Chapter 25

"What are you working on?" Anna asked. Robert was at the table with his laptop in front of him. He looked up when she touched his shoulder. "Do you have to head back to headquarters?"

He smiled up at her, "No just seeing if I can find out a little more about the members of Night Fox. See if there have been any hostilities between members in the past. Anything that might point to it not being a tight group."

Anna started rubbing his shoulders as she read over his shoulder. Robert could feel her breathe on his neck and became very aware of how close she was. They are just friends now but he couldn't deny the way she still affected him. This was just platonic touching he knew that but that didn't change the fact he wanted to reach up, take her hand and pull her closer and kiss her. "This looks like basically the same information we've already found on them."

Her words brought him out of his daydream, "Yeah I'm not having much luck but I want to do something."

"You never did like sitting around doing nothing when there was a problem to solve," Anna said then kissed his neck before standing up patting his shoulder before turning and taking a few steps away from him.

"I want answers as much as you do Luv."

She turned back towards him, "I know. What are we doing for supper tonight? Room service or pick up some take out?"

"I can go out and get something," Robert offered.

"I was actually thinking I could. Why don't you stay here and get to know Alex a little better? You're going to be around both of us for the for seeable future."

"I think that would be nice, especially if I get to know that woman you first met not the one that's scared and on the run."

"My sister is so wonderful when she's herself. That person that was in Port Charles wasn't behaving anything like the woman I know."

"Must be a Devane thing," Robert said.

Anna looked at him and saw the grin on his face," Oh shush. I'm better now."

"Yes you are, you're my Annie again."

Your Annie she thought and smiled, no matter what she would always be his and they both knew it. "So when Alex gets up I ask her what she wants for dinner."

"Why does she get to pick?"

"Other than breakfast you've been picking her meals," Anna said shaking her head with a little smile.

Robert closed his laptop then stood up and walked over to her, "The things I do for you, Devane."

"Oh no letting someone else decide where to get take out from, what will you do? I'm still the one picking it up, you trust me don't you?"

"Always."

"Then shut up," she said and started laughing.

"Fine, see if I talk to you tonight."

He went and sat down on the couch and put his feet up. He closed his eyes and put tilted his head back. Anna watched him for a few minutes then smiled, "Robert."

"Yes Luv," he said without opening his eyes.

Anna stifled a little laugh, "Nothing hon. Just checking."

He opened his eyes to see her smiling at him and shook his head when he realized what she had just done, "Oh you're funny today."

"You know the two of you are kind of like a couple of little kids."

Robert and Anna both turned to see that Alex had come back into the room. "Hi, do you feel better?" Anna asked.

"Yeah I started reading the book you had in your room then had a little nap."

"That's good, I was just going to go and grab something for dinner. What do you want?"

"I would love Italian if that's OK with the two of you."

"That works for us." Anna turned to Robert, "Don't worry Scorpio I know what you like." Then she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

"You two get along very well for exes," Alex commented then joined Robert on the couch. She didn't really understand it but she already felt very comfortable around him.

Robert sighed then looked at her, "You know what happened."

"I do," then she looked in his eyes. "Oh, I see. Still, the woman you love."

"Can you tell me a little about that time? When she remembered."

"I wasn't actually in Pine Valley when that happened. Edmond was with her."

"No, I know you weren't but she told me she talked to you about it. At that time I was still 'dead' as per the agreement to save her life. I wouldn't be let out of that agreement for another two years and by then she had already remarried."

Anna had told Alex a little bit about what Robert had been through but she didn't fully understand it. "If you tell me about that I'll tell you about Anna."

"Deal. When Faison took Anna the WSB wouldn't believe that she hadn't gone willingly. They felt she was going to divulge WSB secrets and black boxed her."

"Black boxed, that's the first thing I didn't understand," Alex interrupted.

"Kill on sight. It was her death sentence basically."

"Oh," Alex's face dropped some but didn't say anything else.

"I had to go after her. I couldn't let them kill her, she hadn't done anything. When the WSB found out about that a black box order was put on me as well. When I finally found them and got to her the WSB blow up the boat we were all on. I really don't know exactly what happened that night but we all survived somehow. I was told about Anna condition and an offer was made. In exchange for her life, I gave up everything and became the WSB slave basically. I did what they told me. I lived where they told me. I could not contact a single person from my life or Anna would be killed. I could not try to leave messages for them, anything. For all intents and purposes, I was dead. They even went as far to threaten Robin's life."

"Anna knows all of this right?"

"Yeah, I've told her everything. I was held in that agreement for over eleven years and when they finally let me out of it I had no idea how to come back to my life. I had to face them all when my job led me back to Port Charles though and since then very slowly we have all become a family again."

"Not completely," Alex noted.

"Well, I don't think that part will ever happen so I take what I can get."

Alex could see the sadness in his eyes. That explains why Anna snapped at her last night about not understanding them. She was started to see that they both still love each other but for whatever reason, they aren't willing to be together. "So you want to know what she felt when she remembered you?"

"I'm not sure if that's it exactly. I want to know what she went through. I know that couldn't have been easy and she doesn't like to let people see her in any way showing weakness. I think I need to know that there was someone there for her at that time when I wasn't because I don't think she would have even told Robin all that she was dealing with at that time."

"I don't know what all she told Robin at the time, you're right I don't think she told her what she told me."

"Will you tell me what she told you or some of it at least?"

"When she called me I could tell she was upset. She told me about reading the letter from Robin, well from you I guess. Then she told me about getting her memory back. She told me that the first thing that really came back was the explosion and that she knew she had seen you die right in front of her eyes. When she was able to talk so I could actually understand her again she told me all about you. She told me about meeting in Paris, that first assignment about your wedding. Then she went on to tell me all about your entire relationship with each other right up to you getting remarried and your first Christmas as a family in your new home together. She remembered you finding her and that you were trying to get off the tanker when there was an explosion and then nothing." She reached out and took Robert's hand, "She was heartbroken that you were gone. I know even before she got her memory back she was hoping you might be out there somewhere."

"I was, I wanted to be with her. More than anything I want to be with Anna."

"Robert I think the reason she got involved with David in the first place was she want to feel something, anything, besides the pain she was in from losing you. When she remembered you, I know her heart broke because she loves you so much and it was like you had just died not that it had been nine years since she had last seen you." Alex wiped away her tears and noticed Robert had tears running down his cheek but made no move to wipe them away.

"From what she's told me you understand that kind of love."

"I love Dimitri like that," Alex admitted and hung her head.

"Alex, is he in danger?"

"No, as long I'm not around the people I love then they shouldn't be in danger."

Robert touched her cheek, "Alex your sister loves you and we will help you find a way out of whatever this is. If there is a way for you to be with the man you love I want to help you get that."

"You want to help me so I can be with Dimitri but you won't take a chance to be with her. Why?"

"It hurts too much to lose her." This time his hand did go to his face as he tried to hide the tears.

That was not what she had expected him to say. She was a little surprised to hear the pain in his voice as well. As much as Anna had talked about the love they had for each other she had also told her about what kind of man Robert was. Alex should have realized that he loves her sister deeply and that was as much a part of him as everything else Anna had told her about him. "It would hurt to lose Dimitri again."

"You didn't even give him a chance. You blocked him out, then you walked away from your life with him. Why? What made you do that? What could be so bad you would give up on that kind of love?"

"I had to."

"That's not an answer."

"They will hurt everyone I love. They will kill them then they'll kill me."

"Who? Alex, who are you running from?"

Suddenly she stood up and Robert could see the anger on her face. "They are going to kill him if you don't stop talking about this."

"Alex, no one knows we're talking."

"Stop it! They are going to kill him!"

"Who? Alex, we can't stop them if we don't know who it is."

"No, I can't tell you. I can!" Even in her anger, there were tears running down her cheeks.

"Alex I want to help you stop them. Anna wants that too We just want you to be safe."

"Then leave me alone!" she shouted and started looking around the room. "I can't be here! I need to go, no one can know where I am. They can't know about any of this."

"Alex just tell me who you running from. I can't stop them if you don't tell me who they are," Robert said as he grabbed her arms trying to get her to look at him again.

"It's," she started then her eyes started to glaze over. "I can't tell you."

Then she went limp and Robert had to grab her by the waist to keep her from falling to the ground. Her eyes rolled up into her head before they closed then she was dead weight in Robert's arms. Carefully he took her over to the couch and laid her down on it. Whatever had just happened Robert was sure she was going to tell him but there was something that wouldn't let her.