Chapter 5

When Mac entered Kelly's he saw Anna sitting alone, "Fancy seeing you here again, is this where you spend all your downtime?"

"Oh hi Mac, come join me, I'm just waiting for Robin, she should be here soon," Anna offered.

"Don't mind if I do, but just for a few minutes. By any chance have you talked to Robby lately, he called me earlier to say he had to leave town for a few days."

"Wait dad had to leave town, when?" Robin had walked in and overheard Mac.

"He said he was leaving today, and that he'd be gone five days, a week at the most," Mac answered.

"Wait mom did you know about this, is that why he wanted to see you?"

"So you have seen him, when?" Mac added.

"Will the two of you slow down," Anna said. "Yes I know about the trip, Robin he had asked me to tell you about it. Yes, I saw him and no that was not why he needed to see me yesterday."

"Mom I think you need to give us a little more information here."

"Yes, I do." Anna took a deep breath before continuing. "Yesterday his anger was threatening to get the best of him. He needed to see me because he had to know I was OK. Robert's having dreams about Faison kidnapping me, that set him off and no matter what he did he couldn't get control again. Once he saw me and knew I was safe he finally started to relax. It's not business that's taking him out of town, he needs to get a handle on this so that's what he's doing," Anna explained.

"So he was OK the last time you saw him?" Mac asked.

"Yes, he was fine when I left him," Anna reassured him.

"Where is he?" Mac asked.

"That doesn't matter, I know where he is and I will help him with this," Anna reassured him.

Mac understood she was telling him she was doing what he had asked. "That's good, thank you, Anna. I have to get back to work but I'm glad I bumped into you. We'll all have to get together for dinner soon. Bye." Then Mac got up and left.

Once Mac was outside Robin looked at her mother knowingly. "So just how long ago did you leave him?" Anna just looked back at her. A little smile played on her lips. "You weren't answering your phone so I called your hotel and the Quartermains, you two weren't at either of those places."

"No, we weren't. Does it matter where we met each other?" Anna asked.

"No it doesn't," Robin answered, she understood Anna wasn't going to talk about it either. They sat and chatted, Anna asked about Patrick, she was really starting to like him, and it was great fun teasing Robin about him. She loved that they were feeling so comfortable with each other again. Anna knew she could go overboard being the caring mother, but at least Robin didn't seem to mind too much and would joke about it when it did happen. They were just about to say good-bye when Robin got her back. "I really enjoyed our day together yesterday, it's so great having you're here. Oh and tell dad he should do a better job shaving."

Anna let out a little gasp and brought her hands up to her face, "What?"

"It's on your neck, and it sure looks like whisker burn to me," she smiled.

"Um... it's... well..." Anna looked down trying to hide her grin, "OK, I'll tell him." Anna finally got out.

A look of amusement danced across Robin's face, what had they been up to she wondered. "So, what's going on?" she asked.

"We haven't figured that out yet, but when we're alone we... um, it just clicks. He was a mess yesterday, I could tell he was struggling when I got there. Once he knew I was safe we just sat together, and when he was ready he told me what was going on. It was me that suggested he needed some time alone, so he's staying where he wanted me to meet him, but he didn't want to be alone last night and asked me to stay with him. I'm glad I did because he had another nightmare," Anna told her.

"Was he alright, what happened?

"Yeah it was fine, as soon as he knew I was right there with him, he put his arms around me and went back to sleep," Anna told her.

"I'm glad you were there for him."

"He needed me," Anna told her.

"Apparently in his bed, so does that explain your neck," Robin grinned enjoying this chance to pick on Anna like she does to her about Patrick.

"We got a little carried away this morning, alright."

"Well, I hope you were safe," Robin said grinning from ear to ear.

Anna gasped "ROBIN!" she looked around. "We didn't have sex."

"This has been great fun, but I have to get back to work. I love you mom and say hi to dad for me." Robin couldn't stop grinning.

"I love you too, and I will. Bye sweetheart."

"Oh and mom it's not that bad, it's just that I spent the day with you yesterday and it wasn't there then. No one else will even notice," and with that Robin walked away. Anna watched her leave, then smiled, she'd gotten her. Anna could have denied it, but it was Robin. Did she really mind that Robin knew they were trying to find a way to make things work? No probably not.

Anna decides to go to the Metro Court next, she wanted to pack an overnight bag. Everything else aside she wanted to be there tonight if Robert had another nightmare. She hadn't had a chance to talk to him about the one he had last night, but it had worried her. Anna had heard the fear in his voice when he'd called out her name. She had tried to wake him up but it was like the dream wouldn't let him go. At least when Robert realized she was there with him he relaxed. Anna wondered how long it usually took for him to fall back asleep, or if he even could when he'd had these dreams before.

Anna was almost at the elevators when she saw Alan. She hadn't seen him since she'd been back and felt she should really thank him for everything he had done for Robin over the years. "Alan, hello. It's been much too long."

"Anna, it is good to see you. Robin told me you were in town. How are you?" he asked.

"I'm great, I'm enjoying spending time with Robin and seeing old friends, like you. How are you?"

"I can't complain, staying busy at the hospital," he told her.

"Alan, I want to thank you for everything you've done for Robin. I'm so glad she had wonderful people like you in her life when Robert and myself weren't. She has told me about how much you help both her and Stone. Now this thing with Patrick, I think it helps that it's you handling his case as well."

Alan smiled, "You have an amazing daughter and she has become an incredible doctor. You and Robert might not have been there but it was what you both gave her that helped her find the strength she needed. I see both of you in Robin and that's part of what makes her so special."

Anna hugged him, "Thank you, that means so much to me."

"So what's this, giving Alan an update about what you and Robert have done with Skye?" Alcazar had approached them while they were talking.

"Actually we were talking about my daughter Robin," Anna told him. "If Robert did help Skye leave, maybe you should be talking to him."

"He's gone out of town actually. Alice said he was in quite the mood when he left yesterday, then he phoned this morning to say he had been called away on business," Alan informed them.

"There see, I guess you'll just have to wait till he returns to ask him, if he does return that is," Anna added for good measure. This couldn't have worked out better. "Well, I was on my way to my room. Alan again, thank you for everything, I really mean that." Then she turned and headed for the elevator leaving both men behind her. That should be enough people that have seen her, when she leaves here she'll pick up something for dinner then head back to the cottage.

...

Robert was stretched out on the couch when Anna got back, he was glad to see she was caring an overnight back and what he assumed was going to be supper. He got up to help her, "My love returns with sustenance." When he leaned in to kiss her but Anna pulled back.

"Did you shave?" she asked.

"Yes."

"OK." Then Anna leaned in and kissed him.

"How was your day, did the right people see you and know you're still here," Robert asked.

"Oh that couldn't have worked out better," she beamed, "Alcazar approached me while I was talking to Alan, so Alan was the one that actually told both of us you were out of town," Anna explained. "I played along like I didn't know."

"That is perfect. So what kind of goodies do you bring us?" Robert asked as he started unpacking the bag.

"Some chicken breasts and stuff for a salad, I figured between the two of us, we shouldn't mess that up too badly," Anna said with a smile. "There's some other stuff in there too."

"We'll do fine with this. Oh and more wine I see." Robert said as he unpacked the bag.

"Robin says hi"

"Robin?" he wondered, "How'd she know you'd be seeing me?"

"Because she's our daughter," Anna answered. "That's also the reason I asked if you'd shaved." Anna then pointed at the slight irritation on her neck. "If I hadn't spent the day with her yesterday she wouldn't have noticed, but she did."

Robert was now grinning at her. "What did you say about it?"

"What could I say? With a grin much like the one you're giving me she said, 'Oh tell dad he should do a better job shaving' it was a statement, not a question." Robert started laughing. "It's not funny."

Robert kept laughing but managed to say, "Yes it is."

Then Anna smiled, "OK, yeah it is." Anna told him the rest of the conversation, all of which Robert found quite funny. She loved hearing him laugh, with what he's dealing with he needs it.

He took her hand and lead her to the couch, "Didn't you say we would continue something later, is it later enough?" then he pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her.

"I think that should wait a little longer. I want to talk about the dream you had last night," she said as she got more comfortable.

"As long as I know you're OK I can deal with them."

"Robert you were yelling my name in your sleep, I could hear the fear in your voice. I was trying to wake you up and I couldn't. There's more to these dreams then just needing to know I'm OK."

"I don't think so, Anna. I use to have dreams like these when I was working for the WSB. So I would drink myself to sleep so I wouldn't dream. Those dreams were more of a reminder of how I had failed you and they would eat at me, but not these. These dreams are like I have lost you all over again. I use to dream about the past, now it's you in the present that Faison has as his prisoner or is going to shot in front of me. I'm terrified I'm going to lose you again Anna."

"Oh, Robert." Anna touched his face. Robert closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then he told her what he remembered about the dream. "You were able to get back to sleep easily last night, how long does it usually take for you to fall asleep after?" she asked when he was done.

"Hours, sometimes I don't just fall asleep again. As long as I know you're safe, even if we aren't together I will be OK. I just need you to help me get to the point where I can trust that you haven't been taken away from me."

"I'm not going anywhere Robert, we'll get through this together," Anna told him.

"When I have these dreams it all seems so real. It's like it's happening right now. I finally have you in my life again so it means I'm going to lose you"

"These dreams are bringing out fear in you, not anger. What made you so mad that day with Mac," Anna asked.

Robert thought about her question before answering. "I'm angry about a lot of things, I hate what I had to do for so many years. The worst times were when I was lent out by the WSB, even if there was a better way I had to do what they wanted, I took so many lives. Then there's what the WSB had done to you then threatened to do to Robin. That day talking to Mac it was personal though, it was about us. We had our life together stolen from us, what did we do to deserve what happened? It took so long to find our way back to each other, to be the family we should have been all along. Then it was gone, we didn't break up, we didn't fall out of love. We were forced apart." Robert could feel himself getting angry but it wasn't like it had been with Mac. It felt good to be getting angry about this. Why shouldn't he be angry?

"You're right, we were both times. I was madly in love with you when you left me in Paris, and I know you felt the same," Anna agreed.

"Of course I did. If we had just been left alone we would have had a long life together but that never happened." There was a pain in his face as he thought back. "I had you, we had our daughter and we were talking about a baby, but Faison wasn't going to stop, he wouldn't leave us alone. Then the WSB had to get involved, no matter what I said they wanted to believe you would betray them. Then those bastards black box you."

"I had to record that message, Faison was crazy if I hadn't I don't know what he would have done to any one of us. You were his first target, but I feared for Robin as well. He killed his own mother if he got mad enough clearly anyone could be in danger," Anna hated thinking about her time with him.

"Why did the past have to keep coming between us and happiness?" Robert wondered. "No one told me that my job was going to cost me everything I have ever loved. When I think about our lives and what has been taken away the anger just comes now."

"None of that was fair. Why did Faison have to come back into our lives just when we were finally admitting what we really felt?"

"Once I knew the truth, that we should have been together all that time, I wanted you back. Yeah, I was with Kate, but it was like when I found out the truth about why you had betrayed me in Paris when I was with Holly. Knowing the truth I knew we were meant to be together. I couldn't walk away from either of them but it didn't change what I was feeling," Robert admitted. "Thirteen years we were apart then Faison showed up on our bloody wedding day, he wanted to take you away from me then, I know he did. I hate him, Anna."

"He kept showing up too, why was he always in our way. We got past him using mind control on us, but that wasn't enough was it?" Anna's angry was starting to show more. "He just kept going, he should have been dead, but he just wouldn't die." Anna paused, "I never understood why he was so obsessed with me. The fact I love you and not him seemed to drive him to tear us apart. We had to deal with challenge after challenge to be together. Why do we have to fight so hard to be happy, just to have it ripped away?"

"Faison has tried to destroy us, he almost got us both killed. I have never hated someone like I do him. Anytime he would look at you I wanted to hurt him for even thinking about you. Now I'm haunted by him, you're right the only thing he ever felt for you was an obsession."

"He believed I was somehow connected to him, like I his possession. When I was his prisoned that was what he kept talking about, that we were connected, that we had a bond because of our past. I saw how truly crazy he really is, he blamed you for taking me away from him. The longer I was his prisoner the more I hated and feared him," Anna told him

"I hate what Faison and the WSB have cost us. Sean should have just let us walk away, it all could have been so different, our pasts would have been behind us, we would have been so happy." There was a sadness in his eyes now, "I would have been there for you and Robin, I could have been there to see our little girl come into this world. I'm sure she would have had a little brother or sister, maybe both. We had such beautiful dreams, Anna." As a tear rolled down his cheek he realized the anger had changed to sadness. He saw there were tears in Anna's eyes now as well.

"Get it all out whatever you've been holding onto. I know you never talk about any of this." Anna was sure this would help if he could just get it out.

"Anna the things the WSB did to you while you should have been getting treatment for your injuries, no one should ever go through that. I would get so angry when I would see the pictures, but I would do what they wanted, I didn't have a choice. Only once did they show me a video of what they were doing to you. They roughly pulled you out of your bed, then put a gun to your head. You were so confused, and pleading with them to stop. You were asking why they were doing that to you, I heard the answer, 'so he knows we can kill you.' They never showed me another video because I put two agents in the hospital."

Anna was stunned, what had she gone through? How many time had they done something like that to her?

Robert looked into her eyes, "You told Robin I felt like home to you, to me you're my other half. When you're not in my life everything is wrong, I'm incomplete. I just go through the motions, but there's no meaning to it. They took you and Robin away from me I had nothing left. I became this cold, uncaring shell of a man. If I couldn't have you why was I living?" Robert paused thinking about his own question. "I was living so you could, but the kicker was that it meant I couldn't have you either. I have no idea what would have happened to you or Robin if I had died on one of those missions." The thought that he could have let them down again just by dying was too much and he broke down in tears. Anna put her arms around him and held him close letting him cry, she could feel his hands trembling on her waist.

When Robert finally got control, "As much bitterness as I have about what I had to do to save you, that is a shame I will always carry now. I think the real anger is about what we lost. What they did to you, and threatened to do to Robin. Those pictures still hunt me, you should never have been treated like that, you should have been recovering from your head injury. I could always see the fear in your eyes, you were afraid of the people doing that to you."

"It's a good thing I don't remember any of that then," Anna said then put her hand on the side of his face.

Robert took a deep breath, he felt so emotionally drained. The emotions he had just gone through were all at their extremes. Through it all Anna had held him, she didn't move she hadn't tried to walk away. She was right there with him, experiencing them with him. Anna was the only reason he was able to let this all out. He had held so much in for all these years. To actually let them out, to share them, it felt like a massive weight had been lifted off of him. Robert had no idea how long they had been talking but realized he was starving. Maybe it was because of what he had just been through as well, "I'm famished, what do you say we make something to eat, that was more grueling then any obstacle course I've ever done."

"That sounds good to me, one thing first." Then Anna kissed him, "I think you earned that," she smiled then got up off his lap. While they made supper they joked about some of the horrible meal she had made while he was recovering from the explosion in his office. "Sadly I haven't gotten much better."

"You could always make a great salad though, except that one time you burnt it," Robert joked and started to laugh.

"The sad part is, that sounds like something I could manage to do," she started to laugh with him.

The light-hearted banter continued while they ate. It felt great just being together, nothing pressing to deal with, no one demanding their time. Robert didn't want to think, he just wanted to enjoy being with the woman he loves. At this moment that was all he needed. When they were done eating and everything was cleaned up Robert got them both a glass of wine. "What do you say we find a movie to watch, I'm not sure I'm up for much else."

"I think that's about all I'm up for as well, we've talked enough for one day," Anna agreed. "Let's go watch it upstairs, I want to curl up in bed with you."

Robert smiled he wanted nothing more than to hold her again, he needed her close to him. "Your wish is my command. Grab your glass I'll bring the wine."