Hook woke up to an empty bed, not for the first time. He had started getting use to Emma getting up at odd hours, sometimes returning but other times not. Instead of really letting himself think on it he got up and went about his morning routine. As he was drinking his coffee Henry came bounding down the stairs asking where his Mom was but when Hook couldn't tell him he simply shrugged and said he was going to go check on Dr. Hopper. Hook raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing; the kid was gone before he really could.
It wasn't until he was in the diner getting breakfast a short time later that he thought more deeply about it. After he ordered his food Grannie asked if Emma had gone with her parents to see Archie. When he said he didn't know she had sighed as she left to get his order. As he waited two more people approached him, first Leroy then Belle, to ask if Emma had gone to check on the Doc. Hook started to wonder what these people had seen in the man he didn't, after all he had seen him briefly the night before and nothing seemed amiss, though he supposed the man had made a hasty retreat. He also wondered why they all seemed to think it was up to Emma to check on the shrink.
It was just after he sat himself at a table that Dr. Whale stopped by and told him, "You know, saviour or no Ms. Swan really shouldn't keep wandering the streets at all hours of the night. I saw her walk past my house at three thirty in the morning." Hook gave him a look of confusion and the doctor took that as his cue to leave. Coughing awkwardly he escaped through the front door. He could sense when there was trouble in paradise and had no intention of getting stuck in that storm.
Hook let it drift from his mind again when his food came but once he was done and he was getting up to leave it all came to the forefront of his mind because of his coffee mug, sitting almost full and abandoned on the table. He thought of the way Emma had been looking at Archie's mug when he arrived, whipped cream barely disturbed with cinnamon sprinkled on top, and the way Henry's eyes had been drawn to it as well. Emma had looked confused and worried looking at that mug while Henry had stared at the door with a frown before turning the same look on the mug. Hook wasn't close to the cricket, far from it considering their introduction to one another, but he knew what the man had done for Emma and Henry, what he had done for most people in the town, so as he left Grannie's he was surprised to feel his own sense of worry for the man and determination to make sure he was okay. That was how he found himself headed toward the house he was pretty sure the therapist lived in.
He wasn't surprised when he found Henry and his Grandparent's standing outside the cricket's house on the front steps but was a slight bit when he saw Emma. He felt a stab of pain when the shrink said something and Emma laughed, a true laugh. He hadn't been able to make her laugh like that in a while now. Pulling himself to his full height he finally approached the house. He put on a fake smile as he said, "I thought I'd find you all here visiting the good doctor." As he took his place next to Emma he patted the red headed man on the shoulder as he ask, "And how is the doctor this fine morning?"
Archie was the only one who seemed to see past the smile as he pondered the complex mix of emotions the pirate seemed to be feeling, it was easier to do that then ponder his own. There was real concern for him there, which surprised Archie greatly, but there was also pain, jealousy he didn't understand, clear worry for Emma and so much more. He didn't linger on it too long though because when the pirate raised an eyebrow at him he remembered he'd been asked a question. Clearing his throat he had let out a weak, "I'm fine." Smiling weakly he looked back toward Emma without much thought, lost for what to say next.
Seeing everything going on between his Mom and Archie had Henry's mind reeling. When Hook had shown up it only further confirmed what he thought. He saw Archie studying Hook but he had also seen the flash of jealousy when Hook stood next to his Mom. When the man seemed to on instinct search his Mom out when he was floundering Henry couldn't keep the smile from his face. He was now confident in Dr. Hopper's feelings; he just had to watch his Mom a little more to be sure of hers.
It was only as Emma started to lead Hook down the steps that the pirate seemed to realise what she was wearing and asked her with a frown, "Isn't that what you were wearing yesterday?" He felt his breath falter as Emma looked over her shoulder at the doctor with a closed off expression. They seemed to be having a silent conversation until finally the red headed man gestured toward Hook.
Emma took a deep breath before turning back to him and telling him, "Yes, they are." It seemed like she would stop there until he heard a throat being cleared softly behind him and she continued. "Um, well, the thing is I slept here last night." She didn't need to be told to explain further as he furrowed his eyebrows. Looking down she explained, "I came here to talk to Archie last night when I couldn't sleep and ended up falling asleep on the couch."
Hook's first instinct was to be jealous and angry but he had been spending far too much time with the good guys to let those emotions win so taking a second to compose himself he managed to keep calm. He let out a soft "oh" as he tried to process everything fully but finding his mind too muddled he went with the safest thought he could grasp, "I'm happy you were able to get some sleep."
Emma didn't see the pain on Hook's face but the other four did. Archie wanted to reassure Hook he posed no real threat to his and Emma's relationship but couldn't make the words come out. Snow and Charming where both frowning between the three other adults but knew better than to get themselves involved, at least as long as it wasn't necessary; they had dealt with their fair share of love triangles, thank you very much. Henry though, what he saw was confirmation that he wasn't the only one who saw his Mom and Archie as a potential pair. He liked Hook fine enough but he didn't think he was who would make his Mom happy, truly happy, and that was what he wanted for her, to see her happy. After everything she had been through, not just since he dragged her back to Storybrooke but throughout her entire life since the first moments of her birth, she deserved her happy ending. She had sacrificed her happiness time and time again and it was time she got something in return.
That was why he couldn't help the smile that spread on his face a short time later when he was sitting with his Grandparent's and Mom in the apartment and his mother asked, "So, I was wondering if anybody else was interested in a new mission?" When she got three looks of interested curiosity she explained, "I was thinking Archie might need our help. That we could see if we can figure out what's wrong and hopefully do something about it." She smiled slightly as she said, "I was thinking we could call it Operation Cricket." Nobody even pretended to have to think it over before agreeing but Emma missed the look that passed between the other three; they knew there would be more to this then Emma seemed to realise.
