Chapter 21

Anna's Apartment, Paris, France

David Hayward sighed at the sight of Alex Marick in the doorway. Of all people to open the door.

"I asked you a question," his wife's sister pointed out. "What the hell have you done to Anna?" In addition to the anger in her glare, David noticed there was concern there too. It was a small consolation. If Alex Marick had one redeemable trait, it was that she did love her sister, and would go to the ends of the world for her. They might have hated each other, but they both loved Anna.

"I gave her a sedative," he tried to explain.

"One that knocked her out completely? Have you lost your mind?"

David was exhausted.

He was jet-lagged. His daughter, whom he'd only just met, was gravely ill and Anna's deadweight was starting to cramp his muscles.

He also suddenly noticed that there was another man in the room. A man he didn't recognize.

His heart sank when he realized that it wasn't unrealistic to think that Anna could have met someone here in Paris. Anna was a beautiful woman. Why wouldn't she have met someone?

David glared at the man, deciding he didn't look French and that he hated him already.

"Let me help you," the man said. He had a distinctly American accent and held out his arms, ready to take Anna into them.

David held on to her more tightly. "I'm fine, thanks," he spat, catching his breath. He turned back to Alex. "Where's the bedroom?"

She pointed to a closed door. "I'm coming with you."

It was, in reality, Leah's bedroom, but Robin was already asleep in her mother's room and there was a cot set up next to the crib in Leah's room.

David shot her a threatening glance. "No, you're not."

"I want to know what you gave her."

"I'll tell you afterwards."

"No, you'll tell me now!"

"Alex…"

David saw the other man put his hand on Alex's arm, holding her back.

"Let him put her in the bedroom, then he'll tell us. I promise you."

David felt as though he should have thanked the man for restraining Anna's sister until he noticed that the man's glare was no less hostile than Alex's. It made his heart sink.

He had to be the boyfriend, just as he feared. 'Then why the hell weren't you in the hospital with her?' he wondered.

He forced himself to take a deep breath as he moved into the bedroom, using his foot to slam the door shut behind him, grateful to leave behind the tension of the room outside.

He saw the crib and asked himself whether this was where Anna always slept. He thought of his airy mountain cabin, next to which this room felt ridiculously small. Claustrophobic almost.

She groaned when he set her down on the small bed.

"Hey, baby, it's okay. It's just me." Shortly before leaving the hospital he had given her both a sedative and something for her headache; four strong pills he'd pilfered with ease from the hospital and which, after considerable arguing, Anna finally agreed to take.

He thought what he'd given her wouldn't take full effect until they arrived here, but when they stepped out into the hot, humid air after a long, bumpy taxi ride through Paris, he saw Anna stumble out of the car towards the apartment complex, nearly tripping and falling.

So he had simply scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the apartment.

In hindsight, given her small frame, her utter exhaustion and lack of food, it shouldn't have surprised him that the drugs affected her so quickly.

He was glad he'd insisted on coming along with her, in spite of her wanting him to stay at the hospital with Leah.

"Leah…" he heard her whisper, her eyes opening. He watched as she fought off the effects of the drugs. It was an effort that, to him, justified his decision to give her something that Alex would have considered too strong. Unlike Alex, he knew just how strong-willed his wife was. 'Ex-wife,' he corrected himself again.

"I'm going to go back to the hospital now," he told her. "But only if you promise me you'll rest in the meantime. If you don't, I won't go."

"Go…take care of her."

"I will."

"Promise?" Her voice was fading.

"Promise," he whispered, bending down to kiss her cheek. He brushed a strand of hair from her face, and covered her with a blanket. Then it occurred to him how warm it was and took it off again.

He spotted a fan in the corner and turned it on, wiping the sweat off his brow. He was starting to realize that Paris was a city devoid of central air-conditioning.

He sat down on the bed and listened to the sound of Anna's shallow breathing, in rhythm with the steady whirr of the fan. He closed his eyes for an instant, wanting to lie down next to her. But he forced the need for sleep from his mind.

He had a daughter to who needed him. A promise to keep.

David got up and closed the curtains in the room, darkening it instantly, grateful that Anna had fallen asleep. He let his gaze linger on her. It felt strange, after all this time, to be in the same room together. Awake, she was a force to be reckoned with but in sleep she looked small and delicate. Human, instead of invincible.

He yawned, not looking forward to the long, hot cab ride back to the hospital. 'With my luck, Alex will insist on coming along,' he thought. Either way he'd have to face her. Either here in the apartment before leaving, or on the way to the hospital. 'The sister and the boyfriend,' David sighed. 'Great.'

He opened the door of the bedroom, deciding to get it over with.

Alex's dark eyes were fixed on him as soon as he came out.

"How is she?" she asked. Her voice was level, devoid of its earlier hostility. Maybe the result of more advice from the boyfriend.

"She'll be out of it for a while," he admitted.

"A while?"

"Ten hours or more," he guessed.

Alex frowned. "So you come to Paris and the first thing you do after seeing your daughter, is drug Anna?"

"Well, someone had to make sure she got some rest," David shot back. "Which reminds me, Doctor Marick, is there some reason you failed to notice that she was close to a break down? I suppose that's what happens when you never spend any time actually practising medicine."

Alex stood up, hands on her hips. "How dare you come here, after all this time, and accuse me of not looking after my sister. Where were you when she was pregnant? When Robin was ill? When Leah was born? Do you have any idea what Anna went through during her pregnancy with your child?"

"I wasn't here because every time I called you and begged you to tell me where she was you wouldn't say a word!" he snapped back.

"You knew she was here in Paris with Robin! Yet you never bothered to make the trip across the Atlantic, did you? Did you even try to find her, David?"

David flushed with a combination of guilt and anger. He'd forgotten how well Alex Marick could push his buttons. It was a skill she'd perfected ever since they did their residency together in London. He was about to argue her accusations when he saw the man, who'd been quiet until now, stand up and face them both angrily.

"For God's sake…stop it! Both of you! Robin and Anna need rest and they won't get it while you two are biting each other's heads off like two pit bulls, outside their doors." He turned to Alex. "Don't you think we have bigger things to worry about right now than trying to figure out who failed to look after your sister? If you really have to blame someone, go and blame me!"

Alex blushed. "You're right, Sean. This is juvenile... I'm sorry."

"Who the hell are you?" David demanded, ignoring her apology. Sean. So the boyfriend had a name.

"Why don't you start acting like the guest that you are in this apartment, Doctor Hayward," Sean told him icily. "Don't think that you can walk in here with Anna knocked out by whatever you gave her and not expect us to question it."

David didn't like the way the man spoke to him. "You didn't answer my question."

"I'm an old friend of Anna's, that's all you need to know."

"And you're here for what? A visit?" he snorted.

"That's exactly right. I'm here for a visit. Now, you want to tell us what's wrong with Anna? Or do we have to force it out of you?"

David glared at him. The man's voice had a distinct air of authority. David didn't doubt that he was physically capable of coercing the truth out of him if he wanted to.

"Did you drug her?"

David eyed him with irritation. "Of course not. She almost fainted from exhaustion at the hospital. Because she's so strung out, I asked her to take something that would help her sleep. Combined with a painkiller."

"She took the drugs voluntarily?"

"Of course she did!" David growled. "Listen…I didn't come here to be interrogated by you…whoever you are. My little girl is sick. I don't need this." He got up and headed towards the door but the man blocked his way.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sean demanded blocking his way.

"I'm going back to my daughter!"

"Is Anna going to be alright?" the man demanded.

David wanted to deck him. "She needs rest. And when she wakes up she needs to eat something. When Leah's recovered, and Anna's in a better state, she also needs to have her headaches looked at. Especially given her medical history." He glared at Alex. "But don't you worry about doing that…I'm going to take care of her from now on!" Then he turned back to Sean. "And you…get out of my way now!"

Sean didn't budge.

David's anger rose. He was about to punch him in the gut, an action that the man saw coming and deflected with ease, sending David tumbling into the wall next to him.

"Don't even try…" Sean warned him, finally moving from the door.

David caught his breath, his shoulder blade sore from the collision with the wall. "Bastard," he mumbled under his breath.

"If I find out that Anna didn't take that medication willingly…then I suggest for your sake that you don't come back here."

David pushed open the door, giving them both a final, angry glance. "Anna is my wife and Leah is my daughter! I'll do whatever I see fit when it comes to both of them."

He slammed the door shut behind him, trying to shake off the bitter taste both of them had left in his mouth.

'Leah,' he thought. 'Leah is all that matters now.' Only after she was well would he try to cross the lion's den of Alex and Sean that stood between him and Anna.

Inside the apartment

-

"His wife?" Sean asked Alex, after David left, "I thought Anna was his ex-wife?"

Alex managed a smile. "David's always been slightly deluded. It's the least of his faults."

"Yeah, I can see that." Sean was relieved that David Hayward was gone for the time being. "Sometimes I worry about your sister's taste in men."

"I don't like David Hayward either, as you probably guessed. I've distrusted him for a long time. For many reasons," she admitted. "But in his own twisted way, I think he does love Anna."

Sean pursed his lips, not entirely convinced. "He has a strange way of showing it. By drugging her the minute he shows up in Paris?"

"She did need sleep. Badly. To be honest, the thought of giving her a sedative occurred to me more than once the last couple of days," Alex told him, thinking that David would probably have a heart attack if he heard her defending his actions to Sean Donely. She gestured towards the envelope. "What are you going to do about the note?" Alex asked.

"I wanted to speak to Anna about it, but I see that's not an option right now."

Alex shook her head. "No…it's not."

Sean sighed. He had to discuss the contents of that note with Anna. The fact that he couldn't made him antsy. "Faison is within our grasp…I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure he doesn't get away tonight."

"How?"

"I can't do it alone. I need help. Someone I can trust."

Alex thought about it. "What about Dan O'Toole? Anna trusts him."

Sean eyed her sceptically, "I barely know him." For the first time in a long time, Sean longed for his friend, Robert Scorpio. If there was ever a time when I could've used you around it's now, old buddy.

"Is there anyone else?" she asked him.

It was a good question. There wasn't. Anyone else. Not here in Paris anyway.

Alex handed him Anna's small, black address book. "I'm sure Dan's number is in here."

Sean said nothing as he took it from her. Anna was the one he needed. Not Dan O'Toole. He glanced at the clock that hung on the wall. It was just after eleven in the morning. They had less than ten hours to work something out.

"I'm going to head down to the hospital…to check on Leah," Alex told him. "I won't stay long…I want to make sure Robin's okay too, when she wakes up."

Sean frowned. All things considered, he didn't think either Anna or Robin would be okay anytime soon. "I'm glad you're here for them," was all he said.

"Yeah," she agreed, shaking the towel off her shoulder. Although only late morning it was already hot outside, and her hair was nearly dry. It was messy but there were too many things on her mind for her to care. She pulled it back into a ponytail and grabbed her purse. "I'll see you soon."

Sean nodded. Her resemblance to Anna when she pulled her hair back was uncanny. Eerie almost.

He heard her close the door with Anna's keys, and then started leafing through the address book, searching for O'Toole's name.

St. Michel Hospital, Paris

-

David Hayward rubbed the tiny edges of stubble that covered his chin. It felt like sandpaper against the skin of his hand. An odd distraction that served to keep him awake.

He stared at Leah through the window of her isolated room.

She was so small.

The tall, Persian doctor approached him, handing him a clipboard with a list of drugs on it. "This is what Serge suggested we try next."

Doctor Serge Fillon was one of the foremost virologists in France, called in to St. Michel at Doctor Kazemi's request.

David nodded. He was familiar with Fillon's name and, although he wouldn't admit it, he couldn't think of anything else they could do for his daughter, except that which they were already doing; keeping her hydrated and her temperature down while hoping that certain anti-viral drugs and antibiotics would eventually prove fruitful. "I want to be informed of every change in treatment he suggests."

"I've already told you I would, Doctor Hayward. We're doing everything we can."

"Good."

He spotted Alex entering the room, from the corner of his eye. "Did you come to finish your interrogation?" Seeing her at the hospital irritated him. It felt like she was checking up on him.

"I didn't come to pick a fight, no."

He bit his tongue, saying nothing.

"How is she?" Alex asked him

"She wasn't responding to the drugs. Doctor Fillon decided to put her on a different course of antivirals."

"We believe there's a good chance they'll ease the respiratory difficulty she's been having," Doctor Kazemi cut in. He gave them a curt nod of his head. "I will be back shortly."

David waited until he left before turning back to Alex. "It's his way of saying Leah's getting worse."

"The drugs did nothing?"

"They might as well have given her a placebo." He narrowed his brows angrily, hating the feeling of imaginary sand slipping through his fingers. "Why don't you head down into the lab and see if you can find us a cure, Doctor Marick? That's what you did for your husband isn't it?"

Alex looked stunned.

David felt the fatigue sting his eyes, hating that he could hear the bitterness in his voice. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "That was a stupid thing to say."

She said nothing in reply.

"How's Anna?" he asked.

"She's sleeping."

"Good." He sighed, "I didn't drug her against her will. I wouldn't." He didn't really care what Alex Marick thought, but he wanted her to know that much. "Is she okay, Alex? Aside from all this madness, that is. Her headaches worry me."

"She's had a rough year... a rough pregnancy. She felt awful most of the time and then she had some problems with Robin, who got very sick, on top of everything."

"The HIV?"

Alex nodded. "She needed to change the protocol. She scared us both for a while."

"So you think it's stress?"

"Anna's been under more stress than she's let us in on," she said softly.

David eyed her suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

Alex bit her lower lip. "Never mind."

He gave her an irritated look. Alex had a way of doing that, of treating him with traces of civility one moment and then giving him the cold shoulder the next. "You don't think the headaches are cause for concern?"

"Honestly, no. She still has scarring on the brain tissue from her injuries all those years ago. Recurring headaches, usually in the form of migraines are, unfortunately, the norm for her type of injury. And in Anna's case, I've noticed, they seem to be exacerbated by stress, again not unusual."

"But she has a history of seizures…"

"I know…that's why originally I was worried as well. But she's had the seizures only when the headaches were accompanied by fever, a result of infection. That hasn't been the case recently. None of the symptoms she had last time in Canada are present this time…vision problems, dizziness, fever."

David marvelled at both the reasoning and the conviction in her voice. No wonder back when she was still practising in London, she had a reputation as a last hope for so many terminally ill patients, including Dimitri Marick. Her certainty had a calming effect. Even on him.

"I did want to run some tests on Anna, just before Leah became ill," she added. "To make sure… but if you ask me what my gut feeling is, I'd say, once she manages her stress level and takes better care of herself, I think her headaches will subside."

David took a deep breath. Not liking Alex Marick didn't mean he didn't respect her for what she was, a top-notch neurologist. If Alex thought Anna was all right, he believed it. "Thanks for that," he mumbled.

"Welcome."

They sat in silence until he saw her get up and head to Leah's room. Before leaving she turned around, meeting his eyes with hers. "I am sorry, David. I'm sorry you had to meet your daughter for the first time in these circumstances."

He accepted the olive branch. "Me too."

"Just because I can't stand your guts, doesn't mean I won't do whatever I can to help my niece."

David managed a smile. He did appreciate honesty. "I know."

Her expression was serious now. "If Anna did take the drugs you gave her by choice; I want you to know that it was a huge leap of faith on her part. It was my sister's way of letting you know that she's willing to give you a chance to earn her trust. Don't screw that up, Hayward."

Alex then got up and left the room, not bothering to wait for his response.

'I won't,' he thought. 'Not this time.'

This time there was too much at stake.

His mind drifted back to that evening at the Valley Inn, well over a year ago. After the awards ceremony he had attended as part of his community service. How he had snuck into one of the ballrooms afterwards to play the piano.

Anna had found him and she sat next to him on the piano bench while he played Mozart's 'A Little Night Music.'

He had begged her to stay with him, but she didn't. And because he didn't want to hurt her anymore, he'd let her go.

David closed his eyes, his mind flashing forward to the day he first held his daughter in his arms. The love that was unlike any other he had ever felt, that washed over him that day.

Leah. Anna. The two of them merged in his mind and became one.

'No,' he thought. 'This time I won't let either of you go. I can't.'

Anna's Apartment, Paris

Later that day

-

The expression on Sean Donely's face when he came out of Anna's bedroom said it all. Dan O'Toole didn't have to ask him how it went.

"She didn't wake up." It was a statement not a question.

"I don't know what the hell Hayward gave her. It's as though she's unconscious rather than just asleep. Short of slapping her hard I tried everything…but she's not coming out of it."

"She needs rest."

"I need her!"

"I'll arrange for a surveillance team set up near the Pont D'Arcole," O'Toole told him. "But you and I both know that if he doesn't spot his prize possession there, Cesar Faison will be a no-show."

"This is our chance to finally get him, and if I find out he did make Leah sick, it'll be my chance to kill him," Sean told him.

O'Toole frowned. "Even if Anna wasn't out of it…I don't think setting her up as bait is the way to go."

"If Anna had gotten to that letter before me, she would have done it without any one us knowing it."

"It's insane, not to mention risky," O'Toole reminded him.

"Look," Sean eyed him with frustration. "Just because Anna's been doing a desk job for the last year and a half, doesn't mean she's no longer capable of a little set up. She used to be one of my best field agents."

"This isn't some American cop show."

Sean frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Cesar Faison is a psychopath. A killer. He's obsessed with Anna and, from what you just told me, the last time they met up, his obsession killed her husband and nearly killed Anna. Now you're suggesting he might have made her daughter sick and, in spite of all that, you want us to humour him and play right into his sick little game of blackmail?"

"Yes. Because I want to beat him at it."

"Not you. Anna," he corrected Sean. "If anything goes wrong it's Anna who takes the fall."

"What exactly are you getting at?" Sean asked.

Dan O'Toole was soft-spoken by nature, so when he did raise his voice, those around him took note. "I don't want her hurt, that's what I'm getting at!"

"You think I do?" Sean snapped back. "I've known Anna since she was a hot-headed teenager. I was the best man at her wedding. I would die before I'd let Faison get her! But that doesn't mean I don't trust her skills as an agent. Her specialty in the WSB was bomb diffusion, do you have any idea what kind of nerves it takes for that?"

"She's good…I get that. I know that. But I also know that right now she's stressed and worried sick about Leah."

"Anna has more reason than anyone to take this guy down! She deserves to live a life without him in it."

"She also has too much at stake. Don't you get that? She'll do anything for her daughter!"

Sean stared at him, slowly understanding what he saw in the Irishman's expression. "You know…I think get it now. You've got a thing for her, don't you?"

O'Toole green eyes flashed at him with sudden resentment. He was prevented from answering the question when they heard the sound of the bedroom door opening.

"What's going on?"

"Robin," Sean took a deep breath. "Hey…how are you, sweetie?" Her skin was still red and sunburnt, her eyes sleepy.

"I'm okay…but I missed a dosage of the protocol," she explained quietly, heading towards the bathroom.

O'Toole cringed, mouthing the question, 'What's wrong with her?'

Sean shook his head saying nothing until Robin re-emerged from the bathroom. Her face was sombre. "How's my sister?" she asked Sean, not questioning Dan's presence.

"Alex and David are with her. They're making sure the doctors are doing whatever they can."

"David?" Robin asked him, a hint of surprise in her face. "David Hayward's here?" She had wanted to meet her sister's father, wondering what he was like in person.

"He flew in late last night."

"I see," she paused, as if collecting her thoughts. "Has there been any improvement with Leah?"

Sean shook his head. "No…I'm afraid not."

She sat down on the sofa, observing Dan O'Toole for the first time as she pushed her hair behind her ears. "You said Alex and David are with her…what about Mom?"

Sean pointed to the nursery door. "Anna's asleep in Leah's room. She was exhausted and David made her get some rest."

"And she actually listened to him?" Robin asked. "Wow. Now I'm even more curious to see him."

"He gave her a sedative. She's pretty out of it."

"Good…I think she needed it." She looked over to Dan O'Toole. "What about Marie Dupoire, have you found her?"

"No," O'Toole told her. "But she's not our biggest worry right now."

"Then who is?"

O'Toole caught Sean Donely's angry glare and bit his tongue.

Robin turned her attention to Sean. "Who is?"

Sean said nothing.

"Tell me what's going on, Sean! Why is Dan here?"

Sean hesitated. "Robin…we think Cesar Faison has been contacting your mom." He turned back to O'Toole. "In fact, I think we should set up a guard for Robin."

"What are you saying, Sean?" Robin asked him incredulously. "That he's after Mom again?"

"Here…" he handed her the letter he opened this morning.

"Maybe telling her this isn't…" O'Toole started.

"She has a right to know," Sean cut him off. He remembered Robin sitting at the park bench last night, waiting in vain for Marie Dupoire. "She has a right to know that whatever happened isn't her fault."

Sean watched as Robin read the letter, watched her move a hand to cover mouth. "Oh no…Sean, this can't be true..."

Sean put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, sweetie."

An angry tear fell down her cheek. "He made Leah sick didn't he? He made Leah sick to get to Mom!"

"We don't know that for sure yet…all we know is he's offering some sort of help. It could all be a bluff," O'Toole reminded them.

Robin's eyes widened when she fit the pieces together. "He made her sick and I let him. I left my sister alone with that woman."

"Robin that's not true," Sean started. "And if…if that's what happened, he would have found another way. Faison would…"

His words were interrupted by a knock on the apartment door. Sean walked to the door and stared through the peephole before opening it.

"Sorry, I left the keys here this morning."

"Alex," Robin was glad to see her aunt. "How's Leah?"

Alex's expression was sombre. "She had a setback this morning…they've changed her drug treatment. It's…it's not good right now but we're hoping the new drugs will turn things around."

"And if they don't?"

"I have to believe they will."

"But you're kidding yourself!"

Alex moved to put her arms around her. "Sweetie, don't lose faith. If you're going to be a doctor you can't give up that easily." It was a gentle reproach, but a reproach nonetheless.

"I'm not giving up…I just don't like it when I'm told everything will be okay, when I know it won't." Robin looked at Sean, "So what happens at nine o'clock tonight? What if Faison's not bluffing and he can really help Leah?" She didn't know whether Alex knew about the note or not, and she didn't care.

"I'm hoping Anna will wake up sooner rather than later," Sean told her. "Whether to meet him or not is her decision, and hers alone."

Robin felt a knot in her stomach at the thought of her mother facing that monster again. At the power he still held over her. Cesar Faison had already killed her father and now he was threatening her little sister. Given the chance, Robin would gladly have killed him with her own two hands.

"I don't think it's safe to bet Anna will wake up anytime before nine tonight…Hayward said ten hours or more, didn't he?" O'Toole pointed out.

"Hayward doesn't know Anna as well as he thinks he does."

"Wait a minute," Alex cut in. "I just realized something."

"What?" Sean asked.

"Anna might not be able to be at that bridge at nine tonight but," she paused, dumbstruck at her sudden revelation. "There's another option."

"What's that?"

"Me. I could be there, in her place."