Chapter 14

Anna was pacing in the waiting area of the hospital. There were only a few other people there and she was trying to keep a little distance from them so she didn't annoy them since she couldn't seem to sit still. Anna knew Robert was out of surgery and is now in the recovery room but she was still waiting to see him. She had to see him so she knew he was really alright. She had been told everything went smoothly but until she was there in the room with him again Anna knew she wouldn't be able to relax. She had already been here for over twenty-four hours but knew if she left all she would be doing was pacing her room until she came back here.

Robert will be in the hospital for at least the next three days and after that, she should be able to take him out of here. She'd say home but that might have to wait a while yet. For now, she just hoped there would be some improvement, that this will help him and that Robert will start becoming more like his old self again. Anna put her head back and let out a breath, Oh, how she needs that man.

"Mrs. Conner."

Anna turned as soon as she heard the person addressing her, "Yes?"

"Hi, Mrs. Conner. We are just moving your husband back to his room and he is already asking for you."

"Can I go see him?" she asked quickly.

Dr. Palmer smiled at her, "Yes, of course. He's going to still be kind of groggy at the moment but everything went well. Steve's a little agitated right now though."

"He doesn't like it when he doesn't know where I am. He was lost for some time and then with the injury, he just likes having me close by at the moment."

"I understand. You're that one thing he's sure of at the moment. As he recovers and his memory returns you should notice he relaxes more. The fear of the uncertain will lessen for him as he regains his memory." They turned and started walking together. Anna was grateful Dr. Palmer had come to talk to her himself. She had a few questions about what to expect now. As they walked he answered them the best he could. For now, they had to wait and see how the recovery goes, Dr. Palmer is confident Robert's recovery will go smoothly but knows there are always possible complications that they needed to be aware of.

When she got to his room Anna walked in. She sighed as soon as she saw him, "Hi," she said as she reached the foot of his bed.

He opened his eyes and smiled. "Hi, Luv. Come over here."

She went and sat in the chair beside his bed and took his hand, smiling at him. "I'm here now, you can rest." She leaned in and kissed his forehead, "I can relax too." Anna stroked his cheek lovingly as they looked into each others' eyes. He was alright, that was all they needed to know at the moment.

Seeing him, knowing that he made it through this made Anna happy, that was one less thing they had to worry about. Now it was the not knowing what could be coming next that concerned her the most. Who could come after them? What level of danger is the threat? Keeping their heads down and Robert recovering is the top priority. It's not time to stop watching their backs either. There is no way to be sure that someone else isn't on their trail.

Robert could tell Anna was already letting her mind wander to the other problems they were still facing. "Hey, we can worry about that other stuff after. Right now, the pain that has been kind of by my eye for a long while now is gone. I think that means they got it right. By this time tomorrow, I might even know a thing or two." He reached up and stroked her hair, tucking some behind her ear.

"Oh that would be handy," she said with a little laugh. They both made light of it but they knew this wasn't always easy on her. Having Robert back to normal is what she needs most. She needs that to make things right, once she's got him completely back they can take on anything.

He didn't want to look away but had to admit, "I'm kind of tired."

Anna leaned in and kissed him lightly, "Then you should sleep. I will stay as long as they let me. If they kick me out I'll be back in the morning." She kissed him once more, then touched his lips lovingly with her finger as she looked into his eyes. "Now get some sleep, my love." The doctors had explained that Robert would sleep a lot for the first two days of recovery so they both knew that was what he needed.

Robert smiled as he closed his eyes, he was tired and it was hard keeping them open. Now that Anna is here holding his hand he felt himself relax and drifted off to sleep quickly. He knew he already felt different, now hopefully, he will start getting his memories back.

…

Matthew Tucker sat in his little motel room waiting for the appointed time. Just another hole-in-the-wall type place he'd stayed at so many times before but at least there was a TV. Tucker checked the time and picked up the phone, with any luck after this phone call, he will get to leave Argentina. Then again who knows where Colin Ross will send him next. The guy's a total ass but since he outranks him there was nothing Tucker could do but follow orders. He picked up the phone, dialled and waited. Let this be over soon he thought as he waited for someone to answer.

Ross quickly picked up, "Ross, speak to me."

"Tucker here, I have another update on Anna and Robert Scorpio."

"Good, let me have it." Ross picked up a pen to make notes.

What a moron, Tucker thought. "I have found the motel Anna was staying at while she was here. I had a little trouble understanding the guy working there but he did confirm that Anna was staying there for some time and that a man joined her the last two days she was there."

"Where are they now?"

"I don't know but I don't think they are here any longer. According to the guy at the motel, they checked out over two weeks ago."

"The drunk woman you talked to said it had been a couple of weeks as well. By now, they must have left. What name was Anna using?"

"I don't know, the guy says they don't keep records and from the look of the office I didn't doubt him. I would bet they haven't kept records since that place opened."

"Go back there and grill him. Talk to another worker. We need to know what name she is travelling under. That's how we are going to find them." Ross can't believe that he needs to explain this. Why are all the agents working on this so useless?

"I'll try. I'm not sure it will help," he added under his breath. If the guy had known her name, not sexy Brit then maybe he would have gotten that information when he was there last time Tucker thought bitterly. "What am I doing after this? If this guy can't give me a name, where am I headed next?"

"Nowhere. You need to find their trail. You can't leave until we know where they went. If they aren't there now that means they left. If they left, you need to find out how they did that and where they went. You've been a pencil pusher too long, Tucker. You can't even do basic fieldwork. I shouldn't have to tell you this."

A team has been down here for months. They couldn't find Scorpio Faison or Anna when she got here but he has to stay and find a two-week-old trail that only has people's descriptions to go off of. Sure Ross, no problem, you tool. It might be time for a little RnR. he's down here on the WSB's dime but they aren't here watching his every move. "I will do my best. I'll check-in in a couple of days if I don't find anything before then."

"Don't let me down, Tucker. I know you're the guy for this. You're my guy, Tucker." You're a moron, Tucker he thought, shaking his head. Ross didn't give a crap about any of the people working on this case, he just wanted results.

Tucker hung up, he didn't want to listen to that asshole any longer. After that call, all he wanted to do was go get good and drunk. Maybe tomorrow he'll feel like searching for a cold trail, maybe he'll be nursing a hangover. Either way, he doesn't have to talk to Colin Ross for a couple of days and that suited him just fine.

…

There was usually a morning meeting between Mac and Sean every couple of days now. They would touch base about what they have found then go about their days so as not to raise suspicions. Robin had told them she was the only one being watched now but she had also told them there were still WSB agents here in Port Charles that could be interested in their little group.

"Good morning, Mac. You look happy this morning," Sean noted as Mac walked into Sean's office at police headquarters.

"I am. I know we haven't heard anything yet but Robert had his surgery the day before yesterday. He is going to be on the mend because everything went fine. I know it did."

"Anna has not checked into another hotel so yeah, everything must have gone well."

They had agreed that was the easiest way to let them know if something had gone wrong or badly. As long as Roxie and Steve stayed checked in at their hotel Robert was doing fine. If Roxie had to move there were complications. If Beth checked in somewhere then there had been major complications. Neither of those things had happened so they should be on schedule for a call tomorrow evening. Robert should be out of the hospital by then.

"Of course she hasn't, my big brother isn't going to let a little brain surgery slow him down," Mac said confidently.

"No, he won't. So did you find anything interesting yesterday?" Sean asked.

"No I didn't find a thing but I think someone came looking for me. Wanting to see what I'm up to kind of thing. I only saw the guy the day he told us Robby and Anna had died but I think Agent Colin Ross paid me a visit last night."

"Oh?" Sean sat back in his chair waiting to hear more.

"Yeah, he showed up at The Outback last evening. He stayed for a good portion of the night as well. He was spending money so I didn't think it would be right to kick him out."

"It's not like he was going to learn anything about what we're up to by drinking in your club."

"That's what I figured and I ignored him all night, you know, just for good measure."

"That's a good thing. If you had confronted him it would have confirmed we are aware of the WSB presence. The longer they think we don't know about them the better."

"That's kind of what I was thinking too. Did you find anything?"

"I finally talked to an old friend that likes to chat. There is a large-scale ongoing search for Faison happening. It's on the down-low because they don't want the world to know they are conducting a manhunt for a 'dead' man but he did confirm that Faison has been seen alive since the tanker explosion."

"Where? Is he following Robby and Anna?"

"From what my guy said, it sounds like they are searching the Central America area, he did mention Panama but not sure that was a starting point or if there had been a sighting there."

"So all three of them survived?"

Sean nodded slowly, "Ya, it would appear so."

"I like having it confirmed. Now we are not guessing who's all out there. Faison is alive and he will be a threat if he isn't dealt with." There was determination in Mac's voice. They need to deal with him. Faison must be eliminated so his brother and Anna can come home to their daughter. Mac never thought he would feel another person should die but the things that man had put his family through, what he has put other people through. Cesar Faison needs to be stopped once and for all.

"I didn't come up with anything else last night but I knew you'd want to hear about Faison. I get the feeling he is still in hiding but that doesn't mean he isn't plotting something. When he's ready he will have a plan of attack, I guarantee it. We can't let him put any type of plan into action."

"I know. I wish we could go out there and hunt him down but."

"We are the only lifeline Anna and Robert have at the moment. They are on their own if something happens to us, so let's let the WSB worry about finding Faison for now. I feel like we will know when they locate him."

"Are you sure? Do you have a contact that will let you know?"

"No I don't," Sean paused and leaned forward, "I think Robin does though."

"What?"

"You don't think the woman that made sure she told Robin her father was found alive would tell her when they locate Faison if they do?"

"You mean the agent following Robin?" Mac considered that for a moment, "Why would she?"

Sean grinned, he had already looked into Agent Ronda Norris. She had been badly injured on assignment twenty months ago. She had almost been killed and it had been a long road to recovery. She is still an active agent but had only been cleared for some limited duties. Working at the Crow's Nest was part of her return to work program. According to her files, she may never be able to return to fieldwork and shouldn't even be working stakeouts. From listening to Robin talk about their encounters it seemed to Sean like she didn't like this assignment and could even be on Anna's side. She might also just want to get back to her other assignment.

Sean didn't care what her reasons were as long as she did what he believed she would and let them know when Faison is located. "To stick it to Ross. He's on thin ice with the WSB. I might not be getting a lot of information about the case but I have been getting caught up on my WSB gossip. Ross might be desperate to find Faison in an attempt to save his career. He's been messing up a lot lately."

"I don't care why he wants to find Faison. I'm just happy the WSB is trying to find him."

"That's how I feel about it too." Sean picked up a file. "Well, I have some of your brother's work to do. I can't wait until he's back and can deal with this crap again." Sean was going to be in court all day and was not looking forward to a second of it.

"Alright, I should let you get to work. I'm going to work on this today, hopefully, I have a little luck and we have more information for them tomorrow. See you later, Sean." With that, Mac got up and left Sean's office.

…

Anna was waiting in the hall, the doctor was in with Robert doing a quick examination. Yesterday he had still been rather tired and slept a lot but she had been assured that was normal. Robert wasn't complaining about pain and according to the doctor he is going through the normal recovery for the surgery he had. They aren't worried about anything at this point so all she could do was wait.

It had been five days since the surgery and Anna was glad they were letting her stay longer than visiting hours. They wouldn't let her stay overnight but since she has a calming effect on their patient they let her stay with him throughout the day. After this exam, Dr. Palmer will tell her if Robert can leave the hospital today or not.

A single tear rolled down her cheek as Anna thought about something he had said last night. Shortly before she had to leave Robert had taken her hand. 'No babies?' he had asked. Her breath had caught as she looked up at him. He squeezed her hand, 'We were in a kitchen and you came to me to talk. We can't have any more kids because you can't have any more babies.'

Anna had wondered why that had come to him and Robert explained that he had been thinking about Robin. That he could actually remember a few things about her and that was when that thought came into his head. Anna had confirmed that he was right, that they had indeed had that conversation. She was also able to add that they wanted to get a second opinion, it had been a few years since then and they both wanted to know if there was a chance for another baby. Robert had been smiling happily when she left. They both loved the idea that maybe they could try when this is all said and done.

"Someone is asking for you." Anna turned, Dr. Palmer was now standing beside her. "Steve is asking for you. Everything looks good and as long as you aren't planning on leaving the city you can take him home in a little while. I just need to get the paperwork in order."

"We aren't leaving yet. We agreed that we needed to get him all fixed up before heading home. I need him better and I will not risk his health."

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear." He patted her arm, "You can go in and see him now."

"Thank you," Anna said with a smile then turned and walked to his door. There, smiling back at her is Robert. There was something that felt so right about it. Even if he is still on the mend, Robert Scorpio is already a lot closer to his old self. "You look wonderful."

"I feel wonderful." Anna walked over and kissed him. "When do you get to take me out of here?"

"Soon, the doctor just has to fill out the paperwork."

"Good. I'm tired of being stuck in here."

"Again he wanted to make sure we weren't heading home yet. You still have some healing to do so I will be making sure you are getting the rest you need."

"Resting cuddled up with you in a comfy bed is going to be way better than being stuck in this thing. I just want to get the hell out of here."

Anna tried to hide her smile hearing him talk like that. "Is it time for Nurse Feelgood?"

"I will not be trying to escape. I don't think my brother is after either of us. I just want to get out of here and get to the good stuff. The faster I recover the more likely I am to get a little sex. That's what the wife tells me, anyway."

"I told you, you still have to wait," she grinned as she answered.

"Only until I'm me again. I am feeling so much more like me," he told her with a sexy little grin. Robert had already remembered a few things, the more recent memories are coming back but even things that were only four or five years ago still hadn't. He knew there was still a long way to being himself but he was remembering more things and hoped that would continue. They both need that.

"I can tell." Anna smiled then leaned in and kissed him again. "For now we wait." Then she laughed, "Hopefully not that much longer," she added, making Robert laugh as well.

All they can do now is wait for him to be released. Once they are back in their hotel room, where they can relax, where they can just be Robert and Anna then maybe Robert will start remembering more. The healing has started and only time will tell what they are facing now.