Chapter 6

Anna was able to stay awake for longer periods of time now. Edmond was sitting by her bedside, "How are you feeling?"

"Tired still but at least I can stay awake for a few hours before needing to sleep more."

"Alex told me that's just part of the healing," he reached for her hand. When he touched her she looked up at him then pulled her hand away. Edmond wanted to protect her, he wanted to make sure she got better. If she was anything like her sister he knew that meant she is an amazing woman.

"I knew it is. I am feeling a little stronger. I don't really have a headache any longer, the pain there now I think is from the surgery but it is nothing compared to what I was living with for so long."

"That's good to hear. Anna I want you to get better, I want to get to know you." Edmond didn't like to admit he'd had been interested in his sister-in-law for a while. Maybe he had been jealous that his brother had found someone and that he was alone since losing his wife. The attraction he had felt for Alex may have transferred to Anna, he knew that but that didn't mean he didn't want her to get better. In fact, it might actually be part of the reason he wanted to do whatever he could to help her.

"You aren't the only one, I sure would like to know me as well," Anna said with a little grin.

Edmond was happy to hear her making a little joke, "Is there anything you need."

"What day is it?"

"It's Tuesday evening."

She closed her eyes like she was thinking, "He was here Friday night. If he left Saturday morning depending on what he had to do he could be back soon," she said quietly.

"Whose coming back?"

"Robert, he had to go to Paris. I told you this."

"Oh right." He wasn't sure he liked letting Anna believe her husband was alive. Alex said they should but how devastated is she going to be when she finally finds out the truth? "Anna he might not come back here."

"Robert will come back. He told me to wait for him, he'll be here."

"Anna I just don't want to see you hurt. You have to face the fact Robert isn't coming back."

"Get out!"

"Anna, you need to know Robert can't come back, he's dead."

"GET OUT!" Anna sat up, "GET OUT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Edmond stood up and left her room without saying anything else. Alex hadn't wanted Anna upset, she hadn't wanted her to know the truth about Robert. Now he'd done both. He knew he had better go talk to Alex and let her know what had just happened and what he had done.

...

Robin looked over at Robert, he looked well rested. She hadn't realized how tired he had looked the day he had shown up at her place until now. These last few days had been good for him, he looked ready to take on the next challenge, her mother needed that as much as he did. Their plane should be landing soon, so she asked, "Are we going to get to see her tonight?"

"I think visiting hours will be over by the time we get there. I don't know if two of us should try sneaking into her room tonight so we should probably find a hotel and get settled in. We can go see her tomorrow morning."

"After we've checked in at a hotel can we go talk to Alex? I have questions and I know you want to understand more about what we're dealing with."

"If that's what you want then I think we should. She'll be very surprised to see us but you're right we should know just what we're dealing with."

Robin smiled at her father, "This is real, you're here. Mom's alive and I'll see her in the morning. It's all still sinking in but I know once I see her I'll know this is really happening."

"You need facts, you need to see for yourself. I understand that. I just want to get there, to get back to her."

Robin leaned on his shoulder, "She's waiting for you to come back. I bet that's what she's looking forward to the most. Seeing you walk back into her hospital room."

"She wants to know who she is. Who I am to her. Robin, she knew she knows me, she knows she loves me but she doesn't know what we are to each other."

"Maybe not yet, once she gets her memory back there is no way she won't know that you are the love of her life. That you're are the ying to her yang."

"The ying to her yang?" Robert repeated with a little grin.

"Are you going to try and pretend that you both aren't complete without the other one. Even when you weren't together you were still the person the other person leaned on the most, needed the most. What would you call it?"

"I'm not complete without her. There has been a part of me missing all this time."

"You get how ying and yang work right dad? Two halves making a whole," Robin said grinning up at him.

Robert smiled and put his arm around her, "Oh how I've missed you," he kissed the top of her head.

"Dad, she'll get through this. We'll have her back and our family will finally all be together again."

"I know." Robert looked over and smiled at her, "You are also right about going to talk to Alex first, we need to know what we're dealing with."

After another half hour they were on the ground then went to check in at a hotel. An hour after they had left the airport they were pulling up in front of the main house at Wildwind. Robert looked over at Robin, "Are you ready to go meet your aunt?"

"I guess I have to be. I want answers and she has them."

They got out of the car and walked up to the main door. When they knocked the woman that answered asked, "Who are you here to see?"

"Alexandra Merrick," Robert answered.

"Oh, she is in the hospital." The maid knew for a fact she wasn't but had been told to tell anyone that asked about her that she was. She had never seen either of these people before and didn't know what they were doing here.

Robert looked at Robin, "Then I would like to talk to her husband."

"He is out of town on a business trip."

"His wife in the hospital having just had brain surgery and he couldn't delay a business trip? I don't care who's here but I want to talk to someone, now," Robert informed her.

She hadn't mentioned why she was in the hospital. Clearly, these people knew Dr. Merrick somehow. The maid turned and walked through a door that had been closed when they came inside, after a few minutes a man walked out of the same room. "What is this about. I was told you are demanding to talk to someone."

"I want to talk to Alexandra," Robert said.

"You were told she is in the hospital." Edmond looked at the young woman standing with this man, it stroke him that she looked a lot like Alex, a lot like Anna.

"Yeah, I know what I was told that doesn't make it true."

"Sir, I think you should leave now."

"No we aren't leaving," Robin stepped forward. "We came here for answers and we aren't leaving until we get them. Don't push him, you will regret it."

"What does that mean?" Edmond asked sounding less than impressed that they were here.

"Alexandra Merrick!" Robert called. "I know you aren't the one in that hospital bed." He started to walk towards the door this man had come out of. "Dr. Merrick!"

"Hey, what do you think you doing?" Edmond asked grabbing Robert's arm as he started to walk past him.

"I want answers," Robert told him pulling arm free.

"Fine, what do you want to know?"

"No, we want to talk to the neurologist," Robin informed him.

"Alexandra Merrick!" Robert called again.

Alex heard a man calling her name, she didn't know that voice but she could tell he had an Austrailian accent. What was going on out there? Could it really be him? Had Anna really seen her husband and had he really come back? She walked over to the door and peaked through. Tall, check. Light brown hair starting to grey, check. Austrailian, check. He is handsome too. She walked out and looked up at him, he looked over at her, amazing blue eyes, check. "Robert?" She took another step closer neither looked away from the other, "She said you came to see her."

"I did. I also told her I had to go get someone."

She looked over at the woman with him. "You have to be Anna's daughter. Robin?"

"And his, I thought they were both dead too. Dad came to me after he talked to mom."

"What are you talking about Alex? You don't seriously believe them? These could be the people that are looking for Anna."

"Oh, I'm sure he has been looking for her."

"I have, all that mattered was finding her. I promised Robin I'd find her and bring her home."

"Why does she think you went to Paris? I assumed she was starting to remember little things, like your name. I had found out you two meet there, so I really didn't believe she had seen you."

"I'm going to school there," Robin answered. "It's crazy how much you look like my mom. It's also very clear you aren't her."

"Why are you here? What can I do for you?"

"We knew we wouldn't make it here in time to visit and dad didn't think we should both trying to sneak into her room tonight so we came to get some information about her condition and find out what she's facing now."

"I can try to explain, there's a lot that will be hard to understand."

"I'm a medical student, dad told me what he had read in her chart and I think I understand the type if trauma she had. We are here to help her and we want to know the best way for us to do that."

"No, I don't like this. We have no proof you're who you say you are."

Robert turned and glared at Edmond. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Edmond Grey, Alex's brother-in-law."

"Robert Scorpio, Alex's brother-in-law," Robert said mockingly. "We can both make that claim."

"Dad, you need to stay calm." Robin could tell this guy was getting on her dad's nerves.

"This jackass is making that rather hard at the moment."

She touched his arm then Robin pulled a picture out of her wallet, it was of her and her parents. "This was taken just a few weeks before mom was kidnapped." She handed the picture to Alex, "That was our first and last Christmas together as a real family. Mom and dad had remarried six months before that. A few months after it was taken I was told they were both dead."

Alex looked the picture and a tear came to her eye. "Edmond you need to stop. You're the one that upset Anna earlier by telling her Robert is dead. I told you to just listen to her if she brought him up. Clearly, she was right. Clearly, he went to see her. There was no grey in his hair here and she told me there was now." She held the picture up for Edmond to see. "That's not me in the picture with them."

"You told my wife I'm dead? I spent years working to protect her! I spent the last two searching for her! Now I've finally found her. She at least remembered my name even if there was nothing else and now you've told her I'm dead! Couldn't you have maybe suggested that she might have just imagined that I was there?" Robin was right beside him, she had her hand on his arm again, she remembers seeing her mom do this often if her dad was getting upset.

"I thought I was doing the right thing. I didn't think it was right to lie to her."

"I told you not to say anything about Robert! I was very clear about that," Alex insisted.

"Dad you should go see her. I'll stay here and find out about her condition. I can wait until the morning to see her but you need to go to her. If she believed that idiot she is going to be very upset and that can't be good for her recovery."

"She's right, Robert. I take it you'll be able to get in unnoticed again."

"Yeah, of course I can. Robin will you be at the hotel after?"

"Yes, I'll see you after. Go see her." Robin gave him a hug and he kissed to top of her head. "Love you, dad."

"I love you too sweetheart." With that, Robert turned and walked out of Wildwind.