The Outsider [AU, locked to Claire Bennet]
To say the last few weeks had been crazy was possibly the understatement of the year. Archie was in Granny's Diner, sitting looking out of the window onto the street. Ruby had been feeding Pongo treats again, and after all the insanity, things were... well, as settled as Storybrooke ever got. They seemed to lurch from one crisis to another, and there was an element of waiting for the next part of... well, whatever was going to happen.
Finishing his drink, and paying for it with a wave at Ruby and Granny he picked up Pongo's leash and his umbrella, and headed for the door. Maybe today he'd track down Regina, try and work out where she was. She had to be hurting, given no one believed her when she'd protested her innocence. The only one who'd believed her... well, he'd spent the time with Cora and Hook to prove it. He mentally ran through his appointments for the day. Yes he could afford some time to try to find Regina.
All thoughts of doing anything were banished at the sight of a strange car driving through the main street, pulling in at Granny's. He paused for a long moment. A stranger. The one thing they'd been scared of. A stranger being in Storybrooke, figuring out that there was magic here.
That all the old fairy tales that were great stories to tell your kids were real.
Finishing his drink, and paying for it with a wave at Ruby and Granny he picked up Pongo's leash and his umbrella, and headed for the door. Maybe today he'd track down Regina, try and work out where she was. She had to be hurting, given no one believed her when she'd protested her innocence. The only one who'd believed her... well, he'd spent the time with Cora and Hook to prove it. He mentally ran through his appointments for the day. Yes he could afford some time to try to find Regina.
All thoughts of doing anything were banished at the sight of a strange car driving through the main street, pulling in at Granny's. He paused for a long moment. A stranger. The one thing they'd been scared of. A stranger being in Storybrooke, figuring out that there was magic here.
That all the old fairy tales that were great stories to tell your kids were real.