It was hard to deny that Archie Hopper had been floating on a cloud for the last few weeks. True, life was becoming more dramatic in Storybrooke with each passing day. And yes, his patient roster was almost over-flowing with people who needed help navigating the increasing stresses that surrounded them. Maybe he had a residual nightmare every now and then from his kidnapping. Even so, Archie had never felt so comfortable—so at home—in his skin, being Archie Hopper from Storybrooke rather than a cricket or a thief.
He also couldn't deny his confidence had something to do with the beautiful waitress he'd given his heart to long before they'd made it official, though life had been so busy lately that they hadn't had much time together. While Archie's schedule was filling up so that he was almost turning down patients, Ruby was also busier than ever at the diner as she continued to help Granny and learn the administrative side of things. She was even looking into online business courses, and while the new goals were exciting, they left little room for a budding romance.
Tonight he planned on making it up to her by preparing her dinner at his place—a proper, romantic date. He'd planned the menu about ten times and only bought everything he needed that day to make sure it was just right. Even with his list, he hummed and hawed over more then a few items, standing in the aisle with his full basket and his brows furrowed. Was tiramisu really the best dessert? What if she preferred something simple, like ice cream?
As he took Pongo on his walk after lunch—he would start preparations as soon as he dropped Pongo off with Geppetto and returned home—Archie's mind wandered to the menu. He'd decided to pick up some ice cream, just to be safe, along with the ingredients for the tiramisu. But what if he should have gotten the chocolate éclairs instead?
Archie was on autopilot as Pongo dragged him across the boardwalk and through the park, calculating how much time he would have if he went back to the grocery store, when Pongo's bark yanked him back to his surroundings. He gripped the leash before Pongo had a chance to pull away—fumbling with his umbrella—and he looked up to notice Pinocchio and Henry playing with toy swords and shields in the open grass.
Archie felt a lump rise in his throat at the scene before him. He still couldn't quite believe that Pinocchio had returned to them after being thought lost. It was funny how natural it was to see the boy playing with Henry, though not so long ago he was a grown man. Archie still wasn't sure if he should grieve the loss of August—truth be told, he felt guilty for not being more sad—but his heart swelled with joy to see Geppetto reunited with his young son here in Storybrooke—a second chance.
"Alright, boy," Archie laughed as he knelt down and unhooked the leash from the Dalmatian's collar. He barely had a chance to give Pongo a pat before the dog raced over to the boys and joined in the fight.
"Pongo!" Henry exclaimed as the dog jumped up on him. Pinocchio rubbed Pongo's ear before the two boys returned to their fight with the Dalmatian dancing and barking around them, a blur of black and white. Henry grinned from ear to ear with his precise swings of his wooden sword, alternated by ducks behind his shield—evidence of his practice with his grandfather. Pinocchio's movements were far less polished, his wider swings and energy revealing his humble upbringing—making up in enthusiasm what he lacked in training. Archie smiled as Pinocchio stuck his tongue out in concentration, the same expression he wore when he helped his father in his shop. Archie couldn't help but blink back a tear that threatened to spill. He never dreamed he'd see Pinocchio with them in Storybrooke… playing with Henry as if they'd known each other all their lives.
"Hey! Doctor Hopper, isn't it?"
Archie froze when he saw a man in his thirties clad in a jacket, hoodie, and jeans, jog over to him. Neal.
Henry's father.
"Y-yes, that's right," Archie tried to give his usual smile. "You can call me Archie." He shook the man's hand and quickly released his grip.
"Henry's told me a lot about you," Neal said.
"He must be so excited that you're here," Archie nodded in reply. He couldn't exactly say that he'd heard much about Neal. All Henry had told Archie about his father was that he'd died in a firefighting accident—and that was only what he'd known since Emma arrived.
Neal rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, at least somebody is," Neal mumbled and then coughed. "I mean, it's, uh, interesting being back here. Well, not back, per se…"
Archie tried to keep his expression calm as he secretly scrutinized the man before him. "Do you know many people in Storybrooke?" he tried for friendly conversation. Relax. Don't jump to conclusions.
"Well, I'm staying at Granny's, so I've met a few people there. Henry's been showing me the town and introducing me to anyone he can find." A smile played across Neal's lips as his gaze returned to the boys. "It's a lot to keep track of, even for me."
Archie chuckled. He knew firsthand the effects of the curse on those who had lived through it. He couldn't imagine how overwhelming it was for a first-time visitor—even if that someone was native to the Enchanted Forest.
The son of Rumplestiltskin.
The thought lay heavy between them—that Neal did know Mr. Gold. Archie couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that the man in front of him, with his laid-back manner and casual—even a tad scruffy—appearance, was the flesh and blood of the Dark One.
"I haven't seen you around Granny's much," Neal nodded to Archie, hands in his pockets. He quickly glanced at Archie before returning his gaze to Henry and Pinocchio.
Archie felt himself tense at the familiar way he said Granny's. "No," Archie said slowly. "I-I'm afraid being the only psychiatrist around for all of us cursed fairytale characters keeps me pretty busy." Archie didn't say that he'd purposely been giving Neal some space since he'd come back with Emma and Henry. Archie certainly wouldn't admit how he'd kept an eye on the man as Archie ordered his lunches "to go," or how he tried to fish for information from Ruby—though they were usually preoccupied with other subjects when they were able to snatch moments together.
Neal laughed, revealing a genuinely warm smile that made Archie relax slightly. "Yeah, I guess I'm not the only one with an absurd history anymore."
Archie smiled back. "You're talking to the man who used to be a cricket and a conscience to the boy over there who, up until a few days ago, was a grown man." Archie cringed as soon as the words were out of his mouth. They sounded far stranger than he intended.
Neal let out huff. "Man, and I thought I had it bad," he joked, and both men exchanged knowing glances.
Before Archie could think of something else to say, Neal broke the silence. "So I heard Henry has been seeing you for awhile? As a therapist?"
The question caught Archie off-guard, and he nodded slowly, calculating how much he should say. "It's been over the last year or so," Archie affirmed. Come to think of it, he couldn't say exactly how long Henry had been coming to him. Time was a fuzzy topic, especially during the curse, and Archie could have sworn the little boy with the clever eyes and big imagination had been knocking on his door every week for as long as he could remember. "I've known him all his life," Archie added, standing up straight. "Uh, family friend, and all."
"So you—you knew Henry as a baby?"
"Yeah." Archie remembered the day he met Henry: Regina the nervous mother, more vulnerable than he'd ever seen her, with the sweet little boy in the bassinet who stole his heart even then. Wait, did that actually happen? Archie's stomach dropped for a split second at the thought that that memory was another by-product of Regina's curse, but one look at the boy swinging his sword reassured Archie that it was real. Ironically, it was a blessing of the curse, his watching Henry grow up. "Yeah, I knew Henry then."
Archie glanced at Neal to see the man's gaze fixed on him, squinting, as if he was hanging on his every word. His eyes were almost sad, and Archie felt his heart go out to this stranger for the first time.
"I think everyone in this town knows Henry," Archie added, trying to think of some more information to give the man. "Henry's just friendly with everyone—and certainly very observant. Once he convinced me to let him take Pongo for a walk, since I wouldn't let him go out by himself." Archie swallowed as he realized how the handle of his umbrella dug into his palms and tried to loosen his grip. "Sometimes I would watch him when Regina was busy, and that usually meant he would colour in my office, or read. But anyway, I guess this particular day he was bored and wanted to go outside. He was maybe six or seven?" Archie shook his head at himself—fuzzy time, and all. "I told him not to talk to strangers, and he was only gone around the block, but he came back with about three new friends. He said it was because they were talking to Pongo, and not him, so it was okay." Archie couldn't help but grin at the memory. "He certainly knows how to get his way."
Neal smiled in Henry's direction, though Archie thought he saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I can see that."
"Henry's always had this town wrapped around his finger," Archie chuckled. "And that's not just because he's the mayor's son."
Neal's shoulders dropped at the mention of Regina, and Archie regretted the slip. He tried for some more positive information. "Henry's also always been making up stories and theories about people. He would always tell me different ideas he had about you."
"Oh?" Neal's voice lifted.
"Yeah." Archie licked his lips. "He would say you were a teacher, like Mary Margaret, when he was in love with her and thought all teachers could do no wrong. Or a superhero, when he was obsessed with Superman and Spiderman. He was ecstatic to hear from Emma that you were a firefighter, though I think that had more to do with thinking he knew the truth than it did with the actual job." Archie took a deep breath as a pain hit him at the hurt it must have caused Henry the last couple of weeks, to know he'd been lied to. And yet—
"I've—I've never seen him happier than I have since you and Emma got here." Archie tried to ignore the knot that tightened in his stomach as he said the words, his gaze fixed on the boys who used to be such a part of his own life in different ways, now unexpectedly thrown together. He saw Henry grin at the man standing next to him, a grin never meant for himself, as he waved to them both—which then caught him a playful jab from Pinocchio's wooden sword. Both Neal and Archie laughed, though Archie's heart wasn't entirely in it.
"I wish—I wish things were different," Neal confessed. "I know how much it sucks to be abandoned." Another wave of sympathy washed over Archie as he remembered the little he did know of Rumplestiltskin's relationship with his son, and how much Neal himself had been put through. All things considered, Henry was pretty lucky.
"He's got you and Emma here now," Archie said firmly, and he cringed at the use of his "therapist" voice. "I mean, it says a lot that you're here now."
"Yeah," Neal sighed. "Yeah, I hope so. And hopefully the kid won't need any more therapy"—Archie winced at the unintentional jab—"although with the family he's stuck with…" Neal trailed off as his focus travelled across the park in the direction of the main street. Archie followed his gaze, realizing that Neal was looking at Mr. Gold walking with "Lacey" in her low-cut blouse, sky-high heels, and leather.
Neal turned back to Archie, his muscles tense. "Well, I might be coming to see you soon, myself, Doctor Hopper."
"Happy to help." Archie tried to be lighthearted, though he couldn't quite picture the man beside him on the sofa in his office.
Before any tension could settle between them, Pinocchio and Henry ran over, breathless from play, with Pongo at their heels. "Dad, you finally met Archie!" Henry exclaimed.
"Yeah, kid," Neal said, ruffling the boy's hair. "We were just talking about you."
"Hi Jiminy!" Henry's redheaded friend greeted Archie, and Archie beamed back, wondering if he'd ever tire of hearing that voice call him that name.
"Jiminy?" Neal laughed as realization dawned on his face. "I should have known."
Archie shrugged with a smile as he crouched down to reattach Pongo's leash to his collar. "Not the name that most people know me by, but that's me." Though now that he thought about it, wasn't "Neal Cassidy" connected with a Jack Kerouac book…?
Before Archie could remember what Neal's real moniker was, Henry asked, "Hey, Dad, can Pinocchio come with us back to Granny's and have dinner?"
Neal laughed at the two pairs of pleading eyes that focused on him. "It's fine by me—"
"Yes!" both boys said in unison, and Archie bit his lip to keep from interjecting.
"—but we still need to ask Pinocchio's dad." Archie felt his shoulders relax a little at Neal's addition. Neal then said quietly to Archie, "Man, you'd think that wouldn't be so weird to say." Archie simply smiled back in understanding. There was a lot to get used to.
"Oh," Archie exclaimed, remembering himself. "Pinocchio, can I give you Pongo now to take to your house? It'll save me a trip over."
"Sure thing," Pinocchio agreed, taking the leash from Archie. "Come here, Pongo."
"Is this 'cause Ruby's coming over tonight?" Henry asked innocently.
Neal raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised. "Ruby? The waitress from Granny's?"
Archie felt his cheeks warm as he beamed at her name. "Yeah, we're…" Boyfriend and Girlfriend? Dating? Courting? "We're together," he finished a lamely.
Neal just smiled back. "Nice. I just haven't seen you around the diner or the inn is all."
Archie nodded. "Yep. We've both been busy. Hence, her coming over tonight and Geppetto looking after Pongo." Archie felt himself flush at how that sounded, his ears and neck warm also. "I-I mean, cooking a fancy meal with a dog around, it's—it's not the best idea."
"You don't have to explain it to me," Neal laughed. "Good to meet you, Archie. Jiminy." He furrowed his brow with a smile, trying to use the appropriate name. He leaned in closer and slapped his hand on Archie's back. "Thanks for the talk," he said quietly, with a warm smile.
"Bye, Archie!" Henry waved as the trio, plus Pongo, turned towards the main street in the direction of Geppetto's.
"Bye!" Archie waved back. He wasn't sure what to make of the group, with his favourite patient and his best friend's son heading out with the son of Rumplestiltskin—and his own dog.
Archie shook his head at himself. Much stranger things had happened in Storybrooke.
He turned in the opposite direction, his heart still heavy, though lighter at the thought of Neal's genuine interest in Henry—his smile of true gratitude at finding out more about what he'd missed. Besides, it was more than Archie had ever hoped for, to see Henry and Pinocchio so happy—he wouldn't be selfish enough to deny them that.
As Archie crossed the boardwalk, the damp breeze nipping at his cheeks, his grip around his umbrella, his mind began to go over everything he still had to do. His heart lifted at the remembrance that it was for a beautiful brunette who would finally be all his for a few hours very, very soon.