Lily looked at her reflection once more as she gave herself a pep talk. The episode they were currently shooting was one that Uncle Mason was directing. Uncle Mason hadn't directed her before so she was eager to see how he worked behind a camera.

The reason she was extra anxious was that the scene they were shooting in a matter of minutes involved her kissing Finn. She had only ever had a few kisses, boyish pecks really, a few times in her life. So the idea that she was about to have her first real kiss in front of a camera had her almost hyperventilating. What if she made a funny face or did it wrong. What if she had bad breath. She put her hand up to her mouth and breathed into it just to make sure.

"Lily, you're wanted on set!" Cindy called through the door.

Lily stood up and walked toward the door, but it felt as if she was being led to the guillotine. She knew Uncle Mason would be patient with her, but she wasn't sure how Finn would handle her amateur attempts as kissing.

Lily had learned one lesson though and was carrying her shoes in her hand so she wouldn't trip.

The set that they ended up on was one that she hadn't seen yet. It was a seedy looking bar, and it was full of actors who were doing their best to look disreputable. Lily tried to take everything in while she controlled her breathing and put on her shoes. The lights were dim, and a neon beer light hung over the bar. The muted colorful lights were enhanced by stage lighting, and the barstools were worn and high up off of the ground. Someone had even gone to the trouble to scatter peanut shells all over the ground.

It reminded her so much of a bar in her hometown that she could have sworn someone had invaded her memory to create it. She supposed all bars looked the same after a fashion, but she hadn't been in all that many. The only reason she had been in the one back home was that she would have to go and occasionally peel her father off of the floor and take him home when he had had too much to drink.

She was so lost in her memory that she jumped when Cindy giggled. "You get to kiss Finn today. Every woman here is jealous."

Lily smiled weakly, feeling a little sick to her stomach at the thought that so many people were going to be watching.

"Alright! Lily and Finn, places!" Mason called.

Lily watched as Finn emerged from somewhere off set, always there when called even if he was out of sight. Lily walked towards the door of the bar; the scene had her entering in an attempt to track down Finn. She couldn't help but smile at the ironic thought that her father had truly prepared her for this moment.

As she turned, she caught sight of a guy who had been in her drama classes at school, and he gave her a discreet wave. She gave him a forced smile, knowing that everyone still at the college she had attended would have a field day with this if it went wrong.

Mason moved to the center of the set and looked first at Finn and then at Lily. "You both know the scene, having read it, so you know your goals." They both nodded in agreement. "Good, now I want you to ad-lib the scene. Forget the script. Brooke, your goal is to get Desmond out of the bar, Desmond, your goal is to stay in the bar. May the best actor win."

Lily heard some music fire up in the background, and all of the extras started to interact with each other. She took a moment to let the feel of the scene sink in before she searched hard inside herself for Brooke. It was proving hard to do because there was a little bit of the real her still stuck in the past.

She pushed through the door and looked around as if she didn't know where Desmond was sitting. When she spotted him, she walked towards him and sat on the vacant stool next to him as the bartender asked her what she was having. She told him a club soda with a lime, even though all they actually had was weak tea, sprite, and water.

"You don't drink goody two shoes?" Desmond asked as he brought a glass to his lips. He had briefly glanced at her when she had sat on the stool next to him.

"No, I don't, and you sound like some private detective out of a bad 1940s movie," Brooke said as the bartender passed her a drink.

He smiled into his glass at her comment but remained silent.

"Do you hang out here a lot?" she asked, looking around.

"Enough," he said.

"You're not going to make this easy are you?" she asked.

"Make what easy, why are you here?" he sat his glass down a little harder than he had intended and turned towards her, she was still facing forward, but she gathered her courage and turned to face him, meeting his eyes with an unflinching look of her own. The stared at each other silently for a few moments, and Lily was lost in his dark gaze.

She felt as if Finn was asking the question, not Desmond, so she answered him as Lily, not Brooke.

"I'm attempting to be your friend. I think you need one." She set her glass down with a trembling hand, and he watched the movement, noting the way her hand shook. Her hand shook, not because she was nervous about acting, but because she was nervous about being so close to him.

"I don't need a friend, and this isn't the job for you. You should look for a new one before this one breaks you." He turned back towards his glass, and while the words sounded good for the scene, she had a feeling, he meant the sentiment for real.

"I think you do, and I'm tougher than I look," she insisted.

"Listen, Angel, you're an innocent kid who's never experienced the real world, and trust me when I say my world is not one you need to experience." His voice was deep and rough as if the words were torn from him. He was either very sincere, or he was a really good actor.

"Again, with the 1940s references. All you need is a cigar, and we'll be set," Lily teased, determined not to take him so seriously. It hurt to think that he didn't want to be her friend.

"It's not a game!" he slammed his glass down. "What is it going to take to get rid of you?" he turned back towards Lily, getting in her face, and once again it felt as if he meant it and she swallowed hard, doing her best to keep her eyes dry of tears.

"Just leave with me now, we'll go somewhere and get something to eat and talk, then afterward, if you want, you can come back here and drown whatever demons live inside of you," Lily said softly, swallowing hard as his gaze grew darker. The situation was no longer a scene in a television show; this was very real. The only thing was she couldn't figure out was if she was talking to Desmond or Finn.

"I wonder what you would do if I let you get a glimpse of a few of those demons, Angel?" He moved closer to her, reaching for her and pulling her towards him. Lily could feel her heart start to race as his eyes fell to her lips. "I could take a little taste, love you, hurt you, leave you. Who would win then?"

He reached up and pushed her hair off her shoulder, and he had to note her heavy breathing and the rapid way her chest rose and fell. She knew he did when his eyes strayed to that part of her anatomy.

He let his hand shift south and land on her chest above her breast, and he stared at where it rested on her sweater as he felt her racing heart.

"So fragile," he said softly as he gaze wandered back up to hers.

"I don't think either one of us would lose if you let me in, Desmond." The name made him blink as if he had forgotten they were in a scene and that he was on set. He gave her a condescending smile then stood up and threw some money on the bar.

"Go home, little girl, and stop trying to play with the grown-ups," he said before he turned and left the set.

Lily looked at the money on the bar then at her reflection in the mirror behind the bar. Was that how he, Finn, really saw her, as a little girl? She had the sudden realization that that might be how she still saw herself.

"And cut!" Mason called. "That was beautiful, one take. I loved it!" He turned and motioned for Finn to join them. "That's it, an easy day. We're on the island on Monday with a skeleton crew, so it will be longer hours for everyone unless you both do as well as you did today."

"Are you sure you don't want another take?" Cindy asked from behind him.

"Nope, but if I watch it back and don't like it, then we'll reshoot it when we get back, so leave the set as it is now," he said before he turned and left, putting his hand on Finn's shoulder and taking him with him.

Lily was still in a thoughtful state self-reflection as she wandered back towards her dressing room.

What had just happened between her and Finn and how did she make sure it happened again? He didn't kiss her even though she had desperately wanted him to, and he must have known she had wanted him to. She hadn't been hard to read.

She touched her chest where his hand had been; she could still feel its weight and heat. Lily couldn't help but wonder if the scene had affected him as much as it had her.