Author's note: From now on, most of the events that take place parallel the events on All My Children, using the exact or approximate dates, when known. I'm just putting my own spin on them. The song at the end of this chapter is called Sweet Dreams, and can be found on the Air Supply Greatest Hits CD.

May 21, 2001

Zach leaned against a pillar and gazed at Amanda, who was making her way through the crowd towards him. She had asked him what color dress he would like her to wear for the grand opening ball, and he had shrugged and said, "Whatever you want. Just don't wear red. That's a bad color in conjunction with money." She had worn red. It looked fantastic on her. As she got closer, he realized why she chose red. She was wearing the ruby earrings he gave her three weeks ago for her birthday – rather, the date she had chosen to be her birthday. The earrings looked stunning with the dress.

When she reached him, she smiled wickedly. "Do you like my dress?" She twirled around in it. "I love it. It looks like it will be very easy to take off, later." She laughed. "You're trying to be flip, but I see right through you. I'm the only one here who knows that you are nothing but a sentimental ball of mush." He rolled his eyes. "You're not going to start that again, are you? No one here thinks I'm sentimental, simply because I'm not." Her eyes sparkled. "They would think so if they knew that you scheduled the ball on the same day that we met, one year ago."

Zach straightened up from the pillar and led Amanda towards one of the buffet tables. "You are the one, my dear, who noticed that the dates were the same, so you are the one who is sentimental." She laughed. "I can't help but notice that you have yet to directly deny my assertion." He took a stuffed mushroom from a platter. "Here, have a canape." He shoved it in her mouth, and she tried to contain her laughter long enough to chew it. Silvia Moretti appeared at their side. "Zachary, do not monopolize your lovely security expert. She needs to mingle." Zach raised one eyebrow. "I've had her for two minutes." Silvia raised her chin. "That is long enough when you are the host. You are supposed to be mingling, too." Silvia swept Amanda away.

Zach shook his head. It was probably for the best. He was so nervous right now that Amanda would pick up on it and demand to know what was wrong. He wanted to be able to spring it on her, not have her pry it out of him. He felt like the box was burning a hole in his pocket. It was still hard to believe he was going to do it. Zach had concluded long ago that marriage was not in the cards for him. He just could not see himself being in such an intimate relationship and still be able to keep his secret. With Amanda, it was moot. They knew each other's deepest secrets. They held nothing back. Zach still felt giddy with relief, six months later. It was so liberating not to have to watch every word. Indeed, they didn't even have to say words at this point. They would look at each other and know what the other was thinking. She had known the significance of the date of the ball, and she had been right that it was deliberate.

Zach took a deep breath. He wanted to propose to her before the ball was over. If she said yes (if!), he wanted to be able to announce it to the guests. He felt lightheaded. He was taking a big chance. He had never told her that he loved her, and she hadn't said it to him. Yet he knew that was what they felt for each other. It was implicit in every look and touch and word. They hadn't exchanged those words yet because they were both so reticent. When you spend so many years on your guard, trusting no one…nothing comes easy. Which was why he felt like his stomach was taking a nose dive down to the floor. Disgusted with his inability to get ahold of himself, Zach decided that he should get it done now so that they could enjoy the rest of the evening. He saw her talking with someone and made his way over to her. He was just about to touch her shoulder, when she turned to him. "I could feel your eyes on my back." He smiled. "It's such a lovely back. I apologize for interrupting, but may I have a moment alone with you?" She said goodbye to the woman she had been talking to, and allowed Zach to lead her towards the veranda.

They had almost made it when Silvia accosted them, once again. Zach had a great deal of affection for Silvia, but he was close to strangling her to death. "Zachary, Amanda! I am so glad I caught you together. You know that I have a son, Lucio, who is in medical school in Paris?" Zach nodded impatiently. Silvia clapped her hands together. "Well! My darling boy was able to come tonight. And he brought a lovely young lady with him, one of his classmates. I want you to meet them." She held out her hand, beaming at someone behind Zach. He and Amanda turned around.

Zach saw a young couple approaching. The man was the spitting image of Pietro. The young woman was very pretty. She had dark hair and mischevious dark eyes. Her features were very pert and girlish, yet she had an air of maturity and grace about her. Something about her struck a chord in him. She smiled warmly at Silvia, who indicated Zach. "This is Zachary Slater, the owner of this fabulous new casino. And this is Amanda Dover, the clever woman who designed the security system. Zachary, Amanda, I want you two to meet my son Lucio, and his lovely friend, Robin Scorpio."

Zach heard a sharp intake of breath beside him. He glanced at Amanda and saw that her eyes were wide as saucers. About to ask her what was wrong, he heard the young woman cry out, "Oh my god, Mom?" He turned his head back to see Robin's hands fly up to her mouth. She shook her head. "No…no…I'm so sorry. I know you're not Mom. I'm sorry, Aunt Alex." Her face crumpled in anguish. "I'm sorry I thought you were Mom. I'm just not used to seeing her twin, yet. And I didn't expect to see you here, so it took me off guard. Wait a minute, did Silvia call you Amanda?" Meanwhile, Amanda hadn't said a word, but the look on her face was one of agony. Zach knew instinctively that this was literally the moment of truth. Amanda's breathing grew more and more laboured, and her face was completely pale. Silvia was aghast. "My dear, is something wrong?" Amanda couldn't take her eyes off Robin. "R….R…Robin?" The name was wrenched from her lips. She reached out her hand to touch Robin, but then her eyes slid back in her head. Zach caught her as she slid to the floor, completely unconscious. Several bystanders gasped.

Carrying her, Zach made his way towards the foyer to the bank of elevators. They needed privacy. Robin, Lucio and Silvia followed him. "I don't understand. Why did she faint? Silvia, why did you call her Amanda Dover? And where's Dimitri?" Zach looked at Silvia and Lucio. "I'm afraid the two of you will have to stay here. This is a private family matter." Lucio looked like he wanted to argue, but Silvia led him away. When they were inside the elevator, Zach pushed the button for the floor containing his office. "When was the last time you saw your Aunt Alex?" Robin looked at him strangely. "A month ago, for the first time. She approached me and told me that she was my mother's twin. Don't tell me she's back to being a spy and I blew her cover."

The elevator door opened, and Zach led the way to his office. He lowered Amanda's feet, and fished his key out of his pocket. The ring box fell out. Robin picked it up. After unlocking the door, he lifted Amanda up again, and brought her over to the loveseat in the corner. It was a similar arrangement to his office in Las Vegas. He turned to Robin. "If you met her a month ago, then this isn't your Aunt Alex. May I ask why you thought it was your mother, and then changed your mind?" She looked at him, her eyes troubled. "I realized it couldn't be my mother, because she's dead. So by process of elimination, I thought it was her sister." Zach looked at Amanda. She still hadn't woken up. "When did your mother die, Robin?" She looked down at the ring box in her hand. "Nine years ago. She was on a yacht with my father. It...it exploded. My parents had a number of enemies, and one of them finally got his revenge." Zach felt goosebumps rise on the back of his neck. "Did the police ever find your parents'….remains?" Robin closed her eyes, a tear spilling down her cheek. "My father's body was found. Nothing of my mother, but…they said that she couldn't have survived…given the state that my father was in."

She looked up at Zach. "Is this woman, Amanda, another sister of my mother's? Were they triplets?" Zach shook his head. "I have no idea how many sisters there are. But there is something you need to know about Amanda. Nine years ago she was found in Canada, washed up on shore. She was badly hurt. The man who found her nursed her back to health. To this day she has no memory of who she was before then." The ring box dropped from Robin's suddenly nerveless fingers. It rolled to a stop at Zach's feet. "The Canadian border is right near where the yacht exploded." She stared at Amanda, who was still out cold. "Robin, if this is your mother, then she may have quite possibly just recovered her memory. She hasn't woken up yet and I'm very worried about her." Robin nodded slowly, her expression dazed. "It would probably be a good idea to take her to the hospital and run some tests." Zach jumped up and went to the telephone. He punched in a few numbers. "I need an ambulance right away. One of my guests has passed out. Let me know when it is here."

He looked over at the sofa, where Robin was smoothing back Amanda's hair. This was why she had struck a chord with him earlier. He had been looking at the daughter of the woman he loves. In a gravelly voice, he asked, "What is your mother's name?" Robin looked up at him. "Anna. Anna Devane." He almost chuckled. It fit. Anna Devane and Amanda Dover were similar, phonetically. Her subconscious obviously knew what it was doing. "Do you have anything of your mother's that would provide DNA or fingerprints for making a comparison?" She shook her head. "The mementos I have are probably too smudged. But Mac probably has her fingerprints on file. Mac Scorpio is my uncle, and the police commissioner where we used to live." She dug into her purse and produced a cell phone. While she made the call, Zach went to the door to look out for the ambulance workers.

Twenty-four hours later, Anna was showing signs of coming out of her mild coma. Sitting in the waiting room was Mac and Felicia Scorpio and Alexandra and Dimitri Merrick. Several times, Zach had been unnerved by Alexandra. The resemblance was uncanny. Most twins looked at least somewhat different in adulthood, but in this case she was a mirror image. Robin came out of Anna's room and Felicia hurried inside. Zach went over to Robin, who looked at him with haunted eyes. "She's starting to regain consciousness, but she's fighting it. I think she's dreaming about dad, and it's really getting to her." From inside the room, Zach could hear moaning. "Robert….oh god, Robert…" Robin looked heartbroken. "She's remembering his death, and she can't deal with it. This is going to be so horrible for her." Robin had shown Zach pictures of her parents. His heart had lurched seeing her so happy and carefree in the arms of her husband.

They sat down in the waiting area. "Robin, there is something you need to know. It will be painful enough for her to fully regain her memory and deal with the yacht explosion and your father's death. But she will have to work through some other emotions as well. She's going to feel very guilty about being away from you for nine years." Robin shook her head. "But she had amnesia. It wasn't like she could do anything about it." Zach held up his hand. "Yes, she could have. She knew there was the possibility that she could find out her identity. It would have been very easy, considering that her fingerprints are in AFIS. She chose not to find out because she was afraid of what she would find. Your mother had dreams, very disturbing dreams about carrying guns and killing people. She had no idea what they meant. She was afraid that she could be wanted for murder, or that there would be someone out there wanting her dead. She couldn't take the risk that once she found her family again, she would be taken away from them for good. She was haunted by this decision, Robin. When she wakes up, she's going to realize the truth, that she could have come back to you without fear. Its going to eat her up inside."

Robin put her head in her hands. "Hasn't she been through enough?" Mac came over and put his arm around Robin. "I think what Zach is trying to say is that we need to be strong for your mother. This will be a terrible ordeal for her, and she needs us all to be there for her and reassure her." Alexandra cleared her throat. "I was talking to that amnesia specialist earlier. I wanted to know if my presence would confuse Anna. He confirmed that it would, since she had no idea I existed before her amnesia." Zach nodded thoughtfully. "That's why nothing triggered her memory when that man mistook her for you last year." She smiled wanly. "Correct. Doctor Smalls recommended that I keep my distance until Anna is emotionally stable enough to handle it. Mr. Slater, he thinks you should stay way, also."

Zach felt like he had been punched in the gut. Robin was the one who spoke up. "What? How can that be? Zach's been her confidante for six months. He represents the life she's been living since the explosion. Him being here will help her not to feel like she's been in some sort of time warp." Alex shook her head. "He told me that she needs to be in the time warp. At least temporarily, she needs to feel like no time has passed for the very reasons that Mr. Slater was just stating. It will be too much for her to handle both the trauma of the explosion and the passing of nine years all at once." Felicia walked up, having heard Alex's words. "So we're supposed to lie to her? Let her think its 1992?" Alex shook her head. "The doctor could explain it better. She'll know the truth, but she just won't want to have to deal with it right away. Her brain is going to need to process the information one piece at a time. If Mr. Slater is here, she'll have to confront it before she's ready."

Zach stood up, unable to hear any more. He walked out into the hallway, needing to think about things. He'd almost made it to the elevator, when he heard Robin's voice. "Zach, wait." Reluctantly, he turned around. "Zach, I don't think that doctor is right. The most important thing I've learned in medical school is that no patient is alike. If my mom feels the same way about you that you feel for her, then she's going to need you." Zach's expression gave nothing away. "What is it that you think I feel for her?" Robin gave him an exasperated look. "If I hadn't been holding the ring box in my hand, I still would have known that you are madly in love with her. The looks you give her say it all. And I know that she must trust you implicitly if she let you in on her secret. My mother spills to no one unless she can trust you with her life." Zach shifted from one foot to another. "Robin, Doctor Smalls is an expert on amnesia. While it is true that no patient is alike, there are always similarities or else no one could ever be successfully treated. He knows what he is talking about."

Robin protested, "But Zach…" He put his hands on her shoulders. "Robin, I want your mother to get well. I want her recovery to be as free of complications as possible. She is going to go through a lot of emotional anguish. I really, really do not want to add to it." His voice broke, and he tried to get himself under control. He took a deep breath. "The people she needs to see when she wakes up are you, her brother-in-law, and her best friend. When she is able to handle it, she can meet her sister. After that…I'll be around. I'll be in Las Vegas, I'll be in Monte Carlo. She'll be able to find me if she wants to find me. Or if she would prefer that the last nine years didn't exist…" He broke off, unable to finish the thought. Robin brought her hands up to his face. "Of course she's going to want to see you again. I know she will."

Zach removed his hands from her shoulders and stepped back. "I'll write a letter to her. When she's ready to read it, she'll know my feelings then. Shall I mail it to you?" Robin nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. She went over to the nearby nurse's station and found a piece of paper and a pencil. She wrote down her address in Paris. When she handed it to him, it was slightly wet from her tears. She gave him a hug. He held her tight, feeling an incredible bond with this amazing young woman who so closely resembled his love in so many ways.

Not quite sure how he got there, Zach found himself standing in Anna's apartment. He would need to make sure the key got to Robin so that she could take care of Anna's things. He walked around, soaking in the presence of Amanda, the woman he had known and loved. She wasn't dead, but she might as well be. He sat down at her desk. He could smell her scent in the soft leather chair. Taking a deep breath, he pulled out a piece of stationary and a pen. He looked at the blank page for a long time. After awhile, the silence became unbearable, so he picked up the remote for her stereo and turned it on, hitting random play. When he heard the low wail of a synthesizer, he chuckled. He should have known she would have Air Supply in there. He always teased her about her love for easy listening. And she called him the sentimental one. He sat back and listened to the words of the song.

This is the time when you need a friend
You just need someone near
I'm not looking forward to the night I'll spend
Thinking of you when you're not here
How many times will I think about the things
I'd like to do
Always denied the right to live my life the way I want
I want to share it with you

CHORUS
Close your eyes I want to ride the skies
In my sweet dreams
Close your eyes I want to see you tonight
In my sweet dreams

I'll think of your kiss as the days roll by
And I'll write the words you love
And what I can't say in a letter
Will just have to wait till I get home

There's not much time to tell you half the things I should
Only that I'm so glad I fell in love with you
And I'd do it again if I could

CHORUS

Sleep like a child resting deep
You don't know what you give me I keep
For these moments alone

CHORUS

When the song came to an end, Zach realized that he had crumpled the stationary into a tight little ball. Releasing it, he stood up and went over to the couch. Falling onto it, he quietly succumbed to his grief. "Amanda…." His voice croaked as he took a shuddering breath. "Amanda…"