Time: Later that afternoon

Place: Island next to Melaswen (Tony's memory of 1991)

Tony grunted, using his shoulder to give the plane one last shove into the dense foliage bordering the shoreline, the only stretch of land on the island with enough open space for him to land once he'd located his father's yacht on radar. Luckily, it sat moored near an island that was not as isolated as the compound they'd left a few hours earlier. On each side resided two somewhat smaller islands and he'd chosen the first hoping not to alert anyone by flying too close. He'd still have to swim the narrow channel once the sun set and though it certainly would have been easier to find a spot to hide out on the same island where Rolf had taken his children, doing so was far too risky. Tony really had no idea how much of the last two day's events had been orchestrated by Stefano. It was difficult for him to imagine Rolf being allowed to make such a decision without permission but not necessarily impossible. The fact that Stefano trusted the doctor with both Marlena and the twins up to this point spoke volumes to Tony because his father wasn't a man that normally trusted anyone, and so perhaps he'd get lucky and find that Rolf had acted on his intuition, but assuming such a thing where his father was concerned would be terribly foolish.

As to what the hell he'd do once he located the twins, Tony had not the slightest notion, or how he was going to deal with the woman he'd brought along. Marlena would insist on following him tonight. Of that he had no doubt.

Opening the hatch, he climbed back inside to find her sitting up, shielding her eyes from the glare and squinting as though her head was killing her.

"Here," he said, pulling a bottle of water from the frig tucked into the miniature sized galley and cracking open the top for her. "Can you hold it?"

Gingerly, she nodded, reaching out with a hand.

Minutes ticked by in silence as Marlena drank almost half the bottle without pause and then leaned back into the small alcove, hollowed into the passenger side of the cockpit wall, a sleek but comforting space, lined with paneling and down pillows. "Where are we?" Her voice was no more than a hoarse whisper, and immediately, she had to take another drink to still the coughing fit just uttering these few words generated.

"A few hundred miles east of the compound," he told her as soon as she'd caught her breath.

"I dreamt…" dark lashes fluttered against her pale skin and then she raised them for a brief moment and tilted her head sideways, "that you killed him."

"Who, my father?"

She tried to shake her head but realized instantly that was a mistake. "No. Rolf."

Tony swallowed his laughter with some difficulty. "Isn't there a clinical term for that? Projecting," he teased and instantly warmed inside to find he'd coxed a smile out of her.

"Only if you weren't really interested in killing the snake yourself."

"True enough, " he said, joining her in a smile now, "though I'm rather disappointed that I missed seeing the shot you took at him."

"What are you doing sitting all the way over there?" The demand popped out without any pretext or warning and took her, as much by surprise as it did Tony, who's perplexed look was almost comical and awkwardly, she cleared her throat. "Well, what I meant was…I understand you give a fabulous massage and to be honest, that sounds like it would feel…ah, heavenly right about now."

Not that he minded the idea, but her sudden desire to take advantage of his services had the distinct air of an excuse in order to change the subject. "I do? And who told you such a thing?"

"Anna," she said, with a deadpan expression that almost made him believe she was ticked at him for dragging her out here.

"And here I thought you already knew better than to believe everything Anna told you."

He'd intended it as a joke, but it was one she didn't find it amusing. She stared back at him, luminous eyes that held nothing back now, her disappointment in him more than obvious and when he didn't react or provide an explanation but instead allowed the silence to lengthen, those eyes glared accusingly. "Do you have even the slightest inkling of what you did to her when you left and then, as an excuse, sent that appalling letter?"

"Unfortunately, I do," he returned, meeting her gaze evenly, not at all pleased to be back on this subject once again, and he knew that look. He'd received his share from Alice Horton over the years.

"Then, why won't you at least tell her the truth," Marlena insisted, pleading with him once more "instead of putting her through all of this…this misery she's enduring."

"You'd like her to be where you are right now?" he pointed out, with more harshness than was probably necessary and her eyes lit up.

"That's not a given," she shot back, stung by his abrasive manner, his unwillingness to even consider anyone else's advice about this.

"When you wake up in the middle of a cold and dirty little cell and have to watch the one you love chained up on the floor next to you, you will have earned the right to lecture me about my choices," he told her dryly, "but until that point, I suggest you leave it alone."

He'd not yelled at her, or snapped but his words affected her in a way that his anger had not and he knew that he'd been right about one thing at least. Anna hadn't shared everything.

Her hand dropped from where she'd been using it to rub her forehead and covered her mouth. "Tony…"

It was barely whisper though he could hear the pent up emotion in it and quickly he shook his head. "Please don't," he whispered back.

Round eyes that were too bright searched his face before they turned to look out the window. "I wish…" she began but stopped almost at once. Her graceful profile gleamed as sunlight slipped into the windows from between the giant tropical leaves keeping the plane hidden, but he was familiar enough with that face to recognize how carefully she held herself, as though she was conscious of what the wrong word might do. "Anna had quite a talent covering up that side of her character, except when she was around you."

That made Tony want to burst out laughing, but he controlled the urge because frankly he didn't want to discuss Anna with her. As much as it hurt, on occasion, he enjoyed the subject, if only because it was his one consolation after everything that was gone and over with but only with certain people, and Marlena was definitely not one of them. She could read him too well. And she was too damn stubborn to let up on her romantic notions and he knew just how susceptible he was to those, especially where Anna was concerned, so instead of answering her, he got up and stuck his head into the cockpit once more to check the radar but the boat hadn't changed position.

"Why did you bring me along?"

She didn't really sound all that curious and Tony suspected she was floundering, trying to find a safe subject. "Well, I did consider leaving you there. I figured you'd probably like another crack at Rolf but I need him in once piece, at least for the moment and since you said that you wanted to go home, I took the liberty."

"My…thank you."

He could hear her amusement now. "No problem." And at that understatement, she laughed, a sound that was delightfully husky and appreciative.

"And now?"

"Now…" he stalled, not ready to begin arguing with her about their immediate future.

"Yes, now," she laughed back. "I'm assuming we're here because you followed Rolf."

"Naturally," he said, trying not to sound too sarcastic.

Hesitating, she waited for him to continue but not for long. "And do you have a plan you'd like to share with me?"

"Not particularly, no."

Silence greeted this remark and though he didn't turn around to witness it, he had no difficulty imagining the sight of her rolling her eyes in disgust. "Does that mean you want me to guess," she asked, a hint of irritation in her voice, "or make up my own?"

"That means," he said, throwing a switch on the control panel that shut off access to the fuel tanks, "we're going to wait."

"For what?"

"To see if I was right," he said, turning back to face her at last. "About why they moved the twins first, instead of you."

Marlena had wrapped her arms around her body as though she was cold, which considering the humidity, and the temperature outside, probably had something to do with her fears. "I don't understand why they didn't just take all three of us…" Her eyes danced nervously before she squeezed them shut at the thought of where she could be at this precise moment if things were different, "why leave me there at all? And why use a boat?"

"I hope that was meant to be rhetorical because I'm afraid, like you, Marlena" he told her dryly, "I have far more questions than answers."

"But you do have a theory," she pointed out.

And Tony shrugged. "Several."

"Oh, for God's sake Tony, stop with this silly, childish game."

Tony stood quietly as she scolded him and then slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers again. "You don't trust me."

"No," Marlena sat back, folding her arms across her chest. "The problem is, I do trust you," she told him. "I trust," and her eyes gleamed at him with that charming mixture of naiveté and determination, "that you're going to do what takes to keep me on this plane so that I'm unable to follow you where ever the hell it is you're going once it gets dark."

He bit his lip to keep himself from reacting to the black humor of the situation. "Very perceptive, my dear."

"Tony…" but she stopped abruptly, realizing probably that this tack wasn't getting her anywhere and with a slight grimace, pasted a smile on her face. "What are you waiting for Rolf to do, exactly?"

Damn, she was stubborn he sighed to himself and he swore under his breath at the necessity of dragging her here and now having to find a way to keep her safe. As though she was really going to allow him to do that. "I pretty sure he'll head back to the compound."

"Back?"

"He's holding off to give me enough time to leave and follow him on some wild goose chase leading nowhere, while he returns to the compound, for you."

Her chin pulled up just slightly. "But Rolf wouldn't leave the twins unless…" She grew very still as her imagination sent her down a terrifying road and he could see her fingers gripping her arms so tightly, he figured she'd end up with bruises later on. "Of course," she muttered, more to herself that to him, "he delivered them to Stefano."

"Possibly."

But his skepticism didn't sway Marlena who was barely keeping her panic in check and had to be frantic beneath the façade she'd managed so far. "Stefano doesn't delegate that way, especially when it comes to his grandchildren."

"That doesn't mean Rolf isn't capable of screwing up the situation on his own," Tony said, leaning against the doorway of the cockpit.

"Come on Tony, Stefano doesn't keep people around for long if they do things like that."

"Well, not unless they have other talents, but point is that Stefano may not be aware that Rolf has altered his plans yet."

Marlena studied his face carefully. "Why?"

"Well, for one thing he was in Hong Kong as of a few hours ago," Tony explained to her with a shrug. "I checked."

"That doesn't exactly put him out of the loop."

"No, but this deal is one my father has been working on for quite some time and short of me, or someone else making an attempt to physically take you and twins from the compound, I think it unlikely that Rolf would have the nerve to interrupt Stefano's meeting and then have to explain that its is merely because he is suspicious of my behavior."

"Unless…" Marlena's mouth twitched as she tried to hold it a straight line, "he has proof."

Tony swallowed uncomfortably and looked away. "If Rolf could prove anything concrete, I'd already be locked up."

That observation put a damper on the argument and when he finally glanced over at her, found she was sitting with her head buried in her hands. Wanting to kick himself, he sat down on the cushions next to her and hoping that his fingers didn't feel as cold as the rest of him, began working the tension out of her neck.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"No, I'm the one who ought to apologize," he said, dropping a light kiss on her shoulder. "I'm just not much of an optimist."

He heard a small whimper escape her lips that was probably supposed to be laughter. "Yes you are, though you're certainly the most cynical one I've ever met."

"Not the ideal combination."

"I don't know," she said in an airy manner, trying to cover the lingering unease and awkwardness. "It's kept you alive so far," and her hand reached up to caress the one kneading her shoulder. He leaned over and kissed her fingers before they slipped back into her lap.

"So," she began again after they'd sat in reasonably companionable silence for a moment, "you believe he trusts Rolf to such a degree that Rolf would feel free to make serious decisions in his absence."

"I can't be positive but how often have you had to deal with my father's company since you arrived at the compound?"

At that supposition, she actually did turn around and roll her eyes at him. "Just once was too often as you very well know, but I see your point."

Tony's reply came out a hair too quick. "Good."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Reason?" His fingers worked their way up through her hairline, "for what?"

"I don't know how to put this delicately," she began, "but you know Stefano, and surely you don't believe that simply because he's made no show of paying attention to the situation that it means he's unaware of every single detail, of all the time you spent at the compound, and why. He's got to be suspicious already."

"And so you think that he's set a trap."

He could tell that she found the idea unnerving and well she ought to. "Look Tony, I didn't mean to suggest that you'd ignore something so…"

"Obvious," he finished for her when the words stuck in her throat. "It's alright. And yes, I know that is one of the possibilities here, but something keeps nagging me about Rolf's behavior lately. I can't put my finger on it, but…" the right words to explain his misgivings hung just out of reach, as did any solid evidence to convince her that he wasn't nuts and blindly dragging her into an elaborate snare designed by Stefano. All he had was a hunch, but Tony had learned the hard way about paying attention to the little, seeming unimportant details. He'd done that before and it had cost him dearly but not this time. "Something about what happened this morning is odd."

"In what way?" she asked.

"The way in which it was organized, which was certainly not the way my father would have handled the situation."

She twisted around to grab one the hands still massaging her shoulders and held onto it. "You know, you're right," she told him, her eyes wide, "It was, I don't know…"

The correct word eluded her as well, but now he knew what it was that was wrong about the whole thing. "It was messy," he told her.

"Yes " she agreed, squeezing his hand as her smile broke across her face, and he responded to it with a rather cynical one of his own.

"We both know how Stefano would feel about that."

For the first time in days, she looked hopeful, though he could tell that feeling scared her too but she resisted exposing such a weakness for more than a tiny instant. Lord, was she determined and what on earth was he going to do now?

He'd had plenty of time during the flight earlier to consider how to keep her from getting herself into trouble but it wasn't just tonight he had to worry about. Even if he found the twins waiting, ensconced in some rat hole on the neighboring island, without Rolf, they'd never survive, and he knew Marlena would not leave without them. He'd be forced to do the one thing she'd had more than enough of the past few years, courtesy of Stefano. He'd have to lie to her, temporarily at least. And of course there was a problem of where he'd stash her away until he could determine if it was safe for her to go home. She'd appreciate that even less he knew.

"Tony."

Lifting his head, he eyed her cautiously. She was smiling and wearing that expression of complete faith she managed to convey so easily.

"I know what you're thinking."

She probably did, after all it was the subject they'd danced around since they'd begun this conversation. He took a deep breath and smiled back, charmingly. "The answer is no, Marlena. You are not coming along tonight, absolutely not."

"And who was it complaining about that little matter of trust only a few moments ago?"

"This has nothing to do with trusting you, or vice versa, and you bloody well know it," he told her, his irritability beginning to show.

"Okay, you're right, it doesn't," she snapped. "It has to do with my life and my children…"

"No, our children…"

Her eyes narrowed. "Fine, our children, but you can not simply cut me out of the picture."

He shook his head but still had to squeeze his eyes shut to stop himself from lashing out in anger. "Don't you understand?" he said finally, with as much control over his emotions as he could muster. "I'm trying to keep you alive," and he made some effort to keep the accusation out of his eyes as he looked up now, "so our children will have someone I trust to raise them with love and…and affection, and all the things Stefano doesn't believe in anymore."

"Oh…" That took the wind out of her suddenly and she glanced at him on the verge of tears again.

And he had to look out the window. He could feel his heart racing and a part of him wanted to wipe away her tears and comfort her but that wouldn't help the situation, or change it, so instead they sat in absolute silence as the minutes ticked by, sitting just inches from each other, and he began to feel as though they were both holding their breath, until she spoke up again.

"I'll make you a deal."

"Marlena…"

"No," and her hand was pushing on his shoulder, so that he'd look at her. "Please, just listen."

He leaned back against the wall with his elbow balanced on one knee so that the back of his fingers were resting alongside his nose and across his mouth. Only his eyes remained visible to her.

Rather nervously she bit her lip, and then, "I've had time to think about what you told me, a…about Roman."

"About Roman, or his double?"

"Both, but mainly the one I've been living...the one that came back." For just a second she met his steady gaze. "I know you haven't told me all the things you learned about him, and I…" He could see her holding her breath now. "You believe Stefano sent him to Salem on purpose, as another way to get his hands on me."

"Don't you?"

"God, I…" But this was too much pressure, even for her. "I don't know."

In a quiet, sympathetic way, his eyes gleamed at her, watching as she tried to hide from the stark possibilities. "I think you do."

"Let me come with you tonight."

He opened his mouth to refuse but she rushed to finish. "If we don't find any information that exonerates him or proves him trustworthy, I'll wait. I won't go home right away, and you won't have to drug me to get me to behave, when it comes to him or the twins."

Tony dropped his head down until his hand completely covered his eyes. She had it all figured out of course. How could she not after this many years as his father's most honored guest. Suddenly he was shaking with laughter. "That's not a deal, for Christ's sake. That's blackmail."

She looked at him matter-a-factly. "Yes, I know."

"Marlena…"

"Please, I can't just sit here waiting, not knowing if you're even going to be coming back and then what the hell would I do?"

"Of course I'll be back."

"You can't guarantee that."

She was right. Worse yet, she knew she was right and that he'd recognize the fact.

"Tell me something," he said, wearing dry, suspicious smile.

She waited, sitting calmly with such a convincing air of innocence and Tony chuckled.

"I'm truly curious how Roman ever managed to keep you alive all those months he was running from Andre because woman, you aren't just stubborn," and his eyes grew larger and bored into hers, "you're downright impossible…"

Her mouth thinned and she went to turn away but he continued on anyway. "And you don't do so hot when it comes to letting someone else help you. I understand that's a typical failing of most doctors but…"

"Analyzing me isn't going to fix this mess. If it makes you feel better, fine but we're wasting time here."

Tony glanced out the window and then back. "We've got plenty of that."

"Not if you're going to teach me enough to get me across that channel tonight."

Laughing, he shook his head. "Let me guess., you've never been diving before."

She flashed him a winning smile. "Just a little, but I'm a quick study."

"Yes," he murmured, brushing his fingers along her cheek, "I know, I've heard about your exploits in the kitchen."

Bristling some at that comment, she said, "So, I'm not domestic, but I…"

"Fine, fine," he said, reaching over to stop her mouth with a kiss. "I'll teach you," he told her, taking hold of her chin and lifting it just enough to gain her undivided attention. "On one condition."

She waited, with less bravado this time.

"You are going to promise me, swear that you will follow my directions tonight without question, and when I give them to you. Agreed?"

Her gaze warred with his momentarily and he could tell she was fighting her impulses but after a few long, drawn out seconds, she nodded. "Yes, you have my word."