As the door creaks open to my new office, I feel as if a window were opening, letting in a fresh breeze and the warm sunlight that signals the start of a new day. It's an older building, as many in this town are, but it has character. A real estate agent would describe it as "cozy." For a one-doctor practice, it's exactly the right size.

I toss my jacket over a chair in the lobby and venture into the back area through a swinging door that nearly bops me on the ass. There are two exam rooms, a treatment area, an x-ray room, and space enough for basic surgery. I notice four cages for hospitalized patients and pray that will be enough. The town doesn't seem to be that large, but there are certain times of the year where animals tend to escape and wind up injured. Mating season and whatnot. The equipment isn't exactly state of the art, but it'll work. It's not rusty or broken. I think this place will work out splendidly.

The man who is renting me the space, a man by the name of Mr. Gold, mentioned a single apartment on the second floor that I could stay in. I begin to open several doors (storage, bathroom, more storage) in hopes of finding the one that may lead to a staircase when there comes a rapid knocking from the front of the office. Odd.

By the time I make it back to the lobby, the knocking has turned into pounding. Impatient, are we? I take my time strolling the door and open it with a quirked eyebrow. A quirked eyebrow which quickly turns to fully raised to the hairline when I see the image that greets me.

"Please help."

A young boy stands at the door, his arms overflowing with newborn puppies, their eyes still shut. I notice a woman waiting behind him holding two more puppies. The pups are covered in dirt and crying pitifully, rooting at each other in blind hopes of finding their mother.

"Come on in," I say, ushering them inside.

The two cross the threshold and enter the lobby. I notice the boy's attention is fixated solely on the puppies, but the woman (his mother, I'm assuming) begins to study the interior as soon as she makes it inside. I wait for a sniff of approval, judging by her impeccable wardrobe and pinched lips that she may be a bit of a hardass.

"Um, I just walked in here about five minutes ago, but I'm sure we can help out these pups." I lead them into one of the exam rooms and begin rifling through the cabinets, finding some potty pads that will have to work as towels and blankets. I help the boy unload his haul and gesture for his mother to do the same.

"Will they be okay? They won't die, will they? You can save them!"

"Henry, let the doctor assess them." Her voice is calm, but I can see a slight worry in her eyes as she watches me get the vitals on the pups. I find myself smirking at her facade. This woman will definitely be a pain in my ass, and I plan on making myself just as much of a pain in hers.

I drape my stethoscope around my neck and make a note of all the pups' vitals on my arm, lacking a notebook. Judging by her look of stern disapproval, I can tell the woman is unimpressed and will be writing a very negative review on Yelp. Bite me.

"Well, their respiratory and heart rates are normal," I begin. "The temps are a little low, so I'll have to find some hot water bottles to bring those up. They definitely need to be eating. Did you happen to see the mother?"

"She was... deceased. We found them on the side of the road on the way to school." The woman clenches her jaw, whether out of frustration or refusal to acknowledge feelings, I'm not sure. "Whatever you need to assist their well-being, I will be more than willing to help. Money is not an issue here."

"These pups don't need money, ma'am, but I'm sure they appreciate the offer. Excuse me." I rush up to the front of the office and grab my jacket, returning to find the boy cooing over the pups. I drape my jacket over their shivering bodies and turn my attention back to the mother-son duo.

"I'll find the tools I need to regulate their temperatures and I'm sure the local shops around here will have milk replacement. Is there a pet store nearby?"

"Mr. Jones has a shop right around the corner. That's where Dr. Hopper buys his dog food. We can take you there!" The boy, Henry, looks excited to be skipping out on some more school time, though his mother looks less thrilled.

"I'm sure Dr. - I'm sorry. I don't believe we have ever formally introduced ourselves."

"Dr. Phelan. Rudy Phelan."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Phelan. This is my son, Henry. I am Regina Mills. I'm the mayor of Storybrooke."

Ah, fuck. She would be the mayor. If a single one of these puppies dies, my business will be shut down before it even opens.

"Pleasure." I avert my gaze from her scrutinous stare and smile at Henry. "So, still wanna show me the shop?"

"Yeah!"

"Henry, I don't-"

"Ma'am, don't worry about it. I'll just go get the pups in an incubator real quick and we can run over to the shop. The whole thing will take less than ten minutes."

I may have underestimated myself when I told Regina it would take less than ten minutes. I find myself with a nearly full shopping cart and an exuberantly chatty 12-year-old wandering the same five aisles of a mom-and-pop pet shop. The woman has barely spoken a word, but her son has more than made up for it. So far, I've heard all about his schoolwork, his best friends, his birthmom (talk about awkward conversation)... I know this kid's whole story. And you know what? I find myself enjoying his company.

His mother (do I still refer to her as his mother?), on the other hand, is a little bit of a different story. She continues to study me with her almost permanent disapproving glare. I can't tell if that's just the way she always looks or if she truly doesn't like me. I have been in this town for less than an hour and I have already made myself an enemy of the mayor. I should have stayed in Boston. But, on a whim, I accept an invitation from a total stranger to open up my own veterinary practice in a town I've never heard of, nor could I even find on the map. Everyone needs some excitement in their lives, right? Christ. I'm beginning to regret my decision.

"Do you like fairy tales, Dr. Phelan?"

"Henry, please, don't start," his mother warns.

"Call me Rudy. Dr. Phelan sounds way more professional than I really am."

"I'm beginning to realize that," Regina says snidely. "Do you have proof that you are, in fact, a doctor?"

"Got the certificate in a box, just waiting to hang it up. Like I said, I had only arrived about five minutes before you guys showed up with the puppies. I can show you that I am a licensed DVM. I graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor's in Biology. Went to UC Davis for vet school. Decided that the L.A. life wasn't for me, moved back East where I grew up, and wound up in Boston. My name is Rudy Phelan, I am 32 years old, I am a Leo. My mother was a stay-at-home mom and my dad just recently retired from the Air Force with 35 years of service. I have a younger brother who teaches English back home in Boston. My little sister is 15 years old and a member of three different organizations in her high school. I have never been arrested, married, naked in public, or beaten in arm wrestling. Would you like to know anything else, Madame Mayor?"

I could tell by the slight reddish tinge to her cheeks that she was upset with me. My suspicion is confirmed when she grabs Henry by the elbow and drags him out of the store. The part of me I had thought would take great pride in this is overshadowed by the majority of my being that feels completely empty. Well, that could have gone better. Maybe I won't be such an ass next time.

You see, I have a tendency of... well, being a dick. I don't mean for it to happen, but it just kind of does. There's a reason I'm not married. I fall for the sweet, innocent girls and I break their hearts because I'm a jackass. It's just who I am. Blame it on the fact that my dad was a jackass, too, and my mother did everything she could to keep us from killing each other. Daddy issues.

I pay for the cart full of supplies and haul the dozen bags back to the office. Checking the pups' vitals again shows nothing to be alarmed about, so I bundle the five of them up in my jacket once again and bring them upstairs to my apartment. I do my best to feed them all at the same time, but holding five baby bottles with only two hands tends to be counterproductive. They begin crawling all over each other, mewling pitifully and tumbling around my legs. It's almost kind of cute. Brown eyebrows, black coats, white patches and feet... they're definitely a Rottweiler mix of some sort. Three boys, two girls. Gonna be big kids.

Knock knock knock!

Ah, hell. Really?

Knock knock knock!

"Dr. Phelan."

The only female voice I'm familiar with in this town.

"Door's open, Madame Mayor!" I holler out my open window and hope she hears something. "I'm upstairs. Go all the way to the back and the red door leads up. Shout if you get lost or abducted!"

I hear her cursing me as she enters the building. Her heels echo coming down the hallway and clomp loudly on the stairs leading up to my living area. I hope she gets caught on the stairs and trips.

Noticing the footsteps have stopped and there's now a shadow looming over me, I look over my shoulder, allowing myself the pleasure of raking my gaze from those high heeled shoes, up the slender legs, taking in the very well-fitting skirt and blouse, before meeting those disapproving eyes.

"Madame Mayor." I gesture with my chin to the two baby bottles abandoned on the floor next to me. "Wanna help?"

She looks like she wants to argue, but after glancing at the whimpering puppies who have yet to eat, her defenses crumble and she grabs the bottles.

"Must I sit on the floor?"

I look around my empty apartment. "Haven't exactly gotten moved in yet, ma'am. Floor's all I got."

She sighs dramatically and takes extreme care in lowering herself to the ground. I nudge the other two pups over to her with my foot and go back to feeding the ones in my lap. Two boys and a girl. I watch her feeding the others from the corner of my eye. She looks different now. Calmer.

"A boy and a girl right there. Boy's on the right. Girl's on the left," I tell her. "These ones over here are two boys and a girl."

She nods, but doesn't say anything. Her attention is purely on the pups now. I don't even attempt to be subtle with my own scrutiny anymore. She really is a beautiful woman. Perfectly styled brown hair. Her eyes are so dark, they almost seem black, but that just adds to... her, I guess. They fit her face. I'm not going to write her a damn poem because I find her extremely attractive. So, can we just leave it at that? Brown hair, brown eyes, amazingly sculpted lips, creamy neck and Jesus Christ. I'm done. She's good looking.

I clear my throat and shake my head, attempting to get all schoolgirl crush figurative language out of my head. "You should take one home to Henry. Once they're a little older. A puppy, I mean."

"I understood what you meant, Dr. Phelan." But she doesn't answer the question.

"You can call me Rudy, too, you know."

"As Mayor, that would not be appropriate."

"You're sitting on a floor in my empty apartment. I think you can call me Rudy in here."

That seems to throw her for a loop. "Very well. I expect you to still call me Ms. Mills, though."

Of course she would. "Yes, ma'am."

"These bottles are empty. I should go." She begins to pick up the puppies as if they were the most delicate things on the planet. One at a time, she cradles it in both hands as moves with such slow care, gently setting it down on the carpet. She does the same with the female pup and I can't help but watch.

"What'd you come here for?" I ask her as she begins to rise from the floor.

"Pardon?"

"You came here for a reason, right? I'm sure you didn't come here to help me feed the munchkins. What'd you need?"

"Oh, yes." She clears her throat, throwing the Mayor Mask back in place. "There is a town meeting tonight. I expect you to attend and familiarize yourself with the fellow business owners here in Storybrooke."

"A town meeting? You're kidding, right?"

"I assure you, Dr. Phelan, I am not kidding."

"Rudy."

"We are discussing business matters. You are Dr. Phelan and I am your mayor. When we are frolicking on the floor with a litter of puppies, you will be Rudy and I, Ms. Mills. We are no longer doing such unprofessional activities, therefore we have returned to our formal titles."

"You're a piece of work, Madame Mayor."

I catch what could only be a hint of a smile that tweaks her lips for a split second. "I could say the same about you, Dr. Phelan. I will see you tonight. I am sure someone could direct you to the Town Hall at 7 PM sharp. Do not be late."

"I wouldn't dare."

She begins to make her exit, her heels clicking on the stairs once again. After two steps, the clicking stops. I hear tiny movements of uncertainty: a slight scuffle, the barest tap of a shoe returning to a previous step, a muffled noise of frustration. And then it happens.

"I wanted to thank you, Dr. Phelan." Her voice reverberates in the stairwell. "It means a lot to Henry that you are helping these puppies."

"Part of my job."

There's a slight hesitation. "Of course it is. I will see you at the Town Meeting."

Click click. Click.

"Ms. Mills?" I call over my shoulder.

"Yes?" I can't help the grin that spreads across my face. She sure is taking her damn time to make her way down those steps.

"You should take one of the girls. The one you were feeding. I think Henry would like her. It'll be about another five or six weeks before they're ready to be adopted, but... Henry can come over after school and visit, if he wants. You can come, too, if you're not too busy."

She doesn't answer straight away and I kick myself for letting that affect me. I notice my heart starts beating faster, my palms start to sweat, I can feel something rising in the back of my throat. Get your shit together, man!

"I think Henry would enjoy that. Thank you, Rudy."

Click click click click.

And then the door shuts and I can breathe again.