Lovely! I'm quickly becoming fond of this pairing, wich I have never thought about before.

YES! I wasn't the only one who noticed the couple in that episode!

Thanks for this awesome story.

it was sweet story anyway! .

This made an abysmal morning so much better, my friend. Just seeing the story alert in my inbox cheered me up, and before I was halfway through the first paragraph I was smiling, and before I was halfway through the story I was grinning like a loon. Thank you. :)

I like the added dimension of Ruby finding a middle ground when flirting with Archie - not too much, in fear of scaring him off, and not too little, because then it would appear out of character for Ruby-the-Flirt... Making her flirting with Archie more of a conscious thing than just habit, as I get the feeling much of her flirting is. It's a challenge, of sorts. And of course, Ruby knows exactly what buttons to push. :P

"Ruby tried to appear innocent, she really tried, but the redhead’s expression was just too droll, too wry, and so with an adolescent kind of abandon she hadn’t enjoyed for years Ruby laughed long and hard. Until even Archibald Hopper, psychiatrist, laughed with her, the fun of the evening carrying away them both."

I love this paragraph, I really do. It's sweet without turning saccharine and I can just picture it.

And you've put so many neat details into this story! Like the cameos of Louis and the various nursery rhyme characters, and the fact that Archie plays the clarinet (as the observant of us have known for a while thanks to the presence of a clarinet and sheet music in Archie's office)... it's wonderful fun.

And of course, with this you've introduced me to yet another song I'll probably always associate with Red Cricket - "Lonesome hearts" has now been added to the list with among others "Not alone" by Sara Bareilles and "At last" by Etta James. :P

All in all, you've done it again. Lovely story, dearie, absolutely lovely. :)