Disclaimer: If I really did own Once Upon a Time I would be a much better writer than I am now and Rumple would appear in every scene cause he's awesome ^_^
She held his heart in a jar. Not in the literal since like Henry's book portrayed in pictures, but metaphorically he knew she had his heart. He would do anything for her no matter what. It was like a goddess descended down from heaven when Regina Mills walked into his life. She picked up the pieces of his broken life, put them back together and offed him a job as the town's reporter. He was no longer wondering with no purpose in life. For a long time he became her faithful watchdog digging up information on anyone that crossed the mayor. As soon as the newspaper got their dirty laundry out in the open, the newspaper editor found to his disappointment that his goddess had nothing else to do with him. Did she not know he worshipped her and the groung under her feet?
When the mayor came to him with a plan to discredit Emma Swan, Sidney almost tossed himself out the door to run up the street in joy. This was the chance he had been waiting for. Now he could finally prove his loyalty to her by luring the naive detective on a wild goose chase. At Granny's, the journalist made it seem like running the paper was his life and with his termination Emma's enemy became his too. Honestly, it was the best acting performance he had ever done. He was surprised when Gold did not divulge from the conversation in the woods and tell the police sheriff the truth. It was one mystery he figured he would never solve. None knew what Gold would do at any given moment, but he supposed it had to do something with his hidden agenda.
Adding his own reporter flare to the story, he cut the squad car's breaks to make the chase much more interesting when he retold the whole chase to her. The act in itself sent warning bells off in his mind as he would be in the car too. However, her eyes shown with delight when he admitted it was his idea to take out the breaks. It was the reaction Sidney craved to extract from her by his actions. In the end, the endangerment to his life had been worth it just to see her face light up in a moment of triumph. When he first began his job, the idea of accidentally hurting a person physically made his stomach turn. Over time he just ignored the feeling until nothing he did for his job bothered him any longer. Besides, the goal was to make his Madame Mayor happy.
Whatever he needed to do for the mayor, the reporter would do with no questions asked. All that mattered to him was Regina's safety. When she was accused of framing Mary Margret and murdering Katherine, he did the only rational thing he could think of. Sidney took the fall for his love. She did not abandon him and he was grateful to her for that. Instead of going to prison The cell was not too bad, the food was ok and Regina visited him once a month. Shaking his head, the reporter moved his pillow under him. She had his heart alright, but he had come to the conclusion it really did not bother him at all. His heart would forever be hers to have.
Panda Note: I reread this and realized Sidney does sound a little bit obsessive, but you do have to keep in mind he wished to be by the Evil Queen's side forever because of his love for her. I think this desire transferred to the real world while manifesting in new forms and he would have a long time to think in his cell before magic is reintroduced into our world. Also sorry for no update with Obsidian Scales, but I'm at my first road block and it is only the 2nd chapter. T-T