Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke
A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover
Season 1, Episode 12, Chapter 4

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

It was evening and The Rabbit Hole was jam packed with patrons. A few were the regulars, tilting a pint or two before going home. With this being Valentine's Day many here were lonely hearts looking for love. Or in some cases just a satisfying hook up.

Among the noisy crowd and pulsating background music were Ruby, Claire, Mary Margaret and Ashley. The four woman had gathered around a small table and were sipping drinks. Each was dressed in attractive clothing. Ruby wore a slinky dress in a deep crimson.

"Is it always this crowded in the evening?" Claire asked.

"Always," Ruby said, apparently speaking with the voice of experience. Everyone knew that Ruby was the easiest girl in town. Her friends didn't care. Deep down she was a truly nice person. "Where is Hartley?" she asked of Claire.

"Oh, he has this big project he has to finish by tonight," the mother of two answered. "He'll pick me up around eight."

"That's the whole night gone right there," Mary Margaret commented.

"Not for me it isn't," Ruby casually announced. Her eyes were roaming, looking for someone. She spied three good looking men in suits at the bar. She pointed one out to Ashley and offered to introduce him to her.

"Oh, I'm still with Sean," Ashley said, reminding her.

Ruby turned that around by saying that Sean had not yet proposed. In fact, tonight he was at work again. Ashley smiled, but gently refused her offer.

"Claire? Care for a little fun before your guy gets here?"

She chuckled. "I'm old enough to be their mother."

"Okay, suit yourself. More for me," Ruby said before leaving for her next conquest. She approached the three young men with a reckless abandon, engaging them in conversation. Within seconds she was holding court as the trio of young men were utterly beguiled by her youthful beauty.

Mary Margaret sighed. With Ruby gone and Claire waiting for her date to arrive their girls night out was falling apart.

"What I really need is a 'be with my guy night'," Ashley said. "Sean is always working and I'm usually taking care of the baby. It's like we're together, but we're not really together."

Mary Margaret listened and quietly agreed with her. Her own romantic entanglement was equally problematic.

Claire, though, assured Ashley that one day she'll get her wish. "Sean loves you," Claire reassured the young mother. "He is working hard because he only wants the best for you and your baby. And I know from experience how difficult that can be."

Then, as if on cue, a young man approached the young blonde woman. It was Sean, a bouquet of roses in hand. He was dressed in his work uniform and he had a slight smell of fish to him. Sean was on a break from work. He tried to talk to her, hemming and hawing a bit before apologizing for not being there as much. He then knelt down in front of her and held out a ring. "Ashley, will you marry me?" Sean asked.

The girl was taken aback, uncertain what to say.

"I've only got twenty minutes," Sean told her.

"YES!" she said excitedly, embracing her new fiancé. Sean then asked Ashley to go on a drive before he had to return to work. She agreed, accompanying him outside.

Claire remembered when Charlie proposed. It was so romantic, he had prepared everything in advance so that it would be truly memorable. "It looks like Cupid's arrow has struck again," Claire said, a big smile on her face. She was so very happy for Ashley.

A quick tingle caught Claire's attention. She had received a text message on her phone. It was Hartley who was waiting for her across the street. "I'm sorry Mary Margaret," Claire apologized to the schoolteacher.

"It's alright. I think I'll just go home." The two women left the establishment. From the sidewalk both watched as Sean drove off with Ashley in the company truck. They appeared quite blissful together.

Almost immediately after, Mary Margaret and Claire ran into David Nolan. Claire excused herself, walking to meet with Hartley who was waiting for her at the far curb.

David then presented Mary Margaret with a Valentine's Day card. She was so excited to receive one from him, even if they had to do it sneaking around. Mary Margaret opened it. It had a cute drawing of a dog with the inscription "Kathryn, I wuf you."

"Oh, sorry," David said, immediately recognizing he had given her the wrong card, thus damaging their moment together. He took it back and pulled from his jacket the right one, but it was too late.

"David, I always thought that if two people were meant to be together they would find a way," she told him, clearly disheartened by his error. "But if this is our way then we need to find another one, because this isn't working." With that she walked away, leaving David to contemplate both his mistake and his future with Mary Margaret and Kathryn.

~O~

Across the street Hartley Winter awaited his lady love.

"You're early," Claire said with a cheery smile. "What about your big project."

"It's finished" he replied. "Would you like to come see it?"

"You mean it wasn't a job?"

"No."

"What is it?" Claire asked him.

"You'll just have to wait and see," he answered with a mischievous smile and twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh, how mysterious," she commented as Hartley assisted her into his personal vehicle, a 1985 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante convertible.

~O~

Hartley's big project turned out to be a new room addition to his house. Specifically, it was a stained wood panel room at the center of which was a hot tub filled and ready. He turned on the jets and the water began to bubble.

"You expect me to get into that?" she asked him.

"Absolutely," he told her. He put his hands on her arms and whispered, "Think of it as welcome respite from the cold of winter."

"So this is why you insisted I bring a bathing suit this evening." She smiled. "I love it."

~O~

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND

"Love is weakness."

Those words were some of the last Queen Clarus spoke to her daughter before the reigning monarch died. It was her love and attachments that allowed the pirates to find Pixie Hollow. Many of the fairies she was supposed to protect perished as a result. This left the new queen highly conflicted.

Clarion was known as The People's Princess because the young princess chose to live, work and play with the different guilds on the belief that it would better inform her decision making as queen. Of course then it was merely academic, her mother was the regent. But following her mother's death and her own coronation Clarion was faced with the reality of being an effective ruler.

She wanted to be compassionate, but those words her mother said wouldn't go away.

"Love is weakness."

"If love is compassion then I must be distant and cold," she concluded. She not only became detached with regard to her subjects but also to her closest friend Mary. Her people were well aware of the terrible loss the queen felt, yet her aloof approach did not sit well with them. They had come to know her as being very kindhearted and considerate. Now she had abandoned those traits and pulled away from them.

This, Clarion thought, was how to rule a kingdom properly. Soon, however, she began to feel lonely and empty. Clarion had felt pangs of emerging romantic feelings towards Lord Milori. She was forced to abandon those feelings to follow the advice her mother had given her. If Clarion were to fall for the handsome Lord of Winter that love might force her to divide her loyalties as it had her mother.

The pain of her seclusion, though, began to eat at her. Clarion desperately wanted advice on what to do, but by keeping everyone at arm's length she had effectively isolated herself from the very people who could have helped her.

Now the young queen truly was alone.

~O~

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

The combination of hot water and hot toddies were a soothing combination for Claire and Hartley. She thoroughly enjoyed his surprise. Sitting here, together in this hot tub turned into the most romantic evening of her life.

Claire and Hartley talked regularly throughout the evening. He kissed her frequently and she kissed him back with equal enthusiasm. She could have stayed here for hours with Hartley enjoying herself, and they nearly did. When she noticed the time Claire excused herself.

"Thank you for this wonderful evening," she told him while kissing his cheek. She then took a towel to dry off. "I hope we can make use of this again in the future."

"I would like that very much, because I built it for you," he announced.

"You what?" she gasped looking at the tub and the room. "This is all for me?"

"Claire, do you remember when you asked why I never married before?"

"Yes." She wondered why he was suddenly bring this up right now.

"You should know that I have dated other women in the past," he explained. "But nothing ever came of it. The reason was simple. From the moment I first laid eyes upon you I was smitten. However, you were married at the time and Charlie was a dear friend of mine. But even if he wasn't I am no bounder."

"Hartley, what are you saying?"

"What I am saying, dearest Claire, is that you have always been my one true love."

She was so moved by his declaration. All this time and she never knew.

"I'll show you to the bath so you can change," he said.

"Hartley, wait." She walked to him and stared into his face. He was so handsome, but his eyes ached with the love he had suppressed all these years. All the loneliness he felt. She understood the feeling, Claire had been so lonely and felt so isolated since Charlie passed away. At that moment she made a decision. Claire slid her fingers under the straps of her swim suit. She pulled them down slowly, gradually revealing herself to him. When the suit lay on the wood floor she stood before him in all her naked glory.

She looked into his eyes, wordlessly asking, Do you want me? Do you love me?

He replied by taking her cheeks into his hands and kissing Claire passionately. Then he swept the woman he desperately loved into his arms and gently carried her off.

Congratulations to lauraotaku22 for being the 300th reviewer for this story. The support of all the readers is greatly appreciated.

Hartley Winter's Aston Martin is the same car driven by James Bond in the film The Living Daylights which starred Timothy Dalton as the British super spy.

Thank you to everyone for reading.