Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke
A Disney Fairies / Once Upon a Time Crossover
Season 1, Episode 9, Chapter 10

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

To a mother, any trinket loved or created or given to them by their child is a precious thing. When that child is gone before their time it becomes more precious than gold. It becomes irreplaceable. The trinket, no matter how cheap or useless is a touchstone to a wonderful era. It rekindles memories of events long gone and easily forgotten through the mists of time. Such trinkets are time machines, whisking parents back to those days when their child was young and innocent and the center of their lives.

Break or destroy such a memento and it is like cutting the mother's ties to the past. It cuts loose the last tethers to a great period in their life. It is like cutting out a mother's heart. That was how Claire felt when the ornament fell and broke. It took away one of her last connections to Valerie and reminded her that the girl standing in front of her was not that girl anymore.

The night before Claire had slept soundly. This night she wept, tossed and turned. She dreamt of her baby girl and all the wonderful moments they shared together. When morning came Claire opened the door to Valerie's bedroom and found it empty. Part of her was grateful that the changeling was gone. She didn't need that woman clouding her true memories. Part of her worried for her darling girl. Dr. Hopper told her that Valerie was still in there, but Claire simply could not see passed the façade. Vidia was not Valerie. She had to go before Vidia ruined any more of Claire's precious keepsakes. Before she eradicated every last memory of her first, precious child.

When Tina learned of Valerie's departure she was livid. "You drove her away," Tina screamed. "How could you throw her out?"

"I didn't throw her out," Claire said trying to rationalize. "She left on her own."

"No, you said last night you wanted her to leave," Tina said accusingly. "How was she supposed to stay here knowing you didn't want her? That you didn't love her? Are you going to throw me out, too, if I change? If I start to act different?"

"Oh, no, sweetheart," Claire said sweetly. "I would never force you to leave. You are my one and only baby girl."

"You have two girls," Tina responded angrily. "Or you have none!"

It sounded like an ultimatum. Claire became angry inside at Tina, but she did not say a word. She had lost one daughter, she could not stand to lose the other. Instead, she let Tina run up the stairs and slam the door to her room.

Claire moved to the couch to sit down, but she missed by inches and fell to the floor. Her worst fears were now coming true. Her family was coming apart at the seams. She looked up at the tree. So many wonderful memories of Christmases gone by. She and Charlie alone, then with Valerie and then Tina.

She remembered Valerie's first Christmas. They had put the baby on a thick blanket at one end of the room while she and Charlie decorated the tree. The young couple put on the lights, then the ornaments and garland. Finally they added the tinsel. Claire turned around to look at the baby to check on her.

To her horror, the blanket was empty. Valerie was missing. "Charlie, where's the baby? Where's the baby?!" she panicked. Then Claire heard the familiar gurgling and laughter of her little one. It came from beneath the tree. Somehow, while she and Charlie were not looking, Valerie had crawled under the tree and was grasping at the pretty tinsel that hung down from the lowest branches, the infant giggling with delight.

"Now how did you get under there?" Claire asked with a relieved smile. The mother lay down next to her child and watched her play with the ornaments. She enjoyed this so much. Valerie's innocence, her delight at discovery, her gleeful play. It all just made Claire feel so wonderful inside.

She looked down at the handmade ornament that once belonged to Valerie. Claire was reminded of Tina's first Christmas. Eight year old Valerie put garland and tinsel on baby Tina as if she were a little Christmas tree. Claire was tickled inside, but worried outside. She didn't want Tina to accidentally choke with the garland wrapped around her neck and head.

Now she regretted not having a camera handy to photograph those moments.

Claire placed the shards of Valerie's broken ornament on the coffee table. It seemed a fine metaphor for what was happening to her family and her world right now. "Oh, Charlie, what have I done? Where did I go wrong?"

Deep down inside, she knew the answer. Claire just refused to accept it. The pain of losing her oldest girl in such a gut wrenching way wouldn't let her.

~O~

Hartley Winter arrived at Mary Margaret's to take Vidia to his home. She was still sick and feverish, but the girl was looking better. He put her things into his van.

"Thank you," Vidia told Mary Margaret. "I don't know how to repay your kindness."

"You can make amends with your mother," Ms. Blanchard told her. "That's how you can repay me."

"I'll try," she said. "But right now I don't think my queen is going to be very receptive."

"Give her time," Mary Margaret said. "Claire is your mother. She loves you. She'll come around."

"I hope so," Vidia said before offering her goodbyes.

Emma helped the weakened girl to Mr. Winter's work van. When she returned to Mary Margaret's home she shook her head and stated, "Valerie sounds just like Henry and his fairy tales."

"Yeah," Mary Margaret said wistfully. "I wonder what it would be like to be a Queen. You sit around on your throne all day long, have servants bring you whatever you need. Maybe spend the day riding a horse through you kingdom."

"I think if you're a fairy you have wings," Emma replied. "Remember the movie? She had those big, glowing wings?"

"Oh, right. Then I wouldn't need a horse," Mary Margaret replied. "How tragic."

"Tragic?"

"I like horses."

~O~

Hartley delivered Vidia to his single story home by way of Granny's where he picked up a supply of chicken soup. He put the to-go containers in the refrigerator before taking Vidia to the guest bedroom.

"You can sleep here until I can talk some sense into your mother," he told her.

"Thank you, Lord Milori," Vidia replied.

"Last time I was James Bond," Hartley chuckled. "Now I'm a lord, I must be moving up in the world."

She gave him a puzzled look. "Who's James Bond?"

He smiled, "I'll tell you later. Now get some rest so you can get well quickly."

Vidia slipped into the bed, covered herself in blankets promptly fell asleep.

~O~

Claire put all of her free time into working at the gymnasium to finish the preparations for the Christmas Festival. She disliked going home to an angry daughter and a house with an empty bedroom. It felt wrong, just as wrong as having a girl who wasn't her daughter anymore living there.

This was her dilemma. She worried frantically about Valerie. Where was she? Was she ill? Was she eating? Was she safe?

At the same time she kept remembering Valerie insisting on being called "Vidia." And Vidia often times referred to her as Queen Clarion and Tina as Tinker Bell. It hurt her so much to be so conflicted. Mother Superior told her to love unconditionally. This was what Claire was trying to work out for herself. How to love unconditionally. It seemed so easy when it was someone she cared about.

~O~

"Valerie is staying at my house." Hartley was at the gymnasium checking upon Claire's progress. He told her the news to allay her fears.

"How is she doing?" Claire asked without turning to meet his eyes.

"She has a cold," Hartley told her. "And a modest fever, but she is getting better."

"Oh."

"Is that all you can say about your own child?" Hartley asked her, upset at Claire's seeming lack of interest.

"I don't know what she is anymore, Hartley," Claire painfully admitted. "I don't know anything anymore."

He sighed. "I see. You can visit her whenever you wish." And that was all he said about the subject.

Hartley was confused by Claire's stance until she heard her answer. Losing a child is always a difficult process. Suffering in this way must have been agonizing for Claire.

Inwardly, Claire kept wondering what to do next. Though she wasn't particularly religious, she had started asking God for help. She would be a better mother and would make things right if only she could have her Valerie back. Even if only for a moment. She wanted to apologize and be forgiven for her mistake.

Claire was in the bargaining stage now. And it showed outwardly. She was often confused or distracted. Her orders didn't always make sense and had to be reminded of what was said. There were moments when the only thing she could think about was wanting to die. At least then she wouldn't have to suffer like this anymore.

~O~

Vidia woke from a very lucid dream. One that involved flying, but was much more pleasant than the last one. Like the previous dream, it left a lasting impression. Unlike the last one, she remembered this dream in exceptional detail. It also gave her something else: clarity of vision. She contacted Clarence and asked for his assistance in something. Then, later in the evening she called Tina and asked for her to deliver something to Lord Milori.

"Don't you mean Hartley Winter?"

"Yes, him. I need it tomorrow. And I'll need your help with it, too."

~O~

When the Christmas Festival arrived it was a rousing success. Vidia attended with Hartley Winter. She was helping at his booth reciting speeches and handing out pens, candy and small gift bags with items that carried his company name and logo.

The Festival began in earnest with a musical overture followed by a short pageant reenacting The Nativity. Vidia marveled at the procession of Mary and Joseph riding in on a donkey. Ashley Boyd and her fiancé Sean Herman portrayed Mary and Joseph, respectively. Their infant child Alexandra played the baby Jesus. Shepherds and the Three Kings arrived to pay homage to the infant. Pre-teen children dressed as angels sang during the pageant. When the production ended those in attendance erupted into applause for the efforts of those involved. Everyone agreed it was well staged and choreographed

Almost everyone. Regina didn't care much for these things. Too much mawkish sentimentality. She walked around the gym taking in all the splendorous sights and sounds, the enticing aroma of the food and the blaring music from the band which replaced the actors. She came up to the vendor booth where Claire Kensington was working. Mrs. Kensington and her youngest daughter, Tina, were busy handing out caps, t-shirts, pens and mouse pads emblazoned with her company name and logo.

Tina spent most of her time giving away the items to passersby while Claire made her regular presentation using the aid of a computer laptop and a PowerPoint slideshow. She flipped through pictures of her previous work and read several testimonials from former clients.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Kensington," Regina said to Claire. "I heard you took over this project a few days ago. Honestly, I thought the gym would have burst into flames by now."

"That would only happen if Mr. Gold were in charge," Claire remarked snidely.

"How appropriate." Regina said with a phony smile. "I noticed one of your daughters is not with you today," the mayor pointed out. "You do know that Valerie has been remanded into your custody. If she isn't returned to you soon I can throw her back into jail for breaking the condition of her release."

Claire felt her heart sink. She had fought so hard to keep the girl out of jail. "She is her own person now," Claire retaliated. "Valerie can do just fine without my help. Just leave her alone."

"You deny her and protect her in the same sentence," Regina observed. "How interesting."

The mayor smiled again and walked away. Tina continued to hand out items while Claire worked to sign up potential clients. The sign-up sheet she put out was rather empty. The news that Valerie had left under unhappy circumstances had already circulated throughout the city. It kept people away from her booth in droves. Scandal always seemed to dog Claire wherever she went. With few potential clients at her booth she sent Tina for some food from the serving line.

While she waited for the blonde girl to return, Claire looked around at the bustling festival. She spotted Granny and her staff dishing out the food, Marco selling clocks and Rube Goldberg like trinkets that he had fashioned in his store. The flower shop in town sold wreaths and floral arrangements here. There was even a place where a professional photographer snapped Christmas photographs.

Elsewhere in the gym, several vendor booths were offering a variety of handmade gift ideas. One sold nothing but what had been crocheted, a second offered everything in leather, a third sold plants, while another vendor was selling hand painted art by a young lady with blonde hair. Her friend was an adorably dorky redhead.

Tina returned with two plates consisting of a thick slice of turkey, honey baked ham and a tamale along with mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and cranberry sauce. Ruby followed behind with two slices of pumpkin pie and two glasses of sweet tea. "Here you go," Ruby said, putting down the two glasses.

"Valerie hasn't come home yet?" she asked spying the rather empty booth.

"No, not yet, soon maybe," Claire said, hoping to avoid this conversation.

"I hope she does before Christmas," Ruby replied. "Gotta go. The line is getting pretty long. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Claire reciprocated. She sighed, picking at her food. This holiday just wouldn't be the same without Valerie. Claire tried to eat while scanning more of the other booths. She spotted a similar vendor nearby. Hartley Winter was advertising his business just like she was. Claire then spotted a familiar, dark haired pony tail.

"Valerie?" Claire was thrilled to see her girl up and around and well. She just could not muster the courage to go and talk to her.

"Be safe, sweetie," she whispered. "And I'm sorry."

The Christmas Interlude will conclude in the next chapter. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Please leave a review. Thank you.