HUGS.

A physical display of affection between two people who care about one another. It can show various things and have many meanings. One common one is that the people in the hug care about one another.

Emilia and Kol quickly split away from the hug. It was a gentle one that displayed this common meaning. However, why the hug split is more interesting. They both were extremely uncomfortable. They both hadn't felt this kind of affection ever. It made them both completely freaked out. These feelings were extremely hard to understand and the complex world they lived in only makes it harder.

For Kol, he had never felt this way. He didn't know how to describe it. To him, it could've been a mixture of respect and adoration, for lack of a better term. It made him feel good which only made him more confused and willing to get her back.

Similarly, she felt almost the same. It was a mixture of respect and adoration but confusion would be replaced by a slight tinge of fear. Fear not because of him but more for herself who remembered what happened the last time she felt this way.

However, she also felt something new. A new desire. Spending the day watching Kol from the beyond gave her a realization. She would be stuck on the Other Side for almost forever. She didn't like that feeling of separation. She couldn't be heard or seen by the world. It gave her an extreme sense of boredom. She would have to spend forever just watching others and the world go from the sidelines.

The college greens were quiet, to them at least. Breaking through the circle allowed Kol to have temporary contact with the other side. However, it didn't last long. Now, Emilia was just a ghost near him and human voices could be heard. Groups of students mixed together to talk about the tremor they felt beneath their feet. He listened with his hearing the rumors that were being spread. He kept going from voice to voice, farther than if he realized was normal for an original vampire. This would only be temporary. After too many repetitive tunes he stopped listening and walked inside the building.

They walked through the dark wood hallways in the old college building. Colonial paintings were spread out across the walls. Little lights in the ceiling illuminated the area until he made it to a set of stairs. He walked up, his hand gracing the wood railing that was the same color as the wall. He went up to the second floor and held the door open for Emilia, allowing her to walk in. She stepped into the office admiring the room while Kol found a chair for her to sit in.

She was glad there was a long, quiet walk. It gave her time to think about what was going on. She quickly accepted that she did all of this, mainly because she saw with her own two eyes. Now, she wanted to know why and how to control it so she doesn't cause any harm. She sat down and they began to talk. "So that was definitely interesting."

"Yes. Yes, it was. How are you?"

"Alright. It's been a while."

"Yes. Yes, it has."

"Are you alright? You keep answering the same way."

"I am. I dunno. I guess it's just a bit weird."

"What's weird?"

Kol couldn't believe the moment he was experiencing. He finally got to see her again and knew he couldn't wait any longer. She must feel that it was weird that he was so adamant about bringing her back. "There's something you need to know. I can't keep this from you. Remember when you left because I wouldn't tell you something."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. What were you going to tell me?"

"The night before you died, Lijah called me asking me to agree on a deal concerning Alaric. I asked him about you telling him you wouldn't want to run and that we didn't even know if you'd turn, but he told me that you couldn't. He told me something about the first time we met. When my eyes changed when I met you, I wasn't hungry. It was showing that me and you, we are soulmates."

Kol didn't know how she'd react. He could see her doing many things. She could run away. She could feel upset that she was fated to be with him. She could decide to not come back just because of that sheer fact. She could accept him but that felt extremely unlikely because she told him she'd never turn.

Emilia responded. "Are you sure?" He nodded. She thought for a moment coming to a realization. "Now it all makes sense."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I first met Elijah he told me that he met a seer. He learned how to detect auras, well really, my aura. Apparently, I was supposed to help all the Mikaelsons or something. Now, it makes sense because I never understood how I'd help all of them. But the soulmate thing is still kind of weird. No offense but kind of sudden."

"Well, this is better than I thought. I thought you would just be oh why am I fated to a monster!"

"Well yeah, a little bit but without the monster part." He looks at her skeptically. "I'm not good at this stuff I thought that's what you were supposed to say. I mean we both are."

"Why?"

"I've done bad things too. I mean if that was the real world this whole campus would be in flames."

He didn't want to discuss it more. She was nothing compared to him, but from her tone, it seemed like she wasn't too upset about the word. "I also wanted to tell you something else. I don't know, I haven't really had this feeling but I think I kinda like you. Before you say anything it's not just because of the soulmate thing. I think I felt this way before I even knew. I just like you. Your attitude, your face." She smiled. He touched her face moving it up to look at him in the eye. "And that smile on the rare occasions I get to see it. But you do look like you need a shower."

She giggled. "Good news for you. I hope to take a real shower soon." She didn't say it back to him which made him sad, but he didn't display it on his face.

A new voice appeared one that Emilia recognized. "That may come sooner than you think."

Emilia turned around with an eye roll, the smile gone. "What new piece of drama have you come to throw at me?"

Qetsiyah held her hands in the air. "No drama. I hope. Just found a new way to get you out."

"How?"

"We're going to push you out. I noticed with your little outburst that we can use that to form a temporary hole that we can push you out of. We have to hurry though because as soon as this starts everyone who wants to go back to the living will be trying to hitch a ride."

"Who's we?"

"A little someone from the beyond." Emilia rolls her eyes. "You know you won't be able to talk to me for a while."

"I don't think you understand how much more excited I am now that I know that. So how do I do this?"

Kol is skeptical of the whole idea. "Are you sure we can trust her Lia?"

"I mean we can't trust Silas to uphold anything and she's basically like the owner of this joint. If this doesn't work we just ditch her and just wait until something more secure comes through."

"Fine. Go ahead. I don't trust her as far as I can throw her."

Qetsiyah replies. "You know you can't throw me. Kind of on a different plane of existence."

They both roll their eyes. Emilia changes the conversation. "So how do we start this thing?"

"We are gonna need you to blow the roof off the place."

Kol looks at Qetsiyah in excitement. "Seriously?"

"No." She looks at Emilia. "Since you have absolutely no control of any of this, I'm going to have to channel you and do it myself."

Emilia sits down. "Fine. Let's just get this done."

Qestiyah starts to get her hands ready. "FYI. This may hurt." She puts her hands on Emilia's shoulders and starts chanting in Latin. Emilia screams out from the pain of the channeling. She hunches over forward, a familiar pain enveloping her.

Kol looks at her in worry. "What are you doing to her? This shouldn't be happening when you channel."

Qetsiyah smirks. "I promise you this is exactly what's supposed to be happening."

Kol didn't like this. Emilia was in pain and he could do nothing but watch. It was painful for him to watch. Maybe Emilia was right not to trust this woman. Emilia's instincts were usually right. She was still hunched over in pain screaming. The screaming, the sound of her screaming, could claw at his soul. It reminded him of when she was in pain back in Kansas. As she did this, Qestiyah removed her hands from Emilia's shoulders. Kol went over to Emilia as Qetsiyah continued to chant. "Are you okay Lia?"

"Remember Kansas. Well, it was like that."

"You still in pain?"

"No pain. Feel weird then yes."

Qetsiyah continued to chant as items in the room began to be covered by flame. Like usual, flames surrounded but nothing truly burned. Finally, flames surrounded everyone's vision until there wasn't.

The flames were gone. Qetsiyah was gone. Emilia and Kol were the only ones in the room with nothing burnt.

Emilia felt something on her forehead. She ripped it off her forehead and read it to herself. Might not want to let anyone channel you. She took the note and crumpled it throwing it in the trash. She looked on the floor and saw Kol passed out. She tried to nudge him awake but there was no response. She shook him gently and still nothing. In the end, she ended up slapping him awake. After he was slapped, he instinctively reached for her throat harshly not knowing it was hers. He pushed her to the wall while holding her throat, but once he realized he immediately let her go.

Emilia tries to speak. "Dude not cool."

He sped and hugged her, pulling her close to feel her presence. He couldn't believe that it had finally worked and that she was now back. "I'm not letting you die again."

"I'm gonna hold you to that. So what do we do now?"

The day before, Rebekah, Toni, Klaus, and Stefan had dinner together. At the end of the night, Toni said she had to leave town for an urgent family matter. Rebekah asked if she needed her to join, but Toni denied telling her that they didn't know she was a lesbian yet. Rebekah respected her wishes and made her way to the Salvatore House to speak with Stefan. "You know at one point I wanted the cure. I would've left my family behind to live a human life," Stefan gives her a drink and she continues her story, "Would you take the cure if you had the chance? Or is it just for Elena?"

"A part of me wishes that she and I could have an eternity together. But Damon's right, there's not a single vampire who hasn't killed a human. Elena will kill and then there will be the pain, the guilt, and then..."

"The humanity switch."

"But Elena, she's driven by love; by compassion. If she turns off her humanity, then I don't think we'll ever get her back. So, I'd do anything to save her."

"I used to envy that. You and Elena. I used to envy the love you have. I've now found that. But at one point, I really did believe Alex when he said he loved me. He promised we'd be married. We even picked out a church. San Vittore in Brienno. I know you want my help, Stefan. But my brother can't just get everything he wants."

"What does he want?"

Rebekah lies through her teeth as she starts walking out. "Hybrids obviously." The cure was really to use on Silas. She needed Silas to become a witch again so he could bring Emilia back from the dead.

Stefan believes her. Way before that date, Klaus had gotten Stefan to want the cure to make sure there was no competition. Then, Klaus would just betray them in the end. But Stefan trusted him, he wanted it for Elena, his soulmate. "I never did answer your question," Rebekah turns around and he continues, "If it meant that I got to be with her, have children, grow old with her. If it meant that we'd die together, be buried together, then yes. I'd take the cure."

"I buried him. Even after everything. I laid him to rest in the place where we were to be married. What kind of hopeless fool does that?" Rebekah realizes what she said. "Oh, but that's what you wanted to know, isn't it? Because I buried him with his sword."

Klaus walks out from behind her. "I'm sorry little sister."

Rebekah turns around and faces Klaus. Klaus has the silver dagger and white oak ash behind his back. He shows it to her. Klaus dips the dagger in the ash. Rebekah attempts to rush past him, but Stefan stops her. "I'm sorry Rebekah."

She whispers to her brother, so Stefan can't hear. "Why Nik?"

He doesn't respond and strikes the dagger into her heart, leaving her questioning his actions and his plans while she desiccates. Klaus watches his sister with sadness in his eyes. Stefan notices and covers Rebekah's body, which is lying on the sofa, with a blanket. Klaus goes back to his normal demeanor, handing Jeremy's ring to Stefan. "I have a plane waiting. I'll get the sword. My hybrids will keep an eye on Connor. You put Rebekah somewhere where no one will find her and make sure Jeremy forgets everything he heard today."

"No one must know about the cure, do you understand? Not Damon. Not Elena. Nobody. If this gets out, it could mean all our deaths. So, if you tell anyone, I'll erase each and every memory from the lot of you..."

"I won't say anything."

"It's just you and me in this, Stefan. Some secrets are stronger than family."

At a place near Whitmore, Kol helps Emilia into the shower. She was still feeling pretty sore and dirty from the whole experience, so she needed a bit of help getting around. Once he got her situated, he closed the door, giving her some privacy. She stood under the water causing her to feel slight pain from her wounds. She tries to find a hair product and can only find a 4-in-1 product. She rolls her eyes at that but uses it anyway. She pumps out a palmful and rubs it through her hair. She massages her scalp and uses it a bit on her ends. She tries to comb through her hair, but it hurts a lot. It's extremely knotted and tangled. She starts from the ends and slowly combs through her hair. She washes it out under the warm water. She puts another palmful on her hand. She uses it to wash her body since he doesn't have a sponge. She notices that instead of a bullet wound there's just a really sensitive bruise. She put her hand on her back and found the spine-like structure on her back was still there.

She stands under the water for another minute and then gets out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her to keep the floor dry. She opens the door quietly to the room sees Kol on the phone. He doesn't notice her. She hears him. "Sister pick up. This is the sixth time I've called you today."

Emilia sighed. She walked out of the bathroom. "Why won't Bekah answer?"

"I'm betting a one-word answer."

"Oh god no. We are going to go to Mystic Falls. Let's go."

"No way, you are not stepping foot in that god-forsaken town."

"It's your sister."

"I will help her somehow, but I'm not letting you enter that town just to die again."

She rolls her eyes. He wasn't going to budge. She'd just have to sneak out. She changes the subject. "Do you have a change of clothes for me?"

He gets up. "Shit. That's what I forgot." He speeds out of the room. Thirty seconds later, he's back with a set of clothes in his hand. "Do I want to know where these came from?"

"Not really. But I promise they are new."

Instead of replying with a snide comment, she holds herself together and grabs the set of clothes. "Thanks." She walks back into the bathroom to put them on while holding up her towel.

He waits for a minute while she changed her clothes. He couldn't believe she was finally back. He stares at her in awe as she comes out in the new clothes as he sits on one of the beds. She sits on the other bed and looks at him. "Is it alright if I just go to sleep now? I haven't been able to in days."

He didn't think she needed to ask him that. He would let her do whatever she wanted, except get herself killed. Of course, he'd want to spend time with her now that she was finally alive again, but she understood she needed to recover. "Of course you can. You can do whatever you want. You don't need to ask me that. You need anything from me?"

"Just," She looked around and pointed to the other bed. If they were in the same bed, she was worried that he'd feel her leave. "Sleep over there on the other bed and turn off the lights."

He bowed. "Over course your highness."

"And don't call me that. I thought we went over that already."

"Refresh me, what should I call you then?"

"Don't be stupid, you know what to call me."

"Yes, I do darling."

She glares at him. "Not that either."

"Alright, Lia."

She turned over to the other side facing away from his bed. "Good night Kol."

"Sweet dreams Lia."

A/N.

hi guys.

so this is awkward. 

um it's been a while. 

i sincerely apologize. if you've read to here through all of this then i really appreciate you. thank you so much for reading this book, every new reading list add, comment, and vote is truly amazing to see. there are a lot of plot ideas and I GIVE U MY WORD 

(my inner elijah is coming out) 

that this book isn't over. updates as you've probably seen are sporadic but i promise you will love the story. what do you guys think? u excited emilia is alive? 

love u all.