Duke sat at the Floating Rib bar, staring into his glass of Scotch as if looking for answers . A glance at his watch told him that he had been sitting alone for over two hours. Two hours past the deadline that he had given Anna to meet him there. Although he didn't stay long enough to see her reaction, he had known as soon as the words escaped his mouth that he'd made a monumental mistake. Giving ultimatums was most certainly not the way to handle any woman, let alone Anna Devane, and he of all people should have known that.
The twenty years of torture had forced him to learn patience and restraint, and to keep his temper and emotions under wraps. But after several months of frustration, that new found patience was wearing thin. There were so many things he wanted to talk to Anna about, things that he needed to tell her, but she was too wrapped up in her memories of Faison. She didn't trust herself, didn't trust him. She was the one person who could help him through the depression and the night terrors, but she couldn't see past her own pain. And so, he walked on eggshells around her, keeping all of his feelings and torment inside. It was eating him alive, killing him even faster than that filthy cell in Ankara ever could.
Duke finished off the drink, signaling the bartender for another. Deep inside, he knew that Anna had been through her own version of hell. Between the loss of her daughter, and the deceit of Faison, she had been through more than anyone should have to go through in a lifetime. But he had spent more than two decades fighting to stay alive - to get back to her - the memories the only thing that kept him alive. He suffered through beatings, starvation, sleep deprivation, and worse...never once considering giving up. Through it all he imagined Anna speaking to him, urging him to hold on and to fight to get back to her. Though he knew it was unrealistic, in his mind and in his dreams he had imagined a glorious reunion and picking up as if no time had passed. Instead she kept him at arms length like a stranger, unable to bring herself to even touch him. It had become more than he could bear.
It was very clear that Anna was not coming and it was time to leave. Duke was fishing in his pocket for some cash when he felt the hand on his shoulder. Startled, he spun around, fully intending to lash out, almost knocking over the beautiful dark haired woman standing there. He reached out and grasped her arms, to stop her from losing her balance.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"No, it was my fault, really...I shouldn't have come up behind you like that."
As soon as he saw her, recognition flashed in his eyes, despite the fact that they had never met. He released his hold on her and took a half step back. She smiled brightly, despite his initial reaction to her.
"You're Duke Lavery, aren't you?"
"I am" he responded with a crooked smile and a nod. "And you must be Holly."
"I know we've never met, but after all I've heard, I almost feel as if I know you just the same. Robert has told me so much about you."
His smile faded just a little. It seemed that Robert had never made up his mind whether Duke was the devil himself or a valued friend. When he first came to Port Charles, it was most definitely the former, and he figured it was a safe bet that whatever Holly had heard about him didn't put him in a good light. He decided not to pursue it.
"So, what what are you doing in Port Charles?" he asked, glancing around "Is Robert with you?"
"Unfortunately no. He was supposed to get into town tonight - we're going to the Nurses ball tomorrow - but he got tied up with Sean on some case, and now he probably won't arrive until morning."
"Oh I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It will give me a perfect chance to catch up with Mac and Felicia." she said with a smile.
"Well, uh I'm afraid you're out of luck again. They went out of town on a bit of a romantic get away, and aren't expected back until tomorrow."
"Oh..." She was clearly disappointed.
"Well listen, the evening doesn't have to be a total loss. Why don't you let me buy you a drink?"
"No," she answered a bit too quickly. "I think that I should probably just go to the hotel."
Duke could read the tone of her voice, and gave her a soft smile to try and reassure her.
"Despite my earlier rather rude reaction, Mrs. Scorpio, I assure you that I'm perfectly harmless."
She glanced away for a moment, but the uncertainty faded when she saw the warmth in his eyes. Truth be told, she had watched him from distance tonight, wanting to get a good look at the famous Duke Lavery. There was a time when she focused her anger on him, for keeping her husband from her for so many months all those years ago. But standing here with him now she saw no evidence of the hot headed, jealous mobster that Robert had described. In fact he seemed absolutely charming.
"I have no worries about that, Mr. Lavery."
"Please, call me Duke." he said, motioning to the nearest table. "Sit."
"Well maybe just a cup of tea to take the chill off. " she said, taking a seat in the chair that Duke had now pulled out for her.
Duke took the seat opposite her and motioned for the waiter, ordering tea for Holly and, perhaps unwisely, another drink for himself. Now that they were seated here, across from each other they fell into a brief uneasy silence. Neither seemed to know where to start, and finally Holly took the lead, opening with the one topic that Duke wanted most to avoid.
"Well, Mr. Lavery - Duke," she corrected. "Robert told me about everything that's happened to you. All those years in prison and then dealing with Faison. That must have been dreadful."
"Mmm. That it was."
"I've had my own dealings with that horrible man. But I can't even imagine what it was like for you."
"Yes, well as awful as it all was, I probably wouldn't be here, if not for him."
"How do you mean?"
"Well it's doubtful I would have survived another year in that prison. I was practically at death's door when he arrived. It pains me to admit it, but in a way he saved my life. Although sometimes I feel it might have been better for everyone if he'd let me just die there."
As soon as he said the words, his mind flashed back to an earlier moment in time. Back to a conversation that he had with Olin, in the dark, damp recesses of the catacombs. When Anna had come out of the darkness to give him hope.
"It would have been better you know if Bert Ramsey had just, if he'd just killed me"
"Don't say that. It was the most awful moment of my life."
His eyes instinctively moved to the door, wishing that Anna would once again appear and rescue him from the hopelessness that he was feeling. She was not there, and she wasn't coming this time. It was a fleeting thought, and he was brought back to the present by the sound of Holly's voice. He turned back to face her, and could see by the look on her face that she was expecting a response from him.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I just asked if you were all right. You seemed to be lost there for a moment."
"I apologize. I didn't mean to sound so morbid. I'm usually not given to such self pity. It's been a trying couple of months, and to be honest, I suppose I've had too much to drink tonight."
She reached out and touched his hand reassuringly. He was surprised by the gesture, and even more surprised by the understanding look in her eyes.
"You don't have to explain it to me, I completely understand how you feel. I'm not sure how much you know about my past, but there was a time when everyone thought me dead as well. In actuality I was in an accident, and had fallen into a coma for almost two years. When I awoke, it was as if no time had passed for me. But Robert had moved on, and was actually engaged to be married. I felt as if I'd lost my whole world. There were many months when I thought the pain would never end, that it would have been better if I had never awakened at all. So in a way that makes us kindred spirits, doesn't it?"
"I'm sorry, I forgot that you had been through your own ordeal."
"Oh don't be. That was decades ago, and it took some time, but Robert and I worked through everything. And now we couldn't be happier."
"I have to ask. How did you get over it?" he asked, his eyes darkening just a shade. "When you found out that Robert had remarried Anna. How could you get past that?"
It was yet another subject that he and Anna had not bothered to discuss. He had known about it, oh, his captors made sure of that, but it just made him more determined to fight. Fight to get back to her. Even now though, it made his blood boil to think of them together, remembering all of the times that Anna told him there was no reason to be jealous of Robert. That his jealousy was unfounded and she loved only him. Yet as soon as he was gone, who did she run to?
"Oh I never really worried much about that. They settled for each other, mainly to keep Robin happy. As soon as I saw the look on Robert's face when he first found out I was alive... well I knew right from that moment that he would come back to me eventually. We wouldn't have lost so many years if not for Faison and those horrid people at the WSB"
"The WSB." he grumbled "It seems that you and I even have our enemies in common."
Holly opened her mouth to say something when her cell phone began to ring. She glanced down at the caller ID and smiled.
"This is Robert now, I have to take this."
"Of course."
Duke watched her with interest. As soon as she had seen Robert's photo on the caller ID, Holly had lit up like a Christmas tree. He remembered a time when he felt that his presence had that effect on Anna.
"Robert you must be joking. New York City isn't that far away, you could easily be here in time for the ball tomorrow night, surely Sean knows how important this event is. We agreed we would be here to honor Robin." Holly suddenly looked up at Duke and gave him a wink. "Oh by the way, you'll never guess who I ran into at the Floating Rib! No, not Mac. It's Duke. Well how many Duke's do you know, Robert? Yes that's right. And now that I think about it, I have a wonderful idea. If you can't make it here in time, maybe HE could escort me to the ball."
Duke couldn't suppress his laughter as Holly held the phone out from her ear. While he couldn't make out exactly what Robert was going on about, he definitely understood the gist of it.
"Right. I'll meet you at the ariport in the morning, darling. Love you."
Holly joined Duke in laughing as soon as the call had ended. She was glad that for at least a moment, Duke seemed to forget whatever was troubling him.
"You know I only joking, but perhaps you and Anna could join Robert and I at the ball tomorrow? I'm sure the three of you have a lot of catching up to do." she immediately took note of the look on his face. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Not at all. It's just that, well...Anna and I aren't together. Unlike you and Robert, we were unable to find our way back to each other."
"What? You're kidding."
"You seem surprised."
"Well I am, really. Robert told me stories about you two. He said that it didn't matter what you had done, that Anna could never stay away from you for long. It frustrated him to no end at times. He described you as some sort of drug that she couldn't resist."
"Ah well, it seems that she has become immune."
"I'm sure it's only temporary."
While Duke appreciated her optimism, he didn't want to discuss it anymore. He didn't want anyone convincing him that there was any hope at all when he knew deep inside that it was over.
"So have you met Emma? Doesn't she remind you so much of Robin when she was little?"
Holly raised the cup of tea to her lips and smirked slightly.
"Point taken." she said apologetically "We can change the subject. For now."
Duke pushed his drink aside and ordered himself a cup of coffee. The combination of alcohol and circumstance were only compounding his depression, and he knew what that would lead to. True to her word, Holly changed the topic of conversation, sharing memories of everything from Robin, Frisco and Felicia, to discussing life back in Australia. Before they knew it, well over and hour had passed.
"Where has the time gone?" Holly asked, looking at her watch. "I really should get checked in at the hotel."
"I guess we did get a little carried away. Where are you staying?"
"The Metro Court. I already had my bags sent there."
"Great! I have a suite there as well. Just let me get the check and we can go together."
When they reached the hotel, Duke walked with Holly up to the front desk. He saw her tense up just a little when she noted Carly standing behind the counter.
"Holly." she said in a tone that conveyed contempt. "What are you doing here?"
"I have a reservation."
Carly pretended to scan the computer screen and tapped a few of the keys.
"Sorry, there's no reservation here for you."
"Are you sure? I made it myself, well in advance."
"Oh, you had a reservation here, Holly. But it's after 10 o'clock. Check in time is by 7 pm. It seems we didn't hear from you and so we gave the room away."
"You must be joking. I see my bags right over there."
"Yes we were just keeping them for you as a courtesy. I'm afraid you'll have to go elsewhere."
Carly made no effort to hide the satisfied smirk from her face.
"Carly," Duke pleaded with her. "Certainly you have a room available. Maybe one that you hold for emergencies?"
"This isn't an emergency."
"Please, it's late and..."
"Duke, it's nothing personal. I like you, I really do. That one's another story though."
"It's all right," Holly said, touching Duke's arm "I'll just get my bags."
"Here, let me. "
He picked up her suitcases and followed her, stopping short of the door.
"What was that about?"
"It's a long story. Clearly, I'm not her favorite person. I wouldn't be surprised if she was waiting for me, just for the satisfaction. I never thought she'd be here this late."
"Well what are you going to do? Where will you go?"
Holly thought for a moment.
"I'm not really sure. It's okay, really. I'll think of something."
"Listen, I have a suite here. Why don't you stay with me?"
"Duke, I don't think that would be wise."
"Well why not? I've plenty of room. It won't be any trouble at all. I can sleep on the couch. Housekeeping was just there this morning, so I'm sure everything is in order. It's just one night. Mac and Felicia will be home tomorrow, and I'm sure you can stay with them. "
Holly reached in her purse and retrieved her cellphone. She dialed Robert's number and it immediately went to voice mail. She had no idea why she was so trusting of a man she barely knew, but her instincts told her she would be perfectly safe. She knew that Robert was going to be furious with her, but short of using her lock picking skills and breaking into Mac's place, she really didn't have any options.
"All right then. If you're sure I'm not putting you out."
"Of course not. Let's go."
Behind the counter, Carly stood in stunned silence as she watched them walk towards the elevator together.