There was a knock on the door and David looked up from his desk. "Come in" he called. The door opened and Calista walked in, quietly shutting the door behind her. She walked over to David's desk and sat down in the chair opposite it.

"All right, Calista, what's wrong" he asked, noticing the worried look on her face.

"David, what are we going to do? This is simply not working out. I've really tried this season to make the scenes with Glenn work. He's such a sweet guy and he's trying, but the chemistry is simply not there! And I'm not the only one that's noticed. Did you see the sheet this week? The fans HATE it!"

[Calista was referring to a sheet that got circulated among the staff on a weekly basis. David had a staff member who's primary job was to sift through the messages on Fox's message board and relay back to David, and the other cast members, any messages that she thought they needed to see. Between these messages (which included some from an especially vocal group on the board) and the hundreds of letters they received each week, they were finding that overwhelmingly fans were not satisfied with the direction the series had taken this season and that they wanted Larry back.)

"No one is buying into the idea that Ally could forget the love of her life and take up with a new guy so soon! The ratings have dropped a little bit each week. I'm afraid by the end of the season that a rerun of Gilligan's Island would draw a better audience than us! And we can't give them what they want! We all know that!" she paused to take a breath.

"Ok, Calista, calm down. You're not telling me anything that I don't already know. But listen, you trust me don't you?"

"Of course I trust you David; after 4 ½ years of working together! You've taken chances that other people said you were crazy to take, and it's always worked out."

"Then trust me when I say that I've been working on some new material that I believe will turn the season around."

"Wh.. .what . . . what are your plans? The only way to satisfy the fans will be to bring Robert back and I know that he's got at least 4 months left on his rehab . . . at least that's what I've heard.. . And he's not allowed to work, and when he gets out, it'll be too late for this season" . . . Calista paused for a breath.

"Now Calista, you know I don't tell anyone what I'm planning until I get the script ready. I know you're anxious, but you're just gonna have to wait with everyone else and put faith in me that I know what I'm doing, ok? But, haven't you been in touch with Robert yourself?"

Calista hesitated, "Uh . . . no, I haven't."

"But I thought the two of you . . . did I get something wrong? Last spring, before the uh . . . arrest, I had the distinct impression that you two were ...you didn't dump him because of that incident, did you?"

"Ok, ... yes, uh, I mean, no, I didn't dump him; yes, we were together. And David, I tried. After Robert got arrested, and went into detox, I was in a state of shock. I couldn't believe that it had happened again. You saw it too -- he had been doing terrific! He'd been attending his meetings, and I'll admit it, I was with him the majority of the time we weren't here filming -- as much as we could get away with, without the media finding out. And it really seemed as if he had it all beat. But then he got arrested that night and they wouldn't let anyone in to see him when he was in detox, but as soon as he was released into rehab, I went to see him. It was awful!" said Calista, thinking back on what had happened when she showed up at the rehab facility that Saturday morning.

Calista had been shown to Robert's room. She knocked on his door and had entered, when he called out "come in." She was shocked with what she saw. Robert looked like he had dropped 10 pounds since she last saw him, and his hair, he'd cut it off so short! He had dark circles under his eyes and he just looked so . . . so defeated and fragile and tired!

"Hey Downey. It's good to see you," she said softly.

Robert jumped up from the bed where he'd been lying down. "Calista .. . My God, what are you doing here? Why are you here? I, I, . . . I don't know what to say."

"I needed to see you. They wouldn't let me come when you were in detox. How are you Robert? Oh, what can I do? Is there anything you need? Oh, I've missed you so much., honey," Calista's sentences ran together and when she finally paused for breath, Robert said:

"Calista, you shouldn't have come. I really don't want you to see me like this. I've really screwed it up this time and let all of you down again. I heard that David really had to scramble to pick up the pieces after I shot the ending of the season all to hell. I'm surprised he didn't come after me with a shotgun after the crap I pulled."

Calista approached Robert, as if to hug him and said, "Robert, don't say that! You know we're all behind you 110%. Yeah, David was upset, but not like the media portrayed it. He was upset because he cares about you and hates seeing you struggle like this! We all do! He did have to completely rewrite the final episodes, but he was able to include most of the footage you'd already done. I know the ending isn't what we'd all been planning on, but there's always next season."

Robert backed away from her, as she approached, saying, "Next season, hah! Next season I'll probably be sitting behind bars again. Jeez! This country is so screwed up with putting addicts behind bars! God, I thought I had it kicked and then I got that call from Alexio. He told me he was in trouble. I was just going to help him out of a bind and then I got swept back into that scene! One time! That's all! Five months behind me!! I had it all and look at me now. No, don't look. I'm just too ashamed at where I am now. I'm ashamed that I'm so weak. Calista, listen, you've got to go. And I don't want you to come back. The best thing for you to do is to get on with your life. You and Liam don't need a drug addict in your lives, screwing up every time you turn around."

"No, Robert! I'm not going to leave you now! What you need now is love and support and I'm gonna give that to you. After all we've been through, I'm not about to leave you now!" Calista was right in front of him now, looking into his eyes with all the love she felt in her heart, pouring out to him. She reached up and put her arms around his neck and pulled him close. A shock rippled through her body at the feel of his chest against her own. She pressed her cheek against his shoulder and closed her eyes. She could feel his heart pounding and the heat from his body seemed to radiate right to the core of her being. She couldn't believe how right it felt to hold him and how much she had been longing to do just that. This is where she belonged. She sighed and pulled him even closer and felt his arms tighten around her as well. There was no place she'd rather be than in his arms. She leaned back to look into his face and saw the love she felt for him reflected in his eyes and being returned. "Ah, baby, let me help you now, ok?" She leaned forward, about to kiss him, and she saw his lips part slightly. But she was shocked when a cold look suddenly came into Robert's eyes, replacing the love she had been seeing. Then, Robert said, firmly and coldly, "No, Calista. You have to leave! I mean it," and he roughly removed her arms from his neck and pushed her away from him. "I don't want you here. Just leave." And he turned his back, walked to the window and looked out, refusing to look at her.

Calista had looked at Robert in shock. "Robert ...," she gasped.

"Calista, I mean it. Please leave now," he said in a voice devoid of emotion, that Calista had never heard before.

She couldn't believe he was talking to her like this. What about all they had shared over the past six months? How could he think she would not be there for him now? Why was he shutting her out? Didn't he see that they were meant to be together and that they could get through this together? Hadn't he felt anything when they had hugged just now? She knew he'd been on the verge of kissing her when he instead had pushed her away.

She looked at his rigid back, as he stared out the window, with his arms crossed. She started to try again but she could see that he meant all he had said and that she would not be able to persuade him otherwise. She knew how stubborn Robert could be, so she turned and left, quietly shutting the door behind her, thinking she'd give him some time and then try to get in touch with him again.

What she didn't know, was, that when Robert heard the door shut, his body started shaking as he turned and saw that she had left. And then he broke down and cried like he hadn't been able to do since he had been arrested.

I want love, but it's impossible
A man like me, so irresponsible
A man like me is dead in places
Other men feel liberated

I can't love, shot full of holes
Don't feel nothing, I just feel cold
Don't feel nothing, just old scars
Toughening up around my heart

"I did what I had to do," he thought. "She doesn't need me; she and Liam deserve better than I could ever offer them. But, God, how am I going to make it without her strength and love? If I had kissed her, I don't think I could've stopped and God knows what would've happened? Fuck, we'd probably be over on that bed right now and she'd be making me feel as if I actually deserved her love! Christ, I can't even think about that now or I'll never be able to do this. What am I going to do? What am I going to do? I've got to be strong and let her go."

But I want love, just a different kind
I want love, won't break me down
Won't brick me up, won't fence me in
I want a love, that don't mean a thing
That's the love I want, I want love

I want love on my own terms
After everything I've ever learned
Me, I carry too much baggage
Oh man I've seen so much traffic

Calista had tried several times to contact Robert, but after he refused to take her calls and sent back, unopened, letters she had sent, she had stopped trying.

Calista came back to the present. "He didn't want to see me and asked me to leave. I haven't seen or spoken to him since."

"Ah, Calista, I'm so sorry; I had no idea." And he hadn't known how deeply Calista and Robert had become involved. But it had become quite evident to him, watching Calista as she relived, in her mind, what had happened. The emotions that had played across her face made it clear that she was deeply in love and was heartbroken by what had happened. David came close then to telling Ally what his plans were, just to relieve her obvious suffering, but didn't, instead saying, "Well, I know you'll be glad to know that from the accounts I've heard, Robert's doing really well this time. We'll just have to keep him in our thoughts and prayers. And you, you just hang in there, ok? Go home and enjoy that little boy of yours."

"You're right, I will," Calista said, with a half-hearted smile, brought to her face by the mention of Liam.

"Well, listen, I hate to say it, but I've still got a lot of writing to do. Even with the two week break, I'm going to be pushing it to have the script ready. I hope you have a great break and I'll see you in January, ok?"

"Ok David, even though two weeks are a long time to wait. I'm glad I'll be going home with Liam to see my parents for the holidays. See you when I get back and I hope you and Michelle and the kids have a great Christmas too" and she hugged him, before she left the office.

"Oh, Calista, if you only knew what was in store -- for both you, and Ally," David chuckled to himself.