Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke
A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover
Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 2

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

"Oh man, your mother is going to kill me," Clarence moaned.

"You'll be fine," Tina told him. "Val will be back soon. Here, just sit down next to me and lets watch a movie."

Tina used the Guide button on the cable box remote to find a movie she wanted to watch. However, like in her room, the channels Claire found too much for her littlest girl were blocked.

"Oh great!" she groaned. "Mommy dearest strikes again. No problem. I've got some movies up in my room. Be right back."

The little blonde girl ran to the bottom of the stairs. She stopped and turned around saying, "Unless you want to come up here with me? We can make our own romantic film."

"Huh!?" Clarence squeaked nearly jumping out of the sofa. "What?"

"Would you like to come up to my room and steam up the place?"

"Now!? Your mother could be home at any moment!"

"She'll be gone for hours," Tina informed him. Hartley had called earlier to add dinner to their evening plans. Dinner would likely take up to an hour. Then the film, another two hours, and then they would go somewhere to talk before coming home. Probably Granny's Diner for some coffee. "Trust me, we have the house to ourselves for a very long time."

"Well, your mother does trust me not to do anything wrong," Clarence responded.

"Do you want to make out with me or not?!" Tina yelled at him.

Clarence jumped out of the sofa and ran upstairs. Not so much out of carnal desires, but because whenever Tina yelled at him, he found it was better to just go along with what she wanted than to make her angry. Though rarely seen, she had one hell of a temper and he desperately wanted to avoid her wrath.

"That's better," she said, following him up to her room.

~O~

"You want to leave town?" Kyle asked Valerie.

"Yes, I figured out my life," she answered. "I need to find a city where I can learn to fly."

"Then what? What will you do with that?"

"That's what I finally decided," she answered. Valerie had thought about flying commercial airliners, but that was too routine for her. Aircraft that ferried cargo or mail was just as much of a bore as commercial jetliners. She certainly had no desire to join the military, they would send her off into combat. No, she had seen something on ESPN a while back and it caught her attention. It was the Red Bull Air Race Championship. The Red Bull Air Race series is a competition of speed and precision flying. Pilots fly their aircraft through a slalom course while racing against the clock and other pilots.

Aircraft used are made for high speeds and exceptional maneuverability. Air races involve incredibly tight turns at high speeds to make it around or through air gates. Tournaments were held around the world, with races that eventually lead to a championship competition for that year. The schedule for 2011 and 2012 had been cancelled to improve the organization and pilot safety. It was believed that by 2013 the Red Bull Air Race series would resume. Val thought this gave her the time she needed to learn to fly and become proficient with the aircraft.

Even if she couldn't compete at that level by 2013, she could start competing at lower levels, learning the game and moving up until she could qualify.

"I want to fly one of those high speed, precision machines," she said enthusiastically. "It's challenging and it will push me to my limits every time."

"I think you need to stop watching so much television," Kyle told her.

"This is not some dumb idea," she yelled at him. "This is what I want from my life! Now are you going to help me or not?"

"What do you want from me?"

"Funding," she replied. "Funds to get to a major city so I can enroll in flight school, then learn to fly in those kinds of tournaments."

"Do you know how long that takes? How long it takes just to be good enough to enter any tournament, much less that one? It could take years? You'll be practicing every day for hours and hours?"

"Exactly, I'll be flying all the time," Val said with excitement. "But that means I need someone who can fund my training."

"Is that what you want me for? My money?"

"I want you to come with me, Kyle," she said.

"And what? Live together?"

"Yes! You and me, together."

He looked at her dumbfounded. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Very," she replied.

"I don't know, I…, what about my day trading?"

"You can do that from a laptop while we travel," she said. "You can bring all of your computers with you and setup where ever we decide to live."

"Val, you'll be traveling all over the world," he told her. "Those races take place in England, Budapest, Australie, the Middle East and the United States."

"Great! Plenty of new places to see. It will never get boring. Just what I want out of my life."

A chime brought Kyle running to his computer. A stock had reached a preset level. He clicked a few buttons and made a trade. "That netted about ten thousand dollars," he said with a smile.

Valerie turned to walk away. "You really do care more about your money than anything else. It was a mistake coming here."

She had had this conversation with him before. Valerie only came back to him because Kyle was the one person in town she knew with the money and perhaps the willingness to help her realize her dreams. Those dreams were now in focus. The first time in her life that they were and she was stuck here in this two bit town with no way out.

Kyle Lindwurm still preferred his money to people. Tonight was ending the same way it did a few days ago. She thought that maybe having a real plan of action would get Kyle to change his mind. No nebulous ideas, but a true and solid plan. Not one thing seemed to pry him away from his trading and his money. This was a fool's errand and she was the fool for running it.

Val turned the door knob to leave when she was grabbed by the wrist. Kyle had taken hold of her. He pulled her back into the house. One look told her all she need to know. His computers were off. No day trading, no chiming reminders, nothing that would interfere with her plans.

"I'll go wherever you want," he said. "You are worth more to me than all the money in the world."

It was all she needed to hear.

~O~

After a nice dinner at a Greek restaurant, Claire and Hartley settled into their theater seats. The movie they went to see was a romantic comedy which had received good reports from several respected movie reviewers. During the course of the film, Hartley noticed that halfway through the film Claire had wrapped her arm around his and was leaning up against him. He felt a bit nervous, unsure if she would respond positively to his arm around her shoulders. He decided that for their second "official" date this was inappropriate. Instead, he leaned in closer to her. She nuzzled in a little more, seeming to enjoy his company.

~O~

When Hartley brought Claire home, it was a little later than either had realized. Both had to get up very early the next morning for work, yet neither regretted staying out so late. Mr. Winter walked his lovely date to the door of her house, as he had the last time.

"I hope we can do this again," he told her.

"So do I," she replied.

"Do you like the theater?" he asked. "I can get us tickets to a revival of The Music Man?"

"That's my favorite musical. Wait, did Charlie tell you?"

"I'm afraid he did," Hartley was forced to admit. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, I'm glad you remembered," she replied. "I would love to go."

Hartley smiled, both from relief and the burgeoning feelings he had for this fine young woman.

"Excellent, I will call you to set up a date." He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips to kiss it. This time, however, Claire stopped him. Instead, she took his hand and put it to her cheek, allowing him to gently caress it. For the moment, Hartley was uncertain what she had intended. The look in her eyes, though, clued him in. He leaned in, lightly pulling her towards him.

Then they kissed.

She smiled, her eyes lit up. Hartley was almost certain he saw tears in those sparkling blue eyes. "Goodnight, Hartley. Thank you for tonight." She opened the door and went inside her home, but before closing the door said, "Call me."

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Restoration Period on the Mainland)

"What just happened?" Vidia asked of Festus after leaving the Pixie Dust Tree.

"I just saved your wings," he replied. "We talk down the Tinkers, and we'll even disparage them to their face, but we don't get caught."

"Are you…, are you mad at me?" she asked.

Festus stopped. "No, I'm not mad. How can I be mad at the most talented, loveliest girl in the entire guild?"

"What? You think I'm…, pretty?"

"Yes, I do," Festus confessed. The two just hovered in the air, neither saying a word to the other. There was an uncomfortableness that was palatable.

"C'mon, let's go back to the club," he told her. "I'm sure Swift will be happy to hear everything turned out alright for you."

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Clarence had fallen asleep on the sofa. Claire woke him up and sent the boy home, paying him the fee she promised. He drove him in his Pontiac Aztek SUV. Claire could not understand why he ever bought such an ugly vehicle. She went upstairs and checked in on her girls. Both were asleep in the beds, looking like perfect angels. Claire didn't notice it, but Valerie was sleeping on her stomach. She normally slept on her back or side.

Of course, the middle aged mother of two wasn't thinking much about such details. Her heart was still a flutter. The evening with Hartley Winter was incredible. Dinner was excellent. The movie was delightful and he leaned in against her when she took his arm. Those things meant much to Claire. He had real feelings for her. But that wasn't even the best of it.

Their goodnight kiss was electric. She hadn't felt that way in nearly a decade. She felt more comfortable being around Hartley, and more comfortable not thinking about Charlie. One look at her bed and the prospect of being lonely for the rest of her life didn't seem so inevitable.

"Think clearly," she told herself. "It's only been two official dates." Yet so much felt so right.

~O~

Sheriff Graham couldn't find the wolf last night, so he went home and got some sleep. The next morning, though, he was up very early and went into the woods near Storybrooke to search for the animal. He deftly moved over the uneven earth and around the towering pines, their trunks covered in green moss. The air was thick with the smell of the trees.

Then he heard a sound. Graham followed it, but instead of the wolf he encountered Mr. Gold who claimed to be doing a little gardening. The sheriff replied that he was looking for a wolf. A creature which even Mr. Gold knew did not live anywhere near Storybrooke.

Graham told the pawn broker about his strange dream. Gold's response suggested that such dreams were memories of past lives. This was the feeling Graham had last night. If Mr. Gold thought it was true then maybe he wasn't going mad.

~O~

At Mary Margaret's place, Emma found a bouquet of flowers on the counter. She threw them away, thinking they were from Graham. Turned out, they were for Mary Margaret from Dr. Whale. Mary Margaret had a one night stand with him and he was sending her flowers hoping to develop a relationship.

Emma was rather proud of her roommate, she was finally getting over David Nolan and searching out a life of her own. Mary Margaret, though, sensed something wrong with Emma. Emma liked Graham, but something wouldn't let her express that. Emma, it seemed, had plenty of bad relationships in her life. Most of her dates rarely ever went beyond one night.

Mary Margaret knew the problem right away. Emma had built a wall to protect herself from getting hurt. But that wall, she explained to her roommate, didn't just keep the pain out, it kept the love out, as well.

~O~

He kept searching, listening until finally, Graham found the wolf. It did exist. A beautiful creature with white hair and one red eye that seemed to peer through your soul and one eye as black as the night. The wolf turned to walk away, but Graham chased after it. Then he whistled, feeling as though it was a familiar thing to do. The wolf stopped and looked at him. After a moment, the animal walked right up to him as though they were familiar. Graham couldn't understand this. He petted the animal, and the wolf enjoyed it.

Suddenly Graham was possessed by images. Images of a forest not unlike this one. Of Mary Margaret, but in strange dress and with long hair. Then a dagger raised high into the air and plunging as though to kill. The howling of the wolf and finally an image of a seal or family crest. Deer antlers held in a circle. It might have been carved from marble…, or maybe into it.

When Sheriff Graham awoke from the trance like state, he was sweating profusely and the wolf was gone. Now, though, he had a few more pieces to the puzzle. First, he went to visit Mary Margaret.

Thanks to everyone who has been reading this story. I greatly appreciate your feedback. Please leave a review.

And remember: Sheriff Graham = The Huntsman