Everyone was there by the time that they appeared in the police station. They weren't late, but she could tell that Regina hadn't exactly enjoyed waiting for them either. It was the first time that she'd seen her since she'd been married, since Marian had returned from the past with Emma and Hook, who now cast each other quiet glances that she was sure would tear Neal apart if he were here. Hook was different, finally wearing clothes fit more for this world than their own, or the high seas for that matter, but Regina…she looked tense as ever. Her scowl was nearly as bad as it had been when they'd been in the Enchanted Forest. She'd changed, again. She just hoped she wouldn't start to change back into the woman she'd first encountered on a dark road.

"There," she growled the second they appeared, "they're here. Can you tell us what this is all about now?"

"Alright," Emma sighed, "given the circumstances I suppose we can skip the formalities."

"We're all well acquainted with one another Miss Swan, please just get on with it so we can get back to our lives."

"Our lives may have to wait a bit after you see this," she muttered stepping up to a television and grabbing a remote. "I was going through some of my old things yesterday from before I came to Storybrooke and I found this."

"What?" Regina drawled as she sat back down, but her voice was suddenly drowned out by the speakers. Children. There were children laughing in the video. And when Emma moved just right she saw a face. The face of a boy. A young, very large boy, followed quickly by the face of a girl she only recognized by hair and a beauty mark.

Emma.

A much younger version of Emma, but Emma all the same. And then-

"Give it back! Kevin!" a voice cried out making her skin tingle. "The camera is Emma's not yours!"

She knew that voice. She knew the voice better than she knew the face. The last time she'd seen it she'd been far away but staring at it now, the tone of her flesh, the color of her hair, she knew…

Someone paused the movie and she felt her blood chill. That was her. Without a doubt that was Anna's Aunt. The one that had taken Anna away. The Snow Queen.

"Emma that's you!" she heard Mary Margaret whisper in awe.

Breathe. She had to breathe. She had to keep herself together. She had to contain the wild thoughts running through her mind, all the connections that she'd made! Or else everyone might find out right here, right now, including her husband, exactly what she was hiding. NO. She didn't want to tell him when she told everyone else. That wouldn't be fair. He'd need to know first. And she needed to take a deep breath and focus on the bigger picture right now so that no one found out and forced her into a position she didn't want to be in. Whether or not she'd taken Anna she was from their land…and yet there she was. Outside out Storybrooke. With Emma.

"You must be…"

"Thirteen. Maybe fourteen," Emma provided for her mother. She'd nearly forgotten that Mary Margaret or anyone else was in the room. Oh what was going on here? What had she started all those years ago?

"Are you missing the part where she's with the Snow Queen?" Regina pointed out angrily looking just as shocked as the rest of them. Suddenly she didn't seem too eager to get back to her life. "Emma, you knew her before she came to Storybrooke?"

"Apparently my run in with her in town wasn't the only memory she erased," she answered staring at the screen. "All this time in this…foster home or whatever this place was, it's gone!" she declared emotionlessly.

"I…I just don't understand how she ended up in this world," she blurted out suddenly. It was one of the few things she felt that she could talk about without feeling guilty. She didn't want to focus on memories right now she wanted to focus on the task at hand, the life she had to save. The Snow Queen was here. Did that mean Anna was too?

"We were hoping Gold could tell us that," Emma responded turning to look at her husband behind them all. So this was why they'd wanted him here. As much as she hated the cloak and dagger being used on the pair of them, even she had to admit asking him made sense. When it came to realm jumping he was the expert. So how had this woman done it before him? "You spent more time trying to get here than anyone, how the hell did she do it?"

"Considering the time I spent on the same task, I'd love to know," he answered sounding almost jealous…and understandably so. She just wished he had some kind of answer for them.

"Does it really matter how she got to Emma?" David questioned. "Shouldn't we all be more concerned about why?"

"Obviously she needed her for something," Regina supplied. "But what? That's our next problem," she said sounding well and truly stumped. Why she needed Emma? Why she'd taken Anna? Anna. No she didn't care why she just wanted to know where. Where had she taken her?

"Well…we know she's hiding somewhere in the North Woods," David stated, "combed every inch of her shop, tore apart her house, she must have cleared everything out days before."

"Then she must be hiding something," Hook suggested.

"Where?" Emma demanded, drawing them back to the question at hand. She had no idea that they'd done all that but no matter what it was all irrelevant if they didn't find something soon!

"What about her ice cream truck?" Henry questioned after a moment. She glanced over at him confused, upset that she'd nearly forgotten he was there when she'd told Rumple that he was the reason they needed to come.

Ice cream truck? Did she have an ice cream truck?

"Whoa, Snow Queen has an ice cream truck?" she heard Emma ask in a disbelieving tone. Obviously she wasn't the only one to not notice this.

Henry offered a shrug and a smirk to his family. "I'm a kid. I notice these kind of things," he explained reasonably. Was that really why she'd never noticed? She wasn't a kid? Well, she couldn't imagine spending her time during the curse in a padded cell had helped that much either. But this might. If she had an ice cream truck where was it? Was that the next place they had to look? Anna was a strong woman, she doubted that she'd be in an actual ice cream truck but they might be able to find something to explain how she'd gotten here from Arendelle, how to cross realms, how to get back, and why Emma was so important to her.

"We'll split up into groups," David ordered quickly. "We'll search the town, the woods…Hook, Emma, Regina you'll take the west. Gold you're with me for the east."

Oh, she didn't even need to look at his face to know that wasn't going to work. She'd barely got him out here to begin with, Rumpelstiltskin was not a team player the way she was and he certainly wasn't one for hiking around the woods with David looking for an ice cream truck. Surely he'd-

"I think we all know, I work best alone." She had to fight the urge to drop her jaw at the comment. He was going? He was really going to go and help them search a forest for an ice cream truck! He was going alone but still…even in tension he could make her break out into a smile. On his own he was probably better than with David, though it would be something to see sometime.

"Belle how are you at tracking?" David asked suddenly making her jaw drop again. Her? Her?! He was asking her? She felt dumbfounded. No. No, her and tracking never seemed to go well. Her and adventures never seemed to go well actually! The only time her adventures paid off for anyone including people in this group it was when she was in the library doing research. Books were her weapons and reading her skill and right now, Anna needed her to go back to the library and look more into the Snow Queen. She needed her to go to the shop get what she needed for her spell, and figure out what was hiding in those books! They might tell her where the Snow Queen was hiding her niece.

"Ah…actually I-I think I'll be more helpful at the library," she dismissed immediately. "Maybe I can dig something up on the Snow Queen," she suggested, hoping that would be enough to excuse her from this so that she could do what she had to do. It seemed to work well enough for the others to casually brush her off so they could-

"I'd like to come with you, Belle," Elsa said suddenly, turning toward her. "If that's okay? Maybe something about my sister will be there too." She felt her mouth go dry as she choked on the words she wanted to say. Yes, that was exactly what she was hoping she'd find…but with Elsa? "Unless…you'd rather not have the company."

"No!" she managed to smile feeling her heart turn over in her chest. It was one thing to lie to Rumple, another to lie to Anna's sister. She wouldn't have guessed that would be more difficult and yet it clearly was. No. No, she didn't particularly want company but…but telling her that would be suspicious. She had always welcomed help where she could get it…maybe…maybe this would work out. Maybe this would be okay. Maybe she could still do what needed to be done, the library was big enough for the two of them.

"No, not at all I would love some," she finally said in a much more pleasant tone. Elsa was eager. Off and ready to go the moment the words were out of her mouth. She could do this. She could. She glanced quickly over her husband before she left, but had to turn away at his proud encouraging smile. He had no idea. And this was killing her inside.


Alright, so I've said it before, but I've really been trying to build up her stress level to this point. Everything is responsible for throwing her off. She's newly married, her best friend is dead, Ruby is gone, she has the dagger, Anna is missing, and now all of a suddenly she can't keep her distance because Elsa wants to help? I'd say that everything that she's gone through sense she's been married has taken a toll and that toll is about to double for her in the next hour of her life!

Thank you to Meredith Pechta, Rumbellefan, Deweymay, Raizen Yusuke, and Skitzoeinhoven for your reviews of the last chapter. Short, I know, but I appreciate the comments all the same. Get ready for a flash of Research!Belle next chapter because it's about time that she really showed herself wouldn't you say? Peace and Happy Reading!