Prologue

Port Charles, NY Present Day

Anna stood on the dock looking out onto the icy water. The wind cold, whipping her hair about her head in a brunette halo. She drew her coat in tight and hugged herself to bring a bit of warmth.

She should be home, or with Valentin, figuring out how to stop Peter, or curtail Cyrus, but the news and nostalgia pulled her here like a magnet. What she was feeling, what was going through her mind, was just too distracting. She needed to be someplace familiar. Someplace that reminded her of him. A song invaded her memory, "Those Were The Days," he often hummed it in unguarded moments.

It had been an hour since she'd hung up the phone in utter disbelief, unable to imagine a world without him. Her friend, mentor, and father figure was gone. There was no Anna Devane without Sean Donely, no Sean Donely without Anna Devane, their lives and stories so inextricably linked. Friendship and love, betrayal and forgiveness, for better and worse, he made her the woman she was. They'd been apart for years, but no matter where they were in the world, he was always there when she needed to talk through a case or a romantic entanglement. His charming brogue, always there to calm her frazzled nerves. Who would she call now, especially with Peter running wild?

Her eyes filled with tears. She moved to wipe them away and heard footsteps behind her.

"Hello, Luv, I thought I'd find you here." Robert said with a melancholy kindness. He moved to quickly envelope her in a snug embrace and placed kisses on her tear-stained cheeks.
"You look like you just lost your best friend," Anna said as she looked at his rugged face.
"So do you…" he said, smoothing her wind-swept hair.
"Yeah… it doesn't seem real," she sniffed as she buried her face into his collar.
"He wasn't a young man, Anna… none of us are anymore…"
"Well... some of us are younger than others," she said with a teasing grin while tears still poured down her face. "What's in the bag?" she asked, motioning to a leather satchel nearby.
"Just a little something Sean gave me the last time I saw him," Robert responded as he took her hand and led her to a bench overlooking the water.

He removed two small brandy snifters and a very old bottle of Cognac from the bag.

"1873," Anna mused, reading the label, "100 years before I met Sean…"
"Let's see if it was a good year," Robert said, opening the bottle and pouring out the amber liquid.
"Public drinking is frowned upon in Port Charles, Mister District Attorney," Anna joked as she took her glass.
"It's okay," replied Robert with a wink and a smile, "I know a guy if we get caught."

They drank their brandy in companionable silence, both remembering their lost friend, her hand folded into his, the liquor warming them from the inside. As soon as their glasses had emptied, Robert filled them once more. Anna took a long sip, her eyes closed, feeling the heat of the alcohol slide down her throat. She opened her eyes and gazed into Robert's ice blue stare, both so full of memories, neither wanting to break this moment. The wind kicked up again and he brushed the hair out of her face. She sighed quietly and rested her head on his shoulder.

After a long while she finally spoke, looking out across the water.

"You know, that's where it all started," she said.
"What, Luv?" he asked, filling their glasses yet again.
"Everything... On the other side of the lake... Toronto..." she said wistfully, as tears began to start, "where I first met Sean Donely…"