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

The following takes place before, during and after the events of the tenth episode of the first season titled "7:15 A.M."

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Vidia was still reeling from her tearful confession at the Christmas Festival. Rare was it for her to open up and allow herself to be so emotionally vulnerable. She had always tried her best to be closed off to avoid being hurt. Letting herself feel and become deeply attached to others was how she was manipulated, betrayed and battered the first time around.

Yet whenever she thought about Valerie's memory and experienced the powerful emotions it brought up Vidia couldn't deny its impact. The embrace of family made her feel whole, warm, loved, embraced and insulated from all the ills of the world in a way she never felt before. Even the hurt brought on by Swift and Festus didn't seem to matter as long as she lived in that pleasant moment in time.

It was as if this was what she had been missing her entire life. What made it so hard for Vidia to accept fully was that it was such an alien experience for her. Family not only was not the fairy way, but it was the absolute antithesis of how she lived her life.

It wasn't long after that Tina began to tease her about it. And she started to treat Vidia like a big sister again. At least that was what Claire told her after the fact.

Vidia woke on a cold morning, made a bee line for the shared bathroom in the hall only for Tinker Bell / Tina to race in ahead of her. She stuck her tongue out at Vidia as she closed the door and locked it in her face.

"Hey, I have to use that bathroom," Vidia yelled, outraged.

"Sucks to be you this morning," Tina laughed through the door.

"What does that even mean?" Vidia asked.

"Just use the one in Mom's room," Tina answered.

Vidia grumbled as she stormed down the hall into Claire's bedroom. The once and former fairy queen was not occupying the space so she made use of the bathroom until Tina had freed up the one in the hallway. "I've got to get my own bath house," Vidia grumbled.

Somehow the experience seemed almost painfully familiar.

~O~

Claire woke that morning to a much more pleasant sensation. All of the anxieties that still surrounded her seemed far less imposing now. The main reason, she deduced, was that the biggest source of fear and anxiety was the impending disillusionment of her family. Claire still had not gotten out from under her other pressures, but without the dark cloud at home hanging over her head they seemed less out of proportion. She could deal with them in a sane and rational manner.

Money was still her greatest headache. Most of the people who had signed up during the festival were in need of only small jobs. One man bought a new front loading washer and matching dryer for his wife. He needed Claire to install it. The winner of the LED television at the festival asked if Claire could hook it up to the Blu-Ray player and amplifier she already had. Another just needed the automatic ice maker in her freezer replaced. It had stopped working.

None of these jobs paid very much and a few were barely worth the time and effort to go out and do them. Claire took each and every one of them because she needed to squirrel away as much money as she could to help cover her monthly payments to Mr. Gold and now the hospital for Valerie's extended stay. She still had the credit card bills and all her monthly service utilities. With the new year would come tax season and she had to not only pay her income taxes, but also the C.P.A. who would prepare her tax return. At least her home life was now in order. A stressful day on the job could be smoothed over by coming home to two daughters who once again loved and embraced her. That is, when they weren't trying to make each other's lives miserable.

There is an old saying: home was where the heart was. It never felt truer than right now.

"Give me back my hairbrush!" Vidia yelled while pounding on Tina's bedroom door. "You have your own."

"I can't find mine," Tina replied through the locked door.

"That's not my fault, now open up and give it back," Vidia yelled again.

"Oh yeah? Make me," Tina answered.

"Urrghh... MO-M!"

It was so good to be home.

~O~

Claire took Valerie clothes shopping at Modern Fashions as promised. Vidia had never shopped for clothes before. In Pixie Hollow clothing talents did most of the tailoring. Sometimes though a fairy made their own clothing. However, in the world of humans clothing was mass produced, she discovered, and stores like Modern Fashions sold these wares.

"Made in Bangladesh?" she said reading the label. "Where is that?"

"Somewhere on the other side of the world," Tina answered.

"Why is it made over there?"

"It's cheaper and it frees up our workers to do other, higher paying work," Claire replied. "They do the mundane manufacturing for us and we buy it from them in U.S. Dollars. They in turn use those dollars to buy government bonds, stocks in U.S. companies and what we mass produce in this country. Oil, technology, food, medicine, whatever they need. It's called a global economy. Didn't I tell you this before?"

"Global? Uh, I don't remember."

"Yes, that's the way it is in the twenty first century," Claire answered.

Vidia sighed, the last few days had been too much for her. Not that the last month had been any less trying.

"So what do I do?" Vidia asked. "How do I make sure it fits?"

"Try it on, sweetie," Claire said, pointing to a dressing room. Vidia went into the closet sized room and tried on a few different pants and shirts. She disliked every single one of them because they were uncomfortable against her skin or because they were too loose fitting. Also, none of them were in purple.

"Hey, sis, try this," Tina suggested pointing to a pair of rather thin looking pants.

"These won't fit," Vidia said. "Look at them. They're scrawny."

"These are leggings," Tina said. "They stretch. Really stretch. Or you could always try these over here. Jeggings."

"Jeggings?"

"Yeah, leggings made to look like blue jeans."

"Blue? That's the color for the water talent guild," she said. "Do they come in purple?"

Tina pulled some leggings for warm weather and for cold. Some in purple and some with purple accents. She was also given blue jeggings to try on as well as skinny jeans in a dark blue color. Unfortunately, none were available in her preferred hue.

The first pair of leggings she tried on were too tight. She had Tina bring in some that were a half size larger. Those fit comfortably. They hugged her curves, accentuated her shape and the deep purple made her feel more like herself. "I like it," she declared. The jeggings were just as satisfactory as were the stretchy blue denim jeans that were a blend of 99% cotton denim and one percent spandex.

She chose a few pairs of leggings, two pairs of blue denim jeggings, two pairs of blue jeans and two pairs of winter leggings in black and plum. Vidia could not, for the life of her, understand exactly how that thin material could keep her warm in this cold weather. Along with these she also chose a few cottony soft t-shirts, all in purple of course. Half had sleeves, half didn't. She also selected two sweatshirts and two flannel shirts with a tartan design of purple and black.

"You don't want something in another color, dear?" Claire asked.

"I like purple, it's my guild colors," Vidia explained.

"…okay."

Claire let Tina choose a few items for herself so she wouldn't feel left out. Mrs. Kensington knew she would be spending a good deal of money she really couldn't afford, but it was for her two girls. And after all that had happened in the last month or so, splurging a little on them was a pleasure and a release.

While Tina and Vidia brought their purchases to the counter, Claire eyed a ladies' vest jacket. She tried it on and viewed herself in the mirror. It looked good on her and it felt very warm and comfortable. She was already spending quite a bit on her girls and could not afford it for herself. "It will have to wait," she sighed.

Vidia noticed this and alerted Tina. "Go and get that for our queen," she said.

"We can't buy that," the little blonde said. "We don't have enough money."

"I've got all that money that Valerie had," Vidia replied. "It should be plenty."

Quietly, Tina circled around to secure the vest jacket while Claire paid for all of the new clothes. Just as they left the store, Vidia claimed to have forgotten a bag and went back inside. Moments later she emerged with a shopping bag secretly containing the jacket.

After shopping at the clothing store, they stopped at Purbeck's Shoes. Vidia chose a pair of winter boots, a pair of plum colored flats and a pair of Converse All-Stars in, of course, purple. "Hey, these are comfortable," she said when trying them on. "No wonder you like to wear them, Tink."

Using her own money, Vidia purchased a pair of Bearpaw Women's Christine shoes with a five inch high ankle and upper and a wool blend lining. The only color available was hickory, but she didn't mind. There was plenty of plum and purple in her wardrobe now. She also paid for a second set for Tina and a third for Claire who didn't want anything for herself, but acquiesced when Vidia insisted.

After shopping for clothes, the three women went to the grocery store to buy food for the rest of the holiday period. Claire wanted some egg nog for New Year's Eve and green tea for her blood pressure. She told Tina and Vidia to get some of what they needed. Tina grabbed a cart and brought Vidia along with her. The fast flyer was quite overwhelmed by all the food that was kept in one place. Fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, butter, cheese, canned foods, packaged rice and beans plus home cleaners, laundry detergent, dishwashing soap and more.

Tina needed a new toothbrush and went to the pharmacy section. "Look!" she said excitedly. She brought over a battery powered electric toothbrush and showed it to her older sister. "It's you!"

Vidia was at a loss. She was staring at a Disney Fairies VIDIA electric toothbrush. A plastic molded sculpture of her head topped the handle and the brush came out of her skull. "What in the…? Hey, this doesn't anything like me," she complained. "Does it?"

"Yeah, the spitting image," Tina said. "And I've got one for me. A Tinker Bell brush."

"HUH?!" Sure enough Tina was holding an identical brush but with a sculpture of Tinker Bell. "How? What?"

"Come on, I want to get some bread for sandwiches," Tina urged. She left Vidia just staring in disbelief at a row of toothbrushes which featured the likenesses of both herself and Tinker Bell, but also Silvermist, Fawn, Iridessa and Rosetta. "Hunh?!" It was just another bizarre moment in Storybrooke which, up to now, had been defined by nothing but bizarre moments.

Then it got worse. While in the bread aisle Vidia passed by the shelves with jelly, jam and peanut butter. She paused and looked back at the bottles of the brown butter. "How did he get his own peanut butter?" she asked incredulous.

"Who?" Tina asked.

Vidia grabbed a bottle off the shelf and showed it to Tina. "Peter Pan. How did he get his own peanut butter?"

Tina just looked at her funny. "I thought you liked Skippy?"

"Who's Skippy? Focus, Tinker Bell. Focus like you're tinkering something for the queen. How did Peter Pan get his own peanut butter?!"

"Val, he's just a fictional character. What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal? He's a silly boy who thinks only of himself," she said. "How does he get peanut butter named after him?"

"Kids love him," Tina said. "They recognize the name and character. It's called marketing. At least that's what mom calls it. You used to call it 'preying upon the young minds of impressionable children and subverting the desires of their parents by coercing kids into buying inferior quality products through manipulation and exploitation."

"What does that mean?"

"Marketing."

"Okay, once again, what does that mean?"

"They sell cheap stuff to kids by using cute characters they find appealing."

"Uh huh. Next time I'm shopping with the queen."

"Well back then you were mad at everyone," Tina told her. "Mom, me, the whole world."

"I was?" Vidia asked.

"Yup. I like you better now."

"I should hope so."

~O~

Later that afternoon Hartley Winter brought over his Christmas gifts for Claire and the girls.

Tina remarked to her sister that their mother would not accept the expensive jacket they had purchased for her. "She didn't even want you to buy her those shoes," the little blonde told her. "She hates it when we spend our money on her. Mom wants to buy for us, not the other way around."

"You could have mentioned that when we bought it," Vidia answered haughtily.

"Hey, it was your bright idea."

"Okay, okay. Let me think. Hmmm… I have a plan," Vidia said.

"What?"

"Let's ask Lord Milori to give Mom the jacket," she suggested. "It will look like he is very in tune with her needs and she'll never know it was from us."

"Uh…, okay. So how do we ask him?"

"Leave that to me." When he arrived, Vidia cut him off at the front door and told him their dilemma.

Hartley Winter was more than willing to assist in their little subterfuge. First, he presented Claire with a fruitcake for the three of them, then a small box containing a pair of diamond stud earrings she had been eyeing the last time they were out on a date. "Oh, they're wonderful," she gushed. "I can't wait to wear them."

"Perhaps tomorrow night, for dinner and dancing?" he said, asking for a date.

"Oh yes, of course," she beamed. "And what's that? Something for the girls?"

"No. A little bird whispered into my ear you would like this," he said.

She opened the box and found the very vest jacket she had tried on at the store earlier. "Oh, my," she gasped. Then in a very knowing tone said, "Valerie asked you to give this to me, didn't she?"

Hartley was stunned. "How did you know?"

"I'm a mother, it's what I do," she said. "I'll take it back tomorrow. They shouldn't be spending their hard earned money on me."

"You're going to break their hearts," he told her. "They bought it for you. Because they love and care for you. Don't throw it back into their faces."

Her lips curled up into a sweet smile. "You're right, Hartley. I would be breaking their hearts. And it is exactly what I've been needing for work during the winter. My other jacket just gets in the way."

"Now that's my little fairy queen," he said.

"Fairy queen?"

"Well, that is what Valerie calls you, isn't it? Queen of the fairies?"

She laughed. "Queen of the Never Fairies," she corrected. "I'm Queen Clarion, ruler of all Pixie Hollow and the Winter Woods. At least that is how she tells it."

"You are my queen," he said lovingly. "Fairy or not."

She grinned. He leaned over and kissed her. They spent the rest of the evening curled up on the couch together talking and watching television. Vidia watched briefly and was satisfied that they were falling deeper in love. Tina wasn't as enthusiastic. She just went upstairs in a huff. "I wish that guy would just leave and never come back."

I really tried to have a scene where Claire, Hartley, Tina and Vidia go to the children's ward at the hospital with Hartley and Claire dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause and Tina and Vidia as reindeer. I wanted to do this for no other reason than to put Vidia into a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer costume. Unfortunately, I could never find an organic way to slip it in. I guess you, the readers, will just have to imagine how that might have played out.

Enjoy. Please leave a review if you liked the chapter. Thanks.