"Tina, where are my car keys? I'm gonna be late." Callie called out as she rushed around the apartment.
"I saw them in the kitchen by the phone." she yelled out as there was a knock at the door. "Can you get that? I'm getting dressed. It's probably Ray." she yelled from her room.
"Yeah, sure." she called out opening the door. "Um... hey." she said looking up surprised.
"Hey Cal. You look really good." the visitor smiled looking down at her.
"Roger, what are you doing here? It's been 7 years." she asked as tears filled her eyes. He looked good considering she thought he was dead.
"Allie hired a private investigator to find you. I um... I needed to see you." he said looking down at her shoving his hands into his jeans pockets.
"Why? After all these years, why?" she asked turning around to go into the apartment as he followed her.
"I've been thinking about you a lot lately. Um... I started performing again. We got a record deal." he said walking after her.
"That's great, really. Um... I have to go. I have a meeting with my editor in 15 minutes and I'm running late already." she said putting her pocketbook on her shoulder.
"Baby, I'm in LA now. At least until my record's done." he said looking down at her.
"What do you want from me Roger? 7 years have gone by since I heard you and Collins in your hospital bed talking about not wanting me to watch you die, but here you are. Alive and well and now you want me in your life." she yelled looking up at him.
"I'm sorry Cal. I made a huge mistake back then but chasing you away. I didn't know I'd be around this long. Trust me, if I had my way, I wouldn't have. I tried killing myself so many times after I got out of the hospital, but I'm here. I'm here and I miss you." he said looking down at her.
"Roger, I can't deal with this right now. I have a meeting. I um... I have to go." she told him rushing out of the apartment taking her keys with her.
"Cal wait." he called out starting to rush after her as Tina came out of the bedroom.
"Cal, what's going...Roger. Oh my God, you look great." Tina smiled rushing over to hug him.
"Thanks T. So do you. How's she doing?" he asked looking over at her.
"She's OK. She's getting her book published." she smiled looking up at him.
"You know that's not what I mean Tina." he said looking down at her.
"It's been 7 years Roger. That's all she's done is work on that damn novel. She hasn't done anything else with her life. She's barely gone left the apartment, just for work. She hasn't even talked about you. All she does is work and write." she said putting her hair up.
"So she didn't go on with her life. She didn't do anything in all these years." he said looking over at her.
"There's something you should know Roger." she said looking up at him.
"What is it Tina?" he asked looking down at her.
"Maybe you should sit down." she said leading him to the couch.
"Is she OK?" he asked sitting on the couch.
"Um... Roger, she wrote a book about you guys." she said looking over at him.
"She... she wrote a book about us?" he asked looking up at her.
"Yeah, but that's not it. I wish it was, but it's not." she said looking up at him.
"Baby, are you here?" a man called out poking his head into the apartment.
"Um, yeah Ray. Come on in. Ray, this is Callie's old boyfriend Roger. Roger, this is my boyfriend Ray." Tina said introducing them.
"Hey Roger. It's nice to finally meet you. Tina's told me a lot about you." he smiled holding his hand out to Roger.
"Hey. Um... hi, it's nice to meet you too." Roger said looking over at him.
"Babe, can I meet you at the club? I have to finish this up with Roger." she asked looking up at him.
"Of course. Take all the time you need. Callie's gonna meet us there after her meeting with her editor. It was really nice to meet you Roger. I hope you'll be around long enough for us to get to know each other." he said looking over at him.
"Yeah, me too. Thanks Ray. Um... I'm sorry to ruin your plans." Roger smiled looking up at him.
"No Roger, it's OK. I think you really need to hear this." she said looking up at him.
"I agree Roger. Don't worry about it. Bye Baby." he smiled leaning down to kiss Tina goodbye before leaving the apartment.
"Roger, why don't we sit down and talk. There's a lot we need to talk about." she said looking up at him.
"What are you not telling me Tina?" he asked sitting on the couch next to her.
"Um... after you told Cal about April and your HIV, she got tested and um... Damn, there's no easy way to say this. She's positive Roger. She didn't want you to know. She made me swear not to tell anyone. Especially you. I'm sorry." she said looking over at him.
"No, no, no, no, no. I swore my whole life that I would protect her. I got her sick. How? How could she not tell me about this?" he said looking down at her getting up from the couch to pace around.
"I'm sorry Roger. She didn't want you to know. I tried getting her to call you and tell you herself, but you know her. She wouldn't. She didn't want to push you over the edge. And then after you OD'd she was afraid you would try to kill yourself for hurting her. I'm so sorry Roger." she said looking up at him.
"I tried to. God knows I tried to. But Maureen, Collins and Mark got me past it. I'm clean and now I have a record deal. That's what I'm doing in LA. I came to record my album and see her. I wanted to make things right and make sure she was OK. How could I have hurt her?" he asked looking over at her.
"You didn't hurt her Roger. She's perfectly healthy and she's doing what she loves. She wrote a book. It's about you guys. You should really read it. It's great. It's just what she needed this past 7 years without you." she smiled looking up at him.
"I'm sure it is good. She always was good at writing." he smiled looking down at her.
"How are you still here? We thought you were dead. She's been mourning you ever since. 7 years and here you are. Still here. And you look good Roger. You really do. I love your hair." she smiled looking up at him.
"Yeah, I'm on this cocktail that's supposed to work miracles. I don't know if I believe that, but I'm willing to try anything. I don't want everyone to remember me as a strung out junkie. That's not who I am. It's not the man Callie loved." he said looking up at her.
"I understand. I'm really happy to hear that you're doing so well. Now all we have to do is get Callie to start living again. It seemed like when she came back to LA, she died along with you. She tried harder to get her book done, and nothing else. She's been obsessing over it for all these years. To get it perfect. We have to do something Roger." she said looking over at him.
"I want her back Tina. Allie hired a private investigator to find her. I wanna take care of her." he said looking over at her.
"I've been waiting so long to hear you say that. What do you need me to do?" she smiled looking up at him.
"Whatever you can. I need major help. You saw her. She doesn't want anything to do with me." he said looking down at her.
"Done. Why don't you come to the club with me? We can talk more there and figure out what we're gonna do. Callie's gonna be there too. Ray bought this club and we're helping him get it set up. The grand opening is next week." she offered looking up at him.
"Thanks Tina. Um... I still love her. I never stopped." he said looking down at her.
"I know. I figured you'd love her with your dying breath." she smiled reaching up to hug him.
"I will. I love her more than anything on the planet." he smiled looking down at her.
"She's your destiny." she smiled as they got up and left the apartment.
"She always will be." he smiled looking down at her.
"So, what have you been doing, other than getting better looking." she smiled looking up at him as they walked to the club.
"I kicked smack. It was a long road, but with Mark, Maureen and Collins' help I got through it. The only thing that got me through it was them bringing up Callie. I did it for her. I wanted to get her back after I was done, but I lost my nerve. I figured it was 6 months already and she hated me. Then I met someone. She was really great. Mimi would have really liked Callie. Mimi got me out of the loft and living again." he said looking down at the ground.
"What happened to her?" she asked looking up at him.
"She died of AIDS a couple of years ago. When she was sick, I used to tell her all about Callie and she made me promise to look for her eventually and at least tell her that I still love her. She said I would light up when I looked at her pictures and she could tell that Callie was truly my destiny by the way I talked about her. After she died, I wanted to start a band and do what Cal always knew I could. Get a record deal. I wrote a song for her and it got the attention of some record execs. I owe it all to her. Everything I owe to her." he smiled looking down at her.
"Good for you Roger. She always believed in your talent. We always hoped we'd find your CD in a record store or see you on a talk show promoting an album or something." she smiled looking up at him.
"I'm recording an album right now. I could have done it in New York, but when the guy mentioned LA to us, I jumped at the chance to do it. I wanted to see her and tell her that it was her believing in me that made it happen for me. I'm dedicating my album to her. I wrote this as soon as the guy called us and asked us to do it." he said taking a piece of paper out of his pocket and handing it to her.
Dedicated to My Callie. My muse, my inspiration, my girl, my destiny. Thank you for believing in me. Your love can heal me.
"This is beautiful Roger. Callie told me you were an amazing songwriter, but... wow, this is really beautiful." she smiled looking down at the paper.
"So, she's gonna forgive me, right?" he asked looking down at her.
"If she doesn't plant the most amazing kiss anyone has ever seen on you, I will. She is one lucky girl to have someone who loves her this much." she smiled looking up at him.
"I've always loved her T. She's my reason in this world. I've known that since I was 12 years old." he said looking down at her.
"Don't worry, me and Ray will help you get her back. Ray owns this amazing club and I have some great ideas for you to woo her back." she smiled looking up at him.
"Do you think it'll work?" he asked looking down at her.
"If it doesn't work then there's no hope. Trust me. She's my best friend. I promise. She's gonna fall into your arms." she smiled up at him.
"Thanks T. I really appreciate that." he smiled as they entered the club. "Woh, this place is awesome." he smiled looking around the club.
"Thanks. Um... listen Roger, I was thinking. I wanted to get some bands in here and I'd love it if your band played. A big New York City band playing in our little whole in the wall would be great for business. Maybe for our grand opening?" he asked looking over at him.
"I'll have to talk to the guys, but I think it's a great idea." he smiled looking over at him.
"Great. OK now, what do you need me to do?" he asked looking down at Tina.
"How did you know we were planning something?" she asked looking up at him.
"Are you kidding Teen? All you've talked about since we met was how great Cal's boyfriend was and how you wish you could do something to get them back together." he smiled looking down at her.
"Yeah, I'm kinda sorta your biggest fan at this point." she laughed looking up at Roger as Ray put his arms around her.
"Why? After everything?" Roger asked looking down at her.
"Well Cal's my best friend. I hate seeing her like this. The only time she was ever really happy was when she got back from New York. Right up until that day you told her about your diagnosis." she said looking up at him.
"Yeah, that was a really bad period, wasn't it?" he asked sitting on the barstool.
"Yeah it was. We're gonna fix everything and then you and Cal can get married like you were supposed to." she smiled looking up at him.
"Roger, what's your prognosis?" Ray asked looking down at him.
"It's good. My viral load is at a good level and my t-cells are really high, so I'm doing really good. They got me on the new cocktail, so I have at least another 10 years, if not more. I feel good too." he smiled looking up at him.
"Good. I wouldn't want you to get her back if you were dying anyway. She couldn't handle that." he said looking over at him.
"I understand. I don't want that either. The last thing I want is for her to watch me die. But I love her man. I've always loved her. Since we were 12 years old." he smiled looking up at him.
"Damn man, almost 20 years. Now that's love." he smiled looking down at him.
"Yeah, it is. She's my life. I'm her man and she's my girl." he smiled looking up at him.
"So you're back in my life, to do what exactly?" Callie asked from the door.
"To get you back Cal. I love you. I always loved you." he said getting off of the stool and going to her.
"So why did you say those things to Collins in your hospital bed? Why did you go back to using when I left? Why didn't you come sooner to let me know you weren't dead?" she asked looking up at him with tears in her eyes.
"I was scared and stupid Cal. I wanted to come back to you as your Roger. Not what I became after I stopped using. I was a shut in. I was afraid of leaving the loft. Then I met someone, and she got me out of the loft and made me start living again. From then on, I've been trying to become your Roger again. When she died, I started a band and I wanted to get a record deal. So you'd be proud of me. And I did it Baby. I got a record deal and it's all because of you. I wrote a song for you and it got the attention of some really important people and they offered me a deal. Um... I'm dedicating my album to you." he told her taking the piece of paper out of his back pocket for her to read.
"Um... um Roger, this is...um, but his doesn't prove anything to me Roger. They're just words on a page." she told him handing the piece of paper back to him.
"It's for you Cal. Everything is for you. I'm just sorry it took me so long to get back to you. The real me. Not the me I turned into back then." he said reaching out for her shoulders as he bent down to face her.
"Um... I don't know what you want from me Roger." she said as tears fell from her eyes.
"Say you'll marry me Baby. Say you want to be with me too." he told her quietly holding back his own tears.
"Roger, I'm… I'm positive." she cried looking up at him.
"I know Baby. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I still want to marry you though. I want us to take care of each other like we used to." he said looking down at her.
"I don't know if it can be like it used to be. You wanted me out of your life back then sowhat changed?" she asked reaching up to wipe the tears from her face.
"Everything changed Baby. I changed. We're each other's destiny Cal. That's the only thing that hasn't changed." he told her looking into her blue eyes.
"I don't know Roger. I need to think about it." she said looking up at him.
"What is there to think about Cal? You've always only loved Roger. If you didn't believe that you two still had a chance, why didn't you start dating?" Tina asked walking over to them.
"In case you forgot Tina, I'm HIV positive. Dating is really complicated." she said looking over at her.
"I love you Cal. I'm willing to do whatever I have to do to prove it to you for as long as it takes until you trust me again." he said looking down at her.
"I don't know if I can ever trust you again Roger." she said looking up at him.
"Callie, give him a chance." Ray said looking down at her.
"No, it's OK. I understand. A lot's happened and I probably don't deserve another chance. But we've known each other our whole lives Cal. Can we at least try? Please?" he asked looking down at her.
"I don't know Roger. I need time to think about it." she said looking up at him as tears streamed down her face.
"OK. I understand Baby. Take as much time as you need. I'm not going anywhere. You're my destiny. I'm willing to wait as long as you need me to." he said looking down at her.
"I need to go home. I gotta get out of here. I need space." she told him wiping her eyes.
"OK Cal. Whatever you need. I love you Callie. Just think about that, OK?" he said looking down at her as she turned around and left the club.
"We're sorry Roger. But we knew it wasn't gonna be easy." Tina said looking up at him.
"That's OK. I meant what I said. I'm willing to wait as long as she needs to. She's my destiny and I'm hers. I've believed that since I was 16 years old." he smiled looking down at her.
"OK, now the plans get put in to motion." Ray said looking down at Tina.
"I know the first thing I'm gonna do." he said going to the bar to get the phone.
"The phone book is under the bar. The best florist is the one right down the block." Ray smiled looking down at Tina.
"I'm gonna go down there and order them personally. And I'm gonna write a note too." he smiled going for the door.
"Roger, what are you gonna write?" Tina asked looking over at him.
"Something that'll knock her off her feet." she smiled looking down at her before leaving the club to go to the florist.
"Do you think it'll work?" Ray asked looking down at her.
"It's a start." she smiled looking up at him.
"He seems to really love her." he smiled wrapping his arms around her.
"He does Baby. Trust me. I saw them 7 years ago. I also saw how heartbroken she was when she came back to LA and told me that she couldn't ever go back to New York again. She's been wanting him to come after her ever since." she said looking up at him.
"Well he's here now." he smiled leaning down to kiss her head.
"And now she's playing hard to get." she said looking up at him.
"She's one stubborn lady, isn't she?" he asked looking down at her.
"He's just as stubborn as she is. Probably more so." she smiled looking up at him.
"I hope so. He's gonna have to be." he smiled looking down at her.