~*~*~
    Lisa stretched luxuriously as her alarm went off a few days later. Pointing her toes and raising her arms above her head, she arched her back until she heard the kinks work their way out.
    And then she began her new morning ritual.
    Yoga had always been a way for her to clear her mind, to focus her energy on the ngày ahead, and recently she had started using it as a thêm targeted form of therapy—almost, she told herself one day, like a Hugh patch.
    Having decided that her feelings for Hugh were nothing but a crush, she had decided that accepting the reality was step one, and step two was to acknowledge it, and then set it aside so it would not interfere with reality. So as she stretched out to grab her toes, feeling her back loosen even more, she began.
    What happened yesterday that might’ve distracted me today? She thought, closing her eyes. Oh… right. She had been kneeling in front of the bàn in Cuddy’s office, wrestling with a drawer that had gotten stuck in the middle of a scene the ngày before. As she tugged at it, it rattled infuriatingly, but refused to budge. Then, without warning, Hugh’s hands descended and lightly gripped her shoulders from behind, and she looked up to see him smiling down at her. “Let me get that,” he had said, and she had risen almost all the way to her feet before he released her to lean down and pull the drawer out.
    And of course it had come out easily. And of course Hugh wouldn’t let her hear the end of it for the rest of the day.
    But for now, Lisa concentrated—on the feeling of his hands on her shoulders, letting herself bask in the idea of someone touching her in that way, without expectations hoặc complications. She let herself imagine what it would have felt like if she had been facing him, if he had simply been pulling her to her feet to look her in the eye, to hold her close, to tell her—what?
    Anything at all. Hugh could tell her he was leaving the hiển thị to fly to the moon, as long as he did while looking at her like that. And then her very yêu thích part of the morning.
    Fantasy.
    Exhaling and stretching into downward-facing dog, Lisa let her mind wander… what could have happened yesterday?
    The set was completely empty.
    —oh—right—like that would ever be true. But then again, that’s why they’re called fantasies… Lisa smiled to herself and pulled her shoulders back.
    “This—damn—drawer!” She hissed, yanking back and forth and hearing it rattle. “I swear to God!”
    “Problems?” Hugh stuck his head in the door.
    “Stuck.” Lisa gave a final tug and the handle came off with such force that she reeled back and fell, knocking her skull on the floor.
    “Lisa!” Hugh ran into the room, kneeling tiếp theo to her. “Geez. bạn ok?”
    “Yeah.” She waved the handle at him. “I give up. I’m waving the drawer handle in forfeit. Just… ow. Help.”
    Hugh reached down and took her hand, pulling her to her feet. “You silly girl. Why don’t bạn leave these manly things to us manly men?”
    Lisa batted her eyelashes up at him. “So sorry, Mr. Man. Didn’t realize I had a knight in shining armor waiting around the corner.”
    “Knight in shining armor indeed.” Hugh reached down and slid the drawer out easily. “And now, I shall sweep bạn off your feet—” And Hugh suddenly stooped down, scooping her knees into the crook of his elbow and spinning her up into his arms, walking toward the center of Cuddy’s office. Lisa let out a very un-administrative squeal.
    “Hugh! What are bạn doing?!”
    “The lady doesn’t listen!” Hugh announced to the room. “I clearly stated that I was sweeping her off her feet—” Turning his head to meet her gaze, Hugh’s grin faded just a little. “And have I?”
    Lisa blinked and then slowly put one of her hands to his face. “A long time ago, Hugh.”
    “Same here.” Hugh leaned in slowly, and finally Lisa tilted her head just enough for their lips to meet…
    Lisa’s alarm went off on her cell phone, and she shook her head quickly, standing up. Well, so much for that. Time to get back to the real world, starting with a ngày of filming…
~*~*~
    “Well, this should be fairly painless,” she said, walking toward the set and intercepting Hugh on her way. “Get it? Painless? Like the tiêu đề of the episode?”
    Hugh didn’t even crack a smile. “I despise puns.”
    “You do not. bạn tình yêu my bad puns. Admit it admit it admit it—”
    “Oh, look. A big giraffe.” Hugh sprinted away from Lisa and made a beeline for the giant stuffed toy in Rachel’s bedroom set. Lisa chased after him, giggling.
    “You can’t hide from my jokes behind a giraffe, bạn loser!”
    “Hey, guys…” the other actors in the scene were making their way over. “We going to get started?”
    Hugh and Lisa pointed at each other and spoke in unison.
    “She started it.”
    “He started it.”
    “Well I’m glad we got that cleared up.” Andrew Bernstein settled himself behind the monitors, checking the screens. “Can we di chuyển on?”
    “He’s in a hyperbaric chamber. A dose of high pressure ought to chase the air out of his blood.”
    “Is anyone keeping an eye on him?” Lisa gave Hugh the evil eye and Hugh, knowing the cameras were off him and on her, crossed his eyes back at her. Lisa gritted her teeth. “Because the whole idea of suicide watch was specifically created for suicidal patients! I realize how bạn might’ve thought the name was just a coincidence…”
    “Are there any visuals in this room that are key to us learning our lesson?” Hugh snarked back at her. “’Cause the telephone—”
    “I’m inconveniencing bạn because bạn inconvenienced—whoa!” Lisa turned away from the changing bàn for a moment to get in Hugh’s face, not realizing that he was practically on hàng đầu, đầu trang of her already. “Geez!”
    “Cut!”
    “Ok, personal không gian bubble,” Lisa said, grabbing Hugh’s biceps and walking him two steps backward. “How am I supposed to chew your đít, mông, ass if I can’t get to it without running into you?”
    “I don’t know about you, but Cuddy wouldn’t have a problem with it,” Hugh grinned down at her and planted his feet. “I’m staying here.”
    The other actors exchanged bemused looks as Andrew roared for them to get back to the scene.
    “When was the last time bạn showered?” Lisa snapped, trying to ignore the fact that Hugh actually, as always, smelled pretty good…
    “Scent of a man,” he shot back. “I realize bạn haven’t experienced it sober.”
    “If anyone should be able to handle a depressed pain patient…”
    “He insisted he was no longer—” Peter began, but Lisa cut him off.
    “Apparently he lied.” Immediately she turned her attention back to Hugh. “Didn’t think I’ve have to remind bạn of that remote possibility. I have a DYFS inspection in less than 24 hours, so if bạn can’t control—”
    “Non-motor seizures.” Hugh and Lisa stared at each other for a moment, then both looked at Olivia. “Sorry, I was thinking about the patient. What were bạn saying?”
    Lisa automatically looked over at Hugh before realizing that it was her line. “Go on.”
    “The pain started in his abdomen near his intestine,” she continued. “The first symptom has got to be key.”
    “He’s had multiple EEGs,” Hugh argued, “all of them cleaner and squeakier than Cuddy’s rubber nipples.” At that line, Lisa rolled her head to the side to glare at him, only realized that he had also leaned in closer to get the full impact of her reaction, and was much much nearer than she had anticipated. Silence reigned. Hugh wrinkled his nose at her. Lisa rolled her eyes at him. Finally both of them turned in unison and barked at their castmate.
    “Omar!”
    “What?” He jumped, looking around. “Is it my line?” Olivia whacked him in the arm as Lisa chuckled and turned back toward the changing table. Hugh touched her arm gently and she turned to accept the towel he was holding out that had fallen from the bàn in the middle of the scene. Their fingers brushed as he handed it over, and Lisa gave him a half smile as the warmth from his hand radiated toward her.
    Very good, Lisa. bạn didn’t even try to Kiss him. I think this is going to work…