Chapter 4
"No, you can't believe that!" she says. "If anything, therapy brought me to you. In fact, it was in this very office that I began to remember who you were, with Andre's help."
"I never forgot you. How could I?" There is no bitterness in his voice, as his eyes search her features.
"It wasn't by choice. I forgot almost everything about my past for a time, but I never told you why. You remember when I disappeared, and everyone thought I was dead?"
His breath catches at the reminder. "I wanted to die, too."
She pulls him close and nuzzles his cheek.
"For years our paths never crossed, but just knowing you were out there – living, enjoying life, having a family – I could be content with that, more or less. Then you were gone, and the world was bleak. Very bleak."
"We have Alexandra to thank that I'm back."
"I don't want to thank Alexandra for anything, but if she brought you back to, to the people who love you …" His eyes betray that he was one of them. "… maybe she's not as bad as I believed. Your return from the dead was shrouded in secrecy. You just appeared again, as though you'd never been gone. You were declared alive, and suddenly you were married to a doctor in Pennsylvania! There wasn't a shred of intel about where you'd been or how you survived – and there still isn't. As a matter of fact, to this day, none of your records say you have a twin."
"Alex and I never met until we were grown, and neither of us knew about the other beyond our names and the knowledge that our fathers were related."
"So how did she manage to find you when the WSB was content to let the world believe you'd vanished into thin air?"
"She found me in a cabin in the wilds of Canada. I have no memory about how I got there. An older man, Bart, was caring for me, as I was suffering a brain injury after the explosion that was intended to kill me. Instead, I survived, but it affected my memory. Bart saw that the seizures I was experiencing were growing worse. He tracked down Alex, and she somehow got me to Pine Valley, where she lived, and made sure I received treatment. She had me admitted to the hospital where she practiced, and she let everyone think I was her for a time, as she tried to protect my identity.
"It was her mother – that is, the wife of our father's cousin pretending to be her mother – who'd separated us at birth, raised her, and tried to kill me, even brainwashing Alex to do the job. So, not only did Alex find me and save me, she withstood her programming and spared my life. But I think it took a terrible toll on her mind."
"There's something wrong with her," he agrees. "Never mind what she did to me, she held you captive for months! What kind of monster does that!"
"That monster, at least, made sure I got treatment for my disease, so …"
"The blood cancer – one more threat to your life," he sighs. "I'm so glad you're a survivor, Anna Devane."
He presses his lips to her forehead. She sinks into his embrace, cocooned within his arms.
"You know, our hour will be up soon," he says, wistfully. "And we'll have to go out that door."
She looks at him curiously.
"Anna, I'm afraid of what's out there – those who hate me, those who hate you. If I could stop time and live in this moment the rest of my life, I would. So when you and I walk out that door, what will we find – and will we find it together?"
She smiles. "I have two possibilities for you, and you can take either one – or both."
"Go on." He grins.
"First, I'm in desperate need of an analyst."
"A what?"
"You were remarkable at translating my health stats mumbo-jumbo over breakfast. I'd like you to do that on a regular basis, starting at my appointment with Griffin in …" She peeks at her watch. "… half an hour."
"All right." His eyes register disappointment.
"Second, I'm in desperate need ..."
"Of …?"
"You."
His face dissolves into an expression of tearful joy.
"You have me. You've always had me, but you never wanted me – before."
"I do want you – I need you – today, tomorrow," she says, earnestly. "We're walking out that door together, and I'm not leaving you, ever, except for the time it takes to help Charlotte become comfortable with us – together."
She eases herself off his lap.
"So stand up, straighten your collar, and let's get ready to go out that door – to our future."
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See Chapter Five
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If you love Anna and Valentin as much as I do, be sure to check out my other General Hospital-based story:
"Anna Devane and Valentin Cassadine – Anna's Birthday."
Thank you for reading!
Annette
