Summary: Archie crosses the town line and forgets his other self. (Follows 2x02: We are both)

Characters: Archie Hopper, Ruby Lucas, mentions of a few other Storybrookers

Pairing: Red Cricket

Author's note: Fair warning, angst ahead! :P

. o O o . o O o .

The return of Ruby's wolf hearing let her know that he was pacing even before she was close enough to ring the doorbell. She gave a nod to Dopey and Sleepy who had been set to guard him so he wouldn't make for the city line again, before taking a bracing breath and ringing the bell. She heard him hesitate slightly before moving to open the door. The wariness and suspicion looked out of place on his normally jovial face and Ruby felt her heart sink.

The silence stretched out and she gave him an awkward little wave.

"Hi, Archie."

His eyes softened a little and the corner of his mouth turned upwards ever so slightly, but he still looked wary. He glanced briefly at the bright red streaks in her hair.

"Let me guess," he said, sounding resigned and tired. "Little Red Riding Hood?"

She smiled sadly at him and he sighed deeply before turning and walking back into the house. Though he hadn't invited her in he hadn't closed the door in her face either, so Ruby took that as a … well, not exactly a good sign, but at least it could have been worse. She entered and closed the door behind her, moving after him into the living room.

"Archie, I -"

"Would you like a cup of tea? Or something stronger? It's been a hell of a day, and I sure could use something fortifying."

Surprised at his uncharacteristic interruption Ruby couldn't think of an answer before he walked into the kitchen without another word. Hesitant and worried she followed, but remained in the doorway, sensing he wouldn't want her too close. Her heart broke a little for him as she saw him clench his fingers to keep his hand from shaking before reaching for the tea.

She let him go about the task, hopefully soothing in its familiarity, without interruption, and only when the tea was ready - one with honey for himself and one with lemon for her - did she venture to move closer.

He was still standing with his back to her, hands grasping the counter so tightly his knuckles were white, the two steaming cups in front of him forgotten as he looked out the window.

"I don't know what's going on, Ruby." It was barely more than a whisper, but he might as well have been shouting, the frustration in his voice clear. "I wake up slumped over the steering wheel of my car, in the middle of a deserted road, without any memory of getting in the car in the first place. When I stumble out, feeling disoriented and lightheaded and… and weird, Leroy and that happy fellow, I don't recall his name, are there, just a few yards away… and yet, despite their obvious worry they haven't come to my aid." He shook his head. "I've been told it's because they couldn't cross the town line without losing their memories. As I supposedly have."

Ruby winced at his tone. It was clear he didn't believe it.

Of course he didn't.

Sudden tears sprang to her eyes and she choked back a sob, but not fast enough. The sound of it made him turn around and his anger fell away at the sight of her.

"Oh Ruby, I…"

She was in his arms before he had the chance to protest. She hugged him tightly and after only a moment of hesitation he hugged her back, a hand tracing soothing circles on her back. A treacherous part of her mind pointed out that she hadn't felt this safe in ages, counting both the years back home and the cursed years in Storybrooke. How many times hadn't Red wished that she could hug Jiminy like this? Too many to count. And here they were, finally – but of course, he was no longer Jiminy.

"Ruby…"

"I know, I know, you don't believe us." She sniffed before letting him go and stepping back. There would be time to cry for the loss of Jiminy later. "I know this must seem … unreal. It must seem like the whole town has gone crazy all at once." She wiped the stray tears from her cheek, meeting his gaze with honest sympathy.

He chuckled without humour. "Not to mention that David Nolan has seemingly taken over the Sheriff's department and placed me under house arrest without anything resembling an arrest order. He has placed guards outside my door!" He pointed an accusatory finger towards the door, his voice rising in frustration. "Claiming he couldn't take the chance I'd leave town and reveal your real 'identities' to the outside world!"

"Archie…"

"Said I would stay right here until you found a way to restore my memories or that he's convinced I'm not a threat to the rest of you!" He ran a slightly shaking hand through his hair before resuming his pacing. "A threat!"

Watching him Ruby was reminded of herself back home when the Wolf's Time approached – he looked frustrated, restless, caged – and she suddenly wondered if he was claustrophobic. Freedom had always been of the outmost importance to the Jiminy of old and Ruby wouldn't be surprised if Archie unconsciously longed for the open sky and the absolute freedom of flight. As tiny as he had been in cricket form the wide open sky must have seemed unendingly huge, and even an averagely sized room would have seemed large to him. Here though, confined as he was… Ruby was sure Archie Hopper's house had never felt so small.

"A threat!" The exclamation sounded more despairing than angry now. "What kind of threat could I possibly represent to the rest of the town?!"

Ruby reached for his arm and stopped his pacing. He looked a little crazed as he shook her hand from his arm and stepped back.

"No, no, Ruby, please, something is terribly wrong here. You're right, it does seem to me like the whole town has gone crazy, but I'm sure I could help – I'm sure I could dosomething to help, if only you'd let me out. I've never heard of anything like this, but if I could only go to Boston I'm sure I could find someone with more experience in this sort of thing!" His eyes were pleading and he sounded so earnest and worried that Ruby was for a moment tempted to let him go – but pushed it away immediately. She, of course, knew that the town hadn't really gone crazy and that outside "help" would end in disaster. But her heart broke at the sight of him, so desperate and despairing before her.

"It's true, Archie. It's all true! You really are Jiminy Cricket, you just don'tremember!"

For a brief moment he looked utterly betrayed before it morphed into something much harder.

"Please leave."

"What? Archie, I-"

"Leave."

Not bothering to keep her tears back Ruby stepped up to him and pointed an angry finger in his face. "I thought you were more open-minded than this, Archie Hopper. Have you even considered the possibility that it's not the town that has lost its mind, but you? The odds are greater that you are the one with the wrong world-view, than the whole damn population of Storybrooke suddenly falling under a mass delusion. You've always been good at catching a lie, both back home and here, so look at me now and tell me I'm lying. It's – all - true!" She emphasised each of the last three words with a frustrated stab of her finger to his chest. "We were cursed for 28 years and we forgot who we really were, but now the curse is broken and we're trying to get back home. But for some reason if we step over the town line we lose ourselves again, reverting back to who we were under the curse. You crossed the line, Archie, and erased the person you were before the curse was cast. You were Jiminy Cricket, now you're just Archie Hopper!"

He pushed her hand away and even though he scowled at her the hurt was clear and unmistakable in his eyes. "Just Archie Hopper, huh?"

Her eyes widened as she realised what she had said, but before she had the chance to backtrack he turned on his heel and left the room, calling over his shoulder: "I trust you find your way out. Have a pleasant day, Red Riding Hood." And though his words were polite his tone was more vitriolic than she had ever heard it and she felt like he had slapped her.

Stunned, she stood in the middle of his kitchen until she heard a door upstairs slam and a mattress squeak as he sat down heavily. She could picture him sitting on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees and face hidden in his hands. She imagined silent tears and a mind desperately trying to find order in a world that suddenly didn't make sense at all.

She looked over at the two cups cooling on the counter and bit her lip with a sigh. This had not gone quite as well as she had hoped it would, but she would not give up. He would not have given up on her if their positions were reversed. With a steadying breath she let herself out, vowing to return and try again the very next day – and the next day and the next and all the next days until he believed her.

. o O o .

In retrospect she should have realised that Dopey and Sleepy were not the best to guard… well, anything really, and especially not someone as clever as Archie Hopper. Even though he was no longer a cricket he was no less inconspicuous when he put his mind to it, and it seemed that even cursed he had retained the ability to hide from prying eyes. Of course, with Dopey as easily distracted as he was and Sleepy as drowsy it was really only a matter of time before Archie found a chance to sneak away.

But even he couldn't hide from a wolf for long.

"You can't run from me, Archie!"

He stopped in his tracks at the sound of her voice and even in the darkness of the night she could see his shoulders tense. For a moment it looked like he actually considered trying to outrun her, but then he sighed and his shoulders slumped.

She stepped closer and kept her voice soft as if she was talking to a wounded animal. "Where are you going, Archie?"

"I don't know." He sounded beaten and tired and he didn't turn around to face her as he spoke. "I've thought a lot about what you said, and while you do have a point I can't just … what if there is something wrong with all of you? What if it's in the food or the water or-or something airborne? If… If I didn't do anything and – and something terrible happened I don't think I could live with myself."

He finally turned and looked at her with an air of sad determination. "So I'm going to Boston. I'll visit my alma mater to see if any of my old professors remember me, to see if … if I really attended the university and got the degrees framed in my office. If I did, then I'll do anything to help you. I'll look up every colleague, every old professor, call in every favour, bribe and beg… But if I don't find any sign that I ever attended… if it turns out my whole life is a product of a curse, like you claim, then…" He swallowed and blinked away tears. "I can keep a secret, you know that. Remind the others of that, and believe me when I say that I will never tell a living soul of Storybrooke. You have nothing to fear from me. I'll disappear, you'll never see me again, and I'll just hope and pray that you all eventually find a way to get… get back home."

Stunned she stepped even closer, not liking either of the options he presented. "You-you could come back? You don't have to stay away."

He shook his head. "No, I do. I've spoken with Mr. Gold, and he said that… that the memory wipe could not be undone. If I came back here I would be 'just' Archie Hopper." Ruby winced as he drew air quotes around the word, echoing her blunder from earlier. "I would be of no use to you, I wouldn't… I wouldn't understand. I don'tunderstand. It would be frustrating for all of us. And I would be a constant reminder of … of a person you've lost. I mean, apart from maybe Marco I-I wouldn't presume to think that many would miss me, but -"

"Don't you dare." Ruby stepped right into his personal space, grabbing a hold of the front of his sweater, blinking away angry tears. "Don't you dare think we wouldn't miss you. You're a dear friend to everyone I can think of and if you just up and disappeared… You are one of the most important persons in my life, and I would miss you terribly every single day. I would miss Archie Hopper just as much as I miss Jiminy, because you are both my friend and you always have been and I love you!"

His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to answer, but apparently couldn't find his voice so he closed it again. Ruby felt her cheeks heat under his stunned gaze, but stood her ground resolutely, refusing to back down. "I love you." And as she repeated herself she realised she always had. "I loved Jiminy, and I love Archie. Please don't go. Please don't leave."

He was struggling, she could tell, but before he could say anything a shout from somewhere behind her startled them both.

"Charming." She whispered in explanation. "I mean David. David… and Leroy and Marco." She turned her head slightly to listen closer and tried to sniff the air surreptitiously, not confident he knew of her real nature yet. "Granny. Henry." She looked back at him, shrugging at the curious look on his face. "They're looking for you. They're worried about you, too. Please, Archie, please, let's go back."

He looked between the dense woods behind her and the almost invisible path he had been on when she found him. Ruby wanted to pounce, to grab him, to hold him and force him to stay, but she pushed the urge away; he had to make the decision himself. From the sound of it the search party was closing in fast and Ruby could tell he heard them too now; familiar, loved voices calling for him, begging him to return. He looked torn.

He started for the path and Ruby's heart skipped a beat.

But he hadn't taken two steps before he stopped with almost visible reluctance. For a moment he stood there, obviously debating with himself, before he suddenly turned back to her. Closing the distance between them he grabbed her arm, leaned in and looked her in the eyes. Ruby almost forgot to breathe as his eyes seemed to look straight into her soul.

"Come with me!" His voice was barely a whisper. "We could start anew somewhere, together! Ruby…" A surprisingly steady hand cupped her cheek almost reverently and he leaned in so their foreheads were touching. "Ruby, I love you. I always have."

Closing her eyes she let her tears fall.

It was tempting, more tempting than she wanted him to know. To cross the line, to forget her sins, forget her monster, forget Peter… forget Jiminy. She would be just plain Ruby again, with a crush on the town psychiatrist who was way out of her league. They could be together, free to travel the world like she had always dreamed, free of both their pasts and their sins…

She didn't know if it was he who initiated the kiss or if it was her, or maybe they just sort of met in the middle.

But the voices came ever closer.

Breaking the kiss she choked back a sob. "I'm sorry, Archie."

His attempt at a smile was more like a grimace, but he stole another kiss before stepping back and with a last sad look at her turned and ran. She knew he would reach the town line before the search party came close enough to stop him. He would cross the line and they would be unable to follow. He would go to Boston, where he would not find a single trace of himself. She just hoped that he would realise that Storybrooke was the only place Archie Hopper existed… and that he would come back.

"Ruby! Have you found him?"

She just shook her head. No, she had lost him.

. o O o .