Pete Richmond nervously drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he turned the car toward the Scorpio residence. Only a few more blocks now and then there’s no turning back, he thought. Why the hell did I agree to this? These people will shoot me if they find out I’m helping him. He had tried, repeatedly, to talk Jason out of this stupid scheme but it had only angered the other man further. He glanced at the flowers sitting on the floorboard and sighed. This is never going to work, he thought in despair. He didn’t want to face Commissioner Scorpio after they both got caught and were hauled down to the police station and Pete was positive that was exactly how this caper would end. Normally he enjoyed working for Sonny, but this was above and beyond the call of duty. He wondered if it wasn’t time to start looking for another line of work.

Pete slowed the car to a crawl as he drew up to the house, listening hopefully for his cell phone. It didn’t ring, however, which meant he was supposed to go through with the plan. He pulled up in front of the house, shut off the engine and picked up the flowers. As he opened the door, he noticed the man at the door had his hand on his gun. He swallowed hard before walking to the porch.

Agent Alvin Dertz watched warily the man walk slowly up the sidewalk, having already alerted his partner Joseph Shannon, who was standing guard at the back door to the house. He could tell the man was nervous and with his gray trench coat and expensive suit the stranger didn’t exactly look like a deliveryman. Al walked to the edge of the porch to meet him.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, um, I’m a friend of Felicia’s from Texas. Is she home?" Al stared at the man for a moment feeling relieved. The guy was so nervous and clumsy, he felt he could safely rule out any involvement from Faison. He assumed Pete was a reporter. Although Mac had assured them the neighbors were used to odd events after having the Scorpios for neighbors for nine years, it was only a matter of time before people became suspicious of all of the activity surrounding the house.

"A friend, huh?" Al asked with a smirk. He activated the tiny microphone attached to his sleeve. "Hey Joe, I’ve got a friend of Felicia Scorpio’s from – where did you say you were from?"

"Texas," Pete stuttered.

"Yeah, Texas. And what was your name? I don’t think I caught it."

"Pete," Pete answered before he could stop himself. He mentally cursed himself; he should have given an alias. Then he cursed himself again, wondering how he’d gotten himself into a situation where he was using words like "alias".

Agent Dertz could see Pete hadn’t meant to give his real name. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Joe walk around the corner of the house to stand behind Pete. Joe tapped Pete on the shoulder causing him to practically jump out of his skin. Pete spun around and found himself facing the man’s chest. He slowly raised his eyes to Joe’s face. I gotta get a new job, he thought again as he faced the gigantic man before him.

*****

The minute Jason saw the guard leave the back door he slipped through the gate and hurried to the shed beneath Robin’s bedroom window. He hoped nosy old Mrs. Patton wasn’t at home spying on the neighbors as she often did. He hoisted himself up and scurried over to the window. Raising the window as quietly as he could, he slipped inside the darkened room. He listened at the door before opening it then cautiously stepped out into the hall. Benny had guys watching the house since the night before; Jason was fairly certain Robin was the only one home but he wasn’t taking any chances. He began to search the house for his daughters, methodically checking each room. When he found the nursery he stopped to stare at the two cribs. He crept across the room to stand between the cribs taking in the sight of his daughters. He watched in awe as one baby rolled over on her stomach, sticking her little bottom up in the air while she sucked her thumb. He knelt beside her crib to study the tiny face framed with dark hair. The little girl was a miniature of her mother. At the thought of Robin, his anger returned in a rush. He had already missed a whole year of the girls’ lives and she still didn’t intend to tell him about their children. Jason walked over to the other’s baby’s bed. As he bent over the other girl, searching for differences between her and her sister’s identical faces, the baby’s eyes blinked open. Jason froze, hoping he wouldn’t scare her. The baby sleepily closed her eyes again without noticing him. Jason let out the breath he was holding. He waited a moment before crouching down by the baby’s head. He wanted to touch her chubby little cheek but didn’t dare wake her again.

*****

Robin sat alone at the kitchen table trying to concentrate on the notes in front of her. She was finishing her last two undergraduate classes via the Internet but with everything that was happening in her life, she found herself quickly falling behind. She was frustrated, tired and disgusted by her lack of willpower. She gazed longingly at the baby monitor that sat amid the stacks of books and papers, wishing the twins would wake from their nap early. Luke called during breakfast to talk about Faison so her parents, Mac and Felicia went to the Spencer home leaving Robin alone in the house. She was feeling lonely and left out and, to make matters worse, she felt another headache coming on.

Then, over the monitor, Robin heard the rustling of Jason’s clothes. She sighed in relief, assuming one of the girls had awakened from her nap. She went to the refrigerator, took out two bottles of formula and stuck them in the microwave. She picked up the monitor.

"Good morning sleepyhead."

In the nursery, Jason jumped at the sound of her voice, spinning around to face the door. Olivia’s eyes fluttered open a second time. Jason looked around, finally spotting the monitor on the dresser. Olivia was wide-awake this time having heard her mother’s voice. She, too, searched the room for Robin before her gaze came to rest on the strange man beside her. Jason waited breathlessly hoping she would go back to sleep but she began to fuss. He desperately tried to quiet her without making a sound but it wasn’t working. Robin’s voice could be heard on the monitor.

"I’ll bet you’re hungry, huh? Give me two minutes to heat up breakfast and I’ll be right up." Olivia started to cry in earnest as Jason tried to distract her with toys.

Downstairs, Robin shook her head and picked up the monitor again.

"Olivia Victoria Scorpio! Stop that tantrum! I mean it!" She tried to sound stern but there was a smile in her voice that completely ruined the effect. "Must be that infamous Devane-Scorpio temper everyone keeps talking about."

While Robin spoke, Jason finally gave in to his urge and picked up his daughter. Olivia slowly quieted as he rocked and swayed around the room. He jumped when he heard Robin call out from the living room.

"Your humble servant is on her way your majesty." Knowing Robin was now away from the monitor Jason spoke softly to Olivia.

"Hey, Olivia. That’s a nice name. I’m Jason. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you."

Robin reached the nursery door and said, "Breakfast is served Mademoiselle Scor – "

She gasped when she saw Jason and clung to the doorknob for support. Jason stared back with the blank look he usually reserved for authority figures. They stayed frozen like that for several minutes before he finally broke the silence.

"You look good." The statement was so typically, emotionlessly Jason that it threw her off guard. She blinked, suspicious and confused. When he didn’t say more, she started to believe he might actually mean it as a compliment. She didn’t know how to respond.

"For a dead person, " he added, finally letting her see his anger. Robin immediately became defensive.

"Disappointed?" she asked. Outwardly, she appeared calm, even confident. Inside, her mind was reeling. What was he doing here? How did he get in? Who told him? How much does he know?

"Crushed," Jason answered. His voice was bitter and hateful. Robin had hoped never to hear him speak to her like that again.

"Put her down and leave," she said quietly.

"Why? So you can run off again and let everyone accuse me and Sonny of being murderers?

"You are murderers." Her voice was cold and flat.

"Oh, that’s right I forgot. You’re perfect and the rest of us are dirt."

"Just put her down and get out!"

"Tell me Robin, did you enjoy doing this to Sonny, too, or was he just another way to get at me?"

"I don’t know what – "

"I’ll bet poor Stone’s spinning in his grave."

"Shut up!" she cried, then immediately lowered her voice so as not to scare her daughters. "Don’t you ever talk about Stone again! You didn’t even know him!"

"And I can never measure up to the late, great Michael Stone Cates, can I?"

Reverting to her cold tone, "No. You can’t." She could see Jason was furious now. He gently set the baby back in her crib as Robin’s head began to pound.

"I think we’d better take this downstairs before we upset the babies. I’ll wait in the living room while you feed her." Robin started to protest but he cut her off. "Unless you want me to do it." He stepped forward holding out his hand. Robin jerked away.

"She can wait a couple minutes. This won’t take long." He gestured toward the door.

"After you."

*****

Gina gave up on finding a usable piece of furniture in Jason’s living room and dragged a lounge chair in off the balcony. She lit a fire in the fireplace to ward off the chill, then planted herself in the middle of the room to wait. Even though she knew Jason and Robin needed to start communicating with each other, if only for their daughters’ sakes, she wished she had tried harder to stop him. He didn’t know the entire story and she feared he would only make the situation worse by flinging accusations at Robin. Gina herself didn’t know exactly what happened to Robin, but Emily said Alan mentioned Faison. Gina knew just enough about Faison to know Robin probably hadn’t had much of a choice when it came to telling Jason about their children. She only hoped Robin could explain that to Jason before he said or did something he would later regret.

Gina leaned back in the lounge chair and closed her eyes. After Robin returned to Paris, Jason pushed everyone except Carly and Sonny away. He had been cold and distant, taking his hurt and anger out on everyone around him. He and Gina had grown apart during that time. Robin, too, had been strangely unwilling to make an effort at their tentative friendship. Although Gina often wrote or emailed her, Robin rarely answered and when she did, her replies were brief and impersonal. At the time, Gina assumed she was trying to cut all ties to Port Charles, unwilling to accidentally learn something about Jason or Sonny. Still, Gina felt the need to keep in touch with Robin because of Stone so she kept trying even when she didn’t get a response.

When Jason came back to Port Charles, he was calmer, more in control his emotions. Gina approached him at Luke’s one night and struck up a conversation. Neither mentioned the rift in their relationship and they were soon talking as if there had never been a problem. She felt a sense of duty to both Robin and Stone to keep an eye on Jason. With Robin gone, she thought he needed someone to help keep him out of trouble.

She impatiently checked her watch again. Two hours had passed since Jason left. Emily was right, I should have waited for him at the police station. It wouldn’t have been so easy for him to ignore me, she thought. She debated calling Robin but wasn’t even sure where to find her. Gina rose to pace around the room. The ringing of the phone caused her to jump. She raced across the room to answer it.

"Hello?" She waited but there was no reply. She could sense someone was on the line, though. "Hello?"

"Miss Cates, I presume." Gina fought the urge to shiver at the cultured voice on the phone. The man’s accent was hard to place but she thought she knew who he was. "I take it Mr. Morgan is not at home?"

"Who is this?"

"Would you be so kind as to give him a message for me? Tell him I think he would be wise to keep his distance from Robin Scorpio. It could prove hazardous to his health should he upset her." His voice remained polite but it carried an unmistakable threat.

Gina’s voice quavered as she repeated, "Who are you?"

"I would appreciate it if you’d pass that message along as soon as he returns. Good day, Miss Cates." Gina heard the click as he hung up. Her hand trembled as she placed the receiver back on the cradle. Oh my God. That was him, she thought numbly. She wrapped her arms around herself trying to fight off the chill in her bones. She desperately hoped Jason didn’t do anything to draw attention to himself. Faison obviously was prepared – and by the sound of it – eager to defend Robin.

*****

As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Robin spun around to face Jason, but he deliberately kept walking, forcing her back a couple of steps.

"How did you get in here?" she demanded.

He ignored her question and asked, "So how much did good ol’ Uncle Mac enjoy this little game? I’ll bet the two of you laughed your asses off every time Taggert hauled one of us in for questioning."

"I didn’t – "

"He’s a much better actor than you though. Kept a straight face the whole time." Robin crossed her arms in a protective gesture.

"Mac –"

"And even he would have the sense to drop the act when he’s been nailed." He paused for a beat. "Does Sonny know?" Robin didn’t understand what he was asking.

"What?"

"What? About you! Does he know you’re okay?"

"Probably not unless you told him," she replied, telling herself again that she didn’t owe Sonny anything. Jason threw his arms up in the air in frustration.

"You know how he gets Robin. He thinks you’re dead. That doesn’t bother you at all?"

"I’m sure it doesn’t bother him, except for the inconvenience of even more frequent visits to the PCPD." The edge returned to her voice as she remembered her last conversation with Sonny.

"He thinks he caused something to happen to you. Or I did. He thinks – "

"You did it," Robin said softly, finally realizing what happened while she was gone. "He blamed you and you blamed him. So much for that great fraternal loyalty thing you had going. You don’t even trust each other any more," she said disgusted.

Jason, his voice staring to rise, fired back, "Wasn’t that the point? To have us turn on each other? To make us pay for not choosing you?"

"I didn’t have a choice!" she cried.

"That line’s getting old," he spat.

"I don’t owe you an explanation. Or anything else, and I don’t owe Sonny either. What do you expect me to do? Run over there and say please forgive me Sonny, let’s call it even and be pals again? Go back to your dirty little life until you get someone else killed then come crawling to me expecting me to say ‘it’s okay, he didn’t mean it, he’s just misunderstood’?" She tried to keep her voice down knowing it would only make her head hurt worse if she yelled. Also, the guard outside might hear her and come to investigate. Jason took a step closer, using his height to his advantage as he towered over her, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

"Why wait until yesterday to tell me you were okay?" Robin was beginning to tremble but refused to back down.

"Honestly…I thought I was doing you a favor. You never wanted to see my face again remember? I figured I’d let you think you got your wish as long as possible." How could he even ask? He was the one that refused her attempts to contact him. He even had a lawyer send her what amounted to a restraining order for God’s sake and he was standing here asking her why she didn’t tell him she was okay? What was wrong with him?

"Is that why you didn’t tell me about the babies?" he demanded. Robin’s face paled as her guilt returned tenfold. "Are you so bent on revenge that you’re willing to keep me from my daughters?" After everything, now he suddenly thought he could waltz into her home and claim them? Robin tried to think of something, anything to tell him, desperate to keep him from trying to take them from her.

"They aren’t yours," she said flatly. "Now get out of my house."

"Cut the crap, Robin. Who else would they belong to – Oh wait, let me guess. That kid, Nikolas Cassadine? Jax? That guy in the park, what’s his name – Owen? C’mon Robin, I can’t wait to hear this one."

"A guy from school," she replied, mentally berating herself for such an obviously weak answer.

"A ‘guy from school’? That’s the best you can do?" Jason asked sarcastically.

"It’s the truth," Robin insisted.

"You’re lying."

"You wish. What’s the matter Jase? Ego can’t take it?"

"So does this mystery guy have a name?" Robin throat constricted. If she made up a name or gave him the name of a friend, she knew he would look into it. She opted to avoid the question.

"Why? So you can check him out? Break his knee caps? Make sure he can live up to your high moral standards of fatherhood?"

"No, that’s your job." Another pause. "So, where is he?"

"He wasn’t ready to be a father."

"Couldn’t stand you either, huh?" Robin was shocked by his viciousness. His words and the sharp pain that knifed through her head caused her to gasp. Jason was too angry to see the hurt in her eyes. "Maybe he wanted a real woman instead of some whiny, needy little brat." Robin did not answer but the color drained out of her face.

"What? No bitchy comeback for that? Must have stuck a nerve."

"Go to hell," she whispered, choking back tears.

"Nice talk! Going for Mother of the Year?" he jeered.

"No, I think Carly’s got that title sewn up," Robin answered hatefully.

"How long did you wait? A day? A week?"

"Two weeks actually," she replied, wanting to hurt him back.

"And people call Carly a whore." There was a loud crack as Robin slapped him as hard as she could. Jason grabbed her hand in a vise-like grip. For an instant, she froze, thinking of Gerard before she reminded herself that Jason would never hurt her that way.

"Get out of my house!"

"I want to see them," he replied. She tried to shove him away but he grabbed her other arm, too. The babies’ bottles fell to the floor. Her fear instantly returned, her heart and head pounding.

"Don’t," he ordered as he leaned in closer. "You will not keep me from my daughters for one more second." Robin kept struggling and he gave her a hard shake. She winced, turning even paler. She was starting to panic. "You can either let me visit them here or I can take them home with me."

"Over my dead body!"

"That can be arranged." His threat sounded so serious that Robin was stunned and stopped fighting him. Her mind kept replaying the memory of Gerard locking the door behind him as he calmly told her he was going to kill her. Her paleness turned to a nasty shade of gray as the pounding in her head became impossible to ignore.

Jason pulled her to the stairs then pushed her in front of him so her could follow her up the steps. Robin’s only thought was that she couldn’t go upstairs with him; if she did he would lock them in that room together and kill her and then her daughters. She wasn’t going to let that happen. On the landing she suddenly stopped, swinging an elbow at his face. He pulled back but still caught the blow with his chin. As he staggered back Robin screamed for help, swinging wildly at him. Jason caught her wrists and twisted her arms behind her to stop her from pummeling him. Upstairs, both twins began to cry.

The two agents out front heard Robin’s cries and burst in with their guns drawn, shouting at Jason to let her go. Robin used the distraction to ram her knee in Jason’s groin. He dropped her hands with a strangled yelp and fell back against the wall. Robin stumbled back against the steps, tripped and fell on them. She sat there shaking, rubbing her shoulder. Agent Al Dertz tried to get her attention.

"Miss Scorpio, are you hurt?" Robin kept staring at Jason as if she didn’t hear him. The two agents exchanged a worried look. Agent Joe Shannon tried to reach her, speaking louder.

"Miss Scorpio, did he hurt you?" No answer again. "Miss Scorpio?" She kept staring. "Robin!" She flinched and looked at them in a daze.

"Are you hurt?" Al asked again, very slowly.

Robin blinked then said absently, "Fine. I’m fine." She tried to stand but turned an even more ghastly shade of greenish-gray before closing her eyes and plopping back down on the step. Before they could help her, Parker returned. He ran into the house, alarmed to see the front door standing open and unguarded. He pulled up short beside the other two agents. He quickly took in the scene: Jason was leaning against the wall holding himself and Robin looked petrified and ill as she huddled on the step.

Jason forgot about Robin’s bizarre reaction as he stared at the other man in shock, slowly realizing that "Mister Boring Banker" from Ohio was in fact a WSB agent. He remembered how close Robin and Parker had seemed when he saw them together in Paris. Is he just protecting her or was she telling me the truth? Maybe the babies aren’t mine.

"How in the hell did he get in here?" Parker asked. No one answered. "How damn it?"

"Not sure, but he was just leaving," Joe replied without taking his eyes or his gun off Jason.

"Get up," Parker ordered. Jason glared at him for a minute then looked at Robin.

He leaned toward her and whispered loudly, "Doing him, too?"

Parker bounded up the stairs, grabbed Jason by the collar and threw him down the steps.

Robin gasped, "Parker!" as the agent descended the stairs to stand over Jason.

"I don’t care if you walk out, crawl out or have to be carried out on a stretcher but I guarantee you, you are leaving." Robin pulled herself to her feet, clinging to the banister.

"Parker please. Just stop okay?" Jason slowly got up and brushed himself off. He glared at Parker then turned his gaze to Robin.

"Get a lawyer. And don’t even think about running away again." He turned and walked to the front door. Parker followed him.

"Morgan," Parker said quietly. Jason stopped in the doorway but refused to turn around. "Next time you leave in a bag." Jason turned to look him in the eye.

"One of us will." They engaged in a brief staring contest before Jason turned and left. Parker fumed for a moment then started barking orders as Robin slid down the wall to sit on the steps again. She held her head in her hands, rubbing her temples as Parker ordered Al to make sure Jason left and "shut the damn door". He accidentally kicked one of the bottles Robin dropped. He cursed, scooped them both up and told Joe to go feed the girls who were still screaming. Robin apparently didn’t hear her daughters’ cries. Parker went back to the bottom of the stairs as Joe eased past her.

"You okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No. I’m fine." Suddenly she winced and closed her eyes. Parker’s jaw clenched but he stayed put. After a moment, Robin opened her eyes. "I’m just…tired. Do you think Joe would mind watching the girls? Just for a little while? I’d like to lie down for a few minutes." Parker pretended to buy her story, knowing calling her on her headache would only further upset her.

"Sure. Joe loves kids." Robin stood but was wobbly on her feet. Parker rushed up the stairs to take her arm. He added, "I should check out the second floor. Let me go up with you."

Grateful for his help, Robin pretended to believe his excuse and let him lead her upstairs. They could feel the draft as they neared her room. Parker swore when he saw the open window and hurried over to close it as Robin gingerly sat on the bed. She closed her eyes and Parker took the opportunity to study her face. It was obvious she was in pain.

He asked quietly, "Do you want me to get you a glass of water?"

Robin looked up and asked sharply, "Why?" He hesitated, knowing it was a touchy subject. He tried to make a joke of it.

"Isn’t that what they do on TV when somebody’s upset? Fetch them a glass of water?" He shrugged, "Always seems to help." Robin gave him a weak smile, thankful he was willing to humor her.

"Water sounds good." He brought the water and she took a small sip.

"Better already." Then she got curious look on her face and asked, "You watch TV?" Parker looked surprised.

"Yeah. Don’t you?" Robin gave a little laugh but didn’t answer him. An uncomfortable silence set in. They both glanced at the pill bottle on the nightstand then caught each other looking and looked away. Parker cleared his throat.

"Well, I’ll let you rest." He turned to go.

"Parker?" He turned around to look at her. "Thank you." He nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. Robin sighed and took a pill from the bottle with shaking hands. She swallowed the pill and lay down, curling up in a fetal position.

Jason dragged himself into the penthouse. He shook his head and smiled when he saw Gina asleep on the lounge chair in front of the fireplace. She had dragged her coat over her legs like a blanket. He debated just going to bed but finally got a blanket from the closet. As he was covering her, she woke with a start.

"Jason? What time is it?"

"Almost nine," he answered as he hunkered down next to her.

"Where have you been all day?"

"Riding." He stood and walked to the window, crossing his arms. "Trying to clear my head." Gina’s eyes narrowed as she studied him. She thought he looked guilty.

"Just how big of an ass did you make of yourself?" When he didn’t turn around, she had her answer. He reluctantly told her what happened.

"For what? For breaking into her house. For scaring her half to death. For…manhandling her. For acting like an all-around class A jerk!"

"I didn’t ‘manhandle’ her! She hit me! What am I supposed to do? Just walk away from my kids?"

"No, of course not. But you should have gotten the whole story before you went rushing over there. It didn’t solve anything and now you’ve made things worse. Just ask her what happened." She stood slowly and swayed on her feet a little. Jason reached out to steady her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just tired. Too much studying, too much work and not nearly enough sleep."

"Why don’t you stay here tonight? I’ll drop you off tomorrow." Gina looked around the room with a raised eyebrow.

"And what would I be sleeping on? The floor?" Jason had the grace to look embarrassed.

"The upstairs survived. The big stuff anyway. You can have the guestroom."

"Okay. I’m too tired to argue. Can I borrow a T-shirt?"

"Yeah, take whatever you need." She hugged him then went upstairs.

Jason alternated between pacing and staring out the window for over an hour. Finally, he made a decision. He called one of the lawyers that worked for Sonny and set up a meeting for the next day. Next he called Benny. If he was going to face Robin again, he wanted to be armed with as much information as he could get his hands on.

Suddenly an evil little grin appeared on her face as she remembered his comment from that morning. Forget my ‘jammies’ indeed. We’ll just see about that, Robert Scorpio. She began to rummage through the dresser drawers, searching for the top to a pair of his pajamas. As she pulled a shirt out of the bottom drawer, two pieces of paper fell out. She picked them up and realized that they were actually photographs. She looked at the image of her six-year old self. Why would Robert have a childhood picture of her in his drawer? She was sure he didn’t have the picture before coming to Port Charles. When she looked at the other photo, a feeling of foreboding came over her. Numbly, she turned the picture over to read the inscription on the back.

*****

Half an hour later, Robert began searching the house for his wife. He finally found Anna in the attic, sitting on the swing. She still held the photos in her hand. He stopped just inside the door.

"Okay if I come in?" She nodded without looking at him. He walked slowly over to her then waited anxiously for her to speak to him, look at him, acknowledge him in some way to let him know he was forgiven. She finally raised her head and his heart broke at the sight of her tear-stained face.

"Anna…"

"I’m sorry I slapped you," she whispered. Robert knelt in front of her. She leaned forward, putting her arms around his neck as his arm went around her waist. He let her cry her fear and frustration out on his shoulder. He stroked her hair and back as he tried to soothe her. When she sat back he wiped the last of her tears away.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"I don’t know, luv, but I’m open to suggestions." They looked expectantly at the door as the heard someone shuffling up the stairs. Mac looked weary as he entered the attic. He looked sadly at them for a moment before approaching them.

"Felicia said you were up here. I, uh, have some new information. The guys cleaning up the lodge found something else today." He held out a small envelope, which Robert took. He opened it and shook out another photograph. Anna went completely still when she saw it. In the photo, a beaming Alexandra held a tiny baby up for the camera. Robert turned the photo over. On the back, the inscription read October 21, 1994. Anna recognized Faison’s handwriting. She looked at Robert, feeling like a lead weight had settled on her chest.

"I have to call her," she said softly. He nodded solemnly. She handed him the other pictures and left the attic, leaving him to explain it all to Mac.

*****

Robin awoke to almost total darkness; only a little light slipped through the blinds covering the windows. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand: almost 2 a.m. She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep but gave up after an hour of tossing and turning. She crept down the hall, carefully avoided the squeaky second to last step on the staircase and was making her way to the kitchen when she spotted the form stretched out on the sofa. She stepped closer to peer through the semi-darkness. Parker. That would explain why the fire was still burning in the fireplace. She started to tiptoe away, when he gave up the pretense of sleep.

"Don’t bother. I’m not asleep." She jumped at the sound of his voice, then rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, thinking she couldn’t get away with anything anymore. She really didn’t want to talk to him just yet. She was still embarrassed about the scene she and Jason caused earlier.

"Hey," Robin said nervously.

"Hey." Parker sat up, swinging his feet over the side of the couch to sit up. "Shouldn’t you be in bed?"

"What are you, my mother?" Robin asked, irritably.

"I’m just making a comment, you don’t have to bite my head off. You looked awful earlier. I thought you might need the sleep," he snapped.

"Sorry." They both stared uncomfortably into the fire. "I couldn’t go back to sleep. And I’m hungry." Parker hid a smirk. He had never seen anyone so small who could eat so much. Robin saw his grin before he could hide it.

"What? I missed lunch and dinner. I’m hungry."

"Did I say anything?" Robin pursed her lips and crossed her arms. He refused to look at her. She gave up glaring – it was no fun having a staring contest if the staree didn’t cooperate – and went to the kitchen. As she was fixing herself a sandwich, Parker came in. He ignored her curious look and began digging around in the refrigerator, finally settling for a piece of cold fried chicken. Robin’s eyes widened with interest.

"Where’d you find that?" she asked, nodding toward the chicken leg.

"God, you’re like a bottomless pit. Eat your sandwich and don’t worry about it."

"Is there more?" Parker eyed her suspiciously before taking another big bite.

"Why?" he asked with his mouth full.

"Because it looks good."

"Trade you half your sandwich for a chicken leg."

"Deal." They gathered up their snacks and returned to the living room. Each took a couch so they could sit near the fire to eat. Parker kept stealing glances at her every time he thought she wasn’t looking. Her color was much better and the pinched, drawn look was gone from her face. She looked much better than she had that morning although he was alarmed at how long she had slept. She caught him looking. Robin blushed as they both quickly looked away.

"Jason usually doesn’t behave so badly. Not with me anyway," she said softly.

"Usually?"

"Never. I guess he’s really mad this time."

"This time?" Parker felt his face flush in anger. What the hell did that mean ‘this time’? How many other times have there been? Robin leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

"You don’t understand. I don’t normally act like that either. It’s just that…he surprised me. He was standing there holding Olivia and I thought…"

"You thought he was trying to take them," Parker stated.

"Maybe. I don’t think he’d really do that though. He was just…so angry and bitter. And then… The way he was acting…it reminded me of Gerard. That’s not fair, I know. But I got scared." She paused as she drew her knees up to her chest. "I hit him."

"Good." Robin looked up in surprise. "He deserved it. What the hell was he thinking, sneaking in here, getting angry with you? What a jackass!"

"He obviously never read the letters I sent. And, I don’t think he knew about Faison either. Or Gerard. If he knew, I don’t think he would have been so angry. I could have tried harder to tell him."

"You tried. He wouldn’t listen. It’s not your fault he’s a jerk." Parker sighed heavily, disappointed that she would defend him. Everything he’d seen of Robin Scorpio up to this point screamed independent. Now she was sitting there in the dark at 3:30 in the morning defending the idiot who was about to pull her arms out their sockets. He hated seeing her so unsure of herself. So vulnerable.

"Where were you today?" Her question cut him to the bone. He felt guilty for not being here when she needed him. "You said you were just going to the store. That you’d only be a few minutes."

"My brother called while I was in the store. I sat in the car talking to him for a while. If I thought they couldn’t handle it, I would have come straight back – "

"I’m not blaming you," Robin said quickly. "I just wondered." Both were quiet for a minute.

"You feel okay?" he asked gruffly.

"Fine. I’m getting sleepy though," she said as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"Why don’t you go back to bed? You can still get a few more hours’ sleep," Parker suggested.

"I like it here by the fire. If you don’t mind, I’ll just sit here for a little while."

"No. Do what you want." Parker lay down hoping to go back to sleep but found himself watching her face as she stared into the fire. To his surprise, he realized he enjoyed watching the light play over her face and seeing the flames reflecting in her dark eyes, making them dance. He was still watching when she fell asleep. He kept watching, unable to look away, until the fire that made him drowsy and he fell into a deep sleep.