Emma did her best to focus on Kol's voice as they walked through the streets of Mystic Falls, on their way to the Mikaelson home after finally getting out of those forsaken caves. However, it was made somewhat harder than usual as she did her best to ignore the buzzing feeling still invading her body. Whatever she'd done in that coffin, it was still there. Sticking around and making her feel like her nerves were firing off at ten times the speed.

"You forget how charming I can be, darling." Kol spoke in a teasing voice, answering Emma's curious question on how he even managed to get Matt to follow him anywhere. And while her mind may have been somewhat distracted, she still managed to send him a dubious look at that. "I simply reminded him that he owed you for saving his life."

"From you." Emma pointed out. But she pressed no further. Kol managed to get Matt there to help her, and she was entirely grateful to them both for it. Now that she'd managed to somewhat calm her fears, Emma was even happier that they arrived when they did. Although, something told her that there was a good chance she could have gotten out of that coffin on her own too. But she wasn't about to share that, not until she was sure and not until she could understand it.

"And the 20s getup?" Emma couldn't help but ask the next question, having now entirely taken in Kol's attire for the night as they drew closer to the front door of the Mikaelson mansion.

"I had a whole elaborate plan to steal you away from whatever measly mortal you've chosen as your date and give you a night of your life." Kol said cockily, making Emma shake her head at him, unable to hold back the small smile appearing on her lips.

"I didn't have a date." She admitted, a smirk of her own dancing on her lips as they stopped in front of the door and she turned to face him. She watched the amusement in his eyes as he registered the information.

"Even better for me." Kol said simply, his hand reaching up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear as they looked at each other, a soft silence falling over them. Emma was curious to see what he'd do next, however, before either could make a move, the door of the house swung open.

"Emma!" While the relief in her voice was evident, the sight of the Mikaelson sister made Emma momentarily step back in worry before Rebekah could throw her arms around her friend. Kol's reassuring hand came to rest on the brunette's back as she evaluated Rebekah standing in front of her. "It's me, I swear it." Rebekah said gently, not even offended at the momentary hesitance in Emma's eyes as she looked at her.

For another second, Emma still stood back, but as he mind thought back to all the things she'd missed according to Kol, Esther was dead. And the person standing in front of her truly was Rebekah. And because of that, she finally felt sure enough to step forward and hug her friend, happy to have her back again.

"I'm sorry for not realizing it in time." Emma said, feeling terrible even though she didn't even know what happened to Rebekah while Esther was in control of her body.

"You're sorry?" Rebekah questioned in disbelief as she pulled back from the hug so Emma could see the scolding look on her face as she ushered her into the house. Kol followed behind, giving the two some space as he closed the door behind them. "I'm sorry! If I hadn't let myself get distracted and just killed her on the spot none of this would have happened."

"It's your mother." Emma pointed out. She couldn't understand the baggage which came with the idea of your mother being the one trying to kill you and end your life, however, she understood why the thought of simply killing her wasn't something that came too easily to Rebekah.

"One that is luckily out of our lives for good now." A third voice joined in on the conversation as Emma, Rebekah and Kol made their way into the living room, the youngest Mikaelson brother slumping down onto one of the sofas, leaving space empty by his side as if waiting for something.

However, before Emma could move to take it up, Klaus appeared by her side. "It's good to have you back, love." He said with a smirk, the happy tone of his voice making Kol's eyes harden as he watched the two. However, Emma didn't notice that detail. Instead, her eyes focused on the glass Klaus handed to her.

It wasn't hard to recognize the thick red liquid lightly swaying within it, but that didn't explain its purpose. "What am I supposed to do with this?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, pardon me for wanting to ensure that after spending nearly a day trapped in a coffin you don't have brain damage from the lack of air." Klaus retorted, using a lack of tact as he spoke of the situation to mask the fact he was actually doing a caring thing. Especially as Emma noticed the emphasis he put on the words 'lack of air', meaning he worried about more than just brain damage.

"I feel fine." Emma tried to refuse, and she wasn't lying either. Surprisingly enough, she didn't feel any of the effects which should be there after such an ordeal. She wasn't sure what exactly Esther had done to her, but whatever it was, it didn't seem to be intended to kill her. Which wasn't too surprising. Her targets were her children, vampires, not humans. She simply needed Emma momentarily unavailable.

"Please." It was Rebekah who prompted Emma further, remembering how, in the days leading up to her birthday the brunette also felt fine until the day itself. She didn't want to take the risk of something like that happening again.

For a moment, Emma scanned over the faces of the three Mikaelsons. Klaus looked as if he couldn't care less if she drank it or not and Rebekah's hopeful eyes made it clear it's what she wanted Emma to do. Kol's face was slightly more unreadable, the calculating look in his eyes making it seem like he was suspicious of there being something more than the words spoken. And he was right, but Emma wasn't ready to have that discussion just yet.

"Fine, if you all insist. But I am fine, really." Emma said with a firm voice. Giving in as she took one last look at the glass, barely filled with the red liquid. It allowed her to do it quickly, downing it in one go and swallowing as fast as she could before she had a chance to register the taste.

What she did register was the feeling. The current was back again, not that it ever left her, the buzzing increasing just a little bit. But it felt somewhat different. Emma shook her head, pushing it all back, ignoring it as she had been so far and listening to Rebekah as she spoke up again.

"Your car's still here. One of us can drive you to your house if you want." The blonde suggested, but the thought of going home made Emma think about what might be waiting for her there. Her mother... And she wasn't willing to open that can of worms either. Not tonight.

"I don't, uh..." Emma tried to think of an explanation, but she also didn't want to impose by asking if she could stay the night. Even though that had been the initial plan before Esther hijacked it yesterday.

"Make yourself at home here if you must. God knows your things already have." Klaus spared her the time to ask, extending the offer himself and making Emma send him a thankful smile. She could see past his dismissive and careless attitude from miles away.

"Thank you." She said gratefully before letting Rebekah lead her away to show her which room it was exactly that Klaus had by now deemed as Emma's and not just another guest room.

Emma walked out of the bathroom connected to the bedroom she'd claimed as he own for the night. She felt so much lighter after taking a shower and changing into some loose clothes she'd borrowed from Rebekah. The dust and dirt that had managed to gather on her skin in the caves was now gone, and the warm water released some of the tension from her body. Although, she would have to tell Klaus to check his pipes, the way the temperature of the water continued to change without her touching it was somewhat annoying.

And another perk of the shower was the effect it seemed to have on the buzzing feeling beneath her skin. It wasn't fully gone, but it was lighter this time, consuming less of her feeling and body. The decrease brought her even more peace as she hoped it would continue and be gone by the morning. But the less the odd feeling consumed her body, the more thoughts of it occupied her mind.

She didn't know what it was or how it happened, but either way, Emma knew she'd done something. Something she couldn't understand. Something she'd never done before. And yet... Suspicions coursed through her mind as she wondered how impossibly new the whole thing was.

Glancing towards the desk and the box sitting on top of it, Emma made her way over. Quickly, she started shuffling and digging through the notebooks, books and journals stored away within it, searching for a specific one. And when she found it, she continued to search for a specific entry, the memory of it itching in her brain until she found it.

'Marissa refuses to entertain the idea of Emma turning. Not only because she's too young. She claims she will forever be against it, no matter how I think it might be. She says we can never let it happen, not in Emma's situation. Not while she's like this.'

When she read her fathers for the first time all those months ago, Emma had thought they were referring to her illness, that her mother was worried about how vampirism may affect it or something. But now? She wasn't entirely sure that's what her father was talking about.

Emma was determined to find out. The fact that after nearly a day spent under some kind of sleeping spell, it seemed to be the last thing her body needed, Emma was ready to dive back into the journals and start her search for anything that could give her answers. However, before she could do that, a knock sounded throughout the room.

"Come in." She called out, not really bothering to raise her voice as she knew whoever it could be didn't need to strain to be able to hear her through the door. Putting the journal back into the box, ready to return to it later, she watched as the youngest Mikaelson brother walked through the door, closing again it once he was inside.

"And here I was hoping you'd still be in your towel." Kol flirted shamelessly, making Emma both laugh and turn red as she remembered the ability of the other two vampires in the house to overhear them.

"Sorry to disappoint." She sent him a teasing smile as he walked over to her.

"I suppose I'll just have to be quicker next time." He dismissed it lightly, his hands slipping into her own as he pulled her forward to bring her body closer to his. "And that wasn't my primary goal anyways." He said, not letting go of her hands, the close proximity making Emma crane her neck upward so she could look at his face as they spoke.

"And what was?" She asked curiously.

"I wanted to check on you." He announced, making the brunette roll her eyes at the hovering.

"As I keep saying, I feel perfectly fine." She said for the thousandth time that night.

"Good, good." Kol said, but the words seemed distant, the look on his face clouded as he spoke them. It made Emma look over his face curiously, wondering what might be on his mind.

"Is there anything else?" She asked because it was obvious there was. He looked like he was debating saying something, perhaps simply unsure on how to word it.

"Perhaps you could tell me what happened down in that cave?" Kol asked, voice a mix of curiosity and something else that Emma couldn't quite catch. But the question still made her brows furrow.

"I already told you. Your mother-" She started to tell the story of Esther and Alaric again, but before she could even properly start, Kol interrupted her.

"Not that part. I meant the coffin." Kol pointed out, his tone making it clear that he thought something had definitely happened. Emma knew his suspicions were right. But she also knew better than to reveal something like that in a house where anyone could hear, most notably a paranoid hybrid. Especially when she herself didn't quite understand it yet.

"What about it?" Instead, she played dumb.

"I know magic when I see it, darling. That coffin was spelled shut." Kol pointed out in a knowing tone. The revelation made Emma's mind run a mile a minute. She wasn't sure how much he could possibly know, she wasn't about to be played into revealing her cards.

"Then how did Matt and I open it?" She questioned, raising her eyebrow at him and standing her ground, trying to sound as confident as possible. She didn't move away from him, letting him continue to hold her hands in his as the conversation continued. Doing so would make it seem like she was retreating, like she had something to hide.

"You tell me, darling?" He replied, the exact same look spreading over his handsome features as he held her eyes. It was as if he was looking into her soul, focused and intent.

"I don't know how magic works, Kol. Perhaps the spell broke when your mother died." Emma suggested, knowing it wasn't too far out of the realm of possibility, even if she had been doing something to it before too.

"You know, the thing about humans and lying is that no matter how good you are at it on the outside, there's one thing that always gives you away." Kol spoke in a calm tone, his hand moving out of Emma's and reaching higher, tracing a line across her neck. "Your heartbeat."

Emma wasn't aware of the increase in its speed as she lied, but now, as she felt the soft brush of his fingers against her pulse, she did become aware of the increasing rhythm. She knew he was aware she was lying, what she didn't know was what he would do about it.

Whatever attraction she felt towards him didn't make Emma blind or forgetful of the stories she'd heard about him and how he could be. The thought, the small sliver of fear spreading through her mind seemed to bring out her instincts again. However, this time, it was different.

The buzzing which she'd banished to the back of her mind now returned, pushing against her skin as if the current was trying to come out. And just as it did, the lights around them dimmed, flickering for a couple of seconds before returning to their original shine just as the feeling of power seemed to suddenly disappear from her body.

However it was enough for Kol to notice, and probably everyone else in the house. Emma hoped neither Rebekah nor Klaus would put too much thought into it. It was a new house, primarily built and redecorated by inexperienced Hybrids, faulty wiring wasn't too big of a stretch. But from the look on the face of the vampire standing in front of her, the raised eyebrow and the pointed glance, it was clear that was a story Emma couldn't spin with him.

And so she did the next best thing she could. She stepped back, away from his hold, instantly feeling the absence of his hand within hers and the brush of his fingers against her neck. But she didn't let it affect her, she didn't let the change in his demeanour distract her as she spoke.

"If you're so sure I did something down there, maybe you shouldn't push your luck." She said simply, her voice firm and laced with an edge that made it clear he wouldn't be getting anything out of her, and that he shouldn't push. And luckily, he took the hint.

"As you wish." He said, his face sobering up and returning into a neutral expression, one that gave away nothing of what he might be feeling. And even if there had been some small sign of it on his face, he didn't give Emma a chance to catch it as he turned away from her and headed for the door. There were no more words spoken between them as he made his way out of the room, leaving her standing alone once again.

Only her, her father's journals, and a thousand questions in her mind.