Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke
A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover
Season 1, between episodes 7 and 8

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

When evening came Queen Clarion and Tinker Bell told Vidia they had to leave for home. Overnight guests in what was called the ICU were not allowed. This left Vidia to suffer through the night alone.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," her queen said in a distinctively motherly way. "We'll be back in the morning."

"But I don't know anyone here and I don't know how to use anything," she told them.

"It'll be okay," the queen answered. "There are plenty of nurses and technicians here who can help."

It took some time, but eventually they were able to convince Vidia she would be safe in her hospital bed. "Just get some rest tonight. Tomorrow will be different. I promise," Clarion told her.

The fast flyer, now trapped in human form, was left alone in a mostly silent room. Yet to her the space was overwhelmed by the sounds of all the devices that surrounded her. They chirped and beeped and whirred and made other noises she could not understand. She curled up, afraid, and tried to sleep through the night.

When she was finally able to slip into slumber, Vidia had nightmares. Nightmares of running away. Running from something that could not be stopped, though she could not see what it was. She only knew it was a shapeless void. No matter how fast she flew, no matter how hard she beat her wings, the shapeless void overwhelmed her. It strangled her neck and clouded her eyes. She could feel her lungs filling with a burning mist. Her arms and legs were paralyzed.

Then a sense of piece came over here like a gentle wave. Air rushed past her hair and face. She was moving, moving with great speed. Towering trees, pines, their trunks covered in moss rushed passed her on either side. A single beam of light shot out ahead of her. There was a persistent thrumming noise. It calmed her, reassured her.

Despite her speed, Vidia was not flying. The ground was just under her feet. She was seated, but her body was in motion. She gripped two handles directly in front of her to steer. As the road curved, she turned with it. The trees shooting past even faster now. The thrumming noise became louder and pitched up to almost a whine. There was no anxiety. No fears. No concerns. Just a pure joy that came from this boundless freedom.

Behind her, that void crept up upon her again. It gained ground and relentlessly pursued Vidia. She tried to move faster. Her speed was twice what it was before. The shapeless cloud never lost ground. Vidia willed herself even faster, the whine was high pitched now. She could feel the thrumming in her body. Then she came to a hard turn and couldn't make it. She slipped off the road and into a darkened canyon.

"Wake up," a voice called. "Wake up, you're having a bad dream."

Vidia's eyes shot open. She was still in the hospital bedroom, surrounded by the human machines that beeped and chirped and whirred. Vidia turned her eyes and saw the face of a lovely, young human female. Her face was soft with gentle concern. She reached over and lightly pulled the hair from Vidia's face.

"You were having a nightmare," she said. The voice was pleasant and reassuring. "It's okay. Nothing is going to hurt you here."

The fast flyer looked around. The lights were dimmed. "What time is it?" she asked the kindly young woman.

"It's three in the morning," the young lady dressed in blue answered. "Do you want someone to say with you until you fall asleep?"

Vidia felt insulted by this. Why would she need someone to stand by her until she fell asleep? She was a big girl. So it surprised her to no end when she answered, "Please!"

Her nerves were so shot that Vidia's knee jerk self-superiority was completely detached from her emotional weakness. Her thoughts, for that brief moment, were utterly separated from her words. The young woman brought a chair to sit by Vidia's side. She held the young fast flyer's hands in her own.

"Now lie back and close your eyes," the woman said. Vidia was apprehensive with a human so close. But she was tired and wanted to rest, so she did as told. The woman then began to sing a pleasant tune.

"My own home, my own home," she sang ever so sweetly. It was a song about a young woman who lived in a distant village. She had to bring water for cooking while her mother tended to the home. The song was about the young girl dreaming of the day when she would be old enough to have her own home, while she sent her daughter to fetch the water.

It soothed Vidia's nerves and helped her rest. Soon, the fast flyer drifted back into sleep. This time she had no nightmares, only lovely dreams of making swirls in the air and blowing leaves off of trees in the crisp, autumn temperatures.

It was the first time since waking up in this horror, that Vidia felt comfortable being around one of these humans.

~O~

Claire slept fitfully. Her fears of losing her daughter seemed to be coming to pass, but not in a way she never thought was possible. Her dreams were filled with wonderful memories of her and her baby girl playing games like patty cake and hide and seek.

Then, in her dream, young Valerie took one look at her and said, "Who are you?"

"I'm your mother, sweetie," she answered.

"NO YOU'RE NOT! I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE!" Valerie yelled back. She looked panicked and fearful of Claire, then she got up and ran away from her. Claire tried to run after her, but for some reason her feet could not move. She was stuck as her baby girl ran into the distance and disappeared, forever.

~O~

Tina slept better, but her thoughts were just as unpleasant. She could see how badly her mother was shaken by the developments of this day. What Tina did not fully realize was just how badly shaken she was, as well. Tina could not fathom it at the time, but she leaned on her mother more than Claire leaned on her. Before falling asleep she called up her boyfriend.

"Hello, Clarence, can you come with us to the hospital tomorrow?" she asked him. "I need you there."

"Yeah, sure, Tina. Anything for you. I'm your rock."

"Thanks," she replied. It was the only thing that made her feel strong this day.

~O~

The next morning, Valerie was rudely awakened by hospital staff who were disconnecting the various devices attached to her. One nurse, the same one who had sung her to sleep last night, told her not to worry. "You're being moved to a semi private room."

"What about my friends?"

"Your friends? Don't you mean your family? We will tell them where you are when they get here."

Another nurse brought a small tube with a plunger on one end. She removed the tip from the other and revealed a short and slender needle. "What is that?" Vidia asked, frightened.

The pleasant nurse who had sung to her informed Vidia that it was an injection to prevent the spread of staph infection. "We'll have to give it to you in your stomach. Don't worry, it doesn't really hurt."

Vidia was very reluctant, but the assurances of the pleasant singing nurse gave Vidia the confidence to let the other nurse prick her with the needle. It didn't hurt very much at all and it was over and done with in mere seconds. The pleasant nurse did inform her that if a red blot formed it will go away quickly. "It just means one of the blood vessels was pricked. It will heal rapidly and you will be fine."

Vidia had no idea what all of that mean, but the sweetly sing song way the nurse told her this made her feel comfortable enough to not be afraid. "Will you be coming with me to this other room?"

"No, I have to work here in the ICU," the kindly nurse said. "But don't worry, there are plenty of good nurses that will help you. Your family will be here soon, so don't be afraid."

~O~

When Claire and Tina arrived in the ICU the next morning, they found a sickly looking man in the same spot where Valerie had been resting. Claire became hysterical, thinking her precious girl had passed away. She had to be calmed by Tina and the nursing staff.

"Don't worry," someone told her, "she's been moved to another room." Quickly the staff in the ICU found which room Valerie had been moved and gave Claire directions. Mrs. Kensington apologized for her outburst. The nurses were very kind in telling her there was nothing for which she had to apologize.

Quickly, Tina and her mother found the floor and then the room where Valerie had been moved. She was in her bed sleeping quietly. To Claire, she looked like an angel. Not unlike how she looked all those years ago when she first took the three week old Valerie into her arms for the very first time.

~O~

Emma had received a call from the Mayor's Office. Rather unusual since it was a Sunday morning. When she arrived Emma found a rather bitter looking Regina Mills sitting behind her desk. Everyone in town was still upset over the death of Sheriff Graham. Regina, despite everything that had happened, must have been just as upset.

"You called Madame Mayor?" Emma asked. She really didn't want to be here, but as Deputy and acting sheriff she had little choice.

"Yes, why haven't you filed charges against the Kensington girl?" Mayor Mills asked.

"For what?"

"For what!? Speeding, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest," Regina spit out. "It was all in your report. You're the acting sheriff, now why aren't you doing your duty, Deputy Swan?"

Regina's tone was very brusque. No doubt there was still much animosity over how events played out that night just before Graham passed away.

"I saw no need. Madame Mayor, Valerie is in the hospital with a serious injury. She woke up yesterday thinking she was someone else."

"Who, exactly?"

Emma almost laughed at the absurdity. "Get ready for this, she thinks she is a fairy from Never Land named Vidia."

"Interesting. Why does this prevent you from arresting her?"

"She doesn't remember who she is, Madam Mayor. No memories of her past, just this crazy new identity." Emma told her. "Do you know that Valerie thinks her sister is Tinker Bell and her mother is the queen of the never fairies. Someone by the name of…, of Clarion, I think. Dr. Hopper is being brought in to consult."

Emma wasn't looking directly at the mayor when she spoke. Her eyes were looking away, trying to remember the name Valerie had given her mother: "Clarion." If Emma had been watching the mayor, she would have seen instant recognition in Regina's body language and facial expressions. "Besides, Graham never arrested her before. He just gave her speeding tickets. Graham believed that families should work things out before the law got involved."

"Well Claire Kensington didn't work things out with her daughter, did she? How many times did Graham have to take Valerie back home? Claire Kensington isn't a fit mother, so now we have to do her job."

"Hey, if you want I'll write a ticket if that will make you feel better."

"No, it won't deputy. Valerie put lives in danger by driving at this insane speed," Regina barked. "On a slick night like that, if she had lost control her motorcycle wouldn't have stopped at the curb, it would have plowed into a house causing severe property damage or maybe even killing someone."

"She did hurt someone," Emma reminded her. "She hurt herself and her mother and her sister. Isn't that penalty enough? Besides, she can't even remember who she is. Valerie might not be mentally competent enough to stand trial. That would be like prosecuting an innocent."

"No one is innocent in this town!" Mayor Mills yelled back.

Emma was taken aback by this statement. It was one thing for a mayor to single out a single person or a small group like a gang or criminal syndicate. But to throw guilt like a blanket over an entire town was unsettling to say the least.

"What about Henry? Isn't he an innocent?" Emma asked.

"You leave my son out of this, Deputy Swan!" Regina growled.

"He's my son, too," Emma declared.

"Just because you gave birth to him doesn't make him your son," Regina said lashing out. "How does giving him away make you a fit mother?"

"It broke my heart to give him up," Emma responded. "I had no choice because I could not give him what he needed. So I made a terrible sacrifice. I gave up my own son, my flesh and blood, so he could have a better life. That's what being a good mother is all about, Madam Mayor."

It always came back to Henry, with these two women. No matter what the argument was ultimately about, Henry at some point became the focus. Now was no different.

"And I raised him, bathed him, changed every diaper and nursed every skinned knee and every sniffle and cold," Regina said, seething with rage. "I attended every school play, praised every good grade and achievement, and punished every wrong that he did. And I went to great lengths to instill a sense of morality in him. THAT is what makes a good mother."

"You haven't answered my question, Madam Mayor," Emma quietly protested, holding back her desire to lick the tar out of this woman. "Is Henry an innocent? Or not?"

"You know he's an innocent."

"Then if he can be innocent, so can Valerie Kensington," Emma declared. "I'll watch her closely and keep tabs with Archie. If this turns out to be a scam I'll throw her sorry ass in jail faster than you can say Never Land. And unless you have some burning evidence that proves Valerie is faking then this meeting is over."

With those words Emma stormed out of the office.

~O~

Regina watched her acting deputy leave, defiant to the last. She was furious at Emma Swan for blatantly disobeying her orders. If Graham were still alive she could control him and there would be no question that Valerie would be in custody. But she couldn't control Emma Swan. There had to be a way to remove her from office. For the moment, however, she had another problem.

Valerie Kensington had somehow managed to break the curse upon herself. Regina had no knowledge of this Vidia. She had never even met Queen Clarion, nor had she visited her land. It was only through a third party that she first became aware of Pixie Hollow. It held something precious, something that could give Regina back the one thing she desired most. Clarion, though, took away Regina's hope. Denying Regina that one last tether to the happy life she so desperately wanted. It left Queen Regina with an emptiness in her heart. One that could only be filled with vengeance.

If Valerie Kensington was indeed this Vidia from Pixie Hollow, then she threatened everything Regina had gone to so much trouble to create. If Emma Swan ever believed Valerie's claim then together they would became a great threat to her. Greater than just Swan alone. Regina had to find some way to prove to Emma and a court judge that Valerie was faking, even if she wasn't.

Mayor Mills had to drive Valerie and the entire Kensington family out of Storybrooke. The curse was designed so no one who was brought here could leave the city. If they tried, something terrible would happen to them. This was Regina's new endgame for Clarion. Drive her and her two girls out of the city and let the curse destroy them. All she needed was that burning evidence that Emma so thoughtfully demanded. Now Regina just had to find it.

Well, now Regina is aware of Vidia. Hmmm, I wonder what she will do to discredit Vidia's claim.

BTW, the song the nurse sang to Vidia, comes from Walt Disney's The Jungle Book. It is sung by the human girl at the end of the film.

Thanks to everyone for reading. Feedback and reviews are always welcome.