Calista and Robert broke apart and just stared at each other. Robert’s breathing was uneven and Calista was having difficulty catching her breath as well. Suddenly, one of the crew dropped something and the crash seemed to break the spell. Calista fully realized what had just happened, in front of the entire cast and crew. Completely mortified with how she had kissed Robert with such complete abandon, she gasped, turned and ran off the set.

No one spoke, as they watched her leave the room. Finally, David spoke up: "I hope you will all join me in welcoming Robert back to the set. I know it’s a big surprise, which is what I had intended it be and I want to congratulate you all for how well you carried on when the unexpected was happening. I’ve always said that you’re a great crew at improvisation!" he said with a smile. " I think everyone will agree that’s it’s great to have Robert back with us, but remember, not a word of this to anyone outside of this set, if you value your job!" and David gave Robert’s shoulders a hug. " Now, let me go check on Calista," and he left the set as well.

The cast and crew gathered around Robert, all warmly welcoming him back, asking how he was, trying to find out more details about how he and David had managed to pull off the seemingly impossible. Robert tried to be gracious and answer everyone’s questions, but all he could think about was Calista, her reaction, that kiss, and how he desperately wanted to be with her now. He was still reeling with the effect that she had had on him and he desperately hoped that the evidence of his desire was no longer visible. Hearing David call "cut" had had the effect of an ice-cold shower. But even now, that desire was simply dampened, and he knew that if he were to dwell on the feel of her lips, the warmth of her breath, the sweetness of her mouth, the feel of her body pressed up against him, that he’d be right back in the same place as before. So he continued to talk with everyone, trying to gently extricate himself from the group as best he could.

Meanwhile, David was knocking on Calista’s dressing room door. Calista, with a tear-streaked face, opened the door, holding a sleeping Liam in her arms.

"I really don’t want to see you right now! I can’t believe you lied to me. How could you put me in that situation without any preparation! I confided in you! You knew what my feelings about Robert were and I think you were just trying to capitalize on that!" Calista was speaking with such emotion that Liam began to stir in her arms.

She would have continued, if David had not cut her off, by putting his arm around her and leading her over to the couch. He gently took Liam from her and lay him in his crib, covering him lightly with his blanket and soothing his hands over Liam’s back. It was watching David handle her child with such gentle care that finally had the effect of beginning to calm Calista down.

"Calista, please, hear me out, ok? I never intended to take advantage of you or even lie to you. It was absolutely essential that we keep what we were planning to do completely quiet. There could be no chances of it slipping to the media.. . ."

"But" Calista interrupted.

"Let me finish -- I know you wouldn’t have said anything. But it was part of the arrangement with Robert’s counselors, his parole officer, the DA and the judge. We had to have that one day of filming, without anyone knowing, to see how Robert held up under the pressure. We really pushed him that day, filming all of the scenes that will be integrated into this episode. His counselors were right here on the set the whole time, in case Robert started having any problems. If things had not worked out, we were not going to tell anyone. Partly to protect Robert and partly for the show’s sake. But things did work out. Robert did just great -- even his counselors were amazed at how well he handled himself and they gave a very positive report to the judge and DA. And forgive me about this, but I honestly thought I’d get a better reaction from you and the other actors if we continued to let it play out as it did. And you’ll have to agree that you and Robert gave a really convincing reunion scene!"

Calista had completely calmed down as she listened to David talk in his quiet voice. Upon hearing how well Robert did under the pressure of filming, and then hearing the full explanation, she even began to forgive David for his "deception."

Just then, though, there was another knock on Calista’s door. She stood up to answer it and there stood Robert. When David saw who it was, he excused himself, saying, "I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about. I’ll let you do it. We’re not going to do any further filming today, but before you leave, be sure to stop by my office. I’ve got some additional script changes for everyone, now that you guys are in on the secret. We’re going to take a break from filming tomorrow, but I’m asking everyone to devote this weekend to finishing up the remaining scenes. So spend some time tomorrow learning your lines and be on the set by 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning. I’ll see you later," and David squeezed Calista’s arm on his way out and gave Robert a smile.

Calista closed the door and turned to face Robert.

They stared at each other for the longest time, before Robert made a move toward Calista. He went to take her into his arms, but she backed away from him, shaking her head, and sat down on the couch. Since the couch was crowded with Liam’s diaper bag and several of his toys, Robert had no choice but to take the seat across from Calista.

"Calista, I know what you must be feeling right now . ."

"How could you know what I’m feeling Robert? You were in on the plan from the start. This was no surprise to you! All I knew was that eight months ago, I came to you, to be there for you, to let you know how much I loved you and wanted to help you through this time and you pushed me away. You did more than push me away, you shoved me out the door and locked it behind me! I tried and tried to communicate with you and you shut me out. You have no idea how much that hurt and how hard it’s been for me these past months to think that I meant nothing to you and the time that we spent together was of no value. You had it easy... there in your cushy rehab place and here I was, having to face the entire world, playing my role and having one of the most difficult challenges an actress can have by having to try to pretend that I’ve got incredible chemistry with a guy who’s not only way too young for me but completely wrong for my character! And watching, week by week, as our ratings sank lower and knowing it was because of you . . because of what you’d done and I was helpless to do anything. And having to hide my true feelings from the world, while I knew every media hound in the area was scrutinizing my every move. So don’t tell me, Robert, that you know what I’m feeling. You don’t even have a clue."

Robert was speechless as he listened to Calista. He knew that a lot of what she was saying was true, although a lot of it was also unfair. His time in rehab had hardly been "cushy"; in fact, Calista had no idea how close he'd come to blowing it once. But he realized that she was just lashing out, out of confusion and hurt. And now, the reasoning that he had had at the time that he sent her away, seemed so incredibly implausible that he didn’t even know where to begin to reason with her.

"Listen, Robert," she continued, "I know that David has gone through incredible hoops to get you back on the show and I know that the show will rebound in ratings, now that you’re back. It’s what all the fans wanted and I’m not about to throw it all away. I will play out the rest of this season, as Ally in love with Larry, but don’t you dare count on the acting spilling over into real life. I’ve learned my lesson and it’ll be a cold day in hell before I let myself get hurt by you again! Now, I’d really appreciate it if you would leave. We’ve apparently got lots of new scenes to learn and it’s almost time for Liam to wake up from his nap. I’ll see you Saturday morning."

Robert started to try to argue with Calista, but knew that now was not the time. She was still reacting to what had happened earlier on the set, and if Robert had learned anything about Calista in the time they were together, it was that when she was upset, she needed time alone to sort it all out. She hadn’t had that time and he could see that she was near the edge. He walked over to Liam and softly stroked his head before turning back to Calista. He ever so softly touched her cheek, and said "I’ll see you later." And he left her room.’