Mysterio-lady: Hey, could you do one where Regina was drugged and kidnapped... When she woke up, her hands were tied behind her back and she is laying on a bed... Emma saves her... Could be AU... Thanks...

I Will Always Find You

Regina truthfully hadn't been sure what hit her, though she had a few suspicions.

The wind was awfully whippy and the wind a bitter cold as it rattled against the window of her study. Mifflin Manor was quiet for the night, as Henry was sketching and writing in his bedroom, where he would eventually fall asleep and not realize that his mother had even left the house. The kidnapper was so quiet about it, after all, and Regina usually didn't bother her son once he told her goodnight.

As Mayor of Storybrooke, Regina had too many files to count that needed to be read through and approved of, so that was what she had been working on at the time. Admittedly, she probably could have finished some of this paper work a little earlier if Emma hadn't stayed over as long as she had—but Regina hadn't been ready for her to leave yet. Whatever relationship they had with one another at the time, (for Regina honestly couldn't tell if it was friendship or something a little bit more, but was not going to be the one to ruin things and ask), was new and riveting. In truth, Regina was quite enjoying the blonde's company as of late. The paperwork, she had decided, could wait.

She sipped some hot cider while she worked afterwards, using one free hand to massage the tight muscles in her neck. It was always one thing after the other, and she grumbled to herself a little bit at the unfairness of it all. She had been trying so hard these days to be truly good. Finally, she was realizing what it meant to be the hero instead of the villain, and with a little help from Emma and the un-Charmings she had been doing so damn well.

If that were the case, why were bad things continuing to happen to her? Had she done so much bad in the past that the good had too much to make up for? Perhaps, she thought to herself, letting out a soft sigh. She knew starting out that nothing was going to be easy.

Besides, they lived in Storybrooke. How could she possibly expect anything to ever be truly normal?

Ironic as it was, that was when she started feeling drowsy. Troubled, she glanced down at her cider. She knew for a fact this wasn't hard cider, for she had poured it herself. Some for her and some for Henry…

Henry.

If she was feeling drowsy, was Henry okay?

She stood, feeling worried and thinking maybe it would be a good idea to go and check on him, but the moment she pulled herself up from her chair, her legs wobbled and she fell back down into it with a surprised, "Hmmph.".

"What the hell…." She dragged her words, dropping the half empty cider glass onto her desk. It shattered and sprayed across her paperwork.

Just like that, Regina's world went black.

. . .

When she woke, the area around her remained dark; it was as if she hadn't even opened her eyes but she was sure that she had. The former queen's heart stopped momentarily—had she gone blind?! Blinking rapidly, her surroundings began to clear up around her and her eyes started to adjust, her heart beating normally afterwards. Her head was throbbing terribly and she tried to reach up and console her temples but noticed that she could not—her hands were bound behind her back.

Panic started to settle into Regina's gut as memories flooded through her mind. She did not like not having control of her body. She could not stand when people had power over her. History told Regina that 9 times out of 10 if someone was her superior, they meant to harm her. Obviously that was the case here, and she wracked her brains wondering what she had possibly done to deserve it this time around. Perhaps people were just hell-bent on holding grudges, she determined, and she supposed she could be held accountable for that. She would take responsibility for what she had done. That didn't mean she would take being tied up in a dark room.

She thought about the time she had been tortured by Greg, strapped to that cold, hard table. Memories of her mother's countless punishments made her cringe, and she couldn't even bring herself to think about the time she had spent with the king who wasn't extremely cruel but did not believe in giving her a free will either.

Her heart beating rapidly, she tried to breathe in and calm herself. Having anxiety over this was going to do nothing but mess with her mind and make her incapable of saving herself. And she knew that she needed her mind to be clear, open, and prepared, for no one else was going to save her but herself. She knew with a twinge of loneliness and regret that she was on her own.

Gods, she hoped Henry was okay…

She blinked a few times as her eyes finished readjusting and moved around to feel the surface she was laying on top of. It was a bed. Her stomach did a flip, thinking fleetingly once more of the king. Shaking her head, she whispered to herself,

"Pull yourself together, Gina. How do you get out of this? Magic, of course…Breathe and work. Whoever has you trapped here does not have your kind of power…" she hoped, for she didn't recognize the room she was in at all.

Would Henry notice she was gone?

Not likely, if he was on his computer talking to Paige or immersed in writing his stories. He was a very talented writer but could focus on little else while he did so. Regina's heart flipped once more and she breathed, focusing on white, light energy like the Charmings and Emma had taught her to.

Minutes went by that her focused light energy did not bring forth the power she needed, and panic shook her gut even more. Why the hell wasn't it working?! It had worked before…had all of the goodness somehow been sucked out of her? No, she truly wanted to be good. She wanted a better start…why couldn't she have that? And she'd been doing so well with this good, with this light. Was her dark magic still inside of her, somehow blocking this new force?

A twinge of guilt, and she knew she absolutely had to try another way, or risk staying trapped by whatever sick, twisted force was keeping her tied to this bed. Sucking in a breath, she tried to channel her anger, (which truly wasn't difficult, given her current situation), and attempted to use her dark magic to break free. Again, however, she had no such luck.

Stumped and nervous, Regina gave herself a break so she could breathe and think. Whatever had her hands bound was obviously blocking her magic. Or perhaps it was the house she was in that was acting as a force field. Either way, she was trapped. She had never been very practical when it came to escaping without her magic. Thinking back on it, it wasn't often that Regina was the one who needed to escape—she was always the one trapping and of course now karma had come around to bite her in the ass.

"Please," Regina sighed, tired of this day-after-day struggle and all of the bullshit that came with it. "I just want to be good. I finally want to choose love over revenge. Let me do so in peace…without all of this hassle…love is supposed to conquer all, it's supposed to feel GOOD," she said all of this out loud, trying to rip her hands out of their cuffs as she did so. She bit her cheek as her wrists started bleeding. She simply could not break free.

"Okay, Gina," she said to herself, determined. "Think. Swan could get out of this situation, what would Swan do?"

Emma's magic would probably be pure enough to break her free, being the daughter of true love. What good is my ancestry? Being the daughter of the queen of hearts isn't going to help me now. Ugh.

She glanced around the dark room, willing herself to find something—anything—that would help. Across the room, she found nothing. The space was empty save for the bed she was laying in, an empty wooden bedside table, and a single chair in the corner. She supposed she could try to get up, even though her feet were bound in the same way as her hands, (and these were clearly not amateur handcuffs), but what good would that do, really?

Figuring she didn't have much else to lose, Regina scooted to the edge of the bed and started to maneuver her way to a standing position before she heard the knob of the door jiggle. Her heart dropped in her chest and she sucked in a breath. Why did these things always happen to her? The difference was, she was used to being able to get out of them on her own. This time, she couldn't see a way out. It'd been a long time since she wasn't able to use her magic and she recognized now that she had been seriously taking advantage of it. She found herself trapped as the door slowly creaked open.

. . .

"Regina?" Emma called, shutting the front door of the mansion behind her. Regina hadn't locked it yet, so she was most likely still in her study doing that endless amount of paperwork she was always catching up on. As far as Emma saw it, there wasn't much to "catch up" with, for the woman could probably never be "caught up", but she admired Regina for trying. A+ for the effort.

Emma ventured further into the house, glancing casually into the living room as she did so, her eyes scanning the room. "Hey, I left my jacket here, do you know where it is?"

Again, there was no response from Regina.

Weird, Emma thought to herself. Not even some sarcastic quip about my fashion sense?

"Where are you, anyways?" she tried again.

Nothing.

Maybe she's in the shower? Emma guessed, walking into Regina's study to find a mess of cider soaked paper and shattered glass. Her heart stopped—this was not a good sign. "Gina?" she said a little louder this time. "Are you okay?"

The word "mess" was hardly in Regina Mills's vocabulary. If she had just dropped the glass it wouldn't have been a big deal and she would have cleaned it up right away. But here it was, and Regina nowhere to be found. The investigator inside of Emma was throwing out red flags. She decided to go snooping.

She checked every room in the mansion.

Every. Single. One.

And no Regina.

Her final desperate stop was Henry's room. She knocked hard and fast on the door, starting to feel pretty worried.

"Yeah?" Henry called, pulled out of his writing reverie.

Emma burst through the door. "Hey, kid. Where the hell is your mother?"

"She's not in her study?" Henry questioned.

"Negative."

"Her bedroom? The shower?"

"Kid, I checked every room in this house twice over, you didn't hear me calling for her?" Emma found that sort of hard to believe. But she supposed if Henry was focused enough on what he was doing…

The teenager shook his head. "No, I was working on something…do you think she's okay?"

She didn't want to worry Henry, she hated doing that. Especially since huge things always ended up happening and causing great emotional trauma for all involved.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I've had some crazy weird feelings for Gina recently, it's probably just clouding my judgement. But I'm still going to go look for her.

"Yeah," Emma lied easily. "I'm sure she's fine. But I'm going to go and look for her anyways, okay?" Her heart and mind were telling her that Regina was the opposite of fine, and she just hoped she'd be able to get to her before anything terrible happened.

Henry nodded, his stomach doing a little flip and his creative, magical mind imagining the worst. "Can I come too? Operation Save Mom?"

Emma shook her head slowly. "We're not sure she even needs saving, kid." She pulled him into a hug, sensing his worry, and kissed the top of his head. "You stay here and hold down Fort Mills, okay? I'm going to find her. I always do."

Again, Henry nodded in understanding. He knew what Emma was saying was the truth. Finding each other was just what this family did.

. . .

When Emma left the mansion, she pulled out her phone and dialed her mother's number. True to her nature, Mary Margaret answered right away.

"Mom? Hey, Regina's missing I'm going to go find her. Henry is at the mansion by himself, can you keep an eye on him please?"

She had already checked the mansion to see if it looked like someone had broken in, but there were no signs whatsoever of breaking and entering. All the same, she needed to make sure Henry was going to be safe alone before she just ran off.

"Oh! Um…yeah, of course! Do you need me to send David to help find Regina? Do you think she's okay? Are you sure she's missing?"

Ever the 20 questions player. Emma sighed.

"She wasn't at the mansion and there was a shattered glass of cider on her desk. As if she left abruptly or something. I don't know, the whole situation just seems a little off to me…you don't have to send David, if I'm not working someone has to be."

"You wouldn't consider this work?" Mary Margaret wondered. "Looking for a missing person?"

Emma thought about it. "I guess." She said after a beat. "Still. I think I'll be fine. Once I find her I'll let you know, okay?"

"Okay, sure. I'll go over to the mansion and stay with Henry. I love you."

"Thanks, I love you too." Emma hung up and put her phone back in her pocket.

She had been walking and talking and thinking all at the same time. First, she decided, she'd check the obvious places: Gold's shop, Regina's tomb in the cemetery, and Regina's work office. Gold's shop, Regina's tomb, Office.

Emma went over the three places in her head, chanting them like a mantra. Her heart raced and she wondered vaguely if it would even be worth it to try to call Regina's cell. Against her better judgement, she tried to do so.

Immediately, she was sent to voicemail.

"I am not currently available to talk. If you leave your name and number I will try to get back with you as soon as I can."

"God damn it, Regina, where are you?" Emma wondered out loud. "It's so not like you to just…disappear."

With that, she ventured forward with her search party of one, determined.

. . .

Quickly and soundlessly, Regina had forced herself back up onto the bed, back to the position she woke up in, and closed her eyes to feign being asleep once more. The door creaked open and Regina slowed her breathing, forcing her body to relax so that she appeared as if she were truly asleep.

"Sleeping still, Madame Mayor? You should have been awake by now…but whatever…" the voice she heard was instantly recognizable and Regina could smell alcohol on the man's breath. "You stole something from me, and I intend to get it back."

Whale leaned down until he was almost nose to nose with the woman. "But I'll wait until you're awake to confront you for real. Sweet dreams. For now."

Regina let out a long, slow breath once the door shut once more and blinked her eyes open rapidly. What was the crazy doctor talking about? Had he officially lost his mind, this time? Been spending a little too much time with Jefferson?

Of course he would be the one to drug me. He knows just how to do it, working in a hospital….What the hell does he think I stole from him? Whatever it is, confronting me on the street wouldn't have done the trick? He thinks he had to drug me and tie me to a bed? He would be the one to make me feel so violated and dominated. Overdramatic, perverted asshole. How do you get yourself out of this one, Gina?

. . .

After searching her original three locations and coming up short, Emma made a trip back to Gold's shop, slamming the door behind her.

"Back so soon, dearie? I told you before she's not here…" Gold didn't even bother looking up from the book he seemed to be studying.

"Then give me something that will help me get to her," Emma said through clenched teeth.

"What has you so on edge?" Gold did look up, after hearing the tone of her voice. "It's not like she hasn't gone missing before, she was the bloody queen for god's sake. Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps she does not wish to be found?"

Emma stared at him blankly. It had occurred to her that Regina didn't want to be found, but that's not what her gut was saying. She had been spending time with Regina only an hour or so before going back to find her missing. The last Emma had known, Regina was content to stay home and work for the rest of the night. She had been tired. She had set plans. This was not Regina just getting up and deciding to take a walk in the forest for good measure. Her damn cider glass had been shattered. What could have been so spur of the moment?

"Gold. I'm not screwing around, okay? I just want to know where she is."

Rumple stared Emma down for a moment, taking in her rigid posture, the glint of fear in her eyes, the concern in her stance.

"You're actually starting to care for her, aren't you, Miss Swan?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "I don't have time for your prophetic bullshit, Gold, I need to find her."

"Very well," Rumple said after a beat, reaching down into his cupboard to pull out a large glass shard. "It's from her magic mirror. Her mirror knows her as the fairest of them all. Ask and you shall receive."

"Thank you," Emma took it and walked to the corner of the room, holding the mirror out in front of her. She took in her reflection and bit her lip. It was not the one she wanted to see right now. "Show me the fairest of them all," she said confidently. Moments later, she still only saw herself. Ill-tempered and impatient, Emma spun around on Gold. "What the hell?" she demanded.

"Oh, I forgot to mention. You have to make it rhyme, dearie. Haven't you ever seen the movie?"

Emma rolled her eyes. You have got to be fucking kidding me. "I don't have TIME for this."

"You'd better make time, Swan." Rumple was getting just as impatient as Emma. "Your queen awaits you."

Blushing, and furious, Emma turned away, deciding to ignore his comment. "Mirror, mirror in my hand, show me the fairest in the land," she sighed.

As soon as she asked, the mirror blurred and a picture of Regina surfaced. Emma's jaw dropped. The brunette was laying on a bed, the room dark, and her eyes wide and frantic. Her wrists and ankles were completely bound. By what, Emma couldn't tell, but it was obvious that Regina had already tried to get out of them.

Shoving the mirror into her back pocket, Emma pushed through the doors of the shop, her eyes wide and her heart pounding. That bedroom could have been anywhere, how was she supposed to know where it was in Storybrooke?!

She forced herself to stop and breathe. Slowly, she inhaled and then let out a long breath. Regina had been teaching her how to use her magic in very useful ways, and she knew there had to be something she could do here. Think, Emma, think.

Channel Regina. Try to find her with your mind. Think about her. Think about wanting to find her. Wanting to keep her safe. Connect with her. Find her.

It took a few minutes for this little mantra to kick in and do something magic-related, but Emma focused long and hard. She could see Regina's widened, worried eyes. Her gorgeous, long brunette hair. Her bloodied wrists as she'd tried to break free without magic. Her body rigid and…scared. Emma's heart started to race, her eyes squeezed tightly shut, and then her mental picture of Regina seemed to pull back—like a camera pulling out of focus and panning out to the rest of the room.

It was a bedroom down in the basement of the psychiatric ward of the hospital, Emma recognized, furnished to make it seem…

Make it seem, what? Homier? Emma scoffed. Whale. Whale is doing this.

A surge of anger rushing through her, she slid the magic mirror into her back pocket and turned back to Gold. "What does Whale want with Regina?" she demanded, sure he had to know something about it. Gold always knew more than he let on.

"How the hell should I know, dearie?" Gold stared her down, his poker face ever-present. "I don't keep track of everyone in Storybrooke. That's your queen's job."

"Stop calling her my queen and tell me what I can do to help her," Emma was growing tired of his antics. The longer she sat here and argued with him, the longer Regina was endangered in that hell-hole.

"Am I wrong about who she is to you, Miss Swan?" he challenged. When she didn't answer, he let out a sigh. "I honestly don't know, this time. For god's sake, you're the savior." He waved his hands at her to shoo her away. "Go save."

Distressed to no end, Emma left the shop, sweeping her arm out to knock down a few globes and trinkets in her way. If was going to waste her time she would do the same to him. What a pathetic waste of space he can be. She growled to herself, knowing she'd probably feel bad for the comment later on. Right now she was livid with fear and worry. How was she going to get to Regina before Whale did?

What could she possibly have done this time to deserve this? Emma wondered as she ran down the street and to the hospital. Gods, was she thankful in times like this that Storybrooke was such a small town. Carefully, and with one hand on her gun, she slinked up to the front door from the side and peered into the front lobby. No one seemed to be inside—not even the usual woman who worked the front desk—and Emma's stomach wrenched. She was sort of regretting not calling David for backup now, as she had no idea what she was about to get herself into or how she was going to save Regina on her own, but she didn't have time to think about it anymore. She knew she had to act, and quickly.

The wind continued to whip outside and it gave a loud whoosh as the hospital door shut behind her. She sucked in a quick breath and crouched down behind a plant, in case Whale was upstairs waiting for her. When no one appeared, Emma realized he was probably downstairs with Regina. Her heart started to shatter.

She reached behind her to grab the magic mirror once more, repeating the words she'd spoken before. Regina appeared, her eyes wide and frantic as the door to the room she was in swung open. Emma watched as she pulled herself back towards the bed frame as much as she could, and then didn't give the scene enough time to finish.

The savior made a run for it.

Emma dashed down the stairs and through multiple sets of double doors. Once she reached the main doors to the psych ward, she punched in the number she'd seen Regina type in so many times before and was allowed access into the basement. Her heart was throbbing in her chest as she realized there was no way that Whale didn't hear her enter the basement. She hoped to God Regina wouldn't suffer because of it.

She turned the corner to try to find which bedroom Gina was in and froze, coming face-to-face with the predator himself. His eyes were more crazed than usual and his blonde hair was slicked back with sweat.

She isn't going to suffer because of it right now, Emma thought to herself. But if he gets to me first I won't be able to help her…and she'll suffer later…

Emma was not used to using her magic to hurt other people. Monsters? Yes. Demons? Totally….but Whale?

"Hello, Savior."

He sounded wasted, as usual, which seemed appropriate. Emma couldn't count the number of times she'd arrested him for public indecency and intoxication. That didn't mean he wouldn't be held responsible for his actions tonight.

"Whale. What are you doing up so late? I'm sure your patients are well attended to. The nurses are pretty good at their jobs, after all."

"One patient in particular has come to my attention tonight. She's deranged, you see, because she thinks that she can overpower me."

"Are you referring to me, or to our Mayor?" Emma's voice went dark. "What do you want with Regina?"

"Oh, Emma, don't get your white little panties in a bunch. I only want what I deserve. And Regina Mills knows that. So get out of my way, and I won't have to hurt her any more than I already have."

That was enough for Emma to act. Before he could say another word, he was knocked on his smug little ass, her powers striking him in the chest. He stood quickly and tried to fight her back, reaching for her arms in an attempt to throw her down. But she was stronger, and sober, and threw him into the back wall, hearing a crack and a groan along with it. Before he could try to recover and get away, she handcuffed him to the nearest pole and took his chin in her hands.

"You stay the hell away from Regina Mills, do you understand me, asshole? And good luck getting out on bail this time. I have a feeling the people of Storybrooke will not be very…forgiving…at the next town meeting. You've sort of built yourself a reputation."

He let out a moan of pain as a response. "I hate the bitch. She has everything."

"She has nothing. And she's just trying to get by like the rest of us." Emma sneered. "Maybe it's about time you believe in second chances. You've been given plenty."

She wasn't going to waste any more time with this cretin. It was time to get to Regina.

Emma stormed through the door and watched as the trepidation in Regina's eyes turned to relief.

"Emma," her name was whispered with a thankful, loving tone. "You found me…"

"Of course I found you," Emma flicked on the lights and moved towards her, grateful to have gotten to her before any more damage can be done. "I told you I always would…"

She could have sworn she saw a little smirk form on Regina's trembling lips.

"How did you…?"

"With the help of a magic mirror and a best friend's intuition, I suppose," Emma smirked, searching the room for a key. "Are you okay?"

"I am now," Regina's breathing was starting to return back to normal and her mascara streaked cheeks had color returning to them. Emma found the key to the handcuffs and unlocked them.

Regina moved her wrists in circles, wincing in pain. "They must have had something in them," she determined. "My magic was blocked."

"Whale's hammered," Emma noted, freeing Regina completely from her trap. Regina let out a sigh of liberation.

"I could tell…"

"Did he ever say what he wanted from you?"

"I…stole something?" Regina blinked, confused. Her head was still quite woozy from being drugged earlier. "I don't know what he was talking about, Emma…"

"Stole his pride, maybe. But that's not hard to do, not really…"

Emma looked into Regina's eyes, smiling softly at her. "Are you sure you're alright, Gina?" she had to make sure, and stared deep into those chocolate brown eyes to try and read them. "Did he hurt you?" she pressed. Though Regina had been found and was speaking and breathing fairly normally, Emma still felt worried that she wasn't okay.

"I…" Regina started, looking around the room and then down at the bed she was still laying on, regardless of being broken from her bounds. "Yeah. I'm fine, Emma. Just…tired. My head is pounding..."

"You just seem like something else is wrong," Emma noticed. "Something more than purely physical?" She reached out her hand and placed it comfortingly on Regina's thigh.

"He scared me," Regina's voice was a whisper. "It just…he just caught me off guard…why does everyone still see me as a villain, Emma?"

She sounded shattered. Dejected. Sad.

Emma had never heard her take this tone and it broke her heart. She saw every day how Regina was trying to change. She could see how she wanted to be good, and how much she regretted her evil past. She only wished others would start to see it as well.

The savior moved closer to her queen. Which, she was starting to realize, was truly what Regina was to her. Though she hated to admit that Gold was right about something.

She took Regina's hands in hers and kissed her fingertips carefully, so as not to bother her swollen wrists.

"I don't see you that way, Regina."

The older woman looked so vulnerable, which was incredibly rare. Her eyes spoke volumes of pain and a tortured past. Emma wanted to be the one to make all of that evil go away. She wanted to help and she wanted to comfort.

"You don't?" Regina asked, completely astonished.

"Of course not. Regina, you are so much more than your mistakes." Emma promised. "And someday soon everyone else will see that, too. We just have to give it a little more time, is all. They'll come around."

"You really think so?" Regina scoffed. "I think they all believe I've done enough already. If people are still this angry…maybe I should resign from being Mayor…Let Snow take over again, they all love her…" she looked down at her lap and Emma, feeling bold, reached her hand up to caress Regina's face.

"Absolutely not. You prove to them that they are better than they think you are. Prove that you are good. That you are light. Just like I know you are."

Regina launched herself into Emma's warm, kind arms, burying her face into the blonde's shoulder. "Thank you, Emma. I'm so happy to call you a friend…" she bit her lip and pulled back until their faces were centimeters apart. "Thank you for saving me."

Emma shrugged. "It's what saviors do." She wasn't used to getting compliments for it then felt bad for sort of shrugging it off. Still working off of adrenaline, Emma turned her face and placed a soft kiss to Regina's cheek. "But I will always make a special effort to be here for you when you need me."

"You…you will?" Regina was taken aback by the kiss, as Emma had left a hot, sensual fire where her lips had touched.

"I will. And I will always find you."