(7)
The next few days were a blur, as hospital stays often are. There were visits from Physical Therapy to start exercises with his right arm, sitting up on the edge of the bed and then hobbling, tenderly, up and down the hall while Harry held on to the gait belt to keep him from falling. And saying goodbye again to Steve and Ted who were heading back to their homes in the Netherlands.
Perhaps most surprising to Anna was the gentle and polite way that Robert interacted with Betsy and Sarah. They were clearly great nurses, but Anna had expected resentment, defensiveness, and sarcasm from Robert. There was none of that. Removing the brace that held his left shoulder was a painful procedure, but necessary for examinations and bathing. The ladies were gentle and patient, and Robert suffered the discomfort without complaint. The exercises the PT gave him were clearly uncomfortable, but Robert just did the best he could.
Finally Anna had to say something.
She was sitting beside him on his bed massaging his right hand."So Robert," she said without looking at him. "I warned your nurses that you were going to be difficult, uncooperative and a bully. Now they think I'm bitchy and you are a misunderstood sweetheart."
She heard him give a short laugh. "They don't think you're a bitch Anna, they say all sorts of very nice things about you."
She looked up to see him grinning at her, and he squeezed her hand. She balled up a fist to give him a little punch and then she took in the brace, the taped ribs, and all his bruises. "God, I can't even hit you anymore," she said laughing, "Every inch of you is bruised or bandaged." Lifting his hand to her lips and kissing each finger tip. He smiled at her.
"So what's the deal with Robert Scorpio Model Patient?" she asked.
"Uh, I don't know. I've gotten myself pretty banged up over the years and I guess it finally hit me that these were the people who were just trying to help me. They have no agenda, they deserve my respect. And then when you're nice to them sometimes they like you and bring you ice cream."
She looked up at him again and he was grinning at her. It was so nice to see him smile.
Just then Sarah walked into the room.
"Hello you two. How's your day been so far Robert?"
"Good Sarah, did you get to come in late today? Betsy stayed for the X-ray session at 8:00."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I had some car trouble. Transmission I guess. I had to wait for my son to come get me and bring me in to work. My car is kind of a heap."
"What's your son do?" Robert asked.
Sarah looked up from charting with a huge smile.
"He's in nursing school Robert."
"You must be proud of him," said Anna smiling.
"Oh, I am," she said, "but I'd be proud of him if he was a dogcatcher or a street sweeper, he's just a really good man."
"I'll be back in a bit," she said on her way out the door.
"See," said Robert with a grin,"What's not to love?"
x
Anna was at his bedside, holding his hand, when Clive entered from the hallway. It had been a six days from surgery, but Dr. Miller still wanted to keep Robert for a few days. His pneumonia had resurfaced and he was on a course of antibiotics in hope of banishing it for good.
"So, WSB is here. It's the new director, Carl Seehof. They ousted Newberg last week when some of this crazy stuff came to light. He'd like to talk with you Robert."
Robert looked down at his hands and sighed.
"What do they want from him Clive? From us?" asked Anna.
"I don't know Anna, but you'll have to hear them out eventually. Seehof is supposed to be a straight arrow, and smart."
Robert raised his eyes to Anna.
"It's alright Luv. I've met him before. Let's just hear what they have to say."
Anna squeezed his hand and nodded. Clive left the room for a moment and returned with three men. Director Seehof approached Robert's bedside looking apprehensive. The two other agents stationed themselves on either side of the door. Clive looked at them anxiously, Anna regarded them with some anger. Only Robert seemed calm, unfazed by the tension in the room.
"Robert," Seehof said, awkwardly beginning to extend a hand, and then drawing it back as he took in both of Roberts arms immobilized against his body.
"Carl" said Robert calmly.
Seehof looked uneasily around the room and then back at Robert's battered face and body.
"Faison's dead. His body, and that of agent Wolfe, have been recovered and positively identified. The seven other men recovered from The Beeches have been identified, three former DVX and two South African mercenaries, an irishman and an American. They are all talking and we are filling in the gaps in the record of where Faison has been and what he has been up to these past few years, but he seems to have had far too direct a line into the bureau."
Seehof looked at Robert for a response, but Scorpio had his eyes on Anna, who was studying the floor at her feet."
"We collected genetic material, fingerprints, and retinal scans to verify Faison's identity. We also received similar materials by courier from an unknown source. This source indicated that identical sets of materials had been sent to Interpol, CIA, DVX, and General Hospital in Port Charles, New York."
The Director gave a half smile and said, " I don't expect that either of you know anything about that."
Robert and Anna were silent.
"So, look," said Seehof, " Robert, I need to talk to you, and Anna, I need you to leave the room."
Anna looked at Robert, who gave her a small nod, and then she looked at the agents on either side of the door.
"I'll leave if they do," she said.
The agents both shook their heads and adjusted their stances. Director Seehof looked at them and then back at Robert lying in the hospital bed.
"Your records include a protocol for dealing with you Robert. No one is supposed to be alone with you. You are always to be outnumbered. What can you tell me?"
Robert looked at Seehof and back at the two agents. When he spoke his voice was calm, detached, and half an octave lower than it usually was.
"With both arms out of commission, you should be able to reach the doorway before I could stop you. I would give them your gun. You don't want me to use it against you. I would move to the side of the bed where Anna is. It will take you out of reach of the tubing and cords I could use to strangle you if I could get one of my hands working. Keep 6 feet or more between us, and keep one of your men watching through the window so they can act quickly if need be."
He paused and looked Seehof in the eyes. "And understand, If all or some of my injuries are fabricated or not as serious as they appear, there is nothing you can do to stop me from killing you if I want to."
Anna and the WSB men had followed Robert's narrative, their eyes sweeping the room as he spoke.
Seehof blew out a breath between pursed lips, withdrew his weapon and handed it to one of his men.
"You heard him," he said. " Out you go."
Anna looked again at Robert before giving his arm a squeeze and standing up to go. The three of them filed out as Seehof moved to the opposite side of the bed.
"Okay," he said. "I've had a chance to read over your file over the last few days. It was not all in one place until now. The right hand had no idea the things the left hand was doing. That included Ross telling your family that you had both died after the freighter exploded, Faison, Wolfe, Ballantine, Newberg, and a handful of others. We managed to assemble a complete record of your time in covert ops, as well as your briefing and debriefing videos. I've been through your medical and psych records, your performance and readiness evaluations, and the totally inadequate separation arrangement that the bureau gave you when they released you from service."
"Robert, I don't know how to justify any of the things that were done to you, from allowing Faison access to you when you were hospitalized after the explosion, to the Bureau setting you adrift without any support or treatment. Given our growing understanding of PTSD and the nature of psychotic breaks among people who have operated under extreme stress and forced into morally dubious actions…"
Seehof sighed and looked toward the window in the door where his agent stood staring at Robert.
"Look Robert, we failed you. We failed you in every way, and we robbed you of the only constant in your life, which was your family. But now I am in a very difficult position. Protocol would dictate that I take you into custody out of an abundance of caution and to protect the public."
Seehof watched as Robert hands tried to ball into fists, but the swelling and bruising stopped him. He took one more step away from him.
"My alternative is flying in the face of what is expected of me. I want to offer you a chance to get help. In cooperation with several other agencies and NATO armed forces, we have established a treatment center for people in your situation: former political prisoners, victims of torture, special forces, agents coming out of deep cover, the list goes on. It is a small place, with only a few patients at a time. It is peaceful, secure, and isolated. The staff are the best we could find, and everyone has security clearances right down to the cooks and custodial staff. They can hear anything you decide you want to tell them. We also have a specialist who can deal with conditioning, brainwashing, hypnotic suggestion, "re-education", and the fallout from psychological torture. There are physical therapists and trainers, and you can stay there for as long as it feels necessary."
Robert had closed his eyes as the Director was speaking. He found it overwhelming to hear the litany of his challenges. When he became aware of the silence he opened his eyes and raised his head. He could see Anna behind the agent in the window. This sounded like the his only real chance to step back into some semblance of normalcy. But…
Seehof saw him looking at Anna. "She can go with you. According to the staff, patients who come with support have a much better chance of recovering or learning to manage their challenges. Everything is set up for the presence of spouses and partners"
Robert still said nothing, closing his eyes again.
"I can wait for your decision Robert, but not for too long, and I don't think I can allow you to leave here and re-enter the general population without some sort of intervention. We just can't risk it. I'm sorry."
Robert made eye contact. "No, you are right to be cautious. I don't know what other sewage Faison might have put in my head. I can't just pretend everything is fine. I also know if you come to get me, or try to confine or restrain me, people will get hurt. Badly."
"I don't know if Anna will come with me. I hope she will. But I am willing to try. I think I have too, especially if someone can help me get that maniac out of my head."
The Director looked at Robert who had closed his eyes and let his head fall back onto the pillow, exhausted.
"I will arrange it and find out from your doctors when you can be released. May I talk to Anna about what we have discussed?"
Robert just nodded, eyes closed.
"Ok, we'll talk soon," said the director as he left the room.
x
Anna paused with her hand on the door handle and looked through the window at Robert lying in the bed. His eyes were still closed and it looked like he hadn't moved since Seehof had left his room.
She had been wary of The Director, still suspicious of the Bureau's motives, but thankful that they hadn't just swooped in and dragged Robert away.
She had been surprised by Seehof's quiet demeanor. He was clearly one of those powerful men who didn't feel the need to prove it to everyone in the room. When he had asked to speak with her, she had felt cautious, but agreed. She understood the choice he had given Robert, and she also understood it was not really a choice. Robert restrained and confined would be dead in a matter of days. She had had long talks with Clive during the interminable days here, and knew more about his struggles and triggers.
There was no way that she was going to let Robert face this alone. She was not going to lose him again, not to the Bureau, or the medical establishment, or to the tangles of his own mind. She knew she was an anchor for him and that she could reach him and soothe him when others couldn't. She also knew she didn't want to be without him.
Director Seehof seemed genuinely pleased when she agreed to go with Robert to his treatment facility .
"Anna" Seehof said as he shrugged into the overcoat proffered by one of his agents, "I don't know if you are aware, Sean Donely died on Tuesday."
Anna felt her knees buckle and Clive caught her by the elbow to steady her.
"What?" She asked.
"He had a stroke, behind the wheel of his car. I gather he was stopped at a traffic light."
"A stroke?" Ann was confused, overwhelmed.
"Yes. I don't know if you knew, but he had one a few years ago. He started pulling back from work, but of course never enough in his wife's opinion."
Anna was still trying to process his words. A world without Sean? She knew Tuesday was the day after they had met up, the day after she was held all night for questioning. What had happened? What did it mean? How would she tell Robert?
"The funeral is next Friday," Seehof said looking at Clive. "I'll make sure you have all the information."
Clive nodded and looked back at Anna as the Director and his entourage headed down the hallway.
(8)
It took Anna a full day before she got up the nerve to bring up Sean with Robert. She was sitting at the foot of his bed while he was repeating the PT exercises with his right arm and squeezing a soft foam ball in his hand to build up his finger flexibility and grip strength.
"Robert," she said tentatively, "Sean is dead."
His hand stopped moving and he stared at it. After a moment or two he raised his eyes to hers.
"Anna?"
"Seehof told me as he was leaving. I guess he had a stroke the day after we spent the night at WSB headquarters."
Robert was silent for a moment, thinking.
"He'd had a stroke before Anna. It's why he limped."
"I didn't know that," she said, "but I noticed the limp."
"His funeral is Friday. I'd like to go. For Tiff. And for the past."
Robert was silent.
"Funerals aren't for the dead anyway, they are for all of us left behind. Would you think of coming?"
"I don't know Anna…"
She put her hand on the blankets over his ankle.
"It's alright, we'll just play that by ear. They plan to release you Friday morning and we can head to London after, even if you and Harry just go for a drive. It will be okay."
"Yeah," he said quietly.
Anna spoke to Clive later that day, and after a quick talk with Sarah the nurse, Anna and Clive headed out and purchased three suits, four pairs of shoes and a funeral appropriate dress for Anna.
While she was gone, Robert called Harry into his room. They had a short conference, heads together, and Harry left with a bright smile on his face.
Friday morning, paperwork completed, Anna and Sarah worked together to help Robert get dressed. Stripping his upper body of everything but the wrap on his broken ribs, they carefully maneuvered his left arm into the sleeve of his shirt. And then lowering the fabric as much as they could, slid his right arm into the other sleeve. He stood quietly while Anna buttoned his shirt for him and then she and Sarah replaced the brace that held his left arm against his body, his hand up at his right shoulder.
Robert's face was covered with a short salt and pepper beard. His skin had been far too tender for shaving after the beating he had taken, and bruising was still obvious around his eyes and the bridge of his nose was scabbed.
"I don't think there's any point in trying to put a tie on you," said Anna with a giggle. Sarah turned away discretely as Anna tucked Robert's shirt into his pants and buckled his belt. He raised his right hand to her chin, tipped it up and kissed her gently.
They slid his right arm into the sleeve of his suit coat and tucked his empty sleeve into the suit pocket. Clive came in from the hall.
"Harry's got the car out front whenever we're ready," he said.
"All set Clive," said Anna.
Robert turned to Sarah. "Thank you very much, for everything."
"You are welcome Robert. Take care. You too Anna."
Anna gave her a quick hug, picked up her bag and Robert's overcoat and held the door for him as they left.
Robert was very quiet in the car. Clive and Harry sat up front and Anna sat with Robert in the back. He had a funny small smile on his lips when he got in the car, but it faded and she slid a little closer to him and took his arm.
"It's about an hour drive," said Harry. "We should be right on time."
It was a grey day with low scudding clouds and ground fog. The time passed as in a dream.
There were a lot of cars outside the church and people streaming in to escape the weather. Anna felt Robert stiffen and he turned his face away.
"I'm not going in there," he said quietly. Anna looked at the crowd and gave his arm a squeeze.
"It's alright Robert. You only need to do what you can. Clive will go with me," she said. Clive nodded and the two of them climbed out of the car.
Harry looked at Robert.
"Shall we drive a bit," he asked.
Robert was silent.
The service was crowded. Anna noticed Seehof and his security detail near the front of the church. Tiffany was sitting in the front pew with Connor, her daughter Anna, and her son Liam. There was a closed casket, a tidal wave of flowers, and a lot of very powerful looking men and women. There were also more dower looking men wearing earpieces dotting the aisleway than you could shake a stick at. Anna was very glad that Robert had stayed outside.
She tried to pay attention but she heard almost none of the service. She was lost in remembrances of friendship, and laughter, and adventure, and triumph, and that specific closeness that danger brings. She thought about Sean's early betrayal of her to Faison, and then his destruction of her marriage to Robert. She thought of the struggles Robert went through forgive Sean again and then again, and Sean's certainty that he should be forgiven whatever he had done. The crooked smile, the laugh.
A man of contradictions, that's what Sean had been for her. But, Anna thought, she herself had walked that tightrope too often to throw stones. Perhaps it was why she and Sean had felt so close.
She was jolted from her thoughts by the movement of people toward the rear doors. Many headed directly to their cars, forgoing the graveside in the face of the drizzling rain that had begun. Anna slid her arm through Clive's and turned to climb the small rise towards where the pall bearers were headed.
x
Tiffany saw her with a shock of recognition. Anna was standing in the group gathered at the graveside on the opposite side from the family. Tiffany had raised her eyes and scanned the faces and lit on Anna's. Her look of shock dissolved into a small smile and then she refocused her attention on the words of the priest.
Clive tapped her arm and indicated with his head. She followed his motion and saw Robert and Harry standing ten yards or so behind the gathered mourners. Still and dark in their overcoats against the trees.
When the service had finished, people moved to greet Tiffany and the children, and then filtered away back towards their cars. Tiffany rounded the grave and approached Anna without a word. She drew her into a hug and held her there.
"I'm so sorry Tiff," Anna said softly.
"I know you are darling," Tiffany answered. "I miss him so much."
She held Anna at arms length. "Oh it is so good to see you. I couldn't believe it when I heard, but then Robin came to see us and told us the whole story of your amnesia and the rest of it."
"Then last year he told me about Robert, and it turned out he had known for a while. Oh, I tell you I gave him the what for. I wanted to beat that man to a pulp. But, something was different. Robert never contacted us, I haven't seen him..."
Tiffany noticed when Anna looked over her shoulder and followed her gaze.
When she recognized him her knees went weak and Clive stepped forward to support her. Tiffany was white as a sheet when she looked back at Anna.
"Oh my Lord," she said as she started over the soggy ground toward him, hanging on Clive's arm, her heels sinking in at every step. He walked forward to meet her.
Tiffany stopped a few feet in front of him, taking in his injuries and bruising.
"Oh sweetheart, what has happened to you?" She stepped forward to hug him and then hesitated.
"Just be gentle Luv, I can take it," he said, his voice quiet and calm.
"Oh Robert" she said and moved into him with a gush of tears. He raised his right arm and held her to his chest as she sobbed.
"Something happened Robert. I don't know what, but he wouldn't talk about you, didn't even want to remember. When we thought you were dead and we were so lonely for you, but Sean didn't want to remember. I am so sorry."
"It's alright Tiff. Water under the bridge. We all have the things we struggle with."
Anna had moved up close to them and had heard the last exchange.
"Will you two come up to the house? Come talk?" Tiffany asked, though looking at them she knew the answer before she finished the question. "At least promise to come back when you can. Please."
Robert nodded and Anna smiled at her.
"I love you both so much," Tiffany said kissing Robert. "But I could do without the beard," she said with a small smile. "Scratchy."
She hugged Anna again and headed back toward her waiting family.
Anna took Robert's hand and held it until the only person left at the graveside was the verger, and then they walked back to the car and headed to into the city.
x
Friday afternoon Sarah started to hear chatter on the floor and headed out into the employee parking lot to see what it was about. Parked next to her car was a simple, immaculate, three year old grey Vauxhall. There was a red bow on the hood and, under the wiper, an envelope with her name on it.
She opened it.
Sarah,
Thank you for all your care. Hope this car proves more reliable than your old one. I guessed you wouldn't want anything too flashy. The paperwork is in the jockey box. Please tell Betsy that the debt that has been worrying her is no longer a concern.
All the best, Robert
She opened the door of the car, sat down, and cried.
x
The drive back into town was quiet. They stopped at a roadside pub for a quick meal. In their somber clothing and fatigue most observers would have pegged them as funeral goers, and the waitress skipped the cheerful banter. The crackle of the fire and the murmur of voices at the bar warmed the grey, damp day.
In the city, Harry and Clive checked into the Cadogan, and Anna and Robert said goodnight to them. Cutting through the block, they were soon back at the apartment they had left the evening they went to meet Sean. Nearly two weeks ago. It felt like a lifetime.
Anna could see the weight of the day in Robert's posture and went over to stand in front of him.
"What do you need to do now? Do you want a shower? Get your shoes off? Lie down for a bit."
"Anna," he said, "I'm alright. I'm ..I'm glad we went today. Glad we saw Tiff. I don't know if I can face all her questions, but I'm glad I saw her."
"I'm glad too," said Anna.
He reached out to her with his right arm and drew her close. She stepped into him and slid her arms inside his overcoat. A veil of warmth washed over her and she lay her head gently against his chest.
"We can do this Robert," she said. "There is a way through this for us. I really believe it."
She closed her eyes as he tighten his embrace and bent his head to kiss her hair.
A/N Nurses are heroic. It shouldn't have taken a pandemic for us to realize it. Erebus
