February 10, 2003

Anna stopped in at the Pine Valley Inn for a drink with Jackson Montgomery. They hashed out some strategy for a court case the next day. When they were satisfied, Jackson made the long trek over to the dining room to have a working dinner with yet another colleague. Anna shook her head. If only he would get over his crush on Erica, he might find a nice woman and actually go out on a date. She wrote some notes for the trial and finished her drink. Impatient to leave, she decided to settle up at the bar rather than wait for her server to get back. She walked towards the bar, rummaging in her knapsack. She bumped into someone. "I apologize, I wasn't watching where I was going." She looked up. The man staring back at her smiled, oozing charm. "That's perfectly alright. Someone as gorgeous as you can bump into me any time." She raised one eyebrow. On the one hand, he seemed pretty sophisticated. On the other hand, the line he gave her was so cheesy. Maybe he was drunk. She smiled politely and beckoned Greg, the bartender, over. She told him what she had, and gave him some bills.

When she turned to leave, she encountered the smooth talker again. "I want to say I'm sorry for the hideous come-on line. I'm new in town and feeling a bit nervous about meeting people." She looked at him skeptically. "Now you're going to go for the 'aw shucks' routine?" The man grinned. "How about I just start over and introduce myself? Michael Cambias." He held out his hand. "Anna Devane." Anna shook his hand, concentrating hard not to let the shock show on her face. Zach's brother! Her mind raced a mile a minute. Wasn't he supposed to be the heir apparent to Alex Senior's billions? What was he doing in a backwater town like Pine Valley? True, there were a couple of corporate headquarters here, but they weren't big companies. Anna had the sinking feeling that some pots were going to get stirred. "It was nice to meet you, Michael, but I have to go. I'm meeting someone else. Welcome to Pine Valley." Before he could say another word, she beat a hasty retreat.

Once she was out in the frigid air, she felt able to breathe again. She finally met Zach's brother. Unfortunately, Michael left the same bad taste in her mouth that Alex had that one time she met him in Las Vegas. Strange. Zach always said that his little brother was nothing like his father. Well, she shouldn't rush to judge. But she couldn't help but hope that he wasn't going to stay in town long. Seeing him around would be just another reminder of Zach that she didn't need.

Anna walked along the sidewalk towards the police station. Maybe if she went back to work, she could take her mind off things. She passed in front of Lacy's and saw the Valentines display. Mannequins dressed in slinky dresses and wicked lingerie. She stared at the red, her mind floating over memories. Wearing a red dress for Robert on Valentines Day, and then tying him up for having the audacity to imply she was a boring frump. Wearing a red dress for the Seasons opening ball because it matched the gorgeous ruby earrings that Zach gave her. The last time she saw Zach, she was wearing that dress.

Anna was startled by a voice behind her. "Lacy's has plenty of ideas for women to entice their men on Valentine's day. But where are the suggestions for what the men can do?" Anna whipped around. Chris Stamp was standing there, smirking. "Anna, I should horse whip you for standing around an empty, dark street daydreaming." She narrowed her eyes. "If it had been any common thief, rapist or murderer, I would have heard them. How am I supposed to compete with an FBI agent?" Chris rolled his eyes. "Come on. A former WSB agent? Admit it, you're losing your touch." Anna turned back to the display. "Maybe I am. My wiles just aren't what they used to be."

Anna felt his hands rest on her shoulders and his voice in her ear. "I think you need some of BJ's phenomenal chili fries and a beer. Waddya say?" Anna chuckled. "Oh, what the hell." They walked over to the bistro, which was packed with college students. After placing their order, Chris eyed Anna intently. "I need some ideas for Valentine's Day. Help me out, here, Anna. This is Erica Kane we're talking about." Anna laughed. He reminded her so much of Sean Donelly. Sean was buried somewhere deep within the WSB. She wondered if she would ever see him again. "How would I know what would impress Erica?" Chris shrugged. "Tell me about your memorable Valentine's days. What did you do last year?"

Bottles of beer were placed in front of them, and Anna took a long swig of hers. "Sat in my apartment eating bon bons I bought myself. Watched 'To Catch a Thief.' Cried myself to sleep. Thank you very much for reminding me." Anna couldn't believe she actually revealed that to him. Chris raised one eyebrow. "Isn't that movie set in Monte Carlo? And weren't you in Monte Carlo the year before you regained your memory?" Anna's eyes widened. "No wonder they hired you at the Bureau." Chris leered at her. He had a way of making his leers so blatantly sexual that you had to burst out laughing or forget that he belonged to Erica. He took a swig of his beer. "So Valentines 2002 was a bust. What about Valentines 2001? When you were still in Monte Carlo." He said the last two words in a ridiculous French accent. She wanted to laugh at his silliness, but the question hit her too hard.

Anna stared into her beer. Well, she told him about last year's pathetic display. Might as well spill everything. "As of that February, I'd been in Monaco about eight months and hadn't gone anywhere. So the man I was dating planned a surprise trip. He snuck into my apartment and packed a suitcase of everything I would need. Then he whisked me off to Switzerland. We spent a week at a ski chalet. It was the most amazing experience. Switzerland was just breathtaking." Anna's voice petered off and she stared into her beer. "So how did you get from Switzerland to crying over bon bons?" She shrugged. "As I said, I guess my wiles just aren't what they used to be."

Chris leaned forward. "Baby, if Erica didn't have me in a stranglehold with her little pinky, I'd be all over you like a moth on a streetlight." Anna grinned. "I never thought I would ever be jealous of Erica." He waggled his eyebrows. "So what's the shmuck's name?" She bit her lip. "Zach Slater is not a shmuck. He may not have had the good taste to fall in love with me, but he is a good man." Chris whistled. "Zach Slater? The owner of the Seasons casinos? The man you worked for in Monte Carlo? The one who has since opened two more casinos in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo?"

Anna wrinkled her nose. "I read about those. He's apparently been quite busy since I last saw him." Chris snorted. "Too busy to come and sweep you off your feet, you mean? I don't buy it." Anna fidgeted with her napkin. "You don't understand. We knew each other only a year. We were only dating for six months of that. It might have turned into something more, but circumstances got in the way. When I recovered my memory, the trauma put me in a temporary coma. According to Robin, my sister convinced Zach that it would be better if he wasn't around when I woke up. He agreed and told Robin that he would send a letter that I could read when I felt emotionally ready. I've been emotionally ready for over a year now, but…." She couldn't finish. Chris stared at her a moment. "What are you saying, Anna? There was no letter? The shmuck didn't send it?"

Anna blotted her eyes with the napkin. "I told you, he's not a shmuck. Just because he decided not to pursue the relationship doesn't make him a shmuck. As I said, we were only dating for six months. It was an intense six months, but…we weren't committed to each other. He never made any declarations of love." She paused, lost in thought as the chili fries came and Chris ordered more beer. "I've analyzed it to death in my head, Chris. There are any number of reasons why he backed off permanently. There were some pretty huge revelations about my past. The fact that I was not only a spy, but a double agent. I've had two husbands, both of whom were murdered by enemies. The second husband I didn't even get a chance to mourn because I lost my memory at the same time he died. There is a lot about me that would be difficult for anyone to swallow, no matter how solid the relationship was. Maybe he decided it was too much emotional baggage. Like I said, we hadn't even exchanged 'I love you's'"

Chris narrowed his eyes. "You're saying you hadn't told him you loved him, either?" She shook her head. "But you did love him? I know you did, or else you wouldn't still be pining away for him almost two years later." Anna set her beer down with thunk. "I'm not pining away. I'm just….wistful about what could have been." Chris laughed. "Wistful, eh? So tell me something, why the radio silence? Didn't you ever want to contact him and at least say goodbye? You know, so long and thanks for all the fish?" Anna smiled in spite of herself. "I didn't know you were a Hitchhiker fan. I did want to call Zach, but time just slipped away. When I got out of the hospital, I moved to Port Charles to examine all the pieces of my life that were shattered and to grieve over Robert. Robin took a leave of absence to stay with me. After a few months, I couldn't handle being there anymore. There were too many memories, the grief just overwhelmed me. So I pushed Robin out the door back to school, and I moved to Pine Valley to get to know Alexandra."

Chris finished swallowing some fries. "And I immediately sucked you into the Proteus investigation." Anna scooped some chili with a fry. "That was pretty intense. Then you suggested I become chief of police." Chris grinned wickedly. "So I could have the local yokels in my back pocket." She shoved her fry in his mouth. "No sooner did I take the position when Erica's house went up in flames." Chris chewed thoughtfully. "Once that was resolved, didn't you spend a lot of time going back and forth between here and Port Charles? Oh yeah, the mob war." Anna nodded grimly. "My brother-in-law, Mac, asked me to help him deal with the war between Sonny Corinthos and Luis Alcazar. That was nasty. Alcazar ended up taking a header over his hotel balcony, and we've been trying to put that case to rest as well. We thought we had the culprits, but the trial was just overturned. Now Mac is back at square one. Can I just say that I'm glad Pine Valley has been free of murder and mayhem for almost a year now? Let's just hope it stays that way."

Chris stared at her thoughtfully. "I just realized something. All this time I thought you were just your average run of the mill workaholic. All law enforcement suffers from it. But you…you've been deliberately burying yourself in work." Anna paused in the act of raising her beer bottle to her lips. "You're imagining things." Chris folded his arms. "How about this…why haven't you been out on a single date in two years? Admit it. And don't give me the wiles excuse again. You've had plenty of guys sniffing around you. Especially David Hayward." Anna rolled her eyes. "You bring up David Hayward as my biggest fan and can still ask why I haven't been on a date?" Chris jabbed a fry in her direction. "Its because you're still hung up on Slater. I always wondered, and now I know."

Anna leaned back in her chair. "Why are we having this discussion? I told you, he never wrote the damn letter, I felt too vulnerable to call him, and then time just slipped away. Getting in touch with him after two years would be an embarrassing waste of time. Its over. Its done with. He's…he's out of my life…for good." The last phrase was choked out as her throat constricted. Chris shook his head. "There's no fool like a stubborn fool. Come on, I'll take you home."