“Big day!” Omar shouted at Hugh’s trailer a week অথবা so later. “Get out here so we can all watch and learn!”
    Hugh came out of his trailer and fixed Omar with a Look. “I’m glad you’re amused.”
    Lisa was sitting in her chair flipping through her script pages and biting her lip nervously. Hugh dropped into his own chair পরবর্তি to her and nudged her with his elbow.
    “You ready?” He asked, leaning in her direction. Lisa let her script fall to her lap.
    “I guess.” She looked at him and laughed. “I swear, I don’t know why I’m nervous. It’s just you.”
    “Thanks, I think.” Their eyes met. “Everything’s going to be fine. I just wish—”
    “What?”
    Hugh sighed, looked around to make sure no one was listening, then leaned a little closer. “Honestly? I don’t think I’m a good kisser.” Lisa burst out laughing hysterically. “I’m serious! I’ve always hated these kinds of scenes, but—” Her laughter died off when she saw the look on his face. “If I have to do it, I can’t imagine a better person to suffer through it with than you.”
    “So you’ve chosen me to be the recipient of your ‘not so good kisses?’” Lisa said, tilting her head at him amusedly. “Thanks, I think.”
    “Well—I’m sure no matter how bad I am, you’ll make it look good.”
    “Now that is a legitimate compliment. I thank you.” Lisa picked her pages up again. “So I was going to ask you, how do আপনি want to go about this? Just so we’re on the same page. I mean, look at the scene. This is not your ideal…”
    “Ideal what?”
    “Exactly. Ideal what? It’s—it’s loss, and it’s frustration, and it’s longing, and it’s just this completely beautiful—”
    “Train wreck?”
    “Actually… yes. No good can possibly come from this; it’s just this যেভাবে খুশী moment in time where House is actually there for her, and it’s not going to be pretty, and আপনি know what?”
    “I don’t think it should be pretty.” Hugh murmured, looking over her shoulder at the lines. “You’re right.”
    “It’s like that scene আপনি did with Sela in the hotel room in that one episode? It was completely different—and, দ্বারা the way, the reason I know you’re crazy when আপনি think you’re not a good kisser—but it was two people who were comfortable with each other, they had a history, feelings that had been acknowledged and even though it was a shitty situation, it was still something that they both were familiar with, and comfortable with. This…” she tapped the page. “This is not that.”
    “This is the opposite of that.”
    “I’m so glad আপনি two have come to a consensus,” a voice came from a few feet in front of them, and Hugh and Lisa looked up and realized the majority of the crew, along with the writer and the director, were all standing and watching them, and probably had been for quite a bit of the discussion they’d just had. Lisa blushed a little and got out of her chair, and Hugh followed her onto the set.    
    “You son of a bitch,” she ব্যক্ত a little while later, advancing on him. “When I was getting a baby, আপনি told me I’d suck as a mother. Now that I’ve হারিয়ে গেছে it, আপনি tell me I’d be great as a mother. Why do আপনি need to negate everything?”
    Hugh stared at her, noticed that her breathing had become a little ragged, and tried to ignore the sudden twisting feeling in his stomach. “I don’t know,” he whispered.
    A few সেকেন্ড passed, and then they both leaned in—and bumped noses.
    “Cut!”
    “Oooooooooooooooh…” Lisa jumped back, rubbing her nose and glaring at Hugh. “Honestly. Are we really that bad?”
    “Need some practice,” he kidded, and silence fell around the set. Lisa furrowed her brow and looked around to see the entire crew staring at them.
    “It was a joke, guys,” she called. “Did we বাতিল our ‘sense of humor’ policy this season?”
    “Did they ever have one?” Hugh whispered in her ear as he passed, going back to the door to start again.
    “Hard to have a sense of humor when your two stars can’t even manage to চুম্বন each other without injuring themselves…” David hollered at them from behind the camera.
    “Oh, yeah?” Lisa raised an eyebrow at him and grabbed Hugh’s arm from behind, spinning him back in her direction. “I think we can manage.”
    And Lisa reached up and grabbed Hugh’s face with both hands, pulling him down to her and স্নেহ চুম্বন him square on the mouth. Twelve jaws dropped behind the cameras. Hugh froze for a second, then smiled against her lips, স্নেহ চুম্বন her back softly before they pulled apart.
    David coughed. “I stand corrected.”
~*~*~
    It is a damn good thing crying makes your face red, Lisa thought to herself as they started the scene again. Stupid—stupid—stupid! What were you thinking?
    “Action!”
    Lisa opened the door and her breath stopped in her throat when she saw the way Hugh was looking at her. But, as they say, the প্রদর্শনী must go on… she swallowed hard and backed away, letting him in.
    “It’s really not the greatest time for gloating…”
    “There’s আরো than one baby in the sea,” Hugh said, closing the door and coming a few steps আরো into the room. “The world is full of teenage boys riding bareback.”
    “No. I’m done. I can’t go through that again.”
    “You’re quitting. Just like আপনি quit IVF.”
    “Yeah. Just like that.”
    “There, আপনি just did it again.” Lisa couldn’t help but smile slightly at that. “It’s too bad,” Hugh continued. “You would’ve made a great mother.”
    Lisa closed her eyes, then covered her face with her sleeve-covered hand. “You son of a bitch.” Looking up at him finally, she started moving toward him. “When I was getting a baby, আপনি told me I’d suck as a mother. Now that I’ve হারিয়ে গেছে it, আপনি tell me I’d be great as a mother.” Getting completely into his face, she forced him to meet her gaze. “Why do আপনি do that? Why do আপনি need to negate everything?”
    Hugh searched her face, a little taken aback. Her eyes softened, and she backed up—just the tiniest bit. “I don’t know,” he whispered, and her eyes glistened.
    Then Hugh took a step অগ্রবর্তী and Lisa reached out with her left hand to cup his face gently, and their lips met again, and it was just as they had talked about before filming. Lisa raised herself up onto her toes, bringing herself closer—but Hugh was already doing that, his arm circling completely around her back and raising her even further, bringing them almost level as they kissed. Lisa hesitated a second, then slowly took his lower lip into her mouth, bringing her hand up into his hair, and almost passed out completely when she realized that Hugh wasn’t moving away—was, in fact, nudging her downward slightly and running his tongue along her lip before coaxing her mouth further open. Not a good kisser?!? Lisa let out a quick breath as they separated, backing only half an inch away from each other before she returned to the ground and finally opened her eyes. Hugh was staring at her, breathing hard, and the ringing in her ears almost prevented her from hearing his পরবর্তি words.
    “Good night,” he ব্যক্ত hoarsely, and quickly turned and left, leaving her to stare after him, still struggling to catch her breath.
    “Good night,” she ব্যক্ত to no one as the door closed, and then moved off in another direction, fervently hoping she was going the right way.
    “Cut! That was awesome guys, just one thing—Lisa?”
    “God…” Lisa came back on set to see what David wanted. Hugh had come back into the foyer area of the set and was listening as well.
    “I want to try it again, just for angles and stuff, but one thing. Lisa, I need আপনি to not touch Hugh’s face so much—it’s blocking him from the shot.”
    Lisa buried her face in her hands, turning beet red. “Sorry, David!” She called from behind her sleeves, and the crew laughed. “I will strive to keep my hands off Hugh’s face…”
    “Yeah, could you?” Hugh asked, and she dropped her hands, staring at him in astonishment. Only when she looked at him did she see his eyes twinkling, and she grabbed the blanket off the আরামকেদারা in the living room, balled it up and hurled it at him.
    “Fine, just wait, I’ll get আপনি for that later,” she promised as he threw it back and she replaced it on the chair.
    “So let’s try again,” ব্যক্ত David, ignoring them. “Just go ahead from a line অথবা two before so we don’t have to reset the cameras, and we’ll work on the dialogue later.”
    “Oh, joy.” Lisa quipped, and they headed back to their positions.
    “You would’ve made a great mother,” Hugh said, and she sighed, getting back into the scene.
    “You son of a bitch. When I was getting a baby, আপনি told me I’d suck as a mother. Now that I’ve হারিয়ে গেছে it, আপনি tell me I’d be great as a mother. Why do আপনি need to negate everything?”
    Oh geez, she thought suddenly, I forgot a line. I was supposed to say—
    But Hugh was leaning down, and she couldn’t help it—she reached up again to guide him down to her before realizing she was doing the same thing she’d done last time. She could feel Hugh smiling against her lips as he realized it too, and felt his hand reaching around to her back again, pulling her closer as she instinctively drew his lower lip into her mouth again. Amazing how fast this had become habit, to say nothing of being the scariest feeling she could remember having when স্নেহ চুম্বন another person. Hugh’s arm seemed three feet long as it tightened around her, pulling her close as she dropped her hand down to his back, falling into the sensation of স্নেহ চুম্বন Hugh Laurie. Slowly, painfully, they separated—but only just. Lisa could still feel his breath on her lips, and all of a sudden it was a major battle with her instincts not to learn অগ্রবর্তী two centimeters and চুম্বন him again. Barely opening her eyes, she could only see enough to realize that as she sank back onto her heels, Hugh was leaning forward, the tiny distance between them not changing at all until finally they both swallowed hard and opened their eyes the rest of the way, each backing up so they could see the other’s reaction.
    “Good night.”
    “Good night.”
    “Cut! Ok, let’s try this now…” David came out from behind the cameras and started moving things around, wanting to re-do the beginning of the scene. Hugh came up to Lisa and gave her a half-smile.
    “Sorry,” he said.
    “For what?” She asked, automatically raising her fingers to touch her lips. “Did my makeup—oh, I’m not wearing any makeup.”
    “No, just—I told আপনি I’m bad at this. Sorry we had to—”
    “God, Hugh,” she laughed. “Seriously? If you’re going to apologize for anything, apologize for the fact that আপনি distracted me so badly I forgot to bring chapstick. That was… that was not a bad kiss. That was… exceptional.”
    “Lisa?” David was calling. “You know what, can we just do your stuff now and deal with the other scenes later? Just the little ones, the painting the nursery and the scene where you’re sitting দ্বারা yourself, and just get those out of the way? I don’t know if we have time for anything else. That way Hugh can actually head out early for once.”
    “Oh, absolutely,” Lisa said, licking her lips. “Um… I don’t need to change? Yeah, let’s just do that.” She turned back to Hugh, but he was already walking away. Frowning slightly after him, she wondered if she’d ব্যক্ত something wrong—but shrugged it off and went on to do her other scenes.
    At the end of the day, heading back to her trailer, Lisa paused when she realized there was a very small paper bag sitting in front of her door. She looked around, but there was no one anywhere near that could’ve left it, and so she slowly approached it and picked it up. It weighed almost nothing. Walking in the door, she turned on a lamp and stood near the table, opening the bag and looking in. A short burst of laughter bubbled up out of her, and she smiled radiantly as she pulled the contents out of the bag—a brightly colored ribbon tied around a single tube of chapstick.