02. I am Here for you

Anna stirs when the door to Robert's hospital room opens. Robin knows that her mother was already reaching for her holster, ready to protect her father at all costs. It was what Anna considered normal.

"Have you been here all night," Robin asks.

"I didn't want him to wake up alone," she rationalizes.

Robin can see the creases in her mother's forehead just as she recognizes the hardened expression behind her eyes. She was scared…And her mother did not do scared.

"How is he," she asks, rubbing Anna's shoulders in the same way she knows her father once did.

"Much too quiet," she replied.

"Mom?"

Anna brought Robert's hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles. He looked so weak now. So unlike the man they both knew as their hero.

"What are you going to say…? (She stopped herself from saying If. She could not think that way anymore than her mother could) what will you say to him when he wakes up?"

Anna pauses for reflection then looks at her daughter, tears swimming in her eyes.

"I'm going to tell him that I'm sorry I was not here for him when he needed me…and that…"

"You love him," Robin finishes.

"Yes…That I love him. That I am here for him if he will still have me. I let him down Robin. You have no idea how much I struggle with that. He might have hurt me greatly but…when has he ever let us down? When?"

"Never," Robin agreed.

It was strange how different things could look when time was something you did not know if you had. It had been 24 hours since Robert tried to end his life and in that period both Robin and Anna began to see things differently.

"I should have thrown my arms around him in gratitude. I mean sure I was angry but…he was alive. My husband was alive. How could I ever not be grateful for that?"

"I know mom. I know exactly how you feel. We should just be grateful that we have a second chance with him. Some people never get that."

"If he wakes up…"

"When Mom…we both know he's too stubborn to die."

This made Anna laugh. It was good to have something to laugh about again.

"When he wakes up, I am going to take that man in my arms and never let him go again. I have had to say goodbye to him too many times over the years. I don't want to do it anymore. It hurts too much."

Robin was about to say something when suddenly Robert's monitors start going off. Robin takes one look at her father and reaches for the intercom.

"Code Blue Room 412. I repeat Code Blue room 412."

"What's happening," Anna cries, as Elizabeth and his attending doctor rush in to examine him.

"Let them do their jobs mom," Robin coaxes as she leads Anna out the door.

"I don't want him to be alone Robin," she cries.

"He's not alone mom. He has a team of doctors working on him. He is in the best possible hands. I promise you."

"What is happening to him Robin," Anna asks, as they stand outside the hospital room. "What is wrong with my husband?"

It does Robin's heart good to know that her mom still thinks of him that way...even if their marriage ended up being invalid. It was not fair. They should still be husband and wife now.

"It's not good mom. I am pretty sure his liver is failing. He's going to need a transplant."

Anna's anguish is immediate. It is as if the whole world suddenly stopped moving and all that is left is her pain. All her senses blur together until she is almost positive that everything around her has faded away like Robert. A single tear escapes down her cheek, despite her carefully guarded heart, and suddenly it was as if a dam had broken open. She was only half-aware of someone catching her as her tears rocked her body. She was breathing hard now…trying to let air in that she was sure was no longer available. The last time she cried this hard was when she lost Leora.

Please God, do not let this be the end…Do not let Robert die for real this time. Please let him wake up.

"Mom…Mom, can you hear me…Mom…"

Her eyes snap open when she feels Robin shaking her…her eyes silently pleading with her.

"Where did you go," Robin asks her, when recognition finally hits her.

"Nowhere good," she responds. "Did something happen…did…?"

"He's awake mom…He's asking for you…"

"Does that mean…"

"Let's not talk about that right now. Dad needs you. "

"Is he going to die Robin…Please, I need to know."

"He needs a liver transplant like I suspected. We are putting him on the list okay. Try not to think of worst- case scenarios. If anyone can survive this…you know its dad. He's cheated death how many times now?"

"Too many times to count."

"Well there you go…hold on to that…You go in there right now and give him a reason to live…you are the only one who can do that mom. He loves you."

"Did he tell you that?"

"My lips are sealed. Just go in there mom. You can do this."

"Of course I can."

She kisses Robin's forehead and disappears from her view. Thank God. She was afraid she was going to lose both her parents for a while there.

"Are you okay," Elizabeth asks Robin?

"My mom's back. We are all going to be fine now. "

My mom might not be superwoman but she sure as hell is as close to it as she has ever seen. Her mom was going to fix this as she fixes everything. She has to. She is her dad's only hope.