Back in 2016, a newly remarried Patrick and Robin, along with their precocious young daughter, Emma, set out for a new life in Berkeley, CA, saying good-bye to Port Charles — and to General Hospital. Jason Thompson, who played Patrick, exited the show after a 10-year run and assumed the role of Billy Abbott on The Young and the Restless, where he’s about to hit the 10-year mark. But when GH brought a grown-up Emma back in 2024 in the form of Braedyn Bruner, the actor admitted in a new interview with Swooon that a part of him wishes he could reprise Patrick to see what Patrick and Emma’s dynamic looks like today.

Daddy’s Girl

Patrick and Emma had a very close father/daughter relationship, especially in the years that Robin was presumed dead and/or missing and Patrick was a devoted single dad to his only child. (Off-camera, Robin and Patrick later expanded their family to include a son, Noah.) As she forges a life in Port Charles without her parents, Emma is navigating a romantic relationship with Gio (Giovanni Mazza), worrying about the whereabouts of her grandmother, Anna (Finola Hughes), and clashing with her dad’s ex, Britt (Kelly Thiebaud). Thompson shared with Swooon, “It makes me a little bit jealous that I can’t be there with her a little bit, and it makes me want to know her.”

While clarifying that he is “incredibly, incredibly happy” playing Billy, Thompson said of Patrick, “I still love that character, and I still would love to embody it a little bit. I think back on who that little girl has become, and I want to be a part of it. I want to learn what she loves. I want to know what our relationship is like. I want to know if she likes her dad or if he messed her up or what’s going on. It makes me think about all the possibilities of what could happen with her as an adult.”

The actor has kept in touch with Brooklyn Rae Silzer, who played Emma from 2011-16, with subsequent visits through 2023. “She’s gone and become a nurse, which I think is just so beautiful in its own way,” he reported.

And even though he has a bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) with Emma back on the canvas, Thompson is ultimately happy that the legacy of Robin and Patrick, who were known as “Scrubs” to their legion of fans, is continuing. “I’m just stoked that the Drakes are still happening,” he declared. “I mean, you have the cornerstone with Finola  there, and anything’s possible with her. So, I know that Emma is in good hands even though Robin and Patrick aren’t around.”