A/N: A thought and touch on all the interactions we saw and the ones that were missed. Not to mention the ones yet to come.

"Holding Hands"

They were never close before Emma came to town. She would sweet talk cute guys at the diner, but only paid him attention for his orders and refills on coffee. It was fine for him; he had his patients to pay attention to. They had a simple and carefree agreement: you order coffee, I get you coffee. Unless he passed by with that adorable Dalmatian of his and then the dog got most of the attention from the red clad waitress. She would give him and thank you, toss a vanilla wafer at the dog and would go back inside the diner. Simple nod of the head is all the interaction needed.

Until that one day.

Marco slammed open the diner door and looked for anyone to help him. Archie and Henry were stuck in the old mines. No one could reach them. Her heart immediately jumped to her throat. She never felt that panic before. She didn't know if it was for Henry, the poor kid, or for Archie.

"Granny! I am going to help!" Ruby threw her apron down and ran out with Marco to the mines.

She sat with Pongo and tried to keep the dog calm. She distracted herself with Billy and flirting back and forth with him, while her mind was really on the progress rescuing Archie and Henry. She held her breath when he was pulled out just after Henry and Marco grabbed him in a tight hug. She smiled gratefully at his safe return and caught his eye as both Emma and Mayor Mills coddled over Henry. He smiled back gently and waved at her. She waved back with a tilt of her fingers and turned back to Billy to save face.

After the rescue from the cave in, Ruby found herself drawn closer to Archie. She smiled when he came in and paid close attention to his regular order. She found him to be the only guy who didn't try to grab at her and it was refreshing. Losing him, even for a few hours, really affected her in a way she didn't think that it would. She missed him. She was also scared to lose him.

When the diner was slow one night she put the coffee jug back on the burner and then quickly made it back to his booth. She plopped herself on the opposite side from him and he flicked his eyes up from the file he was reading from.

"Hello, Ruby," he greeted from his seat.

"Hey, Doc," she said with a large smile and a giggle, "How's life?"

"Have been in worse spots," he said and set down the file after he took a sip of his coffee, "I finally made a dent in the all powerful Regina, I believe."

"Good," she smirked and sat back in her seat, "It's about time that she sees the flaws in her almightiness. How'd you do it?"

"Well worded statements of my professional field," he chuckled and leaned back in his seat to mirror her, "You know, I think that this is the first time that we have had an actual conversation outside of my orders."

Ruby paused and thought back to any other possible moments he may be missing, but could find none, "I guess you're right."

"Why is that?" he asked and folded his hands over on the table.

"I…" she paused again and tilted her head. She ran through her memories and found them foggy and unsure if they really happened. She chuckled to herself and shook her head, "I have no idea."

"Neither do I."

She chuckled again and he laughed with her. They took the rest of the night playing catch up. Granny didn't seem to mind.

Months later, Mary Margaret was welcomed back home. Granny and Ruby had talked Archie into coming along with them to welcome her back. Given, it didn't take much as he felt bad for not being on her side when he knew deep down that she would never kill anyone. He gave her his well wishes, as did Granny and Ruby. The rest of the time, he couldn't seem to pry himself away from the younger Lucas woman.

"Here you go," he handed over the last cup of punch over to her while he held his own. Her hand seemed to linger over his larger one as she took the cup, but he didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"Thanks, Archie," she smiled and looked into the red liquid. Her eyes traveled over to Mary Margaret and Emma, "She's happier, but still upset."

"It's probably about David," Archie surmised, "At least that's what I expect."

"Hm," Ruby hummed and sipped from the cup. She leaned against the wall next to one of the large windows, "Sometimes I think that he may be more trouble than he is worth."

"I've noticed something," Archie said as he stood next to her.

"What's that?" she asked with a smile.

"You've changed," he pointed with the hand still around the glass.

"And?" she urged him forward. Granny and others had seen it. She had changed. Took more pride in what she did, more care in how she handled Granny and those close to her and she began to respect herself- which seemed like the largest step of them all, "What does that say about my psyche?"

"No, nothing about your psyche," he shook his head, "You're just becoming you. A you that you kept buried to keep safe. I'm glad I am finally seeing it along with everyone else."

"I just… I was tired of being a scared kid," she shrugged and looked at him closely, "I work so hard to make Granny see that I am so grown up. Then when I finally do something, I freak and find out I am still a kid in so many ways. Then I found that I was keeping myself from growing up. Not Granny, not the people in this town… me."

"So?"

"I wanted to change," she nodded and smiled into her cup before she met his eyes, "To be me, not who I expected that everyone thought was me… does that make sense?"

"More than you would think," he nodded and took a sip as he looked out the window.

"So how much is this session going to cost me?" she chuckled at the joke and reveled in the fact that he laughed along with her.

"You get the family and friend's discount," he shrugged, "On the house for the first session."

"See you for the next session tomorrow over coffee?" she asked with a slight tilt of her eyebrow.

"You know my booth," he nodded.

"And I will keep it open for you."

The curse was finally broken. The mist was clearing and everything was so surreal. Ruby- or Red- found herself surrounded by all those who she held dear. Her Granny held tight in her grasp, Snow- a sister not of blood- bounded around the corner with her husband and the royal guard not too far behind them. Emma… the savior with her son reunited at long last with the family she never knew she had. Just as everything began to fall back into place, Jiminy came running toward them. His eyes barely met hers before he turned to lead them toward Regina's.

There came the panic and the want for retribution. The whole town wanted Regina's blood for what she had done. Their small group, the War Table, was the only thing stopping Whale and the mob he had incited from killing her.

As Snow and Charming talked down the townsfolk and stood against Whale, Ruby kept her eyes trained on Regina. The wolf in her knew Regina to be more evil and more powerful than what she was here. Regina was something to be feared and to be loathed, something to protect against.

Without a second thought, her arm went through the crook of someone's arm as if it was second nature. Her fingers tensed and relaxed against the worn leather of a jacket. Her eyes, still trained on Regina, lifted just barely to flick up to the owner's face. She saw Archie- or Jiminy, she now thought- with his jaw clenched and a furrowed brow. He didn't like the idea of bloodshed, but he too couldn't seem to let his eyes stray from the evil queen in case she tried something. Red's hand tightened again around his arm and one of his hands came up to rest over hers as the scene unfolded. A reminder that he knew she was there and wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

Strange that she thought the same exact thing about him.

Archie sat in his office and sorted through the bundles of papers of all his new patients. More and more of them were coming to him to see what they could figure out. How much of their lives were lies and how many of their memories were real? He now thought over those questions in effect of his own life. Who was Archie Hopper? Who was Jiminy Cricket? Maybe David was right. He was a bit of both; no longer one or the other.

A knock on the door tore him from his thoughts and Pongo muffled a small bark from his bed in the corner. Archie put out a hand as if to stop him from barking further and opened the door. There, standing in the bright light of the hallway, was Ruby.

"Ruby!" Archie said surprised and stepped back a little.

"I needed to talk with someone. You're the first person I thought of," she whispered and looked him in the eyes, "Not a session, not a psychiatric evaluation… I just want to talk with a friend."

"Okay," he nodded quickly and held out a hand to her, "Then let's talk."

She let out a relived breath and took his hand as he led her into the office. He helped her sit on the couch and instead of sitting in his own chair; he opted to sit next to her. She asked for a friendly ear and not the psychiatrist. He would do his best to be that friend, as always.

"I lost my only sister," she started and looked at her lap where one of her hands picked at her dark jeans, "… Snow is gone."

"Ruby," he whispered and gripped the hand that he still held in one of his, "We will find a way to get them back. David will not stop until they are both back, her and Emma."

"And if there isn't a way back for them?" Ruby asked in a strained voice, "What then?"

"Then we continue to fight and find another way," he repeated and clasped her hand between both of his, "We can't give up."

"You almost did," she said with a little more bite than she meant to. She immediately caught herself and shook her head, "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for."

"No, you're right," he nodded and she finally looked up into his eyes, which held regret and guilt, "I gave up and was ready to leave Jiminy behind."

"What made you turn back?"

"David was right. As confusing as it is… Jiminy is who I am, as is Archie. I am both and I can't change that," he shook his head, "No matter how scared I am. We beat Regina before and good always prevails. Always… I have to believe that."

"You really believe that we will get Snow back?" Ruby asked in a whisper.

"We have to," he smiled hesitantly at his own answer.

"I am scared too," she said suddenly and he felt her arms begin to shake slightly.

"You aren't scared of anything," he reminded her and kept a light joking to his voice.

"I am scared of myself," she closed her eyes and shook her head slightly, "The wolf is very real a wolf's time is coming… I am out of practice. What if… what if I kill again?"

Archie took one of his hands from hers and pushed her chin up to grab her attention back to him, "You won't."

"How are you so sure?" she asked with deep furrowed brows.

"Because it is part of you just like Red and just like Ruby. And though it may be terrifying at times… it is still as beautiful and good as the other two."

She smiled slightly and took a deep breath to push back her tears, "How do you know what to say?"

"I've had a lot of practice," he answered and she put her other hand to join the other still in his grasp.

Ruby sat on one of the benches outside of the diner and looked over at the building across the street. She was standing right here as that witch chocked the life out of him. She saw her go in and something felt off, but she just sat here. She cleaned off table tops and scrubbed coffee pots while he lay over his office floor dead or dying. She ran her hand through her hair and took a deep breath of Maine air.

"You will not do this to yourself, Ruby," she whispered to herself and shut her eyes as she thought about him and when he would come into the diner. She felt her throat constrict as the memories of slight touches between handing over coffee cups, caressed hands when he talked with her and the way his eyes bore into hers to find the truth that she fought so hard to keep from others. A hiccup of a sob escaped as the thought of him never coming into the diner again hit home.

He would never sit at his booth. Never walk by toward the end of the night to walk her home with Pongo leading the way. Never tell her how much her friendship meant to others, especially him. Never hear his umbrella click on the linoleum of their floors. Never… never smile at her and make her heart skip a beat like it had just last Friday. Never tell her how nice she looked even though she had just thrown on something and he knew it. He… he would never…

She gasped as another thought crashed through her mind.

It was the worst of them all. A regret.

She would never be able to tell him what he really meant to her.

With a small cry into her jacket sleeve she looked up at the dark clouds above her, "Why is it that you want to take everyone I love…?"

A tear escaped down her face and she could only think of one thing. How much she wanted to hold him in her arms. The wolf never howled louder inside her mind before that moment.

Ruby threw herself into her work and didn't stop to chat with too many of her friends while they stopped by the diner. Many of them didn't think that it was a good time to chat on anything lighthearted while they had just buried a friend the day before.

Her mind a blank slate and her emotions shot, Ruby continued to bus tables and cleared off the last one that Happy and Doc had just left. She took a deep breath and heard the diner bell ring as yet another customer came in. She registered it, but didn't react much to it. She was losing herself, she could feel it. She couldn't do that. Not again.

She felt that the newest patron had stopped just inside the doorway. Maybe they were waiting for the table, she didn't know. As she picked up the last glass she turned to tell them that the booth was theirs until her eyes connected with the bright blue ones she had known so well.

The plates that she had gathered along with the glass mugs fell to the floor, many of them breaking and shattering on impact. She took a deep breath and shook her head as the vision of Archie Hopper stood just inside the diner doorway. A hand covered her mouth in surprise and shock as her mind rushed to catch up to the million thoughts racing through it.

"Ruby," he smiled awkwardly and stepped forward.

Then it all made sense. In two words, her world fell back into working order.

He's alive.

"Oh God, Archie!" she yelled and ran over the crushed porcelain and glass and nearly threw herself into his arms. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck while his own arms wrapped around her small waist. They gripped at one another as if to make sure that it was real. That they were both really there with one another.

After a moment she leaned back and moved her arms to cradle his face between her hands. She looked over his face and his eyes and every single freckle that she had committed to memory. She choked on tears in her throat and she smiled despite her cries, "You're alive."

"Yes, I am," he nodded with a smile and wiped the few tears that had started to fall.

"Good, because I have something I need to tell you that I should have said a while back," she said quietly and he furrowed his brows just slightly in confusion as to what it would be. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down just slightly as she kissed him hard on his lips. Her eyes already closed, her other senses went into overdrive. She heard him gasp against her lips and his arms loosened just a bit. When she thought he was going to pull away, his arms tightened again and his lips moved against hers.

After moment or two she pulled back and smiled brightly up at her long time friend, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he shook his head, his face reflecting the large smile on hers, "I should have told you, too."

He took a look around them and saw the many pairs of eyes who were now trained on the two of them. He cleared his throat and shifted his head to the different tables, "I think we should continue this in a more private setting."

"Good idea," she nodded and turned her head toward the back of the diner, "Granny, I-"

"I know, I know," Granny waved at her to go as she came out with a large dust pan to clean up the mess, "Good to see you back, Archie. You two go."

"Thank you," Ruby smiled and grabbed his hand as they both walked out of the diner and toward his apartment.

Everyday Ruby finds herself feeling lucky. She could only think that it was because that every day she held hands, kissed and was with the best man she had ever known. A man that she now called hers and he called her his.