The next few days passed in such a dreamy haze that Ruby felt she was floating on a cloud, certain that her feet barely touched the ground. Every fibre in her being felt weightless, as if she could reach up and touch Heaven itself. A blasphemous thought, perhaps, but Ruby kept it to herself, nestled under her heart to match the grin that was fixed on her lips.

Well, that was, when she wasn't kissing her husband, who knew better than to keep his distance for too long. In truth, she had to laugh at how often they both found excuses to cross each other's paths: an extra cup of tea or coffee in the middle of the day, a run to the pump for fresh water, a stroll with the baby so he'd get enough fresh air. The shy glances and hesitant touches soon gave way to more intentional caresses as they learned each other more and more intimately. She already knew Archie pretty well, of course, but there was something intoxicating about knowing him fully: the small birthmark nestled just under his left hipbone, the sensitive spot on his neck that made him moan, the particular dark shade of his eyes when he lost control. His attentions to her were no less thrilling, how his large hands, roughened from years of farm work, caressed her skin so tenderly, he found ways to make her hum in pleasure of which she hadn't yet been aware.

Perhaps equally as exciting as their newfound physical intimacy was the chance they had to talk about their future together. While it had felt like months since Ruby had almost left, it had only been just under a fortnight. The reality in front of them—while everything they'd hoped for—had been a foolish dream not long before, and now it demanded practical plans that covered more than a week or a month's time.

In an indulgent break—something that had become quite common in the last couple of days—Ruby and Archie took a walk in the afternoon sun with Peter strapped to Ruby's front. Their hands clasped, they strolled through the rows of apple trees at the east side of the house, nearing the end of their blossoming. The delicate white petals graced the trees like blushing snow with their hints of pink. Ruby's mouth watered at the promise of apples in a few months, remembering Archie's words from one of their first meals together.

"Do you still think there will be apples this year?" she asked, hugging his arm.

"Should be," he assured her. "There's been a good amount of rain this spring, too, and this sun sure helps."

Ruby flashed him a grin, a smile he returned as his eyes crinkled and his dimples deepened.

In a girlish impulse, she threw back her head and closed her eyes to drink in the warm summer sun, high in the sky, poring over them as if to wholeheartedly approve of the happiness they shared and the plans they made. She continued like that for a few paces, letting Archie lead her as she soaked in the dappled rays of sunlight that poked through the branches.

Finally, she opened her eyes, blinking away the spots from her vision as she rubbed her neck. Archie chuckled faintly beside her and she turned to him. "What is it?" she asked, and her eyes narrowed teasingly.

"Oh, nothing," he replied with a squeeze of her hand. When she kept her eyes fixed on him, he continued. "Only… you look so beautiful, and with your head tilted back and your eyes closed, you look like some sort of garden nymph, out surveying her domain."

"A garden nymph, hmm?"

"A beautiful garden nymph."

Ruby smiled and glanced down, hugging Archie's arm. "I guess I can't complain about that," she teased.

They'd come to the end of the small orchard and now stood at the wild brush where some wild berries grew—a fact of which Ruby was only made aware when August had finally confessed it to her one day when he'd returned to the house with his mouth stained red and no appetite to speak of for lunch.

"There might still be some strawberries here if the animals haven't gotten them all," Archie said as he crouched down and began to look through the thick branches. Ruby tugged at her handkerchief from under the neckline of her dress and handed it to him, hoping his search would prove fruitful. In the end, he retrieved only a small handful, but it looked a feast to Ruby as they settled down under a nearby tree, a welcome respite from the sun that had grown hot in the middle of the day.

Ruby sat perched against the base of the tree, her back resting on its trunk with her feet tucked under her, while Archie reclined on the ground, his head in her lap. She took Peter out of his sling and gave him to Archie to settle him on his chest. Peter held his head up for short spurts, his wide eyes fixed on his ma and pa before he became distracted by a bird or the rustling leaves above. Ruby cooed at him and Archie chuckled, resting one hand on his son's back to secure him in place. The domestic scene made Ruby's heart swell in her chest for the countless time that week, and she breathed deeply as she leaned back against the tree. She reached down to the handkerchief spread out by Archie's shoulder and grabbed a plump strawberry, picking out the stem before popping it into her mouth. It's sweet juices burst in her mouth, and she grinned. It was not lost on her, the blessing of this life that seemed so full, so free from worry. Even the air smelled sweet, the June grass blowing in the breeze that carried the hint of apple blossoms and wildflowers.

"I've been thinking," Archie said, snacking on the berries with one hand and rubbing Peter's back with the other. "It will work out well, that you're staying."

"Oh, you've only just decided this?" Ruby couldn't resist teasing.

Archie chuckled, the rumble in his chest causing Peter to look up at his pa before resting his head. "I just mean, with Dr. Whale joining us on Saturday, I'll probably be called away a bit more than usual. It will be good that you're home with August."

Ruby smiled and picked up another strawberry, biting off the fruit before discarding the stem behind her. "Mmhmm," she agreed. She couldn't help but think that August might have been spending some extra days with the Nolans if all had gone according to their original plan. The thought tugged at her chest, but not with as much force as it had a few days ago, as if the threat of that old life was finally beginning to feel like a bad dream. This new life—this solid, warm man before her—was far more real. "I suppose it's fortunate that Dr. Whale didn't come last Saturday, then," she added with a smirk, despite the fact that Archie couldn't see her. She rested one hand on his shoulder.

"There is that," Archie agreed. He reached up to squeeze her hand. "I am certainly glad we've had… this time together."

"Me, too."

He let go of her hand to help himself to another strawberry, and Ruby did the same. After a moment, he said, "There's something else I've been thinking about. I know we've mentioned that we'd both like more children, but I was wondering if you'd thought more about it." He shifted slightly on her lap and hooked one foot over the other. "It does… it seems like something important to be of one mind about."

Ruby smiled and looked out before her to their little cabin and August's tree-house. She absentmindedly brought her hand up to Archie's head and ran it through his hair as she thought over her answer.

"Peter and I always said we'd have a brood of ten or fourteen children," she admitted. "But after this one here…" she trailed off, nodding to Peter, and Archie tilted his head back to meet her gaze with a smile before returning his focus to the baby. "I don't think I'd choose quite that many. But maybe something in the middle." The thought of having more children with Archie—little girls and boys with his blue eyes and fiery red hair, perhaps—made her heart swell in her chest, and she gave his shoulder a squeeze with her free hand.

"I can't say I'd consent to as many as ten," Archie replied. "At least, not if they're anything like August." They both laughed. "But I've always loved the idea of a large family. I think—I think it would be nice to have a couple of brothers and sisters for Peter and August. God willing."

Ruby nodded. "God willing," she echoed. Of course, one never knew exactly how life would go, but it certainly didn't hurt to make a semblance of plans. The way they'd been spending their time, who was to say they hadn't begun to grow their family already? Ruby shook her head at the thought, praying things hadn't begun quite so soon. There was only so much change a person could take in less than a month!

Before she could mull it over, however, when Archie continued with another question. "Did your grandmother ever have plans to join you out here?"

Ruby ran her hands through Archie's hair. "We'd talked about it a little bit," she said. "I tried to convince her that she should join us once we were settled, but I didn't realize how hard the trip could be. I mean, she's a tough woman, but I don't know if I could ask her to do that."

Archie nodded, causing his head to bob up and down under her hand. "It's too bad it's so far—it would be nice to meet her some day. She sounds like a wonderful woman."

Tears unexpectedly pricked Ruby's eyes as she pictured Granny with Peter and August. "She is," she agreed. "I'm worried about her back east all by herself, but she's got a life out there. Who knows, though—maybe we can convince her to come out to see her great-grandsons. Or you and I could visit Boston…"

Archie squeezed her hand as she trailed off. "It must be hard, now that you're not going to see her for a little while."

Or ever.

Ruby let out an emotional chuckle. "I'm glad I'm not leaving, but yes—that was the one golden light of my going back east." She pictured her grandmother's reaction once she received the telegraph that Archie had sent when he was in town that week explaining what had happened, and her heart lurched in her throat. Even a woman as stoic as Violet Lucas would be fighting back tears, she was sure. "Perhaps one day she can meet her great-grandsons, though."

"Her great-grandsons—I like that. I think August would like to have a grandmother."

"Mmhmm," Ruby agreed, grinning with watery eyes. "And to meet her son-in-law," she added, her voice light, and Archie chuckled. It seemed an impossible task, but she prayed that they could one day all be reunited. And perhaps, with the train making its way farther west, the journey would be easier for the woman who would refuse to admit to her age. And, should there be any more children in their future…

They sat in silence for a little while, and Ruby continued to stroke Archie's scalp with one hand, her other hand at his neck. He let out a hum, and Ruby smiled to herself, marveling at the intimacy of such a simple touch. She could see that Peter's eyes were closed, asleep on his father's chest, and she leaned over to see if Archie had joined him.

He tilted his head back slightly and met her gaze. Perhaps it was the fact that his features were upside-down, but Ruby thought he looked far younger than his years, his expression relaxed as the shadows of the tree leaves above danced over him.

"I'm still here," he assured her, and Ruby smiled back.

After a pause, he licked his lips, his mouth parting as if he wanted to say something. Then, a question. "Is it always like this?" he asked, his features almost creased in sincerity.

Ruby furrowed her brow as she cupped Archie's face in her hands, leaning over him in her lap. "Is what always like this?"

He looked away with a chuckle, and Ruby wondered if a faint blush coloured his cheeks. "I've never been married before," he explained. "I thought I knew, but this—this connection we have." He returned his gaze to hers, and Ruby became transfixed on his clear blue eyes in the shifting June sun. "This wanting you is almost more than I can bear."

Ruby grinned and leaned down to press a kiss to his lips, upside down. With a small smile she sat up and relaxed against the tree, chewing her lip for a moment. "It… it was different with Peter," she admitted. She realized she wasn't as worried to talk about her first husband as she might have been earlier. Still, she was careful to avoid comparing the two men too often, but every now and then comparisons sprung to mind. At least the memories—the contrasts between the two men—didn't hold the sting that they used to, all those months ago.

She stroked Archie's cheek with her thumb and returned her other hand to his hair, running it through his curls to make his hair stand up on end. She smiled to herself as she recalled how angry Archie's calm temperament had made her when she'd first come to live with him and August. "It's silly, but I feel like Peter and I were so young. And, truth be told, we were married for such a short time." She took a deep breath, calculating that she had, indeed, been Mrs. Hopper for longer than she'd been Mrs. Smith. "We were so eager, and our… well, intimate time together was rather similar every time."

Her features dropped slightly as she turned more serious. "I can't help but wonder if we would have survived out here," she said softly, a lump rising in her throat. "We were so under-prepared, and so much the same. Peter was a wonderful man, of course, but we sure knew how to push each other's buttons. I don't know how we would have managed the first crisis we were bound to meet out here in Storybrooke. We could both be so stubborn."

Archie brought his hand up to hers at his cheek and took it, turning his head and pressing a kiss to her palm, letting his lips linger on her skin. She hummed at the gesture and dug her hand further into his hair, wandering to his temple, massaging in little circles.

The realization about her first marriage wasn't new, but it was the first time she'd said the words aloud. Rather than fearing what Archie might think, she found a release in the admission, a freedom in letting the words float away on the summer breeze, as if it atoned for the strange guilt that came with acknowledging her current blessings.

"It's okay to realize how different things might have been," Archie said softly, looking straight ahead. "I can't imagine the emotions that must be stirred up this week, especially." He held her hand at the curve of his neck, resting it on his collar so that it brushed the bare skin, and he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

Ruby blinked back the tears that threatened to well up, and she squeezed Archie's hand, grateful that they weren't facing each other for such a conversation. "Yes," she said after a moment. She smiled through her blurred vision, her heart full at the sight of the man before her, their son content on his chest in half-sleep. "But they're very good emotions," she assured him. He looked up at her and gave her an understanding smile that made something bubble in her chest all the more, her blood warming in her veins embarrassingly quick as she recalled the physical intimacy they had shared—and anticipated what they still had to explore about each other.

She slipped her hand from his and slid her fingers under the edge of his shirt, delighting in the warm skin and downy hair under her touch as she found his collar bone. In turn, he gently held her wrist before gliding his fingers up her arm.

"If you're wondering," Ruby murmured, "it is very different between you and I."

"Mmm?" Archie replied, turning his head to press soft kisses to the delicate skin of her arm.

"I like… that we have different ways of showing that we care," she continued, selecting her words as she tried to voice the myriad of feelings he stirred within her. "We have different ways of… making love." Her cheeks warmed as she finished her thought.

"I—I thought you'd done it all before," Archie replied, his lips brushing her skin. Ruby licked her lips as if to stave off the heat his touch stoked within her. "You seem so confident."

"No," she said with a small shake of her head. "I mean, yes, in a way." She'd certainly done the actions before, but she hadn't taken the lead. "I'm afraid I don't know entirely know what I'm doing—sometimes I swear I'm shaking like a leaf."

Archie laughed, and Ruby giggled along with him, a welcome release to her nerves, though it did cause Peter to try to raise his head. "Sh-h-h-h-h," Archie cooed to his son, rubbing his back.

Satisfied, Peter laid his had down again, and Ruby clarified. "I do… enjoy it. Trying new things. With you."

"I'm glad," Archie replied. "I was—I was worried it would be a duty for you. I mean, since not all woman take pleasure in the physical aspect…" he trailed off, and Ruby bit back a smirk. "I'm glad that you enjoy it so much," he finished quickly.

"Oh, almost as much as you," she teased with a giggle, a playful urge winning out over shyness. She grinned and reached as far as she could down his chest without disturbing the baby, wishing the position didn't make it impossible for her to get her lips on her husband.

A comfortable silence fell as they held onto each other, and Ruby smiled to see Archie's eyes flutter closed. Her one hand still on his collar, she moved her other hand down his cheek as a fierce wave of affection washed over her for this man who had earned her trust so completely. He had given her a home when she had nothing, had trusted her with his son, had loved her own son like his own, and had worked himself to the bone to rebuild his homestead. She'd seen the heart of Archibald Hopper in so many ways that there was nothing more natural than to reveal her own to him in return.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the reverberation of his heartbeat through her fingers, marveling at the warmth that seemed to radiate from him to her core.

Perhaps their journey had been slightly backwards, but that might have been exactly what made their life so sweet—and why she wouldn't have had it any other way.

One morning when Ruby awoke, she caught Archie staring past her in the direction of August's bed, lost in thought. She furrowed her brow as her mind cleared and brought her hand up to his chest.

"What is it?"

Archie smiled as he turned his attention to her and kissed the tip of her nose. She closed her eyes and let out a contented sigh before meeting his gaze, her heart light as the early morning sunlight streaked across the quilts through the curtains.

"Nothing," he assured her, his clear eyes bright, his laugh lines crinkled as he beamed at her. "Just thinking something over."

The low rasp of his morning voice, the murmur reserved for bed, reached deep within her, and she stretched against him, pressing her body to his. "There are no children demanding our attention yet, are there?"

Archie's features fell in mock seriousness as he leaned over her to check on the crib—or, more accurately, its inhabitant. "Not yet. We may have a few minutes to spare."

"A whole few minutes? However will we fill the time?" she teased, wrapping one arm around him and pressing her lips to his chest. He let out a soft moan and Ruby grinned against his skin as the sound rumbled through her lips, twining her legs with his.

Their prediction proved more accurate than they expected, with Peter making his demands before they could share more than a few kisses, and Mr. and Mrs. found themselves at the mercy of the "to do" list of another day—their last full day before August would return. In truth, they were both glad for it, for while they had put their vacation to good use, the homestead had become eerily quiet. Ruby missed her son's stories and questions… and, perhaps, even some of his complaints.

Ruby was reminded of Archie's secret later that day, when her curiosity was piqued when he unexpectedly came through the house with his tools and headed straight for the bedroom.

"Hey!" Ruby called from her perch at the butter churn. "I think you forgot something."

She arched a brow at him as he returned to the bedroom doorway and took his hat off, placing it on one of the chairs at the table. Ruby fought to keep her features serious, enjoying the rarity of Archie's disregard for tidiness—evidence of his becoming lost in a project.

After a teasingly long pause, he crossed the room in long strides, making his way behind her as she continued to pound the butter, her grip tight around the rod. Archie placed his hands on her arms and pressed his lips to her ear in soft kisses before he gave a gentle tug with his teeth.

"Mmm," Ruby murmured, closing her eyes for a moment as her movements slowed, relaxing into his touch and the heat that emanated from his body.

And then, after a final kiss to her temple, he was gone, leaving nothing but an empty space behind her, save for the kitchen cupboards.

She frowned in the direction of the bedroom, struggling to keep her focus on the task at hand, much as she was determined to have fresh butter for when the Nolans dropped August off the next day. First, a scrape of furniture against the floor. Then, the distinct buzzing of a saw against wood, without as much as a shadow reaching the doorway to give her a clue as to his purpose.

Finally, the satisfying thwat of the butter hitting the churn, now separated from the buttermilk, was enough to convince Ruby she deserved a break. She shot up from her seat and crossed the room, eager to discover the source of the ruckus.

Entering the bedroom, she noticed a hole behind Archie where August's bed should have been.

"Jiminy Cricket, what on earth?" she exclaimed, unable to keep from grinning. "What do you think you're doing, Archibald Hopper?"

Archie jumped up and wiped his brow with his arm, flashing her a grin of his own. "I thought I could extend the house out a bit—give August a room of his own. Turns out, the lean-to is in the perfect spot, if I just make a bit of a doorway…."

Ruby stepped closer, her arms crossed as she surveyed his work. She fought to keep her expression serious as she fit the pieces together. It was no easy task, that was for sure, sawing through the thick logs that made the exterior walls of the cabin, and she was impressed that he managed to make two cuts, the height of one log, about two and a half feet wide. She poked her head in to see the lean-to on the other side, completely dark with its door closed, lit only from the bedroom windows inside.

She turned back to Archie, who began to look a little foolish. "I, uh—I was thinking I could ask if David could help me finish it," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ruby nodded, her expression stern though amusement bubbled in her chest. "Oh, good. For a moment, I was afraid you were going to stick our ten-year-old in the lean-to by himself with nothing but this peep-hole." She broke into a grin as she finished her chastisement, and Archie laughed as he wrapped one arm around her, hugging her close and pressing a kiss to her hair.

"I'll have to close in that outside door, and those walls will have to be insulated, but it should be easy enough to make it decent for now. I'll have lots of time to finish it up before winter."

Ruby could only laugh at the rare impulsiveness of her husband—and appreciate his decisiveness at bringing about this change. If she was worried that everything would return to its former state, she now had her proof—even if it mean they would be living with a hole in their bedroom wall for a little while.

"Well, Mr. Hopper," she said, shifting in his arm to face him. She brought her hand up to his jaw and cupped his face, bringing it close to hers. "I wholeheartedly approve."

"It's my pleasure, Mrs. Hopper," he murmured before he wrapped his arms around her and crashed his lips to hers.