Author's Notes: We move forward seven years to the events that set the stage for the Gold Standard/Gold Chronicles crossover stories Regal Mischief and How The Queen Stole Christmas. You will also be seeing scenes that were and were not included in either story from Lilly and Archie's point of view
At last my love has come along
My lonely days are over and life is like a song, oh yeah
At last the skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up clover the night I looked at you
Etta James – At Last (Lilly and Archie Strogoff Hopper's love theme)
With Snapegirlkmf
Boston, Massachusetts
Gold Standard/Gold Chronicles Verse
Spring, 2017
It was his first trip outside the town line since the curse had been broken and Archie Hopper was utterly terrified. He was only a small-town psychiatrist and would be in a hotel ballroom filled with fellow doctors from across the country, none whom received their degrees from a magical curse. Their patients also were not displaced fairy tale characters. Part of him thought about emailing the organizers of the conference and telling them he was too ill to attend but he knew the doctors he'd been talking to in a Facebook forum for the last year or so would want to roast him if he backed out.
You're not going boost your credibility by avoiding meeting with your colleagues and learning from them dearie, Rumple reminded him when he'd expressed his concerns with him over several cups of coffee at the pawn shop.
"Maybe you'll meet someone at this conference," Belle said.
"He's there to learn, not to get married, Belle!"
"But it is past time he was married, Rumple. How long has it been since you've gone on a date, Archie?"
"Ummm….two years," he mumbled. "Every woman I've gone out with thinks I'm boring."
"Why? Because you weren't ripping their clothes off on the first date?" Rumple rolled his eyes. "Why do people in this realm think you have to have sex before you get to know the person first?"
"I've actually written a few papers on that. The mainstream media promotes it. It's not one of the topics we're discussing at the conference but I'm going to suggest it is added especially after those Fifty Shades movies came out. My Facebook group was discussing a paper written by a doctor from Florida on it."
"What did it say?"
"Doctor Ozopov has been working with patients who have severe emotional and intimacy issues after being with partners who were influenced by those movies. He's not going to be at the convention but I wish he were so I could talk to him. He's a bit of a…should we say…rebel in the community because his methods are unconventional, and he gets in a lot of trouble with the law over his environmental activism."
"It's a miracle he's still in practice then," Rumple laughed.
"His heart's in the right place," Archie said softly.
"How has your search online going?" Belle quizzed.
"Ummm…well I've talked to a few women, but I haven't asked any out yet."
There was one he did enjoy talking to, a child psychologist from Portland named Lilliana Bergmann. She was a forty-four year-old widow with an adult daughter and granddaughter but they'd kept their conversations professional. She'd been invited to the convention, but she was wasn't certain she would be able to get away for the weekend. Another doctor, Leslie Weingard, had been sending him messages all morning that she was looking forward to dancing with him at the party. Leslie was a relationship therapist at the same office with Lilliana and had been flirting with him online for weeks and had called him several times to ask to meet for lunch that he'd found many excuses to avoid. He was flattered but uninterested.
He glanced over at the clock on the nightstand and sighed, knotting his tie and thanking his lucky stars he wasn't speaking at the conference. He was nervous enough without having to be put on display.
"…I can't wait to see if Doctor Hopper is as sexy as he sounds."
Lilly shook her head and reached into her jewelry box for her favorite necklace, a gold coin with a funnel cloud symbol in the center. It had been a gift from Natalie for her birthday the first year of their friendship and Lilly considered it her good luck charm.
"Leslie he's not interested, just trying to be polite."
"Oh, do I hear the green-eyed monster?"
"No, just an observation."
Leslie swung her legs over the side of the bed and thrust her feet into her too small stiletto pumps, smoothing the wrinkles out of her dress.
"Well we'll see whether he's interested or not tonight. He did promise to dance with me."
"It's his life. He can dance with anyone he wants," Lilly muttered. "Come on before we're late."
Most of the attendees were already seated when Lilly and Leslie entered the ballroom.
"That must be him," Leslie whispered when she spotted a man sitting by himself at their table. "Doctor Hopper! Hello!" she called out.
Archie cringed at the familiar voice and looked up to see two women approach him, one in a crimson strapless dress that could have been painted on, the other dressed more conservatively in a cream colored pantsuit.
"I'm Doctor Leslie Winegard. Oh, it is so nice to finally meet you in person!" Leslie leaned forward, much of her cleavage visible to the eye when she shook his hand.
"Likewise," he said cordially. "And you are?" he inquired, his eyes meeting Lilly's, hoping she was the Doctor Bergmann he'd been speaking to.
"Doctor Lilliana Bergmann," she replied.
"Oh, Doctor Bergmann! When we spoke yesterday you thought you wouldn't be able to attend because of some family issues."
Leslie slid into the seat beside him much to his dismay while Lilly took her seat at the opposite end of the table. They glanced over at one of the vacant chairs.
"I thought Doctor Ozopov wasn't coming. There's a placecard here for him," Leslie observed, holding up a card reading Dr. A.J. Ozopov.
Archie chuckled. "He's not. Emailed me this morning. He got arrested…again!"
Leslie and Lilly burst out laughing.
"What on earth did he do now?" Lilly asked. Archie took out his phone and set it on the table for the two women to read.
Sorry I can't be at the ball tonight. I'm at the police station and before you ask, yes I got arrested again. The plant I told you about has been cited for numerous EPA violations and they're refused to clean up the place, so I decided to send them a little message. Well they didn't like it, so they called the cops. They hauled me and my group off but here's the funny part…my wife showed up with the kids in Hendrix dressed like flower children and they decided they wanted to sit in with Daddy. The cops gave them candy. My wife, brother and our lawyer are trying to get me bailed out. Have a good time!
"I'm disappointed. He would've livened up the party," Leslie muttered, furious that her attempts to get Archie's attention proved fruitless when he seemed to only have eyes for her colleague.
"Oh I've no doubt of that. Would probably show up in that old VW bus dressed like a hippie," Archie laughed. Then the room fell silent as the conference began.
Lilly couldn't help feeling elated at Leslie's misery when they returned to their room to change for the 50s themed party being held in the ballroom later that evening.
"I can't believe it. He just got right up and moved!" Leslie ranted, referring to an incident during the conference when Archie Hopper suddenly got out of his seat while some of the doctors were discussing the effects school shootings were having on children and moved to another table by himself. "He gave me his word he'd dance with me tonight and he'd better instead of being stuck up!"
Lilly shook her head and left her to finish dressing.
"You look great Lilly," their chief of staff Michael Barker praised when he met her outside the ballroom. She was wearing a periwinkle blue cashmere sweater, saddle shoes and a grey poodle skirt with her long, ginger locks pulled back into a ponytail.
"Thank you, Michael."
He linked his arm through hers and escorted her into the ballroom. She spotted Archie Hopper standing in front of the jukebox browsing through the records but before she could approach him Leslie sauntered into the room in a replica of one of Elizabeth Taylor's gold dirndl dresses and black stiletto pumps and started talking to him.
"Do you want to dance, Lilly?"
She smiled. "Yes, I'd like to very much."
Lilly winced when Michael accidently stepped on her toes several times while jitterbugging to 'At The Hop'. Her colleague was a kind man, recently widowed, but he couldn't dance to save his life and across the room Archie was having a worse time with Leslie. She'd stepped on his toes several times in those shoes and he was convinced two of them were broken.
I'd rather dance with her, he thought, glancing across the room at Lilly.
"I…I have to sit down," he mumbled to Leslie once the song was over and limped over to one of the tables.
"I can get you some ice."
You can leave me the hell alone! he thought angrily, removing his shoe and wincing in pain. She reached out and tried to take his foot in her hand, but he glared at her and backed away.
"I think you've embarrassed me and yourself enough, Doctor Winegard!" he snapped.
"You're a stuck-up prick, you know that!" she hissed and stormed off.
And you're a tramp, he thought, glad to be rid of her, at least for the time being. A few minutes later he heard his phone beep and opened it to find an angry text message from her. He got up and limped out into the hallway and dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"Rumple, I'm sorry to call you so late but I need your advice."
Rumple sat up. "What kind of advice, dearie?"
"Legal advice."
"Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"I….hold on…let me go up to my room. I'm at a party downstairs and I'd rather have this conversation somewhere private."
He looked around and dashed into the elevator, relieved when he couldn't see Leslie Winegard anywhere in the vicinity.
"Can you talk now, dearie?"
"Yes." He opened his laptop and waited for it to boot up. "What do you know about sexual harassment laws?"
He heard a crash on the other end of the line. "Archie! Are you being charged with it?!"
"No, I….I think I…I think someone is doing it to me…"
"You'd better tell me everything." Rumple grabbed a legal pad out of his desk drawer and began writing while Archie talked. "Did you save these messages and emails?"
"Yes. They're on my laptop and phone. I'll send what I can to you."
"We need to print them out. First, you need to speak to the person in charge at her clinic and make him aware of the situation. Second, I would suggest filing a complaint with the Board. Then we'll discuss a lawsuit."
"You want me to sue her?"
"I most certainly do! Sexual harassment doesn't just happen to women. Men experience it too, they just don't like talk about it. If I'm right the clinic will try to settle this as quickly and as quietly as possible. Bloody hell Archie," the attorney gasped when he finished reading one of the messages that had been sent to him. "This woman is acting like a bitch in heat! And she's a relationship therapist? I pity her patients!"
"I've been trying to tell her I'm not interested but she's not getting the message."
"She will when you file charges. You need to file charges Archie. Has this escalated beyond sexually explicit emails and messages."
"She…ahh….tried to do something inappropriate this afternoon at the conference."
"I know this is going to be difficult Archie, but I need you to tell me what."
His face was crimson while he spoke. "I kept moving my chair, but she'd just keep moving hers closer. Finally I got up and went to another table."
"Did the other doctor you were sitting with see anything?"
"I don't think so. I was so embarrassed Rumple!"
"And rightfully so. Her behavior was repulsive, and she needs to be held accountable for it."
"I'm worried she's going to say I did something to her!"
"You forget who she's dealing with dearie!"
"Umm…what do you mean?"
"The only words coming out of that whore's lips are going to be the truth from now on, dearie. If she tries to lie, it's going to show."
"Don't tell me you've turned her into a Pinocchio!" he groaned.
"Well…not quite but damned close," the sorcerer giggled.
"What did you do?"
"You'll see dearie, you'll see. I've also warded you so if the whore tries to come near you again, she's going to get knocked on her ass. Call it a magical restraining order."
"Please tell me this ward is just against her."
"It is. Why?"
"Because there is another woman at her clinic that I do like and….I…I've been trying to work up the courage to tell her. She's the other woman who was sitting at the table with us."
"Hopefully she's not a tramp like the other one!"
"She's not. Her name's Lilliana Bergmann. She's a child psychologist from Portland, widowed and has a daughter and granddaughter."
"Belle will be pleased."
"I want to go back downstairs and dance with Doctor Bergmann but I don't want to run into that awful woman again."
"The wards will take care of her. Go enjoy yourself."
"If my feet can handle it."
"Why?"
"That woman stepped on my toes…and I think she broke two of them."
Rumple grinned on the other end of the line. "I'd fix it, but it works to your advantage, dearie."
"How! Rumple, I don't want to miss out on dancing with Lilly. If she'll let me…"
"I'd like to add the medical bills for your broken toes to the damages that trollop will be paying."
"Rumple!"
"Listen to me, Cricket. That women needs to be taught a lesson. We're going to ask that her license be suspended, she enters a sex addiction treatment program and anything else I can think of."
"I can't dance with Lilly if I have broken toes, dammit and I do want to dance with her!"
"All right, all right, I'll think of something! Dinna get your knickers in a wad, dearie!"
Archie glanced over at the clock. The party would be over by midnight and it was already after nine. Suddenly Rumple teleported into the room nearly making him jump off the bed.
"Warn me next time you do that!"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Now calm yourself down and let me take a look at that foot."
Archie removed his shoe and sock and held his foot out. Rumple assessed it with his magic, confirming his friend did indeed have two broken toes.
"What the hell was the bitch wearing? Cement blocks?"
"Stilettos."
He snorted. "Of course. Heels up to the ass and can't walk in them."
Rumple began to repair the injuries with his magic. He wanted his friend to enjoy himself at the party, but he also wanted to make certain the trollop got her just desserts as well. The woman reminded him too much of Milah.
"Now listen to me carefully Archie because here's what we're gonna do…"
Everyone was still dancing when he returned to the ballroom. He scanned the crowd for Lilly but she was nowhere to be found. He sighed, ordered a glass of scotch from the bar and returned to his table. Part of him wanted to just call it night but it was not yet midnight and he hoped that Lilly would soon return.
Leslie Winegard was furious. Men did not reject her. She rejected them when she no longer needed them and the high and mighty Archie Hopper was going to be taught a lesson he would never forget. She stormed into the ballroom determined to do just that when a gust of wind hit her full force and she tumbled to the floor, the other gusts treated to a sight they weren't interested in seeing.
Lilly stood in the doorway her eyes wide with shock. To everyone else it appeared as if Leslie had simply tripped over her own two feet but what she'd seen was undeniable. Leslie had been blasted back by a protection spell that had been cast over Doctor Archie Hopper and he seemed to be as shocked by it as she was.
He's from there! He's from my world! she thought. But who is he?
On the floor, Leslie pulled her skirt down to preserve what little modesty she had left while her superior glared at her from where he stood.
"She's not wearing any…." another doctor whispered to her companion.
"Disgusting," an older doctor snorted. Some of the male doctors were smirking and whispering to each other.
"Get up Doctor Weingard," Michael said through gritted teeth.
Leslie bit her lip and rose to her feet. "I'm sorry Michael…I…"
"I think you should leave before you cause any further embarrassment."
She nodded and turned and fled the room. Soon the gossip died down and the party resumed. Lilly returned to her table and sat down, unsure what she should do but she had little time to dwell on it when Michael approached the table still seething.
"Were you aware of Doctor Weingard's state of undress, Doctor Bergmann?" he asked coldly.
"Michael, you know I would have told her had I known!" Lilly protested.
"We'll discuss it in the morning," he muttered.
"I'm sorry Michael."
He shook his head and walked away. Lilly stared into her glass of scotch, suddenly wishing she were somewhere else.
"Hello Doctor Bergmann." She heard a chair being pulled out and Archie sat at the table across from her.
"Hello Doctor Hopper."
"I was wondering if you would ahh….like to dance."
"Will I be blasted back if I do?"
He flinched. "Pardon me?"
"It's alright. I know what you are. I'm from there too."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"The Enchanted Forest. I'm from there…well, one of the other realms. My name there was Lilliana Von Bergmann. My husband, Otto Von Bergmann was a noble I was sold into marriage to pay off my father's gambling debts." She made a face. "Papa boasted to Otto of my fertility and he expected me to bear him many sons. My daughter's birth was difficult, and I miscarried a son."
"I don't understand…how did you get outside the boundaries of the curse?"
"Once word of it reached our realm some of my husband's friends paid to have a magic bean stolen from the giants. We cam through with it but we were still cursed for twenty-eight years along with everyone else. I've had to move and change jobs several times during the curse. Cassie suggested we move to Storybrooke but I've spent a fortune remodeling my house in Portland. Now I'm thinking I should so that Meredith can be closer to her father. Cassie isn't certain who it was, but I think it may be Doctor Whale. They've had an on-off relationship for eight years.
Archie nearly choked on his Scotch. "Whale? A father? I can't see it."
"Neither could I when he used my uncle's remains for one of his 'experiments'. What did you do in our land?"
"I was Jiminy Cricket, advisor to Snow White but before that the son of thieves and con artists. I'm not proud of that time in my life."
Archie was relieved to find someone from his own realm to speak freely with. He went on to tell her about his adventures with Geppetto while the boy grew into a man.
"One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock, rock
Five, six, seven o'clock, eight o'clock, rock
Nine, ten, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock, rock
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight…."
Archie stood up, held out his hand and smiles. "Now, Lady Von Bergmann…about that dance?"
She took his hand and allowed him to lead her out onto the dance floor.
"Put your glad rags on and join me, hon'
We'll have some fun when the clock strikes one
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight
We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight
We're gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight!"
"You are a wonderful dancer!" Lilly cried over the music.
"So are you!" He picked her up and swung her around, many of the other guests gathering around to watch them, feeling like they were watching a pair of professional dancers from the era.
"At last my love has come along
My lonely days are over and life is like a song, oh yeah
At last the skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up clover the night I looked at you…"
Lilly expected him to want to sit down but he drew her closer and gazed into her eyes.
"I've been waiting all night to dance with you like this," he said softly. "I'm sorry if I…if I'm being too forward but from the moment we started talking online…"
"I felt it too," she whispered. "I haven't…I haven't had the best luck in relationships."
"Neither have I," he confessed. "But I'd like to get to know you better."
She smiled. "And I'd like to get to know you better Doctor Hopper."
"Archie," he corrected. "Lilly."
"You smiled, you smiled oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in Heaven
For you are mine at last…"
They held each other closer as the hands on the clock inched closer to midnight and finally when the chimes rang in the new day they parted with great reluctance.
"Good night Archie," Lilly said softly.
"May I walk you back to your room? I….aghhhh!"
"Archie, what's wrong?"
"Damm foot." He sat down and took off his shoe and sock, grimacing.
"Oh my God! Archie, your toes! What happened?" Two of his toes were swollen and a third was starting to swell.
"Doctor Weingard stepped on my feet earlier."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I wanted to dance with you so much…"
"Well now you're going to the hospital. Come on." She draped his arm over her shoulder and helped him to his feet. "Please call us a taxi," she instructed one of the bellhops.
"Lilly, you don't have to…"
"I'm going," she said firmly.
At the hospital the doctor confirmed Rumple's diagnosis of two broken toes on Archie's right foot requiring him to be in a cast for at least six weeks.
"Archie, I am so sorry," Lilly said during the ride back to the hotel. "I'm going to talk to Michael about having our clinic cover your expenses."
"I'll be all right." He smiled. "But at least they held out long enough for me to dance with you. Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow?"
"I'd love to if you feel up to it."
"I'll feel up to it. Good night Lilly."
"Good night, Archie."
He braced himself against the doorframe while he watched her walk down the hall to her own room. Only when he heard her door close safely behind her did he retire to his bed for the night, replaying their final dance in his dreams.
From that night on they saw each other as often as they could once his lawsuit against Leslie was settled out of court, meeting for lunch or dinner in Portland but Archie was always uneasy around Meredith who made it clear from the day they met that she resented him despite his many efforts to win her favor. The child was fiercely jealous of anyone who took her grandmother's attention away from her.
"You have got to stop letting that child run your life," Adora complained to her one afternoon over lunch. "You've been seeing Archie over a year now and she needs to learn to get used to it."
"He tries, bless him, he tries to get her to like him, but she won't budge an inch and Cassie is no help at all. She has no control over her whatsoever!"
"And Meredith always being around gives you no privacy at all!"
Lilly sighed. "You know I've had…intimacy issues since Otto died but not with Archie. We've kissed and held each other and oh there have been many times I've wanted him to spend the night, but he doesn't feel comfortable being too intimate with me while Meredith is in the house."
"So make Cassie get her head out of her ass, be a mother to her daughter and let Archie spend the night."
"We've been invited to Rumple's Halloween party tonight." She smiled. "We're going as Herman and Lily Munster."
"And you're going to dance your feet off no doubt. Are you taking Meredith?"
"I promised her I would."
Adora groaned. "She's going to be a holy terror to everyone!"
"Give her the benefit of the doubt, please Natalie!"
"I'd rather bet on horses. Better odds," Adora grumbled and stabbed at her salad with her fork. It seemed that Loki's enchantments had done little to neutralize the darkness in the child's soul.
Rumple Gold's Victorian
Gold Standard Verse
Halloween, 2018
She's going to be a holy terror to everyone.
And she had been from the moment of their arrival at the Gold house, first by insulting Archie and his car then insulting their hosts and young Regina who gave as good as she got.
Archie couldn't help being amused by Meredith finally meeting her match in the former Evil Queen. He knew Meredith would be pleasant for a while, but it never lasted long and sure enough she was back to her nasty self once Rumple's ward Jimmy took them in the kitchen for a snack.
"…I am very disappointed in you, Meredith nor will I tolerate this behavior any longer. You will treat the Golds with respect, and you will treat Archie with respect. And you will clean up the mess in the kitchen," Lilly scolded her granddaughter after she'd been nasty to Regina yet again and made a mess in the kitchen that she attempted to blame on the younger child.
The children would stay in the playroom while the adults had their party downstairs.
She is up to no good. I feel it, Archie thought while they put Meredith down for her nap.
"No good night kiss for Archie?" Lilly prompted.
She gave him a brief peck on the cheek.
"G'night Gramma. Night….Bug."
"Meredith!" Lilly groaned.
"It's better than nothing. Come on. Let's go join the party."
"At least I don't have to worry about you breaking my toes!" Lilly joked while they were jitterbugging
"I did have two toes broken by Doctor Weingard in those killer heels!"
"She wasn't wearing saddle shoes?"
"No...was dressed like Elizabeth Taylor, remember?"
"I try to forget. You had to spend six weeks with your foot in a cast because of her."
"At least I got to dance with the woman I wanted." He lifted her up and spun her around then set her back on her feet and kissed her ardently. "Do you want to leave the party early?"
"We promised we'd play Strip Costume poker," she giggled.
"After?"
"Yes," she murmured.
His lips nuzzled her neck. "Maybe I can stay a while after Meredith goes to sleep."
"I thought you didn't want to…."
"You're all I want tonight," he said huskily.
"And you're all I want," she whispered.
They were barely able to concentrate on the game, eager to go back to Lilly's house to spend the rest of the night alone, something they'd been resisting for over a year but no longer had the will to do so any longer.
"Unca Rumple! Meredith's pukin all over the wall an the floor upstairs!" Regina yelled when she came downstairs.
"I'd better go check on her," Lilly said worriedly.
Archie sighed, hoping this wasn't another one of her acts. He walked into the dining room and found Regina in tears being comforted by her mother, her bag of Halloween candy empty.
"But it was mine! Why'd she havta be so mean? I woulda shared if she asked!" she sobbed.
Lilly brought Meredith back downstairs, her face pale. "Rumple, we'll need to get going. Meredith's not feeling well...maybe she's coming down with the flu..."
"No she's not, Lilly. She ate Regina's candy," Archie accused. Meredith glared at him from her grandmother's arms.
"Archie, I know she's been difficult all evening, but she wouldn't…"
"She did!" Regina yelled, pointing to the wrappers on the floor then stood up and faced her rival. "Didja eat all of it or didja stash some? Huh?"
"I didn't stash nothing!" Meredith yelled back. "And I didn't eat your stupid candy!'
"Oh yeah? Then how come you're pukin' up chocolate?"
"Cause of that dirt crap I ate earlier. Prolly had something rotten in it!"
Like hell it did, Archie thought angrily. She was forced to turn out her pockets and they were full of candy she'd intended to eat later.
"You are still grounded, Meredith...and you'll be using all of your allowance to replace the candy you ate," Lilly informed her.
"But m'not gonna have any money left!" she complained,
"You should have thought of that before you helped yourself to Regina's candy without asking her," Archie lectured.
"Yeah cause I woulda shared if you asked!"
Meredith snorted. "Yeah right!"
"Now what do you have to say for yourself, Meredith?" Lilly pressed.
"I'm sorry….and I'll get you some more candy," Meredith added shamefully.
"Okay. If you get me more I'll let you have some."
"You will?"
"Uh-huh…'cause Mommy and Daddy an' Unca Rumple always say it's polite to share," Regina recited.
"Give her this when she gets home, Lilly. It will help her stomach," Rumple said and handed her a cordial.
"Thank you, Rumple, and again I'm so sorry for all this."
"It's all right, dearie."
"Come on Meredith, let's get you home," Archie said softly and picked her up, shocked when she didn't struggle or protest. He carried her out to the car and placed her in her booster seat. "Good night. We did have a good time."
"Good night!"
Meredith slept through most of the ride home, still too nauseated to protest when Archie carried her into the house and up to her bedroom.
"I'll be downstairs," he whispered in her ear.
"Gramma I don't wanna take medicine!"
"Honey, it'll make your tummy feel better."
She crossed her arms over her chest and clamped her mouth shut.
"Meredith either you take this, or I take you to the hospital!"
"NO! Don't wanna go to the hospital!"
She opened her mouth and sipped from the spoon then lay back and closed her eyes.
"Good night sweetie," Lilly murmured and kissed her cheek. She closed the door and went downstairs in time to see Archie putting his coat on. "Where are you going?"
"I think it would be better if I went home…"
"No, don't go. Please," she pleaded, taking his hand and leading him over to the sofa.
"Lilly, we shouldn't….not with Meredith…."
"We don't have to make love, I just want you to stay with me," she murmured.
He sat down beside her and took her in his arms. "I love you, Lilly…I'll stay as long as you want me to."
"All night?" she asked hopefully.
"All night," he whispered and kissed her again, pulling her onto his lap. "Oh Lilly, I want you so much…"
"Archie…" She lay back on the sofa and pulled him down to her, returning his kiss with equal passion.
"GRAMMA!"
Archie groaned and buried his face in Lilly's shoulder.
"I'd better go see what's wrong."
"I'd better go home," he mumbled.
"Archie, I'm so sorry…"
"No, no it's all right…."
"Please stay," she pleaded.
"I don't think I should…."
"I don't want you to go. Archie, please!"
"GRAMMA!"
"She needs you. Go to her."
She nodded, biting back tears and went into her granddaughter's room. Meredith was sitting up in bed glaring at her.
"What took ya so long? Is that stupid bug out there?"
Lilly crossed her arms over her breasts and scowled at her granddaughter. "First of all, his name is Archie and second why are you still awake?"
"Just am."
"That's not an answer!"
"Not tired. Read me a story!"
"Meredith…I…."
"Read me a story!" she ordered.
"Meredith!" Archie snapped when he came into the room. "That is the last time I want to hear you talking to your grandmother like that!"
"You shut up! You're not the boss of me!"
"And you're not her boss either," he countered.
"Why're you running around lookin like that? Were you doin the dirty deed with my gramma, you dumb bug?" she asked, pointing to his disheveled clothing.
"That is our business, young lady." Lilly said angrily. "And I don't want to hear you call Archie that again or I am taking away all your books and your TV."
"So what? Do it," the child challenged.
"Keep smart mouthing me and you'll lose more. I mean it."
Meredith glared at them but said nothing. Lilly grabbed one of her books off the shelf and started reading her a story. An hour later she was asleep.
"Lilly, I really think I should go home," Archie said to her when she returned to the living room.
"No," she moaned.
"We are never going to have moment's peace as long as she can't stand the sight of me."
"Then we'll go away for a weekend!"
"And she'll find another excuse to keep you here."
"Archie…"
"Natalie's right! You let her run your life and mine," he said angrily. "I love you Lilly but dammit we've barely had any privacy since we started seeing each other!"
"That's why we need to go away!" she cried.
"And what happens when we get back? Everything's going to be the same."
"No, it won't! Archie, don't go!"
"I'll call you tomorrow," He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. "Good night."
She stood at the door and watched him drive away, paralyzed with fear that this would be the last time she'd see him.
He didn't call the next day or the day after that. Little did Lilly know that her granddaughter had unplugged the landline phone and blocked the couples' numbers from each other's phones before they left for the Halloween party the night before. Lilly was despondent, moving through the house like a ghost, barely speaking to anyone. On the third day she lay in bed, wanting to stay there and sleep the rest of her life away.
"…Lilliana Bergmann, you get out of that bed right now!" Adora yelled when she stormed into her friend's bedroom later that morning after spending most of it trying to comfort a devastated Archie who called her in desperation after three days of silence from Lilly.
"Leave me alone!" Lilly cried and flipped over, burying her face in her pillow.
"Oh hell no! You're gonna get your ass out of that bed, get on the phone and call Archie or go see him!" Adora ordered.
"He doesn't want to talk to me…." she sobbed.
"Then do you want to tell me why he called me begging me to come here and try to get YOU to talk to HIM?" Adora demanded angrily. "He's been trying to call you for two days and do you know what that granddaughter of yours did? She blocked your numbers on your phones and he called this morning and she told him you don't want to see him anymore. He's heartbroken, Lilly!"
"Then why didn't he come to me?" she wailed.
"After all that crap he's been fed? I wouldn't either. Lilly, honey this is the last straw. You have GOT to stop letting Meredith run your life. Archie is the best thing that could've happened to you and you're going to let him go because it's what SHE wants. Make Cassie actually be a mother for a change and live your life. Go to Archie. He needs you…and you need him, or don't you love him anymore."
"I do. I DO!" she sobbed.
"Then fight for him, honey."
"Where is he?"
"He's staying at the hotel where you first met."
"Natalie, I…I don't think I can drive….would you be able to…" Lilly mumbled.
"I will. AFTER we have a long talk with that granddaughter of yours!"
Boston, Massachusetts
He sat at the bar, a glass of Scotch in his hand that he had no desire to drink, a black velvet box on the counter in front of him. Three days ago, he had everything he ever wanted today he had nothing for the woman he loved and wanted to marry no longer loved him. The ring he'd saved up months to buy for her would sit in his nightstand drawer collecting dust. He'd planned on proposing to her after Rumple's Halloween party until Meredith's antics forced him to hold off until a better day, a better day that would never come.
He glanced over toward the dance floor, fighting back images of their first dance in that room a year earlier. Unable to bear it any longer he slammed his glass down on the counter and stormed out of the bar and into the lobby. All he wanted to do now was go back up to his room and sleep but even his dreams were haunted by memories of her.
"Archie?"
He tensed at hearing the familiar voice.
"Lilly."
"Can we talk?"
"What is there to talk about? I think you've made it clear you want to end it. There's nothing more to say." He pressed the button, hoping she would leave before the elevator reached the lobby.
"Will you please look at me?" she begged.
"Go home Doctor Bergmann." The doors swung open and thankfully no one was inside. The last thing he needed was an audience when all he wanted to do was cry, scream or both.
"No," she said angrily, holding the door open and following him into the elevator. "We're going to talk."
He glared at her and jabbed at his floor number on the console. "I wanted to talk two days ago but you wouldn't give me a chance. You let your granddaughter speak for you. It's over, Lilly. Go back home." He turned his back.
"Goddammit!" She pressed the stop button, thanking her lucky stars the hotel's elevator was still old enough to have one.
"What the hell are you doing?" He brushed past her and pressed the button again. She gave him a slight shove and pressed it again. "I am too tired to be playing games with you!"
"And I'm tired of letting people run my life!" she shouted. "Now we are going to stay in this elevator until I've said what I need to say."
"Not if hotel maintenance comes up here. Now move."
"No." She blocked the console with her body. "You're going to stand there and listen to me!"
He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at her. "I'm listening."
"I wanted to call you, but I didn't know Meredith stole our phones the night of the party and blocked our numbers."
"I called you this morning. On your landline!" he snapped. "And you didn't answer the phone. She did and told me you didn't want to see me anymore."
"I was asleep and she didn't tell me. Natalie told me you called her."
"I did because I wanted to believe Meredith was lying but you didn't call me back so I thought…"
"You thought it was over? Well it's not over! I won't let it be over and I don't give a damn whether my granddaughter likes it or not! Tell me you don't want it to be over either!" she begged through her tears.
"I don't," he confessed. "Lilly, I love you. I love you so much I don't want to spend another day without you." He stepped back, reached into his pocket and knelt beside her with the ring in his hand. "Lilliana Von Bergmann, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"
"Yes!" she sobbed. "Yes!"
He screamed with joy, jumped to his feet and took her in his arms, kissing her breathless.
"You've made me the happiest man in all the realms! I'm gonna be a good husband to you, I swear I will!" he promised, covering her face with kisses.
"I love you, Archie…I love you and I'm going to be the best wife in all the realms!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back. He backed her against the console while they kissed, unaware that they'd accidently pressed the button to restart the elevator.
Out in the hallway several guests were impatiently pressing the button.
"Oh, didn't anyone tell you? It's broken," a bellhop said. "You'll have to use the one across the hall. That way."
"Again? They really need to fix that damn thing," a guest complained while they were leaving. The bellhop leaned against the wall, sighing with relief. He heard a giggle and turned to see Adora standing there. She cast a silencing spell.
"Love the uniform."
Loki snorted. "I only hope it works long enough to fix the mess Meredith made. The darkness is consuming her quicker than I thought. We have to bring her back to the light or…"
"The Fifth realm circle will be broken as it was in Nonestica."
"We have to unite the realms and the couple in there is the key to it!"
"What have you Seen, Ozmalita?"
"A wedding and when that wedding takes place the time for the realms to unite will come."
"Whose wedding?"
"Theirs." She pointed to the elevator. Suddenly it started moving.
"What the hell?" Loki growled. "Did you do that?"
"No."
They flicked their wrists and teleported themselves upstairs.
"The elevator's moving!" Lilly gasped. They broke apart when the doors opened and a group of impatient guests stood on the other side, a few of the men smirking at the lipstick smudges Lilly had forgotten to wipe off his cheek and neck.
"Sorry…ahh…." Archie stammered.
Lilly held out her hand. "He proposed!"
"Oh, how lovely!" Adora praised in her glamour as an elderly lady.
"Lucky bastard," one of the men muttered. Loki smirked in his glamour as an elderly man.
"If you'll excuse us…" Archie grabbed Lilly's hand laughing while they ran down the hall to his room.
"They thought we….in there?!" Lilly giggled into his shoulder while he shoved his key card into the lock and opened the door. He swung her up in his arms, carried her into the room and kicked the door shut behind them. They tumbled into bed eager to continue their celebration of the first night of the rest of their lives together.