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Emma wasn't sure when it had happened, all she knew was in that moment there was only one person she knew in her heart she could trust fully and that person was Dr. Archibald Hopper, also known as Jiminy Cricket.
She had wanted to tell her parents and Hook about what was bothering her, the vision or dream or whatever it was, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get the words out, even with them pushing her to tell them what was wrong. She knew she could tell Henry but didn't want to burden him with what she thought was a prophecy of her death. Archie, however, all it took from him was a surprise visit with coffee and Pongo in hand. Even her parents seemed to realise she had a special trust in the man, seeing as he confirmed to her that day at the air ship they had asked him to talk to her in the first place, though she had no doubts he had already planned to talk to her. That was just Archie, always making sure his friends were okay.
She had been a little surprised though when she found herself sitting across from him in his office, that long coffee table between them, telling him what she couldn't seem to tell anyone else. She wasn't surprised when she stormed out though, when things got to real, which was quite typical behaviour for her. She was far more surprised by the stab of pain she felt at the hurt look he couldn't keep from flashing in his eyes as she did, much like the day at the crash site when she had somehow found herself calling him a cricket when he was just there to help. She could still see it in her mind, the way his words died on his tong and for a moment his face scrunched up in hurt, only eased as she raced to apologize the moment she heard her words slip from her tong.
It did make sense to her in a way, she supposed, after all he had been the very first person she met in Storybrooke aside from Henry, but until she had showed up to his office, hours after rushing out, she hadn't quite understood the full extent of the trust she had in the man.
Like he had told her by the broken remains of that flying ship, her walls that had been there upon her arrival were now down, letting not just the good but the bad in as well, but what he didn't seem to know was that there was one more wall left standing. There was one more line of defense that she hadn't been able to let even her family past, that she couldn't let anyone past, that was until she walked into his office and told him what she feared most about her vision. He had done what no one else, even Henry, had been able to do; he had gotten past that last wall.
He just seemed to genuinely care so much when they talked, unable to keep the lines of worry from his face, the concern from his eyes. Even when she lashed out, said something hurtful, that worry and concern remained, only slightly dampened by his hurt that was gone as quickly as it appeared. It also helped that he cared so much about Henry. Knowing that he had been there for Henry long before her son found her again made her appreciate Archie all the more, trust him like she knew Henry did, even after everything, especially after everything. She knew he had stood up to Regina in her early days in Storybrooke, she knew he put Henry before himself when he told Regina he'd treat Henry how his conscience told him was best and she knew down in that mine shaft he was ready to sacrifice himself happily if it meant Henry survived.
She also remembered what it had felt like to see Pongo run up to her and Henry, something clearly wrong and what had run through her mind as Ruby came rushing outside to confirm that. She remembered the fear that griped her heart as she approached his slightly ajar office door. She could still feel the way her heart stopped for a beat as her eyes landed on Archie's form sprawled unmoving on the floor and the numbness that overtook her body as she felt for a pulse that was not there. More than anything though, she remembered the full body ache she felt as she stood at his funeral with a crying Henry at her side. When Archie had showed up at the apartment door, Pongo and Henry both overjoyed to see him alive and well, she also remembered the intense sense of relief and joy. Maybe, she thought, that had been the moment she began to trust him so completely, now able to understand the pain his loss would cause her; but maybe it was any of the other times as well, she wasn't sure.
It was unclear to her when the good doctor had become the person she trusted most in her life, but that fact remained just that, a fact. She didn't question that he was, only when it had happened.
As she stood there though, revealing her deepest worries that she had trouble just thinking about let alone voicing, she knew she would always trust this man. She knew somehow he would never intentionally do anything to weaken her trust in him and that if ever there was a time it wavered he would find a way to re-strengthen it and make it stronger than it had been before, like he had done in the beginning. She knew as long as they were both alive he would always be the one person she could talk to about anything, the one person she'd always trust with everything. She knew Dr. Archibald Hopper had her full and complete trust.