On her birthday, Calista received flowers and cards from many, among which was a comical card from Garry Shandling, to whom she was continually being romantically linked in all the tabloids. The studio sent her a beautiful floral arrangement, and she received gifts and calls from her parents and family. Deep down, though, it was Robert she'd hoped and expected to hear from and she was dismayed to discover how disappointed she was that he hadn't even telephoned. In fact, she realized she hadn't talked to him at all since Thursday night.

About 4:00, there was a light knock on her back door. Robert was standing there holding one long stemmed yellow rose. "Didn't think I'd forget, did you?" he asked.

She just smiled.

He handed her the rose, "Uh .. you'll note the color ... yellow ... for friendship."

"It didn't escape me. You did good," she said.

"Hm. Where's Liam?"

"Sleeping. He's got a slight case of the sniffles, but he's fine." Calista replied.

"Well, then, do you think you could call Maria and ask her to come over for a few hours?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Cause I wanna take you someplace," Robert grinned.

"Where?"

"It's a surprise."

"Robert, what are you up to?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Um .. ‘bout 5' 8"," he wisecracked. "Come on, call Maria. We don't have much time."

"For what?"

"Nope, nope, I won't be bullied. It's a surprise," he said. "Hurry, chop, chop!"

"Oh, now you come into my house and start ordering me around?" she joked.

"Come on, Calista," he whined, "please?"

She frowned at him and shook her head, "I don't know how in the hell I let you talk me into things."

He pouted and gave her a pleading look.

"Oh, all right. But you better not have spent any money on me. Money, I might add, that you don't have! Geez, Robert, your legal bills alone could choke an elephant."

"Are you gonna argue all night - or call Maria?"

She relented and called Maria and 20 minutes later they were headed down the Santa Monica freeway. Shortly before Robert neared a turn off exit, he said, "Okay, close your eyes."

"Oh, Robert!"

"Calista ...." Robert warned.

"All right! My eyes are closed. Happy now?" she asked.

He turned to double check that she wasn't peeking.

They drove for another 10 minutes. "Gee, this is fun," Calista said sarcastically. She couldn't see him grin.

When they stopped, Robert asked, "Still closed?"

Her response was a deep sigh of exasperation.

He went around to the passenger side and, opening her door, gently moved her legs around to the side so they dangled freely.

Calista sat, eyes closed, on the end of her seat with her legs stretched out the open car door. Robert slipped off her shoes and said, "Keep ‘em shut and hold onto my hand, okay?"

"Don't think this is gonna become a habit," she warned him, "me following you blindly."

"You telling me you think it's sort of like the blind leading the blind?"

"Ha .. ha." She knew by the sounds and smell where they were. "Okay, what gives. I know we're at the beach," she said.

"Ever consider becoming a detective?" he asked dryly.

"No jury in the world would convict me for murdering you," she declared.

"But," he replied, "you wouldn't do that, you'd miss me too much."

"Yeah, right. I'm being very patient here, Robert," she said fidgeting.

"C'mon, Cal, quit your bitchin'. Here, sit, I'll hold onto you."

She sat down on a blanket he'd spread on the ground and Robert positioned her just right and then said, "Okay, now you can open."

Before her, stretched out endlessly, were luscious hues of pink, crimson, yellow, orange, blue and purple, intertwined across the Pacific Ocean horizon.

She gazed at the sky and slowly turned to him questioningly.

"I bought you a sunset," he said sweetly.

Giggling, she asked, "All my own? I can honestly say that nobody's ever given me a sunset before."

"Yeah, well .. ya know," he shrugged, "someone had to be first." He gave her an outrageously flirtatious grin.

She raised her eyebrows, "Wow, this must've been very expensive."

Robert laid down on his side facing her and rested his head in his hand. "Tell me about it," he nodded, wrinkling his nose. "We're talking premium. It was the very last one of the day."

Calista held her hands out in front of her with thumbs extended framing the sunset. "Hm, I think it'll just fit in my living room."

"Thank God," Robert sighed, "then I can tell ‘em to wrap it up?"

"You may. And," she said, making a sweeping gesture with her arm, "what the hell, let's throw caution to the wind ... tell ‘em to deliver it."

They both laughed and then grew silent for a few minutes, listening to a song playing on the portable radio Robert had thought to bring. A classic romantic ballad by Nat King Cole filled the warm night air:

Unforgettable, that's what you are
Unforgettable, though near or far,

Taking her hand, Robert looked up at her questioningly. This time she didn't pull away.

Unforgettable, in every way
And forevermore that's how you'll stay.

That's why darling, it's incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am .. unforgettable too.

Robert fumbled in his pocket and brought forth a small package. "Happy birthday," he said softly.

"Robert, I told you not to spend any money on me," she reprimanded.

He placed his finger on her lips, "Shhh! Just open it."

She did as she was told, smiling because she could tell Robert had wrapped it himself. Inside were two very small gold keys. She took one in her hand and looked at Robert curiously.

"It's sort of a semi-Indian giver gift," he explained. "The key in your hand is the one to my heart .. which is already yours ... completely. The other is for you to give me .. when ... or if .. you decide you can let me back into yours."

Calista felt tears and lowered her eyes, shaking her head slowly from side to side. "There's only three words for you, Robert."

He raised his brows questioningly.

"Romantic, brilliant, derelict." Then, she added, "Thank you, Bobby."

She laid down beside him, with her head also resting on her hand and, face to face, they quietly talked about nothing. A song began to play, making them both reflective:

Wrapped around each other
Tryin so hard to stay warm
That first cold winter together
Lyin in each other's arms

Watchin those old movies
Falling in love so desperately
Honey, I was your hero
and you were my leading lady

They thought back to early December 2000 when they'd realized they were in love.

We had it all
Just like Bogie and Bacall
Starring in our own
late late show
Sailin away to Key Largo

The lyrics made them smile.

Here's lookin at you kid
Missin all the things we did
We can find it once again, I know
Just like we did in Key Largo

Honey, can't you remember
we played all the parts
That sweet scene of surrender
when you gave me your heart
Please say you will .. play it again
Cause I love you still
Baby, this can't be the end

Their eyes questioned each other as to what the future might hold. Robert's eyes were hopeful and Calista tried to mask her doubt. They laid there, face to face, for another hour just listening to music and enjoying the closeness of the moment.

Then, Robert took her home and kissed her sweetly on the cheek and said goodnight.

Monday morning, he knocked on her door bright and early at 5:00 a.m. She was wearing sweats and no makeup. He loved it when she dressed like that, "You're so cute," he said. "You look like you're 15. Are you sure I won't get arrested for ..."

"Don't you dare say statutory rape," she cautioned him, "you have to get a lot closer than you're gonna get for that to happen."

"Ouch!" Robert said holding his hand over his chest, "that hurt." Then he smiled when he saw the gold chain around her neck from which dangled a tiny, gold key. "Excellent taste in jewelry."

"Like it? Some romantic derelict gave it to me," she said looking at him capriciously. Grinning, she added, "Hey, didn't you forget something?"

He looked at her questioningly.

"Coffee? I seem to recall a bribe."

"Uh oh. Hm. I guess I did say something like that, huh. Well, then, maybe that's why I've got your favorite Latte waiting in the car."

"Nice to see your brain's still functioning," she quipped.

He gave her a wicked grin, "I've got a few other body parts that still work pretty good."

Calista looked at him cautiously, "I remember, Robert. My brain functions pretty well, too."

"Yeah, and that's not the only thi..."

She held up a finger, "Don't even go there."

Robert batted his eyes at her innocently. Looking around, he asked, "Where's the sprout?"

"Still sleeping."

"Gettin' a little lazy in his old age, isn't he?"

"However did I get so lucky?" she asked, "coffee and humor."

He grinned. "Ready?"

"Yep. Since we're off set today, Liam's Nanny slept over last night. Just let me tell her we're leaving."

On the drive to the airport, Robert was on a roll. He kept Calista in stitches the entire way and by the time they arrived at their destination, they were laughing, poking each other, and fooling around like they'd never been apart.

Bill D'Elia was directing them and as he observed them walking toward the portion of the airport the studio leased for filming he smiled. It was good to see the two of them together again. They definitely had that indescribable something - they clicked.

Scenes were being filmed out of sequence and Calista was scheduled to come back at a later date and shoot some footage inside the terminal without Robert.

They'd already done five takes of Ally and Larry's chance meeting at a Detroit airport because Robert couldn't resist his impish antics. Larry was supposed to bump into Ally, knocking her almost to the ground. Instead, Robert had purposely tripped her, tackled her like a linebacker, and backed into her and done an intentional prat fall. Then, instead of reaching in and fingering her earlobe, at the last minute he'd grabbed her nose and wiggled it back and forth. And, rather than caressing her hair, he'd pulled it. He and Calista were cracking up.

Bill was being very patient. "Um ..that's good, Rob, now maybe we could try it the way it's written, hm?"

"Sorry," Robert said contritely, "it's just fun being back. I'll be good."

"I have no doubt - if we can just get one usable take," Bill said.

Calista, unable to stop giggling, leaned toward Robert and whispered, "Knock it off. I don't want to be here all day."

He looked wounded, "I said I'd be good." And he was.

The assistant director readied everyone. "Rolling ... Scene #24, Take 6 ... Marker. Bill said, "Action:"

ALLY: (Stranded in the Detroit airport, to ticket agent) How much longer before our connection to Boston?

TICKET AGENT: Maybe another 2-3 hours.

ALLY: Oh, GREAT! Where's the bar? (It's only 9:30 in the morning but Ally's been up all night and a Martini sounds better to her than coffee.) The ticket agent points the way.

(Head down and bad mood increasing, Ally heads toward the bar when someone bumps into her, almost knocking her to the floor.)

ALLY: Hey, watch it! (Picks herself up.)

LARRY: Still mowing people down ‘til you've had that first cup of coffee?

(Ally freezes at the sound of a familiar voice. She turns and faces LARRY, gasping for air. Face registers both shock and joy.)

(Larry stands with head slightly cocked, expression a mixture of amusement and surprise.)

"Chances Are," begins to play in background: I recall your laughter and your smile....

(They hold a look. Larry's hand caresses Ally's hair and then his finger traces the outline of her face. He reaches in and tenderly fondles her earlobe. Ally fights to hold back a sob. Larry's eyes explore her face, eventually focusing on her mouth.)

"Chances Are" continues:
Long to hold you in the night, be with
you till mornin' light...

LARRY: You okay?

ALLY: Why wouldn't I be okay! (Tries to shout but voice quivers and barely rises above a whisper.) Ally Voice Over: (I'm a goner. He's still so ... so ... yummy.)

LARRY: Well (looks around airport), I did almost send you flying ... uh ... (decides against making a joke) what are you doing in Detroit?

ALLY: I'm not here to see you, if that's what you think!

(Larry flinches as though he's been hit. Lowers head and looks up questioningly)

LARRY: (softly) Well then why are you here?

ALLY: Ally Voice Over: (To make love to you.) Well, Larry, not that it's any of your business, but Richard interrupted my first vacation in years to call me back for a trial. I was routed through Detroit and I've been waiting for three hours for my connecting flight - which appears is not coming!! ....I'm hot, tired, and I really need some SEX .. uh .. a drink. I really .. need .. a drink!

LARRY: Ally....

ALLY: Ah, um .. um .. w-why are you here? Are you coming, going? What are you doing here?

LARRY: Actually, I'm on my way to Boston, I've got a trial there. (Smiles slightly.)

ALLY: (Expression indicates dread): Um .. um .. what kind of case?

LARRY: Believe it or not my client's brother was run over by his girlfriend, because she thought he was leaving her .. he's in a coma.

ALLY: Ally Voice Over: (Wonder if he left a note..)

LARRY: (Shrugs) trial starts in two days.

ALLY: (SIGH) Well, I guess we'll be seeing each other in court then,'cause I'm on the other side. Ally Voice Over (Lord, please get me out of here before I rip off his clothes.) Ah.. um.. I have to go Larry, please let me by.

LARRY: (Steps aside to let Ally pass.)

(Out-of-character, and unscripted, Robert takes hold of Calista's arm as she starts to pass and pulls her to him.)

ROBERT: (Half grins.) Like old times, huh? (Adds, seductively): Being up against each other?

Bill's assistant looked at him and raised his hands questioningly, knowing the scene called for Calista to just walk away, and that what Robert was doing was definitely not in the script. Bill, trusting Robert's raw instincts, held up a hand and then made a circling gesture with his finger, indicating that the camera should keep rolling. It was sometimes hard for him, or anyone, to tell when it was Ally and Larry in a scene, or Robert and Calista. But, that's what made them so magical together, and the two of them fascinated him.

The rest of the scene was pure improvisation between Robert and Calista.

CALISTA: (Determined that Robert was not going to get the best of her): Hmm. Mm. No .. no .. . This time you're not going to charm me or the jury - this time I'm gonna win. Now, let go of my arm.

ROBERT: (Wondering where this would lead, says reluctantly): Okay. (Hand doesn't move. He finally lets go, lowers his head and looks up at her dejectedly.)

(They hold a look ... )

CALISTA: Begins to walk away. (Unable to resist what she'd been feeling since Robert's last arrest when for all intents and purposes he disappeared from her life.

She turns): You can let me go just like that? Was it that easy for you to walk away ... and just disappear from my life?

ROBERT: (Lifts chin defensively, the tone of her voice telling him that it had become personal with Calista.)

CALISTA: Well, you can just go to HELL! (She turned and walked away, leaving Robert standing alone with nothing more to say.)

ROBERT: (He watched her leave and silently saluted her for a job well done.)

Bill shook his head in awe because once again, Robert's instincts, Calista's quickness, their great timing, and their uncanny ability to follow the other to any destination, had added something special to the scene. "CUT!," he yelled. "Okay, that was good! In fact, I'll say it again ... that was good! And, um ... I'll let David know you rewrote his script. I'm sure he'll be thrilled." Then he muttered under his breath, "And, I'll be damned if he probably won't use it all." Glancing at his watch, Bill said, "Okay, lunch. Back in two."

"You just had to do it, didn't you," Calista looked at him, exasperated.

"Hey, you followed me, and then jumped way ahead!" he grinned. "But, then you always do. I have a feeling that if I put us on a plane to Paris, you'd have us diverted to Buenos Aires before I could fasten my seat belt. You know, don't you, that you're too freaking smart for your own good."

She raised her eyebrows, "Mm. No. But, maybe for your own good," she said slyly.

"Touché," Robert raised his arms in mock surrender. "It didn't escape me, ya know, that you got in your own personal jabs."

"I should've aimed them at your chin," she retorted.

He grinned, "You're so damn cute when you're mad."

"Don't ... do that," she warned.

"Wanna grab a bite?" he asked innocently.

"Robert, you're impossible," Calista said looking around the terminal. "You know they catered and, besides this part of the airport's deserted, there's no place to eat around here."

He got a twinkle in his eye and put his finger to his lips to indicate it was a secret.

"What?"

Robert took hold of her hand and said, "Come with me." He led her out of the building to the parking lot. When they reached the car, he told her, "Close your eyes."

"Oh, not this again!" she groaned.

"Close ‘em..." he warned ... "and keep ‘em closed."

She did as instructed and thought she heard him open the car trunk. "Are they closed?" he asked.

"They're closed Robert!"

He held her hand again to guide her, "Don't open."

"I'm NOT!" she repeated.

For reasons unknown to her, she trustingly followed him until he said, "You can stop here - but keep your eyes shut."

She waited, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Okay," he said, "you can look now."

On the grass behind the hangar, Robert had spread a blanket on which there was a picnic basket. She gave a gleeful squeal of surprise. Examining the contents of the basket, she found cold chicken, rolls, cheese, apples and grapes. "Wow. Coffee, humor and lunch, all in one day. Be still my heart," she said kiddingly, fanning herself. "When in the hell did you have time to do all this?"

"Last night. I couldn't sleep and had lots of nervous energy. I decided it'd be good to do something constructive, instead of destructive - or illegal. So .. um ..," he laughed at the absurdity of what he was about to say, "I raided the rehab refrigerator."

He steadied her while she settled herself on the blanket and then sat down beside her.

She looked at him in wonder. "Like I said, Downey ... romantic, brilliant, derelict."

"Ah, and flattery will get you anything, Ms. Flockhart." He bent his head and looked up at her with a twinkle in his eye. "And, I do mean anything."

Calista smirked.

They ate in silence.

Finally, Robert, very pensive, asked, "So ... what'ya think? Do we .. you and I ... have a chance in hell?"

She suppressed a laugh, "It's only been three days, Robert. That's not exactly what I meant when I said we should take it slow."

"Oh," he smiled. Lowering his head, he asked, "Would you think less of me if I told you I was still scared out of my mind?"

"Assuming, of course, there's times you've been in your right mind?" she smirked jokingly.

"Steady ..." he cautioned, raising his finger.

Calista smiled, "I'd think a whole lot less of you if you said you weren't," she uttered, "because I'm petrified. We know the challenges. But, I've already told you I'll be here as long as I know you're doing your part. And, I mean, really doing your part this time, not just paying it lip service."

"As friends," he said slowly, looking at her questioningly.

"As ... friends," she answered softly, "that was our deal, remember?"

Quietly, he told her, "I do love you, Cal. You know that, don't you?"

"I know ... that you think you do," she replied slowly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Robert, you loved Sarah, and Deborah, and you adore Indio. And," she paused, looking at him suspiciously, "I won't even mention your in-betweener ... "

"If that's anything like a ‘nooner'," he interjected dryly, knowing she was referring to the blonde, "the matter's been taken care of."

"Can you be serious for more than five minutes?" Secretly, she smiled inside.

"I'll try," he said, crossing his heart. "You were saying?"

Giving him a look of frustration, she continued, "I was saying that all the love you've had in the past has never been enough for you. So, what makes you think it's different this time?" she asked.

"Fair enough," he acknowledged. "I'll tell you, but you're gonna think it's stupid."

"Like you've never said anything stupid before."

"Cute," he sneered at her sweetly. "Okay," he said. "You remember our talk the other day?"

Calista nodded.

"Well, when I got back to my room that day, I was rifling through hundreds of cards and letters and opened just one ... from some lady in Ohio. It was a simple card. All it said was, ‘You must've closed your eyes and wished real hard, ‘cause God sent you an angel.' And," he smiled, "she'd pasted a sweet picture of you inside. Underneath it she wrote, ‘You can never love the right woman until you become the right man'." Resting his elbow on his knee, Robert rubbed his forehead, "I don't know why it got to me, but it did. Out of all those cards and letters ... that was the one I chose to open. It was like .. after our talk ... I felt like ... someone ... thing ... was reaching down ... telling me I needed to pay attention this time. I've thought about it a lot .. what that lady wrote ... what she meant ... about becoming the right man."

"And?" Calista asked.

Robert laughed softly and lowered his head. Looking up at her, his voice was full of emotion, "And, maybe I finally opened my eyes to what could be mine ... if I can actually get it right this time. And, maybe finally I know it's what I really want. But, I really need to know it's what you want, too." He paused, screwing up his face, "Do you?"

"That's not a fair question, Robert. I can want it more than anything, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna get it. It's not up to me. I can't do it for you."

"Well then, can you trust me? Will you do that one last time? Trust me?"

"I can ... and will ... unless you give me reason not to," she responded.

"Again, fair enough," he said standing, "guess we'd better get back." They packed up and walked to the car. They were scheduled to complete shooting the terminal scene by the end of the day so that they could move onto interior plane shots tomorrow.

As they walked back toward the terminal, Calista said, "Thanks for the lunch, Rob. It means a lot that you went to so much trouble."

He grinned shyly, "It felt good thinking of someone else for a change. Maybe I'm starting to grow up. But," again, he put his finger to his lips, "don't tell anybody, ‘cause they'd never believe you."

She laughed and took hold of his hand as they continued on toward the airport.

The afternoon's filming went smoothly and by 7:00 p.m. they had the Ally/Larry terminal scenes in the can. Robert and Calista, as usual, had had a lot of fun together.

On the ride home, they made small talk about Liam, Indio, and just about any other topic they could think of to avoid talking about themselves.

"So....?" Rob began.

Calista looked at him questioningly.

He pouted. "Can I stay for dinner?"

"Geez, Robert, why don't you just move in?" she laughed.

"Thanks. I was hoping you'd ask. I have my bags in the trunk."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. You can stay for dinner. But, don't mistake food as an invitation for anything more."

"Well ...."

"Robert, are you gonna behave?"

"If I don't, will you spank me? ... And I don't mean with a hairbrush," he grinned.

"Actually, murder comes to mind," she answered dryly.