" Lily froze. "What do you mean she's not coming back to New York? Isn't she just going abroad for some reporting stint?"
"Yeah," Adam sighed. "But with her talent and drive, give her one shot, and she'll skyrocket. After this, you'll spot her all over the world. That's her dream, isn't it?"
"Her dream…" Lily mumbled, then—ding!—it clicked. She swatted Adam. "You jerk! You set up this chance for her, didn't you? You let Robin go! That's your apology?!"
"What else was I supposed to do?" Adam threw up his hands. "Got a better way to say sorry?"
"You're heartless!" Lily fumed. "If I were you, I wouldn't apologize like that. I'd keep her here. Dreams are great, but love's more important—that's your line!"
"That's you," Adam shot back, grinning. "That's you with Robin! I can't compare…"
Lily and Matthew glared in sync, so he dialed it back. "Okay, sorry. I meant shaky dreams don't beat love.
Robin's career chase—is it anything like your 'dreams'?
Don't glare this time!
Think about it: she ditched her pop star life, left home, and hustled solo in a foreign country for years.
She never cared about love or any of that—just her career, her goals.
She even dumped 'good marriage material' Ted to hang with a player like me.
To her, no career, no family.
She's a real dream-chaser!
And you?
Day one of college, you hook up with Matthew and forget your 'dreams'—the same ones you'd just used to dump your high school boyfriend.
Eight years later, wedding's coming, you remember those dreams, find out you've got no talent, and after giving up, you've got a bunch of backup dreams.
Not one lasts a week. Are those even dreams?
Maybe they're just literal daydreams.
Robin's fought hard for hers—it's not the same.
For you, true love trumps fleeting, whimsical dreams.
For Robin? Career over love, every time.
And let's be real, we're not even in love.
Trust me, she knows all this.
But she still smiled and took the chance without a second thought."
"But she's just… gone?" Lily said, voice cracking.
"Yeah, she's gone," Adam confirmed.
"Who's gone?" Ted strolled up, curious.
"Robin…" Lily explained, all mopey.
"Oh," Ted blinked, then shrugged it off.
Real, deep feelings come from time and shared moments piling up.
Without all that follow-up, without the constant push-and-pull, Ted's initial crush on Robin—just a hormonal spark—faded fast. No way it'd turn into the obsessive pining of some alternate timeline.
(Chapter End)