"It's great to have all these new cases coming in," Felicia said as she filed the paperwork on Robert and Anna's active cases neatly back into their manila folders and placed them in the filing cabinet for the night.

"Yeah, we're almost back to where we were before we had to leave for Mount Rushmore," Robert agreed as he stood from his desk and picked up his jacket.

Felicia nodded. "I guess all that publicity when you and Anna solved the Markey jewel theft last week brought everyone out of the woodwork. We've never had so many clients come in all at once."

"It's going to keep Anna and me busy, all right," he remarked.

"It sure is. But frankly, I'm surprised the two of you can find the time," she added with a sly smile.

Robert looked up in bemusement at the suggestive hint in her tone. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I saw you and Anna at the restaurant last night. Is there something going on with you two?" she asked, her expression innocent but inquisitive.

Unexpectedly, something in Robert's chest tightened at the thought. "Just a night out between two friends," he replied airily. Keeping his tone bantering, casual. "A belated birthday present, that's all."

"Uh huh, right," Felicia said with a knowing look, her voice equally light. "Looked like a bit more than that to me."

"Did it?"

"Well, you two were standing awfully close together for an awfully long time."

"Were we?" Robert tried without success to think of something else to say.

"Yes, you were. I tried to get your attention but neither of you even noticed I was there." The slight pout in her voice was belied by the gleam of merriment in her eyes.

He folded his arms, making an effort not to be put out by her amusement at his expense.

"Are you two getting back together again?"

He shook his head. "Anna and me? Hardly. We're good friends and nothing more. Besides, she's marrying Lavery," he added, ignoring the sudden sharp pang he felt at the thought.

"Is she?" Felicia questioned. "I haven't heard them set a date. And you two wouldn't be the first exes to find yourselves in love all over again. Especially Anna, I think."

Robert was at once intrigued and incredulous at the turn the conversation was taking. "You don't really…really think Anna is falling in love with me again," he scoffed. The idea was too absurd to take seriously for even a moment.

But instead of smiling and sharing the joke, Felicia looked at him with utter seriousness. "I don't think she ever stopped."

Robert felt his heart skip a beat. He shot her a sharp, penetrating look. "What do you mean?"

"You remember that time when Sean and his men held Anna, Frisco and me hostage in that chalet in Canada?"

He nodded. That was an experience he was unlikely to ever forget.

"Well, I remember what it was like that day when Anna thought you'd been killed." Felicia shook her head at the memory that still pained her even all this time later. "You should have seen her, Robert. She was completely devastated. Even Sean's men felt for her. She could hardly talk, or even move. It was like her spirit had gone out, inside." Felicia curled her hand unconsciously over her heart. "It was how I would feel if Frisco died."

"But…that was two years ago," he objected weakly, feeling stunned. He had no idea that the thought of his death had affected Anna that way.

"I know. But feelings that deep don't just go away. I love Frisco so much, no matter if we're together or apart, and I will for the rest of my life. I think Anna loves you the same way."

Robert gazed into his young friend's sweet, guileless face and had no doubt she meant every word. The thought left him momentarily speechless.

Felicia closed the filing cabinet and went to the door. She pulled it open and then paused and turned back to look at him. "The question is if you feel the same way about her."

Robert closed the last file on his desk with a sigh. It had been a long day and he was more than ready to head home. Robin had gone with Philomena to her cousin's for the night, but he was looking forward to having a nightcap with Anna and giving her the rundown on his latest findings on the Ashley case before going to bed.

Unless Lavery was there with her, he thought with a pang of guilt. He knew that Anna hadn't seen much of Duke since the three of them had gotten back from New York City. Now that his chest was nearly mended again it really was time he moved out and gave the two of them some privacy.

Yet selfishly he didn't want to move into a hotel. Didn't want to give up the easy companionship he shared with Anna and his daughter and the sense of family it had brought him that he'd never known before. More and more often these days when he thought about the three of them he found an unexpected feeling of contentment welling within him as he realized how happy he was that he was here with them in Port Charles, that both Anna and Robin were in his life.

You know, you two really had something special.

Sean was right. He and Anna did have something special.

Something that only comes along once in a lifetime.

Never in a million years would he have expected Sean Donely to make statements like that with such conviction. His old friend and mentor, the former head of the WSB, was not normally a man to get carried away by his emotions. On the contrary, he prided himself on his detachment and clear-eyed, cold calculation.

And then there was Felicia. She was as romantic as Sean was rational, but she was Duke's friend as well as his and Anna's, so there was no reason for her to sow seeds of doubt in his mind about Anna's commitment to Lavery unless she truly thought there was something in it.

Was Anna still fully committed to marrying Duke? Robert frowned, considering. It was certainly true that she and the Scot hadn't been spending as much time together lately as they used to. And it was also true that they still hadn't set a wedding date…

He was pulled from his thoughts by the ringing of the telephone. Leaning forward he picked up the receiver idly, wondering if it was Anna. "Scorpio Devane Investigations."

"Matt Pendleton here," said a familiar voice on the other end of the line. "How you doing, Scorpio?"

"Matt, you old reprobate!" Robert replied with enthusiasm. "How's life at WSB HQ?"

"Wish I could say it was better. Unfortunately we've got a bit of a problem."

Robert's grip on the receiver tightened. "What kind of problem?"

A sigh echoed over the airwaves. "Well, seems your collar Barrett got himself smuggled out of the hospital wing of the New York City police detention center last night and disappeared."

"What?!"

"Yeah. Worse than that, we just picked up solid information that he's on his way to Port Charles."

"Alone?"

"Far as we know."

"How long ago?"

"At least a couple of hours. We've got a couple of agents on the way to you, but I'm afraid we're playing catch up on this one, buddy."

Robert shook himself. "Thanks for the warning, mate. I've got to call Anna." Knowing time was suddenly of the essence, he hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

The instant as the receiver hit the cradle Robert lifted it again and started punching in Anna's number. He listened impatiently as the beep-beep of a busy signal sounded in his ears. "Dammit, Anna," he swore under his breath, "get off the phone!"

The busy signal continued as if mocking his anxiety.

Muttering another curse, Robert threw down the phone and raced for the door.