Title: Behind Enemy Lines

Rating: T for language and some mental images.

Summary: "You're some sort of mind healer who calls his victims 'patients' and keeps scrolls, I mean, files on them," Hook laughed to himself. "What kind of ridiculous place is this, where people pay you to talk to them? Truth be told, most of the time I'd pay people to shut up instead." Character-piece. Eventually Archie&Hook friendship. Archie's time on the Jolly Roger (and beyond).

Disclaimer: Obviously I own nothing. Most definitely not the characters, settings, basic story lines (Once Upon A Time etc) who belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just borrowing two of my favorites for a little fun and promise they shall be returned unharmed.

Next to that a note on the picture - I've gotten the image bases somewhere on the internet. If you feel that I should remove the story-banner, please let me know and I'll do so immediately.

Notes: This ficlet is the result of a scenario that just wouldn't let me rest until I got it out of my system. It represents my take on both Archie and Hook and I would be very interested in hearing your opinion about it. Above all, however, I hope you enjoy this :)

P.S. I'll try to update every Wednesday.


ooOOoo

Cora: Didn't you notice the little gift I left you in the hold of your ship?
Hook: A gift? What is it?
Cora: Not what. Who.
Hook: Who's that?
Cora: Someone privy to Storybrooke's deepest secrets, including Rumpelstiltskin's.
Someone who can help us determine his weaknesses here. Can't you, Dr. Hopper?

Cora: Now you'll have all the knowledge you'll need. It may take some work, but this cricket will chirp.
Hook: Aye. That he will.

- Once Upon A Time 2.10 – The Cricket Game.

~ Part 01 ~

ooOOoo

Archie groaned as the light hit his eyes. After so much time spent in darkness, it felt as if he were being stabbed with daggers of sheer brightness.

He blinked, desperately willing his eyes to adjust a bit more quickly, but to no avail. Finally, just as he was able to discern the pirate's dark shape against the brightness, something scratchy hit Archie square in the face.

"Get a grip, mate," he heard the pirate grumble impatiently. "It's just a bloody blanket."

And indeed, a closer look with now-functioning eyes revealed a worn-out, colorless old thing that once upon a time might have been a blanket. Now, it was scratchy and had a distinct odor of rotting fish. Archie raised his eyebrows and gave his captor a look that spoke of deep skepticism.

"Thank you," Archie said, his voice unusually raspy from having experienced the dubious joys of being gagged and then dehydrated. "It's quite...considerate of you."

The pirate laughed humorlessly. "I'm known around these parts as 'Mr. Consideration'," he remarked dryly as he reached down and placed a bottle of water and a plate of food next to Archie. "You'll repay me with information."

Archie nodded absentmindedly. He had no intention of giving the pirate what he wanted, but there was no point in bringing that up now. Especially considering this might as well be the only opportunity for food and drink that might present itself. Conscious of the pirate's gaze on him, Archie reached for the bottle – the darned thing was almost out of reach – and drank greedily, savoring the soothing sensation of cool water against his parched throat.

By the time he was done, he'd almost emptied the whole bottle and felt like a human being again. "Thank you," Archie said again, sincerely this time. "I didn't expect such-"

Something hit him again and it took a swift and undignified maneuver to prevent it from landing in the frugal dinner the pirate had brought.

"You'll repay me soon enough," the pirate replied coldly, then gestured at the thing he'd thrown at Archie, an empty wooden bucket.

"Use this for your excrement."

Archie blinked, then gulped as realization dawned. "You mean..?"

The pirate rolled his eyes, his impatience showing yet again. "I mean that if you mess up my ship, it'll be the last mess you'll make in your life."

And just like that the pirate retreated and the door was slammed once more, leaving Archie surrounded by darkness.

ooOOoo

Archie couldn't tell how much time had passed, as he had been bound in such a way that he could barely glance at his wristwatch. His body, however, told a story of having been incarcerated for decades. It was cold down here, in the belly of the pirate's ship, and Archie had come to appreciate the blanket more than he would have expected. It might reek of fish, but it was surprisingly warm. He had eaten the food, which had been quite an adventurous thing to do in pitch darkness, and – even more adventurous – used the bucket.

Overall, Archie mused, his captivity could be worse. However, he was realistic enough to realize that the fact that his captors didn't care about revealing their identities to him couldn't possibly bode well. The psychologist had recognized Cora easily enough and each passing moment made it clearer that Regina's description of her mother had still been too kind. For once Archie cursed his knowledge of psychology as it made it only too obvious that Cora was a true sociopath. Appealing to her inner goodness seemed pointless, even if the opportunity to do so presented itself.

Archie shifted into a slightly more comfortable position, once again straining his ears to detect anything that sounded even remotely like an attempted rescue. But, as before, the only sounds were the waves, lapping gently against the ship's hull and the occasional gull crying in the distance.

Archie sighed deeply, recalling Cora's words: some poor soul had been killed in his stead and everyone believed him to be dead. There wasn't going to be a rescue. He was all alone. Completely and utterly alone at the mercy of a mad witch and a pirate with severe temper issues. It was maddening and quite frankly, it scared the hell out of Archie. And yet. Knowing that he was truly on his own kindled a fire in him that Archie himself hadn't expected to find. After all, it was a set thing that he was going to die once he had outlived his usefulness. So what was there to lose? Was he truly going to give in without a fight?

Archie sat up a little straighter even though there was no one there to see it. In fact, the darkness was so all-encompassing that even he himself couldn't see it.

"I will not be broken," Archie muttered into the darkness. Then he started doing what he did best – his job.

ooOOoo

Once again time had lost its meaning and Archie wouldn't have been surprised if the night had passed over his musings. It seemed as if he were in luck as long as Cora remained out of the picture – a likely scenario as he'd overheard her saying that he was a gift for the pirate. Of course it hadn't been much of a task to identify the pirate himself. Just how many captains with a hook for their hands could there possibly be? It was more than likely, Archie mused, that he was being held captive by the infamous Captain Hook. It was Hook, who had to be focused on. Who had to be psycho-analyzed.

Archie laughed hollowly, slightly surprised at how hopeless he sounded. He couldn't deny that there was a certain a intellectual appeal to analyzing fairy-land's most notorious pirate but he sure would have preferred a scenario that that wasn't likely to end with his demise if he failed. Summoning his inner strength, Archie leaned back once again and waited for Hook.

As it turned out, approaching footsteps signaled that Archie didn't have to wait for long. Expecting the sudden light, Archie averted his gaze and closed his eyes as soon as he heard the latch being opened.

"I see you kept my ship clean," the captain's voice stated and Archie slowly turned around to face his patient.

They looked at each other for a moment, each assessing the other's state of mind. Finally, surprisingly, it was the pirate who broke eye contact, sporting a cocky smirk but troubled eyes.

Archie cleared his throat, willing himself to do something. "Captain Hook, I presume."

"Aye."

The pirate seemed pleased to be recognized, Archie noted, and he seemed even more pleased to be addressed as 'Captain'. Interesting.

"What gave me away?" Hook asked conversationally. "Was it the ship oooor...could it possibly have been the hook?"

The man clearly wielded sarcasm like a weapon. Archie filed away the information for later use, then got back to work. It was time to create a personal connection. "My name is-"

"Jiminy Cricket," Hook interrupted him smugly. "You go by Archibald Hopper in this place." He paused and raised a dark eyebrow. "Hopper? Really? Dignity clearly isn't much of an issue for you." Hook shook his head in slight amusement, then went on. "You are a psy...psychatrist." He had trouble with the word, Archie realized, recalling that technically there wasn't such a thing back where they came from. Evidently the pirate had done his homework and was keen to show off.

"You're some sort of mind healer who calls his victims 'patients' and keeps scrolls, I mean, files on them," Hook laughed to himself. "What kind of ridiculous place is this, where people pay you to talk to them? Truth be told, most of the time I'd rather pay people to shut up instead."

Which was rich, Archie thought, coming from a man who seemed to enjoy the sound of his own voice quite a lot. The hint of a smile tugged on the corners of his lips before Archie quickly rearranged his features into a neutral expression. However, it was already too late. Despite the chatter Hook had caught the smile and leapt down right in front of Archie, all smiles and jokes forgotten. He was now exactly the kind of man Archie could imagine captaining a pirate vessel. The sort of man who didn't allow even a hint of mutiny and command immediate obedience. This was the Captain Hook Archie had heard of back home. He gasped involuntarily as Hook stepped closer, a scary single-minded anger blazing in the captain's eyes.

"Rumplestiltskin's weaknesses," Hook snarled, bringing his hook uncomfortably close to Archie's eyes. "I want to know all of them. Now."

"I...I can't," Archie whispered, his throat suddenly dry once again. Hook narrowed his eyes at him, moving the tip of his hook yet a little closer to Archie's eyeball.

"You're really not overly attached to your eyes, are you?" Hook asked in a deceivingly calm voice that somehow sounded much scarier than the threats and posturing from before. Archie's heart beat so rapidly, that the psychologist felt as if it were going to burst right out of his chest.

There was a triumphant gleam in Hook's eyes. "Start talking, cricket."

Until now Archie had never known that acute fear could actually make a person feel nauseous. And yet, despite the fear the little flame that had urged him to fight the night before refused to be silenced. Trembling, conquering his fear, Archie raised his gaze and looked Hook square in the face.

"I'm a doctor," he whispered. "I will not betray my patients' trust."

Time seemed to stop and stretch into infinity. Archie waited for the feeling of cold metal sinking into his eye – but he waited in vain. Instead, the most curious thing happened. In fact, if he hadn't known better, Archie would have sworn it to be impossible.

For the most fleeting of moments a look of grudging respect flashed across the pirate's face.

"At least you're not a coward," Hook muttered, listening to some noise coming from above. He made a face not unlike he'd just stepped into something nasty and backed off Archie, fluently replacing the cold-hearted pirate who had but a moment ago been about to rip out Archie's eye with the charming scoundrel Hook liked to present to the world at large.

Archie released a breath he hadn't even been aware he'd been holding in. Then he, too, listened. There was the sound of footsteps coming from the deck and once again Hook looked distinctly disgusted.

"I apologize," the pirate said and patted Archie's cheek as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "I've got to cut our conversation short but I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I left the esteemed Lady Cora wander about my ship alone." He visibly shuddered at the thought. "So I trust you'll be a good little cricket and prepare some useful information for me." A completely and utterly threatening smile flashed across Hook's face. "Because I'll be back for you before you know it."

And again Archie was left alone in the darkness.

ooOOoo