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

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

As the day wore on, Vidia was happy to have more visitors. She was happy because if she did not recognize them then were not her friends from Pixie Hollow. She did not know the size of Storybrooke, but the more people she was able to eliminate from her list of friends the easier her job became.

A tall, dark haired girl named Ruby came by with a small bouquet of flowers. "It's from Granny and me," she said. Vidia was a bit alarmed at how short her pants were. She did not know Ruby from Pixie Hollow, but understood it to mean that Valerie had known the girl and her grandmother.

"Thanks," Vidia said. "They look very pretty."

They in fact did look pretty. And smelled even better. Rosetta might be jealous if she were here to see it.

"Oh, and Granny sent this over. An egg salad sandwich. She heard how you only wanted vegetarian dishes." The small box contained a sandwich, long pieces of golden fried somethings and a pickle spear.

"What are these?" Vidia asked, picking up one of the long, fried things.

Ruby laughed a bit. "Those are French fries," she told her. "And here is a cup of your favorite drink, Mr. Pibb."

Later one of the nuns from the convent, a Sister Astrid, visited. She informed Clarion and Vidia that the order was praying for Valerie's speedy recovery.

"Oh thank you, Sister," Claire replied, a sense of relief in her body language.

~O~

That afternoon, Vidia felt that she needed a bath. It had been a few days since she remembered last taking one and decided now would be as good a time as any to freshen up. Queen Clarion assisted her out of the bed and walked her back into the inside outhouse that was in the room. The bathroom.

Inside was a small closet behind a clear door. "That's the bathtub?" she asked her queen. "How do you fit in there?"

"No, dear, that's the shower."

"Shower?"

"Yes. You stand while bathing." The queen pointed to a spigot high on the wall and a drain in the floor. Then she turned one of the knobs. Vidia had to take a step back when she saw rain falling from the wall spigot.

"How is it doing that?"

"It's water pressure, Valerie. Water is pumped throughout the city in pipes. It is kept under pressure so when you turn a knob and open the flow it comes through the spigot or faucet."

Vidia wasn't entirely sure what that all meant. She understood some of it, but how an entire city could have pipes with water under pressure running through it escaped her. Not unlike how the MRI machine could take those strange pictures of her brain without cutting her open. Vidia did not have to know how it worked to know that it did. She decided not to ask any further questions on that subject.

"How do I use this?"

Clarion explained how to adjust water temperature with the two knobs at midlevel. Like the sink, one was for hot and the other was for cold.

"Here," she said handing Vidia a small bottle. "This is shampoo, for your hair."

"My hair?"

"For washing your hair."

"Why not just use soap?"

"Shampoo is much better. And see, this one has conditioner. It will keep your hair looking very nice."

Conditioner? Vidia asked herself. What does that do?

The queen pointed out to Vidia the bar of soap and a small wash cloth. Then she pointed to the larger towels for drying.

"I'll ask for a clean gown for you," Clarion said. "Oh let me take off your splint. Just be careful, the break is small, but it will still be very painful when you put pressure against it."

Vidia marveled as Clarion pulled two tabs away from the splint. They made a ripping sound when pulled. "What was that?"

"Velcro," Clarion informed her. She had Vidia rub her fingers across the tab. It was rough. Then across the splint in certain spots. It was soft and fuzzy.

"The rough side has tiny hooks that grab onto tiny loops on the soft side," Clarion explained. "That is how Velcro holds two things together."

The fast flyer was absolutely amazed. Whatever opinions Vidia may have held about the humans, such inventions were indeed wondrous. Vidia stepped into the small closet her queen called a shower, closed the clear door and turned on the water. She adjusted the two knobs until the temperature was just right for her.

The queen closed the door to the indoor outhouse to give Vidia some privacy. The flyer let the warm water spray her body. The water slid down her naked form to the floor and then, remarkably, down the drain. Next, she wetted her long hair and used some of the shampoo from the bottle. She rubbed it into the strands of her long, dark hair until the entire length was foamy. Then she put her head under the flowing water and rinsed the soap all out.

Next she took the bar of soap and, as instructed, soaped up the tiny towel before using it to bathe. As she stood there, Vidia almost completely out of her element. She did, however, ruminate how it was easier to clean herself here as a human than in Pixie Hollow. All tubs were made with special grooves to accommodate a fairy's wings. Their wings could not get wet or they would soak up the water and prevent a fairy from flying until they were dry. If a fairy fell into a body of water the fairy would in all likelihood drown. The wings would become waterlogged and drag down the poor creature to its fate.

After her shower, Vidia toweled off. She noticed that her queen had placed a fresh gown on a hook next to the shower. Claire also laid out a pair of clean underwear, which Vidia noted was made from cotton, rather than the leaves she was used to in Pixie Hollow. The undies were quite soft and she could wear them without noticing that they were on. Not that it was a problem in Pixie Hollow, either. Yet, she found these cotton clothes less intrusive and more flexible.

~O~

Back in the room Vidia found that Queen Clarion was gone. On the bed was a note saying she and Tina had left to have dinner and would be back soon. The sheets on her hospital bed had been changed and made up. She also heard noise from the other side of the curtains. Someone was being admitted into the same room.

This must be the "semi-private" part they told me about, Vidia thought. A nurse brought in a dinner plate. A vegetarian meal. It looked good, but Vidia kept thinking about that amazing egg salad sandwich Ruby had brought earlier.

"Hey, I booked a private room," a voice shrieked from the other side of the curtain. "This is semi private."

The voice had a distinct accent to it. It sounded quite familiar, as well.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but all of our private rooms are full," another voice answered. "When one of them opens up we will move you there immediately."

"Oh please, there are nothin' but a bunch of old geezers in those rooms," the accented voice replied. "Just kick one of 'em out, put 'em in here and give me the room I paid for."

"Ms. Collingsworth, this is a hospital, not a hotel. Patient priority is a necessity."

"Oh please, 'hospital' is part of the word 'hospitality.' Now be hospitable and put me in my private room!"

Finally, the nurse who was in the other side had had enough and barked, "This isn't Burger King! You can't have it your way!" She then stormed out of the room with huff.

"Well, I never. And what about my dinner? I haven't eaten my evening meal!" The woman in the next stall sounded so frustrated and impossibly demanding to Vidia. "Ugh, next time I book my surgery at a five star hospital, not this flea trap for the townies."

Then it hit her. Vidia knew where she had heard that voice. "Rosetta?"

Vidia slipped out of her bed and carefully walked around the hanging curtain. The floor was, as always, cold. The form fitting slippers that the hospital provided Vidia had ignored. The nurses who had been attending to the new patient walked passed. She heard one of them say, "Boy, she can be a real bitch."

"Yeah, I'm never watching her show again."

This brief conversation left Vidia very confused. Why would anyone compare Rosetta to a female dog? she asked herself. Vidia was unaware that the word, which properly meant a female dog, had been turned into a profane and vulgar curse word in the human world.

She looked around the curtain and saw her old friend sitting up in a hospital bed. "Rosetta! How did you get here?"

The young woman with red hair and piercing green eyes turned her attention to Vidia. "Do you run this place? I asked for a private room."

Vidia stepped forward and walked towards her old friend. Her hospital gown on full display. "Oh, you're a patient here, too. My apologies. On several levels. Oh well, it's always nice to meet a fan."

"Fan? What are you doing here? Did the magic bring you, too?"

"Magic? Shug, I'm here for my beauty, not my health," Rosetta answered. "There is no magic when it comes to my lovely visage. I'm naturally quite beautiful. But sometimes nature needs a helpin' hand."

"Beauty? Helping hand?"

"Yeah, a little bit of plastic surgery. So what are you in for, Sugar pie?"

"Rosetta, don't you remember me?"

"Rosetta? Oh…, you're not a fan, then are you?"

"Fan of what?"

"Well, I'm Desiree Collingsworth, I host Storybrooke's most popular mornin' program. You should tune in sometime. Especially when I return to the set. I'm gonna look even more stunnin' than I ever did."

"Morning program?"

"On the television."

"What's… television?"

"What's television? Where have you been livin'? Under a rock?"

"In a sour plumb tree," Vidia replied.

"Sugar pie, are you okay? Do I need to call an orderly on you?"

"Valerie?" Clarion's voice filled the room. "Valerie? Oh there you are." The queen found Vidia on the other side of the curtain. "Sweetheart, don't bother the nice, young lady. Oh, hello, Ms. Collingsworth."

"Hello. Is this one yours?" Rosetta asked Clarion.

"Yes, she is." Clarion turned her gaze towards Vidia. "Go back to your own bed and get some rest."

"Is she okay? She kept askin' if I was someone named Rosetta."

Vidia announced from her side of the curtain. "She is Rosetta, a garden fairy."

~O~

Claire buried her head in her hands, feeling every bit embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Collingsworth." Claire walked up to the TV show host and spoke to her in hushed tones. "She had a motorcycle accident. Took a wicked hit to the head. Now…, uh, …now my girl thinks she is someone else. The rest of us, too."

Desiree's demeanor changed instantly. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Is she gonna be okay?"

"I don't know," Claire answered. Her eyes began to water. "The doctor isn't sure himself."

Desiree took the distressed mother's hand in her own. "I'm so sorry about what I did to you earlier. I would like to make it up to you. I'll talk about your poor girl on my show. Maybe it will help you drum up some business."

Claire smiled. "Thank you," she mouthed.

"Oh, you're welcome."

Claire turned to walk away. At the curtain, Desiree asked another question. "Did you get the surgery, too?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Desiree nodded at Claire's ample bosom. Claire glanced down, and then it clicked. She offered a slightly nervous laugh. "Oh. Heh. Uh. No, they're original."

"Huh! Must be nice. I had to buy mine," Desiree commented. "But at least I'll be the envy of every housewife in Storybrooke. Present company excluded, of course."

"My husband died eight years ago," Claire told her. "But thank you anyway. He wasn't one to have wondering eyes."

"That's right, I forgot. He must have been a dedicated husband," Desiree answered.

Claire nodded. "Yes. Yes he was." She quietly ducked back into the other side of the room.

Thanks to everyone who has been reading. Thanks to all the new reviewers. I'm grateful for your feedback and suggestions.