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

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Tina had calmed down enough to do her homework. Though she still felt the resentment of another man in her mother's life, it didn't dominate her thoughts. Instead, geometric proofs took center stage in her mind, until a text message arrived on her cell phone. It was from Blake, who wanted to know how she was doing.

Her return text simply read "Fine." Moments later, Blake asked if she needed to talk. Her reply was "No." He sent another text message, this one asking how she liked the muffins. Tina explained that her mother had confiscated them and thrown them in the trash. He offered to bring her more the next time he drove by her house. That's when Tina asked him out on a date.

She was still mad at Clarence and was determined to never speak to him again for at least two weeks. Blake presented a different opportunity. Unlike Clarence, whom Tina regarded as just a boy, Blake was an older and mature man. Someone who was more responsible and didn't ask stupid questions like was it 'her time of the month.'

And if it made Clarence jealous, so much the better. If she found Blake not to her liking, Tina could always let him down gently and go back to Clarence. By then his jealousy should force him to straighten up.

~O~

Vidia and her queen spent the evening watching television together. When she was younger Valerie used to enjoy watching television with her parents, the queen told her. They watched two back to back episodes of a show called Psych about a psychic detective who really wasn't. At least that was what Vidia took away from it. Also in Vidia's opinion, Shawn Spencer, the fake psychic detective acted like a child. Or an idiot. Possibly both.

Queen Clarion found the show entertaining. Vidia, not so much.

"It's getting late," Clarion said after the second episode concluded.

"Where is my room?" Vidia asked both eager to see where she would sleep and apprehensive about what she might find there.

Again, Clarion responded as though this were a totally odd question for her to ask before remembering this wasn't Valerie anymore. "Yes, of course. Up those stairs. Let me show you."

Vidia followed her up the staircase and was shown to her bedroom. Upon opening the door, her first assessment was that it was considerably smaller than her home in the Sour Plum Tree. There was at least a bed, which looked fairly comfortable. Across from it was a desk with something white sitting atop it.

"What is that?"

"Oh, that's your iMac, dear," Clarion replied.

"My what?"

The iMac was a computer, similar to the one in the Queen's office downstairs. It was made by another company and had an interface to that was similar, but different. "Apple makes their own operating system."

This meant absolutely nothing to the fast flyer. Vidia figured she would learn about it later. A chest of drawers was under the bed, which was a built in. Inside were undergarments, t-shirts, socks and stockings. The stockings were very sheer and see through. They were also all in black. Queen Clarion also pointed out the closet, where the last of her pants, dresses, shirts and blouses hung.

"I have dresses?" Vidia hadn't worn a dress since her run in with Wisp centuries ago. She searched through the closet and found a few dresses, most of which looked like they might be formal. The queen mentioned that two of them were "business" attire and two were formal. She pulled out one very formal looking dress, held it up and said that Valerie wore it to her father's funeral.

The flyer wondered why anyone would put that kind of memory into the queen's head. Tinker Bell kept talking about their "father," too. Maybe she was going about this wrong way. Instead of looking for her friends, she needed to find out who did this first and force them to send everyone back. At the very least to restore their memories. She quickly decided against this plan of action as Vidia had no idea who or what she would up against.

The flyer sifted through the closet and discovered that all of her, or rather, Valerie's pants were large, baggy and black. In fact, her entire wardrobe was almost entirely in black.

"Did Valerie actually wear these?"

"Yes. Yes she did. I think you, I mean, she was turning into a Goth."

"A what?"

"I couldn't explain it, sweetie. Even I don't understand what being a Goth means. Why don't you Google it?"

"Google? What's a Google?"

"It's a web search engine where you can…," Vidia's confused expression cut her off completely. "I'll explain later."

On the closet floor were her shoes. Vidia picked up each pair as Clarion described them. First a pair of steel toe work sneakers. These shoes had hard, sheets of steel that protected the toes.

"From what?" Vidia asked.

They were safety gear to prevent injury in the event something heavy fell on the feet. Tools, equipment, heavy construction materials. A yellow hard hat that the queen pointed out offered similar protection for the head.

Tinker Bell never wore anything like this, Vidia remembered. She was always building things. "Do I have to wear them?"

"Yes, when you are on the job site," her queen replied. "Too many chances for injury to not wear them."

Next up were pumps, for comfort and daily use when sneakers were too casual. "They're so cute, aren't they?" she said. The next pair were heels which she described as for everyday use followed by a different pair that were classified as dress heels.

"Wait, everyday heels?"

"Yes, for wearing around town with your regular clothes. Y'know, semi-casual." the queen said. "The dress heels are for formal occasions. Like weddings or fu-." She was about to say 'funeral,' but cut herself off. Vidia could sense it was still a painful memory for her.

Vidia took one look at the heeled shoes and noticed that the back of each was set much higher than the rest of the foot. She had seen heels of this type on human footwear, but never so tall. "These look painful."

"They can be, but they accentuate the curves of our legs and butt making us look oh so good. It also drives men crazy."

"O-okay. And what are these?" she asked pointing to a pair of fuzzy slip-ons.

"Those are your house slippers," the queen answered.

"Well, what am I wearing now?" Vidia asked. As it turned out, she had a second pair of sneakers. These did not have the steel toe protection and were for daily use. The sneakers were fairly comfortable, but preferred her old, purple slippers.

Hanging on the closet door, Clarion explained, was her robe. Draped over the chair at her desk, were Valerie's pajamas. On the back of the main door was a full length mirror Valerie used for dressing.

"Oh and the bathroom is right across the hall," the queen added. "You might want to get up early in the morning or else Tina will get in their first."

"I don't have my own?"

"Sorry, sweetie, you and your sister have to share."

"Okay, one more time. Tinker Bell is not my sister. Periwinkle is her sister."

The Queen looked so hurt by those words.

Vidia sighed, remembering the futility of the current situation. "Anything else I should know about? Like how do I turn off the lights when it is way up there on the ceiling?"

Queen Clarion introduced her to the concept of the light switch. One flip and the lights went off. Flipping it back turned the lights back on again. "Typically you leave your desk lamp on so you can see your way to the bathroom if you have to pee at night." Clarion showed her the little switch that clicked the desk lamp on and off. She only had to push it back and forth to do so.

Her room was also furnished with a television set which could be viewed from the bed. There was a dormer window and a window seat, which could be opened for additional storage. Valerie typically used it to store her comforter, sheets and pillow cases for the winter months. One blanket was made from a type of material Vidia did not recognize, but was very soft. The label read polyester, whatever that was.

Vidia decided to try out the bed. She sat in it and found it to be modestly firm. Laying down, Vidia instantly launched herself from the mattress. "WHOA!"

"What is it, sweetheart?" the queen asked her.

"What is that?" Vidia asked, pointing to the ceiling over the bed. Valerie had placed several posters for heavy metal and death metal rock bands right over the bed. These groups had names like AC/DC, Slayer, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Cradle of Filth. Each poster had dark, disturbing and / or grotesque imagery. The AC/DC poster in particular had a demonic look and feel to it.

"Those are your favorite music groups," Clarion told her.

"With names like that? Are you crazy? I don't want to stare at that while I'm trying to sleep," Vidia yelled. "How do I take them down?"

"You don't want them on your ceiling?"

"No! They'll give me nightmares."

Queen Clarion grabbed her into a tight and warm embrace. Vidia heard her whisper, "I've been waiting years for you to say that. I'll get the stepladder." She stepped outside for a moment. Vidia looked at the posters, then at the all black clothing in the closet. She even remembered that horrible music from the magic music box that Tinker Bell called an iPod something. Given consideration to all that, Vidia felt out of place here. Like she was sleeping in someone else's home.

Her first thoughts, which she verbalized, were, "Who was this person? She's crazy." All Vidia wanted at this moment was to be back in her comfortable Sour Plum Tree home in Pixie Hollow.

The queen returned with a ladder and carefully removed each one. Vidia watched, cradling her arm which had the splint on it, feeling a bit useless. Each poster was rolled and bound with a stretchy thingy. "Just tear them down. Tear them to shreds."

"Why? You might be able to sell them."

"Who would want those in their houses?"

"Well, you did, sweetie, for a several years. I'm sure someone else in Storybrooke will."

"Just-, just get them out of my room, please."

"Okay." The queen finished removing each and every one of the awful posters. Each was carefully rolled and bound. "Better?"

"Yes. Much. Thank you, your highness."

"Mom," the queen said.

"What?" Vidia asked.

Queen Clarion laid the rolled posters on the desk and sat in the chair. She took Vidia's hands in her own and with a pleading look said, "I'm not a queen or a highness, sweetheart. I'm your mother. You always called me Mom. Don't you remember?"

Vidia shook her head "no." She was about to lecture the queen again that fairies didn't have parents, but remembered the useless nature of it all. No one here recalled their true selves. Saying anything would only be a waste of time and energy.

"Honey, I've been your mother your whole life. I changed your diapers. I potty trained you. Sent you to school and watched you cry that first day. I helped you comb your hair, pick out clothes and assisted you with your homework. I guided you through every good and bad moment in your life. So please, call me Mom."

"Uh…"

"Ple-ease?"

Vidia sighed. Then tried to form that word. "Mo-." She took in a deep breath and tried again. "Mom."

The queen smiled so happily. "My baby." She hugged Vidia again. This was so different from the queen she knew, who was always so aloof when it came to touching or being touched. She rarely hugged and kept a certain distance from her subjects even as she cared for them like a…, like a mother.

"Thank you," she said to Vidia. "Now get some sleep. I'll wake you up early tomorrow so we can go to work."

The queen kissed the flyer on the head one last time before leaving the room, taking the rolled posters with her. "Goodnight, Valerie."

"Vidia."

Clarion nodded. "Okay, Vidia. Goodnight, sweetie."

"Goodnight, your…, uh, M-Mom." Clarion smiled once more before closing the door behind her. Vidia clicked on the lamp and turned off the overhead light. She was fascinated that a tiny switch could darken a room so completely. She changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed, the ceiling thankfully void of those awful posters and their death imagery. She closed her eyes and was about to fall asleep when something the queen said suddenly registered.

"Work? What will I be expected to do?"

~O~

At his home, Dr. Hopper climbed into home after watching the first of the Tinker Bell films. He found several details that were similar or even identical to what Valerie had told him at the hospital. Yet there were certain details like Swift and Festus, the race against Wisp and many other events that didn't appear in the movie. There were two more films to go and they might appear in one of those.

It was late, the other two would be for tomorrow evening. He had plenty of time before he had to render a diagnosis. Dr. Hopper made a mental note to interview Valerie after he had watched all three movies. He needed some clarification from her. He also needed to talk with Henry. Knowing the boy, he went looking for these same films. Archie didn't want Henry to talk with Valerie until after the hearing. "Vidia" needed to be as unspoiled as possible when it came to these films.

~O~

Penny remained at the hospital, staying awake with cans of Red Bull, implementing her newly coded and tested hard drive recovery utility. She had decided not to go home, instead staying in the hospital server room so she could deal with any problems that might crop up as they happened. And if her "guest" tried anything overnight, she could stop him or her dead in their tracks.

Had she gone home, Penny could have stopped the intruder. The hacker who had deleted the information from the hospital servers and scattered an old back up across every desktop and laptop in the hospital. He or she had expertly bypassed all of Ms. Steveston's home and computer security and was uploading to Penny's servers the deleted information. In just over twenty four hours, the upload would be complete, then Penny would take the fall for the cyber break in.

Game. Set. Match.

Well, I had hoped to be done with this interlude long ago, but there was so much more to write about than what I had anticipated. Hopefully I haven't lost too many of my readers who just want this story to get back on track. I'll try and speed things up a bit in future chapters.

I will leave you with this thought: Vidia had to call her own queen "Mom." How nutty is that?

Thanks to everyone and anyone who is still reading. And as always, your feedback is greatly appreciated.