Chapter 7

It was Friday, Robert and Anna were in his office, they had been looking into Holly, Barry and Markus for a week now. They were waiting for Sean to get there he had been following Barry and he had told them that he had started acting differently now. The first few times Sean had seen him he had seemed laid back yesterday and again today Sean thought he seemed concerned about something. Sean had followed him to the Port Charles Hotel a few times, he had looked worried when he would get there and even more so when he would leave.

"Lynda Price," Anna turned to look at Robert who was at his desk. "Liam or Markus had a sister named Lynda and she also worked for the DVX."

Robert looked up, "What was that?"

"Liam Price had a sister Lynda, she was killed while on assignment for the DVX. Oh and according to this she worked closely with one Cesar Faison." Anna stared at him, "Robert what if this man has some sort of grudge against you, me or Sean?"

"We'll have to run those names passed Sean because they don't mean anything to me, do you remember them?" Anna shook her head. "It could have nothing to do with DVX or the WSB, but that is a very interesting connection." Robert got up and walked over to Anna she was turned looking at the computer screen again, he started rubbing her shoulders as he read the report she was looking at. "By any chance is our daughter going for any sleepovers this weekend?"

"Are you hoping for a sleepover of our own?" Anna asked then grinned.

Robert smiled, "Yes, at least one."

There was a knock and Sean walked in, he saw Robert massaging Anna's shoulders, "I see who's doing the hard work. Have either of you learned anything new?"

Robert turned first then Anna got up, "I just found out the Liam Price had a sister named Lynda and they both worked for the DVX, she was killed on assignment. Do either of those names mean anything to you?" Anna asked.

Sean thought about it for a moment, "No I don't think I know either of them." Sean went and sat down, "Like I said earlier Barry's acting oddly. When was the last time you saw Holly?"

"End of last week actually," Robert hadn't realized how long it had been until now. "I know she was here a few times earlier this week wanting to talk to me but I wasn't here those days, why?"

"I'm trying to figure out what has Barry so on edge."

"You're wondering if Holly left town," Robert added.

"Maybe she didn't tell Barry she was leaving, she might not have wanted to be a part of whatever they had planned after all," Anna suggested.

"That is possible," Robert agreed, "She realized their plan was going to fail so she split."

"That could be it, but would she have skipped town without telling the man that helped her fake her death and who she's been working with for all these years?" Sean wondered.

"You might have a point, Sean. Would she just turn her back on the two people she has in her life."

"She would if she had another sucker already in her sights," Robert said bitterly.

"Let's just think about this for a second, we can find out if she checked out. Guy will know when the last time she was here."

"Kate should know when the last time she camped out at the bar waiting for you to get home was," Anna added.

"I'll find out if she's checked out then why don't we all go out for dinner at Delafield's. I'm sure Tiffany won't mind."

"Any reason to go out and she's happy. We'll meet you there later," then Sean left.

Once they were alone again Robert took Anna in his arms, "Should I pick you up later?"

"So this is a date right in front of our friends that don't know we're dating?"

"Yes. I don't care if Sean knows, he might suspect already, Tiff on the other hand."

"If it comes to that I'll talk to her, I'll explain why we're being discrete." Once they had agreed on a time for Robert to pick her up they kissed goodbye and left, Anna heading home, Robert to the Port Charles Hotel.

...

Anna smiled when she heard the knock at her door, she went and answered it. As soon as Robert was inside she put her arms around him "Hi," then she kissed him passionately.

"Hi, I take it we're alone."

"Olin's here but Robin is over at a friend's."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Almost, I just need to get something, be right back," Anna turned and left him in the living room.

"Hi commish, taking the big A out on a hot date tonight?"

Robert smiled, clearly Olin knew, "We're going out for dinner with Sean and Tiffany."

"Cool, I haven't seen her this happy in a long time."

"We both are, we want this to work out."

"Oh commish don't worry, I can tell you two are gonna make it."

"I hope you're right. You understand why we aren't telling Robin yet, right?"

"Sure, sure. She wants you two together so much, if she knew she wouldn't leave you two alone." Anna rejoined them, Robert noticed she was holding a bag, he smiled and took it from her. They said goodnight to Olin then left.

When they got to Delafield's Robert was carrying Anna's overnight bag, they had a little time before Sean and Tiffany were going to get there so they went up to his penthouse. "I take it Robin is going to a sleepover tonight."

Anna smiled up at him, "Yes she is, I assumed you would like some company tonight."

"You assumed correctly. I think we have time for a drink before we need to go back downstairs. Brandy?" he offered.

"Yes please." He handed her a glass, "Robert when are we going to tell Robin about us?"

"I want to wait a little longer, give us time to discuss everything."

Anna smiled, "Do you mean until we've had our first fight?"

"Well no," he grinned, "we'll always argue. I just think there are things we haven't talked about and I want to feel like we've covered everything, and we know what we want."

"I know what I want. I want a future with you, I want the three of us to be the family we should have been all along, I have thought about what could have been so much lately."

"So have I, Anna. I know what we said the day after, that it might not have worked out between us anyway." He turned to her and placed his hand on her hip, "I married you, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Even after everything we went through we still found our way back to each other. We had to be near each other, to be a part of each other's life." Then he gentle stoked her cheek, "I want a life with you."

"We can have that here, we both have jobs we enjoy, that lead us on adventures once in a while, we like living here." Anna took his hand, "We can't plan everything and I'm not sure how much longer we can hide this from her."

"You're right, why don't we let her keep playing matchmaker for us a little longer then we'll tell her, OK."

Anna agreed then they went downstairs. Sean and Tiffany weren't there yet but they saw Frisco and Felicia and went over to talk to them. They were in for a treat, Frisco and Katherine were both performing tonight. When Robert saw Kate he excused himself to go and talk to her, "Katie, do you have a minute?"

"I see you're here as a customer tonight," she smiled, "What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering when the last time Holly was here waiting for me."

Kate thought for a moment, "Beginning of the week, Tuesday maybe Wednesday. Do you actually want to talk to her now?"

"Not really," he said with a little grin, "I'm just wondering if she left town so I can stop coming in the back way."

"Well, I wouldn't know if she left or not but you should feel like you can come in this way. Is there a special occasion that brings you out tonight?" she asked and looked over at Anna.

Robert noticed where she looked but pretended not to, "Sean was out of town for a few weeks and we thought it would be nice to go out tonight."

"Well I've got you four at the best table in the house, I hope you enjoy your evening."

"I will if you save a dance for me," they both smiled then he rejoined Anna just as Sean and Tiffany arrived. They went to their table when Frisco said it was time for him to get ready. Once they were all seated Robert told them what he had found out about Holly, wanting to get work out of the way so they could enjoy their evening. Holly hadn't checked out of her hotel but she hadn't been seen there for a couple days either and Kate and Guy had confirmed that they hadn't seen her in a few days. They decided she may have just left for a while and it wasn't anything they were going to worry about now.

"Is there a special reason we're out tonight, are we celebrating anything?" Tiffany asked glancing at Robert and Anna, then looked over at Sean.

"We thought it would be nice, it's been too long since we all went out together," Robert answered.

"So just friends out for a nice evening? OK." Anna and Robert noticed the look Sean gave Tiffany as she said this.

Anna put her hand on Robert's leg, he gave it a little squeeze. "I take it Sean had some news for you when he got back from London," Robert looked at Tiffany as he spoke.

"News? He was there looking into things for you."

"Oh so he didn't mention anything he might be," Robert looked over at Sean, "suspicious of?"

"What's going on between you two?" Sean asked bluntly. "How did Anna know I wanted to talk to both of you Saturday?"

"Felicia had told me Friday you'd be back and wanted to talk to us," then Robert gave her hand another little squeeze. She smiled then said, "We have been talking a lot about what you told us in the hospital."

"And we both feel the same way about that," Robert added.

"What does that mean?" Tiffany interrupted.

"It means that we can't stop thinking about each other and are giving us another chance," Robert admitted.

"We are keeping this quite, for now, Robin really wants us together but we want a chance to be just us before we tell her." Anna looked at Robert, "We haven't told anyone yet, and we want it to stay that way a little longer." She looked at Sean and leaned in, "I was already at Robert's when you called, that's how I knew you were coming over."

"I didn't think I was misreading the little changes I was seeing," Sean said with a big smile, "I'm happy for you two."

Tiffany looked across the room, "Is there another reason you want to keep this quite for now?"

Robert glanced at Anna before answering, when she smiled, he turned back to Tiff and Sean, "When I moved in here, I was informed the only woman I should be taking upstairs is Anna. Kate doesn't know yet but it shouldn't be a problem."

"Are you sure she meant that?" Tiffany asked curiously, "Kate knows you two are friends. She might have thought that would stop you from bringing other women back here because it would be hard to see you moving on."

"No that was not what she meant, trust me," Robert grinned.

"Earlier that same day she had told me I'm blind and Robert is stupid. Kate is OK with us being together, she's kind of pushing for it," Anna told them.

Sean held up his glass, "Well then here's to the two of you and a fresh start." They all toasted then turned to watch as Frisco took the stage.

...

Holly was in a small room, she wasn't sure if it was a hotel room. There was a bed and a small bathroom as well as a mini fridge that had a fair amount of food in it. She had tried the doors and windows but couldn't open them. Yelling and banging on the door didn't seem to help no one came to help her. She wasn't sure but thought she had been here for a couple days now. So far no one had come here but she had a good idea who had put her here.

That last thing she remembered before waking up here was Marcus showing up at her hotel room. When she told him that she still hadn't been able to talk to Robert he lost it. She had never seen him that angry before and he had never hit her before, Holly touched her eye, it was still swollen and very painful. He must have hit her hard enough she blacked out. The next thing she knew she woke up here, where ever here is.

...

Robert and Sean were over talking to Frisco and Felicia, then Kate joined Anna and Tiffany at their table, "Are you enjoying your evening ladies?"

"Yes we are, it's always a great night when you and Frisco sing together," Tiffany said with a smile.

"Robert was asking about Holly earlier, she hasn't been here for a few days is that why I get to see all your lovely faces tonight?"

"Not the only reason, we wanted to come here. It had been too long since the four of us went out on the town," Anna told her.

"That's good, I like seeing such happy faces in here. I should do a little more mingling, tell Robert he still owes me a dance." Before Kate stood up she leaned in a little closer to Anna, "How's your vision?"

Anna blushed a little, "Better."

Kate stood up and smiled, "I'm glad," then she walked away.

Tiffany watched her walk away, "You weren't kidding. Spill before the men get back."

They moved closer to each other so as not to be overheard, "She isn't stupid and has told us both we still love the other one. Then after a couple of months had passed I think she felt like she wanted to make sure we both knew she was OK with us dating so she talked to us again. Robert and I had been thinking about each other a lot, there had been a few almost kisses, and we were touching each other more, and we could both tell it was different than before, more than just being friendly."

Tiff smiled, "Touching's good, go on."

"By the time he moved in here it was getting a little weird between us, we both thought the other person was just being there for us as a friend but that didn't stop what we were thinking and what we were hoping would happen. He called and asked me to meet him here so we could talk,"

"And," Tiffany took her hand excitedly.

"When I got upstairs he told me I had to help him figure something out," Anna smiled, "Then he kissed me, neither of us held anything back, it was clear we both wanted that to happen. He told me he knew I'd either hit him or kiss him back. We talked the rest of the afternoon, we covered a lot and agreed our past wasn't going to interfere with us trying again then he asked me out."

"If you were at his place when Sean called, can I assume you hadn't just gotten there?"

Anna's face lit up, "No, I hadn't. I didn't leave when Sean did either," they both started giggling.

Kate made her way over to Robert, "Scorpio, it's time for our dance." Robert smiled and lead her to the dance floor, "I think we need to talk."

Robert noticed the seriousness in her voice, "OK, what about?" he asked as they started to dance.

"You don't have to sneak Anna in the back way, I told you I was OK with you and Anna being together."

Robert leaned back a little to look at her then smiled seeing hers. "I wouldn't say I'm sneaking her in. It was more about avoiding someone else that has been here a lot. You're really OK with us being together?"

"Robert you two are meant to be together. I meant what I said, I would have a problem if it was anyone other then Anna because I can see now that you two truly love each other."

"Thank you, Katie, for being so understanding. We aren't ready to tell Robin yet so we are trying to be discrete, Sean had figured out something was going on and had mentioned it to Tiff. Olin knows, but for right now that's it, can I count on you to not say anything yet."

"Of course you can," as the song ended she kissed his cheek then they walked back to the table. Sean Tiffany and Anna were all sitting, "Can I get this table a bottle of champagne? On the house."

"Well I'm not one to turn down good bubbly," Sean told her with a smile.

"I'll send some right over," then she walked away.

Robert took his seat beside Anna, "She won't say anything yet, I told her we wanted to wait before telling Robin," then he put his arm behind Anna on the bench and she leaned towards him.

Tiffany smiled, "If you do that every time, Robin is going to figure out something is going on."

Anna realized what she had done, "I can't help it I like being close to him. Besides Robin is so busy playing matchmaker right now she would be happy seeing us sitting close to each other she wouldn't care why it happened."

"We figure we'll let her plan a few more romantic evenings where she cooks for us, then we'll tell her," Robert said.

"Well you both look very happy," Sean told them, "I for one am very happy about what's going on." The shame of what he had cost them had weighed heavy on him for years. As he watched them he couldn't help but notice something he had seen before, the way they looked at each other. It was back it had been there when they first met, it had been there when they finally got back from Italy. They had been so in love when his plan had torn them apart. Sean wondered if he had been honest with them back in bay C if they would have found their way back to each other sooner, but maybe it worked out the way it was meant to.

They continued to have a lovely evening, after a few dances they all went up to Robert's for another drink before Sean and Tiffany left for the evening. Robert walked over to Anna who was looking out the window and wrapped his arms around her, "I've wanted to hold you this close all evening," then bent and kissed her neck.

"It feels good being in your arms." They both looked out into the night for a few minutes, "Can we stay like this all night?"

"I was picturing less clothing and more bed sheets," Robert said as Anna turned in his arms. "I want you, Anna."

"I think your version is a better way to spend the rest of the night," she kissed him then took his hand and lead him to the bedroom.

...

Monday morning Robert is at his desk on the phone, he had been waiting for this call. It was about more information on Liam and Lynda Price. When he got off the phone he looked up at Sean, "So they both joined the DVX in the mid '70's. Lynda was one of Faison's favourites and he spent a lot of time training her personally, she did several missions for him before being killed on a failed mission. Liam did the basic training and was never more than a low-level agent as far as they can tell."

"That would explain why I had never heard their names. She would have been protected by Faison and he was a nobody."

"None of this helps us figure out what they are doing in Port Chuck."

"No it doesn't and it worries me more now that Holly seems to have abandoned their little band. What are they planning, how are you involved, and why now?"

"I can't answer any of those questions," Robert sat back, "I'm busy with my actual job for the next couple days so I won't have time to look into this but Anna said she had some time and also wanted me to remind you, you're meeting with a new client this afternoon."

"Oh that's right, we might not have much time for this either," Sean stood to leave, "Stay on your toes old buddy, we don't know when they will try something."

"Will do." With that Sean left his office.

...

Holly was sure it had been at least five days since she had been brought to this room, she was starting to get low on food and still no one had come back for her. The only window that she could see out of look out into a wooded area so she couldn't even be sure of where she was. It was midday when she heard a noise at her door. She knew there was no point hiding and she would finally get to see who had brought her here.

...

Wednesday afternoon Anna was in her office, she had been busy finishing up a few cases and meeting with new clients, at least her evening had been nice. Robin had invited Robert over the last two nights and last night she had planned another romantic dinner for them. They had talked about it and were most likely going to tell her on the weekend that they are a couple again. Felicia poked her head into Anna's office, "You have another appointment this afternoon, I pencilled him in for two o'clock."

"Ok thank you. Have you gone for lunch yet?"

"I was just going to leave actually."

"OK," Anna said as Felicia left, then went back to her work. She lost track of time and before she knew it there was a knock at her door. She looked up to see a dark haired man standing there, "Hello, can I help you?"

"I hope so, I think we have an appointment."

Anna checked her watch, "Oh, of course, our receptionist told me I had an appointment before she went for lunch." She stood up and shook his hand, "Anna Devane and you are?"

"Terry Meyers, pleasure to meet you."

"Would you like some coffee?" Anna offered, taking another good look at him, this was not Holly's cousin Barry. She got up and poured them both a cup of coffee, after putting them down she peaked into Sean's office to see if he was there. Realizing she was alone she went and sat down again, "What can I help you with Mr. Meyers"

"I think my wife might be cheating on me."

Anna sighed she wasn't sure if this was a real case or not but she had really started to hate following cheating spouses. She started taking down all the information she was going to need and drank her coffee, after about ten minutes she started to feel funny, her eyes got heavy, she started to ask Mr. Meyers a question then everything went black.

...

When Robert got to Anna's Robin rushed to the door, "Hi, Daddy, isn't Mom with you?"

"No, I thought she'd be here. She told me she'd be at the office all afternoon when I talked to her around lunch time."

At seven she still wasn't home so Robert called Sean, as soon as he hung up he called Felicia. He hung up and looked at Robin, "Sean wasn't in the office all afternoon and Felicia said she had an appointment at two with a new client and that Anna was gone when she got back around three. When was the last time you talked to your mom?"

"Just before I called you and invited you over for dinner."

"That was before I talked to her, Felicia was the last person to see or talk to her then. Olin," he called. She came into the living room, "Did you talk to Anna at all this afternoon?"

"I haven't talked to the big A since this morning. Is everything OK commish?"

"I hope so, maybe she just lost track of time," he walked up behind Robin and put his arms around her as he said this. When they had talked earlier Anna had told him she had a little surprise for him tonight so why wouldn't she be here?

Robin could tell he was worried, "She's just running late."

"Let's hope you're right, sweety."

"I'll put on some coffee commish, you two should eat something," Olin looked at him, she could tell he knew Anna should be here and that something has kept her from coming home. To stop Robin from worrying Robert went and sat at the table they both picked at their supper, none of them talking much.

When it got closer to nine, Robin looked at Robert, "Daddy you need to go find her, something happened I just know it."

He got up and hugged her, "I know Luv, I'll call Sean again then I'll go find her." He called Sean and told him to meet him at his office then gave Robin another hug and a kiss then left.

...

Holly sat on the chair looking at Anna, she was still out cold on the bed. She thought she had known who had brought her here but why would he have taken Anna. The man that had brought food a couple days ago then brought Anna here earlier has been wearing a balaclava so she couldn't see his face. When Anna started to stir Holly got up and got her a glass of water.

Anna sat up and her head started to spin, "Where am I?"

Holly came back into the little room, "I don't know but I've been here for about a week."

Anna turned and looked at her and saw her black eye, "What happened to you." Anna started to stand up but had to sit back down.

"Don't try to move yet I think you were drugged," Holly passed her the glass of water. "I remember getting hit then I woke up here."

Holly sat down beside Anna, after taking a sip of water she asked, "Are there any other bruises, were you beaten?"

"The black eye is the worst of it, but I was very sore when I woke up and there were few other bruises."

"What does Liam look like, or Marcus or whatever you call him?"

"Is that who brought you here?"

"I don't know, I had an appointment this afternoon with a man claiming to be Terry Meyers, but it wasn't your cousin Barry." Holly was shocked that Anna knew all these names and that they were all connected to her. When Holly didn't answer, "Did you really think we weren't going to do some digging into why you were here and who you might be working with?"

"I guess I should have expected that. Barry always goes by Terrence Meyers never Terry."

"Would Marcus have used Barry's allies to throw us off the trail?"

"At this point, anything is possible Marcus has lost it, he has become obsesses with finding out about Faison and hated that I couldn't get Robert to talk to me. He was the one that did this," she pointed at her face.

"Medium height, dark hair slightly wavy, dark eyes?"

"Yeah, that sounds like Marcus."

Anna nodded, "What does Cesar Faison have to do with any of this?" Anna asked suspiciously, she knew he was dead.

"How far into Marcus' past did you dig?"

"We know his real name is Liam Price and that he had a sister named Lynda and that they both worked for the DVX. That Lynda was working closely with Faison when she died, and that Liam was only a low-level agent."

"Did you know that Barry was engaged to Lynda and she left him shortly after joining the DVX, he told me she completely changed and only cared about her job and pleasing Faison."

"No, we didn't know how you and Barry were connected to the DVX part or what kind of con you are planning."

Holly was about to get defensive but realized there was no point. "There is no con, they wanted answers but I couldn't get Robert to talk to me let alone tell me what they both wanted to know."

"This is all about you wanting to talk to Robert? You waltz into town after pretending to be dead for years and expect Robert to answer a bunch of questions when you won't answer any of his?"

"I'd realized their plan wasn't going to work, but they had done so much for me after I had decided to walk away from my life."

"You mean take the cowards way out. Why didn't you just end your marriage? You both could have gone on with your lives and you wouldn't have been in hiding all these years."

"Like you can talk you hid from Robert for years."

"Robert told me he never wanted to see me again. I hid from a lot of people to keep Robin and Robert safe, I made choices that hurt me to protected them. Robert and I got a divorce, he was free to move on with his life." Anna got up and started pacing, Holly watched her and realized they didn't have a way to get away from each other so she decided it was time to stop talking.