While travelling through the tunnels, following the map given to them by Stefan was a lot calmer than when they'd been stuck in the Grill, Emma didn't let herself fully relax until they finally climbed out and into the street. There was no one near to see them and no one to stop them by asking questions.

"I need to get April to Caroline, you need a ride to somewhere?" Matt questioned Emma, not releasing April even though they were no longer stumbling around the dark tunnels. The last thing they needed was to have her running off somewhere and spilling everything she'd seen.

"Yeah, actually, I'm supposed to-" Emma started to say, but the sound of tyres peeling to a stop as it drove down the street had all three of them turning around to look at the approaching vehicle. "Never mind." She smiled as she saw the driver step out of the car.

"Klaus called to say you were in trouble? What happened?" Kol questioned in a worried tone. Klaus hadn't given him much answers aside from the warning itself, which he'd apparently gotten from Stefan who was a part of the whole rescue the hostages mission.

"Just the hunter being a pain. Don't worry about it, Stefan's taking care of him." Emma reassured him, her hand gently squeezing his, reminding him she was right there and in no danger. She hated worrying him so soon after last night.

"I, uh, have to go." Matt announced, his voice cutting off the questions April had started bombarding him with again. But he knew he couldn't just leave like it was any other day.

Noticing the hesitation, Emma sent him a small smile. "We'll see each other again, blue eyes. I'm sure of it." Emma said with a reassuring nod, giving him the sign to get going. April was getting somewhat infuriating. And soon enough, the Donovan took the initiative and started to head in the opposite direction, back towards the main street, allowing Emma to turn back to Kol.

"Are you sure-?" Kol started to ask, but Emma was already ready for the multitude of possible questions she knew was coming her way as soon as she saw him.

"I'm okay? Yes. I want to go to the house? Yes. I don't just want to take a nap? Yes." She finished the question with all of the possibilities and answers she could come up with. Although that part with the nap sounded really good. But then she reminded herself she could sleep in the car when they left.

"Alright then." Kol relented. He still wasn't sure about this, but Emma was adamant. He would let her make her own decisions, ready to be by her side if she needed him or ready to get her out of there the moment she asked.

Taking her hand he led her to the car he'd stolen from his brother's garage, not feeling like spending the day running from place to place on foot. Modern cars were something that he had to get used to, but he learned. And he wouldn't be letting Emma get into one he was driving if he wasn't sure in his own skill.

They drove in silence. Kol wasn't sure what to say or do. He thought it was a bad idea. Which was probably clear by how many times he'd tried to make sure she really wanted to do it just that morning. But then again, who was he to tell her about healthy coping mechanisms? His were murder and drinking.

But while he remained quiet, that didn't mean his eyes didn't keep glancing in her direction. The closer they got to the house, the more her observed her. But Emma's face remained the same as the moment she got into the car. Stoic, not upset, not happy. Just simply watching the houses that rolled past. And then they came up to the house itself.

Once it came into view, Kol started to slow down the car, ready to turn back. And that finally had her look his way. With a pointed look. Of course, Emma knew what he was doing. "You want to hear me say I don't want to be here? Well, I don't want to be here." He was about to start turning the car. "But I have to." She added and he stopped again, a small sigh escaping him.

"I know you don't understand why, but I have something in the house. Something I've been keeping for a while now." Emma started to explain as he pulled by the side of the road in front of the house. She hadn't yet looked at it yet as she started to get out of the car.

"What is it?" Kol asked curiously. He doubted any mementos or memories survived the fire, but he didn't have the heart to say that. Not when she looked so convinced she'd find whatever it is.

He had to wait for his reply for a little bit, because as she was about to head inside, Emma was forced to finally look at the house. Or look at what was now a shell of one. What were once white walls were now dark and black, entirely charred and ruined. The windows were gone, scraps of curtains that hadn't fully burned hanging out and blowing in the wind. And as she looked at it, Emma's mind flashed with images again.

"Come on." She shook her head, clearing it of the torment, pushing it away for later and starting to make her way inside. As she was about to leave his side, Kol reached out, intertwining their fingers before letting her go on, leading him past the police tape and to the house.

They carefully stepped up onto the porch. It wasn't as ruined, but Kol wanted to be able to reach if something gave way beneath them. Nothing did, and they soon stepped into the hall which looked worst of all. There was not a single surface which wasn't grey or black. Some of the walls were entirely gone.

But as she moved through the hall, towards her bedroom, Emma was glad to find that the one separating the hall and the kitchen wasn't. She knew all of her avoidance and pushing away would crumble entirely if she had to step into the kitchen.

Fire. Blood. Pain. Her-

No. Not that. Not yet.

"There's a loose floorboard in my closet," She started to explain as they walked through the threshold of her room, the door long burned away and gone. "Right under the box where I used to hide my father's journals."

For a moment she paused in her steps, looking around the room which now looked so foreign. It made her think of moments when you watch a movie or TV show and notice a set being reused for two different locations. She knew it was the same room, but it looked like a whole different place.

And then, looking to the corner by the door, she couldn't help the small smile which spread over her fire. The fire started on the other side of the room in the case of her bedroom, and while it had swallowed most of the things, Emma still noticed the small metallic tree lying on the floor, having fallen from where she kept it on her desk.

She walked over, looking over the charred jewellery that used to hang on it. "This isn't what I came for, but I'm glad it survived." She said, plucking the opal bracelet from the floor, her fingers brushing away the grime which collected on it.

"I didn't think you're the sentimental type, darling." Kol smiled as well, reaching for the bracelet once she was standing again and taking it from her hands so he could fasten it around her wrist. "Now, you still haven't told me what it is that you actually came for."

Kol could see the stoic resolve starting to slip. And while he knew he'd be there for when the dam finally broke, it was clear she wasn't ready for that yet. So he'd help in other ways.

Kol watched as she made her way over to the closet. For a moment, Emma evaluated the box covering the loose floorboard. It was quite literally ash, still held up only be the air around it. With her foot, she pushed it to the side, watching as it crumbled, burnt paper and leather slipping out. Her father's journals were destroyed, but luckily they also weren't what she was here for.

"Remember that night at the Grill. It was your second day back, and Caroline had dragged Klaus away." Emma started to speak as she knelt down again, starting to pull at the board.

"I doubt I'll forget it any time soon." Kol said. And while there was multiple bad reasons for which it could remain in his memory, it was clear that he was referring to the good ones instead. It brought a smile to Emma's face for a short moment.

"After Alaric daggered you, I followed out into the street. I was the one to pull it from your chest right before Klaus showed up." She continued once she pried the board away, revealing the hole in the floor that had become full of ash like every other surface.. It made Kol's brows furrow, starting to grow confused as to where this was leading. "You know how the rest of that went. And after it, I kept waiting. Days. Weeks. I waited for Klaus to ask and for me to pin it on the Salvatores, say I dropped it and they took it back."

She finally found the item she was looking for, pulling it from the floor and revealing it to him. Kol's eyes widened as he started at the familiar blade, eyes shifting between it and her with a mix of emotions. "You hid the dagger?" He asked, even though the answer was rather obvious. What he really wanted to know was the question he posed next. "Why?"

"I know Klaus has others. And with Finn gone, he doesn't need this one anymore. Maybe that's why he never asked." Emma started to explain. "But I don't know, taking it meant he couldn't use it. And since all three of you were so focused on your mother, you didn't take it. Someone had to or my planned lie would be true and the Salvatores could have had it." She said simply. She knew one dagger wouldn't change much in the grand scheme of things, but it was an attempt at it.

Kol was left speechless as he took it from her hands, observing it for a moment as if he was trying to see if it was a fake. But it wasn't. She had actually taken the dagger with the intentions of keeping it from Klaus. So he couldn't dagger at least one of them any more.

"This is what you were so adamant on getting?" He finally looked up at her, eyes still wide with surprise, Emma patiently waiting to see what he'd do about it. She didn't think he'd get mad at her for it, but she couldn't be too sure. Perhaps she should have given it to him instead?

"What's the point of hiding it all this time if I'm just gonna leave it behind for anyone to find?" She asked back. She knew she couldn't leave town without getting it and at the very least putting it somewhere safer than the remains of her home which anyone could look through now.

Kol couldn't resist the urge to kiss her in that moment, and he didn't. He suspected it stemmed from the fact that he wasn't sure he could put what he was feeling into words. Hell, he couldn't even fully understand it himself. So he conveyed it the only way he knew how to. And it only made him happier once he heard her give out a small giggle.

"You're amazing, Emma Park." He told her once they separated. He watched the small smile on her face, but noticed the way it didn't reach her eyes, noticed the way she shook her head, as if clearing her thoughts before taking another step back. He knew the small moment of happiness wasn't enough to fight the feelings of being here. "Come on. We should get going, our flight's in a couple of hours." He announced, taking her hand again while Emma's face changed to a curious expression.

"Flight?" She couldn't help but ask as he started to lead her out of the room. Kol waited a moment before he dove into further details, waiting for the perfect time, knowing talking about it then would distract her from the fact they were passing by the kitchen.

"You're travelling with a Mikaelson, darling. That means only the best of the best." He revealed. "And I was thinking of somewhere warm, Christmas on a sandy beach with only the sea on the horizon." He painted the picture, watching the smile appear on her face again. He felt his heart pick up its pace every time he saw it.

"I like that idea."

Emma sat in one of the airport chairs, head leaning on Kol's shoulder and her eyes closed as they waited. But she wasn't asleep. Her mind kept running over everything, making sure they had everything they could have gotten. She'd gotten Dr Fell to renew all of her prescriptions, she had a suitcase of clothes she'd bought so she wouldn't have to pack Rebekah's clothes for the trip, she had her passports and documents.

She had everything they needed. They were about to leave. She was about to get away. And her pool of distractions was gone. But she still tried to fight the thoughts. And closing her eyes didn't help with that.

Fire. Blood. Pain. Her mother's body. Her father. The cold.

"I'm gonna head to the bathroom before we have to get moving again." She moved away from Kol, the action making him look her way curiously. He watched her for a second as she got to her feet. "I'll be right back." She told him, trying to send a reassuring smile but he could see right past it. Before he could say anything, she walked away.

She started to move through the halls of the airport. With all the distractions gone, she could take a moment. Just a moment.

Fire. Blood. Pain. Her mother's body.

A sob escaped her before she reached her destination. Making Emma cover her mouth as she turned down a deserted hallway without prying eyes.

Fire. Blood. Pain. Her mother's body. Her father.

She tried to breathe in and get herself together as a tear slipped down her cheek.

Fire. Blood. Pain. Her mother's body. Her father. The cold.

"Darling."

She should have known he would see right through her. That he wouldn't let her walk alone. Emma turned at the sound of his voice, meeting his eye, not even bothering to wipe away the tears that had started to flow, not bothering to hide it. After a whole day of remaining on task, focusing on anything but what her mind was trying to force to the front, she was finally breaking. And he could see it.

But he didn't say anything. He merely closed the gap between them, arms going around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest, letting her hide her face in it as her body started to shake, quiet sobs escaping for the first time that day.

"She's gone." Emma's voice sounded entirely broken and crushed. "She's gone because she wanted me to have a chance." She cried more at that, thinking of her mother's sacrifice. It was the sacrifice that made Emma so adamant on getting away. She couldn't waste that chance. She couldn't make her mother's death be meaningless.

Kol whispered comforting words in her ear, hand brushing through her hair gently. He knew none of them could help. There was nothing he could do or say that would help. He could only stand there, hold her and let her cry. And he did, promising he wouldn't let go out loud.

And silently, he promised that, if there was anything he could do about it, he'd make sure she didn't have to go through this again. That she wouldn't feel this kind of pain again. Not as long as he was by her side. And he planned on staying there for a rather long time.