Honoring a True Hero
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and all that jazz.
Note: This is my gift to Rainbowseal (on Tumblr) for the Once Upon a Time Secret Santa. Hope you like this little fic I came up with. It was fun to write about Archie again.
Archie needs more love and I hope we see him on the show again soon! This story is set sometime probably after season 3 before all the Frozen shenanigans. I'm imagining some downtime for the people of Storybrooke where they can live their lives in peace, un-threatened by dark forces, at least for a few weeks.
Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
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"Please be at Granny's in half an hour," the note read.
Archie Hopper examined the small piece of paper carefully.
Pongo had found it slipped under the door of the office only minutes before and it was clear that it had appeared there by magic.
Although the note was not signed, Archie recognized the stationary of the mayor of Storybrooke and he wondered why he had received such a summons. His first instinct was to proceed to the diner but after living in Storybrooke for so long, he also considered the possibility that this could be a trap.
The town had enjoyed an unusual period of peace for the past few weeks, with no threats of destruction by dangerous individuals, no dark magic manifesting itself, and no conflicts between the heroes and villains. So, perhaps this was nothing ominous.
"What do you think, Pongo?" the good doctor consulted his friend. The Dalmatian merely inclined his head and barked.
"I agree," Archie said, "it seem innocent enough. And Granny's is hardly the most ideal venue for anything untoward."
So after a few minutes of reflection, Dr. Hopper decided to give the mysterious invitation the benefit of the doubt, determined to look at things from a more positive light. And after everything that had happened, he trusted Regina now and knew that she had no reason to harm him.
He put on his coat and hat, and took Pongo with him as they proceeded to the town's most beloved diner.
As he approached Granny's, Archie saw that the place was busier than usual and he tried to remember if there was any big occasion being celebrated. It wasn't a holiday nor anyone's birthday (and he would know, since he kept meticulous records of people's birthdays and always made sure to greet them). No great battles had been won or villains defeated recently.
"Maybe everyone got the same invitation I did," he told Pongo, "but this is becoming curiouser and curiouser."
Just as he and Pongo stood at the entrance to the diner, Henry suddenly opened the door, grinning widely at his friend.
"He's here, everybody!" the boy announced to the sizable crowd that had gathered in Granny's. To Archie's great surprise, a loud cheer erupted from all the people there followed by a round of applause. The whole town seemed to have shown up for this gathering and Archie's closest friends stood in front, beaming at him proudly.
Archie stared at them, stunned, and then noticed the large banner hanging from the ceiling.
"The Dr. Archie Hopper Appreciation Party, Celebrating One of Storybrooke's True Heroes!"
"Do you like it?" Henry asked eagerly while Archie struggled to take everything in.
"I…I," Archie stammered, "it's just all such a big surprise!"
"Great!" Henry replied cheekily, "That was what we were going for."
Regina emerged from the crowd and approached them with a warm smile.
"So you got my note, then?" she asked Archie, "I worried for a moment that you wouldn't show up. I was going to suggest something a little less mysterious but my son has a flair for the dramatic."
"I wasn't sure what to make of it," Archie admitted, "but my gut feeling told me there was nothing to worry about."
Archie looked around him in awe at all his friends who were eager to begin the celebrations. Granny had put on a real feast and already drinks were being served to everyone there. A few of the dwarves had already started partaking of the delicious food. David and Snow, with baby Neal in her arms, smiled and waved at him while Emma came forward to join the welcoming party.
"I don't understand," Archie said earnestly, "What is this all for?"
"It's all in the banner, Archie," Emma explained, "and it was all Henry's idea."
The young man grinned at his therapist and dear friend. "Since we've had some downtime, I thought we ought to throw a little party to show our appreciation of everything that you do."
"What are you talking about?" Archie asked humbly, "I don't slay dragons or fight wicked witches or anything like that. You know that all I do is try to listen to everyone's problems and try to give some advice. Hardly anything extraordinary."
"But that's where you're wrong, Archie," Emma argued, "you do more for the people in this town than you know. You're always selflessly sharing your time with us during our darkest moments and trying to help us get back on our feet."
"You're always there to support us when we have problems," Henry added, "and that means a lot to us, even if we don't always realize it."
"You've been a true friend to everyone here," Regina said gravely, "even to those who don't deserve your friendship."
"And if I've learned anything from all our adventures," Henry declared sagely, "It's that heroes come in different forms and every act of kindness is an act of heroism. And you've definitely done more than most of us here."
Overcome with emotion, Archie simply stared at all of them. He even felt himself begin to tear up a bit. He had never sought any recognition or acknowledgment for the things he had done. After all, he had always believed that he was trying his best to follow his conscience and be a good person.
"This is all so unexpected," he said softly before speaking a bit more clearly so as to address the others, "Thank you, thank you all so much for this. You know how much I care about all of you and that I would do anything for you, without expecting anything in return. So all this…it's just so wonderful. So…thank you. Thank you all."
There was a chorus of "awww"'s after this little speech as everyone was moved by Archie's sincere reaction to the simple gathering. It had not taken Henry much effort to convince the townspeople to throw this simple party for their devoted friend.
Everyone in town had been helped by Dr. Hopper at one time or another and they all realized that sometimes they had not even bothered to thank him for his time. They all agreed that this was a small and simple enough gesture to show their appreciation for him.
The party was in full swing and the still overwhelmed Dr. Hopper joined his friends. The dwarves gave a loud cheer when they saw him and each of them gave him a friendly pat on the back. Granny showed her appreciation by serving some of signature dishes. Gepetto approached him and gave his old friend a heartfelt hug. Belle repeated the gesture while the more subdued Mr. Gold even shook Archie's hand warmly.
"This is all too much, you really didn't have to go through so much trouble on my behalf," Archie told Snow and David, who simply smiled at him.
"Nonsense, this isn't even enough for you, old friend," Snow argued, "and we're just glad that we have this time to come together and to show how much we care about you."
Archie nodded gratefully and was whisked away to more well-wishers among the crowd.
"To the doctor who heals souls!" Dr. Whale said cheerfully, offering Archie a glass of whisky and raising a glass to him, "From the doctor who heals bodies!"
Archie smiled and clinked his glass with Whale's. "We of the medical profession are few enough in this town," the latter remarked with a grin, "and there's always more than enough work to go around. We need to stick together!"
"Cheers to that," Archie replied amiably, glad to see that his fellow doctor was in such good spirits. Before Whale could say anymore, Ruby arrived and after winking at Archie, she took Whale's arm and led him away, whispering something into his ear that made the man blush. Archie watched them go with amusement.
Later on, he approached Henry, who hugged him warmly.
"Thank you so much for this, Henry," Archie told the young man sincerely.
"I'm glad you're having a good time," Henry said with a grin, "You've always looked out for me since I was little, so I thought I'd give back a bit this time."
"It's very generous of you," Archie remarked.
"And hopefully this won't be the last time we do something like this," Henry went on excitedly, "I realized that we need to show our appreciation more to all the people who have supported us through every hardship we've been through. We often overlook their actions and take them for granted. But I want to change all that. I'm planning to do something like this for our other friends too, like Granny and Ruby, Leroy and the Dwarves, Gepetto, the fairies, and even Dr. Whale."
"You're really turning out to be an amazing young man," Archie said, beaming proudly, "and I am honored to be your friend."
They hugged again before rejoining their friends and family.
And so the Archie Appreciation Party turned out to be a great success. This was a rare occasion when the people of Storybrooke got to celebrate without worrying about the future. The party continued late into the night, everyone glad to have a good excuse to spend time with each other and with Archie. There was food and drink enough for all, Regina even brought some of her apple turnovers which, after she demonstrated that these weren't laced with any sleeping curses, were soon eaten up.
When he finally had a moment to catch his breath, Archie sat in one of the booths and just marveled at the whole event. Pongo sat beside him and he patted the dog's head fondly. With a tender smile on his face, Archie Hopper felt his heart swell from pure happiness, such that he had not felt in a very long time. And he was certain that no matter what curses may be cast on him in the future (and this was Storybrooke so the likelihood of magically-induced memory loss was always high), he would never forget this wonderful night.