Chapter 5
By all accounts Anna's surgery had gone very well, there had not been any complications. She had been out of surgery for almost twenty hours but still hadn't woken up yet and that concerned Alex. Anna had been moved back into a private room and since it was Sunday evening Alex decided she would chance going to see her.
Alex had not known about her twin for very long but she already loved her and didn't want anything to happen to her. As a doctor, she knew it was normal for some people to take longer to come back around after surgery but this was her sister and she just wanted her to wake up. Alex also knew that Anna had been suffering from the effects of an accident that had happened nine years ago and her brain may just need longer than usual to let her come around, there was a lot of healing that needed to happen now.
Alex sat by her bed and took her hand, "I just found you and I am looking forward to getting to know you. So you need to wake up and start getting your memory back. We can figure out who Burt thinks is coming after you, is it our aunt? We need to know who they are and why they want to hurt you." She looked over at the monitors, everything looked fine. Alex knew she would just have to wait and see when Anna would wake up, with any luck it would happen while she's there.
Alex had been sitting by Anna's side for almost half an hour and knew she had better leave soon before someone came in to check on her. "Anna I'll come back and see you soon alright. I didn't want you to wake up without someone here but you're sure taking your time aren't you." Alex was about to stand up then felt Anna squeeze her hand. "I'm still here," she said looking up at Anna's face.
"Where's Robert?" Anna asked quietly without opening her eyes.
"He hasn't come back yet." Alex felt she could let Anna hang onto the belief that Robert was going to come back to her. Once she wasn't so weak Alex would have to tell her the truth but for now, Anna can hold onto the thought that he is alive and coming back to her.
Anna's eyes fluttered opened and tried to focus on Alex then closed again, "He'll be here." Then Anna's eyes closed again and her head tilted to the side, Alex thought she must have gone back to sleep. The surgery had taken a lot out of her and now she just needed to rest. To give her body time to heal.
"You hold onto that thought." Alex stroked her cheek and tucked some stray hair behind her ear. "You must have really loved him."
...
"Are you sure you want to wait for me? You should go back to Pine Valley and be with mom." Robert had gotten back from London earlier that day. They had just finished eating dinner and were now sitting together on the couch talking.
"I want to take you back to her." Robert had promised to reunite them and he was going to do just that. "I believe she was having her surgery yesterday. She will need to rest, hopefully, she won't have headaches anymore after this. Robin, she all she did was nod and she told me it hurt." Robin could see the concern on his face. "I'm worried that if she sees me to soon it will be more harmful then good."
"I understand. What are you going to do while I'm at school for the next couple days?"
"I think I might just rest. I have been pushing myself very hard for a long time. When I wasn't looking for your mom I was working other jobs so I could fund my search for Anna. She is going to need us and I want to be there for her."
"You're right you need a little downtime. Do you know why they think mom's in danger?"
"No, not yet. I'm sure that will be one more thing I'll be looking into. Once I know what I'm dealing with I'll see what kind of help I might need. I also need to start letting other people know I'm alive."
"I know everyone will be very excited to hear that you and mom are alive. Uncle Mac is going to be so happy, I don't think he ever actually accepted that you were gone."
"I am looking forward to seeing him, Sean and Tiffany as well."
"Dad they had a little girl, oh she is so cute. They named her Anna, after mom," Robin told him and her eyes started to tear up. "Uncle Sean calls her Annie, she'll be six this year."
"That's wonderful, I'm sure I'll be meeting her before much longer. Robin, I have missed everyone so much. You have no idea what it's been like, so many nights I just wanted to call you and hear your voice."
"Well now I expect you to call all the time, I'll be calling you too," Robin smiled at him.
"I finally get to reclaim my life. I just need your mom to be OK, I can't face losing her now that I've found her."
"Dad, you aren't going to lose anyone. She'll fight for us just like you've been fighting for her. You gave up everything else so you could find her."
"I know, I just wish I understood what she's dealing with now. She still has a hard road ahead, Robin I'll need you to help me understand the medical part of what she's facing."
"I will, I'll talk to her doctors and my aunt, I guess. Then we'll both understand more of what needs to happen now."
Robert exhaled, just knowing he'll have some answers soon made him feel a lot better. "Thanks, sweety."
"Are you sure you don't want to call Uncle Sean or Uncle Mac, I think you could use a friend."
"Not yet, this is about my family, you and your mom are all I want to think about. If they find out they are going to want answers. They can have them soon but for now, I want to be able to focus on Anna."
He looked exhausted, he really did need some rest before this next challenge. "Dad, you are sleeping in my bed tonight, I still have a little studying to do and you need to get some sleep."
"I'd argue but I don't even have the energy for that." He leaned over and kissed her cheek, "Thank you, I could really use a good nights sleep."
...
When Alex got home Dimitri was waiting for her in their bedroom, "How is she?"
Alex walked over to him and hugged him, "She woke for a little while when I was there, but fell back asleep almost instantly."
"Is that normal?"
"She just had surgery and this was a brain injury that she has been living with for a long time so it's hard to say what normal is. She asked if Robert was there then went back to sleep."
"When are you going to tell her he's dead?"
"I don't know. I know I shouldn't let her believe he's coming back to her, but I don't want to do anything that could risk her recovery either."
Dimitri rubbed her back, "Don't tell her yet, let her recover first. What's wrong with letting her believe there is someone out there that loves her and is coming back to her."
"I know, that's why I'm waiting to tell her." Alex leaned back in his arms, "She has a daughter, Robert's daughter. I want to try finding her after Anna's had some time to recover. Maybe after she's started remembering a few things about her life."
"I think that is a very good idea. She must think her parents are both dead, waiting until Anna's had a little time to heal will make their reunion easier on both of them."
"I want to go see her again early tomorrow morning."
"Well let's get some sleep, I'll go with you before heading into the office."
"I'd like that." Alex gave him a kiss then they started getting ready for bed.
...
Over the next two days, Anna slept a lot. She would wake up for short periods of time. If Edmond or Alex were there she'd ask about Robert then she would talk to them a little before going back to sleep. She was still weak and what she needed most was just to rest. She had not complained about headaches and she had not had any seizures so they doctors were hopeful that the surgery had been a success. They still had to wait to know for sure but everyone was staying positive and giving her the time she needed to heal.
One of the times Anna had woken up she was alone in her room, she started thinking about Robert and what he had said when he had been there. He didn't know when he would make it back but he was coming back she knew that. He had to talk to someone, he had gone to Paris to do that. She wasn't sure how long ago she'd had her surgery but knew she just had to wait and he would come for her, Robert had told her to wait for him and that was what she was going to do.