Emma pulled into the drive, parked the Bug and got out of the car before Henry even did.

"What do you think is for dinner?" she asked when he finally did get out.

It was Sunday and Emma was returning Henry to Regina after spending the weekend with him. They had managed to share custody of him without bothering with courts or documentation and it had been working well for the last eight months.

It had been going so well that on Sundays Emma, if she didn't have someplace else to be (which she made sure she didn't), usually got an invite in for dinner.

"Hard to say," Henry said. "I'm pretty sure she has already made every one of your favorite meals."

"Please, she hasn't even scratched the surface of all the things I like."

They walked up to the house and Henry turned the doorknob but found it locked. While both thought it odd, neither commented while Henry got out his key and unlocked it. Henry entered first and stopped immediately. The stand just inside the foyer which always had a vase on it was toppled over, the vase broken and the flowers it once held were lying limp on the floor.

"Mom?" he called out in the eerily quiet house.

When there was no answer, Emma grabbed him and pulled him back behind her. She advanced, taking a peek in the main room. The glass coffee table was shattered and there were other signs of a struggle.

Yelling Regina's name, she got no answer. She turned to Henry. "Outside now."

"No."

"Henry, don't argue with me. Outside now. Get in the car. Lock the door. Call your grandfather, tell him to get over here," she said. "I'm going to search the house. If you see anyone but me leave it, you honk the horn, but you do not leave the car. Do you understand me?"

He looked past her, hoping to see if his other mother would appear. She gave him a little push toward the door and he reluctantly left.

She didn't have her gun on her – Regina didn't like her wearing it to dinner. It was in the lockbox in the car but she wasn't about to leave the house to retrieve it until she knew Regina was safe. Her magic would just have to do for now.

"Regina," she called out once more. Again no answer.

She went past the main room, heading toward the kitchen. Nothing appeared to be out of place. She walked around it, looking for any clue, and it struck her that nothing was out of place, as in nothing was out – Regina hadn't been in here making dinner or anything.

Moving quicker, she checked the dining room, the bathroom, the library on the main floor, leaving her only with Regina's home office before going upstairs. She carefully opened the door and seeing Regina in her desk chair in the middle of the room she ran to her.

"Regina," she said, putting her hand on the other woman's shoulder. Regina's head was slumped forward, her arms were pulled behind her and Emma was about to raise Regina's head when she heard a barely perceptible ticking. She moved to look at the chair from behind. Regina's hands were secured back there with handcuffs, which were tight against her skin. The cuffs had wires wrapped around them which led to a device sitting on the floor. It had a clock on it and it was the source of the ticking noise. It was only a couple of seconds before it hit the top of the hour.

Before Emma could tear the wires from the cuffs it hit 6 p.m. and she heard not an explosion like she feared but electricity. Regina's entire body shook as the electricity coursed through it. Emma tore the wires off and a moment later Regina's body stopped.

"Regina," Emma said, moving to the front again. She raised up Regina's head, seeing a deep bruise along the side of her face. She pulled the gag that was in her mouth down. "Regina. Come on, open your eyes."

She could see Regina was breathing even if it sounded a little uneven.

"Emma!"

Emma backed up the doorway, seeing her dad at the front door, his gun drawn.

"Call an ambulance," she said.

…

Emma was tired as she shifted uncomfortably in a chair in Regina's hospital room. Regina lay sleeping on the bed and had been for hours. It was nearly 3 a.m. and Henry was asleep in a chair next to his mother's bed.

Dr. Whale said they would need to wait until Regina woke to determine if there was any damage to her cognitive abilities or anything else. Her wrists were bandaged up from the electrical burns from the cuffs and they were continuously monitoring her heart as the electrical current could have affected its rhythm.

From the previous experience with Greg, Emma knew that the electrical current would have prevented Regina from using her magic, hence how whoever did this was able to subdue her.

They had searched the house from top to bottom but found no sign of forced entry and no clues to who had done this.

Her father had determined that the box had been set up to give a fairly low voltage current every 20 minutes. Emma wanted to argue the point of it being low voltage but didn't say anything.

There was also a manual switch for controlling the voltage and the when it was administered. But there were no fingerprints on the box or any hairs or fibers left behind on Regina to give them a place to start either.

The strange thing was that the handcuffs were the same as they used down at the sheriff's office. In fact they used her father's key to unlock them as they all used the same key. They did an inventory but found no set of handcuffs missing.

Now all they could do is wait until Regina woke so she could tell them who did this.

Emma didn't figure she was going to be getting any sleep herself, but she wanted to make sure she was there when Regina woke.

It wasn't until the next morning, nearly 10 a.m., before Regina began wake. At first it was a couple of small movements that alerted them to the possibility she might wake. A few minutes later her eyes opened and then closed – an action she repeated several times before her eyes stayed open.

"Mom," Henry said, squeezing her hand. "Are you ok?"

"H … Henry," she said, as she took in her surroundings. She started to sit up but then thought better of it, her hand reaching up to her forehead.

"Are you ok?" he asked again.

"Yes," she said. "Just a headache. I'll be fine."

"Hey," Emma said, coming closer. "Can I get you anything? Water, anything?"

"No," she said.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Um … I …"

"Regina, you are awake." Snow entered the room, bringing a vase of flowers with her. She sat it down on the table next to the bed. "How are you?"

A beeping noise drew their attention to Regina's heart monitor, which was showing an increase in heart rate. Emma looked at Regina, whose mouth was still partly open from when she was speaking, but she was looking at Snow. Then she suddenly turned from Snow and looked up at the ceiling.

"Mom?" Henry said.

Henry's voice seemed to knock Regina out of her silence. She licked her lips and her eyes met Emma's. "I um I don't remember what happened." She exhaled deeply and Emma glanced again at the heart monitor which had gone down some but still seemed high.

Her inner sense was also telling her that Regina was lying. She wondered why, and when she saw Regina looking at Henry she thought maybe Regina was just saying that while Henry was there. Maybe she didn't want Henry knowing what happened.

The fact that Regina didn't seem surprised she was in the hospital nor was she questioning her injuries had Emma believing that this was indeed a lie.

"That's ok," Emma said. "The important thing is you are alright."

"Yes," Snow said. "And if you need anything, all you have to do is let us know. We're all here for you."

"I'm still tired actually," Regina said. "Perhaps I should rest some more."

"That's probably a good idea," Emma said. "Mom, Henry, why don't you go let Dr. Whale know Regina is awake, that way if he needs to check on her before she rests, he can."

Henry looked at Regina, who nodded at him that he should go. The moment they were out the door, Emma turned back to Regina.

"Now that we're alone, do you want to tell me what really happened?"

"I told you, I don't remember."

"Bullshit," Emma said. "You know I know when you are lying and I can tell this is one of the times where you are. Tell me who did this to you."

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"Just drop it okay."

"I'm not going to drop it," Emma said. "I found you bound to a chair where someone had been electrocuting you. At the very least that is assault, at the worst it's attempted murder."

"I'm not interested in pressing charges or anything," Regina said. "Leave it alone."

"Did that electricity fry your brain? You gotta give me something here," Emma said. "Do you have any idea how worried I was when Henry and I got to your house and found shit broken and you weren't answering to us yelling your name? Look, if you are afraid of this person coming back and doing something, I'll protect you, but you gotta tell me who did this."

"I don't have to do anything Miss Swan," Regina said. It had been a long time since she had used "Miss Swan" on her. "I appreciate your concern, but if you need some official statement from me, it's that I don't remember what happened. That is all I have to say about it."

Emma backed up a step not understanding what was going on here. Before she could question her further, Dr. Whale came in.

…..

Regina didn't sleep once she was left alone – she couldn't. She wanted nothing more than to leave the hospital but Dr. Whale had insisted she stay overnight and he had some tests scheduled for later to make sure there was no permanent damage – beyond the memory loss the claimed.

The entire time Whale was speaking to her she could feel Emma's gaze on her. While she hoped for once Emma would listen to her and drop it, she doubted it would happen.

But Emma of all people could never find out what had happened and why.

It was Sunday morning but closing in on noon and Regina had just got around to thinking about what to cook for dinner. Since she knew Emma would most likely be joining her and Henry for the meal she considered what she hadn't made yet that Emma might like to try.

She hadn't made a bad choice yet.

Their Sunday dinners had evolved slowly. At first all her and Emma could manage to talk about was city business. Then it turned into other safe topics like Henry. But slowly their talks had become about anything and everything.

Regina realized she looked forward to Sunday dinners and she would be sad when Emma had a family of her own to spend Sunday dinners with. Shaking the thought from her head she began to go to the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

When she opened the door Snow and Charming were there both with smiles on their faces.

"Can we come in?" Snow asked.

"Sure," Regina said, having no idea what would bring the first couple of Storybrooke to her doorstep.

They entered and Regina shut the door behind them, but as she turned toward them to ask why they had come Charming's right hook knocked her unconscious.

She had no idea how long she had been out when she opened her eyes to find she was bound to her office chair. Snow was standing in front of her and she could hear Charming behind her.

"What is going on here?" Regina demanded.

"What is going on is that we're here to deliver a little message. One I'm sure you will take to heart, assuming you still have one that works when we're done with you," Snow said.

Regina wasn't sure if she was dreaming or what. She and Snow had agreed to let the past live in the past. In fact, she almost dared to say she had become friendly with Snow and Charming.

"Release me," Regina said.

"I don't think so," Snow said and she made a movement with her hand – a signal of some sort to her husband. Regina heard what sounded like a switch and then she was gritting her teeth as the electricity coursed through her body. It went on for what seemed like minutes to her even though it was probably less than one.

She breathed out rapidly once it stopped.

"What are you doing?" she asked Snow.

Her answer was another shock of electricity. And that is how it went – every time Regina would try to find out what was going on and even when she just went silent, another shock would be administered. With the electricity constantly being thrown into her she was unable to use her magic to help herself.

And perhaps the most disturbing part was how quiet Snow and Charming were being. They weren't talking to her or saying anything to each other.

She had no idea how long this went on but she was starting to lose consciousness when Snow grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at her.

"Let this be a lesson to you," she said. "You think you can just go around town pretending you have redeemed yourself. You have too much blood on your hands for that to ever happen. Just think about it. Even if you were to tell anyone about what happened here today – who would believe you? No one. Because they know the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. And even if someone was foolish enough to believe you, they would still think that you got exactly what you deserved."

"Now we're going to give you some time to think about all of this," Snow added, as she let go of Regina's chin. "You aren't queen anymore. You don't get to call the shots. Consider this a coup of sorts."

Charming yanked back on her hair from behind. "And stay away from our daughter."

He let go and the switch was flipped again.

Once it was done this time, she was breathing hard and there was nothing she could do as a gag was placed in her mouth. She could hear Charming doing something behind her and then Snow patted her on the cheek the two left her there. At first she thought they maybe had only left the room. Then the first of the automatic shocks coursed through her.

It took her a while to count the space between them and realize it was set to go off every 20 minutes. She had no idea when her world was reduced to the sound of the electricity and the pain it caused. She had no conception of time long before she finally passed out.

Her last thought was what Snow had said, "they would still think that you got exactly what you deserved."

Thinking about it now, a shudder ran through her. She didn't know what had prompted Snow and Charming to go after her. She wasn't even sure what the point of it was. The only real direct thing that had been said to her was for her to stay away from Emma.

Was that what it was all about? Did they object so much to her being friends with Emma that they would go to these lengths?

It didn't make sense to her, but for the time being at least, she thought it would be best if she limited her contact with the sheriff.

….

Emma didn't know what to do about Regina. She knew the other woman was lying about not knowing what had happened but she had tried and failed at coming up with a reason why. Well, one idea had come into her mind but she had rejected it. She even felt bad for thinking it but she had wondered if Regina was not saying because she had planned on taking care of it in her own way. Emma didn't believe that was the case though. Regina had changed. Emma had witnessed that change first hand and she was happy that she and Regina had become friends.

She had tried talking to Regina again at the hospital and again after she was discharged but had been rebuffed each time.

It had now been more than two weeks since it happened and Emma had moved from Regina just needing some time to process all of this to the idea that Regina was outright avoiding her. She had tried calling, texting, showing up at the house and office and each time she either didn't get an answer or was politely turned away. There hadn't even been a Sunday dinner invite since it happened.

Henry had also tried to get Regina to talk about it but had gotten the now standard answer of she couldn't remember. While she hadn't told Henry that she suspected Regina was lying, she did ask him to keep an eye on her and make sure she was alright overall. He had reported back that he didn't think his mom was sleeping very well. He had heard her get up several times and go downstairs.

Regina had once confessed to her that she had nightmares of things that had been done to her by her mother and the things she had done to other people. Emma hoped a new nightmare hadn't been added to the mix.

She had told her parents about her suspicion that Regina was lying but they too had no idea why she would lie when she was the victim in all of this. They too had not seen much of Regina since it happened. Snow said she saw Regina coming out of City Hall one day while Snow was out with Neal in the stroller but Regina had quickly gotten into her car and left before Snow could even say anything. So it wasn't just her that Regina was giving a wide berth to, but the question remained why.

This time Emma was determined to find out. Since Regina wasn't willing to speak to her through normal channels, Emma had called Regina's secretary and gotten on her schedule. There was no way Regina could avoid her now.

The appointment was the first one of the morning so Emma arrived a few minutes earlier.

"Hello sheriff," the secretary said.

"I'm here to see Regina."

"Yes, I'm sorry but the mayor called this morning to say she won't be able to meet with you this morning as other matters have come up. You did say when you made the appointment that it wasn't an emergency. Would you like to reschedule?"

Emma had her hands on her hips trying not to let her frustration out. "No," she said. "I'll get with the mayor later."

Emma left the building, but she didn't go far. Instead she went to the car and radioed the station to let them know she wasn't going to be in for a while and to contact her if needed. Then she began to sit there knowing that sooner or later Regina would show up to the office.

As it was, she almost missed it when Regina did show up to work as she wasn't driving the Mercedes. No she was in a sedan that Emma recognized as the one that the local garage often let people use as a rental while their cars were being worked on. As soon as Regina was parked, Emma was on the move toward her.

"Car problems this morning madam mayor," Emma said as Regina was getting out. She hadn't exactly snuck up on Regina but she had startled her and Regina dropped her purse. Emma bent down and picked it up, handing it back to her.

"You canceled our appointment this morning," Emma said when Regina didn't say anything.

"As you can see, I did have a bit of an issue with the car this morning."

"I hope it's not that big of a fix, I know how much you love that car of yours."

"Yes, well, sorry, but I have to get in there."

Regina sidestepped her and began walking toward the building, but Emma caught up to her. "Perhaps we could have that meeting now," Emma said.

"I'm afraid now won't work. I have other meetings scheduled and I'm running behind."

"Regina wait," Emma said, grabbing her forearm. She noticed Regina wince as she did it. Not waiting, she pulled back the sleeve of Regina's jacket and shirt to reveal bruising along her arm. "What the hell! What happened?"

"Let go of me," Regina said pulling away from her and rearranging her clothes so the bruises were no longer showing.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on here? Where did you get those bruises?"

"It's not any of your concern, sheriff."

"The hell it isn't," Emma protested. "Regina, you have to tell me what is going on with you. First the electrocution and now this, if someone is doing this to you and you know who it is, you have to tell me."

"I don't know how else to say it, but my life isn't your concern so stay out of it."

Regina didn't allow for anything else to be said as she walked away. Emma stood there a moment, debating whether she should follow her in or not. She opted for not making the situation worse than it already was for now. No, if Regina wasn't going to help her find out who did this, she would do it on her own. She got back to her car and sat there for several minutes to consider her next move. She looked over at the rental car and then started her own car.

When she pulled into the garage, she didn't immediately see the Mercedes but she walked up to Michael.

"Morning sheriff. Cruiser need a tune up?" he asked.

"No, it's running fine," she said. "I'm here about Regina's car."

"Oh she decided to file a report did she? Told her she ought to, but she said she wasn't going to bother and she just wanted the damage fixed."

"What kind of damage?"

"All four tires were slashed, broken windshield and driver's side window. Some dents – looks like someone hit it with something, baseball bat maybe," he said, directing her over to where the car saw. "It's going to take a little while to get back in shape."

Emma took out her phone and began to take pictures.

"When did this happen?" Emma asked.

"Don't know for sure. I guess last night or this morning. She called it in this morning. We sent the car and the tow truck for her."

Henry had been with her last night so if something had happened Regina would have been there alone. Emma circled the car taking pictures and looking for any clues.

As if she didn't need anymore proof that something was going on with Regina, the car and the new bruises proved it.

And whether Regina wanted her involved or not, she was going to make this her priority.