“I still don’t see why you insist on going into town this early?” Faison grumbled as he escorted Anna and “Robin” to the black limousine that waited for them in the courtyard. “I was hoping that we could have a nice leisurely breakfast as a family and then maybe spend the day together. The three of us, just as it’s always meant to be.” He stopped in the arched doorway and pulled Anna into his arms. “We are a family Anna. You and Robin will always be my family.”

“Oh Cesear,” Anna leaned into his embrace, grateful as always for his support and love. “I don’t suppose it would hurt to go to town tomorrow instead if it’s so important to you.....”

Sonny caught Lulu’s eyes and as he nodded, the young girl walked over to her “mother” and tugged softly on her skirt. “Please Mama. The flower market will be closed tomorrow and I would really like to see all of the pretty flowers.”

Anna turned away from Faison and smiled at her daughter. “We will go later on this afternoon, sweetheart.”

Lulu shook her head, not needing to look at Sonny to know that that was a bad idea. “The flowers will have wilted by then Mama.”

“They will still be as beautiful darling.”

“No they won’t.” Lulu forced herself to pout and even to make her voice sound whiny, too things that were frowned on by her real mother and Stefan. “I want to go now.” She bit her lip and added tears just for good measure.

“Robin...” Anna frowned even as Faison drew back, his dislike for the child clearly on his face now that Anna wasn’t looking at him. The last thing he needed was for the brat to throw a temper tantrum. With Jones and Spencer still out there someplace, the last thing he needed was the headache he knew he would get if she stayed. He silently vowed to call the doctors back to finish her reprogramming to make her more of a biddable child.

“It’s all right, darling,” Faison spoke up before the brat could scream and cry in earnest. “Go ahead and enjoy the village. Robin is right, today is market day and there will be plenty to see and do. I’ll finish up some of my business dealings and clear my calendar for this evening.”

“But Robin will need to go to bed early and I so want the two of you to spend time together....”

“Sweet, sweet Anna. Your daughter and I will have the rest of our lives to get to know each other. Right now Robin needs her mother to herself.”

“I suppose....”

“Come Anna, you know that I’m right. Have fun.”

Anna smiled. “We will.” She reached up and kissed Faison on the cheek. “You truly are the most generous man I know.” She smiled at Robin. “Say goodbye Robin and then let’s get in the car. It is a long drive to the village, especially if you want to get there before all of the prettiest flowers are sold.”

“All right Mama.” Lulu turned to Faison. “Goodbye Daddy.” She said the words quietly before climbing into the car. From the backseat, she saw Sonny smile at her and almost grinned back at him.

Anna kissed Faison goodbye and gracefully got in beside Robin trying to figure out why her blood had turned to ice at hearing Robin call Faison daddy.

The sun had been up for about thirty minutes now and they had continued their trek down the mountainside. Robin was in the rear, her automatic rifle slung over her shoulder and a fully loaded pistol in her holster. Even as she watched her two companions, all of her senses were scanning the woods around them for any sign of their pursuers.

“So,” Emily teased the man who had become one of her best friends in the last six months, “have you picked out the ring yet?”

Taggert spluttered. “How did you know?”

“Oh please,” Emily smiled, pleased that her guess had been correct. “You have that air about you?”

“What air?”

“You know the-I’m-about-to-ask-my-girlfriend-to-marry-me air.” She paused to help Taggert over a patch of rough ground. “Just promise me some notice before the two of you tie the knot. Larks going to be hard to replace even for the two weeks that you’ll be on your honeymoon.”

“Two weeks?”

Emily sighed. “Okay four weeks and don’t grumble about it because I know the PCPD is not going to give you more than four weeks off. You know that you’re welcome to use any of the ELQ International Hotels on the house. Athens. Paris. London. Morocco. Wherever you want to go. You can even use the ELQ jet.”

“You mean the one we just crashed?”

“All right, so we’ll have to buy a new one. I bet we can even tie a bunch of cans to the jet and put a big ‘just married’ sign on it.....”

“Wait a minute Quartermaine.” Taggert held up his hand. “Aren’t you getting a little carried away? I haven’t even asked her yet. We don’t even know if she will say yes.”

“Of course she will.” Emily looked at Taggert. “She loves you and you know it.”

“Yeah.” A look of pure satisfaction crossed Taggert’s face. “I know it.”

“Not to mention that a wedding is just what ELQ needs to lift morale back up.” The animation in her face dissolved slightly. “After everything we’ve all been through this year, a wedding will give us something to celebrate.”

“I thought those two getting married was something to celebrate. They are still getting married aren’t they?” Taggert gestured behind him at Robin; trying not to show the pain each step caused. Emily however noticed the grimace on Taggert’s face and tried to distract him.

“Yeah, but Felicia’s in charge of planning the wedding and you know what that will mean. I can see it now.... pink taffeta bows all over the place, plastic doves on the cake, an accordion player for music.....”

“Hey, Felicia’s taste isn’t that bad.” Robin spoke up from behind.

“I don’t know Robin you didn’t see the dress patterns she was showing Lucy at the Outback.” Emily began only to be interrupted as Robin pushed her down and behind a bush as a bullet shattered the tree where her head had been a second ago.

“Stay down,” Robin looked around as she drew out her weapon, trying to find some kind of target. Robin looked around at where they were as more shots rang through the forest. The log and bushes they were hiding behind at the moment, weren’t going to provide much protection. They were pinned down. Even running was out of the question with Marcus’s leg....

“You need to leave me.” Taggert finished the thought as if he could read her mind. He nodded at her look of shock. “It’s the only hope you’ve got of getting out of this. You stay here we all die. You leave me behind and the two of you have a chance.”

“No!” Emily’s horrified voice rang in the air. “We can’t leave you.”

Taggert met Robin’s eyes. “You’ve got no choice and you know it Scorpio.” He used her last name deliberately, as a reminder that in this situation she needed to be the agent and not his friend. “You stay here and we’ll all die.”

Robin closed her eyes. In the years since she had joined the WSB men she had lost friends who had died on missions. She herself had killed when she needed to and without regret or hesitation. But she’d never lost a member of her team before and that was who Taggert was at this moment. A member of her team. A friend. Someone she had known for most of her life. She couldn’t leave him behind.

But she had to. This was what she was trained for. This was what WSB agents did all the time. Make decisions dealing with life or death on a daily basis. She’d made a choice when she had stood on that roof all those months ago. She’d chosen to save a child, no matter what. She’d paid with that choice over and over in her nightmares.

Now she had another choice to make. There was no way they could get away if Taggert came with them. His leg. The rough terrain. Together they didn’t stand a chance.

She opened her eyes. They’d taken her badge, but it didn’t matter. She was still a WSB agent. It was who she was.

She handed her gun to Emily. “See those trees over there, the forest is denser over there and you’ll have a better chance of outrunning them. They’re heavily armed and those arms are going to slow them down. Go. Get out of here while you can. I’ll cover for you.”

“No.” This time the protest came with quiet firmness from Taggert as he quietly put the gun back in Robin’s hand. “You both need to go.” Their eyes locked, professional to professional. “You know I’m right. You’ve still got a mission to carry out. Make the bastard pay, Scorpio. For this. For what he did to Lucky. What he tried to do to Emily. What he is doing to Lulu. What he did to your parents. Make him pay.” The gunshots rang out louder and closer and Robin knew that if they were going to make a move they only had seconds to do it in.

“He’ll pay with his life, I swear it.”

Marcus relaxed. “Good.” He stiffened as they heard noises approaching. “Go. Get out of here. I’ll cover you.”

“We can’t leave him.”

Robin turned on Emily. “We have no choice Em. He’s right. If we stay here Faison’s men we’ll capture us and considering how they shot us down I don’t think they’re orders are to bring us in alive.”

“We can take him with us. I’ll help him.”

“We won’t make it if we try to take him.” Robin bit back her own tears. “We have to go and we hve to go now.”

“I can’t. I can’t.”

“Quartermaine.” Taggert’s sharp voice caught her attention. “You have to leave. I won’t let you and Robin die because of me.”

Emily shook her head. “I can’t do this. I can’t lose you. Lark can’t lose you.”

Pain not related to anything physical registered on Marcus’s features. “You’ve got to get out of here Emily. I need you to make it. I need you to tell Lark that I love her. That I will always love her. I need you to take care of her. And yourself.”

Emily felt like she was in the middle of some kind of bad dream and if she just waited long enough someone would wake her up. No one did. She looked at the man in front of her and tried to smile shakily through the tears that streamed down her face. “Thank you for everything.”

“Don’t thank me. Just tell Lark... she made everything worth it. And keep Spencer out of trouble.”

“I don’t think its possible to keep a Spencer out of trouble.” Emily kissed him gently on the cheek. “But I’ll try.” Crying and knowing that her tears did no good, Emily turned away.

Robin looked at Taggert. “Tell your uncle...” Taggert began, but Robin cut him off.

“I’ll tell him.” She placed the rifle in Taggert’s arms. “It’s loaded.”

“You should take it....”

Robin shook her head. “It will do more good here.”

The shots were close. Too close.

“Go!” Taggert ordered bringing the rifle up and returning the fire. “Go!”

And somehow Robin and Emily found the strength to go.

They were about a mile away when the rifle fire stopped. Emily turned as if she would head back and Robin gently stopped her. “It’s too late.” The words were a harsh whisper as Robin continued on.

Emily swallowed, stared back through the woods for a long moment, and then scrambled to catch up with Robin.

Midmorning

Robin pulled the motorcycle into a side street as they entered the town. The motorcycle had been a lucky break, they’d found it behind a cabin they had come across, enough gas still in it to get them to their destination. The bike had been old, but still fast enough to get them down the mountainside to a dirt road that had led to another dirt road that had finally led them here.

The rendezvous point.

And Faison’s men were everywhere.

Robin stopped to look at the two of them. They’d managed to stop at a farmhouse and trade Emily’s gold bracelet and gold watch for some clean clothes that allowed them to blend in with the rest of the villagers a little better. They’d also managed to snag a cold shower using rain water and some fresh bread to eat. Emily had taken a few bites and then vomited.

Robin watched her carefully, she had barely spoken since they had left Taggert and Robin was worried about her. She really hadn’t been out of the hospital that long and what had happened to Taggert seemed to have shattered whatever strength she had left.

“Em?” Robin looked the girl over. “We need a place to stay.” Robin gestured at the small hotel behind them. “I don’t have that much money on me....”

Emily nodded, latching on to something she could do besides stand by and watch her friends die. “I’ll call Lark and have her wire some money....”

She froze. “I can’t call Lark. I can’t tell her. I can’t.”

“Shhhh.” Robin put aside her own ache to comfort the younger woman. “It’s okay. Come on, we’ll worry about a place to stay later. Let’s walk around and see if we can find Frisco and Lucky.”

Emily took a deep breath. “Lucky.”

Robin smiled as Emily stood a little taller, the look of panic taking a back seat to a moment of resolution.

“Yeah.”

“Faison?”

“Look at us Emily. In these outfits our own mothers wouldn’t recognize us.”

“Speak for yourself. Monica has this kind of sonar that lets her spot me anywhere sometimes I think all mothers are equipped with...” She stopped and looked at Robin. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Robin moved the other girl down the street. For a brief moment, listening to Emily, Robin had wondered about her own mother. Was Anna alive? Had Faison been telling the truth? If Anna was alive, where was she? Somehow Robin knew that once she had Faison in her grasp, she would find the answers she sought. “Come on, I’m hungry.”

The town was built along a square or a central square. All of the main streets in town seemed to connect with this square and Robin could hear the noise and music emanating from it. They were booths of all kinds lining the square and inside the square a band was playing and people were dancing, despite the early morning hour. The crowd was thick, but not so thick that Robin couldn’t spot him through a break in the crowd across the square.

Frisco. Robin didn’t attempt to quell the joy she felt as she tugged on Emily’s arm.

“Emily look.” Emily looked up from her study of fresh baked pies and smiled. “They’re here.”

Lucky glanced around from his scan of the crowd, Faison’s men were here and they were close. He knew it. And from the tension radiating off his partner, Frisco knew it to.

Whatever was going to happen, was going to happen soon.

He scanned the square trying to pinpoint the source of danger, when he saw her.

She was beautiful. She was alive.

He hadn’t realized until that moment how scared he had been that she had died in that crash.

“Emily.”

Almost as if she heard him, their eyes caught and held across the square, the connection between them almost tangible.

At the same time, Frisco caught sight of Robin.

But before any of them could move, Robin saw Faison’s men heading towards Frisco and Robin. She saw them move in formation and knew what was about to happen. If Frisco and Lucky tried to defend themselves here, innocent people would die in the crossfire. The square was filled with potential victims. Lucky and Frisco wouldn’t fire with bystanders at risk. And from their location, they wouldn’t see Faison’s men until it was too late.

Faison would have Frisco and Lucky. He would do to Frisco what he had done to Lucky. And Lucky, she didn’t want to acknowledge what he would do to Lucky.

Her eyes turned to Emily who had seen the same thing. There was one way to stop it, but it wasn’t her choice alone.

A strange feeling settled over Emily. She would do whatever she needed to protect Lucky.

Just like he would do anything for her.

She looked right at Robin and nodded.

What happened next happened in a split second.

Robin raised her gun into the air.

Faison’s men were almost on Frisco and Lucky.

Frisco caught on to what Robin was doing a second too late. As he moved forward to stop her, Lucky caught him and held him back, as he too realized what was going on.

There was nothing either he or Frisco could do.

The gun went off.

The crowd around Robin and Emily parted.

Faison’s men swooped in.

Robin could hear Frisco screaming as she and Emily were surrounded. She could see Emily elbow a guard in the face before she stopped struggling.

As she tried to free herself, her eyes scanned the crowd for help and stopped.

Mom? It was the last thought she had before the darkness descended.

Anna Devane stood silently as the two strangers were dragged into the car that had pulled into the square.

Sonny Corinthos held a tight grip on Lulu’s shoulders to stop her from running forward after she recognized Emily. It was all he could do himself to try to stop what was going down, but there were too many of Faison’s men there for him to fight.

He would get them out. All of them. Or die trying.

On the other side of the square, Frisco stood in shock. The last thing he had expected had happened. Robin wasn’t supposed to sacrifice herself for him, didn’t she know that he was nothing, absolutely nothing without her. He took a few deep shuddering breaths as his mind tried to catch up with what had happened.

Robin was alive. Faison had her, but she was alive.

All he had to do now was get her back.

He looked up and met Lucky’s gaze evenly, knowing that his partner had come to the same conclusion.

This wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning.

'Cause I've lost loved ones in my life
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed
So I made a promise to myself
To say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel


If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way to show her every day
That she's my only one
And if my time on earth were through
And she must face this world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes


So tell that someone that you love
Just what you're thinking of
If tomorrow never comes