A/N: Seriously sorry this took so long, guys! A couple things: when watching these clips to get it right, I saw a hilarious comment about the ugly sweater that Anna was wearing, so I provided a reason for it and changed the scene a bit. But otherwise, a lot of this is straight from the show with some additional musings. I'll intimate to you that I have NO plans to reunite Kate/Robert, because I never thought it made any sense when they did it on the show. But there is a certain level of respect that needs to be paid to their relationship, so I'm trying to keep the balance. Thank you so much to HavenSM, ShanRB, ReetSLP, Guest, BoandNora-ItsOneWord and 4gcrazyme for your always brilliant reviews! So appreciate and extra apologies to you guys for the wait! Don't worry about me abandoning the story! I have no intention of that! Enjoy!

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"Hey," Anna chirped when she stepped back to let a fresher-looking Robert in. She smiled and rubbed his shoulders consolingly as they entered the living room. "You don't look like a man whose life just fell apart last night…"

"How am I supposed to look?" He spoke a little too quickly to appear casual, and Anna possibly caught on to him. She paused and then patted his wrist in surrender.

"I don't know, just not like that—have you spoken to Kate?"

Robert hummed, "Mmmmmno…" Because Kate was not the main part of his distress at the moment, and he really didn't want Anna catching on to that.

Anna stared, the way she did when she thought he was being stupid. He tried not to let it get on his nerves. "You have to! Don't let this slide—"

"Listen," Robert cut across her impatiently, "I'm here because of the conversation that we had last night."

"About Faison."

Robert looked down, knowing no matter how he framed his words, this was not going to be well-received… "Ah, I'm uncomfortable with with you…really having anything to with him."

"Wha—you, we agreed." Anna argued.

"Uh, we didn't!"

"Yes, we did—"

"Did we really?" Robert said sarcastically, since the argument and the speaking over each other really spoke for itself. And Anna wasn't taking this seriously, she was smiling, of all things!

Of course, he knew well enough that she could go from dazzling smiles to volcanic eruptions of temper faster than he could process, so he needed to tread very carefully. He knew she didn't want to feel underestimate, but this wasn't about that. "Look," he said, "there are alternatives."

"No! I don't want to discuss the alternatives," Anna said, politely ignoring Robert's sigh that would in no way change her mind, "because I've made up my mind and I wanna do this!"

"Yeah, but—"

"Mom, guess what?!" Their daughter skipped into the room, ending any frank discussion. "Oh, hi Dad!" She didn't give him time to return the greeting before turning back to her mom. "Mr. Sinclair is on the phone, and he just invited me and you to a picnic on Spoon Island this afternoon!"

Robin was brimming with excitement and it was staggering to Robert. What the hell was going on here with this guy so quickly infiltrating his way into the most precious parts of their lives? What charm did he carry that the women in his life seemed hooked? "Lot of crawly things there this time of year," he grumped cryptically as Anna ran a hand through their daughter's hair, giving her ex-husband a warning look.

"Mom, he called me 'fellow author'! He says he wants to talk about our book, isn't that great?!" Robin smiled broadly as her mother tapped her chin, eyeing their daughter speculatively.

Robert could no longer believe he had once thought that look of Anna's was sexy. Because all it did now was put a terrible pit in the bottom of his stomach. He swallowed as Anna's eyes met his.

"Yeah, it is…I think maybe Mr. Sinclair is reading my mind."

Robin raised her eyebrows, clearly not expecting such a quick acquiescence. "Does that mean we get to go?"

"Absolutely," she said, as Robert began protesting as much as he could without alerting Robin. "You just tell Mr. Sinclair that we'd be very happy to accept his invitation."

"Okay," Robin said with an excited breath, before scampering off to do exactly that, oblivious to the tension in the room between her parents.

Anna didn't look away from him, idly rubbing her necklace back and forth in her fingers under Robert's glare. "Unless, of course, you have a good reason we shouldn't seize this opportunity?"

Damn her. The only thing he believed could possibly sway her (and likely wouldn't anyway) was the nightmares he'd been having. And that was none of her business and certainly didn't qualify as a "good reason" by most standards.

He let his silence be answer enough as she left him standing by the couch, presumably going to get changed for her date with the devil incarnate.

Robert knew that if Anna were to have her way, he would be gone once she emerged from her bedroom. Instead, he settled for pacing anxiously around the room and continuing to do so while both mother and daughter put the finishing touches on their outfits in the living room.

"Mom? Is this okay?" Robin spread her arms to Anna could judge her appearance and Anna approved for her, though Robert knew it hardly mattered how Robin looked. And with that in mind, he held out something to Anna as she finished brushing out her hair.

"Look, I found this in the closet. It's chilly out there."

He was holding an old cardigan that he had indeed found in the closet by the front door. It was lumpy and form-covering—perfect for their little excursion. Anna rolled her eyes and Robin gaped.

"Dad, that's ugly!"

"Hey!" Anna said, annoyed. It was her sweater after all—made specifically for warmth around the house and definitely not her most attractive sweater. She fixed a glare on Robert, who continued to smile widely as he held it out in front of her, waiting. His eyes spoke a clear message: give me one small victory and I'll cooperate a little more.

Sighing, she turned and allowed him to place it on her shoulders, whispering "thank you" as he did so. In his opinion, her outfit was a little too well on her for him to wait for their return and retain his sanity. Especially knowing the designs that Faison had on her.

"Looking a little overcast out there, maybe you should schedule this for some other time." He couldn't help but say it, and Anna glowered at him.

"No, it's gonna be beautiful day." She looked over Robin again, quickly. "You've got a sweater as well, haven't you, darling?" She lifted Robin's yellow bonnet and began adjusting it on her head.

"Mom, what it be too pushy if I told Mr. Sinclair all my ideas for the book?"

Robert grimaced. "I don't think it's possible to be too pushy around Mr. Sinclair…"

Robin frowned, missing the implications that her mother didn't. "Maybe I should just listen to him and hear how he thinks the book should be written," she decided.

"Maybe you should…stay home?" Robert said as he resumed pacing.

"Nonsense, we're not staying home. It's going to be just fine."

"Yeah, all we're gonna do is talk about the book!" Robin agreed.

"Right, all we're gonna do is talk about the book."

"Yeah," Robert scoffed. "And I bet he's got a few dandy ideas about the finish!"

"Sweetheart, I think you should tell Mr. Sinclair all your ideas about the book, because I'm sure he'll be very interested." Anna tied Robin's sweater securely around her shoulders, it matched her hat perfectly.

"I can't wait to get started," Robin admitted and Anna smiled indulgently, tapping her on the hat.

"Now, we need some bug spray, go on and get it."

"Take a shotgun," Robert said loudly. "They're pretty big, some of those suckers…"

"Oh, Daddy, don't be silly," Robin smiled. "I'll get the bug spray!"

Once the girl had disappeared into the kitchen, Anna turned to him, her frustration obvious. "You be careful," she hissed in undertone. "She's very sharp!"

"That's just what I'm talking about!" Robert exclaimed.

"He's not gonna say anything to her, because I'm gonna be sitting next to her the whole time!"

"Fine. But I'm still a little uneasy about you being on the island with that individual."

Anna brushed past him stubbornly. "Well you're just gonna have to get used to it because we're going."

Robert trailed after her, dismayed. "Look, maybe… maybe I can talk to the Bureau again…"

"Oh, yeah, what are they gonna do?"

"Maybe I can …find some way to verify your… statement," he said, thinking aloud.

Anna looked at him. "To do that, I would have to speak to them and I'm not about to do that." Robert drew a long breath and watched her. "I'll get something to prove that Faison's still alive. I'll bring back something with his fingerprints on."

She looked so self-assured that Robert tried to relax. "Okay," he surrendered. "But I wish we had more time to deal with this."

"We don't," Anna said. She adjusted the strap of her purse, eyes on the floor. "I'm sick and tired of him hanging around Port Charles."

"Got it!" Robin declared, returning with the bug spray. "Ready to go now?"

"Yeah… I guess that's up to your mum," Robert said. They traded significant looks and Anna's expression never changed.

"We're going."

Robin called good-bye to him as Anna gathered her out of the house, and they went off to where he couldn't protect them. And he hoped Anna could.

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Desperate to keep his mind off of his daughter and ex-wife, Robert found himself at Katherine's restaurant, making a paper airplane out of an abandoned cocktail napkin until he saw her long legs walk through the door.

"What are you doing here?" she said, and the words were not friendly. Katherine had had a full morning of listening to Mary wail about the end of her relationship to Robert like it was her own. And then Frisco came around to talk about her filling in for him and deliberately not addressing the issue of her break-up. But it was there the whole time and everything she did and saw just made her think of him.

And now, here he was…

"Well, I'm not here to waste your time," Robert said, rising from his seat.

"Yeah, damn right you're not. You're not gonna be wasting any of my time."

"I have a few words, and you're gonna listen to them," Robert said, in his typical, he-man tone.

Kate straightened, ice threading into her voice. "It's customary to telephone people before you drop in on their place of business."

"I apologize for that."

"Look, your tactics aren't working for me, Commissioner."

She turned away from him and Robert and he automatically put out a hand to stop her retreat.

"I realize that I get a little high-handed from time to time, but… well, you get a little judgmental too."

"Judgmental!"

Robert flung up a finger, cutting her off. "Last night, you made your point very well! But I demand equal time, so now you're going to listen."

"Well that must mean you're about to tell me some of your secrets then," Kate shot back. "I can't wait."

"Not quite," Robert sighed, the air coming out of him. "Not yet." His ex-fiancee looked horribly disappointed, so he continued. "There are certain reasons why I can't talk about this … this person."

Kate shrugged, trying to cover her hurt. "I don't think you have anything more to say to me."

Robert stepped in front of her as she tried to walk away again. "There's plenty to say! And as soon as I collar this guy, I'll say it. And then, and maybe only then, you'll realize that it had nothing to do with messing up my marriage."

Kate was unflinching. "Maybe then again, you'll realize that it did."

"It was thirteen years ago," Robert said.

"So…thirteen years." He heard the tears beginning in her words. "That's how long it takes to forget your first love?" She slapped a hand on her thigh, as dismissive of his point as he was of hers a moment ago. "I don't think that I'll be forgetting you thirteen years from now."

"Well you won't have to, because in thirteen years from now, we'll still be together," Robert said with his trademark smile. And with it, Katherine resented him, which is exactly what she had hoped to avoid.

"Tell me, Robert… did Anna tell you to come here?"

Somehow, she knew that Anna had; in the same way she knew that Robert's words were emptier than he could have been aware. He said nothing, which told her enough.

"Is this your way of trying to make me feel better?" she asked, when they stood there in uncomfortable silence for too long.

"No," Robert said wearily. "It's me trying to make me feel better."

She watched him as he turned and left, his shoulders hunched with secrets that she didn't know and possibly never would. She closed her eyes against the tears, wondering when Robert would finally understand the truth and set them both free.

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"Dad, what are you doing here?" Robin cried, happily surprised that he was right where they had left him.

Robert was eating, waiting like he lived with them and had been for years. He leaned towards their little girl playfully. "Thought I'd drop by and see my two favorite ladies!" He looked over at Anna. "How'd the picnic go?"

Robin gave her mother no time to answer. "Oh, it was awesome. There was six kinds of everything there! And Mr. Sinclair showed us the place where he found Casey's big crystal, and he was asking me all kinds of questions about how I think we should write the book!"

Again, Robert and Anna passed a look between each other over Robin's head. And Robert nodded. "Well, I hope Mummy's day was just as productive."

Anna smiled brightly, fakely. "Yeah. Sweetheart, why don't you go and wash up and take extra care of the arms because of the poison ivy, okay?"

"Okay." She dimpled up at her father. "I'll tell you all about it later. Dad, I gotta tell you, Mr. Sinclair is the greatest," she said as went to do as she was told.

"Wonderful," Robert grumbled, once Robin was clear of them. "My kid's latest role model is a mass murderer."

Anna chuckled darkly. "Don't start." She reached into her purse. "I've got it." She produced a lace handkerchief, unfolding it to reveal a cigarette lighter. "Here."

"It's his?" Robert asked eagerly.

"Yes, it's his, don't touch it. His fingerprints are all over it."

"Good. At the risk of a bad pun, this just might give us the upper hand."

"Once the lab confirms that these are his fingerprints, then the Bureau's gotta get involved."

Robert felt a small measure of potential relief, it was the lightest Anna had sounded about this mess in a while. He took the lace carefully and rewrapped it. "I'll talk to you the minute I have the report."

He moved past her, but she spun back towards him, hunger for the kill on her face. "I want the ID in writing."

He nodded in understanding, he knew what was needed here. They needed to be thorough, nothing left unturned.

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Being the Commissioner had its perks, when it came to getting information. Robert could forego the wait times.

Anna trailed Robert impatiently as they went to the appointed spot, Robert noticing that Anna hadn't let up nervously worrying her fingers as they walked. Ever the gentleman, he stepped aside to let her pass into the room and said cheekily, "Would you like some coffee to go with your fingernails?"

She smirked and took the joke good-naturedly as he pulled out a chair.

"I figure that the print processing should be finished by now. If the lab hasn't done it, then I'm gonna have to go over there and do it myself. That's the way it goes."

Anna kept nibbling behind him. "I don't know why I'm so nervous about all this, I mean, I saw Faison hold the light, so that means that the fingerprints are going to be fresh."

Robert laid his palms on the table. "Look, if we can't prove that this guy actually exists and is alive, nobody's gonna help us!"

Anna groaned, pacing the floor. "I know, I know, I know!"

"So sit down! And… and relax! And we'll arm-wrestle, and anything to pass the time away! Just…"

He heard Anna perk up from behind him. "Arm wrestle?"

"Yeah," he responded cockily.

She pulled up her sleeve and strode towards the table with more arrogance than he had shown. "I beat you in Paris, you know…"

"Oh, in your dreams!" he clowned, grabbing her hand.

This was one of the things that he adored about his ex-wife, her ability to have fun with him when the world was falling down around their ears. She just knew. And it hadn't even come with experience of him, they had always flown on the same level when it came to the mission. There was a casual, sultry expertise in her very nature that appealed to his free-flying cool.

He curled his hand around hers, ever-soft and entwined with his. Matching competitive grins, Anna on the verge of laughter as he pulled her closer and they tensed their arms…

And then Sean poked his head through the door. "Ehhh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, she beat you once in Paris, remember?"

Robert turned to the door and immediately eased his grip, his hand falling along with his mood. "You're supposed to be recuperating." There was unmistakable venom in his voice. He held onto Anna's hand for a little longer, as if it would salvage the atmosphere. She allowed it for a moment, but her grip loosened and Robert released it altogether as Sean moved further into the room and leaned in.

"If you two are going after Faison, I want in," he said firmly and clearly. He dropped the jokes as soon as it was apparent that Robert had no desire to be buddy-buddy.

Robert stood, straightening his suit. "I don't think you're in any position to make demands."

Sean appeared slightly taken-aback, though he shouldn't have been. Robert didn't take betrayal lightly and this one was fairly solid in his mind. The tenseness ratcheted up at Sean's silence, but then a police officer saved them a confrontation.

"Commissioner?" He extended a yellow envelope. "Fingerprint report you requested."

Robert took it and thanked the office, putting some distance between him and Sean as he moved down the table, knowing Anna would move with him. Sean, however, wasn't about to leave.

"May as well open it. I mean, it's a simple guess that you're going after Faison, to prove that he's alive, with fingerprints. I want to see the results too." Robert shook his head, ripping open the top. There was no point in hiding it, since it wasn't as if they could hide anything from Sean. He had his prints all over this situation already.

Anna pressed against his arm as he read quickly. "Is it confirmed?"

"Not quite," Robert said as he flipped the page, reluctant horror rising in him. He addressed Sean without looking at him. "Name Harry Steinfeld ring a bell with you?"

"What are you talking about?" Anna said, her voice pitched high with disbelief as he relinquished the papers to her. Sean loomed over her shoulder.

"Steinfeld," Sean said. He glanced to the side, as if pulling up a memory. "Harry Steinfeld… wait… woah, woah, woah," he pressed a hand to his forehead, "he was a WSB agent fifteen years ago… died in the line of duty."

Robert stared at the table. "If that's the case, what are his fingerprints doing on that lighter yesterday?"

Anna held the file for another long moment, looking deeply confused, before finally handing it off to Sean. "I don't understand how this could have happened, I mean, did Faison see me looking at the light? He didn't see me take it, I know he didn't." She glanced up at Robert as she rounded to his other side, as if he would have an answer. "How did he do this?"

"Beats the hell out of me," Robert said, not even wanting to try and understand the how of it… Who the hell were they dealing with?

Sean was still grazing over the file, "Harry Steinfeld…I remember him." He said it with more sureness this time. "Yeah, he was assigned to investigate Faison when he—when he died. In fact, I gave him that assignment myself."

The more he spoke, the more it seemed to dig up the long-forgotten memories of his former agents. Anna squinted into the middle distance. "I think I remember him."

"As I recall, he was getting close," Robert put in.

"Too close," Sean muttered, closing the file and handing it back to Robert.

"Well, says here that he has no family and is buried in a private cemetery outside of Washington." Anna fidgeted at his side and he could feel Sean's gaze on him. Finally, Sean couldn't bear the drawn out pause.

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

Robert looked at him with coldness. "By the time we got through the red tape it could take months, even years to exhume the body."

Anna was uncomprehending. "What do you expect to find?"

"I don't know! But I don't want to have to wait to long to look for it," Robert said.

Sean looked at his watch. "We could make the next shuttle in—"

"I can deal with this myself," Robert said loudly, wondering when Sean was going to take the hint. He headed for the door and Sean spun around furiously.

"Hey, look, I am in this thing whether you like it or not! Alright?" Sean snapped. Anna came up from behind him and he glanced back, wanting her to be put on notice. "And you're not taking any chances away from me to make this up to you and Anna. You got it?"

Robert was angrily intent on his former friend's face. Until a dwarf walked through the door.

"Greetings!" he called cheerfully, from three feet off the ground. "Is this where they are having the auditions?"

Anna frowned. "Sorry?"

Robert, who ran the police department, looked befuddled. "I…don't think so?"

The dwarf, who was wearing a very busy suit, pointed to the door. "It says 205. So this 's gotta be the place!"

Robert did the only thing he could in such a ridiculous situation: he playacted. "Hey look, this is my ex-wife and her lawyer," he gestured to Anna and Sean, "and we're trying to come to a property settlement. We're not quite ready to leave here just yet."

The dwarf looked between them. "Well, we'll see about this," he threatened them, leaving the room.

Robert frowned at the two of them. "What auditions could he mean?"

"No idea," Anna said. But the strange interruption had broken the spell and Sean seized on it.

"Let me have the phone and I'll schedule the trip." Without waiting for permission, he found the phone on the desk in the corner and punched in the numbers.

Robert turned to Anna, wordlessly asking if she had a problem with this… or if it bothered her as much as it bothered him that Sean could destroy them with his confession and then just try and act normal. Amazingly, Anna read all of this in his glance and shrugged apologetically. She had always been quicker to forgive than Robert and taking more space from Sean was her strategy and she found it was working. Robert wasn't built that way. And Robert was the one that was meant to go on this little trip with Sean, so he would have to figure something out.

"Anna, are you sure you can't come?"

"Robin's last speech at school," she answered. "I've gotta be there."

"Look, I feel pretty back about that, I should be there too. But you're gonna have to make an excuse for me, darling." He thought about it. "Tell her I'm…tell her I'm picking up an old business acquaintance."

Anna, who had displayed multiple nervous habits today, chewed on the tip of a pencil, her gaze downcast. "I hate lying to her."

While Sean spoke on the phone, Robert watched Anna until her gaze met his. "Remember. You and I are in this together. Until the finish."

He could always tell what she needed to hear, and he couldn't deny her ever. She looked back at him with eyes that never ended and he could see that tiny light of gratitude in her eyes as she gave him the barest nod. A thank you.

Sean finished making reservations and as he returned the phone to its cradle, the dwarf returned with an enormously muscled man.

"This is the right room," the dwarf glowered. "You wanna argue? You take it up with him," he pointed his thumb at his huge companion. Robert, Sean and Anna looked between each other.

"You want to argue?"

"No, I don't want to argue."

"Alright then, we're off," Sean said.

Robert pulled Anna towards him as they walked out, casually wrapping her in his arms as they walked out. "Don't worry, we'll take care of it all. This guy, as far as I'm concerned is—"

Kate was standing right there. With Shep Casey.

"Hi," she said immediately.

"Hi," said Robert.

Shep nodded, obviously pick up on the awkwardness as Anna removed herself from under Robert's arm.

"Well, what'cha doing here?" Robert asked.

"Community meeting," Kate answered, nodding towards the door.

"Ah," Robert responded. He pushed Anna away from the incoming clown and jugglers. Sean circumvented them, paying no attention to the awkwardness.

"Robert, let's move, huh?" He pulled Robert forward and Anna deliberately stayed back, turning anxiously to Katherine.

"Um, do you want to have a chat? You want to get a coffee?"

Katherine shrugged blankly. "Nothing to talk about."

Anna tilted her head, not buying it. "Oh Katherine, yes there is. I want to explain some things to you, please?"

Kate gestured to the door. "Next time, I have a meeting to get to."

As she left, Anna cursed internally. But Shep looked intrigued. Feeling his scrutiny, she shot him an irritated look. "What?!"

His mouth turned downward in thought. "Just wondering…are you trying to make her feel better…or yourself?"

A/N: I skipped some of the Faison stuff because this was heavy on the Robert POV and I think we've already established a lot of what the Faison/Anna scenes were about: the guy is a devious creep who is using Robin to get to her and is always several steps ahead. Only a couple of little changes from the show version, I wonder if you could spot them. Let me know what you thought!