Port Charles Hotel
She approaches the registration desk with William in his carrier. Thankfully Robin and Olin didn't ask too many questions this morning. In fact, she assumes they just think he left early for work which suits her just fine since she would hate to have to lie to or worry her daughter. Now all she has to do is somehow convince the desk clerk that she's meeting her husband here as planned.
"Good morning, can I help you?"
"Good morning, yes I'm here to meet my husband Robert Scorpio, he checked in early this morning for both of us, but forgot to let me know the room number, can you help me?"
"Yes, of course. I would just need to see some identification."
"Oh yes of course." She says placing William's carrier on the floor and retrieving her wallet. She shows him her driver's license.
"Thank you. Your husband is in room 933. Will you need your own key Mrs. Scorpio?" He asks.
"Yes, please thank you." He hands her the key and she thanks him for helping her out all the while thinking they need better security in this place.
She quietly puts the key in the lock and opens the door. She sees him sitting on the couch with his head resting against the back. He appears to be asleep. Suddenly, she doesn't know why she came here, but she had to see him, so she's flinching first, again. She has tears in her eyes because she didn't realize how much seeing him would affect her. Even though it was only one night, she truly missed him. It was the longest they have been apart since her ordeal and she missed sleeping next to him.
She walks in and approaches him. He looks up and sees her, his face remains expressionless as he looks directly at her. However, when he sees she has William with her, his face lights up immediately. He looks terrible, like he hasn't slept all night, but the light in his eyes as he sees his son, makes her breath hitch. He immediately gets up to take the carrier from her. He sees that William is asleep so he places the carrier on the floor by the couch to look at him, placing his hand gently on William's head as not to wake him. So maybe he isn't such a bastard after all, but she'll hold off on that declaration for now.
"Why are you here Robert? Why didn't you just come home last night instead of dragging Sean and Tiffany into this?" She says quietly in a scolding tone looking down at him. He ignores her questions briefly before getting up and going to the other side of the room willing her to follow him.
"Go home? After what you practically accused me of last night? I don't think so."
"Robert, give me a break. You have to admit that what I walked in on last night, anyone else would have come to the same conclusion." She says to his back.
"That's just the point Anna, after everything we've been through and all that's been said, I would have at least expected the benefit of the doubt first." He says turning back to her. "Look if you came here for another round of what did or didn't happen between me and Holly, or to accuse me of being selfish again, you've wasted your time because I think I heard all I want to hear." He says to her.
"Robert, don't be like this. I want to settle this. I want to put this behind us for good." She's still standing with her hands in her coat pockets looking at him.
"That's interesting, because up until last night, I thought we had, but once again, you've made me see the error of my ways, pointing out what a selfish bastard I am and well here we are." He says with extreme sarcasm, he knows he's blowing it again, but can't help himself.
"Oookay. So we're in this headspace now." She says sitting down in a chair by the window shaking her head and sighing. She continues.
"Let's straighten something out first. I believe you about Holly and maybe, maybe I shouldn't have reacted the way I did, but I will not apologize for it, considering what I saw." She states.
"Anna, I thought we would never have to discuss this after Aruba, hell after everything we've been through together, but I guess I can see how what you saw last night might have been upsetting. But again please know that there is absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing between Holly and me"
She believes him and doesn't want to talk about that any longer. She sits next to him on the other couch in the room.
"Robert, what I'm really more concerned about is how you're handling what has happened with Faison over the last year."
"Anna, please let's not do this now. We're both obviously exhausted, you brought the baby here, and it's just not the right time." Robert says standing again and going over to the mini-bar. He can't do it. It feels to him like it's a physical impossibility. She gets up and follows him.
"We are going to do this now whether you like it or not." She says angrily. He just looks at her. She can see the warring emotions on his face. She has seen that look before, he is looking for an escape, but because he knows there isn't one, he feels trapped. She knows she has to tread carefully, but she must do it quickly.
"Robert, I did NOT go with Faison willingly, nor did I stay with him willingly. The entire time he had either a gun on me or one of his many heavily armed goons had me locked in a room. I had no weapon and no means of escape. In fact, most of the time, he threatened to kill both you and Robin, if I ever did escape. The safety of you and our family was the only reason, the only reason I never risked an escape. He never knew I was pregnant and I lived in fear every day that he would find out." She pauses, but he says nothing, he just stares blankly at her.
"I do NOT remember recording any messages for you or for anyone else for that matter, so I assume he must have hypnotized me again. Since I found out there was a recording, I have been wracking my brain to remember, but I can't. And any letters you received, again I don't remember writing…"
She pauses to regain her voice as she struggles to continue remembering those weeks of feeling hopeless and missing him and Robin and frightened for their safety and that of their unborn child. She continues but her tears are uncontrollable, and they begin to flow freely as she steps up to him and she's now poking him in the chest as she makes her declarations. She can't stop herself because she is just so angry with him for doubting her and her love for him.
"And when Sean saw me that day at the jail, yes I was crying, but I wasn't crying for him, I was crying because of him. He vowed then and there that he would never give up on me and that his obsession with me was just something I would have to deal with. For me, that was a life sentence which almost came to fruition. Does any of this make sense to you?" She shouts at him. He steps away from her.
"Yes, it makes sense and yes I understand all of that. But for some reason you don't seem to understand me. I didn't need to hear this, any of it. I told you before and I thought we reached an understanding in South America. I knew the truth already; I knew then and I know now, you were not with him willingly." He says angrily walking past her. He knows more is coming and he is desperately trying to brace himself for it. It's unbearable for him. That wretched man had his hands on her. The visions start to swim in his head and it almost makes him lose his balance. She does not see how this is physically affecting him, as his back is to her.
"I do understand you Robert, but I needed you to hear the truth as to what really happened from me, not anyone else. I need to know you trust me Robert and I still feel that you don't. I know you love me, but do you completely trust me?" He is about to answer her, but she stops him. She wants to finish what she has to say to him before she loses her nerve.
"There is more that I want to tell you because you need to hear it, you must hear it." Anna says walking to him.
"NO, I told you, I don't need to hear it, any of it." He says angrily walking away from her. She follows him, convinced now more than ever, that he doesn't want to hear it, not because he is being noble, although that may be a part of it, but the main reason is his pride, his ego and worst of all his possessiveness. This completely infuriates her.
"You know what Robert? You really are a coward sometimes." She says to his back.
"Excuse me?" he says as he whips around to face her.
"When it comes to your possessiveness and your damn male ego, you just can't bear the thought of him touching me. Even if telling you what really happened would help ME, more than not telling you. All your assertions about wanting to spare me the trauma is really a lie and a cop-out and you know, to me, that's the worst kind of cowardice." She says looking up at him.
"How dare you call me a coward after everything that I've been through with this man and you with this man for that matter? The fact that I'm still here, that I married you again, that I forgave you for everything that happened in our first marriage, with Robin, you still have the nerve to call me a coward?" He says with venom.
She's stunned by his statement and hurt, and her eyes go wide with shock, but she quickly fires back. "Yeah well it took you thirteen years to find the courage to fully forgive me and move on, let's not forget that." She replies with equal venom, but continues, "But, I'm not talking about that, what I am talking about is what happened a couple of months ago. Robert you need to know that he …"
"NO, I'm telling you for the last time, I don't want to hear this, I don't need to hear this." He shouts and it startles her. He's visibly shaken. Running his hands through his hair and pacing the room; she has never seen him like this.
"I begged you Anna, I begged you not to get close to that man, but you did it anyway. I told you his obsession with you was extremely dangerous and that if it went wrong we all would pay a price. But you insisted and I relented and if it wasn't for that, then none of this would have happened. Why didn't you tell me you knew him as a child? After everything we had been through, everything, you never told me, why?" He says not facing her. It's like a slap in the face and it was something she wasn't expecting at all. He regrets it the second he finished the sentence. He turns around and is stricken when he sees the look on her face.
"This is how you really feel, isn't it? That I caused this to happen? You really don't trust me, do you?" She's devastated realizing that he feels this way, but summons up her courage to continue.
"Robert, I barely knew him when Nanny came to stay with us for that short time. In fact, I didn't even know he was the same man until I met him again when he recruited me for the DVX. The only memories I have of him when I was a child was this strange man that came to visit Nanny and that's it. I don't know maybe you're right. I should have told you and for that I'm truly sorry. But Robert there is nothing more to it than that. I guess the reason I didn't tell you when we remarried is because, I didn't want you to distrust me again. It was stupid and reckless. Maybe this whole thing is my fault, all of it. I can't blame you really, after everything that has happened in our lives and what happened when we were first married."
She's completely defeated, and the tears come freely as she sits back down on the couch. The weight of all the guilt, the loss of what might have been suddenly becomes too much to bear. He can't stand to see her this way.
"I'm sorry, I… don't know what to say. I didn't realize I was still carrying this around, I thought I had gotten passed all of this." He says without looking at her. He pauses for a moment trying to gather his thoughts. He looks at her sitting on the couch and it devastates him to know he is hurting her again.
Quietly he says, "Anna, I don't blame you, I really don't. The guy was a mental case and you were using his weakness like any trained agent would. But please understand that when you were taken, I went through a lot of phases and the anger and trying to place blame was one of them. It was not rationale, nor was it truthful, but I was so angry, I was blaming everyone. Please understand that." He kneels down in front of her.
"Love, please believe me, I trust you with my life and that has not changed. I don't blame you for what has happened any of it, none of it was your fault."
She looks at him and knows he's telling her the truth. She caresses his face. "I do believe you, I do. I can't imagine what you went through." He leans into her touch for a brief second until she says
"Robert, I need you to know what happened when I was with him, you need to hear it and I need you to believe me." She says softly.
"No, no I don't need to know Anna. I have all I need. I have you and Robin and now William, I don't need anything else, please." He says with pleading eyes getting up quickly.
"Robert, please listen to me." He knows she will persist, but he can't take it he has to leave now. He begins making his way to the door. She quickly steps in front of him.
"Anna, please can't we just forget this, put this behind us?" He pleads.
"It will never be behind Robert if you don't know the truth." she states. She watches his face and recognizes instantly the look that says he is shutting down emotionally, looking for an escape.
"Fine, I'm going home, you can stay here." He heads for the door. She beats him there and blocks his exit standing against the door.
"You're not leaving, until we finish this." She says defiantly trying to stand as tall as she can against his height. He chuckles condescendingly.
"Anna, spare me the theatrics, just get out of my way."
"No" she says.
"Fine." He goes to grab her arms to lift her out of the way and she expertly blocks his moves and in a split second grabs his right forearm bringing it behind his back and throwing him hard against the door face first. He never saw it coming. She's holding his arm high and tight to the point of pain and she knows it. She tells him directly next to his ear.
"Now that I've got your attention; you will hear me out." She pauses gathering her strength. "Why do you always have to make things so difficult?" She pauses. "Robert. Faison never touched me, never laid a hand on me and in fact I have NEVER let him touch me in that way, do you understand? Nothing happened. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't found me when you did, but that doesn't matter now." She pauses and pulls his arm up higher knowing its causing a more pain. "So there. It's all out in the open. You know everything now and you could have spared yourself all this grief for all these months if you had just asked me. So all your sanctimonious crap about worrying about my feelings was just that; crap and you know it." She says angry that it had to come to this.
She feels him exhale and knows that he really was assuming the worst all of these months. Her eyes well up again with unshed tears knowing that he has been carrying this weight on his shoulders. He closes his eyes in immeasurable relief. The thought of that man touching her in any way was like a cancer eating at him every day since she was taken. The thought of him knowing her the way he knows her, the implications were unbearable. It's such an overwhelming sense of relief; his knees nearly buckle with the removal of the weight of it. It's momentary and he quickly recovers.
After a long moment he says "Are you done? Can I have my arm back now?" She's stunned by his response and is instantly furious, but she is also distracted as intended.
"Is that all you have to say to me? After everything? After all of THIS? You Bastard" she screams at him. The next second, he has grabbed the arm that's holding his and pulls her forward spinning her around and throwing her back against the door facing him. They struggle for a brief second but he manages to grab hold of both her wrists above her head.
"Ow, you son of a bitch, that hurt. Let go of me." She barks at him furious at him and herself for letting her guard down. He moves his face closer.
"Not a chance. By the way, my face connecting with this door was not pleasant either.I think you might be slipping sweetheart, you need to learn some new moves."
He looks over her body appreciatively, overcome instantly with his desire for her. His lips are millimeters from hers now as he brings his body in full contact with hers. Her desire for him is quickly winning the battle over her anger. His words and his actions have the intended effect on her as she involuntarily closes her eyes. She opens them slowly and returns the movement.
"Those are pretty strong words coming from someone who's facing down a perfectly aimed knee right at this moment." She says deliberately touching his lips with her own when she speaks.
They look into each other's eyes briefly and suddenly, like a fuse has been lit, they move at the same time as they devour each other's mouths. They are frantic for each other as they can't seem to get close enough, fast enough. He releases both her hands as he immediately goes for her sweater and tries to bring it over her head while she's busy trying to unbuckle his belt and undo his pants. She tries to unbutton his shirt but gives up. She tries to remove her pants but her hands are shaking too much. He chuckles slightly as he sees her struggling.
"Stop laughing and help me will you."
When all the barriers have been removed, he quickly lifts her and braces her against the door while lowering her into his embrace. They both groan loudly at the sensation as she throws her head back against the door hard. She feels a momentary twinge of pain, but it quickly subsides as he fills her completely. He notices the brief look of discomfort on her face and he stops suddenly.
"Anna?"
"Don't stop, please, Robert, oh God." She says on an exhaled moan.
She brings her head forward slowly and looks into his eyes. They both smile at each other as she leans in to kiss him gently and they begin to move against each other in an unhurried pace. He kisses her, and leans his forehead against hers. Looking deeply into each other's eyes, the experience is intense and erotic as they reconnect and reaffirm their love for one another. "I cannot live without this, without you, don't ever leave me again." They communicate with their eyes. It quickly turns explosive and when it's over, they are both completely drained emotionally and physically.
He turns and lowers them both to the floor with her positioned in his lap, still maintaining their connection. They stay together against the door until they both regain their breath. She lifts her face from his neck, and holds his head with both her hands kissing him deeply.
"Robert, are we okay? I need to know you trust me, trust us." She asks through tears. He kisses her face her, her eyes, her lips.
"We're more than okay. I do trust you Anna. I trust you with my life, my heart and my soul. I'm sorry that I haven't shown you that. You should never doubt that ever again and I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you went through that ordeal with him every day not knowing what was going to happen. I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" He asks leaning his forehead against hers.
"It's ok, I'm sorry too. I should never have doubted you or your feelings for me. It's over now and we will never have to talk about this again. I love you so much, Robert." She says looking into his eyes. "And I love you, so very much." He says kissing her deeply.