Trigger Warning:

This chapter contains mentions of sexual assault. Please take caution if this results in a bad reaction for you in any way.

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After having just left Gold's shop only a few minutes prior, Emma slammed the door of her car shut before rushing to the front of the house. She was already pounding on the door by the time Kathryn and Ruby caught up to her.

"SIDNEY!" Emma shouted. "SIDNEY OPEN THE DOOR, IT'S THE POLICE! SIDNEY!"

"Emma what if Regina's not here?" Kathryn asked, laying what was meant to be a calming hand on the other woman's shoulder.

"Gold said to look into Sidney," Emma said a little breathlessly. "If he has something to do with Regina's kidnapping I am going to kill him."

"Emma I don't think Regina is here." Ruby said, sniffing the air.

"The fairies said there was a protection spell around her," Emma reminded her snappishly. "It's what's been preventing us from tracking her. If she's here I'm finding her, now."

"But didn't Gold say you had to find her at the right time?" Kathryn said. "If he wanted you to find her straight away he would have just told you she was here. I believe that Sidney may be involved but I honestly don't think we're going to find her here Emma."

"Wouldn't you rather be sure?" Emma asked.

Kathryn breathed a heavy sigh. "Yes." She replied honestly.

Emma gave a nod. "Then stand back."

As the other two women cleared away to give her some space, Emma also backed up a little, before using the entire weight of her body to break through the lock on the front door. After stumbling into the house she immediately took off towards the upper floor.

"Let's split up," Ruby suggested to Kathryn, "I'll go look in the basement, you cover the main floor."

"Okay," Kathryn agreed, and the two women disappeared in opposite directions.

Emma herself could have tore through the house faster than the three combined, and she very well almost did. Even though Ruby and Kathryn had searched the rest of the house, Emma couldn't help but look herself to be absolutely sure they hadn't missed anything.

"She's really not here..." Emma said in an almost lost voice, now standing with the others in the front hallway.

"I told you, Gold wanted you to find her on your own." Kathryn said apologetically. "It would have been too easy if she was here."

Emma breathed a heavy sigh. "I know... I guess I just got my hopes up a little too high."

Despite knowing before coming that it was a long shot, deep down she had made herself believe she was going to find Regina here. She had thought she was finally going to see the brunette again, and that she would be able to bring her home.

Emma was blinking back a few tears when she heard a car pull up outside.

Thinking it was Sidney, Emma was instantly out the door, ready to throttle him.

She stopped when she saw that it wasn't him getting out of his car, but rather her parents getting out of David's truck.

"Emma?" Snow called out in concern, already seeing the pain in her daughter's eyes.

"Was she in there? What happened?" David asked as they rushed to Emma's side.

"She's not here." Emma said, her voice thick with emotion. "She's not here..."

"But Gold was the one who sent you here?" David asked for clarification.

"How did you know that?"

"I sent them a text on the way here." Ruby responded.

"Oh." Emma sniffled. "Well, he didn't exactly send us here directly..."

She proceeded to explain her frustrating conversation with Gold, and as she listened to herself she realized that of course Regina was never going to be here. Ruby and Kathryn had tried to tell her but she wouldn't see reason. Instead she had raced through town with a head full of steam, never pausing to actually think about it.

"So that's it?" Snow asked when Emma finished a few minutes later, they were still standing in front of Sidney's house. "Gold actually told you that he knows where Regina is but he won't tell you where?!"

"That is what I said," Emma responded impatiently.

"And you let him get away with that?" Snow asked in shock.

"What the hell was I supposed to do Mary Margaret?" Emma was suddenly defensive. "Arrest him? Beat the information out of him? You were the one who told me it was too dangerous to pick a fight with him!"

"Well yes of course but it just doesn't sound like you to let something like that slide." Snow said gently. "I'm just surprised at your restraint is all. I don't even know if I would have been able to keep it together after hearing something like that."

Emma closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "He told me that if we found Regina too early, she would die."

"What?"

"Yeah... He said we're going to have to find her at the right moment if we want to save her. That they'll kill her the minute we get there if we arrive too early." Emma shook her head, she had a sickening feeling in her stomach. "I think it's because it means they're with her right now. He said if we discover on our own where she is, that we'll have a much better chance of getting her out alive. It's all to do with timing or... something."

"Why does he think that?" David asked.

"He said he's foreseen it. I guess Gold knows that whenever we will happen to find her, she'll be on her own. Or maybe we'll be able to take them by surprise. I told you, I don't know the details."

"What if that's a lie?" David folded his arms. "If he was in on Regina's abduction in the first place and now he's standing by doing nothing while she's being tortured, why should we trust him to help her this time?"

"I don't think it was a lie." Emma replied. "I'm pretty good at spotting a liar and he seemed sincere to me. He wants Regina to be punished, that was clear... but at the same I think he sees her as a kind of friend. He doesn't want her to die. I'll be the first to admit it's all very twisted."

"So his way of helping is by sending us on another wild goose chase?" Snow asked.

Emma sighed, stopping to look at her mother with a tired look on her face.

"Yes. But at least now we have a lead."

David nodded. "Okay, why don't we head down to the station and get everything we can on Sidney. Gold obviously thinks we can find Regina through something in his records."

"Let's go," Snow agreed.

Emma heaved another sigh, folding her arms defensively as she inadvertently dropped her gaze to the ground.

"Emma honey, what is it?"

Emma's eyes raised to look into her mother's again, and then met those of the other three people around her.

"It's... It's Sidney," Emma started, but she didn't know how to go on.

"What, Emma?"

Emma tightened her arms around herself; she missed having Regina's sweater to hold, it had comforted her a great deal. After having given it to Henry before the town hall meeting she hadn't known how to ask for it back, and so it had ended up going to Granny's along with him.

"Emma?"

Emma's shoulders practically sagged. "It's something Gold said about Sidney."

"What was it?" David asked.

Emma shared a look with Ruby and Kathryn.

"Well... when Gold told me that Sidney was involved, I was surprised because when I first came to town, besides Graham, Sidney seemed to be the only friend Regina had. He was her right hand man, he did everything for her. "

"So?"

"So of course I was shocked. My actual response to him was: but Sidney's practically in love with her. And I only really said it because of the way Sidney used to fawn over her... I said it because he would practically do anything she asked. I meant it in a non-literal sort of way."

Snow nodded, waiting for her to go on.

"And well... Gold not only agreed with me, but he confirmed that Sidney actually may be in love with Regina."

It was clear that Snow was currently thinking back on the history she had observed between the Queen and her magic mirror.

"That could be very likely," Snow admitted softly, "but if Sidney really does love Regina, he wouldn't want to hurt her would he?"

"It's not like that." Emma said a little fearfully. "I think he's angry at Regina because she doesn't share his feelings. I think he might want her to pay for it."

"What are you saying?"

Emma swallowed, trying to suppress the feeling of needing to throw up.

"I'm saying, what if he wants to... if he is going to..." Emma took a deep, shaky breath. "What if he is going to hurt her?" She practically whispered.

"You mean–?"

"Rape her."

Snow covered her mouth in shock. "Oh my god," she said, sounding much like how Emma felt.

"You guys have all known him way longer than me." Emma said quietly. "Do you think he's capable of doing something like that to her?"

She saw them all exchange looks with each other, and waited for a response.

"Honestly, I've never seen him show any tendencies of violence." Ruby finally said. "But since the curse broke this has been a difficult time for everyone. He's angry, confused, just like many others. Emotions are high right now, which means anyone is capable of doing something they normally wouldn't, including him."

Emma gave a small nod, trying to keep calm. "That's what I was afraid of."

She took in a deep breath through her nose. "I swear to god, if Gold didn't have the ability to snap my neck before I could get close to him I would go back to his shop right now and destroy him." She muttered.

Snow stepped closer to her daughter, wrapping an arm around her comfortingly. "We're going to find her Emma." She said softly,

"But what kind of state will she be in?" Emma asked in a broken voice.

She found herself not caring who was watching; she turned into her mother's embrace, and allowed Snow to place a gentle kiss to her temple.

Elsewhere in Storybrooke

Sidney was standing back, observing as Whale looked over an unconscious Regina once more.

"Are her bones really mended?" Sidney asked Whale nervously.

"Yes they are," Whale said, continuing to run his hand over Regina's arm. "Although you could have just felt for yourself you know." He sneered. "Or perhaps you're still a little afraid of her?" He teased darkly.

Sidney scowled as a flash of angry embarrassment crossed his face.

Whale lifted Regina's head slightly from the ground to check for any blood. From what he had already observed, Regina hadn't directly hit her head hard enough for a concussion, and although he would have to wait for her to wake up to check for such an injury, he knew he was better off searching for visible ailments anyway. Blue had healed quite a few of her injuries but Regina was still in very poor condition.

As Whale touched her leg again, he could feel some very tense muscles but could tell that nothing remained broken.

Whale lifted his gaze to her face again. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing softly. Even while sleeping there was a now permanently troubled manner about her expression, but even so, she looked far more at peace than she had the whole rest of the day.

"She's fine." Whale stated. "Now do you want to take to her up or do I need to do it? She needs some time to recuperate."

"I can do it."

Whale stood up again and waved a gesture indicating for the other man to continue. Sidney stepped forward, and lifted Regina up carefully. He gave her an almost adoring look before glancing up at Whale again, realizing he was being watched. His face flushed a little at the look the doctor gave him and so he quickly turned away, he headed towards the now unlocked basement door, while still adjusting to the new, albeit light load in his arms.

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A/N: Thank you for reading, please review xx