'EVERYBODY Loves Raymond" star Ray Romano says the family will be back together soon. "Raymond" co-star Brad Garrett, who plays sad-sack older brother Robert Barone, is holding out for a bigger paycheck - and his absence is threatening TV's top-rated sitcom. 

Don't worry, says Romano, who spoke for the first time yesterday about trouble on the set. 

"I want everybody to get what they deserve - and they will," Romano said last night on "Access Hollywood." 

"CBS has always been good and, sure, it's all going to work out. 

"We're a family and we want everybody back and I hear good things. I hear we're close to everybody coming together." 

Garrett is seeking a raise from his current $160,000-per-episode check and was written out of the "Raymond" season opener when it became obvious his contract squabble would become an issue. 

"Raymond" co-stars Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle also failed to show up this past Monday - but returned to work on Tuesday with medical excuses that were said to be valid. 

"Just normal business - everything is getting worked out and, you know, we're almost all together and pretty soon we will be [together]," he said. "It's just par for the course, you know." 

Romano inked a record-setting deal earlier this year paying him nearly $2 million an episode, or about $50 million a year. 

His co-star, Patricia Heaton, is said to pull down $450,000 for each episode, while Roberts and Boyle reportedly make $250,000 per episode. 

Boyle, Roberts and Garrett are reportedly upset that Romano and "Raymond" co-creator Phil Rosenthal have alluded to possibly ending the show after this season - a decision Romano says hasn't yet been made. 

"We're going to see if we have more shows, if we have an inspiration," he told "AH." "We have a feeling that [if] there is more to do and more to say then we're going to do [another season]."