Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke
A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time crossover
Season 1, Episode 10, Chapter 11

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Tina was most unhappy that Penny was in her house.

"Actually, it's my house," Claire helpfully reminded her. "Now go into the living room and talk to her. Remember all the fun things you two used to do. Like when you teased your sister, or she helped you with your homework."

"Oh yeah, so I can get stuck doing even more math problems," Tina groused.

"Go!" Claire ordered in her playfully stern way. The little blonde grunted and crossed her arms in disgust, but she promptly did as told.

As Tina left the kitchen Vidia entered. The house was lit up only by the daylight and some well-placed candles following the thunderstorm. The gas stove still worked so Claire was busy making lunch for everyone. Valerie had bathed and dressed for the day. It was rather nice to have some time off, she said confiding in Claire. "Especially after last night."

All four women had been frightened out of their skins by the clap of thunder that sounded like a bomb detonating inside their house. It had left their nerves frazzled. The good sleep helped settle them. Waking up together in Claire's bed only rattled their nerves again. Particularly Tina and Valerie.

Claire nodded in agreement. "Would you hand me the milk from the cooler?" she asked, pointing to the ice chest that sat on the floor. Vidia provided the milk and Claire dribbled in just enough into the eggs she was mixing. "There, that ought to do it." Valerie returned the milk to the cooler and removed a bottle of water. She still couldn't understand why humans drank water from a bottle when there was plenty of water from the faucet in the kitchen. Taking a deep drink of the icy cold beverage answered her question.

"You can't get water this good from the tap," she susurrated.

The telephone rang while Claire was whisking the eggs. She answered. "Hartley," she practically gushed. "How are you?"

The bowl of eggs was handed over to Vidia who kept whisking them. She turned a brief moment later and witnessed her queen sitting at the kitchen table cross legged. Claire was absent mindedly twirling her hair, her face was blushing a bit and she had this big silly grin on her face. Her eyes seemed to sparkle, Claire's vocal cadence changed just a bit and she acted like a giddy teenager.

This had been going on ever since Claire and Hartley reconciled after the New Year's Eve debacle. Tina had described this kind of behavior as "adorkable." Claire was acting dorky in an adorable sort of way.

Certainly Queen Clarion would never act in such a manner, but apparently the curse effectively buried the queen's perfect propriety under its haze spell.

Hartley Winter had called to find out if she and her girls were okay. He also learned that Penny was at the Kensington household.

"I'm so glad to hear that," he said. "I have been trying to reach her all day."

"She came over last night during the storm," Claire replied. "She must have been scared inside that empty house where she lives."

Their conversation continued for several more minutes at the end of which she quietly whispered, "I love you, too, Hartley," into the receiver. Vidia wasn't trying to listen in on their private conversation, but it wasn't hard to do in the confines of the kitchen. When Claire reclaimed the bowl of whisked eggs, she had a visible spring to her step, a smile on her face and she started to hum a happy tune. Vidia didn't know what it was, but it sure seemed to fit Claire's mood.

~O~

THE MAINLAND (The Late Victorian Era)

Every visit to the mainland was a gift. One which Periwinkle relished each winter season. But the rest of the year was a dreary slog.

"There has to be someone over there that understands," Peri mused, looking across the vast tundra and into the distant realm of the warm weather fairies. One day, she asked Sled if she could watch the animals cross the border into the warm side.

"It's not allowed," he told her. "No contact with warm fairies. Not even face to face. That's the law. We only take them to the edge of the forest and the animals go the rest of the way on their own."

She was devastated by that response. She knew the rule, but to be denied even such a simple thing as just looking across the border and seeing a warm fairy seemed a terrible fate. "The Winter Woods might as well be a prison."

She followed Sled back into the frozen landscape that was her home when she heard chatter from the other side. Periwinkle hid among the branches of a pine tree that overlooked the border crossing. She watched with stunned amazement. "Warm fairies!" she nearly squealed. She had to keep her voice down. By doing this she was breaking the law. Periwinkle cautiously looked over her shoulder for Sled. He could not know about this. No one could.

Confirming she was alone, Periwinkle turned her attention back to the glorious site that was acted out right before her eyes, as if it were a play just for her own entertainment. The animals darted over the bridge, which was made of a stout tree root. Surprisingly, their winter coats vanished the instant they left the cold temperatures of the winter season. Periwinkle had no idea that these magnificent creatures possessed brown fur outside of the cold weather.

"Amazing!" she silently declared. A gigantic grin spread across her face.

A cheery looking fairy dressed in pants and a blouse greeted the animals as they entered the Autumn Forest. Her clothing was mélange of oranges and browns. Her dark hair was long and twisted into the loveliest braid. "Hi, guys. Good to see you again. How was your nap?" she said as a way of greeting the furry creatures that bounded into that miraculous world.

Periwinkle smiled. An animal fairy. The first warm fairy she had ever seen. A second later the warm fairy was joined by another, a sparrow man. "Hi, Buck," the fairy greeted her companion.

"Everyone make it across?" he asked her.

"They are all accounted for."

"Okay, Fawn. Let's go."

Buck and Fawn. What wonderful names, I wonder what they mean.

The little frost fairy was giddy beyond belief. Her excitement nearly boiled over. She had to contain it until she could return to her home. There Periwinkle dove under her covers and squealed with sheer joy, her legs kicking in the air uncontrollably as she did. It was only a moment, but what a moment. To see warm fairies, to taste the air which was crisp, not frozen. To smell that sweet perfume from the other side. She didn't know what it was, but Periwinkle loved it. It left a lingering, fruity taste in her mouth.

But what kind of fruit? Now she wanted to know what it was and she wanted to sample it.

More questions than answers, but who cared. A triumph. "That was wonderful! It was amazing!" Then she stopped. She had a revelation. "They look just like us!" She didn't know why, but for the longest time Periwinkle thought that warm Never Fairies would somehow look markedly different. Different in a way that let them live comfortably in the warmer climate. But no, they were exactly the same in every respect. Perhaps next time, she would cross over when no one was looking.

Her wings might break, though. That's what Lord Milori always told her.

"I'll just visit for a few minutes," she told herself. "A few minutes couldn't hurt. I'll collect a few leaves and find out what that sweet scent was. I'll be back before anyone notices."

"Hey! Periwinkle! Here you are!" Spike said, trying to sound annoyed, but failing badly. "Come on. Everyone is at the pond. Our winter work is done. Let's go have some fun."

"YEAH!" she chirped happily. "Race you to the pond."

Spike was nearly bowled over by her friend. "Whoa! What got into her? Maybe she's been hanging around Gliss too much."

~O~

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Both Vidia and Claire heard it. The noise from the living room. A tussle. Both raced into the front room and found Tina and Penny locked in a mad fight. They were pulling each other's hair and shaking the other violently.

"What is going on here?" Claire yelled.

Instantly both girls stopped what they were doing and looked at the older woman with astonishment and fear. It was as if neither had thought that their actions would bring down the fury of Claire Kensington upon them. It was an arrogant presumption.

"What did I tell you about roughhousing indoors?" Claire said with a booming voice. Vidia expected Claire to levy a huge punishment against both. Yet Claire seemed to understand that this would change nothing between the young girls because the next thing she said was, "Let me join in!"

Her scowl turned into a giant grin as she dove into the pair. She roared like a lioness and tumbled onto the ground taking Penny and Tina with her. The tussle instantly turned into a makeshift game of friendly wrestling.

Penny and Tina were surprised, but relieved.

Vidia was surprised, but horrified. "What are you doing? You're the queen. The queen doesn't do this!"

A hand reached up and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the scrum. Suddenly all three turned against her. They tumbled around on the ground, screeching, screaming and in general having a good time. Vidia was outnumbered, but quickly the tide turned. In moments the three younger girls turned on Claire. She grabbed Vidia and Tina in half nelson holds, but Penny leapt on her back and brought all three to the floor.

They laughed and squealed and roared and hooted with fun and joy. The wrestling match evolved into a game of tag. Claire was first. She chased the girls, randomly going after whoever was closest until she managed to tag Penny. "No tag backs!" Claire declared.

"No problem." Seconds later Penny found Tina and tagged her "it."

"No tag backs," Penny told her. Vidia was the next victim, but not for long. She chased Penny and Claire before finally leaping over the sofa to tag Penny who quickly touched Claire.

Almost forty five minutes passed before the three girls and mother flopped onto the floor in exhaustion. The game of tag had turned into a round of hide and seek, which itself turned into another game of wrestling. The three girls and mother were gasping for breath as they laughed. When they crawled onto the sofa, Claire grabbed Tina and Valerie and held them tight, kissing both on the forehead. Then she put her arm around Penny and did the same, putting a matronly kiss on her head.

Claire's gambit worked. Tina and Penny so enjoyed themselves that they had forgotten or perhaps no longer cared why they had been fighting. They had so much fun together the two girls almost immediately picked up where they left off.

"So, you want to start making that thing tomorrow?" Tina asked the younger platinum blonde.

"Yeah! Do you still have the plans?"

Tina bit her lip, hating to admit it, but she had kept the designs and drawings in her room. She was unable to be rid of them. The teen dearly enjoyed her collaborations with Penny and couldn't completely separate herself from those good times.

"Great. See you after school in the backyard?"

"Yeah, sure!"

Tina peered over at her older sister. "This is going to be so much fun."

Thank you for reading. One more chapter to bring episode 10 to a close.