Chapter 20
The next day Robert and Anna went to meet with Mac, they wanted to share all the information they had discovered the day before. Once they had explained everything Mac sat there staring at them speechless. "The biggest problem is so far we have no evidence linking de Salva to any of the things that have happened here," Robert added.
"Do you even know if he's here in Port Charles?"
"No, not yet, we haven't started to look. We only found out all this information last night," Anna told him. "Has anyone here seen Pauly Munro yet?"
"Not that's been reported to me," Mac answered. "Clayton's in today we can ask him." Mac called him into his office, while they waited he asked, "So where's Sean today?"
"Tiffany and Ann are heading home tonight so he wants to spend the day with them," Anna told him.
Mac told Clayton to come in when he knocked, "You wanted to see me."
"Yeah, we just have a few questions about Pauly Munro."
"No one has reported seeing him yet," he reported. "There is something that's bothering me though."
"What's that," Robert asked.
"One of the rookies, he gets quiet and I think a little odd whenever he's around anyone talking about Munro."
"Who is it and are they here today?" Mac asked.
"Rick Turner, he should be on shift I'm not sure if he's here in the station or out on his beat."
"Well, we should go look for him then. I think I want to witness how he reacts to being asked about Munro," Robert said. "Clayton, don't open with the Munro question I want a chance to read him."
"You got it, boss." Robert and Anna then followed him out of the office. They walked through the squad room talking to a few people as they looked around for Turner. When Clayton saw him walk in they started to make their way towards him, still talking with people along the way. When they got over to him Clayton called out to him, "Hey Turner how's it going today? Have you met Robert Scorpio and Anna Devane yet?"
"Hey, Clayton. No, I don't think I have, I've seen you both here though." He shook their hands, "Nice to meet you both, I've been hearing a lot about you both. Can I ask why they call you, boss and the chief?"
Clayton answered that for them, "Anna was chief when I started and was commissioner for a short time as well. We can't call Robert commissioner that would get too confusing, but I remember Chief Lewis always called him boss, so I kind of started that one," Anna looked at him, "Yeah I started the chief too."
"So you're fairly new to the force, how are you liking it?" Anna asked.
"Oh it's great, I always wanted to be a cop," he said proudly.
Anna started asking him a few questions about why he wanted to be a cop, she needed to get him talking. Turner seemed happy to tell Anna about himself while Robert just watched him. After another officer came over and said something to Clayton he turned back to Turner, "You just came back from walking your beat right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I was just wondering if you happened to see Pauly Munro while you were out, that's the guy everyone was briefed about on Friday."
After a short pause, "Um no I didn't. This guy must be someone really important."
"He is a person of interest," Clayton answered.
Turner started to fidget a little, "Oh really what did he do?"
"He's a person of interest that may be connected to a few different ongoing investigations."
Robert had noticed the slight changes but just kept watching him. Then Anna asked, "Where were you this morning do you ever pass where those explosions happened?"
"I never really go by where Corinthos Coffee was or his warehouse, but I do pass that warehouse that was damaged in that last smalled explosion, the one where that man was killed in."
"You haven't noticed anyone hanging around there maybe behaving a little suspicious?" Anna pushed.
"Um no not really. Can I ask why you want to know?"
"Well Robert was injured when that explosion happened, we just want to find out who was behind it. Sometimes people will return to the scene of their crime to admire their handy work," Anna explained.
"Oh, right I remember reading about that while I was doing my training.
"So when was the last time you talked to Munro?" Robert asked.
"Um sorry sir, I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do. When was the last time he approached you for information?"
"Sir I don't know what you mean." Turner was starting to get worried, how did he know Munro had wanted information from him?
"The second Clayton brought up Munro you froze, it was just for a second but it happened. The more Clayton talked about him the more uncomfortable you got. You couldn't keep your hands still. When Anna mentioned the explosions you were hoping the conversation was going to change direction again but it didn't, then she asked about the explosion that killed Rodney Blake. That's right we know who he was and we have for a while, once you've been a cop or a spy for a while you start to trust your gut, and Baker thought someone was sniffing around for information about Rodney. Clayton believed you knew something and they were both right, weren't they?" Robert waited for him to respond, Turner just hung his head. "When was the first time Munro approached you about the explosion and whether or not Rodney'd been identified yet?"
"The day after the explosion. He approached me about a block from the warehouse and just started talking to me then asked if they knew who had been killed yet. He found me every day after, always wanting to know the same thing. When I saw his picture on Friday I freaked. I didn't know what to do, he came and found me again that day but I wouldn't say anything at all I just wanted to get away from there and I was hoping he wouldn't come looking for me again."
"The first thing you should have done when you saw that picture, was told someone that he had approached you looking for information. Did he give you money or bribe you in any other way?" Robert demanded.
"I felt more threatened by him than anything, but he did give me an envelope. I never opened it, I have it in my locker here I didn't know what to do," Turner admitted.
"Clayton, take him to Mac, he can deal with him. We got what we needed, we know Munro is in Port Charles." After Clayton and Turner had walked away Robert turned to Anna, "Now we just need to start getting proof that de Salva is behind all of this, knowing who's doing it doesn't do much if we can't prove it."
"We've given Mac and the PD more than enough to work with, can we just go home and let them do the legwork on this?"
"If you're going home then that's where I'm going," he said then pulled her into his arms. "We're getting closer Luv."
"Take me home, I don't want to have to think anymore today." Anna was still trying to wrap her head around everything they had learned the night before.
...
Sonny wasn't going to sit back and let Jonathan de Salva come into his town and destroy everything he had worked for. He didn't care where de Salva was at the moment, he knew where his businesses were. Eye for an eye, he would start taking those businesses out. He would make sure the buildings were empty when they went up in flames but in one night he wanted at least two of his nightclubs to close permanently. He was waiting for Jason to arrive, they would be meeting with one of their associates that would be leaving for Miami later today. There with his team, he would set in motion Sonny's plan.
Jason walked in, he wanted to talk to Sonny about his plan before they went through with it. "How long do we have before Don gets here?"
"At least 45 minutes, why?"
"Are you sure this is what you want to do, is this the best way to hit de Salva?" Jason asked.
"He snuck into Port Charles and hit our business like a coward, he didn't want me to know who was attacking me until it was too late. I think Scorpio was right, that last explosion was actually meant to take you out. I will not just let that go unpunished."
"I agree with that but if we make a move against him now we'll be the first people the police suspect."
"We aren't going to be anywhere near Miami when this happens, besides there is no proof that de Salva is the one that ordered the attacks here so why would we be suspected for the retaliation?"
"Mac Scorpio knows who hit our buildings, he could pass that information on the cops in Miami."
"Jason there is no proof of that, and there will be no proof to link us to what happens down in Miami. This will look like it's someone from Miami coming after him, we may even leave some evidence to point them in that direction," Sonny assured him.
"As long as you're sure this won't come back to us."
"There is no way they will be able to trace this back to us," Sonny assured him.
...
Sean had spent the day with Tiffany and Ann and had dropped them off at the airport, now he wanted to talk to Robert and Anna about whether they had learned anything new after meeting with Mac. When he walked in he didn't see them anywhere, "Robert, Anna," he called out. He checked the kitchen then walked back into the living room, as he walked towards the office he spotted them.
"Please stop yelling," Robert said quietly. He was stretched out on the couch, Anna was laying with him asleep, she was cuddled right into him, her head on his chest. "We needed a nice quiet day."
"Oh sorry buddy I didn't mean to disturb you guys," he said in a hushed voice. "Have you been here long?"
"Most of the day actually, we just didn't want to do anything that involved having to think about what's happening."
"I can talk to you later."
"Don't worry Sean you talk, just don't expect much out of me," Anna said without opening her eyes.
"So you talked to Mac this morning right?"
"Yeah, we told him everything we figured out last night. While we were there we talked to an officer that told us Pauly Munro had approached him looking for information about Rodney," Robert told him.
"So he's here."
"Well he was still here on Friday, that was the last time he saw him."
"Shouldn't someone be out there looking for him?" Sean asked.
"Yeah and they all work for the PCPD or Corinthos."
"Robert we need to know where he is."
"Yeah, but I don't have to be the one that finds him. We don't want anyone to know we're working this case remember. We are using the resources available to us to get the results we need."
"Sean we are not working today," Anna added sleepily.
"OK, I get it. Are we working tomorrow?"
"Maybe," Robert said with a smile.
"Well, I'm going to go make some calls in your office then and let you get back to doing nothing." He smiled then started to walk out of the room.
"Thank you," Anna called as he walked away. "I think you should take me up to our room now, he might want to talk to us some more if we stay here," she said with a laugh.
"Oh, we can't have that." They got up and headed for the stairs. "Once I get you up there," Robert started.
"No we aren't doing that yet, you still have to take it easy."
"I'll be fine."
"With everything that's going on I need you is top form, I won't be selfish and risk injuring you worse." Robert looked at her like she was being ridiculous, "Robert this is us, we tend to get very physical, we could easily hurt your ribs," she said giving him a knowing smile.
When they got to their room he led her over to the window, "Fine I'll settle for holding you tonight." Anna leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her. "I really love this view, especially when I'm looking at it over your shoulder."
"We will get to look out at this view for a long time yet." They stood quietly looking out into the night. "Robert I'm so tired of worrying, I want all of this to be behind us. All I want is to have our life together and not worry if there's someone out there plotting against us."
"I know, that's all I want too. We'll get that." Then he kissed her neck slowly moving up to her earlobe.
"Mmmm, Robert we aren't doing anything tonight."
"Are you turning me down?"
"I hate it, but yes I am." She turned in his arms, "You need to heal, we don't know what's coming next."
"OK fine, but once I'm healed,"
"Once you're healed I'll be dragging you in here and having my way with you," Anna smiled then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "How are we going to get proof that links de Salva to all of this?"
"I'm not sure, he's been covering his tracks very well, for a long time. There has to be something that he's overlooked, we just have to find it. Come on let's get comfy," he led her over to their bed, then she curled up beside him when they were both on the bed. "I was thinking about sending Sean to Ravinview, he might be able to get some answers that we didn't get over the phone."
"That makes sense, we need to find out how Putnam got out of there." Robert kissed her neck as she spoke. "Do you think Rodney was the only one that would have been to where ever Putnam was staying here? If we can find out where he was staying we might be able to find out who else was there, or arranged it for him."
"That's good too, I doubt Rodney was the one that arranged that," Robert agreed, as his hands roamed under her top. "He might have been Putnam's contact here, but I would bet someone more important and trusted in de Salva's organization set that up."
"We should probably try talking to Putnam tomorrow then, even if he's still kind of out of it, he might give away where he was staying," Anna suggested.
"OK, we have a plan of action. Now I want to get a little action," he said giving her a devilish grin.
"You're being bad," she smiled back.
"But you like it," he sat up and pulled off his shirt. "Come here," he pulled her on to him so she was straddling him, "make sure you're gentle with me."
"We should wait."
"You don't want to wait, I want you now Anna."
She smiled again, "You let me know if you feel any pain in your ribs," then she leaned down and kissed him.
...
Robert and Anna were standing outside of Grant Putnam's room at GH waiting until his doctor was done examining him, they would be allowed to go in after that. "Do you think he'll actually be able to tell us anything?" Anna asked.
"We have to try, he might let something slip and not even realize it."
Anna nodded she knew it might not work, but agreed they had to try, "When does Sean's plane leave?"
Robert checked his watch, "He should have left about an hour ago, with any luck he'll be back this time tomorrow with some answers."
Just then the doctor came out, "You can go in now, he's calm right now so it should be a good time to talk to him."
"Thank you," Anna said, then they went into the room. Putnam was still in restraints, he looked at them as they entered and grinned. "Hello, Grant."
"Anna, I don't get many visitors other than the doctors."
"Grant we came here to talk to you," Anna continued. "We want to record this conversation as well."
"Did Robert take you out for dinner like he promised?"
Putnam clearly remembered the last time they had talked to him Anna thought before she spoke again. "Actual there was an accident that kept us from keeping our reservations. How are you doing here?"
"I miss getting to watch TV, it had been so long since I could watch whatever I wanted."
"You got to do that at your motel room. Did you have any belongings there, we could them bring to you?"
"They won't let me have them anyway."
"Maybe not right now but they would eventually, I would think that if you were at a motel they would get rid of your stuff when you don't come back." Anna wanted to make him feel like he could trust her.
"You're probably right."
"So I've talked to the commissioner and he has agreed to make sure you won't go back to Ravinview. He will arrange for you to go to a different facility where Jonathan can't find you," Robert said. He hoped that if Putnam knew they already knew who had gotten him out he might tell them something.
"Jonathan?"
"Yes, you met him didn't you?" Robert asked.
"Rodney, he would come to visit me. Pauly, he was angry all the time. Then there was the other two, maybe one of them was Jonathan."
"Yeah maybe one of them was. I know you saw Rodney here in Port Charles, did you see the other men here as well?"
"After I got out of Ravinview I only saw Rodney until I got here. Why hasn't he come to see me lately?"
"That accident I mentioned, he was hurt and can't come see you," Anna told him. So far Putnam was cooperating and he was giving them little bits of information she didn't want to say anything that might upset him.
"Did Pauly hurt him?"
"What makes you say that Grant," Robert asked.
"He's always so angry, I think he'd like hurting people."
"You didn't say whether you wanted us to pick up your belongings for you or not, we could have them brought here and put in storage," Anna offered.
"Yeah, OK"
"So you would like us to pick up your belongings, where are they?"
"What?"
"Grant we are offering to pick up your belongings. Do you want us to do that?" Anna asked again.
"I think one of de Salva's men would have done that by now."
"Oh OK, that's good. Do you want them to bring your belongings here, we could contact them for you," Robert offered.
"Rodney would have to do that, I only have his number."
"We'll stop in to see him when we leave here. Who's de Salva?" Robert asked.
"No, you can't do that Scorpio. I can only talk to Rodney."
"He doesn't have his phone with him right now," Robert noticed Putnam was starting to get a little agitated.
"He's coming for you Scorpio, and Anna. He doesn't like you, but he wouldn't let me hurt her yet. I had to make sure she stayed alive for now, but I get to kill her."
"Who doesn't like us?" Robert asked.
"No, no Scorpio. You'd like me to tell you that, wouldn't you? It'll be a better as a surprise, more fun if you don't know." Putnam just stared at him. "He told me I would get to kill your lovely Anna Devane when the time was right, you too. I just have to wait." Then Putnam started to laugh.
"Grant who told you that?"
"The big cheese Scorpio," then he laughed again.
Anna came closer to Robert, "I think we've gotten all we can for today, we can try again tomorrow or the next day."
"Yeah, you're right." Robert looked back at the still laughing Putnam. "We'll come back another time Grant."
"Scorpio, I get to kill Anna."
They could still hear him laughing when they were in the hallway. "Come on Luv let's go, we should go find Robin."
"Yeah after hearing Putnam brag about eventually getting to kill me I'd like to see her. Did you record the entire conversation?"
"Yeah I got it all, from the second we walked through the door. We'll take it down to headquarters after." They walked towards the elevators, Robin should be in the research lab today, so they would look there first. When they got there they saw her working away at her computer, Robert opened the door, "Knock knock. Hi sweety, can we interrupt?"
Robin looked up, "Hi dad, of course, you can." She noticed the look on Anna's face, "Hey mom what happened?"
"We just talked to Grant Putnam," Anna wrapped her arms around herself.
"I take it that didn't go well."
Anna walked over and hugged her, "I need this first, then we can talk about that."
Robin hugged her back, "We don't have to talk about him at all if that's what you want."
"We were hoping he would let something slip that would tie him to de Salva and everything that's happened here. We didn't get enough to make a case against him but he did mention his name," Robert told her.
"And that he would get to kill us when the time was right."
"What? Mom, that's awful."
"That's why we came to find you, we needed a little distraction," Robert told her.
"I could use one too, Carly has been at the hospital all morning and it seems like every time I walk out that door she appears. Do you have time for lunch?"
"We have all the time you need," Robert told her. Right then his phone rang, "After this we have time, excuse me." He went into the hall to answer it, "Hey Sean, what's up?"
"Robert I wanted to check with you before I went any farther here."
"What's going on?"
"I'm getting nowhere trying to get information here. I could if I was here on WSB business, but I won't do that if you're still against it."
"Would the WSB have to know you've been there or why you are asking questions?" Robert asked.
"No, I just need the extra pull to get in to talk to the director here. I believe I've talked to the same woman that has already given you information," Sean explained.
Robert didn't really like it but as long as the WSB didn't need to get involved he would have to be OK with it. "Yeah do it, Sean, we need to get that information."
"You've got it, buddy." Then the line went dead.
Robert turned to go back into the lab, when he did he saw Bobbie walking towards him. "Hello Bobbie, do you have a few minutes?"
"Yeah for you I do. What's up?"
"I've wanted to talk to you for a while now but I never seem to see you on you're own."
"Oh OK, about what?" Bobbie asked.
"I think I owe you an apologie. When I first came back here I only wanted to do the job I was here for and I was a complete jerk. I had come here, where so many people had cared for me, had been my friends, who had mourned my death and I was a complete ass." Robert took her hand, "I never said this and I should have, a lot sooner than this. Bobbie, I am so sorry about Tony, you were both such good friends to me. I should have mourned him with you when he passed away."
Bobbie smiled, "I knew you were in there. Hello, my old friend." Then a single tear ran down her cheek and she hugged him.
When she let him go he looked her in the eye, "When he died I was shocked, I had come here to stop the outbreak, but I didn't do it fast enough and it cost a dear friend his life, as well as others. I wanted to stay disconnected from that and I wouldn't let myself mourn him. I should have been there for you and your family."
"Robert I forgive you. Anna and I have talked and she told me a little about why you stayed away. I had noticed a big change in you when you came back here and I actually didn't like who you had become."
"Oh thanks," he smiled. "I know I could be horrible at times."
"Yes you could," she agreed with a smile. "Then something wonderful happened. You found a reason to change all that, and that reason I believe is in that lab. Your family always meant the world to you, I am so happy for you and Anna."
"Thank you, Bobbie."
"Is she still hiding in there I was hoping to get a chance to give her a piece of my mind again." Came a voice from behind Robert.
Bobbie looked past Robert, "Why must you do that? Just because you're having a bad day, it doesn't mean you need to come here and pick fights."
"She deserves it."
Robert turned, "Carly I take it."
"Um, yes I am." she looked at him then realized she knew who he was. "Really mom why are you talking to this man, he turned his back on everyone that ever cared about him, I guess that's where his daughter got it from."
"You take that back Carly, I will not let you talk to my friend like that. You know nothing about what happened and you have no right to pass judgment on him," Bobbie snapped at her.
"Fine whatever. I still don't understand why you are wasting your time talking to him."
"Robert Scorpio has been my friend for a very long time, he is actually Lucas' godfather. Sometimes people make choices that they later regret, that doesn't make them a bad person. I forgave you didn't I?"
"You should listen to your mother. If you had said that to me instead of Robert you would be on the floor bleeding for talking about my family like that." None of them had notice Anna or Robin come out of the lab. "You think you know so much about my family and what we've been through. Did you give up everything you love to protect your family? Did you find the strength to continue when you were diagnosed with a deadly illness or struggle to find out who you really were after a head injury? No, you found out who your birth mother was, came here and destroyed her marriage. You hide the identity of your child's father for years. You helped another man keep a child away from his real father. Robin told the truth both times and now you hate her for it, fine that's between the two of you, but don't judge other people if you don't want them to judge you." Anna took a deep breath then looked at Bobbie. "I'm sorry Bobbie but I needed to get that out."
"Bobbie we'll talk soon," Robert told her. "Thank you for being such a good friend."
"Yes we will, and Anna we have to do lunch again soon," Bobbie said, she clearly didn't blame Anna for losing it on Carly.
"Come on ladies." Robert walked past Carly, put a hand on each of their back then lead Anna and Robin away.
"What you're on their side now?" Carly questioned after they'd walked away.
"You want to know whose side I'm on? Mine. What did Anna say that was a lie? You have no idea about what Robert and Anna have been through and for you to talk to them like you do is just wrong. Your problem is with Robin, not her parents. They have all been my friends for a long time and that isn't going to change." Bobbie took a breath before continuing, "You came here looking for a fight, you just weren't expecting to get that kind of response. If you think for one minute Anna wouldn't kick your ass, talk about her family like that again in front of her."
"You would let your so-called friend do that?"
"She is my friend and we are done talking about this. Like I said you came here to take your bad mood out on Robin, this time you got more then you expected, end of story."
"Fine but I'm not done with Robin," Carly insisted.
"That is your choice. I have to get back to work and I think you should find something else to do with your day then hang out here to annoy Robin." Carly agreed to leave then she and Bobbie walked away together.
...
Mac sat at his desk, Robert had just played him the recording of their conversation with Putnam. "That's not much yet other than the death threats. Are you going to try and talk to him again?" Mac asked.
"Yeah, we are going to go back again tomorrow or the next day. We may have to wait a couple days for him to want to talk to us again, we aren't giving up on getting information out of him."
"The longer we were in there with him the odder his behavior became," Anna said she was sitting on the couch in Mac's office. "I think it'll take a few visits to get everything we need out of him, we just have to remember not to push him too far."
"This is a good start, the names he did mention match with a few we have. Do you think he really doesn't know that Jonathan is de Salva's first name?"
"It's hard to say. It sounded like he didn't but he could have been playing us. When he finally did say his last name I think Putnam slipped, I don't think he meant to say that," Anna speculated.
"I think that was why he said head cheese after, he caught his mistake and stopped himself from repeating it. He might be nuts but he is very calculating as well," Robert added as he joined Anna on the couch. "One thing was very clear, he was looking forward to what he saw as his reward."
"Yeah, that was pretty creepy, listening to him brag about that couldn't have been easy Anna."
"No, it wasn't, I think he hates us as much as de Salva does," Anna agreed.
"Robert you said Sean went down to Ravinview, do you know if he's having any luck there?"
"Well, he called me earlier while we still were at the hospital. He told me he was having trouble getting in to talk to the director so he had to play the WSB card to get in," Robert explained. "Hopefully he can get some kind of information for us."
"I thought you didn't want them involved," Anna was a little surprised to hear that.
"That was why he called me. He said he just needed that pull to get in, but there's no need to contact the WSB or communicate about what he was doing there or why he needs the information."
"When do you expect him back?" Mac asked.
"It could be tomorrow, it could be longer. It all depends on how long it takes him to get what he's looking for."
"Well I wish we were getting evidence faster but I guess I can't complain," Mac said. "Hopefully it doesn't take too much longer to get what we need."
"I wish we knew where de Salva was, Baker tells me he hasn't been seen at any of his businesses in Miami in close to a month."
"He has to be here then," Anna concluded. "It's the only thing that makes sense. He wanted to be here to watch Sonny's businesses go up in smoke. He probably wanted to be here to control Putnam as well. Putnam did say he was told he had to keep me alive. After he took me I bet he had to report in."
"If he's here, he's staying well hidden. We'd have better luck finding one of his associates and hoping they lead us to him," Mac suggested.
"We having a hard time finding any of them too though," Robert offered. "They have to be around here somewhere. I wish we knew more about his organization."
"He has done an amazing job separating himself from anything that would indicate he has anything to do with any illegal activities. How are we going to find out who works for him if we can't even prove he's doing anything illegal?" Mac wondered.
"There has to be something, we just have to find it," Anna said, she was trying to stay positive.
"Yeah, you're right," Mac agreed. "So Robert how are you feeling, how are your ribs?"
"We should have stopped and had them looked at while we were at GH earlier."
"I think it was a good thing we left when we did, I had just apologized to Bobbie, it wouldn't have been good if you beat up her daughter, even if she did deserve it," Robert said with a smile and a little pride.
"Carly was bothering Robin again I take it."
"And talking like she knew why Robert had been gone. I'd love to get a chance to show her my shoe." Both Robert and Mac started to laugh. "What these are nice shoes?" Anna said with a mischievous smile admiring her feet.
"I'll take your word for that thanks," Mac smiled. Then he looked at Robert, "Are your ribs or your head still bothering you?"
"The headaches are completely gone, my ribs are still a little tender but they've gotten a lot better. I'm able to move fairly well," he said then smiled at Anna. "I think I just need to start stretching and moving more."
"It's been a week since you were released, and they did say to come in after a week," Anna reminded him.
"OK, we can go back and see about getting my ribs looked at."
They said goodbye and walked out of Mac's office, Anna looked at him as they walked, she noticed he was smiling at her. "What? I'd like to know that you're alright." He didn't say anything just kept smiling, "Last night was nice but I want to know you can get um, be more involved without hurting yourself."
"So last night was good but you want great," he grinned.
Anna smiled at him, "What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing at all, let's go get these ribs looked at."
When they got to the hospital they went to the nurses' station to find out if Robert could get in to be examined. While they waited Robert noticed Patrick talking to someone. Whoever it was seemed to be flirting with him, he pointed them out to Anna and they both watched for a while. "Well at least he doesn't seem to be interested in whoever that is, that's good."
Then the woman turned her head just enough and Anna saw who it was, "That bitch is going too far." Anna walked over to them. "What, you though if you can't go antagonize Robin you'll come here and flirt with Patrick to cause problems in their relationship. You are a real piece of work you know that."
"Anna this isn't our fight." Robert had followed her.
"You might want to back off or I'll have no choice but to make you," Carly said full of attitude.
"Oh, little girl you have no idea who you are talking to! I will take great pleasure in showing you a thing or two about respect."
Patrick stepped in between them, "Ladies there is no need for any of this. Robert a little help here."
"Oh hell no, if you're dumb enough to stand in front of Anna when all she wants to knock Carly out, I'll pick you up off the floor but that's it."
Robert's comment seemed to make Carly rethink getting into it with Anna. "So Robin has to send her mommy in to fight for her," she said as if this was just a waste of her time.
"Robin doesn't need my help at all to kick your ass. She's just less likely to actually do it then I am."
"Don't make me laugh." Carly turned when some taped her shoulder, she was surprised to see Robin standing there. Not as surprised as she was when Robin punched her in the face, Carly was knocked backward into the nurses' station.
Robert let out a little cheer. "Yes! That's my girl."
"Wholy crap, Robin," Patrick said in surprise.
Anna helped Carly steady herself again, "If you don't have business here I suggest you leave."
"This isn't over by any means."
"That's good, but it is for today," Robin told her.
"Was that really just because she was flirting with me?" Patrick asked.
"She was what?" Robin asked.
"Well that was why I walked over here, but she had pissed me off earlier and had spent the morning getting in Robin's face because she was upset about something. She was the one looking for a fight," Anna told him.
"What are you guys doing back here?" Robin asked. She wasn't going to talk about what had just happened. It wasn't right that Carly should both her parents when it's her Carly's upset with.
"I wanted to get my ribs checked out. Make sure everything is healing nicely."
"Oh, so you're just waiting to get looked at?" Patrick asked. Robert told him he was, "Well I have some time I can have a look at those ribs," he offered. "Come with me." Once they were alone in the exam room Patrick asked, "So what happened out there?"
"It's just what Anna said. I mostly got filled in on Robin and Carly's past over lunch, and if you know what's good for you I wouldn't let Carly use you to get to Robin."
"Yeah, they don't like each other. Take off your shirt."
Robert did as he was asked, "That might be the understatement of the year."
Patrick smiled, he knew Robert was right. "What about your head, still having headaches?"
"No, I haven't had one in a couple days now."
"How does your side feel, any pain?"
"There's still a little tenderness, but I wouldn't call it actual pain."
"Does it hurt when I do this?" Patrick asked lifting Robert arm over his head.
"Like I said there's a little tender but it doesn't hurt." Patrick continued to examine him. "I mean it, don't let Carly cause problems for you and Robin. She doesn't care what she has to do to hurt Robin. You say you serious and want a relationship with Robin, make sure Carly doesn't get in the way of that."
"You think she'd try to break us up?"
"For a neurosurgeon, you're an idiot Patty Cake. They hate each other that is plain to see, of course, she'd try breaking you up, especially if she thinks you two might love each other just to hurt Robin."
"I love how your advice comes with an insult as an added bonus," Patrick said with a smile. "You seem to be healing very nicely."
"So am I doing well enough to do some strenuous activities?"
"What exactly do you have in mind?"
Robert smiled at him, "I doubt you want to know the actual answer, but my full participation is missed."
Patrick smiled and shook his head slightly, "Um yeah, that shouldn't be a problem."
"OK, that's good. Are you and Robin busy tonight? We should take our ladies out, I think they could use it," he said as he put his shirt back on.
"Yeah I'd like that, we might want to go find them before they start a fight club out there," Patrick said with a laugh. "I can't believe Robin walked up and hit Carly."
"Robin has Anna's temper, but not her training, that punch was from anger."
"I guessing if Anna had hit her, she would have knocked her out cold," Patrick asked as they left the exam room.
"Why do you think I wasn't getting in between that. You do not want to be on the receiving end of the Devane temper, trust me."
"Oh I know, I've had a few previews, and I will try to avoid getting to know it better."
Still waiting at the nurses' station Robin saw them coming, it looked like they were joking around with each other. "Dad actually likes Patrick doesn't he?"
"He won't admit that to you, but he wouldn't object too loudly if let's say he got asked a certain question," Anna hinted.
Robin pretended to be shocked, then smiled. "We are so not there, but I understand what you mean."
When Robert and Patrick joined them Patrick asked, "You're off soon right Robin?"
"I already am, why?"
"Well we are taking the two sexiest women in Port Charles out for a night on the town, I even happen to know a little place to do some slow dancing. Maybe we can show them a move or two."
"Patrick, don't worry, mom and I have the moves. I just hope you can keep up," Robin teased.
"Me, what about Robert?"
Standing beside Anna, "Patrick my boy, all my best moves happen with this lady," he said as he put his arm around her.
Anna smiled, "Are you ready to show off your moves Scorpio?" she asked playfully.
He patted he bottom, "Yup, all your favorite moves."
Anna smile grew, "Um, we should get out of here. We need to get ready for tonight. What time are we going out?"
Patrick couldn't help but smile, then looked at his watch. "Why don't we pick you up at 7:30? I'll make the reservations," Patrick offered and they all agreed.
Robin hadn't missed what was going on either, "K, see you two at 7:30." She pulled Patrick aside once they'd walked away, "They don't even care that I know they're going home to have sex."
"What's wrong with that? When we're their age if I get taken out of commission for I week I hope you can't wait to have your way with me either."
"Oh god, Patrick stop it."
Patrick couldn't help but smile, "He didn't come out and say it, but I think your mom wanted to make sure his ribs were healed enough to get a good work out."
"Stop it," she said and he started to laugh. "Now please stop talking about it."
"Our sex life or theirs?" he teased.
"Patrick!"
"If we leave now you could be calling out my name like that in a much more private setting. I bet someone will be calling out a different name soon too."
Robin covered her ears, "You need to stop, you really do."
"OK, I'll stop," he took her in his arms. "I need you, Robin."
"You're just saying that to score points after torturing me," she smiled up at him.
"Well yeah that, and because I am now scared of you right hook," he teased.
...
"Good morning," Anna said then kissed him. "I knew you'd sleep in this morning."
"Good morning Luv, is this a stay in bed kind of day?"
"Last night was amazing, a night of dancing and great sex and you want more."
"More time in bed yes. If we don't get out of bed we don't have to think about anything going on on the other side of that door."
"I think we've had this conversation before, it won't go away unless we deal with it."
"We can deal with it later," Robert moved closer and put his head on her chest. "We're waiting for information anyway, stay here with me."
"If you're here with me I will," she smiled and started running her fingers through his hair. "How are you feeling this morning, we didn't overdo it last night did we?"
"No I feel fine, it was good to move and stretch. My ribs are no more tender then they were yesterday." Robert closed his eyes, "My life is good right now."
"OK, we'll stay in bed unless we get more information."
"That's a deal. Now close your eyes, we should rest some more."
"Are you sure you're feeling OK, I've agreed to spend the day in bed and you want to sleep?"
"Rest now, then sex."
Anna laughed, "There it is, yeah you're fine." Anna put her arms around him and closed her eyes. She felt like she had just drifted off to sleep when the phone rang. She grabbed it quickly, not wanting it to disturb Robert. "Hello."
"Anna good you're there. Have you heard about what happened down in Miami?" Mac asked.
"No, why what is it?"
"It's on the news, there were two suspicious fires last night, both destroying nightclubs."
Anna reached for the remote with her free hand, "What?"
"And guess who owned those nightclubs?"
"Jonathan de Salva." Anna finally found the remote, she started looking for the news story.
"You got it."
"K, I've found the newscast about it."
"I'll talk to you later. Bye."
"Bye," Anna hung up. "Robert are you awake?"
"Yeah, sort of. What's going on?" He sat up and they watched the news report in silence. After talking about the fires that had kept the Miami fire department busy most of the night, the reporter said that club owner Jonathan de Salva couldn't be reached for comment at the moment because he was out of town on an extended business trip.
"Well, I guess de Salva will be leaving Port Charles shortly if he hasn't already."
"Yeah, I guess so," Anna agreed. "What the hell was Corinthos thinking?"
"I wish I knew. Does this mean we have to get out of bed?"
"Why, what are we going to do? We can yell at Corinthos whenever we see him next." Anna laid back. "Did this just get worse or better for us?"
Robert laid back beside her, "I really don't know, but I think Corinthos just made himself enemy number one."
...
Sonny had watched the news early in the morning and was now waiting to hear from his associates in Miami. The plan had gone perfectly, the fires were started within twenty minutes of each other and there had been no one in either of the buildings at the time. Jonathan de Salva will know this was a targeted attack against him, whether or not he would know who was behind it Sonny didn't know.
Sonny was in deep thought when Jason came in, "They've left Port Charles, de Salva and Conners got a plane to New York about half an hour ago."
"Just the two of them?"
"Yes, I don't know who else was in Port Charles. They are doing everything to stay out of sight. That's why I just went to the airport and waited."
"Well, at least now we know de Salva was here. If only him and Conners left then Munro most still be around, and there's likely a few more of his men here. It has to look like just business has brought them back to Miami so they can't show up with an entourage of muscle."
"Now that their boss is out of town they might get careless."
"Exactly," Sonny agreed. "We need to try and find some of his men while he is distracted. If we can get Munro I think we should turn him over to Scorpio."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes, Scorpio is being upfront with us, and we all want the same thing. To stop de Salva we are going to have to pick apart his organization."
"Scorpio will give him over to the cops."
"Yeah that's fine, they can work on getting the information they need to keep him locked up. We can even work on finding something they can use against him. Once Munro is put away will de Salva leave him there or risk exposing himself and their connection."
Jason agreed that was a good plan. "I'm going to go get started on this," he turned and left Sonny alone again.
...
Jonathan was trying to remain calm, he was now on his way back to Miami and knew he would be bombarded with questions as soon as he got off the plane. The reporters are sure to be waiting for him when they land. He hadn't really thought about what he was going to say to any of them about his nightclubs going up in flames, but that was probably for the better. They surely can't expect him to know why any of this has happened. What was bothering him the most was who could be behind this. He knew Morgan had been asking around Port Charles trying to find out who was behind what happened there, but he was confident that there was nothing to link him to that. Corinthos may have the resources to find out about his other line of work but on paper, he was a legitimate nightclub owner, but if there was nothing to link him to the explosion then Corinthos couldn't be behind it.
Then there's Scorpio and Devane. The more he thought about whether they could be the ones behind it the less he thought it could be them. For one they have both been in Port Charles for months. If they had done this they surely wouldn't have had anyone else do it for them. Besides he was sure there was no way they could know anything about him. Grant Putnam had only ever heard his last name, so even if they looked into every de Salva and they came across his name they would only find a successful businessman. Rodney had died before he could have said anything to anyone so he didn't talk.
Was this another threat from a different competitor that had noticed his absence from Miami and had decided to make a move on his territory? Why was this happening now? He was so close to taking down Corinthos now he has to deal with this. Would Corinthos have time to rebuild before he could make his next move? When the pilot announced they were preparing for landing he took a deep breath and tried to think about what he would say. Jim was beside him, they were going to tell everyone they had been in New York working on plans to expand their restaurant business when they heard the shocking news. He was sure the next few days all he was going to be dealing with was reporters and police.
...
Robert and Anna had been at the PCPD for most of the afternoon. There wasn't really much they could do in regards to the fires at de Salva's clubs, but they were hoping something useful would come from this. When de Salva had landed in Miami he had told the reporters waiting for him he had flown in from New York. As soon as they had heard that they started checking that information, it had checked out. They all knew there were flights to New York leaving from Port Charles all the time. So they checked that out as well, and sure enough, Jonathan de Salva and Jim Conners had both been on a flight that left Port Charles early that morning.
They were in Mac's office, "We can prove they were here now but I don't know what good that does if we can't tie them to anything else."
"They had made sure to cover their tracks getting here, they must have been too distracted to be careful this morning," Robert suggested.
"We might not be able to prove when they got to Port Charles, but if we can find out when they left Miami, we might have something," Anna added.
"That still doesn't prove that he's done anything here."
"No Mac it doesn't but we need to start somewhere. Every little piece we can add to this will build the case we need. I don't care how long this takes we are going to get the evidence to stop him and put him away." Robert looked at Mac, "We are not giving up on this."
Mac smiled he had forgotten how driven Robert could be, "We're going to get him. Have you heard from Sean yet?"
"He called last night to say he was waiting for the director to return from some conference, and it could be a few days before he gets in to see him. He hasn't called today at all." Robert told him, then Anna's phone rang.
"Maybe that's him," Mac wondered.
Anna looked at the number and smiled, "No it's not," then she answered. "Hello... Really, that's great... Yes of course... We're at police headquarters... Yeah, just ask to be shown to commissioner Scorpio's office... I'm not kidding and no he not... Alright, see you soon." Anna hung up, she noticed both of them looking at her, so she just smiled. "It has nothing to do with the case."
Robert knew she wasn't going to tell them who had just called, that little grin on her face told him that. "So I guess we aren't going anywhere yet."
"Smart and good looking, I knew there was a reason I keep you around," she teased.
"Well, at least I've got something going for me."
Mac followed Robert's lead and didn't bother asking who was on their way to see them. "Who did you put in charge of looking into when de Salva left Miami?"
"I talked to Young, I believe he said he was going to work on it with James Lewis," Anna answered.
"That's good, James is going to be an amazing detective. He's young but since you were abducted, Baker, Young, and Clayton have all taken him under their wings and are showing him so much. They request him to work with them all the time. I only see Guy once in a while but I'm sure he's very proud of him," Mac told them.
"Of course he is," Anna agreed. They continued talking Robert and Anna sat on the couch and Mac at his desk. They knew that right now they just had to wait and that soon enough there would be another lead to follow. Sean would check in soon, hopefully with some useful information.
"I hear you went out with Robin and Patrick last night. Will I only get invites if I get a girlfriend?"
"Well that would help, you would look ridiculous slow dancing by yourself," Robert teased.
"Was that Patrick's or your idea?" Anna asked.
"Um, I'll say ours. We felt you and Robin needed to go out and unwind. We were a little worried we might be the ones that your aggregations would be taking out on otherwise," Robert joked.
"I had a great time and both your methods worked wonders in helping me to relax," she smiled at him.
"Yeah I need a girlfriend," Mac said and they all laughed. A knock on his door caused them to stop laughing, Anna looked at her watch and smiled. "Yeah," Mac called out.
"Sir there's someone here asking to see you," Taylor told him.
"Well show them in."
"Yes sir."
Mac looked up to see a striking blonde standing in the doorway of his office, "I hope I can help you."
"Commissioner Scorpio?" Standing in the doorway the couch was hidden from view by the still open door.
Mac stood up, "Yes, what can I do for you?"
"Down boy."
The blonde smiled when Robert spoke, "Sorry, that's the one I'm looking for." She looked around the door, Robert was already standing, a big smile on his face. "Scorpio, for someone that was dead for 15 years you look amazing."
"And you're as beautiful as ever." He walked over and kissed her.
She put her hands on his face, "It really is you." A single tear rolled down her cheek, he wiped it away then took her in his arms, they stood there just hugging each other.
Mac was watching all of this with a very confused look on his face when he looked at Anna he was even more confused, she was watching them with a big smile on her face. "Anna, why are you just sitting there?"
"Like Anna has anything to worry about," she said still hugging Robert.
"You're right Mac," Anna got up and walked over to them, "Where's my hug?" Robert let her go then Anna gave her a hug as well.
Anna let her go then she looked back at Robert, "I expect a full explanation Scorpio."
"Yeah me too," Mac said still wondering who had just walked into his office.
Robert smiled, he had forgotten Mac was even there. "Mac I'd like to introduce you to Katherine Delafield. Kate this is my brother Mac."
"Robin told me there was a brother. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Kate said and gave him a quick hug, then turned back to Robert. "It didn't matter how many times I talked to you on the phone, a part of me still wasn't sure this could be true." She looked at Anna, "I had heard about you years ago, I called Robin and she told me all about what had happened to you. I'm so happy you're both back."
"Speaking of Robin she'll be excited to see you," Anna said.
Kate smiled, "Oh I can't wait to see her either."
"We can head over to the hospital any time you want," Robert offered
"Let me know when you hear from Sean, I want to know what he finds out," Mac told them.
"Of course, we'll try talking to Putnam tomorrow, and I think I also need to talk to another party involved in all this," Robert said, "but that can wait till tomorrow as well."
"You really think Corinthos is going to tell you anything about his involvement?" Mac asked.
Robert knew Mac didn't know about the agreement they had made with Sonny and Jason. "I have to try, he might not admit to any wrongdoing but he must have found something out do have ordered that kind of response."
"Robby I am inviting myself to whatever you guys do tonight, I can't let you wander around this town with two such beauties all by yourself." Robert just smiled at him.
"Sean is involved in this too?" Kate asked as they were leaving Mac's office.
Robert nodded, "Yeah he's helping us out, just like old times."
"He's actually staying with us when he's here," Anna told her. They had been talking a lot since Kate had let them use the cottage so Anna had been keeping her up to date on what was happening.
"So did you know Kate was coming today?" Robert asked.
"No, not until she called me."
"My concert in New York is getting close so I decided to come here. I can practice out at the cottage during the day and visit in the evenings."
When they got to the hospital they went to the nurses' station on the main floor and had Robin paged. They were talking while they waited, Kate had taken Robert's arm and was leaning into him. Anna had her back to them talking to the nurse working there. When Maxie came around the corner she noticed the woman with her uncle. "Hey leggie blonde, you should probably know my uncle in a relationship."
"Well hello not so leggie blonde, I know he is thanks," she said with a smile. Robert was trying not to laugh.
"Really?" Maxie asked suspiciously.
Anna turned around with a smile on her face, "Thank you, Maxie, don't worry I know all about these two." Robert could no longer hold back his laughter.
"Well I'm glad you think this is so funny," Maxie shot him an angry look.
He pulled himself together then said, "Maxie, I'd like to introduce you to our friend Kate. Kate this is Maxie Jones, she's Mac's stepdaughter."
"Frisco and Felicia's baby, oh my goodness you were still a newborn the last time I saw you. You've grown into a beautiful young woman."
"Kate?" Robin had come to answer the page, she hurried over and they hugged each other.
"Look at you, you're beautiful. All grown up and a doctor."
Robin blushed a little, she could see the pride on Kate's face, "So what brings you here?"
"If you ask Maxie I'm making a play for your dad," she joked.
Robin smiled, "Yeah OK," they both laughed a little. "It's so great to see you, but seriously what brings you to Port Charles?"
"Your dad," she smiled, "no I wanted to come see all of you actually. I really wanted to come visit and I had time before my concert in New York," Kate told her. "I guess a part of me needed to see for myself that Robert really is alive."
"Why is it so funny that a hot blonde could be after your dad?" Maxie sounded little offended when she asked.
"Maxie if some random woman was hitting on Robert I would have a problem with that. That's not what's happening here," Anna told her.
"Maxie once upon a time I was very much in love with this man, we were almost married. There was one small problem though, even though I knew he loved me, he also loved someone else and I just couldn't compete with her. When I realized he could never fully commit to me I made the choice to walk away."
"So what happened to her?" Maxie asked a little rudely.
"Ah, that would be me."
"What kind of weird love triangle is this? You are all friends even though you stole her man?"
"Hey, there was no man stealing, and it wasn't a love triangle," Robert insisted. "There was a lot going on at the time, including Anna and I learning more about what had really been behind us breaking up in the first place. There was a threat from our past that was putting us all in danger, most importantly Robin life was in danger."
"It didn't matter how often I told Robert he was spending to much time with us, he still insisted on being there to protect us."
"I was left looking in on this amazing family that would do anything for each other. Robert and I loved each other but Anna and Robin would always come before I did. Robert and I parted as friends, and they finally admitted what so many other people already knew."
"What was that?" Maxie asked.
"That they love each other and always had," Robin smiled.
"Robin wrote me this wonderful letter all about your wedding and how beautiful it was. I could tell you were both very much in love, and that Robin couldn't have been happier that you were finally back together," Kate admitted with a smile.
"You people are weird, that's all I have to say," Maxie said shaking her head.
"Why don't you and Georgie come over later, you're dad's already invited himself to join us, we might as well have a little get together at the house," Anna suggested.
"OK, Georgie will love to hear all about this. We'll see you later, but I better get back to work," Maxie said then walked away.
"Kate, are you staying in Port Charles for a while?" Robin asked.
"For a little over a week at least, yeah. I decided I can practice here as easily as anywhere else."
"That's great, I've missed you." Robin hugged her again.
"I've missed you too."
"So what time do you want us to get to your house?" Robin asked her parents.
"Whenever you want," Robert answered. "Oh invite Noah as well, I seem to remember he's a bit of a fan."
Robin smiled, "OK I will. I have a few things to finish before I can leave so I better get going and do that. I will see you all in a little while."
Kate watched her walk away, then asked, "Noah, wasn't she dating someone named Patrick?"
"Yes she is, Noah is his dad. At our housewarming, he thought we were teasing him about knowing you," Anna explained the rest of what had happened. Kate couldn't help but laugh.
"Robert, you and Anna should have come back to Port Charles a lot sooner. So many old friends keep showing up here since you've returned."
Kate turned to see who had now joined them, Bobbie and Monica were both standing there. They hugged each other and Kate invited them to Anna and Robert's that evening. The four woman started talking away, Robert was only sort of listening to them when he saw Sonny walk in. He discreetly moved toward him, Sonny had seen him as well and stopped close to the vending machines.
"We need to meet tomorrow," Robert said as he pulled some change out of his pocket.
"Same place as before?"
"No, we can't use that anymore."
Sonny pulled a card out of his pocket, "Meet us there at 3, don't worry it's safe and I can't be connected to it if you're seen going there."
Robert put the card in his pocket and turned away, Anna had noticed what had just happened so when he rejoined them said, "We should get going, it sounds like we're now hosting quite the little gathering tonight and I think we need to make some arrangements." They said good-bye and left the hospital.
...
"Do you think we have everything?" Anna asked. She had barely stopped moving since Robin had gotten there.
"Mom stop, no one's expecting anything fancy. When was Kate getting here?"
"She just went out to the cottage to drop off her things, she could be here anytime." Anna started fussing again.
"Why don't you sit down and relax before people start showing up?"
"I'm fine I just need to check a few things."
Robert had been on the phone in the office when he came back into the living room he noticed Anna couldn't seem to relax. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her. She instantly relaxed and leaned back against him. Robin smiled, she loved how they didn't even have to talk to help each other. Then the doorbell rang, "I'll get it."
"It seems our guests are arriving and I need a kiss before this evening gets going," Robert whispered in her ear then kissed her neck. She turned in his arms, "Are you alright?" he asked then kissed her gently.
"Yeah I'm excited about tonight, I just hate that we aren't getting new information."
"We will. We'll talk to Sonny tomorrow and Sean will check in when he has something. Don't worry about it tonight." He kissed her again a little longer. "We are going to have a good time tonight, and we are not going to worry about de Salva at all, besides he's much too busy to worry about us tonight."
Anna knew he was right, "Scorpio, I love you," she ran her fingers through his hair.
"And I love you, Devane. Give me another kiss then we can start entertaining our guests."
Robin and Kate had walked into the living room, neither of them wanted to interrupt, Kate smiled and looked at Robin, "You just have to watch them together to see how much they love each other."
"Yeah and thank you for letting them use the cottage. They needed that time, there was a lot they needed to work through and they both needed to have someone they could talk to."
"I'm glad that everything has worked out. What about you, how are things between you and them, your dad especially?"
"Everything's great now. It took awhile for me and dad, and if mom hadn't been here I'm pretty sure we'd still be struggling," Robin admitted.
"I've told him I want to know what happened."
"He'll tell you what he can, there's still a lot of pain and anger connected to all of that." Robin knew he would try to tell Kate what she wanted to know.
"He must have told you though."
"Actually mom told me a lot of it after he'd told her, then there were some very scary truths he felt I had to know and that I had to hear from him."
"At least you have them back, we don't all get out parents back."
Robin gave her a knowing look, Kate's had lost her parents years before in a plane crash. "I've had mom back longer but she was struggling too. She didn't talk about it but I knew she couldn't really reconnect with the life she had before the accident. She didn't even want to come back here before."
"Really what happened to change that?"
"The need to kick dad's ass," Robin told her and smiled. "When she found out, the only thing she wanted to do was physically hurt him for abandoning her. I have never seen anything like it, mom attacked him, dad just defended himself but took the beating. I literally had to fire a gun into the air to stop them."
"Why does that not surprise me?" Kate grinned.
"That night we all talked after I'd stopped them. It did show when they were together, even through the anger, even after all that time," Robin admitted. "Dad and I were both here when mom showed up, it turned out she had an assignment here, I think she agreed to take it because I was here, and the fact dad was here might have helped too. I've watched them both change for the better since then. They've helped each other deal with a lot of pain and now they're so much like they were before the accident. They really do need each other."
"Hi sorry, we didn't mean to ignore you," Anna said as she joined.
"Oh that's OK, Robin and I were just talking about you and Robert anyway," Kate told her with a smile.
Anna smiled back, "Good things I hope."
"Of course, Robin was telling me how much you've helped each other and need each other."
"Kate, having him come back to us has changed so much for me." Anna smiled and looked over at Robert who was on the phone.
"I'm so glad you have each other back, you two are meant to be together," Kate told her. "So whose all coming here tonight?" Anna listed off who all had been invited, just as she finished the list the doorbell rang. Mac and Georgie were the first ones to arrive, and slowly almost everyone else arrived as well. The only two they were waiting for were Patrick and Noah.
"I was hoping to meet this Patrick of yours, are you sure he's still coming?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, his surgery just went longer than expected, they should be here soon."
"K good. Oh, there's your dad, I want to talk to him," Kate excused herself and made her way over to Robert. "Hi, why does it feel like you're avoiding me."
"Sorry, I don't mean to be," Robert told her. "I was busy till just before you got here, then everyone started arriving and I've been playing host. It's really good to see you, did I say that yet?"
"Yeah I think you may have," she smiled. "I know I said that I wanted to know why you stayed away and let everyone believe you were dead, but from talking to Robin tonight if it's too painful you don't have to."
"Some of it is easier to talk about now, some of it I don't think you want to know, and then there's some I've told the two people that needed to know and I don't think anyone else needs to hear it. While you're here we'll talk OK," Robert promised. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, of course, you can."
"Is it weird for you to be here? I mean here with Anna and me," he asked. "You put Anna and Holly in the same room and they really struggle just to be civil with each other."
"I have no problem being here, I realized a long time ago you and Anna belong together."
"It's just that ever since Maxie suggested that we had all been involved in a love triangle I've realized in a slight way we were. I was with you but the connection between Anna and me was more than friends, way more than exes raising a child together.
"Robert that was a long time ago."
"Yeah, but it still wasn't fair to you."
"No it wasn't but none of that matters now. I've been thinking about something that was said earlier too. You said that you and Anna found out what was really behind your break up. You would never even tell me why you broke up. Will you now?"
"Right now?"
She smiled, "Yes please."
"Um OK." Robert guided them over to the edge of the room. "We were young and madly in love, with plans to leave the WSB and start our life together. Sean gave me one last assignment, I had to find a double agent. There was an explosion and the double agent was injured, when I went over to them, I found out it was Anna. Once I knew she would survive, I told her I wanted a divorce and I left her. I couldn't turn her in but I couldn't stay with her. Years later she found me and after some time I finally listen to why she had taken her last DVX assignment. Ceasar Faison, remember him?" Kate nodded. "Well he made her take the last assignment, if she didn't they were going to kill me. I actually tracked down the man she was to meet all those years before and he confirmed her story. After that, we were able to be friends."
"That was all way before I met you."
"Yeah, but you wanted to know why we broke up. When you first asked me that would have been the answer," he told her. "When Faison came back into our lives he was holding a huge secret over Sean's head. Do you remember Sean getting shot saving Robin's life?"
"Yes of course I do."
"Sean asked Anna and me to come see him shortly after waking up, he was still weak but had insisted on seeing us. He told us his part in what had happened. Sean not only knew Anna was the double agent, he had also known Anna and I were married, which wasn't allowed by the WSB at the time. He didn't want to lose us so he made a deal he knew would break us up but hoped we wouldn't leave the WSB. It had all been a setup. Sean helped Faison fake his death in exchange Faison made sure Anna had to do one last DVX assignment. They set us up perfectly and their plan worked, instead of leaving and starting our life together, I threw myself back into the WSB. Anna was badly injured and released from duty, then she found out she was pregnant." Kate was staring at him not sure what to say. "Sean told us, that at the time he didn't understand the love we shared or the connection we had, but he knew it had never gone away."
A look of shock and realization washed across her face, "I saw you and Anna right after he told you that, didn't I? I remember you both looked like you were in shock. That's when everything really started to go downhill for us."
"Yeah, and shock would be the best way to describe it."
"Oh my god, then the WSB and Faison destroyed your second marriage as well." Kate couldn't believe how cruel fate had been. She hugged him, partly to hide the tears that were falling. When she let him go he wiped away the tears still on her cheeks, "Scorpio you better not let her go this time, no matter what, don't give up on each other."
"That's our plan, I can't lose her again."
Anna tapped Kate on the shoulder, "I'm not letting him go this time either." Kate turned and hugged her. "There are a couple men here that want to meet you."
"Give me a second, Robert only told me the story about the first break up, and I'm a mess. Something tells me when I hear the reason behind the 15-year absence I'm going to be a wreck."
"Have a few drinks, it helped us and we lived it," Anna joked. "I would like to be there when you guys talk about that." She reached up and touched Robert's cheek, "I think you could use the support."
"Thanks, Luv. I think that's a good idea." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "So the Drake men finally here?"
"Yes, they are."
Over on the other side of the living room, Patrick asked, "So what made your parents want to have this get together?"
"A surprise visit from an old friend, so it was just easiest to get everyone to come here," Robin explained.
"Another old friend of theirs?"
"Most of the people here would call her their friend, look even Tracey's here. They knew each other when they were young," Robin told them. "Oh, here they come."
Both Drakes looked where she was looking, "Not only do they know her, they really are friends," Noah noticed.
"Why do you not believe Kate could have been involved with my dad before?
Noah thought for a moment, "I don't know spy and pianist just seem like an odd match."
"Dad was police commissioner then, their careers were different but they approached them the same."
"They look like they all get along," Patrick observed.
"They do, Kate is very happy dad's alive and that mom and dad are back together. She told me once, that when dad called to tell her they were getting married she thought it would hurt to hear it but because she knew they were meant to be together she was actually excited for them."
"Are you talking about us?" Robert asked as they joined them.
"Of course we are," Robin told him with a smile.
Noah stepped forwards, "Katherine Delafield it's a pleasure to meet you, I have always loved your music."
"Kate please, and you are?"
"Kate may I introduce Noah and Patrick Drake," Robin said.
She shook their hands, then looked at Patrick, "So you're Patrick, I've heard a lot about you."
"I'm sure you have, you should take some time to get to know me," Patrick said turning on the charm.
"Sorry Kate he can't help himself," Robin told her then gave Patrick a look.
"And you're Noah, Partick's father and both of you are neurosurgeons."
"Yes that's right Katherine, I see they've told you about us."
"Robin has filled me on the Drake men, one more than the other," she glanced at Patrick, "and please call me Kate, Katherine is for when I'm doing that serious concert pianist thing. I learned a long time ago I needed to have fun in my life and to let loss once in a while."
"What was it you said to me, you learn how to keep it light, right Robert?" Patrick asked remembering the first time he had really seen them all relaxed.
"Around this bunch, you have no choice, when it gets serious it can be very scary," Kate commented.
"Katherine, I mean Kate, can I ask how you met this bunch?"
Kate smiled, "I came home and found a drunk man in his underwear in my house."
"My house, I had rented it," Robert chimed in with a smile then they both laughed.
After they talked a little longer they all started to mingle with the other guests. Everyone was having a good time, Anna was happy that they could actually have two nights in a row that they hadn't been wondering when the next bad thing was going to happen to them.
When Sean entered the house no one seemed to notice the latest arrival. He spotted Kate and made his way over to her, then still behind her said, "Here I am thinking my old friends have set up a party for my return, but no it's all for Katie D."
Kate was talking to Noah again, "Sean Donely?" she was surprised to hear his voice, and turned to look at him. "It is you. Were they expecting you back tonight, no one said anything?"
"No one knew I was coming back tonight, and I didn't know you were going to be here either."
"I surprised them earlier today, I'm going to be staying out at the cottage for a while. I want to hear all about your lovely family while we're both here," Kate said then hugged him.
"I have to admit the first time I was here and complimented Anna on her fine taste in music I thought Robert was just playing when he called you Katie. I've never seen anything written about you where you are called anything but Katherine."
"I'm sure if one of my albums was playing it was actually Robert that put it on. It took a while but he did grow to appreciate my music. I always go by Katherine when it comes to my career, but all of these people, Robert especially, are the real reason I now prefer Kate in my personal life."
"Katherine Delafield is much too stuffy. When we met her she was surrounded by all these people that wanted to be a part of that lifestyle but weren't really interested in this amazing woman." Sean put his arm around her, "We saw a funny woman that enjoyed what she did, who took her career as seriously as we did but just needed to be reminded she could have fun too, and Katie knows how to have fun.
"Some of those people just wanted the money I had more than enough of and would stop at nothing to get it, I really do owe you all so much."
"Oh come on, we just stopped the people trying to kill you. We would've had to hand in our hero cards if we hadn't," Sean joked.
"Wait you saved Katherine's life?" Noah asked.
"No, I helped Robert save Katie's life once or twice, he was making it a habit there for a while."
"It was happening a lot there for a while," Kate agreed.
"At first you thought he was nuts even after he shoved you out of the way of those falling lights, but what happened next?" Sean asked.
"Everyone thought I died in a car crash."
"You didn't think he was wrong then."
"No he wasn't, I was just wrong about who the actual threat was, and that almost got me killed again. It's actually a little annoying that he's always right about things like that."
"No, his instincts have saved my butt quite a few times too and I'm very grateful for that."
"I had Robin tell me all about them over dinner, they are fascinating people. Robin's worried about them though," Noah told them.
"Well once we get this mess taken care of hopefully, they can finally move on and have a normal life that doesn't involve death threats and kidnappings."
"They would have to give up the spy game for that to happen," Kate scoffed.
"They already did. As soon as they got back together they both agreed they had to," Sean told her. "Right now they are working with the PCPD, but I believe they'll stop that once this is over as well.
Kate looked across the room to where Robert and Anna were talking to Alan and Monica. "Was it always that obvious?" she asked.
"From the moment they met," he answered, "there's a connection there that has never changed."
"I always knew they were close, but yeah you're right they're connected to each other."
"They also loved each other enough not to want to hurt each other. Anna came back into Robert's life when he was married to Holly. She was with Duke when Robert found himself single again."
"And I was in the picture when Duke died," Kate cut in. "Oh, Robert told me about your little confessional in your hospital bed. I was already fighting my insecurities, thinking there was something going on between them, then you pull that."
"They had to know, and I had to tell them before Faison did," Sean insisted.
"Just one more thing to keep from me."
"He did that for your safety."
"I should have known how dangerous that man was."
"Is, he's still out there, we don't believe for a minute he's actually dead. He actually resurfaced here for a while a few years back."
"I now get what Patrick is talking about, he says there's a shorthand the Scorpios talk in, you both do it as well," Noah observed.
"Sorry about that," Sean said, "but I can't really explain what we said either."
"Are you sure it's not Faison behind this as well?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, we believe we know who it is. Now we have to find the proof to put him away for it."
"When did you get here?" Robert asked as he joined them.
"Just a few minutes ago, I need to talk to you," Sean said.
Robert looked at Noah and Kate, "Excuse us."
"Somethings never change," she said with a laugh. "What were we talking about before Sean joined us?" They started talking again while Robert and Sean walked away.
Robert led Sean into the office, "What are you doing back here? Did you find anything out?" he asked when they were alone.
"I had a hell of a time just setting up a meeting, the director is now at some conference for the next week, so I have an appointment the morning he gets back."
"That seems convenient, doesn't it. He gets called out of town as soon as someone comes looking for answers. We need someone tailing de Salva in Miami, maybe he's gone there to find out what his next step is," Robert suggested.
"I looked into it, there really is a conference, Mr. Johnston was very late confirming he would attend but he checked in this afternoon at 3:47."
"So if he does contact de Salva it will most likely be by phone."
"That would be my guess as well. He might just be hoping I'll give up if he keeps me waiting."
"It's a good thing he doesn't know you then. So you have meetings set up Monday and Tuesday so far?" Robert speculated.
"He's due back next Wednesday so appointments at 9 am every day for a week after, I won't leave him alone until he tells me what he knows. In the meantime, I want to do a full background check on him and find out every dirty secret he has. I think our boy de Salva must have had something on him, so if I can find that or something even worse I should have some leverage to use."
"I like how you think Sean, but we should rejoin the party." They left the office happy with the plan they had and rejoined everyone else.
Patrick had spent most of the night with Robin on his arm, they had moved from person to person talking with everyone, but never leaving each other's side for long. "Can I steel this young man away for a few minutes?" Kate asked.
"Of course," Robin said with a smile, she knew at some point Kate would want to talk to him.
"What can I do for you, I'm sure it will be a pleasure?" he asked, being charming again.
"Well, first of all, you can stop that. I don't even think you know you do it, but as soon as an attractive woman talks to you it's like you have to flirt. Don't, it's unbecoming and very disrespectful to Robin."
Patrick was taken aback, "Sorry, you're right I didn't even realize when I do it."
"I'm sure you already have enough people telling you that you'd better not hurt Robin. You can add me to that list. I have already received too many heartbreaking letters from her, too many phone calls where all she could do was cry."
"Before Robin, I didn't think I would ever want a relationship with just one woman, she has changed all of that. I can't imagine my life without her now. We are both a little scared of what we do next, I see true love as something that can destroy a person if it ends. Robin sees it as something that just can't last," Patrick admitted.
"She's told me that before, and I'm going to tell you the same thing I told her. Love is worth taking a chance on because when it's right there is nothing better. I have truly loved two men, one wasn't meant to be but it was amazing while it lasted, the other I lost to cancer. I had time to say goodbye and come to peace with the fact I was going to have to go on without him. As much as it hurt when they ended I would never change a thing, both of them made my life better. I am a better person for having had that kind of love in my life."
"I keep getting told to take the chance. We are taking baby steps getting closer to that final step, but I don't want to rush it. I could get cold feet and do what everyone would expect and cheat on her, she could decide that it's going to end anyway so why bother taking the chance." Patrick looked around the room tell he found Robin, "She has changed so much in my life already, we just need to find a way past our fears."
"Well, when you do I want an invitation."
Patrick smiled at her, "I will keep that in mind."
