Chapter 67

Hearing the commotion downstairs, Brenda put the lid on the ice cream as Robin slipped her shoes back on. Heading downstairs the two women stopped just short of the bottom stair, surprised at the sudden hive of activity. Robert and Anna were in deep conversation while Mac was hovering over Lucky's shoulder as he worked on the computer. Brenda squeezed her friend's hand before slipping in to the kitchen to put the ice cream away. Taking a deep breath Robin took the final two steps and walked to where her parents were having a very animated discussion.

"Did you find out something?" she asked, unable to keep the urgency from her voice.

Stopping their conversation in mid-sentence, Robert pulled his daughter into his arms pressing his lips against the top of her head. "How are you holding up luv?"

"Fine" she said against his chest. "Do you know something?"

"We have a couple of leads - we'll know better when the rest of them get here."

Pulling out of her father's embrace, Robin looked around her once quiet house. "There's more?"

"Just a few more" Robert said.

Opening her mouth to ask another question she was interrupted by the doorbell. She looked at her parents curiously and as she walked to the front door. Seeing her cousin standing on the other side of the door, Robin let loose a loud squeal and launched herself into his arms. "Aidan!!"

Throwing his arms around his cousin, he held her tightly. "Hey shortie"

"Are you here to help?" she asked pulling back.

"I am " he smiled at her. Leaning in, he kissed her cheek. "Don't you worry, we're going to get your Patrick back."
Smiling gratefully, she noticed Nikolas standing behind Aidan. "Nik" her voice softened. She recognized the haunted look and dark circles around his eyes as she was certain, despite her best efforts, she looked the same.

"Hi Robin" he said quietly.

"Come in, both of you" she offered holding back the door. The two men entered and as Nikolas hung up his coat, Robin wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry Nik."

"Me too" he said willing himself not to give in to her comfort - toughness was the only way he was going to survive. The plane ride back with Aidan hed left his head spinning as he tried to make sense of the little information Robin's cousin had been willing to give up. Robin grasped his hand and led him to the dining room which looked very much like command central.

Robert stood a white board making columns with subject headings of the key players and leaving blanks where they were missing information. Though recognizing the unknown outnumbered the known, he was not discouraged. Oblivious to the din of reunion around him, he stood back and stared at the board. The column heading "Helena's Partner/s" was a complete mystery.

"No new intel on that?" Mac asked standing beside his brother.

Robert shook his head. "There is no way she is doing this on her own or just with minions. Someone else has a vested interest but none of her usual suspects pan out."

"Faison?"

"Nah. If it had been Robin who had been grabbed then maybe but Faison has no interest in Helena gaining more power or stealing babies."

Coming in from the kitchen, Brenda saw Nikolas talking to Lucky and walking over to him pulled him into a hug. "Hey Nik" she said softly.

"Brenda." He kissed her cheek. "I wish we were seeing each other under better circumstances."

"Me too" she said as she let go of him.

"Right" Robert said. "If everyone could have a seat, I would like to go over everything we know so that we can develop our plan of attack." As everyone dutifully took their seats, he pulled the cap of the red marker. "Okay so we know that Nathalie and Patrick have been gone for four days now and there has been no ransom demand..."

"Which means that she has what she wants" Anna finished.

"We know why she took Nathalie" Mac offered. "Because of the baby but what does she want with Patrick?"

"Wrong place, wrong time?" Lucky asked.

"Nah. Helena doesn't make mistakes" Adian interjected. "If she didn't want Patrick then she would have found a way to release him." He turned to Robin. "Sweetheart, has Patrick had any unusual cases of late?"

She shook her head as one hand rubbed her belly. "No. It's been pretty quiet on the work front lately."

"How about you then? Have you stumbled across any great pharmaceutical discoveries that she may be interested in?"

"I'm not even in clinical trials for what I'm working on so I can't see how it would be of any interest."

"Aidan, you've been tracking her for a while, best guess - where is she?" Anna asked.

He smiled at his aunt. He felt connected to her more than any other family member as they shared similar experiences and they fell into an easy pattern with each other when it came to work. "She's in the States. Her private plan filed two flight plans - one landing in Florida and one in New York. If I had to guess, she's on the Eastern seaboard."

"That's something" Robin said as she watched the interaction between her family and her friends who were like family.

"It is" Lucky said, entering the information into the laptop.

"There's a few more things we need" Mac said.

"Like what?" Nikolas asked, impatient with the whole proceeding. He wanted to run out of the house, get in his car and go. The only thing stopping him is he didn't know where he would go.

"What were Nathalie's and Patrick's states of mind?" the Commissioner asked.

"Why?" Brenda queried.

"It may give us some indication of whether they are trying to break free or do something stupid or both."

"Patrick won't do anything stupid" Robin announced firmly. "He will weigh the risks and make the most strategic move, if there is one to be made."

Aidan raised his eyebrows at his cousin's strong defence of her husband. "That's good" he confirmed. "And when this is all over, I can't wait to meet him" he said winking.

Robin smiled gratefully. "Unfortunately, I think you two are going to get along just fine."

Adian grinned. "So how would you describe his state of mind?"

"He was fine. We had just confirmed that I'm pregnant again." Robert, Mac and Aidan all stared at her.

"You...you never said" Mac said, recovering his voice.

She shrugged. "It's been kind of hard to find the right time."

His eyes warmed as he looked at his niece who was living the life that at one time was believed to be impossible. "Congratulations."

"Thanks but you all should know that I'm not having this baby without Patrick so we need to find him."

"What about Nathalie's state of mind?" Anna asked Nikolas.

His cheeks reddened slightly as he remembered the image of her running down the hall of the hospital as if he had slapped her. "She was upset."

"She was desperate" came a voice from the back of the room. Noah walked in and stood behind Brenda's chair. Nikolas eyed him warily.

"How desperate?" Anna asked.

Noah stared at Nikolas. "If Patrick hadn't shown up in my office when he did and promise to take care of her, I would have admitted her on a 24 hour hold - suicide watch."

Lowering his eyes, Nikolas pushed his chair back and walked from the dining room. Lucky grimaced and excused himself. He found his brother standing on the deck in the backyard. He quietly closed the door behind him.

"It wasn't your fault."

"Tell that to Noah." he said staring straight ahead, oblivious to the cool night air.

"Nik she was going to come apart at some point."

"I accused her of being unfaithful Lucky" he said with shame evident in his voice. "I tried to bully her into telling me that she would rather be with a look-a-like of her husband than with me."

Lucky did a double take. "Look-a-like? Nik what are you talking about?"

Reaching in to his pocket, he pulled his cell phone and without looking opened it to the photo of Nathalie and the mysterious stranger kissing. He passed it to his brother who stared at it in dibelief. "Nik - when did you get this?"

"When I was locking Helena up" he snorted. "For all the good that did."

"How do you know this is a fake husband and not just an old picture?"

"Her hair is short - she never had short hair before me."

Lucky put a steadying hand his brother's shoulder. "Let's go back inside Nik - you may have just provided us with the biggest break in our case." He rushed inside as Nikolas followed him in. "We have something" he said nearly breathless.

The room fell silent as Lucky held up his brother's cell phone. Aidan reached for it and knit his brow as he looked at the photo. "That's Andrew Walker."

"No - it's a look-a-like" Lucky said. "Nik says Nathalie never had short hair."

Reaching for the phone Robin froze as she saw the man's face. "I've seen him before" she whispered.

"Where?"

"At the hospital and in the park - he's talked to me." Horror crossed her face. "He knows Rian's name - he knows my name.:

Realizing they were on the verge of a breakthrough, Robert leaned forward, looking directly at his daughter. "Robin, luv I need you to think really hard - did he say anything to you - however trivial?"

She blinked several times trying to remember exactly what had been said. "Nathalie spoke to him a couple of times - he's got a relative or something at the hospital. He told me his name -it's...." she closed her eyes, drawing a blank. "It's.....crap!" she said in frustration.

Anna reached for her daugther's hand. "It's okay luv -just take a couple of deep breaths, it will come to you."

"May I see the phone?" Noah asked. Robin passed it to him and he blew out his cheeks.

"What's up Doc?" Robert asked.

"That's what she was wearing the night she was drugged at Jake's. I bet if you show that to Coleman he'll be able to tell you whether or not that's the guy she was drinking with."

As everyone talked at once, Brenda leaned over to Aidan. "Care to tell me how you know what Nathalie's dead husband looks like?" she asked quietly.

"I miss you Brenda" he grinned. "Always so direct."

"I never change. So spill it Devane."

He shrugged. "I've known her for years - we were lovers once." Out of the corner his eye, he saw Nikolas stiffen. Looking up at him he gave him a reassuring look. "It was a lifetime ago, mate. Way before she was married." Nikolas said nothing and turning on his heel headed back to the kitchen.

"Anthony!" Robin exclaimed. "He said his name was Anthony!"

Robert smiled. "That's my girl" he said quietly, writing the name 'Anthony' under the column for "Helena's Partner/s". With the rescue team all having received specific orders from Robert, they started a new flurry of activity with phone calls and internet research. Crooking his finger, he silently asked Aidan to join him in the living room.

"Robert" he said.

"I need you to tell me who you're working for mate."

"Robert, you know it's not kosher to divulge clients."

"Yeah but there aren't too many people who have such a vested interested in Cruella de Cassadine - most of them are in the room next door. It's possible your client has some information that could prove to be invaluable."

"They don't."

"Let me be the judge of that" the older man suggested with some force.

Aidan sighed heavily. "If I give you their names you cannot press for more information from me."

"Deal."

"I have two clients when it comes to Helena - Alexis Davis and Luke Spencer."