Dreams of Stars (A Once Upon a Time/Jiminy Cricket fanfic)

Dreams of Stars Part 13

"Thank you again," she said breathlessly, climbing into the passenger's seat.

"How's the work going?" Archie asked as he steered the car away from the mansion.

"Quite well, actually," Bridget replied, "I think I'll be able to finish in less than a week, or with less work each day. I might even have time to fit in a part-time job."

"I don't want you to do that; you'll wear yourself out," Archie said, glancing over at her.

"I might have to," Bridget pointed out.

Archie nodded reluctantly.

There was an awkward silence.

"Anyway, I kind of like this sort of work," Bridget remarked, trying to lighten the mood, "I can think while I'm doing it, and sing."

"You sing while you work? Sounds like Snow White," Archie laughed.

Bridget grinned.

"And you think you can't do anything," he scoffed.

"Well, anyone can clean house."

"Are you so sure about that?"

"I'm pretty sure..."

"What is it you're really so worried about?" he challenged, "Are you afraid of being below average? Or of not being good at everything? Or of being inexperienced?"

"I've told you, I don't like being troublesome to people," Bridget replied, "And I'm afraid that, even after I've had experience, I won't really improve." Even as she said these words, they started to sound silly.

"I still have not seen any evidence that you're more troublesome than anyone else in the world," Archie declared. He seemed to be in a good mood. "Also," he added, "Everyone gets better with experience, and you're no exception. You have no reason to think you would be an exception."

"Actually..." Bridget's voice trailed off. She felt as if she had a reason to think so, but she couldn't place it specifically. Falling silent, she looked out the window. This wasn't an awkward silence, but a peaceful one. It was the kind of silence that gave the moment a deeper quality than if words had been spoken. Bridget looked over at Archie's face for a while, illuminated unevenly by the passing cars and streetlights. Then she realized she was staring and looked away hurriedly. He didn't seem to have noticed.

Before long, they were at Bridget's apartment. Archie pulled up to the curb and let her get out. As she opened the car door, he presumed, "Same time tomorrow?"

Bridget looked over at him with a smile. "Yep!" she replied.

Archie smiled back, and there was a nostalgic affection in his smile that surprised her. Suddenly flustered, she got out of the car quickly with a hurried good-bye and went inside.

~~~

On Tuesday, Archie drove Bridget home again after sunset. On Wednesday, however, she found him waiting for her outside her school. There was a troubled expression on his face, and it made her nervous. He took a deep breath. "Bridget, we—we need to talk," he said, "Somewhere private."

That made Bridget even more uncertain, but she led him over to a tree in the school courtyard where they were mostly out of earshot. Putting his hands in his pockets, he looked around, met her eyes, and then spoke to her: "We have to discontinue our counseling sessions," he said.

"Wha—Can the Sisters not afford it anymore?" Bridget gasped in dismay. She knew Mother Superior had intended to provide her with counseling until the next spring, to help her prepare for and deal with living on her own, but perhaps something had come up and they weren't able to do it anymore.

Archie looked to the side and paused briefly before saying, "No, i-it's not a matter of expenses..." he sounded like he was forcing the words out, "Bridget, please understand. In this job, I have to remain professional, and...if I believe I am...failing to do that..." he took a short breath, "Well then, it's my responsibility to have my patient transfer to another psychologist." He spoke the last sentence very rapidly, finishing it with a quick nod.

Bridget didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

"I mean our relationship is at risk of becoming unprofessional," Archie said, "I-in fact, I think it already has, and as a result, I cannot go on being your psychologist."

"Wait, you mean—" Bridget felt herself blush to the tips of her ears, and she desperately hoped he wasn't saying what she thought he was saying, "We—we haven't done anything!"

"You mean you think of me just as your counselor? Nothing else?"

Bridget couldn't answer that. "Well, I...I..." she tried to change the focus, "I still don't understand why we can't go on with the counseling."

"There's a risk of it becoming unprofessional," Archie repeated gruffly.

"No—that's not enough for me," Bridget pleaded, blinking away tears, "I don't want any other psychologist! You've done so much for me!"

"Bridget..." Archie sighed deeply, "Do...do you know why I didn't have the money to pay rent this week?"

Bridget shook her head.

"A-all of my savings had just been torn from me in a...a harrowing lawsuit," he replied, and Bridget thought she saw the glisten of tears in his own eyes, "A lawsuit against me...as a psychologist."

"For being, uh, unprofessional?" Bridget mumbled apprehensively.

"No! Good heavens, no," Archie said quickly, "It was a different kind of matter, but I lost everything. In my profession, there's a confidentiality requirement, but I can tell you this much: a teenage boy I was treating...committed suicide...a-and his parents blamed me." He spoke in a matter-of-fact way that suppressed a wealth of heartbreak.

Bridget's hand flew to her mouth. "I'm sorry."

"I still wonder if I made a mistake," Archie went on, his voice cracking slightly, "And likely I did, because...the parents won the lawsuit. Well, maybe they won because Mr. Gold was their lawyer. But, in any case, that's...why...I can't afford to make another mistake."

"You mean you're leaving me because you're scared of a lawsuit?" Bridget asked with betrayal in her voice.

"No, but as a psychologist, I'm responsible for keeping a certain distance between myself and my patients—for their own protection, and...Frankly, Bridget, I've come to see that my feelings at this time put me in severe danger of being unable to keep that distance."

Bridget was speechless for a long moment, stunned by what he was implying. Finally, she managed to force out: "B-but we will be able to see each other again, won't we? You'll still come pick me up from Mr. Gold's?"

Archie shook his head. "No, I think we'll have to cut off contact entirely, for your sake. I know you won't understand, but it's what I have to do. Try not to walk home after dark anymore, if you can avoid it, or get one of the nuns to drive you home. I'll pay the rent on your apartment—I'll be able to manage that. If you still want to have counselling services, I'll refer you to another psychologist and tell the Sisters that you requested a female counselor because you're more comfortable around women. That will make sense to them, since you grew up in a nunnery, so they probably won't ask further."

"No, I don't want counseling at all if it's not from you," Bridget muttered, "Waste of time. They shouldn't have to pay for it."

Archie nodded with understanding. "That's exactly why I have to go now," he said, "Goodbye, Bridget." He turned and walked away.

Something of that old, frustrating fear in Bridget prevented her from saying anything more or calling after him. She sat down against the tree, pulled her knees up to her chest, and cried silently into her skirt.

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