Towns like Storybrooke have a way of finding entertainment in the littlest things. For awhile the main source of entertainment had been Emma's public and heated spats with Regina. However, they were starting to die down and become less intense at least in public. The awakening of a John Doe was entertaining too, however David Nolan was turning out to be an average Joe so not much fruit was coming from that tree. Recently a newcomer had ridden into Storybrooke and had asked Granny how much it would be to rent a room for a few months. He kept to himself for the most part, said he was a writer and had come to Storybrooke for some inspiration. Sadly, he wasn't inspiring the town folk.
The thing that had started to entertain people the most right now was the budding relationship between the town vet and the town shrink. They seemed to be the most unlikely couple at first, the tall quiet, and serious psychologist and the sweet, funny but sometimes very blunt veterinary were rarely seen out of each others company now a days. They could be seen together while he was walking his dog, her pushing her wheelchair right next to him and the two of them talking almost non stop. They could be spotted having dinner together at Granny's more than twice a week or Dr. Hopper leaving Dr. White's apartment late at night. It was nice to see the change they brought out in each other. People noticed that Dr. Hopper seemed to smile more now. That Dr. White seemed to be a little more personable with people than before. All in all it was something just to watch them together.
The two people that happened to be the center of the talking were unaware of the attention they were getting since they started dating a few months ago. To Archie it was nice to have someone who he could confide in for once and keep his secrets. He knew that no matter what he said to Natalie about his life or work it stayed between them. He didn't tell her who he saw, but he knew he could ask for her advice and not worry that she would tell. It was nice to have someone help him out for a change. For Natalie, it was someone who treated her like she was an equal and seemed to know when to offer to help her and when to step aside and let her do it herself. Other than Graham no one had ever wanted to understand how she managed her day to day life. Archie seemed to go out of his way to want to understand her so he could be in her life. It wasn't out of pity and Natalie had a feeling that even if he wasn't her boyfriend, this was something he had wanted to do for sometime now and he had simply found a way now.
Archie got up that morning, let Pongo out and made himself some coffee. He turned on the TV and the only thing on the news was in the storm that was coming in and it looked to be a bad one. Pongo whined to be let back in and Archie fed him breakfast and started getting ready for work, he didn't think he had many patients today and he wouldn't be surprised if they canceled due to the weather. He decided to go in anyway just in case. He decided to bring Pongo with him so the dog wouldn't be upset by the weather. It wasn't raining yet, but the wind was howling and the skies were darker than normal. He decided to drive to work instead of walking and hoped that Natalie would be ok getting in this morning. Archie did worry about her getting home this evening and staying by herself during the storm.
Most of the time he came over to her apartment to make things easier on her. But with this storm coming in it would be hard on Pongo to be in such a small space that he wasn't familiar with. Maybe she would be willing to stay with him at his house for the night. Then again they had never stayed over night at each other homes before. He parked his car and got Pongo out. They headed up to his office and Pongo laid down his bed. Sure enough he had over a dozen messages that appointments were canceled for the next two days. Archie looked over at Pongo and sighed.
"Sorry I made you leave the house," said Archie and he rubbed Pongo's head. Archie spent part of his morning rearranging appointments and taking more cancellations and trying to fit those in. By ten o'clock he realized that he wasn't going to be seeing anyone until Friday afternoon.
"Well Pongo I think we're done for the day. You want to go see Natalie?" Pongo's ears perked up and he started wagging his tail happily. Archie got Pongo leashed and they headed across the street to see Natalie. Dr. Thatcher was used to these impromptu visits from him now and simply nodded his head to the kennel area. Natalie was with David, they were feeding the dogs and trying to calm down some more anxious ones.
"I see you're more liberal with the meds than I am," teased Archie as David handed her a bottle and a needle.
"They've been here long enough to earn the drugs. Give me a minute," said Natalie. She went over to a very anxious Black Lab mix and started petting him before giving him a shot. "There...it's ok Bear. I know you don't like storms." She gave him a treat and he went to his bed and laid down.
"Think you can handle the rest?" asked Natalie.
"Sure," said David and Natalie went into the lobby with Archie.
"So I take it you have the day off," teased Natalie.
"The next two days actually," said Archie.
"We live in Maine, you think people would be used to winter storm by now," said Natalie rolling her eyes.
"It's a plus for me," said Archie. "I was wondering if you had to work during this?"
"Dr. Thatcher is going to stay here in case things get bad and has a cot in his office. I get to leave at one once everything is settled here. Why?" asked Natalie.
"Well at the risk of sounding like an overprotective boyfriend, I was wondering if you would be willing to stay with me until the storm blows over. I just don't like the idea of you being alone if the power goes out and..." Natalie shook her head. He was starting to turn pink around the ears and couldn't seem to look her in eye. She had only been to his house once or twice and never to stay the night, however she hid her nerves better than him and started petting Pongo.
"I need to pack a few things, but if you think you can handle me staying with you for a few days I think we could make it work," said Natalie. Archie smiled at her.
"I need to go pick up the house a little bit, but I can pick you up around two," said Archie.
"I'll see you than," said Natalie and she went into the back to finish up with the dogs. Archie took Pongo and headed out.
…...
Natalie finished getting her duffel bag ready and started to get nervous for some stupid reason. She had never stayed the night with any of her other boyfriends before...not like she had a lot of serious boyfriends before this. You are an adult in a relationship with another adult so stop being an idiot. Archie knocked on the door and Natalie let him in.
"You ready?" asked Archie.
"Yeah," said Natalie. Archie took her duffel bag and they went out to his car. Natalie got into the passenger seat and Archie placed her chair and bag in the backseat. Archie started the drive to his home and the doctor in him couldn't help but notice the tell-tell signs that she was nervous about something. She was playing with her glass locket, a gift she got from her mother when she was child and he knew it was her way of trying to deal with stress.
"Are you ok?" asked Archie when he parked the car in the driveway.
"Yeah I'm fine," she said. Archie knew her well enough that she wasn't fine, but she wasn't ready to talk about it yet. They went in the house and Pongo greeted them, by jumping on Natalie and licking her face.
"Pongo get down," said Archie and he pulled the dog down.
"Oh it's ok. I didn't shower so he probably smells all the other dogs and is jealous. You know you are my favorite baby," said Natalie rubbing his ears.
"Did you have lunch yet? I was going to make some grilled cheese," said Archie.
"That sounds really good," said Natalie. She followed Archie into the kitchen and sat at the table. For a single guy, Archie kept a very neat kitchen that was done in bright yellow with a red back splash. The kitchen led to a small patio area and to the backyard, Natalie suddenly found herself wishing for summer. She wanted to sit outside with a cup of tea and listen to the crickets. Instead she heard a large boom and the rain hitting against the house. Pongo whined and came over to her.
"I think you might be a bigger baby than Bear," said Natalie. Archie gave the dog a look.
"He is simply trying to get treats out of you." Archie sat a sandwich down in front of her and took a seat across from her with his own. They finished their lunch and they were going to watch a movie together when the power went out. Natalie looked outside and could see nothing, but a sheet of water hitting the window.
"Well that puts a kink in the plans," said Archie. Natalie started playing with her locket again and Archie reached over and took her hand. "Natalie what is it?"
"It's stupid," she said.
"Something is clearly bothering you right now and I wish you would tell me," he said.
"I've never been asked to stay the night with someone I was dating. Than again I don't think I've dated anyone long enough to want to stay the night with them," said Natalie.
"If I told you that makes two of us would you feel better," said Archie. Natalie smiled at him and he squeezed her hand. "Come on, I think I have candles around here somewhere."
…...
"You have any sevens?" asked Natalie. Archie handed over his card and Natalie grinned laying down her last card.
"I think you're cheating," said Archie reshuffling the deck and Natalie faked being hurt.
"How dare you accuse me of such a horrible act."
"That's the forth hand you've won," said Archie dealing the cards.
"You want to quit?" asked Natalie looking at her cards. Archie was terrible at shuffling, he had given her a pair of queens and a pair of threes.
"I would like to win at least one hand of this," he said. Natalie shrugged and debated throwing the game for him. "Any two's?"
"Go fish," said Natalie laying her pairs down and grinning at him. Archie just rolled his eyes and sat his cards down.
"I can't win with you can I?" asked Archie.
"Not with this game, or checkers, or Clue" she teased. The lights still hadn't come back on and Archie was finding himself on a losing streak that wouldn't end. Natalie went over to the fridge and took out his leftover pizza for them to have dinner.
"So you have any other games you want to lose at?" asked Natalie grinning.
"I have Monopoly, but I'm scared to see what you would do to me if I landed on one of your properties," said Archie. The lights came back on and Natalie turned off her flashlight.
"Guess you'll have to wait and find out," said Natalie. Archie threw the pizza box away and went to make them some tea. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course," said Archie sitting down the mugs.
"You've never asked what caused me to be in this," said Natalie gesturing to the chair. "Why?"
"I figured that was something you would bring up when you were ready," said Archie. Natalie took a sip of tea and Archie was reminded of when his patients were debating being truthful with him.
"I was eight and I was a lot like Henry...I kind of lived in my own head and for some unknown reason I was really into the idea of being able to fly. So one day I got the bright idea to climb a tree and jump. I flew, I just didn't know how to land right," said Natalie sipping her tea and she started biting her lip. Archie leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
"It's ok," he said. It spoke volumes to him that she had been the one to bring up what caused her to be in a chair, he trusted her with everything and it was nice to know that she trusted him the same way.
"So we were going to watch movies," said Natalie tucking her hair behind her ears, another nervous habit that Archie found endearing. They went out into the living room and Natalie curled up on his sofa and leaned against him when he sat down next to her. She put her head on his shoulder and while it sounded silly to her, she liked the way his sweater felt on her cheek and how he smelled like tea and fabric softener.
"You plan on falling asleep again?" teased Archie looking over at her.
"Not really," said Natalie. She sat up a little straighter, grabbed his tie and kissed him. Archie found himself stunned for a second, before kissing her back. Granted they had been dating for a few months now, but they had never gotten overly physical with each other, despite what the town thought. Natalie had never allowed herself to get this close to anyone before and Archie simply worried that he might accidentally hurt her physically, despite everything telling him otherwise.
Archie soon found himself laying on his sofa with Natalie half on and half off him and she wouldn't stop kissing him. He felt her hands on his chest and couldn't seem to catch his breath.
"Natalie...Natalie...please," Archie carefully pushed away from her and Natalie felt herself turning red and she couldn't seem to look him in eye. Stupid...stupid...stupid, she thought to herself.
"I'm sorry," she went to reach out for her chair when Archie grabbed her hand.
"It's not you...it's me and..." God you idiot a beautiful woman throws herself at you and you put the kibosh on it. What is a matter with you? "I'm a moron," muttered Archie out loud and he went to kiss her and she pulled away.
"Why did you stop?" asked Natalie trying to not get mad.
"I know that I'm not going to hurt you, but I'm still worried that I will," Archie took a breath and ran a hand through his hair trying to get his thoughts together. "I regret the fact that I rushed into having physcial relationships and I don't want that for you. I care too much about you to do that. Natalie...from what we've talked about concerning our prior relationships...I...I'm not wrong in assuming I would be your first?" asked Archie. Natalie nodded her head and kept her eyes on the ground. "Please look at me." Natalie looked up at him and her face was a deep shade of red and Archie took her hands in his.
"You mean so much to me and please don't think this is because I don't desire you in that way. I do very much, but for you I want it to mean something. I was stupid when I was younger and my first time...and the few times after that were meaningless. I don't want that for you. Please don't be mad at me," said Archie.
Natalie quickly wiped her eyes and tucked her hair back. It was hard to be mad at him when he was giving her those puppy dog eyes and what he said was right and it did make sense, this was one of those things that shouldn't be rushed...that should be special for both of them. Natalie kissed his cheek and gave him a small smile.
"Ok," said Natalie and she leaned against him again and he wrapped an arm around her.
Later that night, Natalie drifted off to sleep while they were watching their third movie and Archie realized it was around midnight. Archie picked her up carefully and took her upstairs. It dawned on him that he really hadn't thought out the sleeping arrangements all the way through. He had a room for just junk and a room for his office, but only one bedroom. He laid her down in his bed and went to take off her shoes when she woke up.
"Where am I?" she muttered.
"It's ok. Just go back to sleep," he said pulling a blanket over her. He went to leave the room to sleep on the sofa when Natalie called out to him.
"Will you stay with me while I sleep?"
"Just give me a minute," said Archie. He grabbed a set of pajamas from a drawer and went into the bathroom to change. He came back into the bedroom and Natalie was sound asleep. Archie got into the bed with her and wrapped an arm around her wasit and listened to the rain and her breathing until he fell asleep.
…...
The Enchanted Forest
"I used to love storms like this," said Odette stripping off her damp cloak and hanging it close to the fire. They had been forced to seek shelter since a storm had hit this evening making it impossible for them to travel. They had found a small cave and the remains of an old campfire and some wood. Odette managed to start a small fire so they could stay warm.
"Back home...I would have a cup of tea after everyone had gone to sleep and listen to storms while I sewed...during the summer sometimes I would hear the crickets," said Odette giving him a small smile while she tried to wring out her hair.
"I never really cared for storms when I was a person. Now I don't mind them so much," said Jiminy. He thought back to the last time he had been caught in a down pour like this and how a little boy handed him an umbrella.
"What made you want to be cricket?" asked Odette. "The Blue Fairy could have turned you into anything you wanted and you chose to be a cricket?"
"I just always liked them. They were free to do whatever they wanted and I wanted to be free too," said Jiminy. Odette moved closer to the fire trying to stay warm.
"Didn't you think anyone would miss you...as a person I mean?" asked Odette. Jiminy gave a little shrug.
"I wasn't a very good person to miss." Odette frowned.
"I don't think that's true at all." Jiminy sat down on her shoulder so she could look over at him. "You must have had someone who loved you as a person?"
"I don't think I did," he said. His parents loved him as long as they could use him, they had never been in one place long enough for him to make friends. When he got older he had mistakenly thought a girl in one of the villages might have loved him, however when he woke up the next morning she was gone, they left town and he never saw her again.
"I think my life as a cricket as made more people care about me," said Jiminy.
"Well I count myself as one of them," said Odette. They sat together near the fire listening to the rain before Odette spoke up again. "Maybe we'll be able to travel in the morning. I don't know how far I'll be able to fly though or if I can again." The wound on her shoulder had healed, but they worried about hurting it again with no one who could help them.
"Did you like flying?" asked Jiminy. She had this odd look on her face when she talked about it.
"I always did like the idea of it," admitted Odette playing her locket. " When I was a girl I would just sit outside and watch them and was so jealous. The first time I did it was to get away from that horrible man and there was such a rush behind it and I wish I had words to describe it."
"You were free," said Archie recalling the first time he had flown with his wings. She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ears.
"Yes. Yes I was free," agreed Odette. Her cloak was sort of dry and she pulled it around her.
"Maybe we should get some rest and we'll try again in the morning," said Jiminy. Odette settled down and pulled the cloak around her.
"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" asked Odette. She still woke up at times with nightmares. Jiminy had asked her once what the nightmare was about and she would never tell him.
"Of course," said Jiminy. He got back on her shoulder and settled in her hair until she fell asleep, even after she was sound asleep he stayed with her. He must have fallen asleep too and when he woke up he found that Odette had turned back into a swan and was waiting for him to wake up.
"It only seemed fair to let you sleep for a change," said Odette. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining. They went outside and Odette gave her wings a slow flap.
"I think I want to try again," said Odette.
"I don't think I can go as high as you can," said Jiminy flying in front of her.
"Than maybe you should hang on," said Odette. Jiminy got on her back and held on tightly. She took a deep breath and she started running and before he realized it they were off the ground and in the air. The night when they made camp the smile on her face was one that Jiminy understood, it was the smile of someone who was free.
Ep's referenced-7:15
