Chapter 14

It had been ten days since Sean had told his painful secret to Robert and Anna. After that run in on the docks he hadn't tried to talk to them, he hadn't called, gone to see either of them. He wanted to give them time to deal with what he had told them. Today he wanted to know if he was still Anna's business partner. Sean walked into their office, Felicia was already there. "Oh hi Sean, I'm just making coffee. Did you want a cup when it's ready?"

"Sure, thanks princess. Is Anna here yet?"

"I was the first one here and I just got here myself."

"Alright."

"I'll let her know you here when she gets in."

"Yeah, thanks." Then Sean turned and went into his office. He didn't think Felicia knew there was any tension between him and Anna at the moment but he couldn't be sure of that. What had Anna talked to her about? He wondered as he took a seat at his desk. He'd come here today to find out if Anna could still work with him, if she still wanted to. How did they feel about him now? He'll find out soon enough, Sean thought as he took a seat at his desk.

It was only a few minutes later that Anna walked in. "Good morning," Felicia greeted her.

"Hi," Anna said with a big smile.

"You look far too happy for a Monday morning."

"What can I say, I am very happy." Anna grinned at Felicia, "It's amazing having Robert there with us, living with us. We are a family now, a real family. We do things together, go places and at the end of the day, that's who I have in bed beside me, sharing my nights. Felicia, I can't even describe how happy I am."

"Well, I hate to do anything that might upset this wonderful mood but I thought you should know Sean is here." Felicia tilted her head, "I don't know what's going on but I know somethings not right."

"That's an understatement." Anna turned to her door, "Let him know I'm here." Then she vanished through her door.

Felicia sighed, she knew enough to know that this tension had something to do with Robert moving in with Anna so quickly. She got Sean's coffee then took it to him. "Here you go. Anna just got in," she said as she put his cup down. Felicia let out a little sigh wondering what was going on between these two.

"Alright, thanks." He didn't say anything else so she turned and walked back out of the office. Sean watched her leave then picked up his coffee. Taking one sip, then just holding the cup, thinking. There's no point dragging this out. He put down the cup and stood up. Sean knocked then opened their adjoining door. "Hello, Anna."

Anna looked up as soon as the door opened. "Sean," she said with a little nod. She didn't know how she felt at this moment. How she felt about the man now standing in her office. He is their friend, her friend. He regrets what he did to them but then the conversation she's had with Robert popped into her head. What had he known and when?

Anna was just staring him down, what was she thinking about? "Can I sit?"

"Yes, of course," she said waving her hand at the chair by her desk.

Anna noticed Sean still had two slight black eyes. "Did he break it?"

Sean nodded, "Yeah."

"Good, I think you deserved that."

"I know I did." He let out a deep breath then leaned towards her some. "Anna, I came here today to talk to you. We are partners here but I need to know what happens now. I know I betrayed you and Robert but I am telling you the truth, Anna. I regret that decision every day."

Anna leaned on her desk, "When did you know? Not about the marriage, about me?"

He could pretend he didn't know what she meant but this wasn't the time for that. "I positioned you in Faison's sights. I was sure you would intrigue him and I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the challenge he would offer you. I had no way of knowing Faison would be so enamoured. He thought he was turning my newest agent."

"Stop talking." Anna put her hand up, pinching the bridge of her nose. She felt ill. "I was your pawn and when I met the man I am meant to be with you couldn't have that so you took that away. You took Robert away from me because you were mad your little plan was falling apart."

Sean nodded slowly, "You're right." He hadn't let him think of it from her point of view, he didn't want to have to think about what he put her through. "I hated that I was not in control and that I was losing my favourite and best agents. I am not the same man I was then Anna. I understand what I took away from you now. For a long time, I didn't. Then we were all part of each other's lives again. I watched you and Robert, I mean really watched. I could see the love was still there, there were a lot of other emotions as well but you both still loved each other. I have known that all along."

She shook her head in disbelief, "Sean."

"I couldn't let you believe a lie any longer, Anna. This is about more than the spy world. This is about your family, about that little one on the way. You and Robert needed to know the truth."

Anna sat back in her chair, taking that all in. Sean was not holding anything back, she was sure of that. "If you were in the same position now, would you make the same choice?"

"The man I am today would have let you leave. I wouldn't have liked losing the advantage I had in you but I would have understood what was behind the request to leave."

Anna could accept that but she was still angry about what he had told her. "I should have had him there for me. He should have been there to share in the joy of our daughter being born. You took that away from us. I lived for years hiding who I was from my own daughter!"

Sean hung his head, "I can never make up for the pain I caused you, what I took away from all of you. I know there is nothing I can say that will change what I did."

Anna watched him, not sure of what she wanted to say next. She could see the regret in his face, this was not some act he was putting on. "None of us are the same people we were in Paris."

"No we aren't," he agreed.

"Sean, I really don't know what to say. I know it's not going to be easy moving forward but we are business partners. I don't know if I'm ready to work with you at the moment though. I am having a very hard time not getting upset about what you've told me. A part of me really wants to kick your ass!"

"I can see that."

"I am not making life-changing decisions today but Sean," he looked up, "we're still partners"

"Alright. That's what I wanted to find out. Thank you, Anna."

"Yeah," Anna said with a little nod. "Sean, I think I'd like to be alone now."

He got up slowly, "I'll be at my shipping office for the next couple days. If you need my help with a case I want you to know I'll be there. I will help you no matter what the personal stuff is."

"Thanks, Sean." Once she was alone Anna picked up her phone. She wanted to talk to Robert but not about this. That can wait, she just needed to hear his voice.

…

While Robert waited for his informant he let himself think about what Anna had told him earlier that day. He could tell there was something on her mind, she had said they would talk about it later. It was early evening and Robert was waiting on pier 14, a light fog rolling in. That suited him just fine, so far this informant hadn't let him down so a little cover for this meeting was fine by him. He sighed, he had a feeling it was what they suspected. Sean had wanted to be some puppet master and retaliated when his agents didn't do what was wanted of them. He felt his anger building again. What right did Sean have to interfere in their life like that?

He saw his informant approach and put all thought of Sean out of his head. It was time to do what he was here for. He was all business as he talked to his informant. After a brief hushed conversation, the man walked away. A quick look around then the man was gone again. Robert looked out at the water now that he was alone. He'd wait a few minutes before leaving as well.

After about five minutes Robert turned and walked down the pier. Business was taken care of for the evening and now it was time to get home, he thought with a smile. As he turned he spotted a man to his left then two more moved in from the right. No words were said before a fist connected with his chin. Quickly his training kicked in. He started fighting off the three men. A well-placed kick to the solar plexus of one. A fist to the nose of another. He took a few hits as he continued to fight them all off.

One man charged at him, Robert was able to stop him. Grabbing his arm bending it behind his back as he turned the man and pushed him into one of the other men. That was when he actually saw one of their faces. It all made sense now, he didn't know who the other two were but it would appear Duke had finally come after Robert. "You think this will change anything?"

"Shut up, Scorpio!" Duke yelled just as the third man lunged at him. Robert's knee connected with the man's side then punched him in the side of the head, sending him to the ground.

Robert looked up at Duke, if he wants a fight then that's what he's going to get. "Come on Lavery, let's do this man to man." Robert held his fists up ready for a fight. The other man took advantage of this and took a swing at Robert. Quickly that was blocked, Robert punched him hard twice in the stomach, then once in the jaw sending him to the ground as well. "What are you waiting for? You wanted this, come on. Fight me!" There was an anger burning inside Robert and Duke had pushed him far enough that he didn't care that he had wronged Duke, that Duke had every right to be mad at him. If Duke thinks them fighting this out will help then Robert was more than willing to give him what he wanted.

The first man that had been knocked down sat up shaking his head. His buddy was on the ground groaning and it looked like Duke was getting his ass handed to him. Unless he was very wrong, that was the police commissioner handing it to him. They already had the money for doing this so he gave his buddy a shake then helped him to his feet and left as quickly as they could.

As Duke fell to the ground, Robert looked for the other two, expecting another attack but saw them running off. He looked down at Duke. "Is that enough? Are you done?" Robert wiped the blood from his lip.

Duke lay on the ground holding his side as blood trickled down his chin from his nose and lip. How is Scorpio the one still standing? "Yeah, I'm done," Duke said trying to catch his breath. The pain in his side making that hard to do. Robert held out his hand, Duke hesitated then took and Robert helped him to his feet. Crying out in pain as he did.

"Go get yourself checked out, I might have broken a rib or two."

Duke put his hand to his side again, "I think you're right." Then he turned and slowly started walking away. There were officers walking towards them. Someone must have called in the fight. One officer talked to Duke then walked off with him. Robert talked to the other then left for home. He wasn't looking forward to telling Anna about this.

…

When Robert got to the house he went in the back door. He was hoping to make it to the bathroom without Robin seeing him. If he could clean himself up a bit before maybe she won't get too upset. He hated that Robin had to see him like this. She knew their careers could be dangerous but that didn't mean she didn't get scared when either of her parents was hurt. He closed the door behind him, please that no one noticed him. Robert looked in the mirror, a fat lip, nothing too bad. It had stopped bleeding already. There was a cut just about his eyebrow and a bruise on the opposite cheek. The cut was still bleeding a little so he cleaned it up and bandaged it. There were a few sore spots on his abdomen which he assumed would be bruised as well. He'll wait to check them.

There was a little blood on his shirt but that should wash out. He looked at his knuckles, there was no way to hide the fact he had been in a fight. Oh well, he thought as he started to wash his hands. He didn't look as bad as he had expected he would. He washed his faces as well then left the room. He found Anna in their home office, "Hi hon."

Anna looked up, taking a shape breath seeing his face. "Darling, what happened? I thought you said you were just talking to one of your sources."

"That went fine, it was the men I bumped into after that, that were a bit of a problem."

Anna had walked over to him, she reached up and touched his face. "How bad is the cut?" she asked as her fingers moved across the bandage.

"Not that bad but it was still bleeding a little."

"How's your lip?"

Robert leaned in and gave her a little kiss, "Seems to work." He took her hand and led her over to the couch. Once they were seated she reached up and touched the bruise on his cheek. "I met a couple of Duke's friends this evening."

"Oh no." She knew this wasn't gonna be good.

"I was heading back to my car when I got jumped. I didn't know the first two guys. Then I saw Duke's face as he hit me a few times. I was able to fight them off enough that the two other guys took off. Duke wouldn't stop until I broke a rib or two."

"What? Are you alright?" she asked, a little unsure.

"Not me, I broke his ribs."

"Yeah, that makes more sense."

"I know this was because you told him that we slept together before the separation. I understand that he's mad and he has a right to be."

"That doesn't mean he hires a couple thugs to rough you up."

"They weren't thugs, they were just a couple punk."

"What are you going to do about this?"

"I reported the incident since I told Duke to go to the hospital."

"You didn't drive him?"

"No, I think one of the officers that showed might have. I described the other two guys and when they get brought in I will be dealing with them personally."

"Do you think Duke is going to do anything else? Are you pressing charges?"

"No, the last thing we need is me pressing charges against him."

"What? Are you sure?"

"You just got the divorce papers. We can get married, make plans. We don't need Duke causing any more problems."

"He hired a couple of guys to help him attack you!"

"And I kick all their asses!"

"Robert, he came after you. You're the police commissioner."

"I'm the guy that slept with his wife."

"I wanted that to happen as much as you did."

"I know you did. In Duke's eyes, I'm the bad guy here."

Why was she letting herself get worked up with this? Robert had a point, they didn't need Duke causing any more drama for them. "Do you think he'll try something like this again?"

"I doubt it. He looked worse than me and I really do think I broke a couple of his ribs."

Anna nodded as she thought about that. "Alright." Anna still had to tell him about Sean.

Robert stroked her cheek, "Nice to see you didn't get in any fights today," then he grinned, "did you? What was bothering you this morning?"

"No fights, but I did talk to Sean this morning."

"Oh," that was what had happened. "What did he want."

"To know if there was still a partnership. You broke his nose, by the way." Robert nodded as he sat back a little to listen to her. "I didn't know what to tell him so I asked him some questions." She put her hand to her head, "You were right. Sean not only knew I was a double agent. He let Faison approach me, he wanted it to happen."

"I knew it." Robert forced himself to take a few deep breaths.

"Sean was using me, he took advantage of my youth, my need for excitement. He knew I wanted to be self-sufficient, Faison offering me money and an exciting challenge. Sean had to know I would take Faison's offer." Anna felt her stomach tighten, it made her feel ill every time she thought about it.

"By using you he put you in danger."

"I don't know about that."

"The second you did something Sean didn't like, he turned on you, on us."

"Yes, he did but that was then. This is now."

"What are you saying?"

"I hate what he did to us but so does he, Robert. Sean is our friend and you know he is not the same man he once was."

"It's back to business as usual then," he said a little heatedly.

"I told Sean I still want to be partners, yes. I also told him that I don't know how to do that at the moment." She touched Robert's cheek, "I have not just accepted it and moved on. I want to scream and throw things at him when I see him. I feel ill thinking about what he did to us, Robert. I also know Sean regrets what he did."

"Good for him!" Robert got up and left the room. He didn't want to do anything to upset Anna but he was still very angry with Sean at the moment and knew his temper could get the better of him.

Anna wanted to yell after him but didn't want Robin thinking they were fighting. She took a few minutes to calm down then went to find him, they still needed to talk about this. When she walked into the living room she saw Robert sitting with Robin, she looked concerned but Robert was telling her not to worry, that sometimes things like that happen in his line of work. She saw them cuddle together then turned and went up the stairs. Their conversation can wait, for now, that was what he needed to do at the moment.

Robert had noticed her go upstairs but knew that could wait a little while. Robin needed to know he was fine now that she knows he was in a fight. When Robin seemed to have relaxed about his appearance he knew it was time to talk to Anna again. "I wanted to see you and talk to you but now I need to go get changed."

"Alright."

Robert kissed the side of her head then stood up. He turned and went up the stairs to their room. The door was closed so he knocked. "Can I come in?" Anna opened the door a moment later. "I didn't want to start a fight. I didn't want to upset you. I know it's Sean I'm angry with. I walked away because it was the best thing to do. I'm sorry, Anna."

Anna took his hand and pulled him into their room and closed the door. "You have nothing to be sorry for." She put her arms around him. "You're right, walking away was a good idea. I don't want to fight with you. Not about any of that."

"I get so angry when I think about him using you like that. Then interfering in our life."

They both leaned back, keeping their arms around the other. "I understand completely."

"I need to ask you two things."

Anna turned her head slightly wondering what that might be, "Okay."

"Will you check how badly my back and sides are bruised? And how are you and baby feeling?"

Anna hugged him, relieved that none of that was going to be talked about now. "Mommy and baby are feeling good." She slid her hands around to his chest then started unbuttoning his shirt. "I will check your entire body for bruises." She leaned in and kissed him as her hands moved inside his shirt. There were four different large bruises two on his back one just above his right hip and one on his left rib cage. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, I'm sore but nothings broken and in a couple of days I'll be fine."

"Well tonight I think you get a little pampering," she said as she slid his shirt off. "I'll give you a message. Later we can see what you feel up to." Anna leaned in and kissed him then took his hand and led him over to the bed.