Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time and never will. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: I'm not even sure where this came from considering I don't ship the pairing but the idea wouldn't leave me alone. Based on a small spoiler we got that Regina would be going to therapy with Archie. Enjoy!

Regina Mills hated going to a therapist – especially one that used to be a cricket and talks about feelings all the time – but she wanted to do whatever it took to redeem herself and earn Henry's trust back. Fuck what anyone else thought, especially her stepdaughter. At least that was her attitude when she was originally started. Don't get her wrong, Regina absolutely loathes therapy, but she finds she's becoming friends with Archie. And maybe even more, something she doesn't want to admit out loud or even to herself.

Somehow they started talking outside of their sessions and going out to eat at Granny's together. It was just something to do so they weren't lonely (Although he did have Geppetto, August, and Pongo, they didn't take up all his time.) and could talk about other things because her issues. Regina found herself enjoying it against her better judgment.

Archie and Regina decided to go for ice cream one day instead of eating at Granny's and sat down on a bench to enjoy it. They ignored the dirty looks sent their way by people who didn't like her and probably would never forgive her. "You know, this is pretty good. I'm glad you talked me into it." Regina didn't know why she had let him talk her into this, but she wasn't ready to question why.

He smiled at her. "I'm glad you're delighting in our plans today." Unlike Regina, he had already accepted that he was starting to fall in love with her. Archie wasn't planning on telling her, however. He wasn't stupid and knew it would only lead to rejection. He could handle just being friends with her, and it was highly unethical anyway since Regina was a patient. If there was a way out of Storybrooke or another therapist in town, he already would have recommended her to them. But neither was an option, so he was stuck helping the woman he was falling in love with. It was a very complicated situation, one Archie needed to talk to someone with, but he had no clue who. Geppetto was busy with August and wouldn't have time for his issues.

Archie was walking Regina back to her house when they stepped dead in their tracks. "What are you thinking about?" Regina was surprised to find out that she was actually curious and cared what he thought. This was highly unusual for her and she wasn't sure she liked it. But she was trying to be a better person and that meant caring about more than Henry and getting revenge on Snow. (She was finally starting to understand that her mother's abuse didn't justify her attitude towards her stepdaughter and then cursing an entire land. However, it would be a long time before she would finally apologize for her actions and behavior.)

He shrugged. "Just about how I'm actually looking forward to our next lunch date." He froze and hoped she hadn't noticed his slip-up.

She had, but didn't mention it because she didn't want to go down that road just yet. Regina's lips curled up into a smile. "I'm looking forward to it myself. It's actually one of the highlights of my week." Another highlight was seeing Henry, since she and the Charmings shared custody of the little boy. It surprisingly worked well for them. And Henry seemed thrilled with her progress, but still a little wary. It was understandable though, and Regina was working to curb her rage on that issue.

Archie forced himself not to smile. And that guilt popped up again, but he pushed it back down. Nothing was going to happen. It couldn't. "Same here. So I'll see you tomorrow for our normal session?"

"Of course. I'm going to go back home now." But Regina found she couldn't move. And then she decided to say fuck it and went in for a kiss. They ignored the townspeople milling around and stayed like that for a few minutes.

When they pulled apart, Archie leaned his forehead on Regina's. "This is a very bad idea."

"Definitely. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved and then walked into her house, smiling the entire time. She felt giddy, an emotion she hadn't experienced since she had first started falling in love with Daniel. It scared Regina quite a big, something she definitely would never say out loud. And who could she tell anyway when it was Archie she was thinking about? She had no friends, besides him. No one really cared. And Henry was too young to know about these things. So Regina was left floundering in her emotions and unsure of what her next step should be.

Archie and Regina's session the next day was pretty awkward, but they muddled their way through it. Regina practically bolted from the office the minute it was over and didn't talk to him about their next lunch outing, something they normally did. When she got home, she also cancelled their appointment for the following week since she wanted to avoid him. Regina had no idea where this irrational fear was coming from or why she had decided to stupidly act on her feelings for the former cricket turned therapist, but she was damn well going to make sure that it never happened again.

After three weeks of this, a fed up Archie had finally had enough and cornered Regina when she was coming out of her house. "What have you been doing these past few weeks?"

She shrugged, trying not to show her emotions. "I've been very busy since this town tends to screw up. David is not a very effective leader." He was, but she wasn't about to admit that, at least not yet.

"I don't believe you. You agreed not to lie to me, Regina. So tell me the truth."

Regina huffed angrily. "Fine. You want to know the truth? I'm falling … have feelings for you. And that is not something I'm ready for. So avoiding you was the best possible scenario here."

"It could be because I'm helping you and these types of feelings develop." Archie didn't want to rationalize it, but he had to.

She rolled her eyes. "That's not it. I still don't even like you. And I can't believe I'm falling for a fucking former cricket. What the hell is that about?" Lashing out was the easiest situation here, and she was unaware about what she had just admitted. Anger and fear brought that out in her.

Archie caught her slip, but decided not to bring it up. "We can't let this happen. And I'm a human now, not a cricket, so will you please stop throwing that in my face? This is completely unethical."

"I know that, Hopper. What do you suggest we do?" She hoped he was able to figure it out because she didn't have the first clue.

"Again, this is completely unethical. But I wish to see where this goes. We should just keep the two situations private if we can." He didn't think it was possible, but he was desperate. Archie wanted to be with Regina.

"But I am the evil queen. Why would you want to be with me?" Regina had already resigned herself to be lonely forever because it was something she deserved.

"Because you're not so evil. You want to redeem yourself, don't you? That's why you started coming to me. And I believe there's good in everyone. Deep down, you are good, Regina. I can see it." He was aware of how that sounded, but Archie honestly didn't care.

Regina rolled her eyes and refused to tell him how sweet she thought that was. She wasn't that type of person, not anymore. "Thanks, I guess. You're very naïve and hopeful, but damn for me liking it."

"Can I kiss you now?"

"Fine. Go ahead." She laughed when he pulled her in for a kiss and they made out for a few minutes. Regina found that she liked the person she was when she had Archie by her side. It made her hate herself just a little. And Archie hated himself for doing this when it was so unethical, but with her, he found he didn't mind so much. And they didn't manage to keep their two different relationships separate all the time, but they mostly made it work.

Regina had a long way to go before she could redeem herself, but Archie would be by her side for every step of the road.