STORYBROOKE: 9:20 PM

"I'm sorry Regina," Emma whispered, even though she knew the brunette couldn't hear her.

She was still on her knees beside Regina's bed, the entire thing had seemed so surreal until Emma had finally seen for herself that Regina was indeed, gone from the house.

Emma took in a deep breath, trying to pull herself together. She would be no use to anyone in her current state, least of all Regina. She hadn't meant to let herself get so emotional, it had just come as such a shock since she had only just seen the mayor less than an hour ago.

It had taken a while but her family had finally pushed passed their emotions enough to convey to Emma the events which had taken place after her departure into town. They weren't quite sure exactly what they had witnessed, but their best guess was that magic had been involved. The short version was: there was a fire; they escaped the house; Regina had been taken; a sudden thunder storm had hit; and upon re-entering the house they had discovered that peculiarly, nothing inside had been damaged.

Suddenly overwhelmed by an intense anger as her gaze lingered on the empty bed, Emma brought herself to her feet. Not being able to control herself, she grabbed the nearest pillow and flung it hard against the wall.

The action in no way made her feel better. It might have been more effective had it been a fragile object which would have made a satisfying smash on impact, but throwing the pillow was still useful in bringing her back to reality. Emma's heart was beating fast and her breathing only continued to come more heavily as her anger consumed her.

They would pay for this.

Regina may have done some bad things in her life, but she felt badly for them and she had changed much since then. She did not deserve to die this way.

Emma had promised to get the brunette to Boston and she still intended to keep that promise if it was the last thing she did. She had already let Regina down enough times, she wasn't about to just give up on her now.

She didn't believe the hysterical woman from town had anything to do with what had happened that night, but the Sheriff did believe that the poor woman and her daughter had been a pawn in a rather sick plot to kidnap the Queen.

Emma stormed from the room, prepared to do whatever it would take to fix this.

She had been tricked, and it infuriated her.

The person she was closest to was likely about to be killed, and that both terrified and devastated her.

STORYBROOKE: SOMEWHERE ACROSS TOWN

Regina gave a whimpering, pained moan as she woke up feeling extremely dizzy and sick to her stomach. She could already feel her body drifting back to sleep, and as she fought her hardest to stay conscious, all she could see was darkness.

She was enveloped by a rumbling sound, and she could feel the floor vibrating beneath her. Still feeling extraordinarily drowsy, she tried to move but discovered that her wrists and ankles had been bound, and so instead she resigned herself to searching around with her eyes. Unfortunately she soon realized that her vision would not adjust to the darkness.

Based on the nauseating movements of the world around her, and the bristling against her skin from the rough carpet below her, she came to the conclusion that she had been hidden in the trunk of a car.

It was only a few short minutes before the vehicle began to slow down and Regina felt it come to a stop.

A numbed jolt of fear ran through the Queen as she heard two car doors slam shut, followed by footsteps approaching her.

It was when whoever had taken her had opened the trunk that she realized how dazed she still was. Despite the fact that now a bit of light was being let in, Regina still couldn't see well enough to identify those who had abducted her. She didn't even remember being taken, but judging by the stiffness of her arm and the fuzziness of her mind, she could only assume that she had been drugged.

Regina was breathing heavily as her head lolled slowly back and forth, trying to force herself to wake up.

A pair of arms lifted her seemingly effortlessly from the trunk. Her tied arms were now pinned behind her because of the way she was being carried, and as a result they were being pulled painfully. She was still groggy, and despite her best efforts, her heavy arms and legs stubbornly remained quite limp. As a result, all she could do was moan feebly to make known the discomfort she was in.

The only response she received to her protests was a harshly whispered "shut up".

At first she couldn't make out who the person was, but it was when she heard the voices of her kidnappers as they spoke to each other, that she recognized them both from town.

108 MIFFLIN STREET

After leaving Regina's bedroom, Emma decided to check in on Henry and found him curled up in his own room, inconsolable. Emma had tried to comfort him but was informed that he wanted to be alone. She was worried about him, but she knew the only thing that would truly make him feel better was to bring his mother back home, and that was exactly what Emma hoped to do.

Still worrying about the way her son seemed to suddenly be shutting everyone out, Emma returned the main floor to tell her parents she was going back into town to look for Regina. Upon nearing the room she found them still talking about the brunette in question.

"She asked me to stay with her," David was saying regretfully. "I should have listened to her, it's like she knew something was going to happen."

Emma cleared her throat to announce her presence.

"Regina's been having a horrible feeling about tonight all day..." Emma responded quietly, entering the room. "She told me she was afraid that something bad might happen. I just dismissed her... I told her she had nothing to worry about."

"But Emma that was just nerves on her part," Mary Margaret said. "She was afraid of leaving town, she couldn't have possibly known something like this was going to happen."

"Call it intuition then. She didn't know this specifically was going to happen, but she knew... I don't know how but she knew something was going to happen to her tonight. It's why she didn't want to be alone today... I think it's why she had such a bad reaction after leaving the house. Deep down she knew someone was coming for her."

"Oh my god, I didn't even realize," David said, "the last time she was out there was when she and Henry were attacked wasn't it?"

"Well apart from barely stepping outside this afternoon, yeah it was." Emma responded. "But even before that, she's hardly left the house at all these past few months."

"That's why she didn't want me to leave her ... it wasn't the fire she was afraid of."

Mary Margaret and Emma shared a heartbroken look with each other.

"We have to find her." Mary Margaret said. "I don't even want to think about what might happen to her if we don't."

Emma felt sick, she was shaking her head, angry with herself. "I should never have left the house tonight." She said, turning away from her parents.

"We'll call for help," David suggested. "We can get a group together and start searching the town, whatever we can do that might give us a clue as to how to find her."

"I'll ask Granny and Ruby, they're the best when it comes to tracking." Snow agreed. "The dwarves will be a big help. Also we should give Kathryn a call, I'm sure if we asked her she and Frederick would want to help, I know she and Regina have become friends lately."

David nodded his agreement. "Okay, that way we'll be able to split up and cover more ground. Maybe–"

"How could you let this happen?!" Emma suddenly rounded on her parents.

"Emma–"

"I told you to stay with her!"

"Emma it wasn't–"

"And what did you do? You left her on her own in the middle of a fire! A fire that was staged for the very purpose of drawing her out of the house!"

"Emma how could we have known that it–"

"You knew she was afraid, you knew she could barely protect herself and yet you still abandoned her! And now she's gone!"

"Emma she was in the truck, I thought she would be safe there," David began.

"We don't even know who took her! How the hell are we supposed to find her now?! Who knows what they're already doing to her, or even if she's still alive!"

"Emma please just listen to–"

"I promised Henry I would keep her safe! I promised Regina I would keep her safe! She's been through too much already, we can't let her down now. We have to find her before it's too late."

"We will Emma, I know we will." Mary Margaret assured her. "Regina deserves a second chance, fate will be on her side, of that I am certain."

Emma wanted to hit something after hearing that. "Well so far Regina's fate has been looking pretty crappy to me. Was it her fate to nearly be the victim of a lynching?! Was it her fate to have someone try to assassinate her and then have to watch her son nearly die in her arms? Was it her fate to suffer this cruel, long death when if she was in any other part of this damned country she would be perfectly fine with a little medical care?!"

"No Emma," Mary Margaret replied in a heartbroken voice. "It was her fate to be rescued. And it was her fate to be reunited with her family, just as I believe it will be this time too."

Beyond angry with whoever had taken Regina and with the entire situation, Emma grabbed a porcelain statue from the nearest table and turned around, launching it at the nearest wall.

Mary Margaret jumped in surprise, and David was instantly in front of her as the figurine smashed and rained down on the pristine carpet below. Although Emma hadn't thrown the decoration anywhere near her parents, the outburst had still been frightening.

"You were supposed to be taking care of her!" Emma shouted at them again. "You should have stayed with her when you brought her outside! You know there are still people who want to hurt her!"

"Emma this wasn't David's fault," Snow whispered tearfully, stepping out from behind her husband. "We did everything we could."

"You should have tried harder! You should have stayed by her side! She didn't deserve this! She could have been at the hospital tonight! She could have had the rest of her life back!"

"Emma, honey you need to calm down." Mary Margaret said gently as she walked cautiously towards her hysterical daughter.

"NO I DO NOT NEED TO CALM DOWN! I promised her she was going to be okay! I promised her I wouldn't let anything happen to her!"

"Emma..."

"She trusted me," Emma's voice broke. She leaned forwards against the fireplace, not being able to look David or Mary Margaret in the eye any longer.

"She trusted me and I let her down. I failed her..."

"Emma she knows this wasn't your fault." Mary Margaret insisted. "There is no way Regina would blame you for what's happened tonight."

"I promised her..."

Snow gently took hold of Emma's shoulders, trying to calm her down.

"Emma, we are going to find her." She insisted. "But blaming each other isn't going to help us find her any faster. And don't forget who we're talking about. Regina is one of the toughest people I know, she'll be okay."

Emma stepped out from Mary Margaret's grasp again. "But that's just it. The Regina we used to know was practically indestructible, but everything she's been going through lately... it's changed her. She's so fragile right now." Emma's voice wavered. "You saw what happened yesterday. And have you forgotten her suicide attempt?"

"Of course I haven't. Do you honestly think I could forget something like that?" Mary Margaret asked gently.

Emma looked at her mother again, she had almost forgotten that Mary Margaret and David had been the ones to find Regina. "Sorry... that was... I know you haven't."

Snow gave a small, understanding nod, but let her daughter continue to speak.

Emma sighed. "It's been months but it's still hurting her. She's dying and her health just keeps getting worse and she hasn't started her treatment yet so she just keeps getting weaker and weaker. You haven't spent a lot of time around her lately. I have. I've been with her every single day since she took those pills and I've seen what's been happening to her."

"Emma we've been with her for days, we know how sick she still is." Snow said patiently.

"It's not just that." Emma's voice dropped to an almost whisper. "She was scared."

"Of the people in Storybrooke?" David asked.

Emma nodded. "Among other things." The blonde wrapped her arms around herself. "If they–" Emma's voice broke and she was unable to finish.

She took in a deep breath and blinked back a few tears, angry for letting herself get so emotional in this time of crisis.

"If they torture her..." She closed her eyes, shaking her head at the unbearable thought as a tear escaped through her lashes.

"I know," Mary Margaret said softly. She reached out for Emma in another attempt to comfort her, but again her daughter pulled away.

Snow clasped her hands over her heart instead, sharing a helpless look with David.

"She's probably so afraid." Emma's voice trembled. "I know you're going to say that doesn't sound like her... and I know you're going to say that she's strong... which she is... but we just can't let them do this to her. She doesn't deserve this. Especially not after what she's just been through. No one understands, she doesn't want to hurt anyone anymore. She just wants to live out her life with Henry."

"No Emma, she doesn't deserve this." David agreed gently. "The townspeople have slowly been coming around, but unfortunately not everyone has been so easily able to let go of their anger. Whoever took her may still be upset over the curse, but Regina does have a lot of enemies. This is personal, it could even be about something that happened back in the Enchanted Forest. The best way of finding Regina is to narrow down some suspects."

"Who knows what they could be doing to her already?!" Emma shouted, not entirely listening to her father.

"You don't know that it's anything bad." Mary Margaret reasoned.

Emma turned to her mother with a look of incredulity on her face. "What, do you think they just took her to have a nice chat?! These people set fire to the house while you were all still inside! These people are crazy!"

"Crazy is a strong word. Maybe more like... recovering."

"I don't care how hard it is for them to have found out they were cursed! I don't care if they're recovering. Nothing gives anyone the right to torture and murder another person! Especially someone who can't fight back."

"Of course it doesn't." Snow agreed gently. "And I know how they feel about Regina, but torture just doesn't sound like them Emma."

"Well apparently upturning the town isn't like them either and yet they've been fighting for days! They're not themselves right now, they're dangerous."

"You don't know for sure that's why they took her."

"Actually, yeah, I do! Whale straight up told Regina what they were planning. She told me what he said to her. He said..." Emma's voice broke. She took in a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "He told her that she would be begging him to kill her long before they were done with her."

Snow raised her hands to her mouth in horror.

"Well I think we know who our first suspect is..." David folded his arms with a stony expression on his face. "Emma I am so sorry this happened."

Emma was shaking her head again; there were fresh tears in her eyes that she was having increasing difficulty trying to stop. "If they hurt her she's not going to be able to hold on for long. We have to get her away from them. We have to find her."

Emma suddenly heard a quiet sniffle from somewhere behind her and whipped around with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Her fears were answered when she saw her ten year old son standing a few meters away.

"Emma?" Henry asked in a quiet, fearful voice.

"Henry..." She breathed. "I didn't hear you come back down."

David and Mary Margaret shared a saddened expression when they saw Henry's eyes, which were red-rimmed and watery from crying.

"What are they going to do to my mom?" Henry asked in a broken voice.

"I didn't mean for you to hear any of that." Emma said in hushed horror.

"But what are they going to do to her?"

"Henry we don't even know for sure who 's behind all of this."

Henry shook his head, taking a step back.

"Henry?" Emma asked, trying not to let herself cry as he backed away from her.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" He suddenly cried.

"Henry..." Emma whispered, feeling the words tear through her like a knife.

"If you hadn't left her this never would have happened! Why did you leave Emma? Why?!" Henry sobbed, pushing away Mary Margaret when she attempted to console him.

"Henry I had to..." Emma said in a hushed voice.

"But now because of you she's GONE!" Henry wailed, shoving her in the stomach as he pushed passed her into the hallway.

"Henry I'm sorry," Emma whispered.

There were fresh tears filling her eyes in response to the never-before-seen levels of pain she saw in her son's. She rubbed her abdomen where he had pushed her as she turned around to follow him. She didn't blame him, she herself had reacted quite the same way not too long ago.

"Henry you're right..." Emma whispered. "I shouldn't have left; but that woman from town... her car really was stolen; and her daughter really is missing. It would have been horrible of me to ignore that."

The ten year old was no longer listening, he had turned and fled from the room.

"Henry?" Emma breathed.

"Henry?" David called after him too.

Still with a distraught expression on her face, Emma's brow furrowed as she and her parents followed him into the hallway.

Emma felt a chill run through her as she realized what he was doing.

"Henry, stop!" She shouted.

However the front door had already slammed open and the ten year old had disappeared into the dark, stormy night.

"Henry!" Emma raced down the steps towards the front door.

She could hear her parents close behind her as she ran through the yard towards the street.

When she got to the road that was still damp from the rain, she forced herself to stop. She found herself turning around, at a loss for what to do as she desperately looked in every direction for her son.

"He's gone." David said, bewildered.

"But where could he have went?" Mary Margaret breathed as she too scanned the area for the ten year old.

"HENRYYY!"

Emma's scream was louder and more fearful than either Mary Margaret or David had ever heard.

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A/N: Thank you for reading, please don't forget to review xx