Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Professor Layton franchise

Chapter 7 The hike part 2

''Did you really think it was a good idea to leave them alone like that?''

''Come on babe, they'll be fine.'' Randal answered his reluctant wife.

Angela had her back to the group and peered at the mountain with a worried expression.

''It's all part of our master plan.'' Clark said while maniacally rubbing together his hands.

''Master plan huh.'' Brenda was sceptical. ''Do elaborate.''

''Well it's obvious Emmy and Hershel are into each other so we just wanted to find a way to give them some well deserved alone time. Our other brilliant plan to push them in a random cave was unsuccessful.'' Randall explained.

''Since there were no caves.'' Clark interrupted.

''Exactly, so when Emmy suggested to go alone up the mountain I figured.''

''Ahem.''

''Sorry, WE figured it was the next best thing.'' Randall explained.

Brenda slapped her hand against her forehead. She knew Hershel was the only one with somewhat of a brain from the guys but she hadn't expected him to go along with it as well.

''Uhm, sorry to interrupt, but doesn't the sky look awfully ominous?'' Flora asked in a timid voice.

The rest peered up to see clouds gliding over the top of the mountain.

''But the sky was clear just a moment ago.'' Brenda said surprised. ''We should probably hurry.''

Everyone agreed and started hurrying down the mountain. They didn't have to go very far to reach the base of the mountain. They could only hope their other two companions would make it back safe and sound.

''Why, didn't Dean Delmona tell you?''

''Tell me what…?''

I'm Emmy Altava, your new assistant! Call me Emmy!''

''I'm sorry, you're my…?'' He didn't seem to believe me.

''Assistant! You do know what an assistant is, don't you? Hee hee!''

Please accept me.

''Of course. I'm sorry, Miss Altava, but…''

''Professor, please...Emmy! And stop apologizing so much!''

''All right, Emmy. So sorry, but it seems that there has been some sort of mistake here.''

You are not getting rid of me.

''Oh, I don't think so, professor! Dean Delmona hired me himself! It seems that you have been too busy to attend your departmental meetings lately. Is that right?

''Well...I suppose there might be some truth to that. However- -''

''Sounds to me like if anyone needs an assistant, it's you! So from now on, I'll be the backup on all your projects! Got it? Great! I can't wait to get started!''

Got him now. Wait… didn't this happen already? Long ago...Where...am I? Is this...from when we first met?

A dull pain emitted from Emmys head. The dream faded away. Rain and thunder started becoming louder in her ears. She wanted to open her eyes, but felt it took more effort than she expected. A soft mumble somewhere next to her. Did someone say her name? What was she doing before this?

She slowly started to remember the events of the last couple of days. The lovely town with an overflowing amount of puzzles, the warm festival night, the beach, the strange theme park…

''Emmy...please…'' The voice was clearer now.

Someone was close to her. Different senses started to return. She could feel the rain fall down hard on her skin. Somehow, however, she was warm. Something had wrapped itself around her. She could smell the earth. It smelled damp, probably because of the rain. There was another smell, something stronger. She liked this smell.

She tried one more time to open her eyes. She wanted to remember, to see where she was and why she was feeling this way. After some pushing her eyes slowly started to open. The brightness of the world around her almost made her close them again. She blinked a couple of times and tried to get a better view of the figure close to her. Her vision cleared and revealed a drenched, mud-covered professor, his arms wrapped around her waist, her head positioned against his shoulder. They were lying against a tree. She looked up at his face where their eyes met.

''Emmy!'' He exclaimed happily and tightened his grip around her. ''You're awake, thank god.''

''Wh…what happened.'' she whispered.

Her voice had no power. She felt so weak right now.

''You fell…'' His eyes darkened. ''From the cliff you were taking pictures from. The storm started to act up and there was a rather large flash of lightning and…''

''Professor...Too...Tight.''

''Oh, terribly sorry dear.''

He had been tightening his grip on her, leaving little room for breathing. He quickly loosened his arms, giving her the opportunity to breathe and adjust her position. Emmy sat upright and looked at her surroundings. They were in an area with a large amount of trees. She looked up and could see the mountain top they had just been on. The drop had been of considerable size, making it hard to believe she was not injured as much as she should have been. She looked back down at her body and started examining if she was actually hurt, but just not feeling it. Thankfully, she seemed fine.

What she had not noticed, was the broken man underneath her. The professor didn't want her to worry too much about his current state and continued to hold her while she tried to take in her surroundings. Professor Layton had gone through many dangerous perils in his days, some which frightened him by just thinking about it, but the absolute terror he had felt when he saw Emmy tumble off the edge of the cliff before him, was unlike any. Without thinking, he had jumped right after her, screaming her name and catching her mid-air before they hit the trees below them. Thankfully, the trees were the very reason he was not hurt worse than he was since they had cushioned the blow.

The only real problem was his ankle, on which Emmy had landed. He'd happily sacrifice himself for her any day and this situation was no different. Unfortunately Emmy had hit her head on the ground quite harshly which caused her to lose consciousness for a while. The professor had been impatiently sitting with her beneath the tree, hoping she would wake soon to show him she was okay. Emmy in the meantime brought her focus back to the professor.

''How did you get here professor? Did you find a path down?'' She asked.

Hershel scratched the back of his head and wished he could pull the brim of his hat down to cover his eyes. He wasn't planning on lying to her. She would find out eventually anyway when they had to get up.

''Not exactly...I...sort of followed your path.''

''My path? Wait you didn't…'' Emmy looked at him in horror.

''I'm alright, just a minor injury to my ankle is all.'' He pointed to his left leg besides her.

Emmy felt horrible. Not only because of the stuffy feeling in her head, or the dull pain behind her eyes, but most of all because she felt like this was her fault. She leaned back against his shoulder and sighed. She wanted badly to apologize, but knew he wouldn't take it.

''Can you walk?''

The professor tried to move his foot but was met with a sharp pain, causing him to grunt. Emmy shot up startled.

''Minor injury? Are you sure?''

The professor averted his gaze.

''It might be more than minor.''

Emmy sighed deeply and moved up from his lap. She shuffled over to his left leg and gently moved his pant leg upwards. His ankle looked bad. It was swollen and started turning a dark color.

''Looks like it is. We should really try to move towards the town before it gets dark. I'd go myself and get help...but…'''Emmy started.

She didn't want to leave him here. The professors started moving to which Emmy quickly offered her body as support. He was able to get up, only breaking a minor sweat. The journey back was going to take a while for sure. Emmy suddenly realised something.

''My camera…''

She looked around, expecting to find the remains of her old friend laying somewhere in the vicinity.

''We fell a little bit more towards the mountain wall.'' The professor offered.

He leaned back against the tree and released his arm from Emmy's shoulder.

''Go take a look.''

She nodded and quickly made her way over to the place where they had supposedly landed. After a while she found a part of the lens stuck on a branch above her head. She sighed again, knowing for sure now that she had to buy herself a new one. She had loved that camera ever since she got it and felt a little disappointed in the outcome. In the corner of her eye a small shine attracted her attention.

''Maybe another part of my beloved.'' She sighed and crouched down.

To her surprise she spotted a small yellow stone. The stone seemed out of place on the mountain side and she picked it up to examine. The pretty color made her smile softly. It was her favorite. The surface felt smooth, soft almost. When she turned the stone around, small white spots appeared on the sides, making it resemble a daisy.

''What a peculiar little stone.'' She said to herself.

She decided to bring it along and put it in her coat pocket. She made her way back to the professor, who was holding himself steady against the same tree. They talked about the broken camera but Emmy didn't mention the stone. She didn't think it was important. They planned out their best strategy to get back and started moving down the mountain. Since they couldn't see the path they had travelled on, they thought it was clever to move towards the river first. The river would run down the mountain, into the ocean, leaving it impossible for them to miss the town.

After they had found the river, they decided to take a little break. Emmy was quick to suggest they'd take small breaks in between to give them some time to catch their breath. The rain had thankfully almost completely stopped, leaving only a slight drizzle. The dark clouds also started to disperse a little, revealing the evening sky. They had no idea what time it was, but they were sure the rest of the group would start to get worried.

''Why are they not back yet? They should have been back by now. Shouldn't they be back by now? What if something happened? What if they ran into a bear?'' Flora was freaking out.

She had been walking in circles through the hotel lobby. Her guardian should have definitely been back by now, making her worry until no end.

''Don't worry Flora, I don't think there are bears on this side of Spain, although I would love to see one.'' Luke tried to calm her down.

''Not helping.'' She said with a sigh.

She sat down on a bench near the entrance and continued staring at the road, hoping they would appear.

''Sorry, but hey at least Emmy is there with him! She would protect him no matter what.''

''That's true...But Emmy has been acting weird lately around the professor so...I don't know.''

''Randall said they needed some time alone. Do you think the professor likes Emmy?'' Luke asked.

Flora knew for sure the professor liked Emmy a lot, but she wasn't completely sold on her roommate. She would love for them to get together, but only if Emmy wasn't too afraid to admit her feelings.

''Maybe, who knows.''

''Randall thinks he knows.'' Luke chuckled.

Not long after their conversation, the four adults joined them in the lobby.

''They're still not back...it's been hours.'' Brenda said, worry trailing her words.

''Maybe we should get together a patrol and search for them.'' Clark was also worried.

At first Clark and Randall convinced themselves Emmy and Hershel were taking so long on purpose. They thought they might want to stay the night on the summit even, but that was before the storm had started. They were sure a gentleman like Hershel Layton wouldn't leave a lady on top of a mountain during a storm just so they could get some alone time. Everyone agreed on getting help from the local police and immediately set out.

Back at the river, Hershel had taken a seat on a sturdy looking tree trunk next to the river. The river was restlessly moving along. Emmy had said she would check ahead to see if they were making progress and left a while ago. Worry was building up in his stomach. He wasn't completely sure if she didn't have a concussion. She might have fainted or fell down and lost consciousness. His dark thoughts were spiraling. He tried to get up from the trunk to pursue her when he saw a figure dashing towards him. He sighed relieved when he saw her long brown hair bouncing up and down. She walked up to him with a smile.

''I climbed a tree and saw the edge of town. It's probably another hour or so from where we are in your state.''

That didn't sound too bad.

''Thank you Emmy.'' He smiled at her.

He was glad she was there with him. Not only because she is strong enough to help support him, but also because it's just her. She, whom he had fallen for. She, whom he wanted alone time with. She, whom he had gotten a gift for. Emmy had taken a seat next to him and took the strange stone she had found earlier out of her pocket to play with. The color entranced her. The professor placed his hand on the pocket where he had kept the stone. To his surprise, the pocket felt empty. He hurriedly checked the insides of all his pockets to find the stone to no longer be in his possession. Emmy looked at him with curiosity.

''What's wrong? Lost something?''

''Yes…'' He sighed. ''I'm afraid it might have fallen out of my pocket during our tumble down the mountain.''

''Do you want to go back to find it? Was it important?'' Emmy asked.

She couldn't imagine him saying yes, but she was prepared to do anything for him at this point.

''No, no, that's silly. We should prioritize our safety first.''

Emmy twisted the stone in her hand, revealing the ''daisy'' side of her trinket. The hand movement caught the professor's attention.

''What do you have there?'' He asked.

He couldn't quite see what she was holding, since it was getting dark.

''Oh, I found this little stone. It has got this beautiful yellow color and...I don't know why but i'm very attracted to it.'' She explained and showed him the stone.

''Oh.'' He exclaimed softly. ''That's my stone.''

''Your stone?''

The professor was relieved the stone wasn't lost to nature but felt the heat creep to his cheeks thinking about how to explain what the stone was about.

''Well…'' He looked Emmy in the eyes and placed his hand on top of the hand in which she was holding the stone. ''I wanted to give this stone to you.''

Emmy could feel his fingers brushed against hers. She wanted to look back down at the stone, but was captivated by his gaze.

''Was this what you lost?'' She asked softly.

He nodded and grabbed her other hand in his. He was ready. He wanted to confess. To tell her everything he had been thinking, everything he had been feeling. He wanted to brush her hair out of her face, to bring her close, to kiss her soft lips.

Emmy was experiencing similar feelings. She felt a strong feeling of deja vu back to the night in front of the firepit. Only this time there was no alcohol to blame for the warm feeling in her stomach. She wrapped her fingers through his and waited for his next words. She didn't want to assume he was feeling the same way of course and was patient enough to hold herself back.

''I found it several days ago on the market at the festival. It reminded me of you.'' He smiled warmly. ''I'm so glad you found it.''

He now looked down at the stone in her hand. She also looked down and smiled. He wanted to give her this. Maybe that's why she was so fond of it. Not because of the color, but because of him and the thought behind it.

''I love it.'' She said with a soft blush on her cheeks.

They looked back up to each other. The professor could barely contain his feelings anymore. He just didn't know what to say. He started leaning forward. He immediately noticed she mimicked his motion and grew confident.

''Emmy...I…''

They were only centimeters apart when suddenly...

''PROFESSOR! EMMY!''

A familiar shout not too far from them popped them out of their bubble. Different sets of flashlights pointed out of the trees on the little tree trunk. The two in question quickly moved apart from one another. Luke dashed forward and jumped on top of the startled pair. He wrapped his small arms around their necks, pushing them close.

''Thank the heavens you're alive.'' Randall appeared from behind a police officer. ''Do you have any idea how hard you guys are to describe in spanish.''

It was soon clear the gang had set up a search and rescue party to save them from their predicament. Everyone gasped when they heard their story of the fall. The part where the professor had given Emmy a gift was left out of course, since that was a little tidbit they wanted to keep to themselves. The professor was quickly treated to first aid and they made their way back down to the hotel. Luckily, he had only sprained his ankle, but it still looked (and felt) pretty awful. Emmy did not have a concussion, but was firmly recommended some rest. After a couple of hours of worried conversations, multiple smacks on the back of Randall and Clark's heads and relieved laughter, most had retreated back to their chambers.

The professor was helped back to his room by the guys. He sighed as he layed back down against his pillows. Luke had been sweet enough to give him all the space he needed by climbing in bed with his parents for the night. The professor looked up at the ceiling and thought of his 'could have been' moment with Emmy. He was so close to telling her everything and somewhere he felt like she wanted him to as well.

A soft knock was heard on the door. ''Maybe Luke forgot his toothbrush'' the professor thought. He gave confirmation for the other person to enter and saw the door open to reveal Emmy.

''Emmy…'' He said surprised. ''What are you doing here?''

He sat up straight in bed and waited for her response.

''Can I come in?'' She asked.

He nodded and beckoned her over to him. She walked inside and closed the door. She was already wearing her nightgown, a pastel pink long gown. She looked adorable, but that was not what the professor should be focusing on right now. She sat down next to him on the bed and fiddled around with something in her hand.

''Are you going to be able to sleep?'' She asked.

''Yes I think so. The pain is bearable at the moment.''

Silence grew between them. The professor wasn't sure how to proceed, but before he could think of something, she had started moving.

''I haven't thanked you yet for the stone.'' She said in a whisper.

She leaned a hand against his shoulder and planted a soft kiss on his lips. The professor was taken aback by the sudden act, but felt incredibly happy. The kiss was over before he could process it any further. She moved back and looked him in the eyes. She was still very close.

''Thank you.''

He couldn't speak. He couldn't think. Here she was. Perfect as ever. Close to him and seemingly feeling the same way.

He lifted his hand and placed it on her cheek. She leaned in the touch and closed her eyes. She wanted this moment to last forever. The small stone in her hand fell down to the ground when he pulled her close for another kiss.

Chapter 7 is live ladies and gentlemen and that means that the end is in sight. Hope you are enjoying my little slice of life/love story! If you do, please let me know!