Josh Peterson has just scored the job of a lifetime - or at least the best job he can hope for without leaning on his parents for references - as a janitor at The Magic Kingdom, but when fate intervenes and he finds himself alone with the costume of his favorite Pixie Hollow character, his life takes a whole new turn.

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“It’s weird,” Sarah said as she joined the other pixies in Gennine’s office. “Being here and not being in costume. It’s only been a few days, but I already feel naked without my wings.”

Tinkerbell nodded, “We know how you feel. It feels weird not having you as Silvermist.”

“I think I’ll ask the people in charge to give me more warning before I get another day off,” Sarah laughed, trying her hardest not to use her Silvermist voice.

Tinkerbell leaned over to Sarah and hugged her. “Going to miss you. But have fun ok?” she said, as three people, two younger men and one woman in her mid-20s all wearing suits came into the office.

“Sorry to keep you waiting ladies,” the woman spoke first as one of the guys set up an easel to display their concept sketches. “As you girls may well know only 35% of the park has been developed and 25% is set aside for natural reserves right?”

“Oh!” Tinkerbell spoke up at that. “We just learned that the other day actually, from the Wild Safari tour guide!”

Sarah nodded as the woman smiled and continued, “You girls also know that Pixie Hollow sits at the edge of part of the undeveloped land right? But its kind of small for 3 fairies, let alone all of you.” She pulled the cover off the first image which was an overhead concept of the entire Pixie hollow from the movies, scaled down somewhat.

Sarah nodded. “Admittedly I’ve spent most of my time out and about so far, but I could see how having the full pixie cast could get a little cramped.”

“As you can see, the park wants to do the entire Pixie hollow - or at least the main part centered around the Pixie Dust tree. The idea is to create a “mini” Pixie Hollow.” she paused, turning to a second concept sketch. “We also want to add a Pixie soda shop.” She pulled the next board out, showing the design for the soda shop. “Kathleen wants to run it, and the girls and guys that will work there will dress like Pixies as well.”

“OH!” both Sarah and Tinkerbell squealed in unison.

“Aw that’s so flitterific!” Peri squeaked out.

The woman laughed softly as she flipped through some more designs. “We want to get people into Pixie Hollow, to really experience it. Tink’s workshop will be completely interactive, and her ‘doodads’ and crazy inventions will be the centerpiece there.”

“Gennine even made a suggestion by one of you girls, that we do an interactive “Bubble” type thing for Silvermist’s area.” one of the guys spoke finally.

“Oh that’s right,” Sarah piped up. “Iridessa had this great idea to use... what were they called?” she asked, looking over.

“Sugar polymer bubbles. I guess you could use a biodegradable plastic for a more durable bubble that would be less sticky. We used corn syrup in the soap solution though. The effect’s just like Silvermist’s ‘dew drops’.”

“We’ll have the lab guys look into it,” The woman said thoughtfully. “It’s a cute idea, definitely something that would go over well.”

The other man nodded. “These by far are your most interactive fairies to date Gennine. Even the fairies at Disneyland aren’t as active as these girls.”

“They’ve been a joy to work with, and it hasn’t even been a week,” Gennine laughed softly.

Tinkerbell nodded. “I can’t wait to see what everyone’s doing a month or even a year from now.”

“As long as we’re still together,” Iridessa giggled softly. “Oooh, is that Rosetta’s garden?” she asked as they put up a new panel of larger than life, tree-sized tulips surrounding a pixie hut with a ‘normal’ flower bed along the walkway.

Morgan, the girl playing Vidia, laughed out loud. “Oh my Gosh... And I see little Lizzy’s 'fairy trap' cottage in the background. I’m guessing that’s Vidia’s.”

“We couldn’t resist,” one of the guys laughed. “Right on both counts. Iridessa’s was a little harder to really visualize. Her home is never shown in the movies.”

“So we had to really put our heads together on this one,” the woman continued. “I want to stress that this is just a concept, and we are absolutely open to any input on any of these that you girls might have. So with that being said,” she put up the next poster.

Iridessa gasped sharply, covering her mouth with both hands. The single story round hut depicted sparkled gold all over. Its low, sloped roof was a darker shade of yellow, with the same color used on the sun shaped windows, in addition to having a sizable sun roof window. Even the doorknob sparkled, some kind of faux crystal.

“It’s so sparkly!” she managed to get out. “Oh I love it!”

One of the men smiled and spoke up, “Inside the Tree we’re going to have a break room, and some other things, but we’re also looking at making a place for a real Fairy Mary and Gary. I know you girls refer to Gennine as Fairy Mary, but we’re going to ask one of the older actresses to come in and act in.”

“We saved the best for last,” the woman continued, as they put up the last poster. Although Sarah already knew about the Mad Hatter’s hat, she wasn’t also expecting to have her own little lily pad pond. Directly across the pond sat a tree stump hut with little squirrels and other furry woodland creatures, unmistakably Fawn’s. No doubt they were planning some animatronic magic there.

“This is amazing,” Tink bubbled excitedly.

“We also heard you wanted to add an event hall for storytelling,” the woman added.

“Unfortunately we don’t have a sketch for that yet, but we were thinking along the lines of the event hall in the movie, only large enough to accommodate many visitors.”

“We have access to some pretty advanced projection tech, so the stage magic will definitely be doable,” one of the guys added. “Gennine’s going to begin casting calls soon for lorekeeper pixies in the next month or two.”

“So, what do you think?” the woman asked. “Any suggestions or ideas you’d like to see? Oh, and I just had a thought. Tinkerbell is always tinkering, finding new ways to improve the lives of her fellow pixies. What if we take that delightful polymer bubble idea, and apply it to a portable bubble wand? We can call it the Dew Dropper. Make it look Tinker-made, with some tech under the hood so to speak.”

“Oh, I love it!” Sarah said excitedly. Two days, and she was already the biggest girly girl of all of them, even beating out Rosetta the only one that was even close to girly as she was was Olivia. “The Dew Dropper.” She repeated, and giggled. “I can already see the backstory behind it. It allows Silvermist to condense her pixie magic more quickly, producing more dew drops faster.”

“With a place in the bottom to screw in a bottle of your polymer bubble soap so it’s completely hidden,” one of the guys said, almost as excited as Sarah at the concept. “Like a bubble wand on steroids. We can hide soap throughout the park so you’ll never need a refill.”

The woman laughed now, clearly as enthusiastic as the other two. “We’ll put them in the break rooms, and have the janitors make sure they’re always full.”

“This is great,” Vidya laughed. “Now if only wind machines were portable,” she said jokingly.

“We can rig something.” The man who was excited about Silvermist’s wand stated. “We have some really handy tech guys.”

“They don’t take light lightly,” Iridessa giggled.

After the meeting Sarah wandered over to the soda shop to get a soda. She had places to be and couldn’t just goof off today, but she could spare a few minutes. “Hi, Kathleen,” she said warmly as she approached the counter.

“Hello dear,” the woman replied with a chuckle. “I don’t suppose you’d buy the ‘thousandth customer’ twice in a row would you?” she teased.

“Maybe the 5th customer or the 10th.” Sarah giggled. “The park’s not busy enough for the thousandth yet.”

“Ah hah,” she said with a laugh. “Congratulations, you’re our tenth customer. It’s on the house,” she said as she set Sarah’s cup on the counter. “Did you hear the big news?”

“I heard that Pixie Hollow is getting bigger. And I heard some girls and guys that work here might be joining the Pixie race as a uniform.”

Kathleen laughed. “Indeed. We talked it over with the Pixie Builders’ Union and Fairy Mary, and they’ve agreed to let us relocate to Pixie Hollow. Seems since Tink’s friends have come over from Neverland they’ve been making some waves across the park, and gotten the attention of some important people.”

Sarah nodded, “That water one saved some guy’s life; they had an amazing party for her.”

“Yes, I’d heard something to that effect,” Kathleen chuckled. “She’s a real hero. We here at the future Pixie’s Pop Stand couldn’t be prouder. We’re naming a drink after her, you know?” she winked, at that. “I just hope she likes blue raspberry soda,” she added with a soft laugh.

“Oh I think that might be one of her favorites besides coke,” Sarah giggled. “What’s it called?”

“Oh, good! We couldn’t find anything palatable in a silver, but blue fit the bill nicely. We’re calling it the Silvermist Twist. Should have our first stock in tomorrow.”

“Well you know her favorite color is blue. If I see her I’ll let her know to stop by tomorrow,” she added with a giggle. “I have lifeguard recertification this morning at one of the park hotels, so I’m just killing time until then, myself.”

“Oh, goodie goodie!” The Hatter’s familiar laugh echoed in the mostly empty little shop. “There are always lives in need of guarding, and pockets too!”

“Oh hello Hatter. Alice near or far?” Sarah teased.

“Both!” Hatter laughed. “The last time I saw her, she was doing this,” he paused, running in place and waving his hand frantically, then shouted, “Mister Rabbit! Oh Mister White Rabbit! I’m almost sure I saw her run in here!”

“Let me guess; the Rabbit was fretting about being late?” Sarah asked.

“That silly rabbit’s always running late. Or was he always after their lucky charms...” Hatter said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

“Maybe we should buy him a new pocket watch?” Sarah laughed as she drank her soda slowly, she had some time to kill.

“Nonsense! I’ll just fix the old one! All we need is some butter, jam, bread crumbs, and mustard!” Hatter laughed goofily. “Oh! Oh there she goes!” he said, as Wendy walked past, sporting an Alice band in her hair rather than her usual ponytail.. “Say, that’s not Alice. That’s the other London girl! Wendy Wendy you’re quite trendy! How does your Alice grow?”

Sarah laughed, “She’s going to sic the Lost boys and her brothers John and Michael on you if you keep teasing her so.”

Wendy stopped and put her hands on her hips, giving the Hatter a look. “I beg your pardon?”

“Sorry, but I haven’t any more to give. I loaned the nice girl at the bar over there my last pardon already,” he said, pointing at Sarah.

“He was making fun of your hair band,” Sarah motioned on her head like a headband over the top of her head.

Wendy shook her head. “Well that’s not very nice!” she scolded him.

“It was funny though!” Hatter giggled.

“I think it looks rather lovely on her.” Sarah spoke, approximating her dad’s accent as best she could.

“Now, there, you see? The nice West Essex girl thinks it looks just lovely. Better than that silly thing on top of your head at any rate,” Wendy teased him back. Hatter looked aghast.

“Why, my dear lady, I’ll have you know I had my hair cut by the royal Barber last February 31st!”

“I’m surprised he didn’t take your head off.” Sarah giggled.

“Well he does moonlight as the royal headsman. Double dipping don’cha know,” Hatter said with an affirming nod, getting a giggle from a couple of guests who had been watching the mini show.

“I’m ever so parched,” Wendy said. “Hatter, would you be a gentleman - for a change,” she teased, “and buy a lady a drink?”

“Why certainly!” Hatter replied. “Find me a lady, and I’ll buy her any drink she wants.”

Sarah gasped. “Oh my.” she pointed to Cinderella who was walking close by, “You just made fun of ‘Ella.”

“Oh? I thought I was making fun of Wendy, but if you insist! CINDERELLY!” he called, waving his hands over his head. “Cinderelly Cinderelly I can’t remember the words Cinderelly!” he said in a sing-song tone. Cinderella paused and gave Hatter a look, and he took a few steps back. “Only teasing!” he said, getting a laugh from her.

“Honestly, you’re a bigger rogue than that Peter Pan,” Cinderella teased back.

Sarah giggled and started to sing,, “A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you are fast asleep.”

Hatter had sat down halfway through the song, his elbows on the counter, hands crossed, chin resting on them and watching dreamily. “I wish I knew where Alice ran off to!” he giggled.

“Here I am!” Alice announced as she emerged from the kitchen, causing Hatter to jump off his stool.

“How long have you been back there?!” he gasped.

“Oh, right about the time you insulted dear Wendy,” Alice replied as Kathleen poured Wendy a tall cup of Sprite, and Alice, giggling, placed a handful of coins on the counter. “This one is on me,” she said brightly. “We London girls have to stick together.”

“You do?” Hatter asked as he looked between the three of them - Sarah, Wendy, and Alice. “Well I think I have some glue here somewhere...” he said and began searching his pockets.

Sarah laughed as she stood. “I suppose I should get over to the hotel for my lifeguard training before I’m the one who’s late for a very important date. Alice, Wendy, it was a pleasure as always. Hatter...”

“Hmmyeees?” Hatter asked, grinning. Sarah laughed.

“Don’t ever change.”

“My underpants?” Hatter asked, leaving the guests in stitches, and Sarah almost in tears from laughing as she started out from the soda stand.

“I love that guy,” she mused to herself.

All in all, Sarah’s lifeguard and CPR certification classes went quickly and painlessly. She had to be the first to break the ice by screaming ‘Are you okay?!’ to the CPR dummy, as no one else really wanted to be the first to feel foolish, but otherwise things went well. After classes, she continued to talk for a bit with the hotel’s pool safety instructor and lifeguard for a bit.

“Thanks for everything Sonya,” she said at length. They had been the better part of thirty minutes talking about water sports on Florida’s beaches and how they compared to the west coast. Despite being a trained, and now recertified, lifeguard herself, Sarah had never been surfing a day in her life.

“Hey no problem, and if you ever want to learn to surf, just let me know ok?” Sonya laughed.

“Oh sure! It’s always sounded fun, but I just never took the time to learn, you know? But I heard the surfing’s pretty bad here in Florida though?” Sarah asked.

Sonya laughed. “It is and it isn’t. It’s not the 20 foot swells you’ll hear about in the islands, but honestly, you’d have to be crazy to tackle a wave like that your first time. The swells can be inconsistent sometimes, but when you get a good one, it’s a sweet ride. Great for learning.”

“Thanks for the heads up.” Sarah answered cheerily. “I’ll give it a try next time I’m at the beach.” She definitely wasn’t ready for her two piece in public by any means, but that was a bridge she’d have to cross sooner or later.

“Ok.” Sarah said to herself pulling out her new mini-tablet. Sarah was the worst kind of Luddite, but she promised her sister she’d try. “Check that off my todo list. Next, see Doctor Lindsey Parsons. And I have got to stop talking to myself,” Sarah sighed out loud. “... Like that,” she added.

“Your mad as a Hatter!” The Hatter spoke up. “Only mad people talk to themselves - just ask Alice!” he said, pointing to the opposite side from where Alice was standing.

“I’m not mad.” Alice protested.

“You sound angry to me,” Hatter laughed.

“And evil.” Peter spoke up from behind Sarah. “She sounds really evil.”

“Are you three stalking me?” Sarah giggled out.

“Why would I do that?” Hatter asked.

“Hoping I might lead you to the hat thief?” Sarah answered.

“Another hat thief?!” The hatter proclaimed and lept off to look for the hat thief.

Alice giggled, leaning over to Sarah to whisper very softly, “Tinkerbell asked me to watch out for you while you were still here.”

Sarah laughed, giving Alice and Peter a hug. “I had a hunch it was something like that. I don’t mind,” she whispered back and winked. “Certification went great by the way.”

“I couldn’t find the hat thief, but I found the nicest mermaid!” he said, one of the park’s Ariels holding onto his arm gracefully.

“This nice Hatter promised to help me find Eric,” Ariel laughed softly.

“I did?” Hatter answered. “Oh I did! I think I did... Didn’t I? Yes. I did.” He nodded affirmatively.

Sarah looked at her watch and pulled a white rabbit, “Oh gosh, I’m late.” she still had a little bit of time to get to her appointment but not much.

“Funny, I thought you were a Sally.. Susan... Stella...” Hatter teased, waving as Sarah rushed off. “Do stop in for tea sometime!” he called after her. Sarah laughed.

“Lady Grey if you have any!” she called back over her shoulder as she rushed to her car.

It was a thankfully short drive to Doctor Parson’s office, though she wondered, when she arrived, if she had the right address as she entered the office lobby.

It almost looked more like a business office than her idea of a therapist’s office, with polished marble floors, a lavish fountain, and a high ceiling with various flora and decorations along the walls. A young woman with her strawberry blonde hair in a bun, sitting at the front desk, glanced up as Sarah approached.

“Hi, can I help you?” the receptionist asked.

“I think I’m in the wrong building,” Sarah said sheepishly. “I’m looking for Doctor Lindsey Parsons’ practice?”

“Oh!” the woman laughed softly. “We get that a lot. Doctor Parsons’ practice is on the third floor. Just take the elevator up, and you’ll find the sign on the door just as you step out. Oh, there she comes now actually! Doctor Parsons,” the girl called.

A rather attractive woman in her early to mid 30s wearing an expensive business skirt suit approached the front desk with a Starbuck’s cup in-hand that smelled of English toffee. “Yes?” she asked.

The receptionist motioned to Sarah, who smiled warmly. “I’m Sarah Paterson,” Sarah introduced herself.

“Oh you’re my 2:30.” Lindsay said. “My earlier appointment cancelled on me, so I couldn’t resist,” she said, raising her cup slightly. “Come on up and we’ll get started.”

Her office was very beautifully decorated, much like the lobby and reception area, but at the same time felt quite modern: no dusty bookshelves in sight, unlike Sarah’s last experience with a therapist.

“It says here on your papers, your real name is Josh? You sure don’t look like a Josh. Actually you're the first I’ve seen that could actually pass without help from makeup or other prosthetics as a genetic girl in a long time.”

Sarah giggled. “I know, I’m kind of weird. The breasts are even real - side effect of taking anti-depressants since I was 10. Actually this whole thing started because I... kind of got caught trying on the Silvermist costume at Disney, and they thought I was the actress hired to play her,” she said, half-nervously.

Sarah never liked therapists, especially after her last one pumped her full of pills as a “cure” for her depression rather than trying to help her get to the heart of what caused it. Granted it eventually worked out in the end, but she still half-expected Dr. Parsons to write her off as some kind of nut case.

“Well,” Lindsay said thoughtfully as she sat down, “Why don’t we start with that? Tell me about how you became Silvermist?”

Sarah nodded as she sat down as well. “There’s not a whole lot to tell, really... I mean I’ve always been ‘the girly boy who sounds a lot like Lucy Liu,” Sarah laughed. “My grandfather is Cherokee, and unlike my Mom’s brothers, I could never grow a beard even during that short period where I tried really, really hard to, just to fit in better. Well once the gynecomastia started, things got even more confusing...”

Lindsay listened, occasionally making notes, as Sarah’s ‘not a whole lot to tell’ continued into a longer and longer story, finally culminating in what had happened over the last couple of days, moving in with Olivia, being ‘encouraged’ by contract to dress female outside work, and how much more ‘right’ it felt than trying to hide it.

“Well,” Lindsay said thoughtfully. Sarah resisted the urge to cringe, fully expecting her to ask how that made her feel. “With your permission I’d like to have a blood test done. From what I’ve seen so far, I believe you may have naturally low testosterone levels.”

“Really?” Sarah asked. “Is that even possible?”

“Ordinarily when puberty hits, it’s like opening a floodgate. In your case, I suspect it was more like a trickle. These things do happen,” she said, quickly adding, “Now, I don’t want you to think I’m trying to discourage you from self-exploration. Quite the contrary actually. Had you walked in here and told me your name was Josh upfront, I would be working with you to find a way to safely explore dressing and living as a woman part time. ... How long have you been living as Sarah, exactly?”

“About 5 days so far, both at home, at work and in public.” Sarah admitted. “But like I said, I have looked like this even in boy clothes since middle school. I’ve worn a bra since I was 14, except in swimming when I’d bind them and wear a heavy cloth tank top or jersey or something.”

“Well, I don’t want to rule out the possibility of self-imposed gender confusion based on circumstances, however I also don’t believe for one second in the nature vs. nurture nonsense either.” She chuckled. “I’m going to ask you to fill out a questionnaire for me. There aren’t any wrong answers. It’s just going to help evaluate your state of mind, if that’s okay?”

“Sure.” Sarah answered, and Lindsey handed her an expensive tablet PC.

“Take as much time as you need, dear. I’m just going to step out for a moment to phone your mom and get some more background information - medical history, that sort of thing,” she said, trying not to make Sarah sound like a minor, but since it was her parents’ dime, Sarah didn’t mind either way.

“That’s fine,” she answered, already deep in the quiz.

By the time she had returned, Sarah was already 3/4 finished. It wasn’t that she was rushing at all, but the answers just seemed entirely obvious to her.

“Your mother is an interesting woman,” Lindsay chuckled softly as she returned.

“Interesting as in the Chinese proverb of interesting times? Yes, very,” Sarah giggled. “I love her, but she’s... an artist. I guess I am too though.”

“You mentioned you like to swim. Win any medals or trophies?” she asked.

Sarah nodded. “Several regional, but I could never quite make the times for national meets. My coach thought I was throwing them on purpose.” She trailed off. “... He was kind of right. I ended up quitting competitive swim and went into lifeguard volunteer work instead.”

“You prefer to protect people than to compete?” Lindsay asked.

“Well, yeah, that’s part of it. I was also embarrassed. All those shirtless guys, and here’s me having to wear a tank top to hide my breasts. I was ashamed, and I hated being ashamed. My whole life I’ve been like, at odds with myself. I was supposed to be a boy, but I looked, sounded, hell I even walk like a girl.” Sarah sighed. “But I also like girls, which I saw as a boy thing, and confirmation that I was still a boy.”

“You know it’s okay to be a girl, and like girls?” Lindsay asked. Sarah laughed.

“I know. I mean I realize it now, but when you’re 16 and afraid to ask a girl out because you don’t want your breasts to bump hers...” She turned to hand the tablet back to Lindsay. The doctor began to glance through Sarah’s answers as they continued to talk.

“How do you feel about yourself now, compared to five days ago?” Lindsay asked.

“I like being Sarah, I have more friends now than I never did before.” Sarah answered with a shrug. “I feel more... relaxed and open. Honestly when I put on that costume, I think somewhere deep down I knew there was no going back. I actually kind of feel naked with out the pixie wings. Seeing myself as a girl - metaphorically I mean, “Josh” didn’t go away. It’s more like he never existed, like it was just a mask, you know?”

“Well,” Lindsay said, after another moment or two of thought. “I’m going to be completely honest with you Sarah. I don’t like recommending anything drastic for any patient so soon after I’ve met with them, but yours is ... a very unusual circumstance. I’m going to ask you to meet with me at least twice a week for the next month. I’m also going to place you on a testosterone blocker as soon as it’s convenient for you to have a blood screening.”

Sarah shrugged, “Todays my first offical full day off from work, so today would be a good time as any right?”

“Excellent,” Lindsay answered. “I’ll call ahead and let them know you’re coming. You just turned 18 a few months ago, right?” she asked. Sarah nodded. “Just making sure,” she chuckled. “I don’t think you’re in danger of having a massive testosterone surge this late in your teen years, however the reverse isn’t necessarily true - your body is still growing and changing, and the introduction of higher concentrations of estrogen - even if it’s just the absence of T, could still affect your bone structure.”

“Like a more feminine figure?” Sarah asked hopefully. “That’s fine with me.”

Lindsay took out her smartphone and, as she waited for the other party to answer, she wrote out the address for Sarah on a slip of spare notebook paper, handing it over to her. “Jane, this is Lindsay. Is Doctor Harris in her office? Oh that’s perfect. I have an important blood screening I need done for testosterone blockers and a general hormone level check. The name is Sarah Peterson. I’m sending her right over from here. Thank you Jane.”

“This wouldn’t be any relation to Olivia Harris by any chance?” Sarah asked. Lindsay chuckled softly.

“I believe she has a younger sister named Olivia, yes.”

“Oh,” Sarah giggled out. “We have a lot to catch up on then. Thank you Doctor Parsons,” she bubbled as she hugged the woman. “I’ll let my supervisor know that we need to set up a schedule with you soon.”

“If it helps, I can also do on site sessions.” Doctor Parsons winked, covering the phone briefly..

“Oh that would be great. We keep really weird hours right now especially since Pixie Hollow is closed for renovations. Oops... And I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about that.”

Lindsay chuckled and shook her head, setting her phone aside. “She must be getting a late lunch. And don’t worry - Doctor-patient confidentiality. I can’t reveal anything said in these sessions unless I believe your or someone else’s lives are in imminent danger. Your secret’s safe with me. I would, however, like to share the results of that questionnaire with a colleague of mine for a second opinion, with your permission of course?”

“Oh,” Sarah nodded. “Of course, that’s fine. I’m just relieved you never asked me how any of this made me feel. My last psychiatrist was of the old school of thinking drugs and asking that stupid question solves everything. I found Tai Chi a much better therapy,” she laughed softly. “Thank you again Doctor. You’re every bit as wonderful as Olivia said you’d be.”