A/N: Sorry this was a little late in coming! But don't worry, I'm not stopping haha. Is Robert really already gone from GH again? Thank you to sammy11357, ShanRB, and BoandNora-ItsOneWord for reviewing! I really appreciate it and you guys are awesome for taking the time! Again, a lot of this is just setting the stage, but I think Katherine's POV is important, otherwise it wouldn't be here, trust me. Enjoy, guys!

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Katherine Delafield had believed that once she was engaged to the man she loved, that the best was only yet to come.

Engagement led to wedding plans led to marriage and maybe a family: a shared life. And everyone that she knew—from her friends, her family, her fiancée, to Mary…had assured her of that.

But the opposite had happened.

Her engagement to Robert Scorpio had been shadowed by Robert spending less and less time with her, her wedding plans were made basically on her own, and any excitement that she could remember Robert displaying was about Anna and Robin throwing their rehearsal dinner.

Yes, while she prepared their wedding, Robert was working to smuggle Anna and Robin out of Port Charles and he decided to do that on the day of their wedding.

Their wedding had only been a cover for the true, grand event: Duke and Anna living happily ever after.

And of course, none of it went as it was supposed to.

Did it ever?

She vividly remembered the somber Robert of that horrible day—the man who had no real words for her except what had gone wrong, while she stood there like an idiot in her wedding dress. The man who told her that he hadn't wanted to even come to the church and talk to her, because he had wanted to stay with his ex-wife and comfort her. But Anna had told him to leave and so he had done as requested. Robert had only been standing there because Anna told him to go.

Kate knew that Robert had no idea what those words really spelled out to her.

"Good lord, Robert, you didn't just leave her there?"

"I didn't want to, but she insisted."

Kate had been fooling herself.

At the time, she had thought it was selfish of her, and she had hated the feeling. Truly, it had been selfish, whether she was emotionally justified in feeling that way or not. She had wanted her wedding day to be about her, damnit.

But now, she wondered… had their wedding not happened because it just wasn't meant to happen?

All this time, she had been trying so hard not to cast out blame on anyone. There was so much that had occurred that seemed out of anyone's control…or been caused by things that had started way before Robert came barreling into Katherine's life with his police badge and his Australian charm.

But then, why did Robert make the choices that he did? Couldn't he have done things differently? Couldn't Anna? Was Kate a fool for staying with a man who would never be able to fully commit to her when he already had a family before her? A family that she wanted to be included in…but felt barred from in certain ways?

And could she live her entire life having to discount all those moments when she would see Robert kiss and hug Anna, look at her tenderly, and drop everything for her? She thought she could…but lately, every time she witnessed an affectionate exchange between them, she couldn't dampen the ire she felt.

Could she live with all the excuses from Robert? And could she live with the excuses she gave to herself?

And now he was even dreaming about her, Kate thought with a good dose of irritation and exhaustion.

She didn't blame Anna, she really didn't. As far as Kate could tell, Robert's behavior was the way it had always been: Anna and Robin (and sometimes even Robert's job) were first priority and everything else came after. Anna probably didn't even notice because it was the way she and Robert had always been... Kate's tolerance had just not worn thin until now.

Katherine hadn't known Duke long, but she couldn't imagine that the relationship between Robert and Anna hadn't botheredhim. Beyond feeling very sad for the family Duke had left behind, she hadn't thought much about him recently. But now, she wished he were still alive, because maybe she needed advice from someone more experienced with this than she. Other than Duke…who else could she turn to who would have such a personal perspective?

"Extra onions and double cheese, oh boy… two garlic bread!" Bobbie giggled, coming from the back kitchen to the Ruby's counter with containers of food for Kate, who laughed along with her for a brief moment of levity. "Sean is fully recovered!"

"Well, if the garlic doesn't kill him, the chili will…" Kate responded, as she reached for her purse.

"Hi," came a familiar, accented voice from behind her, a voice Kate was not at all eager to hear.

"Hi!" Bobbie said as she rang it up.

Kate also greeted Anna and geared up to leave as quickly as possible so she wouldn't get stuck talking to her. As much as she wanted to keep their friendship normal, things weren't normal right now and Katherine didn't feel normal about it…so until she could get her bearings and figure out what she was going to do, she was making an effort to avoid Anna for fear of it getting awkward between them.

Anna was her friend, and if she kept telling herself that, she hoped that she could feel it again. She just needed space, that was all.

But Anna dropped her purse onto the chair next to Kate's and smiled at Bobbie. "So where's Ruby?"

"Oh! She had something to do for the church, so I'm filling in for her." Bobbie turned to Kate. "I'll put all of this in a paper basket for you, okay?"

Kate stood to leave, nodding her head. "Great, I'll be by for it a little bit later." She gave Anna a half-smile that she hoped would dismiss herself. "Bye, see ya…"

"Okay," Anna said, sounding only a little put-off as Kate strode past her. "Um, you know what?"

Kate stopped as Anna called, heaving a sigh internally before she turned around to face the petite brunette, keeping her face empty of anything good or bad. Neutrality and blandness was the best way to go.

"Can we just have a coffee, maybe? And have a chat for a little while?"

This had been exactly what Kate was dreading. She tried to look apologetic. "Oh, it's just, I have to be at the club by the first seating." She made to leave again, but Anna was nothing if not persistent. She heard her take a step towards the exit with her and turned around again.

"Well maybe, could we have a drink between shows or something?" Anna asked, her brown eyes hopeful.

"It's a bad night tonight, a really bad night…" Kate muttered the excuse, still backing away and Anna threw up her hands in surrender.

"Alright…it was just an idea…!"

Kate nodded politely, feeling both guilty and not guilty at all. "See ya."

She hated this. She wanted Robert back and she wanted her friendship with Anna back…but right now, she just didn't see how she could have either.

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"Well, Sean," Katherine laughed, watching him with empty the basket she brought him. "If you can eat like that, then I think it's safe to say that you are on the mend!"

"You're a treasure, Katie," Sean said in reply as he unwrapped the garlic bread with gusto. "I'm feeling stronger by the minute… How's the club?"

"Fantastic. Yeah, yeah…never a dull moment. Or a spare moment, actually. But it's great! Booked solid every night."

"Don't work yourself too hard, now," Sean warned lightly, his Irish eyes twinkling. "But I'm very happy to hear that. Hopefully, I'll have a reservation there soon."

"Now you don't push it! Your table will be waiting whenever you're ready." Kate promised.

"I'm gonna hold you to that…but for now, I'm content to have you deliver so I can see your lovely face while I'm stuck here." He turned to her with a marked change in countenance. "How are you really?"

The bald question startled her and Kate blinked, not sure how he had moved so quickly out of their lighthearted banter. "Oh. I'm fine."

Sean didn't look impressed. "Katie."

Katherine shook her head, self-conscious all of the sudden. She stood up from the bed. "I can't believe you're asking me if I'm okay when you're the one lying here in a hospital bed!"

"My condition is getting better everyday," Sean said. "How about you? And I'm not talking about your work."

If Sean was going to keep it up with the personal questions, Kate might as well indulge him. Kate new that Sean was up to his eyeballs in whatever Robert and Anna were working on right now, and if she had a problem with their relationship, she was talking to one of the people who knew them best.

"I don't know, Sean. You see more of Robert than I do, so you tell me." Kate said, her voice sharper than she would have wished, but too fed-up to soften it. "And you know something about that? It's funny, because a little while ago Robert was acting very, very strange…about you and Anna. And the next thing I know, you three are spending a lot of time together holed up here, whispering among yourselves. I mean, Sean," she laughed in a hollow sort of way, "they've been hogging all your visiting hours!"

"There's a reason for that."

Kate nodded, finishing his thought for him. "But you can't tell me. And Robert can't tell me."

"It doesn't have anything to do with you…" Sean interjected firmly, "or your relationship with Robert that he can't tell you. It's business, Katie. Just business."

But Katherine no longer believed that. Not after that night a week ago when Robert was talking in his sleep. "But Sean, answer me this."

"What?" He set down his food, as if he suspected this was going to be a hard question.

"You knew Robert and Anna when they were married…right?" She was almost positive that he did, and if so, he was the only person in Port Charles that had known them back then.

Sean's silence was long enough that Kate began to feel uncertain, so she felt compelled to explain. "The reason I'm asking is because you've known them both a long time. And Robert told me it was while he and Anna were working together and you were their boss at one point, so I thought that you probably—"

"I knew them then," Sean cut her off. And in his voice, there was a darkness that Kate had never heard before. It gave her a slight urge to back away or change the subject…had she gotten into something that was more than what she supposed? He cleared his throat and his eyes were flat. "But it was…the marriage was a very private…" he paused. "Why do you ask about that?"

Kate was taken aback at how…cagey Sean had just become. Not so much what he was saying, but how he was saying it. And the look in his eyes… it was a look Robert often got when he was very upset, but was working to mask it. If Kate hadn't lived with Robert for over a year, she might have been fooled. But experience taught her that whatever was on his face right now, it was not surprise.

So Robert's dream wasn't some random occurrence then…this wasn't just business. Was it related to whatever had Anna and Robert spending so much time with Sean, behind closed doors? Did any of it have something to do with the wedding in San Remo?

"Did you know that Robert has never told me why he and Anna divorced?" Kate said.

"No, I didn't know that…" Sean said quietly.

"I just sometimes wonder…" Kate realized that Sean was no longer touching his food and he looked profoundly disturbed. She blinked. "I'm sorry, Sean. I shouldn't be—I know that they are your best friends. And you should be focused on your recovery, not on—"

"Oh, come off it, Kate!" Sean said, he was focused back on her now and not wherever he had been before. "I brought it up. No apologies. You are myfriend too."

Kate smiled, accepting that statement. "I know that. But I'm also serious." She rummaged around him, removing all of his food from the basket so she could take the empty receptacle back to Ruby's. "What I really want is for you to get well, alright?"

"Kate."

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him with a degree of seriousness that stopped him in his tracks. "I really don't want to discuss this anymore, okay?"

He held up his hands. "Okay. I don't mean to upset you."

Kate sighed. "I know, Sean…" She gave him a gentle hug. "I'll see you soon, alright?"

He chuckled, trying to offer some levity to the tension in the room. "Don't be a stranger."

"I won't."

Truthfully, she needed to get away from Sean and away from everything else that reminded her of her fiancée. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of a place in Port Charles that would accomplish that.

And of course, when she opened the door to Sean's hospital room, the literal last person on Earth she wanted to see was standing there waiting.

"Hi! You following me around?" Anna attempted to joke, but Katherine really couldn't bring herself to play along this time. She barely grunted in response as she arranged the basket around her forearm and thought very seriously about blowing by Anna completely, but good manners and the knowledge that her friend sincerely felt bad about all of this prevented her from doing so.

"Could we maybe have that chat now?" Anna's smile and dark eyes were sparkling hopefully again, like a puppy that didn't understand the word 'no'. "Before I go in…"

"You know, I... I really didn't realize how long I'd been in there with Sean," Kate began but Anna cut her off, shaking her head and appearing a little frustrated.

"Could we do that? Please…"

She was insistent on this… Kate stared at her, realizing that Anna wasn't going to be put off. She wanted to sort this out badly, and Kate didn't blame her. Kate just didn't know how that was possible right now.

"Alright," she acquiesced reluctantly.

Anna nodded, before looking briefly uncomfortable and glancing at the floor. Katherine could tell she was happy that her persistence had paid off…but not at all happy about the conversation itself. "Robin said you had lunch together and that she mentioned Italy and San Remo…and she thought that perhaps you were upset and I wondered if there was a problem…"

Katherine's heart sank in embarrassment. Robin was perceptive and she hadn't masked her feelings very well, clearly. But she couldn't help but feel indignant about the entire situation. Why should she be made to feel ridiculous about this? It wasn't normal for a man who was happily in a relationship to be muttering another woman's name in his sleep, especially an ex-wife! She rubbed her head, figuring that it needed to come out, public place or not.

"Well…let's see…Robert mumbled that name in his sleep, I guess, along with your name and the word 'forever'? And um…yes, I guess you could say I have a 'problem' with that."

This didn't seem to be what Anna was expecting, but then again, she also didn't look surprised enough for Kate's taste. Her hesitation was only momentary and her slim shoulders gave a half-shrug. "Well, goodness, I'm sorry…I mean, it doesn't—"

Katherine held up her hands, stopping any explanation Anna may have offered, because there was no explanation good enough. "Oh, please—you know, really, it's okay, because… I'd rather find out these things now then—then later." She had racked her brain already, trying to figure out what could have prompted Robert to have a dream that would have him talking like that in his sleep…and have there be some acceptable explanation for her. She couldn't find one. And she didn't know what would happen if she never did.

"It's easy to misunderstand something like that," Anna talked over Katherine as she turned her back on the brunette and headed for the elevator doors. "But that is meaningless."

Well, that was just too much. Katherine swung back around to face her. "You know, I don't think so," she said, her voice deceptively light. "I…I think that Robert—no, I know that Robert…is still committed to you and to Robin."

"Yes, of course he is." Of course he is. Why would Anna disagree with that? It was a simple fact of her existence. But that had never bothered Kate before like it did now. She hadn't been prepared for the depth of it. She hadn't been prepared to compare Robert's commitment to each of them and find herself coming up short. "But that doesn't stop him from loving you, Katherine."

She knew that they shouldn't have had this discussion in public…Anna's eyes were wide and uncomprehending, and she couldn't stop herself from asking, "Do you have any…any idea what he feels for you, Anna? Any idea at all?"

The brunette's mouth closed and she continued to stare at Kate with that hopeful, honest expression. But Kate had never sensed more deception. Whether it was Anna lying to herself about Robert's feelings for her…or if Anna wanted to fool Kate… she couldn't figure out. But Kate could tell Anna all about those little details over the years—the things that had Kate hesitating, double-taking, and watching carefully at the interaction between Robert and his ex-wife. She could tell Anna all about it.

Anna should have already known.

"As soon as he gets back from his trip, you two are gonna set about your arrangements," Anna pressed on, choosing to ignore the question entirely. "He wants that more than anything!"

Kate laughed at her, looking at the floor in amazement before meeting Anna's eyes. "I'm sorry but …I can't help noticing that the two of you are even beginning to sound alike. 'Oh Katie, just wait 'til I get back'" she flourished her hand in the air, "'everything will be back to normal!' I'm sorry," Kate lowered her voice and leaned in so Anna could still hear her. Her voice felt like breaking as all of the failed moments for her and Robert came roaring back to mind. "Do you know how many times I've heard that?"

Anna met her eyes squarely. "Isn't it the truth?"

Ah, the truth. The truth of what she was beginning to feel for her friend and fiancée was burning into an anger she didn't want to confront. "The truth is," Kate hissed. "I can't live my life this way! And I won't build my future, with a man whose living in the past!"

"Katherine, he isn't!" Anna protested as Kate turned her back on her again and went straight to the elevators to push the button. She had to get away.

"I mean, he's just trying to find the best way that he can to deal with it. I know it's difficult, but you've gotta understand…" Kate kept pressing the button, willing the doors to open. She wanted to get away from this woman, from Robert, from all of the lies! "I am his past. You can't change that. But you and Robert, you have a future together. Don't just throw that away because of something that—"

"Okay, I'll tell you what," Katherine said, looking back at Anna one last time. "If you say that it…" she sighed and looked down, barely able to get the words out because of the frustration, helplessly mindful of the fact that they were in a public place and they were supposed to be friends. "…if you say that it means nothing when Robert has dreams about the place where the two of you were married… Then…if it means nothing, then fine, I will believe that. I'll do my best. I will try to do that.""

She turned away then, but she thought about it. She thought about the way Anna looked as she had spoken, the strange compassion in her eyes that Katherine wished she understood. It hadn't been pitying. She didn't know what it was. But her eyes hadn't deceived her to the shock in her friend's eyes and the way her mouth hung open wordlessly at Katherine's outburst. Whether it was because Anna really didn't know Robert felt the way that he did or if she thought her friend was being ridiculous, Kate didn't know. And frankly, she didn't care in that moment either.

And with that, she escaped into the elevator, leaving Anna to watch after her.

Anna hadn't really needed to say anything anyway. Katherine's mind was running wild.