Chapter 19

When Finn got home it's seemed very quiet. He walked into the sitting room and saw Anna alone, a drink in her hand. "Hi, you left early this morning." He came over to kiss her she didn't really respond so he kissed her cheek.

"Yeah, I needed some time. I didn't want to think about any of what I'm dealing with so I spent the day with Emma."

"Where are they now?" he asked looking around.

"They all went out for dinner with Robert." Anna still wasn't looking at him.

Finn sat down beside her, "So we are actually alone for a while."

"Yeah," Anna said then finally looked at him. As soon as she did he could tell she was upset. "Is there a reason you need to believe Robin isn't my daughter?"

"I," he started but wasn't sure what to say. "Did Patrick tell you what we were talking about this morning?"

"He didn't have to, I heard you talking."

"I just don't understand how you can be so sure about one of them and question the other. You seem to just know that Robin is your daughter but not Peter. He is your son but you're treating him like you don't want him."

"I need to know for sure. How are you so sure that Peter is my son?"

"You told me he is. You told me all about the night with Faison. About giving him up."

"Yeah, I did. That doesn't mean it actually happened to me!" Anna got up unable to sit still any longer.

"That didn't happen but you and Robert did, how convenient."

"You met Faison. Couldn't you tell he was obsessed with me? Couldn't you tell how much I hated him? How I reacted to him!"

Finn stood up, "So what? It was for the mission. It was work wasn't it?"

Anna spun and glared at him, "Did you just call me a prostitute?"

"You told me you slept with him to get information from him. I guess if that the proper term."

Anna couldn't believe what she was hearing. That he had just said that. "I did things I am not proud of. I did things that I still regret to this day. I was a double agent but does that mean I slept with my mortal enemy? That I did that, then agreed to work with him. Gee Finn, why would I be questioning that?"

"Fine, I see your point. Sleeping with Faison may not have been something you did."

"I just don't think it can be true. I have my reasons to believe that. Hell, there might even be a reason Alex would rather have people believe I had Faison's child instead of her."

"Fine, you still haven't convinced me why you can be so sure about Robin."

"I have always been a part of her life. She isn't something I just seem to have remembered. Robin is Robert's daughter, we got married while on assignment. We were madly in love. He was the man I had a child with. I know that. Why can't you accept that?"

"What if that was Alex? What if that's the planted memory?"

"It's not!"

"Oh right. I'm just expected to take your word for that!"

"Yes!"

"You don't like to think that Robert might have slept with Alex! You still think of him as yours! You can't even admit that it could be true. That the love story in your head might actually be Robert and Alex's and that you weren't even there. Guess what Anna there is a very good chance that's the truth. How do you know when you actually met Robert."

"I am only going to say this once. Robert is the first man I ever fell in love with! Robert is the first man I ever made love with! Robert is the love of my life. Our life's paths have kept us apart but that doesn't change the fact I will never love anyone the way I love him. This isn't just a memory this is a feeling that I feel with my entire being." Anna looked over and saw Robin standing in the doorway. She walked over and kissed her cheek, "I'll be back in a little while."

Robin walked over to Finn. "She might love you now but you need to understand she has and always will love my father. Do not push her because you will only push her away. It's hard for her to let people in don't make her regret letting you in." Then Robin walked away from him leaving Finn standing alone wondering what the hell had just happened. Had Anna seriously just told him she will never love him the way she loves Robert?

...

Robert was in his room after having dinner with Robin and her family. It had been a nice day and he was ready to relax. It was nice seeing Sean and Tiff again even if it was just for a little while. Spending the afternoon with Noah had been a blast, that little guy had kept him laughing all afternoon. Robert had just poured himself a drink when someone knocked at his door. Drink in hand he walked over and opened the door. Anna walked in as soon as the door opened, "Is that for me?" she asked taking the drink from his hand.

He turned and watched her finish half of it, "Yeah, I'll just get myself one." Robert walked over and poured himself another drink. "Did you want to talk about something?"

"No, I think drinking is what I need right now."

"What happened?"

"I just got in a fight with Finn because I believe Peter is the planted memory." Anna took another sip, "He's acting like I only want to believe that because Faison is his father."

"That would be enough of a reason for me."

"He thinks if I'm questioning Peter I should be questioning Robin as well."

"Yeah, but Robin's father is a hell of a lot better looking than that other guy. More your type too."

Anna grinned, "He went as far to suggest that it was Alex that was on that first mission with you."

Robert walked over, took her glass put them both down. He looked in her eyes as touched the right side of her face. Even though they had done amazing work repairing her face there was still a slight difference in her right cheekbone. "You are the woman I married by that fountain. You are the woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. And you are the woman I marked forever in that explosion. I caused this, even if no one else knows that or remembers that I do." Before that, he had been trying to be cute. He'd wanted to make her smile to get her mind off the argument.

Anna closed her eyes as she tilted her head towards his hand. "He told me I still think of you as mine. That I don't want to believe that you had sex with Alex."

"I am," he whispered. He stroked her cheek, "I've never had sex with Alex."

Anna bit her bottom lip, "Never?" she asked sounding unsure.

"Anna, I would never do that to you. I could never betray you like that."

Anna looked up at him with sadness in her eyes. "What if you didn't know?"

"I told you I would know." His hand slid into her hair, "No one has ever compared to you."

She stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around him, resting her head against his chest. His one hand still in her hair as the other moved to the small of her back holding her close. They both knew this was the safest thing to do at the moment. If they kept talking, kept looking into each other's eyes it would lead to something that shouldn't happen. After a few minutes, Anna asked, "Are we drinking together?"

"I think we can do that." He stepped back a little then went and filled their glasses up again. "You'll have the results soon. Once you do you can stop torturing yourself wondering what's true," he said as he handed her the glass.

"It would be a lot easier to wait this out if Finn wasn't questioning all of it. This really doesn't affect him. What does it matter to him who my child is?"

"Drink, we're going to talk about other thinks tonight alright."

"We should just get right drunk. Then I won't be thinking about any of this."

"I think I have enough bourbon to do that, if not we'll order another bottle."

Anna smiled then went and sat down, "You better have some entertaining stories for me Scorpio. I expect to be laughing while we drink."

"Oh, I could always make you laugh Annie," he said and they smiled at each other as he sat down as well.

...

When Anna got home she stumbled into the sitting room to find Robin sitting there alone. "Hi, where did you get to?"

Anna smiled, "Hi baby. I needed to drink."

"I can see that," Robin said with a smile.

"Is anyone else up?"

"No, just me. Come sit down." Anna smiled and joined Robin, "Were you drinking alone?"

"No," Anna smiled, "that's no fun."

"Where did you go?"

"I when to see him, then we got drunk. That was so we wouldn't have sex."

"Mom!" Robin knew it was the booze talking and that her dad was who she had gone to see but something told her that was a very true statement.

"Right sorry," Anna said with a grin then laughed. "I needed him to talk some sense into me, then he was touching my face, then my hair. That's all it takes. Ooh, what that man does to me." Anna turned and took Robin's left hand and put it on her right cheek. "Do you feel that?"

"What am I feeling?"

"He knows so much about me."

"Dad?"

"You don't know. I bet Finn hasn't noticed it either. They aren't the same," Anna said it like she had just made her point then turned to look at the fireplace.

Robin was still confused, "What isn't the same?"

"He marked me before you were born. He didn't mean to, but he knows his Annie."

Robin shook her head and smiled clearly her father had needed to talk her mom down after the fight she'd had with Finn. It must have worked even if Robin wasn't sure what her mom was talking about at the moment "What did you guys do this evening?"

"We drank a lot and talked. He can still make me laugh so much."

"That was it?"

"Yeah," Anna smiled, "He's is still sexy."

Robin smiled and nodded her head, "Why don't we get you some water then I think you should try to get some sleep."

"Is Finn here? I don't really want to see him right now."

"Yeah, he went up to bed a while ago."

Anna put her head back and closed her eyes, "Oh. I'll crawl in with Emma. That will put off the next fight a little longer."

"If you think that's best. Come with me, water first then up to bed."

"Alright." Robin stood up then held her hand to her mom and helped her up, then they walked into the kitchen together before heading upstairs.