Chapter Text
"Emersyn," a voice could be heard whispering through her open window. Tiredly, the Stark pulled her covers over her face. "Leave me alone, Dad."
"It's Stefan."
Opening her eyes, she met Stefan's figure that was perched outside of her window, holding onto the frame of the house.
"Jesus. What are you? Spiderman? Come in."
"Thank you," Stefan told her as he jumped into the room before standing in a more comfortable position.
"What's up?" Emersyn asked through a yawn as she sat up in her bed.
"The sacrifice happened."
"Yeah," Emersyn went quiet. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I figured I would just be in the way since I'm not supernatural like you."
Stefan moved to sit on the edge of her bed, "You wouldn't have been in the way. You probably wouldn't have been able to help much, but you wouldn't have been in the way."
"Is she... you know..."
"No. Elena's still alive. John, her dad, sacrificed himself to bring her back. Jenna though... Klaus used her as the vampire since Damon freed Caroline and Tyler."
"God, that's terrible. How's she doing?"
"Terrible. She just lost her only parents. She's in shock. We're having a burial for them. I was hoping you would come and talk to her."
"I'm not the best with emotions, Stefan. I can hardly deal with my own. I think Elena needs someone a bit more stable to help her through this."
"What she needs is someone who will understand her pain. Your experience has been different but you will be able to help her out of this. I know it."
"I'll try, okay? But if I don't think it's working, you have to figure it out."
"Deal."
Arriving at the burial ground, Emersyn breathed out softly as she walked through the winding pathways until she saw Elena surrounded by her friends.
Stopping to stand a few feet away from the group, she watched as the doppelganger and her brother placed single roses on the two fresh graves, before placing two more on an older one for their parents.
Emersyn tilted her head down as she watched the tears begin to fall down the girl's face. She didn't deserve this. No one did.
A few moments later, Alaric placed a rose on Jenna's grave before slowly walking away.
Deciding now was a good time, Emersyn walked over to Jeremy before placing her hand on his bicep. "You gonna be okay?" she asked softly.
The sixteen-year-old nodded, not taking his eyes off of the freshly filled graves. "Yeah. Eventually."
"You're gonna be fine, Jeremy. Even though I haven't known you much, I know that you're a strong kid. Both you and Elena will get through this. Together."
He nodded before tearing his eyes off of the graves so that he could look at her, "Thank you for being here, Emersyn. I'm sure Elena appreciates it. She's really happy that you came back."
Emersyn smiled, "I would have come back sooner if my dad hadn't grounded me."
Jeremy chuckled, "Yeah, I guess that's one of the upsides now. I can't get grounded."
Glancing over, Emersyn saw Elena walking toward them, "I wouldn't be so hopeful. Hey, Lena."
"Hey," the girl sniffled.
"Oh, great," Emersyn muttered under her breath as she saw the tears begin to pool in the Gilbert's eyes. "Come here. Both of you."
As Elena quickly hugged Emersyn, her eyes met Jeremy's. "You too, little Gilbert."
Sighing, the boy moved closer before wrapping his arms around the two girls.
Patting their backs, Emersyn let them hold her for as long as they needed to. "If you two ever need anything don't hesitate to ask, okay? Even if it's something as little as groceries or a ride to work. I've got you."
"Can you distract us?" Elena asked, earning a grin from Emersyn. "Have I got a story for you? So you know America's most known virgin?"
"Captain America?" Jeremy asked.
"Yeah. The bastard dumped me."
Both Gilbert siblings gasped dramatically.
"No, he didn't," Jeremy said while Elena scoffed, "He's a man! Of course he did."
"And you want to know what makes it even better?"
"What?"
"He blamed it on the fact that I died! How the f*ck was I supposed to know that was going to happen? And it's not like I'm dead now. We could have made it work. I get that it was hard for him and all but, and don't get me wrong, I don't mean to sound like a selfish bitch, but I was the one who actually died. I mean, give me a bit of slack here. I'm trying my best and all you see is the fact that I'm a little bit depressed?"
"You should kill him."
Emersyn shrugged, "I thought about it. Then I changed my mind. He's still Bucky's best friend."
"Then sleep with Bucky."
"He's like my brother."
"Put a blind fold on and imagine it's someone else."
"Do you two need a therapist? We've got a good one in New York... No offence but it sounds like you need one."
"No offence but it sounds like you need one too," Jeremy contradicted.
Emersyn glared at him, "Hey. No using the truth against me. But seriously, anything you need, let me know."
Glancing behind her, she saw Stefan and Damon talking. A look of curiosity swarmed in her eyes. Looking back at the siblings, she smiled at them, "I'll be back. I have to ask Damon something."
"Why his dick is so small?" Jeremy asked.
"No, but I'll add that to the list."
He smiled.
Moving away from the Gilberts, Emersyn joined the two Salvatore's. "What's up, f*ckers? Why do you look like someone killed your dog?" she asked, her eyes on Damon.
Damon rolled his eyes, but nonetheless, he pulled up his sleeve revealing the most god awful thing Emersyn had ever seen. Holding a hand to her lips, she held in a gag. "Oh, my god. Is that what herpes looks like? Why would you show me that? I think I'm gonna be sick."
"It's a werewolf bite, Emersyn," Stefan told her. "Not herpes. Although, with his habits, I can see why you thought that."
Damon held out his arms in annoyance, his infected one moving closer to Emersyn making her move back. "Don't f*cking touch me with that thing."
"It's not f*cking herpes, Emersyn."
"Is it HIV?"
"Stefan already told you. Tyler Lockwood bit me–"
"Kinky."
"Shut up. You have lost speaking privileges. Now, as I was saying, Tyler Lockwood bit me and I am going to die in less than 24 hours."
"Oh," Emersyn nodded slowly. "So it's syphilis!"
Damon glared at her. "I am going to die and all you can think about are STD's?"
"Yeah, you see, the problem is I'm giving out all my healthy supportive emotions to Elena and Jeremy right now, so the only ones left are the mildly annoyed, sarcastic ones. It's first come first serve. Unless you're smoking hot... which you aren't."
"We'll find something. A cure," Stefan told his brother, ignoring Emersyn's comments.
"There's no cure, Stefan."
"We kept Elena human, right? We found a way when there was no way. I will do this." Stefan's eyes moved to Emersyn causing her to sigh, "Fine. I'll help too."
"You wanna do something for me? Keep this from Elena. Last thing she needs is another grave to mourn."
Damon patted Stefan's shoulder and sent Emersyn a final glance before he walked off into the sunset in a dramatic fashion. Looking over at Stefan, she bumped shoulders with him, "Are you all this dramatic or is it just him?"
"I hate to admit it, but it's all of us."
Three hours had passed since the funeral. Sighing, she walked into the boarding house with her phone pressed to her ear.
"No, Natasha. I am not going on a blind date. The last one you set up ended with me getting drugged and kidnapped," Emersyn said as she closed the door behind her with her heel.
Setting her keys and bag down on the small table, she walked further into the house.
"I promise this one will be better. I ran a criminal check and took all the precautionary steps."
"I don't think I'm ready yet, Nat. First Renee and now Steve? I don't think a relationship is really in the cards for me–"
"Oh shut up. Of course it is! Remember that time we went to a psychic?"
"The one that was on meth?"
"Relax, it was only weed. Everyone does it."
"I don't."
"Well you are the only one. Besides, you drink far more than the entire country as a whole so it's even. But remember what she told you?"
"No. I was wasted. And if I recall correctly, so were you."
She knew Natasha well enough to know that she was currently rolling her eyes.
"She said she saw great love and a family in your future."
"Yes, and the actual goddess that brought me back to life, said that the only thing that's going to happen to me is a whole sh*t load of death. So, who do you think I should believe?"
"The meth addict."
"No–" Emersyn cut herself off when she saw Damon standing in front of a window, his skin. It wasn't until she heard the drop of his ring that his skin began to burn.
"I'll call you later, Nat," Emersyn spoke before dropping her phone, she ran across the room and tackled him to the floor, moving him out of the sunlight.
"What the hell, Damon!?"
"Get off of me."
"You're not doing this. Not to Stefan."
"I just did. You didn't see it but this happened before. It was brutal and a terrible death."
Emersyn rolled her eyes, "I don't care. You're not killing yourself. Stefan and I will figure out a way–"
"There is no way, Emersyn! I'm dying, at least let me choose how."
With Damon's body weak from the sun and bite, Emersyn was able to drag him down to the basem*nt where the cells were. Holding her breath, trying to focus on Damon, she threw him into one of them before locking it.
"You're not dying today."
"What's the plan, Iron Man?"
Glancing over when she heard a whoosh of wind, she saw Stefan beside her. "Took you long enough. Did you know you're big brother is suicidal now?"
Stefan looked at Damon through the bars of the door, "We're gonna find a way out of this."
Damon scoffed, "Oh right, a miracle cure. Good luck with that one."
"I have Bonnie looking for something, anything."
"Always the hero, Stefan. Just tell me goodbye. Get it over with."
Emersyn watched as Damon's body began to heave before he coughed out blood on his hand. Looking around, she felt her chest get heavy. "I'm sorry. I'll be upstairs."
Stefan nodded, patting her shoulder as she walked past him before his eyes moved back to Damon. "Lie still. Conserve your strength."
Emersyn didn't feel comfortable with the situation she was currently in. Perhaps it was due to her shoes, their four inch heels dampening her mood after wearing them for so many hours. Or, it was because of where she was and what she was doing.
Watching as Bonnie lit a candle while Stefan stood beside her, she glanced around the room of the old, abandoned witch house where a massacre had occurred god knows how many years before.
Chills ran down her spine as a slight breeze picked up.
"I'm not sure this is going to work," Bonnie told them as she blew out the match. Emersyn wasn't sure why she was using matches, considering she could light it with her mind, but she chose against saying anything about it.
"You've done a seance before, right? Contacted Emily Bennett. Maybe one of the witches might know how to help Damon," Stefan replied.
"Let's just hope they want to."
As words of Latin began to fall from Bonnie's lips and the flames grew higher, Emersyn looked over to Stefan. "Pst."
Stefan looked at her, "What?"
"Can we switch shoes?"
He glanced down at her feet and saw the black high heels. "No. Not a chance."
Emersyn groaned, "But my feet hurt."
"Then why did you wear them?"
"Cause I look hot in them. And you would too. Which is exactly why you should wear them."
Stefan rolled his eyes, "I'm not wearing them."
"Can you two shut up?" Bonnie asked, the flame dying down slightly. "I can't focus with you two blabbing."
"Right, sorry," Emersyn muttered as she elbowed Stefan. "We made Mom mad."
"Phesmatos manex un domo hax, fero adiuvex..."
"Please?" Emersyn whispered.
"Bonnie?" Stefan asked, ignoring Emersyn as the flames of the candles grew higher, lighting up the dark room.
When Bonnie opened her eyes, she stared at Stefan, "Emily. Why have you come here, Stefan?"
"This is creepy," Emersyn whispered to herself as she took a step back, trying her best to look casual in front of the ghost who had taken over Bonnie's body.
"I need your help. I need to know if there's a spell that can heal a werewolf bite."
"No," Emily answered simply. "Nature ensures a balance to everything."
"Is that true or are you just saying no because it's Damon?"
"Perhaps it is his time to die."
"No," Stefan shook his head. "That's not balance. That's punishment."
"I will not give you what you want."
"So you're saying that there's an answer to give? Please, if you know something, just tell me. Help me save my brother–"
Bonnie's screams suddenly sounded as she grabbed her head before falling to her knees.
"Bonnie," Stefan spoke, holding her arm as her screams died down.
"They don't want us here. They think I'm abusing their power."
They know something. There's an answer. They just don't want to tell me."
"I heard them say a name," Bonnie revealed.
"What was it?"
"Klaus."
Emersyn groaned loudly, causing them both to look at her. "Seriously? Him? But he's so f*cking annoying."
Bonnie glanced down at Stefan's feet, "Why are you wearing high heels?"
"I told you people would notice!"
While Stefan went to inform Elena of the current situation, Emersyn decided to get a head start and go to Alaric's apartment where Klaus had apparently taken over during the short time he had been in the small town.
Opening the door, she cautiously walked inside only to see Katherine sitting on the bed.
"Emersyn Stark. Huh. Never thought I'd see you again."
Emersyn frowned, "How can you tell it's me?" Her face was altered due to the mask she wore.
Katherine grinned, "The scent of your blood. It's very... unique."
The Stark stared at her for a moment. "Alright then. Moving on. Do you know where the dog is?"
"The dog? You mean Klaus?"
"Yeah, obviously. Oh, should I have called him Rover? Which do you think he would prefer?"
"I think you'll be dead before you find out."
"Well you have high hopes for my future."
Hearing the door open, Emersyn glanced over and saw Stefan walk inside. "Abercrombie. Great. I have an incredibly serious question that definitely is related to our current problem."
"What is it?" Stefan asked.
"Do you think Klaus would prefer being called dog or Rover?"
The vampire frowned, "Neither. He'd probably kill you. Hello, Katherine."
"I'm supposed to be free of Klaus' compulsion by now. He's supposed to be dead."
"We ran into complications."
"Complications?"
Stefan shook his head, "Doesn't really matter. I just need to find him. Do you have any idea where he might be?"
Out of nowhere, Katherine grabbed Stefan and pushed him into a wall, shushing him in the process.
"Klaus, you're back. Look who decided to come for a visit," Katherine spoke as the door opened earning a groan from Emersyn, "Damn. I thought I was about to get a show."
Stefan sent her a look. "What? That was hot."
Klaus grinned as he walked through the door and into the small apartment, "Emersyn. It's lovely to see you again."
"I'm sure," Emersyn replied with a forced smile before noticing Elijah standing behind his brother, "You're a dick, by the way. And I saw it coming from the moment I met you and yet no one believed me."
Elijah chuckled, "I do apologize for your loss, Miss. Stark."
"You just keep popping up, don't you?" Klaus asked, his eyes moving to Stefan, although the smile on his lips remained.
"I need your help... For my brother," Stefan told him as Katherine let go of him.
"Well, whatever it is, he's gonna have to wait a tick. You see, I have an obligation to my brother that requires my immediate attention. You understand how important family is, or you wouldn't be here."
"My brother gave me his word that he would reunite me with my own," Elijah told them, finishing his brother's sentence.
Emersyn stared at them, well he's f*cked, she thought to herself. Nice knowing you.
"And so I shall," Klaus replied, pulling out a dagger before stabbing it into Elijah's chest.
As Elijah's body fell dead to the floor, Emersyn fist bumped herself. Called it!
Turning back to see Stefan, Klaus sped him against a wall and held him by his neck, "Now, what am I gonna do with you?"
You could kiss... No, shut up, Emersyn.
Grabbing a stake, Klaus stabbed it into Stefan's chest, just near his heart, earning screams from him. "Do you feel that? It's scraping against your heart. The slightest little movement, and you're dead."
"He's just trying to help his brother," Katherine interrupted, trying to help Stefan.
Emersyn inched closer, "The witches said you had a cure. Make him a deal. He'll do whatever you want. Just give us the cure."
Klaus looked back at her, but before he could say anything, Stefan spoke, "She's right. I'll do whatever you want."
The Original tsked as he pulled the stake out of Stefan, causing the vampire to fall to the ground, "Trouble is I don't know if you'd be any good to me the way you are now. You are just shy of useless... Emersyn on the other hand, you could be useful."
The Stark stared at him with a confused expression, "With what? Buying you Viagra?"
He smirked, "I can assure you every part of me is in perfect condition."
"What about your head? Cause' it seems to be a bit sick."
"Are you insinuating that I am sick in the head, love?"
Glancing down at Stefan's bleeding body and Elijah's dead one, she met his eyes once again, "Yes. Obviously."
He held his hand to his chest acting as though he was offended, though Emersyn only rolled her eyes before kneeling down to Stefan and poking his cheek, "You okay?"
He groaned.
"Right, sorry. Dumb question. Can I help you stand?"
Stefan nodded reluctantly, before taking her arm and using it to pull himself up before she leant him against the wall. "Katherine, can you make sure he doesn't fall over and give himself a concussion?"
The doppelganger grinned, moving over to Stefan happily before grabbing onto his body. Emersyn frowned, "Jesus, try not to assault him while you're at it. I said keep him standing, not keep his dick standing."
Klaus grinned at Emersyn as she moved over to him. "Shall we make a deal?" he asked, moving into the kitchen with her.
"Depends. Are you going to be mean?"
He shrugged, "Most likely. Are you going to be mean?"
"Oh, most definitely. Tell me about the deal."
"I want you to come with me–"
"No."
"No? Come on, love. I am a great person to be around."
"You just killed your brother, you killed one of my only friends and you stabbed Stefan all within 12 hours. You are a terrible person to be around."
His eyes hardened. Before Emersyn knew it, she was being held by her neck against the brick wall.
Klaus' eyes glowed yellow while dark lines appeared on the skin beneath them. Emersyn let out a choked breath against the strength of his hand.
"Would you care to rethink your previous statement?" he asked, hand loosening slightly for her to speak.
The Stark grunted, trying to keep her mind off of the memories that were quickly rising to the surface. She attempted to press the button on her watch, but before she could, he used his free hand to grab her wrist before pinning it to the wall.
"Not today, sweetheart. No one is coming to save you. Now, I can kill you, or, you can rethink your previous statement. Which do you prefer?"
"Emersyn just say what he wants to hear," Stefan told her, his words shaky.
She glared at him through blurry vision, "Go to hell."
Klaus grinned, "Not today," before snapping her neck.
"No!" Stefan yelled, but it was too late. Emersyn's body had already fallen to the floor, her heart completely stopped.
The hybrid felt a slight pang in his heart as the sound of her body hitting the floor sounded in his ears. He ignored the strange feeling and turned to Stefan, "There. Now that that is taken care of, would you like to make a deal with me?"
"Darling, you can wake up now."
"No."
"Come on. I'm lonely. Talk to me?"
"No. Go make some friends."
"But you're much more entertaining than the old bats around here."
Emersyn opened her eyes to see Kol Mikaelson standing in front of her, his hand outstretched to her. Glaring at him, she grabbed his hand and pulled it, trying to make him fall. To Kol's amusem*nt, it did nothing considering their strength difference.
"Are you calling me an old bat, Kol?" a voice came from behind them, causing Emersyn to look back only to see Elijah standing there.
Her eyes widened as she stood up, "I'm high, aren't I?"
Kol shrugged, "From what you did last night, I would assume you are still drunk, not high."
"That's creepy. Have you been watching me this whole time?"
"Yup. Tough break up, huh?"
Emersyn slapped his arm, "Say another word and I'll rip out your heart."
At the threat, Kol's grin widened, "Ah ah ah, come on, darling, Be nice."
Elijah rolled his eyes at the two, "Stop being children and act your age."
Emersyn looked at Kol, "I can see why you wanted me to wake up. He really is an old bat."
"Exactly!" His eyes moved to Elijah and saw his offended expression, "I mean... I love you?"
"I know you don't. Emersyn, how are you here? Shouldn't you be... my apologies if this sounds rude or if it is too early, but dead?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. This happened the last time I died. My guess is whatever Hebe did to me has given me a lasting effect."
"Hebe?" Elijah asked, causing Kol to sigh, "Yes, get with it, brother. We are not explaining this again."
Emersyn glanced down at her dead body, "At least I still look hot. Last time I died it was not pretty. Blood everywhere! And I mean everywhere. Like, really, Wanda and Pietro could have been a bit neater with it."
"You have a very strange way of coping."
"You have a very strange face."
"I can see why Niklaus killed you. You talk far too much for your own good."
"I could say the same about you, dickface."
Kol's laughter broke up their almost-fight. "Sorry, sorry. I love her. Can we keep her?"
"Someone else owns me already."
"What? Who?" Kol asked, groaning.
"Well, from the branding on my shoulder, I would say The Winter Soldier."
Kol and Elijah glanced at each other awkwardly.
"It's okay. You can laugh. He's actually my best friend now..." She paused, "Come to think of it, I have become friends with most of the people that have tortured me. Maybe I should go to therapy more often."
Kol patted her shoulder, "I do believe that would be best. However, since you are dead, the best bet at a therapist is us. So come on, tell us all the dirty details. I want to know everything."
Emersyn rolled her eyes, "I am not telling you my life story again. You already know half of it."
"Yes, but truth be told, I already forgot most of it. I wasn't really listening to you."
"That's it. I'm leaving–"
"Where will you go?"
"Like I would be dumb enough to tell you."
Before Emersyn could walk away, she felt herself being sucked toward her dead body.
"Somethings wrong," she told them.
Elijah gave her a concerned look, "What is it?"
"I've never felt this before–"
"Alright, virgin," Kol muttered, "It's okay. We'll talk you through it."
"Shut up, Kol!" Both Elijah and Emersyn spoke before her body disappeared. Only moments later, her once dead body's heart began to beat again before her eyes opened.
Sitting up quickly, Emersyn choked, holding her neck.
Klaus and Stefan looked at her, eyes full of shock. Emersyn quickly noticed the disappearance of Katherine, but before she could ask about it, Stefan ran over to her.
"Oh my god. Emersyn, I thought you were dead!"
The Stark rubbed her neck as she glared at Klaus, "I was. The rat bastard killed me. I'm just far too cool to die, especially by his hand."
Klaus stared at her with a strange look, curiosity blooming in his eyes as he watched Stefan help her hand before he began to examine her neck.
"It's not broken anymore," he told her, feeling the skin earning a quiet hiss from her, "Sorry. Just a bit of bruising."
"Is Damon okay?"
He nodded, "Klaus gave me the cure. Katherine is taking it to him."
With his confirmation, Emersyn's eyes moved to Klaus, "You are such a dick! Why the f*ck did you kill me?"
"Because you were being mean!"
"Well you were strangling me!"
"Well you said I was a terrible person to be around!"
"And I was right! You killed me!"
"Don't use the truth against me!"
Stefan rubbed his forehead as he moved to sit on the couch, already tired of the two.
"You're such a terrible person that even your family doesn't like you! Kol said it himself!"
Klaus calmed slightly, as confusion began to take over the anger he held. "What did you just say? You spoke to Kol?"
"Yeah, your dick of a brother? He said you are the most annoying thing on the f*cking planet and that he hopes you get hit by a bus."
Kol never said that. Emersyn was just projecting her own feelings through Kol.
"He didn't say that," Klaus defended.
"How do you know? Even Elijah can verify... That is, if you risk undagering him. I wouldn't, he wasn't a very happy camper after what you just did to him."
"You can see all my siblings?" Klaus asked, ignoring her previous statement.
"I don't know. How many siblings do you have? And are any of them hot? I'm feeling the need for some rebound sex and from the ones I have met, it's just not going to work out."
Klaus frowned in disgust, "I didn't need to know that."
"Well now you do. So, did you two make a deal? Did you seal it with a kiss?"
Klaus and Stefan rolled their eyes. "No, we didn't kiss," they both answered, causing her to smirk, "You said that a bit too quickly."
Klaus placed his hands on his hips as he rolled his eyes once more, "Bloody hell."
"Hell isn't actually bloody. It has these super cool blue fires everywhere and–"
"How would you know?" Klaus asked, interrupting her.
"Because I have been there. Get with the program. Anyway, as I was saying before I was very rudely interrupted–"
"We don't have time for this, go home and pack your bags. I will be picking you up in half an hour."
"But my story– Wait, what?"
"You, Emersyn, are coming with Stefan and I and you have no choice."
"You, Klaus," she said with the same level of dramatics, "Are a dick."
"Dad, I'm being kidnapped, I probably won't be home for a few weeks," Emersyn spoke loudly as she entered her and Tony's river-side home.
"Okay, sweetie. Have a nice time!" Tony replied, causing Emersyn to shrug as she walked up the stairs and entered her room, pulling out a duffle bag as she did so. A few minutes passed before his voice sounded again, "Wait a minute. What?!"
Tony walked into her room and a concerned look on his face, "Did you just say you are being kidnapped?"
"Yes," Emersyn replied as she began to fold a few shirts before shoving them into the bag.
"Against your will?"
Emersyn paused her packing as she looked up at her father, "I really don't know. I should be fine though. He said I could keep in touch with you."
"Who is 'he'?"
"Klaus Mikaelson. Total douche. Thinks he is much cooler than he really is."
"Oh. Okay," Tony replied calmly. "I think the f*ck not! He is not kidnapping you! You are staying here. You are still grounded!"
Emersyn began to fold a few pairs of pants before grabbing some socks, "Hey, take it up with him. I tried to fight it but he didn't really like me doing that," she told him, choosing to skip over the part of her recent murder.
"Besides, he said I can still do whatever I want and I can leave for however long I want as long as I come back. And he said it won't be for long. If anything, it's more like a road trip."
Tony stared at her. "Are you being serious right now?"
"Yes."
"Then you have gone insane. I knew we should have kept you in therapy."
"Come on, Dad. It'll be okay."
Tony stepped closer to her, holding her shoulders, "I can't lose you again, Emersyn. I don't think you understand how hard it was for me–"
"I do, Dad," Emersyn argued, "Believe me. I know. I had to watch it all happen and I couldn't do anything to stop it. But I don't have a choice, Dad. It's either I go by choice, or he burns our house down and takes me by force."
She gently took his hands off of her as she zipped up her duffle bag, before walking to the hallway. "He'll be here in a few minutes," she told him as he followed her down the stairs.
"Please don't leave," Tony begged as she began to put on her shoes and coat.
"It'll be okay. I'll call you everyday."
Tony stayed silent as a knock sounded from the door. From the glass panes surrounding the wooden door, he could see a man's figure standing outside.
"You don't need to go, kid. I can take him–"
"You can't, Dad. He'd kill you."
"But I have to do something. I can't just stand here and let him take you."
"Would it help if I said he's actually my boyfriend and he is taking me on a surprise trip to the Bahamas and I just wasn't ready to tell you so I came up with an elaborate plan–"
"No, Emersyn. It doesn't help."
Another knock came from the door.
"If I make him wait any longer he'll break down the door," Emersyn told him as she moved to pull him into a hug. "I'll be okay. Trust me."
Tony stared at her, "He touches you, even a hair on your head, you tell me and I will be there. I'll bring the whole team if I have too."
Emersyn nodded, "Okay, Dad." Grabbing her bag off the floor, she moved to the door. Pausing, she looked back, "I love you."
"I love you too."
Walking out of the house, she quickly closed the door and was met by a grinning Klaus. "Boyfriend, huh?" he asked.
"Say another word and the next thing to come out will be your teeth."
